GB2552318A

GB2552318A - A stock picking device

Info

Publication number: GB2552318A
Application number: GB1612380.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Quemby Roger
Original assignee: Prerequisite Solutions Ltd
Current assignee: Prerequisite Solutions Ltd
Priority date: 2016-07-18
Filing date: 2016-07-18
Publication date: 2018-01-24
Also published as: GB201612380D0

Abstract

A flow control device 10 or gate for regulating delivery of discrete solid objects, particularly for stock picking in a warehouse or distribution centre, the device having a surface 12 along which the objects can move and a regulator element 14 moveable between a first position in which it obstructs movement of the objects and a second position in which it releases at least one object; the regulator element is mechanically controlled by a pivoting system 24. The pivoting system may be biased and may be attached to an actuator 34, which may be an electromechanical or pneumatic actuator. The device may comprise a second regulator element 40 behind the first regulator element and may include sensing and a controller which accepts signals from the sensors, or instructions. The first regulator element 14 may include a protuberance 18, which may stand upright from the surface 12 and a plate 16. The second regulator element may include a protuberance 42. Protuberance 18 of the first regulator element thus prevents any objects from moving from the rear region B of the device towards the front region A of the device. The alignment of the arms 26, 28 of the linkage 24 ensures that the first regulator element is stable against a force applied to the regulator element.

Description

(54) Title of the Invention: A stock picking device

Abstract Title: A stock flow gate and release system (57) A flow control device 10 or gate for regulating delivery of discrete solid objects, particularly for stock picking in a warehouse or distribution centre, the device having a surface 12 along which the objects can move and a regulator element 14 moveable between a first position in which it obstructs movement of the objects and a second position in which it releases at least one object; the regulator element is mechanically controlled by a pivoting system 24. The pivoting system may be biased and may be attached to an actuator 34, which may be an electromechanical or pneumatic actuator. The device may comprise a second regulator element 40 behind the first regulator element and may include sensing and a controller which accepts signals from the sensors, or instructions. The first regulator element 14 may include a protuberance 18, which may stand upright from the surface 12 and a plate 16. The second regulator element may include a protuberance 42. Protuberance 18 of the first regulator element thus prevents any objects from moving from the rear region B of the device towards the front region A of the device. The alignment of the arms 26, 28 of the linkage 24 ensures that the first regulator element is stable against a force applied to the regulator element.

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-ΙΑ stock picking device

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a stock picking device for use in, for example, a 10 warehouse or distribution centre. The device is especially for use with high-value, high volume, unit pick stock items and/or those which require particular care to be paid to them. However, while the invention is especially directed to such stock items, it may be applied to other types of stock item with little or no alteration.

In a warehouse or distribution centre environment, a client order may comprise a 15 number of different stock items. It is desirable for an order to be put together quickly and efficiently and then arranged in suitable packaging for onward transit.

BACKGROUND ART

Traditionally, stock picking is done by hand by warehouse staff; items fulfilling an order are manually removed from a stocking area into onward transit packaging. Once the order is complete, the onward transit packaging is despatched to the client.

For some types of stock, a degree of automation has been introduced. Automation can improve the speed and accuracy of order fulfilment. One known automation arrangement comprises an A frame with stock items stacked vertically in channels on uprights of the A. At the base of each stack a stock picking device has a conveyor with a stanchion attached to it so that when an item of stock is desired from a stack, the conveyor is activated and the stanchion thus pushes the lowermost stock item towards a receptacle for collating the desired

-2items of an order. The remaining stack then drops into space vacated by the lowermost stock item so that another item may be pushed subsequently. The stanchion may then be positioned by the conveyor to be in the right position to push another item when needed.

There are two main drawbacks to the A frame arrangement: to install and maintain such an arrangement is expensive and requires suitably-skilled staff to be available to keep the system up-and-running; in addition the conveyor-mounted stanchion may damage fragile packaging. Items with damaged packaging may be rejected by clients, thus potentially increasing returned stock. Furthermore, the cost of installing and maintaining such an arrangement may outweigh the potential saving from reduced labour costs, especially in markets where labour costs are relatively low.

Thus, there is a need for a relatively simple stock picking apparatus which is costeffective to install and maintain, and which is less likely to result in damage to packaging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention therefore provides a flow control device for regulating delivery of discrete solid objects, comprising a surface along which the objects can move and a regulator element moveable between a first position in which it obstructs movement of the objects from a position behind it to a position ahead of it and a second position in which it allows the movement of at least one object to a position ahead of it, wherein the movement of the regulator element is controlled by a mechanical linkage that, in at least the first position, adopts a configuration that is stable against a force applied to the regulator element towards the second position.

The terms ahead and behind relate to the general direction of flow of objects in use; objects will generally flow from a rear region of the device where they may be stored towards a front region of the device for delivery.

The mechanical linkage reduces the chance of an object being delivered inadvertently due to the weight of objects themselves moving to or holding the regulator element into the second position. Furthermore, the arrangement reduces the risk of an object being delivered as a result of tampering; for example by someone trying to press on the regulator element to deliver an object.

-3The mechanical linkage is designed to be relatively simple, so that maintenance of the linkage does not require highly-skilled personnel.

The mechanical linkage may comprise a pair of arms joined at a pivot, the distal end of a first arm being pivotally attached to the regulator element; the distal end of a second arm may be pivotally attached to a fixed point of the device.

In the first position of the regulator element, and thus a first position of the linkage, the linkage is arranged with the arms substantially aligned with each other; in other words the distal end of the first arm, the pivot, and the distal end of the second arm form substantially a straight line. This straight line is preferably substantially perpendicular to the direction that the part of regulator element to which the first arm is attached would move if the regulator element was moved from the first position to the second position.

In the second position of the regulator element, and thus a second position of the linkage, the linkage is arranged with the pivot displaced transversely to the line between the distal end of the first arm and the distal end of the second arm.

This arrangement is such that when the regulator element and linkage are in their first positions, a force applied to the regulator element towards the second position is substantially along the line of the linkage. Thus, such a force applied will not tend to urge a displacement of the pivot joining the pair of arms, and thus the regulator element will not tend to move towards the second position under such a force applied to it.

The linkage may be further provided with an actuator attached to at least one of the arms, the actuator being arranged to move the pivot joining the pair of arms transversely; i.e. substantially perpendicularly with respect to the line of the linkage when the regulator element is in the first position. The linkage may be further provided with a biasing means, such as a spring, to urge the pivot joining the pair of arms to return to a position along the line of the linkage when the regulator element is in the first position. This arrangement means that unless the linkage is being actuated, it will tend to return to or remain in the first position.

The actuator may be connected to the pivot. The actuator may be an electromechanical actuator, for example a solenoid, or a pneumatic piston arrangement. The linkage may be arranged so that the actuator draws the pivot towards the actuator to move the linkage, and thus the regulator element, from the first position to the second position.

-4The regulator element may be pivotally mounted so that, on moving from the first position to the second position, a first part located on one side of the pivot is withdrawn from an obstructing position ahead of an object and a second part located on an opposite side of the pivot is extended into an obstructing position behind an object. One object is thus allowed to move from behind the first part to ahead of it, and a subsequent object is obstructed from moving from behind the second part to behind the first part. This arrangement allows a single object to be delivered when needed.

The regulator may comprise a plate, and the first part may comprise a protuberance upstanding from the plate. The second part may comprise a protuberance oriented in a direction substantially opposed to the first part, with respect to the plate. In the first position, the plate may be substantially aligned with the surface of the device; and the first part is upstanding from the surface of the device. In the second position, the plate is angled with respect to the surface of the device; the first part is below or aligned with the surface; the second part is substantially upstanding from the surface.

The surface of the device may be inclined. This assists the flow of objects, in use, under gravity. The surface may alternatively be horizontal if used with a powered delivery system.

The device may be provided with a second regulator element, located substantially behind the regulator element. The second regulator element is moveable between a first position in which it allows movement of objects to a position ahead of it and a second position in which it obstructs movement of objects to a position ahead of it. The second regulator element comprises a protuberance. When the second regulator is in the first position, the protuberance may be aligned with or below the surface of the device; when the second regulator is in the second position, at least a portion of the protuberance may be above the surface of the device.

The regulator element and the second regulator element may be mechanically linked.

The device may be provided with a conveyor or gravity roller above the surface, in use. In such a configuration, an upper part of the regulator element is arranged to be above an upper plane of the gravity roller or conveyor when the regulator element is in the first

-5position and the upper part of the regulator is below the upper plane of the gravity roller or conveyor when in the second position.

The device may be provided with one or more sensors to monitor and record the delivery of objects. Suitable sensors include optical, pressure, vibration, magnetic, RFID, or any other suitable sensor.

The device may be provided with a controller which accepts signals from one or more sensors as well as one or more instruction signals. An instruction signal may be sent from outside the device, in response to the information of a client order. The controller may be connected to more than one device, or the controller may be connected to a further controller which in turn is connected to more than one device.

The device may be one of several similar devices forming an array of devices. Each device of such an array may store one type of stock item. Thus, a client order comprising more than one type of stock item or many of the same type of stock item may be fulfilled by the appropriate picking of stock items from the relevant device of the array.

Each device or an array of devices may further comprise a camera connected to the controller and/or further controller. The camera may be used for stock tracking. The array may further comprise means for collating picked items of stock for subsequent packing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying figures in which;

Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a device embodying the present invention, in which key components are in a first position; and

Figure 2 shows the same device, with key components in a second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

In Figures 1 and 2, a flow control device 10 has a front region A and a rear region B.

The flow control device 10 is provided with a surface 12 and a regulator element 14. The regulator element 14 has a plate 16 from which a protuberance 18 extends at substantially the front of the plate 16. At substantially the rear of the plate 16 extends a protuberance 20

-6extends in substantially the opposite direction to the protuberance 18, with respect to the plate 16. The regulator element 14 is mounted on a pivot 22. Pivotally connected to the regulator element 14 is a mechanical linkage 24.

The mechanical linkage 24 has a first arm 26 and a second arm 28, joined at a pivot

30. The distal end of the first arm 26 is pivotally attached by pivot 17 to the regulator element

14. The distal end of the second arm 28 is pivotally attached to the device 10 at a fixed point 32.

The linkage 24 is provided with an actuator 34 in the form of a solenoid, the actuator 34 is joined to the pivot 30. The linkage 24 is further provided with a spring 36 pivotally attached at one end to the second arm 28 and at the other end pivotally to a fixed point 38 of the device.

To the rear of the regulator element 14 is a second regulator element 40. Second regulator element 40 is provided with a protuberance 42 upstanding from it; second regulator element 40 is pivotally attached to the device 10, and may be mechanically linked to the regulator element 14 by a connecting rod 44, for example.

Figure 1 shows the device 10 with the regulator element 14, the linkage 24 and the second regulator element 40 in their first positions. In its first position, the pair of arms 26, 28 of the linkage 24 form a straight line C which passes through the pivots 30, 32 & 17. The line C is substantially perpendicular to the plate 16 and the surface 12, and substantially parallel to the path which the front portion of the regulator element 14 would take to move to its second position.

The regulator element 14 lies with its plate 16 substantially aligned with the surface 12 of the device 10. Protuberance 18 stands upright from the surface 12 and the plate 16. The second regulator element 40 lies with protuberance 42 substantially aligned with or below the surface 12 of the device. Protuberance 18 of regulator element 14 thus prevents any objects from moving from the rear region B of the device towards the front region A of the device. The alignment of the arms 26, 28 of the linkage 24 ensures that the regulator element 14 is stable against a force applied to the regulator element 14 applied downwards on the front portion of the regulator element 14.

-7When the actuator 34 is drawn transversely towards the rear, the pivot 30 moves away from line C. This action in turn draws the distal end of the first arm 26 downwards, thus exerting a downward force on the regulator element 14. The actuator 34 is able to rotate about a pivot 35.

When the regulator element 14 has been drawn downwards sufficiently, it reaches its second position, as shown in Figure 2.

In Figure 2 the regulator element 14 is inclined so that the protuberance 18 is aligned with or below the surface 12 and the plate 16 is inclined with respect to the surface 12. The protuberance 18 is thus no longer an obstruction to the movement towards the front region

A of an object which has previously been obstructed by the protuberance 18. Meanwhile the protuberance 20 is substantially above the surface 12, thus preventing the movement towards front region A of an object to its rear. Thus, only an object already forward of the protuberance 20 is able to move towards front region A when regulator element 14 is in the second position.

Furthermore, second regulator element 40 has moved simultaneously so that its protuberance 42 is upstanding from the surface 12 of the device, thus reinforcing the obstruction to movement towards the front region A of an object to its rear.

In this way, the device can regulate the movement of objects from its rear region B towards its front region A. The size of components - such as the regulator element 14, the second regulator element 40, protuberance 18, and protuberance 42 - can be selected according to the size of the objects whose delivery is to be regulated.

In its second position, the linkage 24 is arranged so that the spring 36 is extended, and thus it exerts a force on the arms to restore the linkage 24 to the first position. Thus, if the actuator 34 releases its force on the linkage 24, the linkage 24 will return to the first position.

It will of course be understood that many variations may be made to the abovedescribed embodiment without departing from the scope of the present invention.

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Claims

A flow control device for regulating delivery of discrete solid objects, comprising a surface along which the objects can move and a regulator element moveable between a first position in which it obstructs movement of the objects from a position behind it to a position ahead of it and a second position in which it allows the movement of at least one object to a position ahead of it, wherein the movement of the regulator element is controlled by a mechanical linkage that, in at least the first position, adopts a configuration that is stable against a force applied to the regulator element towards the second position.

A flow control device according to claim 1, wherein the mechanical linkage comprises a pair of arms joined at a pivot, the distal end of a first arm being pivotally attached to the regulator element; the distal end of a second arm may be pivotally attached to a fixed point of the device.

A flow control device according to claim
2, wherein the linkage is provided with an actuator attached to at least one of the arms, the actuator being arranged to move the pivot joining the pair of arms transversely

A flow control device according to claim
3, wherein the linkage is provided with a biasing means.

A flow control device according to claim 3 or claim
4, wherein the actuator is connected to the pivot.

A flow control device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the actuator is an electromechanical actuator.

A flow control device according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the actuator is a pneumatic actuator

A flow control device according to any preceding claim, wherein the regulator comprises a plate, the first part comprises a protuberance upstanding from the plate, and the second part comprises a protuberance oriented in a direction substantially opposed to the first part, with respect to the plate.

-99. A flow control device according to any preceding claim, comprising a second regulator element, located substantially behind the regulator element, and moveable between a first position in which it allows movement of objects to a position ahead of it and a second position in which it obstructs movement of objects to a position ahead of it.
5 10. A flow control device according to claim 8, wherein the regulator element and the second regulator element may be mechanically linked.

11. A flow control device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device is provided with one or more sensors to monitor the delivery of objects.

12. A flow control device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device is provided
10 with one or more sensors to monitor the presence of objects.
13. A flow control device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device is provided with a controller which accepts signals from one or more sensors as well as one or more instruction signals.
14. A flow control device according to claim 13, wherein the controller is connected to
15 more than one device.

15. A flow control device according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the controller is connected to a further controller which in turn is connected to more than one device.
16. An array of flow control devices, each device being in accordance with any preceding claim.
20 17. A flow control device as hereinbefore described and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

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Application No: GB1612380.4