Method for detecting single postal covers and postal covers stuck together in a mail sorting machine

• US 20050105766A1
• Filed: 06/12/2003
• Published: 05/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Solystic
• Original Assignee: Solystic
• Inventors: Cyrille, Prudhomme, Hicham, El Bernoussi, Fesquet, Etienne
• Granted Patent: US 7,446,278 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/101
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 1/02 Forming articles into a stream; Arranging articles in a stream, e.g. spacing, orientating transport of sheets B65H
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 1/04 Forming a stream from a bulk; Controlling the stream, e.g. spacing the articles
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/14 using light-responsive detecting means for information carriers G06K7/14
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 7/125 sensing the double feed or separation without contacting the articles
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/10 Image acquisition document image scanning and transmission H04N1/00; control of digital cameras H04N23/60
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/12 Detection or correction of errors, e.g. by rescanning the pattern
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/424 Postal images, e.g. labels or addresses on parcels or postal envelopes
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/90 Sorting flat-type mail

Abstract

The method of detecting single postal items and multiple overlapping postal items in a postal sorting installation consists in analyzing images (5) representing postal items (6) viewed from in front, and in applying to each image an outline-extracting process (10) in order to recognize items (6) having an outline (10) of substantially constant height as being single items. In this method, the reliability with which single items is detected is improved, and the digital image used for analysis purposes can be the digital image which is also used for optical character recognition processing in the postal sorting installation.

Claims

1. A method of detecting single postal items and multiple overlapping postal items in a postal sorting installation by analyzing images (5) representing said postal items (6) viewed from in front, said method being characterized in that it consists in applying to each image (5) an outline-extraction process, and in recognizing the postal items (6) that have an outline (10) of substantially constant height as being single items.

2. A method according to claim 1, in which said postal images viewed from in front are also used by optical character recognition processing for automatically identifying the addresses on said postal items.

3. A method according to claim 2, in which said outline-extraction process consists in directly extracting data representing the height of said outline at various points.

4. A method according to claim 2, in which the postal items that have a non-constant outline are processed by a classifier so as to discriminate between single postal items and multiple overlapping postal items.

5. A method according to claim 1, for a postal sorting installation including a device for rejecting multiple overlapping postal items, which method consists n deactivating rejection of multiple overlapping postal items when a predetermined number (n1ref) of consecutive postal items are detected as being multiple overlapping postal items (6, 6′

), said rejection being deactivated until no multiple overlapping mail items are detected for another predetermined number of consecutive postal items.