Abstract:
The present invention relies on the fact that a sorting machine in distribution order can process a substantially higher number of distribution order points within a sorting process, than necessary for sorting in one or several real distribution orders, based on the available pigeon holes. Real distribution order points with large quantities of mailing pieces are distributed between several virtual distribution order points with as small as possible quantities of mailing pieces. The quantities of mailing pieces statistically determined for each real distribution order point of a defined distribution order are distributed between the virtual distribution order points, as regularly as possible, for the sorting passes preceding the final sorting pass. Then, the sorting passes preceding the final sorting pass are executed. The final sorting pass is thus executed, such that the mailing pieces of a distribution order are sorted into adjacent pigeon holes.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation of international application PCT/DE02/03247, filed Sep. 3, 2002 and further claims priority to German patent application DE10145295.0, filed Sep. 14, 2001, the both of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Sorting items of mail in a distribution order is understood to mean the procedure of bringing the items of mail to be distributed into an order which corresponds to the order of the distribution stopping points, for example in accordance with house numbers/mailboxes. These distribution stopping points are walked to or driven to by the distributor systematically in his delivery area. The distribution stopping point is in this case not an absolute sorting destination but a relative position in the distribution order.  
           [0003]    Manually, this sorting is very complicated. By means of a sorting machine, this sorting can be carried out with considerably less expenditure on time, the sorting being based on a sorting plan. The sorting plan is a list which performs the allocation of addresses to the defined delivery stopping points, that is to say describes the order. In the machine, it is the relation between the machine-readable address code and the sequence number. Since the number of distribution stopping points is normally larger than the number of sorting compartments of the sorting machines, the distribution order sorting of the items of mail to be sorted is carried out in a plurality of sorting passes. In the process, the items of mail are in each case fed to the sorting machine again in the order sorted in the preceding pass.  
           [0004]    The following example illustrates how sorting is carried out in two passes. Assuming that a specific number of items of mail are to be distributed to 20 distribution points. In this case, it is sufficient to have 4 sorting compartments in the first sorting pass and 5 sorting compartments in the second sorting run, since 4×5=20.  
                                                   Original   Modified   Sorting   Sorting       Delivery   distribution   distribution   compartment   compartment       code   order   order    sorting   sorting       (ZIP code)   number   number   pass 1   pass 2                   78453: 332/025    1   1A   1 (A)   1       78453: 332/027    2   1B   2 (B)   1       78453: 332/029    3   1C   3 (C)   1       78453: 335/102    4   1D   4 (D)   1       78453: 335/104    5   2A   1 (A)   2           .   .   .   .           .   .   .   .           .   .   .   .       78453: 347/045   19   5C   3 (C)   5       78453: 347/047   20   5D   4 (D)   5                  
 
           [0005]    In the first sorting pass, the items of mail are distributed in accordance with the capital letters into four sorting compartments, that is to say the first sorting compartment received all the items of mail which contain an “A”, the second sorting compartment receives all items of mail which contain a “B” and so on. The sorting compartments are emptied and the items of mail are put into the physical input again, specifically beginning with the items of mail from the first sorting compartment (“A”), then with those from the second sorting compartment (“B”) and so on. During the second sorting pass, the items of mail are distributed in accordance with the number into 5 sorting compartments, that is to say the first sorting compartment receives all the items of mail which contain a “1” and so on. Since, after the first sorting pass, the items of mail which contain an “A” are already located in front of the items of mail which contain a “B”, sorting compartment 1 then firstly receives the items of mail which contain “1A”, then “1B” and so on. The same applies in an analogous way to all the other compartments, so that the distribution order sorting is completed after the second sorting pass. According to the prior art, it is necessary to draw up an allocation table, what is known as the sorting plan, which determines an unambiguous relationship between the delivery code, that is to say the ZIP code, and the sorting compartments within one pass. A variant of this method merely produces a relationship between the delivery code and the distribution order number. The sorting compartment allocation is performed during the sorting. Assuming that the distribution order number of a recognized delivery code is known, it is provided by the sorting plan and then has to be translated into a compartment number. The distribution order number in itself can be viewed as a combination of compartment allocation rules which here, for example, exhibits the following features. The machine has 10 compartments (consequently, the distribution order number is a decimal number), the compartments are designated  0  . . .  9 , the number of passes is equal to the number of decimal places in the distribution order partial order number. Example: the distribution order number 528 is sorted in three passes, into compartment  8  in the first sorting pass, into compartment  2  in the second sorting pass, into compartment  5  in the third sorting pass. In another machine with 64 available compartments in the first sorting pass and 30 in the second sorting pass, this same distribution order number (528) will be distributed as follows: into compartment  16  in the first sorting pass, into compartment  8  in the second sorting pass. In general, it is true that the number of digits corresponds to the number of passes needed, the numeric base of each digit corresponds to the number of compartments available in the respective sorting pass.  
           [0006]    This consideration initially disregards the number of items of mail which are to be sorted per distribution order number. Under the assumption that there is a largely equal distribution of the quantities of items of mail, for example on average 3 items of mail for distribution order number, by considering the total quantity of items of mail, the number of sorting compartments and their size, a sorting machine can be utilized in an optimum way without a compartment-full situation occurring. Sorting compartment overflows which occur sporadically can be intercepted by the use of overflow compartments.  
           [0007]    During this sorting according to the prior art, sorting compartments can overflow or can also be filled with only a very small number of items of mail. Because of the possible overflow, overflow compartments are provided. However, this reservation of overflow compartments means a reduction in the sorting capacity of the sorting machine with regard to the possible distribution stopping points.  
           [0008]    Successive optimization of the sorting plan can reduce the number of necessary overflow compartments, but not replace them, since the composition and the extent of the items of mail remain unknown. When the sorting machine is emptied and the contents of sorting and overflow compartments are brought together, operating errors can occur which, under certain circumstances, change the order to such a great extent that repetition of the sorting becomes necessary.  
           [0009]    The use of overflow compartments secondly does not guarantee that no further compartment-full situations can occur. In a method for avoiding compartment overflows according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,971, the ZIP codes are read and assigned to distribution stopping points. Then, by means of a microprocessor, the assignment of the ZIP codes to the distribution stopping points is modified in order to optimize the distribution of the items of mail in the compartments. This is done by not all the possible distribution stopping points being used but reserve stopping points being provided. By means of a specific allocation of the ZIP codes to the distribution stopping points and by placing the reserve stopping points between the associated distribution stopping points, it is possible to distribute the items of mail in an improved manner, in order to minimize the probability of compartment overflow. As a result, in the original compartment combination, only the remaining residual quantity is still sorted, which results in undesired nonuniform compartment filling. Given only low levels in the sorting compartments, time losses arise, since the time expended for emptying a little-filled compartment does not differ or differs only insignificantly from emptying a full compartment.  
           [0010]    In DE 196 25 007 A1 a method for distribution order sorting is described in which, in order to avoid compartment-full situations, by means of iterative search steps in a simulation of the sorting operation before the sorting operation carried out by the sorting machine, the items of mail of each original distribution starting point are distributed to modified distribution starting points in such a way that the sorting compartments can accommodate the items of mail without any overflow. This iterative simulation is very time-consuming, so that, in a specific time interval, only a limited difference in quantity between the distribution stopping points can be compensated for.  
           [0011]    In DE 196 47 973 C1, a description is given of using quantity statistics of the daily occurrence of items of mail from the past in the generation of sorting plans and, in DE 43 02 231 A1, there is an exposition of basing the sorting plan on statistical averages for the occurrence of postal items for specific destinations. However, how the sorting plans are configured in an optimum way with this information is not specified.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    The present invention is therefore based on an object of substantially enlarging the range of the permissible differences in the occurrence of items of mail for various distribution stopping points given identical time periods for the assignment of the sorting compartments to the distribution stopping points, without sorting compartments overflowing.  
           [0013]    According to the invention, the quantities of items of mail determined statistically for the individual real distribution order points of a specific distribution order are distributed to the largest possible number of virtual distribution order points, which is formed by the product of the number of the sorting compartments in the sorting passes, for the sorting passes before the last sorting pass, in such a way that the expected items of mail are distributed as uniformly as possible to the virtual distribution order points. The performance of the sorting passes before the last sorting pass is then carried out, in which the actual items of mail are distributed as uniformly as possible to the determined virtual distribution order points. The last sorting pass is then carried out in such a way that the items of mail of a distribution order are sorted into sorting compartments located beside one another.  
