Material handling apparatus for delivering or retrieving items

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10052661-B2
Application number	US-201715618744-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2017
Priority date	Jan 12, 2007
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for sorting or retrieving items to/from a plurality of destinations areas. The items are loaded onto one of a plurality of independently controlled delivery vehicles. The delivery vehicles follow a track that guides the delivery vehicles to/from the destination areas, which are positioned along the track. Once at the appropriate destination area, an item is transferred between the delivery vehicle and the destination area.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A material handling system, comprising:
a plurality of destination areas;
a plurality of delivery vehicles for delivering items, wherein each vehicle comprises:
a plurality of rotatable drive elements;
a motor operable to drive the drive elements; and
a sensor operable to detect rotation of the motor;

a track for guiding the delivery vehicles vertically and horizontally, wherein the destination areas are positioned along the track so that items can be transferred between the delivery vehicles and the destination areas, wherein during operation, one or more of the delivery vehicles are located on the track;
a traffic controller for controlling the operation of the vehicles as the vehicles deliver items to the bins, wherein the traffic controller receives signals from each vehicle indicative of the rotation detected by the sensor for the respective vehicle and wherein the traffic controller monitors the vehicles based on the received signals from the sensors and calculates a safe distance for each vehicle and communicates the safe distance to the vehicles, wherein the safe distance for a vehicle corresponds to the amount that the motor can advance without interfering with another vehicle on the track;
wherein the delivery vehicles receive the safe distance signals from the traffic controller and advance along the track an amount corresponding to the safe distance; and
wherein the traffic controller iteratively calculates safe distances for each vehicle as the vehicles move along the track and the vehicles advance along the track no further than a distance correlating to the safe distance until receiving a subsequent safe distance signal from the traffic controller.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein a rotation of the motor of each of the vehicles includes a plurality of equal length segments and the sensor detects the number of segments as the motor rotates.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the safe distance corresponds to the number of segments that the motor can rotate.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the sensor is a Hall effect sensor.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein each vehicle comprises a transfer mechanism for transferring an item between the delivery vehicle and one of the destination areas.

6. The system of claim 2 wherein the traffic controller calculates a travel route for each vehicle and each vehicle moves along the route.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the safe distance for a respective one of the vehicles is the number of segments that the motor rotates to drive the vehicle a distance along the route for the respective vehicle.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein each vehicle comprises a wireless receiver for receiving the safe distance signals wirelessly from the traffic controller.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the vehicles continuously communicate a signal indicative of the rotation of their motors wirelessly with the traffic controller.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the track comprises a plurality of gates for directing the vehicles from a vertical path to a horizontal or from a horizontal path to a vertical path.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the traffic controller also bases the safe distance calculation for a respective vehicle based on the distance between the respective vehicle and an intersection that the vehicle is directed toward.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the traffic controller also bases the safe distance calculation on a characteristic of the track on which the respective vehicle is to travel.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the characteristic of the tracks include one or more of horizontal, upward or downward.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the track comprises a plurality of columns and adjacent columns share a portion of the track, wherein the traffic controller calculates the safe distance for a vehicle in one column based on the position of a different car in an adjacent column.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the vehicles comprise drive elements having a plurality of teeth that mesh with teeth in the track.

16. A method system for transferring items between delivery vehicles and a plurality of destination areas positioned along a track having horizontal and vertical sections, comprising the steps of:
calculating a route for the one of the vehicles to travel along the track to one of the destination areas;
driving the one vehicle along the route to the one destination area, wherein the step of driving the one vehicle comprises the steps of:
monitoring the vehicles on the track;
determining a safe distance for the one vehicle based on the positions of the vehicles on the track, wherein the safe distance is the amount that a motor of the one vehicle can rotate to drive the one vehicle along the calculated route without interfering with another vehicle on the track;
communicating the safe distance with the vehicle;
rotating the motor of the vehicle the safe distance to advance the vehicle along the route no further than a distance corresponding to the safe distance; and
as the vehicles move along the track, iteratively performing the steps of determining the safe distance, communicating the safe distance, and rotating the motor of the vehicle to advance the vehicle; and

transferring an item between the one vehicle and the one destination area.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein a rotation of the motor of each of the vehicles includes a plurality of equal length segments and the step of monitoring comprises detecting the number of segments as the motor rotates.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the safe distance corresponds to the number of segments that the motor can rotate.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of monitoring comprises detecting the number of segments of rotation using a Hall effect sensor.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the one vehicle comprises an onboard transfer mechanism and the step of transferring an item comprises using the onboard transfer mechanism.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of communicating the safe distance comprises wirelessly sending a signal to the one vehicle.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of monitoring comprises the step of continuously communicating a signal from the one vehicle indicative of the amount of rotation of the motor of the one vehicle.

23. The method of claim 16 comprising the step of manipulating a gate to change the direction of travel of the vehicle along the calculated route.

24. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of calculating a safe distance is also based on the distance between the one vehicle and an intersection that the vehicle is directed toward.

25. The method of claim 16 wherein the track comprises a plurality of columns and adjacent columns share a portion of the track, wherein the step of calculating a safe distance comprises calculating the safe distance for the one vehicle in one column based on the position of a different vehicle in an adjacent column.

26. A vehicle operable in a material handling system having a plurality of destination areas, a track for guiding the delivery vehicle vertically and horizontally to the destination areas and a traffic controller for controlling the operation of a plurality of the vehicles to prevent collisions between the vehicles, wherein the vehicle comprises:
a plurality of rotatable drive elements;
a motor operable to drive the

Assignees

• Opex Corp

Inventors

• Hayduchok George
• Dewitt Robert R

Classifications

• B07C7/005

  Computer assisted manual sorting, e.g. for mail · CPC title

• B61C11/04

  tractive effort applied to racks · CPC title

• B65G1/065

  with self propelled cars · CPC title

• B07C3/087 Primary

  the objects being taken up in transport files or holders which are not part of the conveyor belts (cable post B65G) · CPC title

• B65G1/04

  mechanical · CPC title