Patent Publication Number: US-2022234825-A1

Title: Robotic order consolidation using modular actuated rotary put-wall

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to put-walls in material handling environments and, more particularly, to methods and systems of conveying items using put-walls. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Order processing is one of the most important workflows to be considered while operating storage facilities or material handling environments for order fulfillment. Order processing operations generally occur in facilities called “distribution centers”. Order processing generally consists of three central sub-processes: (a) Order picking, in which items are collected in a specified quantity before being shipped according to customer orders; (b) Order sorting, in which items are separated based on their respective destinations; and (c) Order consolidation, in which labelled items are assembled into loading units for transportation. Distribution centers utilize a collection of conveyors, put walls, and carts, to move these items around the distribution centers as required to fulfill customer orders. A put wall is a storage system which can handle a large number of orders by consolidating items in a common repository, such as a cubby, a tote, or a carton. For example, items which are part of a single order can be placed in the same cubby and later processed to be shipped together from the distribution center. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the subject disclosure are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various views unless otherwise specified. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary perspective view of a rotary put wall, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a system environment having the rotary put wall, a first robotic device, a second robotic device and a third robotic device, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of the rotary put wall, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of the rotary put wall, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary perspective view of a rotary put wall carousel, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a top view of a rotary put wall carousel, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 7A  illustrates a front view of the rotary put wall carousel, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 7B  illustrates a side view of the rotary put wall carousel, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 8A  illustrates an exemplary cutaway view of an internal vertical reciprocating conveyor within the rotary out wall carousel; 
         FIGS. 8B-8G  illustrate movement of a dumper chute of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor within the rotary out wall carousel; 
         FIGS. 9A-9F  illustrate movement of an item from a collection chute of an internal vertical reciprocating conveyor to a designated tote of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel, according to one or more embodiments described herein; 
         FIG. 10  illustrates an exemplary perspective view of a double-layered shelf of an external vertical reciprocating conveyor of a rotary put wall carousel; 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     One or more embodiments are now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It is evident, however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without these specific details. 
     Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for a rotary put wall that can comprises a plurality of totes that are designed to hold items related to a specific customer order. The rotary put wall can receive one or more items to fulfil a customer order from a donor tote of a plurality of donor totes. The donor tote can be present on a conveyor which transports a plurality of donor totes transporting one or more items. An item can be picked from the donor tote and placed in a tote of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall. This process can be repeated till all items associated with the customer order have been placed in the tote. Upon completion of the customer order, the filled tote can be dumped into an empty order tote on an outfeed conveyor. The filled order tote is then dispatched away on the outfeed conveyor for further processing. The small footprint achieved by having a rotary put wall with a compact layout and simple mechanism offers a simple and space-optimized method of conveying items in distribution centers, thus increasing overall efficiency and reducing operational cycle time. 
     In an embodiment, the item can be picked from the donor tote by a first robotic device such as a robotic manipulator having end effectors such as vacuum cups or robotic fingers. In an embodiment, the item can be picked from the donor tote by a human operator. 
     In an embodiment, the item can be picked by the first robotic device from the donor tote and transferred to a second robotic device. The second robotic device can be present within the rotary put wall and can be configured such that the second robotic device and the rotary put wall are rotatable with respect to each other. The second robotic device can convey the received item to a consolidation zone in the rotary put wall. This process can be repeated for all the items associated with a customer order. A third robotic device can then pick the items associated with the customer order from the rotary put wall and transfer the items to an empty tote on an outfeed conveyor. 
     In an embodiment, the second robotic device can be rotatable, and the rotary put wall can be stationary. 
     In an embodiment, the second robotic device can be stationary, and the rotary put wall can be rotatable. 
     In an embodiment, the empty tote can be one order tote of a plurality of order totes on the outfeed conveyor. 
     In an embodiment, the third robotic device can be a robotic manipulator having end effectors such as robotic fingers or vacuum cups. In yet another embodiment, the third robotic device can be a human operator. 
     In an embodiment, the rotary put wall can be a modular actuated rotary put wall. 
     In an embodiment, a dual conveyor system can be used to transport the donor tote of the plurality of donor totes and the order tote of the plurality of order totes such that the donor tote of the plurality of donor totes can be transported on an upper conveyor and the order tote of the plurality of order totes can be transported on a lower conveyor of the dual conveyor system or vice versa. 
     In an embodiment, the rotary put wall can be a rotary put wall carousel which can comprise a plurality of totes. One or more vertical reciprocating conveyors can be present external to the rotary put wall carousel to transport empty and filled totes to and away from the modular rotary put wall. A vertical reciprocating conveyor can be present within the rotary put wall and can comprise one or more of chutes to receive one or more items picked from a donor tote. The internal vertical reciprocating conveyor and the rotary put wall carousel can be configured to rotate with respect to each other such that the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor can convey an item placed in one chute of the plurality of chutes to one of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel. The internal vertical reciprocating conveyor can be positioned within the rotary put wall carousel such that the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor can access the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel from inside of the rotary put wall carousel. 
     In an embodiment, a robotic device such as a robotic manipulator can be used to pick the item from the donor tote and place the item in the one chute of the plurality of chutes of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor. 
     In an embodiment, the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor can comprise a dumper chute mounted to the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor and a collection chute mounted at the top of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor. The collection chute can receive the item from the robotic manipulator. The internal vertical reciprocating conveyor can then rotate toward an order position such that the item in the collection chute can be conveyed to the dumper chute. The dumper chute mounted to the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor can then be actuated to be elevated to the top of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor to receive the item from the collection chute. The dumper chute can be actuated such that the dumper chute is lowered to a designated put location for the item. Once the item is placed in the designated put location, the item can then be released into a tote of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel. The tote of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel carrying the item can then be dispatched to an outfeed conveyor for further processing. 
     In an embodiment, the rotary put wall carousel can be a modular actuated rotary put wall carousel. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary perspective view of a rotary put wall  102  in a system environment  100  according to one or more embodiments described herein. The rotary put wall  102  can comprise a plurality of totes, such as  104  to receive items associated with one or more customer orders. The rotary put wall  102  can be cylindrical in shape and comprise a plurality of consolidation zones for consolidating the one or more customer orders. In some embodiments, the rotary put wall  102  can comprise a plurality of shelves or levels in which the plurality of totes can be placed. In some embodiments, the rotary put wall  102  can have other polygonal designs such as a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape, and so on. In some other embodiments, the rotary put wall can comprise of a plurality of cubbies or chutes to receive items. In yet some other embodiments, the rotary put wall  102  can be modular in structure such that the rotary put wall  102  can be expanded in a vertical and a horizontal direction. In yet some other embodiments, Pick-to-Light (PTL) devices, such as light-emitting devices (LEDs) can be installed in each tote of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall  102  to indicate that the one or more customer orders have been completed. In yet some other embodiments, each tote of the plurality of totes can comprise one or more of an audio communication means, a visual communication means, and a keypad to indicate that the one or more customer orders have been completed. In some embodiments, a controller can control the operation of one or more of the Pick-to-Light (PTL) devices, the audio communication means, the visual communication means, and the keypad. The controller can be connected to the rotary put wall  102  using wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the containers (e.g.  104 ) can be wedge shaped as shown in  FIG. 1 . In other embodiments, the containers can be rectangular shaped as shown in  FIGS. 8A-8G . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a system environment  200  having the rotary put wall  212 , a first robotic device  220 , a second robotic device  214  and a third robotic device  216  according to one or more embodiments described herein. The rotary put wall  212  comprises a plurality of chutes, such as  208  and  210  to receive items. The system environment  200  further comprises an upper conveyor  204  to transport a tote  202  of a plurality of totes. The tote  202  can be a donor tote. A lower conveyor  222  can transport a tote  218  of a plurality of totes. The tote  218  can be an order tote to transport items based on one or more customer orders for further processing. 
     The upper conveyor  204  can transport totes such as tote  202  which carry one or more items to be sorted according to customer orders. The first robotic device  220  can pick an item of one or more items associated with a customer order from the tote  202 . The first robotic device  220  can be a robotic manipulator having an end effector  206  to pick the item. The end effector  206  of the robotic device  220  can be robotic fingers, vacuum cups, electromagnetic clamp, or any other form of vacuum, pneumatic, electromagnetic gripping means. The end effector  206  can then transfer the item to the second robotic device  214 . The second robotic device  214  can have a chute to receive the item transferred by the first robotic device  220 . The second robotic device  214  can then convey the item into a chute  208  present in a consolidation zone of the plurality of consolidation zones of the rotary put wall  212 . The process of picking items from the totes of the one or more totes of the upper conveyor  204  and placing the items in the chute  208  of the one or more chutes of the rotary put wall  212  can be repeated till all items associated with the customer order are placed in the chute  208 . 
     Upon completion of the customer order, a third robotic device  216  can pick the chute  208  carrying the one or more items associated with the customer order from the consolidation zone of the rotary put wall  212 . The third robotic device  216  can then transfer the one or more items present in the chute  208  to a tote  218  of the plurality of totes present on the lower conveyor  222 . The filled tote  218  containing the one or more items associated with the customer order can then be dispatched away for further processing. 
     In an example embodiment, the upper conveyor  204  and the lower conveyor  222  can be conveyor belts supported by a series of idler rollers or roller conveyors comprising a bed of parallel rollers positioned adjacent to each other. 
     In an example embodiment, actions performed by the first robotic device  220  and the third robotic device  216  can also be performed by a human operator. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a side view of the rotary put wall  302  in a system environment  300  according to one or more embodiments described herein. The system environment  300  can comprise an upper conveyor  312  to transport a tote  316  of a plurality of totes carrying an item  320 . The system environment  300  can further comprise a first robotic manipulator  310  having an end effector to pick the item  320  from the tote  316  and place the item  320  in a chute of a second robotic manipulator  306 . The second robotic manipulator  306  can place the item  320  in a tote  304  of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall  302 . Upon completion of a customer order associated with the item  320 , a third robotic manipulator  308  can pick the tote  304  and transfer the item  320  in a tote  318  of a plurality of totes in a lower conveyor  314  to be dispatched for further processing. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a top view of the rotary put wall  408  having a tote  414  of a plurality of totes in a material handling environment  400 . The material handling environment  400  can comprise an upper conveyor  404  for transporting a tote such as tote  402  of a plurality of totes, a first robotic manipulator  406 , a second robotic manipulator  410 , a third robotic manipulator  412  and a lower conveyor  416  for conveying a tote  418  of a plurality of totes, wherein the tote  418  can transport one or more items associated with a customer order. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a perspective view of a rotary put wall carousel  514  comprising a plurality of totes such as  512  to receive items in a material handling environment  500 , in accordance with various aspects and embodiments of the subject disclosure. The rotary put wall carousel  514  can comprise a plurality of shelves or levels to support the plurality of totes such as a tote  512 . The rotary put wall carousel  514  can be cylindrical in shape. In some example embodiments, the rotary put wall carousel  514  can have other polygonal designs such as a pentagonal shape, a hexagonal shape, and so on. The rotary put wall carousel  514  can comprise a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516  within the rotary put wall carousel  514 . The internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516  can comprise a plurality of chutes or totes to receive items, such as a collector chute  524  and a dumper chute  526 . The material handling environment  500  further comprises external vertical reciprocating conveyors  510  and  528 , a first roller bed  508  which transports a plurality of totes such as tote  506 , a second roller bed  520  which receives a tote  518  from the external vertical reciprocating conveyor  528 , a third roller bed  522  and a robotic device  502  having an end effector  504 . 
     The first roller bed  508  can transport a tote  506  of a plurality of totes which can comprise one or more items to be consolidated in accordance with one or more customer orders. The robotic device  502  having the end effector  504  can pick an item from the tote  506  to place the item in the collector chute  524  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516 . The end effector  504  of the robotic device  502  can be a plurality of vacuum cups, robotic fingers, electromagnetic clamps, or any other form of vacuum, pneumatic, electromagnetic gripping means for robotic devices. The collector chute  524  can be mounted at the top of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516  to receive the item from the end effector  504  of the robotic device  502 . The dumper chute  526  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516  can be mounted to the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516  frame such that the dumper chute  526  can be rotatable about the axis of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516 . The dumper chute  526  can be actuated such that the dumper chute  526  can be moved up and down across the frame of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516 . When the item is present in the collector chute  524 , the dumper chute  526  can be actuated such that the dumper chute  526  is present at the top of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  516  to receive the item from the collector chute  524 . 
     When the item is received by the dumper chute  526 , the dumper chute  526  can be actuated such that the dumper chute  526  can be lowered to a designated put location for the item in the tote  512 . The item can then be released into the tote  512  by the dumper chute  526 . When all items related to the customer order have been placed in the tote  512 , the tote  512  can be released onto the second roller bed  520 . The second roller bed  520  can be used to transport totes such as  512  and  518 , which can comprise one or more complete customer orders. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a top view of a rotary put wall carousel  606  in a material handling environment  600 . The material handling environment  600  can further comprise a roller conveyor  616  for transporting a tote  602  of a plurality of totes, external vertical reciprocating conveyors (VRCs)  612  and  610 , a robotic device  604  and an internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  608 . The rotary put wall carousel  606  can comprise a cylindrical frame  614  having a plurality of shelves or levels to support a plurality of chutes. 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  illustrate a front view and a side view of a rotary put wall carousel  716  having a plurality of chutes in a material handling environment  700 . The material handling environment  700  can further comprise a tote  704  of a plurality of totes which can be transported by a conveyor system comprising an upper conveyor  706 , a middle conveyor  710 , a lower conveyor  708 . The material handling environment can further comprise an external vertical reciprocating conveyors (VRCs)  712  and  714 , a robotic device  702  and an internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  718 . 
