MATERIAL HANDLING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL SORTING OF ITEMS USING A DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURABLE SORTING ARRAY
First Claim
1. A method of sorting items using a dynamically reconfigurable sorting array system, wherein the system includes a plurality of destination areas arranged into a series of columns extending generally vertically, a plurality of delivery vehicles, and an event annunciation system, the method comprising the steps of:
- transferring, onto a delivery vehicle, an item to be delivered to a first destination area of the plurality of destination areas;
driving the delivery vehicle along a path to the first destination area;
initiating discharge of an item to the first destination area;
upon detection of an item to be manually delivered to a second destination area of the plurality of destination areas, operating the event annunciation system to provide a first visible alert;
upon detection of manual delivery of an item to the second destination, operating the event annunciation system to at least one of discontinue the first visible alert or provide a second visible alert visibly distinguishable from the first visible alert.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for sorting items to a plurality of sort destinations. A scanning station evaluates one or more characteristics of each item fed into the apparatus. The items are loaded onto one of a plurality of independently controlled delivery vehicles. The delivery vehicles are individually driven to sort destinations. Once at the appropriate sort destination, the delivery vehicle ejects the item to the sort destination and returns to receive another item to be delivered. A re-induction conveyor may be provided for receiving select items from the vehicles and conveying the items back to the input station for re-processing. Additionally, a controller is provided to control the movement of the vehicles based on a characteristic each item being delivered by each vehicle. When an item to be manually sorted is encountered, a visual alert aligned with a selected destination is activated until manual transfer is confirmed.
7 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method of sorting items using a dynamically reconfigurable sorting array system, wherein the system includes a plurality of destination areas arranged into a series of columns extending generally vertically, a plurality of delivery vehicles, and an event annunciation system, the method comprising the steps of:
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transferring, onto a delivery vehicle, an item to be delivered to a first destination area of the plurality of destination areas; driving the delivery vehicle along a path to the first destination area; initiating discharge of an item to the first destination area; upon detection of an item to be manually delivered to a second destination area of the plurality of destination areas, operating the event annunciation system to provide a first visible alert; upon detection of manual delivery of an item to the second destination, operating the event annunciation system to at least one of discontinue the first visible alert or provide a second visible alert visibly distinguishable from the first visible alert. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of sorting items using a system that includes a plurality of delivery vehicles for delivering items to a plurality of destination areas arranged into a series of columns extending generally vertically, wherein the method comprises the steps of:
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conveying items along a path; scanning the items with a scanner to identify identification indicia on the items as they are conveyed along the path; conveying scanned items from the scanner to the delivery vehicles; loading scanned items onto the delivery vehicles; determining that one of the scanned items is to be sorted manually rather than by a delivery vehicle; identifying the destination area to which the item is to be sorted manually; manually conveying the item to the identified destination; independently controlling the operation of the delivery vehicles to drive the delivery vehicles to the destination areas to deliver scanned items. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for sorting items, comprising
a plurality of destination areas arranged in a plurality of generally vertical columns; -
a plurality of delivery vehicles for delivering items to the plurality of destination areas; an input conveyor for receiving the items and conveying the items toward a loading station; a scanner for scanning the items as the items are conveyed toward the loading station, wherein the scanner is configured to scan the items for indicia identifying the items; a central controller programmed to independently control the operation of the delivery vehicles to drive the delivery vehicles to the destination areas to deliver scanned items, wherein the central controller is programmed to determine whether one of the scanned items is to be sorted manually rather than by a delivery vehicle; and a visual signal indicative of the destination area to which the item is to be sorted manually; wherein the controller is programmed to control the visual signal in response to determining that one of the items is to be sorted manually. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification