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Replenishment and order fulfillment system

  • US 10,233,019 B2
  • Filed: 04/04/2017
  • Issued: 03/19/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2010
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A warehousing system for storing and retrieving goods disposed in containers, the system comprising:

  • a multilevel storage array, each level of which has a transport area and a storage area, the storage area including an array of storage shelves configured to hold containers thereon and the transport area being substantially continuous and arranged to communicably connect the storage shelves to each other, the transport area including picking aisles and a transfer deck connecting the picking aisles;

    at least one vertical lift for transporting containers to and from at least one level of the multilevel storage array;

    at least one transport vehicle, distinct from the transfer deck, located on each of the at least one level and configured to traverse the transfer deck and picking aisles on each of the at least one level and transport containers between the at least one vertical lift at each of the at least one level and container storage locations on the storage shelves so that the at least one vertical lift communicates, via the transport vehicle, with container storage locations of each of the storage shelves on each of the at least one level;

    an infeed transport system communicably linked to the at least one vertical lift for entering product containers, holding stock goods, on the storage shelves;

    an order fulfillment station arranged for generating, from the stock goods in the product containers on the storage shelves, order containers corresponding to a customer order and holding order goods, designated by the customer order; and

    a transport loop communicably connected to the at least one vertical lift, the order fulfillment station, and the infeed transport system so that order containers from the order fulfillment station are re-entered onto the storage shelves of the multilevel storage array.

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