A postal sorting machine with robotized handling arms

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016256897-A1
Application number	US-201514441454-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 5, 2015
Priority date	Mar 25, 2014
Publication date	Sep 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A postal sorting machine includes a sorting conveyor having sorting outlets, a first feed branch adapted for automatically injecting heterogeneous postal articles of the small parcel type into the sorting conveyor, and a second feed branch adapted for injecting homogeneous flat mailpieces of the letter type, or the magazine type, or of some analogous type into the sorting conveyor. The first feed branch has an inlet adapted for receiving the heterogeneous postal articles loose, and it is provided with at least one robotized handling arm of the “pick and place” type.

First claim

1 . A feed branch serving to feed heterogeneous postal articles such as small parcels to a sorting conveyor having sorting outlets, said feed branch comprising:
an inlet adapted for receiving said heterogeneous postal articles, at least one robotized handling arm of the “pick and place” type adapted for taking the heterogeneous postal articles one-by-one and for placing them in series on a flat conveyor that moves them in series and flat along a certain conveyor path, image-taking means disposed along said conveyor path for the purpose of forming a digital image of each postal article that bears a postal address, transfer means disposed at an end of said conveyor path for the purpose of transferring each postal article from the flat conveyor to the sorting conveyor, and at least one first robotized handling arm that is adapted for singulating said heterogeneous postal articles and at least one second robotized handling arm that is adapted for putting said singulated postal articles in series and flat.

2 . A feed branch according to claim 1 , characterized in that said second robotized handling arm is further adapted for orienting said heterogeneous postal articles in a longitudinal transport direction of the flat conveyor and for placing them in series and at constant pitch on said flat conveyor.

3 . A feed branch according to claim 1 , characterized in that said first robotized handling arm has six degrees of freedom and said second robotized handling arm has four degrees of freedom.

4 . A feed branch according to claim 1 , characterized in that each handling arm has a suction-cup pneumatic pick-up member.

5 . A feed branch according to claim 1 , characterized in that it includes a circular flat conveyor between the inlet for receiving the postal articles and the robotized handling arm(s).

6 . A feed branch according to claim 1 , characterized in that the transfer means are constituted by a tipper-platform carrousel having tipper platforms.

7 . A feed branch according to claim 1 , characterized in that the image-taking means are disposed on two opposite sides of the flat conveyor so as to form two digital images of respective ones of two opposite sides of each postal article.

8 . A postal sorting machine including a sorting conveyor having sorting outlets, said postal sorting machine being characterized in that it includes a first feed branch according to claim 1 , adapted for automatically injecting heterogeneous postal articles into the sorting conveyor, and a second feed branch adapted for injecting homogeneous flat mailpieces into the sorting conveyor.

9 . A postal sorting machine according to claim 8 , characterized in that said sorting conveyor is a bin conveyor with bins that circulate around a closed-loop path.

10 . A postal sorting machine according to claim 9 , characterized in that each of the bins of the bin conveyor has a long dimension oriented transversely to the circulation direction in which the bins circulate around the closed-loop path.

11 . A sorting machine according to claim 9 , characterized in that each of the sorting outlets of the sorting conveyor is provided with a sorting outlet receptacle in which sorted homogeneous flat mailpieces are placed flat with sorted heterogeneous postal articles.

Assignees

• Solystic

Inventors

• Kara Karim
• Petit Jacques
• Crest Karine
• Campagnolle Pierre
• Moullard Eric
• Rieu Jean

Classifications

• B65G47/32

  Applications of transfer devices {(such devices per se B65G47/74)} · CPC title

• B65G47/967

  tilting about an axis perpendicular to the conveying direction · CPC title

• B65G47/90

  Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials · CPC title

• B65G2201/022

  Flat · CPC title

• B65H2701/1916

  Envelopes and articles of mail · CPC title