IP Library Granted Patent US 9,926,136
Granted Patent B2
US 9,926,136 · App. 15/472,963 · Granted Mar 27, 2018

Article management system and transport robot

Inventor: Kazunori Yamada (Aichi, JP)
Assignee: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA
B65G1/0492B25J5/007B25J9/0003B25J11/0005B25J11/008B25J19/023
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,926,136
App. No.
15/472,963
Granted
Mar 27, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

An article management system includes a transport robot that transports an article and a rack robot that stores the article. The transport robot includes an input that receives a transport request that includes a request to transport the article to the rack robot, a first circuit that transmits the transport request to the rack robot and a movement mechanism that causes the transport robot to move toward the rack robot. The rack robot includes a second circuit that receives the transport request from the first circuit, a conveyor that receives the article based on the transport request from the transport robot and moves the article to a storage location, and a port where the article is transferred to the transport robot. The conveyor moves the article between one of a plurality of racks and the port.

Claims (15)

1. An article management system, comprising:

a transport robot that transports an article; and

a rack robot that stores the article,

wherein the transport robot includes:

an input that receives a transport request from a user, the transport request including a request to transport the article handed by the user to the rack robot;

a first communication circuit that transmits the transport request to the rack robot; and

a movement that causes the transport robot to move toward the rack robot,

wherein the rack robot includes:

a second communication circuit that receives the transport request transmitted from the first communication circuit;

a conveyor that receives the article based on the transport request from the transport robot and moves the article to a predetermined storage location; and

a plurality of racks, within which the predetermined storage location is located, at least one of the plurality of the racks having a structure that allows a transporting entity to take the article in and out,

wherein the conveyor moves the article to the at least one of the plurality of the racks, when a frequency of the transport request related to the article is lower than a predetermined frequency, and

the second communication circuit transmits, to a server of the transporting entity, a delivery request for delivering the article to an external facility.

2. The article management system according to claim 1 ,

wherein the movement comprises wheels and a motor.

Priority Claims (1)
JP 2014-225432 · Nov 5, 2014 · national
Continuity (3)
Continuation 14660069 · Mar 17, 2015
Provisional Application 61972537 · Mar 31, 2014
Related Publication 20170197788A1 · Jul 13, 2017