       FIG. 8A  illustrates an exemplary cutaway view of an internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  within a rotary put wall carousel  812  having a plurality of totes such as  814 . The internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  can comprise a frame  810  and a plurality of chutes such as a collection chute  802  and a dumper chute  808 . The collection chute  802  can receive items such as  804  from a robotic device or a human operator. The collection chute  802  can transfer items such as  806  to the dumper chute  808 . The items  804  and  806  can indicate items associated with a picking order for a customer. Further, the collection chute  802  and the dumper chute  808  can have release doors such as  816  and  818  respectively. The internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  can rotate independently with respect to the rotary put wall carousel  812 , as can be indicated by arrows  828  and  830 . The dumper chute  808  can be mounted on a lift axis  820  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800 . Using the lift axis  820 , the dumper chute  808  can be actuated to move in the upward direction and the downward direction along the axis of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  to transfer items from the collection chute  802  to a designated tote of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel  812 . In an embodiment, the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  808  can be rotatable and the rotary put wall carousel  812  can be stationary. In yet another embodiment, the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  808  can be stationary and the rotary put wall carousel  812  can be rotatable. 
       FIG. 8B  illustrates an initial position of the dumper chute  808  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  within the rotary put wall carousel  812 . The item  804  can be received by the collector chute  802  from a tote of a plurality of totes which can be present on a conveyor system. 
       FIG. 8C  illustrates an updated position of the dumper chute  808  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  within the rotary put wall carousel  812 . The dumper chute  808  can be actuated to move upwards (as indicated by the arrow) to the top of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  using the lift axis  820 . Using the release door  816 , the collection chute  802  can transfer the item  804  to the dumper chute  808 . Further, the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  can be rotated while the dumper chute  808  ascends to the top of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800 , as is indicated by the arrow  832 . 
       FIG. 8D  illustrates that the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  can continue to rotate (as is indicated by the arrow  834 ) while the release door  816  of the collection chute  802  can be opened so that the item  804  can be transferred to the dumper chute  808 . 
       FIG. 8E  illustrates that the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  can rotate towards a destination tote of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel  812 , as is indicated by the arrow  836 . Further, the dumper chute  808  can receive the item  804  from the collection chute  802 . 
       FIG. 8F  illustrates that the rotary put wall carousel  812  can rotate independently with respect to the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  so that the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  can be in an optimized position with respect to a designated tote  822  of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel  812  to receive the item  804 , as is indicated by the arrow  838 . Further, the dumper chute  808  can descend along the lift axis  820  to transfer the item  804  to the designated tote  822 . The release door  816  of the collection chute  802  can be placed in a closed position to receive a next item from a robotic device or a human operator. 
       FIG. 8G  illustrates that the dumper chute  808  can open the release door  818  of the dumper chute  808  to transfer the item  804  to the designated tote  822 . The collection chute  802  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor  800  can receive items such as  824  and  826  from the robotic device or the human operator to transfer to the dumper chute  808 . 
       FIGS. 9A-9F  illustrate movement of an item  908  from a collection chute  910  of an internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  to a dumper chute  914 , and then to a designated tote  916  of the plurality of totes of the rotary put wall carousel  904  in a material handling environment  900 . 
       FIG. 9A  illustrates that the item  908  can be picked by a robotic device  906  and placed in the collection chute  910  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912 . The dumper chute  914  can be actuated across the frame of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  such that the dumper chute  914  can be positioned at the top of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912 . 
       FIG. 9B  illustrates that the collection chute  910  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  carrying the item  908  and the dumper chute  914  can be rotated about the axis of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  to convey the item  908  to a designated put position. 
       FIG. 9C  illustrates that the collection chute  910  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  carrying the item  908  and the dumper chute  914  can be rotated about the axis of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  to convey the item  908  towards a designated tote  916  at the designated put position. 
       FIG. 9D  illustrates that the collection chute  910  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  carrying the item  908  can release the item  908  into the dumper chute  914  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  to convey the item  908 . 
       FIG. 9E  illustrates that the dumper chute  914  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  carrying the item  908  can release the item  908  into the tote  916  of the plurality of totes of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912 . 
       FIG. 9F  illustrates that the item  908  can be released in the designated tote  916  by the dumper chute  914  of the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912 . 
     In some embodiments, sensors, such as proximity sensors, photo eye, and camera can be attached to the internal vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  912  to monitor the position of the item in different operating positions as the item is picked by the first robotic device  906  and placed in the designated tote  916  of the rotary put wall carousel  904 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates an exemplary perspective view of an external vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  1002  of a rotary put wall carousel  1008 . The external vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC)  1002  can comprise a double-layered shelf comprising of an upper shelf  1004  and a lower shelf  1006  to transport totes carrying items from the rotary put wall carousel  1008 . 
     The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. 
     In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes” and “including” and variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” 
     The above descriptions of various embodiments of the subject disclosure and corresponding figures and what is described in the Abstract, are described herein for illustrative purposes, and are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It is to be understood that one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that other embodiments having modifications, permutations, combinations, and additions can be implemented for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitute functions of the disclosed subject matter, and are therefore considered within the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to any single embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the claims below.