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EP0566456A1 - Arrangement for sorting objects having different destinations - Google Patents

Arrangement for sorting objects having different destinations Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0566456A1
EP0566456A1 EP93400925A EP93400925A EP0566456A1 EP 0566456 A1 EP0566456 A1 EP 0566456A1 EP 93400925 A EP93400925 A EP 93400925A EP 93400925 A EP93400925 A EP 93400925A EP 0566456 A1 EP0566456 A1 EP 0566456A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
objects
destinations
machine
sorting
groups
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Granted
Application number
EP93400925A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0566456B1 (en
Inventor
Jean-Raoul Dian
Michel Gand
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Solystic SAS
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Cga Hbs
Compagnie Generale dAutomatisme CGA HBS SA
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
    • B07C3/02—Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10S—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10S209/00—Classifying, separating, and assorting solids
    • Y10S209/90—Sorting flat-type mail

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to an installation for sorting objects having different destinations.
  • the invention relates to an installation making it possible to sort objects, such as letters or packets routed for example by postal services, in order to distribute these objects in different storage areas, each corresponding area to a destination or a group of destinations.
  • sorting machines In postal sorting centers, sorting machines are used which generally include both a small number of high-capacity packers assigned to the major destinations of objects to be sorted and smaller receptacles, known as boxes, in larger numbers. for lightly loaded directions or destinations.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting installation of objects having different destinations which makes it possible to ensure a rate of use of the conveyors associated with the boxes for the lightly loaded directions which is significantly increased.
  • Another object of the invention is to provide a sorting installation in which all the objects corresponding to the same lightly loaded destination are all found in the same single box at the end of the sorting operation.
  • the facility for sorting objects having different destinations is characterized in that it comprises n sorting machines, each machine Mi comprising pi areas of storage corresponding to pi of the N groups of destinations so that: common means for transferring objects in a closed circuit connecting the n Mi machines, each sorting machine comprising conveyor means for transferring the objects placed at its entrance which have as destinations those which belong to the pi groups associated with the machine towards said pi machine storage areas, n-1 temporary storage areas, each temporary storage area being associated with the group of destinations associated with each of the n-1 other machines, conveyor means for transferring the objects whose destination does not belong not to the pi groups of destinations corresponding to the machine towards the suitable temporary storage area, means for transferring the objects stored in each temporary storage area to said common transfer means, intermediate storage means for storing the objects placed on said common means of transfer whose destination belongs to one of the pi groups associated with lad ite machine and means for conveying the objects stored in the intermediate storage means to said conveying means corresponding to the pi storage areas
  • the sorting installation comprises n sorting machines which are interconnected by common conveying means.
  • the processing of objects corresponding to lightly loaded destinations is done as follows. These destinations are divided into groups, each machine being assigned to a certain number of these groups.
  • an object belonging to a lightly loaded destination is introduced into a sorting machine, either this object corresponds to a group of destinations associated with the machine where the object is presented and it is directly directed to the corresponding storage area of this machine, or it belongs to a group of destinations assigned to another machine.
  • the object via the common conveying means which connect all the sorting machines to each other is transmitted to the machine associated with the group of destinations to which this object belongs.
  • each of the n sorting machines also comprises main storage areas corresponding to major destinations and each machine comprises means for conveying objects corresponding to these main destinations to the storage areas main associated.
  • object any object capable of being conveyed in particular by the postal services. It can therefore be letters, postcards, packages, etc ...
  • destination we will use, for simplification, the term “destination” to designate either a single destination or a group destinations associated with the same box. We must therefore consider that there is a one-to-one relationship between case and destination.
  • FIG. 1 we will describe the entire sorting facility. This consists in the particular example considered of five identical sorting machines referenced M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5. These sorting machines are connected to each other by a common conveyor in a closed circuit 10. Each sorting machine M1 to M5 receives on its input has the objects to be sorted. As will be explained later, a part of these objects will be stored after sorting in the machine M1, a part is reinjected by the output b of the machine towards the common conveyor 10 and a part of the objects coming from the other machines is reintroduced into each sorting machine by its input c.
  • N + T destinations the objects must be distributed among N + T destinations.
  • These destinations in the tables in Figure 3 are referenced C1 to CT.
  • N destinations corresponding to smaller flows there are N destinations corresponding to smaller flows.
  • these N destinations with reduced flow, referenced D1 to DN are distributed between the sorting machines in the particular example M1 to M5.
  • the objects for the destinations D1 to D4 will be stored, in the machine M2 the destinations D5 to D8 etc ... and in the machine M5 the destinations DN-3 to DN.
  • the storage areas or boxes corresponding to each of the N groups of lightly loaded destinations are arranged in a single machine.
  • each machine Mi is associated with pi destinations with low flux.
  • the pi values are the same for all machines, but this is by no means mandatory. In the example described, all the pi are equal to 4.
  • FIG. 2 an embodiment of the sorting machine M1 and its interconnections with the common conveyor 10 will be described.
  • the sorting machine M1 comprises, in a known manner, an input module 12 constituted by a store-destacker assembly, a module 14 for address recognition so that the destination of each object to be sorted is taken into account at the output of this module by a read head 16.
  • a parallel output module comprising the tampers 18 to 24 or main storage areas corresponding to the major directions referenced C1 to CT in the table of FIG. 3.
  • the conveyors associated with these different packers carry the generic reference 26. They are fed by a main conveyor 15 which serves the entire sorting machine. At this level of the machine, the rate of use of the conveyor is satisfactory since the probability of having an object corresponding to one of the directions associated with the packers 20 to 24 is high.
  • Each intermediate storage area M'2 to M'5 is connected by one of the conveyors 38 to 44 to the common conveyor 10. This therefore makes it possible, via the common conveyor 10, to transfer the objects placed in the intermediate storage areas M'2 at M'5 to sorting machines M2 to M5.
  • the sorting machine also includes an input storage or temporary storage area 46 connected by the conveyor 48 to the common conveyor device 10. As will be explained later, this temporary storage area 46 serves to collect all of the objects which were initially introduced into the sorting machines M2 to M5 and whose destinations are associated with the machine M1, that is to say whose destinations belong to groups D1 to D4. The exit from the temporary storage area 46 is connected to a stabilization mat for the objects to be sorted 50 and via a conveyor 52 to the main conveyor 15 of the sorting machine M1.
  • the conveyor 52 is connected to the main conveyor 15 downstream of the conveyor heading towards the intermediate storage areas M'2 to M'5 and upstream of the conveyors 28 associated with each of the packers 30 to 36 of the sorting machine M1.
  • the set of objects successively arranged in the intermediate storage area 46 has a direction belonging to the steering groups D1 to D4.
  • a detector 54 reads the destination of each object that passes in front of it. With this information, each object is conveyed to the suitable conveyor 28 associated with the packers 30 to 36.
  • the sorting installation also includes means, not shown, for controlling the transfer of objects temporarily stored in the intermediate storage areas M'2, M'3, etc. towards the common conveyor 10 in such a way that there is no interference with the objects coming from the intermediate storage areas associated with the other sorting machines M2 to M5.
  • the objects stored in an intermediate storage area are transferred to the common conveyor 10 in groups and not one by one. When the objects are letters, this means that a certain number of these, stored in the same intermediate storage area, is sent simultaneously to the conveyor 10 thus forming a train of tiled letters, that is to say partially overlapping. It is actually these letter trains that are separated from each other to avoid interference.
  • the temporary storage areas 46 receive these letter trains and have the function of unstacking them.
  • the control means manage the transfer of objects from the intermediate storage areas to the common conveyor 10, so that this transfer takes place only when the intermediate storage area contains a sufficient number of objects and the train of objects resulting from this transfer are not likely to interfere with a train of objects from another intermediate storage area.
  • the installation comprises five sorting machines and each sorting machine is associated with four intermediate storage areas M'2 to M'5. It is understood that more generally if the sorting installation comprises n sorting machines, each sorting machine will be associated with n-1 intermediate storage zones, each intermediate storage zone being associated with the low-flow directions corresponding to each of the n- 1 other sorting machines.

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  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
  • Branching, Merging, And Special Transfer Between Conveyors (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for sorting objects, particularly letters, having different destinations. The apparatus comprises n sorting machines (Mi) connected to a common conveyor (10). Each machine has bins (30 to 36) corresponding to pi of the N possible destinations. The objects introduced through the entrance (12) to the machine (M1) and not corresponding to one of the pi destinations are directed to the holding zones (M'2 to M'5), each zone corresponding to the destinations corresponding to the n-1 other sorting machines (M2 to M5) to which the objects are periodically transferred. <IMAGE>

Description

La présente invention a pour objet une installation de tri d'objets ayant des destinations différentes.The present invention relates to an installation for sorting objects having different destinations.

De façon plus précise, l'invention concerne une installation permettant d'effectuer le tri d'objets, tels que des lettres ou des paquets acheminés par exemple par les services postaux, afin de répartir ces objets dans différentes zones de stockage, chaque zone correspondant à une destination ou un groupe de destinations.More specifically, the invention relates to an installation making it possible to sort objects, such as letters or packets routed for example by postal services, in order to distribute these objects in different storage areas, each corresponding area to a destination or a group of destinations.

Dans les centres de tris postaux, on utilise des machines de tri comportant en général à la fois un nombre restreint de tasseurs de forte capacité affectés aux grandes destinations des objets à trier et des réceptacles de plus petite taille, dits cases, en nombre plus important pour les directions ou destinations peu chargées.In postal sorting centers, sorting machines are used which generally include both a small number of high-capacity packers assigned to the major destinations of objects to be sorted and smaller receptacles, known as boxes, in larger numbers. for lightly loaded directions or destinations.

On comprend que les convoyeurs des machines de tri affectés à l'acheminement des objets vers les cases correspondant aux directions peu chargées véhiculent un flux d'objets à trier bien inférieur à leurs possibilités, du moins en terme statistique. Il y a donc un sous-emploi de ces convoyeurs, ce qui tend à augmenter le coût global de fonctionnement de l'installation de tri.It is understood that the conveyors of the sorting machines assigned to the transport of the objects towards the boxes corresponding to the lightly loaded directions convey a flow of objects to be sorted much lower than their possibilities, at least in statistical terms. There is therefore an underemployment of these conveyors, which tends to increase the overall operating cost of the sorting installation.

Un objet de la présente invention est de fournir une installation de tri d'objets ayant des destinations différentes qui permette d'assurer un taux d'utilisation des convoyeurs associés aux cases pour les directions peu chargées qui soit sensiblement accru.An object of the present invention is to provide a sorting installation of objects having different destinations which makes it possible to ensure a rate of use of the conveyors associated with the boxes for the lightly loaded directions which is significantly increased.

Un autre objet de l'invention est de fournir une installation de tri dans laquelle tous les objets correspondant à une même destination peu chargée se retrouvent tous dans une même et unique case à la fin de l'opération de tri.Another object of the invention is to provide a sorting installation in which all the objects corresponding to the same lightly loaded destination are all found in the same single box at the end of the sorting operation.

Pour atteindre ce but, l'installation de tri d'objets ayant des destinations différentes, lesdites destinations étant réparties en N groupes de destinations peu chargées, se caractérise en ce qu'elle comprend n machines de tri, chaque machine Mi comportant pi zones de stockage correspondant à pi des N groupes de destinations de telle manière que:

Figure imgb0001

des moyens communs de transfert des objets en circuit fermé reliant les n machines Mi, chaque machine de tri comportant des moyens de convoyage pour transférer les objets placés à son entrée qui ont comme destinations celles qui appartiennent aux pi groupes associés à la machine vers lesdites pi zones de stockage de la machine, n-1 zones de stockage temporaire, chaque zone de stockage temporaire étant associée au groupe de destinations associées à chacune des n-1 autres machines, des moyens de convoyage pour transférer les objets dont la destination n'appartient pas aux pi groupes de destinations correspondant à la machine vers la zone de stockage temporaire convenable, des moyens pour transférer les objets stockés dans chaque zone de stockage temporaire vers lesdits moyens communs de transfert, des moyens de stockage intermédiaire pour stocker les objets placés sur lesdits moyens communs de transfert dont la destination appartient à un des pi groupes associés à ladite machine et des moyens pour convoyer les objets stockés dans les moyens de stockage intermédiaire vers lesdits moyens de convoyage correspondant aux pi zones de stockage de la machine en fonction de leur destination.To achieve this goal, the facility for sorting objects having different destinations, said destinations being divided into N groups of lightly loaded destinations, is characterized in that it comprises n sorting machines, each machine Mi comprising pi areas of storage corresponding to pi of the N groups of destinations so that:
Figure imgb0001
common means for transferring objects in a closed circuit connecting the n Mi machines, each sorting machine comprising conveyor means for transferring the objects placed at its entrance which have as destinations those which belong to the pi groups associated with the machine towards said pi machine storage areas, n-1 temporary storage areas, each temporary storage area being associated with the group of destinations associated with each of the n-1 other machines, conveyor means for transferring the objects whose destination does not belong not to the pi groups of destinations corresponding to the machine towards the suitable temporary storage area, means for transferring the objects stored in each temporary storage area to said common transfer means, intermediate storage means for storing the objects placed on said common means of transfer whose destination belongs to one of the pi groups associated with lad ite machine and means for conveying the objects stored in the intermediate storage means to said conveying means corresponding to the pi storage areas of the machine according to their destination.

En d'autres termes, selon l'invention, l'installation de tri comporte n machines de tri qui sont reliées entre elles par des moyens de convoyage communs. Le traitement des objets correspondant à des destinations peu chargées se fait de la manière suivante. Ces destinations sont réparties en groupes, chaque machine étant affectée à un certain nombre de ces groupes. Lorsqu'un objet appartenant à une destination peu chargée est introduit dans une machine de tri, soit cet objet correspond à un groupe de destinations associé à la machine où l'objet est présenté et il est directement dirigé vers la zone de stockage correspondante de cette machine, soit il appartient à un groupe de destinations affecté à une autre machine.In other words, according to the invention, the sorting installation comprises n sorting machines which are interconnected by common conveying means. The processing of objects corresponding to lightly loaded destinations is done as follows. These destinations are divided into groups, each machine being assigned to a certain number of these groups. When an object belonging to a lightly loaded destination is introduced into a sorting machine, either this object corresponds to a group of destinations associated with the machine where the object is presented and it is directly directed to the corresponding storage area of this machine, or it belongs to a group of destinations assigned to another machine.

Dans ce dernier cas, l'objet via les moyens communs de convoyage qui relient entre elles toutes les machines de tri est transmis à la machine associé au groupe de destinations auquel appartient cet objet.In the latter case, the object via the common conveying means which connect all the sorting machines to each other is transmitted to the machine associated with the group of destinations to which this object belongs.

On comprend qu'ainsi, pour l'ensemble de l'installation, c'est-à-dire pour l'ensemble des n machines de tri, il existe globalement une seule case ou zone de stockage correspondant à chaque groupe de destinations faiblement chargée. Ainsi, le convoyeur associé à cette case est utilisé à son taux maximal, compte tenu des objets à trier par l'installation puisque tous les objets ayant ce groupe de destinations emprunteront ce convoyeur. En outre, comme tous les objets correspondant à une même destination peu chargée se retrouvent tous dans une même case,il n'y a pas lieu de procéder à une opération de regroupement comme dans les installations connues.It is understood that thus, for the whole of the installation, that is to say for all of the n sorting machines, there exists globally a single box or storage area corresponding to each group of lightly loaded destinations. . Thus, the conveyor associated with this box is used at its maximum rate, taking into account the objects to be sorted by the installation since all the objects having this group of destinations will use this conveyor. In addition, since all the objects corresponding to the same lightly loaded destination are all found in the same box, there is no need to carry out a regrouping operation as in the known installations.

Selon un mode préféré de réalisation de l'invention, chacune des n machines de tri comporte en outre des zones de stockage principal correspondant à des destinations importantes et chaque machine comporte des moyens de convoyage des objets correspondant à ces destinations principales vers les zones de stockage principal associées.According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each of the n sorting machines also comprises main storage areas corresponding to major destinations and each machine comprises means for conveying objects corresponding to these main destinations to the storage areas main associated.

D'autres caractéristiques et avantages de la présente invention apparaîtront plus clairement à la lecture de la description qui suit d'un mode préféré de mise en oeuvre de l'invention donné à titre d'exemple non limitatif. La description se réfère aux figures annexées sur lesquelles:

  • - la figure 1 est une vue simplifiée de l'ensemble de l'installation de tri ;
  • - la figure 2 montre l'organisation d'une machine de tri et son raccordement aux moyenx de convoyage commun des objets; et
  • - la figure 3 est un tableau montrant la répartition des différentes destinations en fonction des différentes machines de tri.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention given by way of non-limiting example. The description refers to the figures an on which:
  • - Figure 1 is a simplified view of the entire sorting installation;
  • - Figure 2 shows the organization of a sorting machine and its connection to the means of common conveying of objects; and
  • - Figure 3 is a table showing the distribution of different destinations according to the different sorting machines.

Dans le présent texte, par "objet" il faut entendre tout objet susceptible d'être acheminé en particulier par les services postaux. Il peut donc s'agir de lettres, de cartes postales, de paquets, etc... De même dans la suite de la description, on emploiera, par simplification, le terme "destination" pour désigner soit une destination unique, soit un groupe de destinations associées à une même case. Il faut donc considérer qu'il y a une relation biunivoque entre case et destination.In the present text, by "object" is meant any object capable of being conveyed in particular by the postal services. It can therefore be letters, postcards, packages, etc ... Similarly in the following description, we will use, for simplification, the term "destination" to designate either a single destination or a group destinations associated with the same box. We must therefore consider that there is a one-to-one relationship between case and destination.

En se référant tout d'abord à la figure 1, on va décrire l'ensemble de l'installation de tri. Celle-ci se compose dans l'exemple particulier considéré de cinq machines de tri identiques référencées M1, M2, M3, M4 et M5. Ces machines de tri sont reliées entre elle par un convoyeur commun en circuit fermé 10. Chaque machine de tri M1 à M5 reçoit sur son entrée a les objets à trier. Comme on l'expliquera ultérieurement, une partie de ces objets seront stockés après tri dans la machine M1, une partie est réinjectée par la sortie b de la machine vers le convoyeur commun 10 et une partie des objets venant des autres machines est réintroduite dans chaque machine de tri par son entrée c.Referring first to Figure 1, we will describe the entire sorting facility. This consists in the particular example considered of five identical sorting machines referenced M1, M2, M3, M4 and M5. These sorting machines are connected to each other by a common conveyor in a closed circuit 10. Each sorting machine M1 to M5 receives on its input has the objects to be sorted. As will be explained later, a part of these objects will be stored after sorting in the machine M1, a part is reinjected by the output b of the machine towards the common conveyor 10 and a part of the objects coming from the other machines is reintroduced into each sorting machine by its input c.

Comme on l'a déjà indiqué précédemment, et comme le montre mieux la figure 3, les objets doivent être répartis entre N+T destinations. Parmi ces destinations, certaines correspondent à des flux importants d'objets (T dans le cas de la présente description). Ces destinations sur les tableaux de la figure 3 sont référencés C1 à CT. Par ailleurs, il existe N destinations correspondant à des flux plus réduits. Selon une caractéristique de la présente invention, ces N destinations à flux réduit, référencées D1 à DN, sont réparties entre les machines de tri dans l'exemple particulier M1 à M5. Dans la machine M1, on stockera les objets pour les destinations D1 à D4, dans la machine M2 les destinations D5 à D8 etc... et dans la machine M5 les destinations DN-3 à DN. Ainsi, les zones de stockage ou cases correspondant à chacun des N groupes de destinations peu chargées sont disposées dans une unique machine.As already indicated above, and as best shown in Figure 3, the objects must be distributed among N + T destinations. Among these destinations, some correspond to significant flows of objects (T in the case of the present description). These destinations in the tables in Figure 3 are referenced C1 to CT. In addition, there are N destinations corresponding to smaller flows. According to a characteristic of the present invention, these N destinations with reduced flow, referenced D1 to DN, are distributed between the sorting machines in the particular example M1 to M5. In the machine M1, the objects for the destinations D1 to D4 will be stored, in the machine M2 the destinations D5 to D8 etc ... and in the machine M5 the destinations DN-3 to DN. Thus, the storage areas or boxes corresponding to each of the N groups of lightly loaded destinations are arranged in a single machine.

Plus généralement, à chaque machine Mi sont associées pi destinations à faible flux. De préférence, les valeurs pi sont les mêmes pour toutes les machines, mais cela n'est nullement obligatoire. Dans l'exemple décrit, tous les pi sont égaux à 4.More generally, each machine Mi is associated with pi destinations with low flux. Preferably, the pi values are the same for all machines, but this is by no means mandatory. In the example described, all the pi are equal to 4.

En se référant maintenant plus particulièrement à la figure 2, on va décrire un mode de réalisation de la machine de tri M1 et de ses interconnexions avec le convoyeur commun 10.Referring now more particularly to FIG. 2, an embodiment of the sorting machine M1 and its interconnections with the common conveyor 10 will be described.

La machine de tri M1 comporte de façon connue un module d'entrée 12 constitué par un ensemble magasin-dépileur, un module 14 de reconnaissance d'adresse pour que la destination de chaque objet à trier soit prise en compte à la sortie de ce module par une tête de lecture 16. On trouve également dans la machine un module de sortie parallèle comportant les tasseurs 18 à 24 ou zones de stockage principal correspondant aux grandes directions référencées C1 à CT sur le tableau de la figure 3. Les convoyeurs associés à ces différents tasseurs portent la référence générique 26. Ils sont alimentés par un convoyeur principal 15 qui dessert l'ensemble de la machine de tri. A ce niveau de la machine, le taux d'utilisation du convoyeur est satisfaisant puisque la probabilité d'avoir un objet correspondant à une des directions associées aux tasseurs 20 à 24 est élevée. Pour les objets correspondants à une direction à flux réduit, c'est-à-dire une des directions D1 à DN, deux cas se produisent : soit la direction appartient à une des directions D1 à D4 associée à la machine M1 ; dans ce cas les objets sont transférés par les convoyeurs parallèles 28 vers une des cases 30 à 36 de la machine de tri M1, chacune des cases étant associée à un des groupes de direction D1 à D4 ; au contraire si l'objet en cours de tri appartient à un des groupes de direction D5 à DN, l'objet est dirigé par le convoyeur commun vers une des quatre zones de stockage intermédiaire M'2 à M'5, chacune de ces zones de stockage intermédiaire étant associée aux groupes de direction propres aux machines de tri M2 à M5.The sorting machine M1 comprises, in a known manner, an input module 12 constituted by a store-destacker assembly, a module 14 for address recognition so that the destination of each object to be sorted is taken into account at the output of this module by a read head 16. There is also in the machine a parallel output module comprising the tampers 18 to 24 or main storage areas corresponding to the major directions referenced C1 to CT in the table of FIG. 3. The conveyors associated with these different packers carry the generic reference 26. They are fed by a main conveyor 15 which serves the entire sorting machine. At this level of the machine, the rate of use of the conveyor is satisfactory since the probability of having an object corresponding to one of the directions associated with the packers 20 to 24 is high. For objects corresponding to a direction with reduced flux, that is to say one of the directions D1 to DN, two cases occur: either the direction belongs to one of the directions D1 to D4 associated with the machine M1; in this case the objects are transferred by the parallel conveyors 28 to one of the boxes 30 to 36 of the sorting machine M1, each of the boxes being associated with one of the steering groups D1 to D4; on the contrary if the object being sorted belongs to one of the management groups D5 to DN, the object is directed by the common conveyor towards one of the four intermediate storage zones M'2 to M'5, each of these zones of intermediate storage being associated with the steering groups specific to sorting machines M2 to M5.

Chaque zone de stockage intermédiaire M'2 à M'5 est reliée par un des convoyeurs 38 à 44 au convoyeur commun 10. Cela permet donc, via le convoyeur commun 10, de transférer les objets disposés dans les zones de stockage intermédiaire M'2 à M'5 vers les machines de tri M2 à M5. La machine de tri comporte également une zone de stockage d'entrée ou de stockage temporaire 46 raccordée par le convoyeur 48 au dispositif convoyeur commun 10. Comme on l'expliquera ultérieurement cette zone de stockage temporaire 46 sert à recueillir l'ensemble des objets qui ont été initialement introduits dans les machines de tri M2 à M5 et dont les destinations sont associées à la machine M1 c'est-à-dire dont les destinations appartiennent aux groupes D1 à D4. La sortie de la zone de stockage temporaire 46 est reliée à un tapis de stabilisation pour les objets à trier 50 et via un convoyeur 52 au convoyeur principal 15 de la machine de tri M1. Le convoyeur 52 est raccordé au convoyeur principal 15 en aval du convoyeur se dirigeant vers les zones de stockage intermédiaire M'2 à M'5 et en amont des convoyeurs 28 associés à chacun des tasseurs 30 à 36 de la machine de tri M1. Comme on l'a déjà expliqué, l'ensemble des objets disposés successivement dans la zone de stockage intermédiaire 46 àaune direction apartenant aux groupes de direction D1 à D4. Un détecteur 54 lire la destination de chaque objet qui passe devant lui. Grâce à cette information, chaque objet est acheminé vers le convoyeur 28 convenable associé aux tasseurs 30 à 36.Each intermediate storage area M'2 to M'5 is connected by one of the conveyors 38 to 44 to the common conveyor 10. This therefore makes it possible, via the common conveyor 10, to transfer the objects placed in the intermediate storage areas M'2 at M'5 to sorting machines M2 to M5. The sorting machine also includes an input storage or temporary storage area 46 connected by the conveyor 48 to the common conveyor device 10. As will be explained later, this temporary storage area 46 serves to collect all of the objects which were initially introduced into the sorting machines M2 to M5 and whose destinations are associated with the machine M1, that is to say whose destinations belong to groups D1 to D4. The exit from the temporary storage area 46 is connected to a stabilization mat for the objects to be sorted 50 and via a conveyor 52 to the main conveyor 15 of the sorting machine M1. The conveyor 52 is connected to the main conveyor 15 downstream of the conveyor heading towards the intermediate storage areas M'2 to M'5 and upstream of the conveyors 28 associated with each of the packers 30 to 36 of the sorting machine M1. As already explained, the set of objects successively arranged in the intermediate storage area 46 has a direction belonging to the steering groups D1 to D4. A detector 54 reads the destination of each object that passes in front of it. With this information, each object is conveyed to the suitable conveyor 28 associated with the packers 30 to 36.

L'installation de tri comporte en outre des moyens non représentés pour contrôler le transfert des objets stockés temporairement dans les zones de stockage intermédiaire M'2, M'3, etc. vers le convoyeur commun 10 de telle manière qu'il n'y ait pas d'interférence avec les objets provenant des zones de stockage intermédiaire associées aux autres machines de tri M2 à M5. De plus, les objets stockés dans une zone de stockage intermédiaire sont transférés vers le convoyeur commun 10 par groupes et non un par un. Lorsque les objets sont des lettres, cela signifie qu'un certain nombre de celles-ci, stockées dans une même zone de stockage intermédiaire, est envoyé simultanément vers le convoyeur 10 formant ainsi un train de lettres tuilées, c'est-à-dire se recouvrant partiellement. Ce sont en fait ces trains de lettres qui sont séparés les uns des autres pour éviter des interférences. Les zones de stockage temporaire 46 reçoivent ces trains de lettres et ont pour fonction de les désempiler. On comprend qu'ainsi le débit de lettres ou plus généralement d'objets sur le convoyeur commun 10 peut être très sensiblement accru. Les moyens de contrôle gèrent le transfert des objets des zones de stockage intermédiaire vers le convoyeur commun 10, de telle manière que ce transfert n'ait lieu que lorsque la zone de stockage intermédiaire contient un nombre suffisant d'objets et que le train d'objets résultant de ce transfert ne risque pas d'interférer avec un train d'objets provenant d'une autre zone de stockage intermédiaire.The sorting installation also includes means, not shown, for controlling the transfer of objects temporarily stored in the intermediate storage areas M'2, M'3, etc. towards the common conveyor 10 in such a way that there is no interference with the objects coming from the intermediate storage areas associated with the other sorting machines M2 to M5. In addition, the objects stored in an intermediate storage area are transferred to the common conveyor 10 in groups and not one by one. When the objects are letters, this means that a certain number of these, stored in the same intermediate storage area, is sent simultaneously to the conveyor 10 thus forming a train of tiled letters, that is to say partially overlapping. It is actually these letter trains that are separated from each other to avoid interference. The temporary storage areas 46 receive these letter trains and have the function of unstacking them. It is understood that thus the throughput of letters or more generally of objects on the common conveyor 10 can be very significantly increased. The control means manage the transfer of objects from the intermediate storage areas to the common conveyor 10, so that this transfer takes place only when the intermediate storage area contains a sufficient number of objects and the train of objects resulting from this transfer are not likely to interfere with a train of objects from another intermediate storage area.

On comprend que, en ce qui concerne les destinations à faible flux, du fait que chaque machine est spécialisée dans un ensemble de ces directions, les convoyeurs associés à chacune de ces directions ont un taux d'utilisation acceptable puisque l'ensemble des objets ayant ces destinations transite par ces convoyeurs installés sur une même machine de tri M1 à M5.We understand that, with regard to destinations with low flow, because each machine is specialized in a set of these directions, the conveyors associated with each of these directions have an acceptable rate of use since all of the objects having these destinations pass through these conveyors installed on the same sorting machine M1 to M5.

Dans l'exemple décrit précédemment, l'installation comporte cinq machines de tri et chaque machine de tri est associée à quatre zones de stockage intermédiaire M'2 à M'5. On comprend que plus généralement si l'installation de tri comporte n machines de tri, chaque machine de tri sera associée à n-1 zones de stockage intermédiaire, chaque zone de stockage intermédiaire étant associée aux directions à faible flux correspondant à chacune des n-1 autres machines de tri.In the example described above, the installation comprises five sorting machines and each sorting machine is associated with four intermediate storage areas M'2 to M'5. It is understood that more generally if the sorting installation comprises n sorting machines, each sorting machine will be associated with n-1 intermediate storage zones, each intermediate storage zone being associated with the low-flow directions corresponding to each of the n- 1 other sorting machines.

Claims (4)

1. Installation de tri d'objets ayant des destinations différentes, lesdites destinations étant réparties en N groupes de destinations peu chargées, ca- ractéristisé en ce qu'elle comprend n machines de tri, chaque machine Mi comportant pi zones de stockage (30, 36) correspondant à pi des N groupes de destinations peu chargées de telle manière que:
Figure imgb0002
des moyens communs de transfert des objets (10) en circuit fermé reliant les n machines Mi, chaque machine de tri comportant des moyens de convoyage (15, 28) pour transférer les objets placés à son entrée qui ont comme destinations celles qui appartiennent aux pi groupes associés à la machine vers lesdites pi zones de stockage (30, 36) de la machine, n-1 zones de stockage intermédiaire (M'2 à M'5), chaque zone de stockage intrermédiaire étant associée au groupe de destinations associées à chacune des n-1 autres machines (M2 à M5), des moyens de convoyage pour transférer les objets dont la destination n'appartient pas aux pi groupes de destinations correspondant à la machine vers la zone de stockage intermédiaire convenable (M'2 à M'5), des moyens (38 à 44) pour transférer les objets stockés clans chaque zone de stockage intermédiaire vers lesdits moyens communs de transfert (10), des moyens de stockage intermédiaire (46) pour stocker les objets placés sur lesdits moyens communs de transfert dont la destination appartient à un des pi groupes associés à ladite machine (M1), et des moyens (52) pour convoyer les objets stockés dans les moyens de stockage temporaire vers lesdits moyens de convoyage (28) correspondant auxdites pi zones de stockage de la machine en fonction de leur destination.1. Installation for sorting objects having different destinations, said destinations being divided into N groups of lightly loaded destinations, characterized in that it comprises n sorting machines, each machine Mi comprising pi storage areas (30, 36) corresponding to pi of the N groups of destinations that are lightly loaded so that:
Figure imgb0002
common means for transferring objects (10) in a closed circuit connecting the n machines Mi, each sorting machine comprising conveying means (15, 28) for transferring the objects placed at its entrance which have as destinations those belonging to the pi groups associated with the machine to said pi storage areas (30, 36) of the machine, n-1 intermediate storage areas (M'2 to M'5), each intermediate storage area being associated with the group of destinations associated with each of the n-1 other machines (M2 to M5), conveying means for transferring the objects whose destination does not belong to the pi groups of destinations corresponding to the machine towards the suitable intermediate storage area (M'2 to M '5), means (38 to 44) for transferring the objects stored in each intermediate storage zone to said common transfer means (10), intermediate storage means (46) for storing the objects placed on the said ts common means of transfer whose destination belongs to one of the pi groups associated with said machine (M1), and means (52) for conveying the objects stored in the temporary storage means to said conveying means (28) corresponding to said pi machine storage areas according to their destination. 2. Installation de tri d'objets selon la revendication 1, caractérisée en ce que les destinations des objets comprennent également T groupes de destinations à flux chargé et en ce que chaque machine de tri (Mi) comprend T zones de stockage principal associées respectivement aux T groupes de destinations.2. Installation for sorting objects according to claim 1, characterized in that the destinations of the objects also comprise T groups of destinations with loaded flow and in that each sorting machine (Mi) comprises T main storage areas respectively associated with T groups of destinations. 3. Installation de tri d'objets selon la revendication 2, caractérisée en ce que chaque machine de tri (Mi) comporte des moyens principaux de transfert (15) reliant l'entrée (12) de la machine successivement aux moyens de convoyage (26, 28) vers les zones principales de stockage (20 à 24) et aux moyens de transfert vers les zones de stockage (30 à 36) correspondant aux destinations peu chargées, et en ce que les moyens de transfert vers les zones de stockage intermédiaires (M'2 à M'5) et les moyens de transfert (52) venant de la zone de stockage temporaire (46) sont raccordées aux moyens principaux de transfert (15) entre lesdits moyens de convoyage vers les zones principales de stockage et les zones de stockage correspondant aux destinations peu chargées.3. Installation for sorting objects according to claim 2, characterized in that each sorting machine (Mi) comprises main transfer means (15) connecting the inlet (12) of the machine successively to the conveying means (26 , 28) to the main storage areas (20 to 24) and to the transfer means to the storage areas storage (30 to 36) corresponding to lightly loaded destinations, and in that the means of transfer to the intermediate storage areas (M'2 to M'5) and the transfer means (52) coming from the temporary storage area (46) are connected to the main transfer means (15) between said conveying means towards the main storage areas and the storage areas corresponding to lightly loaded destinations. 4. Installation de tri d'objets selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 3, caractérisée en ce que lesdits moyens de transfert (38 à 44) des zones de stockage intermédiaire (M'2, M'5) vers les moyens communs de transfert d'objets (10) provoquent le transfert des objets par groupes, de telle manière que lesdits objets soient entraînés par les moyens communs de transfert également par groupes, et en ce que lesdits moyens de stockage temporaire (46) sont aptes à désempiler lesdits groupes d'objets.4. Installation for sorting objects according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said transfer means (38 to 44) from the intermediate storage areas (M'2, M'5) to the common means for transferring objects (10) cause the objects to be transferred in groups, in such a way that said objects are driven by the common means of transfer also in groups, and in that said temporary storage means (46) are capable of unstacking said groups of objects.
EP93400925A 1992-04-13 1993-04-08 Arrangement for sorting objects having different destinations Expired - Lifetime EP0566456B1 (en)

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FR9204504A FR2689789B1 (en) 1992-04-13 1992-04-13 SORTING PLANT FOR OBJECTS WITH DIFFERENT DESTINATIONS.
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US6403906B1 (en) * 1998-11-10 2002-06-11 Elsag Spa Method for controlling an accumulating device
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FR2689789B1 (en) 1997-01-03
FR2689789A1 (en) 1993-10-15
ES2091566T3 (en) 1996-11-01
DE69304390D1 (en) 1996-10-10
CA2093725A1 (en) 1993-10-14
US5346072A (en) 1994-09-13
EP0566456B1 (en) 1996-09-04
CA2093725C (en) 1996-11-19

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