US 2008/0156705 A1Published application

Computer Assisted Manual Sorting of Identification Coded Items

OwnerHerbert L. Markmaninventor

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Abstract

Commingled items are sorted down into groupings, such as textile items that are associated with distinct clients and/or groups of related clients, by employing a programmed computer to manage sorting destinations at plural levels of sorting. An RFID reader coupled to the computer senses an item's identification code. A human sorter responds to signaling from the computer to move successive items to a destination or along a path that determines a preliminary grouping or sorting stage. The number of destination sort positions is limited to a manually-manageable number, and also can be varied under program control to exploit all the sorting positions provided at the final sort stage. Provisions are made to handle outlier items that become separated from other members of their groups. Automated order fulfillment scanning at a final stage ensures accurate sorting results.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method for assembling items into associated groups, comprising:

providing a plurality of preliminary sort locations for a preliminary sorting stage and a plurality of subsequent sort locations for a subsequent sorting stage;
providing on each item to be processed a code adapted for automatic data capture, and maintaining a data memory for cross referencing at least an item identification code and an associated group identity for each of a plurality of items to be processed at one time;
wherein the plurality of items to be processed are commingled and are to be sorted into the associated groups;
providing a programmed processor coupled to the data memory and to a code reader, and reading from the code reader the item identification code of successive ones of the plurality of items when presented for sorting;
determining from the data memory the associated group identity of the item presented for sorting;
determining via the processor and signaling to a human, an assigned one of the preliminary sort locations for accumulating items having a same associated group identity as that of the item presented for sorting;
continuing to present successive ones of the plurality of items for sorting, determining the corresponding group identity, signaling the human and accumulating the items at the preliminary sort locations;
wherein a number of associated group identities that are assigned to each of the preliminary sort locations is controlled relative to a number of associated group identities assigned to the subsequent sort locations;
after at least substantially moving the presented items to the preliminary sort locations, sorting items for each of the preliminary sort locations into the subsequent sort locations.

6 more elements

An apparatus for assembling items into associated groups, comprising:

a plurality of items, each bearing a code indicia adapted for automatic data capture;
a data processor coupled to a reader for detecting said code indicia on an item presented for sorting, and to a data memory for cross referencing at least an item identification code and an associated group identity for each of a plurality of items to be processed at one time;
at least two successively staged sort areas, each having plural item collection areas, and at least one readout device coupled to an output of the data processor, providing an output that identifies one of the item collection areas, for indicating to a human operator an item collection area where a detected item is to be placed;
wherein the processor is programmed to determine from the data memory the associated group identity of the item presented for sorting and to identify via the output an assigned one of the preliminary sort locations for accumulating items having a same associated group identity as that of the item presented for sorting;
wherein a number of associated group identities that are assigned to each of the preliminary sort locations is controlled by the processor relative to a number of associated group identities assigned to the subsequent sort locations;
and,
wherein the processor is operable using the human operator to place the items, to load the preliminary sort locations with items in a limited number of associated groups, and to sort the associated groups to the subsequent sort locations.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.