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US 9,087,314 B2Granted
System and method for positioning a mobile drive unit
AssigneeAmazon Technologies, Inc.
InventorsAndrew E. Hoffman, Michael T. Barbehenn, Michael C. Mountz, Peter R. Wurman, Raffaello D'Andrea
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for transporting inventory items includes a mobile drive unit, a management module, and a plurality of inventory holders. The management module is operable to determine a capability state of the mobile drive unit, select a location for the mobile drive unit based on the capability state of the mobile drive unit, and transmit information to the mobile drive unit identifying the selected location.
Claims55
A system for transporting inventory items, comprising:
- a mobile drive unit;
- a plurality of inventory holders;
- and
- a management module operable to:
- determine a capability state of the mobile drive unit based at least in part upon a capability message transmitted by the mobile drive unit, the capability message transmitted in response to a determination by the mobile drive unit that a state associated with an ability of the mobile drive unit to complete tasks is changed to a degraded capability state;
- select a task for the mobile drive unit to transport an inventory holder from a first location to a second location based on determining that the mobile drive unit is capable of transporting the inventory holder in the degraded capability state;
- and
- transmit information to the mobile drive unit identifying the selected task to transport the inventory holder from the first location to the second location.
5 more elements
A method for transporting inventory items, comprising:
- determining a capability state of a mobile drive unit based at least in part upon a capability message transmitted to a management module by the mobile drive unit, the capability message transmitted in response to a determination by the mobile drive unit that a state associated with an ability of the mobile drive unit to complete tasks is changed to a degraded capability state;
- selecting a task for the mobile drive unit to transport an inventory holder from a first location to a second location based on determining that the mobile drive unit is capable of transporting the inventory holder in the degraded capability state;
- and
- transmitting information to the mobile drive unit identifying the selected task to transport the inventory holder from the first location to the second location.
1 more element
A management module operable to:
- determine a capability state of a mobile drive unit based at least in part upon a capability message transmitted by the mobile drive unit, the capability message transmitted in response to a determination by the mobile drive unit that a state associated with an ability of the mobile drive unit to complete tasks is changed to a degraded capability state;
- select a task for the mobile drive unit to transport an inventory holder from a first location to a second location based on determining that the mobile drive unit is capable of transporting the inventory holder in the degraded capability state;
- and
- transmit information to the mobile drive unit identifying the selected task to transport the inventory holder from the first location to the second location.
1 more element
A system for transporting inventory items, comprising:
- means for determining a capability state of a mobile drive unit based at least in part upon a capability message transmitted by the mobile drive unit, the capability message transmitted in response to a determination by the mobile drive unit that a state associated with an ability of the mobile drive unit to complete tasks is changed to a degraded capability state;
- means for selecting a task for the mobile drive unit to transport an inventory holder from a first location to a second location based on determining that the mobile drive unit is capable of transporting the inventory holder in the degraded capability state;
- and
- means for transmitting information to the mobile drive unit identifying the selected task to transport the inventory holder from the first location to the second location.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.