Mail sorting system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9227228-B2
Application number	US-201313900710-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 23, 2013
Priority date	Sep 28, 2012
Publication date	Jan 5, 2016
Grant date	Jan 5, 2016

Abstract

Provided is a mail sorting system including: a detection unit configured to output a detection signal for a length of a mail inserted to a conveyor belt; a crossbelt driving unit configured to control a motor interworking with a crossbelt including a central region and first and second lateral regions adjacent to both sides based on the central region where the mail is moved and arranged from the conveyor belt; and a control unit configured to transmit a motor control signal which controls at least one of an rpm and a rotational speed of the motor so that the mail is arranged on any one of the central region and the first and second lateral regions based on the detection signal, to the crossbelt driving unit, in order to easily discharge the mail from a destination discharge point by disposing the inserted mail at a setting region of the crossbelt.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A mail sorting system comprising:
a detection unit configured to output a detection signal for a length of a mail inserted to a conveyor belt;
a crossbelt driving unit configured to control a motor interworking with a crossbelt including a central region and first and second lateral regions adjacent to both sides of the central region where the mail is moved and arranged from the conveyor belt; and
a control unit configured to transmit to the crossbelt driving unit a motor control signal which controls at least one of a number of revolutions and a rotational speed of the motor so that the mail is arranged on one of the central region and the first and second lateral regions based on the detection signal and thereby discharged to a different destination outlet according to the length of the mail.

2. The mail sorting system of claim 1 , wherein the detection unit includes a length measurement sensor which is arranged on one region of the conveyor belt and outputs the detection signal.

3. The mail sorting system of claim 1 , wherein the detection signal is configured by a DC signal having a predetermined power level from a detection start timing of the mail up to a detection end timing.

4. The mail sorting system of claim 1 , wherein the crossbelt driving unit includes:
a sensor configured to sense at least one of the rotational speed and the number of revolutions of the motor; and
a motor driving unit configured to drive and control at least one of the rotational speed and the number of revolutions of the motor based on the motor control signal.

5. The mail sorting system of claim 4 , wherein the motor driving unit receives the rotational speed and the number of revolutions sensed in the sensor to determine whether or not the motor operates in response to the motor control signal.

6. The mail sorting system of claim 1 , wherein the detection signal is configured by a DC signal having a predetermined power level from a detection start timing of the mail up to a detection end timing, and the control unit calculates a length of the mail based on an elapsed time from the detection start timing to the detection end timing.

7. The mail sorting system of claim 6 , wherein the control unit generates the motor control signal controlling at least one of the number of revolutions and the rotational speed of the motor corresponding to the length of the mail, based on a movement length of the crossbelt which is set according to the rotational speed and the number of revolutions of the motor.

8. The mail sorting system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit includes a communication module configured to transmit the motor control signal to the crossbelt driving unit.

9. The mail sorting system of claim 1 , wherein the control unit includes an extraction unit configured to extract the destination information of the mail inserted to the crossbelt, during an automatic mode.

10. The mail sorting system of claim 9 , wherein the extraction unit is a reader which extracts a barcode or address information attached to the mail.

11. The mail sorting system of claim 9 , wherein the control unit generates the motor control signal so that the mail is moved and arranged to and on the central region of the crossbelt, when the destination information is not inputted.

12. The mail sorting system of claim 11 , wherein the control unit generates the motor control signal so that the mail is moved to the any one of the first and second lateral regions adjacent to the destination outlet corresponding to the destination information from the central region, when the destination information is inputted.

13. The mail sorting system of claim 1 , wherein during a manual mode, the control unit generates the motor control signal so that the mail is moved to one of the first and second lateral regions which is adjacent to a destination outlet corresponding to destination information inputted from the outside.

14. The mail sorting system of claim 1 , wherein when destination information is inputted, the control unit controls the mail to be discharged to a different outlet according to length of the mail among destination outlets corresponding to the destination information.

Assignees

• Korea Electronics Telecomm

Inventors

• Kim Ki Hak
• Jun Sung Woo
• Park Jong Heung

Classifications

• B07C3/02 Primary

  Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution · CPC title

• B07C5/00 Primary

  Sorting according to a characteristic or feature of the articles or material being sorted, e.g. by control effected by devices which detect or measure such characteristic or feature; Sorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches (sorting by hand only B07C7/00; separating solids from solids by sieving, screening, or sifting or by using gas currents or other separating by dry methods applicable to bulk material B07B) · CPC title

• B07C1/14

  Sorting according to length or width · CPC title

• B65G47/46

  and distributing, e.g. automatically, to desired points (in tube mail systems B65G51/36) · CPC title

• B07C1/02 Primary

  Forming articles into a stream; Arranging articles in a stream, e.g. spacing, orientating {(transport of sheets B65H)} · CPC title