System and method for packaging of mass-fabricated custom items
First Claim
1. A system for packaging mass-customized items, comprising:
- an inner pack identification apparatus for applying item identification information unique to a mass-customized item of a series of sequenced mass-customized items to an inner pack of a plurality of inner packs;
the inner pack configured to house at least one mass-customized item;
an inner pack filling apparatus for filling each inner pack with the at least one mass-customized item delivered to the inner pack filling apparatus in item carriers encoded with the item identification information, the inner pack filling apparatus including a first code reading mechanism that reads the encoded item identification information from each item carrier and transmits the item identification information to a computer system for matching with the item identification information provided on each of the inner packs;
outer container identification apparatus for applying the item identification information to each outer container of a plurality of outer containers; and
filling apparatus for filling each outer container with the inner pack including the at least one mass-customized item, the filling apparatus including a second code reading mechanism that reads the outer container identification information applied to each outer container and transmits the scanned information to the computer system for matching with the item identification information provided on each of the inner packs.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for packaging mass-customized items includes a computer system including a database containing item identification information unique to each item; (2) outer container identification apparatus that applies the item identification information received from the database to each outer container in a plurality of outer containers; (3) inner pack identification apparatus that applies the item identification information received from the database to each inner pack in a plurality of inner packs; and (4) inner pack filling apparatus that fills each inner pack with a specific item matched to that inner pack by the item identification information received from the database. Each item is associated with its unique item identification information and is inserted into an inner pack with matching item identification information, and each outer container is presented for loading with one or more inner packs matched to that outer container by the item identification information received from the database.
54 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for packaging mass-customized items, comprising:
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an inner pack identification apparatus for applying item identification information unique to a mass-customized item of a series of sequenced mass-customized items to an inner pack of a plurality of inner packs;
the inner pack configured to house at least one mass-customized item;an inner pack filling apparatus for filling each inner pack with the at least one mass-customized item delivered to the inner pack filling apparatus in item carriers encoded with the item identification information, the inner pack filling apparatus including a first code reading mechanism that reads the encoded item identification information from each item carrier and transmits the item identification information to a computer system for matching with the item identification information provided on each of the inner packs; outer container identification apparatus for applying the item identification information to each outer container of a plurality of outer containers; and filling apparatus for filling each outer container with the inner pack including the at least one mass-customized item, the filling apparatus including a second code reading mechanism that reads the outer container identification information applied to each outer container and transmits the scanned information to the computer system for matching with the item identification information provided on each of the inner packs. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A system for packaging mass-customized items, comprising:
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a computer system including a database containing item information including (a) item identification information unique to each mass-customized item, (b) item grouping information identifying a predefined group of items to which each item belongs, and (c) item sequencing information defining a predetermined sequence for the items in each group; outer container identification apparatus, communicating with and controlled by the computer system to apply the item identification information and the item grouping information to each outer container in a plurality of outer containers; inner pack identification apparatus, communicating with and controlled by the computer system to apply the item information to each inner pack in a plurality of inner packs; and inner pack filling apparatus, communicating with and controlled by the computer system to fill each of the inner packs with at least one item matched to each inner pack by information received from the database, wherein each item is associated with its unique item identification information and is inserted into a corresponding inner pack having matching item identification information, and wherein the inner packs are filled in a sequence determined by the item sequencing information; wherein each outer container is presented for loading with at least one inner pack matched to that outer container by information received from the database, wherein each outer container is associated with the item grouping information for a specific group of items, and the inner packs with matching item grouping information are inserted into the associated outer container in the sequence determined by the sequencing information; and wherein the items delivered to the inner pack filling apparatus are encoded with the item identification information, and wherein the inner pack filling apparatus includes a code reading mechanism that reads the encoded item identification information from each item and that transmits the item identification information to the computer system for matching against the item identification information provided on each of the inner packs. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification