Object tracking in packaging systems

Abstract

A packaging system includes a conveyance system, a package forming system, and a tracking system. The conveyance system is configured to receive objects and to convey the objects through the packaging system. Spacing between the objects is non-uniform as the objects are received by the conveyance system. The package forming system is configured to feed a packaging material to form a tube of the packaging material and to seal the tube of the packaging material around the objects to form packages of the packaging material around the objects. The tracking system configured to track locations of the objects as the objects are conveyed through the packaging system on the conveyance system. In some cases, the tracking system is configured to track locations of the objects independently of any marks on the packaging material and/or independently of the location of inducting documents placed on the objects.

1 . A packaging system comprising:
 a conveyance system configured to receive objects and to convey the objects through the packaging system, wherein spacing between the objects is non-uniform as the objects are received by the conveyance system;   a package forming system configured to feed a packaging material to form a tube of the packaging material and further configured to seal the tube of the packaging material around the objects to form packages of the packaging material around the objects; and   a tracking system configured to track locations of the objects as the objects are conveyed through the packaging system on the conveyance system, wherein the tracking system is configured to track locations of the objects independently of any marks on the packaging material.   
     
     
         2 . The packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the tracking system comprises:
 an infeed scanner configured to detect an infeed location of each of the objects as the objects are fed through an infeed portion of the conveyance system.   
     
     
         3 . The packaging system of  claim 2 , wherein the infeed scanner is configured to detect the infeed location of each of the objects by detecting a leading edge and a trailing edge of each of the objects as the objects are fed through the infeed portion of the conveyance system. 
     
     
         4 . The packaging system of  claim 3 , wherein the tracking system is configured to calculate a longitudinal length of each of the objects based on the leading edge and the trailing edge of each of the objects. 
     
     
         5 . The packaging system of  claim 4 , wherein the package forming system is configured to seal the tube of the packaging material around one of the objects at locations based on the longitudinal length of the one of the objects. 
     
     
         6 . The packaging system of  claim 4 , wherein:
 the infeed scanner is further configured to generate a height indication for each of the objects as the objects are fed through the infeed portion of the conveyance system;   the height indication for an object includes at least one of an indication whether any portion of the object exceeds a predetermined height, an indication of a height of the leading edge of the object and a height of the trailing edge of the object, or a height profile of the object from a transverse side of the object; and   the package forming system is configured to seal the tube of the packaging material around one of the objects at locations based on a combination of the longitudinal length of the one of the objects and the height indication of the one of the objects.   
     
     
         7 . The packaging system of  claim 2 , wherein the tracking system further comprises:
 at least one conveyor sensor configured to detect movements of the conveyance system;   wherein the tracking system is configured to track locations of the objects as the objects pass through the packaging system on the conveyance system based on a combination of the infeed location of each of the objects and the movements of the conveyance system detected by the at least one conveyor sensor.   
     
     
         8 . The packaging system of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one conveyor sensor includes a plurality of encoders configured detect movements of each of a plurality of conveyor belts in the conveyance system. 
     
     
         9 .- 11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . A method comprising:
 receiving, by a conveyance system of a packaging system, objects that are non-uniformly spaced as the objects are received by the conveyance system;   conveying, by the conveyance system, the objects through the packaging system;   feeding, by a package forming system of the packaging system, a packaging material to form a tube of the packaging material;   forming, by the package forming system, seals in the tube of the packaging material around the objects to form packages of the packaging material around the objects; and   tracking, by a tracking system in the packaging system, locations of the objects independently of any marks on the packaging material as the objects are conveyed through the packaging system.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 detecting, by an infeed scanner of the tracking system, an infeed location of each of the objects as the objects are fed through an infeed portion of the conveyance system.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein detecting the infeed location of each of the objects includes detecting a leading edge and a trailing edge of each of the objects as the objects are fed through the infeed portion of the conveyance system. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising calculating, by the tracking system, a longitudinal length of each of the objects based on the leading edge and the trailing edge of each of the objects. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the package forming system is configured to seal the tube of the packaging material around one of the objects at locations based on the longitudinal length of the one of the objects. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 generating, by the infeed scanner, a height indication for each of the objects as the objects are fed through the infeed portion of the conveyance system;   wherein the height indication for an object includes at least one of an indication whether any portion of the object exceeds a predetermined height, an indication of a height of the leading edge of the object and a height of the trailing edge of the object, or a height profile of the object from a transverse side of the object; and   wherein the package forming system is configured to seal the tube of the packaging material around one of the objects at locations based on a combination of a longitudinal length of the one of the objects and the height indication of the one of the objects.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 detecting, by at least one conveyor sensor of the tracking system, movements of the conveyance system;   wherein tracking the locations of the objects as the objects are conveyed through the packaging system on the conveyance system is based on a combination of the infeed location of each of the objects and the movements of the conveyance system detected by the at least one conveyor sensor.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the at least one conveyor sensor includes a plurality of encoders configured detect movements of each of a plurality of conveyor belts in the conveyance system. 
     
     
         20 .- 38 . (canceled) 
     
     
         39 . A packaging system comprising:
 a conveyance system configured to receive objects, wherein spacing between the objects is non-uniform as the objects are received by the conveyance system;   a package forming system configured to feed a packaging material to form a tube of the packaging material and to form transverse seals in the tube of the packaging material; and   a tracking system configured to track locations of the objects as the objects are conveyed through the packaging system on the conveyance system;   wherein the conveyance system is configured to feed the objects into the tube of the packaging material;   wherein at least one of the objects is located between two of the transverse seals to form a package of the packaging material around the at least one of the objects;   wherein the tracking system is configured to track the locations of the objects at least by tracking the location of the at least one of the objects while the at least one of the objects is inside of the tube of the packaging material and inside of the package;   wherein the packaging system is configured to pass the package to a downstream package handling system and to communicate, to the downstream package handling system, the location of the at least one object.   
     
     
         40 . The packaging system of  claim 39 , wherein:
 the packaging system is configured to determine that the package is flawed; and   the packaging system is further configured to communicate, to the downstream package handling system, an indication that the package is flawed.   
     
     
         41 . The packaging system of  claim 40 , wherein the downstream package handling system is configured to sort the package from other packages that are not flawed based at least on the location of the package and the indication that the package is flawed received from the packaging system. 
     
     
         42 . The packaging system of  claim 40 , wherein the packaging system is configured to determine that the package is flawed is based on at least one of a determination that the package is lacking one of the objects, a determination that the package includes an extra one of the objects, a faulty reading of a label on the package, a lack of a label on the package, an improper dimension of the package, a transverse seal on the package that crosses a graphic region, a user input indicating that the package is flawed, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
         43 . The packaging system of  claim 39 , wherein the packaging system is communicatively coupled to the downstream package handling system via one or more of a serial connection, a communication bus, a wired network, or a wireless network. 
     
     
         44 .- 48 . (canceled)