Automated storage facility including a storage and retrieval system and a floor inventory management system

• US 5,953,234 A
• Filed: 03/12/1997
• Issued: 09/14/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Retrotech, Inc. (Remia CV)
• Original Assignee: Woodson Incorporated
• Inventors: Singer, Chester H., Troy, Richard J., Schmehl, Dennis R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gordon, Paul P.
• Application Number:
  US08/814,886
• Time in Patent Office: 916 Days
• Field of Search: 364/478.02, 364/478.03, 364/478.05, 364/478.18, 414/791.6, 414/789.6, 414/790.9, 414/791, 414/791.1, 705/22
• US Class Current: 700/214
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0485 Check-in, check-out devices
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1378 the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2209/10 Partial order forming
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

An automated storage facility includes a storage and retrieval system and a floor inventory management system. The storage and retrieval system uniquely palletizes bossies and stores palletized bossies and palletized stacks of cases together in the same storage and retrieval system. The system provides order picking of stacked cases for movement out of the storage retrieval system into an accumulator, and retrieving bossie carts from the storage and retrieval system while concurrently receiving and storing new pallets of stacked cases and new pallets with loaded bossies. It provides acceptance of loaded bossie cart-bearing pallets and discharging of loaded bossie cart pallets at one level while storing the pallets with the bossie carts throughout the storage system. Pallets with stacks of cases are delivered to order pick lanes for picking stacks from the pallets, while case stacks on conveyors are accumulated on pallets and accepted for storage on another level. The pallets with stacks of cases concurrently move throughout the storage system. A pallet is also provided, which handles stacked cases and bossie carts, as is a unique method and apparatus for loading and unloading the bossie carts on and off the pallets. The invention is a novel system for storing and retrieving products assembled and organized in different carriers. The inventory management system includes a server, client personal computers, client RF (radio-frequency) terminals, and various other peripherals, all running inventory management software.

Claims

1. An automated storage and retrieval method comprising providing stacks of pallets proximate pallet loaders, delivering stacks of cases of a single product via infeed conveyors to the pallet loaders, pushing individual stacks from the stacks of cases onto the pallets from the stacks of pallets until the pallets are full, releasing the pallets down infeed lanes, picking the pallets from ends of the infeed lanes, carrying the pallets to storage racks using cranes, placing the pallets in the storage racks, instructing the cranes to retrieve the pallets, retrieving the pallets from the storage racks, delivering the pallets to outfeed lanes, directing the pallets to ends of the outfeed lanes proximate pallet unloaders, pushing the stacks of cases on the pallets onto floor conveyors, directing the empty pallets to empty pallet lanes, and returning the pallets to the stacks of pallets proximate the pallet loaders.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising stacking empty pallets in the empty pallet lanes, delivering the empty pallets to receiving platforms of pallet washers, and washing the pallets.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein carrying the pallets to storage racks using cranes further comprises continually loading ground level storage racks, and further comprising order picking stacks of product directly from the ground level storage racks, placing the stacks of product on order picking outfeed conveyors, delivering the stacks via the order picking outfeed conveyors to a truckload assembly area, and directing empty pallets to the empty pallet lanes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein delivering stacks of cases of a single product via infeed conveyors to the pallet loaders further comprises arranging groups of sixteen stacks of six loaded cases each, and wherein pushing individual stacks from the stacks of cases onto pallets from the stacks of pallets until the pallets are full further comprises loading each pallet with one group of sixteen stacks of six loaded cases.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the pallets are loaded, stored, retrieved and emptied in pairs, wherein product on paired pallets are identical and wherein the paired pallets are placed in adjacent storage racks side-by-side.

6. A storage and retrieval facility comprising multiple storage centers separated from adjacent storage centers on one side by an aisle and on another side by an order picking lane, wherein each storage center further comprises multiple rows and multiple columns of storage racks, with a majority of the racks of at least a bottom row sloping downward from a side closest to the aisle to a side closest to the order picking lane and a minority of the racks of at least a bottom row sloping downward from a side closest to the order picking lane to a side closest to the aisle, order picking conveyors positioned in the order picking lanes for carrying product out of the order picking lanes, generally horizontally-extending tracks positioned in the aisles, cranes positioned in the tracks for traveling along the tracks, elevators provided on the crane for traveling vertically along masts of the cranes, cars mounted on the elevators for moving into and out of the racks, infeed conveyors having first ends positioned at supply areas and second ends terminating at pallet loading areas, pallet loaders provided at the pallet loading areas for loading stacks of product onto pallets, pallet infeed lanes extending between the pallet loading areas and the aisles, with the pallet infeed lanes sloping downward from the pallet loading areas to the aisles, an outfeed conveyor, pallet outfeed lanes extending between the aisles and the outfeed conveyor, with the pallet outfeed lanes sloping downward from the aisles to the outfeed conveyor, pallet unloaders positioned at areas where the pallet outfeed lanes meet the outfeed conveyor for pushing stacks of product from pallets onto the conveyor, and a computer digitally connected to the elevators, cars, cranes and pallet loaders and pallet unloaders for controlling activities.

7. The facility of claim 6, further comprising pallet washers, pallet return lanes extending between the aisles and the pallet washers, with the pallet return lanes sloping downward between the aisles and the pallet washers, and washed pallet lanes extending between exits of pallet washers and pallet loading areas, wherein the washed pallet lanes slope downward from the pallet washers to the pallet loading areas.

8. A product handling process comprising accumulating a batch of material, palletizing the batch of material on pallets, storing pallets in pairs, retrieving pairs of pallets to a location selected from the group consisting of a depalletizer, adjacent like assigned outfeed lanes, a single assigned outfeed lane and a pair of adjacent outfeed lanes assigned to an order, and recycling empty pallet stacks.

9. The process of claim 8, wherein accumulating the batch of material further comprises collecting batches of product and releasing the batch onto the conveyor which leads to a palletizer, wherein releasing the batch onto the conveyor further comprises determining if the batch constitutes two full pallets of product, releasing the batch to the conveyor if the batch is determined to constitute two full pallets of product, and waiting for manual batch release (end of run) and releasing a partial batch to the conveyor if it is determined that the batch does not constitute two pallets of product.

10. The process of claim 8, wherein palletizing the batch of material further comprises creating a pair of pallets from the batch and releasing the pallets to a storage/retrieval machine, wherein creating a pair of pallets further comprises receiving the batch from a first infeed conveyor, palletizing a first pallet, releasing the first pallet to the storage/retrieval machine, pointing the palletizer to a second infeed conveyor, determining if the batch includes additional nonpalletized material, palletizing the additional material on a second pallet, releasing the second pallet to the storage/retrieval machine, and pointing the palletizer to the first infeed conveyor.

11. The process of claim 8, wherein storing the pair of pallets further comprises picking up a pair of like pallets simultaneously at adjacent infeed addresses and depositing the pair of like pallets in storage areas, wherein depositing the pair of like pallets further comprises (a) determining if the pallets are suitable for delivery directly to outfeed lanes and depositing the pallets in the outfeed lanes, (b) if the pallets have not been deposited pursuant to step (a), determining if the product on the pallets should be stored in adjacent pairs of storage lanes and depositing the pallets in adjacent pairs of storage lanes, (c) if the pallets have not be deposited pursuant to steps (a) or (b), determining if the pallets can be delivered to a single storage lane having room for both pallets and already containing at least one pallet of identical product and depositing the pallets consecutively at the single storage lane, (d) if the pallets have not be deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b) or (c), determining if the pallets can be delivered to an empty storage lane and depositing the pallets consecutively at the empty storage lane, (e) if the pallets have not be deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b), (c) or (d), determining if any room is available and depositing the pallets at one or two storage lanes, and (f) if the pallets have not be deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e), sounding an alarm.