           [0014]    In the process, it is assumed that, because of the number of sorting compartments which are ready, a sorting machine for the distribution order can process substantially more distribution order points within a sorting process than is necessary for the sorting of one or more real distribution orders. Thus, real distribution order points with large quantities of items of mail can be divided up into many virtual distribution order points with the smallest possible quantities of items of mail. Before the sorting, time-consuming iterative simulation is therefore no longer necessary, instead the subdivision of the items of mail is carried out on the basis of statistically determined frequency distributions.  
           [0015]    Thus, the division of the items of mail to the virtual distribution order points before the first sorting pass is advantageously carried out by means of the following steps:  
           [0016]    determining the minimum number of sorting compartments in the last/pth sorting pass NSTnmin for a specific distribution order, starting from the number of items of mail and the distribution order points,  
           [0017]    determining the number of possible virtual distribution order points Vdpn which can be provided for the distribution order, by means of the relationship  
           [0018]    Vdpn=NSTp×ΠNST  
           [0019]    ΠNST=NST 1 ×NST 2 × . . . NST(p−1),  
           [0020]    NSTi=number of sorting compartments in the machine in the ith sorting pass,  
           [0021]    NSTp=number of sorting compartments in the machine in the last sorting pass,  
           [0022]    determining the number of items of mail Erg to be expected statistically which each virtual distribution order point can accommodate given a uniform distribution, by means of the relationship  
           [0023]    Erg=NITEM/Vdpn  
           [0024]    where NITEM=number of items of mail from the distribution order to be expected statistically,  
           [0025]    determining the number of virtual distribution order points Vdpn (Erg) for each real distribution order point on the basis of statistically determined numbers of items of mail for the respective distribution order point, by the statistically determined number of items of mail for this distribution order point being divided by the number of items of mail Erg which each distribution order point can accommodate given uniform distribution, in the case of fractional values of Vdpn (Erg) with larger and smaller integer values, the subdivision to virtual distribution order points being carried out in such a way that the sum of the virtual distribution order points of all the physical distribution order points Σ Vdpn (Erg) corresponds to the number of possible virtual distribution order points Vdpn.  
           [0026]    It is advantageous in this connection if, to determine the minimum number of sorting compartments in the last/pth sorting pass, the number of sorting compartments NSTitem to accommodate all the items of mail in the last/pth sorting pass is determined by means of the relationship: NSTitem=NITEM/NSTCAP; where NSTCAP=holding capacity of a sorting compartment and the number of sorting compartments NSTdpn for processing the distribution order points in the last/pth sorting pass is determined by means of the relationship: NSTdpn=NDPN/ΠNST; where NDPN=number of distribution order points and the next largest integer value of the larger value of NSTitem and NSTdpn gives the minimum number of sorting compartments in the last/pth sorting pass.  
           [0027]    It is expedient if the sorting compartments for the virtual distribution order points of a real distribution order point are arranged beside one another.  
           [0028]    For the economical use of the sorting capacities, it is beneficial, on the basis of a sufficiently large number of sorting compartments and their size, to sort a plurality of distribution orders simultaneously on one mail sorting machine, no more items of mail from further distribution orders being sorted in when a defined filling limit of the sorting compartments is reached.  
           [0029]    Sorting in the items of mail for the sorting passes before the last sorting pass is in this case preferably carried out in distribution order layers over all the sorting compartments. In the last sorting pass, the items of mail for the various distribution orders are then separated, by being sorted distribution order by distribution order into compartments located beside one another.  
