Patent ID: 6377864
Filing Date: 2002-04-23
Classification: G05B,G06Q,Y02P

Abstract:
In a sheet fabricating environment in which worksheets are cut into finished pieces with each worksheet being cut in accordance with at least one program routine, a method of unloading said finished pieces comprising the steps of:identifying for each production run the program routines in accordance with whose programmed operations pieces of different dimensions are to be cut from said worksheets; retrieving from each of said program routines data relating to said to be cut pieces; utilizing said data retrieved from said program routines to compute optimal locations at at least one unloading means where finished pieces of the same dimension cut in accordance with different ones of said program routines are to be moved to so as to prevent any conflict in unloading of finished pieces during production run; wherein said unloading means comprises a conveyor having a plurality of tiltable sections and at least one receiver means having a storage area, said method further comprising the step of: positioning said receiver means underneath said sections of said conveyor; wherein said utilizing step further comprises the steps of: assigning a sorting address to each of said sections of said conveyor; designating by appropriate sorting addresses which of said sections finished pieces of a given dimension are to be moved to; moving finished pieces of different given dimensions to their appropriate sorting addresses; selectively tipping said respective sections to enable each finished piece of a given dimension to be deposited onto a corresponding location at said storage area of said receiver means.