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CN-117396415-B - Sorting system and method for operating the same

CN117396415BCN 117396415 BCN117396415 BCN 117396415BCN-117396415-B

Abstract

A sorting system and corresponding control method, the sorting system comprising a central controller, a sorting section with a variable controllable conveying speed, at least two infeed sections to the entrance of the sorting section and a monitoring mechanism in the entrance, wherein the monitoring mechanism is designed and connected to the central controller so as to detect incoming articles and the speed stored for controlling the conveying speed of the sorting section is queried by the central controller for the detected articles and used for its control.

Inventors

  • Hans Christoph Moirel

Assignees

  • 德马泰克有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20220518
Priority Date
20210528

Claims (11)

  1. 1. A sorting system comprising a central controller, a sorting section with a variable and controllable conveying speed, at least two infeed sections to the entrance of the sorting section and a monitoring mechanism in the entrance, wherein the monitoring mechanism is designed and connected to the central controller so as to detect incoming articles and the speed stored by the central controller for the detected articles for controlling the conveying speed of the sorting section is queried and used for its control, characterized in that the sorting section is controllable in terms of conveying speed on the basis of rollover stability or other article properties stored in relation to the detected articles, including the fragility, surface quality, coefficient of friction, integrity and stability of the package.
  2. 2. The sorting system of claim 1, wherein the sorting section has a plurality of sorting sections that are controllable independently of each other in terms of conveying speed.
  3. 3. Sorting system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the infeed section is connected to a replenishment warehouse from which articles having the same or similar conveying speed are supplied to the infeed section in groups.
  4. 4. A method for operating and controlling a sorting system having a sorting section and a monitoring mechanism for the sorting section, the sorting section having a conveying speed which is variably controllable by a central controller, wherein the monitoring mechanism is arranged in front of the sorting section and detects incoming articles and the monitoring mechanism exchanges results with the central controller, and the central controller uses the conveying speed stored in the central controller in dependence of detected articles to control the conveying speed of the sorting section to such conveying speed when the articles are located thereon, characterized in that the sorting section is controllable in terms of conveying speed on the basis of rollover stability or other article properties stored in relation to the detected articles, including fragility of packaging, surface quality, coefficient of friction, integrity and stability.
  5. 5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that articles with similar or identical stored conveying speeds are introduced onto the sorting section in groups.
  6. 6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that for determining the conveying speed product properties of the article are taken into account, including the friability, surface quality, coefficient of friction, integrity and stability of the package, as well as the pouring stability.
  7. 7. A method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the articles are sorted in a conveying speed group before entering the sorting section.
  8. 8. A method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the set of transport speeds is taken into account already when providing the articles from the replenishment warehouse.
  9. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein more items than are required on average are simultaneously provided from the replenishment warehouse.
  10. 10. Method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the occupation of the infeed section on the sorting section is taken into account so that as much as possible articles of the same conveying speed group are located on the same infeed section.
  11. 11. A method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, when the pallet is used, the articles are placed on the pallet in advance in the middle or the far side of the action part of the sorting machine, so that the articles are not liable to fall over and not fall off even if they fall over on the pallet.

Description

Sorting system and method for operating the same Technical Field The present invention relates to a sorting system and a method of operating the sorting system according to claim 1 or 4. Background Sorting systems are an important component of distribution centers, warehouses, or more generally inter-company logistics. Despite the vast number of different items to be processed, these sorting systems have currently achieved high throughput. In particular, so-called shoe sorters (english "shoe sorter") can achieve high-speed sorting of articles. These skid-mounted sorters are particularly suited for rectangular articles or boxes, etc., of relatively identical designs, because they are not prone to tipping or tilting. However, the conveyed article or object may still tip due to the acceleration and deceleration forces generated. The sorting machine must therefore handle the objects slowly so that the acceleration forces generated do not cause the objects to tip over. However, this requires a reduced throughput, especially when handling a large number of different products, since for example the most prone to tipping determines the lowest processing speed of all the articles simultaneously located on the same conveying section of the sorting machine. Such a "slipper" sorting machine is known, for example, from US 7,562,761 B2 or EP 2 470 459 B1. WO 2016/010766A1 describes the use of a feeder and its control. Disclosure of Invention Against this background, the object of the present invention is to provide a sorting system and a method for its operation, which allow a higher throughput in comparison. This object is achieved by a sorting system as given in claim 1 or by a method according to claim 10. Advantageous designs result from the dependent claims and the description. It has been recognized according to the present invention that if an incoming article is detected and the speed stored for controlling the conveying speed of the sorting section is queried by the central controller for the detected article, the article can be conveyed in a targeted manner at a conveying speed suitable for said article, thereby optimizing the throughput. The appropriate conveying speed on the sorting section is preferably determined from the articles themselves and stored in a database of the central control system (WMS). This may be done once in the teaching process, for example, for each item encoded with the same EAN. Related product features may also already exist in the database. In particular, the roll-over stability of an article at the respective speed is used as a measure of the possible conveying speed. Rollover stability also plays a role in determining and specifying possible acceleration values to achieve speed. As a measure of rollover stability, consider a rollover angle from which an item rolls over or exceeds the angle of the rollover point. The greater the tipping angle, the more stable the article. Rollover stability may also be determined empirically, for example on the facility itself or in a suitable test device that simulates handling on a sorter (e.g., a skid-mounted sorter). Rollover stability may also be determined computationally based on known size and center of gravity information of the article. In addition to rollover stability, other article characteristics may be considered for conveying speed control, such as brittleness, surface quality, coefficient of friction, integrity, and stability of the package, that is, the contents of the package may fall or protrude, the package may be damaged, the adhesive bond may loosen, the flap protrudes, and the package may change its shape. These properties may also be determined empirically, similar to above, on the facility itself or in a suitable test device, which simulates the process on a shoe sorter. The articles are thus introduced in groups onto a sorting section having a very similar or identical maximum conveying speed, which is produced by the characteristics of the articles. For this purpose, transport speed groups into which each article is grouped are stored in a central controller or database. It has thus been realized, for example, that the objects liable to tip over only account for a few percent (for example only 1 to 2%) of the total stock transported by the sorting section per day, and therefore, when these objects liable to tip over are operated jointly in groups, for example, the speed of the sorting section of the sorting system can be reduced only during this operation, otherwise operated at a higher speed. Thereby, a speed increase to a significant extent can be achieved. The term "article" or "object" includes, for example, a single article, container, or the like. Preferably, the sorting section has a plurality of sorting sections which are controllable independently of one another in terms of conveying speed. This allows for adjustment of the conveying speed of each section to be tailored to the respective group, rather than chang