WO2018090081A1

WO2018090081A1 - A system for, and a method of, order palletising

Info

Publication number: WO2018090081A1
Application number: PCT/AU2017/051244
Authority: WO
Inventors: Paul STRINGLEMAN
Original assignee: Swisslog Australia Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Swisslog Australia Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2016-11-15
Filing date: 2017-11-14
Publication date: 2018-05-24
Anticipated expiration: 2019-05-15
Also published as: AU2017361114A1; AU2017361114B2

Abstract

A system (10) for palletising orders includes at least one order packing station (12) comprising a plurality of zones (14), at least one of which serves as a packing zone and another at least one of which serves as a donor zone. An order picking device (16) is arranged at the order packing station (12), the order picking device (16) being operable to pick goods from the at least one donor zone and to transfer those picked goods to the packing zone. At least one automated guided vehicle (AGV) (22) delivers goods to the at least one donor zone and removes packed goods from the at least one packing zone (14). The system (10) includes a plurality of carriers (24), each carrier (24) being configured to allow at least one of layer picking and column picking of goods by the order picking device (16). Each carrier (24) is configured to be placed in one of the zones (14) and to be transported by the at least one AGV (22).

Description

"A system for, and a method of, order palletising" Cross-Reference to Related Applications

[0001] The present application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No 2016904653 filed on 15 November 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates, generally, to the packing of orders and, more particularly, to a system for, and to a method of, order palletising. The disclosure relates, further, to a carrier and a conveying apparatus for use in the system.

Background

[0003] In warehouses, items of stock, or goods, are stored in racks ready to be packed or are delivered to a packing station for packing. An item of stock is commonly referred to as a stock-keeping unit (SKU). An SKU may, for example, be a pack, such as a box, of containers, be they glass, plastics or metal containers, containing beverages, a crate of containers containing dairy or non-dairy produce, a pack of fresh produce, or the like. The SKUs could also be individual items such as, for example, kegs of alcoholic beverage or a number of identical or similar individual, non-packed items stacked into columns such as, for example, vehicle tyres The SKUs, generally, arrive as a single SKU load on a pallet wrapped in shrink or stretch wrap.

[0004] Orders for delivery are packed on to pallets (referred to below as "order pallets"). Packing of orders is increasingly being done on an automated basis.

However, in the packing of certain order pallets, particularly those known as rainbow pallets, human intervention is still often required. A rainbow pallet is one containing a variety or mix of SKUs. There are dangers having people operating in the same areas as packing robots. In addition, there is reduced efficiency in the packing process. [0005] Still further, at present, conveyor based systems are used to present single SKU loads for disassembly and subsequent-repacking in order to fill an order. The conveyor based systems either present the SKUs in stacks (i.e. columns) or layers to automated picking devices, such as robots, for palletisation. The conveyor based systems also present the SKUs to gantries for use in palletisation. Such

conveyor/gantry systems are extremely capital intensive, relatively inflexible and generally require large service areas to effect palletisation. There is also the added danger of human personnel being present in the service area where the conveyors and gantries are operating with the ever present risk of injury to those personnel. For ease of reference, a stack of goods/SKUs will be referred to below as a "column" of goods/SKUs.

Summary

[0006] In some embodiments of the disclosure, there is provided a system for palletising orders, the system including

at least one order packing station comprising a plurality of zones, at least one of which serves as a packing zone and another at least one of which serves as a donor zone;

an order picking device arranged at the order packing station, the order picking device being operable to pick goods from the at least one donor zone and to transfer those picked goods to the packing zone;

at least one automated guided vehicle (AGV) to deliver goods to the at least one donor zone and to remove packed goods from the at least one order filling zone; and

a plurality of carriers, each carrier being configured to allow at least one of layer picking and column picking of goods by the order picking device and each carrier further being configured to be placed in one of the zones and to be transported by the at least one AGV.

[0007] In this specification, the term "donor zone" is to be understood as a zone in which goods are arranged to be picked by the order picking device to be placed in the packing zone. It will further be appreciated that the packing zones and donor zones are not fixed locations about the robot. Instead, software of the system designates a zone as a packing zone when filling a particular order and the remaining zones then serve as donor zones for providing goods to be packed. At least some of the remaining zones may also function as temporary storage zones for goods not immediately required for filling an order. This has the benefit that it is not necessary to return goods which are not immediately needed to a storage location of the facility such as the buffer zone referred to below.

[0008] Each carrier may comprise a platform configured to receive goods directly and/or goods carried on a pallet. An operatively upper surface of the platform may be shaped to enable a lifting element of the order picking device to be received below a column of the goods. The upper surface of the platform may carry a plurality of spaced, parallel ribs, a spacing between adjacent ribs being selected to accommodate the lifting element.

[0009] Legs may depend from the platform to facilitate receiving the AGV beneath the platform.

[0010] The system may include a buffer zone arranged upstream of the order packing station, goods to be packed being able to be stored at least temporarily in the buffer zone.

[0011] The system may include a plurality of AGVs to deliver goods to the at least one donor zone and to remove packed goods from the at least one packing zone.

[0012] The system may include at least two order packing stations, at least one containing an order picking device configured for column picking of goods and at least one containing an order picking device configured for layer picking of goods.

[0013] The system may include a carrier loading station arranged upstream of the packing station. The carrier loading station may be used to unpack goods from a supply pallet directly on to the platform of the carrier or, instead, to load the goods, still on their supply pallet on to the platform of the carrier.

[0014] The order picking device may be an articulated order picking device. [0015] In some embodiments of the disclosure, there is provided a method of palletising orders, the method including

transporting goods to be packed to at least one order packing station using at least one automated guided vehicle (AGV) and a carrier mounted on the at least one AGV, the goods to be transported being arranged on the carrier, the order packing station comprising a plurality of zones, at least one of which serves as a packing zone and another at least one of which serves as a donor zone with at least one further carrier being positionable at each zone and an order picking device being arranged at the order packing station; and

at the order packing station, using the order picking device to effect at least one of layer picking and column picking of the goods to pack an order.

[0016] Each carrier may comprise a platform configured to receive goods directly and/or goods carried on a pallet and the method may include arranging the goods on the platform to enable a lifting element of the order picking device to be received below a column of the goods on the platform of the carrier.

[0017] The method may include receiving goods to be packed at a carrier loading station arranged upstream of the order packing station and transferring goods on to the carrier for delivery to the order packing station by the at least one AGV.

[0018] The method may include temporarily storing goods in a buffer zone arranged intermediate the carrier loading station and the order packing station.

Goods to be packed can either be transferred, by an AGV with its associated carrier, to the buffer zone to be temporarily stored there or directly to the order packing station if buffering is not required.

[0019] The method may include determining if the quantity of goods on a carrier arranged at a donor zone in the order packing station fills the requirement for that quantity of those goods for a particular order, converting that donor zone to a packing zone and completing the order by packing remaining goods to fill the order from other donor zones at the order packing station. It will be appreciated that, by operating in this manner, so-called "negative picking" is facilitated thereby greatly improving the efficiency of order packing. [0020] The method may include, once an order has been filled at a packing zone at the order packing station, transferring the filled order to a carrier unloading station where the filled order is removed from the carrier for subsequent handling. The subsequent handling may, typically, involve placing the filled order on an order pallet, if not previously done, and wrapping and labelling the order at a wrapping station.

[0021] In some embodiments of the disclosure there is provided a carrier for use in a system for palletising orders, the carrier including

a platform having an operatively upper surface and an underside;

a plurality of receiving formations defined relative to the upper surface of the platform, the receiving formations being configured to receive a lifting element of an order picking device; and

a support arrangement depending from the underside of the platform.

[0022] A plurality of spaced, parallel ribs may extend along the upper surface of the platform, adjacent ribs defining a channel between them, each channel defining one of the receiving formations.

[0023] The support arrangement may comprise a plurality of legs depending from the lower surface of the platform. The legs may be arranged at corners of the platform to allow a conveying device to be received underneath the platform.

[0024] The disclosure extends to conveying apparatus for use in a system for palletising orders, the conveying apparatus including

a carrier as described above; and

a conveying device receivable beneath the platform of the carrier, the conveying device and platform having complementary locating formations for locating the carrier in position on the conveying device when the conveying device is in an operative, conveying configuration.

[0025] The conveying device may be an automated guided vehicle (AGV). An upper surface of the AGV may be substantially planar to bear against the underside of the platform. The complementary locating formations may be pin-like formations arranged on the upper surface of the AGV to be received in complementary sockets in the platform. In an embodiment, the pin-like formations may be retractable.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0026] Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: -

[0027] Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a system for palletising orders:

[0028] Figs. 2A - 2F show, schematically, various steps in the packing of an order using the system of Fig.1 ;

[0029] Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of an articulated order picking device configured for column picking;

[0030] Fig. 4 shows a perspective view of the order picking device in use in the system of Fig. 1;

[0031] Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of a system for palletising orders;

[0032] Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of an articulated order picking system configured for layer picking in use in the system of Fig. 5;

[0033] Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of an example of an order packed using the order picking device of Fig. 6;

[0034] Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of another example of an order packed using the order picking device of Fig. 6; and

[0035] Fig. 9 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of palletising orders. [0036] Fig. 10 shows a perspective view of a further embodiment of a system for palletising orders; and

[0037] Fig. 11 shows a perspective view of yet a further embodiment of a system for palletising orders.

Detailed Description of Exemplary Embodiments

[0038] In the drawings, reference numeral 10 generally designates an embodiment of a system for palletising orders. The system 10 includes at least one order packing station 12. The order packing station 12 comprises a plurality of zones 14. The zones 14 operate as packing or order filling zones to pack order pallets, donor zones and/or temporary storage zones, as will be described in greater detail below.

[0039] An order picking device, or order picking robot, 16 is arranged in the order packing station 12. In the illustrated embodiments, the order picking robot 16 is an articulated device which includes an articulated arm 18 supporting a lifting element 20 (Fig. 1) or 70 (Fig. 5). The lifting element 20 of the robot 16 is configured for column picking of goods (as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4) and the lifting element 70 is configured for layer picking of goods (as shown in Figs. 5-8). In other embodiments (not shown), the order picking device may adopt forms other than an articulated device. For example, the order picking device may be a gantry-implemented device.

[0040] The system 10 further includes a plurality of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), one of which is shown at 22 in Fig. 1 of the drawings, for transporting goods through the system 10. The system 10 also includes a plurality of carriers 24, each of which is configured to allow at least one of layer picking and column picking of goods by the robot 16. Further, each carrier 24 is configured to be transported by an AGV 22 and to be positioned in at least one of the packing zones 14 of the order packing station 12.

[0041] As shown in greater detail in Fig. 3 of the drawings, each carrier 24 includes a platform 26 supported on a support structure comprising a plurality of spaced legs 28, the legs 28 extending from a lower surface of the platform 26. A leg 28 is arranged at each corner of the platform 26 to allow unimpeded passage of an AGV 22 below the platform 26 of the carrier 24. Further, an upper surface 30 of the platform 26 is shaped to enable the lifting element 20 of the robot 16 to be received below a column 32 of goods 34 arranged on the carrier 24. More particularly, the upper surface 30 of the platform 26 carries a plurality of spaced, parallel ribs 36 to define channels 38 between the ribs 36. Each channel 38 defines a receiving formation for the lifting element 20 of the robot 16. Each channel 38 has a width dimension which snugly accommodates the lifting element 20 of the robot 16 to facilitate stable handling of the column 32 of goods 34.

[0042] The lifting element 20 includes a lifting member, or plate, 40 extending at right angles from a column support member, or plate, 42.

[0043] Referring again to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the system 10 optionally includes a buffer zone 44 arranged upstream of the order packing station 12. Goods 34 which are not immediately required for filling of orders may be temporarily stored in the buffer zone 44. The buffer zone 44 is serviced by the AGVs 22 to deliver goods 34 from the buffer zone 44 to the order packing station 12.

[0044] The system 10 includes a receiving zone 46 and a dispatch zone 48.

Palletised goods are received in a wrapped state at an upstream end of the receiving zone 46. The palletised goods are all of the same type and each one of the goods is referred to commonly as a "stock keeping unit" or SKU. Each SKU is a particular arrangement of goods such as, for example, a crate of milk, a box or tray of beverages, a container or pack of fresh produce, or the like. Thus, the palletised goods received at the receiving zone 46 comprise an homogenous collection of SKUs. In other embodiments, each SKU could be a keg for alcoholic beverage (whether containing beverage or empty), a stack of tyres, or any other stackable products. It will be appreciated that, in the case of certain types of SKUs, for example, kegs, a "column" may comprise only a single SKU.

