US 11,673,745 B2
Goods-to-man warehousing comprising multilevel racking, mobile storage units, storage unit transporters, and pick-place vehicle
Matthew J. Otto, New Bremen, OH (US); Gregory S. Garmann, Maria Stein, OH (US); and Mark E. Addison, Ludlow Falls, OH (US)
Assigned to Crown Equipment Corporation, New Bremen, OH (US)
Filed by Crown Equipment Corporation, New Bremen, OH (US)
Filed on Jul. 14, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/375,121.
Application 16/426,576 is a division of application No. 15/405,886, filed on Jan. 13, 2017, granted, now 10,351,346, issued on Jul. 16, 2019.
Application 17/375,121 is a continuation of application No. 16/890,038, filed on Jun. 2, 2020, granted, now 11,066,238.
Application 16/890,038 is a continuation of application No. 16/426,576, filed on May 30, 2019, granted, now 10,710,805, issued on Jul. 14, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/278,502, filed on Jan. 14, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2021/0339953 A1, Nov. 4, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B65G 1/04 (2006.01); B65G 1/137 (2006.01); G06Q 10/087 (2023.01); B66F 9/075 (2006.01); B66F 9/24 (2006.01); B65G 1/10 (2006.01)
CPC B65G 1/0492 (2013.01) [B65G 1/0485 (2013.01); B65G 1/10 (2013.01); B65G 1/1378 (2013.01); B66F 9/0755 (2013.01); B66F 9/24 (2013.01); G06Q 10/087 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A goods-to-man warehousing system comprising:
a multilevel racking system;
a plurality of mobile storage units;
a storage unit transporter; and
a pick-place vehicle, wherein
the multilevel racking system comprises a vertically and horizontally distributed array of storage bays and a plurality of racking system aisles,
the storage unit transporter and the pick-place vehicle are each configured to travel in a plurality of the racking system aisles,
the storage unit transporter is further configured to travel beneath the vertically and horizontally distributed array of storage bays of the multilevel racking system,
the pick-place vehicle comprises pick-place hardware that enables the pick-place vehicle to place a mobile storage unit into a storage bay,
the storage unit transporter comprises storage unit engagement hardware that enables the storage unit transporter to receive the mobile storage unit from the storage bay such that the mobile storage unit is placed atop the storage unit transporter, and transport the mobile storage unit away from the storage bay with the mobile storage unit placed atop the storage unit transporter, and
the storage unit transporter comprises a lifting surface and is structurally configured to lift at least one of the plurality of mobile storage units off of a warehouse floor upon which the multilevel racking system is supported by elevating the transporter lifting surface from a traveling height to a transporting height.