Method and dispensing station for distributing articles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11312573-B2
Application number	US-201716470690-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 19, 2017
Priority date	Dec 21, 2016
Publication date	Apr 26, 2022
Grant date	Apr 26, 2022

Abstract

In a method and arrangement for distributing articles, an order management system acquires an order for delivering articles, the articles to be delivered are transferred from an article store and the articles included in an order are order-picked into at least one mobile shelf unit shelf compartment. The mobile shelf unit is subsequently transported to a dispensing station including a first article storage region separated by a first separating wall and a customer access region and is brought into a handover position, in which the at least one shelf compartment is accessible via a closeable opening in the first separating wall. When an article dispensing system receives a request for picking up the articles by a person or a machine associated therewith, it uncovers the closeable opening if authorization exists for picking up the articles. Alternatively a loadings robot can load the articles to be delivered into the machine.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for distributing articles, including the steps of:
receiving by an order management system an order for articles to be delivered to a customer;
transferring the articles of the order from an article store;
order-picking the articles included in the order into at least one shelf compartment of a mobile shelf unit;
transporting the mobile shelf unit to a dispensing station comprising a first article storage region that is separated by a separating wall and a customer access region;
bringing the mobile shelf unit into a handover position in the first article storage region, so that the at least one shelf compartment is accessible via an opening in the separating wall;
providing an article dispensing system configured to:
receive a request to pick up articles from a person, or a machine associated with a person, the request to pick up the articles being received via a user interface or by registration of the machine,
allow access to the opening if said person or said machine is authorized to pick up the articles; or
instruct a loading robot to take articles of the order out of the at least one shelf compartment and load the articles into said machine, if said person, or said machine, is authorized for picking up the articles.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, after the order-picking of the articles into the mobile shelf unit, the mobile shelf unit is transported to the dispensing station by a goods vehicle, and the mobile shelf unit is unloaded from the goods vehicle at the dispensing station.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the mobile shelf unit is moved vertically into the handover position by a lifting device that is arranged in the first article storage region.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the articles located in a shelf compartment are transferred by an ejector through the opening of the separating wall into a cargo space of the machine.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, after order-picking the articles into the mobile shelf unit, taking at least one picked article out of the at least one shelf compartment of the mobile shelf unit by a sorting robot and depositing the at least one picked article in at least one shelf compartment of a second shelf unit.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the second shelf unit is configured to be a mobile shelf unit, wherein the second mobile shelf unit takes the place of the first mobile shelf unit, and is transported to the dispensing station.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein during the step of transporting the mobile shelf unit to the dispensing station, the method further comprises:
transporting the mobile shelf unit into a second article storage region located away from said separating wall via an industrial truck; and
bringing the mobile shelf unit from the second article storage region into the handover position when the article dispensing system receives the request for picking up the articles located in the mobile shelf unit for delivery to the customer.

8. A dispensing station for distributing articles, including:
a first article storage region;
a customer access region;
a mobile shelf unit having shelf compartments;
a first separating wall that separates the first article storage region and the customer access region, the first separating wall comprising at least one opening;
an article dispensing system configured to:
receive a request to pick up the articles by a person, or a machine associated with a person, the request to pick up the articles being received via a user interface or by registration of the machine,
allow access to an opening if said person or said machine is authorized to pick up the articles, or
instruct a loading robot of the dispensing station to transfer articles of an order out of the at least one shelf compartment of the mobile shelf unit, and to load the articles into said machine if said person or said machine is authorized to pick up the articles;

wherein the mobile shelf unit is in a handover position when at least one shelf compartment of the mobile shelf unit is accessible via the at least one opening in the first separating wall.

9. The dispensing station according to claim 8 , wherein:
the machine for picking up articles is an aerial drone, and the dispensing station comprises a landing site for the aerial drone, wherein the loading robot is configured to load the aerial drone; and/or
the machine for picking up articles is an autonomous, movable vehicle, and the dispensing station comprises a parking site for the vehicle, wherein the loading robot is configured to load the vehicle at the parking site.

10. The dispensing station according to claim 8 , wherein the mobile shelf unit comprises at a rear side a shelf compartment end wall and the at least one shelf compartment is arranged adjacent to the shelf compartment end wall and is accessible only from one side of the mobile shelf unit.

11. The dispensing station according to claim 8 , wherein the mobile shelf unit comprises a central shelf compartment separating wall, and at least one shelf compartment is disposed at both sides of the shelf compartment separating wall, wherein each shelf compartment that is disposed on one side of the shelf compartment separating wall is accessible from only one side of the mobile shelf unit.

12. The dispensing station according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a second separating wall with at least one opening that separates the first article storage region and the customer access region;
wherein the mobile shelf unit is in a handover position when a first shelf compartment of the mobile shelf unit is accessible via the opening in the first separating wall and a second shelf compartment of the mobile shelf unit that is separated from the first shelf compartment by the central shelf compartment separating wall is accessible via the opening in the second separating wall.

13. The dispensing station according to claim 12 , further comprising an ejector configured to move the articles located in a shelf compartment through the opening of the first or second separating wall.

14. The dispensing station according to claim 8 , wherein the mobile shelf unit comprises a hanger rod for accommodating hanging garments and/or hanging bags.

15. The dispensing station according to claim 8 ,
wherein the mobile shelf unit comprises at least one of: individually configurable shelf unit separating walls; rear walls; compartment shelves; hanger rods; or
wherein the mobile shelf unit comprises: several interconnectable modules with shelf compartments of different sizes.

16. The dispensing station according to claim 8 , wherein the mobile shelf unit can be temporarily connected to another mobile shelf unit with a coupling.

17. The dispensing station according to claim 8 , further comprising at least two elements from the group consisting of: the at least one opening, the loading robot, an entrance gate for an autonomous vehicle, and a landing site for an aerial drone.

18. The dispensing station according to claim 8 , further comprising a sorting robot configured to:
take the articles of the order from the at least one shelf compartment of the mobile shelf unit, and
deposit the articles into at least one shelf compartment of another shelf unit.

19. The dispensing station according to claim 18 , wherein the other shelf unit is configured to be:
a mobile shelf unit, or
a fixed shelf unit.

20. The dispensing station according to cl

Assignees

• Tgw Logistics Group Gmbh

Inventors

• Schedlbauer Michael Johannes
• Schroepf Harald Johannes

Classifications

• G06Q10/087

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

• B65G1/1375 Primary

  the orders being assembled on a commissioning stacker-crane or truck · CPC title

• G07F17/12

  comprising lockable containers, e.g. for accepting clothes to be cleaned · CPC title

• G06Q10/0836

  Recipient pick-ups · CPC title

• B65G1/1378 Primary

  the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas · CPC title