INVENTORY STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH GUIDANCE FOR LOAD-HANDLING VEHICLE

• US 20080264888A1
• Filed: 02/28/2008
• Published: 10/30/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mi-Jack Products Incorporated (Lanco International, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Mi-Jack Products Incorporated (Lanco International, Inc.)
• Inventors: Schmidt, Harvey E., Zakula, Daniel Brian
• Granted Patent: US 7,690,520 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 212/276
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/46 Position indicators for suspended loads or for crane elements
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 13/48 Automatic control of crane drives for producing a single or repeated working cycle; Programme control
• CPC Class Codes: B66C 19/007 for containers
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/063 Automatically guided
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/0655 with a telescopic boom
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

An inventory storage and retrieval system and method are provided for a shipping or storage facility. In an embodiment, the system includes: (a) a mobile computer and radio on a load-handing vehicle; (b) sensors on the vehicle to determine the ground location and orientation of the vehicle; (c) encoders that determine the position of a lifting mechanism relative to a chassis of the vehicle; and (d) a base computer and radio that communicates with the vehicle. The system maintains an inventory database of items and their respective storage locations in three dimensions as a result of the loading activity of the vehicle. The data can be used to guide the vehicle for ground movement generally to a storage location, appropriately orient the vehicle, and then to move the lifting mechanism of the vehicle to deposit or retrieve the item at a particular storage location.

Claims

1. A storage and retrieval system for a load-handling vehicle that is maneuverable on the ground, the load-handling vehicle including a chassis supported on the ground and a lifting device that is mounted for movement with respect to the chassis, the lifting device operable to selectively latch and unlatch from an item, the system comprising:

a mobile computer carried on the load-handling vehicle;

a mobile transceiver operable with the mobile computer;

multiple sensors mounted to the vehicle to determine the ground position and orientation of the chassis of the vehicle with respect to the three-dimensional coordinates, the sensors communicating with the mobile computer; and

at least one encoder that measures a position of the lifting mechanism relative to the chassis of the vehicle, the encoder communicating with the mobile computer; and

a base computer located at a base station, the base computer communicating with a database, the base computer maintaining an inventory database containing identification and storage location information for a plurality of items;

a base transceiver operable with the base computer to facilitate two-way radio communication between the base computer and the mobile computer;

wherein the base computer applies determines a location of the lifting device relative to the three dimensional set of coordinates by adjusting said ground position and orientation of the vehicle communications by the position of the lifting device relative to the chassis according to the encoder, and

wherein the base computer updates the database to store a three-dimensional storage position corresponding to the item, wherein the storage position is set at the three-dimensional position of the lifting device at a moment when the lifting device is unlatched from the item.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the sensors is a GPS receiver.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein a second one of the sensors is a second GPS receiver.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the sensors is a directional transducer.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a guidance indicator to display information that reflects the location of the vehicle with respect to a desired vehicle location.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising a guidance indicator to display information that reflects the location of the lifting mechanism with respect to a storage location.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a guidance actuator operable to automatically maneuver the vehicle.