Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING PACKAGING OF ITEMS ON A
PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTION LINE
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to the technical
field of control systems for automated production or
distribution lines. The invention particularly relates to the
technical field of systems for tracking and tracing items on
a production/distribution line.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many methods are implemented in industry for
controlling production/distribution lines, not only for
detecting problems arising on transport paths but also
reliably determining a quantity of items produced or
distributed on said lines. Particularly, some of these
methods are used for ensuring proper dispatching or packaging
of said items, or even further allowing accurate billing or
tax accounting of the items so produced or distributed.
Imaging devices are of common use for controlling
production of items on automated production lines. For
example, on bottling lines, strobe light (using a ZED
lighting unit controlled by a laser trigger device which
detects the presence of an item, for example) illuminates
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bottles transported in single file on a conveyor and marked
with a barcode (ID or 2D barcode, like SKU code or data
matrix, for example), and digital cameras take digital images
of the so illuminated bottles. A strobe light source
typically uses a LED lighting unit controlled by a laser
trigger device, which detects the presence of an item.
Conventional image processing means automatically detect on a
digital image of an item a region of interest containing a
barcode pattern and then identify the item by decoding the
detected barcode. Such identification may be used, for
example, for correctly labeling the above bottles according
to their type (or content, etc.). There are many known
techniques relating to image processing which can be used for
identifying an item marked with an identifier (including item
identification data) from a digital image of said identifier.
The above imaging devices, or readers, may be
adapted to read identifiers from light reflected or emitted
by said identifier within any optical wavelength range
between the UV (ultraviolet) and the IR (infrared).
There are also many other well known techniques
adapted to different types of identifiers. For example, an
RFID reader is adapted for reading identifiers like RFID tags
disposed on items, these RFID tags including item
identification data (possibly encrypted). As another non-
limiting example, the identifier may be a magnetic marking,
and the corresponding adapted reader is then of magnetic
sensor type.
Thus, whatever specific type of identifier
including identification data is used for marking items
transported on a production/distribution line, an adapted
type of reader is used for reading said identifier and
sending a corresponding reader signal to a controller having
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processing means capable of extracting identification data
from said reader signal.
Items on a conventional production/distribution
line are transported (for example, on a conveyor) arranged in
single file, each transported item being marked with a unique
item identifier including unique item identification data of
the item, the items are then successively collected by a
collector device (like a pusher, for example) to form a batch
of a given number N of said items. Such a batch of items is
then packaged by a packaging device, and a corresponding
packed batch is delivered. The collector device generally
includes a sensor operable to detect that a batch of N items
has been formed (for example, a mechanical counter, or an
electronic counter in which a light beam between diodes is
interrupted by a transported item). This sensor is operable
to deliver a batch signal each time a batch of N items has
been counted.
Operations on the line are generally controlled by a
controller. Also, mounted on the line, at the level of a
reading zone, a reader connected to the controller typically
reads the unique identifier on each one of the items in
single file within said reading zone, and sends corresponding
successive reader signals to the controller. The controller
has processing means programmed to extract each unique item
identification data from the received reader signals. These
processing means may in fact be split, for example, between
the controller itself and the reader (i.e. some processing
steps of the reader signal being then executed at the
reader), or may even involve a remote connected processing
unit.
As an example, the reader classically comprises a
camera (or a plurality of cameras around the reading zone,
and possibly including illumination source for illuminating
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the items to be imaged) set for reading a barcode on one item
at a time as the items in single file are transported through
the reading zone, by taking a digital image of a region of
interest containing the barcode on the (illuminated) item.
Many known methods are available to be implemented by the
processing means for detecting and decoding the digital image
of the barcode sent by the reader.
However, due to quite frequent jams on the line
causing loss or deterioration of items, or even due to
fraudulent interception of items along the transport path
between the reading zone and the collector device, it is not
sure that all the items identified by the reader in fact
correspond to the items counted at the level of the collector
device's sensor. Thus, problems are generated in case items
having being identified on the line (and thus, possibly
accounted for taxation, or billed as being delivered) are
lost before being collected by the collector device, or in
case the collected batches of items in fact contain
unidentified items and are nevertheless distributed, or
packaged by the packaging device.
Moreover, the above problems are even made worse
in case the items must be transported in groups along the
transport path.
Consequently, the above conventional controlling
of operations is not well adapted to real-time item
identification, particularly on high speed production or
distribution lines, and especially if the items are
transported grouped along the transport path and that every
single item passing on the line needs to be identified.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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In view of the above mentioned limitations of the
background art, the present invention is therefore aimed at
providing a robust real-time method and a corresponding
system for controlling items on a production/distribution
5 line. An object of the invention is to provide a
production/distribution control tool which is well adapted to
high speed production/distribution lines carrying items
maintained in a given disposition on the transport path,
whilst being capable of processing read signals for every
single item passing on the line, for precise identification
of collected items and improved detection of damaged items.
In the following, the processing means of a
controller, and thus processing steps carried out via said
processing means, are defined in a broad sense which includes
the possibility of being distributed between a plurality of
units connected to the controller (as known in the art),
although being designated as processing means of the
controller.
The invention is particularly adapted to the case
the items are transported by batches on the line, the items
being maintained a given disposition within each batch. As a
non-limiting example, the items may be transported already
packed by batch within a packaging adapted for allowing a
reader to read identifiers on the items. As an illustration,
for example in case the items are cigarette packs, and the
identifier is a barcode printed on the pack (or on a label
stuck on the pack), said adapted packaging may be a
transparent film wrapped around a batch of cigarette packs so
that an optical reader can read the barcodes on the packs
through the wrapping film.
As another non-limiting example, wherein the
items are transported grouped (possibly by batch of a given
number of items) according to a given disposition, the
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reading zone has an extension covering a group of items, and
the reader may be a camera capable of taking a digital image
of a group of items in the reading zone. Cameras capable of
taking a global digital image of a group of objects, coupled
to image processing means operable to detect objects among a
plurality of objects (or patterns) within said digital image
are now available. Thus, processing means capable to detect
each barcode (or item identifier), considered as an object or
pattern, within a digital image of a group of barcodes are
available. By further programming these processing means so
as to extract the corresponding identification data for each
detected item identifier (for example, decoding each barcode
detected in the digital image) according to an ordering which
corresponds, by a one-to-one mapping, to the respective
positions of the items within the above group of items, one
arrives at a reader suitable for implementing the invention.
Said one-to-one mapping clearly always exists in case the
items are transported grouped according to a given
disposition, as the relative positions of the items within
the group are not modified during transport along the
transport path, particularly when the group of items crosses
the reading zone.
A first aspect of the invention relates to a
method for controlling items on a production/distribution
line wherein, the items are transported arranged according a
given disposition along a transport path of the line through
a reading zone toward a collector device operable to collect
the items received from the reading zone to form a batch of a
given number N of said items, each transported item is marked
with a unique item identifier including unique item
identification data of the item, the collector device
includes a sensor operable to detect that a batch of N items
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has been formed and deliver a corresponding batch signal to a
controller, said collector device is further operable to
deliver a batch of N collected items to a packaging device
connected to the controller, said packaging device is
operable to pack the batch of N items delivered by the
collector device into a batch packaging marked with a batch
packaging identifier including batch packaging identification
data to form a packed batch and deliver said packed batch,
said method comprising the further steps of:
reading at least one unique identifier on at least one of
the items at corresponding at least one given position within
the reading zone, by means of a first reader, the first
reader being connected to the controller and sending
corresponding first reader signal to the controller;
extracting each unique item identification data from the
received first reader signal in accordance with an ordering
corresponding to said given disposition of the items and
given position, by means of the controller;
sequentially storing in a memory connected to the
controller, to form a list of unique item identification
data, each unique item identification data extracted from
said first reader signal according to said ordering and
position, by means of the controller;
upon delivering of a batch signal by the sensor,
delivering the batch of N items collected by the collector to
the packaging device, packing said delivered batch into a
batch packaging and delivering corresponding packed batch,
and reading the batch packaging identifier on the batch
packaging of the packed batch delivered by the packaging
device by means of a second reader connected to the
controller, the second reader sending corresponding second
reader signal to the controller;
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extracting a batch packaging identification data from the
received second reader signal, and retrieving in the list,
according to said ordering and position, unique item
identification data corresponding to at least one of the N
items in the packed batch delivered by the packaging device,
by means of the controller; and
storing in the memory said extracted batch packaging
identification data associated with said retrieved unique
item identification data, by means of the controller.
Due to the ordering of the extraction of each
item identification data, in one-to-one correspondence with
the relative positions of the items having a given
disposition on the transport path in the reading zone, up to
all the items within the reading zone can be identified,
whatever said given disposition of the items may be, if all
the corresponding identifiers have been read. Thus, the
invention is particularly well adapted to high speed
production or distribution lines carrying items maintained in
a given disposition on the transport path, whilst being
capable of processing read signals for every single item
passing on the line. According to a variant of the above
method, and corresponding system (see below), the first
reader may in fact read only one identifier on one test item,
at a test position in the reading zone, among a group of
transported items, or only few of the identifers on few test
items at given test positions. Thus, as the first reader may
only have to read a reduced number of identifiers, and even
as few as only one identifier over N, on the items within the
reading zone, the corresponding equipment can be quite simple
and compact. Nevertheless, in a preferred embodiment of the
invention, all the identifiers of the items in the reading
zone are read by the first reader, and all the corresponding
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unique item identification data are extracted by the
controller and thus appear in the list, so that a full
content of a packed batch is identified when the controller
retrieves in the list item identification data of all the N
items in the packed batch.
The invention is thus particularly suitable for identifying
items which are transported on the line already packaged (in
some adapted packaging) before being collected and further
packed in a batch packaging. For example: the grouped items
may be cigarette packs transported already wrapped in a
transparent film and forming a carton of cigarette packs, the
reading zone corresponding to the dimensions of a carton,
each cigarette pack being marked with a barcode (unique item
identification data), and each barcode on the packs within
the carton being readable by a camera (first reader),
possibly from a single digital image of the carton by using
image processing operable to detect each barcode within the
digital image, and decode each detected barcode according to
an ordering corresponding to the disposition of the cigarette
packs within the carton. Then, a packaging device may package
a batch of a given number N of cigarette packs, corresponding
to a given number K of cartons, into a case (batch packaging)
marked with a barcode like a datamatrix (as an example of
batch packaging identifier) including encoded data
representing batch packaging identification data. For
example: a carton may contain 20 cigarette packs, and a case
may contain 10 cartons (K = 10), so that the collector in
fact collects N = 10x20 =200 cigarette packs. In a variant of
this example, an item now corresponds to a carton marked with
a barcode, the items are transported arranged in single file
and the first reader reads the barcode marked on each of the
cartons sequentially crossing the reading zone (a batch of N
cartons being then packaged into a case, for example: N =
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10). This barcode may further include identification data on
the cigarette packs contained in the carton.
In a variant of the above invention, the level of security
may even be increased by allowing the controller to set the
5 test position of a test item within the reading zone (this
setting may further programmed to vary over time). The number
of test items may also be set. In case only few test items
are read in the reading zone, it is thus not possible for an
observer to know in advance which items will be read. As a
10 consequence, the possibility to detect unidentified item
and/or a fraudulent interception is increased even if only
few test items are identified. In a preferred embodiment of
the invention, all the identifiers of the items within the
reading zone are read and corresponding item identification
data appear in the list. Moreover, the controller may
retrieve in the list item identification data corresponding
to only few of the N collected items, possibly only one,
which have been packed into a batch packaging upon delivering
of the batch signal by the sensor.
In another variant of the above invention, a clock may
deliver time data to the controller which may associate this
time data with the item ID data as they are stored in the
memory according said ordering to form the list, thus
allowing a technician consulting the list stored in the
memory to better diagnose a cause of a problem on the line.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the reading zone
is adjacent to the sensor and entry of the collector device.
Thus, security is enhanced as the transport path from the
reading zone to the collector is reduced to minimum.
According to a first variant of the above method
according to the invention, in case the controller fails to
extract a unique item identification data from a received
first reader signal or a batch packaging identification data
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from a received second reader signal, it respectively
delivers a first or a second identification error data as the
unique item identification data or batch packaging
identification data respectively corresponding to said
received first or second reader signal.
This allows keeping track of any extraction problem directly
in the list. In said first variant, the controller may
further have the possibility to deliver an error message, so
as to help a technician diagnosing a cause of an error, in
case an extraction of identification data has failed.
Consequently, the method may include a further step wherein,
in case a first and a second identification error data
relating to a delivered packed batch are delivered, the
controller further delivers an error message. In this case,
the error message may further indicate an extraction error
relating to a first reader signal and a second reader signal.
According to the method, in case the controller delivers a
first identification error data and extracts a batch
packaging identification data from a received second reader
signal relating to a delivered packed batch, the controller
further delivers an error message. In this case, the error
message may further indicate an extraction error relating to
a first reader signal. Also, in case the controller only
delivers a second identification error data relating to a
delivered packed batch, the controller delivers an error
message. In this case, this error message may further
indicate an extraction error relating to a second reader
signal. Moreover, in case any error message is delivered, the
controller may further store said error message in the
memory. Particularly, in case an error message is delivered
by the controller, the above method may comprise the further
step of associating in the memory said error message with the
corresponding batch packaging identification data of the
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delivered packed batch, by means of the controller. This
specific feature allows better tracing the history of the
aggregation or packaging operations on the line.
Particularly, if time data delivered by a clock is further
associated to said error message and said corresponding
extracted batch packaging identification data of the batch
packaging of the delivered packed batch. The above specific
feature is also particularly useful for identifying batches
containing unknown items (not identified by the first reader)
in case specific action is required: such as ejection of a
batch or special labeling. Moreover, any error message may
further be uploaded and accessible through reports.
An error message delivered by the controller may further be
sent to a display (possibly associated with time data
delivered by the above mentioned clock), in order to alert an
operator watching operations on the line, for example, or may
be sent, as well as any part of the data stored in the
memory, to a remote device via appropriate transmission
means. The above possibility of detecting and signaling
errors is advantageous, as it is easy to determine from the
list which batch is in fact concerned by an error message
without having to stop the line or affect the sequential
storage of item identification data relating to the next
items arriving in the reading zone.
The invention also relates to a system for
controlling items on a production/distribution line which is
operable to implement any of the above mentioned aspects
and/or variants of the method for controlling items on a
production/distribution line according to the invention, and
also corresponding use of said system, as specified above.
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Accordingly, a second aspect of the invention
relates to a system for controlling items on a
production/distribution line, comprising transport means
operable to transport items arranged according a given
disposition along a transport path
of the line through a
reading zone toward a collector device operable to collect
the items received from the reading zone to form a batch of a
given number N of said items, each transported item being
marked with a unique item identifier including unique item
identification data of the item, the collector device
including a sensor operable to detect that a batch of N items
has been formed and deliver a corresponding batch signal to a
controller, said collector device being further operable to
deliver a batch of N collected items to a packaging device
connected to the controller, said packaging device being
operable to pack the batch of N items delivered by the
collector device into a batch packaging marked with a batch
packaging identifier including batch packaging identification
data to form a packed batch and deliver said packed batch,
wherein:
a first reader connected to the controller is operable to
read at least one unique identifier on at least one of the
items at corresponding at least one given position within the
reading zone, the first reader being operable to send
corresponding first reader signal to the controller;
the controller is operable to extract each unique item
identification data from a received first reader signal, in
accordance with an ordering corresponding to said given
disposition of the items and given position;
the controller is operable to sequentially store in a
memory connected to the controller, to form a list of unique
item identification data, each unique item identification
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data extracted from a first reader signal according to said
ordering and position;
upon delivering of a batch signal by the sensor, the
collector is operable to deliver the batch of N collected
items to the packaging device, the packaging device is
operable to pack the received batch of N items into a
packaging batch and deliver a corresponding packed batch, and
a second reader connected to the controller is operable to
read the batch packaging identifier on the batch packaging of
the packed batch delivered by the packaging device, the
second reader being operable to send corresponding second
reader signal to the controller;
the controller is operable to extract a batch packaging
identification data from a received second reader signal, and
retrieve in the list, according to said ordering and
position, unique item identification data corresponding to at
least one of the N items forming the batch of collected items
in the packed batch delivered by the packaging device; and
the controller is further operable to store in the memory
an extracted batch packaging identification data associated
with corresponding retrieved unique item identification data.
In a variant of the above system according to the
invention, the level of security may even be increased by
allowing the controller to set the test position of a test
item to be identified via the first reader within the reading
zone. The number of test items may also be set. In another
variant of the above invention, a clock may deliver time data
to the controller which may associate this time data with the
item ID data as they are stored in the memory.
In another variant of the above system according
to the invention, in case the controller fails to extract a
unique item identification data from a received first reader
signal or a batch packaging identification data from a
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received second reader signal, it is operable to respectively
deliver a first or a second identification error data as the
unique item identification data or batch packaging
identification data respectively corresponding to said
5 received first or second reader signal.
