Methods, systems and apparatus for controlling movement of transporting devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11650601-B2
Application number	US-202217838021-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 10, 2022
Priority date	Jun 3, 2014
Publication date	May 16, 2023
Grant date	May 16, 2023

Abstract

A system and method for controlling movement of transporting devices arranged to transport containers, the containers being stored in stacks arranged in a facility. A facility having pathways arranged in a grid-like structure above stacks, the transporting devices being configured to operate on the grid-like structure. A control unit configured to determine at least one task to be performed by at least one transporting device, wherein the at least one task is determined based on at least one of: transporting device battery condition, transporting device damage, transporting device maintenance issues, and transporting device service issues.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for controlling movement of at least one transporting device arranged to transport at least one container, the system comprising:
one or more processors configured to:
determine a plurality of paths for a plurality of transporting devices to travel on pathways of a facility, the plurality of paths comprising a first path for travel by a first transporting device of the plurality of transporting devices and a second path for travel by a second transporting device of the plurality of transporting devices,
wherein the pathways form a grid-like structure above a plurality of containers arranged within the facility, the pathways comprising a first set of parallel rails extending in a first direction and a second set of parallel rails extending in a second direction transverse to the first direction in a substantially horizontal plane, at least some of the plurality of containers being stored in stacks,
wherein the plurality of transporting devices are configured to selectively move laterally in the first direction and the second direction on the pathways, at least some of the plurality of transporting devices being configured to transport the plurality of containers,
generate a plurality of first commands for the plurality of transporting devices to cause the plurality of transporting devices to travel on the pathways along the plurality of paths,
prior to the first transporting device reaching an ending point of the first path by traveling along the first path:
determine that a condition of the second transporting device has changed,
determine, based on a determination that the condition of the second transporting device has changed, a revised path different from the first path for the first transporting device to travel on the pathways, a starting point of the revised path being on the first path, and
generate a second command for the first transporting device to cause the first transporting device to transition from traveling on the pathways along the first path to traveling on the pathways along the revised path while the first transporting device remains in motion; and

a memory device configured to store the plurality of first commands and the second command.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein an ending point of the first path is the same as an ending point of the revised path.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the revised path so that the first transporting device avoids traversing the second path while the first transporting device travels along the revised path.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the revised path so that the first transporting device avoids colliding with the second transporting device while the first transporting device travels along the revised path.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to generate the second command while the second transporting device remains in motion.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein, after the one of the plurality of first commands is received by the second transporting device from the one or more processors, one of the plurality of first commands causes the second transporting device to travel along the second path despite a disruption in communication between the second transporting device and the one or more processors.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the condition of the second transporting device has changed when the second transporting device malfunctions.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the condition of the second transporting device has changed from a determination the second transporting device is broken.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the condition of the second transporting device has changed from a failure of the second transporting device to travel along the second path within a time or velocity tolerance.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to:
generate a third command for the second transporting device, and
determine that the condition of the second transporting device has changed from a failure of the second transporting device to respond to the third command.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the condition of the second transporting device has changed from a failure to receive a status report from the second transporting device.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the condition of the second transporting device has changed from a status report received from the second transporting device.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to instruct the plurality of transporting devices to perform a plurality of operations with the plurality of containers at the ending points of the plurality of paths.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to:
determine an order in which plurality of transporting devices should transport a set of the plurality of containers to a station, and
instruct the plurality of transporting devices to transport the set of the plurality of containers to the station so that the set of the plurality of containers arrive at the station in the order.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the plurality of paths so that no two of the plurality of transporting devices have locations while traveling along the plurality of paths that would cause the plurality of transporting devices to overlap at the same time.

16. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a control interface configured to communicate with the plurality of transporting devices via an application programmable interface, the one or more processors being configured to cause the control interface to transmit the plurality of first commands and the second command via the application programmable interface.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the plurality of paths so that all of the plurality of transporting devices may simultaneously travel on the pathways.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine the plurality of paths using an optimization algorithm.

19. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to control operations of the plurality of transporting devices in real time.

20. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to fully automatically control operations of the plurality of transporting devices so that the plurality of transporting devices retrieve a set of the plurality of containers arranged within the facility.

21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured to determine that the condition of the second transporting device has changed from a failure of the second transporting device to travel along the second path.

22. A method for controlling movement of at least one transporting device arranged to transport at least one container, the method comprising:
determining, by one or more processors, a plurality of paths for a plurality of transporting devices to travel on pathways o

Assignees

• Ocado Innovation Ltd

Inventors

• Stadie Robert
• Whelan Matthew
• Brett Christopher

Classifications

• G05D1/692

  involving a plurality of disparate vehicles · CPC title

• G05D1/693

  for avoiding collisions between vehicles · CPC title

• G05D1/247

  using signals provided by artificial sources external to the vehicle, e.g. navigation beacons · CPC title

• G05D2111/20

  Acoustic signals, e.g. ultrasonic signals · CPC title

• G05D1/223

  Command input arrangements on the remote controller, e.g. joysticks or touch screens · CPC title