Item collating system and method
AssigneeNeopost Technologies
InventorsJan Jacobus Peter Remijnse, Sjoerd Van Netten, Thomas Rudolphi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A postal item collating system is disclosed. The system includes a postal item feeding path (3), a plurality of grippers (8) receptive of a postal item (2) from the feeding path (3), and a drive (11) for driving the plurality of grippers (8) along a circulation path (10). A collector (12) is disposed downstream from the postal item feeding path (3) and removes a received postal item (2) from a gripper (8) as it proceeds past the stationary collector (12). A controller (21) in signal communication with the drive (11) is responsive to a property signal (31, 34) based upon a property of the received postal item (2) to adjust a velocity of the string of grippers (8).
Claims18
A postal item collating system comprising:
- a feeding path for feeding postal items to be collated;
- at least one gripper;
- a drive in operative communication with said at least one gripper for driving said at least one gripper along a circulation path, wherein said at least one gripper is arranged for receiving a postal item from the feeding path when in a section of the circulation path downstream of the feeding path;
- a collector disposed along the circulation path downstream of the feeding path removing a postal item from said at least one gripper as the at least one gripper proceeds past the collector;
- and
- a controller having an input for inputting a signal representing a property of the received postal item and an output in signal communication with the drive for controlling the velocity of said at least one gripper along the circulation path, the controller being responsive to the inputted property signal for controlling the velocity of said at least one gripper along the circulation path in accordance with the inputted property signal,
- wherein the controller is responsive to the property signal to control a velocity of collision of the received postal item against the collector, said postal item collating system further comprising a sensor disposed proximate the feeding path and in signal communication with the controller, the sensor being productive of the property signal.
A method of collating postal items comprising:
- feeding a postal item to be collated along a feeding path;
- receiving, within at least one gripper, the postal item from the feeding path;
- driving with a drive said at least one gripper along a circulation path from downstream of the paper feeding path to a collector;
- controlling with a controller a velocity of said at least one gripper;
- and
- removing the postal item received by said at least one gripper with the collector as said at least one gripper proceeds along the circulation path past the collector,
- wherein said method of collating postal items further comprises
- determining a property of a postal item to be received by said at least one gripper with a sensor disposed along the feeding path;
- and
- generating a property signal in accordance with a sensed property of the postal item, wherein said controlling the velocity comprises controlling a velocity of collision of the received postal item against the collector.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.