Method and apparatus for processing envelopes containing contents

An apparatus for processing a batch of pieces of mail having contents, comprising:

• an extraction station for extracting the contents from a piece of mail;
• a thickness detector operable to detect the thickness of the piece of mail while the piece of mail is in the extraction station;
• a transport operable to convey the piece of mail away from the extraction station;
• a controller operable to control the transport such that the transport automatically conveys the piece of mail away from the extraction station when the detected thickness for the piece of mail is below a threshold, wherein the controller determines the threshold by averaging the detected thicknesses of selected pieces of mail preceding the piece of mail in the batch.

A method for processing a batch of pieces of mail having contents, comprising the steps of:

• extracting contents from a piece of mail;
• measuring the thickness of the piece of mail during the step of extraction of contents;
• determining a thickness threshold by averaging the detected thicknesses of selected pieces of mail in the batch that precede the piece of mail;
• and
• conveying the piece of mail toward a discharge area in response to an indication that the measured thickness for the piece of mail is below the determined thickness threshold.

An apparatus for processing a batch of pieces of mail having contents, comprising:

• an extraction station for extracting the contents from a piece of mail;
• a thickness detector operable to detect the thickness of the piece of mail while the piece of mail is in the extraction station;
• a transport operable to convey the piece of mail away from the extraction station;
• a controller operable to control the transport such that the transport automatically conveys the piece of mail away from the extraction station when the detected thickness for the piece of mail is below a threshold, wherein the controller determines the threshold by averaging the detected thicknesses of pieces of mail preceding the piece of mail in the batch;
• and
• a second thickness detector spaced apart from the extraction station, operable to verify that the contents have been extracted from the piece of mail if the second thickness detector detects a thickness that is below a verification threshold thickness wherein the verification threshold thickness is calculated according to criteria that are different than the criteria used to calculate the thickness threshold.