AUTOMATED ITEM HANDLING WITH RECONFIGURABLE TOTES
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Provided herein are solutions to automated material handling comprising systems that allow automated “each pick handling” without requiring the complexity of robotic grasping. Numerous examples of pre-configurable and reconfigurable transport containers, partitioning devices, and automated container configuration stations are described in addition to methods of use and associated material handling systems that utilize such containers. Further described are containers that are individually configured or customized according to specific lot sizes to more efficiently and optimally contain, store and distribute articles as a component of a picking system. Configurable containers or “totes” may be customized on a per-order basis to create optimally configured containers that maximize the use of space in a container, on a single-item-per-space basis, regardless of item quantity, size or volume, by customizing the size of each space within a container or tote. Still further, each containment area comprises a releasable surface that allows for picking of an item by utilizing gravity in lieu of a robotic gripper.
-
Citations
104 Claims
-
1-38. -38. (canceled)
-
39. A system for configuring a reconfigurable container the system comprising:
-
a container configuration station comprising an automated assembly device; and configurable partitioning units; wherein the configurable partitioning units are positioned or assembled by the automated assembly device to form the reconfigurable container, the reconfigurable container comprising optimized containment areas based on the number, sizes, and volumes of one or more items for which the reconfigurable container is configured. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
-
-
46. A method of using a system for configuring a reconfigurable container, the method comprising:
-
providing a container configuration station comprising an automated assembly device; and providing configurable partitioning units to the container configuration station; wherein the configurable partitioning units are positioned and assembled by the automated assembly device to form the reconfigurable container, the reconfigurable container comprising optimized containment areas based on the number, size and volume of one or more items for which the reconfigurable container is configured. - View Dependent Claims (47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
-
-
55-98. -98. (canceled)
-
99. A reconfigurable container adapted for automated picking systems with an ordering system, the reconfigurable container comprising:
-
the reconfigurable container; sub-units, smaller than the reconfigurable container, and configured to hold at least a first item, wherein the sub-units assemble to each other create optimized containment areas within a transport container to fulfill an order provided by the ordering system, wherein the sub-units are optimally configured and positioned based on the number, size, and volume of one or more items in an order to create the optimized containment areas within the transport container to receive and retain optimized numbers of the one or more items to fulfill the order; and wherein each transport container comprises a containment surface comprising releasably lockable openings configured to have movable sections matching the size of each of the sub-units; wherein the one or more items held within each of the sub-units is picked during automated order picking operations to release a first item contained therein when one of the releasably lockable openings of a first sub-unit is released. - View Dependent Claims (100, 101, 102, 103)
-
-
104. (canceled)
Specification