Package dimensional volume and weight determination system for conveyors

• US 5,331,118 A
• Filed: 11/27/1992
• Issued: 07/19/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Soren Jensen
• Original Assignee: Soren Jensen
• Inventors: Jensen, Soren
• Primary Examiner(s): MILLER JR, GEORGE
• Application Number:
  US07/982,448
• Time in Patent Office: 599 Days
• Field of Search: 177/25.15, 177/245, 177/25.14, 364/562, 364/564, 33/1 V
• US Class Current: 177/25.14
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/00 Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 11/00 Apparatus for weighing a continuous stream of material during flow; Conveyor belt weighers
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/03 for weighing during motion G01G19/04, G01G19/07 take precedence check weighing of materials dispensed into removable containers G01G15/00; weighing a continuous stream of material during flow G01G11/00; G01G19/02, e.g. G01G19/022, G01G19/045 take precedence

Abstract

A method and system for determining the dimensional volume of a package by moving the package on a conveyor belt system over a horizontally disposed strip containing machine-readable indicia indicating units of incremental length along said strip starting from a zero point and by a vertically disposed strip containing machine-readable indicia indicating units of incremental length along said strip starting from a zero point, with a horizontally disposed reader above the horizontally disposed strip to read the uncovered indicia on the horizontally disposed strip and a vertically disposed reader able to read the uncovered indicia on the vertically disposed strip with a computer to determine the lowest uncovered incremental length measurement of the indicia on tile horizontally disposed strip, such measurement being tile width of tile package and the lowest uncovered incremental length measurement of tile indicia on tile vertically disposed strip, such measurement being tile height of tile package, and a device to measure tile package'"'"'s length as it moves on the conveyor belt system such that the computer calculates tile package'"'"'s dimensional volume by taking tile product of tile measurements for the length, tile height and tile width of the package. A weigh-in-motion scale is utilized on the conveyor belt system, the output of which is also directed to the computer to calculate tile package'"'"'s dimensional weight.

Claims

1. A method for determining the dimensional volume of a package having sides and length, width and height on a conveyor belt having first and second side edges, comprising the steps of:

moving said package on said conveyor belt;

skewing said package to tile first side of said conveyor belt to be aligned with a side parallel to the direction of movement of said conveyor belt;

determining tile length of said package as it moves on said conveyor belt;

providing a horizontally disposed strip below, and disposed perpendicular to the direction of, said conveyor belt and the level of said conveyor belt, said strip containing machine-readable indicia indicating units of incremental length along said strip starting from zero, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said conveyor belt;

providing a vertically disposed strip at said first side edge of said conveyor belt, said strip facing toward said second side edge, said strip containing machine-readable indicia indicating units of incremental length along said strip starting from zero, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said conveyor belt;

providing a horizontally disposed reader above said horizontally disposed strip and above the height of said package, said reader able to read said indicia on said horizontally disposed strip;

providing a vertically disposed reader at said second side edge of said conveyor able to read said indicia on said vertically disposed strip;

moving said package to a position to cover portions of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips adjacent to said first side edge, said package covering said indicia starting at the zero point of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips;

reading by means of said vertically and horizontally disposed readers tile portions of indicia of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips not covered by said package;

determining the lowest incremental length measurement of said indicia on said horizontally disposed strip, such measurement being tile width of said package;

determining tile lowest incremental length measurement of said indicia on said vertically disposed strip, such measurement being the height of said package; and

calculating the package'"'"'s dimensional volume by taking the product of said measurements for the length, tile height and the width of said package.

2. The method of claim 1 further including the step of determining the weight of said package.

3. A method for determining the dimensional volume of a package having sides and a length, width and height, said package moving from a first conveyor belt to a second conveyor belt, said conveyor belts each having first and second side edges, comprising the steps of:

moving said package on said first conveyor belt;

skewing said package to the first side edge of said first conveyor belt to be aligned with a side parallel to the direction of movement of said first conveyor belt;

determining the length of said package as it moves on said first conveyor belt;

providing a horizontally disposed strip between and below, and disposed perpendicular to the direction of, said first and second conveyor belts and the level of said conveyor belts, said strip containing machine-readable indicia indicating units of incremental length along said strip starting from zero, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said first and second conveyor belts;

providing a vertically disposed strip at said first side edge of said first and second conveyor belts disposed between said first and second conveyor belts, said strip facing toward said second side edge of said first and second conveyor belts, said strip containing machine-readable indicia indicating units of incremental length along said strip starting from zero, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said first and second conveyor belts;

providing a horizontally disposed reader above said horizontally disposed strip and above the height of said package, said reader able to read said indicia on said horizontally disposed strip;

providing a vertically disposed reader at said second side edge of said first conveyor belt able to read said indicia on said vertically disposed strip;

moving said package from said first conveyor belt to said second conveyor belt to cover portions of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips adjacent to said first side edge of said first and second conveyor belts, said package covering said indicia starting at the zero points of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips;

reading by means of said vertically and horizontally disposed readers portions of indicia of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips not covered by said package;

determining the lowest incremental length measurement of said indicia on said horizontally disposed strip, such measurement being the width of said package;

determining the lowest incremental length measurement of said indicia on said vertically disposed strip, such measurement being the height of said package; and

calculating the package'"'"'s dimensional volume by taking the product of said measurements for the length, the height and the width of said package.

4. The method of claim 3 further including the step of determining the weight of said package.

5. A system for determining the dimensional volume of a package having sides and a length, width and height, comprising:

a first conveyor belt having a first side edge and a second side edge, said first conveyor belt having a direction of movement;

a second conveyor belt in proximity to said first conveyor belt;

means to skew said package to the first side edge of said first conveyor belt to be aligned with a side of said package parallel to the direction of movement of said first conveyor belt;

means to determine the length of said package as it moves on said first conveyor belt;

a horizontally disposed strip disposed below the level, and perpendicular to the direction of movement, of said first conveyor belt, and between said first and second conveyor belts, said horizontally disposed strip having machine-readable indicia indicating units of incremental length along said horizontally disposed strip starting from a zero point, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said first conveyor belt;

a vertically disposed strip at said first side edge of said first conveyor belt between said first and second conveyor belts, said vertically disposed strip facing toward said second side edge of said first conveyor belt, said vertically disposed strip containing machine-readable indicia indicating units of incremental length along said vertically disposed strip starting from a zero point, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said first conveyor belt;

a horizontally disposed reader positioned above said horizontally disposed strip and above the height of said package, said horizontally disposed reader able to read said indicia on said horizontally disposed strip;

a vertically disposed reader at said second side edge of said first conveyor belt between said first and second conveyor belts opposite said vertically disposed strip, said vertically disposed reader able to read said indicia on said vertically disposed strip;

said package, when moving from said first conveyor belt to said second conveyor belt, covering portions of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips adjacent to said first side edge of said first conveyor belt, said package covering said indicia starting at the zero points of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips, allowing said vertically and horizontally disposed readers to read the portions of indicia of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips not covered by said package; and

computing means to determine tile lowest incremental length measurement of said indicia read by said reader on said horizontally disposed strip, such measurement being tile width of said package;

to determine the lowest incremental length measurement of said indicia read by said reader on said vertically disposed strip, such measurement being the height of said package and to calculate the package'"'"'s dimensional volume by taking the product of said measurements for tile length, the height and tile width of said package.

6. The system of claim 5 further including means to determine the weight of said package.

7. A method for determining the dimensional volume of a package having sides and length, width and height on a conveyor belt having first and second side edges, comprising the steps of:

moving said package on said conveyor belt;

skewing said package to the first side of said conveyor belt to be aligned with a side parallel to the direction of movement of said conveyor belt;

determining the length of said package as it moves on said conveyor belt;

providing a horizontally disposed bar code strip below, and disposed perpendicular to the direction of, said conveyor belt and the level of said conveyor belt, said strip containing machine-readable bar codes indicating fixed units of incremental length along said strip starting from zero, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said conveyor belt;

providing a vertically disposed bar code strip at said first side edge of said conveyor belt, said strip facing toward said second side edge, said strip containing machine-readable bar codes indicating fixed units of incremental length along said strip starting from zero, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said conveyor belt;

providing a horizontally disposed bar code reader above said horizontally disposed strip and above the height of said package, said reader able to read said bar codes on said horizontally disposed strip;

providing a vertically disposed bar code reader at said second side edge of said conveyor able to read said bar codes on said vertically disposed strip;

moving said package to a position to cover portions of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips adjacent to said first side edge, said package covering said bar codes starting at the zero point of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips;

reading by means of said vertically and horizontally disposed readers the portions of bar codes of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips not covered by said package;

determining the lowest incremental length measurement of said bar code on said horizontally disposed strip, such measurement being the width of said package;

determining the lowest incremental length measurement of said bar code on said vertically disposed strip, such measurement being the height of said package; and

calculating the package'"'"'s dimensional volume by taking the product of said measurements for the length, the height and the width of said package.

8. The method of claim 7 further including the step of determining the weight of said package.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein said package has at least one bar coded label thereon, said bar coded label containing data, said method further including the steps of:

reading by means of said horizontally and vertically disposed bar code readers said bar coded label on said package to obtain said data; and

integrating such package label data with the weight and dimensional volume of said package.

10. The method of claim 7 further including the step of:

programming said vertically and horizontally disposed bar code readers to perform part of the steps of determining the width and height of said package.

11. A method for determining the dimensional volume of a package having sides and a length, width and height, said package moving from a first conveyor belt to a second conveyor belt, said conveyor belts each having first and second side edges, comprising the steps of:

moving said package on said first conveyor belt;

skewing said package to the first side edge of said first conveyor belt to be aligned with a side parallel to the direction of movement of said first conveyor belt;

determining the length of said package as it moves on said first conveyor belt;

providing a horizontally disposed bar code strip between and below, and disposed perpendicular to the direction of, said first and second conveyor belts and the level of said conveyor belts, said strip containing machine-readable bar code indicia indicating units of incremental length along said strip starting from zero, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said first and second conveyor belts;

providing a vertically disposed bar code strip at said first side edge of said first and second conveyor belts disposed between said first and second conveyor belts, said strip facing toward said second side edge of said first and second conveyor belts, said strip containing machine-readable bar code indicia indicating units of incremental length along said strip starting from zero, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said first and second conveyor belts;

providing a horizontally disposed bar code reader above said horizontally disposed strip and above the height of said package, said reader able to read said bar code indicia on said horizontally disposed strip;

providing a vertically disposed bar code reader at said second side edge of said first conveyor belt able to read said bar code indicia on said vertically disposed strip;

moving said package from said first conveyor belt to said second conveyor belt to cover portions of said vertically and horizontally disposed bar code strips adjacent to said first side edge of said first and second conveyor belts, said package covering said bar code indicia starting at the zero points of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips;

reading by means of said vertically and horizontally disposed readers portions of bar code indicia of said vertically and horizontally disposed strips not covered by said package;

determining the lowest incremental length measurement of said bar code indicia on said horizontally disposed strip, such measurement being the width of said package;

determining the lowest incremental length measurement of said bar code indicia on said vertically disposed strip, such measurement being the height of said package; and

calculating the package'"'"'s dimensional volume by taking the product of said measurements for the length, the height and the width of said package.

12. The method of claim 11 further including the step of determining the weight of said package.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said package has at least one bar coded label thereon, said bar coded label containing data, said method further including the steps of:

reading by means of said horizontally and vertically disposed bar code readers said bar coded label on said package; and

integrating by data processing said package bar coded label data with the weight and dimensional volume of said package.

14. The method of claim 13 further including the step of:

programming said readers to perform part of said data processing to determine the width and height of said package.

15. A system for determining the dimensional volume of a package having sides and a length, width and height, comprising:

a first conveyor belt having a first side edge and a second side edge, said first conveyor belt having a direction of movement;

a second conveyor belt in proximity to said first conveyor belt;

means to skew said package to said first side edge of said first conveyor belt to be aligned with a side of said package parallel to the direction of movement of said first conveyor belt;

means to determine the length of said package as it moves on said first conveyor belt;

a horizontally disposed bar code strip disposed below the level, and perpendicular to the direction of movement, of said first conveyor belt, and between said first and second conveyor belts, said horizontally disposed bar code strip having machine-readable bar code indicia indicating units of incremental length along said horizontally disposed bar code strip starting from a zero point, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said first conveyor belt;

a vertically disposed bar code strip at said first side edge of said first conveyor belt between said first and second conveyor belts, said vertically disposed bar code strip facing toward said second side edge of said first conveyor belt, said vertically disposed bar code strip containing machine-readable bar code indicia indicating units of incremental length along said vertically disposed strip starting form a zero point, said zero point disposed at said first side edge of said first conveyor belt;

a horizontally disposed bar code reader positioned above said horizontally disposed bar code strip and above the height of said package, said horizontally disposed reader able to read said bar code indicia on said horizontally disposed bar code strip;

a vertically disposed bar code reader at said second side edge of said first conveyor belt between said first and second conveyor belts opposite said vertically disposed bar code strip, said vertically disposed bar code reader able to read said bar code indicia on said vertically disposed bar code strip;

said package, when moving from said first conveyor belt to said second conveyor belt, covering portions of said vertically and horizontally disposed bar code strips adjacent to said first side edge of said first conveyor belt, said package covering said bar code indicia starting at the zero points of said vertically and horizontally disposed bar code strips, allowing said vertically and horizontally disposed bar code readers to read the portions of bar code indicia of said vertically and horizontally disposed bar code strips not covered by said package; and

computing means to determine the lowest incremental length measurement of said bar code indicia read by said reader on said horizontally disposed bar code strip, such measurement being the width of said package;

to determine the lowest incremental length measurement of said bar code indicia read by said reader on said vertically disposed bar code strip, such measurement being the height of said package; and

to calculate said package'"'"'s dimensional volume by taking the product of said measurements for the length, the height and the width of said package.

16. The system of claim 15 further including means to determine the weight of said package.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein said package has at least one bar coded label thereon, said bar coded label containing data, said system further including:

means to read said bar coded label on said package by said horizontally and vertically disposed bar code readers; and

means to integrate such package label data read by said readers with the weight and dimensional volume of said package.

18. The system of claim 15 wherein said computing means include said horizontally and vertically disposed readers to determine the width and height of said package.