LABEL, METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR BAGGAGE HANDLING

• US 3,752,312 A
• Filed: 02/16/1971
• Issued: 08/14/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Louis Soltanoff
• Original Assignee: Louis Soltanoff
• Inventors: Soltanoff, Louis
• Primary Examiner(s): Schacher, Richard A.
• Application Number:
  US05/115,662
• Time in Patent Office: 910 Days
• Field of Search: 250/219D 209/111.5,111.6,111.7 40/6 214/11
• US Class Current: 209/3.3
• CPC Class Codes: B65C 1/047 by rotating the article about one of its axes
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/14 by strings, straps, chains, or wires

Abstract

This is a baggage-handling system in which luggage of any size or shape is wrapped with an encircling belt made of a heatshrinkable plastic material at a baggage-tagging station designed for this purpose. The baggage is then put on a conveyor which carries it through an oven to shrink the plastic so that the tag is securely attached to the luggage, and the belt lies flat against the surface of the luggage. Destination-identifying indicia printed on the plastic belt are then read by an optical scanner which is positioned alongside the baggage conveyor. Suitable electronic data processing equipment responsive to the optical scanner then controls additional baggage conveying equipment to determine the destination of each individual piece of baggage according to the indicia read from the plastic belt.

Claims

1. A method of baggage identification comprising the steps of:

forming a baggage-encircling belt;

providing fastening means for securing a first portion of said belt to an adjustably selectable second portion thereof so that said belt and said fastening means jointly form a closed baggage-encircling label of a circumference selected in relation to the circumference of a piece of baggage;

putting a destination identification on at least one portion of said label;

encircling the main body of said baggage with said belt;

adjusting said belt to said selected circumference;

subsequently securing said belt at said selected circumference with said fastEning means;

subsequently reading said destination identification on said label to determine the intended destination of said baggage; and

subsequently moving said baggage to the destination so indicated.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said destination identification includes printed machine-readable indicia on said baggage-encircling belt, and a machine capable of reading said indicia is employed to determine automatically which destination is identified thereby.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein automatic means are operative for diverting said baggage to the indicated one of a plurality of alternative destinations in response to the reading of said destination identification by said reading machine.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said belt is formed of a shrinkable material, and after said belt is encircled about said baggage and secured by said fastening means to form said closed baggage-encircling label, said belt is treated in a manner to shrink it to a tighter fit about said baggage whereby to attach said label more securely thereto.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said belt material is a heat-shrinkable plastic film, and said shrinking treatment comprises heating said film.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein a claim check is separably secured to said label, and further comprising the steps of putting duplicate human-readable baggage identifications on said label and said claim check respectively, separating said claim check from said label, and delivering said claim check to the owner of said baggage at the time the owner delivers said baggage to a carrier, to facilitate subsequent reclaiming of said baggage by the owner.

7. A baggage label comprising:

a belt for encircling the main body of a piece of baggage;

means for fastening a first portion of said belt to an adjustably selectable second portion thereof so that said belt and said fastening means may jointly form a closed baggage-encircling label of a circumference selected in relation to the circumference of said main body of said baggage; and

printed identifying markings secured on at least one outwardly-facing surface of said baggage-encircling belt portion of said label.

8. A label as in claim 7 wherein said fastening means comprises a sheet secured to said first portion of said belt, at least one surface of said sheet being coated with an adhesive material for bonding said sheet to said adjustably selectable second portion of said belt.

9. A label as in claim 8 wherein said sheet of material is a tag at least one surface of which is ink-receptive and not coated with adhesive, and has at least some of said identifying markings thereon.

10. A label as in claim 9 wherein said printed markings are in human-readable form.

11. A label as in claim 10 wherein said tag has a claim check stub attached thereto along a score line for easy separation, and said ink markings comprise duplicate human-readable baggage-identification indicia printed on said tag and on said claim check stub respectively.

12. A label as in claim 8 wherein said sheet is folded to form confronting panels, said first portion of said baggage-encircling belt is attached to one of said panels, said adhesive material is pressure-sensitive and coated on at least one of the confronting surfaces of said panels, and a sheet of release material is removably located in confronting protective relationship between said confronting surfaces so that said release material may be removed and said baggage-encircling belt may be wrapped about said baggage and said selected second portion thereof interposed between said confronting surfaces and said panels pressed together to secure said sheet to said belt at said second portion thereof for forming said closed baggage-encircling label.

13. A label as in claim 7 wherein said markings identify a destination and are in machine-readable form.

14. A label as in claim 7 wherein said baggage-encircling belt is formed of a material shrinkable to a tightEr fit about said baggage whereby to attach said label more securely thereto.

15. A label as in claim 14 wherein said material is a heat-shrinkable plastic film.

16. A baggage-handling system comprising:

baggage labels each having at least one surface which bears printed machine-readable identifying indicia including areas of differential optical character, means for securing said labels to respective pieces of baggage which are initially separate from said labels, in a manner such that said indicia-bearing member thereof contiguously overlies the outer surface thereof facing outwardly from said baggage, optical means capable of automatically reading said indicia and focused on a selected target location in a selected focal plane, and conveying means for moving said baggage past said reading means while retaining said outer baggage surface in effective proximity to said focal plane for automatic reading of said indicia-bearing label surface, said indicia-bearing member comprising a belt, and said label including means for securing said belt to said baggage in closely contiguous encircling relationship to the main body thereof.

17. A baggage-handling system comprising:

baggage-identifying labels each including a belt adapted to encircle the main body of the baggage, and printed machine-readable destination-identifying indicia on said belt; and

a reading station including equipment for reading said indicia automatically.

