Mail sorting apparatus and method

• US 4,254,875 A
• Filed: 08/13/1979
• Issued: 03/10/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Emery Varhelyi
• Original Assignee: Emery Varhelyi
• Inventors: Varhelyi, Emery
• Primary Examiner(s): Knowles, Allen N.
• Application Number:
  US06/066,169
• Time in Patent Office: 575 Days
• Field of Search: 209/3.3, 209/3.2, 209/569, 209/583, 209/584, 209/702-705, 209/DIG. 900, 209/547, 312/234, 312/234.1-234.4, 211/10, 101/2, 312/212, 312/250, 312/270, 312/301, 312/283, 312/287, 258/2, 258/20
• US Class Current: 209/547
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 7/02 Compartmented furniture, e.g. pigeon-holes B07C7/005 takes precedence; furniture per se A47B; storage racks B65G
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/90 Sorting flat-type mail

Abstract

A sorting apparatus and method for sorting mail matter. The apparatus comprises a cabinet including a series of rows of pigeonholes, each pigeonhole having in registry therewith indicia provided on a shiftable support setting forth destination information, as well as related code information, for the mail matter to be placed therein. One indicia-bearing support is provided for each row of pigeonholes, and the indicia are arranged thereon in sets. The full complement of indicia-bearing supports are simultaneously shiftable between multiple given positions corresponding to the number of sets of indicia.

The method is carried out by first positioning the full complement of supports to display a primary set of indicia. The destination of the uncoded mail matter to be sorted is matched with the indicia of the primary set and deposited in the appropriate pigeonhole. The accumulated mail matter is removed from the pigeonholes, and the full complement of supports is shifted to display a selected one of the remaining sets of indicia, each set of which bears a species-genus relationship to one of the indicia of the primary set. Thereafter, the indicia of the primary set generic to the selected secondary set of indicia is identified. The indicia on the mail matter removed from the pigeonhole associated with the identified primary indicia is then matched with the corresponding indicia of the displayed secondary set and deposited in the appropriate pigeonhole. The mail matter may be encoded during sorting.

Claims

1. A sorting cabinet for mail matter comprising a base, partition means defining a plurality of pigeonholes, said pigeonholes being aligned in a series of rows on said base, one indicator means associated with each of said rows of pigeonholes, said indicator means comprising multiple sets of indicia means and shiftable support means on which said sets are supported, guide means positioning said indicator means adjacent its associated row of pigeonholes and means for simultaneously shifting said indicator means between multiple given positions corresponding in number to said sets, said indicia means indicating the mail matter to be placed in said pigeonholes, each set of indicia means being in registry with said pigeonholes when its associated indicator means is in one of said given positions.

2. A sorting cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said base includes sidewalls, and said partition means comprises a plurality of shelves extending laterally between said sidewalls and a plurality of divider elements extending vertically between said shelves.

3. A sorting cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said multiple sets of indicia means comprises a primary ordered set of indicia means and a plurality of secondary ordered sets of indicia means.

4. A sorting cabinet according to claim 3 wherein each indicia means of said secondary sets of indicia means has associated therewith code-bearing means carried by said support means for encoding a portion of said indicia means onto the mail matter placed in said pigeonholes.

5. The sorting cabinet according to claim 4 wherein the code-bearing means comprises a stencil.

6. The sorting cabinet according to claim 4 wherein the code-bearing means comprises an embossed printing plate.

7. A sorting cabinet according to claim 2 wherein said base is arcuate around a center point, providing a workspace for a sorter between said center point and said partition means, and wherein said shelves are in substantial arcuate alignment with said base.

8. A sorting cabinet according to claim 2 wherein said divider elements comprise a lower rigid portion and an upper flexible portion for the accommodation of large size mail matter.

9. A sorting cabinet according to claim 2 wherein each pigeonhole has associated therewith telescoping container means, said container means being movable between a contracted position and an extended position, the capacity of the pigeonholes being equal to the capacity of said container means when said container means is in said contracted position, and the capacity of said pigeonholes being about twice the capacity of said container means when said container means is in the extended position.

10. A sorting cabinet according to claim 2 wherein said support means comprises a flexible strip means extending along each row of said pigeonholes substantially in the plane of the front openings of said pigeonholes.

11. A sorting cabinet according to claim 2 wherein said shifting means comprises a pair of vertical shafts having upper and lower ends, said shafts being rotatably mounted on the exterior of each sidewall of said cabinet, a series of reels fixedly mounted on each shaft, the number of said reels on each shaft corresponding to the number of said rows of pigeonholes, each reel being disposed adjacent a shelf, said shafts thereby providing pairs of opposing reels on each side of said cabinet in substantial alignment with said shelves, one of said flexible strips being reeled on each pair of opposing reels, means for imparting rotary motion to one of said shafts and means for transmitting said rotary motion to the other of said shafts.

