System for sequencing articles including mail

• US 4,244,672 A
• Filed: 06/04/1979
• Issued: 01/13/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Unisys Corporation
• Original Assignee: Burroughs Incorporated (Terreno Realty Corp.)
• Inventors: Lund, George E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kunin, Stephen G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Siemens, T. L.
• Application Number:
  US06/045,438
• Time in Patent Office: 589 Days
• Field of Search: 414/134-136, 246/4, 246/5, 246/2 S, 246/63 R, 246/63 C, 246/122 R, 246/167 R, 104/88, 198/347, 198/349, 198/350, 198/357, 198/358, 198/363, 198/366, 198/370, 364/478
• US Class Current: 198/350
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/02 Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution

Abstract

A system is provided for arranging articles in a predetermined sequence. In mail handling applications, the documents destined for local distribution may be segregated as to the respective routes of the postmen and arranged in sequence within each route in accordance with the mail-stops or street addresses. In such a system, the documents are transported by individual mechanical carriers. Temporary high density storage of the documents is provided by a recirculation buffer subsystem. Based upon system priorities, selected carriers may be taken out of buffer storage, independently of the other carriers. The selected carriers are then circulated in a short transit-time loop from which they exit to one or more output racks, where they appear in sequential order.

Claims

1. A system for sequencing articles including mail comprising in combination:

carriers coupled to said articles for providing support therefor and remaining therewith throughout the operation, escort memory means attached to each of said carriers and adapted to receive information regarding at least the destination route and stop to which the article is to be delivered;

an induction station subsystem including write station means for storing said information in the escort memory means of each of said carriers;

a recirculation buffer subsystem comprised of at least one recirculating buffer for circulating carriers bound for random routes and stops, thereby providing temporary storage therefor;

primary transport means for transporting said carriers from said induction station subsystem into said recirculating buffer;

control system means coupled to said induction station subsystem for establishing a route destination queue encompassing all of the loaded carriers in the system, and in accordance with predetermined criteria, for selecting carriers associated with a particular route to be outputted from the recirculating buffer;

read/write means situated within said recirculating buffer and so positioned with respect to the path of travel of said carriers as to read the route and stop of each carrier as contained in its escort memory;

an output accumulation rack subsystem having a plurality of individually identifiable output racks;

secondary transport means having a reentrant configuration and transporting said carriers from said recirculation buffer subsystem to said output accumulation rack subsystem;

said read/write means within said recirculating buffer being coupled to said control system means and being directed thereby to overwrite the escort memory of the carriers selected to be outputted from the recirculating buffer with information identifying at least one particular output rack and their order within said last-mentioned rack;

gate means within said recirculating buffer responsive to the overwrite action of said read/write means for permitting said selected carriers to exit said recirculating buffer and to enter said secondary transport means;

read station means situated along said secondary transport means for reading the output rack and order information stored in the escort memory of each carrier, said read station means being operatively coupled to said control system means whereby a determination is made as to whether a given carrier should be directed to said particular output rack in accordance with the sequence being established therein or be permitted to circulate via said secondary transport means for successive readings by said read station means in respective attempts to build upon said last-mentioned sequence, and gating means situated within said accumulation rack subsystem and responsive to said read station means for causing said given carrier to enter and be stored in proper sequential order in said particular output rack.

2. A system as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that said secondary transport means has a short transit-time cycle compared to that of said recirculating buffer.

3. A system as defined in claim 2 wherein said control system means comprises a computer and a plurality of interface modules for communicating data and commands between the constituents of the system.

4. A system as defined in claim 3 further characterized in that said control system means includes means for segmenting said particular route, and for assigning output rack numbers to the respective segments as well as sequence numbers to the carriers within each rack as a function of the stop information contained in their respective escort memories, said read/write means within said recirculating buffer overwriting each escort memory with the output rack number corresponding to a segment of the route and the sequence number which the carrier will have within that output rack.

5. A system as defined in claim 4 wherein said control system means includes a queue for accumulating and storing the numbers of all of the output racks which have been loaded with carriers destined for said particular route, and which are awaiting sweeping and subsequent outputting from the system.

6. A system as defined in claim 5 further characterized in that said write station means in said induction station subsystem stores in the escort memory means of each of said carriers the thickness of the article being supported thereby in addition to its route and stop information, said write/read means in said recirculating buffer reading also said thickness data.

7. A system as defined in claim 6 wherein said route destination queue includes the route destination, stop and thickness of the article for each carrier, as well as the cumulative count and thickness of the articles per route and the total count and thickness of all of the articles being circulated in the recirculation buffer subsystem.

8. A system as defined in claim 7 further characterized in that said secondary transport means is comprised of at least a flat belt for receiving carriers from said recirculating buffer, said flat belt being coupled in a simple closed loop with a timing belt for delivering said carriers to said output racks.

9. A system as defined in claim 8 wherein said recirculating buffer is comprised of friction drive belts arranged in a serpentine configuration and characterized in that the path of carrier travel provided thereby is significantly longer than that provided by said secondary transport means.

10. A system as defined in claim 9 wherein said recirculation buffer subsystem comprises a plurality of recirculating buffers.