Patent ID: 8380343

Claim:
A method for sorting items in two sorting processes, which comprises the steps of: predetermining a sorting feature, on a basis of which the items are to be sorted; predetermining a feature value sequence of possible feature values of the sorting feature; predetermining at least one physical parameter; subdividing the items into at least two classes in dependence on the at least one physical parameter, such that each item belongs to one class being either a first class or a second class; carrying out a first sorting process via a sorting system, the sorting system sorts the items in the first class separately from the items in the second class, the sorting system for each item, measures which value the sorting feature assumes for the item and combines the items in the first class to form a plurality of item set, the first sorting process including the further steps of: determining, via the sorting system, which of the possible feature values were actually measured for the items in the second class; subdividing, via the sorting system, the feature value sequence into a sequence of sequences of successive feature values such that at most one actually measured feature value which was actually measured for the second class occurs in each sequence and the actually measured feature value occurs as a first or last feature value in the respective sequence; forming the sequences such that the actually measured feature value which has actually been measured for the second class occurs as the first feature value in the sequence; combining, using the sorting system, the items in the first class to form the item sets and form a set sequence of the item sets such that all the items with a same feature value belong to a same item set, and two items whose feature values belong to the same sequence and follow one another in the feature value sequence belong to two different item sets which follow one another in the set sequence; carrying out a second sorting process via a sorting installation having a plurality of output devices, the sorting installation outputting the items in both the first and second classes in the second sorting process into the output devices of the sorting installation such that after the second sorting process, the items are sorted in accordance with the feature value sequence; and supplying the items to the sorting installation such that, when the items in the first class are supplied, the set sequence that is produced is maintained for the item sets; and supplying the items in the second class to the sorting installation first, and then the item sets.