Abstract:
A delivery point packaging system and method of preparing and sorting mail pieces sorts, packages and assembles mail pieces into a predetermined delivery point order.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present subject matter relates to a delivery point sorting system and method of preparing and sorting mail pieces. More specifically, the system processes and sorts mail pieces such that mail pieces can be sorted and assembled into predetermined delivery point orders. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    It is desirable for mail pieces to be sorted as efficiently and specifically as possible so that time and costs associated with manual sorting can be reduced. A need exists, therefore, for a system that can be used by a large mail processing center, such as a U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution center (“P&amp;DC”), which sorts several types of mail pieces, e.g., letters, flats, etc., that it receives from several different sources, e.g., collection mail pieces from carriers, pre-sorted bulk mail pieces from bulk mailers or mail pieces from other P&amp;DC&#39;s. A U.S. Postal Service P&amp;DC, for example, may want to be able to process, sort and package mail pieces for delivery to a local associate post office such that the mail pieces are sorted and packaged in a predetermined order such as a carrier route sequence or delivery point sequence. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The present subject matter relates to a system that is expandable, so that it can sort large or small quantities of mail pieces and can assemble the mail pieces in carrier route order or delivery point order in a single pass. 
         [0004]    An objective is to help save costs and save time associated with the manual sorting of mail pieces. 
         [0005]    Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the examples will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and the accompanying drawings or may be learned by production or operation of the examples. The objects and advantages of the concepts may be realized and attained by means of the methodologies, instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The drawing figures depict one or more implementations in accord with the present concepts, by way of example only, not by way of limitations. In the figures, like reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements. 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of a delivery point sorting system. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates a schematic diagram of bins used in the system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates a side elevation view of a portion of a processing line and main delivery point conveyors used in the system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 4 . illustrates a flow chart of a process to sort mail pieces in the system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  illustrates a schematic diagram of another example of a delivery point sorting system. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  illustrates cross-sectional side views of various bin modules used in the system shown in  FIG. 5 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  illustrates a more detailed cross-sectional side view of a portion of one of the bin modules shown in  FIG. 6 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  illustrates a top view of a bin module shown in  FIG. 6 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 9 . illustrates a flow chart of a process used to sort mail pieces in the system shown in  FIG. 5 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , one example of a delivery point sorting system  10  is shown. Mail pieces, e.g., envelopes, flats, etc., are brought to the system  10  from a staging area  12 . The mail pieces can be delivered to the system  10  from the staging area  12  via trays on a supply conveyor  14 . The system  10  includes a number of processing lines  16 , main delivery point transport conveyors  18 , residual mail feeders  20 , automatic packaging systems  22  and traying systems  24 . 
         [0017]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system generally has two types of processing lines, letter processing lines  26  and flats processing lines  28 . In the example shown in  FIG. 1 , the system has four letter processing lines  26  and five flats processing lines  28 . Each of the processing lines  16 , i.e., letter processing lines  26  and/or flats processing lines  28 , include one or more of the following general subsystems: feeder module  30 , image lift module  32 , delay module  34 , diverter module  36 , laydown module  38 , elevator module  40 , and one or more bin modules  42 . 
         [0018]    The feeder modules  30  can be letter feeders or flats feeders, as required for the type of processing line with which it is associated. Similarly, the delay modules  34  can be letter delay modules of flats delay modules as required. 
         [0019]    Each processing line  16  can be dual sided and can have one or more levels. As shown the system  10  is dual sided and has three levels, Level One  46 , Level Two  48  and Level Three  50  (See  FIG. 3 ) for a total of six rows of bin modules  42  per line. The bin modules  42  may be ones that are manufactured and sold by a company called Romec Limited (UK) and known as automated walk sequencing machines. Each bin module  42  has a number of bins  43 , each of which holds a single mail piece and has a diverter gate  44  ( FIG. 2 ) at one end that opens to divert mail from a mail piece transport  54  into the diverter bin  43 . In addition, each bin  43  has another gate (not shown) at the other end that opens to allow the mail piece to drop from the bin  43  onto a processing line delivery point conveyor  52 . 
         [0020]    The bins  43  may have various widths to accommodate different types of mail pieces. For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the bins  43  shown in  FIG. 2   a  may be approximately 1.125 inches wide to accommodate letter size mail pieces, the bins  43  shown in  FIG. 2   b  may be approximately 2.25 inches wide to accommodate flats and the bins  43  shown in  FIG. 2   c  may be 5.5 inches wide to accommodate larger and thicker flat mail pieces. 
         [0021]    Each Level of bins  43  can be assigned a range of identifiers (discussed below) such as delivery points or carrier routes, but the bins  43  are not assigned to a identifier or delivery point. As shown in  FIG. 3 , Level One bins  46  may be assigned to carriers  1 - 15 , Level Two bins  48  may be assigned to carriers  16 - 30  and Level Three bins  50  may be assigned to carriers  31 - 40 . Each row of bins has a processing line delivery point conveyor  52  positioned below it. The processing line delivery point conveyors  52  for each processing line  16  connect at approximately right angles to one of three main delivery point conveyors  18 . The three main delivery point conveyors  18  are positioned at three levels as well. A residual mail feeder  20  specifically designed for residual mail is connected to each of the main delivery point conveyors  18 . An automatic packaging system  22  and traying system  24  are also located at the end of each of the main delivery point conveyors  18 . 
         [0022]    In operation, machine operators manually load mail pieces from the supply conveyor  14  into infeed magazines in the feeders  30 . Letters are singulated and fed by the feeder  30  into the processing line  16  in vertical, landscape orientation, with the bound edge leading. Flats are singulated and fed into the processing lines  16  in vertical high-aspect orientation. Mail pieces are first transported through the image lift module  32  where images can be captured for barcode reading (“BCR”), optical character reading (“OCR”), local video encoding (“LVE”) and/or remote video encoding (“RVE”). Mail pieces are then transported through a delay module  34  that provides enough delay time for BCR, OCR, LVE and/or RVE processing to be performed so a sort decision can be made about the mail piece before it reaches the next module, e.g. the diverter  36 . All information captured by the image lift module  32  can be stored in a computer (not shown). Based on the captured information, the computer creates an electronic ID for each mail piece. The electronic ID includes information relating to the position of the mail piece within the system and other identifiers or characteristics for the mail piece. The identifiers may be unique identifiers for each mail piece, such as a delivery point result, 3- or 5-digit zip code information, a 11 digit unique identifier, PLANET code information, other 2-dimensional codes, Rf signal, etc. The computer also controls the path of each mail piece within the system  10 , so that the location and characteristics relating to each mail piece is known at all times. 
         [0023]    Based on the identification information captured at the image lift module  32 , mail pieces are then either diverted to the right side of the processing line  16 , left side of the processing line  16  or to a reject bin (not shown) by the diverter module  36 . Mail pieces diverted to a processing line  16  are then transported to the laydown module  38  where they are rotated from vertical to horizontal orientation. Next, mail pieces pass through the elevator module  40  to the proper mail piece transport  54  level, i.e., Level One  46 , Level Two  48  or Level Three  50 , as directed by the computer based upon the characteristics of the mail piece. Mail pieces are then transported along the processing line  16  horizontally and are diverted from the horizontal belt and roller mail piece transport  54  into one of the single-mail piece bins  43 , again as controlled by the computer and based upon the identification characteristics of the mail piece captured by the image lift module  32 . The location of the mailpiece is stored by the computer in the electronic ID. 
         [0024]    In tracking the location of the mail pieces through the system  10 , the computer receives signals from a variety of sources. These sources include photo cells, limit switches and proximity sensors, that can be located on or in various modules thought the system  10 , and all of which generate signals that are sent to the computer. Using these signals, the computer can maintain accurate tracking information about each mail piece within the system  10  and update the electronic ID for each mail piece as appropriate. The computer can then generate signals to a variety of output arrays and devices, including motors and solenoids, to control the location and sequencing of mail piece sorting. 
         [0025]    Once the system  10  has been loaded with all of the mail to be delivered to a particular location, e.g., such as a U.S.P.S. Associate Office for a particular day, the system  10  can begin the process of putting the mail in a desired sequence or order, such as delivery point order. Mail pieces may be dropped from the bins  43  onto the processing line delivery point conveyor  52  in a particular order based on the identifier, e.g., by a delivery point order, as directed by the computer. The processing line delivery point conveyors  52  may run the length of the processing lines  16  and transport mail pieces all the way to the main delivery point conveyors  18  at the end of the processing line delivery point conveyors  52 . All of the mail pieces destined for a particular delivery point may be collected into a single pocket  56  on one of the main delivery point conveyors  18 . The pockets  56  may be indexed or moved back and forth along the main delivery point conveyors  18  as needed to pick up the mail pieces in a delivery point order. The movement of the pockets  56  is also controlled by the computer system and software (discussed below) based on signals from the computer. 
         [0026]    After all of the mail pieces for a particular delivery point are gathered from the bins  43  and placed into a stack on a pocket  56 , residual mail may then placed on top of all or some of the delivery point mail stacks as they pass by the residual mail feeders  20 . At the end of each main delivery point conveyor  18 , delivery point mail stacks may be transferred to an automatic packaging system  22 . After delivery point mail stacks have been packaged, they may then automatically be placed into mail trays. 
         [0027]    Features of the system  10  include: flats and letters are processed separately on separate processing lines, i.e., letter processing lines  26  or flats processing lines  28 , until the final sequencing and collation process, which allows the processing rate for letters to be as great as possible. Difficult flats can be processed on a separate line  28 , which will optimize the entire throughput of the system  10 . For example, the mail piece transports  54  shown in  FIG. 2   a  may run at speeds of approximately 150 inches per second for letter size mail pieces, the mail piece transports  54  shown in  FIG. 2   b  may be run at speeds of approximately 45 inches per second for flats and the mail piece transports  54  shown in  FIG. 2   c  may be run at approximately 20 inches per second to accommodate larger and thicker flat mail pieces. 
         [0028]    Individual processing lines can also be customized to suit particular mail types and characteristics. Mail pieces can also be merged to a collation unit similar to one used with conventional mail inserting equipment. 
         [0029]    Use of individual bins  43 , reduces the risk of a mail piece colliding with another mail piece as it enters a bin  43  because only one mail piece is inserted into a bin  43 . The system  10  is able to continue operating even if any of the individual bins  43  or an entire row of bins  43  are disabled, as the computer can simply prevent mail pieces from being placed into a disabled bin. 
         [0030]    It is also possible to overlap the processing of various destinations, e.g., multiple U.S.P.S. Associate Offices, which results in increased throughput. The system  10  can also be used to preprocess mail for other P&amp;DC&#39;s. 
         [0031]    The system  10  is volume efficient, which means: it is possible to operate a portion of the overall system  10  when mail volumes are low; there is potential to realize a significant reduction in power consumption; there is potential for a significant reduction in the number of operators required. 
         [0032]    Due to the fact that the packaging equipment  22  is positioned after the end of the processing lines  16 , the system  10  allows the option of wrapping, banding or bagging the delivery point bundles. This configuration also allows the delivery point bundles to not be packaged, if necessary for future upstream processing. 
         [0033]    An operational flow chart showing the steps followed to process mail in such a system  10  is shown in  FIG. 4 . As noted above, the processing system  10  includes a computer system (not shown) which runs software that controls the sort logic and flow of the mail pieces within the system  10 . The program stores information about certain characteristics of each mail piece and/or information printed on each mail piece as well as the location of each mail piece at all times within the system. For example, the computer may store information generated from the BCR, OCR, LVE or RVE. The computer may also track the location of each mail piece at all times as it travels through the system  10 . The computer sends signals to and receives signals from various controllers associated with many parts of the systems, e.g., bin diverter gates  44 , divert/reject module  36 , elevator module  40 , as is apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. As shown in the flow chart of  FIG. 4 , the processing system generally has two phases, a loading processing phase and a purging processing phase. Generally, in the loading processing phase, the mail pieces are loaded into the bins  43 , with the location of each mail piece being tracked. In the purging processing phase, the mail pieces are purged from the bins  43 , in a predetermined order based on the identification information stored in each electronic ID, such as delivery point information and assembled into packages for delivery. 
         [0034]    Another example of a delivery point packaging system is shown in  FIG. 5 . This system  100  also uses separate processing lines  102  for letters  104  and flats  106 . The letters processing lines  102  use feeders and transports that are specifically designed for feeding letters, while the flats processing lines  106  use feeders and transports that are specifically designed for feeding flats. 
         [0035]    The overall system  100  includes the following subsystems: letters processing lines  104  and flats processing lines  106 , four main delivery point conveyors  108 ,  110 ,  112 ,  114 , residual mail feeders  116  for saturation type mail, automatic packaging modules  118  and traying systems  120 . 
         [0036]    Each processing line  104  or  106  includes the following subsystems: feeder  122 , image lift module  124 , multiple processing modules or bin modules  126  or  128 , four main delivery point conveyors  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 . 
         [0037]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the letter bin modules  126  have two levels of bins  138  (upper bins  138 A and pass-through bins  138 B, with a middle transport bin  141  in between) (See  FIG. 6   a ), while the flats bin modules  128  have a single level of bins  138  (see  FIG. 6   b ). Each bin  138  holds a single mail piece. The bins  138  are not assigned to any particular carrier routes or delivery points. A belt and roller transport  139  is positioned above each of the bin modules  126  and/or  128  and runs the length of the processing line  102 . Each bin module  126  and/or  128  includes a portion of the belt and roller transport and diverter mechanism (see  FIG. 8 ). 
         [0038]    Each bin module  126  and/or  128  includes an upper shuttle bin  140  that receives a mail piece from the belt and roller transport  139  and transfers mail pieces to the bins  138 . The upper shuttle bin  140  moves along the bin module  128  as shown by the arrows of  FIG. 7 . Each bin module  126  and/or  128  includes a lower shuttle bin  142  that transfers mail pieces from the bins  138  to one of the delivery point conveyors  108 ,  110 ,  112 ,  114 . The lower shuttle bin  142  and the middle shuttle bin  141  also index or move along the bin module  128  similar to the upper shuttle bin  140 . Each bin  138  and shuttle bin  140 ,  141 ,  142 , includes a gate at the bottom that opens to allow the mail piece to drop into the next lower bin or to the delivery point conveyor. The four delivery point conveyors  108 ,  110 ,  112 ,  114  are positioned below the bin magazine modules  126  and/or  128  and run the length of the processing line  102 . The delivery point conveyors  108 ,  110 ,  112 ,  114  for each processing line  102  connect at approximately right angles to the four main delivery point conveyors  130 ,  132 ,  134  and  136 . The four main conveyors  130 ,  132 ,  134  and  136  are positioned at four levels. The residual mail feeder  116  is specifically designed for residual mail and is connected to each of the main delivery point conveyors  130 ,  132 ,  134  and  136 . The automatic packaging system  118  and the traying system  120  are located at the end of each of the main delivery point conveyors  130 ,  132 ,  134 ,  136 . 
         [0039]    Machine operators manually load mail pieces into infeed magazines of the feeders  122 . Letters and flats are singulated and fed into the processing lines  104  or  106  in vertical landscape orientation. Mail pieces are first transported through the image lift module  124  where images are captured for BCR, OCR, LVE and/or RVE processing. Information captured or gathered about each mailpiece by the image lift module  124  is stored in a computer (not shown) similar to the computer described above with reference to the example in  FIG. 1 . An electronic ID is also similarly generated for each mail piece. Mail pieces are then transported along a transport  139  the top of the bin modules  126  or  128  until they are diverted to a particular bin module  126  or  128  as directed by the computer based upon identification information captured at the image lift module  124 . Once a mail piece has been diverted to a particular bin module  126  or  128 , the mail piece drops into the upper shuttle bin  140 . The upper shuttle bin  140  then transfers the mail piece to the next available bin  138  as also directed by the computer. 
         [0040]    Once the system has been loaded with all of the mail to be delivered to a particular location, e.g., an Associate Office for a particular day, the system begins the process of putting the mail in a sequence order based on the identification information, e.g., based on delivery point information. Each mail piece is dropped from a bin  138  into the lower shuttle bin  142 , which then transfers the mail piece to one of four delivery point conveyors  108 ,  110 ,  112 ,  114 . Mail pieces are dropped from the bins  138  onto the delivery point conveyor  108 ,  110 ,  112  and  114  in, for example, delivery point sequence order. The delivery point conveyors  108 ,  110 ,  112  and  114  that run the length of the processing lines  102  transport mail pieces to the main delivery point conveyors  130 ,  132 ,  134  and  136 . All of the mail pieces destined for a particular delivery point are collected and delivered to a single pocket (not shown) which can move along or index along the main delivery point conveyor  130 ,  132 ,  134  or  136 . After all mailpieces for a particular delivery point are collected from the bins and stacked on a main delivery point conveyor, the stack can be passed to the residual mail feeders  116 . Residual mail is placed on top of the delivery point mail stacks as they pass by the residual mail feeders  116 . At the end of each delivery point conveyor, delivery point mail stacks can be transferred to an automatic packaging system  118 . After delivery point mail stacks have been packaged, they can then be automatically placed into mail trays in the traying system  120 . 
         [0041]    The system  100  does not require a separate delay section or buffer for OCR/RVE processing. The latency time for OCR processing is automatically accommodated by the system. 
         [0042]    Flats and letters are processed separately until the final sequencing and collation process, which allows the processing rate for letters to be as great as possible. 
         [0043]    Individual processing lines  104  and  106  can be customized to suit particular mail types and characteristics. 
         [0044]    There is no risk of a mail piece colliding with another mail piece as it enters a bin  138  because only one mail piece is inserted into a bin  138 . The system  100  is also able to continue operating even if individual bins, a bin module or an entire row of bins are disabled. 
