Method and system for agent exchange-based materials handling
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- a plurality of agents moving along respective paths through an inventory storage area of a materials handling facility;
while moving through said inventory storage area, a portion of said plurality of agents respectively selecting one or more of a plurality of items stored within said inventory storage area, wherein each one of said plurality of items is specified in a corresponding customer order; and
multiple ones of said plurality of agents conveying said selected items to one or more corresponding processing areas of the materials handling facility in order to fulfill said corresponding customer orders, wherein during conveying of a particular one of said selected items by a particular one of said agents, said particular agent has physical possession of said particular selected item;
during said conveying of said selected items, said multiple ones of said plurality of agents exchanging at least some of said selected items one or more times among said multiple ones of said plurality of agents prior to said at least some of said selected items being delivered to any processing area by any agent, wherein exchanging said particular selected item comprises transferring physical possession of said particular selected item between at least two of said agents.
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Abstract
A method and system for agent exchange-based materials handling. According to one embodiment, a method of agent exchange-based order fulfillment may include a number of agents moving along respective paths through an inventory storage area of a materials handling facility. While moving through the inventory storage area, a portion of the number of agents may respectively select one or more of a number of items stored within the inventory storage area, where each one of the selected items is specified in a corresponding customer order or materials request. The method may also include conveying the selected items to one or more corresponding processing areas of the materials handling facility in order to fulfill the corresponding customer orders. Further, at least some of the selected items may be exchanged one or more times among the agents in the course of being conveyed to corresponding processing areas.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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a plurality of agents moving along respective paths through an inventory storage area of a materials handling facility; while moving through said inventory storage area, a portion of said plurality of agents respectively selecting one or more of a plurality of items stored within said inventory storage area, wherein each one of said plurality of items is specified in a corresponding customer order; and multiple ones of said plurality of agents conveying said selected items to one or more corresponding processing areas of the materials handling facility in order to fulfill said corresponding customer orders, wherein during conveying of a particular one of said selected items by a particular one of said agents, said particular agent has physical possession of said particular selected item; during said conveying of said selected items, said multiple ones of said plurality of agents exchanging at least some of said selected items one or more times among said multiple ones of said plurality of agents prior to said at least some of said selected items being delivered to any processing area by any agent, wherein exchanging said particular selected item comprises transferring physical possession of said particular selected item between at least two of said agents. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer-accessible storage medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by a computer system to:
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instruct a plurality of agents to move along respective paths through an inventory storage area of a materials handling facility; while said agents are moving through said inventory storage area, instruct a portion of said plurality of agents respectively to select one or more of a plurality of items stored within said inventory storage area, wherein each one of said plurality of items is specified in a corresponding customer order; and instruct said agents to convey said selected items to one or more corresponding processing areas of the materials handling facility in order to fulfill said corresponding customer orders, wherein to instruct a particular one of said agents to convey a particular one of said selected items, the program instructions are further executable to instruct said particular agent to take or maintain physical possession of said particular selected item during conveyance of said particular item by said particular agent; wherein during conveyance of said selected items, the program instructions are further executable to instruct multiple ones of said plurality of agents to exchange at least some of said selected items one or more times among said multiple ones of said plurality of agents prior to said at least some of said selected items being delivered to any processing area by any agent, wherein to instruct at least two of said agents to exchange said particular selected item, the program instructions are further executable to instruct said at least two of said agents to transfer physical possession of said particular selected item between said at least two of said agents. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A system, comprising:
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a system memory; and a processor coupled to said system memory, wherein said processor is configured to execute instructions, and wherein said instructions are configured to; instruct a plurality of agents to move along respective paths through an inventory storage area of a materials handling facility; while said agents are moving through said inventory storage area, instruct a portion of said plurality of agents respectively to select one or more of a plurality of items stored within said inventory storage area, wherein each one of said plurality of items is specified in a corresponding customer order; and instruct said agents to convey said selected items to one or more corresponding processing areas of the materials handling facility in order to fulfill said corresponding customer orders, wherein to instruct a particular one of said agents to convey a particular one of said selected items, the instructions are further configured to; select a particular path to a particular processing area for said particular selected item from a set of paths comprising a shorter-latency path and a longer-latency path, wherein the particular path is selected dependent upon a deadline by which the particular selected item is to arrive at the particular processing area, and wherein the shorter-latency path specifies fewer exchanges of said particular item among agents than the longer-latency path; and instruct said particular agent to take or maintain physical possession of said particular selected item during conveyance of said particular item by said particular agent; wherein during conveyance of said selected items, the instructions are further configured to instruct multiple ones of said plurality of agents to exchange at least some of said selected items one or more times among said multiple ones of said plurality of agents prior to said at least some of said selected items being delivered to any processing area by any agent, wherein to instruct at least two of said agents to exchange said particular selected item, the instructions are further configured to instruct said at least two of said agents to transfer physical possession of said particular selected item between said at least two of said agents. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification