Systems and methods for processing packaged goods in the nature of cigarettes
First Claim
1. A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products, wherein the system comprises:
- a picking area where individual packages of tobacco products are picked and placed onto a transport mechanism;
a stamp machine to which the transport mechanism channels the individual packages of tobacco products, the stamp machine being configured to apply a stamp to an exterior surface of the individual packages of tobacco products;
a picking support software component that manages activity in the picking area by providing picking instruction output indicative of a sequence in which the individual packages of tobacco products should be picked and placed onto the transport mechanism; and
wherein the sequence blends the individual components of multiple tobacco product orders together such that the tobacco product orders are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next, andwherein the picking instruction output is a dynamically provided paperless electronic instruction output.
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Abstract
A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products is disclosed. The system includes a picking area where individual packages of tobacco products are picked and placed onto a transport mechanism. The system also includes a picking support software component that manages activity in the picking area. The picking support software component provides picking instruction output indicative of a sequence in which the individual packages of tobacco products should be picked and placed onto the transport mechanism. In one embodiment, the sequence blends the individual components of multiple tobacco product orders together such that the tobacco product orders are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next.
12 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products, wherein the system comprises:
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a picking area where individual packages of tobacco products are picked and placed onto a transport mechanism; a stamp machine to which the transport mechanism channels the individual packages of tobacco products, the stamp machine being configured to apply a stamp to an exterior surface of the individual packages of tobacco products; a picking support software component that manages activity in the picking area by providing picking instruction output indicative of a sequence in which the individual packages of tobacco products should be picked and placed onto the transport mechanism; and wherein the sequence blends the individual components of multiple tobacco product orders together such that the tobacco product orders are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next, and wherein the picking instruction output is a dynamically provided paperless electronic instruction output. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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8. A materials handling system for processing packaged tobacco products, wherein the system comprises:
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a picking area where individual packages of tobacco products are, based on a sequence reflected in a collection of picking instructions provided via picking instruction output, picked and placed onto a transport mechanism, wherein the transport mechanism precedes a stamp machine in a routing of the individual packages of tobacco products through the materials handling system, the stamp machine being configured to physically apply an identifier to the individual packages of tobacco products; and a batch handling software component configured to; determine available electronic tobacco product orders and individual components of the available electronic tobacco product orders; merge, by a batching process, the components of the available tobacco product orders into a batch to be included within the sequence reflected in the collection of picking instructions, wherein the batch includes a listing of individual packages of tobacco products from the available electronic tobacco product orders, the listing being organized in a sequence that blends the individual components of multiple orders together such that the tobacco product orders in the batch are not completely picked consecutively from one order to the next; and wherein the picking instruction output is a dynamically provided paperless electronic instruction output. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification