The invention relates to a method for feeding unsorted parcels (1) conveyed on a feed conveyor onto a sorting conveyor, wherein a first camera arranged above the feed conveyor forms a digital image of the unsorted parcels, a control-and-monitoring unit identifies a parcel to be separated, which parcel has a gripping face at the top of same which is not covered by any other parcel in the digital image of the unsorted parcels, the control-and-monitoring unit being configured to servo-control a gripper robot (6), which comprises a gripper hand (9) with a palm (10) from which suction cups (11) extend, so as to pick up the parcel to be separated identified in the digital image and deposit it on the sorting conveyor.
a) that can close or open the mouth of the bag. The device comprises a brush wheel (8) that is mounted in rotation about a shaft (9), the brush wheel comprising fins (10) each consisting of a curved flexible portion (11) which extends from the shaft, and a straight end portion (12) which extends in continuation of the curved portion, the set of straight portions substantially forming a rim, and the brush wheel being arranged in such a way that, when it is rotated close to the mouth of the bag, centrifugal force straightens the curved portions, thus increasing the radius of the rim in order to allow the straight portions to rub against the flap of the bag.
B65B 43/26 - Opening or distending bagsOpening, erecting, or setting-up boxes, cartons, or carton blanks
B65B 67/12 - Sack holders, i.e. stands or frames with means for supporting sacks in the open condition to facilitate filling with articles or materials
3.
Feeder device for feeding mailpieces to a postal sorting conveyor
A feeder device for feeding mailpieces to a postal sorting conveyor has an unstacker head designed to put the mailpieces in series and on edge on the sorting conveyor, an unstacker plate designed to unstack the mailpieces one-by-one towards the unstacker head, and a mailpiece feed conveyor designed to convey the mailpieces in a stack and on edge against the unstacker plate. The unstacker plate has a stationary portion that extends from the unstacker head, and a moving portion that extends the stationary portion, said moving portion being mounted to pivot from the stationary portion between a first position in which the stationary portion and the moving portion are aligned with each other, and a second position in which the stationary portion and the moving portion are angularly offset relative to each other.
B65H 1/02 - Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated adapted to support articles on edge
B65H 3/12 - Suction bands, belts, or tables moving relatively to the pile
B65H 3/66 - Article guides or smoothers, e.g. movable in operation
B65H 7/02 - Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles by feelers or detectors
4.
DEVICE FOR THE MECHANICAL HANDLING OF A FLEXIBLE BAG PLACED IN A HOLDER, AND LOGISTICAL PARCEL SORTING INSTALLATION COMPRISING SUCH A DEVICE
The invention relates to a device (5) for the mechanical handling of a flexible bag (6) placed in a holder (7), the bag having a mouth with at least one flap (6a) that can close or open the mouth of the bag. The device according to the invention comprises a brush wheel (8) that is mounted in rotation about a shaft (9), the brush wheel comprising fins (10) each consisting of a curved flexible portion (11) which extends from the shaft, and a straight end portion (12) which extends in continuation of the curved portion, the set of straight portions substantially forming a rim, and the brush wheel being arranged in such a way that, when it is rotated close to the mouth of the bag, centrifugal force straightens the curved portions, thus increasing the radius of the rim in order to allow the straight portions to rub against the flap of the bag.
An equipment for automatically feeding parcels to a sorting conveyor, the equipment having a platform for temporarily storing a pile of parcels arranged loosely, a first vision system designed to form a digital image of the loose pile of parcels while the pile is stationary on the platform, a processor unit having setting data for responding to the digital image by identifying a parcel for singulating that presents a grip face that is not covered by another parcel, and by supplying indicative data about the three-dimensional position, the orientation in three dimensions, and the dimensions of the grip face, and a pneumatic gripper head of a robotic arm that is controlled on the basis of the data so as to take hold of the parcel for singulating by its grip face.
