US3411622A - Parcel sorting installations - Google Patents

Parcel sorting installations Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US3411622A
US3411622A US526503A US52650366A US3411622A US 3411622 A US3411622 A US 3411622A US 526503 A US526503 A US 526503A US 52650366 A US52650366 A US 52650366A US 3411622 A US3411622 A US 3411622A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
doors
combination
door
parcel
conveyors
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US526503A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Dickie William
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Post Office
Original Assignee
Post Office
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Post Office filed Critical Post Office
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3411622A publication Critical patent/US3411622A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
    • B07C3/02—Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
    • B07C3/06—Linear sorting machines in which articles are removed from a stream at selected points
    • B07C3/065—Linear sorting machines in which articles are removed from a stream at selected points construction of switches therefor
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G47/00—Article or material-handling devices associated with conveyors; Methods employing such devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65G—TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS
    • B65G2811/00—Indexing codes relating to common features for more than one conveyor kind or type
    • B65G2811/06—Devices controlling the relative position of articles
    • B65G2811/0673—Control of conveying operations
    • B65G2811/0678—Determining the path to be followed
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S209/00—Classifying, separating, and assorting solids
    • Y10S209/942—Operator selects destination of item

Definitions

  • This invention relates to sorting installations for objects such as parcels and has especial reference to installations for sorting postal parcels.
  • That machine includes a belt conveyor whose forward run is horizontal but is twisted about its longitudinal centre line to provide a length over which the surface of the forward run belt conveyor is constrained into an inclined position.
  • the .angle of inclination to the horizontal lies between and 38, the value of 37 being found to give satisfactory results.
  • a side plate is fitted adjacent the lower edge of the length over which the forward run is inclined and contains a number of discharge doors which, when opened, permit a parcel on the surface to slide off the latter and through the door.
  • the discharge doors are controlled by a unit into which information is fed concerning the destination of the parcel and which causes a door appropriate to that' information to open as the parcel reaches the door.
  • the length of the door measured along the belt must be sufficient to permit the satisfactory discharge of a parcel of the maximum length which the machine is designed to accept and it has been found that for reasonable belt speeds the door length must be greater than the maximum permitted parcel length.
  • the term length when applied to a door is used to mean the length of the door when measured in a direction parallel to the longitudinal centre line of the tilted band.
  • a sorting installation for sorting objects according to the destination of the objects comprises a line of discharge doors, conveying apparatus for moving objects to be sorted past the discharge doors, at least one group of collecting conveyors spaced along the length of the line of discharge doors and disposed beneath the latter with their longitudinal axes crossing the line of discharge doors, and an operating mechanism for opening and closing the doors, each collecting conveyor being allotted a unique combination of doors which control the discharge of objects to that particular collecting conveyor, each combination of doors including one door which is individual to the combination and at least one other door which is common to the combination and to the next adjacent combination.
  • each combination of doors consists of a long door individual to the combination and two short doors.
  • all combinations of doors except the rst and last in the group or in each group of collecting conveyors consist of a long door and two short doors.
  • the rst and last combinations consist of a single long door and a single short door.
  • each unique combination of three doors comprising a long door and two short doors
  • one of the short doors is common to the combination and to the next adjacent upstream combination, whilst the other short door is common to the combination and the next downstream combination.
  • the short door is common to such cmbination and the next adjacent upstream or downstream combination dependent upon the location of the single long door-two door combination.
  • each combination of discharge doors is suicient to permit the discharge of the longest parcel for which installation is designed, and the length of each short door is equal to that overall length less the distance between centres of the collecting conveyors.
  • the length of the single long doors in those combinations of doors consisting of one long door and one short door is equal to the length of a long door in combinations of one long door and two short doors plus the length of a short door.
  • the conveying ymeans may comprise a tilted band conveyor to which the discharge doors are fitted to control the discharge of objects from the tilted band conveyor to one or other of the cross conveyors.
  • the doors :of a combination of doors may be opened simultaneously when an object is to be discharged through that combination or the doors ,may be opened sequentially starting with the upstream door of the combination, the remaining doors opening in squence.
  • the axes of the collecting conveyors are at right angles to that of t-he tilted band conveyor.
