EP0476984A2 - System zum Behandeln von Poststücken - Google Patents

System zum Behandeln von Poststücken Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0476984A2
EP0476984A2 EP91308491A EP91308491A EP0476984A2 EP 0476984 A2 EP0476984 A2 EP 0476984A2 EP 91308491 A EP91308491 A EP 91308491A EP 91308491 A EP91308491 A EP 91308491A EP 0476984 A2 EP0476984 A2 EP 0476984A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
mail
mail item
bin
carrier
pocket
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP91308491A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0476984A3 (en
Inventor
Dennis Thomas Gilham
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
READYPRIDE Ltd
Original Assignee
Alcatel Business Systemes SA
READYPRIDE Ltd
Alcatel Business Systems Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Alcatel Business Systemes SA, READYPRIDE Ltd, Alcatel Business Systems Ltd filed Critical Alcatel Business Systemes SA
Publication of EP0476984A2 publication Critical patent/EP0476984A2/de
Publication of EP0476984A3 publication Critical patent/EP0476984A3/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
    • B07C3/02—Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
    • B07C3/04—Drum-type sorting machines or having circularly arranged sorting compartments

Definitions

  • This invention relates to systems for handling mail items and in particular to systems for sorting mail items in accordance with predetermined criteria.
  • Postal authorities offer discounted postage charges to users of the mail service who send large volumes of mail and pre-sort the mail items into bundles determined by destination addresses of the items.
  • addresses in the mailing list can be sorted such that the mail items are prepared in the sorted order and hence the items can be franked or postage charges otherwise accounted for and can be handled subsequently to retain the mail items in an order determined by their destination addresses. While such systems enable senders of bulk mail to obtain advantage rates of postage charge, senders of large volumes of mail items such as normal correspondence are usually unable to prepare the mail items in sorted order and hence are unable to qualify for discounted postage charges.
  • a mail handling system includes means to read destination data on mail items, a rotating carrier to receive mail items from said reading means; a plurality of mail item bins arranged in a circular formation below the rotating carrier to receive mail items from the carrier and means operable in response to the destination data read from a mail item to transfer that mail item from the carrier to a selected one of said bins assigned to the destination data read from that mail item.
  • a mail item handling system comprises a plurality of bins arranged in a circular formation around a central hub; a rotatable carrier mounted on said central hub for indexing rotation relative to said bins; said carrier including a plurality of mail item receiving pockets overlying said bins; each pocket including means normally operative to retain a mail item therein and selectively operable to release a mail item therefrom; a plurality of actuator means associated one with each bin respectively and each actuator being selectively operable to operate said mail retaining means of a selected pocket to cause release of a mail item from said selected pocket into the bin associated with the operated actuator; reading means to read destination data from mail items; feeding means to feed mail items sequentially past the reading means to the pockets of the rotatable carrier; drive means to rotate the carrier such that said pockets are brought sequentially into alignment with said feeding means, said feeding means being operated to feed a single mail item into that pocket aligned therewith; and means operative in response to said destination data read from each mail item to operate said actuators
  • a mail item handling system includes a sorting rack 10 having a plurality of mail item receiving bins 11 arranged in circular formation around central hub 12.
  • a circular mail carrier 13 in the form of a carousel is disposed above the sorting rack and is rotatable on the hub relative to the sorting rack 10.
  • the carrier 13 comprises a plurality of mail receiving pockets 14 defined by walls 15 extending in a substantially radial direction.
  • the bins 11 of the sorting rack are identical.
  • the pockets 14 of the carrier are identical. Accordingly it will be understood that description hereinafter relating to any bin or any pocket applies to all the bins and to all the pockets respectively.
  • Mail items 16 are fed by feeding means 47 along a feed path extending radially of the carrier 13 one at a time through a reading and printing module 17 and thence into the pockets 14 of the carrier 13.
  • the mail items are disposed in a vertical plane while being fed through the module 17.
  • the feeding means comprises driven feed rollers which engage the mail item 16.
  • other forms of mail item feed such as driven belts may be employed to feed the mail items to the module 17.
  • the feeding means may have a differential speed facility to enable the feeding means to be controlled in such manner that sufficient time is allowed for the reading of the destination address data and the printing of the bar code of each mail item as it is fed through the module 17 while still carrying out the process of feeding mail items in sequence continuously.
  • the module 17 includes reading means 36 to read the destination address and post code of each mail item 16 which is fed through the module.
  • the module 17 also includes printing means 37 operable to print a code, for example a bar code, on each mail item to enable further handling of the mail items under control of signals obtained from reading of the bar code.
  • the module 17 is secured by a mounting to the central hub 12 and is so orientated that mail items, after being fed through the module 17, are fed radially relative to the carrier 13 into that one of the pockets 14 of the carrier which is aligned with the module 17.
  • the carrier 13 is rotated in steps such that the pockets are brought into alignment sequentially with an outlet feed path of the module 17.
  • the carrier may have 250 pockets and may be rotated in steps at such a rate that a sequence of 50 pockets are aligned with the outlet of module 17 per minute.
  • a sensor 33 is provided adjacent the outlet of the module 17 to check that the pocket aligned with the outlet of the module 17 is empty and a mail item is ejected from the module 17 into the pocket only if the sensor 33 indicates that the pocket is empty. It will be appreciated that the radially outer end of each pocket 14 is open to receive mail items ejected from the module 17.
  • Each pocket 14 of the carrier 13 is provided with a unique identification mark 48 which on rotation of the carrier passes a sensor 35 on the module 17. Accordingly signals output from the sensor 35 provide an indication of that one of the pockets which is aligned with the outlet of the module 17 at any time and thereby identifies those ones of the pockets into which specific ones of the mail item are fed respectively.
  • the sorting rack 10 includes a plurality of bins 11 less in number than the number of pockets 14 in the carrier 13 and for example may include 64 bins. Each bin is capable of stacking a quantity of mail items as is shown in Figure 2.
  • Each pocket of the carrier is provided with a bottom panel 18 which is pivotally mounted on the carrier. The bottom panels 18 of the pockets are normally in a closed position to retain a mail item in the pocket and are selectively movable to an open position to release a mail item from the pocket. As shown in Figure 2, the bottom panel 18 of pocket 14 n has been moved to its open position to release the mail item into the bin 11 b .
  • a guide 19 extends partially across the bin and slopes downwards in the direction of travel of the pockets 14.
  • a continuously rotating paddle, or paddles, 20 projecting from a downstream wall 21 of the bin knocks the mail item and causes it to fall from its vertical orientation onto the sloping base 49 of the bin or, if there are already mail items received in the bin, onto the top of the stack 59 of mail items in the bin.
  • the paddles 20 may be driven by drive means 58 located in the central hub.
  • the upper part of the bin is provided, adjacent the downstream wall 21 thereof with a cam face 22 effective to engage the bottom panel as it passes the cam face and thereby to move the bottom panel toward its closed position.
  • the bottom panel is fully closed and retained in its closed position by a self resetting actuator, for example a spring toggle, so that the pocket 14 n is ready to receive a further item of mail when it is next aligned with the outlet of the module 17.
  • the bottom panels may be opened selectively by the mechanism illustrated in Figure 3.
  • the bottom panel 18 is pivoted on an axis 23 extending radially of the carrier and aligned with a leading wall 15 of the pocket.
  • a member 24 which may be a partial disc is secured to the bottom panel.
  • the disc has a cut away portion 25.
  • Each bin 11 has associated therewith an actuator pin 26 operable by an actuator 40.
  • the actuator pin 26 is located immediately above the bin with which it is associated such that when the pin is moved to an operated position by its actuator, the pin lies in the path of the cut away portion of the disc member 24 and as the carrier is rotated the pin engages in the cut away portion 25 of the disc member 24 and causes rotation of the disc member 24 which results in moving of the bottom panel to its open position and consequent release of the mail item into the bin.
  • Figures 3 and 4 illustrate the location of the member 24 on the carrier and the actuator pin located on the hub 12.
  • the actuator 40 for operating the actuator pin 26 is located within the hub 12.
  • the hub carries means 27 to rotatably support the carrier and a drive motor 38 to apply a stepping drive to index the carrier relative to the bins of the sorting rack.
  • the mail item retaining means need not comprise a panel but may consist of any member effective to retain a mail item in the pocket and which can be operated to release the mail item as required.
  • the member instead of a panel the member may comprise a plurality of spaced elements pivotable about the axis 23.
  • the member 24 may be of a form other than a disc with a cut away portion. The essential requirement being that engagement of the member 24 by an operated actuator pin 26 causes the mail item retaining means to release a mail item from the pocket.
  • the mail item retaining means may be reset from it mail item release position to its normal mail item retaining position as it passes the cam face 22 at the downstream end of the bin as described hereinbefore.
  • the mail item retaining means may be reset at a single position located immediately upstream of the feed path outlet of the module 17. It will be appreciated this latter arrangement will require sufficient clearance between the bottom of the carrier and the tops of the bins for the passage of any of the bottom panels which are in the mail item release position.
  • the sorting rack is stationary.
  • the rack may be rotatable to a limited extent when the system is in a standby mode. It will be understood that the radially outer ends of the bins are open to permit manual removal of the stacks of mail items accumulated in the bins.
  • An interlock is provided to ensure that, after such rotation, the rack is relocated with the correct orientation prior to operational use for sorting mail items. It will be appreciated that due to mal-function a mail item released from a pocket of the carrier may fail to fall clear of the carrier. Torque control of the drive to index the carrier may be provided in order to respond to jamming of a mail item and to provide a shut down signal.
