SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF DECANTING INVENTORY PRODUCTS FROM CASES AT A RETAIL FACILITY

Systems for decanting inventory products from cases at a retail facility include a loading zone that receives products cases, decanting stations having associated containers with an amount of available space therein, and a decanting transport system that transports the product cases from the loading zone to the decanting stations and has sensors that obtain information relating to the product cases. A processor-based a control circuit receives from the sensors information relating to product cases being transported from the loading zone by the decanting transport system, selects a subset of the product cases, analyzes one or more business rules governing decanting to assign each product case in the subset to a decanting station, and causes the decanting transport system to divert each product case in the subset to its assigned decanting station based on the one or more business rules.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to managing product inventory and, in particular, to systems and methods for decanting inventory products from cases at a retail facility.

BACKGROUND

Automated storage and retrieval systems (“AS/RS”) are often used by large retail entities to store products and manage inventory. AS/RS systems are generally configured to store and retrieve loads (e.g., products) from storage locations in a storage facility or fulfillment center. In a typical AS/RS system, when a load of products is received at a storage facility or fulfillment center, the system identifies the received products and conveys them to a particular location in the facility for storage. In some approaches, a group of products received in a shipment may be conveyed to a single storage location. In other approaches, a number of individual products from the shipment may be placed into a storage container (i.e., decanted), which is then conveyed to a particular storage location. Given the cost associated with storing large numbers of products in a storage facility, improving storage efficiency and container utilization can significantly increase capacity and/or decrease storage, operating, and fulfillment costs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of describing the general principles of exemplary embodiments. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.

Generally, this disclosure relates to decanting inventory products from product cases at a retail facility. “Decanting” is the process by which cases of products are received from a supplier, vendor, etc. and individual products are removed from the cases and placed into available containers for storage. In conventional decanting systems and processes, product cases may be randomly diverted to the decanting stations. The systems, apparatuses and methods described herein utilize one or more business rules to assign product cases (or groups of product cases) to particular storage containers in order to maximize container utilization. The systems, apparatuses and methods described herein may be particularly useful with automated storage and retrieval systems. However, the systems, apparatuses and methods described herein are not limited to use with such systems.

An exemplary decanting system includes a plurality of decanting stations configured for unpacking products from product cases and placing the products in storage containers. Each available decanting station may be supplied with one or more containers for storing the decanted products. In some approaches, the container may be provided, and/or stored in, an automated storage and retrieval system. In other approaches, the container may be manually or electronically provided by other suitable means. Each container provided to the decanting stations has an amount available space for receiving one or more products to be stored. In some approaches, the containers at the decanting stations may be empty prior to receiving the one or more products. In other approaches, the containers may already contain one more products from previous decanting processes.

The decanting system further includes a loading zone, where product cases may be removed from trailers, pallets, or other shipping means and loaded onto a decanting transport system. The decanting transport system is configured to transport the product cases from the loading zone to the decanting stations.

A control unit is operatively coupled to the decanting transport system and configured to control movement of the decanting transport system. In some approaches, the decanting transport system comprises one or more sensors configured obtain information relating to the product cases as the product cases are conveyed to the decanting stations. A processor control circuit communicatively coupled to the control unit obtains certain information about the conveyed product cases from the one or more sensors and, in some approaches, uses the information to select a subset of the product cases and to assign each product case in the subset to a decanting station based on at least one business rule. In some approaches, the information obtained by the sensors and analyzed by the control circuit includes one or more of an identity of a product in the product case, a quantity of the product in the product case, one or more dimensions of the product in the product case, one or more dimensions of the product case, a weight of the product in the product case, and a weight of the product case.

The control circuit may apply one or more business rules to assign each product case to a particular decanting station based on information associated with each product case and may cause the decanting transport system to divert each product case to its assigned decanting station based on the at least one business rule. In some approaches, an exemplary business rule analyzed by the control circuit may comprise a rule configured to determine a utilization value for the containers at each decanting station and the control circuit may be configured to cause the product cases to be diverted to assigned decanting stations based on the containers’ utilization values. The utilization values may represent an amount of available space in each container. Another exemplary business rule analyzed by the control circuit may comprise a rule configured to determine a cost function associated with diverting each product case to a decanting station and the control circuit may be configured to cause the product cases to be diverted to assigned decanting stations based on the cost functions. Yet another exemplary business rule analyzed by the control circuit may comprise a rule configured to determine a minimum number of containers required to accommodate all the products in the subset of product cases.

In some approaches, the control circuit may be configured to perform multiple analyses in parallel or successively using at least one different business rule and the control circuit may assign each product case to a decanting station based on an analysis outcome requiring the fewest containers.

FIG.1Ashows an embodiment of an automated storage and retrieval system100for managing storage of inventory at a retail facility.FIG.1Bshows an embodiment of an exemplary decanting system102. As noted above, the decanting system102described herein (and/or one or more components thereof) may be particularly useful in an automated storage and retrieval system in a retail storage facility, wherein the decanting system102(and/or one or more components thereof) may be operable coupled to an automated storage and retrieval system in a retail storage facility. The retail storage facility may be any entity operating as a brick-and-mortar physical location and/or a website accessible via the internet by way of which products may be purchased by a consumer. A consumer may be an individual or a business entity. Exemplary products that may be ordered by the consumers from the retailer via the system100may include, but are not limited to, general-purpose consumer goods, as well as consumable products, such as grocery products and/or other food items, medications, and dietary supplements.

The exemplary automated storage and retrieval system100shown inFIG.1Aincludes a storage structure110including a plurality of storage locations112a-112econfigured to store a plurality of containers (also referred to as totes)120a-120e, each containing one or more products190. Notably, while the storage locations112a-112e(e.g., storage shelves) have been shown inFIG.1Aas each storing one container120a-120ethereon, it will be appreciated that each of the storage locations112a-112emay store two or more storage containers120thereon.

In the exemplary system100ofFIG.1A, the storage structure110is operatively coupled to a container transport system125configured to transport the containers120a-120ein the directions indicated by the arrows inFIG.1Ato/from the storage locations112a-eof the storage structure110and to/from at least one packing station145(also called a “decanting station”). WhileFIG.1Ashows only one packing/decanting station145, it is contemplated that the system100may include multiple packing/decanting stations145, as illustrated inFIG.1B.

In some embodiments, the container transport system125comprises a conveying system including at least a main conveyor130configured to convey the containers120a-120ein the directions indicated by the arrows inFIG.1Ato/from the storage locations112a-eof the storage structure110and to/from at least one packing station145. The main conveyor130may also transport individual products190, or cases thereof191, from an unpacking station to the packing station145. In some embodiments, the container transport system125can include non-conveyor-based mechanisms to transport the containers.

The exemplary automated storage and retrieval system100shown inFIG.1Aincludes a generally U-shaped main conveyor130, but it will be appreciated that the system100may include a differently-shaped main conveyor130and/or two or more main conveyors130, depending on the size of the automated storage and retrieval system and/or the retail facility.

While the main conveyor130is illustrated inFIG.1Aas having two product storage containers (120band120e) thereon, it will be appreciated that the main conveyor130, depending on its shape and size, may concurrently transport fewer storage containers120thereon, or significantly more storage containers120thereon. Further, while only the containers120band120eare shown inFIG.1Aas having products190stored therein, it will be appreciated that each of the containers120a-120emay contain any number (e.g., dozens and/or hundreds) of products190therein, depending on the size of the containers120a-120eand the products190. Further, the shape and size of the containers120a-120eand the products190inFIG.1Ahas been shown by way of example only, and it will be appreciated that the containers120a-120eand the products190may have various shapes and sizes.

In the exemplary system100ofFIG.1A, the main conveyor130(also referred to herein as “the conveyor 130”) has a product advancement surface132configured to move one or more products containers120or packages191in one or more directions indicated by the arrows. The product advancement surface132of the conveyor130may be comprised of a single conveyor belt surface or may be instead comprised of a series of two or more independently movable conveyor belt.

In some embodiments, one or more of the independently movable conveyor surfaces of the product advancement surface132of the conveyor130may be configured to stop, while one or more of the other independently movable conveyor sections of the product advancement surface132are permitted to move. The conveyor130may be a belt conveyor, chain conveyor, or the like, and may have a continuous, uninterrupted product advancement surface132, or may have a product advancement surface132that includes one or more interruptions at the transitions between the distinct, independently movable conveyor surfaces.

The system100depicted inFIG.1Aincludes a control unit160operatively coupled to the conveyor130and configured to control movement of the conveyor130via one or more control signals. In some embodiments, the control unit160is configured to start or stop the movement of the conveyor130(or one or more independently movable product advancement surfaces132of the conveyor130) in response to one or more control signals sent from an electronic inventory management device150(also referred to herein as a computing device) of the system100, which will be described in more detail below.

The electronic inventory management device150of the exemplary system100may be located at the retail facility or remotely relative to the retail facility, and may be a stationary or portable electronic device, for example, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet, a mobile phone, or any other electronic device including a processor-based control circuit (i.e., control unit). In the embodiment ofFIGS.1A and1B, the electronic inventory management device150is configured for data entry and processing as well as for communication with other devices of system100via the network155. The exemplary network155depicted inFIGS.1A and1Bmay be a wide-area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Bluetooth (e.g., Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) network), or any other internet or intranet network, or combinations of such networks. Generally, communication between various electronic devices of system100and/or system102may take place over hard-wired, wireless, cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth networked components or the like.

