Patent ID: 11893533
Assignee: SYMBOTIC LLC
Field: Handling (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC G  B | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. A product order fulfillment system comprising:
at least one elevated deck with an array of product storage locations distributed along the at least one elevated deck;
at least one autonomous transport vehicle disposed on each of the at least one elevated deck, and configured for holding and transporting a pickface on each deck;
more than one lift, traversing and connecting the at least one elevated deck and a base level, and arranged for lifting and lowering the pickface from the at least one elevated deck; and
at least one pickface buffer station on each deck interfacing each lift of the more than one lift to effect transfer of the pickface between the buffer station on and off a selected lift of the more than one lift;
wherein the selected lift defines a fulfillment sequence of mixed case pickfaces sequenced outbound at the base level from the selected lift and from the at least one elevated deck to a load fill, and wherein the at least one pickface buffer station, of the at least one elevated deck at the selected lift, supports one of the mixed case pickfaces so that the transfer of the pickface between the buffer station on and off each lift defines a portion of the sequenced pickfaces in an ordered sequence of sequenced pickfaces based on a predetermined sequence of the load fill.