US3595412A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method of controlling a material storage & retrieval means in a warehouse system
Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corp
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Filing: 1968-02-19
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Granted: 1971-07-27
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Expires: 1988-02-19
Abstract
Abstract An automatic large-scale warehousing system including a warehouse with a large number (8,100) of bins (B) arrayed in aisles AS for storing enough products (17,000) to service a complex of manufacturing plants (26 automobile assembly plants). A crane CR is associated with each aisle and is actuable to store or retrieve the material in the different bins B. A Computer (FIG. 6) is associated with this system of bins and part of the memory core (Inventory Core) of the computer carries an inventory of the storage; that is, an identification of each bin and the material stored in this bin. The core of the Computer is also programmed so that in response to selective commands on punchcards, the cranes are automatically actuated either to store material in open bins, identified in the Computer as open, or to retrieve material from the bins where they are stored. The Inventory Core of the Computer is automatically changed to record each storage and each retrieval. The Inventory Core of the Computer has facilities for storing the condition of each bin (8,100) and can store data identifying the bin position of any of the (17,000) products. The complete warehousing is carried out by the cooperation of the Computer and the bin system and not by operation of wired logic associated with different sets of bins.
Inventors
- 👤 Raymond L Billingsley
- 👤 Ralph L Howard
- 👤 Donald H Noreen
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 05:47
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65G; B65G1/00; B65G1/02; B65G1/04; B65G1/137; B65G1/1371
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
420 words
The method of storing and retrieving widely different materials in a warehouse, having a plurality of bins, and storing means for storing and retrieving said materials in and from said bins, with apparatus including control computer means for controlling the movement and operation of said storing means, said computer means having a memory, said memory including inventory words for storing an inventory of the materials stored in said warehouse, and also including programming words for programming the storage of material in, or the retrieval of material from, said warehouse, said programming words including monitoring-word means for monitoring the storing of material in, or the retrieval of material from, said warehouse and a Diagnostic Program for receiving a report of a malfunction of a storage operation of said storing means and/or said warehouse, the said apparatus also including printing means actuable by said Diagnostic Program for indicating the malfunction and the location of the malfunctioning storing means, and/or the location of the malfunction in the warehouse, said computer means including input and output electrical terminals and being mechanically isolated from the mechanical functioning of said storing means but being electrically connected to said storing means through said input and output control terminals, the said method comprising storing in said inventory words of said memory a storage inventory consisting of a separate item of data for each of said bins, said item identifying the material, if any, stored in said last-named bin, or indicating that said last-named bin is empty, and also identifying the address of each bin, automatically generating a mechanical operation to cause, selected material to be retrieved from a bin where it is stored or to cause material to be stored in an empty bin, responsive to a selective command impressed on the programming words of said computer means, also responsive to said command causing the monitoring-word means of said computer means to monitor the carrying out of said operation to provide intelligence of its completion, if it is satisfactorily completed, or, in the event of a malfunction of the operation of said storing means and/or warehouse, to bid said Diagnostic Program as to said malfunction and to actuate said printing means for printing the malfunction and location of the malfunction storing means and/or the location of the malfunction in the warehouse, whereby said selected material is ultimately stored or material is retrieved or said Diagnostic Program is bid, and after such retrieval or storage, if any, updating the data in said memory to record said retrieval or storage.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
420 words
The method of storing and retrieving widely different materials in a warehouse, having a plurality of bins, and storing means for storing and retrieving said materials in and from said bins, with apparatus including control computer means for controlling the movement and operation of said storing means, said computer means having a memory, said memory including inventory words for storing an inventory of the materials stored in said warehouse, and also including programming words for programming the storage of material in, or the retrieval of material from, said warehouse, said programming words including monitoring-word means for monitoring the storing of material in, or the retrieval of material from, said warehouse and a Diagnostic Program for receiving a report of a malfunction of a storage operation of said storing means and/or said warehouse, the said apparatus also including printing means actuable by said Diagnostic Program for indicating the malfunction and the location of the malfunctioning storing means, and/or the location of the malfunction in the warehouse, said computer means including input and output electrical terminals and being mechanically isolated from the mechanical functioning of said storing means but being electrically connected to said storing means through said input and output control terminals, the said method comprising storing in said inventory words of said memory a storage inventory consisting of a separate item of data for each of said bins, said item identifying the material, if any, stored in said last-named bin, or indicating that said last-named bin is empty, and also identifying the address of each bin, automatically generating a mechanical operation to cause, selected material to be retrieved from a bin where it is stored or to cause material to be stored in an empty bin, responsive to a selective command impressed on the programming words of said computer means, also responsive to said command causing the monitoring-word means of said computer means to monitor the carrying out of said operation to provide intelligence of its completion, if it is satisfactorily completed, or, in the event of a malfunction of the operation of said storing means and/or warehouse, to bid said Diagnostic Program as to said malfunction and to actuate said printing means for printing the malfunction and location of the malfunction storing means and/or the location of the malfunction in the warehouse, whereby said selected material is ultimately stored or material is retrieved or said Diagnostic Program is bid, and after such retrieval or storage, if any, updating the data in said memory to record said retrieval or storage.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the apparatus includes a record and record impressing means and the programming words cause the impressing by the recording means on the record a recording of each retrieval and/or storage.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
