IL181033A - Arrangement for characterising objects on transport and method for transporting objects - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement for the transport of objects, in which said objects are transported in containers (10), provided with at least one electronic display means (20). The arrangement comprises generation means (30), for the generation of information for display on a display means (20), preparation means, for preparation of information for display in at least one device (50) and transmission means (40), for transmission of data from the device (50) to a display means (20) of a container. The electronic displays (20) are, for example, organic polymer displays or electronic inks of bistable elements. The applications of said displays for replacement of paper labels and displays with low material, cost and personnel requirements are numerously disclosed.

Description

ARRANGEMENT FOR CHARACTERISING OBJECTS ON TRANSPORT AND METHOD FOR TRANSPORTING OBJECTS D' n irtiiin1) no'wi r -iin nya D'XDFI II'DK1? ΊΙΤΟ Eitan Law Group Eitan, Mehulal, Pappo, Kugler P-9766-IL WO 2006/012939 PCT EP2005/OOi!995 Arrangement for characterising objects on transport and method for transporting objects Description : The invention relates to an arrangement for transporting objects, in which the objects are transported in containers that are provided with at least one electronic display means .

The invention also relates to a method for transporting objects, with which the objects are transported in containers that are provided with at least one electronic display means .

For purposes of the visually detectable identification of objects such as merchandise, containers, packaging or pallets, it is a known procedure to provide these objects with labels bearing information, for example, about the content, the transport destination or the price of a given item of merchandise. On the basis of this identification, persons can read off the information they need and can carry out appropriate actions such as, for instance, transporting an object to an indicated destination position. If the information is variable, new identification has to be applied to the object in question every time a change is made. Typically, the information is removed manually from the label and replaced with new information. The old label can also be completely replaced by a new one or, for example, a new label can be glued over the old one.

In order to overcome the drawbacks of conventional labels, electronic labels on the basis of electronic ink are being developed more and more frequently. Such a label is described, for example, in international patent application WO 00/16189 Al. The label is made up of several layers such as display layers, activation grid layers, processor layers and antenna layers as well as a storage element, whereby the display layers have electronic ink arranged on a support. The information to be displayed can be transmitted to the label by means of the antenna layer.

A typical use of electronic labels is described in international patent application WO 00/67110 Al, which discloses electronic labels for variably indicating the prices of merchandise. In this process, an electronic label is applied to a shelf on which the merchandise is located so that the display can be provided with variable prices or additional product information.

It is likewise a known procedure to replace the visually detectable identification of objects in transportation or logistics systems by FID technologies comprising transponders that can be written and read out electronically multiple times. Such systems have the advantage that a great deal of information can be read in and read out electronically into and out of a transponder, as a result of which automatic transportation, sorting, tracking or distribution procedures can be controlled without a need for a visual display of information.

An example of the use of RFID transponders in the postal sector is disclosed in international patent application WO 03/098533 Al . The RFID transponders are affixed ~to mailpieces which are sorted on the basis of the information that can be read in and read out and then said mailpieces_ are transported to a final destination. ~~~~~ ~~~~ XXXX2 Another use of RFID labels is disclosed in German Utility Model DE 202 07 972 Ul, which describes load carriers such as pallets equipped with Here, information such as the owner, the content or the load carrier identification number of a labeled load carrier is stored in the transponder.

Particularly in logistics systems such as postal systems, it has proven to be advantageous to replace conventional paper labels with electronic labels. This makes it possible to substantially reduce material, personnel, waste-disposal and other costs, while increasing the reliability of the identification.

For example, the publication U.S. Pat. No. 5^153,842 discloses a system in which parcels or groups of parcels are provided with an electronic label that has the display. Alphanumeric characters and/or*~a ba code can be shown on a display. In the label's memory, various different types of data can be captured and read out. When the parcel is sent and undergoes, for example, a sorting procedure at a logistics service provider and during the transportation process, additional information can be captured at all of the stations and stored in the label. For example, data about the sender, the point in time of drop-off and/or the location and time of the sorting can be written into the label. The routing information needed for the sorting is read out from the barcode shown on the display, for example, with a barcode scanner.

The object of the invention is to put forward an arrangement for transporting objects, in which the objects are transported in containers that are provided with variable 3a XXXX/2 identification information in a manner that incurs low material, personnel, waste-disposal and other costs.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent Claims 1 and 15. Advantageous refinements of the invention can be gleaned from the subordinate Claims 2 to 14 and 16 to 17.

The arrangement according to the invention for transporting objects, with which the objects are transported in containers, calls for the containers to be provided with at least one electronic display means. In at least one device, the arrangement also comprises generation means for generating information to be displayed on a display means as well as provision means for providing the information to be displayed. Moreover, the arrangement comprises transmission means for transmitting data from the device to a display means of a container. The generation means, the provision 4 means and the transmission means can be combined in one apparatus that constitutes the device for transmitting the information to the display means. However, the individual components can also be arranged separately from each other, whereby data is transmitted between the means. In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, at least the generation means are connected to a central data processing un_it_^that controls and stores the information flow to the electronic labels.

In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, the transported objects are mailpieces that are transported and/or sorted in a postal system. The arrangement, as a device by means of which data is exported to the electronic label of a container, can comprise a sorting machine. An operator delivers containers to the entrances of a sorting machine, said containers having been identified with the entrance designation of the sorting machine in question. After the sorting procedure has been completed, stacks of letters are accumulated at the exits of the machine and these letters are collected in containers that have identification indicating the next transport destination of the container. At the exits, the destination information that is associated with a container is automatically transmitted to the electronic display of the positioned container. The display can be read by an operator and the container can be transported to the next transfer station.

The electronic display means on a transportation container can be, for example, a component on the basis of a monostable liquid crystal display. Moreover, a component on the basis of a bistable liquid crystal display can also be used. Such a bistable liquid crystal display can be based on FLCD, EASL, ZBD, BiNem or ChLCD technology. In another embodiment of the invention, the electronic display means is 5 a component on the basis of electronic ink with bistable elements. Information can be displayed on this display as text and/or as a graphic image. In one embodiment, the information to be displayed comprises encrypted information, for example, in the form of a barcode, of the type typically used for the identification of containers. In order to detect the barcode information, the arrangement has means such as scanners that optically detect encrypted information.

' In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, in addition to an electronic display, a container to be transported also has an RFID transponder. The identification of the container is thus a combination of a display for visual or optical detection of information and of a transponder by means of which information can additionally be read in and read out. The data that is stored in the two components can be the same or else different information. On the basis of the read-out information, the container can be, for example, automatically controlled in areas where no personnel is deployed. In addition, the transportation of the containers can be tracked and/or transportation statistics can be generated.

In order to generate and transmit transponder data as well as information to be displayed, the generation means, the devices and the transmission means also have means for transmitting data to the RFID transponder. These additional means are preferably located in the means for processing the display information.

Aside from the sorting machines, the devices employed to transmit information can also be hand-held devices or gates. For purposes of transmitting information, hand-held devices are positioned by an operator within the receiving range of 6 the container identification, whereas gates have a defined range in which information is automatically transmitted if a container moves through this range.

The invention also comprises a method for transporting objects, in which the objects are transported in containers that are provided with at least one electronic display means. The method calls for the generation in a generation means of information to be displayed on a display means. Information to be displayed is provided in at least one device and data is transmitted from the device to a display means of a container via a transmission means.

The method can be configured in such a way that the information to be displayed is transmitted automatically when a container is located within the range of a device. Another possibility for the process sequence is that the information to be displayed is transmitted by means of manual actuation by an operator.

The use of an electronic label for the identification of a container has the advantage that variable information can be displayed without there being a need to replace the label. As a result, the material, personnel, waste-disposal and other costs for the identification of the container are reduced. Furthermore, no paper labels have to be generated and manually affixed to a container, which is error-prone since the labels might be accidentally switched. Instead, the variable information in the arrangement according to the invention can be transmitted to a system that can be controlled and monitored and that is situated on the container, thus enhancing the reliability of the container identification. 7 The arrangement makes it possible to use various devices for generating and transmitting data to an electronic display within one system. This has the advantage that various process sequences of a transportation and sorting system with which identifications are issued at different stations can be depicted. At some stations of the arrangement, it can be advantageous, for example, to employ portable hand-held devices since the circumstances require a flexible handling of containers, whereas at other stations, such as the exits of a sorting machine, a stationary device for automatic transmission can be advantageous. Gates can be used, for instance, when it is advantageous not to interrupt the transportation of containers but rather to transmit new identifications while the container is in motion.

Additional advantages, special features and practical refinements of the invention ensue from the subordinate claims and from the presentation below of a preferred embodiment making reference to Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows an embodiment of an arrangement for transporting objects in containers 10. It is especially preferred to use the arrangement according to the invention in a postal system in which mailpieces are transported in containers between several transfer stations. However, the arrangement can also be used in other systems in which the variable identification of objects is carried out by means of an electronic display on this object.

Containers for transporting mailpieces are typically structured in such a way that they can be stacked in and/or on top of each other and, optionally, can be closed with a cover. The containers are provided with an electronic label that has at least one electronic display 20.

The electronic label has at least one optically or visually detectable electronic display ..^ Since, in the case of ^ . . _ monostable display systems, the displayed information is no longer visible if the power fails, preferably bistable display units are used on the t electronic information carrier. Various technologies, for example, those on the basis of liquid crystals, can be used as displays. In selecting" a ^u at7ie_.d-i-s lay technology, criteria such as flexibility, impact-resistance, service life, maintenance requirements, weather-resistance, working temperature range, number of write cycles and the generation intervals have to be taken into account, depending on the area of application.

A possible display technology is FLCD (ferroelectric liquid crystal display) technology. Ferroelectric liquid crystal phases are formed by chiral or chirally doped smectic C-phases. As a result of the tilting of the molecular longitudinal axes within the smectic layers, a spontaneous polarization occurs perpendicular to the layer normal. By applying an electric field opposite to this polarization, the tilting direction of the molecules and thus also the direction of the polarization are reversed. Both switching states differ optically and are stable. A reflective FLCD fundamentally consists of a polarizer, of the liquid crystalline phase and of a backing mirror. Light and dark states are created, depending on the tilting direction of the smectic phase relative to the polarizer.

Another technology comprises electrically addressable smectic liquid displays (EASL) . This is a liquid crystal display that is based on electro-optical effects of smectic liquid crystals. The untilted smectic layers are oriented parallel to the display cell and, in this state, incident light does not undergo birefringence. The display appears transparent or, if it is backed with a colored reflective 9 layer, it appears in the color of the■ reflective layer. The second state is characterized by randomly arranged focal-conical domains on which scattered light is generated. As a result of the birefringence that is then present, this scattered light appears white and, if dichroitic dyestuffs are added, it appears in the color of the dye. Both states can be converted to the other state by applying an electric voltage .

Zenithal bistable devices (ZBD) are_displays on the basis of nematic liquid crystals. With this special type of a nematic display, defects of the nematic order are induced on a substrate by a trench structure in the micrometer range in such a way that, depending on the influence of a direct current field, either a planar or a homeotropic alignment can be established.

BiNem technology is based on the bistability of two nematic states. The liquid crystal is present in a planar orientation and undergoes a strong edge anchoring on the one substrate whereas it undergoes a weak edge anchoring on the other substrate. Dedicated current pulses can be used to switch between an untwisted bulk structure and a bulk structure that is twisted by 180°. If a liquid crystal cell equipped with polarizers and arranged in parallel is backed with an absorption film, the untwisted state appears white while the twisted state appears black.

The technology of cholesteric liquid crystal displays (CHLCD) is based on twisted nematic liquid crystalline phases. Chirally nematic phases or nematic phases provided with chiral doping agents form helical structures on the molecular level. If the length of the helix is equal to the wavelength of visible light, then it is selectively reflected (helix perpendicular to the display surface) or 10 transmitted (random order of the helices) . Both states have long-term stability and can be converted to the other state by applying an electric voltage.

The displays can also be a polymer display such as an OLED (organic light emitting diode) . Such displays consist of a multi-layer system in which a very thin polymer is arranged between two electrodes. As a result, a thin display can be created that can be used as a paper substitute for the identification of objects. Here, it is sufficient to use black-and-white displays, but more complex displays with several colors can also be used. Such OLED displays have the advantage that they need less energy than LED displays so that the service life of a battery used for container identification can be extended.

In an especially preferred embodiment of the invention, the displays are created with electronic ink. Chemically speaking, these are microcapsules containing two different color components that have opposite charges and that become oriented in an electrical field. Due to the particle sizes and the viscosity of the system, no back-relaxation into an unordered state occurs immediately after the electrical field is switched off. Consequently, none of the written information is lost but at most a decrease in the contrast might take place.

Electrophoretic displays have favorable properties, especially in terms of the mechanical requirements of flexibility, impact-resistance and pressure stability. Moreover, they offer a sufficiently bistable behavior and they function within a temperature range that covers the typical weather conditions for a transportation container system. Furthermore, thanks to the relatively low actuation 1 1 voltage, the switching circuitry for the energy supply is simple.

In one embodiment of the invention, an electronic label comprises at least one wireless interface for the preferably bidirectional transmission of data and a display for the visualization of optically detectable information. The interface is preferably an RFID component such as a chip. Moreover, a logical circuit for the data management is integrated that serves to transfer data from the wireless interface to the display. Moreover, a label advantageously comprises a circuit component for providing the energy needed by the individual system components.

It has proven to be advantageous to transmit the energy needed to operate the electronic label via the wireless interface. The transmission of data received via the wireless interface to the display is effectuated, for example, by a microcontroller that is connected to a suitable display driver. Various concept variants of the overall system can be realized, depending on the type of linking and on the additional circuitry of these basic elements .

If active (monostable) LCDs are used, a permanent energy supply for the display is necessary, which calls for the integration of an energy storage unit such as a battery, an accumulator or a capacitor with an adequate capacity. The data to be transmitted is received by an RF interface and stored directly there. Data that is relevant for the display is transmitted to a microcontroller with a display driver that actuates the display. During the data transmission, energy is obtained from the RF signal by a separate circuit part that serves to fill an energy storage unit by means of which the supply of the controller and display is ensured. 12 The RF component takes the energy it needs directly from the RF signal. All of the components needed for this are preferably already present in the RFID chip. In contrast, the requisite complexity of the circuitry for acquiring additional energy depends to a great extent on the supply voltage of the other connected components.

When passive (bistable) displays are used, a simplified variant of the above-mentioned concept can be used. Here, the basic elements of the RF component and of the microcontroller with display actuation are retained. By using a passive display, however, the energy storage unit can be dispensed with. Since bistable displays normally operate at a higher operating voltage than conventional LCDs do, the actuation of the display changes. In order to acquire the actuation voltage, additional (passive) components can be used, although this does increase the number of components.

For example, two separate RF components can be used for passive (bistable) displays. One component can be an RFID-1C component that contains the circuitry needed for energy acquisition from the RF signal. The part of the circuitry that is provided for the actuation of the display is preferably structured so as to be uncoupled from the RFID-IC component. This simplifies the adaptation of the second RF component as well as of additionally needed components to the higher supply voltage of the passive display. The data to be transmitted to the display is thus only passed through by the second RF component and is displayed via the subsequent microcontroller with display actuation.

In another embodiment of the electronic label, the number of system components is kept as low as possible in that all of 13 the components, except for the display, are integrated within an application-specific IC. The objective of such an ASIC (application specific IC) or CSIC (customer specific IC) is to integrate all of the functionalities needed for an electronic final product into one single semiconductor to the greatest extent possible.

In order to transmit information to an electronic display, this information is generated in a generation means 30. The generation can be carried out by the generation means 30 itself or by the transmission of data by a central data processing unit 70. Moreover, for purposes of the generation, data can be entered by an operator. The generation means 30 is connected to provision means in a device 50 that has transmission means 40 for transmitting the information.

The device 50 can be, for example, a hand-held device that. is positioned manually by an operator within the receiving range of the display and that transmits the information to the label. In another preferred embodiment, the devices for transmission are one or more gates through whose range of agC¾*«TT—tKe container in question is moved. While the container is being moved through the gate, preprogrammed information is automatically transmitted to the container.

When the container is used in a postal sorting and transporting system, it has proven to be advantageous to implement the transmission of information, at least in part, at fixed positions where a container is placed. For example, containers in post office branches are usually provided with information carriers indicating the type of letters to be collected in this container by an operator as well as the transportation destination of the container. This information, which for the most part remains constant, can 14 be permanently stored in a device near which the container is positioned so that the device can transmit the information to the electronic display. In another embodiment of the invention, an operator can freely program the information to be transmitted or he can add other information to it.

The arrangement according to the invention can also be advantageously used in postal ^sorting systems in which containers with mailpieces are provided with new information carriers at various sorting stations. Conventionally, a sorting machine sorts incoming mailpieces according to a certain sorting plan and generates accumulations of mailpieces having the same destination at several exits of the device. This destination can already be a delivery region or else the entrance to another sorting machine.

In the case of known sorting machines, an operator provides a container with a paper label onto which, through a control of the sorting machine, the applicable destination information is automatically printed and then he positions this container at the correct exit point of the machine. With the use of the arrangement according to the invention, this destination information could be transmitted directly to the appertaining exit point for the sorted mailpieces. Consequently, the operator merely still has to position a container and the destination information is automatically transferred to the electronic display. As a result, accidental switching and errors in the identification of containers can be virtually eliminated.

The arrangement can thus provide several different devices by means of which information is transmitted to container labels. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, a container 10 is moved to a transfer station A on the basis of an 15 appertaining display on its label. For this purpose, this transportation destination was read out by the operator who carried out or at least initiated the transportation. At the transfer station A, the transported objects are, for example, temporarily stored in unchanged form, emptied, sorted and/or refilled into new containers.

