A Multi-Track Elevator system for E-commerce fulfillment centers
Name
1004565317-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
6.35 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
1f43357ee96e7ddbcd06330c5876bbc1
Author(s)
Hoffman, Rachel M. (Rachel Marie)
Advisor(s)
H. Harry Asada.
Alternative Title
MTE system for E-commerce fulfillment centers
Date Issued
2017
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Fulfillment centers located in densely populated urban areas are an ever-growing need for leading online consumer websites. These urban fulfillment centers have limited land mass and must have innovative solutions to transport goods within the available vertical space. This work presents a Multi-Track Elevator (MTE) System, a competitive solution for rapid access and retrieval of goods in high-rise e-commerce fulfillment centers and warehouses. The MTE System consists of multiple vertical rails connected with angular traverse rails that allow multiple carriages to go up and down without collision. A novel turning point system switches track routes so that several carriages can move across the multiple rails for rapidly accessing many floors and collecting diverse goods. Unlike existing vertical-horizontal grid elevators and rail systems, the roller-coaster type, self-powered carriages on the MTE system do not have to stop at switching points, but can continually move across the network of rails. Further, this work describes the architecture of the rail network system and techniques for switching multiple rails, followed by the design of vertical turntables for smooth, continuous rail switching. Finally, outlining the use of a simple route optimization algorithm, diverse elevator systems are compared with respect to total traveling time and distance. A proof-of-concept prototype has been built and is presented.
Description
Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 2017.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 53-54).
Subjects
Mechanical Engineering.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
Terms of Use
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