Determining distances in a warehouse
First Claim
1. Method of determining a path length in a warehouse between a first location, which is in a source zone of the warehouse, and a second location, which is in a destination zone of the warehouse, each zone having at least one entry node and/or exit node, the method comprising the following steps:
- a first step of determining the distance within the source zone between the first location and an exit node of the source zone;
a second step of determining the distance between the exit node of the source zone and an entry node of the destination zone;
a third step of determining the distance within the destination zone between the entry node of the destination zone and the second location;
a fourth step of obtaining the path length by summing up the distances determined in the preceding steps.
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Abstract
The invention provides methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for warehouse management. In warehouse management it is often necessary to determine the shortest distance a resource has to travel through a warehouse when moving from a location A to a location B. To determine distances the locations are grouped together in zones. For every zone at least one entry and one exit point or node is defined. The function of an entry node and an exit node may be provided by a single node. Every node is defined by its coordinates. The routing is performed in three steps. In the first step a route from a source storage bin to an exit node of the zone is determined. This step may be referred to as “intra zone routing”. The intra zone routing can be done based on a metric. In the second step the distance from the source zone to the destination zone is determined. This step may be called “inter zone routing”. The inter zone routing may be done using a “line-of-sight method”. The third step consists of determining the distance from the entry node of the destination zone to a destination storage bin. This is again an “intra zone routing” as described in the first step.
27 Citations
31 Claims
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1. Method of determining a path length in a warehouse between a first location, which is in a source zone of the warehouse, and a second location, which is in a destination zone of the warehouse, each zone having at least one entry node and/or exit node, the method comprising the following steps:
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a first step of determining the distance within the source zone between the first location and an exit node of the source zone;
a second step of determining the distance between the exit node of the source zone and an entry node of the destination zone;
a third step of determining the distance within the destination zone between the entry node of the destination zone and the second location;
a fourth step of obtaining the path length by summing up the distances determined in the preceding steps. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 29)
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13. Method of calculating a path in a warehouse between a first location, which is in a source zone of the warehouse, and a second location, which is in a destination zone of the warehouse, each zone having at least one entry node and/or exit node, the method comprising the following steps:
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determining a route from the first location to an exit node of the source zone;
determining the distance within the source zone between the first location and the exit node of the source zone;
determining a route from the exit node of the source zone to a pick and drop point associated with the source zone;
determining the distance between the exit node of the source zone and the pick and drop point associated with the source zone;
determining a route from the pick and drop point associated with the source zone to a pick and drop point associated with the destination zone;
determining the distance between the pick and drop point associated with the source zone and the pick and drop point associated with the destination zone;
determining a route from the pick and drop point associated with the destination zone to an entry node of the destination zone;
determining the distance between the pick and drop point associated with the destination zone and the entry node of the destination zone;
determining a route between the entry node of the destination zone and the second location;
determining the distance within the destination zone between the entry node of the destination zone and the second location;
obtaining the path length by summing up the distances determined in the preceding steps. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 30)
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19. A method of modeling a warehouse with a computer system, the warehouse comprising a plurality of bins for storing goods, a plurality of work centers for processing goods, and a plurality of resources for moving the goods in the warehouse;
- the method comprising the following steps;
a first step of defining a first plurality of zones, each zone representing a grouping of bins, or a work center, whereby with each zone, at least one node is associated, the node representing an entry and/or exit point for resources to/from the zone, and whereby with each bin and with each node in a zone, coordinates are associated which are representative of their location in the zone;
a second step of defining a first plurality or routes, each route representing a path for movement of a resource between nodes of a pair of zones, whereby with each of the routes, a path length is associated which is representative of the length of the route;
a third step of defining a second plurality of routes, each route representing a path for movement of a resource within a zone between a bin and a node of the zone;
whereby with each of the routes, a path length is associated which is representative of the length of the route. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31)
- the method comprising the following steps;
Specification