Patent ID: 7145094

Claim:
A method of processing mail items, said items being sorted into a plurality of stacks and comprising known destination addresses, said method comprising the steps of: separating said mail items with a separating device; directing said mail items into a common transport path; stacking said mail items together in a transport order; timing said step of separating such that said mail items are transported in said transport path in distribution order according to said destination addresses; detecting said destination addresses with a detection unit; detecting leading and trailing edges of said mail items when said mail items are in said transport path with a sensor unit; diverting said mail items at a diverting location among two transport paths said paths merging at a merge location downstream from said diverting location, and at least one of said paths comprising a breaking/accelerating module arranged so as to cause a change from a first to a second order of mail items, said first order defined upstream of said diverting location and said second order defined downstream of said merge location.