WO2022254463A1 - Cloud-based automation system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items - Google Patents

Cloud-based automation system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2022254463A1
WO2022254463A1 PCT/IN2022/050511 IN2022050511W WO2022254463A1 WO 2022254463 A1 WO2022254463 A1 WO 2022254463A1 IN 2022050511 W IN2022050511 W IN 2022050511W WO 2022254463 A1 WO2022254463 A1 WO 2022254463A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
crate
information
warehouse
food item
central server
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IN2022/050511
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Akkulan SUBRAMANIAN
Annamalai V
Kumar S. DHINESH
Kasinathan AVINASH KRISHNAKUMAR
Original Assignee
Waycool Foods And Products Private Limited
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Publication of WO2022254463A1 publication Critical patent/WO2022254463A1/en

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    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q10/00Administration; Management
    • G06Q10/08Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00Commerce
    • G06Q30/06Buying, selling or leasing transactions
    • G06Q30/0601Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q50/00Systems or methods specially adapted for specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism
    • G06Q50/10Services
    • G06Q50/12Hotels or restaurants
    • GPHYSICS
    • G06COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06QINFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q2220/00Business processing using cryptography

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to a cloud-based automation system for automated provision of goods such as food items, and more particularly to cloud-based automation system and method for automatically obtaining, tracking and delivering food items.
  • Rapid delivery of goods specifically food items are predicated on the ability of a customer to efficiently place an order and receive the food items in a quick and accurate manner with minimum/no touch of humans.
  • the food items are perishable in general and it is very much essential to harvest food items such as vegetables and fruits on basis of requirements as well as them before getting waste.
  • the food items are perishable quickly than normal in case of human touch.
  • the delivery of food items are traditionally occurs in several discrete ways.
  • a consumer places an order for a particular food item with a food item provider.
  • the food item provider checks availability of the food item at a warehouse as per the customer order, packages the food items and delivers to the consumer's location.
  • the inherent challenges in such a delivery method are numerous due to a lot of human interaction for checks availability of the food item at the warehouse, packaging the food items and delivering the food items. Due to a human interaction there may be misinterpretation through language barriers, speech impediments, inaudible conversation, etc. These mistakes can lead to fewer return customers due to lower satisfaction ratings stemming from either poor customer service, processing incorrect orders, lengthy wait times, interruptions from implementing new technologies, etc.
  • the principal object of the embodiment herein is to provide a cloud-based automation system and method for automatically obtaining, tracking and delivering goods such as food items.
  • the system delivers the food items with minimum/no touch of humans and the system facilitates obtainment of the food items only according to the requirement.
  • Another object of the embodiment herein is to provide a central server in a cloud network that checks for availability of food items with farmers and local vendors as per the user request and automatically allocate a delivery space for the request in a warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse.
  • Yet another object of the embodiment herein is to provide a central server in a cloud network that generate a unique label for crates of food items.
  • the unique label is used for hassel-free obtaining, tracking and delivering of the food items to the user.
  • Yet another object of the embodiment herein is to provide a warehouse automation system with a conveyer assembly to receive crate, a reader to read label printed on the crate, a weigh device to weight the food item included in the crate, and a warehouse controller to route the crate to a delivery space.
  • the warehouse automation system will provision the through the use of scanning systems and decision robots (also referred as direction devices) for no-touch allocation and delivery of food items to the customers.
  • Yet another object of the embodiment herein is to provide a packaging controller to print the unique label on the crate and transmit information of the vehicle to the central server in which the crate are transported. This will allow the central server to centralize and automate the overall tracking process using the unique label printed on the crates of food items.
  • the object is satisfied by providing a cloud-based automation system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items.
  • the system delivers the food items with minimum/no touch of humans and the system facilitates obtainment of the food items only according to the requirement.
  • the cloud-based automation system comprises a central server in a cloud network, a plurality of handheld devices, communicatively coupled with the central server, a packaging controller communicatively coupled with the central server, and a warehouse automation system comprising a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse and a warehouse controller communicatively coupled to the central server and the packaging controller.
  • the central server comprises an inventory tracking controller, a label controller, and a central database.
  • the central database stores information about the food items, information about the plurality of handheld devices, information about the farmers and information about the local vendors.
  • the inventory tracking controller configured to receive a request comprises first information from a handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices associated with a user where the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item, identify farmer from a plurality of farmers who provides the type of food item based on the first information, notify the first information to the farmer along with a first code, receive a second information from the farmer where the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, compare the first information with the second information and identify the difference, the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, notify the difference to a local vendor from a plurality of local vendors along with a second code, notify the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor, and allocate a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse.
  • the label controller to receive at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor, generate a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed in which the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate, and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
  • the packaging controller is configured to receive the food item and the label from the farmer, pack the food item in the crate, print the label on the crate, transport the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle, and transmit information of the vehicle to the central server in which the crate are transported.
  • the warehouse controller configured to receive the crate in the warehouse from at least one of the vehicle and the local vendor, weigh the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate, and route the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
  • the warehouse automation system comprises a conveyer assembly comprising at least one inward point to receive the crate from (i) the farmer through the vehicle and (ii) the local vendor, a reader configured to read the label printed on the crate received on the at least one inward point, and a weigh device to weigh the food item included in the crate.
  • the conveyer assembly comprises a direction device positioned at each of the plurality of delivery spaces, the direction device is selectively activated by the warehouse controller according to Information read from the label.
  • the warehouse controller is configured to detect whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and perform one of: modify the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line, and allocate the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
  • allocate the crate for delivery on the at least one conveyer line comprises create a store space in proximity to an allocation weigh machine to enable temporary buffering of the crate, conceive a dedicated material handling aisle for picking the crate, interlink the label printed on the crate to delivery information, the delivery information comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the at least one facility device, a stock-keeping unit (SKU) code, date and time, and track the at last one crate using the unique label and the linked delivery information.
  • SKU stock-keeping unit
  • modify the food item in the crate based on the change in the request comprises modify the crate by adding food items to the crate from other crate or transferring food items from the crate to the other crate based on the change in the request, link the label printed on the at least one modified crate and a label printed on the other crate, and track the at least one modified crate using the unique label printed on the at least one modified crate and the unique label printed on the other crate.
  • the information about the food items comprises at least one of a unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item.
  • the information about the plurality of handheld devices comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices, a personal preference of the handheld device, an address of the plurality of handheld devices.
  • the information about the farmers and the local vendors comprises at least one of a location of the farmers and the local vendors, a production capability of the farmers and the local vendors, a unique identifier associated with the farmers and the local vendors, and a personal preference of the farmers and the local vendors.
  • the central server notifies the packing controller to transport the crate to the user directly, when the central server identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
  • the object is satisfied by providing a central server for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system.
  • the central server comprises a processor, a central database which stores information about food items, information about a plurality of handheld devices, information about a plurality of farmers and information about a plurality of local vendors, an inventory tracking controller, coupled to the central database and the processor, and a label controller.
  • the inventory tracking controller is configured to receive a request comprises first information from a handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices associated with a user where the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item, identify a farmer from the plurality of farmers who provides the type of food item based on the first information, notify the first information to the farmer along with a first code, receive a second information from the farmer where the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, compare the first information with the second information and identify the difference, the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, notify the difference to a local vendor from the plurality of local vendors along with a second code, notify the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor, and allocate a delivery space for the request from a plurality of delivery spaces in a warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse.
  • the label controller is configured to receive at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor, generate a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed, the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate, and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
  • the inventory tracking controller notifies the packing controller to transport the crate to the user directly, when Inventory tracking controller identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
  • the object is satisfied by providing a warehouse automation system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system.
  • the warehouse automation system comprises a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse, a conveyer assembly comprising at least one inward point to receive crate from (i) a farmer from a plurality of farmers through a vehicle and (ii) a local vendor from a local vendors, a reader configured to read label printed on the crate received on the at least one inward point, a weigh device to weight the food item included in the crate, and a warehouse controller communicatively coupled to a central server.
  • the warehouse controller is configured to route the crate to a delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
  • the conveyer assembly comprises a direction device positioned at each of the plurality of delivery spaces, the direction device is selectively activated by the warehouse controller according to Information read from the label.
  • the object is satisfied by providing a method for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system.
  • the method comprises storing, by the central server, information about the food items, information about the handheld devices, information about the farmers and information about the local vendors; receiving, by a central server, a request comprises first information from a handheld device associated with a user from a plurality of handheld devices where the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item; identifying, by the central server, farmer from a plurality of farmers who provides the type of food item based on the first information; notifying, by the central server, the first information to the farmer along with a first code; receiving, by the central server, a second information from the farmer where the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, comparing, by the central server, the first information with the second information and identify the difference, the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item; notifying, by the central server, the difference to local vendor along with
  • the method comprises receiving, by a packaging controller, the food item and the label from the farmer; packing, by the packaging controller, the food item in the crate; printing, by the packaging controller, the label on the crate; transporting, by the packaging controller, the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle; transmitting, by the packaging controller, information of the vehicle to the central server in which the crate are transported; receiving, by a warehouse automation system, the crate in the warehouse from at least one of the vehicle and the local vendor; weighing, by the warehouse controller, the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate; and routing, by the warehouse automation system, the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
  • the method comprises detecting, by the warehouse automation system, whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and performing, by the warehouse automation system, one of: modifying the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line, and allocating the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
  • the method includes notifying the packing controller to transport the crate to the user directly, when the central server identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a high level overview of a cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of tacking inventory items in cloud- based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a central server of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
  • FIGS. 4a-4b illustrates a high level overview of a warehouse automation system of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a high level overview of a packing controller of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
  • FIG. 6a illustrates an example scenario of packing and tracking a request for the inventory items, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
  • FIG. 6b illustrates an example of a QFR and a LFR system to a cloud platform, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
  • FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for tracking and delivering inventory items in a cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
  • FIGS. 1-7 there are shown preferred embodiment.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a high level overview of a cloud-based tracking system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
  • the cloud-based tracking system includes a central server (100) in a cloud network (200), a plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ) communicatively coupled with the central server (100), a packaging controller (400) communicatively coupled with the central server (100), and a warehouse automation system (500) communicatively coupled to the central server (100) and the packaging controller (400), a plurality of farmers (600i- n ), a plurality of local vendors (700i- n ) and an electronic vehicle (800).
  • the cloud network (200) comprises on demand computer resources for obtaining, tracking and delivering the food items.
  • the cloud network (200) typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices.
  • one or more non-proprietary network communications channels like a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the Internet and/or cellular provider communications networks including voice, data and short message service (SMS) networks or channels.
  • WAN Wide Area Network
  • SMS short message service
  • the handheld devices (300i- n ) includes application to provide request for food items to the central server (100).
  • the handheld devices (300i- n ) described can be for example, but is not limited to, mobile phone, tablet, phablet, portable computer, laptop, and personal digital assistance.
  • the customers can use their handheld devices (300i- n ) and can provide the request with order information corresponding to a desired food item, destination address, delivery time, and the like may be provided by the user in a format requiring minimal or no reformatting by the central server (100).
  • the customer can use IoT devices to place the request.
  • the handheld devices (300i- n ) can automatically interact with the IoT devices of the customer to place the request.
  • the central server (100) can include one or more systems or devices used for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items.
  • the central server (100) include interfaces to communicate with the handheld devices (300 i- n ) to receive the order from the users.
  • the central server (100) include network resources for communicating with the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ).
  • the central server (100) stores the information about the handheld devices (300i- n ), the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ).
  • the central server (100) receives the request comprises first information from the handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ).
  • the first information includes a type of food item and a quantity of the food item.
  • the central server (100) include machine learning techniques for predicting the demand for certain food items.
  • the central server (100) determines whether the order can be completed by one or more farmers or local vendors.
  • a packaging controller (400) is used for packaging the food items.
  • the packaging controller (400) can include packaging robot(s) that packs the food items into crates and move the crates into the electronic vehicle (800) for transporting to the warehouse.
  • the packaging controller (400) transports the crate to the warehouse through the vehicle (800).
  • the vehicle (800) can be an autonomous vehicle or drones including tracking.
  • the vehicle information is stored in the central server (100) for quick tracking.
  • the warehouse automation system (500) includes a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse to store the crates of food items.
  • the central server (100) allocate a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of tacking inventory items in the cloud- based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
  • the enterprise comprises one or more ware houses (also referred as facility center) (203) of the farmers or the local vendors, each having a number of facility centers devices (204) and (205) in use.
  • the facility centers devices (204) and (205) can make up one or more automation systems operating within the respective ware houses (203).
  • the facility devices (204) and (205) of the farmers or the local vendors as residing in stationary ware houses (203), the facility centers devices may also be part of a mobile control application, such as a system contained in a truck or other service vehicle.
  • the cloud services (202) can include, but are not limited to, data storage, data analysis, product tracking, applications (e.g., applications that can generate and deliver control instructions to facility devices (204) and (205) based on analysis of near real-time system data or other factors), visualization applications such as cloud- based HMIs, reporting applications, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications, Supply Management System (SMS), Farm Management System (FMS), Warehouse Management System (WMS), Retail management System (RMS), Demand management System (DMS), notification services, or other such applications.
  • ERP Enterprise Resource Planning
  • SMS Supply Management System
  • FMS Farm Management System
  • WMS Warehouse Management System
  • RMS Retail management System
  • DMS Demand management System
  • notification services or other such applications.
  • cloud platform (201) is a web-based cloud
  • facility devices (204) and (205) at the respective industrial facilities (202) may interact with cloud services (201 ) via the Internet.
  • facility devices (204) and (205) may access the cloud services (201) through separate gateways (206) at the respective industrial facilities (202), where the facility devices (204) and (205) connect to the gateways (206) through a physical or wireless local area network or radio link.
  • the facility devices may access the cloud platform directly using an integrated cloud interface.
  • the facility devices (204) and (205) can comprise substantially any type of device that contains, collects, or generates data relating to a farm within a supply chain.
  • facility devices can be facilities floor devices that are part of respective automation systems at supply and manufacturing entities of the supply chain. These devices can include, but are not limited to, industrial controllers, sensors, meters, motor drives, HMI terminals, industrial robots, or other such facility devices.
  • the facility devices (204) to (205) can be configured with cloud capabilities that allow the devices to be communicatively coupled to the cloud platform and exchange data with services residing thereon.
  • facility devices (204) and (205) can provide their data to the cloud platform via respective cloud proxy devices or other cloud gateways that collect data from multiple devices and move the data to the cloud platform for storage and processing.
  • a warehouse or facilities center stage of the supply chain can also provide data to tracking system. For example, current inventory levels for various products, records of product intakes and shipments, product order information, available warehouse capacity, and other such information. It is to be appreciated that other types of devices can provide data to tracking system in addition to devices.
  • mobile cloud gateways can be embedded on cargo vehicles that transport materials and products between supply chain entities. These cloud gateways can provide GPS information to the cloud indicating a current geographical location of a product shipment as the shipment is being transported through the supply chain. Additionally, sales and demand information can be provided to tracking system by retail servers associated with retail outlets.
  • higher level business systems e.g., ERP systems, reporting applications, financial systems, etc.
  • ERP systems enterprise resource planning systems
  • financial systems financial systems
  • the facility devices (204) and (205) can be associated with respective automation systems at geographically diverse industrial facilities, or at different areas within the same facility which may or may not reside on a common local area network.
  • an administrator can configure a limit on the total amount of cloud storage to be utilized. Accordingly, if the tracking system determines that this storage limit is being approached, the product tracking system can begin deleting the oldest data from cloud storage according to a preconfigured deletion routine.
  • the tracking system can send an instruction to one or more facility devices (204) to reduce their upload frequencies in response to determining that the storage limit is being approached, thereby slowing the consumption of cloud storage resources.
  • the cloud-based tracking system can select which facility devices (204) are to be adjusted based on respective criticalities of the control systems associated with the facility devices (204).
  • cloud-based tracking system can maintain individual device profiles (not shown) defining relative priorities of the industrial systems associated with each of the facility devices (204), and can leverage this information in connection with determining which facility devices (204) are to be selected for reduced upload frequency in the event that one or more cloud resources are being used at an excessive rate.
  • Cloud storage (201) can comprise a subset of the cloud platform's storage resources provisioned to an end user entity (e.g., an industrial enterprise) for the purpose of storing the received supply chain data.
  • cloud storage (201) can be provided to an industrial enterprise as part of a subscription service that includes access to the cloud-based product tracking system and its associated cloud services.
  • product or supply chain data can be provided to the cloud platform by cloud-capable facility devices (e.g., industrial controllers, meters, historians, etc.) or through cloud proxy devices that collect data from such facility devices and provide the data to the cloud platform.
  • cloud-capable facility devices e.g., industrial controllers, meters, historians, etc.
  • cloud proxy devices that collect data from such facility devices and provide the data to the cloud platform.
  • FIG. 2 an exemplary configuration is illustrated in which a facility device acts as a cloud proxy for other facility devices comprising an automation system.
  • an automation system (as might be part of a supply or manufacturing entity of a supply chain) comprises a plurality of facility devices (204) - (205) which collectively monitor and/or control one or more controlled processes.
  • the facility devices (204) - (205) respectively generate and/or collect process data relating to the controlled process.
  • process data relating to the controlled process.
  • PLCs personal computer
  • this can include collecting data from telemetry devices connected to the controller's FO, generating data internally based on measured process values, etc.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the central server (100) of the cloud- based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
  • the central server (100) includes a processor (101), a central database (102), an inventory tracking controller (103), a label controller (104), and a block chain controller (105).
  • the processor (101) may be a general purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, a graphics-only processing unit such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a visual processing unit (VPU) and the like.
  • the processor may include multiple cores to obtaining, tracking and delivering food items.
  • the central database (102) can be a dynamic storage device for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor (101).
  • the central database (102) may also be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor (101).
  • the central database (102) stores information about food items, information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ), information about the plurality of farmers (600i- n ) and information about the plurality of local vendors (700i- n ).
  • the information about the food items include, but is not limited to, an unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item.
  • the information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ) include, but is not limited to, an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ), a personal preference of the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), and an address of the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ).
  • the information about the farmers (600 i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ) include, but is not limited to, a location of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ), a production capability of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ), a unique identifier associated with the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ), and a personal preference of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ).
  • the inventory tracking controller (103) is coupled to the central database (102) and the processor (101).
  • the computer- inventory tracking controller (103) is implemented by processing circuitry such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits, or the like, and may optionally be driven by firmware and software.
  • the circuits may, for example, be embodied in one or more semiconductor chips, or on substrate supports such as printed circuit boards and the like.