B25J 13/08 - Controls for manipulators by means of sensing devices, e.g. viewing or touching devices
B65G 47/248 - Devices influencing the relative position or the attitude of articles during transit by conveyors orientating the articles by turning over or inverting them
B25J 15/06 - Gripping heads with vacuum or magnetic holding means
H04N 23/90 - Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
A method of palletizing non-uniform objects comprises using shuttle robots controlled by a monitoring and control system (190) to control trolleys, each of which carries an object, from a feed point (101) to a palletizing station (140) via a device (120) for determining the morphologies of the objects so as to characterize the outside shapes of all of the objects forming a batch before the start of the operation of stowing the objects on the pallet, so as to calculate a stowage plan that optimizes stowage of the batch on a pallet (150).
B65G 57/22 - Stacking of articles of particular shape three-dimensional, e.g. cubiform, cylindrical in layers, each of predetermined arrangement
B65G 1/137 - Storage devices mechanical with arrangements or automatic control means for selecting which articles are to be removed
B65G 61/00 - Use of pick-up or transfer devices or of manipulators for stacking or de-stacking articles not otherwise provided for
G05B 19/418 - Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
B65G 43/08 - Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed, or discharged
B65G 57/24 - Stacking of articles of particular shape three-dimensional, e.g. cubiform, cylindrical in layers, each of predetermined arrangement the layers being transferred as a whole, e.g. on pallets
G06Q 10/08 - Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distributionInventory or stock management
7.
Mail sorting installation with a shuttle robot for injecting trays onto a conveyor
The sorting installation (1) of the invention includes sorting outlets (2) aligned along a sorting conveyor (3), each outlet being provided with a recess (4) for receiving a tray (5) in which sorted mailpieces (6) are stored. The installation also includes a tray conveyor (8) that extends in a certain conveying direction (F2) under the sorting outlets for the purpose of transporting trays filled with sorted mailpieces from the sorting outlets to a feed inlet (7) of the sorting conveyor. The installation further includes a shuttle robot (9) suitable for traveling on the floor (S1) in autonomous manner along the sorting outlets, the robot including handling means (12) suitable for extracting a tray from a recess of a sorting outlet and for placing it lengthwise on the tray conveyor.
Shuttle robots (107) are used that are suitable for moving trolleys (106, 106′) under the control of a monitoring and control unit (190) for handling objects so as to move them from a collection point (110) to a palletizing station (151) remote from the collection point, the shuttle robots being autonomously movable and being suitable for hitching to and unhitching from the trolleys, the monitoring and control unit controls the shuttle robots so that they move the objects on trolleys from the collection point to a buffer storage zone (141) where the articles on the trolleys are grouped together into batches of articles for palletizing, and the monitoring and control unit controls the shuttle robots so that they take the objects on trolleys grouped together in batches from the buffer storage zone and move them in sequence to the palletizing station.
B65G 61/00 - Use of pick-up or transfer devices or of manipulators for stacking or de-stacking articles not otherwise provided for
G05B 19/418 - Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible manufacturing systems [FMS], integrated manufacturing systems [IMS] or computer integrated manufacturing [CIM]
B65G 63/00 - Transferring or trans-shipping at storage areas, railway yards or harboursMarshalling yard installations
B65G 57/03 - Stacking of articles by adding to the top of the stack from above
a) that is slidingly attached to a guide rail (10) extending along the tray conveyor, the shuttle robot being designed to extract a tray full of mail automatically from a recess in a sorting outlet and to drop it onto the top portion of the chute in such a manner that, on reaching the bottom of the chute, the tray is injected onto the tray conveyor under the effect of gravity.
An installation for sorting articles comprises a carousel sorting conveyor having transport bins, an article feed magazine in which articles stored loosely are put into series and then injected one-by-one into the transport bins of the conveyor by an injection device, and a monitoring and control unit that acts on the bins so as to open each of them over a receptacle that corresponds to a delivery address of the article, the injection device comprising piston pushers and a system of sensors being provided to generate data representative of an outline of the article seen in plan so as to enable the data processing unit to detect inappropriate positioning of the article before it is injected into a bin, and, in such a situation, direct the improperly positioned article towards a reject receptacle.
An installation for sorting postal parcels or packets, has a carousel sorting conveyor having transport bins that are moved around a closed loop over a plurality of sorting outlets formed by respective storage receptacles, a feed magazine in which bulk stored parcels are put into series and then injected into the transport bins of the conveyor while it is moving, and a monitoring and control unit that acts on the bins of the sorting conveyor so as to open each of them over a receptacle that corresponds to a delivery address of the article following a sorting plan, includes a first sorting pass to sort parcels into first receptacles that are of high bulk storage capacity, and a subsequent sorting pass where the parcels are sorted into second receptacles that are smaller than the first receptacles.
