SORTING SYSTEM FOR LUGGAGE AS WELL AS METHOD FOR SORTING LUGGAGE

Abstract

A sorting system has a sorting area and a controller system that receives luggage-related sorting information for each piece of luggage. A transport mechanism transports the luggage into a sorting area which includes a sorting area with at least one make-up-place connected to the transport mechanism. The make-up-place sorts sorts the luggage according to at least one item of luggage-related sorting information. Movable load devices receive the pieces of luggage sorted by the at least one make-up-place. The controller system assigns each piece of luggage according to at least one luggage-related information to a particular movable load device and the controller system is also adapted to select a make-up-place for each piece of luggage and to send the piece of luggage to the selected make-up-place to be loaded into the assigned movable load device.

Claims

1-15. (canceled)

16. A sorting system for luggage, the sorting system comprising: a transport mechanism arranged to transport pieces of luggage to be sorted into a sorting area of the sorting system; and a controller system adapted to receive at least one item of luggage-related sorting information for each piece of luggage; wherein the sorting area includes: at least one make-up-place with one or more loading stations connected to said transport mechanism and configured to sort the piece of luggage according to the at least one item of luggage-related sorting information; a plurality of movable load devices configured to receive at least one piece of luggage sorted by the at least one make-up-place in accordance with the at least one item of luggage-related sorting information; said controller system being configured to assign each piece of luggage according to the at least one item of luggage-related sorting information to a particular one of said movable load devices; said controller system being configured to select a loading station of a make-up-place for each piece of luggage and to send the piece of luggage to the selected loading station of the selected make-up-place to be loaded into a respectively assigned said movable load device; said particular movable load device being configured to wait at said at least one make-up-place until moving or being moved to an output area; wherein, while said particular movable load device waits at said at least one make-up-place, said particular movable load device waits at the selected loading station of the selected make-up-place and is routed to a waiting storage in the sorting area if the sorting system does not currently expect a further piece of luggage for said particular movable load device and a number of free loading stations at said at least one make-up-place is low or zero.

17. The sorting system according to claim 16, wherein said at least one movable load device is selected from the group consisting of at least one standardized aircraft unit load device, a semi-automatic movable load device, and a fully-automatic movable load device.

18. The sorting system according to claim 16, wherein said controller system is configured to direct the assigned said particular movable load device to the selected loading station of the selected make-up-place during an approach of the assigned piece of luggage to the sorting area.

19. The sorting system according to claim 16, wherein: at least some of said movable load devices are configured to serve as intermediate storage units for sorted pieces of luggage that have been dropped off at said luggage input more than a predetermined time before a scheduled departure of a corresponding means of transportation; and said at least some of said movable load devices are configured to wait at a make-up-place and/or in a waiting zone until moving or being moved to the output area.

20. The sorting system according to claim 16, wherein each said loading station comprises a parking spot for a movable load device and a loading means.

21. The sorting system according to claim 20, wherein: at least one loading station is configured to semi-automatically load sorted pieces of luggage into a parked movable load device; and/or at least one loading station comprises as a loading means at least one of the following: a controllable robot arm for loading sorted pieces of luggage into a parked movable load device; a fully automatic robot arm for loading sorted pieces of luggage into a parked movable load device; a conveyor belt for transporting sorted pieces of luggage next to a parked movable load device.

22. The sorting system according to claim 21, wherein said at least one loading station is configured to fully automatically load the sorted pieces of luggage into the parked movable load device.

23. The sorting system according to claim 16, wherein said controller system is configured to operate and control a situation when a piece of luggage is assigned to a first movable load device and the assigned said first movable load device is not currently parked at a loading station and there is currently no empty loading station as follows: selecting by the controller system a second movable load device, that is currently parked at a selected loading station but does not have any assigned piece of luggage; moving the second movable load device away to free up the selected loading station; and then routing the assigned piece of luggage and the assigned first movable load device to the selected empty loading station for loading.

24. The sorting system according to claim 16, further comprising one or more of: a weight sensor for determining a weight of a piece of luggage; and a dimensional sensor for determining spatial measurements and/or a volume of a piece of luggage.

25. The sorting system according to claim 24, wherein: said weight sensor is disposed at a luggage input and/or at a make-up-place; and said dimensional sensor is disposed at at least one of a luggage input, at a make-up-place, or at a loading station.

26. The sorting system according to claim 16, wherein said controller system is configured to take into account both already-loaded pieces of luggage in a movable load device; and pieces of luggage already assigned to but not yet loaded into a fitting movable load device; before deciding to assign a piece of luggage to a particular movable load device.

27. The sorting system according to claim 16, wherein said controller system is configured to direct a fitting movable load device to a loading station of a make-up-place to load a sorted piece of luggage if no other fitting movable load device is currently available for loading the sorted piece of luggage.

28. A method for sorting luggage in a sorting system, the method comprising: transporting, by a transport mechanism, pieces of piece of luggage to be sorted from a luggage input into a sorting area of the sorting system; and receiving, by a controller system, at least one item of luggage-related sorting information for each piece of luggage; wherein the sorting area includes: at least one make-up-place with one or more loading stations, the at least one make-up place being connected to the transport mechanism and configured for sorting the pieces of luggage according to at least one item of luggage-related sorting information; a plurality of movable load devices disposed to receive each piece of luggage, that is sorted by the at least one make-up-place according to the at least one item of luggage-related sorting information; assigning, by the controller system, each piece of luggage according to at least one item of luggage-related information to a particular movable load device; selecting, by the controller system, a loading station of a make-up-place for each piece of luggage and sending the piece of luggage to the selected loading station of the selected make-up-place to be loaded into an assigned movable load device; waiting with each assigned movable load device at the at least one make-up-place until the load device moves or is moved to the output area; wherein the step of waiting at the at least one make-up-place comprises waiting at the selected loading station of the selected make-up-place and being routed to a waiting storage in the sorting area if the sorting system does not currently expect further pieces of luggage for the particular movable load device and a number of free loading stations at the at least one make-up-place is low or zero.

29. The method according to claim 28, which comprises controlling with the controller system a routing of individual pieces of luggage and a movable load device to each other at the loading station of the at least one make-up-place that are assigned to each other according to the at least one item of luggage-related sorting information.

30. The method according to claim 28, which comprises: controlling with the controller system a routing of a particular kind and/or number of movable load devices to the loading station of the at least one make-up-place in accordance with a calculated demand that takes into account at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of a destination, a total weight, a total estimated volume, and special handling flags of individual pieces of luggage; and/or directing with the controller system the assigned particular movable load device to the selected loading station of the selected make-up-place during an approach of the assigned piece of luggage toward the sorting area.

31. The method according to claim 28, wherein each loading station comprises a parking spot for a movable load device and a loading means and, when a piece of luggage is assigned to a movable load device and the assigned movable load device is not currently parked at a loading station, selecting with the controller system an empty loading station and routing the assigned piece of luggage and the assigned movable load device to the selected empty loading station for loading.

32. The method according to claim 31, which comprises: when a piece of luggage is assigned to a first movable load device and the assigned first movable load device is not currently parked at a loading station and there is currently no empty loading station: selecting with the controller system a second movable load device, that is currently parked at a selected loading station but does not have any assigned piece of luggage, and moving the second movable load device away to free up the selected loading station to form an empty loading station; and routing the assigned piece of luggage and the assigned first movable load device to the selected empty loading station for loading.

Description

[0081] The characteristics, features and advantages of this invention described above and the way in which they are achieved become clearer and more comprehensible in the context of the following description of the embodiments, which are explained in more detail in the context of the appended drawings, wherein:

[0082] The only FIGURE shows a schematic depiction of a sorting system and sorting method according to the invention.

[0083] The only FIGURE shows a sorting system 1 for luggage according to the invention. The sorting system 1 comprises at least one luggage input at step 2 adapted to receive a plurality of luggage pieces to be sorted in the sorting system 1. The luggage input at step 2 is arranged in a bag handling system 3, that can be an ordinary bag handling system 3 as known in the state of the art for example on commercial airports using a plurality of luggage inputs and conveyor belts. Dropped off luggage pieces are (pre-) sorted (and optionally wait) in a transport mechanism in step 4 until they are routed by the transport system to a sorting area 6 in step 5.

[0084] The sorting area 6 comprises at least one make-up-place 7. Here three make-up-places 7 are shown, but any number like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or more is possible. The make-up-places 7 are connected to the transport mechanism and adapted to sort the plurality of luggage pieces according to at least one luggage-related sorting information. The luggage-related sorting information may for example be the destination, weight, (estimated) volume, and special handling flags.

[0085] The sorting area 6 further comprises a plurality of movable load devices 8, 9, 10 arranged to receive each at least one luggage piece sorted by the make-up-places 7 according to the at least one luggage-related sorting information.

[0086] The sorting system 1 comprises a controller system, which is adapted to receive at least one luggage-related sorting information for each luggage piece. The controller system is adapted to assign each luggage piece according to at least one luggage-related sorting information to a particular movable load device 8, 9, 10. The controller system is also adapted to select a make-up-place 7 for each luggage piece and to send the luggage piece to the selected make-up-place 7 to be loaded into the assigned movable load device 8, 9, 10.

[0087] At least some of the movable load devices 8, 9, 10 can be arranged to store sorted luggage pieces that have been dropped off at the luggage input in step 2 more than a predetermined time before a scheduled departure of the corresponding means of transportation.

[0088] The movable load devices 8 are currently parked at loading stations of the make-up-places 7 awaiting assigned luggage pieces. The movable load devices 9 are full or considered full as no further type of the same luggage is expected for the same means of transportation. The movable load devices 10 are not yet considered full, but have been temporarily moved away from a loading station for example because they carry early dropped off luggage and no further luggage pieces for the same means of transportation are assigned to the movable load devices 10 or are expected in the near future (e.g. several hours before departure of an airplane). A limited number of make-up-places 7 can thus service a far larger number of means of transportation at the same time.

[0089] The sorting system 1 also comprises an output area 11, adapted to receive in step 12 a plurality of sorted and assigned luggage pieces in (loaded) movable load devices 9 to be transported to different designated means of transportation.

[0090] Step 13 denotes the return of empty movable load devices from arrived means of transportation. In step 14 these movable load devices are sorted and, if necessary, cleaned and placed in a movable load device storage 15.

[0091] In step 16 a particular movable load device is requested by the controller system of the sorting system 1. This may include attaching a standardized unit load device to an automated guided vehicle carrying the standardized unit load device to form a movable load device 8, 9, 10 in the sorting system. The standardized unit load device may be detached from the movable load device when it is loaded onto a means of transportation (e.g. onto an airplane). In step 17 the assigned movable load device 8, 9, 10 in routed to the sorting area 6 to one of the make-up-places 7 to receive at least one assigned piece of sorted luggage.

[0092] Although the invention has been illustrated and described in detail by preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples and other variations can be derived by the skilled person without leaving the scope of protection of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0093] 1 sorting system [0094] 2 step [0095] 3 bag handling system [0096] 4 step [0097] 5 step [0098] 6 sorting area [0099] 7 make-up-place [0100] 8 movable load device [0101] 9 movable load device [0102] 10 movable load device [0103] 11 output area [0104] 12 step [0105] 13 step [0106] 14 step [0107] 15 movable load device storage [0108] 16 step [0109] 17 step