Flats bundle collator

• US 6,443,311 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2001
• Issued: 09/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Inventors: Mileaf, Daryl, McConnell, William P., Hendrickson, David Brian, Tilles, David Jerome
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tuan N.
• Application Number:
  US09/801,647
• Publication Number:
  US 20010009234A1
• Time in Patent Office: 543 Days
• Field of Search: 209/539, 209/540, 209/541, 209/542, 209/545, 209/584, 209/900, 209/914, 209/918, 209/919, 271/3.01, 271/3.14
• US Class Current: 209/542
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/00 Sorting according to destination collating the pages of a book B42C1/00
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/008 Means for collecting objects, e.g. containers for sorted mail items pile receivers in general B65H31/00
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/02 Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4311 Making personalised books or mail packets according to personal, geographic or demographic data
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/90 Sorting flat-type mail
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/918 Swinging or rotating pusher feeding item

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for collating a plurality of groups of mail items, such as flats mail, each group being pre-sequenced according to prioritized delivery addresses, into a final sequenced set of the mail items from the groups, utilizing the prioritized delivery addresses. Each bundle of mail items is formed into a single input stream of the individual mail items. The mail items are transported along a conveyor system from the input stream to a staging station. The mail items are sorted at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of mail items re-sequenced as an intermediate step to achieving the final sequenced sets. The mail items are then collated and merged into a single output stream from the respective subsets of mail items in the final sequenced set. Portions of the output stream from the staging station are collected in batches which maintain the sequence consistent with the prioritized delivery order sequence of the mail for a given carrier route.

Claims

1. A system for collating a plurality of items into a final sequenced set of the items, reflecting a prioritized order, comprising:

a) means for feeding the items from a single input stream to a staging station;

b) means for sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X₁ to X_n, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;

1) inserting each item into any selected one of said storage units X₁ to X_n in accordance with an insertion plan consistent with an extraction plan for the items from those storage units for achieving the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set of items; and

2) selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X₁ to X_n according to said extraction plan;

, said extraction plan determining what time to extract an item based on its storage location wherein, if the current item being extracted is in a downstream position from the storage unit of the previously extracted item, then the current storage unit from which the item is to be extracted has to postpone extraction until the previous item has passed by, and then if the current storage unit from which an item is to be extracted is upstream from the previously extracted storage unit, then the current storage unit may extract an item before the previous item is extracted, and

c) means for merging the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in said final sequenced set.

2. The system of claim 1 comprising the steps of:

determining said insertion and extraction plans by,

detecting position sequence order information of each item input to the staging station to develop an inventory of items being input, and

deciding on the insertion and extraction plans as a function of an extraction time and storage unit position of items actually stored in the storage units, and to be extracted therefrom.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

5. The system of claim 3 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

6. The system of claim 2 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

7. The system of claim 5 wherein each mail item is provided with a machine readable code thereon, said code including a postal zip code, a carrier route identity and a walk order sequence of the mail items;

and the code is read from each mail item to determine the mail item'"'"'s role in the insertion and extraction plans.

8. The system of claim 5 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof into a computer for controlling the system.

9. The system of claim 5 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the extraction plan calculates the extraction time from the respective storage units of each item therein according to the following collation rules which determine the next sequence number of an item to be extracted as follows:

a) if the next sequence is in the same storage unit, then the extraction time of that item is the current time+1;

b) if the next sequence number is upstream of the current storage unit from which an item is being extracted, then the extraction time is the current time (minus)−

(difference in current and next storage unit−

1); and

c) if the next sequence number is downstream of the current storage unit from which an item is being extracted, then the extraction time is the current time (plus)+(difference in current and next storage units+1).

11. The system of claim 5 comprising measuring the distance between mail items being transported, and generating a signal indicating a jam condition of the mail items if the distance between any two or more mail items is outside of a predetermined range of distances.

22. The method of claim 11 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

12. A method of collating a plurality of items into a final sequenced set of the items, reflecting a prioritized order, comprising the steps of:

a) feeding the items from a single input stream to a staging station;

b) sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced into an intermediate order which is different from the order input to the staging station and the prioritized order, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X₁ to X_n, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;

1) inserting each item into any selected one of said storage units X₁ to X_n in accordance with an insertion plan consistent with an extraction plan for the items from those storage units for achieving the prioritized order of the final sequenced set of items; and

2) selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X₁ to X_n according to said extraction plan;

, said extraction plan determining what time to extract an item based on its storage location wherein, if the current item being extracted is in a downstream position from the storage unit of the previously extracted item, then the current storage unit from which the item is to be extracted has to postpone extraction until the previous item has passed by, and then if the current storage unit from which an item is to be extracted is upstream from the previously extracted storage unit, then the current storage unit may extract an item before the previous item is extracted, and

c) merging the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in said final sequenced set.

13. The method of claim 12 comprising the steps of:

determining said insertion and extraction plans by,

detecting position sequence order information of each item input to the staging station to develop an inventory of items being input, and

deciding on the insertion and extraction plans as a function of an extraction time and storage unit position of items actually stored in the storage units, and to be extracted therefrom.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein each mail item is provided with a machine readable code thereon, said code including a postal zip code, a carrier route identity and a walk order sequence of the mail items;

and the code is read from each mail item to determine the mail item'"'"'s role in the insertion and extraction plans.

19. The method of claim 16 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof into a computer for controlling the method.

20. The method of claim 16 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

21. The method of claim 17 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

23. The method of claim 12 wherein the extraction plan calculates the extraction time from the respective storage units of each item therein according to the following collation rules which determine the next sequence number of an item to be extracted as follows:

a) if the next sequence number is in the same storage unit, then the extraction time of that item is the current time+1;

b) if the next sequence number is upstream of the current storage unit from which an item is being extracted, then the extraction time is the current time (minus)−

(difference in current and next storage unit−

1); and

c) if the next sequence number is downstream of the current storage unit from which an item is being extracted, then the extraction time is the current time (plus)+(difference in current and next storage units+1).

24. The method of claim 16 including the further steps of measuring the distance between mail items being transported, and generating a signal indicating a jam condition of the mail items if the distance between any two or more mail items is outside of a predetermined range of distances.

25. A method of collating a plurality of groups of items into a final sequenced set of the items from the groups, reflecting a prioritized order, comprising the steps of:

a) separating each group of items seriatim into a single input stream of the individual items;

b) transporting the items from the input stream to a staging station;

c) sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced into an intermediate order different from the prioritized order and the order input to the staging station, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X₁ to X_n, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;

1) inserting each item into any selected one of said storage units X₁ to X_n in accordance with an insertion plan consistent with an extraction plan for the items from those storage units for achieving the extraction of items into the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set of items; and

2) selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X₁ to X_n according to said extraction plan, said extraction plan determining what time to extract an item based on its storage location wherein, if the current item being extracted is in a downstream position from the storage unit of the previously extracted item, then the current storage unit from which the item is to be extracted has to postpone extraction until the previous item has passed by, and then if the current storage unit from which an item is to be extracted is upstream from the previously extracted storage unit, then the current storage unit may extract an item before the previous item is extracted;

d) merging the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in the respective storage units into said final sequenced set; and

e) collecting portions of the output stream of items consistent with the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set to form batches of items in the prioritized order.

26. The method of claim 25 wherein each group of items is presequenced according to a prioritized order.

27. The method of claim 26 further comprising the steps of:

determining said insertion and extraction plans by,

detecting position sequence order information of each item transported to the staging station to develop an inventory of items being transported thereto,

comparing each item'"'"'s detected position information in said inventory with all known sequence order information of the pre-sequenced set of items to ascertain which items are actually in the staging station; and

deciding on the insertion and extraction plans as a function of an extraction time and storage unit position of items actually stored in the storage units, and to be extracted therefrom.

28. The method of claim 25 comprising the steps of:

determining said insertion and extraction plans by,

detecting position sequence order information of each item transported to the staging station to develop an inventory of items being transported, and

deciding on the insertion and extraction plans as a function of an extraction time and storage unit position of items actually stored in the storage units, and to be extracted therefrom.

30. The method of claim 26 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

31. The method of claim 27 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

32. The method of claim 28 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

34. The method of claim 26 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

35. The method of claim 27 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

36. The method of claim 28 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

38. The method of claim 26 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

39. The method of claim 27 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

40. The method of claim 30 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

41. The method of claim 31 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

42. The method of claim 34 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

43. The method of claim 35 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

45. The method of claim 34 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof into a computer for controlling the method.

46. The method of claim 35 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof into a computer for controlling the method.

47. The method of claim 36 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof into a computer for controlling the method.

49. The method of claim 34 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

50. The method of claim 35 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

51. The method of claim 36 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

53. The method of claim 25 wherein the extraction plan calculates the extraction time from the respective storage units of each item therein according to the following collation rules which determine the next sequence number of an item to be extracted as follows:

a) if the next sequence is in the same storage unit, then the extraction time of that item is the current time+1;

b) if the next sequence number is upstream of the current storage unit from which an item is being extracted, then the extraction time is the current time (minus)−

(difference in current and next storage unit−

1); and

c) if the next sequence number is downstream of the current storage unit from which an item is being extracted, then the extraction time is the current time (plus)+(difference in current and next storage units+1).

