Managing inventory items via overhead drive units

• US 9,714,139 B1
• Filed: 09/15/2016
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Aggarwal, Aayush
• Primary Examiner(s): Randazzo, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US15/267,063
• Time in Patent Office: 313 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0464 with access from above
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/137 with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1371 with data records
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1373 for fulfilling orders in warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1375 the orders being assembled on a commissioning stacker-crane or truck
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/16 Special arrangements of articles in storage spaces
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/102 specially adapted for vertical take-off of aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

The disclosed inventory system and methods can be used to improve storage time for storing less frequency accessed inventory items. Specifically, a mobile drive unit may be selected from a plurality of mobile drive units to store an inventory item by obtaining storage densities of available storage locations and selecting a storage location for an inventory item based on the projected frequency of access of the inventory item. An overhead drive unit may be selected over a ground drive unit to store less-frequently accessed inventory items in densely-packed storage areas. Inventory holders may be selected based on projected frequency of access of other inventory items stored therein.

Claims

1. An inventory management system to manage a plurality of inventory items, comprising:

a plurality of inventory holders, each of the plurality of inventory holders configured to receive a subset of the plurality of inventory items;

a plurality of mobile drive units to move the inventory holders, the plurality of mobile drive units comprising a ground drive unit and an overhead drive unit;

a management module, comprising;

a memory that stores computer-executable instructions; and

a processor configured to access the memory and execute the computer-executable instructions to at least;

receive a storage request to store an inventory item of the plurality of inventory items;

access information about a frequency of access associated with the inventory item, the frequency of access representing a projected frequency that the inventory item will be accessed;

access a storage density indicator associated with each inventory holder of the plurality of inventory holders, the storage density indicator for each inventory holder representing a density of the inventory holders in a vicinity of the respective inventory holder;

select an inventory holder for the inventory item based in part on the storage density indicators of the plurality of inventory holders and the information about the frequency of access associated with the inventory item; and

instruct a mobile drive unit to store the inventory item in the selected inventory holder at the storage location.

2. The inventory management system of claim 1, wherein instructing the mobile drive unit to store the inventory item comprises instructing the overhead drive unit to store the inventory item in the inventory holder at the storage location.

3. The inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the selected inventory holder comprises a top portion and a bottom portion, and wherein instructing the mobile drive unit to store the inventory item comprises instructing the overhead drive unit to move the top portion of the inventory holder containing the inventory item to the storage location and to connect the top portion with a bottom portion of the inventory holder at the storage location.

4. The inventory management system of claim 1, wherein accessing the storage density indicator comprises determining a value associated with a difficulty of access to each inventory holder of the plurality of inventory holders by the ground drive unit.

5. The inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the overhead drive unit comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

6. The inventory management system of claim 1, wherein the overhead drive unit comprises an overhead crane.

7. The inventory management system of claim 1, wherein instructing the mobile drive unit comprises selecting the mobile drive unit from the plurality of mobile drive units based at least in part on the storage density indicator.

8. The inventory management system of claim 7, wherein selecting the mobile drive unit comprises selecting the overhead drive unit if the storage density indicator indicates a high density of the inventory holders in the vicinity of the storage location and selecting the ground drive unit if the storage density indicator indicates a low density of the inventory holders around the storage location.

9. The inventory management system of claim 7, wherein selecting the mobile drive unit comprises determining whether the storage density indicator exceeds a threshold value.

10. A method for storing an inventory item, comprising:

identifying a popularity of an inventory item;

determining a storage location for the inventory item, the storage location being characterized by a difficulty of access to the storage location by the ground drive unit;

accessing information about an inventory holder having a first portion comprising a top of the inventory holder and a second portion comprising a bottom of the inventory holder;

when the determined storage location exceeds a threshold for difficulty of access, selecting the first portion of the inventory holder for storage of the inventory item based at least in part on the popularity of the inventory item; and

storing, at the determined storage location, by a mobile drive unit, the inventory holder containing the inventory item in the first portion.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein storing the inventory holder comprises moving the first portion comprising the top the inventory holder to the storage location and connecting the first portion with the second portion comprising the bottom of the inventory holder at the storage location.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

selecting the first portion of the inventory holder for storage of the inventory item based in part a frequency of access of one or more other inventory items stored in the first portion of the inventory holder.

13. A computer-implemented method for storing an inventory item, comprising:

receiving instructions to store a first inventory item;

selecting an inventory holder for receiving the first inventory item based on a first frequency of access associated with the first inventory item and a second frequency of access associated a second inventory item stored at the storage location, wherein the first frequency of access is related to the projected frequency with which the first inventory item will be retrieved and the second frequency of access is related to the projected frequency with which the second inventory item will be retrieved;

selecting a storage location for storing the inventory holder containing the first inventory item based at least in part on the frequency of access associated with the first inventory item and on an estimated difficulty of accessing the storage location;

selecting a mobile drive unit from a plurality of mobile drive units to store at least one portion of the inventory holder at the storage location, the plurality of mobile drive units comprising ground drive units and overhead drive units, wherein selecting the mobile drive unit comprises selecting an overhead drive unit to lift the at least one portion of the inventory holder from above and place the at least one portion of the inventory holder at the storage location, or selecting a ground based drive unit to lift the at least one portion of the inventory holder from below and move the at least one portion of the inventory holder of the storage location, the selecting based at least in part on an estimated difficulty of accessing the storage location by the ground drive unit; and

instructing the selected mobile drive unit to store the at least one portion of the inventory holder, including the first inventory item, at the storage location.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the estimated difficulty of access to the storage location is based at least in part on a storage density near the storage location, the storage density being indicative of a density of inventory holders in the vicinity of the storage location.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein selecting the mobile drive unit is based at least in part on a desired position of the inventory item within the inventory holder, such that an overhead drive unit is selected where the desired position of the inventory item comprises a top portion of the inventor holder, and such that a ground drive unit is selected where the desired position of the inventory item is a bottom portion of the inventory holder.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein selecting the mobile drive unit is based at least in part on a weight of the at least one portion of the inventory holder, such that a ground drive unit is selected if the weight of the at least one portion of the inventory holder exceeds a capacity of the overhead drive unit.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein instructing the mobile drive unit to store the at least one portion of the inventory holder comprises instructing the overhead drive unit to retrieve the at least one portion of the inventory holder from an initial location that is different from the storage location, and instructing the mobile drive unit to store the at least one portion of the inventory holder by the ground drive unit at the storage location.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the at least one portion is a top portion of the inventory holder;

and selecting the mobile drive unit comprises selecting an overhead drive unit based at least in part on the one portion being the top portion.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the estimated difficulty of access is based on an estimated time for storing or retrieving the at least one portion of the inventory holder at the storage location by the ground drive unit.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising:

selecting a top portion of the inventory holder or a bottom portion of the inventory holder for receiving the inventory item based in part on the first frequency of access associated with the inventory item, and selecting the top portion of the inventory holder if the first frequency of access exceeds a threshold value.