Patent ID: 7553119
Filing Date: 2009-06-30
Classification: B07C

Abstract:
1. An automated flats handling system, comprising: a plurality of shuttles; a tray unloading section, including a first shuttle conveyor, to unload mail from a standard tray into one of the shuttles; a quality control area, including a second shuttle conveyor coupled to the first shuttle conveyor, to facilitate grooming the mail in said one of the shuttles; a shuttle tilter, coupled to the second shuttle conveyor, to tilt each shuttle prior to unloading the mail from said one of the shuttles; a shuttle return section, including a third shuttle conveyor coupled to the shuttle tilter and the first shuttle conveyor, to return each of the shuttles to the tray unloading section; and a stacker/loader to cooperate with the shuttle tilter and unload the mail from the shuttles, to create a mail stack from the unloaded mail, and to load a portion of the mail stack into an automation compatible tray, wherein the stacker/loader includes: a frame; a shelf attached to the frame; a slotted surface plate, attached to the shelf, to cooperate with a plurality of slots in each shuttle; two stackers, coupled to the frame, to unload the mail from each shuttle and to create a mail stack from the unloaded mail; a backstop, coupled to the frame, to support the front end of the mail stack; a separator, coupled to the frame, to divide the mail stack into a smaller portion of mail; and an autopaddle, coupled to the frame, to load the smaller portion of mail into the automation compatible tray.