Patent ID: 8766128

Claim:
An escort-based sorting system for a mail sorting center, comprising: a plurality of input stations each including a mechanism for loading mailpieces into an escort device and a means for obtaining mailpiece data contained on each mailpiece, a plurality of sorting banks receiving the mailpieces from the input stations and including a plurality of sorting modules operative to sort mailpieces by transferring select mailpieces across multiple conveyance paths, the sorting modules defining at least one row and plurality of tiers, a plurality of elevators operative to move the escorted mailpieces to and from the tiers of each sorting bank; and a system controller, operatively coupled to the input stations, sorting banks and elevators to (i) process the mailpiece data for creating an association between the mailpiece and the escort device, (ii) sort the mailpieces in the sorting banks and dispatch the mailpieces from the sorting banks in accordance with a dispatch schedule.