In some embodiments, the system100and/or the system102may include one or more localized Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and controllers in communication with the electronic inventory management device150. As a result, in some embodiments, the localized IoT devices and controllers can perform most, if not all, of the computational load and associated monitoring that would otherwise be performed by the electronic inventory management device150, and then later asynchronous uploading of summary data can be performed by a designated one of the IoT devices to the electronic inventory management device150, or a server remote to the electronic inventory management device150. In this manner, the computational effort of the overall system100may be reduced significantly. For example, whenever a localized monitoring allows remote transmission, secondary utilization of controllers keeps securing data for other IoT devices and permits periodic asynchronous uploading of the summary data to the electronic inventory management device150or a server remote to the electronic inventory management device150.

In the embodiment ofFIG.1A, the system100includes one or more decanting stations (also referred to as packing stations)145(only one is shown inFIG.1Afor simplicity), which may form part of a decanting system102, and configured to permit a human operator185(e.g., a human worker assigned to work at the automated storage and retrieval system100) to remove products190from newly received product cases191and place them in one or more containers120.

In some embodiments, the packing/decanting station145may include a movable robotic arm147that is positioned and configured to grasp one or more of the products190from the newly received cases191and place them in one or more of the containers120positioned at the packing/decanting station145(e.g., container120e). In certain implementations, the control unit160is configured to control the movement of the robotic arm147via one or more control signals. For example, the control unit160may control the start, stop, and direction of movement of the robotic arm147in response to one or more control signals sent from the electronic inventory management device150. In some embodiment, the robotic arm147may not be controlled via the control unit160, but may be operatively coupled to a separate control unit that is configured to control movement of the robotic arm147in response to one or more control signals sent from the electronic inventory management device150.

In the system100ofFIG.1A, the storage structure110may include a movable robotic arm115that is positioned to have access to the storage locations112a-112eand configured to grasp one or more of the containers120a-120epositioned on the storage locations112a-112e, and to transfer such containers120a-120efrom the storage structure110to the main conveyor130. In certain implementations, the control unit160is configured to control the movement of the robotic arm115via one or more control signals. For example, the control unit160may control the start, stop, and direction of movement of the robotic arm115in response to one or more control signals sent from then electronic inventory management device150. In some embodiment, the robotic arm115may not be controlled via the control unit160, but may be operatively coupled to a separate control unit that is configured to control movement of the robotic arm115in response to one or more control signals sent from the electronic inventory management device150.

InFIGS.1A and1B, the decanting stations145may include one or more sensors149that are positioned and configured to detect the containers120at the decanting stations145, cases191that arrive at the decanting stations145, along with each of the products190picked from, placed into, and/or otherwise transferred between the cases191and containers120by the operator185and/or by the robotic arm147at the decanting stations145. Suitable sensors may include, but are not limited to, one or more of a video camera, motion sensor, infrared sensor, bar code sensor, radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor, laser sensor, or the like.

FIG.1Billustrates an embodiment of an exemplary decanting system102. It should be understood that the decanting system102, or any component thereof, may be used in conjunction with, be associated with, or form any part of the automated storage and retrieval system100illustrated inFIG.1A. Conversely, one or more components of the automated storage and retrieval system100illustrated inFIG.1Amay be used in conjunction with, be associated with, or form any part of the decanting system102illustrated inFIG.1B. Additionally, whileFIG.1Bdepicts a configuration of an exemplary decanting system102, one or more components of the system102may be arranged in any suitable configuration.

An exemplary decanting system102may include a loading zone131configured to receive product cases191. Products are generally packaged in cases191and shipments of the cases191may be received regularly by the retail storage facility. The cases191may be transported to the facility, for example, via truck, trailer, or any other suitable transportation means and the cases may be unloaded to an area of the facility (e.g., a loading/unloading dock), which may include, or form part of, the loading zone131.

The decanting system102further includes a plurality of decanting stations145. Each decanting station145may be configured to allow an operator185to sit or stand in a manner conducive to packing containers120with products190. The decanting stations145may include a display148(which may be a stand-alone display or a computing device with a display (e.g., a laptop, tablet, or the like)). The display148may provide useful information and/or illustrations about the product cases191, the products190in the cases, and or information about the containers120at the decanting stations145. In some embodiments, the display148may provide instructions and/or illustrations to the operator185regarding how to pack or otherwise configure the products190in the containers120. In some embodiments, the control circuit210of an electronic inventory management device (e.g., electronic inventory management device) may send a signal to the display148to cause the display148to depict a visual representation to the operator185of an optimal packing configuration for packing containers.

In some approaches, each decanting station145may include an electronic reader146configured to read machine readable codes. The machine readable codes may encode, for example, product identifiers affixed to, or otherwise associated with, inventory products190and/or product cases191, as well as container identifiers associated with the containers120, and the like. The electronic reader146may include one or more optical sensors, image sensors, or other suitable sensors or readers configured to capture images or optically read machine-readable codes (e.g., bar codes, QR codes, etc.). In some approaches, the one or more of the sensors133may be a barcode reader or QR code reader configured to read a barcode or QR code affixed to an outside surface of a product case191.

The decanting system102further includes a decanting transport system151configured to transport cases191from the loading zone131to one or more of the decanting stations145. In some embodiments, the decanting transport system151comprises a conveying system including at least a main conveyor134configured to convey the cases191. The exemplary decanting system102shown inFIG.1Bincludes a generally U-shaped main conveyor134, but it will be appreciated that the decanting system102may include a differently-shaped main conveyor134and/or two or more main conveyors134, depending on the size of the retail storage facility. In some approaches, the main conveyor134may be a recirculating conveyor that intermittently collects new product cases191from the loading zone131.

In the exemplary decanting system102ofFIG.1B, the main conveyor134(also referred to herein as “the conveyor134”) has a product advancement surface136configured to move one or more cases191in one or more directions indicated by the arrows. The product advancement surface136of the conveyor134may be comprised of a single conveyor belt surface or may be instead comprised of a series of two or more independently movable conveyor belt.

In some embodiments, one or more of the independently movable conveyor surfaces of the product advancement surface136of the conveyor134may be configured to stop, while one or more of the other independently movable conveyor sections of the product advancement surface136are permitted to move. The conveyor134may be a belt conveyor, chain conveyor, or the like, and may have a continuous, uninterrupted product advancement surface136, or may have a product advancement surface136that includes one or more interruptions at the transitions between the distinct, independently movable conveyor surfaces.

A control unit161may be operatively coupled to the conveyor134and configured to control movement of the conveyor134via one or more control signals. In some embodiments, the control unit161is configured to start or stop the movement of the conveyor134(or one or more independently movable product advancement surfaces136of the conveyor134) in response to one or more control signals sent from an electronic inventory management device (also referred to herein as a computing device) (e.g., electronic inventory management device150).

In some approaches, the main conveyor134of the decanting transport system151, (and/or the product advancement surface136of the conveyor134), depicted in the decanting system102ofFIG.1Bmay be linked to and/or feed the main conveyor130(and/or the product advancement surface132of the conveyor130) of the container transport system125of the automated storage and retrieval system100depicted inFIG.1A.

The exemplary decanting system102depicted inFIG.1Bmay further include one or more sensors133associated with the decanting transport system151and configured obtain information relating to the product cases191being transported by the decanting transport system151. In some approaches, a portion of the product advancement surface136of the main conveyor130may be partially surrounded by a structure housing one or more of the sensors133. For example, the one or more sensors may form part of a tunnel structure through which the product cases191are conveyed and the sensors133sense or otherwise obtain information about the product cases191as the product cases191are conveyed through the tunnel.

The sensors133may include any sensor suitable for obtaining information from, or about, the product cases191(and/or products therein), including, but not limited to, optical readers or sensors, image readers or sensors, weight sensors, infrared sensors, and the like. In some embodiments, the one or more sensors133associated with the decanting transport system151are sensors configured to capture images or optically read machine-readable codes such as bar codes, QR codes, etc. that may be present on the product cases191. The machine readable codes may encode information relating to the product cases such as, for example, an identity of a product in the product case, a quantity of the product in the product case, one or more dimensions of the product in the product case, one or more dimensions of the product case, a weight of the product in the product case, and a weight of the product case. As each product case191is conveyed by conveyor134of the decanting transport system151from the loading zone131to one of the decanting stations145, one or more sensors133obtain information from each product case191and transmit the information to the control circuit210and/or an electronic inventory management database (e.g., electronic inventory management database170.)

In the embodiments shown inFIGS.1A and1B, the electronic inventory management device150is coupled to and obtains the above-described business rules from an inventory management database170(also referred to herein simply as “the electronic database170”). The electronic inventory management device150and the electronic inventory management database170may be implemented as a single device or may be implemented as two separate devices as illustrated inFIGS.1A and1Band may be located at the same location/facility or at different locations/facilities. The electronic database170may be stored, for example, on non-volatile storage media (e.g., a hard drive, flash drive, or removable optical disk) internal or external to the electronic inventory management device150, or internal or external to computing devices separate and distinct from the electronic inventory management device150. In some embodiments, the electronic inventory management database170may be cloud-based.

In some embodiments, the exemplary electronic inventory management database170ofFIGS.1A and1Bis configured to store electronic data associated with the products190stored in the containers120a-120estored and or transported by the automated storage and retrieval system100. In certain aspects, the electronic inventory management database170may store electronic data indicating one or more of: an identifier and physical location of each of the containers120a-120e, identifiers of each of the products190stored in each of the containers120a-120e; estimated container/tote utilization value (which may be expressed, for example, as a percentage representing the occupied and/or available storage space for products190inside of each of the containers120a-120eat a given time; association between the products190located within the containers120a-120ethat are associated with product orders placed by one or more customers of the retailer (and an indication of the number of units of each product190associated with each of the product orders); names and addresses of the customers of the retailer who ordered the products190for delivery/pickup. In one aspect, the electronic data representing the available storage space within each of the containers120a-120emay be in the form of a grid-like map or planogram. In some aspects, the electronic inventory management database170is configured to facilitate real-time tracking of the inventory of available storage space inside of the containers120a-120eand for real-time tracking of the inventory of products190controlled by the automated storage and retrieval system100.

In some embodiments, the exemplary electronic inventory management database170ofFIGS.1A and1Bmay be configured to store electronic data associated with the products190and product cases191obtained by the one or more sensors133associated with the decanting transport system151. The exemplary electronic inventory management database170may also be configured to store information about products and product cases obtained by vendors, as well as associations between product identifiers and one or more attributes of the products and/or product cases.

With reference toFIG.2, an exemplary electronic inventory management device150configured for use with exemplary systems and methods described herein may include a control circuit or control circuit210including a processor (for example, a microprocessor or a microcontroller) electrically coupled via a connection215to a memory220and via a connection225to a power supply230. The control circuit210can comprise a fixed-purpose hard-wired platform or can comprise a partially or wholly programmable platform, such as a microcontroller, an application specification integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, and so on. These architectural options are well known and understood in the art and require no further description.

This control circuit210can be configured (for example, by using corresponding programming stored in the memory220as will be well understood by those skilled in the art) to carry out one or more of the steps, actions, and/or functions described herein. In some embodiments, the memory220may be integral to the processor-based control circuit210or can be physically discrete (in whole or in part) from the control circuit210and is configured non-transitorily store the computer instructions that, when executed by the control circuit210, cause the control circuit210to behave as described herein. (As used herein, this reference to “non-transitorily” will be understood to refer to a non-ephemeral state for the stored contents (and hence excludes when the stored contents merely constitute signals or waves) rather than volatility of the storage media itself and hence includes both non-volatile memory (such as read-only memory (ROM)) as well as volatile memory (such as an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM))). Accordingly, the memory and/or the control circuit210may be referred to as a non-transitory medium or non-transitory computer readable medium.

The control circuit210of the electronic inventory management device150is also electrically coupled via a connection235to an input/output240that can receive signals from any of the other electronic components of the system100(e.g., control units, sensors, inventory management databases, displays, readers, transport systems, etc.), or from any other source (a regional central server, a hand-held device of a worker, etc.) that can communicate with the electronic inventory management device150via a wired or wireless connection. The input/output240can also send signals to the control units, sensors, inventory management databases, displays, readers, transport systems, etc. (shown inFIGS.1A and1B), or to any other device in wired or wireless communication with the electronic inventory management device150.

In the embodiment shown inFIG.2, the processor-based control circuit210of the electronic inventory management (or computing) device150is electrically coupled via a connection245to a user interface250, which may include a visual display or display screen260(e.g., light-emitting diode (LED) screen) and/or button input270that provide the user interface250with the ability to permit an operator of the electronic inventory management device150to manually control the electronic inventory management device150by inputting commands via touch-screen and/or button operation and/or voice commands to, for example, set one or more rules relating to container topping-off, container merging, product decanting, and/or product picking by the automated storage and retrieval system100and/or the decanting system102. It will be appreciated that the performance of such functions by the processor-based control circuit210of the electronic inventory management device150is not necessarily dependent on a human operator, and that the control circuit210may be programmed to perform such functions without a human operator.

In some embodiments, the display260of the electronic inventory management device150is configured to display various graphical interface-based menus, options, and/or alerts that may be transmitted from the electronic inventory management device150to, for example, the display148, the control unit160, control unit161, or the like. The inputs270of the electronic inventory management device150may be configured to permit an operator to navigate through the on-screen menus on the electronic inventory management device150and make changes and/or updates to, for example, business rules relating to picking, merging, and/or topping off containers with one or more additional products, as well as business rules relating to decanting of products. It will be appreciated that the display screen260may be configured as both a display screen and an input270(e.g., a touch-screen that permits an operator to press on the display screen260to enter text and/or execute commands.)

In conventional systems, newly received product cases are usually randomly diverted to decanting stations for decanting into storage containers, which can result in low tote utilization and increased storage costs. The systems and methods described herein employ certain business rules to optimize tote utilization by assigning and diverting product cases (and/or groups thereof) to particular decanting stations.FIG.3A,FIG.3B, andFIG.4illustrate this functionality.

FIG.4illustrates an exemplary process flow400for smart decanting product cases191at decanting stations145a-145c. In some approaches, the control circuit210may be configured to analyze the workload of one or more of the decanting stations145a-145cto identify one or more decanting stations that can accommodate decanting. In step402, one or more of the sensors133associated with the decanting transport system151obtain one or more attributes of product cases191a-191ibeing transported from the loading zone131by the decanting transport system151to the decanting stations145a-145c.

The sensors133sense the attributes relating to the product cases as the cases are conveyed by the product advancement surface136of conveyor134in the direction of the arrow. As noted above, in some approaches, a portion of the product advancement surface136may be partially surrounded by a structure housing the one or more sensors133and one or more of the sensors133may sense or otherwise obtain information regarding various attributes of the product cases191a-191ias the product cases191a-191iare conveyed through the structure.

The information or attributes sensed by the one or more sensors133may include, for example, an identity of a products in the product cases191a-191i, a quantity of the products in the product cases191a-191i, one or more dimensions of the products in the product cases191a-191i, one or more dimensions of the product cases191a-191i, a weight of the products in the product cases191a-191i, and a weight of the product case themselves191a-191i. In some approaches, the control circuit210may receive one or more attributes from the sensors133and store some of all of the received information in the electronic inventory management database170. In some approaches, the control circuit210may use at least some of the information to query one or more vendor databases to obtain various information about the products in the cases191a-191i.

The control circuit210selects a subset of the product cases191a-191i(e.g., product cases191b-191i, as illustrated inFIG.3A). The selection of the subset of product cases191b-191imay be made based on at least some of the information about the product cases received from the one or more sensors133, obtained from the electronic inventory management database170, from other vendor sources, and/or based on at least one business rule.

In step404, the control circuit210analyzes at least one business rule governing decanting to assign each product case in the subset (product cases191b-191i) to one of the decanting stations145a-145c. Put another way, the control circuit210sorts the subset of product cases191b-191iinto groups, each group associated with one of the decanting stations.

In some approaches, one or more of the business rules analyzed may be based on a utilization value for each container120a-120cat each decanting station145a-145c, the utilization value representing the total available space in the containers at the available decanting stations when the products from the subset of product cases191b-191iare decanted and optimally packed into the containers120a-120cat each decanting station145a-145c. The control circuit210may analyze the quantity, weight, and/or one or more dimensions of the products in each product case191b-191iin the subset, determine a minimum number of containers needed to decant all of the products into cases at the decanting stations based on a projected utilization value, and/or determine an optimal packing configuration for each container120a-120c, and then assign particular product cases from the subset to particular decanting stations based one or more of the analyses. The utilization value generally represents the amount of available space in each container. The projected utilization value for a given container may be based on, for example, the volume of space utilized by all products in the container compared to the total volume of the container. In another approach, the projected utilization value for a given container may be based on, for example, the area utilized by the optimally stacked products in the container compared to the total area of the container. In some approaches, the optimum configuration of the product in the container may be a configuration having the greatest product height in the container, (with a maximum height being a height of the container) and a lowest area by the product in the container.

In some approaches, one or more of the business rules analyzed by the control circuit210to assign product cases191b-191iin the subset to the decanting stations145a-145cmay include applying a “brute force” type algorithm. It was found that exhausting all possible solutions would be impractical and overly time consuming. In applying the brute force-type algorithm, the control circuit210randomly tries a subset of all possible assignment solutions and selects the best solution. The size of the subset may be set automatically by the control circuit210or may be set by an operator based on, for example, computational limitations, time constraints, etc.

In some approaches, one or more of the business rules analyzed by the control circuit210to assign product cases in the subset to decanting stations may include applying a “greedy” type algorithm. In applying the greedy-type algorithm, the control circuit210continuously assigns product cases in the subset of product cases to decanting stations/containers having the most available space until all of the product cases are assigned to a station.

In one exemplary example of an application of the greedy-type algorithm usingFIGS.3A and3Bfor illustration, containers120a,120b, and120cat decanting stations145a,145b, and145c, respectively, are available to receive decanted products. The first container120aat station145ahas 100% available space; the second container120bat station145bhas 40% available space, and the third container120cat station145chas 75% available space. Container utilization may be determined based on, for example, volume and/or weight as described above. By applying the greedy-type algorithm, the control circuit210assigns product case191ito the first decanting station145ahaving container120awith 100% available space. Assuming the decanted product from case191iwould utilize 30% of the space in container120a, container120awould then have 70% available space. The control circuit210then updates the space available for container120aat station145aand re-runs the greedy-type analysis. That is, the control circuit210assigns the next product case191hto the decanting station with a container having the most available space, which would be container120cat station145c, having 75% available space. Assuming the decanted product from case191hwould utilize 20% of the space in container120c, container120cwould then have 55% available space. The control circuit210then updates the space available for container120cat station145cand re-runs the greedy-type analysis for the remaining product cases191b-191gin the subset to assign each case in the subset to a decanting station. In some approaches, the control circuit may assign product cases to decanting stations based on the sequence of the cases on the conveyor134. In other approaches, the control circuit210may prioritize case assignments based on the volume and/or weight of the products in the product cases compared to the space available in the containers.