12. The process of claim 11, wherein determining if the pallets are suitable for delivery directly to outfeed lanes further comprises (i) determining if the pallets can be delivered directly to the depalletizer and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the adjacent pair of depalletizer outfeed lanes, (ii) if the pallets have not been deposited pursuant to step (i), determining if the pallets can be delivered directly to a pair of adjacent outfeed lanes which are assigned to the product and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the adjacent pair of outfeed lanes, (iii) if the pallets have not been deposited pursuant to steps (i) or (ii), determining if the pallets can be delivered directly to a single outfeed lane which is assigned to the product and has room for both pallets and depositing the pallets consecutively at the outfeed lane, and (iv) if the pallets have not been deposited pursuant to steps (i), (ii) or (iii), determining if the pallets can be delivered directly to a pair of adjacent outfeed lanes to satisfy a particular order which specifies the product and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the adjacent pair of outfeed lanes.

13. The process of claim 11, wherein determining if the product on the pallets should be stored in adjacent pairs of storage lanes further comprises (i) determining if the pallets can be delivered to an adjacent pair of storage lanes which already contain at least one pallet of the product and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the adjacent pair of storage lanes, and (ii) if the pallets have not been deposited pursuant to step (i), determining if the pallets can be delivered to an adjacent pair of storage lanes which are empty and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the adjacent pair of empty storage lanes.

14. The process of claim 8, wherein the location for retrieving a pair of pallets is the depalletizer, and wherein retrieving the pair of pallets further comprises determining a product required at the depalletizer and (a) determining if a pair of oldest suitable pallets of product can be found from a pair of adjacent storage lanes, picking the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent storage lanes, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at a pair of adjacent depalletizer outfeed lanes, (b) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to step (a), determining if a pair of oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in a single storage lane, picking the pallets consecutively at the storage lane, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent depalletizer outfeed lanes, (c) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to steps (a) or (b), determining if a pair of the oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in two separate storage lanes, picking a first pallet at the first storage lane, picking a second pallet at the second storage lane, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent depalletizer outfeed lanes, (d) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b) or (c), determining if one of the oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in a single storage lane, picking the pallet at the storage lane, and depositing the pallet at one of the depalletizer outfeed lanes, and (e) if no pallet has been deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b), (c), or (d), sounding an alarm.

15. The process of claim 8, wherein the location for retrieving a pair of pallets is the adjacent like assigned outfeed lanes, and wherein retrieving the pair of pallets further comprises determining a product assigned to the adjacent outfeed lanes and (a) determining if a pair of oldest suitable pallets of product can be found from a pair of adjacent storage lanes, picking the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent storage lanes, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at a pair of adjacent outfeed lanes, (b) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to step (a), determining if a pair of oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in a single storage lane, picking the pallets consecutively at the storage lane, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent outfeed lanes, (c) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to steps (a) or (b), determining if a pair of the oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in two separate storage lanes, picking a first pallet at the first storage lane, picking a second pallet at the second storage lane, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent outfeed lanes, (d) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b) or (c), determining if one of the oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in a single storage lane, picking the pallet at the storage lane, and depositing the pallet at one of the adjacent outfeed lanes, and (e) if no pallet has been deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b), (c), or (d), sounding an alarm.

16. The process of claim 8, wherein the location for retrieving a pair of pallets is the single assigned outfeed lane, and wherein retrieving the pair of pallets further comprises determining a product assigned to the single outfeed lane, (i) determining if there is room for at least two pallets in the outfeed lane and (a) determining if a pair of oldest suitable pallets of product can be found from a pair of adjacent storage lanes, picking the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent storage lanes, and depositing the pallets consecutively at the outfeed lane, (b) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to step (a), determining if a pair of oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in a single storage lane, picking the pallets consecutively at the storage lane, and depositing the pallets consecutively at the outfeed lane, (c) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to steps (a) or (b), determining if a pair of the oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in two separate storage lanes, picking a first pallet at the first storage lane, picking a second pallet at the second storage lane, and depositing the pallets consecutively at the outfeed lane, (d) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b) or (c), determining if one of the oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in a single storage lane, picking the pallet at the storage lane, and depositing the pallet at the outfeed lane, and (e) if no pallet has been deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b), (c), or (d), sounding an alarm, and (ii) if there is no room for at least two pallets pursuant to step (i), determining the oldest suitable pallets of product that can be found in a single storage lane, picking the pallet at the storage lane, and depositing the pallet in the outfeed lane.

