Sorting method and system with dynamically re-allocated sortation bins

• US 7,923,655 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2004
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DMT Solutions Global Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Inventors: Baker, Christopher A., Quine, Douglas B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rodriguez; Joseph C
• Application Number:
  US10/980,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20060113223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,351 Days
• Field of Search: 209/584, 209/900, 700/223, 700/224, 700/226
• US Class Current: 209/584
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/00 Sorting according to destination collating the pages of a book B42C1/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/90 Sorting flat-type mail

Abstract

A sorter system includes a plurality of sortation bins with a feed path connected to the plurality of sortation bins for transporting media items to destination sortation bins. A controller is connected to control the plurality of sortation bins and is operable during a sortation process to reassign the destination sortation bin into which a media item is sorted. The system operation may employ a method for sorting media items where a plurality of media items are fed onto a transport system for sortation. Each media items is sorted into a destination sortation bin of a plurality of sortation bins connected to said transport system. Destination sortation bins for media items are dynamically reassigned based of the determined status of the media items in the sortation bins. The status of media items is sensed in each of said plurality of sortation bins may be determined based on sensors associated with the equipment or tracked by a controller or other techniques which track the mail pieces being processed. Destination sortation bins may be assigned to accommodate overflow capacity from existing bins thereby creating larger effective bins. They may also be assigned to allow the reuse of existing bins thereby creating a sortation system with a greater effective number of sortation bins.

Claims

1. A sorter system, comprising:

at least one first sortation bin;

at least one second sortation bin;

at least one third sortation bin;

a feed path for transporting a plurality of media items to the sortation bins; and

a controller to control sortation of the media items to the sortation bins, wherein the at least one first sortation bin is assigned to media items having a single attribute, and wherein the at least one second sortation bin and the at least one third sortation bin are dynamically reassigned to media items having a varying attribute, different from the single attribute;

wherein each of said plurality of sortation bins includes status sensors connected to said controller, said status sensor providing data to said controller of media items in said sortation bin;

wherein each of said status sensors connected to each of said plurality of sortation bins includes a sortation bin empty sensor; and

wherein each of said status sensors connected to each of said plurality of sortation bins further includes a sortation bin full sensor.

2. The sorter system of claim 1, wherein the controller determines bin status based upon prior information about the media items being processed.

3. The sorter system of claim 1, wherein said controller includes a program store containing a sort plan data base for sorting said mail pieces into destination sortation bins and a program store containing a re-mapper data base for dynamically reassigning destination sortation bins for said mail pieces based on data from said status sensor connected to each of said plurality of sortation bins.

4. The sorter system of claim 1, wherein the attribute is associated with a mailing destination of the media items.

5. The sorter system of claim 4, wherein the attribute is at least a portion of a mailing address of the media items.

6. The sorter system of claim 5, wherein the attribute is a ZIP code.

7. The sorter system of claim 1, wherein the at least one first sortation bin, the at least one second sortation bin, and the at least one third sortation bin each comprise a plurality of sortation bins.