KR20230116883A - Systems and methods for managing movement of material handling vehicles - Google Patents

Abstract

In accordance with the subject matter of this disclosure, an automated warehouse environment is provided in which designated material handling vehicles are programmed to initiate permit inquiries at primary and secondary nodes of a path of movement in the warehouse environment. Alternatively or additionally, the present disclosure also provides an automated warehouse where the asset manager includes an occupancy grid generator and designated material handling vehicles are programmed to avoid unauthorized movement along route segments that overlap locked cells of the occupancy grid. present the environment.

Description

Systems and methods for managing movement of material handling vehicles

Cross references to related applications

This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application Serial No. 62/121,388, filed on December 4, 2020 (CRNZ 2032 MA).

This specification relates generally to systems and methods for managing the movement of materials handling vehicles in a warehouse environment, and more particularly to materials handling vehicles following specific routes in a warehouse environment in an efficient manner. Systems and methods for enabling mobility.

For example, material handling vehicles including tuggers, forklifts, manual and motor driven pallet trucks and other material handling vehicles are used to move items in a variety of environments. These vehicles may consist of partially or fully automated guided vehicles that navigate through the environment, and are typically equipped with motion sensors, proximity sensors, or other types of sensing systems to prevent collisions with other vehicles within the environment. It allows localization and navigation to be performed while avoiding. In many cases, partially or fully automated materials handling vehicles move along a route while maintaining communication with a navigation control server and/or other vehicles to avoid collisions with vehicles, people, or other obstacles in the environment. is configured to

The inventors have recognized that active navigation, localization, and collision avoidance systems for material handling vehicles often require significant amounts of sensing hardware and the computing capacity of the vehicle itself. These requirements increase vehicle cost and operational burden. More specifically, the inventors believe that existing solutions for localization, navigation, and collision avoidance can overburden the vehicle's computational resources, and that the operation can cause collisions, especially as the vehicle moves through an operating environment. It has been recognized that relying on the vehicle's sensing components to avoid may cause excessive positioning or route finding delay. Accordingly, the inventors have recognized that a need exists for a system that facilitates efficient fully or partially automated movement of material handling vehicles within an industrial environment without unduly taxing the vehicles' components.

In accordance with the subject matter of this disclosure, an automated warehouse environment is provided in which designated material handling vehicles are programmed to initiate permission inquiries at primary and secondary nodes of a path of movement in the warehouse environment. Alternatively or additionally, the present disclosure also provides that an asset manager includes an occupancy grid generator and designated materials handling vehicles determine route segments that overlap locked cells of the occupancy grid. We present an automated warehouse environment that is programmed to avoid unauthorized movement according to

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an automated warehouse environment is provided that includes a plurality of materials handling zones, a plurality of material handling vehicles, and an asset manager in communication with the material handling vehicles. The asset manager and material handling vehicles collectively include a dynamic localization engine that is programmed to establish location data of the material handling vehicles within the warehouse environment as the vehicles move in the warehouse environment. The asset manager also includes a path planner programmed to establish a travel path for the designated vehicle along route segments established within the warehouse environment, the travel path including a primary node and secondary nodes. At least one of the plurality of primary nodes established by the asset manager correlates with a material handling area or dedicated vehicle area in the warehouse environment. Auxiliary nodes of the travel path established by the asset manager are correlated with path segments established within the warehouse environment. The route planner also moves through the warehouse environment by, at least, establishing one primary node as the origin node and another primary node as the destination node, and referencing location data representing the locations of the origin node, the destination node, and designated material handling vehicles. It is programmed to establish a route of movement. A designated material handling vehicle will, at least, proceed from the origin node to its destination along route segments established by initiating permit lookups at the primary and secondary nodes of the travel route before proceeding from one route segment of the travel route to subsequent route segments of the travel route. It is programmed to go to the node, and the permit query references the location data of other material handling vehicles in the warehouse environment.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, an automated warehouse environment is provided in which the primary nodes established by the asset manager do not necessarily correlate to a material handling area or a dedicated vehicle area of the warehouse environment.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, an automated warehouse environment is provided in which the movement path established by the asset manager does not include auxiliary nodes.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, an automated warehouse environment is provided that includes a plurality of material handling areas, a plurality of material handling vehicles, and an asset manager in communication with the material handling vehicles. The asset manager and material handling vehicles collectively include a dynamic localization engine, a route planner, and an occupancy grid generator, wherein the occupancy grid generator establishes a dynamic occupancy grid corresponding to the warehouse environment and allows designated material handling vehicles to travel on established route segments. It is programmed to lock the cells of the occupancy grid in established route segments leading designated material handling vehicles as they move. A designated materials handling vehicle proceeds from an origin node to a destination node at least along established route segments by referencing data representing locked cells of the occupancy grid and avoiding otherwise disallowed movement along route segments that overlap with locked cells of the occupancy grid. programmed to do

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, an asset manager is provided, and the asset manager is configured to communicate with a plurality of material handling vehicles in a warehouse environment. The asset manager includes a dynamic localization engine and a route planner, and is programmed to respond to permit inquiries from designated material handling vehicles en route from origin nodes to destination nodes along established route segments. Permission queries can be initiated at primary and secondary nodes of the travel routes and can reference location data of other material handling vehicles in the warehouse environment.

According to a further embodiment of the present disclosure, establishing a dynamic occupancy grid corresponding to a warehouse environment and selecting cells of the occupancy grid in an established route segment that directs designated material handling vehicles as they move in the established route segment. An asset manager is provided, including an occupancy grid generator that is programmed to lock.

According to a first aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, the permit inquiry returns a negative result that prohibits movement in the contiguous route segment when another material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous route segment and if the other material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous route segment. Returns a positive result allowing movement on successive path segments when not occupying a path segment.

In accordance with another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the designated materials handling vehicle is programmed to initiate permit inquiry at a plurality of auxiliary nodes along the travel route. .

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the plurality of primary nodes of the travel path may include a material handling area, a material handling area entrance, a material handling area exit, or a combination thereof.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the primary nodes of the travel path may be a receiving staging area, a delivery staging area, a warehouse rack storage aisle, or any of the foregoing Correlates with the material handling areas that contain the combination.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the automated warehouse environment further comprises dedicated vehicle zones physically moved from the material handling zones; The travel path includes additional primary nodes that correlate with dedicated vehicle zones.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, primary nodes of a travel path, auxiliary nodes of a travel path, or auxiliary nodes and primary of a travel path. Nodes represent endpoints of path segments established within the warehouse environment.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the asset manager further comprises an occupancy grid generator, the occupancy grid generator comprising a dynamic occupancy corresponding to a warehouse environment. Additional designated material handling vehicles traveling within the warehouse environment that establish the grid and are programmed to lock cells of the occupancy grid in the established route segment directing the designated material handling vehicle as it moves in the established route segment. Prevent movement along path segments that overlap locked cells of the occupancy grid.

In accordance with another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of any of the foregoing embodiments, each materials vehicle may use an onboard or offboard sensor and algorithm system to detect its own It is configured to generate localization data of.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, a dynamic localization engine may use a vehicle-based localization system, an asset manager-based localization system, or a combination thereof. Establish location data of material handling vehicles within a warehouse environment.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the route planner is configured to establish travel routes for a plurality of additional designated vehicles moving simultaneously in the warehouse environment. Each of the programmed travel paths includes primary nodes, auxiliary nodes, and intersecting or common path segments.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the route planner further references location data representative of physical objects within the warehouse environment to determine movement through the warehouse environment. It is programmed to establish a path.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, material handling areas are provided for placement, storage, and retrieval of items.

According to another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the asset manager is programmed to cooperate with the route planner to transform the work request into a travel route for the designated vehicle. It further includes a request converter that becomes

In accordance with another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the permit inquiry may be performed on a successive route segment when another materials handling vehicle occupies the consecutive route segment. Returns a negative result that prohibits movement and returns a positive result that allows movement on contiguous path segments when no other material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous path segment; correlated with the material handling zone exit, or both, the automated warehouse environment further comprising dedicated vehicle zones physically moved from the material handling zones, and the travel path including additional primary nodes correlated with the dedicated vehicle zones; , secondary nodes of the travel path, or secondary node and primary node of the travel path represent end points of path segments established within the warehouse environment.

In accordance with another aspect of any of the foregoing embodiments, or in combination with one or more of the foregoing aspects of the foregoing embodiments, the permit inquiry may be performed on a successive route segment when another materials handling vehicle occupies the consecutive route segment. Returns a negative result that prohibits movement and returns a positive result that allows movement on a contiguous path segment when no other material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous path segment, auxiliary nodes of the travel path, or The auxiliary node and the primary node represent end points of route segments established within the warehouse environment, the asset manager further comprising an occupancy grid generator, wherein the occupancy grid generator establishes a dynamic occupancy grid corresponding to the warehouse environment and designated material handling vehicles Paths in which additional designated material handling vehicles traveling within the warehouse environment overlap the locked cells of the occupancy grid that are programmed to lock cells of the occupancy grid in the established route segment that directs the designated material handling vehicle when moving on this established route segment. Prevent movement along segments.

For purposes of defining and explaining the concept and scope of the present disclosure, “warehouse” includes any indoor or outdoor industrial facility in which material handling vehicles transport goods, including multi-level racks arranged in aisles. These include, but are not limited to, indoor or outdoor industrial facilities primarily intended for the storage of goods, and manufacturing facilities where goods are transported around the facility by material handling vehicles for use in one or more manufacturing processes.

The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the present disclosure is best understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like structures are indicated by like reference numerals:
1 is a schematic diagram of components of an automated warehouse environment in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.
2 is a virtual warehouse roadmap including a plurality of material handling areas and a movement path including primary and secondary nodes, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
3 to 5 are virtual warehouse roadmaps including alternative movement routes according to embodiments of the present disclosure.
6-8 illustrate an implementation of a warehouse occupancy grid according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2 , automation comprising a plurality of material handling areas 10 , a plurality of material handling vehicles 20 , and an asset manager 30 in communication with the material handling vehicles 20 . A warehouse environment 100 is provided. Material handling areas 10 are aisles provided for the placement, storage, and retrieval of items and are most commonly formed between warehouse racks 12 and delivery/receiving staging areas 14, which delivery/receiving staging areas They are moved out of warehouse aisles to facilitate delivery and receiving functions, which are schematically illustrated in FIG. 2 but can take a variety of forms, both existing and yet to be developed.

Automated warehouse environment 100 may also include one or more external delegates, for example in the form of cloud-based commissioning platform 40 and/or local commissioning platform 50, all of which may include asset You will be communicating with the manager (30). Commissioning platforms contemplated include, for example, mobile I/O devices, automation equipment, warehouse management systems (WMS), warehouse control systems (WCS), or similar devices for generating work requests directed to specific material handling operations in a warehouse environment. can take a variety of forms, including To this end, asset manager 30 may further include a request converter programmed to cooperate with route planner 34 to convert work requests into travel routes for designated vehicles. It should be noted that this disclosure is not limited to particular types of material handling work requests for illustrative purposes, and a work request may include, for example, pallet movement, vehicle movement, or other similar operations. The request converter may be programmed to receive work requests from external delegates 40 , 50 or material handling vehicles in the warehouse environment 100 .

Asset manager 30 and material handling vehicles 20 are programmed to establish location data of material handling vehicles 20 in warehouse environment 100 as vehicles 20 move throughout warehouse environment 100. and a dynamic localization engine 32 collectively. In certain embodiments, dynamic localization engine 32 uses a vehicle-based localization system, an asset manager-based localization system, or a combination thereof to establish location data of material handling vehicles within a warehouse environment, which may include material handling vehicle localization and It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art of automation. For example, asset manager 30 and material handling vehicle 20 may consider sharing a map of warehouse environment 100 to facilitate localization. Localization data and path segments, primary nodes, secondary nodes, and the occupancy grid detailed below are all established based on this common map.

To further facilitate localization, each materials vehicle 20 may be configured to generate its own localization data using onboard or offboard sensor and algorithm systems, the details of which are beyond the scope of this disclosure. Each materials handling vehicle 20 thus configured can use its localization data to establish its position relative to its current route segment, its distance traveled along the segment, and its proximity to its next segment. As the material handling vehicle 20 approaches the next segment of its route, the vehicle 20 requests access to the next segment of the route. Asset manager 30 can then use the ID associated with the requested path segment to identify the cells of the occupancy grid that need to be locked, and these cells can be locked as needed. Asset manager 30 may be programmed to use localization data provided periodically by material handling vehicles 20 to unlock cells in an occupancy grid as vehicle 20 travels an approved route segment. .

The asset manager 30 is also a route planner programmed to establish travel routes 60 for a plurality of designated vehicles 20' for simultaneous travel along route segments 65 established in the warehouse environment 100. (34), an example of which is shown in FIG. Travel path 60 includes primary nodes 62 and secondary nodes 64 representing path segments 65 . With a number of designated material handling vehicles 20' operating in a warehouse environment 100, each of a plurality of travel paths generated for the vehicles include primary nodes, secondary nodes, and intersecting or common path segments. and the different travel paths may share one or more primary nodes and one or more secondary nodes.

More specifically, one or more of the primary nodes 62 may correlate with material handling areas 10 of the warehouse environment 100 and are identified as relatively large open circles in FIG. 2 , secondary nodes 64 are associated with path segments 65 established in the warehouse environment 100 and identified as relatively small open circles. Alternatively, it is contemplated that primary nodes correlate to locations in the warehouse environment 100 other than designated material handling areas 10 . For example, it is conceivable that the primary nodes correlate with any location in the warehouse environment 100 that needs to guide material handling vehicles in a fully or partially autonomous mode. As described in more detail below, examples of such locations include parking stations, charging stations, and the like.

In one embodiment, route planner 34 may also be programmed to establish travel routes by referencing vehicle location data, ie, location data representing locations of other designated material handling vehicles operating in warehouse environment 100 .

Primary nodes 62 of the path of travel 60 may correlate with entrances, exits, or other entry or exit points of various material handling areas 10 of the warehouse environment 100, or of the warehouse environment 100. It can be correlated with any portion of the material handling area 10 . For example, as shown in FIG. 2 , primary nodes 62 are the ends of the aisles formed between the warehouse racks 12 shown and the set of four staging areas 14 shown. Correlates with entry/exit points. Referring to the travel path 60 shown in FIG. 2 , a designated material handling vehicle 20' picks up items from the staging area 14 and moves them to the destination aisle of the warehouse racks 12 to place the items on the warehouse racks 12. ) is configured to be placed in a designated bay of The asset manager 30 may wirelessly transmit the data defining the travel route 60 to the designated material handling vehicle 20' as a digital file, for example directly or via a communication network. Upon receiving route data, the designated materials handling vehicle 20' processes the received route data and begins moving along route 60, for example at a predefined speed.

