Patent ID: 8517660
Filing Date: 2013-08-27
Classification: B07C,B65H

Abstract:
1. A system for singulating mailpieces, comprising; a first conveyance including a pair of opposing belts for singulating a mailpiece from a stack of mailpieces, the opposing belts including a drive belt and a singulating belt defining a throat therebetween for accepting the stack, the drive belt engaging a mailpiece, the singulating belt operative to retard the motion of a portion of the stack such that the mailpiece engaging the drive belt is driven through a nip defined between the opposing belts; a second conveyance, downstream of the first conveyance, for conveying mailpieces along a feed path; a series of optical sensors extending along the throat and at least to the nip, the sensors furthermore operative to issue a gap signal indicative of the location of the separation between mailpieces along a feed path; a processor, responsive to the gap signal, and operative to control the first conveyance to vary the relative spacing between sequential mailpieces from the first to the second conveyances; an actuation mechanism operative to apply a force pulse through the singulating belts to momentary separate mailpieces of the stack and augment singulation of the mailpiece from the stack by the first conveyance and wherein the singulating belt is disposed about at least a pair of rolling elements separated by a structural arm which is pivotally mounted to a support structure about a rotational axis, and further comprising an actuator operative to rotate the singulating belt about the axis toward the drive belt to impose the force pulse to the stack of mailpieces.