{
  "patent_number": "US 11738949",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Overhead Robots Pick Items in a Warehouse",
  "original_title": "Order fulfillment systems and methods",
  "summary": "This patent describes a warehouse system where robots suspended from overhead rails move across tall storage racks to pick and place containers for customer orders, making order fulfillment faster.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent outlines an order fulfillment system that uses robots moving on overhead rails to manage inventory. The system includes many fixed storage units, like tall shelves or racks (Claim 2), each holding multiple containers of items (sellable unit containers). Robotic actuators, which are like robotic arms, hang from these overhead rails (Claim 1). When a customer places an order, a central control system tells a robot to go to a specific shelf, grab a container with the requested item, and move it to a designated spot for further processing (Claim 1). For orders with multiple items, different robots can work simultaneously to retrieve various containers (Claim 5). The system can also provide instructions on how to pack the individual items from these retrieved containers into a final outbound box, even suggesting an efficient loading sequence for retail store stocking (Claims 6, 7, 8).",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover systems where robots move on the floor to retrieve storage units. The robots are \"suspended from the respective overhead rail\" (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover systems where the storage units themselves are mobile and move to a picking station. The patent specifies \"static storage units\" (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover robots that pick individual items directly from shelves. The robots \"couple with a first sellable unit container\" (Claim 1).",
    "Does not cover manual picking processes where humans retrieve items from shelves. The system relies on \"robotic actuators\" (Claim 1)."
  ],
  "filed": "2022-01-11",
  "granted": "2023-08-29",
  "expires": "2042-01-11",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Target Brands",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/target-brands",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Gregory Lisso",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/gregory-lisso"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software",
    "ecommerce",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "Warehouse automation and methods of controlling material flow can be used to streamline order fulfillment processes. For example, according to some embodiments described herein, the inventory capacity of a mobile robot field is enhanced by vertically expanding the storage space that is readily accessible by mobile robots that facilitate an order sortation process. In result, the handling of inventoried items is reduced, and the efficiency of order fulfillment processes is increased.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11738949/order-fulfillment-systems-and-methods",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11738949/order-fulfillment-systems-and-methods/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11738949",
  "relatedPatents": [
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      "countryCode": "US",
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    },
    {
      "patentNumber": "12077385",
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    {
      "patentNumber": "20190084152",
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      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/20190084152/robotic-gripping-device-system-and-method"
    }
  ]
}