Patent ID: 6185479
Filing Date: 2001-02-06
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
A system for organizing a plurality of articles, comprising:(a) a system computer;(b) a plurality of section computers each connected to said system computer;(c) a plurality of section conveyer assemblies, one of said plurality of section conveyor assemblies operably connected to one of said plurality of section computers, respectively; and(d) a plurality of picking machines operably connected with each of said plurality of section computers and said respective section conveyor assembly, each of said plurality of picking machines comprising:(1) a picking machine frame;(2) a picking machine computer mounted on said picking machine frame and connected to said section computer for enabling a selected number of articles to be removed from said picking machine;(3) a suction mechanism movably mounted on said picking machine frame and connected to said picking machine computer;(4) stack conveying means on said picking machine frame for delivering a stack of articles to a first position; and(5) means for moving said suction mechanism to pick up an uppermost articles from said stack of articles at said first position and moving said uppermost article to a bin, wherein said bin rests atop said respective section conveyor assembly.