Expanded flats bundle collator

• US 6,685,030 B1
• Filed: 06/04/2001
• Issued: 02/03/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (Northrop Grumman Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Inventors: Mileaf, Daryl S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, Donald P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, Jonathan R.
• Application Number:
  US09/871,620
• Time in Patent Office: 974 Days
• Field of Search: 209/542, 209/584, 209/900, 209/918, 209/919, 209/964, 209/541, 209/545
• 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 system for collating groups of flats mail items for a plurality of carrier routes into carrier walk order sequence (CWS) using a Flats Bundle Collator (FBC) system which is capable of pre-staging carrier route subsets in one or more staging towers, or immediately collating a group into CWS for a group being fed into the system. The pre-staged subsets can be collated by the staging towers on demand. A U-shaped footprint for the FBC facilitates loading and unloading by the same operator. Additional input feeders may be added to the modular FBC, as well as random sequence towers.

Claims

1. A method of collating a plurality of mail items into a final sequenced set of mail items for delivery to predetermined delivery points of a plurality of carrier routes, comprising the steps of:

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

b) sampling each mail item in the input stream to determine a carrier route identity, and a delivery point thereof;

c) pre-staging selected ones of the mail items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of mail items, 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 the mail items in carrier-specific subsets by inserting each mail item into a carrier-specific subset in a selected one of the storage units;

d) selectively sorting the mail items of either pre-staged carrier-specific subsets or mail items of a carrier route being fed from the single input stream at the staging station into one or more of subsets of mail items re-sequenced into an intermediate order, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;

1) inserting each mail 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 mail items from those storage units for achieving the delivery point sequence (DPS) of the final sequenced set of mail items; and

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

e) merging the extracted mail items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of mail items into said final sequenced set in delivery point sequence (DPS).

2. The method of claim 1 comprising the further step of:

collecting portions of the output stream of the mail items in delivery point sequence and reversing the order thereof into batches of mail items in carrier walk sequence (CWS).

3. The method of claim 2 wherein only one subset of items for each carrier route is inserted into, and stored in, some storage units.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein more than one subset of items for a plurality of carrier routes is stored in other storage units.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein more than one subset of items for a plurality of carrier routes is stored in some storage units.

6. The method of claim 2 wherein some of said mail items are in a different order from DPS, and are pre-staged separately in the staging station from the mail items in DPS.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said different order is random order.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein said different order is enhanced carrier line-of-travel (LOT).

9. A computer program embodied in a machine-readable medium for collating a plurality of mail items into a final sequenced set of mail items for delivery to predetermined delivery points of a plurality of carrier routes, comprising the steps of:

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

b) a segment for sampling each mail items in the input stream to determine a carrier route identity, and a delivery point thereof;

c) a segment for pre-staging selected ones of the mail items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of mail items, said staging station having a plurality of storage units X₁ and X_n, wherein n is the total number of storage units, said storage units temporarily storing the mail items in carrier-specific subsets by inserting each mail item into a carrier-specific subset in a selected one of the storage units;

d) a segment for selectively sorting the mail items of either pre-staged carrier-specific subsets or mail items of a carrier route being fed from the single input stream at the staging station into one or more of subsets of mail items re-sequenced into an intermediate order, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said storage units temporarily storing the mail items in said subsets by instruction from the program for;

1) inserting each of the mail items 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 mail items from those storage units for achieving the delivery point sequence (DPS) of the final sequenced set of mail items; and

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

e) a segment for merging the extracted mail items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of mail items into said final sequenced set in delivery point sequence (DPS).

10. The computer program of claim 9 comprising a further segment for:

collecting portions of the output stream of the mail items in delivery point sequence and reversing the order thereof into batches of mail items in carrier walk sequence (CWS).

11. The computer program of claim 10 wherein only one subset of items for each carrier route is inserted into, and stored in, some storage units.

12. The computer program of claim 11 wherein more than one subset of items for a plurality of carrier routes is stored in other storage units.

13. The computer program of claim 10 wherein more than one subset of items for a plurality of carrier routes is stored in some storage units.

