In the foregoing, a material handling system and method using autonomous mobile drive units and movable inventory pods has been disclosed. Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that numerous changes in the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The preceding description, therefore, is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined only by the appended claims and their equivalent. A material handling system and method using mobile autonomous inventory trays and peer-to-peer communications is disclosed. In the following description numerous specific details are set forth, such as the particular configuration of mobile inventory trays, the use of mobile inventory trays on a factory floor, and details regarding communication technologies, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, persons having ordinary skill in the material handling arts will appreciate that these specific details may not be needed to practice the present invention.

As mentioned earlier, in developing a formula or recipe for a plastic composition, one must take into consideration the plastic processing machine to be used and evaluate the desired properties for the end product. The present process has been developed with the use of PVC. The following have been employed as plastic processing machines:The various components in the plastic composition have been blended/mixed in a conventional hot/cold, vertical/vertical plastic mixer. As homogenizing machine/gelatinizing machine for the PVC mixture, a double-screw extruder (110 mm pelletizing unit) was used. As a cooling unit there was used a static device where the walls were cooled at the same time as a liquid lubricant was applied between the interior walls of the cooling device and the plastic stock. As braking/retaining device a system of endless belts has been used. The heating of the plastic stock has been done in a static system with heated walls.

The mobile inventory trays of the present invention are thus automatic unguided vehicles (an "AUV") rather than automatic guided vehicle (an "AGV"). They are able to navigate the factory floor autonomously using information obtained from the on-board GPS and RF communication systems without any guidance assistance from a remote central computer. An inventory system includes a plurality of mobile drive units with a processor control and with a positioning system that enables the mobile drive units to navigate a factory floor. The mobile drive units interface with a material handling system to receive order requests and deliver inventory items to pack stations located on the factory floor. The inventory items are stored in trays stacked into movable inventory pods, which may be transported by the mobile drive units throughout the factory floor. The mobile drive units dock and undock with the movable inventory pods using a docking mechanism. The movable inventory pods are stored in a virtual storage grid when they are not being transported by the mobile drive units. A material handling system and method using mobile autonomous inventory trays and peer-to-peer communications is disclosed. In the following description numerous specific details are set forth, such as the particular configuration of mobile inventory trays, the use of mobile inventory trays on a factory floor, and details regarding communication technologies, etc., in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, persons having ordinary skill in the material handling arts will appreciate that these specific details may not be needed to practice the present invention.

This system of mobile inventory trays is self-tuning and self-optimizing. Frequently requested trays migrate closer to the pack stations, while trays containing slower moving inventory items drift back and to the sides and may even move to upper levels. In this sense, the material handling system and method of the present invention is a complex adaptive system and demonstrates emergent system behavior. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. 37 CFR 1.72(b).

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