The end points of the route segments 65 established within the warehouse environment may be determined by auxiliary nodes 64 along the travel route 60 or by auxiliary nodes 64 and primary nodes of the travel route 60. It may be represented by node 62. For example, referring to the two-way intersection I-2 in FIG. 2, the auxiliary nodes 64 of the intersection I-2 are vehicle intersections where the path segments 65 established between the nodes 64 are It is positioned to form the boundaries of Zone I-2. In this case, one of the marked end points of segment 65 will start the vehicular intersection zone along one direction, and the other of the marked end points of the segment will end vehicular intersection zone I-2 along the same direction. . In most cases, an established route segment includes a free movement area having one of the marked end points of the segment starting the free movement zone and the other one of the marked end points of the segment ending the free movement zone.

Referring to FIG. 3 , an established route segment 65 of an alternative travel route 60A for a designated material handling vehicle 20' may include a vehicular merge zone M. In this case, one of the marked end points of the segment 65 in the merging zone M marks the beginning of the vehicle merging zone M, and the other of the marked end points of the segment 65 indicates the vehicle merging zone ( M) is terminated. FIG. 3 also shows how asset manager 30 can be programmed to manage the movement of designated material handling vehicle 20' and competing material handling vehicle 20X approaching interference path segment 65. In the illustrated example, competing material handling vehicle 20X is requested to stop at auxiliary node 64 at the beginning of the path segment that precedes interfering path segment 65 and the asset manager tells competing vehicle 20X to intervene in the interfering path segment. Wait until permission is granted to proceed in the direction of (65). The asset manager may grant permission, for example, if the designated materials handling vehicle 20' moves past the auxiliary node 64 at the end of the interfering path segment 65.

The asset manager 30 may consider analyzing various factors when deciding whether or not to grant permission for competing vehicles in an interfering path segment. For example, asset manager 30 may refer to existing or not yet developed traffic management rules. Alternatively or additionally, asset manager 30 may determine designated material handling vehicles 20' that are currently utilizing a particular portion of route segment 65 and competing vehicles that are requesting permission to travel on route segment 65. We can simply determine the distance between (20X). If the distance between these vehicles is too small to indicate a possible collision, the asset manager 30 will not permit the vehicles to travel on the same route segment 65 . However, as shown in Figure 4, if the distance between the designated materials handling vehicle 20' and the competing vehicle 20X is large enough to reduce the risk of collision to a sufficiently low level, the asset manager 30 will (20', 20X) will be allowed to travel on the same route segment 65.

Referring to Fig. 5, an established route segment 65 of one or alternate travel route 60C, 60C' may include one or more vehicle diverging areas D, D'. In this case, one of the indicated end points of the route segment in the divergence D, D' represents the start of the vehicle divergence D, D', and the other one of the indicated end points of the segment 65 is a vehicle The branching zones (D, D') are terminated. Referring to bifurcation zone D', the auxiliary nodes 64 at the end points of the route segment 65 are connected to the primary node 74 of the dedicated vehicle zone 70, for example a vehicle charging station or a vehicle parking station. It should be noted that it can be arranged to include.

Referring further to alternative travel path 60D and junction area M shown in FIG. 5, secondary node 64 may be located at the junction of two path segments, while additional secondary node 64 may travel It is conceivable to be located prior to the junction along route 60D. In this way, the asset manager 30 can be programmed to force the designated materials handling vehicle 20' to stop at the secondary node prior to the junction and to request permission before proceeding. Asset manager 30 will grant or deny permission based on one or more of the considerations described above.

Automated warehouse environment 100 may also include dedicated vehicle zones 70 and 72 physically moved from material handling zones 10 . These dedicated vehicle zones 70, 72 may include, for example, vehicle charging stations and vehicle parking stations, respectively, and additional primary nodes that may be used by asset manager 30 for route planning and traffic management. (74, 76).

Referring also to FIG. 2 , the route planner 34 of the asset manager 30 also establishes one primary node as the source node 62A and another primary node as the destination node 62B, thereby providing the warehouse environment 100 It is programmed to establish a movement path 60 through. The route planner 34 of the asset manager 30 adds location data representing the locations of the source node 62A, the destination node 62B, and the designated material handling vehicle 20' to determine the travel route 60. refer to Route planner 34 may further reference location data representing physical objects in the warehouse environment, such as storage racks, work stations, and other hardware in the warehouse environment to avoid collisions with objects. can

Location data relating to a designated material handling vehicle 20' may be sourced from the material handling vehicle itself as it moves through the warehouse environment 100. More specifically, the designated material handling vehicle 20' and other material handling vehicles in the warehouse environment 100 move at predefined time intervals as the vehicle travels from source node 62A to destination node 62B, e.g. For example, intermediate position data can be communicated every 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, etc. Additionally, the designated material handling vehicle 20' and other material handling vehicles in the warehouse environment 100 may communicate intermediate location data when the vehicle arrives at the secondary node 64.

Once the path of travel 60 is determined, the designated material handling vehicle 20' proceeds along the path segment starting at the base node 62 and from one path segment 65 of the path of travel to the continuation of the path of travel. It is programmed to proceed from the source node 62A to the destination node 62B by initiating a permission inquiry at the primary and secondary nodes 62, 64 of the travel path 60 before proceeding to the route segment 65 that proceeds to the destination node 62B. More specifically, permission is granted at auxiliary nodes 64 along travel path 60 and at origin node 62A of the travel path before proceeding along a path segment extending from origin node 62A to auxiliary node 64. Inquiry can be taken.

The previously mentioned permit query can be taken “at” a primary or secondary node by initiating the query before the material handling vehicle physically reaches the node. By doing so, implementing the concepts of this disclosure can minimize vehicle stop time while permit inquiry is being performed. Preferably, the inquiry is initiated within a travel distance close enough to allow completion of the permit inquiry, but not so far from the node that it poses a significant risk that a competing material handling vehicle may arrive at the route segment of interest ahead of the designated vehicle. do.

It should also be noted that permit inquiries may reference location data of other material handling vehicles in the warehouse environment, specifically to inform the inquiry. In particular, if a permit inquiry taken at the beginning of a cleared path segment returns a positive result, the designated materials handling vehicle may be programmed to travel along the cleared path segment without further permit inquiries. More specifically, with respect to permit queries taken at primary and secondary nodes 62, 64 along travel path 60, such queries indicate that a competing material handling vehicle already occupies a contiguous path segment along path 60. If so, it returns a negative result that prohibits movement on contiguous path segments. At this point, the designated materials handling vehicle 20' may be programmed to wait at node 62, 64 for a specified amount of time, for example, until a competing material handling vehicle has completed its entire travel of the route segment in question. . The asset manager 30 may then change the status of the offending segment to empty and allow movement of the designated material handling vehicle 20'. Alternatively, in some embodiments, asset manager 30 may determine a designated material handling vehicle until a competing material handling vehicle has moved a certain distance along the segment in question, eg, a distance sufficient to reduce the likelihood of collisions between material handling vehicles. Handling vehicle 20' may be directed to wait at nodes 62, 64. In this way, the asset manager can be programmed to dynamically designate portions of a particular route segment 65 as unoccupied after a given material handling vehicle has completed traveling a certain distance along the route segment 65 .

Conversely, if no other materials handling vehicle has already occupied a contiguous route segment along route 60, the query returns a positive result allowing movement on the contiguous route segment. Exceptions to these two basic rules may be considered. For example, another material handling vehicle occupies a contiguous route segment but moves away from the designated material handling vehicle 20' so that the designated material handling vehicle 20' can pass another material handling vehicle on the contiguous route segment without risk of collision. If you allow follow-through, you might consider allowing movement on contiguous path segments by allowing the permission query to return an exception on negative results. In another example, one might consider permit queries to return positive exceptions prohibiting movement on contiguous path segments when the queries are overridden by traffic management rules designed to reduce the risk of collisions. Alternatively, if the permission query is overridden by traffic management rules designed to increase the amount of traffic without unduly increasing the risk of collision, the permission query may return an exception for a negative result to move on a contiguous path segment. You may consider allowing

1 and 6-8, the asset manager 30 is an occupancy grid that is programmed to establish a dynamic occupancy grid 80 corresponding to the warehouse environment and the various potential material handling vehicle travel paths 82 contained therein. It should be noted that it may further include a generator 36 . The occupancy grid 80 will include a plurality of cells 84 that can be locked or unlocked as described in more detail below. An unlocked cell 84 of cells 84 is shown in FIGS. 6-8 as unfilled shaded pixels, while a locked one of cells 84 is shown as partially filled shaded pixels.

The occupancy grid generator 36 may be programmed to lock selected groups of cells 84 of the occupancy grid 80 to an established path segment 85 . More specifically, the occupancy grid generator 36 may be programmed to lock cells 84 directing designated materials handling vehicles 20' when traveling on established route segments 85. In this way, additional material handling vehicles traveling within the warehouse environment along other route segments are prevented from moving along route segments that overlap other locked cells of the occupancy grid or locked cells leading to the designated material handling vehicle 20'. It can be. This type of prohibition can reduce the risk of collisions in a warehouse environment.

7 and 8 show a number of designated material handling vehicles traveling along their respective established route segments 85 in an occupancy grid 80 at an initial time t ₁ ( FIG. 7 ) and a subsequent time t ₂ ( FIG. 8 ). fields 20' are shown. In particular, the cells 84 of the occupancy grid 80 are locked in a dynamic manner so that only those cells extending from the designated material handling vehicle 20' to the auxiliary node terminating the established route segment 85 are locked. In this way, the locked portion of the established route segment 85 is reduced in size as the designated materials handling vehicle 20' moves along the travel route that includes the established route segment 85, followed by successive route segments. , it suddenly increases in size to occupy the entirety of the contiguous path segment.

Asset manager 30 may be programmed to approve additional designated material handling vehicles traveling within the warehouse environment clearance that may travel along route segments overlapping locked cells of the occupancy grid, if conditions permit. For example, asset manager 30 additionally authorizes designated material handling vehicles to travel along route segments that overlap locked cells of an occupancy grid by referencing a set of traffic management rules designed to optimize traffic volume while limiting the risk of collision. It can be programmed to approve what you do. More specifically, for example, asset manager 30 may be programmed to authorize permission for two designated material handling vehicles to travel one after the other along a common route segment comprising a common set of locked cells. can To do so, asset manager 30 may consider factors such as the distance along the route segment that the material handling vehicle travels, the likelihood of a collision between two material handling vehicles, the length of the route segment, and the like.

The occupancy grid generator 36 is configured to establish cells of the occupancy grid 80 by overlaying the established route segments 85 on the occupancy grid and sweeping the vehicle footprint along the route segments 85. can be programmed A vehicle footprint may be, for example, a 2D shape representing the physical space required for a designated material vehicle to travel along a designated path segment 85 . The vehicle footprint is typically larger than the physical size of the materials handling vehicle 20' specified to account for vehicle clearance requirements. By establishing cells in spaces of the occupancy grid 80 that correspond to the footprints of material handling vehicles moving therein, the two path segments may or may not actually overlap, but allow two material handling vehicles to pass through simultaneously. Collision can be avoided if there is not enough physical space between the path segments This approach also allows asset manager 30 to lock a cell based on the dimensions of the AGV requesting access. Thus, for example, there may be a situation where two small vehicles are allowed to pass each other along two closely spaced route segments while the movement of the larger vehicle is blocked.

References herein to elements of the disclosure that are “configured” or “programmed” in a particular way to implement particular attributes or function in a particular way are open, structural references, as opposed to references to their intended use. point should be noted. More specifically, references herein to how a component is "made up" or "programmed" refer to the existing physical condition of the component and, therefore, should be regarded as an express recitation of structural characteristics of the component.

Although the subject matter of this disclosure has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, various details disclosed herein are not disclosed even if a particular element is illustrated in each of the drawings accompanying this description. It should be noted that it should not be taken as implying that it is related to elements that are essential components of various embodiments described in . Further, it will be apparent that modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure including, but not limited to, implementations as defined in the appended claims. More specifically, while some aspects of the present disclosure have been identified herein as preferred or particularly advantageous, it should be considered that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to these aspects.

It should be noted that one or more of the following claims use the term "where" as a transitional phrase. For purposes of defining the present invention, this term was introduced into the claims as an open-ended transitional phrase used to introduce a reference to a set of characteristics of a structure, in the same way as the more commonly used open-ended preamble term “comprising”. It should be noted that interpretation

Claims (36)