18. A system as in claim 17 further comprising equipment for automatically conveying successive pieces of labeled baggage to said reading station in a manner to present said belt indicia to said reading equipment for reading thereby, wherein said conveying equipment comprises at least one bed formed with at least one reading gap therein, and arranged so that said bed establishes a focal plane against which one surface of a piece of baggage rests when said baggage is being conveyed thereby;

and said reading equipment comprises optical reading means aimed through said reading gap in said conveyor bed and substantially focussed on said focal plane.

19. A system as in claim 17 further comprising equipment for automatically conveying successive pieces of labeled baggage to said reading station in a manner to present said belt indicia to said reading equipment for reading thereby, wherein said conveying equipment comprises a pair of beds formed with respective reading gaps therein, and arranged so that one of said beds establishes a first focal plane against which a side surface of a piece of baggage rests and the other establishes a second focal plane against which the bottom surface of said baggage rests when said baggage is being conveyed thereby;

and said reading equipment comprises a first optical reading means aimed through a reading gap in said first bed and substantially focussed on said first plane, and a second optical reading means aimed through a reading gap in said second bed and substantially focussed on said second plane.

20. A system as in claim 17 further comprising equipment for automatically conveying successive pieces of labeled baggage to said reading station in a manner to present said belt indicia to said reading equipment for reading thereby, wherein said machine-readable indicia comprise successive parallel code bars of contrasting optical character, the relative widths of which encode said destination identification.

21. A system as in claim 20 wherein at least one of said reading means comprises a plurality of reading devices aimed at different target locations, said target locations being spaced apart from each other in a direction transverse to the direction of conveying equipment motion whereby to read different scanning tracks on said baggage.

22. A system as in claim 21 wherein said code bars extend parallel to the baggage-encircling dimension of said belt so that their relative spacings are readable at a plurality of such spaced target locations about the encircled circumferencE of said baggage.

23. A system as in claim 22 wherein said reading equipment is designed to scan said label in a direction parallel to the direction of conveying motion for detecting said code bar spacings.

24. A system as in claim 21 wherein said code bars extend transversely to the baggage-encircling dimension of said belt, and complete destination identifications are repeated periodically about said belt in a direction parallel to the baggage-encircling dimension thereof so that said code bar spacings are readable at a plurality of such spaced target locations about the encircled circumference of said baggage.

25. A system as in claim 24 wherein:

said reading equipment is designed to scan said label in a direction transverse to the direction of conveying equipment motion for detecting said code bar spacings, and designed so that the length of said baggage-encircling belt covered by each reading scan is at least twice the period of repetition of said code bars at the time of the scan; and

said conveying equipment is designed to operate at a linear speed such that the amount of conveying motion achieved thereby during the time required for one complete scan by said reading equipment is no greater than the dimension of said code bar indicia in the direction of conveying motion.

26. A system as in claim 17 further comprising a baggage-labeling area including a floor, at least one pair of spaced means for supporting baggage above said floor, a pair of up-standing label supports on opposed sides of said labeling area, and respective means on each of said label supports for suspending opposite ends of said baggage-encircling belt above said floor in such manner that intermediate portions of said belt rest between said pair of baggage supports and between said floor and the bottom-most surface of the baggage supported thereon so that said belt partially encircles said baggage as soon as said baggage is placed on said supports.

27. A system as in claim 17 wherein said baggage-encircling belt is formed of a shrinkable material, and further comprising means for shrinking said belt to a tighter fit about said baggage whereby to attach said label more securely thereto.

28. A system as in claim 27 wherein said band material is a heat-shrinkable plastic film, and said shrinking means comprises a heat source.

29. A system as in claim 28 wherein said heat source is tunnel-shaped, and further comprising means for automatically moving labeled baggage through said tunnel at a predetermined speed so as to subject said baggage-encircling belt thereon to elevated temperature for a predetermined time.

30. A baggage attachment comprising a belt of heat-shrinkable plastic film for encircling the main body of said baggage, and fastening means for securing said belt in contiguous, closed encircling relationship to said baggage, said fastening means being adjustable, at least prior to fastening, so as to match the circumference of said belt to that of said baggage.

31. A baggage attachment as in claim 30 wherein said fastening means comprises confronting panels secured together along one edge, a first portion of said belt is attached to one of said panels, pressure-sensitive adhesive material is coated on at least one of the confronting surfaces of said panels, and a sheet of release material is removably located in confronting protective relationship with said confronting surfaces so that said release material may be removed and said belt may be wrapped about said baggage and a selected second portion thereof interposed between said confronting panel surfaces and said panels pressed together to secure said first and second belt portions together and thereby retain said belt in encircling position relative to said baggage.

32. A system comprising a package with machine-readable markings extending about at least a major portion of a selected circumference thereof, and optical data reading equipment designed to scan an area of said package which intersects with saiD machine-readable markings only over a minor portion of said selected package circumference, said markings comprising at least one data pattern arranged to be readable by said equipment at any such intersection occurring at any randomly selected location about at least a major portion of said selected package circumference.

33. A system as in claim 32 wherein said machine-readable markings comprise a single data pattern formed of width-coded bars the lengths of which extend about at least a major portion of said selected package circumference.

34. A system as in claim 32 wherein said machine-readable markings comprise a plurality of repetitive machine-readable data patterns occurring periodically at locations spaced from each other in the direction of said selected package circumference and together extending about at least a major portion of said circumference.