RANDOM-ACCESS ROBOTIC INVENTORY DISPENSARY

摘要

The present application is directed to a robotic system for maintaining product inventory and dispensing products upon request from a customer or other user. Product items are stored in an inventory storage unit (ISU), one item per bin. Controller logic allows items to be stored in, and retrieved from, arbitrarily-assigned storage locations. The bins hang on rails within drawers. Upon a request from a consumer (or other user) in a fulfillment operation, the robot retrieves a bin holding the first item from the ISU. Upon a request from an operator (or other user) in a replenishment operation, the robot transfers an empty bin to an operator station (such as a replenishing unit). The controller logic allows the fulfillment operations to be prioritized over the replenishment operations, in addition to the implementation of other prioritizations.