Crown Equipment Corporation

Globe Products Inc.

Gregory S Garmann

Matthew J Otto

Mark E Addison

John M Beakes

Gary E Clemenz

Mark T Heaton

John W Bradfute

Goods storage and retrieval systems and materials handling vehicles are provided. The goods storage and retrieval system includes a multilevel warehouse racking system; a materials handling vehicle comprising a mast assembly, a picking attachment, and vehicle-based cart engagement hardware; a mobile storage cart; and a transporter comprising transporter-based engagement hardware. The transporter-based engagement hardware enables the transporter to engage, transport, and disengage the mobile storage cart. The vehicle-based cart engagement hardware is coupled to the mast assembly to (i) engage and disengage the mobile storage cart and (ii) transport the mobile storage cart to multiple levels of the multilevel warehouse racking system. The mast assembly and the picking attachment are configured to access multiple levels of the multilevel warehouse racking system. The picking attachment is configured to transfer totes between the multilevel warehouse racking system and the mobile storage cart.

System comprising a multilevel warehouse racking system comprising tote transfer zones, materials handling vehicles, and transporters, and methods of use thereof

A goods-to-man warehousing system comprises a multilevel racking system, a plurality of mobile storage units, a storage unit transporter, a pick-place vehicle, a mobile storage unit transfer node, and a warehouse management computing hub. The multilevel racking system comprises a vertically and horizontally distributed array of storage bays. One or more of the mobile storage units are positioned in respective ones of the storage bays of the multilevel racking system. The pick-place vehicle comprises pick-place hardware that enables the pick-place vehicle to transfer mobile storage units between a plurality of different, vertically displaced storage bays of the multilevel racking system and the mobile storage unit transfer node of the goods-to-man warehousing system. The storage unit transporter comprises storage unit engagement hardware that enables the storage unit transporter to transport mobile storage units to or from the mobile storage unit transfer node of the goods-to-man warehousing system.

Goods-to-man warehousing comprising multilevel racking, mobile storage units, storage unit transporters, and pick-place vehicle

A variety of vehicle-based and warehouse-based solutions are provided to increase the adaptability, utility, and efficiency of materials handling vehicles in the warehouse environment, such as a goods storage and retrieval system, comprising a multilevel warehouse racking system, a mobile storage cart, a cart home position, and a materials handling vehicle disposed on a vehicle transit surface and comprising a fork carriage assembly, a navigation subsystem, a cart engagement subsystem, and one or more vehicular controllers to use the navigation subsystem to navigate the materials handling vehicle along the vehicle transit surface to a localized engagement position where the cart home position is within a cart engagement field of view, and use the cart engagement subsystem to engage the mobile storage cart in the cart home position with the fork carriage assembly.

Systems and methods for home position and cart acquisition with a materials handling vehicle

Materials handling vehicle and goods storage and retrieval system comprising mobile storage carts, transporters, and materials handling vehicles

A variety of vehicle-based and warehouse-based solutions are provided to increase the adaptability, utility, and efficiency of materials handling vehicles in the warehouse environment, such as a materials handling vehicle comprising a picking attachment is secured to a fork carriage assembly and comprising an X-Y-Z-&#x3a8; positioner to engage and disengage a target tote such that movement of the picking attachment along a Z axis by the X-Y-Z-&#x3a8; positioner is independent of movement of the fork carriage assembly along the vertical axis Z' by the mast assembly and mast assembly control unit. The fork carriage assembly may comprise a mobile storage cart support platform defined by one or more cart lifting forks, and an anti-rock cart engagement mechanism configured to engage a mobile storage cart supported by the cart lifting forks.

Dual-axis vertical displacement and anti-rock support with a materials handling vehicle

A variety of vehicle-based and warehouse-based solutions are provided to increase the adaptability, utility, and efficiency of materials handling vehicles in the warehouse environment, such as a materials handling vehicle comprising a hand-held drive unit comprising a user interface and an operational command generator responsive to the user interface. The hand-held drive unit is configured to send operational commands generated in response to user input at the user interface to the vehicular controller(s) to control operational functions of the traction control unit, the braking system, the steering assembly, the mast assembly, the picking attachment, or combinations thereof.

Growing community of inventors

Maria Stein, OH, United States of America

Gregory S Garmann