EP4588529A1

EP4588529A1 - A storage bin

Info

Publication number: EP4588529A1
Application number: EP24153074.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Ragnar STUHAUG
Original assignee: Autostore Technology AS
Current assignee: Autostore Technology AS
Priority date: 2024-01-22
Filing date: 2024-01-22
Publication date: 2025-07-23
Also published as: WO2025157477A1

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method of operating a robot arranged to raise, carry and lower a storage bin, the method comprising moving, along a grid of rails of a storage grid having a fire, the robot over the fire.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates to a storage bin, a robot and a storage grid and method of operating the same.

BACKGROUND

Traditional storage solutions usually involve the arrangement of goods on rows of shelves within a warehouse. The shelf location for each item is recorded in an inventory, and goods are retrieved from the shelves by a stock picker. The shelves are restocked and the inventory updated, as needed, as goods enter and leave the warehouse.
Warehouse workers may be assisted by robotic pickers and by automated inventory management systems. Automated transit systems may also be implemented in traditional warehouse set-ups to move goods from their inventory location to a picking and/or packing station.
An alternative to a traditional warehouse set-up is an automated storage and retrieval system in which robots retrieve items from their logged location within the warehouse and deliver the items to a packing station or port. Such systems can reduce or eliminate the space needed to pass between rows of shelves to access stock, thereby removing the need for broad aisles within the warehouse. One example of such a system involves placing goods in bins or containers that are configured to be stacked, side by side, within a three-dimensional grid (or storage grid). A rail system having a grid of rails is arranged on top of the grid, along which robotic container-handling vehicles configured to lift containers from the grid can travel. The container-handling vehicles are configured to transport containers from the grid and to deliver them to ports or stations at the periphery of the grid so that the goods within the container can be picked and packed.
Due to the three dimensionally dense nature of storage grids, fires that occur within them can be difficult to put out as fires in the centre of the grid cannot easily be accessed. If a fire occurs, the storage system will either shut down (and so stop moving its robots) or move its robots away from the fire to prevent them from fuelling the fire and/or being damaged by either the fire or any fire suppressant (such as water or foam) which is applied to the storage grid in order to suppress/extinguish the fire.
As the top of the grid needs to be kept clear for robots to allow them to traverse the rail system, any sprinklers or the like need to be located above both the storage grid and the space on top of the grid through which the robots travel. One approach is to use ceiling mounted sprinklers which, due to their vertical separation from the storage grid, diffusely apply water to the storage grid.
One or more aspects of the invention of the present application are set out in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will now be described in more detail in connection with a number of exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a storage system comprising a grid and a plurality of robotic container-handling vehicles configured to retrieve and/or rearrange goods stored within the grid;
Fig. 2 shows a top view of the system of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3A shows a side view of a first robotic container-handling vehicle suitable for use in the system of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3B shows a side view of a second robotic container-handling vehicle suitable for use in the system of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3C is a perspective side view of the robot of Fig. 3B;
Fig. 4 shows a computing device for implementing the operations described herein;
Fig. 5 shows a storage bin in a first configuration;
Fig. 6 shows the storage bin of Fig. 5 in a second configuration;
Fig. 7 shows a cross section through the storage bin of Fig. 5;
Fig. 8 is a flow chart for a method for use in operating a robot; and
Fig. 9 shows a top view of a storage grid; and
Fig. 10 is a flow chart for a method of operating a storage grid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In overview, the disclosure relates to a method whereby a robot is intentionally moved over/above a fire. The presence of a robot above a fire in a storage grid can in itself act to reduce the supply of oxygen to the fire. The robot may drop or release a fire suppressant directly over the fire thereby providing highly targeted fire suppression with reduced collateral damage when compared to sprinklers. Fire suppressants may be contained in storage bins (fire bins) that the robot can pick up as if they were normal storage bins and release of fire suppressants may be caused by the robot lowering such a fire bin. In such circumstances robots normally used for moving storage bins need not be modified significantly (or at all) in order to perform fire supressing duties.

Automated storage and retrieval system overview

Referring to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1, a grid 100 comprises a frame formed by a plurality of generally rectilinear, adjacent vertical columns 102 formed between vertical frame members 104 and extending in the X and Y directions 108, 110. The grid elements may be fabricated of any appropriate material; for example, the frame members may be formed of extruded aluminium. Storage containers or bins or storage bins 112 are stacked on top of each other, preferably in a self-supporting manner, in the Z direction 114 in the columns 102, forming a storage volume of storage cells for respective bins 112 extending in the X, Y and Z directions 108, 110, 114.
A rail system or network 116 is formed on top of the grid 100 and comprises pairs of vehicle rails or tracks 118a, 118b and 120a, 120b, respectively extending in the X and Y directions 108, 110. Robotic container-handling vehicles, or robots, 122, which can be of a range of size, shape and function, are provided and configured to run on the rails 118, 120 and to transport bins 112 in both the X and Y directions 108, 110. The robots 122 are additionally configured to lift and lower bins 112 from/into the columns 102 in the Z direction 114, the bins 112 optionally being guided by the vertical frame members 104. The robots 122 access the bins 112 via access openings 124 above the columns 102 and formed between the rails 118, 120.
Some columns 102 may be used for alternative purposes than bin storage. For example, port columns 126, 128 comprise port or access columns allowing transfer of a bin 112 in and/or out of the grid 100. Port columns 126, 128 provide a vertical channel for lifting of a bin 112 from, or lowering of a bin 112 to, a port or ports 130, 132. The ports 130, 132 are shown in Fig. 1 at the lowest level of the grid, however ports can be located at any vertical position along the column. The respective port columns 126, 128 can be assigned for removing ('drop-off) and/or returning or delivering ('pick-up') bins 112 from/to the grid 100. The ports 130, 132 are therefore configured to allow bins 112 to be removed and reintroduced (horizontally) into the associated port column. As such, a port 130, 132 can comprise a conveyor (not shown in Fig. 1) onto which a bin 112 may be lowered and transported horizontally out of the port column. The port columns 126, 128 include an opening or access point through which bins 112 can enter and leave the column.
Bins 112 can be transported along the top of the grid 100 to and/or from a port column 126, 128 by robots 122, and from a port 130, 132 to a location outside the grid 100, which may be an access station (not shown) for processing of the bin 112 or its contents, such as a picking station for adding content to, or removing content from, the bin 112. In alternative examples (not shown), the bin 112 may be transported to a port of another grid on the same or another level, or to an external facility. Transport of bins 112 to and from ports 130, 132 may be by any appropriate means (not shown) including conveyors, transport vehicles, lifts or robots.
Referring to the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the X-Y configuration 200 of the rail system 116 can be seen in more detail, together with robots 202, 204 of different types. The rail system includes rails 206 defining between them vertical column access openings 124 for access to bins 112. The rails 206 can be any appropriate type for permitting travel of the robots 202, 204 in the X and Y directions 108, 110 thereon, including (not shown) groove-type rails for receiving vehicle wheels, or protrusion-type rails for engaging wheel recesses. Each rail 206 may comprise a single track or multiple parallel tracks in each of the X and Y directions 108, 110.
A first, 'cantilever' type of robot 202 is shown in more detail in Fig. 3A and includes a body 300, a set of wheels 302 and a lifting device 304. The body 300 contains operational equipment (not shown) for the robot 202 including drive, power and control systems. The wheels 302 permit movement of the robot 202 in one of the X and Y directions, an additional set of wheels (not visible in this view) permitting movement in the other of the X and Y directions, in both cases along the respective rails or tracks 206. One or both sets of wheels can be raised or lowered to permit selective engagement of the rails for movement in the desired direction. The lifting device 304 includes a cantilever element 306 extending in the X-Y plane from the top of the body 300, and a gripping device 308, which is raisable and lowerable from the cantilever element 306. The gripping device 308 is configured to grip or engage a bin 112; for example, by gripping a part of the bin 112, or by passively or actively engaging a suitably configured part of the bin 112.
A second, 'internal cavity' type of robot 204 is shown in more detail in Fig. 3B and includes, as an alternative to the cantilevered lifting system, an internal cavity 310 within the body 300 and in which the lifting device 312 including a gripping device (not shown) is located. In this case, the body 300 includes the robot's operational equipment and a storage space for one or more bins 112, for use, for example, while transporting the bin 112.
Fig. 3C shows a perspective side view of the robot of Fig. 3B in which the first set of wheels 302 from Fig. 3B are visible. The additional set of wheels referenced above but not shown in Fig. 3B are shown as wheels 303 in Fig. 3C. The additional set of wheels 303 is arranged perpendicular to the first set of wheels 302, to allow rolling of the robot 204 in the X and Y directions on the first and second set of wheels 302, 303 respectively. The first and second set of wheels 302, 303 shown in Fig. 3C may be configured to be independently lowered into engagement with the rails (and conversely raised out of engagement with the rails) to allow the robot 202 to move in the X and Y direction across the arrangement of rails shown in Fig. 2. Although the perspective view shown in Fig. 3C is of the robot 204 of Fig. 3B, it will be appreciated that a similar perpendicular wheel arrangement may be applied to the robot 202 of Fig. 3A.

Control and monitoring system

Control and monitoring of the automated storage and retrieval system, including monitoring and storing bin position and controlling bin delivery, retrieval and transport and robot routing and collision avoidance, is performed by a control system shown in Fig. 4 in communication with the robots and/or other controllable system components. Control can be performed locally or remotely and may be implemented by a processing system, for example in the form of a computing device. Accordingly, the methods described herein may form all or part of a computer-implemented method, or a system configured to perform the methods described herein.
With reference to Fig. 4, a processing system 400 suitable for carrying out the methods described herein will now be described. Fig. 4 shows a block diagram of one implementation of a processing system 400 in the form of a computing device within which a set of instructions for causing the computing device to perform any one or more of the methods described herein may be executed. In some implementations, the computing device may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network (LAN), an intranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The computing device may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computing device may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet computer, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a single computing device is illustrated, the term 'computing device' shall also be taken to include any collection of machines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methods described herein.
The example processing system 400 includes a processor 402, a main memory 404 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 406 (e.g., flash memory, static random-access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a secondary memory (e.g., a data storage device 418), which communicate with each other via a bus 430.
Processor 402 represents one or more general-purpose processors such as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. More particularly, the processor 402 may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor 402 may also be one or more special-purpose processors such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like. Processor 402 is configured to execute the processing logic (instructions 422) for performing the operations and steps described herein.
The processing system 400 may further include a network interface device 408. The processing system 400 also may include any of a video display unit 410 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 412 (e.g., a keyboard or touchscreen), a cursor control device 414 (e.g., a mouse or touchscreen), and an audio device 416 (e.g., a speaker).
It will be apparent that some features of the processing system 400 shown in Fig. 4 may be absent. For example, the processing system 400 may have no need for display device 410 (or any associated adapters). This may be the case, for example, for particular server-side computer apparatuses which are used only for their processing capabilities and do not need to display information to users. Similarly, user input device 412 may not be required. In its simplest form, processing system 400 comprises processor 402 and main memory 404.
The data storage device 418 may include one or more machine-readable storage media (or more specifically one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media) 428 on which is stored one or more sets of instructions 422 embodying any one or more of the methods or functions described herein. The instructions 422 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 404 and/or within the processor 402 during execution thereof by the processing system 400, the main memory 404 and the processor 402 also constituting computer-readable storage media 428.
The various methods described herein may be implemented by a computer program. The computer program may include computer code arranged to instruct a computer to perform the functions of one or more of the various methods described herein. The computer program and/or the code for performing such methods may be provided to an apparatus, such as a computer, on one or more computer-readable media or, more generally, a computer program product. The computer-readable media may be transitory or non-transitory. The one or more computer-readable media could be, for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, or a propagation medium for data transmission, for example for downloading the code over the Internet. Alternatively, the one or more computer-readable media could take the form of one or more physical computer-readable media such as semiconductor or solid-state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magnetic disc, or an optical disk, such as a CD-ROM, CD-R/W or DVD.
The computer program is executable by the processor 402 to perform functions of the systems and methods described herein.
In an implementation, the modules, components, and other features described herein can be implemented as discrete components or integrated in the functionality of hardware components such as ASICS, FPGAs, DSPs, or similar devices.
A 'hardware component' is a tangible (e.g., non-transitory) physical component (e.g., a set of one or more processors) capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in a certain physical manner. A hardware component may include dedicated circuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certain operations. A hardware component may be or include a special-purpose processor, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an ASIC. A hardware component may also include programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations.
Accordingly, the phrase 'hardware component' should be understood to encompass a tangible entity that may be physically constructed, permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured (e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certain operations described herein.
In addition, the modules and components can be implemented as firmware or functional circuitry within hardware devices. Further, the modules and components can be implemented in any combination of hardware devices and software components, or only in software (e.g., code stored or otherwise embodied in a machine-readable medium or in a transmission medium).

Operation of the automated storage and retrieval system

In operation, each bin 112 is given a unique identifier, which maybe marked on the bin 112 using a computer-readable identifier (e.g., a barcode, quick-response code or radio-frequency identification tag) to ease identification of the bin 112. A database of the processing system 400 stores, in association with the unique identifier, the position and, optionally, content of each bin 112. When a bin 112 is moved (e.g., when it is retrieved from the grid 100), the database is updated to record its change in position.
When it is desired to retrieve a bin 112 from the grid 100, under control of the processing system 400, a robot 202, 204 is routed via the rail system 116 to the vertical column 102 including the storage cell where, according to the database, the bin 112 is positioned, and the lifting device 304, 312 is positioned (according to robot type) over the corresponding access opening 124, either adjacent or below the robot 202, 204. The robot 202, 204 lowers the gripping device 308 which engages, grips and lifts the bin 112 to the robot 202, 204. The robot 202, 204 then transports the bin 112, for example, to the drop-off port column 126, 128 for delivery to the port 130, 132 and subsequent processing external to the grid 100. In the event that the target or designated bin 112 is below other bins in the stack then the robot 202, 204 or multiple robots, which may be dedicated to the task, are controlled in a 'digging' operation to sequentially lift and reposition, temporarily or permanently, bins above the target bin 112 in order for it to be retrieved. It will be appreciated that other operations in relation to the bin 112 can be carried out in a similar manner. For example, a bin 112 can be delivered for storage in the grid 100 at the port 130, 132 of the pick-up port column 126, 128, gripped and lifted by a robot 202, 204 and delivered to the desired storage cell, bins above the desired position being repositioned if necessary as discussed above.

