Pallet building system

A material handling system for handling and placing packages onto pallets, the system comprising:

• a storage array with storage space for holding package therein;
• an automated package transport system communicably connected to the storage array for storing packages in and retrieving the packages from the storage spaces of the storage array;
• an automated palletizer for placing packages onto a pallet to from a pallet load, the palletizer is communicably connected to the transport system which provides individual packages from the storage array to the palletizer for forming the pallet load;
• and
• a controller operably connected to the palletizer and programmed with a pallet load generator configured so that the pallet load formed by the palletizer has more than one layer of stacked packages, wherein
• at least one layer of which includes packages of different heights, the at least one layer having a substantially flat upper surface between a top surface of the pallet load and a base surface upon which the at least one layer is seated, and comprises more than one stacks extending from the base surface to the upper surface substantially independent of each other, at least one of the independent stacks being formed of packages having different heights, and
• wherein the upper surface defines a seating surface for another layer of stacked packages and at least one stack of the other layer bridges across different stacks of the at least one layer.

An automated palletizer comprising:

• an automated package pick device capable of moving packages from a package deposit section to a pallet to form a pallet load from packages;
• a controller that is operably connected to the automated pick device, the controller having a pallet load generator configured to determine a pallet load structure of mixed packages;
• the pallet load generator being programmed so that it determines the load structure from mixed package layers overlaid over each other, at least one of the mixed package layers being formed of stacks of mixed packages, top and bottom surfaces of the stacks corresponding to the at least one mixed package layer respectively forming top and bottom surfaces of the at least one mixed package layer that are substantially flat, wherein the top flat surface is a substantially uniform level seating surface for another of the overlaid layers, the seating surface extending over more than one of the stacks of mixed packages of the at least one mixed package layer;
• wherein
• at least one of the more than one stacks of mixed packages has a composite package formed of more than one of the mixed packages arrayed alongside each other in a package array at a common stack level;
• and wherein
• the controller generates commands for the pick device to build the pallet load from the load structure determined by the pallet load generator.