B07C 3/06 - Linear sorting machines in which articles are removed from a stream at selected points
B07C 3/08 - Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution using arrangements of conveyors
B66F 9/06 - Devices for lifting or lowering bulky or heavy goods for loading or unloading purposes movable, with their loads, on wheels or the like, e.g. fork-lift trucks
B66F 9/12 - PlatformsForksOther load-supporting or load-gripping members
12.
Parcel or packet sorting installation comprising a bin sorting conveyor
A parcel or packet sorting installation comprising a bin conveyor having bins (4) that are designed to convey the parcels in series in a certain conveying direction over a plurality of sorting outlets, and a parcel injector designed to inject one parcel per bin, said sorting conveyor being designed to sort the parcels into the sorting outlets from the bins as a function of sorting information affixed to each of the parcels. Each bin comprises two side walls (9) and a floor (10) mounted to pivot between the two side walls, and a flap (11) mounted to pivot at an upstream end of the floor relative to the conveying direction.
B07C 3/08 - Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution using arrangements of conveyors
B07C 3/00 - Sorting of mail or documents according to destination
B65G 19/02 - Conveyors comprising an impeller or a series of impellers carried by an endless traction element and arranged to move articles or materials over a supporting surface or underlying material, e.g. endless scraper conveyors for articles, e.g. for containers
B65G 21/22 - Rails or the like engaging sliding elements or rollers attached to load-carriers or traction elements
B65G 47/06 - Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from a single group of articles arranged in orderly pattern, e.g. workpieces in magazines
B65G 47/38 - Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyors by dumping, tripping, or releasing load-carriers
B65G 47/44 - Arrangements or applications of hoppers or chutes
B65G 47/48 - Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyors with distribution, e.g. automatically, to desired points according to bodily destination marks on either articles or load-carriers
13.
Structurally matching images by hashing gradient singularity descriptors
The method of matching digital images of the same article in a data processor unit comprises the steps of: transforming each digital image of an article into a local divergence topographic map of the luminance gradient vector field; detecting singularities or extrema of local divergence in the luminance gradient vector field, such singularities corresponding to points of interest in said digital image; and, for each detected point of interest, encoding the values for the singularity of the gradient field that are located on a plurality of concentric rings centered on the point of interest so as to derive a digital data vector (210); and transforming said vector into a digital hash key (220) by means of a family of hash functions of the cosine Locality-Sensitive Hashing (LSH) type.
G06V 10/25 - Determination of region of interest [ROI] or a volume of interest [VOI]
G06V 30/424 - Postal images, e.g. labels or addresses on parcels or postal envelopes
H04L 9/06 - Arrangements for secret or secure communicationsNetwork security protocols the encryption apparatus using shift registers or memories for blockwise coding, e.g. D.E.S. systems
G06T 7/33 - Determination of transform parameters for the alignment of images, i.e. image registration using feature-based methods
14.
Parcel or packet sorting/handling system comprising a platform sorting conveyor loaded by a slat conveyor having pusher shoes
A sorting/handling system for sorting/handling parcels or packets (P) comprises a tray conveyor (1) and a loading unit (3) for loading packets onto the trays of the conveyor, which loading unit comprises a plurality of pusher shoes (5) mounted to slide on a slat conveyor and spaced apart in pairs with uniform spacing, said pusher shoes being guided in a rail (8) forming a cam for injecting the packets onto the trays of the tray conveyor.