In some approaches, one or more of the business rules analyzed by the control circuit210to assign product cases to decanting stations may include applying a “genetic” type algorithm. The genetic-type algorithm is a heuristic approach that imitates the process of natural selection. The objective is to find the optimal breeding logic that produces a solution requiring he fewest number of containers. The process begins by the control circuit210randomly shuffling assignments of cases to particular decanting stations to obtain multiple assigned sequences. The control circuit210then applies a bin packing algorithm to the containers in each assigned sequence to determine an optimal packing configuration for each container and determines the projected utilization value for each container. The control circuit210then assigns a score to each container in each of the assigned sequences and sorts the containers in each sequence based on a selected parameter (e.g., utilization value). The control circuit210then combines certain-ranking portions of each sequence to obtain a first generation combined sequence of assignments. The control circuit210then repeats the process for a given number of generations to obtain an optimal case assignment sequence.

In some approaches, the control circuit210may apply multiple business rules and/or run multiple scenarios using the same of different business rules in parallel or successively to determine optimum grouping and/or assignment decisions. The control circuit210may then analyze the outcomes of each scenario/analysis and may determine the groupings and/or assignment decisions based on the outcome(s) requiring the fewest containers to pack all the products from the subset product cases191aand191hinto the containers120a-120cat the available decanting stations145a-145c.

After a given period of time, if the control circuit210has not made a successful grouping/assignment decision, the system may timeout (see step408) and may repeat the analysis in step404. If the control circuit210makes a successful grouping/assignment decision in step408(in some approaches the grouping sorting decision may be preliminary, subject one or more factors applied in a subsequent step), the control circuit210may apply a cost function analysis to further assist with grouping and/or diverting product cases to particular available decanting stations (see step410). The cost function may take into account, for example the dimensions and/or weight of the product cases (and/or the products therein), the distance to be traveled by each product case to each available decanting station, the time needed to decant a product case, and/or any other factor that may affect or influence the cost of decanting the product cases at the available decanting stations.

After taking into account the cost function, the control circuit210makes a divert decision. In the example illustrated inFIGS.3A and3B, product cases191aand191hare sorted into a first group and assigned to decanting station 1 (station145a), product cases191c,191d, and191fare sorted into a second group and assigned to decanting station 2 (station145b), and product cases191band191hare sorted into a third group and assigned to decanting station 3 (station145c). Product case191a, not included in the subset of product cases selected for decanting, may be included in a subsequent selection of a subset of product cases for decanting that includes new product cases (and/or other unselected product cases) that are loaded onto the conveyor.

The control circuit210sends a signal to the control unit161to cause the conveyor134of the decanting transport system151to divert each product case to its assigned decanting station. In the example described above with reference toFIGS.3A and3B, product cases191aand191hare conveyed to decanting station 1 (station145a), product cases191c,191d, and191fare conveyed to decanting station 2 (station145b), and product cases191band191hare conveyed to decanting station 3 (station145c). At the decanting stations145a-145c, operators remove the products190from the product cases190and place them in the one or more containers120supplied at each station. Generally, the operator will empty the products from a product case into a container120by stacking like products on top of one another until a particular height and/or weight threshold is reached. The operator185then proceeds to add any remaining products from the product case to a new container120supplied at the decanting station until the product case is fully decanted. The packed containers may then be conveyed electronically or manually to one or more storage locations in a storage structure, for example, associated with an automated storage and retrieval system. For instance, in some aspects, the conveyor134associated with the decanting transport system151may feed the packed containers to the main conveyor130associated with the automated storage and retrieval system100illustrated inFIG.1Aand the main conveyor130may convey the packed containers to their respective storage locations in the storage structure110. In other aspects, the packed containers may be conveyed manually or electronically to a suitable storage structure or location that is not associated with an automated storage and retrieval system.

In some approaches, the control circuit210may be configured to execute an assisted packing module (e.g., in step414), which may determine an optimum packing configuration for each container at each decanting station based on the sensed or obtained attributes of the product cases191(and/or product therein) diverted to their assigned decanting stations. The assisted packing module may cause the display148at the decanting station to illustrate to the operator the optimum packing configurations for the containers.

In step416, the control circuit210determines whether the decanting at each decanting station is successful. If not, the control circuit210may send feedback to a feedback module (see step420). The control circuit210may execute the feedback module to improve (e.g., by machine learning) any aspect of the decanting system102or any process implemented or executed by the decanting system102or any component thereof.

