# How Warehouses Plan Pallet Stacks for Incoming Shipments > 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. - **Patent:** US 11767169 - **Original title:** Warehousing systems and methods - **Owner:** Target Brands - **Granted:** 2023 - **Status:** Active - **Times cited:** 1 - **Field:** consumer_electronics, software, telecommunications, mechanical, ecommerce ## 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. ## The clever bit The truly clever part is the system's ability to plan the exact build-height of pallet loads for incoming items *before* they even arrive. This pre-planning uses information about available warehouse rack space, ensuring that every pallet is built to maximize storage density and minimize wasted space, while also automatically rejecting unexpected items. ## Real-world examples 1. Target distribution centers 2. Amazon fulfillment centers 3. Walmart warehouses 4. Automated logistics hubs 5. Large-scale retail supply chain operations ## Why it matters This technology helps large warehouses, especially those of major retailers, become much more efficient. By planning pallet loads in advance and optimizing their height to perfectly fit storage racks, it maximizes storage space and speeds up the process of receiving goods. This reduces operational costs and ensures products can be quickly moved from delivery trucks to store shelves or customer fulfillment centers. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does How Warehouses Plan Pallet Stacks for Incoming Shipments cover? 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. ### Who owns patent US 11767169? Target Brands owns this patent, granted in 2023. ### When does this patent expire? This patent is expected to expire on October 29, 2040, when the invention enters the public domain. ### What is patent US 11767169 cited by? This patent has been cited by 1 later patents that build on its ideas. ### What problem does this patent solve? This technology helps large warehouses, especially those of major retailers, become much more efficient. By planning pallet loads in advance and optimizing their height to perfectly fit storage racks, it maximizes storage space and speeds up the process of receiving goods. This reduces operational costs and ensures products can be quickly moved from delivery trucks to store shelves or customer fulfillment centers. ### What does this patent NOT cover? Does not cover manual sorting of items onto pallets without automated guidance or pre-planning. **Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11767169/warehousing-systems-and-methods **Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US11767169 --- _Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._ ## Related patents Semantically similar inventions in the PatentBrief corpus: - [How Robots and Mobile Shelves Fulfill Orders in Warehouses](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/10947045/warehousing-and-order-fulfillment-systems-and-methods) — Target's patent describes an automated warehouse system where mobile robots bring shelves and shipping containers to a central robot that picks items directly into orders, all without human hands. - [How Warehouses Sort Items with Magnetic Levitation Shuttles](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12077385/systems-and-methods-for-high-speed-warehouse-order-sortation) — This patent describes a warehouse system that uses magnetic levitation shuttles to quickly sort individual items for customer orders, guided by a control system that directs shuttles based on item type and order needs. - [Automated System for Emptying and Sorting Items from Shipping Containers](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11648589/systems-and-methods-to-enhance-the-utilization-of-order-sortation-systems) — This patent describes an automated system for quickly emptying items from shipping containers, like totes, by inverting them onto a conveyor belt for scanning and sorting into customer orders. - [How Amazon Optimizes Where to Store Products to Avoid Stockouts](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/8732039/amazon-subscribe-save) — A mathematical method for deciding how many items to stock in different warehouses to minimize the cost of running out of products. - [How Amazon Tracks Warehouse Workers' Hands Using Radio Waves](https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9881277/amazon-robotics-kiva-systems) — A system that uses radio frequency signals to track the exact 3D position of a warehouse worker's hand to ensure they pick or place items in the correct bins.