Method and system for packing a plurality of articles in a container

• US 6,721,762 B1
• Filed: 04/27/2001
• Issued: 04/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Michael C. Levine
• Original Assignee: Michael C. Levine
• Inventors: Levine, Michael C., Norris, Jerry D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Metjahic, Safet
• Assistant Examiner(s): GODDARD, BRIAN D
• Application Number:
  US09/844,760
• Time in Patent Office: 1,082 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104.1, 707/102, 707/1, 534/72, 534/73, 534/74, 534/45, 531/68, 700/217, 700/216, 705/8, 705/28, 705/401, 705/406
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/04 Forecasting or optimisation specially adapted for administrative or management purposes, e.g. linear programming or "cutting stock problem" market predictions or forecasting for commercial activities G06Q30/0202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99931 Database or file accessing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99943 Generating database or data structure, e.g. via user interface
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99948 Application of database or data structure, e.g. distributed, multimedia, or image

Abstract

The present invention provides a computer-implemented method and system for optimally packing a plurality of randomly sized and shaped articles into a container. In particular, the invention determines the preferred packing configuration in a preferred container for packing a plurality of randomly sized and shaped articles in a customer order wherein particular articles in the order have specialized shipping requirements. In determining the preferred packing configuration, the method and system uses criteria based upon particular characteristics of the articles, the cost of packing labor, packing material, and delivery of the packed container. In a particular embodiment, the preferred packing configuration is displayed graphically or as written instructions and the container is packed manually.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for preferably placing one or more articles from a customer order into a container preferably suited for receiving the articles so that the container is ready for shipping, comprising:

(a) inputting indicia for a plurality of articles into a memory of a programmed computer to produce an article database;

(b) inputting indicia for a plurality of containers for receiving the articles into the memory of the programmed computer to produce a container database;

(c) selecting the indicia corresponding to the articles in the customer order from the article database;

(d) selecting the indicia corresponding to one or more selected containers in the container database;

(e) generating a plurality of possible packing configurations based on the indicia of the articles in the customer'"'"'s order and the indicia for one or more of the selected containers wherein the possible packing configurations are generated using a programming language which ranks the articles in a delivery index based upon regulation requirements, size of package, weight of package, fragility of articles, packing material and delivery rates or schedules;

(f) selecting from the plurality of possible packing configurations a preferred packing configuration including a preferred arrangement of the articles in a particular container based upon the delivery index;

(g) generating instructions for packing the one of the selected containers using the preferred packing configuration; and

, (h) packing the articles from the customer order in the one of the selected containers according to the instructions at the delivery rates or delivery schedules in the preferred packing configuration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicia for the articles are selected from a group consisting of length, width, height, weight, fragility, composition, flexibility, health factors, safety factors, packing material to protect the article, and combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of possible packing configurations takes into consideration compatibility of the articles in the customer order.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the indicia for the plurality of containers are selected from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, material, and combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a second preferred packing configuration is selected.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions provide a visual representation of the preferred packing configuration and written instructions for the preferred packing configuration.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the visual representation and written instructions are displayed on a computer terminal.

8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein packing the articles in the particular container is manual.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the article and container databases use a structured query language.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the possible packing configurations are generated using a programming language that is independent of an operating system of the programmed computer.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the preferred packing configuration is provided in extensible markup language to enable data representing the preferred packing configuration to be portable across different types of applications and operating systems, and in extensible stylesheet language to enable the preferred packing configuration to be presented in different formats.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the preferred packing configuration for the particular container is stored in a packing history database that is then accessed when a subsequent preferred packing configuration is being generated.

