Motorized carts for picking and staging packages and doubling up capacity by motorized stacking

1 . An inventory system comprising a pickup area and a staging area, the inventory system comprising:

a plurality of inventory holders located in the pickup area, each inventory holder comprising a plurality of items;

a motorized cart system for receiving one or more picked up items of the plurality of items and staging the one or more picked-up items at a specified location within the staging area, the motorized cart system comprising:

a cart frame comprising:

a base;

a handle with a joystick to provide a drive input; and

a plurality of shelves for receiving the one or more picked up items, the plurality of shelves comprising a stationary shelf and a movable shelf, the movable shelf being movably stackable on top of the stationary shelf;

an object detection sensor disposed on the movable shelf and configured to detect a presence of an object between the stationary shelf and the movable shelf;

a motorized wheel coupled to the base and configured to propel the cart frame over a surface based on the drive input from the joystick; and

a height adjustment assembly comprising:

a lift coupled to the movable shelf and configured to control movement of the movable shelf along a vertical direction, the lift being configured to lower the movable shelf to a first height configured for loading a first set of items of the plurality of items onto the movable shelf, and to raise the movable shelf to a second height above the first height in the vertical direction to facilitate loading of a second set of items onto the stationary shelf beneath the movable shelf; and

a lock configured to secure the movable shelf at a specified height; and

a cart controller configured to receive the drive input from the joystick and a height input associated with the movable shelf, and control the motorized wheel and the lift based on the drive input, the height input, and sensor data from the object detection sensor, respectively.

2 . The inventory system of claim 1 , wherein the handle comprises a motion controller configured to drive the motorized wheel in a forward or a reverse direction, and a grip to steer the cart frame in a desired direction.

3 . The inventory system of claim 1 , wherein the lift comprises at least one of: a lead screw, a hydraulically or pneumatically actuated rod, a chain and sprocket, or belt and pulley system coupled to a guide rail.

4 . The inventory system of claim 1 , wherein the lock comprises a set of retractable pins, and the lift comprises holes corresponding to each of the retractable pins to secure the movable shelf.

5 . The inventory system of claim 1 , wherein the motorized cart system further comprises a display configured to display details of the first set of items and the second set of items supported by the cart frame and/or a location identifier of the staging area.

6 . The inventory system of claim 1 , wherein the lift is configured to maintain the movable shelf in a planar position while loading the second set of items or translating the movable shelf along the vertical direction, and wherein the movable shelf further comprises a guard extending around a circumference of the movable shelf to avoid items from falls off the movable shelf when in motion.

7 . A motorized cart system comprising:

a cart frame comprising:

a base;

a handle to control movement of the cart frame; and

a plurality of shelves comprising a stationary shelf and a movable shelf disposed above the stationary shelf, the movable shelf being moveable in a path of travel vertically overhead of the stationary shelf to change a volume between the movable shelf and the stationary shelf such that items are stackable over each other within the volume and supported by the stationary shelf;

an object detection sensor disposed on the movable shelf and configured to detect a presence of an object between the stationary shelf and the movable shelf;

a height adjustment assembly comprising a height adjustor configured to lower or raise the movable shelf in a vertical direction to an ergonomic height for loading the items and a storage height to store the items while creating sufficient volume below the movable shelf loading the items on the stationary shelf; and

a cart controller configured to receive a height input associated with the movable shelf, and control the height adjustor based on the height input and sensor data from the object detection sensor.

8 . The motorized cart system of claim 7 , wherein the cart frame further comprises a motorized wheel coupled to the base and configured to propel the cart frame over a surface, the motorized wheel being powered by a battery.

9 . The motorized cart system of claim 8 , further comprising a battery bypass switch to bypass motorized operation of the motorized wheel and enable only manually driving of the cart frame.

10 . The motorized cart system of claim 8 , wherein the handle comprises a motion controller configured to receive a drive input to control the motorized wheel, and a grip to steer the cart frame in a desired direction.

11 . The motorized cart system of claim 7 , wherein the height adjustor comprises at least one of: a motor driven lead screw, a hydraulically or pneumatically driven extendible rod, a chain and sprocket driven by a motor, or a motorized belt and pulley system coupled to a guide rail.

12 . The motorized cart system of claim 7 , wherein the height adjustor is configured to move the movable shelf in a planar manner to a first height to load a first set of items on the movable shelf, and raise the movable shelf in the planar manner to a second height for loading a second set of items on the stationary shelf, wherein the second set of items are stackable over each other.

13 . The motorized cart system of claim 7 , wherein the motorized cart system further comprises a display configured to display details of the items on the cart frame and/or a location identifier of a staging area.

14 . The motorized cart system of claim 7 , further comprising: one or more object detection sensors to detect obstacles around the cart frame, wherein the cart controller is configured to control a motorized wheel to avoid collision with the detected obstacles.

15 . The motorized cart system of claim 7 , further comprising: a second movable shelf vertically stacked over the movable shelf, the second movable shelf coupled to the height adjustor and movable relative to the movable shelf.

16 . A method of picking and staging items in an inventory system using a cart system comprising a cart frame with a stationary shelf, a movable shelf vertically movable over the stationary shelf, an object detection sensor disposed on the movable shelf and configured to detect a presence of an object between the stationary shelf and the movable shelf; and a height adjustment assembly, the method comprising:

detecting, via a cart controller using sensor data from the object detection sensor, whether an object is present between the movable shelf and the stationary shelf;

responsive to absence of the object, lowering, via the height adjustment assembly of the cart system, the movable shelf of the cart system to a first height to load a first set of items on the movable shelf, the first height corresponding to an ergonomic loading position for an operator;

vertically raising, via the height adjustment assembly of the cart system, the movable shelf to a second height, the second height being at or above a shoulder of the operator, the movable shelf at the second height providing an upper bound of a volume also bound by the stationary shelf;

receiving a second set of items on the stationary shelf and within the volume; and

controlling, via a motion controller on a handle of the cart frame, a motorized wheel of the cart system to route the cart frame to a staging area of the inventory system with the first set of items on the movable shelf and with the second set of items on the stationary shelf.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein lowering or raising of the movable shelf comprises:

receiving, via a height adjustor of the cart system, the first height or the second height.

18 . The method of claim 16 , wherein controlling the motorized wheel comprises:

receiving a forward or a reverse drive command via the motion controller; and

directing, via pulling or pushing on the handle of the cart frame, to a desired direction while inputting the forward or reverse drive command.

19 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

displaying, via a display on the cart frame, details of the first set of items and the second set of items on the movable shelf and the stationary shelf, respectively; and

displaying, via the display, a staging location of the cart frame.

20 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

detecting, via an object detection sensor, presence of an object between the stationary shelf and the movable shelf; and

stopping, via a height controller, motion of the movable shelf.