Device for identifying and sorting objects
AssigneeMeccanizzazione Postale e Automazione S.p.A.
InventorMario Scata
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device for identifying and sorting objects includes a low-friction surface for supporting parcels to be identified and sorted, each provided with a bar code on at least one side thereof, a dragging mechanism capable of conveying parcels from a staging area to a sorting area via a readout station which identifies each parcel by means of its bar code, and a plurality of trap doors, responsive to the readout station and located at predetermined positions on the low-friction surface, through which the identified parcels are selectively discharged and thereby routed to a corresponding plurality of intermediate or final destinations. The dragging mechanism comprises a pair of pulleys between which a flexible cable is operatively engaged which in turn pulls a plurality of drag arms over the low-friction surface.
Claims6
A device for identifying and sorting objects, each provided with a bar code applied on at least one side thereof, said device comprising:
- a low-friction surface for supporting the objects to be sorted and defining a staging area and a sorting area, said low-friction surface extending substantially in the form of a closed loop;
- dragging means running over said low-friction surface for conveying the objects along a path defined on said surface from the staging area to the sorting area, said dragging means further comprising
- a pair of pulleys,
- a flexible transmission member extending between and about said pulleys,
- a plurality of drag arms each fixed to said transmission member and adapted to run over said low-friction surface,
- identifying means for reading said bar codes and thereby identifying said objects, and
- a plurality of trap doors responsive to said identifying means and each located at a respective predetermined position on said path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.