  • handling equipment permits all sensors, actuators and drive devices to be housed in the stationary part of the equipment.
  • the slave controller comprises a central processor device 29 such as a microprocessor to which is connected a read only memory (ROM) 30 storing program sequences for controlling operation of the microprocessor, a random access memory (RAM) 31 for use by the microprocessor as a working memory and a non-volatile memory (NVM) 32 for storing status data in the event of power failure to enable recovery of operation of the equipment after power is restored.
  • ROM read only memory
  • RAM random access memory
  • NVM non-volatile memory
  • a motor drive 38 for indexing of the carrier 13 is controlled by the microprocessor via an interface 39.
  • Solenoids of the actuators 40 for operating the pins 26 are energised selectively by the microprocessor via an interface 41.
  • An interlock sensor 42 for indicating that the sorting rack is correctly orientated and a jam detect sensor 43 provide signals to the microprocessor to inhibit operation of the equipment if the sorting rack is not correctly orientated or if a mail item jam occurs.
  • An interface 44 provides communication between the microprocessor 29 and the computer 45 which conveniently may be a personal computer.
  • the computer 45 operates under the control of application software to provide required control of operation of the microprocessor 29.
  • the mail item destination data is read and the code is printed on the item.
  • the identification mark 48 of the pocket currently aligned with the outlet of module 17 is sensed and the pocket is checked to determine if it is empty. If the pocket is not empty, further operation is stopped and a fault signal is generated. If the pocket is empty, the mail item is ejected into the pocket. Determinations are made as to whether a bin assignment is required corresponding to the destination data read from the mail item by the reader 36 and whether there is bin capacity available. If required, a bin 11 is assigned to that destination data.
  • the sensor 35 senses the pocket identification marks 48 as the carrier is indexed and when it is ascertained that there is conformity between a pocket holding a mail item and the bin specified to receive that mail item the actuator pin 26 associated with that bin is operated to open the bottom panel of the pocket to release the mail item into the specified bin.
  • Means are provided to determine when a bin is full so as to provide a bin full signal to an operator and so that, when a bin becomes full, a determination can be made as to whether another bin can be assigned for that destination data. If there is a bin available, further mail items having that destination data are directed to that later assigned bin. When a full bin has been emptied, the sensor is reset manually so that the bin may then continue to receive mail items.
  • Assignment of bins to correspond to destination addresses may be effected in sequence as the address data is read from successive mail items or with reference to an expert system software shell, stored in the personal computer 45, which has learned the characteristics of the mailing profile to generate a prediction of the distribution of destination addresses of the mail items. If a mailing list is in use, this prediction may be obtained by reference to the mailing list. Where required more than one bin may be assigned to a specific destination address code.
  • the computer 45, or the microprocessor 29 of the slave may be programmed to maintain a record of the number of mail items distributed to each individual bin and to generate the bin full signal together with an indication of which bin is full when a predetermined number of mail items has been distributed to any one of the bins.
  • the computer 45 can display, on its screen 50, bin identifications of those bins containing sufficient mail items to be banded.
  • the display on the screen may comprise each bin identified, for example, by a bin number with the status of each bin. Resetting of the bin status upon removal of a stack of items from a bin may be effected on a keyboard 51 of the computer 45.
  • indicators 52 with reset push buttons 53 may be provided on the sorting rack 10.
  • the computer may display status indications and messages to assist an operator of the mail handling system.
  • a printer 46 may be connected to the computer 45 to enable reports to be printed. Such reports may provide information relating to use of the system and mailing characteristics to enable a best match to postal discounted services to be achieved.
  • the printer may also be used to print self adhesive labels for identifying contents of mail bags in accordance with requirements of postal authorities.
  • one or more bins may be assigned to receive mail items which do not bear address data within the sorting criteria or for which the address data cannot be read by the reading means 36.
  • Mail items need not be handled for address facing prior to feeding to the handling system because any items incorrectly orientated may be received in a specified bin and removed from the bin and fed back into the system by the operator.
  • Figure 8 illustrates the use of the mail sorting system for sorting mail items fed from a hopper or franking machine 54. If the items are disposed in a horizontal plane when fed from the hopper or franking machine 54 to the module 17, the feeding means includes means 55 to rotate the mail items 16 from a horizontal disposition to a vertical disposition.
  • the feeding means also includes means 56 to check that the dimensions of each mail item are within predetermined limits and any mail item found to have a dimension exceeding the predetermined limit therefor is ejected into a reject bin 57.

Landscapes

  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
EP19910308491 1990-09-19 1991-09-18 Mail handling system Withdrawn EP0476984A3 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9020413A GB2248133A (en) 1990-09-19 1990-09-19 Mail handling system
GB9020413 1990-09-19

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0476984A2 true EP0476984A2 (de) 1992-03-25
EP0476984A3 EP0476984A3 (en) 1992-10-14

Family

ID=10682412

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19910308491 Withdrawn EP0476984A3 (en) 1990-09-19 1991-09-18 Mail handling system

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0476984A3 (de)
GB (1) GB2248133A (de)

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE4309767A1 (de) * 1993-03-25 1994-09-29 Siemens Ag Sortiereinrichtung, insbesondere für Postgut
EP0820818A1 (de) * 1996-07-26 1998-01-28 Grapha-Holding Ag Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Sortieren von Versandstücken
GB2335639A (en) * 1998-03-27 1999-09-29 Post Office Sorting system
WO2004007102A1 (en) * 2002-07-12 2004-01-22 Royal Mail Group Plc Apparatus and method for merging items to be sorted
CN102441534A (zh) * 2011-09-14 2012-05-09 上海邮政科学研究院 一种分拣机延时机构
CN102950119A (zh) * 2011-08-30 2013-03-06 艾斯特国际安全技术（深圳）有限公司 分卡装置及带有该分卡装置的自动电写入装置
CN103071625A (zh) * 2013-01-06 2013-05-01 上海邮政科学研究院 一种用于信函分拣的缓存装置
WO2013067982A2 (de) * 2011-11-11 2013-05-16 Böwe Systec Gmbh Vorrichtung und verfahren zum zusammenführen von karten und kartenträgern, zum handhaben von karten und/oder zum sortieren von karten sowie kartenmagazin
GB2524062A (en) * 2014-03-13 2015-09-16 Icubed Technologies Ltd Document sorting apparatus

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN105923365B (zh) * 2016-06-13 2017-04-05 南华大学 基于立体转塔快递分拣***的快递分拣方法
CN106513329B (zh) * 2016-12-09 2019-11-12 顺丰科技有限公司 信件自动分拣机构
CN111822366B (zh) * 2019-04-17 2022-06-07 北京旷视机器人技术有限公司 货物处理方法、装置及存储介质

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1574132A1 (de) * 1966-03-18 1970-10-22 Siemens Ag Verteilmaschine zum Verteilen von flachen Gegenstaenden,wie Briefen,Postkarten usw
US3573748A (en) * 1969-02-24 1971-04-06 Ibm Postal system
FR2303610A1 (fr) * 1975-03-10 1976-10-08 Sp P Konstruktor Machine trieuse d'articles plats

Family Cites Families (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB1134164A (en) * 1967-02-03 1968-11-20 Buromaschinenwerk Sommerda Veb Device for sorting data carriers
GB1243833A (en) * 1968-10-30 1971-08-25 Zentronik Veb K Machine for sorting recording media

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE1574132A1 (de) * 1966-03-18 1970-10-22 Siemens Ag Verteilmaschine zum Verteilen von flachen Gegenstaenden,wie Briefen,Postkarten usw
US3573748A (en) * 1969-02-24 1971-04-06 Ibm Postal system
FR2303610A1 (fr) * 1975-03-10 1976-10-08 Sp P Konstruktor Machine trieuse d'articles plats

