Sortation Chamber Walls for Receptacle Overfill Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing article sorting systems inefficiencies arise from articles protruding above receptacle rims, leading to incorrect determination of receptacle fullness and wasted space, increasing costs and labor.
Innovation Solution
A system with a chamber bank and automated transport device that overfills receptacles within defined walls, using sensors to optimize filling and minimize labor, and includes a receptacle assignment engine to manage article distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If articles are sorted into receptacles using automated devices, then sorting efficiency is improved, but articles may protrude above the rim causing incorrect fullness detection and wasted space
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by extending walls above the receptacle rim before sorting begins. This creates a physical boundary that prevents articles from protruding above the rim during the sorting process, ensuring accurate fullness detection and maximizing space utilization without compromising sorting efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamber bank is segmented into individual chambers, each with its own extended walls. This segmentation allows each receptacle to be independently contained and optimized for fullness detection, while the overall system maintains high sorting throughput through parallel processing of multiple chambers.
2Ease of operation
If articles are deposited into receptacles until visually full, then labor costs are reduced, but receptacle space is not fully utilized due to protruding articles
Solution Approach 1:
The extended walls are constructed as a preliminary structural feature before the sorting operation begins. This preliminary action eliminates the need for manual intervention to detect fullness, as the physical boundary automatically prevents overfilling while maximizing the usable volume of each receptacle.
3Volume of stationary object
If chamber walls are extended above receptacle rims, then article overhang is prevented and space utilization is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The extended walls are merged with the chamber bank structure itself, forming an integrated unit. This combining of the containment structure with the sorting infrastructure eliminates the need for separate components, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining improved space utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
Chamber bank for use in a sorting operation includes chambers for receiving a receptacle therein. Each chamber is defined by a floor, a left wall, a right wall, and a rear wall that together define a receiving space for a receptacle. At least one of the left and right wall is taller than the corresponding abutting side wall of the receptacle received therein. A system assigns a first number of articles occupying a first volume to the receptacle such that the first number of articles overfills the receptacle when all of the first number of articles are deposited thereinto.