Multi-Level Parcel Routing Layout for Faster Sorting Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sorting systems face inefficiencies in directing packages to their destinations, particularly in e-commerce environments where packages may originate from various sources and need to be distributed worldwide, often resulting in increased time and complexity in delivery.
Innovation Solution
A sorting system featuring a network of paths with multiple levels, junctions, and transporter units that can travel along these paths, controlled by a system that calculates the most direct route based on parcel labels to minimize travel time and optimize delivery routes, including the use of elevators for vertical movement and peripheral paths to bypass congestion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If packages are directed through a traditional single-level sorting system, then the system structure is simple, but the delivery time increases and throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a traditional single-level sorting system to a multi-level three-dimensional sorting architecture. Transporter units operate across multiple elevated levels, with vertical elevators connecting different floors. This dimensional expansion allows parallel processing of packages on multiple levels simultaneously, dramatically increasing throughput while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The sorting system is divided into independent modular components: multiple transporter units, separate elevation stations, distinct sorting sections, and independent destination outlets. Each level and component can operate autonomously, allowing the system to process packages in parallel streams. This segmentation enables high throughput while keeping individual components relatively simple and maintainable.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a direct routing system is used without junctions, then travel time is minimized, but the system cannot accommodate multiple destinations
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates optimal routes for transporter units based on destination requirements before packages are loaded. The controller determines the most efficient path through the network of junctions and levels in advance, allowing transporter units to travel directly to their destinations without unnecessary detours. This preliminary routing planning enables the system to accommodate multiple destinations while minimizing actual travel time during package transport.
3Speed
If packages are sorted sequentially through a single path, then the system is easy to control, but the delivery speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-level sorting system enables continuous parallel processing of packages across multiple simultaneous transport paths. While one transporter unit moves packages on level 1, another operates on level 2, and a third on level 3, all traveling in the same forward direction toward their respective destinations. This continuous parallel action dramatically increases delivery speed while the modular path network keeps control complexity manageable through standardized routing logic.
Data Source
AI summary
A sorting system includes one or a plurality of transporter units, at least one loading station for loading a parcel onto transporter units, a plurality of destination stations, and a network of paths, each path including at least one track, the network including a plurality of junctions where at least two of the paths intersect. Each transporter unit is controllable to travel along the paths of the network of paths and to continue travelling along one of the at least two paths at a junction. A controller is configured to calculate a route within the network of paths between a loading station and a selected destination station, and to control the transporter unit to travel along the calculated route.