WO2011076987A1

WO2011076987A1 - A sorting chute, method for processing one or more mail items and a multi-storey system

Info

Publication number: WO2011076987A1
Application number: PCT/FI2010/050941
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juha Jokela
Original assignee: Itella Oyj
Priority date: 2009-12-23
Filing date: 2010-11-19
Publication date: 2011-06-30
Also published as: FI20096393A0; EP2516297A4; FI124801B; FI20096393A; EP2516297A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a sorting chute (2, 3) for conveying one or more mail items from previous stage such as from a sorting machine (4, 5) to a next stage such as to a next sorting chute (2, 3) or to a sorting destination such that the sorting chute (2, 3) comprises at least one deflecting surface (8, 9, 10, 11) which slows down the velocity of a mail item sliding along the sorting chute (2, 3). The invention relates also to a method for processing one or more mail items, such as packages, letters and bundles of newspapers or magazines, from a supply source and to a multi-storey system (1) for sorting one or more mail items. The method comprises arranging one or more deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11) to the sorting chute (2, 3) and the system comprises a fist and a second sorting chute (2, 3) comprising one or more deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11).

Description

A sorting chute, method for processing one or more mail items and a multi-storey system

Field of the invention

The invention relates to a sorting chute for conveying one or more mail items from previous stage such as from a sorting machine to a next stage such as to a next sorting chute or to a sorting destination as defined in the preamble of the independent claim 1.

The invention also relates to a method for processing one or more mail items, such as packages, letters, and bundles of newspapers or magazines, from a supply source as defined in the preamble of the independent claim 4.

The invention also relates to a multi-storey system for sorting one or more mail items as defined in the preamble of the independent claim 8.

The invention relates to sorting one or more mail items and especially moving said mail items with a controlled way from one or more sorting machines to one or more sorting destinations via one or more sorting chutes.

Background of the invention

A particular use for sorting machine systems is to sort pieces of mail, such as letters, postcards, newspapers, magazines, maxi letters and parcels. The weight of a mail item typically varies from some grams to even 50 kilograms. Pieces of mail can be sorted as individual items or as bundles containing plurality of individual items. Especially newspapers and magazines are commonly handled as bundles. Hereinafter the term mail item is used in this description to refer all pieces of mail and cover all mail, such as a letter, a postcard, a newspaper, a magazine and a parcel. The term mail item will also cover a bundle that comprises for example a plurality of magazines, newspapers, letters, maxi letters or other mail items that can be arranged in a bundle. In Finland the process and circumstances in postal services are a bit different from those in the rest of the Europe, for example. The magazines and newspapers are more commonly bought as a subscription that comes with a postal delivery when in other countries magazines and newspapers are usually bought from newsstands. That is why bundles containing plurality of magazines and/or newspapers are common in Finnish postal services.

Traditionally mail items are transferred via a sorting machine such as a cross belt sorter which has a diverting mechanism to push the mail items away from the cross belt sorter into sorting chutes in a selective manner. In the lower end of the sorting chutes mail items are transferred manually so that the postal worker takes the mail item and puts it into a right roll container, a postal cage or a pallet. The sorting chutes transfer the mail items with the help of gravitation, the upper part of the chute being arranged in a higher level than the lower part of the chute. Hereinafter the term sorting machine covers all kinds of sorting machines, such as a cross belt sorter, a tilt tray, a shoe stray, a diverter machine, etc. The term sorting destination is used for the destination where one or more mail items go after sliding through one or more sorting chutes. The term sorting destination covers for example roller cages, pallets, postal cages, roll containers and even belt conveyor, etc.

The traditional way of transferring mail items require many workers and the mail items are usually heavy so the ergonomic aspect is demanding. Also human errors may occur in sorting. Because of these drawbacks automatic sorting chutes are developed.

Automatic sorting chutes are developed for transferring mail items straight to sorting destinations without the need of postal workers to transfer the mail items manually. It is known from US 3,136,401 a chute having smoothed floored sections such as an entrance section, an intermediate section and an exit section which the exit section and the chute is constructed at a slant so that packages carried from a conveyor belt move onto the entrance section and slide downwardly until dropping through apertures into bag so designated. These automatic sorting chutes have the problem that the mail items coming along the chutes have quite high speed when entering to the roller cage and there is a risk for damaging the mail items. To overcome the problem of high speed a so called Z-chute was developed.

WO 2009/140476 discloses such a Z-chute where damper elements reduce the vertical velocity of a rolling object coming down the chute arranged in an upright position. The aim of the damper elements in the publication is to reduce to vertical speed of rolling objects just prior moving to the discharge chute where the adjustable discharge chute controls then the horizontal speed of the object so that the horizontal speed of the object is identical to the conveyor belt speed. The problem with so called Z-chutes is that big mail items will be stuck to the chute that has damper elements arranged such that the mail item has a falling path similar to letter Z. There is also a risk that the mail items will be damaged during the fall.

Objective of the invention

The object of the invention is to provide a sorting chute that can smoothly transfer mail items from a sorting machine to a sorting destination and at the same time regulate the velocity of mail items of different size and weight and also mail items having different friction properties such that they remain undamaged during the transferring process. The object of the invention is also to achieve an effective and little space-demanding method and system for handling mail items.

Short description of the invention

The sorting chute for conveying one or more mail items from previous stage such as from a sorting machine to a next stage such as to a next sorting chute or to a sorting destination is characterized by the definitions of the independent claim 1.

Preferred embodiments of the sorting chute are defined in the dependent claims 2 and 3.

The method for processing one or more mail items, such as packages, letters and bundles of newspapers or magazines, from a supply source is correspondingly characterized by the definitions of independent claim 4.

Preferred embodiments of the method for processing one or more mail items are defined in the dependent claims 5 to 7.

The multi-storey system for sorting one or more mail items is correspondingly characterized by the definitions of independent claim 8.

Preferred embodiment of the multi-storey system for sorting one or more mail items is defined in the dependent claim 9.

The invention is based on a new type of sorting chute for one or more mail items. The invention is also based on arranging sorting chutes in a new and effective way.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention a sorting chute for conveying one or more mail items from previous stage such as from a sorting machine to a next stage such as to a next sorting chute or to a sorting destination comprises a sorting chute having one or more deflecting surfaces for reducing the speed of a mail item. The sorting chute comprises at least one deflecting surface arranged to the sorting chute for slowing down the horizontal and vertical velocity of a mail item sliding along the sorting chute surface such that the mail item is configured to hit said at least one deflecting surface such that the velocity of the mail item slows down. The deflecting surface is arranged to the sorting chute such that the mail item's sliding path in the sorting chute is changed when hitting the deflecting surface. In a preferred embodiment of the invention when the mail item hits the deflecting surface its sliding path is preferably changed by 90° or more.

The sorting chute is arranged in an angle in respect of the sorting machine such that the upper end of the sorting chute is in a functional connection with the sorting machine so that the mail items transferred along the sorting machine can smoothly move to the sorting chute and slide along the surface of the sorting chute. The sorting chute is also arranged in an angle in respect of the sorting destination or the next chute in the lower end of the sorting chute such that the mail items sliding along the surface of the sorting chute will smoothly move to the sorting destination or to the next chute. The sorting chute is arranged such that the mail items will slide or roll along the sorting chute surface. The mail items are in contact with the sorting chute surface during the movement along the sorting chute. In other words the sliding surface of the sorting chute is arranged in an angle less than 90° relative to the horizontal surface so that the mail items are sliding on the surface of the sorting chute and especially will not dropped through the sorting chute from the sorting machine to the sorting destination. The form of the sorting chute is preferably spiral-inclined or straight but other forms are also possible. The inner shape of the sorting chute is preferably curved so that the bottom of the sorting chute and the sides of the sorting chute form together a smooth curve. Other shapes can be possible too, for example the bottom of the sorting chute and the side of the sorting chute can form a corner instead of a smooth curve. The sorting chute is preferably 1 - 2 meters wide and the length of the sorting chute will vary depending on how high the sorting machine is arranged. The sorting chute comprises one or more deflecting surfaces arranged to the sorting chute. The deflecting surfaces can be arranged to the sorting chute permanently or they can be releasable attached to it. The form of the deflecting surface is such that it effectively dampens the velocity of the mail item sliding along the surface of the sorting chute such that the mail item will still continue the movement along the sorting chute after hitting the deflecting surface.

The method for processing one or more mail items from a supply source comprises steps for supplying mail from a supply source to a sorting machine, conveying mail along the sorting machine, diverting mail from the sorting machine to a sorting chute that is arranged to function together with the sorting machine, arranging one or more deflecting surfaces to the sorting chute to slow down the vertical and horizontal velocity of the mail item sliding along the surface of the sorting chute, and arranging the sorting chute to function together with a next sorting chute or with a sorting destination where the mail item moves to. The step for arranging one or more deflecting surfaces to the sorting chute comprises arranging deflecting surfaces such that the sliding mail item hits at least one deflecting surface and continues movement with smaller velocity along the sorting chute surface. The mail item is arranged to slide along the sorting chute surface and to hit at least one of the deflecting surfaces such that in the end of the sorting chute the velocity of the mail item is near to zero. The mail item sliding along the sorting chute surface is arranged to move to the next sorting chute or to the sorting destination by the help of gravitation. In a preferred embodiment of the invention a sorting machine transfers mail items from previous stage, for example from a supply source, in which the mail items have for example been marked based on the postal code. The sorting machine transfers the mail item with a velocity of 0,5 - 3 m/s and preferably 1,5 - 2 m/s. The mail item is transferred along the sorting machine and in a specified place for example the diverting mechanism of the sorting machine pushes the mail item away from the sorting machine into a sorting chute in a selective manner. In a one level system the sorting machine is on a higher level than the sorting destination in which the mail items are moved via a sorting chute such that the mail item leaving the sorting machine slides along the surface of the sorting chute and ends up in the sorting destination which is arranged in the end of the sorting chute. The sorting chute comprises one or more deflecting surfaces to dampen the velocity of the mail item so that in the end of the sorting chute the mail item preferably has velocity near to zero and just falls to the sorting destination such as a postal cage which is arranged under the end part of the sorting chute. The number of deflecting surfaces is mostly determined by the angle of the sorting chute so when the mail item is sliding along a sorting chute that is in a steep angle the need of plurality of deflecting surfaces is obvious and when the mail item is sliding along a low-gradient sorting chute the need of deflecting surfaces is lesser and even one deflecting surface may be enough. Also the form of the sorting chute may determine the number of the deflecting surfaces.

The sorting chutes can be arranged on both sides of the sorting machine such that the for example diverting mechanism of the sorting machine can push the mail items away from sorting machine on either side of it. In both sides of the sorting machine the sorting chutes can be arranged next to each other so that there is a plurality of sorting chutes arranged on both sides of the sorting machine. The number of sorting chutes on one side of the sorting machine does not have to be the same as the number of sorting chutes on the other side of the sorting machine. The limiting factor of how close to each other the sorting chutes can be arranged can depend for example of the type of sorting machine that is used or the type of mail items transferred or the velocity of the mail items coming along the sorting machine, etc. The sorting machines are arranged such that they stand on a frame and the sorting chutes are arranged to the same frame as well. The lower part of the sorting chute is steadily arranged to another sorting chute or placed freely near to the opening of the sorting destination.

In another embodiment of the invention two or more sorting machines have been arranged preferably at least partly one upon the other such that the sorting chutes arranged in functional connection with the sorting machines are preferably also at least partly one upon the other. In a multi-storey system the uppermost sorting chute is arranged from its upper end in functional connection with the uppermost sorting machine and the lower end of the uppermost sorting chute is arranged in connection with another sorting chute that is arranged in connection with a sorting machine under the uppermost sorting machine. The sorting chute below the uppermost sorting chute can be arranged in connection with still another sorting chute or with a sorting destination.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention a multi-storey system is arranged such that there are two sorting machines arranged at least partly one upon the other such that mail items are transferred along two successive sorting machines that lie at least partly one upon the other. A mail item coming from the upper sorting machine and along the upper sorting machine is pushed away from the sorting machine for example by a diverting mechanism of the sorting machine in a predetermined place to enter the correct sorting chute. The sorting chute surface that mail items slide along is arranged in an angle with respect to the horizontal surface such that the angle between the sorting chute surface and the horizontal surface is less than 90° and will preferably vary between 10° - 60° and most typically between 20° - 40° depending on the physical properties of the mail items sliding along the sorting chute surface, the purpose being that the mail items coming along the surface of the sorting chute will slide on the surface having a contact with it.

One example of a sliding path of a mail item is that after the mail item is transferred from the sorting machine to the sorting chute it will slide along the sorting chute surface and bump to a first deflecting surface arranged in the sorting chute such that the velocity of the mail item will slow down. After the first deflecting surface the mail item will move along the sorting chute surface and bump to the next deflecting surface which will also slow down the velocity of the mail item. Depending on the length of the sorting chute there may be more than one or two deflecting surfaces arranged to the sorting chute. In this embodiment of the invention after final deflecting surface the mail item will be transferred to a next sorting chute that is arranged to the lower sorting machine. The lower sorting machine functions similarly as the upper sorting machine such that for example the diverting mechanism of the lower sorting machine or other mechanism will push the mail item in a correct place and in a right time to a predetermined sorting chute. The mail item will then move along the sorting chute surface and bump to a first deflecting surface that will slow down the velocity of the mail item. In this embodiment of the invention the lower sorting chute and the upper sorting chute will be combined such that the mail items coming from the upper sorting machine and along the upper sorting chute will be transferred to the lower sorting chute and move along the lower sorting chute until reaching the sorting destination. Depending on the mail item the sliding path can be different for example such that the mail item will bump only one deflecting surface or none.

The purpose of the deflecting surfaces is that when the mail item coming along one or more sorting chutes finally reaches the endpoint of the last sorting chute the velocity of the mail item will be near to zero preferably such that the gravitation will move the mail item to the sorting destination. The deflecting surfaces will slow down both vertical and horizontal velocity of the mail item.

The multi-storey system for sorting one or more mail items comprises two or more sorting machines arranged at least partially one upon the other. The system also comprises a first sorting chute comprising one or more deflecting surfaces and said sorting chute is arranged to function together with a first sorting machine such that a mail item can move from the first sorting machine to the first sorting chute and slide along the first sorting chute surface such that the mail item is configured to hit at least one of the deflecting surfaces such that the velocity of the mail item slows down. The system also comprises a second sorting chute comprising one or more deflecting surfaces and said sorting chute is arranged to function together with a second sorting machine such that a mail item can move from the second sorting machine to the second sorting chute and slide along the second sorting chute surface such that the mail item is configured to hit at least one of the deflecting surfaces such that the velocity of the mail item slows down. The first sorting chute is arranged in contact with the second sorting chute such that the mail item sliding along the first sorting chute surface ends up to the second sorting chute and slides along the second sorting chute surface. The second sorting chute is arranged in contact with a next sorting chute or with a sorting destination where one or more mail items moves to. In another embodiment of the invention a plurality of sorting chutes are arranged next to each other in both sides of the sorting machine.

List of figures

In the following the invention will be described in more detail by referring to the figures, in which Fig 1 shows a sorting chute according to the invention,

Fig 2 shows a multi-storey system with prior art sorting chutes,

Fig 3 shows a multi-storey system with sorting chutes according to the invention,

Fig 4 shows a multi-storey system for mail sorting, and Fig 5 shows a multi-storey system in a perspective view.

Detailed description of the invention

The figure 1 shows a sorting chute 2 according to the invention, where the sorting chute 2 is arranged such that a mail item coming from the upper part 14 of the sorting chute 2 is able to slide on the surface of the sorting chute 2 and leave the sorting chute in the end part 15 of the sorting chute 2. The sorting chute 2 comprises one or more deflecting surfaces 8 which slow down the velocity of the mail item when the mail item hits it. The sorting chute 2 is arranged to function together with a sorting machine (not shown in the figure) or other supply source in order to convey mail from this previous stage to a next stage, such as to a next sorting chute or to a sorting destination (not shown in the figure) and in order to do that the sorting chute 2 is arranged to function together with said next sorting chute or the sorting destination.

The figure 2 shows an example of a sorting chute system where the system comprises two prior art sorting chutes. A first sorting chute 2a and a second sorting 3a are arranged in a multi-storey system 1 such that there are two sorting machines 4 and 5 (the other is not shown in the figure 2) arranged one upon the other such that the first sorting chute 2a is arranged to function together with the upper sorting machine 4 and the second sorting chute 3 a is arranged to function together with the lower sorting machine (not shown in the figure) and that the lower sorting machine lies under the upper sorting machine 4. The first sorting chute is arranged from its upper end near to the upper sorting machine 4 and in this example the first sorting chute is arranged from its lower part in contact with the second sorting chute 3a. The second sorting chute 3a is arranged from its upper part near to the lower sorting machine and the lower part of the second sorting chute is arranged such that it lies preferably upon a sorting destination (not shown in the figure) such as a postal cage. The path of a mail item 6 is shown by a dashed line. The mail item is pushed away from the upper sorting machine 4 to the first sorting chute 2a. The mail item slides along the surface of the sorting chute 2a and hits the side of the sorting chute 2a typically once before reaching the end part of the first sorting chute 2a and lands to the second sorting chute 3 a with a high speed. The velocity of the mail item naturally increases all the time when sliding down the two sorting chutes without substantially bumping to any obstacle. After landing to the second sorting chute 3a the mail item slides along the surface of the second sorting chute 3 a and finally lands to the sorting destination. The mail item coming along the lower sorting machine is pushed away from the sorting machine for example by a diverting mechanism of the sorting machine and moved to the second sorting chute 3 a. The mail item slides along the second sorting chute 3 a and the path of the mail item 7 in the second sorting chute 3a is shown with a dashed line. The mail item may hit the wall of the second sorting chute 3a but the velocity of the mail item will not substantially change. The mail item will end up to the sorting destination similarly as the mail item coming from the upper sorting machine 4.

