WO2018231349A1

WO2018231349A1 - Building expansion module for parcel sortation

Info

Publication number: WO2018231349A1
Application number: PCT/US2018/029918
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen G. Wargo
Original assignee: Laitram, L.L.C.
Priority date: 2017-06-15
Filing date: 2018-04-27
Publication date: 2018-12-20

Abstract

A building expansion module housing an automatic sorter receiving parcels through an open dock of a main facility and a method for improving the sorting and loading of parcels into delivery vehicles. The weather-protecting module houses a sortation unit outside the main facility to increase the number of loading stations and facilitate the loading of delivery vehicles. The sorter sorts parcels into hampers, sacks, chutes, or conveyors at multiple loading stations. Each loading station is associated with a group of separations into which parcels are sorted for loading onto designated vehicles.

Description

BUILDING EXPANSION MODULE FOR PARCEL SORTATION

BACKGROUND

The invention relates generally to modular buildings and particularly to building expansion modules housing parcel-sorting conveyors and methods for using the expansion modules to improve the sorting and loading of parcels onto delivery vehicles.

Many mail-processing, parcel-sortation, and warehouse facilities are not configured to automatically sort to multiple delivery vehicles in an orderly fashion. For example, a typical facility has a limited number of loading docks, causing delivery vehicles to crowd the street or a parking area while waiting for a loading dock to become free.

SUMMARY

One version of a building expansion module embodying features of the invention comprises an automatic sorter housed in a housing. The sorter includes a conveyor conveying parcels in a conveying direction from an entrance end and sorting the parcels off onto multiple separations. The housing has an opening at the entrance end for

communicating with an open loading dock at a facility, a roof to cover the automatic sorter, and one or more open sides to provide multiple delivery vehicles simultaneous access to the multiple separations.

In another aspect a method for improving the loading of parcels onto delivery vehicles comprises: (a) housing an automatic sorter in a building expansion module having an open entrance end and open sides; (b) positioning the open entrance end of the building expansion module adjacent to an open loading dock of a facility; (c) feeding parcels onto the automatic sorter from the open loading dock of the facility through the open entrance end; and (d) sorting the parcels into multiple loading stations along the open sides of the building expansion module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a warehouse facility with building expansion modules embodying features of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a building expansion module for parcel sortation as in

FIG. 1. FIGS. 3A and 3B are end elevation views of the building expansion module of FIG. 2 showing different discharge devices.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A warehouse facility for sorting mail or parcels is shown in FIG. 1. The main facility 10 has one or more building expansion modules 12 that extend from open loading docks 14 into a vehicle loading area 16. The building expansion modules 12 each include an automatic sorter 18 that receives mail or parcels from a connecting conveyor 20 in the main facility 10. Portions 22 of the complete sortation system, such as induction areas, cameras, and scales, may be housed in the main facility 10. The automatic sorters 18 selectively divert the parcels to multiple discharges, or separations 24, along each side. Delivery vehicles 26 are backed into parking spots at parcel-loading stations adjacent to the separations 24. Thus, the building expansion modules 12 serve as loading-dock multipliers replacing single loading docks in the facility with multiple loading stations outside the facility. Each loading station is associated with a group 28 of contiguous separations 24. The vehicles 26 are each loaded with parcels from a designated one of the separations 24. In this example, each loading station is associated with a group 28 of three separations 24. (The term parcels is used throughout the rest of the description and the claims to encompass not just parcels, but also letters, boxes, cartons, and any other objects capable of being sorted.)

As better seen in FIG. 2, the automatic sorter 18 in the building expansion module 12 is elongated with a central conveyor 30 having an entrance end 31 onto which parcels are fed from the main facility 10 and conveyed away from the open loading dock 14 in a conveying direction 32. The sorter 18 selectively sorts parcels off the central conveyor 30 into designated separations 24A, 24B, 24C at each loading station.

FIG. 1 shows a group of seven delivery vehicles 26 simultaneously parked in parking spots at loading stations on opposite sides of each sorter 18. These vehicles are all assigned to a specific separation (A, B, or C) at its assigned parking spot. The delivery vans 26 are also assigned a time to arrive at their designated parking spots. For example, the vehicles 26 shown parked at the sorter 18 in FIG. 1 could all be designated to arrive at 7:00 AM and to load parcels from the A separations during a time period of less than 15 minutes, for example. Meanwhile, the delivery vehicles 26' parked in a parking area 34 could be assigned arrival times of 7:15 AM and the B separations, and the delivery vehicles 26" could be assigned arrival times of 7:30 AM and the C separations. Such a scheduling of loading time periods leads to an orderly loading of the delivery vehicles 26, 26', 26" at the loading stations with fewer traffic jams in the parking and loading areas. The scheduling can be performed manually or automatically by a facility computer.