           [0030]    If, following the first subdivision of the real distribution order points into virtual distribution order points, sorting compartments are still unoccupied, then it is advantageous, for the most uniform possible distribution of the items of mail, to assign the virtual distribution order points to the sorting compartments by means of a random algorithm in a further step, while preserving the integrity of the sequence. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0031]    The invention will be explained in more detail below in an exemplary embodiment, using the drawings, in which:  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 1 shows the planning of the distribution order sorting;  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 2 shows data flows and modules of a system and marks the points at which the invention is used (distribution algorithm);  
         [0034]    [0034]FIG. 3 shows a possible distribution of quantities of items of mail to distribution order points within a specific distribution order, as can occur in reality;  
         [0035]    [0035]FIG. 4 shows a possible arrangement of the items of mail from two different distribution orders in the first sorting pass without the application of the method according to the invention;  
         [0036]    [0036]FIG. 5 shows the arrangement of two distribution orders in the first sorting pass given subdivision to virtual distribution order points; and  
         [0037]    [0037]FIG. 6 shows the insertion of sorting compartments in the second sorting pass in the case of unexpectedly high quantities of items of mail in the second sorting pass. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0038]    [0038]FIG. 1 depicts the starting situation of a complex sorting system. The distribution order definitions  1 , called the distribution order below, are derived from a database-supported system, and contain the assignment of the destination code information to distribution order points and the quantities of items of mail to be expected per distribution order point. In the distribution order sorting planning  2 , the predefined distribution orders are distributed to the available sorting machines. This planning is carried out, firstly, in accordance with logical criteria set by the operator, secondly in accordance with loading criteria of the machines. In practice, this means that the planner attempts to match the logistical criteria of the operator to the existing machine park and, for this purpose, needs a tool which, during the planning, can continuously check whether the capacity limit of one or more machines has already been reached or not. The result of this planning are the distribution order sorting plans  4  for the machines (note: the sorting device for separating the items of mail to be sorted into assignments for each machine, the separating sorting planner  3 , will not be considered in this connection).  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 2 depicts the arrangement of the elements reduced to a single machine. The distribution order definitions  1  are subjected, in the distribution order sorting planning with sorting plan management  5 , to an examination which, as a result, determines the capacity loading of the sorting machine  6  by each of the distribution orders chosen for this machine. To this end, use is made of the distribution algorithm, which will be described in more detail, which subsequently controls the actual sorting in the real sorting machine  6 . By means of this method, during the planning it can already be ensured that delivering the distribution orders to one sorting machine  6  will not exceed its sorting capacity. The sorting plan  4  generated for a machine contains the distribution orders with the assignments of the destination code information to the distribution order points. This sorting plan  4  is loaded into the machine  6  and the same distribution algorithm which has already permitted determination of the distribution in the planning phase controls the real sorting in the machine.  
         [0040]    [0040]FIG. 3 depicts an example of the distribution of 1800 items of mail to 180 distribution order points within an individual distribution order. An object of the method according to the invention is to arrange this nonuniform distribution on the machine in such a way that the lowest possible capacity loading of the machine occurs.  
         [0041]    The characteristic values of a machine in the case of 2 sorting passes are: 
         [0042]    NST=number of sorting compartments (210);  
         [0043]    NSTCAP=number of items of mail which a sorting compartment can accommodate (600);  
         [0044]    P=number of sorting passes (2). 
         [0045]    The characteristic values of the distribution order are: 
         [0046]    NITEM=expected total quantity of items of mail (1800);  
         [0047]    NDPN=number of distribution order points (180). 
         [0048]    Under the assumption that the items of mail of the distribution order are to be assembled in the smallest possible number of sorting compartments in the second sorting pass, the minimum requirements for sorting this distribution order can be derived from these characteristic values:  
                                           NSTitem = NITEM/   1800/600 =   Number of sorting compartments       NSTCAP   3   to hold all the items of mail               in the second sorting pass       NSTdpn = NDPN/   180/210 =   Number of sorting compartments       NST   1   for processing the               distribution order numbers in               the second sorting pass                  
 
         [0049]    The larger of the values NSTitem and NSTdpn is defined as the number of sorting compartments in the second sorting pass.  
         [0050]    The minimum number of sorting compartments needed for the first sorting pass can then be determined.  
                                           NST1 = NDPN/NST2   180/3 =   Number of sorting compartments for           60   processing the distribution order               numbers in the second sorting pass                  
 
         [0051]    Since, because of its size, the machine can process more than one distribution order, and the distribution order separation is carried out automatically at the change from the first to the second sorting pass (each distribution order has its own sorting compartment group in the second sorting pass), a dedicated virtual machine can be described for each distribution order.  
