Autonomous transport vehicle charging system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9499062-B2
Application number	US-201514799367-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 14, 2015
Priority date	Dec 15, 2010
Publication date	Nov 22, 2016
Grant date	Nov 22, 2016

Abstract

A charging system for autonomous transport vehicles including at least one charging contact disposed on each pick floor level of a storage and retrieval system, each of the at least one charging contact being located at a transfer station, at least one power supply configured to supply power to the at least one charging contact, and a controller in communication with the transfer station and being configured to communicate information relating to a transfer of items between the transfer station and a predetermined one of the autonomous transport vehicles and to apply power from the power supply to the at least one charging contact for charging the predetermined autonomous transport vehicle corresponding to the transfer and located at the transfer station, wherein the controller is configured to supply power to the charging contacts simultaneously with the predetermined autonomous transport vehicle exchanging items related to the transfer at the transfer station.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for charging autonomous transport vehicles in a warehouse storage and retrieval system, the method comprising:
providing at least one charging contact on each pick floor level of the storage and retrieval system, each of the at least one charging contact corresponding to a respective transfer station;
supplying power, with at least one power supply, to the at least one charging contact;
communicating information, with a first controller in communication with at least one of the at least one charging contact or at least one autonomous transport vehicle, relating to a transfer of items between the transfer station and a predetermined one of the autonomous transport vehicles; and
with the first controller, applying power from the power supply to the at least one charging contact for charging the predetermined autonomous transport vehicle with the predetermined autonomous transport vehicle transferring the items related to the transfer at the transfer station.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transferring power to a capacitor disposed on the autonomous transport vehicle with a receptacle interfacing with the at least one charging contact.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising engaging a contact pad of the receptacle with actuable members of the at least one charging contact.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing each pick floor of the storage and retrieval system with at least one vestibule extending from a transfer deck and located adjacent a respective multilevel vertical conveyor, wherein at least one charging contact is located in each of the at least one vestibule.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising providing a transfer station with a multilevel vertical conveyor and linking the operation of the at least one charging contact and an associated multilevel vertical conveyor such that when the at least one charging contact is inoperable the first controller deems the multilevel vertical conveyor inoperable at least for the pick floor level on which the at least one charging contact is located.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising controlling operations of the power supply and the multilevel vertical conveyor with the first controller.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising effecting, with a second controller, a charge cycle of each autonomous transport vehicle located on at least one pick floor level with the transfer of items with the multilevel vertical conveyor.

8. A method comprising:
providing at least one autonomous transport vehicle;
providing at least one transfer station having an allocated and unallocated state where in the allocated state the at least one transfer station allows transfer of items from and to the at least one autonomous transport vehicle;
providing at least one charging station on each pick floor level of the storage and retrieval system, each of the at least one charging contact being located at a respective one of the at least one transfer station;
providing at least one power supply configured to supply power to the at least one charging contact;
communicating, with a controller in communication with at least one of the at least one charging station or the at least one autonomous transport vehicle, information related to a transfer of items between the transfer station and a predetermined one of the autonomous transport vehicles; and
with the controller, applying power from the power supply to the at least one charging station for charging the at least one autonomous transport vehicle located at the transfer station, wherein the controller supplies power to the charging station for charging a predetermined autonomous transport vehicle corresponding to the transfer of items with the predetermined autonomous transport vehicle transferring the items at a predetermined transfer station when the predetermined transfer station is in the allocated state and supplies power to the at least one charging station for charging another of the at least one autonomous vehicles located at the predetermined transfer station when the predetermined transfer station is in the unallocated state.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
providing at least one multilevel vertical conveyor within the storage and retrieval system;
providing at least one pick floor level having storage locations, at least one vestibule and a transfer deck connecting the storage locations with the at least one vestibule, each of the at least one vestibules having at least one of the at least one transfer station providing access to a respective one of the at least one multilevel vertical conveyor; and
controlling operations, with the controller, of at least one of the at least one multilevel vertical conveyors and operations of at least one charging station located in vestibules associated with the respective multilevel vertical conveyor.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising controlling, with a level controller connected to each pick floor level, storage and retrieval operations of the respective level, and linking, with the level controller, operations of the at least one multilevel vertical conveyors with associated charging stations such that access to the at least one multilevel vertical conveyor is prevented when one or more of the associated charging stations is inoperable.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising providing the storage and retrieval system with at least one power supply where the at least one power supply is commonly connected to charging stations of vertically adjacent ones of the at least one pick floor level.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the charging stations are commonly connected to the at least one power supply comprising a two by two array of charging stations where a first two of the charging stations in the array are located on a first pick floor level and a second two of the charging stations in the array are located on a second pick floor level, the first two of the charging stations and the second two of the charging stations being vertically stacked one above the other.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising providing each vestibule with at least two charging stations and arranging the at least two charging stations on a common linear path.

14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising providing the transfer deck with an array of autonomous transport vehicle travel paths, the array including longitudinal travel paths providing access to the storage locations and the at least one vestibule and transverse travel paths providing shunts between the longitudinal travel paths.

15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising reserving, with the controller, one or more of the charging stations for allowing an autonomous transport vehicle access to the one or more of the at least two charging stations.

16. The method of claim 9 , further comprising re-routing, with the controller, an autonomous transport vehicle destined for a charging station at a first vestibule to a charging station at another vestibule when the charging station at the first vestibule is inoperable.

17. The method of claim 9 , wherein when in the unallocated state the transfer station does not allow the transfer of items from and to the at least one autonomous transport vehicle.

18. A charging system for autonomous transport vehicles in a warehouse storage and retrieval system, the charging system comprises:
at least one charging contact disposed on each pick floor level of the storage and retrieval system, each of the at least one charging cont

Assignees

• Symbotic Llc
• Symbotic Llc

Inventors

• Sullivan Robert
• Vasilyev Dmitry

Classifications

• B60L53/66

  Data transfer between charging stations and vehicles · CPC title

• G06Q30/0215 Primary

  Including financial accounts · CPC title

• B65G1/0492

  with cars adapted to travel in storage aisles · CPC title

• G06Q20/105

  involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses" · CPC title

• B60S5/00

  Servicing, maintaining, repairing, or refitting of vehicles (vehicles adapted to carry a workshop for servicing or maintenance B60P3/14; servicing rail locomotives B61K) · CPC title