The building expansion modules 12', 12" shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B have different kinds of separations 24. FIG. 3A shows a sack 36 supported by a tusk 38 being filled with parcels sorted off the automatic sorter 18 at each separation on the left side. A full sack 36' is shown ready for its parcels to be loaded onto the delivery vehicle 26 at the loading station. The separations on the right side of the sorter 18 comprise hampers 40, such as wire hampers. The hampers 40 may be self-lowering as the weights of their loads increase. Once full, the hampers 40 are ready for their contents to be loaded onto the delivery vehicles 26". Two different kinds of separations are shown in FIG. 3B. The separations on the left side are output conveyors or slides 42 with a pivoting gravity section 44 that pivots down to load parcels directly into the delivery vehicle 26'. The separations on the right side are accumulator conveyors or chutes 46 from which sorted-off parcels are loaded into the parked delivery vehicle 26". The sorter 18 and the separations 24 are housed in a weather- protected container, such as a truck trailer or a sea container, that forms the building expansion module 12. The container has a roof 48 to protect the sorter and provide shelter to the delivery drivers at the loading stations during inclement weather, open sides to permit vehicles access to the ends of the separations 24 for loading, and an open entrance end through which parcels are fed onto the sorter 18 from the open dock.

The elongated building expansion modules increase the number of loading stations and enable sortation to be performed outside the main facility to allow easier access by the delivery vehicles and more efficient loading.

Although the invention has been described in reference to specific versions, others are possible. For example, the sorters were shown with different kinds of separations from one side to another to show both kinds. But it would generally be more reasonable to have only one kind of separation on both sides. As another example, three separations were shown at each loading station. But there could be more or less than three. And there could be more or less than seven loading stations along each side of the sorter. The sorters could alternatively be configured with loading stations along only one side. As yet another example, the loading of delivery vehicles can be scheduled in different ways. For example, instead of scheduling an entire group of vehicles to arrive at the same time, their times of arrival could be staggered. Or later scheduled delivery vehicles could be allowed to enter the parking spot at its designated loading station as soon as it is clear of the previous vehicle.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A building expansion module comprising:

an automatic sorter having a conveyor conveying parcels in a conveying direction from an entrance end and sorting the parcels off onto multiple separations;

a housing having an opening at the entrance end for communicating with an open

loading dock at a facility, a roof to cover the automatic sorter, and one or more open sides to provide multiple delivery vehicles simultaneous access to the multiple separations.

2. A building expansion module as in claim 1 wherein the housing is a truck trailer.

3. A building expansion module as in claim 1 wherein the housing is a sea container.

4. A building expansion module as in claim 1 comprising a plurality of loading stations along each of the one or more sides of the housing.

5. A building expansion module as in claim 1 comprising a plurality of loading stations at which delivery vehicles park to access the separations, wherein each loading station is associated with more than one of the separations.

6. A method for improving the loading of parcels onto delivery vehicles, the method

comprising:

housing an automatic sorter in a building expansion module having an open entrance end and open sides;

positioning the open entrance end of the building expansion module adjacent to an open loading dock of a facility;

feeding parcels onto the automatic sorter from the open loading dock of the facility through the open entrance end;

sorting the parcels into multiple loading stations along the open sides of the building expansion module.

7. The method of claim 6 comprising locating the building expansion outside the facility.

8. The method of claim 6 comprising sorting the parcels into multiple contiguous

separations at each of the multiple loading stations along the open sides of the building expansion module.

9. The method of claim 8 comprising:

assigning one of the contiguous separations to a delivery vehicle;

loading parcels from the assigned separation into the delivery vehicle.

10. The method of claim 8 comprising:

scheduling an arrival time for a delivery vehicle to park at a designated one of the

loading stations;

loading parcels from one of the contiguous separations at the designated loading station into the delivery vehicle parked at the loading station at the arrival time.

11. The method of claim 8 comprising:

scheduling a time period for a group of delivery vehicles to be parked at the loading stations;

loading parcels from one of the contiguous separations at each of the loading stations into the delivery vehicle parked at the loading station during the time period.