Methods and apparatus for using a moveable sort wall to facilitate assembly of product orders

US11276026B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• 6 River Systems, LLC · US

Inventors

• Jerome Dubois · Waltham, US
• Christopher Cacioppo · Somerville, US
• Tim Higgins · Somerville, US
• Tucker Kelman Moffat · Stoneham, US
• Paul Forster Lyon · Merrimac, US
• Alexander Thieme · Upton, US
• Ellen Gilfillan Hawkes · Weston, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 2, 2019
• Grant date: Mar 15, 2022
• Expiry date: Jun 4, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/0875
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for efficiently fulfilling product orders corresponding to different customers are described. An order processing system receives product orders from customers and efficiently groups multiple orders into sets of orders. A set of orders is assigned to a mobile sort wall, and a group of robotic carts is assigned to be used to collect products. The products corresponding to a set of orders are picked from racks and collected in the robotic carts. The mobile sort wall includes a plurality of different placement locations, e.g. bins. Each placement location is associated with one of the customer orders in the set of customer orders assigned to the mobile sort wall. A sorting kiosk including a scanner identifies a collected product, identifies a placement location, and the product is placed on the mobile sort wall. A loaded mobile sort wall is moved to a packaging area.