29. The method of cam 25 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

33. The method of claim 29 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

37. The method of claim 33 wherein each mail item is provided with a machine readable code thereon, said code including a postal zip code, a carrier route identity and a delivery order sequence of the mail items;

and the code is read from each mail item to determine the mail item'"'"'s role in the insertion and extraction plans.

44. The method of claim 33 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof into a computer for controlling the method.

48. The method of claim 33 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantial identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

52. The method of claim 37 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

54. The method of claim 33 including the further steps of measuring the distance between mail items being transported, and generating a signal indicating a jam condition of the mail items if the distance between any two or more mail items is outside of a predetermined range of distances.

55. The method of claim 33 wherein the mail items comprise mail items from a group consisting essentially of;

magazines, newspapers, padded envelopes, single sheet fliers, compact disks, and poly-wrapped items.

56. The method of claim 55 wherein the mail items have substantially flat major surfaces, bound edges, and unbound edges, comprising the steps of:

edge justifying the unbound edges by aligning the unbound edges against a planar surface; and

placing the edge-justified flats mail into a vertical stack with the unbound edges aligned on one side of the stack.

57. A system for collating a plurality of groups of items into a final sequenced set of the items from the groups, reflecting a prioritized order, comprising:

a) means for separating each group of items seriatim into a single input stream of the individual items;

b) means for transporting the items from the input stream to a staging station;

c) means for sorting the items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of items re-sequenced into an intermediate order different from the prioritized order and the order input to the staging station, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X₁ to X_n, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;

1) inserting each item into any selected one of said storage units X₁ to X_n in accordance with an insertion plan consistent with an extraction plan for the items from those storage units for achieving the extraction of items into the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set of items; and

2) selectively extracting the items from any selected one of the storage units X₁ to X_n according to said extraction plan, said extraction plan determining what time to extract an item based on its storage location wherein, if the current item being extracted is in a downstream position from the storage unit of the previously extracted item, then the current storage unit from which the item is to be extracted has to postpone extraction until the previous item has passed by, and then if the current storage unit from which an item is to be extracted is upstream from the previously extracted storage unit, then the current storage unit may extract an item before the previous item is extracted;

d) means for merging the extracted items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of items in the respective storage units into said final sequenced set; and

e) means for collecting portions of the output stream of items consistent with the prioritized sequence of the final sequenced set to form batches of items in the prioritized order.

58. The system of claim 57 wherein each group of items is pre-sequenced according to a prioritized order.

59. The system of claim 58 further comprising:

means for determining said insertion and extraction plans by,

detecting position sequence order information of each item transported to the staging station to develop an inventory of items being transported thereto,

comparing each item'"'"'s detected position information in said inventory with all known sequence order information of the pre-sequenced set of items to ascertain which items are actually in the staging station; and

deciding on the insertion and extraction plans as a function of an extraction time and storage unit position of items actually to be stored in the storage units, and to be extracted therefrom.

60. The system of claim 57 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

61. The system of claim 58 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

62. The system of claim 59 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

63. The system of claim 60 wherein the insertion plan and extraction plan are representable by algorithms which are codependent.

64. The system of claim 57 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

65. The system of claim 60 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

66. The system of claim 59 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

67. The system of claim 60 wherein said items are mail items, the prioritized order is a walk order sequence of mail for a given mail carrier route, and the final sequenced set is a predetermined delivery order sequence for the given carrier route.

68. The system of claim 65 wherein each mail item is provided with a machine readable code thereon, said code including a postal zip code, a carrier route identity and a walk order sequence of the mail items;

and the code is read from each mail item to determine the mail item'"'"'s role in the insertion and extraction plans.

69. The system of claim 58 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

70. The system of claim 59 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

71. The system of claim 60 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

72. The system of claim 64 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

73. The system of claim 66 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

74. The system of claim 67 wherein said insertion and extraction plans require that substantially all items collated achieve positions in the final sequenced set with only a single pass of each item through the staging station.

75. The system of claim 65 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof.

76. The system of claim 66 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof.

77. The system of claim 67 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof.

78. The system of claim 68 including the further step of inputting the carrier route identity of the mail items to be collated and the walk order sequence thereof.

79. The system of claim 65 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

80. The system of claim 66 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

81. The system of claim 67 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

82. The system of claim 68 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

83. The system of claim 69 further including a step of inputting a saturation mailing of a plurality of substantially identical mail items, said saturation mailing being fed into the input stream after all other mail items for a given mail carrier route is stored in the storage units of the staging station.

84. The system of claim 57 wherein the extraction plan calculates the extraction time from the respective storage units of each item therein according to the following collation rules which determine the next sequence number of an item to be extracted as follows:

a) if the next sequence is in the same storage unit, then the extraction time of that item is the current time+1;

b) if the next sequence number is upstream of the current storage unit from which an item is being extracted, then the extraction time is the current time (minus)−

(difference in current and next storage unit−

1); and

c) if the next sequence number is downstream of the current storage unit from which an item is being extracted, then the extraction time is the current time (plus)+(difference in current and next storage units+1).

85. The system of claim 65 including the further steps of measuring the distance between mail items being transported, and generating a signal indicating a jam condition of the mail items if the distance between any two or more mail items is outside of a predetermined range of distances.

86. The system of claim 65 wherein the mail items comprise mail items from a group consisting essentially of, magazines, newspapers, padded envelopes, single sheet fliers, compact disks, and poly-wrapped items.

87. The system of claim 86 wherein the mail items have substantially flat major surfaces, bound edges, and unbound edges, comprising the steps of:

edge-justifying the unbound edges by aligning the unbound edges against a planar surface; and

placing the edge-justified flats mail into a vertical stack with the unbound edges aligned on one side of the stack.

88. The system of claim 57 wherein the merging device is initiated to merge the pre-sequenced groups to form the input stream during feeding of the last pre-sequenced group of mail items into the input stream.

89. The system of claim 57 wherein each subset is stored in the storage units in a separate vertical stack of mail items.

90. The system of claim 89 wherein said vertical stacks are formed in a plurality of juxtaposed staging towers disposed along the transport conveyor, each staging tower including:

a housing for the tower defining a vertically oriented volume of space;

a shelf storage zone in the housing in the space below the conveying path, for storing a plurality of vertically stacked empty shelves separated by a predetermined pitch between the shelves;

an item storage zone above the conveying path for storing the shelves and items thereon to form a stack of items separated by a selected pitch;

a transfer zone between the shelf storage zone and the item storage zone for accommodating the conveyor; and

an elevator mechanism for moving the shelves one at a time from the shelf storage zone, through the transfer zone, and into the item storage zone in response to signals from the sorting device and means for merging;

each shelf picking up items on the conveyor in the transfer zone and lifting the items into the item storage zone.

91. The system of claim 90 wherein said transport conveyor includes a plurality of spaced movable members defining a conveying surface and the shelves include spaced fingers vertically movable through the space between the movable members in response to engagement with the elevator mechanism.

92. The system of claim 91 wherein the elevator mechanism comprises;

a first endless belt disposed on rotatable pulleys for vertical movement through the shelf storage zone; and

a plurality of spaced lugs extending from the endless belt for engaging and lifting the shelves;

a second endless belt disposed on rotatable pulleys for vertical movement through the transfer zone, and a plurality of lugs on the second endless belt for engaging shelves in the transfer zone as the shelves emerge from the top of the shelf storage zone; and

a third endless belt disposed on rotatable pulleys in the item storage zone, said third endless belt having lugs extending therefrom for picking up shelves emerging at the top of the transfer zone with the items thereon and lifting the shelves and items into the item storage zone.

93. The system of claim 89 further comprising:

at least two collection assemblies for selectively extracting items from the conveyor, each collection assembly including a pop-up conveyor section movable between a first position operatively aligned with the transport conveyor for receiving items exiting the transport conveyor and moving the items along the pop-up conveyor section to bypass an associated container, and a second position for diverting the items exiting the transport conveyor into the associated container, said collection assemblies being disposed in tandem at an output end of the transport conveyor;

an actuator for each pop-up conveyor for moving the section between the first and second positions; and

a collection controller for selectively energizing the actuators.

94. The system of claim 93 wherein the associated containers are rectangular tubs with five closed sides and one open side, and there is further provided means for supporting the tub with the open side tilted at an angle with respect to horizontal, an inclined chute for feeding items diverted by the pop-up conveyor section into a selected one of the tubs and an indexing device for moving the tub down relative to an output end of inclined chute as the tub is being filled with items at an indexing rate related to the rate of flow of item into the tub.

95. The system of claim 94 further including an inclined baffle disposed within each tilted tub for engaging items exiting the chutes and deflecting the items downwardly toward a bottom end of the tilted tubs.

96. The system of claim 95 wherein the indexing assembly includes at least one endless drive belt disposed on rotatable pulleys, the drive belt being operatively connected to the tub for transporting the relative movement thereto, and a motor for driving the endless drive belt.