75 words
The method of claim 2 wherein the apparatus includes a record-to-card converter for deriving punchcards from the record and also includes retrieve-card-reading means and wherein the programming words include words responsive to the reading of the cards, and wherein the said method includes the step of selectively automatically carrying out a retrieval operation, responsive to the command on a card, by the said programming words which are responsive to the reading of said last-named card.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
113 words
The method of claim 3 wherein the programming words include a Retrieve-Schedule Program and a Retrieve-Schedule Buffer and the data on a predetermined number of punchcards are continuously transferred by the programming words from said Retrieve-Schedule Program to, and maintained in, said Retrieve-Schedule Buffer and the programming words include a Retrieve-Transfer Program, and wherein the said method includes the steps of transferring said data in said Buffer, on each of said predetermined number of cards in its turn, into retrieval-causing relationship with selected bins, by operation of said Retrieve-Transfer Program, and replacing the data on each card that has caused a retrieval by data from a new card derived from said Retrieve-Schedule Program.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 4 wherein the apparatus includes means, responsive to the Diagnostic Program, for disabling the storing means on the occurrence of a malfunction of any storing means, the said method including the step of purging the data corresponding to the disabled storing means from the Retrieve-Schedule Buffer.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
151 words
The method of claim 3 wherein the programming words include a Retrieve-Schedule Program and a Retrieve-Schedule Buffer and a Search Program and wherein the method includes the steps of continuously transferring the data on a first predetermined number of punchcards from the Retrieve-Schedule Program to, and maintaining said data in, said Retrieve-Schedule Buffer, maintaining the data on a second predetermined number of different punchcards in said Search Program, periodically scanning the said data in said table by said Search Program, responsive to the data on certain of said last-named cards, causing the programming words of the computer means automatically to cause retrieval of selected material from the bins as identified by the data on each of said last-named cards, and after data corresponding to a card of said last-named causes selected material to be retrieved, replacing said last-named data in said Search Program by data from another card in said Buffer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
70 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the bins are disposed in sets and the storing means includes a crane associated with each set and wherein, by operation of the programming words of the computer, the cranes are moved to carry out a storage or retrieval operation in a minimum of time by varying the speed of movement of each crane during such operation and by selective control of the cranes.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
123 words
The method of claim 7 wherein each crane has a home position near a region in which material is deposited for storage or material is removed after retrieval, the said method including the steps of maintaining said last-named crane set away from said home position, near a bin in which a first storage operation has been carried out after said crane is actuated by the programming words of the computer means to perform said first storage operation, in a bin displaced less than a predetermined number of bins from said home position, and, responsive to a succeeding command of the programming words of the computer means to carry out a second storage operation, causing said crane to carry out said second storage operation.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 8 wherein, on receipt both of a storage command and a retrieval command within a short interval of time, the crane away from the home position is actuated by the programming words of the computer means to carry out the retrieval command prior to the storage command.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
80 words
The method of claim 7 wherein each crane has a home position near a region where material is deposited for storage or material is removed after retrieval, the said method including the step of returning, by operation of the programming words of the computer means, a crane to a position displaced a predetermined number of bins from said home position when, after said storage operation, said crane is displaced more than said predetermined number of bins from its home position.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
134 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the apparatus includes a record and recording means and the computer means has programming words for causing said recording means to impress intelligence on said record, and wherein the intelligence of each automatiC storage or retrieval operation is impressed by operation of the recording means on said record categorically in correspondence with the location of materials in the bins, the said method including the novelty that the intelligence of material to be deposited in a bin is recorded as in the bin only after the said material has been deposited in said bin, and the record of material retrieved from a bin is recorded as out of said last-named bin as soon as it is actually removed from the bin and when it is adjacent said last-named bin.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
77 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the computer means includes words for carrying out timing the said method including the novelty that the monitoring words of the computer means monitors a storing or retrieval operation, by causing the timing words to time out a time interval during which said operation is to be completed, and, on the elapse of said time interval without completion of said operation, bids the Diagnostic Program of the occurrence of a maloperation.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the storing means carries out a storage or a retrieval operation by going through a series of mechanical operational steps and wherein the monitoring words of the computer means is caused to monitor each successive step of the storage or retrieval operation in its turn and wherein on occurrence of a maloperation in any step the Diagnostic Program is bid.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of claim 13 wherein the computer means includes words for carrying out timing and monitoring-word means of the computer means causes the timing words to time out a time interval for each step and on the timing out of said interval before completion of said last-named step the Diagnostic Program is bid.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1974-07-26 | 1975-01-25 | 1975-07-27 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1978-07-26 | 1979-01-25 | 1979-07-27 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1982-07-26 | 1983-01-25 | 1983-07-27 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |