The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 25, 2005
Filed:
Nov. 30, 2001
Richard Lunak, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Payal Lal, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Gregory Hart, Sarver, PA (US);
Manoj Wangu, Wexford, PA (US);
Richard Lunak, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Payal Lal, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Gregory Hart, Sarver, PA (US);
Manoj Wangu, Wexford, PA (US);
McKesson Automation, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
A carousel used in a restocking system is comprised of a drive track. A plurality of bins are arranged into rows, with the rows being driven by said drive track. A drive mechanism, e.g. an electric motor, drives the drive track. A sensor is provided to sense the position of the rows of bins. A processor is responsive to the sensor and data representative of a plurality of picks for more than one order for controlling the drive mechanism. By combining picks from different orders into a batch, the time spent driving the rows and time between picks is minimized. The carousel may be divided into a plurality of columns, each with its own drive track, drive mechanism, and sensor, to enable several rows to be brought into a pick position simultaneously.