13. A computer implemented method for determining the preferred packing of one or more articles from a customer order into a container suited for receiving the articles so that the container is ready for shipping, comprising:

(a) inputting into a programmed computer an identifier for each article in the customer order;

(b) retrieving data including indicia for each article corresponding to the identifier from an article database containing indicia for a plurality of articles stored in memory of the programmed computer;

(c) retrieving data including indicia for one or more containers from a container database stored in the memory of the programmed computer;

(d) generating a plurality of possible packing configurations based on the indicia for the articles and the indicia for the one or more containers wherein the possible packing configurations are generated using a programming language which ranks the articles in a delivery index based upon regulation requirements, size of package, weight of package, fragility of articles, packing material and delivery rates or schedules;

(e) selecting a preferred packing configuration from the plurality of possible packing configurations having a preferred arrangement of the articles of the customer order in a particular container based upon the delivery index;

(f) generating instructions for packing the particular container in the preferred packing configuration; and

,

(g) packing the particular container with the one or more articles from the customer order according to the instructions at the delivery rates or delivery schedules in the preferred packing configuration.

14. The method of claim 13, further including retrieving labor costs associated with each of the plurality of possible packing configurations stored in a database in the memory of the programmed computer and generating the plurality of possible packing configurations that is further based on the labor costs.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the indicia for the plurality of articles are selected from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, fragility, composition, flexibility, health factors, safety factors, packing material to protect the article, and combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of packing configurations further considers compatibility of the articles in the customer order.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the indicia for the container are selected from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, material, and combination thereof.

18. The method of claim 13, wherein a second preferred packing configuration is selected.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the instructions provide a visual representation of the preferred packing configuration and written instructions for the preferred packing configuration.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the visual representation and written instructions are displayed on a computer terminal.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein the packing is manual.

22. The method of claim 13, wherein an identifier for the customer order is entered into an order entry system.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the order entry system is a Legacy system.

24. The method of claim 13, wherein the databases use a structured query language to retrieve and manipulate the data consisting of the indicia.

25. The method of claim 13, wherein the article and container indicia are manipulated to produce the possible packing configurations using a programming language that is independent of an operating system of the programmed computer.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the preferred packing configuration is provided in extensible markup language to enable data representing the preferred packing configuration to be portable across applications and operating systems of different types, and in extensible stylesheet language to enable the preferred packing configuration to be presented in different formats.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein the preferred packing configuration in the particular container is stored in a packing history database that is then accessed when a subsequent preferred packing configuration is being generated.

28. A method for packing articles from a customer order into a container suited for receiving the articles, comprising:

(a) inputting customer order data into an order entry system in a programmed computer;

(b) converting the customer order data in the order entry system to a language that enables the data to be portable across computer applications and computer operating systems;

(c) retrieving from an article database indicia for the articles ordered and from a container database indicia for one or more containers wherein the article and container indicia are in a language that enables the indicia to be portable across computer applications and computer operating systems;

(d) generating using the programmed computer a plurality of possible packing configurations based on the indicia for the articles from the customer order and the indicia for the one or more containers using a program code that is independent of an operating system of the programmed computer wherein the possible packing configurations are generated using a programming language which ranks the articles in a delivery index based upon regulation requirements, size of package, weight of package, fragility of articles, packing material and determining rates or schedules;

(e) selecting a preferred packing configuration from the plurality of possible packing configurations based upon the delivery index;

(f) generating using the programmed computer instructions for the preferred packing configuration including a preferred arrangement of the articles from the customer order in a particular container; and

(g) packing the articles from the customer order in the preferred arrangement in the particular container according to the instructions at the delivery rates or delivery schedules in the preferred packing configuration.

29. The method of claim 28, further including retrieving from a labor cost database, indicia consisting of labor costs associated with each of the plurality of possible packing configurations.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the indicia for the articles from the customer order are selected from data from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, fragility, composition, flexibility, health factors, safety factors, packing material to protect the article, and combination thereof.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the plurality of packing configurations is further based on compatibility of the articles from the customer order.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein the indicia for the containers are selected from data from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, material, and combination thereof.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein a second preferred packing configuration is selected.

34. The method of claim 28, wherein the packing instructions provide a visual representation of the preferred packing configuration and written instructions for the preferred packing configuration.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the visual representation and written instructions are displayed on a computer screen.

36. The method of claim 34 or 35, wherein the packing is conducted manually.

37. The method of claim 28, wherein the preferred packing configuration is stored in a packing history database that is then accessed when a subsequent preferred packing configuration is being generated.

38. A system for placing one or more articles from a customer order into a container suited for receiving the articles so that the container is ready for shipping, comprising:

(a) means for inputting indicia for a plurality of articles into a memory of a programmed computer to produce an article database;

(b) means for inputting indicia for a plurality of containers for receiving the articles into the memory of the programmed computer to produce a container database;

(c) means for selecting the indicia corresponding to the articles in the customer order from the article database;

(d) means for selecting the indicia corresponding to one or more of the containers in the container database;

(e) means for generating a plurality of possible packing configurations based on the indicia for each of the articles from the customer order and the indicia for one or more of the containers wherein the possible packing configurations are generated using a programming language which ranks the articles in a delivery index based upon regulation requirements, size of package, weight of package, fragility of articles, packing material and delivery rates or schedules;

(f) means for selecting from the plurality of possible packing configurations a preferred packing configuration consisting of a preferred arrangement of the articles from the customer order in a particular container based upon the delivery index; and

(g) means for generating instructions for packing the particular container with the articles from the customer order in the preferred arrangement using the preferred packing configuration wherein the system enables packing the articles in the particular container according to the instructions at the delivery rates or delivery schedules in the preferred packing configuration.

39. The system of claim 38, wherein the indicia for the plurality of articles are selected from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, fragility, composition, flexibility, health factors, safety factors, packing material to protect the article, and combination thereof.

40. The system of claim 38, further including a means for inputting compatibility data of the articles from the customer order and wherein the means for generating the plurality of packing configurations is further based on compatibility data of the articles.

41. The system of claim 38, wherein the indicia for the plurality of containers are data selected from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, material, and combination thereof.

42. The system of claim 38, wherein the means for selecting the preferred packing configuration is able to select a second preferred packing configuration.

43. The system of claim 38, wherein the instructions provide a visual representation of the preferred packing configuration and written instructions for the preferred packing configuration.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the visual representation and written instructions are displayed on a computer screen.

45. The system of claim 43 or 44, further comprising a means for packing the articles in the particular container manually.

46. The system of claim 38, wherein the article database and the container database use a structured query language.

47. The system of claim 38, wherein means for generating the plurality of possible packing configurations uses a programming language that is independent of an operating system of the programmed computer.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the preferred packing configuration is provided in extensible markup language to enable data representing the preferred packing configuration to be portable across applications and operating systems of different types, and in extensible stylesheet language to enable the preferred packing configuration to be presented in different formats.

49. The system of claim 38, further including a means for storing the preferred packing configuration in a packing history database that is then accessed when a subsequent preferred packing configuration is being generated.

50. A computer implemented system for determining a preferred packing arrangement of articles from a customer order into a container preferably suited for receiving the articles so that the container is ready for shipping, comprising:

(a) means for inputting an identifier for each article of the customer order into a memory of a programmed computer;

(b) means for storing and retrieving indicia for a plurality of articles in the memory of the programmed computer;

(c) means for storing and retrieving indicia for one or more containers stored in the memory of the programmed computer;

(d) means for generating a plurality of possible packing configurations based on the indicia for each article of the customer order and the indicia for one or more of the containers wherein the possible packing configurations are generated using a Programming language which ranks the articles in a delivery index based upon regulation requirements, size of package, weight of package, fragility of articles, packing material and delivery rates or schedules;

(e) means for selecting a preferred packing configuration from the plurality of possible packing configurations having a preferred arrangement of the articles of the customer order in a particular container based upon the delivery index; and

(f) means for generating instructions for packing the particular container wherein the system enables packing of the particular container with the articles of the customer order in the preferred arrangement using the preferred packing configuration at the delivery rates or delivery schedules in the packing configuration.

51. The system of claim 50, further including means for storing and retrieving labor costs associated with each of the plurality of possible packing configurations and means for generating the plurality of possible packing configurations further based on the labor costs.

52. The system of claim 50, wherein the indicia for the articles are selected from data from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, fragility, composition, flexibility, health factors, safety factors, packing material to protect the article, and combination thereof.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the means for generating a plurality of packing configurations considers compatibility of the articles in the customer order.

54. The system of claim 50, wherein the indicia for the container are selected from data from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, material, and combination thereof.

55. The system of claim 50, wherein the means for selecting a preferred packing configuration selects a second preferred packing configuration.

56. The system of claim 50, further including a means for displaying a visual representation of the preferred packing configuration and written instructions for the preferred packing configuration in the particular container.

57. The system of claim 56, wherein the means for displaying the visual representation and written instructions is a computer screen.

58. The system of claim 50, further including an order entry system and a means for inputting an identifier for the customer order entered into an order entry system.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein the order entry system is a Legacy system.

60. The system of claim 50, wherein the means for storing and retrieving the indicia uses a structured query language.

61. The system of claim 50, wherein the means for generating the plurality of possible packing configurations uses a programming language that is independent of an operating system of the programmed computer.

62. The system of claim 61, wherein the preferred packing configuration is provided in extensible markup language to enable data representing the preferred configuration to be portable across applications and operating systems of different types, and in extensible stylesheet language to enable the preferred configuration to be presented in different formats.

63. The system of claim 50, further including a means for storing the preferred packing configuration in a packing history database that is then accessed when a subsequent preferred packing configuration is being generated.

64. A system for packing articles from a customer order into a container suited for receiving the articles so that the container is ready for shipping, comprising:

(a) means for inputting customer order data into an order entry system in a programmed computer;

(b) means for converting the customer order data in the order entry system to a language that enables the data to be portable across computer applications and computer operating systems;

(c) means for retrieving from a database indicia for the articles from the customer order and indicia for one or more containers wherein the indicia are in a language that enables the indicia to be portable across computer applications and computer operating systems;

(d) means for generating in the programmed computer a plurality of possible packing configurations based on the indicia using a program code that is independent of an operating system of the programmed computer wherein the possible packing configurations are generated using a programming language which ranks the articles in a delivery index based upon regulation requirements, size of package, weight of package, fragility of articles, packing material and delivery rates or schedules;

(e) means for selecting a preferred packing configuration from the plurality of possible packing configurations based upon the delivery index; and

(f) means for generating instructions for the preferred packing configuration including a preferred arrangement of the articles from the customer order in a particular container wherein the system enables packing the particular container according to the instructions at the delivery rates or delivery schedules in the preferred packing configuration.

65. The system of claim 64, further including a means for retrieving from the database indicia consisting of labor costs associated with each of the plurality of possible packing configurations.

66. The system of claim 64, wherein the indicia for the articles are selected from data from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, fragility, composition, flexibility, health factors, safety factors, packing material to protect the article, and combination thereof.

67. The system of claim 66, wherein the means for generating the plurality of packing configurations considers compatibility of the articles in the customer order.

68. The system of claim 64, wherein the indicia for the container are selected from data from the group consisting of length, width, height, weight, material, and combination thereof.

69. The system of claim 68, wherein the means for selecting the preferred packing configuration is capable of selecting a second preferred packing configuration is selected.

70. The system of claim 64, wherein the instructions provide a visual representation of the preferred packing configuration and written instructions for the preferred packing configuration.

71. The system of claim 70, wherein the visual representation and written instructions are displayed on a computer screen.

72. The system of claim 70, or 71, further including a means for packing the particular container manually.

73. The system of claim 64, further including a means for storing the preferred packing configuration in a packing history database that is then accessed when a subsequent preferred packing configuration is being generated.