Parcel Transport Shuttles with Portable Device Data Association
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing parcel handling installations face inefficiencies due to complex and time-consuming information entry procedures for packages, which slow down loading rates and reduce the flexibility of shuttle navigation.
Innovation Solution
Implementing portable electronic devices that can be geolocated and used to enter information on packages in real-time, allowing the central control unit to associate package information with shuttle data, enabling on-the-fly data entry without fixed stations and maintaining flexible shuttle navigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If information about packages is entered using a handheld scanner when loading packages onto carts, then package information can be captured, but the loading process becomes complex and slows down the pace of loading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical handheld scanner operation with an automated optical recognition system. Cameras mounted on the facility infrastructure automatically capture package information (barcodes, labels) as packages move through the facility, eliminating the need for manual scanning operations and thereby maintaining loading pace while ensuring information capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs information capture in advance during the natural flow of package movement. Packages are scanned automatically at designated points before being loaded onto carts, so that information is already recorded when loading occurs, eliminating the need for sequential manual scanning that would slow down the process.
2Loss of information
If a gantry is used to enter information about packages, then information can be captured automatically, but the flexibility of shuttle navigation organization is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the information capture function into multiple distributed camera stations positioned at different locations throughout the facility rather than using a single centralized gantry. This segmentation allows shuttles to navigate freely while passing through various capture zones, maintaining navigation flexibility while achieving automatic information entry through multiple distributed sensing points.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a vertical gantry structure that requires packages to pass underneath to a distributed network of cameras mounted on walls, ceilings, and structural elements. This spatial redistribution in multiple dimensions allows information capture without constraining shuttle movement paths, preserving navigation flexibility.
3Loss of information
If fixed-station information entry is used, then information can be entered systematically, but the organization of shuttle navigation is constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic information capture system where multiple camera stations are distributed throughout the facility at various heights and angles. This dynamic spatial arrangement allows shuttles to maintain flexible navigation patterns while information is systematically captured at multiple points along their natural movement paths, without requiring fixed navigation routes through specific entry stations.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a facility for handling parcels (2), with independent motorised shuttles (3) and a central command and control unit (9) capable of remotely controlling said freely circulating shuttles guided using data indicating the immediate spatial position of each shuttle, also comprising at least one portable electronic device (7) capable of capturing information (8) affixed to a parcel and of transmitting said information to said central unit. The central unit is arranged such as to collect the spatial positions of the portable device and of the shuttles in order to associate said information with a certain shuttle in the memory.