Patent Document ID: 8965566
Application ID: 14238203
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of sorting articles in accordance with a predetermined sorting feature, wherein the sorting feature for each article assumes one value respectively, the method comprising: apportioning the sorting feature values that occur to predetermined zâ‰§2 value groups of sorting feature values such that each sorting feature value belongs to exactly one value group; providing a sorting system sorting with: a storage region having X 1 >=2 storage subregions; a sorting region having x 2 >=2 sorting subregions; where x 1 *x 2 â‰§z; and a computer-accessible sorting plan which assigns to each value group: one storage subregion respectively; and one sorting subregion respectively; carrying out the following steps for each article to be sorted: measuring the value group to which the sorting feature value of the given article belongs; and transporting the article into that storage subregion which the sorting plan assigns to that value group to which the sorting feature value of the article belongs; carrying out an apportionment step for each storage subregion consecutively, wherein execution of the apportionment steps is completed once all articles to be sorted have been transported into the storage region and have been apportioned to the storage subregions; during the apportionment step for a storage subregion, transporting all articles out of this storage subregion to the sorting region; and apportioning the articles transported to the sorting region to the x 2 sorting subregions such that each article is transported into that sorting subregion which the sorting plan assigns to that value group to which the sorting feature value of the article belongs; carrying out the apportionment steps such that: during apportionment to the sorting subregions mixing of articles from different storage subregions is prevented, and all articles, whose sorting feature values belong to the same value group, are located in the same sorting subregion after an apportionment step; and after each apportionment step for each sorting subregion a sorting and output step is carried out; and wherein in a sorting and output step for a sorting subregion, all articles in this sorting subregion: are placed into a given sequence such that those articles whose sorting feature values belong to the same value group occur immediately one after the other in the given sequence; and are transported from the sorting subregion in the given sequence.