US 12,492,073 B2
Warehousing scalable storage structure
Robert Sullivan, Wilmington, MA (US); and John Lert, Wakefield, MA (US)
Assigned to Symbotic LLC, Wilmington, MA (US)
Filed by Symbotic LLC, Wilmington, MA (US)
Filed on Nov. 3, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/087,835.
Application 17/087,835 is a continuation of application No. 13/326,674, filed on Dec. 15, 2011, granted, now 10,822,168.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/423,340, filed on Dec. 15, 2010.
Prior Publication US 2021/0047113 A1, Feb. 18, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B65G 1/04 (2006.01)
CPC B65G 1/0492 (2013.01) [B65G 1/04 (2013.01)] 25 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A storage and retrieval system comprising:
an elevated fixed transfer deck having a longitudinal axis and disposed in a fixed elevated position; and
a storage section including storage locations, the storage section being located along a side of the elevated fixed transfer deck along the longitudinal axis, the storage section has storage aisles that are in communication with the elevated fixed transfer deck and that provide access to the storage locations disposed along and bounding opposite sides of the storage aisles where:
the storage section includes more than one storage rack levels of storage racks, each respective storage rack, at each of the more than one storage rack levels, has respective storage locations and is configured for storing different independent items in a row along the respective storage rack at each rack level,
the more than one storage rack levels are disposed along at least one of the storage aisles so that the row of different independent items stored on each respective rack, extend with the different independent items in row, at each rack level of the more than one rack levels, along a common one of the at least one storage aisle, and each storage location of the respective storage locations of each rack level are accessed from a common level of the at least one storage aisle communicating with the elevated fixed transfer deck, where the fixed elevated position of the elevated fixed transfer deck is at the common level; and
wherein:
the elevated fixed transfer deck forms an autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle riding surface at the fixed elevated position and upon which wheels of an autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle disposed on the elevated fixed transfer deck rides so as to traverse the elevated fixed transfer deck, and
the storage aisles define respective autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle riding surfaces at the fixed elevated position and upon which the wheels of the autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle disposed in the storage aisles rides so as to traverse along the storage aisle riding surfaces effecting access, through the storage aisles, to the storage locations disposed along sides of the storage aisles with the autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle disposed on and travelling along the autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle riding surfaces of a respective storage aisle, where the storage aisle riding surfaces are in communication with, at the fixed elevated position, the autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle riding surface of the elevated fixed transfer deck so that the autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle crosses from riding on the autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle riding surface of the elevated fixed transfer deck to riding on the autonomously guided wheeled transport vehicle riding surfaces of the storage aisles.