17. The process of claim 8, wherein the location for retrieving a pair of pallets is the adjacent outfeed lanes assigned to an order, and wherein retrieving the pair of pallets further comprises determining a least full pair of outfeed lanes assigned to the order, determining a next kind of product required to satisfy a separate order, and determining if at least two more pallets of product are required, and wherein (i) if two more pallets are required, (a) determining if a pair of oldest suitable pallets of product can be found from a pair of adjacent storage lanes, picking the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent storage lanes, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent outfeed lanes, (b) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to step (a), determining if a pair of oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in a single storage lane, picking the pallets consecutively at the storage lane, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent outfeed lanes, (c) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to steps (a) or (b), determining if a pair of the oldest suitable pallets of product can be found in two separate storage lanes, picking a first pallet at the first storage lane, picking a second pallet at the second storage lane, and depositing the pallets simultaneously at the outfeed lane, (d) if the pallets are not deposited pursuant to steps (a), (b) or (c), sounding an alarm, and (ii) if two more pallets are not required, determining if a first pallet of next required product can be found in a storage lane, picking up the first pallet at the storage lane, and (aa) determining if a second pallet is required for the order, determining if the second pallet can be found in a storage lane, picking the second pallet at the storage lane, and depositing the first and second pallets simultaneously at the pair of adjacent outfeed lanes, (bb) if the second pallet is not required pursuant to (aa), depositing the first pallet at the least full of the pair of adjacent outfeed lanes, and (cc) if no pallets cane be found, sounding an alarm.

18. The process of claim 8, wherein recycling the empty pallet stacks further comprises picking a pair of empty pallet stacks from at least one return lane, and delivering the pair of empty pallet stacks to an area selected from the group consisting of a pallet washer and a palletizer, wherein delivering the empty pair of pallets further comprises (a) determining if two stacks can be picked up from a single return lane, finding a fullest return lane, determining if a return lane having at least two pallets is accessible, picking two pallets consecutively at the return lane, and deposit the two pallets simultaneously at the area, and (b) if two stacks cannot be picked from a single return lane pursuant to (a), finding a fullest return lane, picking a first pallet at the return lane, find a next fullest return lane, picking a second pallet at the return lane, and deposit the first and second pallets simultaneously at the area.

