Item handling and tracking system and method therefor
First Claim
1. A method of tracking the passage of items from an arrival point to a departure point in a hub and spoke item handling system, comprising the steps of:
- acquiring information about the identity of the items, the arrival and departure parameters for the items and the topology of the location through which the items may pass between arrival and departure;
for each item, defining a path though the handling system from a plurality of valid paths and storing details of that path, the path including a plurality of checkpoints at which the item is identified and recorded;
at each checkpoint, determining a status of each item based on the time of arrival of each item at the checkpoint compared to a target time of arrival, the items each being assigned one of a plurality of statuses including an indication of whether the item is at risk of not arriving at the departure point by a required time;
where an item is assigned an at risk status, determining an alternative path through the system, and communicating the alternative path to a controller.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In an airport baggage handling system bag information, flight information and airport topology information are provided to a central processor which determines a path for the bag through the handling system. The bag is scanned at various points along the path and the scan time is compared with a predetermined arrival time for the bag at the scan point. A bag is marked at risk if it arrives at a scan point after the predetermined time and the system may suggest an alternative handling path for the bag if it is determined that the risk of the bag not making an outbound flight is too high.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A method of tracking the passage of items from an arrival point to a departure point in a hub and spoke item handling system, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring information about the identity of the items, the arrival and departure parameters for the items and the topology of the location through which the items may pass between arrival and departure; for each item, defining a path though the handling system from a plurality of valid paths and storing details of that path, the path including a plurality of checkpoints at which the item is identified and recorded; at each checkpoint, determining a status of each item based on the time of arrival of each item at the checkpoint compared to a target time of arrival, the items each being assigned one of a plurality of statuses including an indication of whether the item is at risk of not arriving at the departure point by a required time; where an item is assigned an at risk status, determining an alternative path through the system, and communicating the alternative path to a controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A system for tracking the passage of items from an arrival point to a departure point in a hub and spoke item handling system, comprising:
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an item processor for acquiring and processing information about the identity of the items; an arrival and departure processor for acquiring and processing information about the arrival and departure parameters for the items; a rules engine operating on a topology of the location through which the items may pass between arrival and departure to define a plurality of paths through the location and for selecting one of the plurality of paths for a given item; a store for storing item identity data provided from the item processor, arrival and departure parameters provided from the rules engine, and location topology information including the plurality of paths; a user application for communicating data relating to arrival and departure parameters and items to a system user; and a plurality of checkpoints arranged along the paths, each checkpoint including a scanner for scanning items to provide item identity and time of arrival information to the rules engine to determine a status of each item based on the time of arrival of each item at the checkpoint compared to a target time of arrival, the items each being assigned one of a plurality of statuses by the rules engine including an indication of whether the item is at risk of not arriving at the departure point by a required time; wherein when an item is assigned an at risk status, the rules engine determines an alternative path through the system, and communicates the alternative path to the user. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of tracking the passage of items from an arrival point to a departure point in a hub and spoke item handling system, comprising the steps of:
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defining a set of configuration data comprising a set of paths an item may take from the arrival point to the departure point, a set of processes an item must undergo in each path, each process comprising at least one step and an item scan to determine the identity of the item and the time at which it is scanned, and a set of transits for each path, each transit comprising a start and an end scan point, an average time between the start and end scan points and the position of the transit in the path; for each item passing through the system, acquiring event information relating to the item, the event information relating to the identity of the item, item scans, and its arrival and departure; in response to event information, determining at a processor whether an item is at risk of failing to arrive at the departure point by a predetermined time and for any item determined to be at risk; and if an item is determined to be at risk, assigning a different path having different transits to the item. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification