Automated inventory management

• US 9,129,250 B1
• Filed: 09/25/2013
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mansfield, Peter K., Wurman, Peter R., Graybill, Jules Cook, Curlander, James Christopher, Sestini, Jill Kathleen, Lecky, Ned
• Primary Examiner(s): CUMBESS, YOLANDA RENEE
• Application Number:
  US14/036,376
• Time in Patent Office: 713 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Some examples include using an inventory tracking device to track the addition of inventory items to an inventory holder of an inventory system or removal of inventory items from the inventory holder. The inventory holder may include one or more trays to store one or more inventory items, with each tray including one or more bins that may be defined by dividers on the tray. The inventory tracking device may use inventory holder configuration data that identifies locations of the bins to determine that the inventory item was added to or removed from a particular bin of the inventory holder.

Claims

1. An inventory system comprising:

a plurality of inventory holders comprising at least a first inventory holder and a second inventory holder, wherein the first inventory holder and the second inventory holder include one or more bins to store one or more inventory items;

a plurality of mobile drive units that are remotely controllable to transport the plurality of inventory holders;

an inventory tracking device, wherein the inventory tracking device is separate from the plurality of inventory holders and is configured to;

determine, free from input from an operator, configuration data for the first inventory holder, wherein the configuration data comprises a location of individual bins in the first inventory holder;

determine that a first inventory item has been added to a particular location on the first inventory holder;

determine, based on the configuration data for the first inventory holder, a first bin identifier that is associated with the particular location on the inventory holder;

determine, free from input from an operator, configuration data for the second inventory holder, wherein the first inventory holder is separate from the second inventory holder, and wherein the configuration data comprises a location of individual bins in the second inventory holder;

determine that a second inventory item has been added to a particular location on the second inventory holder;

determine, based on the configuration data for the second inventory holder, a second bin identifier that is associated with the particular location on the second inventory holder; and

store inventory location data that associates the first inventory item with the first bin identifier and the second inventory item with the second bin identifier.

2. The inventory system as recited in claim 1, wherein the inventory tracking device is further configured to determine that the first inventory item has been added to the particular location on the first inventory holder by detecting movement of the operator at the particular location.

3. The inventory system as recited in claim 1, wherein the inventory tracking device includes a position sensing device that is configured to determine that the first inventory item has been added to the first inventory holder.

4. The inventory system as recited in claim 3, wherein the position sensing device determines that the first inventory item has been added to the first inventory holder in response to the operator selecting a button or other control on the position sensing device while at the particular location on the first inventory holder.

5. The inventory system as recited in claim 1, wherein the inventory tracking device is further configured to verify that the configuration data for the first inventory holder is correct.

6. A method comprising:

under control of one or more processors of an electronic device specifically configured with executable instructions,

determining, free from input from an operator and by an inventory tracking device which is separate from at least a first inventory holder and a second inventory holder, configuration data for the first inventory holder, wherein the configuration data comprises a location of one or more bins in the first inventory holder;

determining, at least in part by the inventory tracking device, that a first inventory item has been added to a particular location on the first inventory holder or removed from the particular location on the first inventory holder;

determining, based on the configuration data for the first inventory holder, a first bin identifier that is associated with the particular location on the first inventory holder;

determining, free from input from the operator and by the inventory tracking device, configuration data for the second inventory holder, wherein the first inventory holder is separate from the second inventory holder, and wherein the configuration data comprises a location of one or more bins in the second inventory holder;

determining, at least in part by the inventory tracking device, that a second inventory item has been added to a particular location on the second inventory holder or removed from the particular location on the second inventory holder;

determining, based on the configuration data for the second inventory holder, a second bin identifier that is associated with the particular location on the second inventory holder; and

storing inventory location data that associates the first inventory item with the first bin identifier and the second inventory item with the second bin identifier.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the inventory tracking device includes an imaging device that monitors the first inventory holder to update the inventory location data in response to a third inventory item being added to the first inventory holder or removed from the first inventory holder.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the imaging device determines that the third inventory item has been added to the first inventory holder or removed from the first inventory holder by comparing a first image of the first inventory holder prior to an addition or a removal of the third inventory item to a second image of the first inventory holder after the addition or the removal of the third inventory item.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the first inventory holder is coupled to a mobile drive unit and is located at an inventory station of an inventory system.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the first inventory item is transferred from a stationary inventory holder at the inventory station to the first inventory holder coupled to the mobile drive unit, and wherein the method further includes:

identifying, via a barcode scanner located at the inventory station, the first inventory item, wherein the barcode scanner is separate from the inventory tracking device.

11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the mobile drive unit moves the first inventory holder to a storage location of the inventory system after the first inventory item has been added to the first inventory holder at the inventory station or removed from the first inventory holder at the inventory station.

12. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the first inventory item is added to the particular location on the first inventory holder as part of a user-directed replenishment operation.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the operator scans a visual identifier on the first inventory item prior to adding the first inventory item to the first inventory holder.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein the first inventory holder does not include a scannable barcode at the particular location.

15. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein a management module of an inventory system directs a mobile drive unit to retrieve the first inventory holder from a storage location of the inventory system.

16. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the inventory tracking device is configured to identify one or more gestures of the operator that are associated with the first inventory item being added to the first inventory holder or removed from the first inventory holder.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein:

the inventory tracking device includes an imaging device that compares a first image to a second image to identify a gesture of the operator and a location of the gesture with respect to the first inventory holder; and

the particular location on the first inventory holder is determined based at least in part on the location of the gesture with respect to the first inventory holder.

18. One or more computer-readable media maintaining instructions executable by one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

determining, using an imaging device separate from a first inventory holder of an inventory system, a configuration of the first inventory holder, wherein the configuration comprises;

one or more trays to store one or more inventory items included on the first inventory holder, each tray of the one or more trays including one or more bins; and

one or more dividers associated with each tray of the one or more trays, the one or more bins associated with each tray defined by the one or more dividers;

determining, using an imaging device separate from a second inventory holder of the inventory system, a configuration of the second inventory holder, wherein the first inventory holder is separate from the second inventory holder, and wherein the configuration comprises;

one or more trays to store one or more inventory items included on the second inventory holder, each tray of the one or more trays including one or more bins; and

one or more dividers associated with each tray of the one or more trays, the one or more bins associated with each tray defined by the one or more dividers;

storing the configuration of the first inventory holder as first inventory holder configuration data, wherein the first inventory holder configuration data identifies a location of each bin in the first inventory holder and a bin identifier associated with each bin in the first inventory holder, and

storing the configuration of the second inventory holder as second inventory holder configuration data, wherein the second inventory holder configuration data identifies a location of each bin in the second inventory holder and a bin identifier associated with each bin in the second inventory holder.

19. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 18, the operations further comprising:

determining that a first inventory item has been added to a particular location on the first inventory holder or removed from the particular location on the first inventory holder; and

determining, based on the first inventory holder configuration data and free from an input from an operator, that the first inventory item has been added to or removed from a particular bin that is associated with the particular location on the first inventory holder.

20. The one or more computer-readable media as recited in claim 18, the operations further comprising verifying, using the imaging device, the configuration of the first inventory holder.