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Method and apparatus for palletizing randomly arriving mixed size and content parcels

  • US 5,175,692 A
  • Filed: 05/24/1991
  • Issued: 12/29/1992
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1989
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A method for using a computer system to effect the palletizing of parcels, comprising the steps of:

  • (a) providing a group of parcels to be palletized, each parcel of said group of parcels having previously determined attribute factors;

    (b) inputting data which identifies the type sand quantities of the parcels which comprise said group of parcels to be palletized into a memory of the computer system;

    (c) determining dimensions of a logical voxel based on at least one of the orthagonal dimensions of each parcel of a plurality of said group of parcels;

    (d) determining the total pallet space available;

    (e) creating a mathematical pallet model representative of the total pallet space available by dividing mathematically the total pallet space available into a plurality of voxels, each of said voxels being dimensionally equal to corresponding dimensions of said logical voxel;

    (f) storing said pallet model in a memory of the computer system;

    (g) identifying from said group of parcels to be palletized a specific parcel to be stacked;

    (h) evaluating the attribute factors of said specific parcel to be stacked in comparison to predetermined threshold levels of the pallet models;

    (i) searching at least a portion of said pallet model for at least one space comprising a combination of voxels which are adjacent to each other, said combination of voxels mathematically corresponding to the size of said specific parcel to be stacked, said combination of voxels representing actual space in said pallet space in which said specific parcel to be stacked can be physically located;

    (j) assigning space in accordance with predetermined rules to said specific parcel to be stacked when at least one space is found in step (i) for said specific parcel to be stacked; and

    (k) locating said specific parcel to be stacked in the actual space corresponding to said space assigned instep (j) to said specific parcel to be stacked.

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