System comprising a multilevel warehouse racking system comprising tote transfer zones, materials handling vehicles, and transporters, and methods of use thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12264009-B2
Application number	US-202318493420-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 24, 2023
Priority date	Feb 25, 2020
Publication date	Apr 1, 2025
Grant date	Apr 1, 2025

Abstract

Goods storage and retrieval systems and materials handling vehicles are provided. The goods storage and retrieval system includes a multilevel warehouse racking system; a materials handling vehicle comprising a mast assembly, a picking attachment, and vehicle-based cart engagement hardware; a mobile storage cart; and a transporter comprising transporter-based engagement hardware. The transporter-based engagement hardware enables the transporter to engage, transport, and disengage the mobile storage cart. The vehicle-based cart engagement hardware is coupled to the mast assembly to (i) engage and disengage the mobile storage cart and (ii) transport the mobile storage cart to multiple levels of the multilevel warehouse racking system. The mast assembly and the picking attachment are configured to access multiple levels of the multilevel warehouse racking system. The picking attachment is configured to transfer totes between the multilevel warehouse racking system and the mobile storage cart.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A goods storage and retrieval system, comprising a multilevel warehouse racking system, a materials handling vehicle comprising cart engagement hardware, a mobile storage cart, and a transporter, wherein:
the cart engagement hardware engages and disengage the mobile storage cart at a variety of locations along an inventory transit surface of the goods storage and retrieval system independent of movement of the transporter within the goods storage and retrieval system;
the cart engagement hardware comprises a mobile storage cart support platform defined by one or more vertically-oriented cart lifting forks; and
the mobile storage cart comprises at least two vertically-oriented fork slots structurally configured to receive the vertically-oriented cart lifting forks and a transporter access opening that is sized and configured to permit the transporter to enter and exit through the transporter access opening along the inventory transit surface, the at least two vertically-oriented fork slots provided on opposite sides of the transporter access opening.

2. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , wherein the cart engagement hardware comprises a mobile storage cart support platform defined by one or more vertically-oriented cart lifting forks.

3. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , wherein the cart engagement hardware comprises anti-rock cart engagement hardware configured to engage a top end of the mobile storage cart.

4. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 3 , wherein the anti-rock cart engagement hardware comprises a pair of support arms configured to engage the top end of the mobile storage cart.

5. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 4 , wherein the anti-rock cart engagement hardware comprises lateral anti-rock hardware wherein each support arm comprises a hook subtending extension, and the mobile storage cart comprises a pair of extension passages structurally configured to permit the hook subtending extensions to pass at least partially through the pair of extension passages.

6. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 4 , wherein the anti-rock cart engagement hardware comprises front-rear anti-rock hardware wherein each support arm comprises an anti-rock hook defining a notch, the anti-rock hook extends downwardly at a distal portion of the support arm to define an engagement gap between a hook subtending extension and a terminal portion of the anti-rock hook, and the mobile storage cart comprises hook engaging features structurally configured to engage the anti-rock hooks of the pair of support arms.

7. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 4 , wherein:
each support arm comprises an anti-rock hook defining a notch, and a hook subtending extension; and
the anti-rock hook extends downwardly at a distal portion of the support arm to define an engagement gap between the hook subtending extension and a terminal portion of the anti-rock hook.

8. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 7 , wherein the mobile storage cart comprises:
hook engaging features structurally configured to engage the anti-rock hooks of the pair of support arms; and
a pair of extension passages structurally configured to permit the hook subtending extensions to pass at least partially through the pair of extension passages to permit the anti-rock hooks of the pair of support arms to engage the hook engaging features of the mobile storage cart while the pair of support arms engage a top end of the mobile storage cart.

9. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , wherein:
the mobile storage cart comprises at least two vertically-oriented fork slots;
the cart engagement hardware comprises a mobile storage cart support platform defined by one or more vertically-oriented cart lifting forks; and
the vertically-oriented fork slots are structurally configured to receive the vertically-oriented cart lifting forks.

10. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , wherein:
the transporter comprises a transporter lifting surface and is structurally configured to lift the mobile storage cart off of the inventory transit surface upon which the multi-level warehouse racking system is supported by elevating the transporter lifting surface from a traveling height to a transporting height; and
the mobile storage cart is structurally configured to permit the transporter to enter and exit a lifting zone beneath the mobile storage cart in at least two orthogonal directions, with the lifting surface of the transporter at the traveling height.

11. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , wherein:
the materials handling vehicle further comprises a navigation subsystem comprising a vision system;
the multilevel warehouse racking system comprises a target fiducial associated with a target tote to guide engagement of the target tote; and
the navigation subsystem is configured to position the materials handling vehicle such that the target fiducial is within a field of view of the vision system.

12. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 11 , wherein the navigation subsystem is configured to utilize the target fiducial of the multilevel warehouse racking system to position the materials handling vehicle such that the target tote is within a tote engagement field of view of a picking attachment subsystem.

13. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 11 wherein:
the multilevel warehouse racking system comprises a plurality of target fiducials associated with the target tote; and
one of the target fiducials is positioned on a shelf unit of a rack module of the multi-level warehouse racking system; and
another of the target fiducials is positioned on the target tote.

14. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , further comprising a goods receiving station comprising a goods selection terminal outfitted for removal of totes from the mobile storage cart.

15. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , further comprising a goods receiving station, a goods selection terminal, and an intermediate transfer station, wherein:
the goods selection terminal is outfitted for removal of totes from the mobile storage cart; and
the intermediate transfer station is positioned along a mobile storage cart travel path extending from a mobile storage cart transfer node to the goods receiving station.

16. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , further comprising a warehouse management computing hub in communication with the transporter and the materials handling vehicle and programmed to instruct the transporter and the materials handling vehicle to coordinate engagement, transport, and disengagement of the mobile storage cart in the goods storage and retrieval system.

17. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of RFID tags embedded in the inventory transit surface at vehicle stop locations, tote transfer zones, transfer nodes, pick-place locations, or combinations thereof.

18. The goods storage and retrieval system of claim 1 , further comprising a target fiducial associated with a target tote, where the target fiducial is disposed on a rack module of the multilevel warehouse racking system, the target tote, or both, to guide engagement of the target tote.

Assignees

• Crown Equip Corp

Inventors

• Otto Matthew J
• Garmann Gregory S
• Addison Mark E

Classifications

• B65G1/137

  with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed · CPC title

• B65G2201/0258

  Trays, totes or bins · CPC title

• B65G1/1375

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

• B65G1/0471

  with access from beneath · CPC title

• B65G1/026 Primary

  Racks equipped with a displaceable load carrying surface to facilitate loading or unloading · CPC title