Dynamic Overflow Handling in Postal Sorting Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
In postal sorting machines, tray overflow leads to re-circulation of objects, reducing operational throughput and requiring manual sorting, as existing methods either reserve multiple outlets for a single destination or scan outlets for an empty tray, both of which compromise efficiency and increase costs.
Innovation Solution
A method that maintains a logical waiting list of reserved sorting outlets based on availability, allowing objects to be redirected to the most available outlet, ensuring continuous sorting and balancing tray flow by re-evaluating outlet associations dynamically.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If postal objects are re-circulated in the carrousel during tray replacement, then the sorting outlet can receive new objects after replacement, but the operational throughput is reduced because objects stay in buckets making a round turn
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a buffer zone as an intermediary storage area between the carrousel and sorting outlets. When a tray is being replaced, objects are temporarily stored in the buffer zone instead of being re-circulated through the entire carrousel. This mediator allows the sorting outlet to remain functional while preventing unnecessary carrousel circulation, thus maintaining throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-positioning objects in the buffer zone before tray replacement occurs. The control system anticipates tray replacement needs and prepares the buffer zone in advance, allowing seamless transition without interrupting the sorting flow or requiring object re-circulation.
2Reliability
If several consecutive sorting outlets are associated to a single logical destination, then overflow can be handled, but the operational flow rate is penalized because less logical destinations can be sorted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the sorting system into multiple independent zones: active sorting outlets, buffer zone, and reserved outlets. This segmentation allows each component to function independently, enabling overflow handling without dedicating multiple outlets to a single destination, thereby preserving the operational flow rate.
Solution Approach 2:
The buffer zone acts as an intermediary that absorbs overflow without requiring logical destination associations to be changed. Objects that would otherwise cause overflow are temporarily held in the buffer zone, allowing the primary sorting outlets to maintain their dedicated destination associations and operate at full efficiency.
3Stability of the object's composition
If postal objects are rejected from automatic sorting during carrier walk preparation, then the carrousel injection sequence is maintained, but manual sorting is required generating overcost and damaging objects
Solution Approach 1:
The buffer zone serves as a mediator that preserves the carrousel injection sequence without requiring object rejection. Objects are temporarily stored in the buffer zone to maintain their original sequence, allowing automatic sorting to continue and eliminating the need for manual handling that would cause damage and additional costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous automatic sorting operation by using the buffer zone to temporarily hold objects. This continuity prevents interruptions that would require manual sorting, ensuring the useful action of automatic sorting remains uninterrupted while preserving the injection sequence.
Data Source
AI summary
In a method for sorting postal objects in a sorting machine comprising sorting outlets with movable trays for the storage of the postal objects, respective logical destinations (DL) are associated to the sorting outlets and some sorting outlets of the machine are reserved, called reserved sorting outlets, without logical destination association. In case of the detection of a tray overflowing in a sorting outlet (DP′), the postal objects intended to this overflowing sorting outlet are directed to a reserved sorting outlet (DP″) extracted (40) from a logical waiting list (36) of reserved sorting outlets, an index is associated (32) to the empty tray of the reserved sorting outlet, the overflowing sorting outlet is inserted (42) into said waiting list and an empty tray is loaded (46) in the overflowing sorting outlet in the place of the full tray.