Patent ID: 7112031

Claim:
A method of sweeping mail pieces from pockets of an automated sorting machine of the type which receives mail pieces one at a time, reads destination information from each mail piece, and then conveys each mail piece to one of a plurality of pockets based on the destination information, the method comprising: sorting mail pieces to a plurality of the pockets of the sorter based upon a preselected sorting criteria, the mail pieces being stacked on edge in the pockets; positioning an unloading robot adjacent to a selected one of the pockets when the pocket has received a predetermined volume of mail pieces, the robot carrying a tray having upright side walls and bottom wall; sweeping mail pieces in the pocket with a sweeping apparatus, each of the mail pieces being supported on edge as the mail pieces are swept from the pocket; loading the removed mail pieces into the tray carried by the robot; and carrying the tray containing the removed mail pieces to a destination with the robot, such that the robot is no longer positioned at the selected one of the pockets.