         [0045]    It is possible to overlap the processing of multiple Associate Offices, which will result in increased throughput. 
         [0046]    The system  100  is volume efficient, which means: it is possible to operate a portion of the overall system  100  when mail volumes are low; there is potential to realize a significant reduction in power consumption; there is potential for a significant reduction in the number of operators required. 
         [0047]    Due to the fact that the packaging equipment  118 ,  120  is positioned after the end of the processing line  102 , the system  100  allows the option of wrapping, banding or bagging the delivery point bundles. This configuration also allows the delivery point bundles to not be packaged, if necessary. 
         [0048]    The system  100  uses vertical module transports  139  (similar to a USPS machine known as an automatic flats sorting machine or AFSM  100 ) to move and divert mail pieces vertically rather than horizontally as in the previous example shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         [0049]    An operational flow chart showing the steps followed to process mail in such a system  100  is shown in  FIG. 9 . As noted above, the processing system  100  includes a computer system (not shown) similar to the one described above with reference to  FIG. 1  and which runs software that controls the sort logic and flow of the mail pieces within the system  100 . The program stores information about certain characteristics of each mail piece and/or information printed on each mail piece as well as the location of each mail piece at all times within the system. For example, the computer may store information generated from the BCR, OCR, LVE or RVE. The computer may also track the location of each mail piece at all times as it travels through the system  100 . The computer sends signals to and receives signals from various controllers associated with many parts of the systems, e.g., shuttle bins  140 , bins  138 , transport and diverter  139 , etc., as is apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art. As shown in the flow chart of  FIG. 9 , the processing system generally has two phases, a loading processing phase and a purging processing phase. Generally, in the loading processing phase, the mail pieces are loaded into the bin modules  124 , with the location of each mail piece being tracked. In the purging processing phase, the mail pieces are purged from the bin modules  124 , in a predetermined order based on the identification information stored in each electronic ID, such as delivery point information and assembled into packages for delivery. 
         [0050]    As shown by the above discussion, many of the functions relating to the delivery point sorting systems  10  and  100  are implemented on a computer or computers, which of course may be connected for data communication via components of a network. The hardware of such computer platforms typically is general purpose in nature, albeit with an appropriate network connection for communication via the intranet, the Internet and/or other data networks. 
         [0051]    As known in the data processing and communications arts, each such general-purpose computer typically comprises a central processor, an internal communication bus, various types of memory (RAM, ROM, EEPROM, cache memory, etc.), disk drives or other code and data storage systems, and one or more network interface cards or ports for communication purposes. The computer system also may be coupled to a display and one or more user input devices (not shown) such as alphanumeric and other keys of a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, etc. The display and user input element(s) together form a service-related user interface, for interactive control of the operation of the computer system. These user interface elements may be locally coupled to the computer system, for example in a workstation configuration, or the user interface elements may be remote from the computer and communicate therewith via a network. The elements of such a general-purpose computer system also may be combined with or built into routing elements or nodes of the network. 
         [0052]    The software functionalities (e.g., many of the steps shown in the flow charts of  FIGS. 4 and 9 ) involve programming of controllers, including executable code as well as associated stored data. The software code is executable by the general-purpose computer that functions as the particular computer. In operation, the executable program code and possibly the associated data are stored within the general-purpose computer platform. At other times, however, the software may be stored at other locations and/or transported for loading into the appropriate general-purpose computer system. Hence, the embodiments involve one or more software products in the form of one or more modules of code carried by at least one machine-readable medium. Execution of such code by a processor of the computer platform enables the platform to implement the delivery point sorting system  10  or  100  functions, in essentially the manner performed in the embodiments discussed and illustrated herein. 
         [0053]    As used herein, terms such as computer or machine readable medium refer to any medium that participates in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks, such as any of the storage devices in any computer(s). Volatile media include dynamic memory, such as main memory of such a computer platform. Physical transmission media include coaxial cables; copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a bus within a computer system. Carrier-wave transmission media can take the form of electric or electromagnetic signals, or acoustic or light waves such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media therefore include, for example: a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave transporting data or instructions, cables or links transporting such a carrier wave, or any other medium from which a computer can read programming code and/or data. Many of these forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions to a processor for execution. 
         [0054]    While the foregoing has described what are considered to be the best mode and/or other examples, it is understood that various modifications may be made therein and that the technology disclosed herein may be implemented in various forms and examples, and that they may be applied in numerous applications, only some of which have been described herein. It is intended by the following claims to claim any and all modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the advantageous concepts disclosed herein.