US 11,080,651 B2Granted

Product storage and retrieval

AssigneeMaxor National Pharmacy Services Corp.

InventorsKevin C Delaney, Kendrick S Lim, Robert G Guillermo

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An inventory system for storing and locating goods in a storage area. Ordered goods are placed in bag units at a central filling center. The filled bag units are shipped to local storage areas where they are placed onto rails in a storage structure. The rails include an imaging sensor at each bag receiving location defined on the rails for obtaining a bag identifier that is affixed with the bag unit. The bag identifier and the rail address for each bag unit is stored on a local computer database. When a user wants to pick up stored goods, the user inputs the identification or order information for the goods and the computer will search the inventory to locate the goods in a specific stored bag unit. The rail adjacent the bag unit will be illuminated to facilitate locating the goods.

Claims6

Dependent claims

An apparatus for product storage and retrieval, comprising:

a rail having a length and a plurality of bag receiving locations defined along the length of the rail;
a plurality of imaging sensors, each imaging sensor positioned adjacent a respective one of the plurality of bag receiving locations and configured to detect a bag unit placed at the respective one of the bag receiving locations on the rail and to obtain a corresponding bag identifier from a scan of the placed bag unit;
an electronic circuit affixed with the rail and coupled to each of the plurality of imaging sensors and to a controller;
a local processor in the electronic circuit having a memory for storing bag receiving locations and bag identifiers for detected bag units, and configured to communicate between the electronic circuit and the controller;
and
the controller configured to query the local processor with a first bag identifier, and if the first bag identifier matches one of the corresponding bag identifiers stored in memory for a detected bag unit, then return the respective bag receiving location.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/533,123Filed 6 Aug 2019 · continuation in part
Priority: 21 Aug 2008
Published: US 2020/0027055 A123 Jan 2020
Granted: 3 Aug 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

G06Q 10/087
Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management: inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling,…
G06Q 10/0874
Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders: inventory fulfillment
G06Q 10/08772
By inventory control or reporting using inventory tracking or counting: inventory counting methods
G06Q 50/22
Services: social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services

Family

Application12/196,078Parent of this continuation · filed 21 Aug 2008
Application13/712,814Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 12 Dec 2012
Application13/741,075Parent of this division · filed 14 Jan 2013
US 8,355,962 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 15 Jan 2013
US 8,700,204 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 15 Apr 2014
Application15/453,145Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 8 Mar 2017
US 9,619,777 B2Parent of this division · filed 17 Apr 2017
US 2020/0027055 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 Jan 2020
US 10,373,114 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
Application15/453,145Parent of this division
Application13/741,075Parent of this continuation-in-part
Application13/712,814Parent of this continuation
US 2010/0049635 A1Published application
US 2013/0103186 A1Published application
US 2013/0138539 A1Published application
US 2017/0178067 A1Published application
US 11,080,651 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.