Granted Patent B2

US 12,415,676 · App. 18/635,299 · Granted Sep 16, 2025

Inventors: Christian Ahammer (Gunskirchen, AT); Christoph Haslehner (Prambachkirchen, AT); Harald Schroepf (Wels, AT)

Assignee: TGW Logistics GmbH

B65G1/0485B65G1/1378

Abstract

Claims (215)

1. A method for order-picking articles from source loading aids into or onto target loading aids in a storage and order-picking system, comprising the steps:

a) provisioning the articles in or on source loading aids in a storage zone;

b) acquiring orders for order-picking articles and determining the articles required for these orders, wherein at least one order of the orders comprises multiple order lines and wherein each order line specifies at least one article according to its type of article and its number of pieces to be order-picked;

c) ascertaining the classification of the articles required for the processing of said order in groups of types of article, each of which comprises multiple types of article, wherein a first group of types of article contains types of article which can be handled automatically and a second group of types of article contains types of article which cannot, or only to a limited extent, be handled automatically but can be handled manually;

d) determining a first order part, whose at least one article belongs to the first group of types of article and can accordingly be handled automatically, and a second order part, whose at least one article belongs to the second group of types of article and can accordingly not, or only to a limited extent, be handled automatically but can be handled manually;

e) retrieving a first source loading aid with the at least one article of the first order part from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, transporting the first source loading aid to a first automatic order-picking station, provisioning the first source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station and removing automatically the at least one article of the first order part from the first source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station;

f) retrieving a second source loading aid with the at least one article of the second order part from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, transporting the second source loading aid to a first manual order-picking station, provisioning the second source loading aid at the first manual order-picking station and removing manually the at least one article of the second order part from the second source loading aid at the first manual order-picking station; and

g) discharging the at least one article of the first order part and the at least one article of the second order part into or onto a target loading aid.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the at least one article of the first order part, in the step g), is loaded automatically into or onto a first target loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station, the first target loading aid loaded with the at least one article of the first order part is transported to the first manual order-picking station and the at least one article of the second order part is additionally loaded manually into the first target loading aid at the first manual order-picking station.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the at least one article of the second order part, in the step g), is loaded manually into or onto a first target loading aid at the first manual order-picking station, the first target loading aid loaded with the at least one article of the second order part is transported to the first automatic order-picking station and the at least one article of the first order part is additionally loaded automatically into the first target loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the at least one article of the first order part, in the step g), is loaded automatically into or onto a first target loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station, the at least one article of the second order part is loaded manually into or onto a second target loading aid at the first manual order-picking station, the first target loading aid loaded with the at least one article of the first order part and the second target loading aid loaded with the at least one article of the second order part are transported either to a second automatic order-picking station or to a second manual order-picking station; and

i) the at least one article of the second order part is loaded automatically/manually into the first target loading aid at the second automatic/manual order-picking station; or

ii) the at least one article of the first order part is loaded automatically/manually into the second target loading aid at the second automatic/manual order-picking station.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein

in the case i), all articles of the second order part loaded in or on the second target loading aid are discharged automatically and all at once into or onto the first target loading aid at the second automatic order-picking station; or

in the case ii), all articles of the first order part loaded in or on the first target loading aid are discharged automatically and all at once into or onto the second target loading aid at the second automatic order-picking station.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the at least one article of the first order part, in the step g), is loaded automatically into or onto a first target loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station, the at least one article of the second order part is loaded manually into or onto a second target loading aid at the first manual order-picking station, the first target loading aid loaded with the at least one article of the first order part and the second target loading aid loaded with the at least one article of the second order part are transported either to a second automatic order-picking station or to a second manual order-picking station and the at least one article of the first order part as well as the at least one article of the second order part are loaded automatically/manually into or onto a third target loading aid at the second automatic/manual order-picking station.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein

all articles of the second order part loaded in or on the second target loading aid are discharged automatically and all at once into or onto the third target loading aid at the second automatic order-picking station; and/or

all articles of the first order part loaded in or on the first target loading aid are discharged automatically and all at once into or onto the third target loading aid at the second automatic order-picking station.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

types of article in which an error rate during automatic handling is smaller than or equal to a first threshold value are allocated to the first group of types of article;

types of article in which an error rate during automatic handling is larger than the first threshold value are allocated to the second group of types of article; and

