US-12617617-B2 - Storage systems and methods for robotic picking

US12617617B2US 12617617 B2US12617617 B2US 12617617B2US-12617617-B2

Abstract

A robotic system that includes a storage structure, a container handling robot, and a manipulator robot is provided herein. The storage structure includes vertical members supporting a grid having a first set of rails and a second set of rails that collectively define grid spaces, and a plurality of storage containers arranged in vertical stacks within a respective one of the grid spaces. The container handling robot is arranged to move along the first and second set of rails and includes a lifting device to extract one or more storage containers from the vertical stacks and to transport the one or more storage containers about the grid. The manipulator robot is installed within a footprint of a single grid space and includes one or more vacuum generators, and a picking arm provided with a pneumatic gripping tool for picking an inventory item from the one or more storage containers.

Inventors

Simon Kalouche

Assignees

Nimble Robotics, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20250711

Claims (20)

1 . A robotic system, comprising: a storage structure, comprising: a frame including vertical members supporting a grid having a first set of parallel rails extending in a first direction and a second set of parallel rails extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction such that the first and second set of parallel rails collectively define grid spaces; and a plurality of storage containers arranged in vertical stacks for storing inventory items, each one of the vertical stacks configured to be arranged within a respective one of the grid spaces; a container handling robot arranged to move along the first and second set of parallel rails, the container handling robot including a lifting device extendable in a vertical direction to extract one or more storage containers from the vertical stacks and transport the one or more storage containers about the grid; and a manipulator robot installed within a footprint of a single grid space, the manipulator robot including one or more vacuum generators and a picking arm provided with a pneumatic gripping tool arranged to pick an inventory item from the one or more storage containers.
2 . The robotic system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more vacuum generators are provided upstream of the pneumatic gripping tool.
3 . The robotic system of claim 1 , further comprising a pneumatic supply line coupling the manipulator robot to an external pneumatic source.
4 . The robotic system of claim 3 , wherein the pneumatic supply line extends at least partially through the storage structure.
5 . The robotic system of claim 3 , wherein the pneumatic supply line extends at least partially in the vertical direction toward the grid and the pneumatic supply line is at least partially external to the frame.
6 . The robotic system of claim 1 , further comprising an imaging sensor to capture one or more images of the inventory item.
7 . The robotic system of claim 6 , wherein the manipulator robot further comprises: an interface configured to send processor readable data to a central computing system and receive processor executable instruction from the central computing system; and an onboard processor in communication with at least one of the imaging sensor or the picking arm.
8 . The robotic system of claim 7 , further comprising a tool holder provided on the manipulator robot or coupled to the frame, the tool holder being arranged to hold another pneumatic gripping tool.
9 . The robotic system of claim 8 , further comprising a teleoperator interface including one or more input device configured to receive one or more inputs from an operator to assist the manipulator robot in picking the inventory item and/or placing the inventory item in a selected orientation within another container.
10 . The robotic system of claim 9 , wherein the picking arm is configured to interchangeably couple to the pneumatic gripping tool and the another pneumatic gripping tool upon receiving instructions from one of the central computing system, the onboard processor, or the teleoperator interface.
11 . A robotic system, comprising: a storage structure, comprising: a frame including vertical members supporting a grid having a first set of parallel rails extending in a first direction and a second set of parallel rails extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction such that the first and second set of parallel rails collectively define grid spaces; and a plurality of storage containers arranged in vertical stacks for storing inventory items, each one of the vertical stacks configured to be arranged within a respective one of the grid spaces; container handling robots arranged to move along the first and second set of parallel rails, each of the container handling robots including a lifting device extendable in a vertical direction to extract one or more storage containers from the vertical stacks and transport the one or more storage containers; one or more manipulator robots stationed on the grid, the one or more manipulator robots, comprising: a picking arm provided with a gripping tool arranged to pick an inventory item from the one or more storage containers; and one or more vacuum generator generators provided upstream of the gripping tool and configured to produce a suction force; an imaging sensor to capture one or more images of the inventory item within the one or more storage containers; a central computing system for coordinating operation of the container handling robots about the grid and transmitting manipulation task instructions to the one or more manipulator robots; and a teleoperator interface configured to: receive the one or more images, the teleoperator interface including one or more input devices configured to receive one or more inputs from an operator; and transmit, based on the one or more inputs, instructions to the central computing system for assisting the one or more manipulator robots in performing the manipulation task instructions, the manipulation task instructions including picking the inventory item from the one or more storage containers and/or placing the inventory item in a selected orientation within another receptacle.
12 . The robotic system of claim 11 , wherein each one of the one or more manipulator robots is disposed within a respective single grid space.
13 . The robotic system of claim 11 , further comprising a pneumatic supply line coupling at least one of the one or more manipulator robots to an external pneumatic source, wherein the pneumatic supply line extends at least partially through the storage structure.
14 . The robotic system of claim 11 , wherein the gripping tool comprises a plurality of gripping elements.
15 . The robotic system of claim 11 , further comprising a tool holder provided on at least one of the one or more manipulator robots or coupled to the frame, the tool holder being arranged to hold another gripping tool.
16 . The robotic system of claim 15 , wherein the manipulation task instructions include at least one of a partial pose for the gripping tool, a grasping region of the inventory item, or a selection of the gripping tool or the another gripping tool.
17 . A robotic system, comprising: a storage structure, comprising: a frame including vertical members supporting a grid having a first set of parallel rails extending in a first direction and a second set of parallel rails extending in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction such that the first and second set of parallel rails collectively define grid spaces; and a plurality of storage containers arranged in vertical stacks for storing inventory items, each one of the vertical stacks configured to be arranged within a respective one of the grid spaces; a container handling robot installed to move along the first and second set of parallel rails, the container handling robot including a device extendable in a vertical direction to extract one or more storage containers from the vertical stacks and transport the one or more storage containers; a first manipulator robot stationed on the grid, the first manipulator robot including a vacuum generator and a picking arm provided with a pneumatic gripping tool arranged to pick an inventory item from the one or more storage containers; a pneumatic supply line coupling the first manipulator robot to an external pneumatic source, the pneumatic supply line extending at least partially through the storage structure; and a second manipulator robot installed on the grid, the second manipulator robot including a tool configured to swap a battery from one of the robots installed upon the grid.
18 . The robotic system of claim 17 , wherein the pneumatic supply line is located at least partially external of the frame.
19 . The robotic system of claim 17 , wherein the vacuum generator comprises a venturi pump and is located upstream of the pneumatic gripping tool.
20 . The robotic system of claim 17 , wherein the first manipulator robot is disposed within a single grid space and configured to place the inventory item into an order receptacle.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 19/201,445, filed May 7, 2025, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/375,742, filed Oct. 2, 2023, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,325,594 which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/856,409, filed Apr. 23, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,794,332, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/831,963, filed Mar. 27, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,738,447, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/804,251, filed Feb. 28, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,724,880 which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/961,390, filed Jan. 15, 2020 and the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/879,843, filed Jul. 29, 2019, each of the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE The present disclosure generally relates to storage systems and inventory retrieval methods, and more particularly, to a storage system and a mobile, manipulator robot for retrieving inventory items from the storage system. Warehouses, or distribution fulfillment centers, require systems that enable the efficient storage and retrieval of a large number of diverse products. Traditionally, inventory items are stored in containers and arranged on rows of shelving on either side of an aisle. Each container, or bin, holds a plurality of items of one or more product types. The aisles provide access between the shelving for an operator or robot to migrate the aisles and retrieve the items. It is well understood that the aisles reduce the storage density of the system. In other words, the amount of space actually used for the storage of products (e.g., the shelving) is relatively small compared to the amount of space required for the storage system as a whole. As warehouse space is often scarce and expensive, alternative storage systems that maximize storage space are desired. In one alternative approach, which offers a significant improvement in storage density, containers are stacked on top of one another and arranged in adjacent rows. That is, no aisle is provided between the adjacent rows of stacked containers. Thus, more containers, and in turn inventory, can be stored in a given space. Various methods for retrieving inventory from the stacked containers have been contemplated. U.S. Pat. No. 10,189,641, for example, discloses a system in which containers are stacked and arranged in a plurality of rows underneath a grid. Vehicles equipped with a lifting apparatus navigate the grid and lift a desired container. The container is then transported down a port to a picking/sorting zone, where an operator or robot picks individual products from the container and sorts the products into one or more order containers. To minimize unnecessary transportation of the containers, each container is typically transported to the picking/sorting zone only after multiple orders of a specific product have been received. Despite the increased storage density provided by the known stacked storage system, various shortcoming remain. For example, order fulfilment times are often lengthy, particularly for products that are ordered infrequently because the containers are retrieved in priority as a function of the number of products of one type that have been ordered. Additionally, the vehicles are required to navigate long distances (which takes considerable time and consumes considerable battery power) while driving bins back-and-fourth to the transportation ports. Furthermore, the required picking/sorting zones reduce the overall storage density of the warehouse and add additional complexity and costs. While the throughput of the stacked storage system can be increased by adding additional vehicles to the grid (or by modifying the system o include additional container transportation ports), there is a limit to the amount of vehicles that can be operated on the grid before the grid becomes overly congested with vehicles and the throughput of the system declines due to gridlock. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE In accordance with a first aspect of the present disclosure, a high density storage structure is provided. The storage structure includes support members configured to house a plurality of containers, a first set of parallel rails to support a mobile, manipulator robot and a fluid supply line having a plurality of valves disposed within the supply line. Each of the valves have a closed condition in which the supply line is in fluid isolation from an outside environment and an open condition in which the supply line is in fluid communication with the outside environment such that a mobile, manipulator robot traversing the first set of parallel rail may receive a fluid supply from the fluid supply line when the valve is in the open condition. In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a m