[0045] Further, it will be appreciated that, in the case of SKUs having an internal structure suitable for gripping or engaging, such as in the case of tyres, the lifting element of the robot 16 may be a suitable gripper (not shown) instead of the lifting element 20 or 70. The gripper is configured to pick one or a plurality of the SKUs, stacked in a column, as required.

[0046] The receiving zone 46 optionally includes unwrapping equipment 52 which removes wrapping from the palletised goods, the wrapping typically being stretch wrap or shrink wrap. A carrier loading station 54 is arranged downstream of the unwrapping equipment 52. In the carrier loading station 54, the palletised goods are, optionally, removed from their underlying pallet and are placed on one of the carriers 24 arranged in the carrier loading station 54.

[0047] The decision as to whether or not the palletised goods are to be removed from the underlying pallet is made by software of the system 10 based on whether or not column picking or layer picking of goods is to occur at the order packing station 12. More specifically, where column picking of goods is to be carried out, the goods are removed from the pallet and are stacked directly on the carrier 24 in the carrier loading station 54.

[0048] Where layer picking of goods is to be carried out, the goods may or may not be removed from their pallet prior to being loaded on to the carrier 24 in the carrier loading station 54.

[0049] The dispatch zone 48 includes a carrier unloading station 56. At the carrier unloading station 56, goods which have been packed on to a carrier 24 at the order packing station 12 by the robot 16 are removed from that carrier 24 and delivered to the unloading station 56 by an AGV 22. The procedure carried out at the carrier unloading station 56 depends on whether goods were column picked or layer picked. If the goods were column picked, they would have been stacked directly on to the carrier 24 without an intervening pallet. In such circumstances, the goods are removed from the carrier 24 and are placed on an order pallet appropriately positioned in the unloading station 56.

[0050] Where goods were layer picked, they, optionally, may have been placed on a pallet arranged on the platform of the carrier 24 at the order packing station 12. If the goods had previously been placed on a pallet, the pallet with the goods are simply removed from the carrier 24 at the carrier unloading station 56.

[0051] The receiving zone 48 includes a wrapping station 58 arranged downstream of the unloading station 56. At the wrapping station 58, the packed goods are wrapped and labelled and removed from the system 10 for subsequent handling, for example, transportation to delivery vehicles or to a storage facility for later delivery.

[0052] Each AGV 22 is of the type which traverses a service area 60 of the system 10 in an automated fashion. Typically, each AGV 22 is battery-powered and uses an inductive loop 62 buried beneath a substrate of the service area 60, the inductive loop 62 being illustrated in the drawings purely for explanatory purposes.

[0053] Further, each AGV 22 has a body supported on vertically retractable wheels 64 (Figs. 7 and 8) as well as vertically retractable castors, or the like (not shown). This enables the AGV 22 to be received below the platform 26 of the carrier 24 as shown, for example, in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawings. Once the AGV has been positioned beneath the platform 26 of the carrier 24 it is raised so that an upper surface 66 of the AGV 22 is brought into abutment with a lower surface or an underside of the platform 26 of the carrier 24. Preferably, the upper surface 66 includes locating formations, shown, schematically at 68, which engage the underside of the platform 26 of the carrier 24. These locating formations 68 may, for example, be locating pins which are used to locate and lock the carrier 24 to the AGV 22. For example, the locating pins are received in complementary sockets defined in the underside of the platform 26 of the carrier 24.

[0054] Figs. 2A-2F illustrate various stages in the packing of goods by the robot 16 in the order packing station 12 of the system 10. By way of example only, the order packing station 12 in Figs. 2A-2F has eight zones numbered 14.1 to 14.8, respectively. In each of these zones, apart from zone 14.1, carriers 24 contain a supply of goods to be picked to fill an order and are treated by the software of the system as donor zones. Each of the zones therefore is, initially, a donor zone, apart from zone 14.1 which is a packing zone. Thus, as shown in Fig. 2A of the drawings, the carrier 24 in zone 14.1, initially empty, is treated as the packing zone. [0055] In this embodiment, the robot 16 has a lifting element 20 configured for column picking of goods. Hence, as shown in Fig. 2B, three columns of goods have been picked by the robot 16 from donor zone 14.2, the three columns 32 having been deposited on the carrier 24 in zone 14.1. Fig. 2C shows a subsequent step where two columns 32 have been picked from donor zone 14.8 and placed on the carrier 24 in zone 14.1. To complete the order in zone 14.1, the robot 16 picks four columns 32 from zone 14.3 and places them on the carrier 24 in zone 14.1.

[0056] Once the complete order has been packed in zone 14.1, an AGV 22 traverses the service area 60, positions itself beneath the carrier 24 in zone 14.1 and removes the completed order from the order packing station 12 as shown in Fig. 2E. The completed order is transported by the AGV 22 to the unloading station 56 at the dispatch zone 48.

[0057] In the illustrated example, the software of the system 10 has determined that the single column 32 of goods 34 on the carrier 24 in zone 14.6 partially fills a succeeding order. Rather than remove that column 32 from zone 14.6 and place it on an empty carrier in a new zone, for example, an empty carrier placed at zone 14.1 (not shown in Fig. 2E), the software designates zone 14.6 as the next packing zone, i.e. the software implements so-called "negative picking" to improve the efficiency of the system 10. The remaining zones 14 then function as donor zones for packing of an order at zone 14.6.

[0058] With "negative picking", a carrier 24 having part of an order already present is selected as the packing zone rather than removing that partial order and placing it on a separate, dedicated carrier 24. This speeds up the packing of orders with the resultant improvement in overall efficiency of the system 10.

[0059] Returning again to the examples shown in Figs. 2A-2F, after the zone 14.6 has been selected as the subsequent packing zone, Fig. 2F shows that the robot 16 has picked three columns from zone 14.5 and has placed them on the carrier 24 at zone 14.6. In such a way, the order at zone 14.6 is completed and, after completion, is transported by an AGV 22 to the unloading station 56. [0060] It is noted that the now-empty carrier 24 at zone 14.5 becomes the packing zone for the following order to be filled. This further improves the efficiency of the system in that it is not necessary for an AGV 22 first to deliver a new carrier 24 to a zone before packing of the following order can commence. In addition, while an order is being packed, another AGV 22 can deliver a further supply of SKUs in readiness for a subsequent order as shown at zone 14.1 in Fig. 2F of the drawings.

[0061] As described, Figs. 2A-2F illustrate a column picking embodiment of the system 10. Fig. 5 shows another embodiment of the system 10. With reference to the previous drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts, unless otherwise specified. In this embodiment, the system 10 has two packing stations 12, one for a robot 16 configured for column picking of goods and the other for a robot 16 configured for layer picking of goods. The column picking order packing station 12 operates as described above with reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

[0062] The layer picking order packing station 12 operates in a similar manner to that described above but, instead of picking columns of goods, the robot 16 has a lifting element 70 configured to pick layers of goods from the relevant carriers in the packing zones 14 of the packing station 12. The lifting element 70 is, for example, a commercially available gripping type device which grips layers of goods and, if necessary, imparts a negative pressure to retain grip on the goods while moving the goods between zones 14.

[0063] One difference between the packing station 12 for column picking and the packing station 12 for layer picking is that, as illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings, a pallet 72 may be interposed between the platform 26 of the carrier 24 and the layer 74 of goods to be packed on the carrier 24. In this way, once an order has been completed on a carrier in one of the packing stations 14, the entire order, together with its pallet 72 can be lifted from the carrier 24 at the unloading station 56 for subsequent wrapping in the wrapping station 58. A completed order is shown at zone 14.7 in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

[0064] Reverting to Fig. 1 of the drawings, it will be noted that the system 10 in the embodiment of Fig. 1 includes a pallet storage area 76. While this has been omitted from the embodiment of the system is shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, it will be appreciated that such a pallet storage area 76 is also provided, particularly where goods are packed directly on to the carriers 24 without the need for an intervening pallet.

[0065] It will, however, also be appreciated that the use of the intervening pallet 72 is not essential in layer picking of goods. Hence, as shown in Fig. 8 of the drawings, the system 10 can be used also to pack layers 74 of goods directly onto the carriers 24. In such circumstances, the completed order will be removed from the carrier 24 at the unloading station 56 and placed on an order pallet at the unloading station 56. Referring now to Fig. 9 of the drawings, a flow chart of an embodiment of a method of palletising orders is illustrated and is designated generally by the reference numeral 80. The method makes use of the system 10 as described above with reference to Figs. 1-8 of the drawings.

[0066] At 82, goods required for order picking, whether in columns or layers are received as single SKU pallets at the receiving zone 46. Initially, a pallet load of the goods is unwrapped by the unwrapping equipment 52 and the unwrapped goods are mechanically transferred, at the carrier loading station 54, on to a carrier 24 located in the carrier loading station 54. If the goods are subsequently to be picked by the column picking robot, the goods are unloaded from their pallet and are placed directly on to the platform 26 of the carrier 24. Conversely, if the goods are subsequently to be picked by the layer picking robot, the goods may or may not be unloaded from their pallet prior to being placed on to the carrier 24.

[0067] In the embodiment where a buffer zone 44 is used, the AGV 22 transports the goods, on their carrier 24, to the buffer zone 44. Where the buffer zone 44 is not to be used or the system 10 does not include a buffer zone 44, the AGV 22 transports the carrier 24 of goods directly to an open position at the order packing station 12. This is shown at 86 in the flowchart.

[0068] As shown at 88, once goods have been positioned at the order packing station 12, the robot 16 operates to pick goods from the various packing zones 14 to fill orders as determined by software of the system 10. [0069] Further, as shown at 90, empty pallets from the loading station 54 are buffered/transferred to the carrier unloading station 56 for subsequent use in completion of packed orders, i.e. those empty pallets become subsequent order pallets.

[0070] As described above and as shown at 92, columns or layers of goods are picked by the robot 16 in filling orders. When a donor zone has been partially depleted but the remaining goods on the carrier 24 in that zone can be used in partial completion of a subsequent order, that donor zone can become the next packing zone. It is also to be noted that any zone can be used temporarily to hold columns or layers of goods. This has the added benefit that it is not necessary for columns or layers not immediately required for use to be transported back to a buffer zone or to a separate storage zone. This further improves the efficiency of the system 10. It will further be understood that the referenced "subsequent order" need not be the next immediately succeeding order but could be an order filled later in time.

[0071] Once an order has been completed, i.e. packed in the order packing station 12, the completed order is carried on its carrier 24 via one of the AGVs 22 to the dispatch zone 48, as shown at 94. More particularly, the completed order is delivered to the unloading station 56 where the order is removed from the carrier 24, either with or without a pallet, as the case may be. If the order has been packed without the use of the intervening pallet 72, the completed order is placed on to an order pallet in the unloading station 56.

[0072] Finally, as shown at 96, the completed order is transferred from the unloading station 56 to the wrapping station 58 where the completed order is wrapped and labelled prior to removal from the system 10.

[0073] With reference to Fig. 10 of the drawings, a further embodiment of a system 10 is illustrated. With reference to the previous drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts, unless otherwise specified.

[0074] The embodiment of the system 10 illustrated in Fig. 10 of the drawings, is a further variation of a layer packing system 10. It is therefore noted that the robot 16 includes the lifting element 70 for manipulating layers in filling orders. One of the zones 14, for example, zone 14.1, is used as the pallet storage area 76. The robot 16 thus, when commencing with packing an order, first places a pallet 72 from the zone 14.1 on the platform of an empty carrier 24 in one of the other zones 14. Layers are then packed on that picked pallet 72 to fill the order.

[0075] Further, in this embodiment, it is noted that the conveying systems at the receiving zone 46 and dispatching zone 48 are omitted. Instead, an AGV 22 is used to transport a single SKU pallet 98 received at the receiving zone 46 either to the order packing station 12 or, in the case where the SKUs are not required immediately for packing and the buffer zone 44 is provided, to the buffer zone 44. The SKU pallet 98 is unwrapped prior to delivery to the receiving zone 46 and is delivered to the receiving zone 46 via a suitable delivery vehicle, such as, for example, a forklift (not shown). The SKU pallet 98 could be delivered in other ways, for example, by use of a crane.

[0076] Once an order has been packed in the order packing station 12, an AGV 22 is used to transport the packed order, on its carrier 24, to the dispatch zone 48. Prior to delivery to the dispatch zone 48, the carrier 24, on its associated AGV 22, passes through the wrapping station 58 where the packed order is wrapped and labelled.

[0077] In Fig. 11 of the drawings, yet a further embodiment of a system 10 is illustrated. Once again, with reference to the previous drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts, unless otherwise specified. For the sake of clarity, the AGVs 22 and their inductive loops 62 have been omitted.

[0078] In this embodiment, the system 10 is used for packing columnar SKUs. Each SKU is either in the form of a single, cylindrical item such as a keg of alcoholic beverage (whether containing beverage or empty) or a stack of items of which, together, form a cylinder. Examples of a stack of items include stacks of vehicle tyres, or the like.

[0079] Thus, as illustrated in Fig. 11 of the drawings, the system 10 can be used for packing SKUs in the form of kegs 100. The lifting element 20 is used on the robot 16 to move the kegs 100. As in previous embodiments, the kegs are delivered via the receiving zone 46 either directly to the order packing station 12 or to the buffer zone 44. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 10 includes numerous buffer zones 44 arranged about the order packing station 12.

[0080] Further, to provide additional storage space, the system 10 includes a storage rack 102 in the order packing station arranged in an elevated position relative to the packing zones 14. The robot 16 is able to pick and place kegs 100 on to the storage rack 102 to facilitate efficient packing of orders in the packing zones 14 of the order packing station 12.

[0081] As in previous embodiments, once an order has been packed, an AGV 22 is used to transport the carrier 24, with its packed order, to the dispatch zone 48. The packed order is, optionally, wrapped and labelled in the wrapping station 58 prior to being dispatched via the dispatch zone 48.

[0082] It is an advantage of the disclosed embodiments that a system 10 and method 80 are provided which facilitate both column picking and layer picking of goods in a streamlined, compact and efficient manner.

[0083] Further, the system 10 and method 80 almost completely obviate the need for conveyors and/or gantries for delivery of SKUs for picking and packing to fill an order. The use of AGVs with their associated carriers enables the system 10 to move goods in all directions on the service area 60 rather than only point-to-point. The routes followed by the AGVs 22 are easily re-configurable enabling the service area 60 of the system 10 to be modified according to the customer's requirements and changes to those requirements. In addition, because the AGVs 22 run on

rechargeable batteries there are always redundant units, i.e. units not in operation, which can be brought into operation as and when required if there are equipment failures.

[0084] The use of the AGVs 22, together with their associated carriers 24, provide a readily expansible, flexible system which has a greatly reduced footprint, i.e.

service area. Still further, the system 10 requires a far lower capital outlay resulting in rapid amortisation of the capital costs in comparison with current systems. It has been estimated that the system 10 can be amortised in less than a year in comparison with the 5 to 6 years typically required for current conveyor/gantry-based order packing systems.

[0085] The automated order picking robots 16 are able to process square and rectangular crates both in columns and in layers. In addition, as described above with reference to Fig. 11 of the drawings, in certain embodiments, the robots 16 of the system 10 are able to process cylindrical SKUs. Because the carriers 24 in the packing station 12 are not fixed they can be removed completely to enable the entire area to be cleaned. Still further, the service area is able to be expanded readily to accommodate increased SKUs and to provide additional storage. As illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings, for example, more robots 16 and more AGVs 22 with their associated carriers 24 can be provided for increased throughput. In a related expansion, the number of zones 14 about the robot 16 can be expanded to up to about twelve such zones 14. The number of zones 14 can be expanded even further by the use of a seven axis robot 16 which increases the linear reach of such a robot 16.

[0086] In a variation of the system, carriers used as donor zone carriers can be loaded when goods are received at the distribution centre, i.e. prior to picking, to reduce the need to move pallets by forklifts. An automated storage and retrieval system, for example, a crane system, can be added to the system 10 for higher density storage and more efficient replenishment. Related to this, a mezzanine level could be added for increased cubic utilisation, i.e. additional storage. An example of this is shown in Fig. 11 of the drawings.

[0087] In still a further development of the system 10, a crate stacker/de-stacker could be added around the area of the robot 16 for creation of shorter height or mixed SKU stacks. In addition, as indicated above, a gantry system could be provided in conjunction with the system 10 for crate-level picking of mixed/rainbow stacks.

[0088] In the case where any pallets have been manually packed using manual picking, such manually packed pallets can be transferred directly to the wrapping station 58 for wrapping/labelling by an AGV 22. It is also to be noted that, in the illustrated embodiments, the wrapping station 58 makes use of a rotary arm wrapper. Replacing such a rotary arm wrapper with a ring wrapper could result in a 50% increase in throughput of packed pallets, i.e. from approximately 80 pallets per hour to approximately 120 pallets per hour.

[0089] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, without departing from the broad general scope of the present disclosure. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A system for palletising orders, the system including

at least one automated guided vehicle (AGV) to deliver goods to the at least one donor zone and to remove packed goods from the at least one packing zone; and a plurality of carriers, each carrier being configured to allow at least one of layer picking and column picking of goods by the order picking device and each carrier further being configured to be placed in one of the zones and to be transported by the at least one AGV.

2. The system of claim 1 in which each carrier comprises a platform configured to receive goods directly and/or goods carried on a pallet.

3. The system of claim 2 in which an operatively upper surface of the platform is shaped to enable a lifting element of the order picking device to be received below a column of the goods.

4. The system of claim 3 in which the upper surface of the platform carries a plurality of spaced ribs, a spacing between adjacent ribs being selected to

accommodate the lifting element.

5. The system of any one of claims 2 to 4 in which legs depend from the platform to facilitate receiving the AGV beneath the platform.

6. The system of any one of the preceding claims which includes a buffer zone arranged upstream of the order packing station, goods to be packed being able to be stored at least temporarily in the buffer zone.

7. The system of any one of the preceding claims which includes a plurality of AGVs to deliver goods to the at least one donor zone and to remove packed goods from the at least one packing zone.

8. The system of any one of the preceding claims which includes at least two order packing stations, at least one containing an order picking device configured for column picking of goods and at least one containing an order picking device configured for layer picking of goods.

9. The system of any one of the preceding claims which includes a carrier loading station arranged upstream of the packing station.

10. The system of any one of the preceding claims in which the order picking device is an articulated order picking device.

11. A method of palletising orders, the method including

12. The method of claim 11 in which each carrier comprises a platform configured to receive goods directly and/or goods carried on a pallet and in which the method includes arranging the goods on the platform to enable a lifting element of the order picking device to be received below a column of the goods on the platform of the carrier.

13. The method of claim 11 or claim 12 which includes receiving goods to be packed at a carrier loading station arranged upstream of the order packing station and transferring goods on to the carrier for delivery to the order packing station by the at least one AGV.

14. The method of claim 13 which includes temporarily storing goods in a buffer zone arranged intermediate the carrier loading station and the order packing station.

15. The method of any one of claims 11 to 14 which includes determining if the quantity of goods on a carrier arranged at a donor zone in the order packing station fills the requirement for that quantity of those goods for a particular order, converting that donor zone to a packing zone and completing the order by packing remaining goods to fill the order from other donor zones at the order packing station.

16. The method of any one of claims 11 to 15 which includes, once an order has been filled at a packing zone at the order packing station, transferring the filled order to a carrier unloading station where the filled order is removed from the carrier for subsequent handling.

17. A carrier for use in a system for palletising orders, the carrier including a platform having an operatively upper surface and an underside;

a support arrangement depending from the underside of the platform.

18. The carrier of claim 17 in which a plurality of spaced, parallel ribs extend along the upper surface of the platform, adjacent ribs defining a channel between them, each channel defining one of the receiving formations.

19. The carrier of claim 17 or claim 18 in which the support arrangement comprises a plurality of legs depending from the lower surface of the platform.

20. The carrier of claim 19 in which the legs are arranged at corners of the platform to allow a conveying device to be received underneath the platform.

21. A conveying apparatus for use in a system for palletising orders, the conveying apparatus including

a carrier as claimed in any one of claims 17 to 20; and

22. The conveying apparatus of claim 21 in which the conveying device is an automated guided vehicle (AGV).