The figure 3 shows a multi-storey system 1 according to the invention where two sorting machines 4 and 5 (the lower is not shown in the figure) are arranged one upon the other and sorting chutes 2 and 3 are arranged to transfer mail items coming from the sorting machines 4, 5 to a sorting destination (not shown in the figure). The first sorting chute 2 is arranged such that the upper end of the first sorting chute 2 functions together with the upper sorting machine 4 and the lower end of the sorting chute 2 is arranged in contact with the second chute 3. The second sorting chute 3 is arranged such that the upper end of the second sorting chute 4 is functions together with the lower sorting machine 5 and the lower end of the second sorting chute 3 is above the sorting destination. The first sorting chute 2 is arranged near to the upper sorting machine 4 such that the mail items coming from the upper sorting machine 4 will smoothly move to the first sorting chute 2. The first sorting chute 2 is arranged in this embodiment to the second sorting chute 3 such that the mail items sliding along the first sorting chute 2 will slide in the end of the first sorting chute 2 smoothly to the second sorting chute 3 and finally to the sorting destination. The sorting chutes 2 and 3 comprise one or several deflecting surfaces. In this example the first sorting chute 2 comprises 3 deflecting surfaces 8, 9 and 10 and the second sorting chute 3 comprises just one deflecting surface 11. The shape and the size of the deflecting surfaces 8, 9, 10, 11 may vary but the idea of the deflecting surfaces 8, 9, 10, 11 remain the same and that is to slow down the velocity of the mail item sliding along the surface of a sorting chute 2, 3. The deflecting surface 8, 9, 10, 11 may be a permanent part of a sorting chute 2, 3 or it can be attached to the sorting chute 2, 3 releasable. The surface of the sorting chute 2, 3 may be formed such that the surface itself contains one or several deflecting surfaces 8, 9, 10, 11. In this figure the mail item (not shown in the figure) is transferred along the upper sorting machine 4 and in a specified place it is pushed away from the sorting machine 4 for example by the diverting mechanism of the sorting machine 4 into a predetermined sorting chute 2 in a selective manner. The mail item's sliding path 6 is illustrated with a dashed line. After the mail item has left the sorting machine 4 it slides along the upper part of the sorting chute 2 surface until it hits the first deflecting surface 8. The first deflecting surface 8 is arranged such that the sliding path 6 of the mail item will change about 90° or more. The velocity of the mail item will slow down during the hit to the first deflecting surface 8. After the first deflecting surface 8 the mail item will continue its slide and after a while hit to the second deflecting surface 9. After the hit to the second deflecting surface 9 the course of sliding path 6 will change yet another 90° or more and the mail item will continue sliding along the surface of the sorting chute 2 until it reaches the last deflecting 10 surface in this first sorting chute 2. The mail item is then near the end of the first sorting chute 2 and will slide to the second sorting chute 3 and slide along its surface until reaching the end of the second sorting chute 3 and the gravity will help to move the mail item to the sorting destination arranged preferably under the endpoint of the second sorting chute 3.

The lower sorting machine 5 (not shown in the figure) also transfers mail items and in a specified place the mail items are pushed away from the sorting machine 5 for example by the diverting mechanism of the sorting machine 5 into a predetermined sorting chute 3 in a selective manner. In this example the mail items are pushed to the second sorting chute 3 and the sliding path 7 of the mail items coming from the lower sorting chute 5 is illustrated as dashed line. The mail item coming from the lower sorting machine 5 will slide along the surface of the second sorting chute 3 and during the slide hit to the first deflecting surface 11 of the second sorting chute 3. After the hit to the deflecting surface 11 the velocity of the mail item will slow down and the mail item will continue its way down along the surface of the second sorting chute 3 until reaching the endpoint of the sorting chute 3 and moving to the sorting destination. Figure 3 shows just one example of a multi-storey system according to the invention. The sorting machines 4, 5 can be arranged differently and there may be more than two sorting machines 4, 5 at least partially one upon the other. The sorting chutes 2 and 3 can also be arranged differently and there may be more than two sorting chutes 2, 3 in connection with each other. The sorting chutes 2, 3 can also be connected differently and the shape of the sorting chutes 2, 3 can be different.

The figure 4 shows a multi-storey system 1 for sorting mail items, in which a plurality of sorting chutes 2 and 3 are arranged in two different levels such that the upper sorting chutes 2 are arranged next to each other forming a sorting chute row in a horizontal direction and the lower sorting chutes 3 are arranged similarly, in a multistorey system 1 comprising two levels. The upper sorting machine 4 transfers mail items to the sorting chutes 2 in the upper level and the lower sorting machine (not shown in the figure) transfers mail items to the sorting chutes 3 in the lower level. The upper level sorting chutes 2 are in a form of spiral-inclined and the lower level sorting chutes 3 are in a straight form. The figure shows just an example of a multi-storey system 1 and the amount of sorting machines 4 and sorting chutes 2, 3 and the form of the sorting chutes 2, 3 may vary inside the scope of claims. The mail items coming along the upper sorting machine 4 are pushed into a predetermined sorting chute 2 in a selective manner. The mail items coming along the lower sorting machine (not shown in the figure) are transferred into the sorting chutes 3 similarly. In this example the first sorting chutes 2 are arranged to function together with the upper sorting machine 4 and in contact with the second sorting chute 3 such that the lower part of the first sorting chute 2 is in contact with the second sorting chute 3 such that the mail items can slide from the first sorting chute 2 to the second sorting chute 3 and then along the second sorting chute 3 to the sorting destination. During the path from the upper sorting machine 4 to the sorting destination the mail item slides along the first sorting chute 2 where it hits the deflecting surfaces 9 such that the velocity of the mail item will slow down. In the end of the first sorting chute 2 the mail item will slide to the second sorting chute 3 and slide along its surface until the end of the second sorting chute 3 where the mail item will fall down to the sorting destination. The aim of the deflecting surfaces 9 is that they will slow down the velocity of the mail item such that in the end of the second sorting chute 3 the mail item will have velocity near to zero and gravity will move the mail item to the sorting destination.

The figure 5 shows a quite similar multi-storey system 1 as in figure 4 but on the perspective view and such that only one pair of sorting chutes in two levels is shown. This figure shows two sorting machines 4, 5 one upon the other such that the upper sorting machine 4 is straight above the lower sorting machine 5. Similar sorting chutes 2 are arranged on both sides of the upper sorting machine 4 and although this figure shows only one sorting chute on each side normally there are several sorting chutes next to each other in a horizontal level. The upper sorting chutes 2 are arranged to function together with the upper sorting machine 4 and the lower sorting chutes are arranged to function together with the lower sorting machine 5. The upper sorting chutes 2 and the lower sorting chutes 3 are arranged to the same frame 13 as the sorting machines 4, 5. The upper sorting chutes 2 are arranged to the frame such that the angle a between the sliding surface of the sorting chute 2 and the horizontal surface is smaller than 90° and preferably about 10° - 60°, most typically about 20° - 40°. The same applies to the angle β between the sliding surface of the lower sorting chute 3 and the horizontal surface as well, although the angle β is typically smaller than the angle a between the sliding surface of the upper sorting chute 2 and the horizontal surface. The mail item transferred along the upper sorting machine 4 is pushed away from the sorting machine 4 into a predetermined sorting chute 2 in a selective manner. The mail item slides along the surface of the sorting chute 2 such that it hits the first deflecting surface 8 where the velocity of the mail item slows down, then it slides along the chute to the next deflecting surface 9 and hits the deflecting surface 9 such that the velocity slows down again and after that it slides toward the last deflecting surface 10 in this sorting chute 2 and the velocity slows down again preferably such that the velocity of the mail item is near to zero when the mail item reaches the end of the first sorting chute 2 and falls down to the sorting destination 12 such as a postal cage. In this example the first sorting chute 2 does not connect to the second sorting chute 3 as was the case in previous examples but instead the sorting destination 12 receives mail items from two different sorting chutes. The lower sorting machine 5 transfers mail items similarly as the upper sorting machine 4 and moves the mail items to the sorting chutes alike the upper sorting machine 4. The sorting chute 3 acting in connection with the lower sorting machine 5 is shorter than the sorting chute acting in connection with the upper sorting machine 4 because the lower sorting machine 5 is near the sorting destination 12. That is why in this example the sorting chute 3 in functional connection with the lower sorting machine 5 comprises only one deflecting surface to slow down the velocity of the mail item. The figure 4 also shows that the sorting chutes 2, 3 are arranged to a frame 13 that also supports the sorting machines 4, 5.

