Method and device for transporting objects to distribution points

• US 20080319574A1
• Filed: 05/08/2008
• Published: 12/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Wilke, Wolf-Stephan
• Application Number:
  US12/151,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20080319574A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/226
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

An apparatus for controlling transportation of objects provided with machine-readable codes to specified distribution points by means of a transport vehicle includes a reading device and a determination unit. The transport vehicle has a rack module for accommodating the objects, wherein the rack module has a plurality of levels. The reading device is configured to automatically read the respective code of an object transported past the reading device, and to determine the rack level on which this object is located. The determination unit processes the codes to determine which object is to be unloaded at which distribution point, and includes an evaluation unit to automatically determine for each distribution point the position of each object to be unloaded at this distribution point in the rack module depending on a sequence of the reading of the code and the rack level in which the object is located.

Claims

1. A method for transporting objects provided with machine-readable codes to specified distribution points by a transport vehicle having at least one rack module for accommodating the objects, wherein the rack module includes a plurality of levels, the method comprising:

loading the rack module with the objects;

automatically reading the codes;

causing the transport vehicle with the rack module to approach the distribution points;

determining via the automatically read codes which object is to be transported to which distribution point and to be unloaded there from the transport vehicle;

moving the rack module loaded with the objects relative to a reading device;

while the objects move with the rack module, automatically reading the respective code of an object passing by the reading device, and determining the rack level on which this object is located; and

automatically determining for each distribution point a position of each object to be unloaded at this distribution point depending on a sequence of the reading of the code and the determined rack level in which the object is located.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the positions of the objects to be unloaded at the respective distribution points in the rack module.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

electronically storing at least one of an image and dimensions of an object, and at least one of an assignment of the image and the dimensions to the code of this object are stored electronically; and

displaying at least one of the image and the dimensions together with the position of this object in the rack module.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the rack module is moved relative to the reading device by transporting the rack module past the reading device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the reading device comprises a plurality of detection units, wherein each detection unit is assigned to a respective rack level, and wherein determining the rack level on which an object is located comprises establishing which detection unit read the code of this object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the codes are stored in data memories comprised by the objects, and wherein the reading device reads the codes in a contact-free manner.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the distribution points at which the objects are be unloaded from the transport vehicle are stored in the data memories.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein for each object, the code read for this object and a specified computer-accessible assignment of this code to one of the distribution points are used for the automatic determination of the distribution point at which this object is to be unloaded.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at the respective distribution point, at least one of the unloading and the displaying of the positions of the objects to be unloaded is activated using a GPS navigation module, in which a distribution route with the distribution points is stored.

10. The method of claims 1, wherein the objects are transported using a plurality of rack modules, wherein each rack module comprises a respective machine-readable rack module-code, wherein each rack module is moved relative to the reading device, wherein when a rack module is moved, the reading device reads the rack module-code of this rack module, and wherein for each distribution point and each object to be unloaded at the distribution point, the rack module in which this object is located is determined.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the rack module or modules are loaded outside the delivery vehicle and then transported into the delivery vehicle.

12. An apparatus for controlling transportation of objects provided with machine-readable codes to specified distribution points by means of a transport vehicle, wherein the transport vehicle comprises at least one rack module for accommodating the objects, wherein the rack module has a plurality of levels for accommodating the objects, the apparatus comprising:

a reading device configured to automatically read the respective code of an object transported past the reading device, and to determine the rack level on which this object is located; and

a determination unit configured to process the codes to determine which object is to be unloaded at which distribution point, wherein the determination unit comprises an evaluation unit configured to automatically to determine for each distribution point a position of each object to be unloaded at this distribution point in the rack module depending on a sequence of the reading of the code and the rack level in which the object is located.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a display device to display the positions of the objects in the rack module to be unloaded at the corresponding distribution points.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising an electronic data memory, in which at least one of an image and dimensions of at least one of the objects, and an assignment of at least one of the image and the dimensions for the code of this object are stored, wherein the display device is designed to display at least one of the image and the dimensions together with the position of this object in the rack module.

15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the objects are provided with data memories configured to store the codes, wherein the data memories are configured to be readable in a contact-free manner.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the data memories store for each object the distribution point at which this object is to be unloaded from the transport vehicle.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the reading device comprises a plurality of detection units, each detection unit assigned to a respective rack level, and wherein the reading device is configured to establish which detection unit read the code of this object during the determination of the rack level in which an object is located.

18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the determination unit is configured to have read access to a data memory, for each object, in which a computer-accessible assignment of the code of this object to one of distribution points in each case is stored, and to use the codes and the assignments to determine which object is to be unloaded at which distribution point.

19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the objects are transported using a plurality of rack modules, each rack module comprising a respective machine-readable rack module-code, and wherein the reading device is configured to read the rack module-code of this rack module when the objects are moved relative to the reading device, and, for each distribution point and each object to be unloaded at the distribution point, to determine the rack module in which this object is located.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein each machine-readable rack module-code of a rack module is stored in a respective data memory is readable in a contact-free manner.