Patent ID: 6765490
Filing Date: 2004-07-20
Classification: G01N,G08B

Abstract:
A system for detecting harmful agents within the contents of mail, the system comprising:a plurality of pieces of mail processing equipment each adapted to be positioned within a mail processing facility to individually separate and contact a plurality of different sized pieces of mail at a relatively high speed, the plurality of different sized pieces of mail including a plurality of letters, at least one of the plurality of pieces of processing equipment being positioned to individually separate and contactingly capture each of the plurality of letters between a plurality of belts as the plurality of pieces of mail pass through the at least one of the plurality of pieces of mail processing equipment; a plurality of harmful agent sensors each positioned adjacent one of the plurality of pieces of mail processing equipment to sense the presence of a harmful agent in each individual piece of mail as the mail is processed by each of the plurality of pieces of mail processing equipment; at least one system processor in communication with each of the plurality of harmful agent sensors to process data received from the plurality of harmful agent sensors; and at least one alarm indicator responsive to the at least one system processor to indicate that at least one of the plurality of harmful agent sensors has sensed the presence of a harmful agent.