For purposes of data transmission, the device 50 is equipped with a transmission means 40 that transmits data to a receiving means of the display. The transmission means can be, for example, a transmitter that, in conjunction with an antenna of the electronic display 20, transmits data. The transmission of data to the electronic display -20 preferably takes place contact-free. In another embodiment of the invention, the transmission takes place via direct contact of the container display with a contact means _ of the transmission means. For example, a device for receiving the container can be provided which aligns the container in a position in which the contact means of the transmission means 40 engages with a counterpart of the display 20, thus establishing a fixed contact via which data can be transmitted.

In another especially preferred embodiment of the invention, the visually detectable electronic display of a label is 16 augmented by an RFID transponder 60 that is likewise integrated into the label. In this manner, the same or different information can be stored in the RFID transponder as that displayed on the electronic display. Typically, RFID transponders are used to track containers and to generate transportation statistics so that information can also be stored that goes beyond the displayed identification.

Reading data in and out via the transponder 60 can likewise be done via hand-held devices, gates or transmission devices that are installed at individual positions. The means needed for this purpose are preferably integrated into the means for transmitting the information to be displayed. 17 List of reference numerals 10 container 20 display means 30 generation means 40 transmission means 50 device for providing information to be displayed 60 RFID transponder 70 central data processing unit

Claims (15)

1. An arrangement for transporting mailpieces in a postal system, in which the mailpieces are transported in containers (10) between several transfer stations, whereby the containers are each provided with at least one electronic display means (20), whereby the arrangement has the following features: • generation means (30) for generating information to be displayed on a display means (20) of a container (10), whereby the information comprises at least the indication of the next transfer station A of the container (10); • provision means in a first device (50) being connected to the generation means (30) for providing the data for the information to be displayed; • transmission means (40) for transmitting said data from the first device (50) to the display means (20) of the container (10); • provision means in a second device (50) being connected to the generation means (30) at the transfer station A for providing data for a new information to be displayed, whereby the information to be displayed is at least the indication of the next transfer station B of the container (10); and • transmission means (40) for transmitting said data from the second device (50) to the display means (20) of the container (10).

2. The arrangement according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the electronic display means (20) is a component on the basis of a monostable liquid crystal display.

3. The arrangement according to Claim 1 , characterized in that 181033/4 19 the electronic display means (20) is a component on the basis of a bistable liquid crystal display.

4. The arrangement according to Claim 3, characterized in that the bistable liquid crystal display is a display based on FLCD, EASL, ZBD, BiNem or ChLCD technology.

5. The arrangement according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the electronic display means (20) is a component on the basis of electronic ink with bistable elements.

6. The arrangement according to one or more of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the information to be displayed is text and/or graphic images.

7. The arrangement according to one or more of Claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the information to be displayed comprises encrypted information that is optically detectable by a device.

8. The arrangement according to Claim 7, characterized in that the information to be displayed is a barcode.

9. The arrangement according to one or both of Claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the arrangement has means for optically detecting displayed encrypted information.

10. The arrangement according to one or more of Claims 1 to 9, 181033/4 20 characterized in that the containers have an RFID transponder (60).

11. The arrangement according to Claim 10, characterized in that the generation means (30), the device (50) and the transmission means (40) have means for generating and transmitting data to the RFID transponder (60).

12. The arrangement according to one or more of Claims 1 to 11 , characterized in that at least the generation means (30) are connected to a central data processing unit (70).

13. The arrangement according to one or more of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the device (50) is a hand-held device.

14. The arrangement according to one or more of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the device (50) is a stationary device.

15. A method for transporting mailpieces in a postal system, in which the mailpieces are transported in containers (10) between several transfer stations, whereby the containers are each provided with at least one electronic display means (20), whereby the method comprises the following steps: • generating in a generation means (30) information to be displayed on the display means (20) of a container (10), whereby the information comprises at least the indication of the next transfer station A of the container (10); 181033/4 21 • in a first device (50), providing the information to be displayed after receipt of said information from the generation means (30); • transmitting said information from the device (50) to the display means (20) of the container (10) via a transmission means (40); • displaying said information on the display means (20) of the container (10); • transporting the container (10) to the transfer station A displayed on the display means (20); • in a second device (50) on the transfer station A, providing information to be displayed after receipt of said information from the generation means (30), whereby the information is at least the indication of the next transfer station B of the container (10); • transmitting said information from the second device (50) to the display means (20) of the container (10) via a transmission means (40); and • displaying said information on the display means (20) of the container (10). The method according to Claim 15, characterized in that the information to be displayed is transmitted automatically when a container (10) is located within the range of the device (50). 181033/4 22 The method according to one or both of Claims 15 and 16, characterized in that the information to be displayed is transmitted by means of manual actuation by an operator. For the Applicant, Eitan-Mehulal Law Group Advocates - Patent Attorneys P-9766-IL