Fire bin

Fig. 5 shows a storage bin 502 in a first configuration. The storage bin 502 is arranged to hold a fire suppressant and so may be described as a 'fire bin'. The fire bin 502 is arranged to be gripped by the gripping device of a robot such as robot 202 or 204 and may be generally dimensioned as per storage bins 112 and may have corresponding features such as: guides for guiding the gripping device onto the storage bin when the gripping device is lowered onto the fire bin, and engagement portions 506 arranged on a top surface 504 of the fire bin 502 for releasable engagement with one or more gripping elements of the gripping device. The top surface 504 of the fire bin 502 may be closed in order to facilitate downwards directioning of the fire suppressant upon its release and/or to help act as a heat/fire shield for the robot when the robot and fire bin 502 are positioned above a fire. As another possibility, the top surface 504 of the fire bin 502 may have one ore more openings to enable access to the interior of the fire bin 502 from above - as may be required by an operator of the storage grid.
The fire bin 502 also has a fire suppressant release mechanism 508 arranged, upon triggering, to release a fire suppressant held by the fire bin 502 via one or more openings (not shown in Fig. 5) at the bottom of the fire bin 502. In this instance, the suppressant release mechanism 508 has a projecting arm 510 that is moveable between a primed position (shown in Fig. 5) relative to the rest of the fire bin 502 and a triggered position (shown in Fig. 6) relative to the rest of the fire bin 502 to cause triggering of the suppressant release mechanism 508. Movement of the projecting arm 510 between its primed and triggered positions may be brought about by interaction with a support member or rail 512 of the storage grid when the projecting arm 510 is lowered thereagainst - for example as may occur when the robot is located above a vertical column as it would be for lowering a normal storage bin thereinto and then lowers (in direction A of Fig. 5) the fire bin 510 into the grid thereby bringing the projecting arm 510 into contact with the support member or rail 512 of the grid. By this arrangement, a robot arranged to raise and lower storage bins need not be modified in order to perform fire suppressing duties.
Fig. 7 shows a cross section through the fire bin 502. The fire bin 502 is arranged to hold a fire suppressant 702 (shown in dashed lines as the fire bin may be made and sold separately to the fire suppressant 702) which may be in gaseous, liquid, foamed, powdered and/or solid forms. The fire suppressant any may be any material suitable for supressing or extinguishing fires. Non-limiting examples of materials for the fire suppressant include: water, carbon dioxide, oxyreduct, sodium bicarbonate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium chloride, and perfluorohexanoic acid. In the example of Fig. 7, an optional guide or nozzle 704 is provided to direct the fire suppressant 702, which may be held in the fire bin 502 in a compressed/pressurized state, downwards when it is released.
The suppressant release mechanism 508 of Fig. 7 further comprises a coupling member 706 arranged, upon exertion of an upwards (in the direction of arrow B of Fig. 7) force upon the projecting arm 510 when it is in the primed position, to transmit a force to cause release of the fire suppressant 702 through the nozzle 704 and via one or more openings 708 in the bottom of the fire bin 502.
The suppressant release mechanism 508 may be arranged so that its projecting arm 510 has a further position for storage (a storage position - not shown) which may be needed in order to store a stack of fire bins 502 within a vertical column of the storage grid as otherwise the projecting arm 510 could project up to/beyond the frame of that vertical column thereby impeding vertical passage of the fire bin or even triggering the suppressant release mechanism. The suppressant release mechanism may be arranged so that, when a fire bin 502 having its projecting arm 510 in the storage position is raised above the grid, the projecting arm 510 automatically moves from its storage position to its primed position. This may be accomplished by way of a sprung mechanism with the projecting arm 510 riding against a part of the frame whilst within the vertical column and/or by an actuator to cause movement between the storage and primed positions.
As one possibility, the fire bin may be arranged so that it cannot be lowered fully or beyond the point at which the suppressant release mechanism 508 is triggered. This may be achieved by a stop (not shown) arranged to stop the projecting arm 510 rotating beyond its triggered position - thereby causing the projecting arm 510 when in the triggered position to itself act as a stop which interacts with the support/rail 512 to prevent further lowering of the fire bin. Additionally or alternatively, the fire bin itself may have one or more stops or a lip arranged to interact with the grid and prevent further lowering of the fire bin. This can help keep the fire bin away from the fire and reduce the likelihood of the fire bin itself becoming fuel for the fire. As one possibility, the fire bin is inflammable.
Although the above has been described in relation to a fire bin having a purely mechanical suppressant release mechanism, other mechanisms may additionally or alternatively be employed. For example, an electrical mechanism may be arranged to actuate a motor, solenoid, electromagnet or valve in order to release the fire suppressant from the fire bin upon triggering.
Similarly, triggering of the suppressant release mechanism need not be caused by the mechanical interaction of two bodies (the support/rail 512 and the projecting arm 510). Triggering may occur based on an electrical, optical, or magnetic sensor/actuator. Examples include: a Hall sensor arranged to detect a magnetic field of the support/rail or fire bin as may exist consequent to the presence of an adjacent permanent magnet or energised electromagnet, a electromagnet held by the support/rail and arranged upon energisation to trigger the suppressant release mechanism, an electrical contactor arranged to complete or break an electrical circuit for triggering the suppressant release mechanism, and/or an LED/photodiode arrangement for completing or breaking an optical circuit for triggering the suppressant release mechanism.
Although the suppressant release mechanism may be arranged to be triggered upon lowering of the fire bin towards the grid, additionally or alternatively it may be otherwise triggerable, for example by way of the provision of an electrical triggering signal by the robot and via the gripping device to the fire bin and/or by way of a wireless triggering signal.
Although the above has been described with reference to a fire bin having a form very similar to that of a conventional storage bin, it can be it may instead take other forms that can be gripped by the gripping device with examples including: a cage, a tube and a plate.

Operation of robot

Fig. 8 is a flow chart for a method for use in operating a robot. At step S800 a location of a fire in the storage grid is identified. This may done manually by an operator estimating the location or automatically consequent, for example, to a heat detector or camera being used to determine the location. At step S805, a robot collects a fire bin. This may involve the robot traversing the grid of rails in order to get to the fire bin and on the way the robot may need to offload into the storage grid any storage bin that it is already carrying. At step S810, and whilst carrying the fire bin, the robot moves along the grid of rails to the identified location or a location vertically thereabove. The act of a robot being directly above a fire may restrict the supply of oxygen to the fire and so in some circumstances step S800 may be omitted and the robot may instead be moved above the identified location whilst not carrying a fire bin. At step S815, the fire suppressant is released from the fire bin. The fire suppressant may fall onto the fire or be propelled onto the fire - as may occur if fire suppressant is stored in the fire bin as a compressed gas. Release of the fire suppressant may be caused by the robot lowering the fire bin towards the grid in order to trigger the suppressant release mechanism. As another possibility, release of the fire suppressant may be electronically triggered by the robot and/or the control system. After release of the fire suppressant, the robot may be moved along the grid of rails away from the identified location and the method of Fig. 8 may be repeated using another fire bin. The repeated method may start at step S805 if more fire suppressant is to be released at the identified location, or may start from step S800 if fire suppressant is to be released at another location - as may be needed if the fire has spread.

Storage grid holding area and operation thereof

In the event of a fire, fire bins should be easily accessible so that robots can retrieve them and use them to suppress/extinguish the fire. Although fire bins could be stored in the storage grid as per any other storage bin, delays cold be caused if other bins need to be lifted out of the way in order to retrieve fire bins and so it is beneficial to store them near to or on the top of the grid or in dedicated columns. However the top layer of cells in the storage grid is the one that will likely be used to store storage bins that will need to be accessed most often and so a conflict arises between the efficient normal storage and retrieval of storage bins on one hand and on the other hand the need to be able to quickly retrieve fire bins in the event of a fire. Also, as fire bins when loaded contain fire suppressant which could be damaging and very onerous to tidy up in the event of its inadvertent release, it is beneficial to hold fire bins ready for use in a dedicated holding area.
Fig. 9 shows a top view of a system like that of Fig. 1 and as shown in top view in Fig. 2 and with corresponding reference signs denoting corresponding features. The storage system 900 of Fig. 9 further has a plurality of holding areas 902 for holding one or more fire bins 904. The holding areas 902 may be on top of the rails 206 so that cantilever robots 202 can collect fire bins therefrom without having to lower their gripping devices below the rails 206. Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the holding areas 902 may be a vertical column of one or more cells within which one or more fire bins can be held or vertically stacked and retrieved by cantilevered 202 and/or internal cavity 204 robots. The holding areas 902 may be slightly wider than normal cells in cases where the suppressant release mechanisms protrude from the fire bins to such an extent that storage of a fire bin in a normal cell is not possible or could risk triggering the fire release mechanism.
To prevent robots 202, 204 from accessing fire bins 904 in circumstances where a fire has not been detected, a moveable physical barrier or fence 906 may be placed to prevent the robots 202, 204 from retrieving any fire bin 904 stored in a holding area 902. The barrier 906 could take any form sufficient to prevent the robot from retrieving a fire bin 904 from the holding area 902 when the barrier 906 is in a closed position. For example, the barrier when in the closed position could be the full height of the robot, or could be arranged to prevent passage of the wheels of the robot 202, 204 or the cantilevered portion of a cantilevered robot 202. If the barrier 906 was to be used to prevent passage of the wheels of a cantilevered robot 202, it would need to be located such that the cantilevered portion could not reach over it by enough to access a fire bin 904 in the holding area.
The barrier 906 is moveable between the closed position in which it blocks the robot 202, 204 from retrieving the one or more fire bins 904 from the holding area 906 and an open position in which the robots 202, 204 are not blocked from retrieving fire bins 904 from the holding area 906. Movement of the barrier 906 between the closed and open positions may be motorised or it could be effected manually - for example by a human lifting/pulling/sliding the barrier out of the way of the robots 202, 204.
Fig. 10 is a flow chart for a method of operating a storage grid having a holding area and a barrier. At first the barrier is in the closed position and preferably one or more fire bins are held in the holding area. At step S1000, an indication is received that there is a fire in the storage grid. The indication may be provided manually by a person operating a fire alarm or automatically consequent to a heat or smoke detector or camera being used to determine the presence of a fire. At step S1005, the barrier is moved to the open position. The method of Fig. 8 may be performed subsequent to or partially in parallel with the steps of Fig. 10 with step S805 occurring after step S1005.
Although the above has been described with reference to Fig. 9 which shows three adjacent holding areas 902, it is contemplated that the grid may have any number of holding areas arranged in any configuration. As one possibility they could be arranged in a spaced apart configuration about the storage grid's periphery.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other implementations will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading and understanding the above description. Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to specific example implementations, it will be recognized that the disclosure is not limited to the implementations described, but can be practiced with modification and alteration within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense. The scope of the disclosure should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

A method of operating a robot arranged to raise, carry and lower a storage bin, the method comprising moving, along a grid of rails of a storage grid having a fire, the robot over the fire.
The method of claim 1, further comprising releasing, from the robot, a fire suppressant.
The method of claim 2, further comprising, prior to moving the robot over the fire, collecting, by the robot, a storage bin containing the fire suppressant.
The method of claim 3, further comprising the robot lowering the collected storage bin towards the storage grid to cause release of the fire suppressant.
A storage bin arranged to hold a fire suppressant, the storage bin having a suppressant release mechanism arranged to release a fire suppressant held by the storage bin upon triggering.
The storage bin of claim 5 wherein the suppressant release mechanism is arranged to be triggered when the bin is lowered into a storage grid, optionally wherein the suppressant release mechanism comprises a projecting arm arranged to trigger release of the fire suppressant when subjected to an upward force.
The storage bin of claim 5 or 6 having one or more openings at its bottom for passage of released fire suppressant.
The storage bin of any of claims 5 to 7, wherein the storage bin holds the fire suppressant.
A robot carrying a storage bin according to any of claims 5 to 8 and being arranged to ride upon a grid of rails of a storage grid and raise and lower the storage bin relative to the storage grid.
A storage grid containing one or more of the storage bins of any of claims 5 to 8.
A storage grid having a grid of rails upon which can ride robots arranged to carry storage bins and to raise/lower storage bins into/out of the storage grid, the storage grid having:
a holding area for storing one or more storage bins holding fire suppressant, and

a barrier moveable between a closed position in which the barrier blocks the robots from retrieving the one or more storage bins from the holding area and an open position in which the robots are not blocked from retrieving the one or more storage bins from the holding area.
The storage grid of claim 10 further comprising one or more storage bins according to any of claims 5 to 8 located in the holding area.
A method of operating the storage grid of claim 11 or 12, the method comprising:
receiving an indication that there is a fire in the storage grid; and

moving the barrier from the closed position to the open position.
A system/apparatus arranged to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 4 or 13.
A computer readable medium storing instructions for implementing the method of any of claims 1 to 4 or 13.