# US 12,759,796 B2 · Method for transferring articles from a long-term store to a short-term buffer, and storage and order-picking system therefor

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- Number: US 12,759,796 B2
- Document ID: US12759796B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/575,374
- Filed: 2022-06-28
- Published: 2024-09-19
- Granted: 2026-10-13
- Earliest claimed: 2021-06-30
- Assignees: TGW Logistics GmbH
- Applicants: TGW Logistics GmbH
- Inventors: Timothy Lindley; Gerald Kettlgruber
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12759796B2

## CPC

- B65G 1/1378: {the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas}
- B65G 1/0464: {with access from above}
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)

## Abstract

A method for transferring articles from a long-term store to a short-term buffer in a storage and picking system which includes the long-term store, the automatically operated short-term buffer and a transfer system between the long-term store and the short-term buffer, acquires, by an order-processing computer, multiple orders, defines an analysis quantity with multiple orders, sorts order lines of the analysis quantity and forms article groups, each with articles of one article type. The articles of the article groups are then transferred from the long-term store to the short-term buffer. A storage and picking system carries out the method.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for transferring articles from a long-term store to an automatically operated short-term buffer and for providing the articles ready-for-dispatch in a storage and picking system which comprises the long-term store, the automatically operated short-term buffer and a transfer system between the long-term store and the short-term buffer, comprising the steps of:
i) providing the articles in the long-term store;
ii) acquiring a plurality of orders, each of the plurality of orders having at least one of a plurality of order lines, wherein each of the plurality of order lines specifies an article type and a number of the articles of the article type comprised by a corresponding one of the plurality of orders, by an order-processing computer;
iii) defining an analysis quantity comprising any number of the plurality of orders by the order-processing computer;
iv) sorting the plurality of order lines of the analysis quantity according to a first sorting criterion in a list by the order-processing computer;
v) selecting a previously unselected one of the plurality of order lines-sorted in the list and, if present, selecting at least one further one of the plurality of order lines of the plurality of orders of the analysis quantity which contains a same said article type as the one of the plurality of selected order lines that has been selected, by the order-processing computer;
vi) combining the plurality of order lines selected in step v) from different ones of the plurality of orders to form one of a plurality of article groups, wherein each of the plurality of article groups comprises only the articles of one article type in each case, by the order-processing computer;
vii) repeating steps v) and vi) until all of the plurality of order lines have been selected and assigned to the one of the plurality of article groups;
viii) retrieving the articles of the plurality of article groups from the long-term store and transferring the articles of the plurality of article groups from the long-term store to the short-term buffer by the transfer system until all the articles of each article type contained in the analysis quantity have been transferred from the long-term store to the short-term buffer;
ix) buffering the articles in the short-term buffer;
x) transporting the articles of the plurality of article groups intended for one order of the plurality of orders to a picking station; and
xi) providing the articles intended for the one of the plurality of orders ready-for-dispatch at the picking station.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the sorting in step iv) additionally comprises the sorting of the plurality of order lines of the analysis quantity according to a second sorting criterion.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method according to claim 2, wherein the sorting in step iv) additionally comprises the sorting of the plurality of order lines of the plurality of orders of the analysis quantity according to at least one third sorting criterion.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of the articles comprised by each of the plurality of orders is provided as the first sorting criterion, and the plurality of order lines are sorted in step iv) starting with a largest number of the articles of each of the plurality of orders.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a priority of the plurality of orders is provided as the first sorting criterion, and the plurality of order lines are sorted in sequence from high priority to low priority in step iv).

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of the articles of one article type contained in the analysis quantity is provided as the first sorting criterion, and the plurality of order lines are sorted in step iv) starting with a largest number of the articles of one article type.

### Claim 7 (depends on 4)

The method according to claim 4, wherein a priority of the plurality of orders is provided as the second sorting criterion.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The method according to claim 5, wherein the number of the articles per each of the plurality of orders is provided as the second sorting criterion.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the steps v) are carried out in sequence from a first to a last of the plurality of order lines of the list.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the order-processing computer in step v) selects a first previously unselected one of the plurality of order lines in the list, and,
if present, selects a last previously unselected one of the plurality of order lines of the plurality of orders of the analysis quantity which contains a same said article type as one of the plurality of selected order lines that has previously been selected, and,
if present, selects a first previously unselected one of the plurality of order lines of the plurality of orders of the analysis quantity which contains a same said article type as one of the plurality of selected order lines that has previously been selected, and continues with step ii).

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein an article group of the plurality of article groups is extended by a predeterminable number of the articles which are not contained in the analysis quantity.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein an article group of the plurality of article groups is extended by the articles which are not contained in the analysis quantity when a loading aid retrieved from the long-term store because of this extension is completely emptied during the transfer of the articles and would not completely be emptied during the transfer of the articles without this extension.

### Claim 13

A storage and picking system, comprising
a long-term store for providing the articles;
an automatically operated short-term buffer for buffering the articles;
a transfer system for retrieving the articles from the long-term store and for transferring the articles from the long-term store to the short-term buffer;
a picking station for loading the articles into target containers in accordance with orders and for providing the articles ready-for-dispatch;
an order-processing computer configured for
a) acquiring the orders each with at least one of a plurality of order lines, wherein each of the plurality of order lines specifies an article type and a number of the articles of the article type comprised by a corresponding one of the orders;
b) defining an analysis quantity comprising any number of the orders;
c) sorting the plurality of order lines of the analysis quantity according to a first sorting criterion in a list;
d) selecting a previously unselected one of the plurality of order lines sorted in the list and, if present, selecting at least one further one of the plurality of order lines of the orders of the analysis quantity which contains a same said article type as the one of the plurality of order lines that has been selected;
e) combining the plurality of order lines selected in accordance with point d) from different ones of the orders to form article groups, wherein each of the article groups comprises only the articles of one article type in each case; and
f) repeating points d) and e) until all of the plurality of order lines have been selected and assigned to the article groups;
wherein the transfer system is configured to carry out the retrieval of the articles from the long-term store and the transfer of the articles from the long-term store to the short-term buffer until all the articles of each article type contained in the analysis quantity have been transferred from the long-term store to the short-term buffer; and
wherein the storage and picking system is configured for transporting the articles of the article groups intended for one of the orders to the picking station.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The storage and picking system according to claim 13, wherein the long-term store has a plurality of stationary storage racks and at least one automatically operated storage and retrieval device for storing the articles in the plurality of stationary storage racks and/or retrieving the articles from the plurality of stationary storage racks.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The storage and picking system according to claim 13, wherein the short-term buffer comprises an overhead conveying system for suspended transport of the articles by transport carriers or hanging bags.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

The storage and picking system according to claim 13, wherein the transfer system comprises a transfer station, a first conveying system connecting the long-term store and the transfer station, and a second conveying system connecting the transfer station and the short-term buffer.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The storage and picking system according to claim 16, wherein the storage and picking system comprises the picking station and a third conveying system connecting the short-term buffer to the picking station, wherein the picking station is configured for loading the articles into target containers in accordance with the orders.