the quotient of the erroneous handling operations occurring during the order-picking divided by the total number of the handling operations is provided as error rate.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein

the quotient of the number of the failed automatic removals of articles from a first source loading aid divided by the total number of automatic removals of articles from a first source loading aid;

the quotient of the number of the failed automatic discharging operations of articles into or onto a target loading aid divided by the total number of automatic discharging operations of articles into or onto a target loading aid;

the quotient of the number of the failed automatic reloading operations of articles from a source loading aid into or onto a target loading aid divided by the total number of automatic reloading operations of articles from a source loading aid into or onto a target loading aid; or

a measure derived from the above quotients is provided as error rate.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein

procedures at the first automatic order-picking station are monitored by a checking system, and a handling is classified as erroneous handling by the checking system if the handling is executed in an unplanned manner or is aborted and fails.

11. The method according to claim 8 , wherein

the first threshold value is ascertained on the basis of a capacity of a group of order-picking stations which comprises at least one first automatic order-picking station and at least one first manual order-picking station and which is available in a specifiable time period for the execution of multiple orders.

12. The method according to claim 11 , wherein

multiple orders for order-picking articles are acquired and the articles required for these orders are determined;

for the execution of these orders in a specifiable time period, a first required capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the first group of types of article and a second required capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the second group of types of article required in this time period is computed for various first threshold values;

a first available capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group available in this time period and a second available capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group available in this time period is ascertained; and

that first threshold value for the execution of said orders is selected for which the smallest deviation between the first required capacity and the first available capacity as well as between the second required capacity and the second available capacity is ascertained.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein

multiple orders for order-picking articles are acquired and the articles required for these orders are determined;

a first required capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the first group of types of article for the execution of these orders in a specifiable time period and a second required capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the second group of types of article in this time period is computed for various partial quantities of said orders;

a first available capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group in a specifiable time period and a second available capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group in this time period is ascertained;

that partial quantity of said orders is executed in the selected time period for which the smallest deviation between the first required capacity and the first available capacity as well as between the second required capacity and the second available capacity is ascertained;

a first required capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the first group of types of article for the execution of the ascertained partial quantity of orders to be executed in the selected time period and a second required capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the second group of types of article in this time period is computed for various first threshold values;

a first available capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group in this time period and a second available capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group in this time period is ascertained; and

that first threshold value for the execution of the ascertained partial quantity of orders to be executed is selected for which the smallest deviation between the first required capacity and the first available capacity as well as between the second required capacity and the second available capacity is ascertained.

14. The method according to claim 11 , wherein

a partial quantity of orders to be executed is ascertained on the basis of a capacity of a group of order-picking stations which comprises at least one first automatic order-picking station and at least one first manual order-picking station and which is available in a specifiable time period for the execution of this partial quantity of orders to be executed; and

the first threshold value for this partial quantity of orders to be executed is ascertained on the basis of the capacity of the group of order-picking stations.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein an error rate is assigned to a type of article.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

an allocation of the types of article to the first group of types of article and to the second group of types of article

I) takes place before or during the executing of the step a);

II) takes place during the executing of one of the steps e) or f) or g); and/or

III) takes place independent of the steps b) to g).

17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein

a type of article of at least one article of the first order part which is first allocated to the first group of types of article, in the case II), is reallocated to the second group of types of article if the error rate during the automatic handling of this at least one article at the first automatic order-picking station exceeds the first threshold value.

18. The method according to claim 17 , wherein

the at least one article of the first order part which causes the reallocation of the type of article of the at least one article to the second group of types of article remains with the first order part.

19. The method according to claim 17 , wherein

the at least one article of the first order part which causes the reallocation of the type of article of the at least one article to the second group of types of article is allocated to the second order part and order-picked accordingly.

20. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

a third group of types of article is provided;

types of article in which an error rate during automatic handling is smaller than a first threshold value are allocated to the first group of types of article;

types of article in which an error rate during automatic handling is larger than a second threshold value are allocated to the second group of types of article;

the remaining types of article, in which the error rate is larger than or equal to the first threshold value and smaller than or equal to the second threshold value, are allocated to a third group of types of article; and

articles of the third group of types of article in an order can be assigned optionally to the first order part or to the second order part.

21. The method according to claim 20 , wherein

an allocation of the types of article to the first group of types of article and to the second group of types of article and to the third group of types of article

I) takes place before or during the executing of the step a);

II) takes place during the executing of one of the steps e) or f) or g); and/or

III) takes place independent of the steps b) to g).

22. The method according to claim 21 , wherein

a type of article of at least one article of the first order part which is first allocated to the first group of types of article, in the case II), is reallocated to the second group of types of article if the error rate during the automatic handling of this at least one article at the first automatic order-picking station exceeds the second threshold value and is reallocated to the third group of types of article if the error rate during the automatic handling of this at least one article at the first automatic order-picking station exceeds the first threshold value but not the second threshold value.

23. The method according to claim 20 , wherein

the first threshold value and the second threshold value are ascertained on the basis of a capacity of a group of order-picking stations which comprises at least one first automatic order-picking station and at least one first manual order-picking station and which is available in a specifiable time period for the execution of multiple orders.

24. The method according to claim 23 , wherein

multiple orders for order-picking articles are acquired and the articles required for these orders are determined;

the third group of types of article, at a third threshold value, is segmented into articles with an error rate smaller than or equal to the third threshold value expected to be order-picked automatically and articles with an error rate larger than the third threshold value expected to be order-picked manually;

for the execution of these orders in a specifiable time period, a first required capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the first group of types of article, including the articles of the third group of types of article expected to be order-picked automatically, and a second required capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the second group of types of article, including the articles of the third group of types of article expected to be order-picked manually, required in this time period is computed for various third threshold values;

a first available capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group available in this time period and a second available capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group available in this time period is ascertained;

that third threshold value is selected for the execution of said orders for which the smallest deviation between the first required capacity and the first available capacity as well as the between the second required capacity and the second available capacity is ascertained; and

the first threshold value is set in a selected first reserve distance below the third threshold value and the second threshold value is set in a selected second reserve distance above the third threshold value.

25. The method according to claim 24 , wherein

multiple orders for order-picking articles are acquired and the articles required for these orders are determined;

a first required capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the first group of types of article for the execution of these orders in a specifiable time period and a second required capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the second group of types of article in this time period is computed for various partial quantities of said orders;

a first available capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group in a specifiable time period and a second available capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group in this time period is ascertained;

that partial quantity of said orders is executed in the selected time period for which the smallest deviation between the first required capacity and the first available capacity as well as between the second required capacity and the second available capacity is ascertained;

the third group of types of article, upon reaching a third threshold value, is segmented into articles with an error rate smaller than or equal to the third threshold value expected to be order-picked automatically and articles with an error rate larger than the third threshold value expected to be order-picked manually;

a first required capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the first group of types of article, including the articles of the third group of types of article expected to be order-picked automatically, for the execution of the ascertained partial quantity of orders to be executed in the selected time period and a second required capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the second group of types of article, including the articles of the third group of types of article expected to be order-picked manually, in this time period is computed for various third threshold values;

a first available capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group in this time period and a second available capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group in this time period is ascertained;

that third threshold value for the execution of the ascertained partial quantity of orders to be executed is selected for which the smallest deviation between the first required capacity and the first available capacity as well as the one between the second required capacity and the second available capacity is ascertained; and

the first threshold value is set in a selected first reserve distance below the third threshold value and the second threshold value is set in a selected second reserve distance above the third threshold value.

26. The method according to claim 23 , wherein

a partial quantity of orders to be executed is ascertained on the basis of a capacity of a group of order-picking stations which comprises at least one first automatic order-picking station and at least one first manual order-picking station and which is available in a specifiable time period for the execution of this partial quantity of orders to be executed; and

the first threshold value and the second threshold value for this partial quantity of orders to be executed are ascertained on the basis of the capacity of the group of order-picking stations.

27. The method according to claim 20 , wherein

at least one article of the third group of types of article is allocated to the first order part, transported to the first automatic order-picking station and loaded automatically into first target loading aids if

the loading of the first target loading aids with multiple articles of the first group of types of article of the first order part at the first automatic order-picking station takes place more swiftly than the loading of the first or second target loading aids with the same number of articles of the second order part at the first manual order-picking station; or

all articles of the first group of types of article of the first order part have already been loaded into first target loading aids at the first automatic order-picking station.

28. The method according to claim 27 , wherein

the allocation of multiple articles of the third group of types of article to the first order part or to the second order part takes place in a manner sorted according to the number of pieces specified in the order lines for these articles; and

the allocation of articles of the third group of types of article to the first order part takes place from low toward ascending numbers of pieces and the allocation of articles of the third group of types of article to the second order part takes place from high toward descending numbers of pieces.

29. The method according to claim 27 , wherein

an error rate is assigned a type of article; and

the allocation of multiple articles of the third group of types of article to the first order part or to the second order part takes place in a manner sorted according to the error rate specified in the order lines for these articles or sorted according to a parameter which is derived from said error rate and the number of pieces specified in the order lines for these articles, wherein the allocation of articles of the third group of types of article to the first order part, in case of a sorting according to the error rate, takes place from low toward ascending error rates or, in case of a sorting according to said parameter, takes place from low toward ascending parameters and the allocation of articles of the third group of types of article to the second order part, in case of a sorting according to the error rate, takes place from high toward descending error rates or, in case of a sorting according to said parameter, takes place from high toward descending parameters.

30. The method according to claim 20 , wherein

at least one article of the third group of types of article is allocated to the second order part, transported to the first manual order-picking station and provisioned at the first manual order-picking station and then said at least one article of the second order part is loaded manually into first or second target loading aids if

the loading of the first or second target loading aids with multiple articles of the second group of types of article of the second order part at the first manual order-picking station takes place more swiftly than the loading of the first target loading aids with the same number of articles of the first order part at the first automatic order-picking station; or

all articles of the second group of types of article of the second order part have already been loaded into first or second target loading aids at the first manual order-picking station.

31. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

an article of the first order part is assigned to the second order part and conveyed to a first manual order-picking station if the number of erroneous handling operations of the article at the first automatic order-picking station exceeds an erroneous-handling threshold value.

32. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

a partial quantity of orders to be executed is ascertained on the basis of a capacity of a group of order-picking stations which comprises at least one first automatic order-picking station and at least one first manual order-picking station and which is available in a specifiable time period for the execution of this partial quantity of orders to be executed.

33. The method according to claim 32 , wherein

the partial quantity of orders to be executed is ascertained with a specified first threshold value.

34. The method according to claim 32 , wherein

multiple orders for order-picking articles are acquired and the articles required for these orders are determined;

for the execution of these orders, a first required capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the first group of types of article and a second required capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group for the order-picking of the articles of the second group of types of article required in this time period is computed for various partial quantities of said orders;

a first available capacity of the first automatic order-picking stations of the group available in a specifiable time period and a second available capacity of the first manual order-picking stations of the group available in this time period is ascertained; and

that partial quantity of said orders is executed in the selected time period for which the smallest deviation between the first required capacity and the first available capacity as well as between the second required capacity and the second available capacity is ascertained.

35. The method according to claim 34 , wherein

an availability portion of the first available capacity is computed by division of the first available capacity by the sum of the first and the second available capacity;

a need portion for the first required capacity for each of the multiple orders is computed by division of the first required capacity by the sum of the first and the second required capacity; and

the portion of orders with a need portion above the availability portion deviates by a maximum of 10% from the portion of orders with a need portion below the availability portion.

36. The method according to claim 32 , wherein

a partial quantity of said orders is determined by random selection of some of the multiple orders.

37. The method according to claim 32 , wherein

the multiple orders are sorted on the basis of a sorting parameter and an even distribution with regard to the sorting parameter is aimed at when determining a partial quantity;

a number of pieces of articles of the first group of types of article in an order is provided as sorting parameter; or

a relative portion of articles of the first group of types of article in an order is provided as sorting parameter, which is computed by division of the number of pieces of articles of the first group of types of article of an order by the number of pieces of all articles of this order.

38. The method according to claim 32 , wherein

orders with a higher priority are preferentially selected for a partial quantity.

39. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the first source loading aid with the at least one article of the first order part is allocated to the second order part, transported to the first manual order-picking station and provisioned at the first manual order-picking station and then said at least one article of the second order part is loaded manually into or onto a first or second target loading aid if

the discharging of multiple articles of the second group of types of article of the second order part into the first or second target loading aid at the first manual order-picking station takes place more swiftly than the discharging of the same number of articles of the first order part into the first target loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station; or

all articles of the second group of types of article of the second order part have already been loaded into first or second target loading aids at the first manual order-picking station.

40. The method according to claim 39 , wherein

at least one article of the third group of types of article is allocated to the second order part, transported to the first manual order-picking station and provisioned at the first manual order-picking station and then said at least one article of the second order part is loaded manually into first or second target loading aids as long as articles of the third group of types of article are available and if the loading of the first or second target loading aids with multiple articles of the second group of types of article of the second order part at the first manual order-picking station takes place more swiftly than the loading of the first target loading aids with the same number of articles of the first order part at the first automatic order-picking station or if all articles of the second group of types of article of the second order part have already been loaded into first or second target loading aids at the first manual order-picking station and then

at least one article of the first order part is allocated to the second order part, transported to a first manual order-picking station and provisioned at the first manual order-picking station and then said at least one article of the second order part is loaded manually into first or second target loading aids if the loading of the first or second target loading aids with multiple articles of the second group of types of article of the second order part at the first manual order-picking station takes place more swiftly than the loading of the first target loading aids with the same number of articles of the first order part at the first automatic order-picking station or if all articles of the second group of types of article of the second order part have already been loaded into first or second target loading aids at the first manual order-picking station.

41. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the provisioning of multiple articles of the first order part at the first automatic order-picking station takes place in a manner sorted according to the number of pieces specified in the order lines for the articles of the first order part, wherein the provisioning of the articles of the first order part takes place from low toward ascending numbers of pieces; and

the provisioning of multiple articles of the second order part at the first manual order-picking station takes place in a manner sorted according to the number of pieces specified in the order lines for the articles of the second order part, wherein the provisioning of the articles of the second order part takes place from high toward descending numbers of pieces.

42. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the removing of multiple articles of the first order part from at least one first source loading aid and the discharging of these articles into or onto at least one first target loading aid takes place in a manner sorted according to the number of pieces specified in the order lines for the articles of the first order part, wherein the removing and discharging takes place from low toward ascending numbers of pieces; and

the removing of multiple articles of the second order part from at least one second source loading aid and the discharging of these articles into or onto at least one first or second target loading aid takes place in a manner sorted according to the number of pieces specified in the order lines for the articles of the second order part, wherein the removing and discharging takes place from high toward descending numbers of pieces.

43. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

an error rate is assigned to a type of article;

the provisioning of multiple articles of the first order part at the first automatic order-picking station takes place in a manner sorted according to the error rate specified in the order lines for the articles of the first order part or sorted according to a parameter which is derived from said error rate and the number of pieces specified in the order lines for the articles of the first order part, wherein the provisioning of the articles of the first order part, in case of a sorting according to the error rate, takes place from low toward ascending error rates or, in case of a sorting according to said parameter, takes place from low toward ascending parameters; and

the provisioning of multiple articles of the second order part at the first manual order-picking station takes place in a manner sorted according to the error rate specified in the order lines for the articles of the second order part or sorted according to a parameter which is derived from said error rate and the number of pieces specified in the order lines for the articles of the second order part, wherein the provisioning of the articles of the second order part, in case of a sorting according to the error rate, takes place from high toward descending error rates or, in case of a sorting according to the parameter, takes place from high toward descending parameters.

44. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

an error rate is assigned to a type of article;

the removing of multiple articles of the first order part from at least one first source loading aid and the discharging of these articles into or onto at least one first target loading aid takes place in a manner sorted according to the error rate specified in the order lines for the articles of the first order part or sorted according to a parameter which is derived from said error rate and the number of pieces specified in the order lines for the articles of the first order part, wherein the removing and discharging, in case of a sorting according to the error rate, takes place from low toward ascending error rates or, in case of a sorting according to said parameter, takes place from low toward ascending parameters; and

the removing of multiple articles of the second order part from at least one second source loading aid and the discharging of these articles into or onto at least one first or second target loading aid takes place in a manner sorted according to the error rate specified in the order lines for the articles of the second order part or sorted according to a parameter which is derived from said error rate and the number of pieces specified in the order lines for the articles of the second order part, wherein the removing and discharging, in case of a sorting according to the error rate, takes place from high toward descending error rates or, in case of a sorting according to the parameter, takes place from high toward descending parameters.

45. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the articles of the first group of types of article are stored in the first source loading aids so that the first source loading aid contains articles of only one identical type.

46. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the first group of types of article comprises a first subgroup of types of article which contains types of article which can be handled automatically with a gripper of a first kind and comprises a second subgroup of types of article which contains types of article which cannot, or only to a limited extent, be handled automatically with the gripper of the first kind but can be handled automatically with a gripper of a different, second kind;

in the step c), the classification of the articles required for the processing of said order in the first subgroup of types of article and in the second subgroup of types of article is additionally ascertained; and

in the step d), a first order subpart of the first order part is additionally determined whose at least one article belongs to the first subgroup of types of article and can accordingly be handled automatically with a gripper of the first kind and a second order subpart of the first order part is determined whose at least one article belongs to the second subgroup of types of article and can accordingly not, or only to a limited extent, be handled automatically with the gripper of the first kind but can be handled automatically with the gripper of the second kind.

47. The method according to claim 46 , wherein

the first automatic order-picking station is equipped with the gripper of the first kind and the gripper of the second kind;

instead of the step e), a first source loading aid with the at least one article of the first order subpart is retrieved from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, the first source loading aid is transported to the first automatic order-picking station, the first source loading aid is provisioned at the first automatic order-picking station and the at least one article of the first order subpart is removed automatically from the first source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station with the gripper of the first kind;

a third source loading aid with the at least one article of the second order subpart is retrieved from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, the third source loading aid is transported to the first automatic order-picking station, the third source loading aid is provisioned at the first automatic order-picking station and the at least one article of the second order subpart is removed automatically from the third source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station with the gripper of the second kind; and

the at least one article of the first order subpart and the at least one article of the second order subpart is discharged into or onto a target loading aid.

48. The method according to claim 46 , wherein

the first automatic order-picking station comprises a first automatic order-picking substation and a second automatic order-picking substation, wherein the first automatic order-picking substation is equipped with a gripper of a first kind and the second automatic order-picking substation is equipped with a gripper of a different, second kind;

instead of the step e), a first source loading aid with the at least one article of the first order subpart is retrieved from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, the first source loading aid is transported to the first automatic order-picking substation, the first source loading aid is provisioned at the first automatic order-picking substation and the at least one article of the first order subpart is removed automatically from the first source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking substation with the gripper of the first kind;

a third source loading aid with the at least one article of the second order subpart is retrieved from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, the third source loading aid is transported to the second automatic order-picking substation, the third source loading aid is provisioned at the second automatic order-picking substation and the at least one article of the second order subpart is removed automatically from the third source loading aid at the second automatic order-picking substation with the gripper of the second kind; and

the at least one article of the first order subpart and the at least one article of the second order subpart is discharged into or onto a target loading aid.

49. A storage and order-picking system for order-picking articles from source loading aids into or onto target loading aids, comprising:

a storage zone for provisioning the articles in or on source loading aids;

a control system configured for

acquiring orders for order-picking articles and determining the articles required for these orders, wherein at least one order of the orders comprises multiple order lines and wherein each order line specifies at least one article according to its type of article and its number of pieces to be order-picked;

ascertaining the classification of the articles required for the processing of said order in groups of types of article, each of which comprises multiple types of article, wherein a first group of types of article contains types of article which can be handled automatically and a second group of types of article contains types of article which cannot, or only to a limited extent, be handled automatically but can be handled manually; and

determining a first order part, whose at least one article belongs to the first group of types of article and can accordingly be handled automatically, and a second order part, whose at least one article belongs to the second group of types of article and can accordingly not, or only to a limited extent, be handled automatically but can be handled manually; and

a conveying system configured for

retrieving a first source loading aid with the at least one article of the first order part from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, transporting the first source loading aid to a first automatic order-picking station and provisioning the first source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station, at which the at least one article of the first order part is removable automatically from the first source loading aid; and

retrieving a second source loading aid with the at least one article of the second order part from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, transporting the second source loading aid to a first manual order-picking station and provisioning the second source loading aid at the first manual order-picking station, at which the at least one article of the second order part is removable manually from the second source loading aid;

wherein the first automatic order-picking station is configured for discharging automatically the at least one article of the first order part and the first manual order-picking station is configured for discharging manually the at least one article of the second order part into or onto a target loading aid.

50. The storage and order-picking system according to claim 49 , wherein the conveying system is additionally configured

for the transport of the first source loading aids between the storage zone and the first automatic order-picking station;

for the transport of the second source loading aids between the storage zone and the first manual order-picking station;

for the transport of the first target loading aids between the first automatic order-picking station and the first manual order-picking station or between the first automatic order-picking station and the second automatic or manual order-picking station;

for the transport of the second target loading aids between the first manual order-picking station and the second automatic or manual order-picking station;

for the transport of the first target loading aids from the first automatic order-picking station, from the first manual order-picking station or from the second automatic or manual order-picking station;

for the transport of the second target loading aids from the second automatic or manual order-picking station; and/or

for the transport of the third target loading aids from the second automatic or manual order-picking station.

51. The storage and order-picking system according to claim 49 , wherein a jointed-arm robot or a gantry robot with a gripper is provided at the first automatic order-picking station.

52. The storage and order-picking system according to claim 49 , wherein a mechanical device for the automatic discharging of the entire content:

of the first target loading aid into the second target loading aid;

of the first target loading aid into the third target loading aid;

of the second target loading aid into the first target loading aid; and/or

of the second target loading aid into the third target loading aid all at once is provided at the second automatic order-picking station.

53. The storage and order-picking system according to claim 49 , wherein the ratio between the number of the first automatic order-picking stations and the number of the first manual order-picking stations is smaller than or equal to 1.

54. The storage and order-picking system according to claim 49 , wherein the ratio between the number of the first automatic order-picking stations and the number of the first manual order-picking stations is larger than or equal to 1.

55. The storage and order-picking system according to claim 49 , wherein

the first group of types of article comprises a first subgroup of types of article, which contains types of article which can be handled automatically with a gripper of a first kind, and comprises a second subgroup of types of article, which contains types of article which cannot, or only to a limited extent, be handled automatically with the gripper of the first kind but can be handled automatically with a gripper of a different, second kind; and

the control system is additionally configured for ascertaining the classification of the articles required for the processing of said order in the first subgroup of types of article and in the second group of types of article, and is additionally configured for determining a first order subpart of the first order part, whose at least one article belongs to the first subgroup of types of article and can accordingly be handled automatically with a gripper of the first kind, and is additionally configured for determining a second order subpart of the first order part, whose at least one article belongs to the second subgroup of types of article and can accordingly not, or only to a limited extent, be handled automatically with the gripper of the first kind but can be handled automatically with the gripper of the second kind.

56. The storage and order-picking system according to claim 55 , wherein

the first automatic order-picking station is equipped with the gripper of the first kind and the gripper of the second kind;

the conveying system is additionally configured for

retrieving a first source loading aid with the at least one article of the first order subpart from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, transporting the first source loading aid to the first automatic order-picking station and provisioning the first source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station, at which the at least one article of the first order subpart is removable automatically from the first source loading aid with the gripper of the first kind; and

retrieving a third source loading aid with the at least one article of the second order subpart from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, transporting the third source loading aid to first automatic order-picking station and provisioning the third source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking station, at which the at least one article of the second order subpart is removable automatically from the third source loading aid with the gripper of the second kind; and

wherein the first automatic order-picking station is configured for discharging automatically the at least one article of the first order subpart into or onto a target loading aid with the gripper of the first kind and for discharging automatically the at least one article of the second order subpart into or onto a target loading aid with the gripper of the second kind.

57. The storage and order-picking system according to claim 55 , wherein

the first automatic order-picking station comprises a first automatic order-picking substation and a second automatic order-picking substation, wherein the first automatic order-picking substation is equipped with a gripper of a first kind and the second automatic order-picking substation is equipped with a gripper of a different, second kind;

the conveying system is additionally configured for

retrieving a first source loading aid with the at least one article of the first order subpart from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, transporting the first source loading aid to the first automatic order-picking substation and provisioning the first source loading aid at the first automatic order-picking substation, at which the at least one article of the first order subpart is removable automatically from the first source loading aid with the gripper of the first kind; and

retrieving a third source loading aid with the at least one article of the second order subpart from the storage zone of the storage and order-picking system, transporting the third source loading aid to the second automatic order-picking substation and provisioning the third source loading aid at the second automatic order-picking substation, at which the at least one article of the second order subpart is removable automatically from the third source loading aid with the gripper of the second kind; and

wherein the first automatic order-picking substation is configured for discharging automatically the at least one article of the first order subpart into or onto a target loading aid with the gripper of the first kind and the second automatic order-picking substation is configured for discharging automatically the at least one article of the second order subpart into or onto a target loading aid with the gripper of the second kind.

Assignments (3)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (12)