Sorting apparatus with arbitrary user-specified sequence control
First Claim
1. In a system for handling image-bearing items, a method for creating a sorted arrangement of image-bearing items comprising:
- receiving a user input specifying a preference associated with the image borne on at least one of the items, said input indicating a position of at least one image-bearing item in the arrangement;
providing a plurality of image-bearing items, said items bearing a plurality of distinct images;
sorting the image-bearing items according to said user input; and
packaging the image-bearing items such that an order of the image-bearing items reflects the preference associated with the image borne on at least one of the items.
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Abstract
A sorting system may include a sorting apparatus coupled to a programmable control system which is configured to actuate the sorting apparatus so that it assembles similar products for packaging in an arbitrary, user imposed order or selection bias. In preferred implementations, a user may activate a biasing protocol pursuant to which items bearing certain images appear with a disproportionate frequency on the top of a stack of items such that the selected images are the most common images viewable through a transparent product packaging. In certain implementations, empirical sales data is used to determine weighting factors used in the biasing protocol. In still other implementations, a more specific ordering protocol is imposed by a user such that some or all of the sequence of items in a stack or collection is arbitrarily imposed.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. In a system for handling image-bearing items, a method for creating a sorted arrangement of image-bearing items comprising:
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receiving a user input specifying a preference associated with the image borne on at least one of the items, said input indicating a position of at least one image-bearing item in the arrangement;
providing a plurality of image-bearing items, said items bearing a plurality of distinct images;
sorting the image-bearing items according to said user input; and
packaging the image-bearing items such that an order of the image-bearing items reflects the preference associated with the image borne on at least one of the items. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A material-handling system comprising:
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a controller to receive and process user input associated with the relative positions of image-bearing items in a stack, said items bearing a plurality of different images;
a plurality of channels to receive said image-bearing items;
a plurality of dispensers coupled to the channels to selectively dispense said image-bearing items in an order consistent with said user input; and
a collater coupled to the dispensers to receive and stack the image-bearing items such that the items are in the order consistent with the user input. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A material-handling system to handle image-bearing items, the system comprising:
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means for obtaining a plurality of items, each item bearing an image selected from a set of images;
means for sorting the items according to a user input specifying a preference for a positioning of at least one image in a stack of said items; and
means for stacking the items such that the items are stacked in an order consistent with the user input. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification