JPH04300686A - Mail address-reading and sorting machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simultaneously supply mails from two supply parts 1, 2 and to enhance sorting efficiency by respectively arranging the supply parts 1, 2 on both left and right sides of a sorting part. CONSTITUTION:A mail address-reading and sorting machine is constituted so that mails P, ... are simultaneously supplied from two supply parts 1, 2 by arranging the respective parts 1, 2 on both left and right sides of a sorting part.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] This invention reads the postal code and address written on the postal item being transported, and sorts the postal item using the read postal code and address. Regarding reading and sorting machines.

0002

[Prior Art] Postal sorting operations can be roughly divided into dispatch sorting operations, which are the sorting operations for sending collected mail to the destination post office, and sorting operations, which are the sorting operations for delivering the arrived mail. There is a certain delivery classification business. In the past, dispatch sorting operations have been largely automated using automatic postal code reading and sorting machines, but delivery sorting operations have lagged behind in automation.

However, in recent years, in addition to the function of automatic postal code reading and sorting machines, by directly reading the address, such as the town name, chome, and kanji of the block code written on the mail, using OCR, mail can be sorted at the delivery district level. Automate the classification up to (
Automation of delivery sorting operations) has been developed.

However, since the above-mentioned mail reading and sorting machine has only one supply section per sorting machine, it is not possible to sort and process dispatched mail and delivery mail at the same time, for example. There was a problem that only one of them could be processed by machine, and the other one could not be processed by machine.

[0005] Also, for example, if the number of sorting ports of a sorting machine is 250,
If the number of slots for sorting delivery mail is 100, the remaining 150 slots are not used, resulting in inefficient sorting.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As mentioned above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mail reading and sorting machine that can improve the sorting efficiency by eliminating the disadvantage of inefficient sorting efficiency. shall be.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The mail reading and sorting machine of the present invention includes first and second take-out means for taking out mail pieces one by one; First and second transport means for transporting mail; first and second reading means for reading information from mail transported by these first and second transport means; a first for sorting and stacking the mail pieces conveyed by the first and second conveying means into first and second stacking unit groups each consisting of a plurality of stacking units, according to the content read from the reading unit; a second sectional accumulation means, individual and independent operation in the first sectional accumulation means;
Instructing means for selectively instructing the individual independent operation in the second sorting and accumulating means or the common operation in the first and second sorting and accumulating means; When individual and independent operations are instructed in the accumulation means,
The mail taken out by the first taking out means is
When the second sorting and accumulating means is instructed to perform an individual and independent operation, the second sorting and accumulating means separates and accumulates the mail pieces taken out by the second taking out means. and when a common operation in the first and second sorting and accumulating means is instructed, the mail pieces taken out by the first taking out means are sorted and accumulated by the first and second sorting and accumulating means. It consists of means.

[0008]

[Operation] In the above configuration, the present invention provides the first
When the individual and independent operation of the categorization and accumulation means is instructed, the first
The mail items taken out by the taking out means are sorted and accumulated by the first sorting and accumulating means, and when the second sorting and accumulating means is instructed to perform individual and independent operations, the mail items are taken out by the second taking out means. are sorted and accumulated by the second sorting and accumulating means, and when a common operation is instructed by the first and second sorting and accumulating means, the mail pieces taken out by the first taking out means are sorted and accumulated by the first sorting and accumulating means. The second sorting and accumulating means is used for sorting and accumulating.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows an automatic mail sorting machine as a mail reading and sorting machine of the present invention, which has the following configuration. That is, postal items P such as postcards and envelopes are set in the supply units 1 and 2 in bulk and in an upright position, respectively. The mail items P... of the supplying sections 1 and 2 are delivered to the take-out sections 3 and 4, respectively.
The postal code and address information (address information) are assigned to the postal items P by the reading units 7 and 8 disposed in the middle of the receiving conveyance paths 5 and 6. is read. As shown in FIG. 1, the reading section 7 (8) includes a photoelectric conversion section 9 that photoelectrically converts the postal code and address information on the mail P, and a character pattern according to the output of the photoelectric conversion section 9. This is a well-known device that includes a discrimination section 10 that discriminates postal code and address information by performing recognition.

Next, in FIG. 2, the mail P that has passed through the reading section 7 is further conveyed by the take-in conveyance path 5, and is then transferred directly to the conveyance path 5 via the switching gate 11 constituted by a roller gate. 1, or switched to the conveyance path 6 and conveyed. Further, the mail P that has passed through the reading section 8 or the mail P that is supplied via the switching gate 11 is
Conveyed to the second division section 13 by the conveyance path 6

001
2] The first dividing section 12 has a dividing conveyance path 14a provided in multiple stages in the vertical direction by a gate mechanism section (not shown).
, ~14g can be selectively sorted based on the above-mentioned postal code, address information reading results, etc.

[0013] The second division part 13 is a game part (not shown).
The transport mechanism selectively sorts the goods into the divided conveyance paths 15a to 15g provided in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction based on the reading results of the postal code, address information, etc.

A plurality of pockets (accumulation boxes) 16... (for 50 pockets) are arranged in multiple stages (stages A, to G) along the lower surfaces of the divided transport paths 14a and 14g. A plurality of pockets (accumulation boxes) 17... (200 pockets) are arranged in multiple stages (stages A, to G) along the lower surface of the divided transport paths 15a and 15g. The divided conveyance paths 14a, ~14g, 15a,
The mail P sent into the mailbox 15g is sorted and accumulated in a predetermined pocket 16 or 17 based on the reading results of the reading sections 7 and 8. A group of conveyance detectors (not shown) are provided above the conveyance paths 5, 6, 14a, . . . , 15a, . . . to detect the conveyance of mail P on the conveyance paths. Further, an operation panel 18 is provided on the upper part of the supply section 1. This operation panel 18 is provided with a division state selection key 18a for selecting a division state. The sorting state selection key 18a selects a nationwide dispatch sorting mode, a delivery sorting mode, or a dispatched delivery sorting mode.

For example, when the nationwide dispatch sorting mode is selected, the mail items P, .
They are arranged to be sorted and accumulated in each pocket 16, . . . , 17, . In this case, the mail P from the supply section 1,
This is a 250-slot sorting machine that sorts... When the delivery sorting mode is selected, the mail items P, ... from the supply section 1 are sorted and accumulated in each pocket 16, ... of the first sorting section 12 according to the reading result by the reading section 7. ing. In this case, the mail items P,... from the supply unit 1 are sorted into 50
It becomes a mouth sorting machine. When the dispatch delivery sorting mode is selected, the mail items P, ... from the supply section 1 are sorted and accumulated in the first sorting section 12 according to the reading result by the reading section 7, and the mail items from the supply section 2 are sorted and accumulated. P, . . . are sorted and accumulated in the second sorting portion 13 and each pocket 17, . In this case, two sorting machines are used: a 50-lot sorter that sorts mail P,... from supply section 1, and a 200-lot sorter that sorts mail P,... from supply section 2. Can be used.

FIG. 1 shows an electrical circuit. That is, the control unit 31 uses the category designation table stored in the memory 32 to determine the discrimination units 10 and 1 of the reading units 7 and 8.
Pockets 16,..., 17 corresponding to the read category specification data (addresses of pockets 16,..., 17,...) are read. , . . . transport the above-mentioned mail P. For example, conveyance paths 5, 6, 14a, ..., 15
By outputting a sorting gate control signal in response to a conveyance detection signal from a conveyance detector (not shown) in the middle of a,..., the sorting gates 34,..., are output using the drivers 33, 37.
38,... are controlled. The memory 32 stores addresses (category specification data) of the pockets 16, . . . , 17, . . . corresponding to each postal code and each address information as a category specification table.

Further, the control section 31 controls the entire conveyance system of the first sorting section 12 by driving the conveyance mechanism section 36 such as the conveyance paths 5, 14a, . . . by means of a driver 35. ing. The control section 31 controls the transport mechanism section 4 of the transport path 6, 15a, etc. by means of a driver 39.
By driving 0, the entire conveyance system of the second sorting section 13 is controlled.

[0018] The control section 31 also controls the operation panel 18.
When the national dispatch sorting mode is selected by the sorting state selection key 18a, the mail P conveyed by the intake conveyance path 5 is conveyed to the first sorting section 12, and
By arbitrarily energizing the solenoid 42 by the driver 41, the switching gate 11 is switched and the material is transported to the second section 13 via the transport path 6.

Next, the operation in such a configuration will be explained. First, the operator selects the nationwide dispatch sorting mode using the sorting state selection key 18a on the operation panel 18. Then, after supplying the mail items P, .
Input. In response to this, the control section 31 controls the transport mechanism section 3.
By driving and controlling 6 and 40, the mail P accumulated in the supply section 1 is taken out one by one by the take-out section 3 and conveyed through the conveyance path 5. During this transportation, the postal code on the mail P is read by the reading section 7. Then, the control unit 31 reads the classification designation data corresponding to the postal code supplied from the reading unit 7, and transports the mail P into the pockets 16, . . . , 17, . . . corresponding to the classification designation data. do.

Then, the control section 31 controls the sorting gate 3 in response to the read sorting designation data and the detection signal of the conveyance detector.
By controlling 4,..., 38,..., the above-mentioned mail P
is the pocket 16,..., 17,... corresponding to that postal code.
are accumulated in

It should be noted that the mail P to be sorted and accumulated in the pockets 17, . , ~15g.

The operator also selects the delivery sorting mode using the sorting state selection key 18a on the operation panel 18. Then, after supplying the mail items P, . In response to this, the control section 31 controls the transport mechanism section 36.
By driving and controlling the mails P accumulated in the supply section 1, the mails P are taken out one by one by the take-out section 3 and conveyed through the conveyance path 5. Address information on the mail P is read by the reading section 7 during this transportation. Then, the control section 31 controls the reading section 7.
The classification designation data corresponding to the address information supplied from the pockets 16, . . . corresponding to the classification designation data is read out.
The transport of the mail P is controlled.

Then, the control section 31 controls the sorting gate 3 in response to the read sorting designation data and the detection signal of the conveyance detector.
4, . . ., the mail P is accumulated in the pockets 16, . . . corresponding to the address information.

Further, the operator selects the dispatch delivery sorting mode using the sorting state selection key 18a on the operation panel 18. After supplying the mail pieces P, ... for delivery sorting to the supply section 1, and supplying the mail pieces P, ... for dispatch sorting to the supply section 2, the start key (not shown) on the operation panel 18 is turned on. do. In response to this, the control unit 31 controls the transport mechanism unit 36,
40, the mail P accumulated in the supply section 1 is taken out one by one by the take-out section 3,
The mails P accumulated in the supply section 2 are taken out one by one by the take-out section 4 and conveyed along the transport path 6. As a result, the address information on the postal item P is read by the reading unit 7 while it is being transported on the transport path 5, and the postal code on the postal item P is read by the reading unit 8 while it is being transported on the transport path 6. . Then, the control unit 31 reads out the classification designation data corresponding to the address information supplied from the reading unit 7, controls the conveyance of the mail P to the pockets 16, etc. corresponding to this classification designation data, and controls the transport of the mail P to the pockets 16, etc. corresponding to the classification designation data. Classification designation date corresponding to the postal code supplied from 8.
Pocket 1 corresponding to this classification specification data.
7. Controls the transport of mail P.

Then, the control section 31 controls the sorting gate 3 in response to the read sorting designation data and the detection signal of the conveyance detector.
4,..., the mail P from the supply section 1 is accumulated in the pockets 16,... corresponding to the address information, and the mail P is accumulated in the pockets 16,..., corresponding to the read out classification designation data and the detection signal of the transport detector. By controlling the dividing gates 38,...
The mail P from the supply section 2 is accumulated in the pockets 17, . . . corresponding to the postal code.

Further, the supply section 1 is supplied with mail items P,... for one delivery category, the supply section 2 is supplied with mail items P,... for the other delivery category, and the mail items P,... for one delivery category are supplied with the supply section 1. The items P, . . . may be sorted by the first sorting section 12, and the other mail items P, .

As mentioned above, it is possible to simultaneously sort mail items with different classification specifications, such as a combination of mail items and delivery items, and delivery items can be supplied from two sources at the same time. , mail items designated for the same classification can be processed in parallel, improving the processing speed and efficiency of mail classification.

In particular, at the regional sorting office, the work of sorting delivered mail to surrounding stations by postal code and the work of sorting mail addressed to the local office by address information are carried out at night (from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next morning). ), but according to the present invention, these different sorting operations can be carried out at the same time.Furthermore, during the day, the entire sorting gate can be used for sorting dispatch for post offices nationwide. If used for this purpose, the sorting work at post offices could be made much more efficient.

Although 250 parcels of delivery were sorted by reading postal codes in the nationwide shipping sorting mode, it is also possible to sort 250 parcels of delivery by reading address information.

[0030]

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a mail reading and sorting machine that can improve sorting efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic mail sorting machine in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the automatic mail sorting machine shown in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2... Supply section, P, -... Mail, 3, 4... Retrieval section, 5
, 6... Take-out conveyance path, 7, 8... Reading section, 9... Photoelectric conversion section,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Discrimination part, 11... Switching gate, 12... First division part, 13... Second division part, 14a, -, 15a, -... Division conveyance path, 16, -, 17, -... Pocket, 18... Operation panel, 18a...Division state selection key, 31...Control unit, 3
2... Memory, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41... Driver, 34, 38... Sorting gate, 36, 38... Transport mechanism section,
42... Solenoid.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. First and second take-out means for taking out mail pieces one by one, and first and second transport means for transporting the mail pieces taken out by these first and second take-out means. , first and second reading means for reading information from mail items conveyed by these first and second conveyance means;
A second method for sorting and stacking the mail pieces conveyed by the first and second conveying means into first and second stacking unit groups each consisting of a plurality of stacking units, according to the content read by the second reading unit. 1. Separate and independent operation of the second sorting and accumulating means and the first sorting and accumulating means, individual and independent operation of the second sorting and accumulating means, or common between the first and second sorting and accumulating means. An instruction means for selectively instructing the operation, and when an individual independent operation is instructed in the first sorting and accumulating means in accordance with the instruction of the instruction means, the mail to be taken out by the first taking out means is The first sorting and accumulating means separates and accumulates, and the second
When the separate and independent operations of the sorting and accumulating means are instructed, the second sorting and accumulating means causes the second sorting and accumulating means to sort and accumulate the mail pieces taken out by the second extracting means, and the first and second sorting and accumulating means processing means for sorting and accumulating the mail pieces taken out by the first taking out means by the first sorting and accumulating means when a common operation is instructed. Object reading sorter.