MODULAR MATERIAL HANDLING SYSTEM FOR ORDER FULFILLMENT

• US 20150073587A1
• Filed: 11/17/2014
• Published: 03/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: VLIET, KEVIN R., KISER, WAYNE A., HOLLAND, MICHAEL A., BATTLES, JONATHAN S.
• Granted Patent: US 9,428,295 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/216
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/00 Packaging individual articles in containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars
• CPC Class Codes: B65C 2009/401 for detecting the height of articles to be labelled
• CPC Class Codes: B65C 9/40 Controls; Safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1378 the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287
• 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

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for material handling in an order fulfillment center. An order fulfillment system may include inventory storage, a processing area, and a control system. The inventory storage may in some instances include two storage areas, and in some cases the processing area may be disposed between the two storage areas. The processing area may include a router module that is configured to receive inventory items that have been picked from the inventory storage. Inventory items may be received by the router module via conveyance receptacles (e.g., totes, bins) that are conveyed using a conveyor mechanism. The processing area may also include a plurality of processing modules that may be configured to receive inventory items from the router module. In some instances, the processing modules may receive the inventory items via conveyance receptacles that are conveyed using the conveyor mechanism.

Claims

1. An order fulfillment system, comprising:

inventory storage, comprising two storage areas;

a processing area disposed between the two storage areas, the processing area including;

a router module configured to receive inventory items from the inventory storage via conveyance receptacles, wherein the conveyance receptacles are transported using a conveyor mechanism, and wherein the conveyance receptacles are not fixed to the conveyor mechanism;

a plurality of processing modules configured to receive the inventory items from the router module via the conveyor receptacles, and to package the inventory items; and

a shipping module configured to receive the packaged inventory items from ones of the plurality of processing modules; and

a control system operable to;

in response to a received customer order, cause a particular inventory item to be picked from the inventory storage and to be routed, via the conveyor receptacles, to the router module of the processing area; and

cause the router module to route the particular inventory item to a selected particular processing module to be packaged, wherein the particular processing module is selected based at least in part on the received customer order.

2. The order fulfillment system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of processing modules includes:

one or more of a first type of processing module; and

one or more of a second type of processing module that is different from the first type of processing module;

wherein the one or more first type of processing modules and the one or more second type of processing modules are each coupled to the router module via a first type of interface and to the shipping module via a second type of interface.

3. The order fulfillment system of claim 2, wherein the control system is further operable to cause the router module to route the particular inventory item to the multi-item fulfillment module based at least in part on the particular inventory item corresponding to a customer order that includes the particular inventory item and at least one other inventory item.

4. The order fulfillment system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of processing modules includes an auto-boxing module configured to automatically assemble packaging for a particular inventory item conforming to an auto-boxing size constraint.

5. The order fulfillment system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of processing modules includes a gift-wrapping module configured to package an item corresponding to a customer order that indicates a gift.

6. The order fulfillment system of claim 6, further comprising two inventory receiving areas, and wherein the processing area is further disposed between the two inventory receiving areas.

7. The order fulfillment system of claim 6,

wherein each of the two storage areas is configured to receive items from one or more of the two inventory receiving areas via the conveyor receptacles;

and

wherein the control system is further operable to route items from the two inventory receiving areas to the two storage areas

8. The order fulfillment system of claim 8, wherein the control system is further operable to route empty conveyor receptacles to the inventory receiving areas, via the conveyor mechanism, from one or more of:

the inventory storage; and

the processing area.

9. A computing system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

memory, coupled to the one or more processors, having instructions stored thereon that in response to execution by the system cause the system to perform operations comprising;

causing an inventory item received at an inventory receiving area of a fulfillment center to be routed to a storage area of the fulfillment center;

causing the inventory item to be stored at the storage area;

in response to a particular received order, causing the inventory item to be picked from the storage area and routed to a router module of a processing area of the fulfillment center; and

causing the router module to route the inventory item to a selected particular processing module to be packaged, wherein the particular processing module is selected from a plurality of processing modules at the fulfillment center based at least in part on the particular received order.

10. The computing system of claim 9, wherein the routing to the storage area, the routing to the router module, and the routing to the selected particular packaging module are each performed using conveyance receptacles that are transported using a conveyer mechanism.

11. The computing system of claim 10, wherein the routing the inventory item to the selected particular processing module includes using a first conveyance receptacle that transports the inventory item along with other items corresponding to other received orders;

12. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise causing the particular processing module to:

remove the inventory item and the other items corresponding to the other received orders from the first conveyance receptacle;

place the inventory item in a second conveyance receptacle that corresponds to the particular received order; and

place the other items corresponding to the other received orders in one or more other conveyance receptacles that each correspond to a single order.

13. The computing system of claim 12, wherein the operations further comprise causing the particular processing module to:

place one or more additional items corresponding to the particular received order in the second conveyance receptacle.

14. The computing system of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving an cross-shipped inventory item from a different fulfillment center;

causing, based at least in part on the particular received order, the cross-shipped inventory item to be transported to the particular processing module.

15. The computing system of claim 9, wherein the causing the inventory item to be routed to the storage area includes causing the inventory item to be routed to a particular storage area that is proximate to a first side of the processing area of the fulfillment center, wherein the fulfillment center includes another storage area that is proximate to a second side of the processing area of the fulfillment center, and wherein the second side is different from the first side.

16. A method, comprising:

transporting an inventory item from an inventory receiving area of a fulfillment center to a storage area of the fulfillment center;

storing the inventory item at the storage area;

picking the inventory item from the storage area, wherein the picking is performed by a computer system in response to a particular received order; and

routing, using the computer system, the inventory item to a selected particular processing module to be packaged, wherein the particular processing module is selected from a plurality of processing modules at the fulfillment center based at least in part on the particular received order.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the transporting the inventory item from the inventory receiving area includes transporting the inventory item using an automated guided vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the routing the inventory item to the selected particular processing module includes routing for transport via an automated guided vehicle.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the transporting the inventory item from the inventory receiving area and the routing the inventory item to the selected particular processing module are performed using conveyance receptacles that are transported using a conveyer mechanism.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

reconfiguring at least one of the plurality of processing modules from a first type of processing module to a second type of processing module.

21-22. -22. (canceled)