Systems and methods for processing packaged goods in the nature of cigarettes

• US 20080172144A1
• Filed: 01/14/2008
• Published: 07/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Velociti Alliance North America Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Velociti Alliance North America Incorporated
• Inventors: Driskill, David S., Morrison, Steven D., Froehlich, Richard L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,135,495 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products is disclosed. The system includes a picking area where individual packages of tobacco products are picked and placed onto a transport mechanism. The system also includes a picking support software component that manages activity in the picking area. The picking support software component provides picking instruction output indicative of a sequence in which the individual packages of tobacco products should be picked and placed onto the transport mechanism. In one embodiment, the sequence blends the individual components of multiple tobacco product orders together such that the tobacco product orders are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next.

Claims

1. A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products, wherein the system comprises:

a picking area where individual packages of tobacco products are picked and placed onto a transport mechanism;

a picking support software component that manages activity in the picking area by providing picking instruction output indicative of a sequence in which the individual packages of tobacco products should be picked and placed onto the transport mechanism; and

wherein the sequence blends the individual components of multiple tobacco product orders together such that the tobacco product orders are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the picking instruction output is organized around the concept of a batch, a batch being a listing of individual packages of tobacco products associated with multiple tobacco product orders, the content of a batch being organized in a sequence that blends individual components of multiple orders together such that the tobacco product orders in a batch are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising a batch handling software component configured to facilitate a determination of batches to be included within the sequence, wherein the determination of batches is based at least in part on a received indication of a plurality tobacco product orders.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the determination is further based at least in part upon one or more system parameters for which the batch handling software component enables adjustment.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the determination is further based at least in part upon one or more user-selectable system parameters for which the batch handling software component enables adjustment.

6. The system of claim 3, wherein the determination is further based at least in part upon one or more default system parameters associated with the batch handling software component.

7. The system of claim 3, wherein the determination is further based at least in part upon a desired order completion cutoff time value that is adjustable from within the batch handling software component.

8. The system of claim 3, wherein the determination is further based at least in part upon a desired carton size or sizes in a batch, which is a value that is adjustable from within the batch handling software component.

9. The system of claim 3, wherein the determination is further based at least in part upon a desired truck route or routes, which is a value that is adjustable from within the batch handling software component.

10. The system of claim 3, wherein the determination is further based at least in part upon a desired batch size, which is a value that is adjustable from within the batch handling software component.

11. The system of claim 3, wherein the determination is further based at least in part upon a desired target work effort to complete the batch, which is a value that is adjustable from within the batch handling software component.

12. The system of claim 2, wherein the picking instruction output is organized such that all components of a first batch are picked, then all components of a second batch, and so on and so forth until all batches have been picked.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising a sorting mechanism located downstream from the transport mechanism, wherein the sorting mechanism organizes the individual packages of tobacco products into tobacco product order-specific groups.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the individual packages of tobacco products are routed through one or more stamping machines prior to arriving at the sorting mechanism and prior to being sorted into tobacco product order-specific groups.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the picking area includes an inventory of individual packages of tobacco products from which picking is to occur based on the picking instruction output.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the picking and placing that occurs in the picking area is accomplished by a human that responds to the picking instruction output, and wherein the human is not made aware of a particular tobacco product order that he/she is in the process of picking.

17. The system of claim 1, further comprising a batch handling software component configured to facilitate generation of the sequence based on a received indication of a plurality of tobacco product orders.

18. A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products, wherein the system comprises:

a picking area where individual packages of tobacco products are, based on a sequence reflected in a collection of picking instructions, picked and placed onto a transport mechanism;

a batch handling software component configured to facilitate a determination of a batch to be included within the sequence, wherein the batch includes a listing of individual packages of tobacco products from multiple tobacco product orders, the listing being organized in a sequence that blends individual components of multiple orders together such that the tobacco product orders in a batch are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next.

19. A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products, wherein the system comprises a stamping machine through which tobacco products are routed in a sequence that blends the individual components of multiple tobacco product orders together such that the tobacco product orders are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next.

20. The system of claim 19, further comprising a user interface that provides information against which the sequence can be verified.