Method and Device for Transporting Articles with the Aid of a Display Device

• US 20090099685A1
• Filed: 10/16/2008
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: BLASCHE, DIETRICH
• Application Number:
  US12/252,921
• Publication Number:
  US 20090099685A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/226
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00435 Details specific to central, non-customer apparatus, e.g. servers at post office or vendor
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00467 Transporting mailpieces postal sorting B07C
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00443 Verification of mailpieces, e.g. by checking databases
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00451 Address hygiene, i.e. checking and correcting addresses to be printed on mail pieces using address databases

Abstract

A method and a device teach transporting a plurality of articles to destinations. Each article for transportation is provided with an identification of a destination and is transported to a destination. Each specified change in destination determines a destination that differs from the destination. The transportation is carried out using at least one display device. The display device displays each specified change in destination during the transportation. For each of the articles for transportation it is ascertained with which destination identification this article is provided. A check is made as to whether the display device is displaying a change in destination for this destination. If the display device displays a change in destination for this destination the article is transported to the destination whose determination the display device displays. Otherwise the article is transported to the destination with whose identification it is provided.

Claims

1. A method for transporting a plurality of articles, each of the articles is provided with a destination identification of a destination in a destination area, each of the articles is transported from a distribution point to a respective destination and a database is used in which a specified change in the destination is stored for at least one destination, each change in the destination determining a different destination that differs from the destination, transportation is carried out using at least one display device, changes in the destination are selected for the destination area and are stored in the database, selected changes in the destination are transferred from the database to the display device before the articles are removed from the distribution point, and the display device displaying each transferred change in the destination, which comprises the steps of:

ascertaining the destination identification each article is provided with; and

checking whether the display device is displaying a change in the destination for the destination whose destination identification has been ascertained;

if the display device displays a change in the destination for the destination, transporting the article to the different destination whose determination the display device displays as part of a displayed change in the destination; and

if the display device does not display a change in the destination for the destination, transporting the article to the destination with the destination identification the article is provided.

2. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises:

during transportation each of the articles is moved past a reader at least once;

reading, via the reader, the destination identification with which the article is provided;

storing a read destination identification in a read result database; and

displaying, via the display device, only the change in the destination if the change in the destination refers to the destination whose destination identification has been read and stored.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the display device is a portable display device which is carried along at least intermittently during transportation of the articles, and the changes in the destination are displayed during carrying-along.

4. The method according to claim 3, which further comprises:

transporting all of the articles to a same intermediate point during transportation; and

carrying along the display device during transportation of the articles from the intermediate point to the respective destination, and the display device displaying each change in the destination at least intermittently during carrying-along.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the portable display device is connected to the database in which the changes in the destination are stored, and at least one stored change in the destination is transferred from the database to a data memory of the display device before transportation begins.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the display device performs the steps of:

automatically ascertaining at least once which destinations are located in a specified surrounding area around the display device; and

displaying only the changes in the destination whose destination determinations refer to a destination in a surrounding area.

7. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises providing at least one change in the destination with a validity period and the display device only displays the change in the destination if a transportation of the articles falls in the validity period.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

each destination identification with which the article is provided is associated with a specified destination area;

one of the specified destination areas is selected;

a decision is automatically made for each specified change in the destination as to whether the destination of the change belongs to the specified destination area or not; and

the display device only displays a specified change in destination if the destination of the change belongs to the specified destination area.

9. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises displaying a transportation specification on the display device for each destination, the transportation specification being a determination of a parameter of transportation of an article to the destination to which the change in destination refers.

10. A device for transporting a plurality of articles, each of the articles having a respective identification of a destination in a destination area, and is transported from a distribution point to a respective destination, the device comprising:

a central database storing a change in a destination for at least one destination, each change in the destination determining a new destination that differs from the destination;

a selection and transfer unit connected to said central database, said selection and transfer unit configured for selecting changes in the destination for the destination area which are stored in said central database; and

at least one display device for displaying transferred changes in the destination, said selection and transfer unit transferring the selected changes in the destination to said display device before the articles are removed from the distribution point.

11. The device according to claim 10,

further comprising a read result database storing read destination identifications of the articles and connected to said selection and transfer unit;

and

wherein said selection and transfer unit is configured for selecting the changes in the destination which refer to destinations whose destination identifications are stored in said read result database, and for transferring the selected changes in the destination to said display device.

12. The device according to claim 10, wherein said display device is a portable display device which is configured such that said display device can be carried along during transportation of the articles and the changes in the destination are displayed during transportation.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein said portable display device contains a position-determining component and is configured to automatically ascertain at least once which destinations are located in a specified surrounding area around said display device, and only displays a change in the destination if it refers to a destination in the surrounding area.

14. A method for transporting a plurality of articles, which comprises the steps of:

providing each of the articles with a destination identification of a destination in a destination area;

transporting each of the articles from a distribution point to the destination by performing the steps of;

using a database in which a specified change in the destination is stored for at least one destination, each change in the destination determines a different destination that differs from the destination;

carrying out a transportation of the articles using at least one display device;

selecting for the destination area changes in the destination and storing the changes in the destination in the database;

transferring selected changes in the destination from the database to the display device before the articles are removed from the distribution point, the display device displaying each transferred change in the destination;

ascertaining the destination identification each article is provided with;

checking whether the display device is displaying a change in destination for the destination whose identification has been ascertained;

if the display device displays a change in the destination for the destination, transporting the article to the different destination whose determination the display device displays as part of a displayed change in the destination; and

if the display device does not display a change in destination for the destination, transporting the article to the destination with whose identification the article is provided.