FIG.5shows an embodiment of a method500of decanting inventory products from cases at a retail facility. In some approaches, the method500may be implemented by one or more components of the decanting system102described herein with reference toFIGS.1A to4. With reference toFIGS.1A to5, the exemplary method500includes, in step502, receiving, by a control circuit210, from one or more sensors133associated with a decanting transport system151, information relating to a plurality of product cases191being transported by the decanting transport system151. Each product case191includes a quantity of product190. In some approaches, the information sensed or otherwise obtained by the one or more sensors133may comprise one or more of an identity of a product190in the product case191, a quantity of the product190in the product case191, one or more dimensions of the product190in the product case191, one or more dimensions of the product case191, a weight of the product190in the product case191, and a weight of the product case191itself.

The decanting transport system151is configured to transport the product cases191from a loading zone131to a plurality of decanting stations145, each decanting station145having at least one container120associated therewith having an amount of available space for receiving at least one product190. In some approaches, the control circuit210may be configured to analyze the workload of the plurality of decanting stations145to identify one or more decanting stations that can accommodate decanting. As each product case191is transported by the decanting transport system151from the loading zone131to one of the decanting stations145, the one or more sensors133obtain information from each product case191and transmit the information to a control circuit210and/or an electronic inventory management database (e.g., electronic inventory management database170.)

In step504, the control circuit210selects a subset of product cases191from the plurality of product cases being transported by the decanting transport system151. In some approaches, the control circuit210may select the subset of product cases191based on at least some of the information about the product cases received from the one or more sensors133, obtained from the electronic inventory management database170, from other vendor sources, and/or based on at least one business rule.

In step506, the control circuit210at least one business rule governing decanting to assign each product case191in the subset to a decanting station145. In some approaches, an exemplary business rule analyzed by the control circuit210may comprise a rule configured to determine a utilization value for the containers120at each decanting station145representing an amount of available space in each container. Another exemplary business rule analyzed by the control circuit210may comprise a rule configured to determine a cost function associated with diverting each product case191to a decanting station145. Yet another exemplary business rule analyzed by the control circuit210may comprise a rule configured to determine a minimum number of containers120required to accommodate all the products190in the subset of product cases191. In some approaches, the control circuit210may be configured to perform multiple analyses in parallel or successively using one or more same or different business rules and the control circuit may assign each product case191to a decanting station145based on an analysis outcome requiring the fewest containers.

In step508, the control circuit sends a signal to a control unit161associated with the decanting transport system151to cause the decanting transport system151divert each product case191in the subset to its assigned decanting station145based on the at least one business rule. In some scenarios, at least two product cases191from the subset of product cases maybe assigned to and diverted to different available decanting stations145based on the at least one business rule. In some scenarios, at least two product cases191in the subset of product cases may be assigned to and diverted to the same decanting station145based on the at least one business rule.

The systems and methods described herein advantageously allow retail facilities to automatically optimize storage space utilization of storage containers in automated storage and retrieval systems via smart decanting. The systems and methods describe herein thus provide significant operation efficiency and operation cost reduction for the retailers.

In some embodiments, a system for decanting inventory products from cases at a retail facility comprises: a loading zone configured to receive product cases, each product case containing a quantity of a product; a plurality of decanting stations, each decanting station having at least one container associated therewith, each container having an amount of available space for receiving at least one product; a decanting transport system configured to transport the product cases from the loading zone to the decanting stations, the decanting transport system comprising one or more sensors configured obtain information relating to the product cases; a control unit operatively coupled to the decanting transport system and configured to control movement of the decanting transport system; and a control circuit communicatively coupled to the control unit, the control circuit being configured to: receive, from the one or more sensors, information relating to a plurality of product cases being transported from the loading zone by the decanting transport system; select a subset of product cases from the plurality of product cases; analyze at least one business rule governing decanting to assign each product case in the subset to a decanting station; and cause the decanting transport system to divert each product case in the subset to its assigned decanting station based on the at least one business rule.

In some embodiments, a method of decanting inventory products from cases at a retail facility comprises: receiving, by a control circuit, from one or more sensors associated with a decanting transport system, information relating to a plurality of product cases being transported by the decanting transport system, each product case containing a quantity of product, wherein the decanting transport system is configured to transport the product cases from a loading zone to a plurality of decanting stations, each decanting station having at least one container associated therewith having an amount of available space for receiving at least one product; selecting, by the control circuit, a subset of product cases from the plurality of product cases; analyzing, by the control circuit, at least one business rule governing decanting to assign each product case in the subset to a decanting station; and causing, by the control circuit, the decanting transport system to divert each product case in the subset to its assigned decanting station based on the at least one business rule.