Bot position sensing

• US 9,309,050 B2
• Filed: 04/13/2015
• Issued: 04/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Symbotic, Llc
• Original Assignee: Symbotic, Llc
• Inventors: Toebes, Stephen C., Sullivan, Robert, Cyrulik, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Alharbi, Adam
• Application Number:
  US14/684,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20150239666A1
• Time in Patent Office: 365 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0492 with cars adapted to travel in storage aisles
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0272 comprising means for registering the travel distance, e.g. revolutions of wheels measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, e.g. using odometers G01C22/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/69 Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles

Abstract

A storage and retrieval system including a storage structure having storage shelves, each storage shelf having slats for supporting stored items where the slats are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, an autonomous transport vehicle including at least one sensor configured to sense each of the slats and output a signal indicating when a slat is sensed, and a controller for verifying a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within the storage structure based on at least the output signal.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

providing at least one vertical lift having at least one shelf having support fingers;

providing reference datums on at least one wall adjacent the multilevel vertical conveyor, the reference datums being substantially aligned with the support fingers;

sensing each of the reference datums with at least one sensor of an autonomous transport vehicle and outputting a signal indicating when a reference datum is sensed;

aligning transfer arm fingers of a transfer arm of the autonomous transport vehicle with spaces located between the support fingers of the at least one shelf based on the determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle for extending the transfer arm fingers into a path of the shelf without substantial contact with the supporting fingers;

determining, with a controller, a location of the autonomous transport vehicle relative to the support fingers based on the output signal from the at least one sensor; and

verifying a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within a storage structure of a storage and retrieval system based on at least the output signal from the at least one sensor, and comprising comparing a location of the autonomous transport vehicle at a time a reference datum is sensed with a predetermined location of the reference datum and updating a verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle if the locations substantially coincide.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one shelf includes at least two item holding locations, the method further comprising aligning the transfer arm of the autonomous transport vehicle with one of the at least two item holding locations based on the output signal from the at least one sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising ignoring the output signal from the at least one sensor where the locations do not substantially coincide.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising continually updating an estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle based on a last known verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

5. A storage and retrieval system comprising:

at least one vertical lift having at least one shelf having support fingers;

at least one wall adjacent the at least one vertical lift, the wall including reference datums substantially aligned with the support fingers;

an autonomous transport vehicle including at least one sensor configured to sense each of the reference datums and output a signal indicating when a reference datum is sensed and wherein the autonomous transport vehicle includes a transfer arm having transfer arm fingers, the autonomous transport vehicle is configured to align the transfer arm fingers with spaces located between the support fingers of the at least one shelf based on the determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle for extending the transfer arm fingers into a path of the shelf without substantial contact with the supporting fingers;

a controller configured to determine a location of the autonomous transport vehicle relative to the support fingers based on the output signal from the at least one sensor; and

wherein the controller is further configured to verify a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within a structure of the storage and retrieval system based on at least the output signal, and configured to compare a location of the autonomous transport vehicle at a time the reference datum is sensed with a predetermined location of the reference datum and update a verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle if the locations substantially coincide.

6. The storage and retrieval system of claim 5, wherein the at least one shelf includes at least two item holding locations and the autonomous transport vehicle includes a transfer arm, the autonomous transport vehicle being configured to align the transfer arm with one of the at least two item holding locations based on the output signal from the at least one sensor.

7. The storage and retrieval system of claim 5, wherein the controller is further configured to ignore the output signal of the at least one sensor where the locations do not substantially coincide.

8. The storage and retrieval system of claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to continuously update an estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle based on a last known verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

9. The storage and retrieval system of claim 8, wherein the autonomous transport vehicle includes at least one wheel encoder and the controller is further configured to obtain wheel encoder information for updating the estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

10. A storage and retrieval system comprising:

at least one multilevel vertical conveyor having at least one shelf having support fingers;

at least one wall adjacent the at least one multilevel vertical conveyor, the wall including reference datums substantially aligned with the support fingers;

an autonomous transport vehicle including at least one sensor configured to sense each of the reference datums and output a signal indicating when a reference datum is sensed and wherein the autonomous transport vehicle includes a transfer arm having transfer arm fingers, the autonomous transport vehicle is configured to align the transfer arm fingers with spaces located between the support fingers of the at least one shelf based on the determined location of the autonomous transport vehicle for extending the transfer arm fingers into a path of the shelf without substantial contact with the supporting fingers

a controller configured to determine a location of the autonomous transport vehicle relative to the support fingers based on the output signal from the at least one sensor; and

wherein the controller is further configured to verify a location of the autonomous transport vehicle within a structure of the storage and retrieval system based on at least the output signal, and configured to compare a location of the autonomous transport vehicle at a time the reference datum is sensed with a predetermined location of the reference datum and update a verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle if the locations substantially coincide.

11. The storage and retrieval system of claim 10, wherein the at least one shelf includes at least two item holding locations and the autonomous transport vehicle includes a transfer arm, the autonomous transport vehicle being configured to align the transfer arm with one of the at least two item holding locations based on the output signal from the at least one sensor.

12. The storage and retrieval system of claim 10, wherein the controller is further configured to ignore the output signal of the at least one sensor where the locations do not substantially coincide.

13. The storage and retrieval system of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to continuously update an estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle based on a last known verified location of the autonomous transport vehicle.

14. The storage and retrieval system of claim 13, wherein the autonomous transport vehicle includes at least one wheel encoder and the controller is further configured to obtain wheel encoder information for updating the estimated location of the autonomous transport vehicle.