US 12,223,460 B2
Package detection and intelligent sorting
Alexander I. Dragoset, Gretna, LA (US); and Jason Lagneaux, Jefferson, LA (US)
Assigned to Laitram, L.L.C., Harahan, LA (US)
Appl. No. 17/599,375
Filed by Laitram, L.L.C., Harahan, LA (US)
PCT Filed Mar. 16, 2020, PCT No. PCT/US2020/022969
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 28, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/209986, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 15, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/831,801, filed on Apr. 10, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0180094 A1, Jun. 9, 2022
Int. Cl. G06Q 10/08 (2024.01); B65G 47/14 (2006.01); B65G 47/69 (2006.01)
CPC G06Q 10/08 (2013.01) [B65G 47/14 (2013.01); B65G 47/69 (2013.01); B65G 2203/041 (2013.01); G06F 2218/12 (2023.01)] 26 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A conveyor system comprising:
an infeed conveyor segment conveying separated package units downstream in a conveying direction;
a package-unit detector detecting the package units at a detection position along the infeed conveyor segment, wherein the package-unit detector detects the footprints of the package units;
an imaging system capturing images of the package units within a target zone of the infeed conveyor segment;
a computer processing system executing program instructions to track the position of each of the package units as they are conveyed on the infeed conveyor segment and to provide each of the images of the package units as inputs to a classifier trained to recognize a set of package units and to assign to each of the package units a classification corresponding to one of the members of the set of package units the classifier is trained to recognize;
a downstream conveyor segment receiving the package units from the infeed conveyor segment;
wherein the computer processing system executes program instructions to control the downstream conveyor segment to convey each package unit depending on the package unit's classification.