Patent ID: 11945652
Assignee: nan
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC B  F  G | IPC B  G

Claim 0:
1. An automated temperature sensitive product cold storage unit, comprising:
(i) a housing comprising at least one product access panel to facilitate loading and/or retrieving temperature sensitive products stored within the cold storage unit;
(ii) disposed in the housing, at least one storage area framework comprising a plurality of independently addressable storage bays each configured to store a plurality of temperature sensitive product containers and/or empty and/or loaded product carriers;
(iii) disposed in the housing, at least one accessible temperature-controlled cold storage zone that bounds a first volume that encloses at least a portion of the plurality of independently addressable storage bays in the storage area framework(s), which cold storage zone comprises at least one temperature sensor;
(iv) disposed in the housing adjacent to the accessible temperature-controlled cold storage zone, a loading zone outside the temperature-controlled cold storage zone and accessible to a user via the product access panel and comprising a moveable loading tray that comprises a plurality of sensed loading slots each configured to receive a temperature sensitive product container or empty or loaded product carrier, which loading tray moves between the loading zone and the adjacent accessible temperature-controlled cold storage zone;
(v) disposed in the housing, a robot to transport temperature sensitive product containers or product carriers between the loading zone and storage area framework(s), wherein the robot comprises an end effector configured to concurrently interact with a plurality of temperature sensitive product containers and/or empty and/or loaded product carriers;
(vi) a forced air refrigeration unit operably connected to the cold storage zone(s); and
(vii) at least one computer, which computer(s) is(are) configured to control operation of the cold storage unit, robot, end effector, and communications with a computer network operably associated with the cold storage unit.