  • the collecting conveyors may be tted with side plates and a guide surface is tted to the tilted band conveyor to facilitate movement of an object from the latter to a particular collecting conveyor.
  • FIG. l is a plan view in diagrammatic form only of part of the embodiment
  • FIG. 2 is a section on an enlarged scale on line II-II of FIG. l,
  • FIG. 3 is a perspective View of a detail of the embodiment of FIG. 1, and
  • FIG. 4 is a front elevation of part of t-he embodiment, on a slightly larger scale
  • FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, showing a different set of doors opened, and illustrating diagrammatically the association of suitable control and operating apparatus therewith.
  • FIG. l Shown in diagrammatic form only in FIG. l, is part of a tilted band belt conveyor 1 whose forward run 2 passes over twisting devices 3, 4 which turn the run from a horizontal to an inclined orientation and from the latter back to the horizontal position respectively. Between the devices 3, 4, the inclined belt is supported on a bed plate or similar belt carrying surface mounted on a supporting structure 5 (FIG. 2). The inclination of the width of the belt to the horizontal is 37. The direction of movement of the forward run 2 is indicated in FIG. 1 by arrows 6.
  • FIG. l showing a first group comprising conveyors 7 10, and part of a second group comprising conveyors 11 15.
  • the direction of movement of the forward runs of the collecting conveyors will depend upon the general layout and typical directions are shown by ⁇ arrows 16.
  • the forward runs of the cross conveyors form the floors of troughs with side walls 17.
  • the first and second groups are spaced apart to accommodate a vertical support pillar 18 as shown in FIGS. l and 4.
  • FIGS. l and 4 show a fixed section 22 between doors D10 and D11. Fixed sections 23, 24 ⁇ are also included at the beginning and end of the tilted band conveyor over the length of the twisting devices 3 and 4.
  • the discharge doors are combined together for operation in unique combination of two or three doors each, and in each unique combination there is a long discharge door and at least one short discharge door.
  • Each combination of two doors or three doors controls the disc-barge of parcels from the run 2 to one only of the collecting conveyors and is unique to that one collecting conveyor.
  • the combination of doors controlling the discharge of parcels to collecting conveyor 7 comprises doors D7 and D7/8 of which D7 is a long door and D7/ 8 is a short door.
  • the discharge of parcels to collecting conveyor 8 is controlled by the unique combination of the three doors D7/8, D8 and D8/9. Doors D7/8 and D8/9 are short doors and D8 is a long door. The factors affecting the choice of discharge door lengths will be dealt with later.
  • doors D7, D10, D11 and D15 i.e. the rst and last doors of each group which are of a length equal to the sum of doors D7/ 8 ⁇ and D8, and which may be replaced by a long door and a short door operated together, if desired.
  • long doors are each unique to a single collecting conveyor whilst the short doors are common to adjacent collecting conveyors and that this enables a reduction in the distance between collecting conveyor centres to be obtained ⁇ and thus, more collecting conveyors can be accommodated within a given oor space.
  • long doors bear the reference number of the collecting conveyor to which they are unique whilst the short doors bear the reference numbers of the adjacent collecting conveyors to which the short doors are common.
  • FIG. 3 shows one such plate 25 secured to a long door
  • FIGS. 4 and 5 show the arrangement and operation of this feature in stations of this feature in stations of the irst group of FIG. 1, and show how each of these quadrant plates 25 is related to the next upstream combination of doors.
  • Upstream of twisting device 3 is a parcel loading station (not shown) where parcels are loaded manually on to the forward run 2.
  • a control unit 26 (FIG. 5) which stores the information and uses it at the correct moment to actuate an operating mechanism 27 (FIG. 5) to open that group of discharge doors appropriate to the information and to close the doors of the group after the parcel has passed through them unless the succeeding parcel is to follow the same route.
  • the parcel slides on to one of the collecting conveyors which takes it to a bag-filling position or to another sorting station (not shown).
  • a keyboard 28 at the loading station 29 enables an operative who loads the parcel to insert into the control unit information indicative of the parcel destination.
  • the keyed information is stored temporarily and then released to be stored in a memory unit when the parcel passes a predetermined point on the run 2 indicated, for example, by a light beam and photo-electric cell or a flap displaced by the parcel as it passes the point or in some other suitable way (not shown).
  • the stored information is subsequently used to operate the mechanism 27 to open the appropriate combination of doors at the correct moment to permit the parcel to be discharged on to the correct cross conveyor. If the operative realises, before dealing with the next parcel, that he has made an error he may operate a cancel key which will erase the information just stored so that the parcel will proceed to a mis-sort conveyor or station (not shown) as described hereinafter.
  • All the doors of the unique combination being operated may be opened simultaneously or they may be opened in sequence starting with the upstream door of the combination. Similarly, the doors of such combination may be closed simultaneously or in sequence before the parcel following that just discharged reaches those doors, The doors will however remain open if the following parcel is to be discharged on to the same cross conveyor. If the following parcel is for an immediately adjacent cross conveyor, the short door common to the combinations of doors of the two cross conveyors may be left open as part of the operation of the combination of doors required to be opened for the adjacent cross conveyor.
  • the theoretical sorting rate of the installation depends on such factors as (1) speed of belt conveyor 1, (2) time for the discharge doors to open and close, (3) time for parcels to slide free from the surface of run 2 and, (4) dimensions of parcels being dealt with.
  • the lengths of the doors depend on the maximum permitted parcel length, the speed of belt conveyor 1, the time for parcels to slide free of surface 2 and the distance between centres of the collecting conveyors.
  • the width of a parcel determines the time required for it to fall clear of the surface of run 2. If a parcel being conveyed approaches a combination of open discharge doors it will be seen that before the parcel can commence to slide, the centre of gravity of the parcel must have passed the leading edge of the iirst discharge door in the combination. Thus, it is not necessary to open the doors (or the upstream door of the combination, where the doors are opened in sequence) until the centre of gravity of the average parcel is level with the leading edge of the upstream door of the combination.
  • the dimensions of postal parcels vary considerably but the British Postal Regulations provide that the length of a parcel shall not exceed 3'6 and that the sum of the length and the girth of the parcel shall not exceed 6. With these dimensions and a tilted band conveyor speed of 180 ft./min. the length of the combination of discharge doors for any one collecting conveyor must be not less than 38".
  • the length of the long discharge doors except the first and last of each group can be calculated by subtracting from the distance between centres of adjacent cross conveyors the length of a short door.
  • the length of a short door is obtained by subtracting from 38 the distance between centres of adjacent cross conveyors.
  • each short door is l0" long whilst each long door except the first and last is 2'.
  • the length of the first and last discharge doors of each group is 2'10".
  • cross conveyors may be replaced by chutes (not shown) leading to bag-filling stations (not shown) or other sorting stations.
  • tilted band conveyors may be used in large installations and they usually feed cross conveyors which are common to all of the tilted band conveyors.
  • the tilted band conveyors may feed manual sorting lpositions.
  • a sorting installation embodying the invention may be .used to sort objects other than postal parcels.
  • the installation could be used in factories or warehouses where objects for example apparatus, equipment, clothing, tinned goods, have to be sorted for transmission to different destinations.
  • the above described manual insertion of information regarding destinations of objects might be replaced by 'a suitable form of automatic insertion effected by scanning each object and deriving the information from an indication on the object itself.
  • a sorting installation for sorting objects according to the destination of the objects comprising a line of discharge doors, conveying apparatus for moving the objects past the discharge doors, at least one group of collecting conveyors spaced along the length of the line of disch-arge doors with their longitudinal axes crossing the line of discharge doors, and an operating mechanism for opening and closing the doors, each collecting conveyor being allotted a unique combination of doors which controlthe discharge of objects to that particular conveyor, each combination of doors comprising one door which is individual to the combination and -at least one other door which is common to the combination and the next adjacent combination.
  • each combination of doors except those of the first and last collecting conveyors of a group of collecting conveyors comprises a long door individual to the combination and two short doors of which one is common to the combination Iand to the next adjacent upstream combination and the other to the combination and the next adjacent downstream combination, the remaining combinations of doors comprising a long door and a short door individual to the combination and a short door common to the combination and the next adjacent combination.
  • each combination of doors except those of the iirst and last collecting conveyors in -a group of collecting conveyors comprises a long door individual to the combination and two short doors of which one is common to the combination and to the next adjacent upstream combination and the other to the, combination and the next downstream combination, whilst the combinations of doors of the first and last collecting conveyors in a groupcomprise one long door individual to the combination and one short door common to the combination and the next adjacent combination.
  • An installation as claimed in claim 3 in which the overall length of every combination of doors is suicient to permit the discharge of the longest object for which the installation is designed, in which the length of every short door is equal to that overall length less the distance between centres of the collecting conveyors,. and in which the length of each long door in every combination of doors of first and last collecting conveyors in a group is equal to the length of a short door plus the length of the long door of a combination of doors other than a cornbination of doors of the lirst and last collecting conveyors.
  • tilted band conveyor is a belt conveyor part of whose forward run is supported at an angle to the horizontal, the ⁇ discharge doors being disposed along the lower edge thereof and in which there is a guide surface extending from that lower edge towards the collecting conveyors for the purpose of guiding objects discharged through the discharge doors.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Branching, Merging, And Special Transfer Between Conveyors (AREA)
  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
US526503A 1965-02-15 1966-02-10 Parcel sorting installations Expired - Lifetime US3411622A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB6497/65A GB1136801A (en) 1965-02-15 1965-02-15 Improvements in or relating to parcel sorting installations

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3411622A true US3411622A (en) 1968-11-19

Family

ID=9815576

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US526503A Expired - Lifetime US3411622A (en) 1965-02-15 1966-02-10 Parcel sorting installations

Country Status (6)

Country Link
US (1) US3411622A (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png)
CH (1) CH440789A (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png)
DE (1) DE1456753B2 (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png)
GB (1) GB1136801A (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png)
NL (1) NL6601938A (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png)
SE (1) SE333120B (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png)

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3880751A (en) * 1973-12-27 1975-04-29 Speaker Motion Systems Conveyors with lateral discharge apparatus
US3913730A (en) * 1974-03-08 1975-10-21 Fairchild Industries Article transferring apparatus
US3918572A (en) * 1974-05-09 1975-11-11 Speaker Motion Systems Lateral discharge chute and gate apparatus
US4589555A (en) * 1983-08-12 1986-05-20 Hollingsworth James A Mail sorting apparatus and method
US4610359A (en) * 1983-02-23 1986-09-09 Licentia Patent-Verwaltungs-Gmbh Method for recognizing and sorting articles
US5318172A (en) * 1992-02-03 1994-06-07 Magnetic Separation Systems, Inc. Process and apparatus for identification and separation of plastic containers
US5628408A (en) * 1995-05-19 1997-05-13 Tomra Systems A/S Device for handling empty beverage containers

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3103285A (en) * 1960-11-15 1963-09-10 Us Industries Inc Automated mail handling apparatus
US3144926A (en) * 1961-05-17 1964-08-18 Edelman Abraham Installation for selectively dispatching articles
US3147845A (en) * 1961-01-10 1964-09-08 Prospect Mfg Co Inc Sortation means
US3150763A (en) * 1961-09-09 1964-09-29 Pfaff Ag G M Selective distributing conveyor system
US3286811A (en) * 1964-12-31 1966-11-22 Joseph E Mcwilliams Selective delivery tilting slat conveyor for mail bag handling systems

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3103285A (en) * 1960-11-15 1963-09-10 Us Industries Inc Automated mail handling apparatus
US3147845A (en) * 1961-01-10 1964-09-08 Prospect Mfg Co Inc Sortation means
US3144926A (en) * 1961-05-17 1964-08-18 Edelman Abraham Installation for selectively dispatching articles
US3150763A (en) * 1961-09-09 1964-09-29 Pfaff Ag G M Selective distributing conveyor system
US3286811A (en) * 1964-12-31 1966-11-22 Joseph E Mcwilliams Selective delivery tilting slat conveyor for mail bag handling systems

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3880751A (en) * 1973-12-27 1975-04-29 Speaker Motion Systems Conveyors with lateral discharge apparatus
US3913730A (en) * 1974-03-08 1975-10-21 Fairchild Industries Article transferring apparatus
US3918572A (en) * 1974-05-09 1975-11-11 Speaker Motion Systems Lateral discharge chute and gate apparatus
US4610359A (en) * 1983-02-23 1986-09-09 Licentia Patent-Verwaltungs-Gmbh Method for recognizing and sorting articles
US4589555A (en) * 1983-08-12 1986-05-20 Hollingsworth James A Mail sorting apparatus and method
US5318172A (en) * 1992-02-03 1994-06-07 Magnetic Separation Systems, Inc. Process and apparatus for identification and separation of plastic containers
US5628408A (en) * 1995-05-19 1997-05-13 Tomra Systems A/S Device for handling empty beverage containers

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CH440789A (de) 1967-07-31
SE333120B (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png) 1971-03-01
DE1456753C3 (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png) 1975-02-20
DE1456753A1 (de) 1969-03-27
NL6601938A (US06650917-20031118-M00005.png) 1966-08-16
DE1456753B2 (de) 1974-07-04
GB1136801A (en) 1968-12-18

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US5860504A (en) Transfer buffer and inserter and method
US4044897A (en) Conveyor sorting and orienting system
US4509635A (en) Sorting system
US3880298A (en) Sorting conveyor control system
US4711357A (en) Automated system and method for transporting and sorting articles
US5593044A (en) Apparatus for sorting sheets or the like
US4603771A (en) Sorting installation for piece goods
US3747781A (en) Induction apparatus
US9278376B2 (en) Tray handling system and process
US4195737A (en) Method and apparatus for handling elongated articles, such as pieces of timber
US3147845A (en) Sortation means
US8965566B2 (en) Device and method for sorting by means of a storage region and a sorting region
GB1281963A (en) Article sorting system
US3491903A (en) Induction scheme and automatic loader
US5542547A (en) Document sorting section having a plurality of primary sorting paths
US20130035782A1 (en) Method and System for Delivery Point Multipication
US3637066A (en) Conveyor systems
US3411622A (en) Parcel sorting installations
US2936556A (en) Mail sorting apparatus
US20040016679A1 (en) Sorting apparatus
US10052662B2 (en) Sorting device with adjacent terminals
US5579922A (en) Mixed cargo conveyer (sorter) for sorting pieces of mixed cargo
US3419128A (en) Conveyor system
US3627101A (en) Conveyor arrangement for feeding articles in discrete and bulk fashion
US3049218A (en) Sorting system for post offices and the like