Material or article handling – Plural – static structures for supporting discrete loads and... – Load-underlying members
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-07
2002-05-21
Werner, Frank E. (Department: 3652)
Material or article handling
Plural, static structures for supporting discrete loads and...
Load-underlying members
C414S286000, C414S280000, C414S798200, C414S273000, C414S416010, C414S798900, C053S382100, C053S235000, C209S200000, C209S909000, C209S552000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06390756
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Machines for automatically sorting flat articles, such as mail, into one of an array of selected bins or compartments, are known. Typically, such sorting machines have a feeding station, including an intake drive member such as a rubber-covered wheel or belt, sensing and detecting equipment for determining the appropriate output compartment for the article to be sorted, diverting gates or other mechanisms and an array of output compartments or bins for the sorted articles. An example of an advanced sorting machine is the DBSCll sorting device, available from ElectroCom Automation, L.P., Arlington, Texas.
Conventionally, to feed articles into the sorting machine, an operator manually grabs a bundle of mail to be sorted and manually shakes or jostles the mail to generally align the bottom edges, making a stack, typically horizontal. The operator then places the stack of mail against the feed member of the sorting machine, which then feeds the articles into the sorting machine, one at a time, to be sorted.
At the output of the sorter, the sorted articles are routed to the appropriate compartment for each of the sorted articles and stacked. The feeding and sorting of articles continues until one or more of the receiving compartments becomes sufficiently full of a stack of sorted mail. At this point, an operator will manually remove a stack of the sorted articles from the compartment and place the articles into a box for either later reprocessing through the sorting machine, transferring to another sorting machine for further sorting or transporting to a delivery person, such as a mail carrier, for ultimate delivery to the intended location, if all sorting is completed.
Although automatic sorting machines have greatly speeded and improved the prior process of manual sorting, manual attention is still required to feed the flat articles into the sorting machine and to retrieve the sorted articles from the output of the sorting machine. The need for such manual feeding and sweeping is undesirable for ergonomic reasons, because of the bending and reaching required. Furthermore, the need for such manual handling of the mail tends to limit the maximum benefits of automation that can be gained from the sorting machine.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to minimize the ergonomic problems and reduce manpower requirements by automating the feeding and retrieving of flat articles from a flat article sorting machine or other flat article processing machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cartridge for receiving and holding the flat articles in an orderly manner, which can be readily handled and transferred by either a robotic cartridge handling and transfer device or by a human operator, if necessary.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cartridge that will readily dock onto a receiving dock of a feeding device and can be inserted into the output compartments of a sorting machine to directly receive sorted articles in an orderly stack, so that the cartridge containing the stacked flat articles is readily removed from the sorting machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automatic unloading apparatus and method for removing stacks of flat articles from a cartridge and for queuing the stacks for feeding to a sorting machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for automatically stacking flat articles into a cartridge at the output of a sorting machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a robotic cartridge transfer system for automatically removing cartridges containing a stack of flat articles from the output compartment of a sorting machine, when the cartridge has reached a desired stage of filling, and to transfer the cartridge to a buffer storage shelf or the receiving dock of the same or a different sorting machine for resorting.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a feed-through jogging/edging apparatus for automatically edging flat articles prior to entrance to a document feeder.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for dynamic compartment allocation that automatically redesignates a different output location when it is desired to remove a cartridge filled with sorted articles so that the sorting machine continues to sort into the redesignated output location even when designated output compartments have been filled, when the cartridge has either not yet been removed or is still in the process of being removed from the output compartment of the sorting machine.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a system for allocation of output compartments which groups high-occurrence destinations together to maximize efficiency of cartridge removal, based on probability of occurrence of the particular destinations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Cartridge
In accordance with the present invention, a cartridge for stacked flat articles includes:
a container comprising a bottom, sides and an openable front door supporting a stack of flat articles, a longitudinally slidably mounted stack support paddle resiliently urgable against the stack of articles, said stack support paddle further including actuators for external sensors for determining the position of said stack support paddle.
In a preferred embodiment, the cartridge further includes a lock for selectively securing the stack support paddle to prevent movement of stack support paddle when the lock is engaged, the lock including an external actuator for disengaging the lock when the cartridge is mounted in a cartridge receiving dock and disengaging the lock when the cartridge is removed from the receiving dock.
In a further preferred embodiment, the door includes a cam follower for opening and closing the door as a result of relative movement between a fixed external cam and the cam follower.
Autofeeder
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method for transferring a stack of flat articles from a cartridge having an openable door includes:
placing a cartridge onto a cartridge receiving dock;
opening the cartridge door while supporting the stack of articles; placing a front stack support finger that moves with the stack to support the stack of flat articles engaging the stack of articles with a movable paddle; and
moving the paddle forwardly to push the stack forwardly, while supporting the front of the stack with the front stack support finger to retain the stack of flat articles between the front stack support finger and the movable paddle during movement of the stack from the cartridge.
The method further comprises:
moving a rear stack support finger between the movable paddle and the rear of the stack of flat articles; moving the front and rear stack support fingers with the stack retained between thereby moving the stack behind a previously queued stack of articles the moved stack becoming a newly queued stack;
moving a queued stack support from between the previously queued stack and the newly queued stack to a position behind the newly queued stack; and
moving the front and rear fingers back to respective starting positions.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, apparatus for transferring a stack of flat articles from a cartridge having an openable door includes:
hold bars for supporting the front of the stack of flat articles when the door is opened;
a cam and cam follower for opening the door when the hold bars are in place;
front fingers for supporting the front of the stack during removal thereof from the cartridge; and
a pusher for pushing the stack forwardly, to cause the stack to be moved from the cartridge.
In accordance with the present invention, the apparatus further comprises:
rear fingers for supporting the rear of the stack of flat articles;
a queuing station, including a queued stack support for supporting the rear of a queued stack of flat articles;
In accordance with a prefer
Burkett, Jr. Harold G.
Carlile Mark L.
Combs Charles M.
Harres Luiz C.
Hickey Richard C.
Intellectual Property Law, P.C.
Jorgenson Edward
Meyers Philip G.
Siemens Dematic Postal Automation, L.P.
Werner Frank E.
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