阅读说明：本技术 一种邮件快速分拣装置及其分拣方法 (Mail quick sorting device and sorting method thereof ) 是由 李承刚 杨登友 龚永红 周勇 于 2020-05-22 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种邮件快速分拣装置及其分拣方法,包括输送机、扫码装置和控制装置,其中在输送机的出口端设置有多个沿Z形路径串联的柔性分拣器,控制装置的信号输出端分别与各个柔性分拣器相连,并通过控制柔性分拣器的传送方向将邮件传送到下一柔性分拣器或与邮件地址适配的邮件分拣点；所述控制装置的信号输入端与扫码装置相连；本发明的控制装置通过为每台柔性分拣器生成特定的时间指令和动作指令的方式控制每个柔性分拣器的分拣动作,其不但简化了控制指令,提高设备运行的稳定性和可靠性,同时通过自动分拣的方式提高了邮件的分拣效率,最大限度的延长快递员的配送时间,提高配送效率和用户体验。(The invention discloses a mail quick sorting device and a sorting method thereof, and the device comprises a conveyor, a code scanning device and a control device, wherein the outlet end of the conveyor is provided with a plurality of flexible sorters which are connected in series along a Z-shaped path, the signal output end of the control device is respectively connected with each flexible sorter, and mails are transmitted to the next flexible sorter or mail sorting points matched with mail addresses by controlling the transmission direction of the flexible sorters; the signal input end of the control device is connected with the code scanning device; the control device controls the sorting action of each flexible sorter by generating a specific time instruction and action instruction for each flexible sorter, thereby not only simplifying the control instruction and improving the stability and reliability of equipment operation, but also improving the sorting efficiency of the mails by an automatic sorting mode, prolonging the delivery time of couriers to the maximum extent and improving the delivery efficiency and user experience.)

1. A quick mail sorting device comprises a conveyor (1), a code scanning device (2) and a control device (3), and is characterized in that: the outlet end of the conveyor (1) is provided with a flexible sorting device, the flexible sorting device comprises a plurality of flexible sorters (4) which are connected in series along a Z-shaped path, the signal output end of the control device (3) is respectively connected with each flexible sorter (4), and the mail is transmitted to the next flexible sorter (4) or a mail sorting point (5) matched with the mail address by controlling the transmission direction of the flexible sorters (4); and the signal input end of the control device (3) is connected with the code scanning device (2).

2. A device for the rapid sorting of mailpieces according to claim 1, wherein: the flexible sorting device (4) comprises a rack (41) and a conveying belt (42) arranged on the rack (41), wherein a first outlet (43), a second outlet (44) and a feeding hole (45) are arranged on the rack (41), the first outlet (43) is connected with a corresponding mail sorting point (5), and the second outlet (44) is communicated with the feeding hole (45) of the next-stage flexible sorting device (4).

3. A device for the rapid sorting of mailpieces according to claim 1, wherein: controlling means (3) include PC control terminal (31), PLC control box (32) and set up the PCB control panel on each flexible sorter (4) respectively, PC control terminal (31) and PLC control box (32) communication connection, the signal output part of PLC control box (32) links to each other with the input and conveyer (1) of each PCB control panel respectively, and its signal input part links to each other with the output of sweeping yard device (2) and PCB control panel respectively.

4. A device for the rapid sorting of mailpieces according to claim 1, wherein: the outlet of the flexible sorter (4) at the end is provided with a return container (51) dedicated to collecting unidentified address information or damaged mail, and the mail sorting point (5) is provided with a mail receiving container (52) for collecting mail.

5. A device for the rapid sorting of mailpieces according to claim 1, wherein: the exit end of flexible sorter (4) is provided with photoelectric sensor (46), and the signal output part of controlling means (3) still is connected with alarm device (33).

6. A method for quickly sorting mail, comprising the steps of:

s1, scanning the mail to obtain the address information of the mail;

s2, according to the address information obtained in the step S1 and the preset mail sorting point information, the control device plans the sorting path of the mail and generates corresponding action instructions and time instructions for each flexible sorter involved in the sorting path;

and S3, the control device sends the action command and the time command to the corresponding flexible sorting devices, and each flexible sorting device acts according to the corresponding action command and the time command and conveys the mails to corresponding mail sorting points according to the address information to finish the sorting of the mails.

7. A method for the rapid sorting of mailpieces according to claim 6, wherein: the action instructions comprise a conveyor belt forward rotation instruction and a conveyor belt reverse rotation instruction, and the conveyor belt is controlled to convey the mail to the next flexible sorter or a corresponding mail sorting point through the action instructions.

8. A method for the rapid sorting of mailpieces according to claim 6, wherein: the time instruction expression is T-N T1;

where N denotes the sequence number of the flexible sorter in the sorting path and t1 denotes the time required for the flexible sorter to complete a sort job.

9. A method for the rapid sorting of mailpieces according to claim 6, wherein: the time instruction expression is T-N T1+ T2;

where N denotes the sequence number of the flexible sorter in the sorting path, t1 denotes the time required for the flexible sorter to complete a sorting job, and t2 denotes the time interval between completion of the address scan and entry into the first flexible sorter.

10. A method for the rapid sorting of mailpieces according to claim 6, wherein: step S3 further includes a failure determination and alarm execution action, where the start trigger condition is: t > t 1K 1 or t < t 1K 2;

in the formula, t1 represents the time required by the flexible sorter to finish one-time sorting, K1 and K2 are constants, wherein the value range of K1 is 1.2-1.5; the value range of K2 is 0.6-0.8, and the specific value is determined according to the actual working condition; t represents the time interval between any two adjacent photosensor signal reception times.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of mail sorting processing, in particular to a quick mail sorting device and a sorting method thereof.

Background

With the rapid development of electronic commerce in China, the logistics express industry is driven to fly, a higher level is provided for the logistics industry, and the sorting equipment needs to be continuously explored in the face of more and more packages and complicated package destinations;

at present, a large number of mail delivery parts and large sorting centers are distributed in each area of a city, and mails are firstly primarily screened by the large sorting centers and then are conveyed to the corresponding delivery parts to be distributed by couriers; the existing primary delivery part cannot be provided with large-scale automatic sorting equipment due to the limitation of the operation space, so that a courier selects mails belonging to the self-distribution range before the daily mail distribution in a manual screening mode, the sorting mode is low in speed, and occupies a large amount of distribution time of the courier (most of the couriers start distribution after 10 am), so that the distribution efficiency is influenced, and the user experience is poor; and after the parcel is sorted, the parcel needs to be put together, and then the parcel is loaded after the sorting is finished, so that the operation space of the delivery part is limited, and when a plurality of couriers simultaneously carry out manual sorting, the confusion of mails is easy to occur, and the delivery efficiency and the user experience of the mails are further reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention discloses a mail quick sorting device and a sorting method thereof, aiming at the defects of low mail sorting speed, low distribution efficiency and poor user experience in the prior art.

The invention realizes the aim through the following technical scheme:

a mail quick sorting device comprises a conveyor, a code scanning device and a control device, wherein a flexible sorting device is arranged at the outlet end of the conveyor, the flexible sorting device comprises a plurality of flexible sorters which are connected in series along a Z-shaped path, the signal output end of the control device is respectively connected with each flexible sorter, and mails are conveyed to the next flexible sorter or a mail sorting point matched with mail addresses by controlling the conveying direction of the flexible sorters; and the signal input end of the control device is connected with the code scanning device.

Preferably, the flexible sorting device comprises a rack and a conveying belt arranged on the rack, a first outlet and a second outlet are respectively arranged at the front side and the rear side of the flexible sorting device along the moving direction of the conveying belt, a feeding hole is formed in one side perpendicular to the moving direction of the conveying belt, the first outlet is connected with a corresponding mail sorting point, and the second outlet is communicated with the feeding hole of the next-stage flexible sorting device.

Preferably, the control device comprises a PC control terminal, a PLC control box and PCB control panels respectively arranged on the flexible sorters, the PC control terminal is in communication connection with the PLC control box, the signal output end of the PLC control box is respectively connected with the input end of each PCB control panel and the conveyor, and the signal input end of the PLC control box is respectively connected with the output end of the code scanning device and the output end of the PLC control panel.

Preferably, the outlet of the flexible sorter at the end is provided with a recovery receptacle dedicated to collecting unidentified address information or damaged mail, and the mail sorting point is provided with a mail receiving receptacle for collecting mail.

Preferably, the exit end of the flexible sorter is provided with a photoelectric sensor, and the signal output end of the control device is also connected with an alarm device.

Correspondingly, the invention also discloses a mail quick sorting method adopting the sorting device, which is characterized by comprising the following steps:

s1, scanning the mail to obtain the address information of the mail;

s2, according to the address information obtained in the step S1 and the preset mail sorting point information, the control device plans the sorting path of the mail and generates corresponding action instructions and time instructions for each flexible sorter involved in the sorting path;

and S3, the control device sends the action command and the time command to the corresponding flexible sorting device, and the flexible sorting device acts according to the corresponding action command and the time command and conveys the mails to corresponding mail sorting points according to the address information to finish the sorting of the mails.

Preferably, the action command comprises a forward conveyor rotation command and a reverse conveyor rotation command, and the conveyor rotation command controls the conveyor to convey the mail to the next flexible sorter or the corresponding mail sorting point.

Preferably, the time instruction expression is T ═ N × T1;

where N denotes the sequence number of the flexible sorter in the sorting path and t1 denotes the time required for the flexible sorter to complete a sort job.

Preferably, the expression of the time command is T ═ N × T1+ T2;

where N denotes the sequence number of the flexible sorter in the sorting path, t1 denotes the time required for the flexible sorter to complete a sorting job, and t2 denotes the time interval between completion of the address scan and entry into the first flexible sorter.

Preferably, step S3 further includes a failure determination and alarm execution action, where the start trigger condition is: t > t 1K 1 or t < t 1K 2;

in the formula, t1 represents the time required by the flexible sorter to finish one-time sorting, K1 and K2 are constants, wherein the value range of K1 is 1.2-1.5; the value range of K2 is 0.6-0.8, and the specific value is determined according to the actual working condition; t represents the time interval between any two adjacent photosensor signal reception times.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following beneficial effects:

1. the invention comprises a conveyor, a code scanning device and a control device, wherein a plurality of flexible sorters which are connected in series along a Z-shaped path are arranged at the outlet end of the conveyor, the signal output end of the control device is respectively connected with each flexible sorter, and mails are transmitted to the next flexible sorter or mail sorting points matched with mail addresses by controlling the transmission direction of the flexible sorters; the signal input end of the control device is connected with the code scanning device; when the flexible sorting device is used, a code scanning device is used for scanning the mails to obtain the address information of the mails, the information is adapted to the address information of a preset mail sorting point, a sorting path of the mails is further planned, a corresponding action instruction and a time instruction are generated for each flexible sorting device related to the path, and the flexible sorting device executes the corresponding action instruction according to the time instruction, so that the mails are transmitted to a specific mail sorting point or a next-stage flexible sorting device, and sorting of one mail is completed;

compared with the prior art, the invention realizes the rapid sorting of the mails, and particularly for the delivery points distributed in various places of cities, the device can replace the traditional manual sorting operation of couriers, thereby compressing the daily sorting time of the couriers to the minimum, and the couriers have more time for delivering the mails, thereby improving the mail delivery efficiency, enabling users to take the mails faster and improving the use experience to the maximum extent;

secondly, the mails in different distribution areas are placed in a classified mode, a courier only needs to extract the mails from the mail sorting points matched with the distribution areas, the mails can be transferred between the sorting points and the loading points at the highest speed, a large number of mails are prevented from being accumulated in the sorting areas, and particularly for the distribution points with limited working spaces, the utilization rate of the working spaces can be improved, the mails can be prevented from being mixed, and the distribution efficiency can be improved;

finally, because each flexible sorter is independent equipment, the number of the flexible sorters can be flexibly adjusted according to the delivery requirements of the delivery part, the required operation space can be better matched with the actual conditions of the delivery part, and meanwhile, the flexible sorters can be applied to a large-scale sorting center by arranging more flexible sorters, so that the application range of the equipment is expanded to the maximum extent, and the flexible sorters have better market application prospect and economic value.

2. According to the invention, the outlet of the flexible sorting device at the tail end is provided with the recovery container which is specially used for collecting unidentified address information or damaged mails, and the mail sorting point is provided with the mail receiving container for collecting the mails, so that on one hand, all unidentified addresses or damaged mails can be recovered by the recovery container, and the normal mail sorting is prevented from being interfered by the damaged mails, on the other hand, the mails are collected by the containers, and a courier can transport a large amount of mails at one time by moving the containers, so that the carrying efficiency is improved, more time is provided for dispatching the mails, and the working efficiency is improved.

3. The invention arranges a photoelectric sensor at the outlet end of the flexible sorting device, the signal output end of the control device is connected with an alarm device, the photoelectric sensor senses whether the mail is sent out smoothly at the outlet end, because the transmission speed of the flexible sorting device is fixed, the stay time of the mail on each flexible sorting device is fixed, if the mail slides with the transmission belt due to factors such as friction, the corresponding stay time is prolonged, and the mail passes through a plurality of flexible sorting devices and generates large accumulated error to cause wrong sorting, therefore, the mail which is not suitable for sorting can be screened quickly by detecting the time interval between two adjacent signals transmitted by the same photoelectric sensor and comparing the measured time interval with the set time (the time required by the flexible sorting device to sort one mail) and can be sorted manually in an alarm mode, the sorting accuracy of the equipment is improved.

4. According to the invention, each flexible sorter is controlled in a mode of combining action instructions and time instructions, wherein the action instructions control the rotation direction of a conveyor belt of the flexible sorter, and the time instructions are used for controlling the execution time of corresponding actions; the flexible sorting device has the advantages that the sorting speed is the same, the time required by each piece of mail is the same, and the time for executing the action of each flexible sorting device is determined by the position of the flexible sorting device, so that the time for the mail to reach a specific flexible sorting device and the sorting action of the flexible sorting device are determined in the process of relay conveying and sorting of the mail through the flexible sorting device, and the flexible sorting device has a certain arrangement rule;

for example, the sorting path of a certain mail involves 1 to 5 flexible sorters, the sorting time of each flexible sorter is 1s, and meanwhile, the system sets that the mail is transferred to the next flexible sorter in forward rotation, otherwise, the mail is transferred to a mail sorting point, and in the mail sorting process, the actions of the five flexible sorters are respectively: after receiving the control signal 1s, the motor rotates forwards; after receiving the control signal for 2s, the motor rotates forwards; after receiving the control signal for 3s, the motor rotates forwards; after receiving the control signal for 4s, the motor rotates forwards; after receiving the control signal for 5s, the motor rotates reversely;

for the same flexible sorter, the executed command fails, the newly generated command continues to be queued for execution, so that a closed command cycle is formed, the flexible sorter can complete the continuous sorting of the mails only by sequentially executing the commands according to the scheduled sequence, and the flexible sorter has simple action instructions and high accuracy; compared with the prior art, the invention simplifies the equipment and the control program by skillfully applying the control instruction, improves the reliability and the stability of the equipment, realizes the quick sorting of the mails and improves the working efficiency of couriers;

in the continuous sorting process of the mails, sorting personnel place the mails on a conveyor one by one according to a certain interval, each mail sequentially passes through a scanning device according to the placing sequence, a control device generates corresponding action instructions and time instructions for each flexible sorter according to the scanning sequence and sends the instructions to the flexible sorters according to the sequence, the flexible sorters sequentially execute according to the receiving sequence to complete the continuous sorting of the mails, the commands executed by a PCB (printed circuit board) fail, and the newly received action instructions and time instructions continue to be queued in sequence to wait for execution, so that the continuous and quick sorting of the mails is completed;

compared with the prior art, the method and the device control the equipment according to the mail transmission rule, greatly simplify hardware and software of the equipment, are more reliable and stable in work, improve sorting speed, allow couriers to have more time to dispatch mails, and improve work efficiency and user experience.

5. The expression of the time instruction is T-N T1+ T2, and the time instruction is used in a flexible sorter and a conveying device; the time from scanning to sorting of the mail is factored in by the setting of t2, further improving the accuracy of mail sorting.

6. The invention also comprises a fault judgment and alarm execution action, and the starting triggering conditions are as follows: t > t 1K 1 or t < t 1K 2; in the mail sorting process, if the friction of a mail package is small, the mail package is easy to slide relative to the conveying direction in the conveying process, so that the sorting time of the flexible sorting device is prolonged, if the mail passes through a plurality of flexible sorting devices, a very large accumulated error can be generated, and the mail sorting of the whole system is further disturbed; due to the fact that the mail is conveyed at an angle between different flexible sorters, and the like, the distance between the mails is reduced, and even one flexible sorter needs to sort two mails at the same time; therefore, the mails which are not suitable for sorting can be quickly screened by comparing the measured time with the set time, the equipment is stopped in time, the operators are reminded to carry out manual sorting in an alarming mode, and the sorting accuracy and reliability of the equipment are improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the flexible sorter of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the flexible sorter of the present invention

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of mail sorting according to the present invention;

reference numerals: 1. conveyer, 2, sweep a yard device, 3, controlling means, 4, flexible sorter, 5, mail sorting point, 31, PC control terminal, 32, PLC control box, 33, alarm device, 41, frame, 42, conveyer belt, 43, first export, 44, second export, 45, feed inlet, 46, PCB control panel, 47, photoelectric sensor, 48, motorized pulley, 51, recovery container, 52, mail collecting container.

Detailed Description

The present invention will be further described with reference to the following description and examples, which include but are not limited to the following embodiments.