Method and system for transporting inventory items
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorsPeter R. Wurman, Raffaello D'Andrea, Michael T. Barbehenn, Andrew Edward Hoffman, Michael Cordell Mountz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for transporting inventory items includes moving a mobile drive unit to a first point within a workspace. The first point is a location of an inventory holder. The method further includes docking the mobile drive unit with the inventory holder and moving the mobile drive unit and the inventory holder to a second point within the workspace. The second point is associated with conveyance equipment. The method further includes moving the inventory holder to a third point within the workspace using the conveyance equipment.
Claims19
A method, comprising:
- moving, by a mobile drive unit, in a first translational direction along a first segment of a path;
- detecting, by a position sensor of the mobile drive unit, a first marker, the first marker is arranged within a two-dimensional grid of markers on a floor of a workspace;
- detecting, using an obstacle sensor of the mobile drive unit, whether an obstacle exists in the path while moving along a second segment of the path toward a second marker, wherein the mobile drive unit utilizes information derived from the first marker to facilitate navigation to the second marker.
A system, comprising:
- a mobile drive unit comprising a position unit, a navigation unit, an obstacle sensor, and an actuator;
- the position unit is configured to utilize position information to detect a first location of the mobile drive unit within a two-dimensional grid of a workspace;
- the navigation unit is configured to use the first location of the mobile drive unit to facilitate navigation to a second location within the two-dimensional grid;
- the actuator is responsive to commands received from the navigation unit and configured to move the mobile drive unit towards the second location;
- and
- the obstacle sensor is configured to cause the actuator to slow or stop in response to detecting an obstacle in a path of the mobile drive unit.
An apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of motorized wheels
- a navigation unit configured to cause the plurality of motorized wheels to move from a first location to a second location within a plurality of markers arranged in a two-dimensional grid of a workspace;
- an obstacle sensor configured to provide obstacle information to the navigation unit, wherein the navigation unit is further configured to slow or stop the movement of the plurality of motorized wheels in response to the obstacle information.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.