Patent ID: 7494123

Claim:
A mechanical device for measuring the width L of a mail item on the fly in a mail handling machine in which mail items are caused to move along a mail item conveyor path, parallel to a reference wall; said mechanical device comprising a device for detecting a leading edge of a mail item, an upstream lever disposed across said mail item conveyor path and forming a determined angle relative to said reference wall, a device for detecting said upstream lever moving as said leading edge of the mail item goes past, a downstream lever disposed across said mail item conveyor path and forming a determined angle relative to said reference wall, a device for detecting said downstream lever moving as said leading edge of the mail item goes past, a device for determining a first movement distance over which said leading edge of the mail item moves between said device for detecting a leading edge of a mail item and a point of activation at which said leading edge activates said upstream lever, which point of activation is determined by said device for detecting said upstream lever moving, and for also determining a second movement distance over which said leading edge of the mail item moves between said device for detecting a leading edge of a mail item and a second point of activation at which said leading edge activates said downstream lever, which second point of activation is determined by said device for detecting said downstream lever moving, and a computation device for computing said width L of the mail item on the basis of said first and second movement distances.