Sorting apparatus with arbitrary user-specified sequence control
First Claim
1. In a system for handling image-bearing items, a method for creating a sorted arrangement of image-bearing items comprising:
- receiving a user input specifying a preference associated with a top surface image borne on at least one of the items, said input indicating a position of at least one image-bearing item in the arrangement;
providing a plurality of image-bearing items in a first sequence, said items bearing a plurality of distinct images;
sorting the image-bearing items in a second sequence different from the first sequence according to said user input; and
packaging the image-bearing items such that an order of the image-bearing items reflects the preference associated with the top surface image borne on at least one of the items.
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Abstract
A sorting system may include a sorting apparatus coupled to a programmable control system which is configured to actuate the sorting apparatus so that it assembles similar products for packaging in an arbitrary, user imposed order or selection bias. In preferred implementations, a user may activate a biasing protocol pursuant to which items bearing certain images appear with a disproportionate frequency on the top of a stack of items such that the selected images are the most common images viewable through a transparent product packaging. In certain implementations, empirical sales data is used to determine weighting factors used in the biasing protocol. In still other implementations, a more specific ordering protocol is imposed by a user such that some or all of the sequence of items in a stack or collection is arbitrarily imposed.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. In a system for handling image-bearing items, a method for creating a sorted arrangement of image-bearing items comprising:
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receiving a user input specifying a preference associated with a top surface image borne on at least one of the items, said input indicating a position of at least one image-bearing item in the arrangement; providing a plurality of image-bearing items in a first sequence, said items bearing a plurality of distinct images; sorting the image-bearing items in a second sequence different from the first sequence according to said user input; and packaging the image-bearing items such that an order of the image-bearing items reflects the preference associated with the top surface image borne on at least one of the items. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A material-handling system to handle image-bearing items, the system comprising:
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means for obtaining a plurality of items, each item bearing a top surface image selected from a set of images; means for sorting the items according to a user input specifying a preference for a positioning of at least one top-facing image in a stack of said items; and means for stacking the items into a plurality of stacks such that the items are stacked in an order consistent with the user input, each stack in the plurality of stacks having an identical quantity of the items. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. In a system for handling image-bearing items, a method for creating a sorted arrangement of image-bearing items comprising:
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providing a plurality of image-bearing items selected from a group consisting of plates, greeting cards, and stationery, said items bearing a plurality of distinct images; receiving a user input specifying a preference associated with an image borne on at least one of the plurality of image-bearing items, said input indicating a selected image-bearing item that is to be preferentially positioned on a top of a sorted arrangement of image-bearing items; sorting the image-bearing items according to said user input; and packaging a plurality of stacks of the image-bearing items in sorted arrangements with a packaging material that is at least partially transparent such that the image-bearing item positioned on top of each stack is viewable through said packaging material, wherein the sorting is at least partially randomized but statistically weighted according to the user input such that the image-bearing items viewable on top of the packaged stacks are disproportionately ordered consistent with said preference. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification