Abstract: A material handling system automatically each picking orders using a put wall. A controller determines whether any of more than one removable intermediate holders in a put wall that are within the reach of a first robotic arm contain one or more articles that are ready for transporting away from the put wall. The controller directs the first robotic arm to: (i) engage the selected removable intermediate holder, (ii) move the selected removable intermediate holder to an empty order container, and (iii) reorient the selected removable intermediate holder to transfer the one or more articles from the selected removable intermediate holder to the empty order container. In one or more embodiments, the articles can be placed in the put wall by conveying donor totes to an each picking robotic arm that places picked articles into an end effector of a second robotic arm.

Abstract: A robotic carton unloader for unloading cartons in a carton pile has a mobile body and a movable robotic arm attached to the mobile body that has an end effector at a movable end thereof to unload cartons from the carton pile. A conveyor system is attached to the mobile body and extends from front to rear of the carton unloader to convey cartons received thereon by the moveable robotic arm. The conveyor system comprises a central portion carried on the mobile body and a front portion extending therefrom towards the carton pile. The front portion is configured to change width from narrow to wider to act as a shield to catch and then move falling cartons received thereon.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a gap cover including mounting covers, a flexible component, plurality of support plates and support rods. The mounting covers are attached to conveyor carriers of a conveyor system. The flexible component has a plurality of pleated sections positioned in between the mounting covers capable of expansion and contraction. The plurality of support plates are inserted in between each of the pleated sections. The plurality of support rods penetrates with a clearance through each of the pleated sections and one of the mounting covers, wherein the plurality of support plates are positioned transverse to the plurality of support rods to provide a cross member support for articles conveyed on the conveyor carriers.

Abstract: A material handling system reduces or eliminates human interaction with articles sorted and deposited into an order container to maintain validation and integrity of the order. Validated articles are inducted onto a sortation conveyor that selectively dispenses or deposits each article at a destination into a container. A shuttle vehicle moves along a first side of row of such containers to replace an empty container in place of any container that holds a completed order and moves the latter onto a transport conveyor.

Abstract: Robotic carton loader or unloader incorporates three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) sensors to detect respectively a 3D point cloud and a 2D image of a carton pile within transportation carrier such as a truck trailer or shipping container. Edge detection is performed using the 3D point cloud, discarding segments that are two small to be part of a product such as a carton. Segments that are too large to correspond to a carton are 2D image processed to detect additional edges. Results from 3D and 2D edge detection are converted in a calibrated 3D space of the material carton loader or unloader to perform one of loading or unloading of the transportation carrier. Image processing can also detect jamming of products sequence from individually controllable zones of a conveyor of the robotic carton loader or unloader for singulated unloading.

Abstract: A sortation conveyor has an endless apron supported for longitudinal movement on an elongate frame that includes a pair of lateral side frames. An induction conveyor deposits articles on an offset lateral portion of a top conveying run of the apron. A pin guide assembly is coupled between the pair of lateral side frames and is upwardly presented to selectively receive the pin of pushers that laterally move across the apron. An upstream pre-sort section thereof positions articles from the offset lateral portion to an opposite lateral portion of the top conveying run. A downstream divert section of the pin guide assembly selectively diverts the articles to a divert target on the corresponding lateral side to the selected one of offset lateral position and the opposite lateral position.

Abstract: A conveyor cartridge that is removably coupled to a conveyor frame is provided. The conveyor cartridge comprises a cartridge frame, conveyor rollers, and a belt. The cartridge frame comprises a first side plate and an opposite second side plate, extended portions, and arcuate sloped surfaces. The first and second side plates delimit a direction of the conveyor cartridge transverse to a transport direction. Each extended portion is formed on a top surface of one of the first or second side plates and extends outward beyond the corresponding one of the first side plate and the second side plate in the direction transverse to the transport direction. The arcuate sloped surfaces are integrally formed on opposite end portions of the extended portions. The arcuate sloped surfaces are downwardly bowed on the opposite end portions to define a curved head portion and a curved tail portion for the extended portions.

Abstract: A robotic material handling system has a controller that positions a nose conveyor surface proximate to an article pile, uses a robotic manipulator to robotically move one or more articles per operation onto the nose conveyor from the article pile, and receives a scan of the nose conveyor surface to detect respective locations of any articles received on the nose conveyor surface. The controller determines whether the respective locations of any scanned articles prevent immediate rearward conveyance by the two or more parallel conveyors at a first speed. If so detected, the controller causes at least one of the two or more parallel conveyors to operate at the first speed and at least another one of two or more parallel conveyors to operate at a second speed that is not equal to the first speed so that cartons do not jam or overwhelm a narrower rearward conveyor.

Abstract: A self-aligning interface (6300) is attached to a robotic carton unloader (6100) and provides an interface between an extendable conveyor (6200) and the robotic carton unloader (6100). The self-aligning interface (6300) can include a positional measurement device (6320, 6320b, 6320c) mounted on the robotic carton unloader (6100) and operatively engaged with the extendable conveyor (6200) to provide positional information about the location of the extendable nose conveyor (6220) relative to the positional measurement device (6320, 6320b, 6320c). A control unit (6180) is attached to the robotic carton unloader (6100) for full robotic control of robotic carton unloader (6100) and the unloading process. The control unit (6180) is connected to the positional measurement device (6320, 6320b, 6320c) and the extendable conveyor (6200).

Abstract: A controller of a material handling system performs a method of dynamic spacing on a sortation conveyor by predicting fullness of divert destinations. Required tray spacing between inducted articles destined for the same divert destination can be reduced when the divert destination is calculated to have sufficient capacity. Fewer discharge commands need to be ignored due to insufficient tray spacing. The material handling systems can achieve higher throughput by having fewer articles that cannot be discharged to an assigned destination.

Abstract: A personnel platform facilitates maintenance on a loop sorter of a material handling system in a distribution center. The personnel platform includes wheeled axle assemblies, having left and right wheel hub assemblies connected by a lateral support structure, engaged for longitudinal travel to opposing wheel channels of a section bed of the loop sorter that guide a train of material handling carriages. The personnel platform also includes a carrier platform comprising multiple sub-platforms, such that each sub-platform is pivotally attached to an adjacent sub-platform. Further, the personnel platform includes a rail assembly having upright structures and side rail assemblies attached between an adjacent pair of upright structures. Further, the side rail assemblies extend and retract according to changing spacing between the adjacent upright structures as the personnel platform moves along a curved section.

Abstract: A material handling system comprising one or more sub-systems and one or more sensing panels is provided. Each sensing panel may determine whether a mode control token is within a vicinity of the respective sensing panel. When the mode control token is within the vicinity of the respective sensing panel, the sensing panel may generate a signal, and when the mode is outside of the vicinity of the respective sensing panel, the generation of the signal is halted. The material handling system may further include a processor that enables at least one of the one or more sub-systems of the material handling system in response to the generated signal and disables each of the one or more sub-systems of the material handling system in response to a halting of the generation of the signal.

Abstract: A material handling system includes a belted conveyor that longitudinally transports low profile articles. An actuating mechanism selectively positions a counter rotating cylindrical roller brush diagonal across the conveyor surface to divert the low profile articles to a lateral destination off a side of the belted conveyor and can position the cylindrical roller brush away the belted conveyor to allow the low profile articles to transport to a longitudinal destination at a terminal end of the belted conveyor.

Abstract: A goods to operator workstation is attachable to an input and a discharge conveyor system. The goods to operator workstation comprises a container staging platform that receives a product container from the input conveyor system and linearly moves the product container to an order pick position for an operator to pick articles from. A holding platform is pivotally movable between the order pick position and a discharge position to discharge a picked order container onto the discharge conveyor system after picking. Wherein when the holding platform moves back to the order pick position, the holding platform passes through the staging platform to transfer the order container from the staging platform to the holding platform so that the staging platform can retract and receive a new order container from the input conveyor system while the operator is picking.

Abstract: Systems, methods, devices, and non-transitory processor readable media of the various embodiments enable intelligent speed control of conveyors (e.g., singulator conveyors, sortation conveyors, etc.) in a material handling system.

Abstract: Systems, methods, devices, and non-transitory media of the various embodiments provide dynamic cubby logic that enables cubbies of a put wall to be assigned to orders as items for the orders are received at the put wall. In an embodiment, batches or waves of orders may be generated and released without cubbies of a put wall assigned to the orders. As the first item for an order is detected at the put wall a cubby from the available cubbies of the put wall may be selected for the order and all items of the order may be assigned the selected cubby. The cubby may be selected from the available cubbies based at least in part on a priority among the cubbies of the put wall.

Abstract: A robotic carton unloader for automatic unloading of canons from a carton pile. In various embodiments, a robotic carton unloader may comprise a mobile body, a movable robotic arm attached to the mobile body and comprising an end effector configured to unload a row of cartons in a side-by-side orientation from the carton pile, and a conveyor system mounted on the mobile body and configured to receive the row of cartons from the end effector in the side-by-side orientation. In various embodiments the conveyor system may comprise a front-end descrambler and a central descrambler coupled to the front-end descrambler. In various embodiments, the robotic arm may be configured to straddle at least a portion of the mobile body and at least a portion of the conveyor system such that the conveyor system conveys cartons from the carton pile through the robotic arm.

Abstract: A vacuum coupling applies vacuum from a vacuum source to a rotating tool attached to a rotating end of a robotic arm. The vacuum coupling includes a rotating portion attaching the rotating tool to the rotating end of the robotic arm. The rotating portion communicates vacuum with the rotating tool. A fixed portion is positioned around the rotating portion such that the rotating portion is rotatable relative to the fixed portion. The fixed portion communicates vacuum to the rotating portion. At least one rotating vacuum seal is positioned between the fixed portion and the rotating portion.

Abstract: A material handling system has an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) with vertically spaced levels storing articles. Each level has at least one pickup and deposit (P/D) station serviced by a shuttle and that is horizontally positioned to define a ramped orientation with a wave conveyor to move products selectively in at least one flow direction to each of the P/D stations. An article transfer mechanism at each P/D station respectively moves an article in a selected at least one direction between the wave conveyor and the respective P/D station. A controller selectively moves the selected articles onto the wave conveyor by respective article transfer mechanisms in coordination with movement of the wave conveyor to create a sequenced flow of selected articles. An order preparation system can receive the sequenced flow.

Abstract: A material handling system includes a very high speed linear sortation conveyor that receives articles at an operating speed of 650 to 700 feet per second (fps) and up to 100 fps with gapping as small as one inch. In one or more embodiments, a recirculation sortation conveyor receives articles that are not diverted by the linear sortation conveyor with dynamic capacity sufficient to handle a high speed shutdown of the linear sortation conveyor. The recirculation sortation conveyor is itself a very high speed linear sortation conveyor having a pusher pre-sort feature that can distribute received articles at different lateral positions on an endless conveyor to align with more than one recirculation sortation conveyors that may be operating at a slower operating speed. In an exemplary embodiment, the recirculation sortation conveyor has a divert section for diverting articles to a divert target on a lateral side.