Sorting using modular stations

• US 7,246,706 B1
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Issued: 07/24/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Shakes, Jonathan J., Hanssens, Nicholas M., Janert, Philipp K., Bohlmann, Jan
• Primary Examiner(s): Rodriguez; Joseph
• Application Number:
  US11/023,759
• Time in Patent Office: 938 Days
• Field of Search: 209/559, 209/583, 209/614, 209/630, 209/933, 414/268
• US Class Current: 209/630
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 7/02 Compartmented furniture, e.g. pigeon-holes B07C7/005 takes precedence; furniture per se A47B; storage racks B65G
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

System and method for modular sorting stations. A sorting station may be subdivided into two or more modular bins. A modular bin may be partitioned into compartments. Each compartment may be configured to receive one order including one or more items. Modular bins may be partitioned into compartments of different sizes to receive orders of different sizes. A modular bin may be removed from a sorting station and conveyed to a packing station for packing or other sorting station to continue sorting. Picked items may be received and sorted for rebinning into the modular bins manually or using an automated sorting mechanism. A control system may direct the sorting and rebinning operation. Modular sorting stations may be located adjacent to packing stations or, alternatively, away from packing stations and, when a modular bin is complete, it may be conveyed to an appropriate packing station for packing.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

picking a plurality of items to fulfill a plurality of orders from stock storage of a materials handling facility;

sorting the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, wherein each modular sorting station comprises two or more modular bins, wherein each modular bin is partitioned into two or more compartments, wherein each order is assigned to a particular one of the compartments in a particular one of the modular bins, wherein two or more orders are assigned to each modular bin, and wherein each item is sorted into a compartment assigned to an order for which the item was picked;

detecting when all the orders assigned to compartments in one of the modular bins at one of the modular sorting stations are completed, wherein an order is completed when all of one or more items of the order have been received in the compartment assigned to the order; and

moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations for packaging the completed orders in the modular bin in response to said detecting.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations comprises:

moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to a conveyance mechanism; and

the conveyance mechanism conveying the modular bin from the modular sorting station to the packing station.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations comprises manually moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to the packing station.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the modular bin is configured to receive orders of a particular physical dimension, wherein one of the one or more packing stations is configured to pack orders of the particular physical dimension for which the modular bin is configured to receive, and wherein said moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations comprises:

determining that one of the one or more packing stations is configured to pack orders of the particular physical dimension for which the modular bin is configured to receive; and

moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to the packing station configured to pack orders of the particular physical dimension for which the modular bin is configured to receive.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least two of the modular bins are partitioned into a different number of compartments, wherein the method further comprises assigning two or more of the orders to each of the modular bins according to their respective number of compartments.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein each modular bin is partitioned into two or more compartments of the same or similar size, wherein the method further comprises assigning two or more of the orders to each modular bin according to the size of the two or more compartments.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein each modular sorting station comprises one or more shelves each configured to hold one or more modular bins, wherein the method further comprising placing each of the modular bins onto one of the shelves of one of the modular sorting stations.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprising placing one or more of the modular bins onto one or more of the shelves of the modular sorting station at an angle to improve access to the modular bins.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein each item in the stock storage is marked with an item code, wherein the item code uniquely identifies the type of the item in an order fulfillment control system, and wherein the method further comprises the control system directing the placement of each picked item into a compartment of one of the modular bins assigned to an order for which the item was picked according to the item code.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein each item in the stock storage is marked with an item code, wherein the item code uniquely identifies the item in an order fulfillment control system, and wherein the method further comprises the control system directing the placement of each picked item into a compartment of one of the modular bins assigned to an order for which the item was picked according to the item code.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein each modular sorting station is marked with a modular sorting station code, wherein the modular sorting station code uniquely identifies the modular sorting station in an order fulfillment control system, and wherein the method further comprises the control system directing the movement of each picked item to one of the modular sorting stations according to the modular sorting station code.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein each modular bin is marked with a modular bin code, wherein the modular bin code uniquely identifies the modular bin in an order fulfillment control system, and wherein the method further comprises the control system directing the placement of each picked item into one of the modular bins assigned to an order for which the item was picked according to the modular bin code.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein each compartment in each modular bin is assigned a compartment identifier, wherein the compartment identifier uniquely identifies the compartment in an order fulfillment control system, and wherein the method further comprises the control system directly the placement of each picked item into a compartment of one of the modular bins assigned to an order for which the item was picked according to the compartment identifier.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein each modular bin is marked with a modular bin code, wherein the modular bin code uniquely identifies the modular bin in the order fulfillment control system, wherein the compartment identifier is a combination of a modular bin code of the modular bin that comprises the compartment and a compartment number in the modular bin, and wherein the method further comprises the control system directing the placement of each picked item into a compartment of one of the modular bins assigned to an order for which the item was picked according to the compartment identifier.

15. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein said picking a plurality of items to fulfill a plurality of orders from stock storage of a materials handling facility comprises one or more picking agents accessing mobile devices configured to communicate with an order fulfillment control system to direct the picking agents in picking the items from the stock storage to fill the orders;

wherein said sorting the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations comprises one or more sorting agents accessing mobile devices configured to communicate with the order fulfillment control system to direct the sorting agents in sorting the plurality of items into the compartments of the modular bins at the one or more modular sorting stations; and

wherein said moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations for packaging the completed orders in the modular bin comprises an agent accessing a mobile device configured to communicate with the order fulfillment control system to direct the agent in moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to the one of the one or more packing stations.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sorting the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations comprises an order fulfillment control system directing one or more agents in sorting the plurality of items into the compartments of the modular bins at the one or more modular sorting stations.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, further comprising the control system assigning orders to particular compartments in particular modular bins in the modular sorting stations.

18. The method as recited in claim 1,

wherein said detecting when all the orders assigned to compartments in one of the modular bins at one of the modular sorting stations are completed comprises an order fulfillment control system detecting when all the orders assigned to the compartments in the one of the modular bins at the one of the modular sorting stations are completed;

and

wherein the method further comprises the control system notifying an agent of the materials handling facility that the modular bin is ready to be moved from the modular sorting station to one of the one or more packing stations for packaging the completed orders in the modular bin.

19. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said sorting the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations comprises:

inducting the picked items into an automated sorting mechanism;

the automated sorting mechanism sorting the picked items into groups of two or more orders; and

manually sorting the items in the groups of orders into particular compartments of the modular bins of the modular sorting stations assigned to the orders.

20. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising moving a modular bin from one modular sorting station to another modular sorting station.

21. A method, comprising:

picking a plurality of items to fulfill a plurality of orders from stock storage of a materials handling facility;

sorting the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, wherein each modular sorting station comprises two or more modular bins, wherein each modular bin is partitioned into two or more compartments, wherein each order is assigned to a particular one of the compartments in a particular one of the modular bins, and wherein each item is sorted into a compartment assigned to an order for which the item was picked;

detecting when all the orders assigned to compartments in one of the modular bins at one of the modular sorting stations are completed, wherein an order is completed when all of one or more items of the order have been received in the compartment assigned to the order;

moving the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations for packaging the completed orders in the modular bin in response to said detecting; and

moving a modular bin in which one or more orders assigned to compartments of the modular bin are incomplete from one modular sorting station to another modular sorting station for completion of the one or more incomplete orders in the modular bin.

22. A computer-accessible storage medium, comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are configured to implement:

instructing one or more agents in picking a plurality of items to fulfill a plurality of orders from stock storage of a materials handling facility;

controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, wherein each modular sorting station comprises two or more modular bins, wherein each modular bin is partitioned into two or more compartments, wherein each order is assigned to a particular one of the compartments in a particular one of the modular bins, wherein two or more orders are assigned to each modular bin, and wherein each item is sorted into a compartment assigned to an order for which the item was picked;

detecting when all the orders assigned to compartments in one of the modular bins at one of the modular sorting stations are completed, wherein an order is completed when all of one or more items of the order have been received in the compartment assigned to the order; and

directing movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations for packaging the completed orders in the modular bin in response to said detecting.

23. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein, in said movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations, the program instructions are further configured to implement:

directing movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to a conveyance mechanism; and

controlling the conveyance mechanism to convey the modular bin from the modular sorting station to the packing station.

24. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein, in said movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations, the program instructions are further configured to implement directing movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to the packing station.

25. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein the modular bin is configured to receive orders of a particular physical dimension, wherein one of the one or more packing stations is configured to pack orders of the physical dimension for which the modular bin is configured to receive, and wherein, in said directing movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations, the program instructions are further configured to implement:

determining that one of the one or more packing stations is configured to pack orders of the particular physical dimension for which the modular bin is configured to receive; and

directing movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to the packing station configured to pack orders of the physical dimension for which the modular bin is configured to receive.

26. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein at least two of the modular bins are partitioned into a different number of compartments, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement assigning two or more of the orders to each of the modular bins according to their respective number of compartments.

27. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein each modular bin is partitioned into two or more compartments of the same or similar size, and wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement assigning two or more of the orders to each modular bin according to the size of the two or more compartments.

28. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein each modular sorting station comprises one or more shelves each configured to hold one or more modular bins, and wherein the program instructions are further configured to directing the placing each of the modular bins onto one of the shelves of one of the modular sorting stations.

29. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 28, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement directing the placing of one or more of the modular bins onto one or more of the shelves of the modular sorting station at an angle to improve access to the modular bins.

30. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein each item in the stock storage is marked with an item code, wherein the item code uniquely identifies the type of the item, and wherein, in said controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, the program instructions are further configured to implement controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations according to the item codes of the items.

31. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein each item in the stock storage is marked with an item code, wherein the item code uniquely identifies the item, and wherein, in said controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, the program instructions are further configured to implement controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations according to the item codes of the items.

32. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein each compartment in each modular bin is assigned a compartment identifier, wherein the compartment identifier uniquely identifies the compartment in an order fulfillment control system, and wherein, in said controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, the program instructions are further configured to implement controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations according to the compartment identifiers.

33. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 32, wherein each modular bin is marked with a modular bin code, wherein the modular bin code uniquely identifies the modular bin in the order fulfillment control system, wherein the compartment identifier is a combination of a modular bin code of the modular bin that comprises the compartment and a compartment number in the modular bin, and wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement directing the placing of each picked item into a compartment of one of the modular bins assigned to an order for which the item was picked according to the compartment identifier.

34. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein, in said controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, the program instructions are further configured to implement directing one or more agents in sorting the plurality of items into the compartments of the modular bins at the one or more modular sorting stations.

35. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 34, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement assigning orders to particular compartments in particular modular bins in the modular sorting stations.

36. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein, in said directing movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations for packaging the completed orders in the modular bin in response to said detecting, the program instructions are further configured to implement notifying an agent of the materials handling facility that the modular bin is ready to be moved from the modular sorting station to one of the one or more packing stations for packaging the completed orders in the modular bin.

37. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein, in said controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, the program instructions are further configured to implement:

controlling an automated sorting mechanism in sorting the picked items into groups of two or more orders; and

directing manual sorting of the items in the groups of orders into particular compartments of the modular bins of the modular sorting stations assigned to the orders.

38. The computer-accessible medium as recited in claim 22, wherein the program instructions are further configured to implement directing the movement of a modular bin from one modular sorting station to another modular sorting station.

39. A computer-accessible storage medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are configured to implement:

instructing one or more agents in picking a plurality of items to fulfill a plurality of orders from stock storage of a materials handling facility;

controlling sorting of the plurality of items into compartments of modular bins at one or more modular sorting stations, wherein each modular sorting station comprises two or more modular bins, wherein each modular bin is partitioned into two or more compartments, wherein each order is assigned to a particular one of the compartments in a particular one of the modular bins, and wherein each item is sorted into a compartment assigned to an order for which the item was picked;

detecting when all the orders assigned to compartments in one of the modular bins at one of the modular sorting stations are completed, wherein an order is completed when all of one or more items of the order have been received in the compartment assigned to the order;

directing movement of the modular bin from the modular sorting station to one of one or more packing stations for packaging the completed orders in the modular bin in response to said detecting; and

directing the movement of a modular bin in which one or more orders assigned to compartments of the modular bin are incomplete from one modular sorting station to another modular sorting station for completion of the one or more incomplete orders in the modular bin.