Patent ID: 7920962

Claim:
A method for moving one or more mobile drive units within a workspace, comprising: receiving, from a first mobile drive unit, a reservation request requesting use of a first path segment to move in a first direction; determining that a second mobile drive unit is currently located on the first path segment; determining whether the second mobile drive unit is moving in the first direction; in response to determining that the second mobile drive unit is not moving in the first direction, transmitting a reservation response indicating that the reservation request is denied; in response to determining that the second mobile drive unit is moving in the first direction, transmitting a reservation response indicating that the reservation request is granted; and wherein transmitting the reservation response indicating that the reservation request is granted comprises: determining whether the first path segment extends farther from the first mobile drive unit than a second path segment currently reserved by the second mobile drive unit; in response to determining that the first path segment does not extend farther from the first mobile drive unit than the second path segment, transmitting a reservation response indicating that the reservation request is granted; and in response to determining that the first path segment extends farther from the first mobile drive unit than the second path segment, transmitting a reservation response indicating that a reservation has been granted on a portion of the first path segment, wherein the portion is less than an entirety of the first path segment.