12. A sorting cabinet according to claim 11 wherein said one shaft is provided with beveled gear-wheels on its upper and lower ends, said other shaft is provided with a beveled gear-wheel on its upper end, said motion imparting means comprises an electric motor having a horizontally disposed drive shaft and a beveled pinion mounted on the distal end of said drive shaft, said pinion meshing with said lower gear-wheel, and wherein said said motion transmitting means comprises a horizontally disposed rod having beveled pinions mounted on each end thereof, said rod-mounted pinions meshing with said upper gear-wheels.

13. A method for sorting mail matter wherein said mail matter is sorted in a cabinet comprising a base, partition means defining a plurality of rows of a predetermined number of pigeonholes, said pigeonholes being aligned in a series of rows on said base, one indicator means associated with each of said rows of pigeonholes, said indicator means comprising a primary ordered set of indicia means, a plurality of secondary ordered sets of indicia means, and shiftable support means on which said primary and said secondary indicia means are supported, the number of indicia means in said primary set being no greater than the predetermined number of pigeonholes, the number of indicia means in each of said secondary sets being no greater than the predetermined number of pigeonholes, each set of indicia means within said secondary sets being related to an indica means within said primary set in the manner of species to a genus, the indicia means in each of said sets being in registry with said pigeonholes when said indicator means are in a given position, and means for simultaneously shifting said indicator means between given positions, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning said indicator means to display said primary set of indicia means in registry with said pigeonholes;

(b) matching the indicia on said mail matter with the indicia means of said primary set and depositing said mail matter in the pigeonhole in registry with the matched indicia means;

(c) removing the accumulated mail matter from all of said pigeonholes;

(d) shifting said indicator means to display a selected one of said secondary sets of indicia means in registry with said pigeonholes;

(e) thereafter identifying indicia means of the primary set generic to said selected secondary set and the mail matter removed from the pigeonhole associated with said primary indicia means; and

(f) matching the indicia on said identified mail matter with the corresponding indicia means of said displayed secondary set and depositing said identified mail matter in the pigeonhole in registry with the matched indicia means.

14. The method of claim 13 which additionally comprises the step of encoding a portion of said indicia means of said displayed secondary set onto said mail matter deposited in the pigeonhole in registry therewith.

15. The method according to claim 14 wherein each of said secondary sets of indicia means has associated therewith code-bearing means carried by said support means for encoding a portion of said indicia means onto the mail matter to be placed in said pigeonholes and the encoding step includes detaching said code-bearing means from said support means, and imprinting said code onto the mail matter deposited in the pigeonhole associated with said code-bearing means.

16. The method according to claim 14 wherein each of said secondary sets of indicia means has associated therewith code-bearing means carried by said support means for encoding a portion of said indicia means onto the mail matter to be placed in said pigeonholes and the encoding step includes impressing the code-bearing means onto the mail matter deposited in the pigeonhole associated with said code-bearing means to imprint said code onto said mail matter.

17. The method according to claim 14 wherein said encoding step includes providing computer means with data input comprising a predetermined sequence of pigeonhole locations and code information corresponding to each pigeonhole location, said computer means being responsive to said data input and operable to cause removal of mail matter from said pigeonholes in said predetermined sequence and to activate encoding means for encoding onto said mail matter the code information corresponding to the pigeonhole location from which said mail matter was removed, removing said mail matter from said pigeonholes in said predetermined sequence and encoding onto said mail matter said code information.

18. The method according to claim 14 wherein said encoding step comprises providing computer means with data input comprising a sequence of pigeonhole locations and code information corresponding to each pigeonhole location, said computer means being responsive to sensing means for sensing pigeonhole locations to cause the removal of mail matter from a pigeonhole and to activate endoding means for encoding onto said mail matter the code information corresponding to the pigeonhole location from which said mail matter was removed, sensing a pigeonhole location on the sorting cabinet with said sensing means, removing the mail matter from said pigeonhole, and encoding on said mail matter said code information.

19. The method according to claim 14 wherein said encoding step includes using said indicia means of said displayed secondary set to provide data input to a integrated circuit device, said device being responsive to said data input and operable to activate encoding means whereby a portion of said indicia means is encoded onto mail matter removed from said pigeonhole in registry with said indicia means.