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Abstract

A method of optimally packing, either intermittently or continuously, a storage or transportation area or space with rectangular parallelepiped objects, e.g. parcels, comprises two main steps of complex calculations. A first main step implies the locating of one or more free subareas or free subspaces on the area or in the space available for packing by means of a matrix reduction procedure for a 2- or 3-dimensional matrix representing free and occupied parts of rectangular or rectangular parallelepiped form. In a second main step a score is established for each different combination of a free subarea or subspace and an object to be packed and a possible orientation of the object for fitting in the subarea or subspace. The score is established by assigning a score value to each combination by passing through a hierarchy of determinations, whereby a score is the more favorable if the score value is assigned at a higher level in the hierarchy. Thereafter a combination of free area (or free space) and object and orientation having a most favorable score among the established scores is selected and the object of that combination is placed on the free area (or in the free space) and in the orientation for which the most favorable score was established. After placing the object with the most favorable score the first and second main steps are repeated for the possibly remaining free area or free space and objects to be packed.

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