ATPOBOX 2
Space Management of the "Automatic PQ Box" System
CLAIMS
The claims of this patent application "Space Management of the AT PO Box System" is the method for managing the space available in the array of redundant PO Boxes for maximum efficiency translated in the shortest time of response of the At PO Box system during mail processing and storage and also during mail retrieval by the user.
The method consists in constant survey of incoming mail by the central PC of the system to classify users in accordance with the frequency of their usage of the system. The users using the system the most frequently will have priority over others. These will have their mail always stored in most accessible areas to the carriages such that their mail is stored and retrieved in the shortest possible time. This way they are served the quickest. |
ATPOBOX 2
Space Management of the "Automatic PO Box" System
DESCRIPTION
The present patent application is complementary to the International patent application titled "Automatic PO Box System". The subject of the present patent application is "Space Management of the Automatic PO Box System".
In the conventional PO Box system the time required for the user to retrieve his mail is very short. Therefore the user should not be penalized by lengthy mail retrieval operation in return for the advantages noted in the above referenced International patent application. One of the key issues to be addressed in the case of the AT PO Box system is the response time of the system during mail retrieval operations by the user. The response time of the AT PO Box system during mail processing and storage is equally important.
In the case of the At PO Box system the issue of space management is intimately related to the design of the system and has direct consequences on the response time of the system. Addressing properly the question of space management allows the system to have the shortest response time during mail processing and storage and during mail retrieval by the user.
As shown in drawings 1 and 2 below the storage and retrieval carriages travel in an area called the instant access area. Access of the carriages to any one of the redundant mail boxes in this area does not require any displacement of the redundant PO Boxes. The movement of the redundant PO Boxes is usually lengthier than that of the carriages due to the inertia of the system. The carriages should be able to travel at speeds of up to 4 meters per second in the longitudinal direction. This allows the carriages to reach any box in the instant access area within a maximum of one second, in the illustrated case.
ATPOBOX 2 any box in the instant access area within a maximum of one second, in the illustrated case.
However, when the redundant PO Boxes are made to move, that is when the requested box is not in the instant access area at the time of request, the operation takes much longer. The boxes should be allowed to move at linear speeds of up to 0.3 meters per second in the current design configuration. The boxes were suspended in search for design simplicity and to increase the density of the boxes per unit area on the floor, but this configuration also adds some constraints when it comes to considerations of inertia and speed. The proper use of power electronics and soft starters will reduce these constraints substantially. However, the necessary quick time of response during the two phases of mail processing and retrieval makes that the highest possible speeds are looked for.
One rule was adopted in the present design configuration; it is that space usage efficiency will rely on enlarging the system upwards in the height direction while keeping space usage on the floor to a strict minimum.
Therefore, only a limited number of redundant mailboxes can be placed in the instant access area.
To optimize system a proper space management method had to be adopted.
The method relies mainly on analyzing the statistics of the behavioral trends of PO Box users.
The main parameters taken into consideration include:
Frequency of mail reception by the users;
Frequency of mail retrieval by the users;
Time periods between visits to the PO Box by the users;
Volume of mail received by the users;
The users are classified in three categories:
Daily mail receivers and retrievers;
Daily mail receivers but less often retrievers;
Seldom mail receivers;
The compiled results of Behavioral trends analysis for monthly periods over one year excluding periods of high inflow of mail such as holidays and end of the month constitute a basis for the sizing of the instant access area for a given post office and determine its surface area on the floor and therefore the final shape and size of the system.
ATPOBOX 2
Based on this data, making the system more efficient relies on operational solutions. These solutions are implemented through properly designed software.
Initially and in relation to the three categories noted above, the redundant PO Boxes in a given array are positioned in three adjacent areas. The central most area occupying about 70% of the instant access area is devote to the "Frequent Receivers/ Frequent retrievers". The remaining 30% of the instant access area and outwards will be devoted to the "Frequent receivers but less frequently retrievers". These two categories should be initially allotted around 40% of the total number of redundant PO Boxes in an array. Another 30% of the total number of redundant PO Boxes outwards will be allotted to the "Seldom Receivers". The remaining 30% of the total number of redundant PO Boxes will come into use during the periods of high inflow rates of mail to the post office.
When the operation of the system starts and as mail is received, processed and retrieved software will keep analyzing the behavioral trends of users and reclassifying them into the three categories noted above. As time goes by users may be shifted from one area to the other depending on their data. Users with the highest cycle rate will be located in the innermost part of the instant access area. Theses rows will be positioned in the central part of the instant access area when the system is on stand by. As a result the response time of the system will shorten progressively during periods of normal inflow rate of mail to the post office.
The efficiency of the so designed system will be progressively optimized as time goes by.
Other aspects taken in charge by the software:
As innermost PO Boxes are emptied software takes advantage of rest periods, during which few or no users access their PO Boxes to shift mail from the outermost PO Boxes to inner ones.
The sizes of the three areas of storage described above are constantly readjusted in accordance with the data collected by the system.
Long standstill mail stored in the instant access area is shifted to outer areas progressively and the relevant user reclassified.
The volume of mail received by a particular PO Box is monitored so that additional PO Boxes are affected to that particular number in consequence.
ATPOBOX 2
To enhance the efficiency of the system further an SMS mail reception notification system is adopted. This SMS mail reception notification system will be fed with data directly from the central PC. This will reduce load on the system especially during high mail inflow rate periods of the year.
So, the space management system relies on an initial survey and dynamic readjustments based on continuous monitoring and analysis of the AT PO Box system.
Next Patent: TRANSFER SYSTEM OF THE AUTOMATIC PO BOX SYSTEM