Predictive Tray Replacement for Postal Sorting Machines
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing sorting machines face inefficiencies due to tray overflow situations during automatic tray changes, leading to recycling of postal items, loss of item order, and increased handling costs, as sort outlets become unavailable for a few seconds during tray replacement.
Innovation Solution
A method that determines and stores the pass sequence of items, monitors tray filling levels based on item thickness, and compares differences in rank and filling levels with predefined thresholds to predictively replace full trays with empty ones before overflow, ensuring continuous operation and maintaining throughput.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If automatic tray change system is used to replace full trays with empty trays, then tray replacement is automated, but sort outlets become unavailable during replacement causing item overflow and recycling
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by determining and storing the pass sequence in advance, and predictively replacing trays based on monitored filling levels before overflow occurs. This allows tray replacement to be scheduled proactively rather than reactively, minimizing disruption to sorting operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by monitoring filling levels in real-time and using this information to trigger predictive tray replacement. The feedback loop continuously tracks tray status and adjusts replacement timing to optimize throughput while preventing overflow.
2Productivity
If tray replacement is delayed until full, then sort outlet availability is maximized, but overflow occurs causing items to be lost and requiring manual sorting
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of filling levels and predicts when replacement should occur based on stored pass sequences. This preliminary action allows replacement to be scheduled at the optimal moment that preserves item order while preventing overflow.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from filling level monitoring to determine the precise moment for tray replacement. By continuously tracking filling status and comparing it against the pass sequence, the system reliably identifies when replacement should occur to maintain item order.
3Reliability
If two trays per sort outlet are provided to operate alternately, then overflow is prevented, but tray handling system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by using the existing single tray infrastructure with intelligent monitoring and predictive replacement. The tray itself serves as the storage medium while the control system provides the intelligence needed to prevent overflow, eliminating the need for duplicate trays.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical redundancy of dual trays with an intelligent control system that uses monitoring and prediction algorithms. This substitution reduces mechanical complexity while maintaining overflow prevention capability through software-based solutions.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of sorting postal items in a plurality of sorting passes in a sorting machine having sort outlets with removable trays, the method including the steps of: (i) after a first sorting pass during which the sorted items are stored in the trays, determining and storing in a memory the pass sequence in which the items are to pass through the sorting machine for the subsequent sorting pass; and (ii) during said subsequent sorting pass, while a current item to be directed towards a sort-outlet tray is passing, determining in the pass sequence the difference in rank between the current item and a next item immediately following the current item and that is to be directed to the same sort-outlet tray as the current item, and comparing the difference with a threshold for causing the sort-outlet tray to be replaced with an empty tray.