EP3682979B1 - Method and sorting assembly for the sorting of articles to be sorted with controllable ejection points - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a method and a sorting system for sorting items to be sorted.

Mail and parcel sorting systems in which letters and/or large letters or parcels are processed are sold, for example, by the companies Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics GmbH and Solystic.

the U.S. 2006/037888 A1 discloses such a parcel and mail sorting system in which letters, parcels or mail (hereinafter referred to as items to be sorted) are separated from a supply, e.g , realized, for example, by sorting switches or cross belt sorters, are fed to the respective target locations, such as stacking compartments of a mail sorting system. These features are shown in the preamble of patent claim 1. During a sorting run, the items to be sorted are sorted into the target locations. A variable destination code corresponding to the sorting logic or according to the sorting process is assigned to each destination for the sorting run by means of a sorting controller. A variable target code is also assigned to the items to be sorted, according to which they are then sorted into a target location. Several destinations can also have the same destination code, for example in the case of destination addresses with a known high volume of mail. This is e.g. B. if the capacity of a destination is not sufficient to accommodate all items for this destination code.

Even with a corresponding design of the destination, the capacity of the destination is exhausted after a certain number of items to be sorted and the destination must be emptied or made available again in some other way. This can be done, for example, by changing the container (empty for full), which is always associated with a certain handling effort. Therefore, the target point is temporarily not stationary during this emptying available to accommodate further items to be sorted. The time span of this temporary failure can also depend on how many operating personnel are available in the sorting system and/or whether, for example, due to a coincidence, several destinations are full at the same time and the available personnel can empty them faster and sometimes less quickly. Another reason for the terminal not being available at times can be a fault that first has to be rectified. Items to be sorted that are intended for such a destination are therefore guided along the sorting path and must be directed into a reject compartment at a destination provided for this purpose. However, such items to be sorted have thereby blocked a place for an item to be sorted which can effectively be sorted into a target location, which is why the sorting system cannot reach its maximum possible sorting capacity.

In the layout of a sorting center and for its operation, a sorting system or the entire sorting center is essentially defined by its real sorting performance (OTP), which can also fix the throughput specifications for the local management. As already mentioned, a second important factor is certainly the number of employees required. In addition, it can also be known from medium-term statistics which sorting destinations are high-volume (HV) and which are rather weak. However, these estimates are superimposed by the time-dependent occurrence of items to be sorted. It can be the case, for example, that on average two destinations (endpoints) are sufficient for a HV sorting destination, but a temporary situation occurs that exceeds the endpoint capacity (e.g. operator at the dock, automatic loading system) for a critical period of time. During the critical period of time, the capacity or the storage capacity of the conveyor route equipped with the destinations/terminals is limited. If this storage capacity is now more exhausted, the items to be sorted remain on the conveying path and are recirculated or rejected after passing through the conveying path. In the former case, the items to be sorted do not have to be put back on the conveyor path, but these recycled items to be sorted reduce the sorting performance. In the second case, the sorting feed (delivery point, Bullet device) loaded, but this is usually only a secondary problem, since the input performance usually exceeds the sorting performance.

The present invention is therefore based on a simple and inexpensive solution to this problem with the aim of achieving a consistently high sorting performance of the determining actual sorter.

1. a) Bereitstellen von mindestens zwei Eingabesträngen, wobei jeder Eingabestrang eine Eingabevorrichtung für die Sortierstücke und eine Komponente zur Identifizierung des Sortierstücks bzw. seiner Bestimmungsadresse und eine Ausschleusevorrichtung aufweist;
2. b) Zusammenführen der mindestens zwei Eingabestränge zu einem Förderweg, der Förderweichen und entlang des Förderwegs angeordnete Zielstellen aufweist;
3. c) Bereitstellen einer Anzahl von Sortierstücken an den mindestens zwei Eingabevorrichtungen für einen Sortierlauf;
4. d) Aufgeben der Anzahl von Sortierstücken an der Eingabevorrichtung und Sortieren der Sortierstücke durch eine die Förderweichen einstellende Sortiersteuerung gemäss einer Sortierlogik in die den Zielcodes der Sortierstücke entsprechende Zielstellen, wobei
5. e) für mindestens einen Teil der Sortierstücke eine Rückmeldung zur Feststellung eines Aufnahmevermögens von mindestens einer der Zielstellen durch die Sortiersteuerung ausgewertet wird; und
6. f) ein an einer der Eingabevorrichtungen aufgegebenes Sortierstück vor dessen Eintritt in den Förderweg ausgeschleust wird, wenn das Aufnahmevermögen der diesem Sortierstück zugeordneten Zielstelle zumindest temporär unterhalb eines vorgebbaren Grenzwerts liegt oder temporär ganz verneint wird.

With regard to the method, this object is achieved according to the invention by a method for sorting items to be sorted with a sorting system, the following method steps being included:

1. a) providing at least two input lines, each input line having an input device for the items to be sorted and a component for identifying the item to be sorted or its destination address and an ejection device;
2. b) combining the at least two input strands to form a conveying path which has conveying switches and target points arranged along the conveying path;
3. c) providing a number of items to be sorted at the at least two input devices for a sorting run;
4. d) giving up the number of items to be sorted at the input device and sorting the items to be sorted by a sorting control setting the conveyor switches according to a sorting logic into the target locations corresponding to the destination codes of the items to be sorted, wherein
5. e) for at least some of the items to be sorted, an acknowledgment to determine a holding capacity of at least one of the target locations is evaluated by the sorting controller; and
6. f) an item to be sorted at one of the input devices is ejected before it enters the conveying path if the capacity of the target location assigned to this item to be sorted is at least temporarily below a predeterminable limit value or is temporarily completely negated.

1. a) mindestens zwei Eingabestränge, wobei jeder Eingabestrang eine Eingabevorrichtung für die Sortierstücke und eine Komponente zur Identifizierung des Sortierstücks bzw. seiner Bestimmungsadresse und eine Ausschleusevorrichtung aufweist;
2. b) eine Zusammenführungseinheit der mindestens zwei Eingabestränge zu einem Förderweg, der Förderweichen und entlang des Förderwegs angeordnete Zielstellen aufweist;
3. c) eine Sortiersteuerung, die in der Lage ist für eine Anzahl von Sortierstücken eine jeweilige Adresskennung zu kennen und der Adresskennung einen Zielcode für eine der Zielstellen zuzuordnen und die Förderweichen für ein an einer der mindestens zwei Eingabevorrichtungen aufgegebenes Sortierstück entsprechend zum Erreichen der vorgesehenen Zielstelle einzustellen, wobei die Sortiersteuerung weiter in der Lage ist, für mindestens einen Teil der Sortierstücke eine Rückmeldung zur Feststellung eines Aufnahmevermögens von mindestens einer der Zielstellen auszuwerten und die jeweils zwischen der Eingabevorrichtung und der Zusammenführungseinheit angeordnete Ausschleusevorrichtung zum Ausschleusen von Sortierstücken so zu steuern, dass ein an einer der mindestens zwei Eingabevorrichtungen aufgegebenes Sortierstück vor dessen Eintritt in den Förderweg ausgeschleust wird, wenn das Aufnahmevermögen der diesem Sortierstück zugeordneten Zielstelle zumindest temporär unterhalb eines vorgebbaren Grenzwerts liegt oder temporär ganz verneint wird.

With regard to the sorting system, this object is achieved according to the invention by a sorting system for sorting items to be sorted, which includes the following components:

1. a) at least two input lines, each input line having an input device for the items to be sorted and a component for identifying the item to be sorted or its destination address and an ejection device;
2. b) a merging unit for the at least two input strands to form a conveying path, which has conveying switches and target points arranged along the conveying path;
3. c) a sorting controller that is able to know a respective address identifier for a number of items to be sorted and to assign a destination code for one of the target locations to the address identifier and to adjust the conveyor switches for a sorted item that has been placed at one of the at least two input devices in order to reach the intended destination , wherein the sorting controller is also able to evaluate feedback for determining the capacity of at least one of the target locations for at least some of the items to be sorted and to control the ejection device for ejecting items to be sorted, which is arranged between the input device and the merging unit, in such a way that an one of the at least two input devices is ejected before it enters the conveying path if the capacity of the target location assigned to this sorted item is at least temporarily below a predefinable G limit value or is temporarily completely negated.

In this way, the method and the sorting system enable improved utilization of the sorting capacity of the sorting system, because items to be sorted whose destinations are temporarily unavailable are not even put on the actual sorting line/conveyor line, but rather immediately after they have been input (detection of the items identifying the sorted item data) are ejected from the sorting process again before the actual sorting process begins. Although this ejection later causes a new input process at the input point, but since the capacity of the at least two input devices is usually greater than the sorting capacity of the sorting system, this re-feed only plays a subordinate role in achieving the best possible sorting performance (OTP).

In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the feedback for determining the absorption capacity can be generated by an active operator action at a target location. For example, the operating personnel can report a destination as unavailable at the touch of a button. The sorting controller receives this actuation signal and, in response to the unwillingness of this destination, initiates a corresponding setting of the ejection gates, which means that items to be sorted for this unready destination are ejected before they reach the actual sorting path. Only when a button is pressed to indicate that the destination is now able to accept items to be sorted again are the items to be sorted for this destination no longer ejected, but conveyed as intended along the sorting path to the corresponding destination.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the feedback can be generated by the sorting control itself by evaluating the information about the destination codes of the number of items to be sorted and thereby determining after how many items to be sorted that have already been submitted to the input device for a specific destination point the acceptance of this destination point is possible will be at least temporarily exhausted. It can thus be determined in advance or also dynamically in the sorting control when a destination will temporarily no longer be able to receive items due to the items to be sorted for this destination. A number of 100 items to be sorted for a destination could be mentioned as an example, which fill up a destination and thus require a container change at the destination. During the time the container is being changed, e.g. assumed five minutes, the sorting control sets the ejection gates for further items to be sorted in the ejection direction for this destination that is temporarily unavailable due to the container change, so that items to be sorted for this destination temporarily no longer get onto the sorting line and thus the Do not load the sorting system unnecessarily.

Figur 1

in schematischer Darstellung eine Sortieranlage für die Sortierung von flachen Versandstücken zu einem ersten Sortierzeitpunkt;

Figur 2

in schematischer Darstellung die Sortieranlage gemäss Figur 1 für die Sortierung von flachen Versandstücken zu einem zweiten Sortierzeitpunkt;

Figur 3

in schematischer Darstellung die Sortieranlage gemäss Figur 1 für die Sortierung von flachen Versandstücken zu einem alternativen zweiten oder einem dritten Sortierzeitpunkt; und

Figur 4

in schematischer Darstellung die Sortieranlage gemäss Figur 1 für die Sortierung von flachen Versandstücken zu einem späteren Sortierzeitpunkt.

Advantageous configurations of the present invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. show:

figure 1

a schematic representation of a sorting system for sorting flat mail items at a first sorting time;

figure 2

a schematic representation of the sorting installation according to FIG. 1 for the sorting of flat mail items at a second sorting point in time;

figure 3

a schematic representation of the sorting installation according to FIG. 1 for the sorting of flat mail items at an alternative second or third sorting point in time; and

figure 4

a schematic representation of the sorting installation according to FIG. 1 for the sorting of flat mail items at a later sorting time.

figure 1 shows a schematic of a sorting system 2 for the sorting of flat items 4, 4a to 4d, here for example postal items such as letters, newspapers, magazines and the like. However, the sorting system 2 described below and the sorting method carried out thereon can in principle also be used for sorting general cargo, such as parcels, parcels, pieces of luggage and the like. The sorting system 2 here has two input lines 5a, 5b, each of which has an input device 6a, 6b for the flat items to be sorted 4, 4a to 4d, with which the items to be sorted 4, 4a to 4d are fed from a height-adjustable stacking device 8 for sorting. Identification devices 7a, 7b are linked to the input devices 6a, 6b, which can be designed as bullet devices or the like, for example, and can record data identifying the respective item to be sorted, such as the address or a code representing this. Each input strand 5a, 5b then has a discharge switch 12a, 12b, with which an item to be sorted can be discharged from the sorting process into discharge containers 22a, 22b before it reaches a merging unit 9 for the two input lines 5a, 5b, without even having been on a conveying path 10 actually provided for the sorting.

In this conveyor path 10 conveyor switches 14 to 20 are arranged, each of which is assigned a target point 24 to 30 . In the present exemplary embodiment, each of the target locations 24-30 has an adjustable status indicator 32-38. In the present case, these status displays 32 to 38 are set by a sorting control 40 and can also be actuated by the operating personnel (not shown here). The status displays 32 to 38 can switch between a status <"0"=target location temporarily not ready for reception> and a status <"I"=destination ready for reception>. to the in figure 1 At the point in time shown, a number of flat items to be sorted 4, which have been provided in a stack at the input device 6, have already been sorted into the various target locations 24 to 30. The sorting controller 40 controls the sorting gates 14 to 20 according to the address recorded for the item to be sorted in the input device so that the flat item 4 to be sorted reaches the destination 24 to 30 assigned to this address according to a sorting logic.

Due to the simplicity of the graphical representation, it is assumed here that a destination 24 to 30, into which a sixth flat sorting item has been sorted, is considered to be filled and must therefore be emptied. During this emptying period, the destination is then not available for further filling with items 4 to be sorted.

This state is now for the sorting system 2 in figure 2 shown at a later date. First of all, the sorting controller 40, which has detected the sorting of the sixth item to be sorted in the target location 24 in the sense of counting the assignment of items to be sorted to this target location 24, has set the status display 32 for this target location 24 to the value "0", which is indicated by the light hatching of the field with the "0" and the dashed light signal should be symbolized. The staff now knows that the target point 24 must be emptied. In the further course of sorting, however, the two were now in figure 1 been intended for the destination 24 on top of the flat items 4a and 4b lying on a stack 8a, but which is currently not available. Correspondingly, the sorting controller 40 has now set the ejection gate 12a such that these two items to be sorted 4a, 4b are ejected directly after their task before the start of the actual sorting path 10 and are thus sorted into the ejection container 22a. This means that these two items to be sorted 4a, 4b do not currently further burden the sorting capacity of the sorting system 2. Thus, for these two items to be sorted 4a, 4b, there was feedback on the capacity of the target location 24 (here negative feedback), which was evaluated by the sorting controller 40, which is why the two items to be sorted 4a, 4b placed at the input device 6 before they enter the actual conveying path 10 equipped with sorting switches 14 to 20 because the capacity of the target location 24 assigned to these items to be sorted 4a, 4b was at least temporarily below a predeterminable limit value or was temporarily completely denied here. However, in order to still be able to use the capacity of the sorting system 2, the second input line 5b has jumped in somewhat loosely speaking and instead of the sorted items 4a and 4b, the sorted items 4c and 4d have been able to put the sorted items 4c and 4d on the conveyor path 10, whereupon a target point 26 corresponding to the respective address or 28 have been fitted with these sorting pieces 4c and 4d. Due to the premature ejection of the items to be sorted 4a and 4b, the design of the sorting system 2 according to the invention did not lead to a drop in the sorting capacity, but the capacity of the sorting system 2 could continue to be fully used.

In the present case figure 2 this feedback was generated by the sorting controller 40 itself by evaluating the information about the destination codes of the items to be sorted 4 intended for the sorting process. This made it possible to determine, for example, that in this set of items to be sorted 4 at least after six were already at the input devices 6a and 6b for a specific Target point 24 abandoned sorting pieces 4 is at least temporarily exhausted the recording capacity of this target point 24 and thus a status change from "I" to "0" has to take place.

figure 3 can now show two alternatives. As the first of the two alternatives, the figure 3 show a third point in time when the container is actually not present at the target site 24 for its emptying. The value "0" is therefore correctly displayed on the status display 32 .

In the second alternative, the state of the sorting system 2 can be shown at an alternative second point in time. The container at destination 24 has also been removed here to be emptied, but status display 32 may have been set manually by staff from the value "I" to value "0" or the container at destination 24 itself may have a level monitor , which switches the status indicator 32 from the status “I = receptive” to the status “0 = no longer receptive” when a predetermined filling level is reached. In any case, the sorting control 40 is informed that the destination 24 temporarily has no capacity; the status display 32 can show the operating personnel optically and/or acoustically or also as a display on a data display device of an operator station that the container at the target point 24 is to be emptied. Logically, for these two variants as well, the rejection of the capacity for the destination 24 reported back to the sorting control 40 has led to the flat sorted items 4a, 4b being ejected into the ejection container 22a.

the figure 4 now shows a snapshot of the sorting process of the sorting system 2 at an even later point in time. The target site 24 container has been emptied and reinserted into that target site 24 . Accordingly, the status indicator 32 has been changed back from the "0" state to the "I" state, either through manual intervention by the operator at the status indicator 32 or through the detection of the presence of an empty container at the target location 24 in communication with the sorting control 40. The two ejected sorted items 4a and 4b were placed on top of the stack 8a or 8b at the input device 6a or 6b and then logically conveyed to the destination 24 in the sorting process.

In this way, the method and the system enable improved utilization of the sorting capacity of the sorting system 2, because items to be sorted 4a, 4b, whose target locations 24 are temporarily unavailable, are not put onto the sorting line 10 in the first place, but immediately after they have been input (detection of the data identifying the item to be sorted) are discharged from the sorting process again. Although this ejection later causes a new input process at one of the two or at the input devices 6a, 6b, since the capacity of the input devices 6a, 6b is usually greater than the sorting capacity of the sorting system 2, this re-feed only plays a subordinate role in achieving the best possible sorting performance (OTP = operational throughput).

Claims (6)

1. Method for the sorting of sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) using a sorting installation (2), comprising the following method steps:

   a) providing at least two input lines (5a, 5b), wherein each input line (5a, 5b) has an input apparatus (6a, 6b) for the sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) and a component (7a, 7b) for identifying the sorting item (4, 4a, 4b) or its destination address and a discharge apparatus (12a, 12b);

   b) merging the at least two input lines (5a, 5b) to form one conveying path (10), which has conveying diverters (14 to 20) and destination points (24 to 30) arranged along the conveying path (10);

   c) providing a number of sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) to the at least two input apparatuses (6a, 6b) for a sorting run;

   d) releasing the number of sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) at the input apparatus (6) and sorting the sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) by way of a sorting controller (40) adjusting the conveying diverters (14 to 20) according to a sorting logic into the destination points (24 to 30) corresponding to the destination codes of the sorting items (4, 4a, 4b),

   characterised in that

   e) for at least some of the sorting items (4a, 4b) a response for establishing a receiving capability of at least one of the destination points (24) is evaluated by the sorting controller (40); and

   f) a sorting item (4a, 4b) released at one of the input apparatuses (6a, 6b) is discharged before it enters the conveying path (10), when the receiving capability of the destination point (24) assigned to said sorting item (4a, 4b) at least temporarily lies below a predefinable limit value or is temporarily denied.
2. Method according to claim 1,
   characterised in that
   the response for establishing a receiving capability is generated by an active operator action, for example on a state unit (32), at a destination point (24).
3. Method according to claim 1 or 2,
   characterised in that
   the response is generated by the sorting controller (40), in that the information regarding the destination codes of the number of sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) is evaluated and, as a result, it is ascertained after how many sorting items (4), which have already been released at the input apparatus (6) for a certain destination point (24), the receiving capability of said destination point (24) is at least temporarily exhausted.
4. Sorting installation (2) for the sorting of sorting items (4, 4a, 4b), comprising:

   a) at least two input lines (5a, 5b), wherein each input line (5a, 5b) has an input apparatus (6a, 6b) for the sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) and a component (7a, 7b) for identifying the sorting item (4, 4a, 4b) or its destination address and a discharge apparatus (12a, 12b);

   b) a merging unit (9) for the at least two input lines (5a, 5b) to form one conveying path (10), which has conveying diverters (14 to 20) and destination points (24 to 30) arranged along the conveying path (10);

   c) a sorting controller (40), which is capable of identifying a respective address identifier for a number of sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) and assigning the address identifier a destination code for one of the destination points (24 to 30) and adjusting the conveying diverters (14 to 20) for a sorting item (4, 4a, 4b) released at one of the at least two input apparatuses (6a, 6b) according to the reaching of the intended destination point (24 to 30),

   characterised in that
   the sorting controller (40) is further capable, for at least some of the sorting items (4a, 4b), of evaluating a response for establishing a receiving capability of at least one of the destination points (24) and controlling the discharge apparatus (12a, 12b) for discharging sorting items (4a, 4b), which is arranged in each case between the input apparatus (6a, 6b) and the merging unit (9), such that a sorting item (4a, 4b) released at one of the at least two input apparatuses (6a, 6b) is discharged before it enters the conveying path (10), when the receiving capability of the destination point (24) assigned to said sorting item (4a, 4b) at least temporarily lies below a predefinable limit value or is temporarily denied.
5. Sorting installation (2) according to claim 4, characterised in that
   the response for establishing a receiving capability can be generated by an active operator action at a destination point (24), for example on a state display (32) assigned to the destination point (24).
6. Sorting installation (2) according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that
   the response can be generated by the sorting controller (40) itself, in that the information regarding the destination codes of the number of sorting items (4, 4a, 4b) is evaluated and, as a result, it can be ascertained after how many sorting items (4), which have already been released at the at least two input apparatuses (6a, 6b) for a certain destination point (24), the receiving capability of said destination point (4) is at least temporarily exhausted.

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