# US 10,479,601 B2 · Sorting system and sorting method

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- Number: US 10,479,601 B2
- Document ID: US10479601B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/502,262
- Filed: 2015-06-15
- Published: 2017-08-03
- Granted: 2019-11-19
- Earliest claimed: 2014-08-26
- Assignees: Murata Machinery, Ltd.
- Applicants: Murata Machinery, Ltd.
- Inventors: Akito Tai
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10479601B2

## CPC

- B65G 1/0457: {with suspended load carriers}
- B07C 5/36: Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution {(sorting according to destination B07C3/003, B07C3/02)}
- B65G 1/0485: {Check-in, check-out devices}
- B65G: TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING OR TIPPING, SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS OR PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS (packaging B65B; handling thin or filamentary materials, e.g. paper sheets or thread, B65H; cranes B66C; portable mobile or lifting or hauling appliances, e.g. hoists, B66D; devices for lifting or lowering goods for loading or unloading purposes, e.g. fork-lift trucks, B66F9/00; emptying bottles, jars, casks, barrels or similar containers, not otherwise provided for, B67C9/00; delivering or transferring liquids B67D; filling or discharging vessels for liquefied, solidified or compressed gases F17C; pipe-line systems for fluids F17D)
- B07C: POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING (specially adapted for a specific purpose covered by another class, see the relevant place, e.g. A43D33/06, B23Q7/12)

## Abstract

A compact and high capacity sorting system includes a transportation vehicle travelling along a travelling route where the transportation vehicle may diverge and merge, and raising and lowering a transfer device; racks provided along the travelling route and having a height corresponding to multiple floors; an arrival area, a shipment area, and a sorting area, each provided along an outer periphery of the travelling route; and a controller controlling the transportation vehicle to transport commodities from the arrival area to the sorting area via the racks, and transport commodities from the sorting area to the shipment area.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A sorting system for sorting and shipping commodities, the sorting system comprising:
a pallet transportation vehicle that travels along a travelling route and is able to diverge and merge along the travelling route;
a case transportation vehicle that is structurally different from the pallet transportation vehicle, travels along the travelling route, and is able to diverge and merge along the travelling route;
racks provided along the travelling route and having a height corresponding to multiple floors;
an arrival area, a shipment area, and a sorting area provided along an outer periphery of the travelling route; and
a controller configured or programmed to control each of the pallet transportation vehicle and the case transportation vehicle to transport the commodities from the arrival area to the sorting area via the racks and transport the commodities from the sorting area to the shipment area; wherein
the travelling route includes rails along which both the pallet transportation vehicle and the case transportation vehicle travel;
the rails are provided in a ceiling space of a building accommodating the sorting system; and
each of the pallet transportation vehicle and the case transportation vehicle includes a carriage that travels along the rails, a mast suspended from the carriage, and an elevation platform that includes a transfer device and is able to be raised and lowered along the mast.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The sorting system according to claim 1, wherein the arrival area and the shipment area are provided on a ground floor and the sorting area is provided on an upper floor higher than the ground floor.

### Claim 3

A sorting method for sorting and shipping commodities using a sorting system including a pallet transportation vehicle that travels along a travelling route and is able to diverge and merge along the travelling route, a case transportation vehicle that is structurally different from the pallet transportation vehicle, travels along the travelling route, and is able to diverge and merge along the travelling route, racks provided along the travelling route and having a height corresponding to multiple floors, an arrival area, a shipment area, and a sorting area along an outer periphery of the travelling route, and a controller, the method comprising:
transporting the commodities from the arrival area to the sorting area via the racks and transporting the commodities after sorting from the sorting area to the shipment area by each of the pallet transportation vehicle and the case transportation vehicle under control of the controller; wherein
the travelling route includes rails along which both the pallet transportation vehicle and the case transportation vehicle travel;
the rails are provided in a ceiling space of a building accommodating the sorting system; and
each of the pallet transportation vehicle and the case transportation vehicle includes a carriage that travels along the rails, a mast suspended from the carriage, and an elevation platform that includes a transfer device and is able to be raised and lowered along the mast.