  • the inventory tracking controller (103) receives a request from the handheld devices.
  • the request includes information about a type of food item and a quantity of the food item.
  • the inventory tracking controller (103) checks for availability of food items with farmers and local vendors as per the user request and automatically allocate a delivery space for the request in a warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse. If the food items are not available at the farmer then the inventory tracking controller (103) notify the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor.
  • the inventory tracking controller (103) generates a unique code corresponding to the request and share with the farmer and the vendor for the food items. The unique code helps to uniquely identify the request at both the farmer end and the local vendor end.
  • the label controller (104) receives the unique code from the farmer and the code from the local vendor and generate a label according to the unique code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
  • the label described herein can be for example, but is not limited to, a barcode, a Quick Response (QR) code, and a Radio-frequency identification label.
  • the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate and is used for hassle-free obtaining, tracking and delivering of the food items to the user.
  • the blockchain controller (105) that include application of block chain technology for encrypt establishment, maintenance and management of currency for bitcoin etc.
  • application of the block chain technology in bitcoin and other encryption currency based on block chain is to create no physical form simultaneously and the ideal money for not controlled or being assessed by central authorities.
  • presently described system and method dedicated for monitoring Record and ensure the integrality of physics supply chain production through block-chain technology of the present invention.
  • FIGS. 4a-4b illustrates a high level overview of the warehouse automation system (500) of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
  • the warehouse automation system (500) includes a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse, a conveyer assembly (501), a reader (502), a warehouse controller (504) and a direction device (505).
  • the conveyer assembly (501) includes one or more inward point to receive crate (900) from (i) a farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i- n ) through a vehicle (800) and (ii) a local vendor from a local vendors (700 i- n ).
  • the reader (502) is configured to read label printed on the crate (900) received on the at least one inward point.
  • the reader (502) described herein includes technology and is compatible to read the unique label printed on the crates (900).
  • the reader (502) can be a barcode, a QR code, and a RFID reader, etc.
  • the weigh device (503) is used to weight the food item included in the crate (900).
  • the weigh device (503) may include weight detecting pads or devices located within the bin that can identify when a crate with food item is placed or removed from a bin.
  • the weigh device (503) can include a weight range sensor may be used that may identify an approximate weight range of an order placed into a bin.
  • the warehouse controller (504) is communicatively coupled to a central server (100) and is configured to route the crate (900) to a delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate (900) is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate (900).
  • One or more direction device (505) are positioned at each of the plurality of delivery spaces.
  • the direction devices (505) are selectively activated by the warehouse controller (504) according to the information read from the label for proper placement of the crates (900).
  • the warehouse automation system (500) will provision the through the use of scanning systems and the direction devices (505) for no-touch allocation and delivery of food items to the customers.
  • the direction devices (505) are decision robots
  • FIG. 5 illustrates a high level overview of the packing controller (400) of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
  • the packing controller (400) receive the food item (901) and the label (902) from the farmer and weight the food item using a weight device (401) of the packing controller (400).
  • the packing controller (400) includes packaging robots that facilitates in automatic packs of the food items (901) into the crate (900) and print the label (902) on the crate (900).
  • the packing controller (400) transport the crate (900) to the warehouse through the electric vehicle (800), and transmit information of the vehicle (800) to the central server (100) in which the crate are transported.
  • FIG. 6a illustrates an example scenario of packing and tracking a request for the inventory items, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
  • the central server (100) stores information about the food items, information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ), information about the farmers (600i- n ) and information about the local vendors (700i- n ).
  • the information about the food items comprises at least one of a unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item.
  • the information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ) comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ), a personal preference of the handheld device, an address of the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ).
  • the information about the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ) comprises at least one of a location of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n), a production capability of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ), a unique identifier associated with the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ), and a personal preference of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ).
  • the user uses the handheld device (300i- n ) to provide request for the food item to the central server (100).
  • the central server (100) receives the request comprises first information from the handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ) associated with the user.
  • the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item.
  • the central server (100) identify farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i- n ) who provides the type of food item based on the first information and notify the first information to the farmer along with a first code. This first code required to be shared with packing controller (400) to process the request. This ensures that customer/user getting the food items from authorized farmers.
  • the farmer provides the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item to the central server (100).
  • the central server (100) compare the first information with the second information and identify the difference, wherein the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item.
  • the central server (100) allocates a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse and generate a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed, wherein the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate, and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
  • the farmer provides the food item and the label to the packaging controller (400).
  • the packaging controller (400) pack the food item in the crate, print the label on the crate, and transmit information of the vehicle (800) to the central server (100) in which the crate are transported.
  • the crate is transported to the warehouse through a vehicle (800).
  • the vehicle (800) is tracked by the central server (100) using the vehicle information provided by the packaging controller (400).
  • the label information along with Line Fill Rate (LFR) and Quantity Fill Rate (QFR) is uploaded in the central server by the vehicle (800) as indicated in the FIG. 6b.
  • Tracking system that can be implemented on a cloud platform to facilitate tracking a status of a product through a supply chain.
  • aspects of the system and method explained herein can constitute machine-executable components embodied within machine(s), e.g., embodied in one or more computer-readable mediums (or media) associated with one or more machines.
  • Such components when executed by one or more machines, e.g., computer(s), computing device(s), automation device(s), virtual machine(s), etc., can cause the machine(s) to perform the operations described.
  • the warehouse controller (504) receive the crate in the warehouse from the vehicle (800), weigh the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate, and route the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
  • the warehouse controller (504) shares the information about weight of the crate to the central server (100). Further, at S10, the warehouse controller (504) allocate the crate for delivery to the user on the conveyer line (501).
  • FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for tracking and delivering inventory items in a cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
  • the method includes storing, by the central server (100), information about the food items, information about the handheld devices (300i- n ), information about the farmers (600i- n ) and information about the local vendors (700i- n ).
  • the information about the food items comprises at least one of a unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item.
  • the information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ) comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ), a personal preference of the handheld device, an address of the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ).
  • the information about the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ) comprises at least one of a location of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ), a production capability of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ), a unique identifier associated with the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ), and a personal preference of the farmers (600i- n ) and the local vendors (700i- n ).
  • the method includes receiving, by a central server (100), a request comprises first information from a handheld device associated with a user from a plurality of handheld devices (300i- n ).
  • the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item;
  • the method includes identifying, by the central server (100), farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i- n ) who provides the type of food item based on the first information. Generally, there are different farmers (600i- n ) that provides the food items based on the preference. The central server (100) checks whether the famers is able to provide the food items as per the request.
  • the method includes notifying, by the central server (100), the first information to the farmer along with a first code.
  • the central server (100) generates a unique first code specific to the farmer that can provide the food item requested by the user.
  • the unique first code helps to identify the farmer and the request uniquely in the system.
  • the method includes receiving, by the central server (100), a second information from the farmer.
  • the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item. Based on the availability of the information, the farmer shares the information about the type of food item and the quantity of food item with the central server (100).
  • the method includes comparing, by the central server (100), the first information with the second information and identify the difference (i.e. LFR & QFR).
  • the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item.
  • the method in response to identifying no difference between the first information with the second information, at step 707, includes notifying the packing controller (400) to transport the crate to the user directly, when the central server (100) identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
  • the predetermined criteria include, for example, but is not limited to, (i) the request is received from premium/privilege customer/user, (ii) the urgent request is received from the user/customer, and (iii) a quantity/number of requests is above a threshold.
  • the threshold value is equal to a maximum capacity the vehicle can transport.
  • the method in response to identifying the difference between the first information with the second information, at step 708, includes notifying, by the central server (100), the difference to local vendor along with a second code.
  • the central server (100) generates a unique second code specific to the local vendor that can provide the food item requested by the user. This second code ensures that customer/user getting the food items from authorized local vendors.
  • the unique first code helps to identify the farmer and the request uniquely in the system.
  • the method includes notifying, by the central server (100), the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor.
  • the method includes allocating, by the central server (100), a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse;
  • the method includes receiving, by the central server (100), at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor;
  • the method includes generating, by the central server (100), a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed.
  • the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate.
  • the unique label is used for untouched delivery of the food items to the user.
  • the method includes sending, by the central server (100), the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
  • the farmer or the local vendor uses the label to track the food items in the internal facility.
  • the method includes receiving, by the packaging controller (400), the food item and the label from the farmer.
  • the method includes packing, by the packaging controller (400), the food item in the crate.
  • the packaging robots can be used for automatically packing the food items in the crate. This is help for making untouched pacing of the food items into the crate.
  • the method includes printing, by the packaging controller (400), the label on the crate. Known mechanism can be used for printing the label on the crate so that the printed label on the crate can be used for automatically tracking the food item till it get delivered to the user.
  • the method includes transporting, by the packaging controller (400), the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle (800).
  • vehicle (800) include the tracking mechanism to share the information about the location and the crates to the central server (100).
  • the method includes transmitting, by the packaging controller (400), information of the vehicle (800) to the central server (100) in which the crate are transported.
  • the information of the vehicle (800) is used for automatically tracking the location of the vehicle (800).
  • the method includes receiving, by a warehouse automation system (500), the crate in the warehouse from at least one of the vehicle (800) and the local vendor.
  • the warehouse automation system (500) includes the conveyer assembly (501) having inward points to receive the crate from (i) the farmer through the vehicle (800) and (ii) the local vendor.
  • the method includes weighing, by the warehouse controller (504), the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate.
  • the warehouse controller (504) includes the reader (502) to read the label printed on the crate received on the one or more inward points and the weigh device (503) to weigh the food item included in the crate.
  • the method includes routing, by the warehouse automation system (500), the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
  • the method includes routing detecting, by the warehouse automation system (500), whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and
  • the method in response to detecting change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, at step 723, the method includes modifying, by the warehouse automation system (500) modifying the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line.
  • the crate is modified by adding food items to the crate from other crate or transferring food items from the crate to the other crate based on the change in the request.
  • the method includes linking the label printed on the at least one modified crate and a label printed on the other crate.
  • the method includes tracking the at least one modified crate using the unique label printed on the at least one modified crate and the unique label printed on the other crate.
  • the method in response to detecting that there is no change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, at step 726, the method includes allocating the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
  • the crate is allocated by creating a store space in proximity to an allocation weigh machine to enable temporary buffering of the crate.
  • the method includes conceiving a dedicated material handling aisle for picking the crate.
  • the method includes interlinking the label printed on the crate to delivery information.
  • the delivery information comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the at least one facility device, a stock- keeping unit (SKU) code, date and time; and
  • the method includes tracking the at last one crate using the unique label and the linked delivery information.
  • the claimed invention also facilitates to allow the customer/user to obtain the information on the food product from the seed level.
  • the central server 100 is accessible by the customer/user and farmers.
  • the authorized farmers able to obtain the information as well as guidance regarding the farming as well as cultivation on food products from the central server on the regular basis.
  • the farmers also uploads the information on food products at each stages of cultivation i.e. from the seed level until harvesting in the central server on the regular basis along with timestamps.
  • the customer/user received the food products from the authorized famers (not the local vendors) then the user/customers able to know the history of food products i.e. from seed level.
  • the food products received at the warehouse either from farmers or local vendors are inspected to check whether is there any foreign matters therein to ensure the purity of the food products.

Abstract

Embodiments herein provide a method and cloud-based automation system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items. The system delivers the food items with minimum/no touch of humans and the system facilitates obtainment of the food items only according to the requirement. The system comprises a central server (100), a plurality of handheld devices (3001-n), a packaging controller (400), and a warehouse automation system (500). The central server (100) generate a label indicating type of food items in the crate, quantity of the food items in the crate. The packaging controller (400) print the label on the crate and transport the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle (800). The warehouse controller (504) route the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.

Description

CLOUD-BASED AUTOMATION SYSTEM FOR OBTAINING, TRACKING AND DELIVERING FOOD ITEMS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a cloud-based automation system for automated provision of goods such as food items, and more particularly to cloud-based automation system and method for automatically obtaining, tracking and delivering food items.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Rapid delivery of goods specifically food items are predicated on the ability of a customer to efficiently place an order and receive the food items in a quick and accurate manner with minimum/no touch of humans. The food items are perishable in general and it is very much essential to harvest food items such as vegetables and fruits on basis of requirements as well as them before getting waste. The food items are perishable quickly than normal in case of human touch.
[0003] The delivery of food items are traditionally occurs in several discrete ways. First, a consumer places an order for a particular food item with a food item provider. The food item provider checks availability of the food item at a warehouse as per the customer order, packages the food items and delivers to the consumer's location. The inherent challenges in such a delivery method are numerous due to a lot of human interaction for checks availability of the food item at the warehouse, packaging the food items and delivering the food items. Due to a human interaction there may be misinterpretation through language barriers, speech impediments, inaudible conversation, etc. These mistakes can lead to fewer return customers due to lower satisfaction ratings stemming from either poor customer service, processing incorrect orders, lengthy wait times, interruptions from implementing new technologies, etc.
[0004] Further, conventional barcodes or other unique identifiers aren't dynamic and don't change or generate specific to a customer's order. Identifiers scanned at a food item provider only link to profiles and general information about the food item only after an order has been placed. The food item provides still has to be maintain separate facility for efficiently obtaining, tracking and delivering food items.
1
SUBSTITUTE SHEETS (RULE 26) [0005] Hence there remains a need of cloud-based automation system and method for automatically obtaining or harvesting on need basis, tracking and delivering food items with minimum/no touch of humans.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The principal object of the embodiment herein is to provide a cloud-based automation system and method for automatically obtaining, tracking and delivering goods such as food items. The system delivers the food items with minimum/no touch of humans and the system facilitates obtainment of the food items only according to the requirement.
[0007] Another object of the embodiment herein is to provide a central server in a cloud network that checks for availability of food items with farmers and local vendors as per the user request and automatically allocate a delivery space for the request in a warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse.
[0008] Yet another object of the embodiment herein is to provide a central server in a cloud network that generate a unique label for crates of food items. The unique label is used for hassel-free obtaining, tracking and delivering of the food items to the user.
[0009] Yet another object of the embodiment herein is to provide a warehouse automation system with a conveyer assembly to receive crate, a reader to read label printed on the crate, a weigh device to weight the food item included in the crate, and a warehouse controller to route the crate to a delivery space. The warehouse automation system will provision the through the use of scanning systems and decision robots (also referred as direction devices) for no-touch allocation and delivery of food items to the customers.
[0010] Yet another object of the embodiment herein is to provide a packaging controller to print the unique label on the crate and transmit information of the vehicle to the central server in which the crate are transported. This will allow the central server to centralize and automate the overall tracking process using the unique label printed on the crates of food items. SUMMARY
[0011] In one aspect the object is satisfied by providing a cloud-based automation system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items. The system delivers the food items with minimum/no touch of humans and the system facilitates obtainment of the food items only according to the requirement. The cloud-based automation system comprises a central server in a cloud network, a plurality of handheld devices, communicatively coupled with the central server, a packaging controller communicatively coupled with the central server, and a warehouse automation system comprising a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse and a warehouse controller communicatively coupled to the central server and the packaging controller. The central server comprises an inventory tracking controller, a label controller, and a central database. The central database stores information about the food items, information about the plurality of handheld devices, information about the farmers and information about the local vendors. The inventory tracking controller configured to receive a request comprises first information from a handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices associated with a user where the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item, identify farmer from a plurality of farmers who provides the type of food item based on the first information, notify the first information to the farmer along with a first code, receive a second information from the farmer where the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, compare the first information with the second information and identify the difference, the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, notify the difference to a local vendor from a plurality of local vendors along with a second code, notify the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor, and allocate a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse.
[0012] Further, the label controller to receive at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor, generate a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed in which the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate, and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
[0013] Further, the packaging controller is configured to receive the food item and the label from the farmer, pack the food item in the crate, print the label on the crate, transport the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle, and transmit information of the vehicle to the central server in which the crate are transported.
[0014] Further, the warehouse controller configured to receive the crate in the warehouse from at least one of the vehicle and the local vendor, weigh the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate, and route the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
[0015] In an embodiment, the warehouse automation system comprises a conveyer assembly comprising at least one inward point to receive the crate from (i) the farmer through the vehicle and (ii) the local vendor, a reader configured to read the label printed on the crate received on the at least one inward point, and a weigh device to weigh the food item included in the crate.
[0016] In an embodiment, the conveyer assembly comprises a direction device positioned at each of the plurality of delivery spaces, the direction device is selectively activated by the warehouse controller according to Information read from the label.
[0017] In an embodiment, the warehouse controller is configured to detect whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and perform one of: modify the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line, and allocate the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
[0018] In an embodiment, allocate the crate for delivery on the at least one conveyer line comprises create a store space in proximity to an allocation weigh machine to enable temporary buffering of the crate, conceive a dedicated material handling aisle for picking the crate, interlink the label printed on the crate to delivery information, the delivery information comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the at least one facility device, a stock-keeping unit (SKU) code, date and time, and track the at last one crate using the unique label and the linked delivery information.
[0019] In an embodiment, modify the food item in the crate based on the change in the request comprises modify the crate by adding food items to the crate from other crate or transferring food items from the crate to the other crate based on the change in the request, link the label printed on the at least one modified crate and a label printed on the other crate, and track the at least one modified crate using the unique label printed on the at least one modified crate and the unique label printed on the other crate.
[0020] In an embodiment, the information about the food items comprises at least one of a unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item.
[0021] In an embodiment, the information about the plurality of handheld devices comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices, a personal preference of the handheld device, an address of the plurality of handheld devices.
[0022] In an embodiment, the information about the farmers and the local vendors comprises at least one of a location of the farmers and the local vendors, a production capability of the farmers and the local vendors, a unique identifier associated with the farmers and the local vendors, and a personal preference of the farmers and the local vendors.
[0023] In an embodiment, the central server notifies the packing controller to transport the crate to the user directly, when the central server identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
[0024] In another aspect the object is satisfied by providing a central server for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system. The central server comprises a processor, a central database which stores information about food items, information about a plurality of handheld devices, information about a plurality of farmers and information about a plurality of local vendors, an inventory tracking controller, coupled to the central database and the processor, and a label controller. The inventory tracking controller is configured to receive a request comprises first information from a handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices associated with a user where the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item, identify a farmer from the plurality of farmers who provides the type of food item based on the first information, notify the first information to the farmer along with a first code, receive a second information from the farmer where the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, compare the first information with the second information and identify the difference, the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, notify the difference to a local vendor from the plurality of local vendors along with a second code, notify the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor, and allocate a delivery space for the request from a plurality of delivery spaces in a warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse.
[0025] Further, the label controller is configured to receive at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor, generate a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed, the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate, and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
[0026] In an embodiment, the inventory tracking controller notifies the packing controller to transport the crate to the user directly, when Inventory tracking controller identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
[0027] In yet another aspect the object is satisfied by providing a warehouse automation system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system. The warehouse automation system comprises a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse, a conveyer assembly comprising at least one inward point to receive crate from (i) a farmer from a plurality of farmers through a vehicle and (ii) a local vendor from a local vendors, a reader configured to read label printed on the crate received on the at least one inward point, a weigh device to weight the food item included in the crate, and a warehouse controller communicatively coupled to a central server. The warehouse controller is configured to route the crate to a delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
[0028] In an embodiment, the conveyer assembly comprises a direction device positioned at each of the plurality of delivery spaces, the direction device is selectively activated by the warehouse controller according to Information read from the label.
[0029] In yet another aspect the object is satisfied by providing a method for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system. The method comprises storing, by the central server, information about the food items, information about the handheld devices, information about the farmers and information about the local vendors; receiving, by a central server, a request comprises first information from a handheld device associated with a user from a plurality of handheld devices where the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item; identifying, by the central server, farmer from a plurality of farmers who provides the type of food item based on the first information; notifying, by the central server, the first information to the farmer along with a first code; receiving, by the central server, a second information from the farmer where the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, comparing, by the central server, the first information with the second information and identify the difference, the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item; notifying, by the central server, the difference to local vendor along with a second code; notifying, by the central server, the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor; allocating, by the central server, a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse; receiving, by the central server, at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor; generating, by the central server, a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed, the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate; and sending, by the central server, the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
[0030] Further, the method comprises receiving, by a packaging controller, the food item and the label from the farmer; packing, by the packaging controller, the food item in the crate; printing, by the packaging controller, the label on the crate; transporting, by the packaging controller, the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle; transmitting, by the packaging controller, information of the vehicle to the central server in which the crate are transported; receiving, by a warehouse automation system, the crate in the warehouse from at least one of the vehicle and the local vendor; weighing, by the warehouse controller, the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate; and routing, by the warehouse automation system, the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
[0031] Further, the method comprises detecting, by the warehouse automation system, whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and performing, by the warehouse automation system, one of: modifying the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line, and allocating the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
[0032] In an embodiment, the method includes notifying the packing controller to transport the crate to the user directly, when the central server identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
[0033] These and other aspects of the embodiment herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating preferred embodiment and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiment herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiment herein include all such modifications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES
[0034] The proposed cloud-based tracking system is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiment herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0035] FIG. 1 illustrates a high level overview of a cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0036] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of tacking inventory items in cloud- based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0037] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a central server of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0038] FIGS. 4a-4b illustrates a high level overview of a warehouse automation system of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0039] FIG. 5 illustrates a high level overview of a packing controller of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0040] FIG. 6a illustrates an example scenario of packing and tracking a request for the inventory items, according to embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0041] FIG. 6b illustrates an example of a QFR and a LFR system to a cloud platform, according to embodiment as disclosed herein; and
[0042] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for tracking and delivering inventory items in a cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0043] The embodiment herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiment that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiment herein. Also, the various embodiment described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiment can be combined with one or more other embodiment to form new embodiment. The term “or” as used herein, refers to a non-exclusive or, unless otherwise indicated. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiment herein can be practiced and to further enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiment herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiment herein.
[0044] The accompanying drawings are used to help easily understand various technical features and it should be understood that the embodiment presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. As such, the present disclosure should be construed to extend to any alterations, equivalents and substitutes in addition to those which are particularly set out in the accompanying drawings. Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are generally only used to distinguish one element from another.
[0045] Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1-7, there are shown preferred embodiment.
[0046] FIG. 1 illustrates a high level overview of a cloud-based tracking system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items, according to embodiment as disclosed herein. The cloud-based tracking system includes a central server (100) in a cloud network (200), a plurality of handheld devices (300i-n) communicatively coupled with the central server (100), a packaging controller (400) communicatively coupled with the central server (100), and a warehouse automation system (500) communicatively coupled to the central server (100) and the packaging controller (400), a plurality of farmers (600i-n), a plurality of local vendors (700i-n) and an electronic vehicle (800).
[0047] The cloud network (200) comprises on demand computer resources for obtaining, tracking and delivering the food items. The cloud network (200) typically provides data communication through one or more networks to other data devices. For instance one or more non-proprietary network communications channels like a Wide Area Network (WAN) such as the Internet and/or cellular provider communications networks including voice, data and short message service (SMS) networks or channels.
[0048] The handheld devices (300i-n) includes application to provide request for food items to the central server (100). The handheld devices (300i-n) described can be for example, but is not limited to, mobile phone, tablet, phablet, portable computer, laptop, and personal digital assistance. The customers can use their handheld devices (300i-n) and can provide the request with order information corresponding to a desired food item, destination address, delivery time, and the like may be provided by the user in a format requiring minimal or no reformatting by the central server (100). In an embodiment, the customer can use IoT devices to place the request. In an embodiment, the handheld devices (300i-n) can automatically interact with the IoT devices of the customer to place the request.
[0049] The central server (100) can include one or more systems or devices used for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items. The central server (100) include interfaces to communicate with the handheld devices (300 i-n) to receive the order from the users. The central server (100) include network resources for communicating with the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n). The central server (100) stores the information about the handheld devices (300i-n), the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n).
[0050] The central server (100) receives the request comprises first information from the handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n). The first information includes a type of food item and a quantity of the food item. The central server (100) include machine learning techniques for predicting the demand for certain food items. The central server (100) determines whether the order can be completed by one or more farmers or local vendors.
[0051] A packaging controller (400) is used for packaging the food items. The packaging controller (400) can include packaging robot(s) that packs the food items into crates and move the crates into the electronic vehicle (800) for transporting to the warehouse. The packaging controller (400) transports the crate to the warehouse through the vehicle (800).
[0052] The vehicle (800) can be an autonomous vehicle or drones including tracking. The vehicle information is stored in the central server (100) for quick tracking.
[0053] The warehouse automation system (500) includes a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse to store the crates of food items. The central server (100) allocate a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse.
[0054] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of tacking inventory items in the cloud- based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein. In an example, a high-level overview of seed to soil enterprise that leverages cloud-based services, including but not limited to the food items tracking services described herein. The enterprise comprises one or more ware houses (also referred as facility center) (203) of the farmers or the local vendors, each having a number of facility centers devices (204) and (205) in use. The facility centers devices (204) and (205) can make up one or more automation systems operating within the respective ware houses (203). The facility devices (204) and (205) of the farmers or the local vendors as residing in stationary ware houses (203), the facility centers devices may also be part of a mobile control application, such as a system contained in a truck or other service vehicle.
[0055] The cloud services (202) can include, but are not limited to, data storage, data analysis, product tracking, applications (e.g., applications that can generate and deliver control instructions to facility devices (204) and (205) based on analysis of near real-time system data or other factors), visualization applications such as cloud- based HMIs, reporting applications, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications, Supply Management System (SMS), Farm Management System (FMS), Warehouse Management System (WMS), Retail management System (RMS), Demand management System (DMS), notification services, or other such applications. If cloud platform (201) is a web-based cloud, facility devices (204) and (205) at the respective industrial facilities (202) may interact with cloud services (201 ) via the Internet. In an exemplary configuration, facility devices (204) and (205) may access the cloud services (201) through separate gateways (206) at the respective industrial facilities (202), where the facility devices (204) and (205) connect to the gateways (206) through a physical or wireless local area network or radio link. In another exemplary configuration, the facility devices may access the cloud platform directly using an integrated cloud interface.
[0056] The facility devices (204) and (205) can comprise substantially any type of device that contains, collects, or generates data relating to a farm within a supply chain. For example, facility devices can be facilities floor devices that are part of respective automation systems at supply and manufacturing entities of the supply chain. These devices can include, but are not limited to, industrial controllers, sensors, meters, motor drives, HMI terminals, industrial robots, or other such facility devices. The facility devices (204) to (205) can be configured with cloud capabilities that allow the devices to be communicatively coupled to the cloud platform and exchange data with services residing thereon. Alternatively, facility devices (204) and (205) can provide their data to the cloud platform via respective cloud proxy devices or other cloud gateways that collect data from multiple devices and move the data to the cloud platform for storage and processing. These various configurations are described in more detail below.
[0057] At a warehouse or facilities center stage of the supply chain can also provide data to tracking system. For example, current inventory levels for various products, records of product intakes and shipments, product order information, available warehouse capacity, and other such information. It is to be appreciated that other types of devices can provide data to tracking system in addition to devices. For example, mobile cloud gateways can be embedded on cargo vehicles that transport materials and products between supply chain entities. These cloud gateways can provide GPS information to the cloud indicating a current geographical location of a product shipment as the shipment is being transported through the supply chain. Additionally, sales and demand information can be provided to tracking system by retail servers associated with retail outlets. At the supply and manufacturing stages, higher level business systems (e.g., ERP systems, reporting applications, financial systems, etc.) can provide business data relating to operations of the respective facilities. The facility devices (204) and (205) can be associated with respective automation systems at geographically diverse industrial facilities, or at different areas within the same facility which may or may not reside on a common local area network.
[0058] In another example, an administrator can configure a limit on the total amount of cloud storage to be utilized. Accordingly, if the tracking system determines that this storage limit is being approached, the product tracking system can begin deleting the oldest data from cloud storage according to a preconfigured deletion routine. In an alternative approach, the tracking system can send an instruction to one or more facility devices (204) to reduce their upload frequencies in response to determining that the storage limit is being approached, thereby slowing the consumption of cloud storage resources. The cloud-based tracking system can select which facility devices (204) are to be adjusted based on respective criticalities of the control systems associated with the facility devices (204). For example, cloud-based tracking system can maintain individual device profiles (not shown) defining relative priorities of the industrial systems associated with each of the facility devices (204), and can leverage this information in connection with determining which facility devices (204) are to be selected for reduced upload frequency in the event that one or more cloud resources are being used at an excessive rate.
[0059] Cloud storage (201) can comprise a subset of the cloud platform's storage resources provisioned to an end user entity (e.g., an industrial enterprise) for the purpose of storing the received supply chain data. For example, cloud storage (201) can be provided to an industrial enterprise as part of a subscription service that includes access to the cloud-based product tracking system and its associated cloud services. [0060] As noted above, product or supply chain data can be provided to the cloud platform by cloud-capable facility devices (e.g., industrial controllers, meters, historians, etc.) or through cloud proxy devices that collect data from such facility devices and provide the data to the cloud platform. Turning briefly to FIG. 2, an exemplary configuration is illustrated in which a facility device acts as a cloud proxy for other facility devices comprising an automation system. In the present example, an automation system (as might be part of a supply or manufacturing entity of a supply chain) comprises a plurality of facility devices (204) - (205) which collectively monitor and/or control one or more controlled processes. The facility devices (204) - (205) respectively generate and/or collect process data relating to the controlled process. For industrial controllers such as PLCs or other automation controllers, this can include collecting data from telemetry devices connected to the controller's FO, generating data internally based on measured process values, etc.
[0061] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the central server (100) of the cloud- based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein. The central server (100) includes a processor (101), a central database (102), an inventory tracking controller (103), a label controller (104), and a block chain controller (105).
[0062] The processor (101) may be a general purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), an application processor (AP), or the like, a graphics-only processing unit such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), a visual processing unit (VPU) and the like. The processor may include multiple cores to obtaining, tracking and delivering food items.
[0063] The central database (102) can be a dynamic storage device for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor (101). The central database (102) may also be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor (101). The central database (102) stores information about food items, information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), information about the plurality of farmers (600i- n) and information about the plurality of local vendors (700i-n).
[0064] In an embodiment, the information about the food items include, but is not limited to, an unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item.
[0065] In an embodiment, the information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n) include, but is not limited to, an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), a personal preference of the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), and an address of the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n).
[0066] In an embodiment, the information about the farmers (600 i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n) include, but is not limited to, a location of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), a production capability of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), a unique identifier associated with the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), and a personal preference of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n).
[0067] The inventory tracking controller (103) is coupled to the central database (102) and the processor (101). The computer- inventory tracking controller (103) is implemented by processing circuitry such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits, or the like, and may optionally be driven by firmware and software. The circuits may, for example, be embodied in one or more semiconductor chips, or on substrate supports such as printed circuit boards and the like.
[0068] The inventory tracking controller (103) receives a request from the handheld devices. The request includes information about a type of food item and a quantity of the food item. The inventory tracking controller (103) checks for availability of food items with farmers and local vendors as per the user request and automatically allocate a delivery space for the request in a warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse. If the food items are not available at the farmer then the inventory tracking controller (103) notify the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor. The inventory tracking controller (103) generates a unique code corresponding to the request and share with the farmer and the vendor for the food items. The unique code helps to uniquely identify the request at both the farmer end and the local vendor end.
[0069] The label controller (104) receives the unique code from the farmer and the code from the local vendor and generate a label according to the unique code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor. The label described herein can be for example, but is not limited to, a barcode, a Quick Response (QR) code, and a Radio-frequency identification label. The label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate and is used for hassle-free obtaining, tracking and delivering of the food items to the user.
[0070] The blockchain controller (105) that include application of block chain technology for encrypt establishment, maintenance and management of currency for bitcoin etc. However, application of the block chain technology in bitcoin and other encryption currency based on block chain is to create no physical form simultaneously and the ideal money for not controlled or being assessed by central authorities. In contrast, presently described system and method dedicated for monitoring, Record and ensure the integrality of physics supply chain production through block-chain technology of the present invention.
[0071] FIGS. 4a-4b illustrates a high level overview of the warehouse automation system (500) of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein. The warehouse automation system (500) includes a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse, a conveyer assembly (501), a reader (502), a warehouse controller (504) and a direction device (505). The conveyer assembly (501) includes one or more inward point to receive crate (900) from (i) a farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i-n) through a vehicle (800) and (ii) a local vendor from a local vendors (700 i-n).
[0072] The reader (502) is configured to read label printed on the crate (900) received on the at least one inward point. The reader (502) described herein includes technology and is compatible to read the unique label printed on the crates (900). For example, the reader (502) can be a barcode, a QR code, and a RFID reader, etc. [0073] The weigh device (503) is used to weight the food item included in the crate (900). The weigh device (503) may include weight detecting pads or devices located within the bin that can identify when a crate with food item is placed or removed from a bin. In an example, the weigh device (503) can include a weight range sensor may be used that may identify an approximate weight range of an order placed into a bin.
[0074] The warehouse controller (504) is communicatively coupled to a central server (100) and is configured to route the crate (900) to a delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate (900) is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate (900).
[0075] One or more direction device (505) are positioned at each of the plurality of delivery spaces. The direction devices (505) are selectively activated by the warehouse controller (504) according to the information read from the label for proper placement of the crates (900). The warehouse automation system (500) will provision the through the use of scanning systems and the direction devices (505) for no-touch allocation and delivery of food items to the customers. The direction devices (505) are decision robots
[0076] No manual handling of crates (900) are done using the proposed warehouse automation system (500). The label information on the crate (900) is read by the reader (502) on each junction point of the conveyer assembly (501) and a direction devices (504) will push the crates (900) to respective zone based on the label information. When the crates (900) are pushed to the respective line of the conveyer assembly (501), the crate (900) moves to the end of the gravity conveyor. Palletizing person scans the label printed on the crate (900) and places the crate (900) on the allotted pallet site.
[0077] FIG. 5 illustrates a high level overview of the packing controller (400) of the cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein. The packing controller (400) receive the food item (901) and the label (902) from the farmer and weight the food item using a weight device (401) of the packing controller (400). The packing controller (400) includes packaging robots that facilitates in automatic packs of the food items (901) into the crate (900) and print the label (902) on the crate (900). The packing controller (400) transport the crate (900) to the warehouse through the electric vehicle (800), and transmit information of the vehicle (800) to the central server (100) in which the crate are transported.
[0078] FIG. 6a illustrates an example scenario of packing and tracking a request for the inventory items, according to embodiment as disclosed herein. At SI, the central server (100) stores information about the food items, information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), information about the farmers (600i-n) and information about the local vendors (700i-n). In an embodiment, the information about the food items comprises at least one of a unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item. In an embodiment, the information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n) comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), a personal preference of the handheld device, an address of the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n). In an embodiment, the information about the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n) comprises at least one of a location of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i- n), a production capability of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), a unique identifier associated with the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), and a personal preference of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n).
[0079] At S2, the user uses the handheld device (300i-n) to provide request for the food item to the central server (100). The central server (100) receives the request comprises first information from the handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n) associated with the user. In an embodiment, the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item.
[0080] At S3, the central server (100) identify farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i-n) who provides the type of food item based on the first information and notify the first information to the farmer along with a first code. This first code required to be shared with packing controller (400) to process the request. This ensures that customer/user getting the food items from authorized farmers. The farmer provides the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item to the central server (100). The central server (100) compare the first information with the second information and identify the difference, wherein the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item. The central server (100) allocates a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse and generate a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed, wherein the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate, and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
[0081] At S4, the farmer provides the food item and the label to the packaging controller (400). The packaging controller (400) pack the food item in the crate, print the label on the crate, and transmit information of the vehicle (800) to the central server (100) in which the crate are transported.
[0082] Further, at S6, the crate is transported to the warehouse through a vehicle (800). At S7, the vehicle (800) is tracked by the central server (100) using the vehicle information provided by the packaging controller (400). The label information along with Line Fill Rate (LFR) and Quantity Fill Rate (QFR) is uploaded in the central server by the vehicle (800) as indicated in the FIG. 6b. Dashboard display with LFR (Line Fill Rate) and QFR (Quantity Fill Rate).An alarm is generated for Time Up and Allocation Completion.
[0083] A fill rate is a measure of the depth of demand that was satisfied by inventory on hand. For example, a customer orders 20 units of SKU 2677, but the seller ships the 15 units it possesses. The fill rate equals 15/20 = 75. Fill rates can be evaluated by lines on an order (LFR), by SKUs, or by quantity shipped (QFR).
[0084] Tracking system that can be implemented on a cloud platform to facilitate tracking a status of a product through a supply chain. Aspects of the system and method explained herein can constitute machine-executable components embodied within machine(s), e.g., embodied in one or more computer-readable mediums (or media) associated with one or more machines. Such components, when executed by one or more machines, e.g., computer(s), computing device(s), automation device(s), virtual machine(s), etc., can cause the machine(s) to perform the operations described.
[0085] At S8, the warehouse controller (504) receive the crate in the warehouse from the vehicle (800), weigh the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate, and route the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
[0086] At S9, the warehouse controller (504) shares the information about weight of the crate to the central server (100). Further, at S10, the warehouse controller (504) allocate the crate for delivery to the user on the conveyer line (501).
[0087] FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for tracking and delivering inventory items in a cloud-based tracking system, according to embodiment as disclosed herein.
[0088] At step 701, the method includes storing, by the central server (100), information about the food items, information about the handheld devices (300i-n), information about the farmers (600i-n) and information about the local vendors (700i- n). In an embodiment, the information about the food items comprises at least one of a unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item. In an embodiment, the information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i- n) comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), a personal preference of the handheld device, an address of the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n). In an embodiment, the information about the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n) comprises at least one of a location of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), a production capability of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), a unique identifier associated with the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), and a personal preference of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n).
[0089] At step 702, the method includes receiving, by a central server (100), a request comprises first information from a handheld device associated with a user from a plurality of handheld devices (300i-n). The first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item;
[0090] At step 703, the method includes identifying, by the central server (100), farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i-n) who provides the type of food item based on the first information. Generally, there are different farmers (600i-n) that provides the food items based on the preference. The central server (100) checks whether the famers is able to provide the food items as per the request.
[0091] At step 704, the method includes notifying, by the central server (100), the first information to the farmer along with a first code. The central server (100) generates a unique first code specific to the farmer that can provide the food item requested by the user. The unique first code helps to identify the farmer and the request uniquely in the system.
[0092] At step 705, the method includes receiving, by the central server (100), a second information from the farmer. In an embodiment, the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item. Based on the availability of the information, the farmer shares the information about the type of food item and the quantity of food item with the central server (100).
[0093] At step 706, the method includes comparing, by the central server (100), the first information with the second information and identify the difference (i.e. LFR & QFR). The difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item.
[0094] In an embodiment, in response to identifying no difference between the first information with the second information, at step 707, the method includes notifying the packing controller (400) to transport the crate to the user directly, when the central server (100) identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria. The predetermined criteria include, for example, but is not limited to, (i) the request is received from premium/privilege customer/user, (ii) the urgent request is received from the user/customer, and (iii) a quantity/number of requests is above a threshold. In an embodiment, the threshold value is equal to a maximum capacity the vehicle can transport.
[0095] After receiving order requests from the handheld devices (600) (through the mobile application or web applications its generates the order to farmers and they will provide the data of products that they can deliver according to that the order requests and if any items are missing then that particular items will be noticed to local vendors, If complete order was available then virtual centers will come into picture, through the virtual centers information was noticed via cloud service vehicle was transport the order to the user.
[0096] In an embodiment, in response to identifying the difference between the first information with the second information, at step 708, the method includes notifying, by the central server (100), the difference to local vendor along with a second code. The central server (100) generates a unique second code specific to the local vendor that can provide the food item requested by the user. This second code ensures that customer/user getting the food items from authorized local vendors. The unique first code helps to identify the farmer and the request uniquely in the system.
[0097] At step 709, the method includes notifying, by the central server (100), the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor.
[0098] At step 710, the method includes allocating, by the central server (100), a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse;
[0099] At step 711, the method includes receiving, by the central server (100), at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor;
[00100] At step 712, the method includes generating, by the central server (100), a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed. The label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate. The unique label is used for untouched delivery of the food items to the user.
[00101] At step 713, the method includes sending, by the central server (100), the label to the farmer or the local vendor. The farmer or the local vendor uses the label to track the food items in the internal facility.
[00102] At step 714, the method includes receiving, by the packaging controller (400), the food item and the label from the farmer.
[00103] At step 715, the method includes packing, by the packaging controller (400), the food item in the crate. The packaging robots can be used for automatically packing the food items in the crate. This is help for making untouched pacing of the food items into the crate. [00104] At step 716, the method includes printing, by the packaging controller (400), the label on the crate. Known mechanism can be used for printing the label on the crate so that the printed label on the crate can be used for automatically tracking the food item till it get delivered to the user.
[00105] At step 717, the method includes transporting, by the packaging controller (400), the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle (800). The vehicle (800) include the tracking mechanism to share the information about the location and the crates to the central server (100).
[00106] At step 718, the method includes transmitting, by the packaging controller (400), information of the vehicle (800) to the central server (100) in which the crate are transported. The information of the vehicle (800) is used for automatically tracking the location of the vehicle (800).
[00107] At step 719, the method includes receiving, by a warehouse automation system (500), the crate in the warehouse from at least one of the vehicle (800) and the local vendor. The warehouse automation system (500) includes the conveyer assembly (501) having inward points to receive the crate from (i) the farmer through the vehicle (800) and (ii) the local vendor.
[00108] At step 720, the method includes weighing, by the warehouse controller (504), the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate. The warehouse controller (504) includes the reader (502) to read the label printed on the crate received on the one or more inward points and the weigh device (503) to weigh the food item included in the crate.
[00109] At step 721, the method includes routing, by the warehouse automation system (500), the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
[00110] At step 722, the method includes routing detecting, by the warehouse automation system (500), whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and
[00111] In an embodiment, in response to detecting change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, at step 723, the method includes modifying, by the warehouse automation system (500) modifying the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line. In an embodiment, the crate is modified by adding food items to the crate from other crate or transferring food items from the crate to the other crate based on the change in the request.
[00112] At step 724, the method includes linking the label printed on the at least one modified crate and a label printed on the other crate. At step 725, the method includes tracking the at least one modified crate using the unique label printed on the at least one modified crate and the unique label printed on the other crate.
[00113] In an embodiment, in response to detecting that there is no change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, at step 726, the method includes allocating the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request. The crate is allocated by creating a store space in proximity to an allocation weigh machine to enable temporary buffering of the crate.
[00114] At step 727, the method includes conceiving a dedicated material handling aisle for picking the crate. At step 728, the method includes interlinking the label printed on the crate to delivery information. The delivery information comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the at least one facility device, a stock- keeping unit (SKU) code, date and time; and
[00115] Further, at step 724, the method includes tracking the at last one crate using the unique label and the linked delivery information.
[00116] The claimed invention also facilitates to allow the customer/user to obtain the information on the food product from the seed level. The central server 100 is accessible by the customer/user and farmers. The authorized farmers able to obtain the information as well as guidance regarding the farming as well as cultivation on food products from the central server on the regular basis. The farmers also uploads the information on food products at each stages of cultivation i.e. from the seed level until harvesting in the central server on the regular basis along with timestamps. Thus if the customer/user received the food products from the authorized famers (not the local vendors) then the user/customers able to know the history of food products i.e. from seed level. Further in another embodiment, the food products received at the warehouse either from farmers or local vendors are inspected to check whether is there any foreign matters therein to ensure the purity of the food products.
[00117] The foregoing description of the specific embodiment will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiment herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiment without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiment. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiment herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiment, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiment herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiment as described herein. [00118] List to reference numerals:
Figure imgf000028_0001
Figure imgf000029_0001

Claims

We Claim:
1. A cloud-based automation system for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items, wherein the system delivers the food items with minimum/no touch of humans and the system facilitates obtainment of the food items only according to the requirement, and wherein the cloud-based automation system comprises: a central server (100) in a cloud network (200); a plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), communicatively coupled with the central server (100); a packaging controller (400), communicatively coupled with the central server (100); and a warehouse automation system (500) comprising a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse and a warehouse controller (504) communicatively coupled to the central server (100) and the packaging controller (400); wherein the central server (100) comprises: an inventory tracking controller (103) configured to: receive a request comprises first information from a handheld device from the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n) associated with a user, wherein the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item, identify farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i-n) who provides the type of food item based on the first information, notify the first information to the farmer along with a first code, receive a second information from the farmer, wherein the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, compare the first information with the second information and identify the difference, wherein the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item, notify the difference to a local vendor from a plurality of local vendors (700i-n) along with a second code, notify the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor, allocate a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse; and a label controller (104) to: receive at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor, generate a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed, wherein the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate, and send the label to the farmer or the local vendor; and wherein the packaging controller (400) is configured to: receive the food item and the label from the farmer, pack the food item in the crate, print the label on the crate, transport the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle (800), and transmit information of the vehicle (800) to the central server (100) in which the crate are transported; and wherein the warehouse controller (504) configured to: receive the crate in the warehouse from at least one of the vehicle (800) and the local vendor, weigh the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate, and route the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate..
2. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the warehouse automation system (500) comprises: a conveyer assembly (501) comprising at least one inward point to receive the crate from (i) the farmer through the vehicle (800) and (ii) the local vendor; a reader (502) configured to read the label printed on the crate received on the at least one inward point; and a weigh device (503) to weigh the food item included in the crate.
3. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the conveyer assembly (501) comprises a direction device (505) positioned at each of the plurality of delivery spaces, wherein the direction device (505) is selectively activated by the warehouse controller (504) according to the information read from the label.
4. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the warehouse controller (504) is configured to: detect whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and perform one of: modify the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line, and allocate the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
5. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 4, wherein allocate the crate for delivery on the at least one conveyer line comprises: create a store space in proximity to an allocation weigh machine to enable temporary buffering of the crate; conceive a dedicated material handling aisle for picking the crate; interlink the label printed on the crate to delivery information, wherein the delivery information comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the at least one facility device, a stock-keeping unit (SKU) code, date and time; and track the at last one crate using the unique label and the linked delivery information.
6. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 4, wherein modify the food item in the crate based on the change in the request comprises: modify the crate by adding food items to the crate from other crate or transferring food items from the crate to the other crate based on the change in the request, link the label printed on the at least one modified crate and a label printed on the other crate, and track the at least one modified crate using the unique label printed on the at least one modified crate and the unique label printed on the other crate.
7. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central server (100) comprises a central database (102) which stores information about the food items, information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), information about the farmers (600i-n) and information about the local vendors (700i-n).
8. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the information about the food items comprises at least one of an unique identifier associated with the food item, a type of the food item, a freshness level of the food item, an expiry time of the food item, and an amount of the food item.
9. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the information about the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n) comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), a personal preference of the handheld device, an address of the plurality of handheld devices (300i-n).
10. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 7, wherein the information about the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n) comprises at least one of a location of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), a production capability of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), a unique identifier associated with the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n), and a personal preference of the farmers (600i-n) and the local vendors (700i-n).
11. The cloud-based automation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the central server (100) notifies the packing controller to transport the crate to the user directly, when the central server (100) identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
12. A warehouse automation system (500) for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system, wherein the cloud-based automation system delivers the food items with minimum/no touch of humans and the system facilitates obtainment of the food items only according to the requirement, and wherein the warehouse automation system (500) comprises: a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse; a conveyer assembly (501) comprising at least one inward point to receive crate from (i) a farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i-n) through a vehicle (800) and (ii) a local vendor from a local vendors (700i-n); a reader (502) configured to read label printed on the crate received on the at least one inward point; a weigh device (503) to weight the food item included in the crate; and a warehouse controller (504) communicatively coupled to a central server (100), wherein the warehouse controller (504) configured to route the crate to a delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
13. The warehouse automation system (500) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the conveyer assembly (501) comprises a direction device (505) positioned at each of the plurality of delivery spaces, wherein the direction device (505) is selectively activated by the warehouse controller (504) according to the information read from the label.
14. The warehouse automation system (500) as claimed in claim 12, wherein the warehouse controller (504) is configured to: detect whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and perform one of: modify the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line, and allocate the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
15. The warehouse automation system (500) as claimed in claim 14, wherein allocate the crate for delivery on the at least one conveyer line comprises: create a store space in proximity to an allocation weigh machine to enable temporary buffering of the crate; conceive a dedicated material handling aisle for picking the crate; interlink the label printed on the crate to delivery information, wherein the delivery information comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the at least one facility device, a stock-keeping unit (SKU) code, date and time; and track the at last one crate using the unique label and the linked delivery information.
16. The warehouse automation system (500) as claimed in claim 14, wherein modify the food item in the crate based on the change in the request comprises: modify the crate by adding food items to the crate from other crate or transferring food items from the crate to the other crate based on the change in the request, link the label printed on the at least one modified crate and a label printed on the other crate, and track the at least one modified crate using the unique label printed on the at least one modified crate and the unique label printed on the other crate.
17. A method for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system, wherein the method comprises: receiving, by a central server (100), a request comprises first information from a handheld device associated with a user from a plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), wherein the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item; identifying, by the central server (100), farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i-n) who provides the type of food item based on the first information; notifying, by the central server (100), the first information to the farmer along with a first code; receiving, by the central server (100), a second information from the farmer, wherein the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item; comparing, by the central server (100), the first information with the second information and identify the difference, wherein the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item; notifying, by the central server (100), the difference to local vendor along with a second code; notifying, by the central server (100), the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor; allocating, by the central server (100), a delivery space for the request from the plurality of delivery spaces in the warehouse to dispatch the food item from a warehouse; receiving, by the central server (100), at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor; generating, by the central server (100), a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed, wherein the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate; sending, by the central server (100), the label to the farmer or the local vendor; receiving, by a packaging controller (400), the food item and the label from the farmer; packing, by the packaging controller (400), the food item in the crate; printing, by the packaging controller (400), the label on the crate; transporting, by the packaging controller (400), the crate to the warehouse through a vehicle (800); transmitting, by the packaging controller (400), information of the vehicle (800) to the central server (100) in which the crate are transported; receiving, by a warehouse automation system (500), the crate in the warehouse from at least one of the vehicle (800) and the local vendor; weighing, by the warehouse controller (504), the crate and compare the weight with a value read from the label printed on the crate; and routing, by the warehouse automation system (500), the crate to the delivery space from the plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the method comprises: detecting, by the warehouse automation system (500), whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and performing, by the warehouse automation system (500), one of: modifying the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line, and allocating the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein allocating the crate for delivery on the at least one conveyer line comprises: creating a store space in proximity to an allocation weigh machine to enable temporary buffering of the crate; conceiving a dedicated material handling aisle for picking the crate; interlinking the label printed on the crate to delivery information, wherein the delivery information comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the at least one facility device, a stock-keeping unit (SKU) code, date and time; and tracking the at last one crate using the unique label and the linked delivery information.
20. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein modifying the food item in the crate based on the change in the request comprises: modifying the crate by adding food items to the crate from other crate or transferring food items from the crate to the other crate based on the change in the request; linking the label printed on the at least one modified crate and a label printed on the other crate; and tracking the at least one modified crate using the unique label printed on the at least one modified crate and the unique label printed on the other crate.
21. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the method comprises storing, by the central server (100), information about the food items, information about the handheld devices (300i-n), information about the farmers (600i-n) and information about the local vendors (700 i-n).
22. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the method comprises notifying the packing controller (400) to transport the crate to the user directly, when the central server (100) identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
23. A method implemented by a central server (100) for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system, wherein the method comprises: receiving, by the central server (100), a request comprises first information from a handheld device of a user from a plurality of handheld devices (300i-n), wherein the first information comprises a type of food item and a quantity of the food item; identifying, by the central server (100), a farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i- n) who provides the type of food item based on the first information; notifying, by the central server (100), the first information to the farmer along with a first code; receiving, by the central server (100), a second information from the farmer, wherein the second information comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item; comparing, by the central server (100), the first information with the second information and identify the difference, wherein the difference comprises the type of food item and the quantity of food item; notifying, by the central server (100), the difference to a local vendor from a local vendors (700i-n) along with a second code; notifying, by the central server (100), the user that portion of request will be delivered from the farmer and remaining portion will be delivered from the local vendor; allocating, by the central server (100), a delivery space for the request from a plurality of delivery spaces in a warehouse to dispatch the food item from the warehouse; receiving, by the central server (100), at least one of the first code from the farmer and the second code from the local vendor; generating, by the central server (100), a label according to at least one of the first code and second code for the crate in which the food item is to be packed, wherein the label indicates the type of food items in the crate, the quantity of the food items in the crate; and sending, by the central server (100), the label to the farmer or the local vendor.
24. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the method comprises storing, by the central server (100), information about the food items, information about the handheld devices (300i-n), information about the farmers (600i-n) and information about the local vendors (700 i-n).
25. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the method comprises notifying, by the central server (100), the packing controller to transport the crate to the user directly, when the inventory tracking controller (103) identifies no difference with respect to the first information and second information and the request meets predetermined criteria.
26. A method implemented by a warehouse automation system (500) for obtaining, tracking and delivering food items in a cloud-based automation system, wherein the method comprises: a plurality of delivery spaces at a warehouse; a conveyer assembly (501) comprising at least one inward point to receive crate from (i) farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i-n) through a vehicle (800) and (ii) a local vendor from a plurality of local vendors (700 i-n); receiving, by a warehouse automation system (500), crates on at least one inward point from at least one of a farmer from a plurality of farmers (600i-n) and a local vendor from a plurality of local vendors (700i-n); reading, by the warehouse automation system (500), a label printed on the crate received on the at least one inward point; weighting, by the warehouse automation system (500), the food item included in the crate; and routing, by the warehouse automation system (500), the crate to a delivery space from a plurality of delivery spaces of the warehouse in which the crate is to be dispatched based on the label printed on the crate.
27. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the method comprises selectively activating by the warehouse automation system (500) a direction device (505) according to the information read from the label.
28. The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the method comprises: detecting, by the warehouse automation system (500), whether there is a change in the request for the food item received from the handheld device, and performing, by the warehouse automation system (500), one of: modifying the food item in the crate based on the change in the request in response to detecting the change in the request, and allocate the at least one modified crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line, and allocating the crate for delivery on at least one conveyer line in response to detecting no change in the request.
29. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein allocating the crate for delivery on the at least one conveyer line comprises: creating a store space in proximity to an allocation weigh machine to enable temporary buffering of the crate; conceiving a dedicated material handling aisle for picking the crate; interlinking the label printed on the crate to delivery information, wherein the delivery information comprises at least one of an identifier associated with the at least one facility device, a stock-keeping unit (SKU) code, date and time; and tracking the at last one crate using the unique label and the linked delivery information.
30. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein modifying the food item in the crate based on the change in the request comprises: modifying the crate by adding food items to the crate from other crate or transferring food items from the crate to the other crate based on the change in the request, linking the label printed on the at least one modified crate and a label printed on the other crate, and tracking the at least one modified crate using the unique label printed on the at least one modified crate and the unique label printed on the other crate.
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Citations (1)

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US10053289B2 (en) * 2015-12-07 2018-08-21 6 River Systems, Inc. Warehouse automation systems and methods

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