Tote director

Claim 1

A method of acquiring real time information regarding the status of work materials in process within a work area, said work area including a plurality of work stations at which the work materials are processed by human operators, said method comprising the steps of: transporting a work material directly from a central storage zone to a work station in response to a request received at the storage zone from the operator at the work station; storing data in real time for each work material transported including a station number unique to the work station to which the work material is transported, said data further including a target time number unique to a target residence time for said material; and displaying said real time data for facilitating future work material flow through said work area.

Claim 2

A method of acquiring real time information regarding the status of work materials in process within a work area, said work area including a plurality of work stations at which the work materials are processed by human operators, said method comprising the steps of: transporting a work material directly from a central storage zone to a work station in response to a request received at the storage zone from the operator at the work station; storing data in real time for each work material transported including a station number unique to the work station to which the work material is transported, said data further including a target time number unique to a target residence time for said material; and displaying said real time data for facilitating future work material flow through said work area.

Claim 8

A method of acquiring real time information regarding the status of work materials in process within a work area, said work area including a plurality of work stations at which the work materials are processed by human operators, said method comprising the steps of: transporting a work material directly from a central storage zone to a work station in response to a request received at the storage zone from the operator at the work station; storing data in real time for each work material transported including a station number unique to the work station to which the work material is transported; indicating at the work stations when work materials are in route to the work stations; and displaying said real time data for facilitating future work material flow through said work area.

Claim 9

A method of acquiring real time information regarding the status of work materials in process within a work area, said work area including a plurality of work stations at which the work materials are processed by human operators, said method comprising the steps of: transporting a work material directly from a central storage zone to a work station in response to a request received at the storage zone from the operator at the work station; storing data in real time for each work material transported including a station number unique to the work station to which the work material is transported; indicating at the work stations when work materials are in route to the work stations; and displaying said real time data for facilitating future work material flow through said work area.

Claim 10

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said data further including a target time number unique to the target residence time required to process the work material at the work station, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 11

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said data further including a target time number unique to the target residence time required to process the work material at the work station, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 16

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said data further including a material number unique to each work material, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process, whereby one viewing said display means can determine at which work station each of said materials was processed based on said station number and said material number.

Claim 17

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said data further including a material number unique to each work material, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process, whereby one viewing said display means can determine at which work station each of said materials was processed based on said station number and said material number.

Claim 19

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said data further including a time sent number unique to the time at which the work material is transported, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 20

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said data further including a time sent number unique to the time at which the work material is transported, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 22

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; second signaling means at each of the work stations coupled to said computer circuit means for indicating to the operator at the work station that a work material is in route to the work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 23

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; second signaling means at each of the work stations coupled to said computer circuit means for indicating to the operator at the work station that a work material is in route to the work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 24

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; third signal means at each of the work stations coupled to said computer circuit means for indicating to the central dispatch station that the operator is not present at the work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 25

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response to said station numbers to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; third signal means at each of the work stations coupled to said computer circuit means for indicating to the central dispatch station that the operator is not present at the work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 26

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station, said conveyor means further including indicator means for indicating the position of materials on said conveyor; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response both to said station numbers and to said position indicating means to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 27

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators, said system comprising: a central dispatch station; station signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that an unprocessed work material is requested at the work station; conveyor means for transporting unprocessed work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said conveyor means including means for directing each work material to a particular work station, said conveyor means further including indicator means for indicating the position of materials on said conveyor; memory means for storing data in real time relating to each work material transported by said conveyor means, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which said material is to be transported, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station actuated upon the introduction of each work material into said conveyor means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said conveyor means and to said memory means for controlling said directing means in response both to said station numbers and to said position indicating means to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said memory means for real time displaying of said data to provide real time information relating to materials in process.

Claim 28

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station, the work stations being releasably coupled to said computer circuit means so that work station can be readily added to or deleted from said system; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 29

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station, the work stations being releasably coupled to said computer circuit means so that work station can be readily added to or deleted from said system; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 31

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said data further including a target residence number unique to the target time required to process each work material at the work station, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 32

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said data further including a target residence number unique to the target time required to process each work material at the work station, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 36

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said data further including a material number unique to said material, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials, whereby one viewing said display means can determine at which work station each of said materials was processed by examining said material number and said station number.

Claim 37

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said data further including a material number unique to said material, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials, whereby one viewing said display means can determine at which work station each of said materials was processed by examining said material number and said station number.

Claim 39

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said data further including a dispatch time number unique to the time at which said material is dispatched from said central dispatch station, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 40

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said data further including a dispatch time number unique to the time at which said material is dispatched from said central dispatch station, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 42

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting coonveyor means, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; second signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating that a work material is in route to the work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 43

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting coonveyor means, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; second signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating that a work material is in route to the work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 44

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; third signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating that an operator is not present at the work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 45

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to said data to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; third signaling means at each of the work stations for indicating that an operator is not present at the work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 46

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said sorting conveyor means including means for indicating the position of materials on said conveyor; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to both said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means including said position indicating means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to both said data and said position indicating means to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.

Claim 47

A system for controlling, and collecting real time data relative to, the flow of work materials within a work area including a plurality of work stations at which said materials are processed by human operators comprising: a central storage area in which work materials are stored, said storage area including a central dispatch station for dispatching work materials from said storage zone; signaling means at each of said work stations for indicating to said central dispatch station that work material is requested at the work station; sorting conveyor means for transporting the work materials from said central dispatch station directly to the work stations, said sorting conveyor means including means for indicating the position of materials on said conveyor; computer memory means for storing data in real time for each work material dispatched from said central dispatch station, said data including a station number unique to the work station to which each material is to be transported by said sorting conveyor means, said memory means including data entry means at said central dispatch station; computer circuit means coupled to both said memory means and to said sorting conveyor means including said position indicating means for controlling said sorting conveyor means in response to both said data and said position indicating means to deliver each of said transported materials to the desired work station; and display means coupled to said computer circuit means for displaying said data in real time to provide real time information relating to the materials.