DE19714184C2 - Device for sorting flat consignments in several sorting processes - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for sorting flat, with distribution information provided consignments in several sorting processes.

Shipment should be sorted in a large number of directions and stands for it only a smaller number of sorting compartments are available, so the sorting takes place in several sorting cycles. Especially for order sorting for a delivery person Sorting strategies are used in which not every sorting bin has a shipment address is assigned, but where the order of the shipments within the sort subjects belong to the sorting result. For this, several sorting processes are usually on a machine is required.

In the known solutions, the items to be sorted are one item memory / feeder bed supplied. Then the shipments are separated and their sen Features / addresses scanned from the surface. Based on the recognized Features are then sorted on the individual sorting compartments. After all too sorting shipments have gone through this first sorting process, they are for the second sorting is fed back to the separation. This can be done by they are automatically deducted directly from the sorting compartments (Proceedings USPS Advanced Technology Conference, Washington DC, Dec. 2. 1992, p. 1061-1074), or by the shipments by hand (DE 43 02 231 A1) or automatically (EP 661106 A2) again are fed to the consignment store and are separated from there.

In EP 661106 A2 the items are in the upright position in the Sorting compartments and fall on the by means of collapsible sorting shelves underlying shipment store. This has limits with the distances the sorting compartments so that the items do not tip over. By moving the The shipments are then separated and over limits to the feeder Transport devices again distributed in the sorting compartments.

According to patent application JP H8-103729 there are two to reduce the overall length such devices arranged one above the other.

After the items have been separated into the respective feeder, they become the reader lines are fed into the upper or via a switch depending on the address  lower sorting compartments, from where they go to the respective consignment store below arrive and be separated again in a further sorting.

A disadvantage of these solutions is that the sorting machine during the last Sor not at all or only partially new shipments to be sorted can and that after the last sorting the sorting machine must be emptied before further sorting can take place. This has a particular effect it is also negative for the sequence sorting.

The invention specified in claim 1 is therefore based on the problem of an Direction for sorting flat mail items with distribution information in several to create more sorting aisles in which the previously required times between two multi-course sorting can be reduced.

The advantage of the solution according to the invention lies in the possible parallelization of the Processes a) Loading the sorting machine with items for the next sorting during one of the previous Sor tion according to claim 2; b) removal of the items of the completed sorting and simultaneous execution of the first sorting according to the next sorting Claim 3.

This saves a lot of time.

Advantageously according to claim 4, the shipments in the distribution boxes are flat if sorted in an upright position, causing the delivery of the items to the first shipment store is simplified.

So that the shipments from the distribution boxes on the first shipment store are not tip over, this has in a further advantageous embodiment according to claim 5 movable cutting knives, which hold the mail items in an upright position agile emptying and / or separation for emptying and / or separation device to be moved.

In other premature training can each according to claim 6 Consignment store has its own separating device as well as correspondingly saying 7 assigned to both consignment stores only one separating device be transported to the end of the consignment store to be emptied.

The invention is then explained in more detail in an exemplary embodiment.

It shows

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the device according to the Invention.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the consignment plane is inclined approximately 45 ° to the vertical. Below a number of distribution compartments 12 , in which the mail items are sorted, with additional rejection and overflow compartments 8 , 9 , are directed into the mailings that are rejected (e.g. bar code not readable, wrong sorting plan, gap too small , Rejection after traffic jam) or the consignments after Vollau fen a distribution compartment 12 , there is a first consignment store 2 , an underfloor band and sideband. These are at an angle of 90 ° to one another, save the stack of mail items and guide it to a separating device 4 for separating and sorting in a further sorting process or a container as a removal point 10 for removing the mail items after the last sorting process has taken place. The mail store 2 also has separating knives for taking over the mail from the distribution compartments, forming a closed stack on the mail store 2 and supporting the transportation of the mail. A terminating separating blade is manually turned in the program memory 2 and swung out and in the pivoted state with the movement of Unterflubandes coupled and two other Trennmes are ser mounted independently of the underfloor belt movable manure storage on linear drives parallel to Sen 2 and can be controlled in the program memory swiveled and be swung out again. The motion sequences are monitored by suitable sensors.

After the separation in the separation device 4 , the items are distributed with the aid of a transport device consisting of deflection rollers 7 and driven cover belts between which the items are transported, an alignment section 5 , a barcode reader as a feature scanning and reading device 6 and a distribution mechanism 12 supplied. Furthermore, the sorting machine has a second mailing store 1 , which is equipped with the mailings to be sorted in the first sorting operation. The shipments are via an assigned second separating device 3 likewise by means of the driven cover bands and deflection rollers 7 of the alignment section 5 , the barcode reader 6 leads to the distribution compartments 12 .

The consignments are taken over from the distribution boxes, for example from left to right, as follows:

• 1. The final separating knife (with underfloor band), the lowered middle separating knife and the shipments already accumulated in between are handled in such a way that the middle separating knife left-aligned with the next subject to be adopted stands. This position is determined using the sensors mentioned.
• 2. The right outer cutting knife is lowered to the right of the middle cutting knife and becomes right-justified to the content of the next subject to be adopted po sitioned.  
• 3. The content of the compartment is between the two other separating knives by opening of the relevant distribution compartment floor.
• 4. The middle cutting knife swings up. As a result, programs that are between end knife and the middle knife with unites the newly added to a batch of items. The batch printing or the density of the consignments may change slightly.
• 5. The middle swung-up cutting knife moves to the right outer cutting knife.
• 6. The middle cutting knife swings down. Here are the cutting knives partially designed so that the middle separating knife never left programs from the right cutting knife.
• 7. The right cutting knife swings up and moves to the right until it is right-justified the content of the next subject to be taken over. The danger of doing that Shipments that are torn from the stack are low because of the stack pressure of the programs taken from the subjects is not high.

The start step and the stop step of this recursion are to be considered separately:
Start: Before the first compartment is taken over, the final separating knife and the middle separating knife are right next to each other; otherwise as described above.
End: After accepting the last subject content, the right outer separating knife can remain in the swiveled up position, since the other two separating knives form the right and left supports of the stack of items. The stack can then be moved to any desired position, especially for separation.

The method of operation according to the invention is briefly explained using a sorting strategy with two sorts:

• 1. All items to be sorted are fed to the lower item memory 1 (automatically or manually).
• 2. Then the separation from this mail storage 1 begins and the sorting into the distribution compartments 12 (first sorting).
• 3. As soon as all mail items are sorted, they are reloaded from the distribution compartments 12 into the upper mail item storage 2 .
• 4. Then the separation from this mail storage 2 begins and the sorting into the sorting compartments 12 (second sorting process).
• 5. During this second sorting process, the lower consignment store 1 is empty and can already be loaded with the consignments for the next sorting, see step 1 .
• 6. As soon as the second sorting process has been completed, the mail items are again reloaded into the upper mail item storage 2 .
• 7. The first sorting of the next sorting can now begin immediately, see step 2 .
• 8. While the first sorting of the second sorting is running, the machine is switched off unloaded tomatically or manually, i.e. the sorted items in the upper store cher are removed.

Diagram 1 shows the chronological sequence of the processes.

Diagram 1

Claims (7)

1. Device for sorting flat consignments in several sorting steps, consisting of:
a feature scanning and reading device ( 6 ) for the distribution information,
emptied distribution compartments ( 12 ) into which the items are sorted according to the distribution information and the sorting plans,
Transport devices for transporting the individual mail items via the feature scanning and reading device ( 6 ) and distribution devices into the distribution compartments ( 12 )
a first consignment store ( 2 ) for consignments stacked in an upright position, for receiving the consignments sorted in the first and each further sorting aisle, with means for accepting the consignments from the distribution compartments ( 12 ) and for transporting them to a consignment withdrawing the foremost consignment single device ( 4 ), or to a removal point ( 10 ),
a second consignment store ( 1 ) for consignments stacked in an upright position for receiving the consignments to be sorted in the first sorting process, with an emptying device that transports the stacked consignments to a separating device ( 3 , 4 ) that subtracts the first consignment. 2. Device according to claim 1, in which, during one of the sorting runs following the first sorting run of a sorting run, shipments for the following sorting run are fed to the first mailing store ( 2 ). 3. Device according to claim 1, wherein during the first sorting the sorted mailings of the previous sorting run are removed from the second mailing store ( 1 ). 4. Device according to claim 1, wherein the shipments in the distributing compartments ( 12 ) in an upright position are sorted. 5. Device according to claim 1, wherein the second mail storage ( 1 ) for taking over and if necessary for emptying movable, the mail items in the upright position has on separation knife. 6. Device according to claim 1, in which each consignment store is assigned a separating device ( 3 , 4 ). 7. A device according to claim 1 is present in only one separating device (3 or 4) which for Entlee tion of the program memory (1, 2) to the end of each is driven to be emptied Broadcast memory (1, 2).