EP2298457A1 - Trieuse de courrier - Google Patents

Trieuse de courrier Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2298457A1
EP2298457A1 EP09425357A EP09425357A EP2298457A1 EP 2298457 A1 EP2298457 A1 EP 2298457A1 EP 09425357 A EP09425357 A EP 09425357A EP 09425357 A EP09425357 A EP 09425357A EP 2298457 A1 EP2298457 A1 EP 2298457A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
mail
pack
accumulating
mail items
sorting
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Withdrawn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
EP09425357A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Stefano Solari
Ferruccio Medici
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.)
Elsag Datamat SpA
Original Assignee
Elsag Datamat SpA
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 Elsag Datamat SpA filed Critical Elsag Datamat SpA
Priority to EP09425357A priority Critical patent/EP2298457A1/fr
Priority to IL208235A priority patent/IL208235A0/en
Priority to RU2010138741/12A priority patent/RU2010138741A/ru
Publication of EP2298457A1 publication Critical patent/EP2298457A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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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

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a mail sorting device.
  • Devices for sorting flat, rectangular mail items (letters, postcards, documents, magazines, etc.) are known comprising:
  • Each accumulating device is normally associated with one or a number of postal destinations.
  • Each mail item is directed to an accumulating device on the basis of data (e.g. a printed bar code and/or receiver data) on the mail item.
  • data e.g. a printed bar code and/or receiver data
  • the sorted mail is accumulated in the accumulating devices in the form of respective packs; and, when the size of the pack exceeds the maximum capacity of the accumulating device, the sorting device is forced to direct the mail elsewhere, thus increasing operating cost.
  • each container is tagged with a tag bearing a serial identification bar code and the next destination, and is sent either for further processing or to the output of the system.
  • the full level of known accumulating devices is determined by a sensor, which detects the end position of a retaining device or separating slat retaining the front face of the pack.
  • an almost- or half-full level is also indicated by a sensor, which determines the position of the retaining device (separating slat) with respect to its end position.
  • the half-full indication enables more effective preventive intervention by the operator than the full-level.
  • a mail sorting device comprising a mail receiving and singling module which receives packs of mail items and feeds out single, i.e. physically separate, mail items; and a sorting module input-connected to an output of the receiving and singling module, and which directs each incoming single mail item to a selected accumulating device forming part of a number of accumulating devices of the sorting module; the sorting device being characterized by comprising a measuring device located upstream from the sorting module to determine at least one dimensional parameter of the single mail item fed to said sorting module; the dimensional parameter information being associated with an indicator of the selected accumulating device to perform a procedure by which to determine the fill level of the accumulating device as a function of the number and size of the mail items fed to the accumulating device.
  • Number 1 in Figure 1 indicates as a whole a mail sorting device in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.
  • Device 1 comprises a known mail receiving and singling module 3 (therefore not described in detail) which receives parallelepiped-shaped packs 4 (not shown to scale) of flat, rectangular mail items 7 (letters, postcards, documents, etc.), and feeds out single, i.e. physically separate, mail items.
  • a known mail receiving and singling module 3 which receives parallelepiped-shaped packs 4 (not shown to scale) of flat, rectangular mail items 7 (letters, postcards, documents, etc.), and feeds out single, i.e. physically separate, mail items.
  • Mail receiving and singling module 3 comprises a first known reading device 8a for recognizing a unique ID-TAG (e.g. a bar code) on each single mail item 7.
  • the information acquired from the unique ID-TAG is transmitted to an electronic control unit 9 of device 1.
  • Reading device 8a may be associated with a known second reading device 8b for conveniently acquiring a two-dimensional (grey-level, colour or binary) image I PO of mail item 7; which image I PO may be processed by automatic coding (OCR) systems of control unit 9, or by manual coding (VCD) systems for reading the address on mail item 7.
  • OCR automatic coding
  • VCD manual coding
  • Device 1 also comprises a sorting module 11 (shown schematically) input-connected to an output of receiving and singling module 3, and which directs each incoming single mail item 7 to one of a number of accumulating devices 12 of module 11.
  • Each accumulating device 12 is typically associated with one or a number of postal destinations.
  • Figure 2 shows part of device 1 in more detail.
  • module 3 comprises a push device (separating slat) 17 movable along a straight runner 18 to push pack 4, resting on a flat supporting wall 19, onto a locating wall 20 fitted with two rollers 21, which withdraw the leading item in pack 4 facing wall 20, so mail items 7 are removed one at a time (i.e. singled out) from pack 4.
  • a push device separating slat 17 movable along a straight runner 18 to push pack 4, resting on a flat supporting wall 19, onto a locating wall 20 fitted with two rollers 21, which withdraw the leading item in pack 4 facing wall 20, so mail items 7 are removed one at a time (i.e. singled out) from pack 4.
  • Thickness measuring device 15 comprises a first locator (roller 26) defining a supporting position for an inner portion of belt 23; and a second locator (roller 27) located on the opposite side of belt 23 to roller 26 and having elastic means 28 for pressing roller 27 onto a flat outer portion of belt 23.
  • Roller 27 is associated with a position sensor 29 for measuring displacement of roller 27 with respect to the supporting position and therefore the thickness dc (dimensional parameter) of the mail item resting on belt 23 and interposed between belt 23 and roller 27.
  • the mail item Downstream from rollers 26 and 27, which compress the mail item by exerting pressure on its opposite faces, the mail item may expand (as shown schematically by mail item 7 at the end of belt 23) to an unconfined thickness de greater than the measured thickness, i.e. (de>dc).
  • expansion of mail item 7 is caused by the intrinsic resilience of the folded sheets inside the envelope of the letter.
  • the other dimensions (width and height) of the mail item are determined by photocells (not shown) in known manner.
  • Accumulating devices 12 are selected by known deflectors 31 ( Figure 3 ) controlled by electronic control unit 9, communicating with conveying system 22, and movable between a rest position (not shown in Figure 3 ) in which they have no effect on the mail items travelling along conveying system 22, and an intercept position (shown in Figure 3 ) in which mail items 7 impinge on and are diverted by deflector 31 to the input of accumulating device 12.
  • Accumulating device 12 comprises an elongated accumulating bin 32, into which the mail items are fed successively to form a pack 4b of mail items in a direction D parallel to the lengthwise extension of accumulating bin 32.
  • Accumulating bin 32 is bounded by a flat, rectangular bottom wall 33 and two lateral walls 34.
  • a slat 35 has an end portion that slides along a straight runner 37 fitted to a lateral wall 34. Slat 35 extends crosswise to straight runner 37, is perpendicular to bottom wall 33, and so forms a stop for a first face of pack 4b, a second face of which is defined by the last mail item 7 fed into accumulating bin 32.
  • the size (length L) of pack 4b increases in direction D and moves slat 35 towards a front end portion 32a of bottom wall 33.
  • Accumulating devices 12 are shown coplanar in Figure 1 for the sake of simplicity, but may lie in different, e.g. two or four superimposed, planes.
  • Accumulating device 12 may differ from the one shown in Figure 3 and comprise, for example, a bin (not shown) for accumulating mail items vertically one on top of the other. Such bins are normally arranged in a matrix structure.
  • Each accumulating device 12 is associated with a printer 40 ( Figure 3 ) for printing tags 41, and which interfaces with electronic control unit 9 and is activated by the operator pressing a button 42.
  • electronic control unit 9 controls printer 40 to perform the following function :
  • electronic control unit 9 receives the following data :
  • Length Lc is calculated assuming all the mail items in the pack are compressed, i.e. are no thicker than the thickness measured when the mail item is pressed between rollers 26 and 27.
  • a first threshold value P1 defining the maximum length of a compressed pack of mail items, and a second threshold value P2 defining the maximum length of a decompressed pack of mail items are also defined; the latter maximum length being defined so the decompressed pack can be accommodated in a container K ( Figure 1 ).
  • the operator OP may decide to cut off flow of the mail items from conveying device 22 to the almost-full accumulating device 12 manually, and remove the contents of the accumulating device, which can undoubtedly be accommodated in container K with no manual compression required.
  • a signal is sent to electronic control unit 9 indicating closure of pack 4b of mail items, and, if the relative tag has not yet been printed, a tag 41 is printed showing the destination of the mail items in pack 4b, identification of pack 4b of mail items 7 in the form of a bar code, as well as processing and system information and the date and time the tag was printed.
  • Pressing the button again allows mail items to be fed once more into the accumulating device, and the button light goes off.
  • electronic control unit 9 cuts off flow of mail items 7 from conveying device 22 to the relative accumulating device 12.
  • This condition is indicated by a steady light of button 42.
  • button 42 in response to which the device records and associates the identification code list and characteristics of the mail items with the identification code of the container on the tag, if already printed (to effect computer closure of the pack), and button 42 flashes rapidly to indicate no more mail can be loaded into the accumulating device.
  • a tag 41 is printed showing the destination of the mail items in pack 4b, identification of pack 4b of mail items 7 in the form of a bar code, as well as processing and system information and the date and time the tag was printed.
  • Pressing the button again allows mail items to be fed once more into the accumulating device, and the button light goes off.
  • the calculated volumes may be added sequentially to calculate the volume Vp of the pack forming in each accumulating device 12; which volume information is associated with the logic output indicator.
  • the advantage of the invention lies in enabling a different operating procedure providing the operator with an indirect but precise indication of the actual fill level of each accumulating device.
  • thresholds P1 and P2 may differ from one accumulating device 12 to another.
  • Thresholds P1 and P2 may also vary according to the type of mail items being sorted, in that the best arrangement of the mail items inside the containers (fill level and density) is achieved by calculating the compression factor Fc of the mail items and setting the threshold accordingly.

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  • Sorting Of Articles (AREA)
EP09425357A 2009-09-18 2009-09-18 Trieuse de courrier Withdrawn EP2298457A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP09425357A EP2298457A1 (fr) 2009-09-18 2009-09-18 Trieuse de courrier
IL208235A IL208235A0 (en) 2009-09-18 2010-09-19 Mail sorting device
RU2010138741/12A RU2010138741A (ru) 2009-09-18 2010-09-20 Устройство сортировки почты

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP09425357A EP2298457A1 (fr) 2009-09-18 2009-09-18 Trieuse de courrier

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2298457A1 true EP2298457A1 (fr) 2011-03-23

Family

ID=41647037

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP09425357A Withdrawn EP2298457A1 (fr) 2009-09-18 2009-09-18 Trieuse de courrier

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP2298457A1 (fr)
IL (1) IL208235A0 (fr)
RU (1) RU2010138741A (fr)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2476491A1 (fr) * 2011-01-18 2012-07-18 ELSAG DATAMAT S.p.A. Dispositif et procédé pour mésurer l'épaisseur des objets postaux
US20160159602A1 (en) * 2014-12-04 2016-06-09 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Delivery processing apparatus and delivery processing method
CN110479640A (zh) * 2019-08-27 2019-11-22 天津备东文具有限公司 一种根据物联网分类档案的自动分类装置

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3674143A (en) * 1970-12-28 1972-07-04 Burroughs Corp Transport and sorting mechanisms for an automatic conveyor system
EP0718049A2 (fr) * 1994-12-22 1996-06-26 Hitachi, Ltd. Procédé et appareil de tri de feuilles de papier ou analogues
EP0827786A1 (fr) * 1996-09-09 1998-03-11 Grapha-Holding Ag Procédé et dispositif de commande d'une installation de distribution d'articles à trier vers des destinations physiques
US20040251180A1 (en) * 2003-06-12 2004-12-16 Mcdonald Glenn System and method for dynamically adjusting the allocation of mail items associated with particular delivery points within a carrier structure
EP1707275A1 (fr) * 2005-03-29 2006-10-04 Solystic Procédé de traitement d'envois postaux avec débordement dynamique
EP1721683A1 (fr) * 2005-05-13 2006-11-15 Solystic Procédé pour trier des envois avec une gestion prédictive du remplacement des bacs de sortie de tri
EP2085152A1 (fr) * 2008-01-30 2009-08-05 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procédé et dispositif de tri d'objets plats dans plusieurs passes de tri

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3674143A (en) * 1970-12-28 1972-07-04 Burroughs Corp Transport and sorting mechanisms for an automatic conveyor system
EP0718049A2 (fr) * 1994-12-22 1996-06-26 Hitachi, Ltd. Procédé et appareil de tri de feuilles de papier ou analogues
EP0827786A1 (fr) * 1996-09-09 1998-03-11 Grapha-Holding Ag Procédé et dispositif de commande d'une installation de distribution d'articles à trier vers des destinations physiques
US20040251180A1 (en) * 2003-06-12 2004-12-16 Mcdonald Glenn System and method for dynamically adjusting the allocation of mail items associated with particular delivery points within a carrier structure
EP1707275A1 (fr) * 2005-03-29 2006-10-04 Solystic Procédé de traitement d'envois postaux avec débordement dynamique
EP1721683A1 (fr) * 2005-05-13 2006-11-15 Solystic Procédé pour trier des envois avec une gestion prédictive du remplacement des bacs de sortie de tri
EP2085152A1 (fr) * 2008-01-30 2009-08-05 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procédé et dispositif de tri d'objets plats dans plusieurs passes de tri

Cited By (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP2476491A1 (fr) * 2011-01-18 2012-07-18 ELSAG DATAMAT S.p.A. Dispositif et procédé pour mésurer l'épaisseur des objets postaux
US20160159602A1 (en) * 2014-12-04 2016-06-09 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Delivery processing apparatus and delivery processing method
EP3028776A3 (fr) * 2014-12-04 2016-09-21 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Appareil et procédé de traitement de distribution
RU2643142C2 (ru) * 2014-12-04 2018-01-30 Кабусики Кайся Тосиба Устройство обработки доставки и способ обработки доставки
US9969589B2 (en) 2014-12-04 2018-05-15 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Delivery processing apparatus and delivery processing method
CN110479640A (zh) * 2019-08-27 2019-11-22 天津备东文具有限公司 一种根据物联网分类档案的自动分类装置
CN110479640B (zh) * 2019-08-27 2020-11-10 深圳市智和创兴科技有限公司 一种根据物联网分类档案的自动分类装置

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IL208235A0 (en) 2011-02-28
RU2010138741A (ru) 2012-03-27

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