Patent ID: 8596635
Filing Date: 2013-12-03
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
1. A system for conveying mailpieces along a feed path and singulating a mailpiece from a stack of mailpieces along the feed path, comprising a first conveyance for conveying mailpieces at a variable velocity, the first conveyance including a drive belt, a variable velocity motor driving the drive belt, a singulating belt opposing the drive belt, the drive and singulating belts operative to accept and apply a friction force to the stack of mailpieces such that one of the mailpieces is singulated therefrom and conveyed to the second conveyance, and a mechanism operative to displace the singulating belt toward the drive belt to vary the friction force applied to the stack of mailpieces such that the relative spacing between sequential mailpieces is varied; a second conveyance, downstream of the first conveyance, for conveying mailpieces at a constant velocity along the feed path, a series of optical sensors extending from the first to the second conveyance, and operative to issue a gap signal indicative of the relative spacing between sequential mailpieces along the feed path; and a processor, responsive to the gap signal and operative to control the first conveyance to decrease the relative spacing between sequential mailpieces when the gap signal exceeds a threshold value, wherein the drive and singulating belts define an original thickness dimension and an initial position relative to each other, and further comprising a system for determining a thickness dimension of a particular mailpiece, and a means for determining when a difference between the sum of the original thickness dimensions of each of the belts and the thickness dimension of the mailpiece exceeds a threshold value.