System and method of providing delivery of items from one container to another container in a hybrid environment
US10392190B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 13, 2018 |
| Grant date | Aug 27, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 13, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG05B2219/40202
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method includes operating, at an initial stage, a fully automated warehouse in which robots handle in an automated way the transfer of items from container to container on an automated basis and receiving an indication of a change in needed throughput through the warehouse. When a spike exceeds a completely automated system threshold, the method implements a hybrid operation for the warehouse, such that (1) the movement of drawer swapping robots and low-profile room robots is modified to create a pre-staging operation in preparation for humans to participate in the process, (2) scheduling humans at particular times to take their turn in manually managing the movement of items from source containers to destination containers. The method includes causing a pre-staging event to occur such that source containers and destination containers can be pre-stage and for the characteristics of the worker.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.