Mechanical guard bot blocking system
AssigneeSymbotic LLC
InventorsJoseph Aubin, Alan Grant, William J. Fosnight, Frederick M. Morgan, Karl Koch, Michael Chesna
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automated order fulfillment facility including one or more rows of storage locations for storing totes or other containers, mobile robots configured to move along and/or between rails to transfer the totes or other containers to and from the storage locations, and an energy absorbing mechanical guard mounted at a point along the rails to block or stop a runaway mobile robot. The energy absorbing mechanical guard may be configured to stop mobile robots traveling at a maximum rate of speed for the mobile robots, without damaging the mobile robots.
Claims27
A system for stopping mobile robots moving in a structure, the structure comprising multiple levels, the system comprising:
- an energy absorbing mechanical guard configured to affix to a structure within which the mobile robots move, and configured to stop the moving mobile robots upon impact with the energy absorbing mechanical guard;
- and
- a sensor for monitoring displacement of the energy absorbing mechanical guard for identifying mobile robot contact with the energy absorbing mechanical guard;
- wherein the energy absorbing mechanical guard is configured to span at least some of the multiple levels of the structure.
A system for stopping mobile robots in manufacturing facility, the system comprising:
- a storage structure used to store inventory for an automatic storage and retrieval system, the storage structure comprising multiple levels for storing inventory, the storage structure having an end at which the multiple levels terminate;
- an energy absorbing mechanical guard configured to affix to the end of storage structure, the energy absorbing mechanical guard further configured to stop the moving mobile robots upon impact with the energy absorbing mechanical guard;
- and
- a sensor for monitoring displacement of the energy absorbing mechanical guard for identifying mobile robot contact with the energy absorbing mechanical guard;
- wherein the energy absorbing mechanical guard is configured to span at least some of the multiple levels of the storage structure.
A method of blocking mobile robots in an automatic storage and retrieval system, comprising:
- configuring an energy absorbing mechanical guard with multiple energy absorbers;
- positioning the energy absorbing mechanical guard within a storage structure of the automatic storage and retrieval system, or at an end of the storage structure of the automatic storage and retrieval system, to span multiple levels of the storage structure, the energy absorbing mechanical guard aligning the energy absorbers on the multiple levels of the storage structure;
- blocking mobile robots on the multiple levels of the storage structure by receiving a mobile robot on a level and absorbing the kinetic energy of the mobile robot to stop the mobile robot with a rate of deceleration that stops the mobile robot without damage to the mobile robot;
- and
- detecting, with a sensor, displacement of the energy absorbing mechanical guard for identifying contact of a mobile robot with the energy absorbing mechanical guard.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.