In an automated warehouse environment that includes a plurality of material handling areas, a plurality of material handling vehicles, and an asset manager communicating with the material handling vehicles:
The asset manager and material handling vehicles collectively include a dynamic localization engine that is programmed to establish positional data of material handling vehicles within the warehouse environment as the vehicles move in the warehouse environment;
the asset manager further includes a route planner programmed to establish a travel path for the designated vehicle along route segments established within the warehouse environment, the travel path including primary nodes and secondary nodes;
At least one primary node of the plurality of primary nodes established by the asset manager is correlated with a material handling area or a dedicated vehicle area of the warehouse environment;
Secondary nodes of the travel path established by the asset manager are correlated with path segments established within the warehouse environment;
The route planner also maintains the warehouse environment by at least establishing one primary node as the origin node and another primary node as the destination node, and referencing location data representing the locations of the origin node, the destination node, and designated material handling vehicles. programmed to establish a travel path through;
A designated material handling vehicle will, at least, proceed from the origin node to its destination along route segments established by initiating permit lookups at the primary and secondary nodes of the travel route before proceeding from one route segment of the travel route to subsequent route segments of the travel route. and wherein the permit query references location data of other material handling vehicles in the warehouse environment. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the permission query returns a negative result that prohibits movement on the contiguous route segment when another material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous route segment and no other material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous route segment. An automated warehouse environment that returns a positive result allowing movement on contiguous path segments when not in use. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the permit inquiry occurs when another material handling vehicle occupies a contiguous route segment and moves away from the designated material handling vehicle such that the designated material handling vehicle follows the other material handling vehicle on the contiguous route segment. , an automated warehouse environment that allows movement on contiguous path segments by returning exceptions on negative results. 3. The automated warehouse environment of claim 2, wherein the permit query returns an exception to a positive or negative result when overridden by traffic management rules. 3. The automated warehouse environment of claim 2, wherein the designated material handling vehicle is programmed to travel along the cleared route segment without the need for additional permit inquiries when permit inquiries return a positive result. 2. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1, wherein the designated materials handling vehicle is programmed to initiate permit inquiries at a plurality of auxiliary nodes along its travel route. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of primary nodes of the path of travel correlate with a material handling area, a material handling area entrance, a material handling area exit, or a combination thereof. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1 , wherein the primary nodes of the travel path correlate with material handling areas comprising a receiving staging area, a shipping staging area, a warehouse rack storage aisle, or a combination thereof. According to claim 1,
the automated warehouse environment further includes dedicated vehicle areas physically moved from material handling areas;
wherein the travel path includes additional primary nodes that correlate with dedicated vehicle zones. 10. The automated warehouse environment of claim 9, wherein the dedicated vehicle zones include a vehicle charging station, a vehicle parking station, or both. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1 , wherein primary nodes of a path of travel, secondary nodes of a path of travel, or secondary nodes and primary nodes of a path of travel represent end points of path segments established within the warehouse environment. 12. The automated route of claim 11, wherein the established route segment includes a vehicular intersection zone, one of the marked end points starting a vehicular intersection zone, and another of the marked end points ending a vehicular intersection zone. warehouse environment. 12. The automated route of claim 11, wherein the established route segment comprises a vehicle joining zone, one of the indicated end points starting the vehicle joining zone, and another of the marked end points ending the vehicle joining zone. warehouse environment. 12. The automated route of claim 11, wherein the established route segment comprises a vehicle junction, one of the indicated end points starting a vehicle junction and another of the indicated end points ending the vehicle junction. warehouse environment. 12. The automated route of claim 11, wherein the established route segment comprises a free movement zone, one of the marked end points starting the free movement zone and the other of the marked end points ending the free movement zone. warehouse environment. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the asset manager further comprises an occupancy grid generator, wherein the occupancy grid generator establishes a dynamic occupancy grid corresponding to a warehouse environment and generates a designated material handling vehicle as the designated material handling vehicle moves on an established route segment. programmed to lock the cells of the occupancy grid in an established path segment leading to an automated warehouse environment, such that additional designated material handling vehicles moving within the warehouse environment do not travel along path segments that overlap locked cells of the occupancy grid. . 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the fixed cell extends from the designated materials handling vehicle to an auxiliary node terminating the established route segment such that the designated material handling vehicle moves along the travel path of the established route segment. An automated warehouse environment with reduced size of locked parts. 17. The automated warehouse environment of claim 16, wherein the asset manager is programmed to approve additional designated material handling vehicles traveling within the warehouse environment clearance that may travel along route segments that overlap locked cells of an occupancy grid. 19. The automated warehouse environment of claim 18, wherein the asset manager is programmed to grant permission for additional designated material handling vehicles to travel along route segments that overlap locked cells of an occupancy grid by consulting a set of traffic management rules. 17. The automated warehouse of claim 16, wherein the asset manager is programmed to approve permitting two designated material handling vehicles to travel one after the other along a common route segment comprising a common set of locked cells. environment. 17. The automated motor of claim 16, wherein the occupancy grid generator is programmed to establish cells of an occupancy grid by at least overlaying an established route segment on an occupancy grid and sweeping a vehicle footprint along the route segment. warehouse environment. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1 , wherein each material vehicle is configured to generate its own localization data using onboard or offboard sensors and algorithm systems. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1 , wherein the dynamic localization engine establishes location data of material handling vehicles within the warehouse environment using a vehicle-based localization system, an asset manager-based localization system, or a combination thereof. According to claim 1,
the route planner is programmed to establish travel routes for a plurality of additional designated vehicles traveling simultaneously in a warehouse environment;
An automated warehouse environment, wherein each of the plurality of travel paths includes primary nodes, secondary nodes, and intersecting or common path segments. 25. The automated warehouse environment of claim 24, wherein the route planner is programmed to establish travel routes through the warehouse environment by further referencing location data representing locations of additional designated material handling vehicles within the warehouse environment. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1 , wherein the route planner is programmed to establish a route of movement through the warehouse environment by further referencing location data representative of physical objects within the warehouse environment. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1 , wherein the material handling areas are provided for placement, storage, and retrieval of items. 28. The automated warehouse environment of claim 27, wherein the material handling areas include storage racks arranged along the warehouse aisles and staging areas moved from the warehouse aisles to facilitate delivery and receiving functions. The automated warehouse environment of claim 1 , wherein the asset manager further comprises a request converter programmed to cooperate with a route planner to convert work requests into travel routes for designated vehicles. 30. The automated warehouse environment of claim 29, wherein the automated warehouse environment further comprises an external delegate, wherein the request translator is programmed to receive a job request from an external delegate or one of a plurality of material handling vehicles. According to claim 1,
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the permission query returns a negative result that prohibits movement on the contiguous route segment when another material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous route segment and no other material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous route segment. returns a positive result allowing movement on contiguous path segments when not;
primary nodes of the travel path are correlated with a material handling zone entrance, a material handling zone exit, or both;
the automated warehouse environment further comprises dedicated vehicle zones physically moved from material handling zones, the movement path comprising additional primary nodes correlated with dedicated vehicle zones;
An automated warehouse environment in which auxiliary nodes of a path of travel, or auxiliary nodes and primary nodes of a path of travel, represent endpoints of path segments established within the warehouse environment. 32. The method of claim 31 , wherein the asset manager further comprises an occupancy grid generator, the occupancy grid generator establishing a dynamic occupancy grid corresponding to a warehouse environment and generating an occupancy grid for designated material handling vehicles as they move on established route segments. programmed to lock the cells of the occupancy grid in an established path segment leading to an automated warehouse environment, such that additional designated material handling vehicles moving within the warehouse environment do not travel along path segments that overlap locked cells of the occupancy grid. . According to claim 1,
The permission query returns a negative result that prohibits movement on the contiguous route segment when another material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous route segment and when no other material handling vehicle occupies the contiguous route segment. returns a positive result allowing movement at ;
The auxiliary nodes of the travel path, or the auxiliary node and the primary node of the travel path, represent endpoints of path segments established within the warehouse environment;
The asset manager further comprises an occupancy grid generator, wherein the occupancy grid generator establishes a dynamic occupancy grid corresponding to a warehouse environment and an established route for directing designated material handling vehicles as they move in established route segments. An automated warehouse environment that is programmed to lock cells of an occupancy grid in a segment so that additional designated material handling vehicles moving within the warehouse environment do not travel along route segments that overlap locked cells of the occupancy grid. In an automated warehouse environment that includes a plurality of material handling areas, a plurality of material handling vehicles, and an asset manager communicating with the material handling vehicles:
The asset manager and material handling vehicles collectively include a dynamic localization engine that is programmed to establish positional data of material handling vehicles within the warehouse environment as the vehicles move in the warehouse environment;
the asset manager further includes a route planner programmed to establish a travel path for the designated vehicle along route segments established within the warehouse environment, the travel path including primary nodes and secondary nodes;
At least one of the primary nodes of the travel path established by the asset manager correlates to a material handling area or dedicated vehicle area of the warehouse environment;
Secondary nodes of the travel path established by the asset manager are correlated with path segments established within the warehouse environment;
The route planner also maintains the warehouse environment by at least establishing one primary node as the origin node and another primary node as the destination node, and referencing location data representing the locations of the origin node, the destination node, and designated material handling vehicles. programmed to establish a travel path through;
The asset manager further comprises an occupancy grid generator, the occupancy grid generator establishing a dynamic occupancy grid corresponding to the warehouse environment and guiding designated material handling vehicles as they move in the established route segments; programmed to lock cells of the occupancy grid at , to prevent additional designated material handling vehicles traveling within the warehouse environment from traveling along route segments that overlap locked cells of the occupancy grid;
A designated materials handling vehicle proceeds from an origin node to a destination node at least along established route segments by referencing data representing locked cells of the occupancy grid and avoiding otherwise disallowed movement along route segments that overlap with locked cells of the occupancy grid. An automated warehouse environment, programmed to do so. An asset manager configured to communicate with a plurality of material handling vehicles in a warehouse environment, the asset manager comprising:
a dynamic localization engine programmed to establish positional data of material handling vehicles within the warehouse environment as they move in the warehouse environment; and
a route planner programmed to establish travel routes for designated material handling vehicles along route segments established within a warehouse environment, the travel routes including primary nodes and auxiliary nodes;
at least one of the primary nodes of the travel routes established by the asset manager correlates to a material handling area or dedicated vehicle area of the warehouse environment;
Auxiliary nodes of movement paths established by the asset manager are correlated with path segments established within the warehouse environment;
the route planner is also programmed to establish travel routes through the warehouse environment by at least establishing origin nodes and destination nodes and referencing location data representing locations of origin nodes, destination nodes, and designated material handling vehicles;
The asset manager is programmed to respond to permit inquiries of designated material handling vehicles traveling along established path segments from origin nodes to destination nodes, which permit inquiries are initiated at the primary and secondary nodes of the travel routes and are stored in a warehouse environment. asset manager, which references the location data of other material handling vehicles in An asset manager configured to communicate with a plurality of material handling vehicles in a warehouse environment, the asset manager comprising:
a dynamic localization engine programmed to establish positional data of material handling vehicles within the warehouse environment as they move in the warehouse environment;
a route planner programmed to establish a travel path for a designated vehicle along route segments established within a warehouse environment, the travel path including primary nodes and secondary nodes; and
an occupancy grid generator programmed to establish a dynamic occupancy grid corresponding to a warehouse environment;
At least one of the primary nodes of the travel path established by the asset manager correlates to a material handling area or dedicated vehicle area of the warehouse environment;
Secondary nodes of the travel path established by the asset manager are correlated with path segments established within the warehouse environment;
the route planner is also programmed to establish travel routes through the warehouse environment by at least establishing origin nodes and destination nodes and referencing location data representing locations of origin nodes, destination nodes, and designated material handling vehicles;
The occupancy grid generator is programmed to lock the cells of the occupancy grid in an established route segment that directs the designated material handling vehicle as it moves in the established route segment so that additional designated material handling vehicles moving within the warehouse environment An automated warehouse environment that prevents movement along path segments that overlap with locked cells of the occupancy grid.

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