Patent ID: 6598748
Filing Date: 2003-07-29
Classification: B07C,B65H,Y10S

Abstract:
A method of collating a plurality of items into a final sequenced set of the items in preparation for delivery to predetermined delivery points, some items being pre-sequenced according to a prioritized order reflecting the delivery points, and other items being in a different order than the prioritized order, comprising the steps of:forming a single input stream of the items; transporting the items from the input stream to a staging station; sampling items in the input stream to determine if the sampled items are part of the pre-sequenced prioritized order or are in said different order; sorting the pre-sequenced items in the prioritized order at the staging station into one or more subsets of items re-sequenced into an intermediate order, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set; rearranging the items in the different order into a repaired sequence reflecting the prioritized order, and inserting items of the repaired sequence into one or more subsets at the staging station; merging all items output from the staging station into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items into said final sequenced set; and collecting portions of the output stream of items consistent with the sequence of the final sequenced set to form batches of items in the prioritized order reflecting a preferred sequence of the delivery points.