         [0052]    The following Table 1 shows some calculation examples of the distribution orders and calculated virtual machines:  
                                                                                           TABLE 1                                           Sorting               Distribution   compartments           order   needed in the           characteristic   second sorting pass   Virtual           values   (calculation)   machine            No.   NITEM   NDPN   NSTitem   NSTdpn   NST2   NST1                    1   1800   30   2.99   0.14   3   10       2   1800   180   2.99   0.86   3   60       3   600   180   1.00   0.86   1   180       4   1200   180   1.99   0.86   2   90       5   1500   700   2.49   3.33   4   175       6   600   600   1.00   2.86   3   200       7   1800   630   2.99   3.00   3   210       8   2400   600   3.99   3.00   4   150       9   2400   850   3.99   4.05   5   170                  
 
         [0053]    [0053]FIG. 4 and Table 1 show that the distribution order examples occupy the machine very differently in the first sorting pass if only the minimum conditions are satisfied in actual fact. It can likewise be seen that that this type of distribution reacts very sensitively to changes in the quantities of items of mail, as based on the loading of the sorting compartments, in particular if the actual quantities of items of mail differ greatly from the expected quantities of items of mail.  
         [0054]    [0054]FIG. 5 illustrates the distribution of the quantities of items of mail if the actual distribution order points of the distribution order 1 are mapped to the virtual distribution order points. The order is not disrupted by this procedure, but the result is a more uniform distribution of the items of mail to the machine. For the distribution order 1 it is true that 30 real distribution order points 1 each having 60 items of mail are spread to 180 virtual distribution order points each having 10 items of mail. This means that each real distribution order point now contains 6 virtual distribution order points. During the sorting operation, during the distribution to the virtual distribution order points, the distributed items of mail are counted in, since the virtual distribution order points are not a distribution feature on the items of mail but exist only during the distribution process. Items of mail which go beyond the expected quantity of items of mail for a distribution order point are distributed uniformly to the associated virtual distribution order points.  
         [0055]    While, in the preceding example, the relationships can be comprehended easily, the method must be refined for a real distribution order, as illustrated in FIG. 3. The calculation of the sizes of virtual distribution order points and the determination of the resulting distribution to the machine is the central part of the method according to the invention and will be performed separately for each distribution order. The respective result is mapped in a virtual machine (a software machine), which adds up the expected levels in the sorting compartments. The sorting plan management system accepts further distribution orders for a specific machine during the planning only as long as the defined maximum numbers for the quantity of items of mail per sorting compartment are not exceeded.  
         [0056]    The calculation of the distribution of a single distribution order is carried out in 4 steps.  
         [0057]    Step 1: calculation of the characteristic values and minimum requirements of a distribution order  
                                                       NSTitem = NITEM/NSTCAP   Number of sorting               compartments to hold all the               expected items of mail in               the pth (p = 2) sorting pass               (last sorting pass)           NSTdpn = NDPN/NST1   Number of sorting               compartments for processing               the distribution order               number in the pth sorting               pass           NSTp = (ceil)   Number of sorting           max(NSTitem, NSTdpn)   compartments in the pth               (p = 2) sorting pass (greater               value of NSTitem and NSTdpn)           Vdpn = NSTp * NST   Number of possible virtual               distribution order points               which can be provided for               the distribution order           Erg = (float) NITEM/Vdpn   Number of items of mail               which each virtual               distribution order point of               a distribution order is               intended to accommodate on               the basis of the total               number of items of mail           Erg_h = (ceil) Erg   Size of the virtual               distribution order point               (high value)           Erg_l = Erg_h − 1   Size of the virtual               distribution order point               (low value)                                                                                                          
 
         [0058]    The number of items of mail per virtual distribution order point must be increased from the exact value Erg to the integer value Erg_h. Since, as a result, the sum of all the items of mail (Vdpn*Erg_h) appears to be larger than the actual quantity of items of mail, the integer value Erg_l lower by 1 is additionally introduced.  
         [0059]    Step 2: the number of virtual distribution order points for each real distribution order point is calculated, the subdivision of this fractional value to the integer values Erg_h and Erg_l being performed in the ratio Erg.  
         [0060]    Step 3: the excess of (actually not present) items of mail which has arisen during the distribution of the quantities of items of mail to the virtual distribution order points of the sizes Erg_h and Erg_l is corrected by replacing elements which have arisen from Erg_h by elements from Erg_l.  
         [0061]    Step 4: during the distribution of the quantities of items of mail to virtual distribution order points of the sizes Erg_h and Erg_l, it is possible for the effect to occur that more virtual distribution order points than are available are needed (NST 2 *NST 1 ). This is corrected by introducing a third variable for virtual distribution order points Erg_spec, which can accommodate either a multiple of Erg_h or a multiple of Erg_l of items of mail.  
         [0062]    If, during the calculation, cases occur in which, inspite of the smallest possible size 1 of virtual distribution order points, not all the available virtual distribution order points are occupied, the occupied virtual distribution order points can be distributed over the available sorting compartments in accordance with the random principle. This avoids a situation where an accumulation of such virtual distribution order points can occur in one and the same sorting compartment.  
         [0063]    During the sorting, statistics about the occurrence of the expected distribution order points are collected. After the end of the first sorting pass, the actual composition or distribution of the quantities of items of mail to the respective distribution order points is known. While, in the first sorting pass, the occurrence of sorting-compartment-full situations can be avoided by means of the uniform distribution of the virtual distribution order points over all the available sorting compartments, in the second sorting pass, as a result of the concentration of the distribution orders to the minimum number of sorting compartments in each case, overflow situations can occur when the actual quantities of items of mail substantially exceed the expected quantities of items of mail. In the preliminary part of the actual sorting, the planning can take account of this circumstance and reserve sorting compartments preventively and notify the machine about this in a suitable manner, as a rule as a constituent part of the sorting plan. These reserve sorting compartments are initially not assigned any distribution order. Since the machine is not also notified, as a sorting plan, of a destination code in accordance with the sorting compartment assignment, but determines this assignment itself with the aid of the method according to the invention, it is also capable of making changes to the sorting compartment assignment independently if required.  
         [0064]    [0064]FIG. 6 shows the basic sequence. The planning has reserved a sorting compartment at the “end” of the machine or, the with the aid of the calculation carried out by the method according to the invention, takes into account one sorting compartment less than is actually available in the machine. After the end of the first sorting pass, the machine checks, using the statistics, the sorting compartment fillings to be expected for the second sorting pass and, in the process, determines that the second sorting compartment of the distribution order 1 is to accommodate more items of mail than has been specified for the sorting compartment. The machine therefore displaces all the sorting compartment assignments above the sorting compartment no. 2 under consideration by one position and then assigns the excess numbers of items of mail from the sorting compartment 2 to the sorting compartment 3 which has now become free. The sorting can therefore be continued without the sequence being delayed by a sorting-compartment-full situation occurring.  
         [0065]    The following is a list of symbols used and their intended definition.  
                                                       NST   Number of sorting compartments in a machine           NSTi   Number of sorting compartments in the machine in               the ith sorting pass           P   Number of sorting passes of a sorting device           NDPN   Number of actual distribution order points of a               given distribution order           VDPN   Number of possible virtual distribution order               points which can be provided for a distribution               order           NITEM   Expected number of items of mail of a distribution               order           NSTCAP   Holding capacity of a sorting compartment           NSTitem   Number of sorting compartments to accommodate all               the expected items of mail in the pth (last)               sorting pass           NSTdpn   Number of sorting compartments for processing the               distribution order numbers in the pth (last)               sorting pass.           NSTp   Number of sorting points (compartments) for               sorting in the pth (last) sorting pass = larger               value of NSTitem and NSTdpn.           πNST   Product of the numbers of sorting compartments in               the sorting passes without the last sorting pass.           Erg   Number of items of mail which each virtual               distribution order point of a distribution order               is intended to accommodate on the basis of the               total number of items of mail.           Erg_h   Size of a virtual distribution stopping point               (high value)           Erg_l   Size of a virtual distribution stopping point (low               value)           Erg_spec   Size of a virtual distribution stopping point,               SPECIAL value, multiple of Erg_h or Erg_l.