Cited By (18)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE4309767A1 (de) * 1993-03-25 1994-09-29 Siemens Ag Sortiereinrichtung, insbesondere für Postgut
US5994657A (en) * 1996-07-26 1999-11-30 Grapha-Holding Ag Device and method for sorting mailed pieces
EP0820818A1 (de) * 1996-07-26 1998-01-28 Grapha-Holding Ag Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Sortieren von Versandstücken
AU735487B2 (en) * 1996-07-26 2001-07-12 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Device and method for sorting mailed pieces
EP0949015A3 (de) * 1998-03-27 2002-08-14 Consignia plc Sortieranlage
US6227378B1 (en) 1998-03-27 2001-05-08 The Post Office Sorting system for groups of items having recirculation
EP0949015A2 (de) * 1998-03-27 1999-10-13 the POST OFFICE Sortieranlage
GB2335639B (en) * 1998-03-27 2002-06-12 Post Office Sorting system
GB2335639A (en) * 1998-03-27 1999-09-29 Post Office Sorting system
WO2004007102A1 (en) * 2002-07-12 2004-01-22 Royal Mail Group Plc Apparatus and method for merging items to be sorted
CN102950119A (zh) * 2011-08-30 2013-03-06 艾斯特国际安全技术（深圳）有限公司 分卡装置及带有该分卡装置的自动电写入装置
CN102441534A (zh) * 2011-09-14 2012-05-09 上海邮政科学研究院 一种分拣机延时机构
WO2013067982A2 (de) * 2011-11-11 2013-05-16 Böwe Systec Gmbh Vorrichtung und verfahren zum zusammenführen von karten und kartenträgern, zum handhaben von karten und/oder zum sortieren von karten sowie kartenmagazin
WO2013067983A2 (de) * 2011-11-11 2013-05-16 Böwe Systec Gmbh Vorrichtung und verfahren zum zusammenführen von karten und kartenträgern, zum handhaben von karten und/oder zum sortieren von karten
WO2013067983A3 (de) * 2011-11-11 2013-07-04 Böwe Systec Gmbh Vorrichtung und verfahren zum zusammenführen von karten und kartenträgern, zum handhaben von karten und/oder zum sortieren von karten
WO2013067982A3 (de) * 2011-11-11 2013-08-01 Böwe Systec Gmbh Vorrichtung und verfahren zum zusammenführen von karten und kartenträgern, zum handhaben von karten und/oder zum sortieren von karten sowie kartenmagazin
CN103071625A (zh) * 2013-01-06 2013-05-01 上海邮政科学研究院 一种用于信函分拣的缓存装置
GB2524062A (en) * 2014-03-13 2015-09-16 Icubed Technologies Ltd Document sorting apparatus

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9020413D0 (en) 1990-10-31
EP0476984A3 (en) 1992-10-14
GB2248133A (en) 1992-03-25

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
CA1301363C (en) Apparatus for preparing mail pieces
US4862386A (en) Apparatus for preparing a letter
US5794789A (en) Semi-automated integrated sort system
EP0476984A2 (de) System zum Behandeln von Poststücken
US4236639A (en) Method of automatically sorting thin sheet articles
US7745754B2 (en) Apparatus, method and program product for processing mail or documents using a mail or document processing device
CA1283192C (en) Letter preparing apparatus
EP0922504B1 (de) Intelligente Schalen-Einteilung für Kuvertiersysteme
US4940887A (en) Automatic mail handling and postage vending machine
EP0480684B1 (de) Vorrichtung und Verfahren zum Herstellen von Etiketten für Sammelpost
US4674052A (en) Collating and binding system and method with postage indication
US20010042055A1 (en) Parcel self-servicing machine
US4733359A (en) Document collating and inserting system having displays for document count verification
US20110192770A1 (en) Method and device for sorting mail
CA2109039C (en) Postal tray label apparatus and method
CA1306812C (en) System for processing a letter for bulk mailing
EP0493948A2 (de) Frankiermaschine
EP0282359B1 (de) Apparat zur Vorbereitung von Briefen
US6024355A (en) Method and apparatus for controlling a buffer stock of flat objects
KR20010072111A (ko) 우편물수속시스템
EP1299198B1 (de) Paket-selbstbedienungsmaschine
JPS63302982A (ja) 郵便処理装置
JPH08243502A (ja) 宛名を付けた配送品を処理する方法と装置
JPS5845072B2 (ja) 多能書類処理装置
GB2249997A (en) Controlling selective printer formats in dependence on code-marks read from the print substrate

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): DE FR GB

PUAL Search report despatched

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009013

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A3

Designated state(s): DE FR GB

RAP1 Party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred)

Owner name: READYPRIDE LIMITED

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN

18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 19930415