System for sorting commercial articles and method therefor

• US 6,737,600 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2003
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chiyuki Takizawa
• Original Assignee: Chiyuki Takizawa
• Inventors: Takizawa, Chiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, Donald P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rodriguez, Joseph C
• Application Number:
  US10/339,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20030116481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 495 Days
• Field of Search: 209/3.3, 209/546, 209/583, 209/584, 209/900, 209/922, 700/214, 700/215, 700/216, 700/217, 700/224, 700/225, 700/226, 700/230, 705/22, 705/23, 705/24, 705/25, 705/28
• US Class Current: 209/583
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 7/005 Computer assisted manual sorting, e.g. for mail
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/137 with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1375 the orders being assembled on a commissioning stacker-crane or truck
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1378 the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2209/04 Indication location means
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/5104 for articles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/933 Accumulation receiving separated items

Abstract

An inflow article management system is provided. The system comprises at least one inflow line; an input feeding means through which a vendor feeds vendor identification information when he puts his article into the inflow line; an article identification information reading means to read article identification information which is attached to an article and is related with its attributes; an article information storing means to store an article information table connecting the vendor identification information with the article identification information of articles and the number of the articles to be received; and an inflow article information control means.

Claims

1. An inflow article management system for managing the inflow of commercial articles comprising:

at least one inflow line;

an input feeding means through which a vendor feeds vendor identification information when the vendor puts an article into the inflow line;

an article identification information reading means to read the information which is attached to an article and is related with article attributes;

an article information storing means to store an article information table connecting the vendor identification information with the article identification information of articles and the number of the articles to be received; and

an inflow article information control means which, when the identification information is fed through the input feeding means by the vendor and the article information is read, compares the identification information and the article information with the article information table, compares the number of articles currently provided by the vendor with the number of the same articles to be received, and writes the number of currently provided articles into the article information storing means,

wherein the input feeding means comprises a combination of a display device and a touch-sensitive panel type input device, and the vendor feeds the identification information by touching the vendor'"'"'s name on a list of expected vendors presented on the display device.

2. An inflow article management system according to claim 1 wherein the inflow article information control means gives an identification number corresponding with the identification information provide by the vendor to each management unit of the same articles to be managed, thereby making it possible to manage articles based on the vendor identification information and the identification number.

3. An inflow article management system according to claim 1 further comprising a label printing means to print a purchaser information label related with the purchaser of an inflow article, the purchaser information label containing purchaser information regarding the purchaser of the article, wherein the inflow article information control means determines a destination for the article based on the article identification information transmitted by the article identification reading means, and instructs the label printing means to print a purchaser information label.

4. An inflow article management system according to claim 3 wherein the inflow article information control means instructs the label printing means to print a certificate certifying the inflow of articles to a vendor as soon as the vendor has provided a series of articles.

5. An inflow article management system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a routing conveyor to which the article from the inflow line is introduced and from which the article is sent to a next step;

a label reading means to read the purchaser information of the article on the routing conveyor;

a sorter to sort articles carried by the routing conveyor according to their purchasers; and

a sorter control means to control the sorter according to the purchaser information read by the label reading means.

6. An inflow article management system according to claim 5, further comprising:

an inflow label sticking line connected to the sorter to stick an inflow label on an article, wherein the sorter control means, when the label reading means can not read the purchaser information from the inflow controls the sorter so as to cause the the article to be guided to the inflow label sticking line.

7. An inflow article management system according to claim 6 wherein the inflow label sticking line has a plurality of label sticking sections along a length of the inflow label sticking line so that sticking of inflow labels is performed in parallel at the plurality of inflow label sticking sections.