In the above system, in case the controller delivers a first
and a second identification error data relating to a
delivered packed batch, the controller may be operable to
deliver an error message indicating an extraction error
10 relating to a first reader signal and a second reader signal.
Also, in case the controller delivers a first identification
error data and extracts a batch packaging identification data
from a received second reader signal relating to a delivered
packed batch, the controller may be operable to deliver an
15 error message indicating an extraction error relating to a
first reader signal. Likewise, in case the controller only
delivers a second identification error data relating to a
delivered packed batch, the controller may further be
operable to deliver an error message indicating an extraction
error relating to a second reader signal.
Moreover, in case an error message is delivered by the
controller, the controller may further be operable to store
said error message in the memory. For example, an error
message delivered by the controller may also be sent to a
display (possibly associated with time data delivered by the
above mentioned clock), in order to alert an operator
watching operations on the line. This error message, as well
as any part of the data stored in the memory, may further be
sent to a remote device via appropriate transmission means.
Particularly, in case an error message is delivered by the
controller, the controller may further be operable to
associate in the memory said delivered error message with the
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corresponding batch packaging identification data of the
delivered packed batch.
The present invention will be described more
fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings
in which like numerals represent like elements throughout the
several figures, and in which prominent aspects and features
of the invention are illustrated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig.1 is a schematic view of control system of a
production/distribution line illustrating an embodiment of
the invention.
Fig.2 is a schematic view of a batch packaging
Fig.3 is a schematic view of a packed batch of
items.
Fig.4 illustrates a list resulting from
sequential storing of unique item identification data
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following non-limiting and illustrative
embodiment of the invention, a system for controlling
25 packaging operations on items on a production/distribution
line (2), as illustrated in Fig.', comprises a conveyor (3)
for transporting items (1, 2,_, N,..), which here are
cigarette packs grouped into cartons (1, 2,,, K, K+1, K+2,-),
said cartons being arranged in single file along the
30 transport path toward a reading zone (4) on the line. Each
item (5) (cigarette pack) is marked with a unique item
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identifier (6), here a barcode, which includes unique item
identification data of the item. Each carton maintains the
cigarette packs in a given disposition: here, a carton
corresponds to 5 cigarette packs (this reduced number is just
for clarity of the illustrating drawings) wrapped into a
transparent plastic film. The reading zone (4) has a length
substantially corresponding to that of a carton (along the
direction of motion), so that only the cigarette packs within
one carton are read. A controller (10) controls the
operations on the line. A pusher (7) (i.e. collector device),
connected to the controller (10), collects the items
transported from the reading zone (4) to form a batch (8) of
a given number N of said items, grouped by cartons. A
collected full batch (8) contains a number of K cartons (1,
K, on Fig.1), so that the number of items collected by
the pusher when it is full is N = 5xK. The pusher (7)
delivers said formed batch of items (8) to a packaging device
(not represented), also connected to the controller, which
packs the received batch of N items (8) into a batch
packaging (12) shown on Fig.2, to obtain a packed batch of
items (14) (i.e. a filled case) shown on Fig.3.
The pusher (7) device includes a sensor (9) connected to the
controller (10) for detecting that a batch of N items has
been formed. This sensor (9) may be a laser trigger equipped
with a counter (which counts the number of times the laser
beam has been cut off by a carton), for example. Once the
sensor (9) has determined that a batch of N items is formed,
by counting that a number of cartons collected by the pusher
reaches the desired value of K, it delivers a batch signal to
the controller (10). The system further comprises a first
camera (11) (i.e. first reader) mounted on the line and
connected to the controller (10). The first camera (11) is
equipped with an illumination source (not shown) for
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sequentially illuminating each carton crossing the reading
zone (i.e. the view field of the first camera), and operable
to read a unique item identifier (6) (barcode printed on each
cigarette pack) on each item transported across the reading
zone (4) within a carton, through the wrapping film. The
first camera (11) takes a digital image of the group of all
the illuminated identifiers (6) within the carton. This first
camera (11) delivers corresponding first reader signal,
corresponding to said digital image of the group of item
identifiers, to image processing means in the camera. Said
image processing means of the first camera then performs
image processing of said digital image, detects each barcode
pattern present and extracts corresponding unique item
identification data, i.e. decodes each one of the five imaged
barcodes on the digital image, in accordance with an ordering
corresponding to said given disposition, here in single file,
of the identifiers in the carton: for example, the item
having the first rank in the read carton being the one closer
to the sensor (9), and the following items in the opposite
direction of transport having respective ranks 2 to 5 within
said carton. Then, the first camera (11) sends the extracted
unique item identification data to the controller (10)
according to said ordering. As known in the art, the first
camera may be triggered with sensor means (like a
conventional laser trigger, for example) which detect a
passage of a carton within the reading zone and thus trigger
illumination of the passing carton and activate the first
camera to take an image of the carton.
According to the invention, the controller (10),
which has processing means (CPU unit) and a memory, is
operable to sequentially store in the memory each unique item
identification data received from the first camera according
to said ordering, so as to form a list (15) of unique item
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identification data (16) shown in Fig.4 (each successive line
(16) corresponding to each item identification data
sequentially stored). For better understanding the invention,
there is also indicated on Fig. 4 a rank (17) of
corresponding items within a collected batch (8) (i.e. ranks
N) and of following items in the reading zone (i.e.
ranks N+1, N+2,...). For example, the full batch (8) contains K
cartons (1,...,K) and thus N = 5xK ordered items, and items N+1
and N+2 in fact correspond to the items having the first and
second rank within the carton (K+1) in the reading zone. In
this embodiment, the reading zone (4) is disposed just before
the entrance of the pusher (7), at the level, but just before
sensor (9), as shown on Fig.l. This placing makes the system
particularly robust to errors in case there is a fault or jam
in the transport or collection operations.
Upon delivering of the batch signal by sensor (9), the pusher
(7) pushes the batch (8) of N items just formed in a
packaging device (not shown) which packs said batch (8) into
a batch packaging (12), here a case, already marked with a
batch barcode (13) (i.e. batch identifier) and delivers a
corresponding packed batch (14) (i.e. a case filled with K
cartons of cigarette packs). Then a second camera (not
shown), i.e. second reader, connected to the controller (10)
and triggered by such delivering of the packed batch (14),
reads the batch barcode (13) on the packed batch (14) and
sends a corresponding second reader signal to the controller
(10). The controller (10) then extracts the batch
identification data (i.e. decodes barcode (13)) from the
received second reader signal. Also, upon reception of the
batch signal from the sensor (9), the controller (10)
searches in the list (15) which unique item identification
data (i.e. which unique item identification data already
extracted from a first reader signal previously sent to the
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controller) correspond to items in the case just delivered
(i.e. the items in the K cartons already collected in the
pusher as the batch signal is just delivered). For example,
the search may start from the last line formed in the list at
5 the instant the batch signal is delivered (i.e. line N on
Fig.4), and item identification data on the preceding lines
are then collected up to the line corresponding to a Nth item
in the case (i.e. line corresponding to item of rank 1 on
Fig.4, as the list is searched in the reverse order). In a
10 variant of this embodiment, time data from a clock connected
to the controller is registered together with extracted
unique item identification data and batch signal delivery
time on the list, and thus the controller can easily access
the line in the list corresponding to the time at which the
15 batch signal is delivered in order to retrieve the item
identification data of the N just collected items. Once the
relevant unique item identification data has been retrieved
(corresponding to the N = 5xK cigarette packs in the case),
the controller (10) stores in the memory the above extracted
20 batch identification data associated to the retrieved unique
item ID data corresponding to the packed batch. From this
association of batch content data (item identification data)
and package data (packed batch identification data), reliable
track and trace operations are made possible.
The invention is not limited to the above
embodiments and various modifications may be made without
departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the
claims. For example, the memory may be distributed (like the
processing means): at least part of the memory, for example
for storing associated batch content data and package data
may be in a remote database connected to the controller. As
another example, the readers may have their own storage
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21
capacities. Thus, although being designated as memory of the
controller in the above description of the invention, the
memory as defined in the appended claims also includes the
case wherein said memory is in fact distributed between
several units connected to the controller.
The invention also includes a computer program
product operable to make a computer connected to a system for
controlling items on a production/distribution line, as
described above, implement the steps of the method according
to the invention (as described above), when running on said
computer.
The method and system for identifying items on a
production line according to the invention, in any of its
above mentioned aspects, may be used with a high level of
confidence for item identification in industry for many
applications such as, for example, determining a production
volume on said production line (for tax value estimation,
etc...), line production control, line production inspection
(for fraud detection, etc...).
