Patent ID: 8256760

Claim:
A system for conveying mailpieces along a feed path, comprising: a first conveyance operative to convey mailpieces along the feed path, the first conveyance including a singulating belt and a drive belt, the singulating belt engaging the mailpiece and moving at a velocity higher than the drive belt to singulate the mailpiece from the stack of mailpieces; a second conveyance for accepting mailpieces from the first conveyance and conveying the singulated mailpiece downstream of the first conveyance; a series of sensors extending from the first to the second conveyance, and operative to issue a gap signal indicative of the location and relative spacing between sequential mailpieces along the feed path; a means, responsive to the gap signal, for varying the velocity of the drive belt based upon the location of the gap signal along the series of sensors, and a means, responsive to the gap signal, for developing a variable opposing force between the singulating and drive belts based upon the location of the gap signal along the series of sensors.