Parcel-sorting facility with a system for swapping receptacles over at sorting outlets

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11033935-B2
Application number	US-202016840527-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 6, 2020
Priority date	Apr 10, 2019
Publication date	Jun 15, 2021
Grant date	Jun 15, 2021

Abstract

A sorting facility ( 1 ) for sorting parcels ( 2 ), has a sorting conveyor ( 3 ), sorting outlets ( 4 ) distributed along said conveyor, and a monitoring and control unit ( 7 ) for controlling the conveyor so as to sort the parcels into the outlets as a function of their destination addresses. Each outlet is arranged to store a plurality of receptacles ( 6 ), each of which is associated with a parcel destination address in a memory of the unit. At each outlet, the facility has a swap-over device ( 8 ) for swapping the receptacles over. The unit controls the swap-over device so that a receptacle for which the destination address associated with it in the memory of the monitoring and control unit corresponds to the destination address of a current parcel to be sorted is held stationary in a filling position in which the receptacle is positioned under the sorting outlet so as to receive a parcel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sorting facility for sorting parcels, the sorting facility comprises a sorting conveyor, sorting outlets distributed along said conveyor, and a monitoring and control unit suitable for controlling the sorting conveyor so as to sort the parcels into the sorting outlets as a function of their destination addresses, each sorting outlet being arranged to store a plurality of sorting receptacles, each of which is associated with a parcel destination address in a memory of the monitoring and control unit,
wherein at each sorting outlet, the sorting facility further comprises a swap-over device for swapping the receptacles over, the swap-over device comprises a shaft mounted to move in rotation about an axis and provided with docking means for docking with receptacles so that the shaft is designed to drive the docked receptacles in rotation about the axis, and in that the monitoring and control unit controls the swap-over device so that a receptacle for which the destination address associated with it in the memory of the monitoring and control unit corresponds to the destination address of a current parcel to be sorted is held stationary in a filling position in which the receptacle is positioned under the sorting outlet so as to receive a parcel.

2. The sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein the swap-over device further comprises runners that are mutually parallel in pairs and that extend horizontally from the shaft, and in that the runners are arranged to carry the receptacles above the floor once the receptacles are docked.

3. The sorting facility according to claim 2 , wherein each of the runners has a free end that is significantly inclined towards the floor.

4. The sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein the swap-over device comprises a receptacle position detection system suitable for determining which receptacle of the sorting outlet is in the filling position, and in that the monitoring and control unit contains, in a memory, the order of the receptacles at each sorting outlet and, in response to the detection performed by said detection system, causes the swap-over device to move in rotation so as to place in the filling position the receptacle that has its destination address corresponding to the destination address of the current parcel to be sorted.

5. The sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein it further comprises a detection system for detecting the filling level of a receptacle in the filling position, and in that, in response to a certain threshold of the filling level of the receptacle being exceeded, the monitoring and control unit causes the receptacle to be moved to the removal position.

6. The sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein each sorting outlet is equipped with a filling chute that extends downwards from the conveyor to a receptacle in the filling position.

7. The sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein the receptacles are bags that are open at their tops and that are mounted on trolleys having small wheels or casters.

8. The sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein the conveyor is a looped conveyor.

9. The sorting facility according to claim 1 , wherein the swap-over device further comprises a locking cap provided with a side opening, said cap coming to cap the shaft and the docking means so as to prevent a receptacle that is docked with the docking means from being withdrawn when said receptacle is in the filling position, and so as to allow a receptacle that is docked with the docking means to be removed via the opening in the cap when said receptacle is in a removal position in which it is angularly positioned on the opposite side of the shaft from a receptacle that is in the filling position.

10. The sorting facility according to claim 9 , wherein said locking cap is also suitable for preventing a receptacle that is docked with the docking means from being withdrawn between the filling position and the removal position.

11. The sorting facility according to claim 9 , wherein the swap-over device further comprises runners that are mutually parallel in pairs and that extend horizontally from the shaft, and in that the runners are arranged to carry the receptacles above the floor once the receptacles are docked.

12. The sorting facility according to claim 11 , wherein each of the runners has a free end that is inclined towards the floor.

13. The sorting facility according to claim 9 , wherein the swap-over device comprises a receptacle position detection system suitable for determining which receptacle of the sorting outlet is in the filling position, and wherein the monitoring and control unit contains, in a memory, the order of the receptacles at each sorting outlet and, in response to the detection performed by said detection system, causes the swap-over device to move in rotation so as to place in the filling position the receptacle that has its destination address corresponding to the destination address of the current parcel to be sorted.

14. The sorting facility according to claim 9 , wherein the sorting facility further comprises a detection system for detecting the filling level of a receptacle in the filling position, and in that, in response to a certain threshold of the filling level of the receptacle being exceeded, the monitoring and control unit causes the receptacle to be moved to the removal position.

15. The sorting facility according to claim 9 , wherein each sorting outlet is equipped with a filling chute that extends downwards from the conveyor to a receptacle in the filling position.

16. The sorting facility according to claim 9 , wherein the receptacles are bags that are open at their tops and that are mounted on trolleys having small wheels or casters.

17. The sorting facility according to claim 9 , wherein the conveyor is a looped conveyor.

18. The sorting facility according to claim 9 , wherein said locking cap is also suitable for preventing a receptacle that is docked with the docking means from being withdrawn between the filling position and the removal position.

Assignees

• Solystic

Inventors

• Czukor Christophe
• Chirol Luc
• Volta Bruno

Classifications

• B65G47/38

  by dumping, tripping, or releasing load carriers (by flexing or tilting travelling structures B65G47/94) · CPC title

• B07C3/08 Primary

  using arrangements of conveyors {(transport of sheets B65H; transport in general B65G)} · CPC title

• B65G65/005

  Control arrangements · CPC title

• B65G47/904

  provided with rotary movements only · CPC title

• B65G11/023

  for articles · CPC title