Installation for sorting articles with a sorting conveyor having pivotally mounted flaps

A sorting conveyor for sorting articles of the postal type, comprising:

• pivotally mounted flaps for sorting said articles into sorting outlets as a function of a sorting indication affixed to each of said articles, a monitoring and control unit configured to cause each flap to pivot between a closed position in which the flap forms a conveyor portion suitable for conveying an article in a certain conveying direction and an open position in which the flap interrupts conveying of an article on said conveyor to deflect said article towards an appropriate sorting outlet, said monitoring and control unit configured to retrieve thickness data from a memory giving a certain thickness for said article to be deflected, and to respond by causing the flap to pivot into an open position through a certain opening amplitude determined as a function of said thickness data for the article that is to be deflected, said sorting conveyor including at least one cog belt fastened to each flap so as to cause the flap to pivot about a pivot axis, said cog belt being driven in rotation by a motor controlled by the monitoring and control unit.