{
  "patent_number": "US 11767169",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Warehouses Plan Pallet Stacks for Incoming Shipments",
  "original_title": "Warehousing systems and methods",
  "summary": "This patent describes an automated warehouse system that plans how to stack incoming items onto pallets to perfectly fit available storage racks, and automatically sorts out incorrect items.",
  "what_it_does": "This system automates how warehouses handle incoming shipments. It uses an automated conveyance system, which includes a main conveyor, multiple branch conveyors, and a reject conveyor, to move items. An automated scanning system checks items as they move. A control system, acting like the brain, receives information about future shipments, including item types (like an SKU or barcode), quantities, and sizes. Crucially, it also knows the target heights for pallet loads, which are determined by the available warehouse rack storage spaces. Before the shipment even arrives, the control system uses all this information to create a detailed plan for assembling the pallet loads. If the scanning system identifies items that are not part of the expected shipment, the control system directs the conveyance system to move these \"rejected items\" to a dedicated reject conveyor.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover manual sorting of items onto pallets without automated guidance or pre-planning.",
    "Does not cover general warehouse storage optimization beyond planning pallet build heights to fit specific rack spaces.",
    "Does not cover systems that only sort items without also pre-planning the assembly of pallet loads based on future rack availability.",
    "Does not cover planning for outgoing shipments or order fulfillment processes, focusing specifically on incoming goods.",
    "Does not cover systems that determine pallet assembly plans only after the entire shipment has arrived and been physically processed.",
    "Does not cover the use of robots or automated guided vehicles for the physical stacking of items onto pallets, only the planning and instruction delivery."
  ],
  "filed": "2020-10-29",
  "granted": "2023-09-26",
  "expires": "2040-10-29",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Target Brands",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/target-brands",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Adam Keyser",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/adam-keyser"
    },
    {
      "name": "Brian Ericson",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/brian-ericson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ashley Crowe",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/ashley-crowe"
    },
    {
      "name": "Matthew Anderson",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/matthew-anderson"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 1,
  "tags": [
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software",
    "telecommunications",
    "mechanical",
    "ecommerce"
  ],
  "abstract": "Warehouse automation and methods of controlling material flow can be used to enhance the efficiencies of warehouse operations. For example, automation systems and methods can be used to efficiently optimize the storage density of items in warehouses. In some examples, warehouse workers are automatically provided with instructions for how to assemble pallet loads of incoming items to a height that is determined based on the goal of fully utilizing open warehouse storage rack spaces. In some examples, a plan for optimizing the build-height of pallet loads of an incoming shipment is determined in advance of receiving the shipment.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11767169/warehousing-systems-and-methods",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11767169/warehousing-systems-and-methods/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11767169",
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}