19. An automated storage and retrieval system comprising a multiple level storage center having a left storage section, a central storage section, a right storage section, multiple pallet receiving racks having pairs of c-shaped rails provided on each level of each section, longitudinal aisles separating the central section from the left section and the central section from the right section, lower longitudinal machine rails positioned along floors of the aisles, upper longitudinal machine rails positioned in the aisles above uppermost levels of the sections, stacker/receiver machines for travelling along the lower and upper machine rails, wherein each stacker/receiver machine further comprises masts having ends for riding along the upper and lower machine rails, a carriage positioned for movement up and down the masts, and a rack entry vehicle provided on the carriage for moving into and out of the storage racks, a first order picking lane provided at a second level of the right storage section on a side opposite that of the aisle, a second order picking lane provided at a second level of the left storage section on a side opposite that of the aisle, wherein pallet receiving racks on the second levels of the right and left sections have floors carrying the C-shaped rails that are inclined for sliding product downward and outward from the aisles to the order packing lanes, and a lowerator provided for vertical movement between levels of at least the right storage section for lowering stacks of empty pallets into positions for loading the pallets with bossie carts.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the second level of the storage center further comprises infeed roller conveyors for delivering product to the second level, gates provided at an entry of the conveyor into the second level, product pushers provided at ends of the infeed conveyors inside of the storage center for pushing stacks of product onto pallets, inclined pallet lanes positioned between the pushers and pickup positions at ends of the aisles, outfeed conveyors positioned in the order picking lanes and extending to the lowerators, accumulators positioned along the order picking conveyors prior to the lowerator, gates provided after the accumulators for directing the product to appropriate paths along the conveyors, and lowerator pushers provided adjacent the lowerators for pushing the product onto the lowerators.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the second level further comprises pallet return lanes extending between the order pick lanes and the aisles and sloped downward and inward toward the aisles, inclined empty pallet lanes positioned at the ends of the aisles near the product pushers and extending between the aisles and pallet stacking positions, and pallet pushers provided adjacent the pallet stacking positions for pushing pallets into pallet loading positions.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the storage center further comprises a first level, wherein the lowerators travel between the first level and the second level, and wherein the second level further comprises bossie cart-pallet loading stations provided at openings of the lowerators, a pallet conveyor, bossie-pallet lanes sloping downward and inward from the bossie cart-pallet loading stations to the pallet conveyor, feed lanes positioned at far ends of the pallet conveyor for receiving bossie-laden pallets, with the feed lanes extending between the ends of the pallet conveyor and the aisles, outfeed lanes extending between the aisles and bossie removal stations, a bossie conveyor extending from the bossie removal stations to loading areas, and bossie pushers provided along the bossie conveyor for urging the bossies from the bossie conveyor.

23. A pallet for carrying wheeled carts comprising a plate having ends and sides, longitudinal side tubes extending along sides of the plate, cross tubes extending underneath the plate and between the side tubes, wheel holes provided along edges of the plate, wherein the holes have indented lips, longitudinal support tubes extending between the cross tubes along the openings, short support tubes extending along the wheel openings between the side tubes and the longitudinal support tubes, bracing tubes extending between the short support tubes and the cross tubes, and runners positioned on underside of the side tubes.

24. The pallet of claim 23, wherein the plate and tubes are made of aluminum.

25. The pallet of claim 23, wherein tube intersections are welded.

26. The pallet of claim 23, wherein the side tubes and the bracing tubes have generally rectangular cross-sections, and wherein the cross tubes, the short support tubes, and the longitudinal support tubes have generally square cross-sections.

27. The pallet of claim 23, wherein the cross tubes further comprise five spaced cross tubes, wherein a central cross tube has a generally rectangular cross-section, wherein remaining cross tubes have generally square cross-sections, wherein the side tubes and the bracing tubes have generally rectangular cross-sections, and wherein the short support tubes, and the longitudinal support tubes have generally square cross-sections.

28. The pallet of claim 23, wherein the plate has eight wheel holes.

29. A floor inventory management system for a storage facility comprising a server, an order station having at least one host terminal electronically connected to the server, a filler station having at least one first data input and retrieval terminal electronically connected to the server, a stacker for stacking product and a detector positioned at an exit of the station and connected to the server for determining a number of stacked product, a storage station having a floor picking area, a pallet rack area and a bossie makeup area, roller conveyors extending between the filler station and the floor picking area of the storage station for carrying stacks of product from the filler station to the storage station, second data input and retrieval terminals positioned in the floor picking area and electronically connected to the server, storage zones further comprising multiple pick zones provided adjacent the floor picking area, wherein each storage zone has at least one structure carrying barcoded labels and scanners connected to the second data input and retrieval terminals for scanning the barcoded labels, wherein the pallet rack area further comprises third data input and retrieval terminals electronically connected to the server, multiple storage racks, barcoded labels positioned proximate the racks for identifying pallets positioned in the racks, and scanners connected to the third data input and retrieval terminals for scanning the barcoded labels, wherein the bossie makeup area further comprises bossies having barcoded indicia, a diverter for diverting product from the roller conveyors to bossies, fourth data input and retrieval terminals electronically connected to the server and scanners connected to the fourth data input and retrieval terminals for scanning the barcoded indicia, outfeed conveyors extending from the storage zone for carrying products for shipment, order checking stations having fifth data input and retrieval terminals positioned along the outfeed conveyors, release gates positioned along the outfeed conveyors at exits, and programmable logic controllers positioned at the exits before the gates for controlling the gates.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the detector further comprises an array of photocells and a programmable logic controller electronically positioned between the array of photocells and the server.