It is apparent to a person skilled in the art that as technology advanced, the basic idea of the invention can be implemented in various ways. The invention and its embodiments are therefore not restricted to the above examples, but they may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A sorting chute (2, 3) for conveying one or more mail items from previous stage such as from a sorting machine (4, 5) to a next stage such as to a next sorting chute (2, 3) or to a sorting destination (12), characterized in that the sorting chute (2) comprises at least one deflecting surface (8, 9, 10, 11) arranged to the sorting chute (2, 3) for slowing down the horizontal and vertical velocity of a mail item sliding along the sorting chute (2, 3) surface such that the mail item is configured to hit said at least one deflecting surface (8, 9, 10, 11) such that the velocity of the mail item slows down.

2. The sorting chute (2, 3) according to claim 1, characterized in that the deflecting surface (8, 9, 10, 11) is arranged to the sorting chute (2, 3) such that the mail item's sliding path (6, 7) in the sorting chute (2, 3) is changed when hitting the deflecting surface (8, 9, 10, 11).

3. The sorting chute (2, 3) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sliding surface of the sorting chute (2, 3) is arranged in an angle less than 90° relative to the horizontal surface.

4. A method for processing one or more mail items, such as packages, letters and bundles of newspapers or magazines, from a supply source, said method comprising: supplying mail from a supply source to a sorting machine (4, 5),

conveying mail along the sorting machine (4, 5),

diverting mail from the sorting machine (4, 5) to a sorting chute (2, 3) that is arranged to function together with the sorting machine (4, 5), arranging one or more deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11) to the sorting chute (2, 3) to slow down the vertical and horizontal velocity of the mail item sliding along the surface of the sorting chute (2, 3), and arranging the sorting chute (2, 3) to function together with a next sorting chute (2, 3) or with a sorting destination (12) where the mail item moves to.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the step arranging one or more deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11) to the sorting chute (2, 3) comprises arranging deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11) such that the sliding mail item hits at least one deflecting surface (8, 9, 10, 11) and continues movement with smaller velocity along the sorting chute (2, 3) surface.

6. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mail item is arranged to slide along the sorting chute (2, 3) surface and to hit at least one of the deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11) such that in the end of the sorting chute (2, 3) the velocity of the mail item is near to zero.

7. The method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mail item sliding along the sorting chute (2, 3) surface is arranged to move to the next sorting chute (2, 3) or to the sorting destination (12) by the help of gravitation.

8. A multi-storey system (1) for sorting one or more mail items, the system comprising:

two or more sorting machines (4, 5) arranged at least partially one upon the other,

a first sorting chute (2) comprising one or more deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11), said sorting chute (2) is arranged to function together with a first sorting machine (4) such that a mail item can move from the first sorting machine (4) to the first sorting chute (2) and slide along the first sorting chute (2) surface such that the mail item is configured to hit at least one of the deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11) such that the velocity of the mail item slows down,

a second sorting chute (3) comprising one or more deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11), said sorting chute (3) is arranged to function together with a second sorting machine (5) such that a mail item can move from the second sorting machine (5) to the second sorting chute (3) and slide along the second sorting chute (3) surface such that the mail item is configured to hit at least one of the deflecting surfaces (8, 9, 10, 11) such that the velocity of the mail item slows down,

the first sorting chute (2) is arranged in contact with the second sorting chute (3) such that the mail item sliding along the first sorting chute (2) surface ends up to the second sorting chute (3) and slides along the second sorting chute (3) surface, and

the second sorting chute (3) is arranged in contact with a next sorting chute (2,

3) or with a sorting destination (12) where one or more mail items moves to.

9. A multi-storey system (1) for sorting one or more mail items according to claim 8, characterized in that plurality of sorting chutes (2, 3) are arranged next to each other in both sides of the sorting machine (4, 5).