METHODS FOR SHIPPING FREIGHT
First Claim
1. A method for staging and shipping articles of freight at a transfer facility comprising the steps of:
- placing on each of a plurality of articles of freight a radio frequency tag capable of receiving and storing transactional data regarding the article to which it is placed;
determining at least the approximate weight and outer dimensions of each article of freight;
transferring to and storing in said radio frequency tags transactional data representative of at least the weight, the outer dimensions, and the desired destination of the article of freight on which a respective radio frequency tag is placed;
reading transactional data from each radio frequency tags as its associated article of freight is transferred from one location to another within the facility and storing the read transactional data in one or more memory devices;
temporarily storing the articles of freight in an intermediate holding area, based on the transactional data and a programmed computer interconnected with a memory device storing said transactional data; and
sequentially loading the articles of freight, based on the transactional data and a programmed computer interconnected with a memory device storing said transactional data.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for staging and shipping articles of freight at a transfer facility by which a radio frequency tag capable of receiving and storing transactional data is placed on each of a plurality of articles of freight, the data regarding the article on which the tag placed. After determining at least the approximate weight and outer dimensions of each article of freight, transactional data representative of at least the weight, the outer dimensions, and the desired destination of the article of freight are transferred to and stored in the respective radio frequency tags. As each article of freight is transferred from one location to another within the facility, the transactional data from each radio associated frequency tag is read and stored in one or more memory devices. The articles of freight are temporarily stored in an intermediate holding area, based on the transactional data and a programmed computer interconnected with a memory device storing said transactional data, and the articles of freight are sequentially loaded, based on the transactional data and a programmed computer interconnected with a memory device storing said transactional data.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for staging and shipping articles of freight at a transfer facility comprising the steps of:
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placing on each of a plurality of articles of freight a radio frequency tag capable of receiving and storing transactional data regarding the article to which it is placed;
determining at least the approximate weight and outer dimensions of each article of freight;
transferring to and storing in said radio frequency tags transactional data representative of at least the weight, the outer dimensions, and the desired destination of the article of freight on which a respective radio frequency tag is placed;
reading transactional data from each radio frequency tags as its associated article of freight is transferred from one location to another within the facility and storing the read transactional data in one or more memory devices;
temporarily storing the articles of freight in an intermediate holding area, based on the transactional data and a programmed computer interconnected with a memory device storing said transactional data; and
sequentially loading the articles of freight, based on the transactional data and a programmed computer interconnected with a memory device storing said transactional data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18)
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15. The method of
claim 15 further comprising the steps of notifying an operator at the transfer facility if the articles of freight are not loaded in the preferred order.
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19. A system for staging and shipping articles of freight at a transfer facility comprising:
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a memory tag for placement on each article of freight, said memory tag having the capability of storing transactional data regarding the article of freight on which the tag is placed;
a device for transferring to each memory tag transactional data representative of an identification code, the weight, and the destination of the article of freight on which the memory tag is placed;
an optical system for detecting the general size and shape of each article of freight;
a transfer system for transferring information from the memory tags and the optical system to a memory device; and
a programmed computer, interconnected with said memory device, for determining a preferred load sequence of the articles of freight and providing instructions to one or more operators at the transfer facility; and
one or more devices for proving the instructions to the operator or operators. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification