Patent ID: 7168293

Claim:
A method for collecting residues from the mail, the method comprising: providing a residue collection system including: an aerosol chamber having an internal area maintained at a negative pressure; and at least two arrays of pinch rollers located in said internal area, each of said arrays comprising two sets of pinch rollers, each array of pinch rollers being capable of compressing a mail piece located within said internal area; compressing said mail piece in a first array of pinch rollers a sufficient amount to expel a first volume of air from within said mail piece into said internal area and an insufficient amount to fracture an outer surface of said mail piece; compressing said mail piece in a second array of pinch rollers a sufficient amount to expel a second volume of air from within said mail piece into said internal area and an insufficient amount to fracture said outer surface of said mail piece; collecting a sample of air from within said internal area; and providing said sample of air to a detection system capable of detecting if a residue is present in said sample.