Illumination – Light fiber – rod – or pipe – Illuminating or display apparatus
Reexamination Certificate
2002-02-15
2003-12-16
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light fiber, rod, or pipe
Illuminating or display apparatus
C362S133000, C362S253000, C362S551000, C362S576000, C340S815420, C340S686200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06663273
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a storage and retrieval system and, more particularly, by way of example, a horizontal carousel system which includes a light source with lights arranged in an array configured according to a particular requirement of the carousel system, and light transmission components that transfer the light source, which can be stationary or movable, from a common point to a visible point on an access face of at least one movable carrier directly associated with a storage position.
Conventional horizontal carousel systems include one or more rotating carousels with carriers and shelves. A column of vertically disposed indicator lights (collectively known as a light tower) is typically positioned to one side of the carousel adjacent to a carrier selectively driven to the access position. When the carousel is rotated, thereby bringing a particular carrier to the operator's access point, one of several shelf height indicator lights on the adjacent light tower is illuminated. However, the illuminated light of this tower is typically located at a distance from the actual item, its possible storage container (tote box) and from the shelf of the selected carrier.
The light tower's indicator device also typically displays a “position” reference (e.g., “03”) which indicates that the operator should count over to, say, the third tote box for the location of the desired item on the shelf of the selected carrier. This arrangement has the disadvantage of having a relatively large distance from the illuminated light on the tower obscuring the relationship between the light and the associated item; shelf position, and potentially causing misdirected picking operations and increased picking times, particularly when the vertical spacing of the shelves is small.
In addition, the conventional light tower indicator devices, are relatively expensive pieces of equipment, particularly where a position reference is employed to direct the operator to the tote which has the desired item for access.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved indicator system for storing and retrieving items in horizontal carousels and other automated devices which overcomes the disadvantages encountered with prior art electronic pick indicator systems in a simple and cost-effective manner.
This object has been achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing a common light source array created by LEDs, incandescent bulbs, lasers, etc. inside the storage device's rotating or movable carrier loop, at the picking or storage access area behind a selected carrier and associated storage shelves, such that, when the selected carrier is at the access position, the light is transmitted from the common light source to the face of the picking or storing location in relative proximity to the actual compartment's position.
According to another important aspect of the present invention, an array of lights can be configured to a storage system's particular usage requirements. That is, more or less lights can be employed depending upon the product or box sizes, the number of positions on the shelves, the different number of shelves on the carriers, and the desired operation of the equipment. A significant advantage of the present invention is its flexibility at minimum constructional cost.
In accordance with one currently contemplated embodiment of the present invention, a common light source is not required on each moving carrier but only at a designated picking area behind the stored items. This has the advantage of minimizing the cost of the light source inasmuch as only one light source is required for each picking station on each carousel, potentially serving all carriers within the machine rather than requiring one for each rotating carrier.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the light source is behind the carrier as well as behind the supply of stored items and/or containers. Thus, the light source is hidden from an operator's view by carriers, totes or stored items so as to be able to direct the operator to the precise location where picking is to take place without any thought on the operator's part. The present invention contemplates the use of light transmission devices such as light pipes at each position of the carrier shelf where needed or desired to transfer the light from the hidden or blocked stationary light source behind the carrier to a point or points on the face of the storage shelf where an operator's attention would be quickly gained to grant immediate recognition of the tote or tray from which one or more of the items are to be picked.
The present invention is based on a recognition that the light transmission devices are a simple and inexpensive medium to move the light from a point behind the carrier to the face of the carrier where, for example, light pipe tips indicate the picking positions, typically at locations below the storage containers or tote boxes or below the actual items or parts.
An advantage of a light pipe system is that it serves as a medium to move the common light source from a relatively stationary position behind the carrier to the actual item's position.
It is further contemplated that light pipes can be installed on each carrier shelf in patterns dictated by the type of storage required. In other words, more or less light pipes can be used at each shelf level depending upon the sizes and/or quantities of the stored items on that shelf.
Another advantage of the present invention when used with conventional horizontal carousels is that the carousel typically positions the operator access point in the end radius of the machine where it may be difficult to have a straight path between the light source and the indicator point without creating interference with the rotating components of the machine, particularly near the outside edges of the shelf. The present invention overcomes this disadvantage by light pipes which can be bent or formed or otherwise configured to transfer the light from a centralized position on or in the machine to the shelf position itself. It also allows the lights to be employed on systems where the operator access point is from the side of the carrier, rather than the face, by bending the light pipe approximately 90 degrees.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the operator can now have an indication of the exact left-right position for the selected item, as well as of the transaction quantity. The tips of the light pipes can, if desired, be labeled with quantity indicators such as “1” or “2” so that the operator also has the transaction quantity directly at the point of access for storing or picking. Quantities that are not included in the “typical” tip would be shown via a non-labeled light pipe tip so as to cause the operator to refer to a common quantity display adjacent (above, below or to the side) to the picking/storage area. It is also contemplated that the tip could “blink out” a pattern for accessing small quantities of items, for example, two blinks followed by a pause which could indicate a transaction (store or retrieve) quantity of two.
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Connors et al., U.S. Publication US 2002/0147597 A1, Oct. 10, 2002.*
Remstar Pick-Light Technology, Remstar International Inc., Aug. 1998, 2 pages.
Horizontal Carousels Catalog, Remstar International Inc., no date, 6 pages.
Bellheimer Metallwerk GmbH
Crowell & Moring LLP
O'Shea Sandra
Payne Sharon
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