31. The system of claim 29, further comprising a docking station having a printer electronically connected to at least the fifth data input and retrieval terminals for printing reports.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the terminals are selected from the group consisting of personal computers, handheld radio frequency data terminals and combinations thereof.

33. The system of claim 29, wherein thin-wire Ethernet network links connect the terminals to the server.

34. An inventory management method comprising providing a central server, providing an order station having host terminals electronically connected to the server, providing a filler station having first data input and retrieval terminals electronically connected to the server, providing a storage station having a floor picking area, a pallet rack area and a bossie makeup area, providing roller conveyors extending between the filler station and the floor picking area of the storage station for carrying stacks of product from the filler station to the storage station, providing second data input and retrieval terminals positioned in the floor picking area and electronically connected to the server, providing third data input and retrieval terminals in the pallet rack area and electronically connected to the server, providing fourth data input and retrieval terminals in the bossie makeup area and electronically connected to the server, providing outfeed conveyors extending from the storage zone for carrying products for shipment, providing order checking stations having fifth data input and retrieval terminals positioned along the outfeed conveyors, turning the server on, logging into the server through at least one of the terminals, identifying products by SKUs, entering SKUs and expiration date codes into the first data input and retrieval terminals, stacking the products, placing the stacks on the roller conveyors, detecting the stacks as the stacks exit the filler station using detectors, creating a stack in inventory using data from the first data terminals and the detectors, delivering the stacks to the floor picking areas via the conveyors, pulling the stacks off of the conveyor, identifying products included in the stacks and other information using the second data terminals, placing the stacks in pick zones of the storage areas, scanning barcoded labels identifying the storage zones in which the stacks were provided, verifying via the second data terminals that selected storage zones is contained in the pick zone for the product SKUs, identifying products included on pallets and other information using the third data terminals, positioning pallets in racks of the pallet rack area, scanning barcoded labels identifying the racks in which the pallets are stored, diverting product from the filler station to the bossie makeup area, identifying diverted products and other information using the fourth data terminals, positioning diverted products in the bossies, scanning barcoded labels identifying the bossies in which the pallets are stored, placing orders at the host terminals, picking ordered products from the storage zones, checking the products picked, delivering the checked products to shipment areas, and adjusting numbers of products in inventory through at least one of the terminals.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein logging into the server further comprises entering a password, encrypting the password, and comparing the password with a table of authorized passwords.

36. The method of claim 34, wherein detecting the stacks as the stacks exit the filler station further comprises passing the stacks in from to an array of photocells controlled by a controller, determining numbers of cases being produced and sending messages to the server indicating filler numbers and numbers of cases.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein verifying via second data terminals further comprises prohibiting multiple expiration dates for same SKUs from sharing same storage zones.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein placing orders at host terminals further comprises directing order pickers via the second, third and fourth data terminals along pick zones, picking the products, passing the picked products by the checking station, verifying the product picked with the product ordered, and releasing the product to a dock for shipment.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein directing order pickers further comprises displaying order numbers, SKUs to pick, quantity to pick and picking location and prompting for quantity actually picked and actual picking location.

40. The system of claim 38, wherein picking the products is selected from the group consisting of placing the products on outfeed conveyors, moving pallets of products, selecting bossies, and combinations thereof.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein releasing the product further comprises providing gates prior to the dock and controlling the opening and closing of the gates using a controller.