Shopping facility discarded item sorting systems, devices, and methods

摘要

A system comprises motorised transport unit 940 having a mover device and which can travel around or among items discarded in a shopping facility and which have been placed in a sorting area comprising a sorting platform. The motorised transport unit has sensors which provide item data to a central control 930 which determines from the data a characteristic of the item. By reference to a characterisation database the central control uses the characteristic to determine a sorting category of the item. The motorised transport unit is then instructed to move the item using its mover device from the sorting area to a category area comprising a plurality of receptacle bins adjacent the platform and corresponding to the determined sorting category. The sensor may comprise an image or weight sensor or a bar-code or RFID reader. The system may comprise a separator such as a tumbler or fan to pre-sort items prior to being placed in the sorting area. The system can determine whether an item corresponds to merchandise sold at the shopping facility by reference to a store inventory database. Also claimed are a method and apparatus for sorting items discarded in a shopping facility.