Flats bundle collator

A system of collating a plurality of groups of items, each group being pre-sequenced according to a prioritized order into a final sequenced set of the items from the groups, utilizing the prioritized order, comprising:

• means for separating each group of items seriatim into a single input stream of the individual items;
• means for transporting the items from the input stream to a staging station;
• means for sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced into an intermediate order different from the pre-sequenced order and the prioritized order, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set;
• means for merging the items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in said final sequenced set;
• and
• means for collecting portions of the output stream of items consistent with the sequence of the final sequenced set to form batches of items in the prioritized order.

A method of collating a plurality of items into a final sequenced set of the items, reflecting a prioritized order, comprising the steps of:

• a) feeding the items from a single input stream to a staging station;
• b) sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced into an intermediate order which is different from the order input to the staging station and the prioritized order, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X1 to Xn, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;
• 1) inserting each item into any selected one of said storage units X1 to Xn in accordance with an insertion plan consistent with an extraction plan for the items from those storage units for achieving the prioritized order of the final sequenced set of items;
• and
• 2) selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X1 to Xn according to said extraction plan;
• and
• c) merging the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in said final sequenced set.

A computer program embodied in a machine-readable medium for collating a plurality of items into a final sequenced set of the items, reflecting a prioritized order from items fed from an input stream to a staging station, the program comprising:

• a) a segment for sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items sequenced into an intermediate order which is different from the prioritized order and the order input to the staging station as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X1 to Xn, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;
• 1) a segment for controlling the insertion of each item into any selected one of said storage units X1 to Xn in accordance with an insertion plan algorithm consistent with an extraction plan algorithm for the items from those storage units for achieving the prioritized order of the final sequenced set of items;
• and
• 2) a segment for selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X1 to Xn according to said extraction plan algorithm;
• and
• b) a segment for controlling merging of the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in said final sequenced set.

A computer program embodied in a digital signal for collating a plurality of items into a final sequenced set of the items, reflecting a prioritized order from items fed from an input stream to a staging station, the program comprising:

• a) a segment for sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items sequenced into an intermediate order which is different from the prioritized order and the order input to the staging station as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X1 to Xn, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;
• 1) a segment for controlling the insertion of each item into any selected one of said storage units X1 to Xn in accordance with an insertion plan algorithm consistent with an extraction plan algorithm for the items from those storage units for achieving the prioritized order of the final sequenced set of items;
• and
• 2) a segment for selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X1 to Xn according to said extraction plan algorithm;
• and
• b) a segment for controlling merging of the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in said final sequenced set.

A system for collating a plurality of items into a final sequenced set of the items, reflecting a prioritized order, comprising:

• a) means for feeding the items from a single input stream to a staging station;
• b) means for sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X1 to Xn, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;
• 1) inserting each item into any selected one of said storage units X1 to Xn in accordance with an insertion plan consistent with an extraction plan for the items from those storage units for achieving the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set of items;
• and
• 2) selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X1 to Xn according to said extraction plan;
• and
• c) means for merging the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in said final sequenced set.

A method of collating a plurality of groups of items into a final sequenced set of the items from the groups, reflecting a prioritized order, comprising the steps of:

• a) separating each group of items seriatim into a single input stream of the individual items;
• b) transporting the items from the input stream to a staging station;
• c) sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced into an intermediate order different from the prioritized order and the order input to the staging station, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X1 to Xn, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;
• 1) inserting each item into any selected one of said storage units X1 to Xn in accordance with an insertion plan consistent with an extraction plan for the items from those storage units for achieving the extraction of items into the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set of items;
• and
• 2) selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X1 to Xn according to said extraction plan;
• d) merging the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in the respective storage units into said final sequenced set;
• and
• e) collecting portions of the output stream of items consistent with the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set to form batches of items in the prioritized order.

A system for collating a plurality of groups of items into a final sequenced set of the items from the groups, reflecting a prioritized order, comprising:

• a) means for separating each group of items seriatim into a single input stream of the individual items;
• b) means for transporting the items from the input stream to a staging station;
• c) means for sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced into an intermediate order different from the prioritized order and the order input to the staging station, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X1 to Xn, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;
• 1) inserting each item into any selected one of said storage units X1 to Xn in accordance with an insertion plan consistent with an extraction plan for the items from those storage units for achieving the extraction of items into the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set of items;
• and
• 2) selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X1 to Xn according to said extraction plan;
• d) means for merging the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in the respective storage units into said final sequenced set;
• and
• e) means for collecting portions of the output stream of items consistent with the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set to form batches of items in the prioritized order.