Patent ID: 8430390

Claim:
A method for gathering postal items, comprising, for each of a plurality of postal items: circulating at least one gripper at an initial gripper speed of transport along a circulation path having a receiving section in which the gripper passes along a downstream end of a postal item feeding path; feeding the postal item along the postal item feeding path at an initial postal item speed of transport until a leading edge of the postal item has reached the circulation path and is gripped between jaws of the at least one gripper, wherein, each time from prior to the gripping of the postal item until after the postal item has been gripped, at least: the speed of transport of the gripper along the circulation path is a reduced speed of transport with regard to the initial gripper speed of transport, or the speed of transport of the postal item along the feeding path is an increased speed of transport with regard to the initial postal item speed of transport; such that a temporary difference between the speed of transport of the gripper and the speed of transport of the postal item is caused; and subsequently, when said one of the postal items is still gripped by the gripper, transporting said one of the postal items at the initial postal item speed of transport until the postal item is released from the gripper at a postal item collector along a delivery section of the circulation path, the delivery section being spaced in the sense of circulation from the receiving section of the circulation path; and collating the released postal item at the postal item collector to form a collated set.