Method and apparatus for processing mail to obtain image data of contents

• US 8,157,254 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2009
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Opex Corporation
• Original Assignee: Opex Corporation
• Inventors: DeWitt, Robert R., Hayduchok, George L, Chezik, Peter M
• Primary Examiner(s): NICHOLSON III, LESLIE AUGUST
• Application Number:
  US12/560,759
• Publication Number:
  US 20100038839A1
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 270/52.02, 270/58.23, 270/58.29, 270/58.31, 270/58.32, 270/58.33, 270/58.34, 270/45, 270/51
• US Class Current: 270/52.01
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/2253 Recognition of characters printed with magnetic ink G06V30/2247 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/40 Document-oriented image-based pattern recognition

Abstract

A method and apparatus for processing mail is provided. Mail is placed into an input bin having a conveyor that conveys the mail towards a feeder. The feeder serially feeds the envelopes by engaging the lead envelope in the stack of mail and displacing the lead envelope transverse the stack of mail. The mail is then cut on a side edge and the top edge to cut open each envelope. A transport conveys the cut envelopes to an extractor. The extractor opens the edge-severed mail and presents the contents of the envelopes to an operator who manually extracts the contents. The operator drops the extracted contents onto a conveyor that conveys the contents to an imaging station. The contents are automatically separated and imaged to obtain image data for the contents. The contents are then sorted into a plurality of output bins.

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing documents, comprising:

a conveyor having a generally horizontal surface configured to receive and convey documents that are manually dropped onto the conveyor in a generally horizontal orientation;

a scanner operable to receive documents from the conveyor and scan the documents to obtain image data for the documents; and

a feeder configured to receive a plurality of documents from the conveyor in a generally horizontal orientation and serially feed the documents toward the scanner; and

a flattener for automatically flattening folds of the documents prior to the documents entering the scanner.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the flattener is positioned between the conveyor and the scanner.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the flattening element is operable to flatten folds in the documents along substantially the entire length of the documents prior to the documents entering the scanner.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the flattening element comprises:

a gripping portion for positively entraining a first end of each of the documents; and

an elongated low friction portion to allow portions the documents to slide relative the first end as the documents pass through the flattening element.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the flattening element is configured to flatten the width of the document without substantially buckling the document.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a non-volatile image storage medium for storing the image data for the documents.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a re-orientation element operable to re-orient the documents as the documents are conveyed toward the scanner in a generally horizontal orientation.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the re-orientation element is operable to re-orient the documents without nipping the documents.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the documents are contained within an envelope and the apparatus comprises an opener operable to open the envelope so that the documents can be removed from the envelope.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the feeder has a feed nip for nipping the documents, and the feeder is configured to receive documents having a leading edge folded upwardly so that the leading edge is positioned above the feed nip, wherein the feeder is configured to drive the leading edge of such folded documents downwardly toward the feed nip.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conveyor comprises a substantially horizontal conveyor belt or a plurality of rollers configured to support and convey the documents in a generally horizontal orientation.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the conveyor is configured to convey the documents to the feeder without nipping the documents.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the documents are contained within envelopes, and the apparatus comprises an opener operable to open an envelope to facilitate removal of documents from the envelope.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the opener comprises:

an input bin for receiving a stack of envelopes containing documents;

a feeder for feeding an envelope from the stack of envelopes;

a cutter operable to cut at least one edge of the envelope; and

an extractor operable to open the edge-severed envelope by pulling apart the envelope to expose the documents for manual removal by an operator.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the feeder is positioned adjacent an end of the conveyor, such that the conveyor conveys documents dropped onto the conveyor to the feeder.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the documents are fed along a document path from the feeder to the scanner.

17. An apparatus for processing documents, comprising:

a conveyor having a generally horizontal surface configured to receive and convey documents that are manually dropped onto the conveyor in a generally horizontal orientation;

a scanner operable to receive documents from the conveyor and scan the documents to obtain image data for the documents; and

a feeder configured to receive a plurality of documents from the conveyor in a generally horizontal orientation and serially feed the documents toward the scanner; and

a re-orientation element operable to re-orient the documents as the documents are conveyed toward the scanner in a generally horizontal orientation.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the re-orientation element is operable to re-orient the documents without nipping the documents.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the re-orientation element comprises a surface disposed an at acute angle relative to the direction of travel of the conveyor.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein the conveyor is operable to drive documents in a generally horizontal orientation toward the re-orientation element to orient an edge of the documents against the surface of the re-orientation element.

21. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the re-orientation element comprises an elongated element having a substantially straight edge.