3D Laundry Sorting for Unreadable or Missing Item Tags
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manual sorting of laundry items for cleaning is labor-intensive, prone to errors, and unhygienic, and existing automated systems are inefficient due to reliance on data storage media that may be damaged or unreadable.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that utilize imaging devices to create three-dimensional recordings of laundry items, supplemented with additional information, allowing for the derivation of sorting criteria, and storing these in a database for self-learning and automatic sorting, even without data storage media.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual sorting is used, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but labor intensity and error rates increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automatic sorting by using imaging devices to capture laundry item characteristics and automatically deriving sorting criteria without continuous human intervention. The database stores and reuses sorting criteria for identical items, allowing the system to sort laundry automatically based on previously learned characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical sorting with an automated system using imaging devices (optical systems), databases, and automated derivation processes. The mechanical action of hand sorting is substituted by electronic image capture, processing, and automated decision-making systems.
2Productivity
If data storage media are used for automated sorting, then productivity increases, but reliability decreases due to damaged or unreadable media
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on physical data storage media attached to laundry items, the system creates digital copies (images) of the laundry items using imaging devices. These image copies are stored in a database and used for automatic sorting, eliminating the need for physical RFID chips or data carriers that can be damaged or unreadable.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging device and database serve as intermediaries between the laundry item and the sorting decision. Rather than directly reading data from storage media on the laundry item, the system captures visual information, processes it through image analysis, and uses the derived characteristics for sorting, providing a more reliable intermediate step.
3Measurement precision
If three-dimensional recordings with supplemental information are created, then sorting precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing three-dimensional recordings and deriving sorting criteria in advance, storing them in a database for future use. This preliminary data collection and processing enables faster and more accurate sorting decisions without increasing the complexity of the real-time sorting operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional images to three-dimensional recordings, adding depth information that improves the accuracy of sorting criteria derivation. This dimensional enhancement allows for better characterization of laundry items, particularly for determining shape and volume-based sorting criteria.
4Adaptability or versatility
If manual sorting is performed, then adaptability to various sorting criteria is maintained, but time consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts to different sorting criteria by using the database to store and retrieve appropriate sorting rules based on the specific laundry items being processed. The imaging and derivation process can adjust to various sorting requirements (color, shape, size, fabric type) without requiring physical reconfiguration, enabling flexible and fast sorting.
Data Source
AI summary
The automatic sorting of laundry items requires a knowledge of all sorting criteria. One strives to read these out from data storage media attached to the laundry items. The problem is when laundry items lack data storage media, or they are not readable because they have been damaged, for example. The invention calls for deriving sorting criteria which cannot be otherwise obtained from at least one imaging recording of an imaging device, such as a 3D-camera. Such sorting criteria, which cannot be derived from the picture or recording of the 3D-camera, are derived from supplemental information which can be obtained in different ways. Thus, it is also possible to sort laundry items without data storage medium or with damaged data storage media in a fully automatic or at least largely automatic manner.