Two-way data communication manager
First Claim
1. A distributed system for providing a load/no-load signal for items that have been sorted and conveyed to a plurality of positions in a sorting facility, comprising:
- a data communication manager associated with each of said positions;
an input device associated with each of said positions and operative to provide identification data from said items to said corresponding data communication manager; and
an output device associated with each of said positions and operative to receive a load/no-load signal from said corresponding data communication manager;
wherein each of said data communication managers is operative to;
store disposition data received from a host computer;
receive from said corresponding input device identification data identifying an item that has been sorted and conveyed to the position associated with said corresponding input device;
determine, based on said identification data and said stored disposition data, whether said item should be loaded into a unit load device for receiving items conveyed to said associated position; and
provide a load/no-load signal to said corresponding output device, said a load/no-load signal indicating whether said item should be loaded into said unit load device.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A data communication manager provides a versatile interface between different types of scanners and a central computer system. Each data manager periodically receives loading data from the host computer. A scanner is used to read package tracking numbers on packages at a predetermined point in a hub facility. The data is transmitted from the scanner to the data manager via radio frequency (RF) link. The data manager uses stored disposition data (received from the host earlier) to determine whether the package should be loaded and transmits the appropriate signal to the load/no-load indicator via another RF link. The data manager stores data indicative of the disposition of the package data in its memory and also forwards the data to the host computer, where it may be used for tracking purposes. The data communication manager provides a "smart" data manager that reduces the amount of traffic on the host computer'"'"'s network and provides sub-second response times to a loader. The application programs and data in the data managers may be updated by the host as needed.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A distributed system for providing a load/no-load signal for items that have been sorted and conveyed to a plurality of positions in a sorting facility, comprising:
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a data communication manager associated with each of said positions; an input device associated with each of said positions and operative to provide identification data from said items to said corresponding data communication manager; and an output device associated with each of said positions and operative to receive a load/no-load signal from said corresponding data communication manager; wherein each of said data communication managers is operative to; store disposition data received from a host computer; receive from said corresponding input device identification data identifying an item that has been sorted and conveyed to the position associated with said corresponding input device; determine, based on said identification data and said stored disposition data, whether said item should be loaded into a unit load device for receiving items conveyed to said associated position; and provide a load/no-load signal to said corresponding output device, said a load/no-load signal indicating whether said item should be loaded into said unit load device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. In a system for sorting a plurality of objects and conveying each of said sorted objects to a predetermined one of a plurality of positions, the improvement comprising:
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a host computer comprising disposition data associated with at least one of said sorted objects; a plurality of data communication managers operatively connected to said host computer, one of said data communication managers being associated with each of said positions; and a plurality of input devices for reading object identification data from said sorted objects, one of said input devices being operatively connected to each of said data communication managers; said host computer being operative to transfer said disposition data to said data communication managers; said input devices being operative to read said object identification data from said sorted objects and transmit said object identification data to said connected data communication manager; said data communication managers being operative to; store said disposition data; determine, based on said stored disposition data and said object identification data, whether said sorted object should be loaded into a unit load device for receiving items conveyed to said associated position; provide a load/no-load signal indicative of whether the sorted object should be loaded into said unit load device; and transmit to said host computer data indicative of the disposition of said sorted object. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A plurality of load verification devices for use in a facility for sorting packages and conveying sorted packages to a plurality of load positions, each of said plurality of load verification devices being associated with one of said load positions for providing a load/no-load signal to a loader at said load position, each of said load verification devices comprising:
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a data communication manager, said data communication manager being capable of exchanging data with a host computer associated with said facility; an input device for reading identification data from a sorted package and providing said identification data to said data communication manager; and an output device for providing a load/no-load signal to said loader, said load/no-load signal being generated by said data communication manager; wherein said data communication manager is initialized by performing the steps of; receiving from said host computer a signal indicating the beginning of a sort; receiving from said host computer a load position table indicating the destination of a unit load device associated with said load position; storing said load position table; receiving from said host computer an exception table indicating the identity of packages that are to be intercepted at their respective load positions; storing said exception table; receive from said host computer destination data associated with at least one of said sorted packages, said destination data indicating the destination of said associated package; storing said destination data; wherein said data communication manager provides a load/no-load signal by performing the steps of; receiving from said input device identification data associated with a sorted package; determining whether said received identification data corresponds to data in said stored exception table; in response to said received identification data corresponding to data in said stored exception table, sending a no-load signal to said output device; determining whether said receiving identification data corresponds to data in said stored destination data; in response to said received identification data corresponding to data in said stored destination data, determining whether the destination of said unit load device corresponds to the destination of said package; in response to the destination of said unit load device not corresponding to the destination of said package, sending a no-load signal to said output device; otherwise, sending a load signal to said output device. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification