Autonomous shuffling of pallets of items in a warehouse
US9984339B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 23, 2016 |
| Grant date | May 29, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 30, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q10/087
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Examples described may enable rearrangement of pallets of items in a warehouse to an optimal layout. An example method includes receiving real-time item information including pallet locations in a warehouse and real-time inventory of items arranged on the pallets; determining a likelihood of demand for future access to the pallets based on a pallet relocation history and item receiving/shipment expectations; based on the real-time item information and the likelihood of demand, determining an optimal controlled-access dense grid layout in which distances of the pallets from a center of the layout are related to the likelihood of demand; receiving real-time robotics information and using the real-time robotics information to determine an amount of time to rearrange the pallets to the optimal layout; and, based on the amount of time to rearrange the pallets being less than a threshold, causing the robotic devices to rearrange the pallets to the optimal layout.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.