Method for preparing a postal delivery route

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for preparing a delivery route for postal items (3), in which the postal items are conveyed (100) on a sorting conveyor (2) in a certain conveying direction (F1) and then sorted (200) by gravity according to a certain sorting plan in sorting receptacles (4) distributed in series in the conveying direction under the sorting conveyor. The sorting plan consists of sorting one postal item per receptacle such that the set of postal items sorted in the receptacles forms a sequence (SEQ) of postal items in the conveying direction ordered according to the delivery route. The postal items are then unloaded (300) simultaneously from the receptacles onto a recovery platform (5) arranged under the sorting receptacles so that the postal items retain their alignment in the conveying direction and their ordering according to the delivery route. Figure to be published: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: Method for preparing a delivery route for postal items technical field

[0001] The invention falls within the field of sorting postal items and relates more particularly to a method of preparing a delivery route for postal items such as parcels or packages. Previous technique

[0002] The preparation of a postal item distribution route generally begins with an automatic sorting of bulk postal items into large capacity sorting receptacles in accordance with a certain sorting plan for the distribution route.

[0003] Each sorting receptacle thus receives postal items corresponding, in the sorting plan, to a sequence of postal items in the order of the delivery route. A sequence of postal items, also called a batch of postal items, will include all or part of the postal items of a delivery route.

[0004] Generally, the sorting receptacles are placed on trolleys so that they can be moved to a manual rearrangement area for the mail items. In this area, an operator unloads the bulk mail items and then scans each item to rearrange them in the rearrangement area in the order of the delivery route. The operator then loads the mail items one by one into a delivery vehicle, following the reverse order of the delivery route.

[0005] The successive sequences of postal items loaded in the order of the distribution route into the delivery vehicle thus form the distribution route.

[0006] The preparation of the distribution route as previously described therefore requires significant handling and no longer meets current flow and reliability constraints. Summary of the invention

[0007] The objective of the invention is therefore to solve the aforementioned problems.

[0008] To this end, the invention relates to a method for preparing a postal delivery route, in which the postal items are conveyed on a sorting conveyor in a certain direction of travel and then sorted by gravity according to a certain sorting plan in sorting receptacles distributed in series in the direction of travel under the sorting conveyor, characterized in that said certain sorting plan consists of sorting one postal item per sorting receptacle such that the set of postal items sorted in the sorting receptacles forms a sequence of postal items in the direction of travel ordered according to the delivery route, and in that the Postal items are unloaded simultaneously from the sorting receptacles onto a recovery platform arranged under the sorting receptacles so that the postal items retain their alignment in the direction of conveying and their order according to the distribution route.

[0009] The idea behind the invention is to automatically sort postal items in the order of the delivery route directly onto a suitable collection platform so that an operator can load the postal items one after the other into a delivery vehicle. The operator thus does not have to rearrange the postal items sequentially according to the delivery route order before loading them into the delivery vehicle.

[0010] The invention therefore consists of using a particular sorting system designed to allow the unloading of one postal item per receptacle, such that postal item no. 1 in the delivery route order is sorted in sorting receptacle no. 1, postal item no. 2 in sorting receptacle no. 2, and so on. When the postal items of a sequence of the delivery route are sorted in the sorting receptacles, all the postal items of the sequence are simultaneously transferred to a recovery platform so that the sequential ordering of the postal items according to the delivery route is maintained.

[0011] The method for preparing the distribution route according to the invention may also have the following particularities:

[0012] - the postal items are retrieved from the retrieval floor one after the others starting from one end of the sequence of postal items then loaded in the order of retrieval into a delivery vehicle on the distribution route;

[0013] - the sorting receptacles form a first row of sorting receptacles distributed in series in the direction of conveying and a second row of sorting receptacles distributed in series in the direction of conveying parallel to the first row of sorting receptacles, a first sequence of postal items according to the order of the distribution route being sorted in the sorting receptacles of the first row then a second sequence of postal items in continuity with the first sequence of postal items according to the order of the distribution route being sorted in the second row of sorting receptacles;

[0014] - the sorting receptacles form a first row of sorting receptacles distributed in a series in the direction of conveying and a second row of sorting receptacles distributed in series in the direction of conveying parallel to the first row of sorting receptacles, a first sequence of postal items according to the order of the delivery route being sorted in the sorting receptacles of the first row then a second sequence of postal items according to the order of another delivery route being sorted in the second row of sorting receptacles;

[0015] - the recovery sole is a conveyor designed to convey the objects according to a certain direction of routing, the conveyor being stopped when the postal items are unloaded from the sorting receptacles;

[0016] - the routing direction is opposite to the conveying direction so that the furthest postal item on the conveyor in the direction of travel is the last in the sequence of postal items in the order of the delivery route;

[0017] - the routing direction follows the conveying direction so that the object the most downstream postal item on the conveyor in the direction of travel is the first in the sequence of postal items in the order of the distribution route. Brief presentation of the drawings

[0018] The present invention will be better understood and other advantages will become apparent upon reading the detailed description of an embodiment taken by way of non-limiting example and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] - [Fig. 1] [Fig. 1] illustrates in a very schematic way a distribution center according to the invention;

[0020] - [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is a diagram of the process for preparing a tour of contribution according to the invention;

[0021] - [Fig.3a] [Fig.3a] represents step 100 of the process for preparing a tour distribution according to the invention;

[0022] - [Fig.3b] [Fig.3b] represents step 200 of the process for preparing a tour distribution according to the invention;

[0023] - [Fig.3c] [Fig.3c] represents step 300 of the process of preparing a distribution route according to the invention. Description of a method of implementation

[0024] The method for preparing a delivery route for postal items 3 according to the invention will be particularly well suited for preparing delivery routes for parcels or packages but also for letters or any other type of postal item on which a sorting indication is affixed, such as a delivery address.

[0025] The method of preparing the distribution route according to the invention consists more particularly of using a sorting conveyor 2 on which the postal items 3 are conveyed in series along a certain conveying direction Fl and then sorted by gravity according to a certain sorting plan in sorting receptacles 4 distributed in series in the conveying direction Fl under the sorting conveyor 3.

[0026] The sorting plan according to the invention is parameterized to sort a postal item 3 by re- sorting receptacle 4 so that the set of postal items 3 sorted in the sorting receptacles 4 form a sequence of postal items SEQ in the conveying direction Fl ordered according to the distribution route.

[0027] The maximum number of postal items 3 in a sequence of postal items thus depends on the number of available sorting receptacles 4. By available sorting receptacles, we mean any sorting receptacle without a postal item.

[0028] Several sequences of postal objects 3 from the same delivery route can thus be sorted consecutively in the sorting receptacles 4 so as to sort all the postal objects 3 from the delivery route.

[0029] The sorting plan according to the invention, for example, knows the set of postal items 3 to be sorted and the number of available receptacles 4. The sorting plan can thus determine the number of sorting passes required to sort a sequence of postal items 3 into specific sorting receptacles 4, but also the number of SEQ sequences of postal items required to sort all the postal items 3 in the delivery route. The use of a looped sorting conveyor 2 allows, for example, the automatic execution of successive sorting passes of the postal items 3 into the sorting receptacles 4.

[0030] The method of preparing the distribution route according to the invention also consists of unloading the postal items 3 simultaneously from the sorting receptacles 4 onto a recovery floor 5 arranged under the sorting receptacles 4 so that the postal items 3 retain their alignment in the conveying direction Fl and their arrangement according to the distribution route.

[0031] Advantageously, the method according to the invention also allows the postal items 3 to be retrieved from the retrieval platform 5 one after the other, starting from one end of the sequence of postal items, and loaded in the order of retrieval into a delivery vehicle 6 for the distribution route. This step can be carried out manually by operators or automatically by mobile grasping robots.

[0032] Without restricting the scope of the invention, the recovery sole 5 can be a conveying conveyor which runs alongside the sorting receptacles in the conveying direction FL. The conveying conveyor is here designed to convey the postal items 3 according to a conveying direction F2 in the direction of the conveying direction Fl so that the most downstream postal item 3 on the conveying conveyor in the conveying direction F2 is the first of the sequence of postal items 3 in the order of the distribution route or in the opposite direction to the conveying direction Fl so that the most downstream postal item on the conveying conveyor in the conveying direction F2 is the last of the sequence of postal items in the order of the distribution route.

[0033] During the preparation of the distribution route according to the invention, the conveyor 5 can also be stopped in order to allow a reliable and smooth unloading of the postal items 3 from the sorting receptacles 4. The stop is preferably carried out when a complete sequence of postal items 3 from the sorting plan is loaded into the sorting receptacles, for example when all the receptacles are loaded with a postal item.

[0034] Without limiting the scope of the invention, the sorting receptacles 4 can also form a first row 4a of sorting receptacles arranged in series in the conveying direction Fl and a second row 4b of sorting receptacles arranged in series in the conveying direction parallel to the first row 4a of sorting receptacles. Other rows can be arranged parallel to the first and second rows 4a, 4b to increase the sorting capacity of the postal items 3 and thus the speed of preparing the delivery route.This arrangement advantageously allows a first sequence of postal items 3 to be sorted according to the order of the distribution route in the sorting receptacles 4 of the first row 4a, and then a second sequence of postal items 3 to be sorted in the second row 4b of sorting receptacles either in continuity with the first sequence of postal items according to the order of the distribution route, or according to the order of another distribution route.

[0035] An example of implementation of the distribution route preparation process according to the invention is described below.

[0036] In step 100, the postal items 3 are conveyed onto the sorting conveyor 2 and then sorted in step 200 into a first row 4a of sorting receptacles according to the sorting plan of the invention. During the filling of the sorting receptacles in the first row, other postal items 3 from a subsequent sequence of postal items in the delivery route, conveyed on the sorting conveyor 2, are sorted into the second row 4b of sorting receptacles. Several sorting passes 200' are performed here to sort all the postal items 3 constituting the delivery route. At each sorting pass, new postal items 3 from the delivery route are inserted onto the sorting conveyor 2 if the length of the sorting conveyor does not allow all the postal items in the delivery route to be conveyed.

[0037] At a step 300, the postal items 3, sorted in the first row 4a of sorting receptacles and forming a first sequence of the distribution route, are simultaneously unloaded onto the stationary conveyor 5.

[0038] At a step 400, the postal items 3 of the first sequence are conveyed on the conveying conveyor 5 in the conveying direction F2, here in the same direction as the conveying direction Fl, to the delivery vehicle 6.

[0039] Once the conveyor 5 has stopped, and at a step 500, the sorted postal items 3 in the second row 4b of sorting receptacles form a second sequence of the distribution route and are unloaded simultaneously onto the F2 conveying conveyor.

[0040] At a step 600, the postal items 3 of the first sequence of postal items are retrieved one by one by an operator starting with the most downstream postal item 3 in the routing direction F2 so that the postal item 3 loaded first into the delivery vehicle 6, and therefore the last one to be delivered by the delivery vehicle 6, corresponds to the last postal item 3 of the distribution route.

[0041] At a step 700, the postal items 3 unloaded from the second row 4b of sorting receptacles on the conveying conveyor 5 are conveyed in the conveying direction F2 to the delivery vehicle 6.

[0042] At a step 800, the postal objects 3 of the second sequence of postal objects are retrieved one by one by an operator starting with the most downstream postal object in the routing direction F2 so that the postal object 3 of the second sequence is loaded following the last postal object loaded from the previous sequence of postal objects, here the first sequence.

[0043] The invention also extends to a distribution center 1 for postal items 3 capable of implementing the method according to the invention. The distribution center 1 includes, in particular, a sorting conveyor 2, for example a loop conveyor, and sorting receptacles 4, for example one or more rows 4a, 4b of sorting receptacles, arranged under the sorting conveyor and arranged to receive each postal item 3 according to a certain sorting plan stored in the memory of a central processing unit 8. The central processing unit 8 is therefore configured to control the sorting conveyor in order to sort the postal items into the sorting receptacles 4 according to the sorting plan. The sorting receptacles 4 according to the invention can advantageously be sized to receive a single postal item 3, which makes it possible to increase the number of sorting receptacles 4 under the sorting conveyor 2 and therefore the number of postal items sorted in a single sequence.The distribution center 1 according to the invention also includes a conveyor 5 which extends in particular under the sorting receptacles 4 along the sorting conveyor 2. The conveyor 5 is designed to receive the postal items 3 unloaded from the sorting receptacles 4 and to convey them in a routing direction F2 to the delivery vehicles 6. The conveyor 5 can thus meander through the distribution center 1 to the delivery vehicles 6. A circulation space for operators and mobile robots can be arranged between the end(s) of the conveyor 5 and respectively the delivery vehicle(s) 6 into which the postal items 3 are loaded in the order of the distribution route. The distribution center 1 according to the invention thus makes it possible to eliminate the high-capacity sorting receptacles as well as the transport trolleys for the sorting receptacles which are too large. bulky and do not meet current flow rate requirements.

Claims

Demands

1. A method for preparing a delivery route for postal items (3), wherein the postal items are conveyed (100) on a sorting conveyor (2) in a certain direction of travel (Fl) and then sorted (200) by gravity according to a certain sorting plan in sorting receptacles (4) arranged in series in the direction of travel under the sorting conveyor, characterized in that said certain sorting plan consists of sorting one postal item per sorting receptacle such that the set of postal items sorted in the sorting receptacles forms a sequence (SEQ) of postal items in the direction of travel ordered according to the delivery route, and in that the postal items are unloaded (300) simultaneously from the sorting receptacles onto a recovery platform (5) arranged under the sorting receptacles so that the postal items retain their alignment in the direction of travel and their ordering according to the distribution route.

2. Method of preparing a postal item distribution route according to claim 1, characterized in that the postal items are retrieved (600) from the retrieval floor one after the other starting from one end of the sequence of postal items and then loaded in the order of retrieval into a delivery vehicle (6) of the distribution route.

3. A method for preparing a postal item distribution route according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the sorting receptacles form a first row (4a) of sorting receptacles distributed in series in the direction of conveying and a second row (4b) of sorting receptacles distributed in series in the direction of conveying parallel to the first row of sorting receptacles and in that a first sequence of postal items according to the order of the distribution route is sorted in the sorting receptacles of the first row and then a second sequence of postal items in continuity with the first sequence of postal items according to the order of the distribution route is sorted in the second row of sorting receptacles.

4. A method for preparing a postal item distribution route according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the sorting receptacles form a first row of sorting receptacles distributed in series in the conveying direction and a second row of sorting receptacles distributed in series in the conveying direction parallel to the first row of sorting receptacles, and in that a first sequence of postal items according to the order of the distribution route is sorted in the sorting receptacles of the first row and then a second sequence of postal items according to the order of another distribution route is sorted in the second row of sorting receptacles.

5. A method for preparing a postal item distribution route according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the recovery floor is a conveyor designed to convey the items in a certain direction of travel, the conveyor being at rest when the postal items are unloaded from the sorting receptacles.

6. A method for preparing a delivery route for postal items according to claim 5, characterized in that the direction of routing is opposite to the direction of conveying so that the most downstream postal item on the routing conveyor in the direction of routing is the last in the sequence of postal items in the order of the delivery route.

7. A method for preparing a postal item distribution route according to claim 5, characterized in that the routing direction follows the conveying direction so that the most downstream postal item on the routing conveyor in the routing direction is the first in the sequence of postal items in the order of the distribution route.

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