{
  "patent_number": "US 11107174",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How a Robot System Finds and Picks Specific Items from Mixed Storage",
  "original_title": "Autonomous picking from mixed pallets",
  "summary": "Target's patent describes a robotic system that travels through a warehouse to find a specific item on a shelf with many different products, temporarily holding other items it picks up by mistake before returning them.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes an \"order picking system\" that uses a moving \"vehicle\" (which could be a human-operated forklift or an automated robot, according to claims 2 and 3) to carry a \"mobile articulating robot\" (a robot arm) and its tools. The robot has an \"end effector\" (a gripper or suction cup) to grab items. It also carries an \"item type identification system\" (like a barcode scanner, RFID reader, or camera, per claims 4-6) to figure out what each item is. Crucially, the system includes \"mobile temporary storage\" and a \"designated area\" for items it successfully picks. When instructed to find a specific item from a shelf with many different products (a \"mixed inventory storage location\"), the system travels there, picks an item, identifies it, and if it's not the right one, puts it in the temporary storage (claim 1, step v). It continues picking and identifying until it finds the correct item, which it places in the designated area (claim 1, step viii). Then, it returns any temporarily stored items back to their original spot (claim 1, step ix) before moving on. For example, if it needs a specific brand of cereal from a pallet of mixed groceries, it might pick up a box of pasta, put it aside temporarily, then pick up the cereal, keep it, and finally put the pasta back where it found it.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover systems where the robot does not return the temporarily stored item to its original location.",
    "Does not cover systems that only pick items from storage locations containing only one type of item.",
    "Does not cover systems where the item identification system is not mobile with the robot and vehicle.",
    "Does not cover systems where the temporary storage is not mobile with the robot and vehicle.",
    "Does not cover human workers picking items, even if they use a vehicle, as the claims specify a 'mobile articulating robot' for picking."
  ],
  "filed": "2019-06-12",
  "granted": "2021-08-31",
  "expires": "2039-06-12",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Target Brands",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/target-brands",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Gregory Lisso",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/gregory-lisso"
    },
    {
      "name": "Gervasio Mutarelli",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/gervasio-mutarelli"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "robotics",
    "supply_chain",
    "ecommerce",
    "retail",
    "automation",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "Robotic systems can autonomously pick a particular desired item from a mixed inventory storage location that includes multiple differing types of items. The autonomous robotic system can thereby facilitate order fulfillment and inventory management processes in an efficient manner. In particular, the systems and methods described herein can greatly reduce the amount of time required for a human worker to pick orders. The systems described take over many of the tasks related to picking items. Accordingly, the efficiency of order picking processes, as measured by the number of line items picked per human labor hour for example, is greatly enhanced.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11107174/autonomous-picking-from-mixed-pallets",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11107174/autonomous-picking-from-mixed-pallets/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11107174",
  "relatedPatents": []
}