Factory inventory system utilizing the natural frequency of a pallet rack

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10068198-B2
Application number	US-201514866048-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2015
Priority date	Sep 25, 2015
Publication date	Sep 4, 2018
Grant date	Sep 4, 2018

Abstract

A controller-implemented method for managing inventory of pallets on a pallet rack is provided. The controller-implemented method may include engaging a plurality of exciters to generate a rack frequency in the pallet rack, receiving the rack frequency at a plurality of corresponding harvesters, detecting variations between the rack frequency generated by the exciters and the rack frequency received by the harvesters, and detecting one or more load characteristics of pallets on the pallet rack based on the variations.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for managing inventory of pallets on a pallet rack, comprising:
engaging, by a controller, a plurality of exciters coupled to a first end of the pallet rack to generate a first rack frequency in the pallet rack;
receiving a second rack frequency at a plurality of corresponding harvesters coupled to a second end of the pallet rack;
sending an electrical signal from the harvesters to the controller corresponding to the second rack frequency;
detecting by the controller, variations between the rack first frequency generated by the exciters and the second rack frequency received by the harvesters; and
detecting by the controller, one or more load characteristics of pallets on the pallet rack based on the variations.

2. The controller-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the exciters are coupled to a first end of the pallet rack and the harvesters are coupled to a second end of the pallet rack.

3. The controller-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the exciters are configured to generate the rack frequency in the form of mechanical vibrations vibrating at a default rack frequency.

4. The controller-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the harvesters are configured to receive the rack frequency and variations thereof caused by placement of one or more pallets on the pallet rack.

5. The controller-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the harvesters are configured to receive the rack frequency, and generate an electrical signal corresponding to the rack frequency.

6. The controller-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the load characteristics include one or more of weight per pallet rack, relative position per pallet rack, count per level of pallet rack, count per pallet rack, and stability of pallets on pallet rack.

7. The controller-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the load characteristics are detected based on predefined relationships between the rack frequency and the load characteristics.

8. The controller-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising comparing the load characteristics with predefined thresholds, and generating notifications if the load characteristics exceed one or more of the predefined thresholds.

9. A system for managing inventory of pallets on a pallet rack, comprising:
one or more exciters coupled to a first end of the pallet rack configured to generate a first rack frequency in the pallet rack;
one or more harvesters coupled to a second end of the pallet rack configured to receive a second rack frequency and generate an electrical signal corresponding to the second rack frequency; and
a controller in electrical communication with the one or more exciters and the one or more harvesters, the controller being configured to:
engage the one or more exciters,
receive the electrical signal from the harvesters,
detect variations between the first rack frequency generated by the exciters and the second rack frequency received by the harvesters, and
detect one or more load characteristics of pallets on the pallet rack based on the variations.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the exciters are configured to generate the rack frequency at a default rack frequency, and the harvesters are configured to receive the rack frequency and variations thereof caused by placement of one or more pallets on the pallet rack.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the load characteristics include one or more of weight per pallet rack, relative position per pallet rack, count per level of pallet rack, count per pallet rack, and stability of pallets on pallet rack.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to detect the load characteristics based on predefined relationships between the rack frequency and the load characteristics.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to compare the load characteristics with predefined thresholds, and generate notifications if the load characteristics exceed one or more of the predefined thresholds.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the exciters, the harvesters, and the controller are adaptable and scalable for different sized pallets and pallet racks.

Assignees

• Caterpillar Inc

Inventors

• Stonecipher Kenneth

Classifications

• G06Q10/087 Primary

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• B65G1/02

  Storage devices (furniture A47B; shop fittings A47F) · CPC title

• G06Q10/0877 Primary

  by inventory control or reporting using inventory tracking or counting · CPC title