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EP-4742120-A1 - METHOD FOR LOADING TRANSPORT UNIT WITH PACKAGES

EP4742120A1EP 4742120 A1EP4742120 A1EP 4742120A1EP-4742120-A1

Abstract

A method for loading at least one transport unit (13) with packages (2) is described and illustrated. To avoid damage to the packages during loading into a transport unit, it is provided that the packages (2) are scanned successively with an optical scanner (7), that an evaluation unit (11) determines at least one stability parameter of each package (2) based on the images from the optical scanner (7), that the evaluation unit (11) assigns a stability score to each package (2) based on the at least one stability parameter, and that the packages (2) are loaded at different locations in the at least one transport unit (13) depending on the respective stability scores.

Inventors

  • LANGER, FRANK
  • PATHAN, SAIRA

Assignees

  • Deutsche Post AG

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251105

Claims (16)

  1. Method for loading at least one transport unit (13) with packages (2), - in which the packages (2) are scanned one after the other with an optical scanner (7), - in which at least one stability parameter is determined by an evaluation unit (11) based on the images of the optical scanner (7) of each package (2), - in which the evaluation unit (11) assigns a stability score to each package (2) based on at least one stability parameter and - in which the packages (2) are loaded at different locations in the at least one transport unit (13) depending on the respective stability scores.
  2. Method according to claim 1, - in which the packages (2) are loaded at different height levels (19, 20, 21) in at least one transport unit (13) depending on the respective stability scores and - in which, preferably, the packages (2) are loaded at least at different height levels (19, 20, 21) high, medium and low in the at least one transport unit (13) depending on the respective stability scores.
  3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, - where at least one transport unit (13) is a roll container, a wire mesh box, a pallet, a pallet with walls, a swap body, a truck or a Unit Load Device (ULD) and/or - in which the packages (2) are scanned by a six-sided scanner (7) and/or a line scanner, in particular an RGB line scanner, and/or a volume scanner.
  4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, - in which the packages (2) are loaded by at least one robot (14) and/or by at least one person (15) to different locations in the at least one transport unit (13) depending on the respective stability scores and - in which, preferably, the robot (14) and/or the person (15) is shown and/or informed of information concerning the stability score and/or information concerning the loading location determined on the basis of the stability score.
  5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, - in which the packages (2) are scanned one after the other in a transport sequence (4) with the optical scanner (7), - in which the packages (2) are placed in a loading sequence (12) that differs from the transport sequence (4) depending on the stability scores assigned to the packages (2) and are loaded into the transport unit (13) in the loading sequence (12) and - in which, preferably, the packages (2) are transported in the loading sequence (12) to the robot (14) loading the packages (2) into the transport unit (13) and/or to the person (15) loading the packages (2) into the transport unit (13).
  6. Method according to claim 5, - in which the packages (2) are automatically sorted by a sorting device (6) according to the stability scores assigned to the packages (2) into a loading sequence (12) that differs from the transport sequence (4) and/or - where packages (2) are removed from the transport sequence (4) and/or the loading sequence (12) as non-stackable based on the assigned stability score and/or - in which the packages (2) are transported automatically by a transport device (9) in the loading sequence (12) to the robot (14) loading the packages (2) into the transport unit (13) and/or to the person (15) loading the packages (2) into the transport unit (13).
  7. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, - in which at least one stability parameter of the packages (2) is determined by the evaluation unit (11) in the form of a size parameter, in particular in the form of a height, a width and/or a length and/or - in which at least one stability parameter of the packages (2) relating to the shape and/or surface is determined by the evaluation unit (11).
  8. Method according to claim 7, - where at least one stability parameter is assigned to a determined package type and/or a determined packaging material of the package (2) and/or a multi-layeredness of the determined packaging material and/or a coating of the packaging material and/or a moisture content of the packaging material and/or at least one stain of the packaging material and/or - where the stability parameter is assigned to a logo, a sticker, a sender address and/or a return label.
  9. Method according to claim 7 or 8, - in which at least one stability parameter of the type of adhesive tapes applied to the package (2) and/or the arrangement of adhesive tapes applied to the package (2) and/or the size of the opening area of the package (2) and/or the arrangement of the opening area of the package (2) is assigned to the package (2) and/or the degree of opening of the opening area of the package (2).
  10. Method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, - in which at least one stability parameter is assigned to at least one degree of damage to the package (2) and - in which, preferably, at least one degree of damage is associated with the shape of the edges of the package (2) and/or the shape of the corners of the package (2) and/or the shape of seams of the package (2) and/or the shape of the surface between the edges, corners and/or seams of the package (2).
  11. Method according to claim 10, - where at least one stability parameter is assigned to the shape of the surface, abrasions, dents, creases, cracks and/or cuts on the surface of the package (2) and/or - in which at least one stability parameter is assigned to a reuse characteristic of the package (2).
  12. Method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, - in which the evaluation unit assigns at least one stability parameter to a relative position of the package (2) relative to the shape of the package (2) and - in which, preferably, the evaluation unit assigns a direction-dependent stability score to each package (2) based on at least one stability parameter.
  13. Method according to claim 12, - in which the packages (2) are loaded in a specific orientation in the at least one transport unit (13) depending on the respective direction-dependent stability scores and - in which, preferably, the robot (14) and/or the person (15) is shown and/or informed of information concerning the direction-dependent stability score and/or information concerning the orientation of the package (2) during loading into the transport unit (13).
  14. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, - in which the evaluation unit (11) determines at least one stability parameter using an automated pattern recognition unit with artificial intelligence and - in which, preferably, the automated pattern recognition unit has been trained by means of a plurality of recordings of packages (2) and the stability information, stability parameters and/or stability scores assigned to these packages (2) to determine stability parameters based on the recordings of packages (2) and the stability information, stability parameters and/or stability scores assigned to these packages (2) on which the training is based.
  15. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, - where the stability score is calculated based on at least one stability parameter, - in which, preferably, at least one stability parameter has a value in the range between 0 and 1, - in which, preferably, the stability parameters are multiplied together to calculate the stability score and - in which, in particular, the stability score has a value in the range between 0 and 1.
  16. Method according to claim 14, - where real, accidentally damaged packages (2) and their actual stability parameters and/or deliberately damaged packages (2) and their Actual stability parameters are used to train the pattern recognition unit.

Description

The invention relates to a method for loading at least one transport unit with packages. Methods for loading transport units with packages are known from various applications, where the transport units can be loaded manually or using a robot. If the packages have random sizes and weights and are loaded into the transport units in a random order, the loading space provided by the transport units is not always fully utilized. Furthermore, packages can be damaged by other packages subsequently loaded into the same transport units. This is particularly problematic in connection with methods for redistributing packages in sorting stations, which are known in various configurations, and in which the packages are loaded into many, mostly identical, transport units after being sorted in the sorting station. The packages can initially be delivered, for example, in the superstructures of trucks or trailers, unloaded, and separated into a transport sequence. The packages are then scanned in this sequence, and a sorting parameter is recorded according to which they are sorted. Depending on this parameter, the packages are then distributed onto different transport units, which are then used to transport the packages from the sorting station. In many cases, these transport units, unlike the transport units unloaded in the sorting station, are roll containers, wire mesh boxes, pallets, pallets with walls, or unit load devices (ULDs). Unit load devices are pallets and containers used for loading aircraft and are therefore designed for... The dimensions are adapted to aircraft fuselages. However, so-called swap bodies, i.e., truck bodies with supports for parking without a chassis and for driving underneath with a chassis for loading, are also suitable as transport units, both as transport units to be loaded and as transport units to be unloaded at the sorting station. After scanning, the packages can be temporarily stored in an intermediate storage area, such as a rack storage system, until they are transported further. From this intermediate storage, the packages can then be retrieved in a specific or arbitrary order. However, to achieve high efficiency and short dwell times at the sorting station, intermediate storage is often omitted. Instead, the packages are conveyed from the unloading point to the loading point into other transport units via conveyor belts or similar systems, and are sorted during this process. For example, the packages might be partially moved from one conveyor belt to another or into a chute for sorting. A transport sequence is then established as needed, in which the packages are transported, scanned, and fed into a sorting device. After sorting, the packages are typically loaded into different transport units, a task that can be performed by a robot. To efficiently utilize the space available in the transport units, the dimensions of the packages are sometimes recorded. A loading algorithm can then specify where certain packages should be stacked within the transport units to minimize wasted space. Sensors can also be used to monitor the current loading status of the transport units. If the packages are temporarily stored in the sorting station, they can be retrieved from storage in a sequence that allows for space-saving stacking. Regardless of how the packages are sorted and how efficiently or randomly the transport units are loaded, it cannot be ruled out that individual packages may be damaged by other packages within the transport unit. The damage may only affect the packaging itself. However, this can still lead to damage to the packaged goods or problems during subsequent handling of the damaged package. Therefore, the present invention is based on the objective of designing and further developing the method of the type mentioned at the outset and explained in more detail above in such a way that damage to packages as a result of loading the packages into a transport unit is avoided. This problem is solved according to claim 1 by a method for loading at least one transport unit with packages, where the packages are scanned one after the other with an optical scanner, in which at least one stability parameter is determined by an evaluation unit based on the images from the optical scanner of each package, where the evaluation unit assigns a stability score to each package based on at least one stability parameter and where the packages are loaded at different points in at least one transport unit depending on the respective stability score. When loading at least one transport unit, the packages are scanned using an optical scanner before the transport unit is loaded with them. The optical scanner thus produces images or similar data that can be evaluated relatively easily and quickly with an evaluation unit. The evaluation unit is designed to determine at least one stability parameter of the respective package based on at least one image of the package. This stability parameter contribute