US 12,351,394 B2
Systems and methods for assembling merchandise ordered by customers and subject to multiple retrieval systems
Brian C. Roth, Bentonville, AR (US); and Paul E. Durkee, Centerton, AR (US)
Assigned to WALMART APOLLO, LLC, Bentonville, AR (US)
Appl. No. 17/618,044
Filed by Walmart Apollo, LLC, Bentonville, AR (US)
PCT Filed Jun. 18, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/038334
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 10, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/257389, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 24, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/863,989, filed on Jun. 20, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/864,009, filed on Jun. 20, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0306387 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. B65G 1/137 (2006.01); G06Q 10/087 (2023.01)
CPC B65G 1/1378 (2013.01) [G06Q 10/087 (2013.01); B65G 2201/0258 (2013.01); B65G 2209/10 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for assembling merchandise ordered by customers and subject to multiple types of retrieval, the system comprising:
a shopping order interface configured to receive a merchandise order placed by a customer and including a plurality of merchandise items;
a shopping facility comprising a merchandise pickup area configured for pickup of the merchandise order and a merchandise assembly area;
an automated retrieval system configured to retrieve and transport merchandise to the merchandise assembly area;
an automated retrieval inventory database containing a plurality of records of merchandise at the shopping facility, each record of the plurality of records indicating that a corresponding merchandise item is capable of retrieval by the automated retrieval system;
an offline retrieval inventory database containing a plurality of records of merchandise at the shopping facility, each record of the plurality of records indicating that a corresponding merchandise item is not capable of retrieval by the automated retrieval system;
a control circuit communicatively coupled to the shopping order interface, the automated retrieval inventory database, and the offline retrieval inventory database, the control circuit configured to:
receive the merchandise order from the shopping order interface;
determine a first set of merchandise items from the automated retrieval inventory database indicated as being retrievable by the automated retrieval system and determine a second set of merchandise items from the offline retrieval inventory database that are indicated as not being retrievable by the automated retrieval system;
instruct retrieval of the first set of merchandise items in the merchandise order that are in the automated retrieval inventory database and capable of retrieval by the automated retrieval system;
instruct transfer and deposit of the first set of merchandise items into one or more order containers;
instruct retrieval of the second set of merchandise items in the merchandise order that are in the offline retrieval inventory database and not capable of retrieval by the automated retrieval system; and
instruct transfer and deposit of the second set of merchandise items into the one or more order containers.