14. The computer program of claim 10 wherein some of said mail items are in a different order from DPS, and are pre-staged separately in the staging station from the mail items in DPS.

15. The computer program of claim 14 wherein said different order is random order.

16. The computer program of claim 14 wherein said different order is enhanced carrier line-of-travel (LOT).

17. A computer program embodied in a digital signal for collating a plurality of mail items into a final sequenced set of mail items for delivery to predetermined delivery points of a plurality of carrier routes, comprising the steps of:

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

b) a segment for sampling each mail items in the input stream to determine a carrier route identity, and a delivery point thereof;

c) a segment for pre-staging selected ones of the mail items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of mail items, 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 the mail items in carrier-specific subsets by inserting each mail item into a carrier-specific subset in a selected one of the storage units;

d) a segment for selectively sorting the mail items of either pre-staged carrier-specific subsets or mail items of a carrier route being fed from the single input stream at the staging station into one or more of subsets of mail items re-sequenced into an intermediate order, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said storage units temporarily storing said items in said subsets by instruction from the program for;

1) inserting each mail 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 mail items from those storage units for achieving the delivery point sequence (DPS) of the final sequenced set of mail items; and

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

e) a segment for merging, the extracted mail items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of mail items into said final sequenced set in delivery point sequence (DPS).

18. The computer program of claim 17 comprising a further segment for:

collecting portions of the output stream of the mail items in delivery point sequence and reversing the order thereof into batches of mail items in carrier walk sequence (CWS).

19. The computer program of claim 18 wherein only one subset of items for each carrier route is inserted into, and stored in, some storage units.

20. The computer program of claim 19 wherein more than one subset of items for a plurality of carrier routes is stored in other storage units.

21. The computer program of claim 18 wherein more than one subset of items for a plurality of carrier routes is stored in some storage units.

22. The computer program of claim 18 wherein some of said mail items are in a different order from DPS, and are pre-staged separately in the staging station from the mail items in DPS.

23. The computer program of claim 22 wherein said different order is random order.

24. The computer program of claim 22 wherein said different order is enhanced carrier line-of-travel (LOT).

25. A system for collating a plurality of mail items into a final sequenced set of mail items for delivery to predetermined delivery points of a plurality of carrier routes, comprising the steps of:

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

b) means for sampling each mail item in the input stream to determine a carrier route identity, and a delivery point thereof;

c) means for pre-staging selected ones of the mail items at the staging station into a plurality of subsets of mail items, 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 the mail items in carrier-specific subsets by inserting each mail item into a carrier-specific subset in a selected one of the storage units;

d) means for selectively sorting the mail items of either pre-staged carrier-specific subsets or mail items of a carrier route being fed from the single input stream at the staging station into one or more of subsets of mail items re-sequenced into an intermediate order, as an intermediate step to achieving said final sequenced set, said storage units, temporarily storing said items in said subsets by;

1) inserting each mail 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 mail items from those storage units for achieving the delivery point sequence (DPS) of the final sequenced set of mail items; and

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

e) means for merging the extracted mail items into a single output stream from the respective subsets of mail items into said final sequenced set in delivery point sequence (DPS).

26. The system of claim 25 further comprising:

means for collecting portions of the output stream of the mail items in delivery point sequence and reversing the order thereof into batches of mail items in carrier walk sequence (CWS).

27. The system of claim 26 wherein only one subset of items for each carrier route is inserted into, and stored in, some storage units.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein more than one subset of items for a plurality of carrier routes is stored in other storage units.

29. The system of claim 26 wherein more than one subset of items for a plurality of carrier routes is stored in some storage units.

30. The system of claim 26 wherein some of said mail items are in a different order from DPS, and are pre-staged separately in the staging station from the mail items in DPS.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein said different order is random order.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein said different order is enhanced carrier line-of-travel (LOT).

33. The system of claim 26 wherein said storage units are arranged to define a U-shaped footprint with an input thereto and an output therefrom adjacently disposed to facilitate loading and unloading of mail items by a single operator.

34. The system of claim 26 wherein said means for feeding includes more than one feeder assembly for inputting different groups of mail items to the staging station.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein at least one of the feeder assemblies includes one of said towers.