AUTOMATIC WAREHOUSE SYSTEM

• US 20170158430A1
• Filed: 07/09/2015
• Published: 06/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2014
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: BionicHIVE Ltd.
• Original Assignee: BionicHIVE Ltd.
• Inventors: Raizer, Liran
• Granted Patent: US 10,259,649 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/04 mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/065 with self propelled cars
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/137 with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

The invention is an automatic system for picking and placing boxes on shelves in a warehouse. The system comprises a set of autonomous mobile robots; a network of vertical and horizontal rails that are parallel to the vertical support posts and horizontal shelves of the shelving system in the warehouse; and a Real Time Traffic Management (RTTM) server, which is a central processing server configured to communicate with the robots and other processors and servers in the warehouse. The system is characterized in that the robots comprise a set of on-board sensors, a processor, software, and other electronics configured to provide them with three-dimensional navigation and travel capabilities that enable them to navigate and travel autonomously both along the floor and up the vertical rails and along the horizontal rails of the network of rails to reach an exact location on the floor or shelving system of the warehouse.

Claims

1. An automatic system for picking and placing boxes on shelves in a warehouse, the system comprising:

a. a set of autonomous mobile robots, each robot comprising two front driving wheels;

b. a network of vertical and horizontal rails that are function as or are parallel to the vertical and horizontal supports of the shelves of the shelving system in the warehouse; and

c. a Real Time Traffic Management (RTTM) server, which is a central processing server configured to communicate with the robots and other processors and servers in the warehouse;

characterized in that;

each robot comprises;

components configured to engage and mechanically secure the two front driving wheels to the vertical and horizontal rails allowing the robot to travel on the network of rails; and

a set of on-board sensors, a processor, software, and other electronics configured to provide the robot with three-dimensional navigation and travel capabilities that enables it to navigate and travel autonomously both along the floor and up and down the vertical rails and along the horizontal rails of the network of rails to reach an exact location on the floor or shelving system of the warehouse.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the modular architecture of the system allows integrating with an already in-use facility with a high level of implementation flexibility and ongoing scalability.

3. The system of claim 1 comprising at least one picking station comprising a processor, terminal screen and software dedicated to interface with other processors in the system in order to assist human workers to either pick or put away merchandise.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the robots comprise:

a. a frame;

b. a gripper mechanism attached to the top side of the frame that is configured to pick up and place boxes;

c. a fine positioning sensor used to aid in removing and placing boxes from/on the shelves;

d. a battery case that houses rechargeable batteries that power the robot;

e. at least one rear wheel attached to the bottom of the frame; and

f. two drive and steering units each unit comprising one front driving wheel and components configured to rotated the front driving wheel at least 360 degrees about an axis vertical to the floor in order to steer the robot and to rotate the front driving wheel about a horizontal axis in order to cause the robot to move in the direction that the front driving wheel is pointing, wherein the drive and steering units are attached to the robot by means of arm units configured to expand, contract, and have other degrees of freedom that allow the robot to engage a vertical rail, to raise itself off the floor, and to move up, down, and along the network of vertical and horizontal rails.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the gripper mechanism comprises an array of micro-pallet lifters wherein each micro-pallet lifter in the array can be operated independently of the others thereby allowing the robot to handle different sized boxes and maximizing the efficient use of shelf space.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the processor in each robot comprises dedicated software and algorithms that are configured to enable the robot to execute navigation, driving, and fine positioning procedures, to pick and put boxes and to monitor the charge of the rechargeable batteries.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the processor of each robot is pre-loaded with dedicated software which includes the warehouse layout, routes, intersections, and designated areas.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processor, software, and set of on-board sensors are configured to enable each robot to employ anchor point navigation method to carry out tasks assigned to it by the RTTM.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the robots have recoverable communication capability that enables them to carry on with their mission if communication with the RTTM server, picking stations, or other robots is temporarily lost.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the rails of the network of vertical and horizontal rails are either attached to an existing shelving system or are configured to form a free standing structure that stands in parallel to the existing shelving.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein a junction between vertical and horizontal rails is comprised of an open circular area centered at the intersection between the vertical and horizontal rails and a short piece of rail configured to pivot about the center of the circular area such that the short piece of rail is alternately lined up with one or two sections of vertical rail or one or two sections of horizontal rail.

12. The system of claim 13, wherein the robot is able to change its direction of travel on the network of vertical and horizontal rails from vertical to horizontal or vice versa by stopping with its front wheels on the short piece of rail in two adjacent junctions between vertical and horizontal rails and then rotating the front wheels by ninety degrees.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the network or rails is configured to enable the robot to cross from one side of an aisle to the other without the need to go down to the floor.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the RTTM comprises software that generates tasks, prioritization, traffic control, and energy management instructions, which the server sends to the individual robots

15. The system of claim 1, wherein real time communication between all robots, picking stations, and RTTM server is handled over industrial grade routers using secured wireless protocol.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein each box stored in the warehouse has a micro-pallet made from corrugated fiberboard attached to its bottom.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the processors in the robots, RTTM, and picking stations of the system comprise software that is configured to provide at least one of the following advanced capabilities:

a. realization of Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios;

b. self-learning; and

c. accumulating and analyzing big data sets.

18. A robot having three-dimensional navigation and travel capabilities that enable it to navigate and travel both along the ground and up and down vertical rails and along horizontal rails of a network of rails, the robot comprising:

a. a frame;

b. a gripper mechanism attached to the top side of the frame that is configured to pick and place boxes;

c. a fine positioning sensor used to aid in removing and placing boxes from/on the shelves;

d. a battery case that houses rechargeable batteries that power the robot;

e. a command module that houses a processor, software, and other electronics that guide the robot and enable it to carry out its assigned tasks;

f. a set of on-board sensors that are located at various locations on the robot to aid the robot in navigation and to identify obstacles;

g. at least one rear wheel attached to the bottom of the frame; and

h. two drive and steering units each unit comprising one front driving wheel and components configured to rotated the front driving wheel 360 degrees about an axis vertical to the floor in order to steer the robot and to rotate the front driving wheel about a horizontal axis in order to cause the robot to move in the direction that the front driving wheel is pointing, wherein the drive and steering units are attached to the robot by means of arm units configured to expand, contract, and have other degrees of freedom that allow the robot to engage a vertical rail by means of the front driving wheels, to raise itself off the floor, and to move up and down the vertical rails and along the horizontal rails.