B65G 47/34 - Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyors
B65G 47/74 - Feeding, transfer, or discharging devices of particular kinds or types
B65G 25/08 - Conveyors comprising a cyclically-moving, e.g. reciprocating, carrier or impeller which is disengaged from the load during the return part of its movement the carrier or impeller having identical forward and return paths of movement, e.g. reciprocating conveyors having impellers, e.g. pushers
B65G 47/84 - Star-shaped wheels or devices having endless travelling belts or chains, the wheels or devices being equipped with article-engaging elements
The invention relates to a system (1) for conveying articles (3), which system comprises an article conveyor (2) extending from an upstream end (4) to a downstream end (5), and a motor-driven shuttle trolley (6) having an article carrier deck (7) and designed to dock with said ends of the conveyor so as to transfer an article between the trolley and the conveyor. The conveyor is a gravity conveyor under which a ramp (12) extends, and the trolley is suitable for travelling under the conveyor and is provided with a lever (11) that is mounted to move vertically relative to the deck and that is designed to co-operate with the ramp while the trolley is moving under the conveyor so that, by following the ramp, the lever moves between a retracted position in which it is retracted under the conveyor and a deployed position in which it projects above the conveyor so as to drive an article along the conveyor. The method of matching digital images of the same article in a data processor unit comprises the steps of: transforming each digital image of an article into a local divergence topographic map of the luminance gradient vector field; detecting singularities or extrema of local divergence in the luminance gradient vector field, such singularities corresponding to points of interest in said digital image; and, for each detected point of interest, encoding the values for the singularity of the gradient field that are located on a plurality of concentric rings centered on the point of interest so as to derive a digital data vector (210); and transforming said vector into a digital hash key (220) by means of a family of hash functions of the cosine Locality-Sensitive Hashing (LSH) type.
B65G 47/82 - Rotary or reciprocating members for direct action on articles or materials, e.g. pushers, rakes, shovels
B62B 3/14 - Hand carts having more than one axis carrying transport wheelsSteering devices thereforEquipment therefor characterised by provisions for nesting or stacking, e.g. shopping trolleys
B65G 47/90 - Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials
B62B 5/00 - Accessories or details specially adapted for hand carts
B65G 47/88 - Separating or stopping elements, e.g. fingers
16.
Parcel-sorting facility with a system for swapping receptacles over at sorting outlets
A sorting facility (1) for sorting parcels (2), has a sorting conveyor (3), sorting outlets (4) distributed along said conveyor, and a monitoring and control unit (7) for controlling the conveyor so as to sort the parcels into the outlets as a function of their destination addresses. Each outlet is arranged to store a plurality of receptacles (6), each of which is associated with a parcel destination address in a memory of the unit. At each outlet, the facility has a swap-over device (8) for swapping the receptacles over. The unit controls the swap-over device so that a receptacle for which the destination address associated with it in the memory of the monitoring and control unit corresponds to the destination address of a current parcel to be sorted is held stationary in a filling position in which the receptacle is positioned under the sorting outlet so as to receive a parcel.
B65G 35/06 - Mechanical conveyors not otherwise provided for comprising a load-carrier moving along a path, e.g. a closed path, and adapted to be engaged by any one of a series of traction elements spaced along the path
A parcel-sorting facility for sorting parcels (115) comprises a conveyor (110) and receptacles (118) situated at sorting outlets (117) and corresponding to destination addresses of the parcels. Each sorting outlet is shared between a plurality of receptacles, only one of which is in a position (P0) for receiving parcels. A receptacle exchanger device (119) for exchanging receptacles is assigned to each outlet, and is configured for exchanging the receptacle in the receiving position at a given outlet with another of the receptacles sharing the outlet, and the sorting facility anticipates the arrival of a parcel at the outlet by placing the receptacle associated with the destination of this parcel in the receiving position whenever necessary.
B65G 47/38 - Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyors by dumping, tripping, or releasing load-carriers
B07C 5/36 - Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
B07C 3/08 - Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution using arrangements of conveyors
B65G 47/71 - Devices for transferring articles or materials between conveyors, i.e. discharging or feeding devices adapted to receive articles arriving in one layer from one conveyor and to transfer them in individual layers to more than one conveyor, or vice versa, e.g. combining the flows of articles conveyed by more than one conveyor the articles being discharged to several conveyors
18.
Sorting method made flexible by preparing a distribution of articles to be sorted in anticipation
1.N-1), and, if it is detected that one of the N machines is being rested, then the method comprises the steps of: feeding the N−1 other sorting machines with the sub-groups of articles from said subdivided group of articles and sorting these sub-groups of articles in parallel on the N−1 other sorting machines; and feeding the N−1 other sorting machines with the N−1 other groups of articles and sorting these N−1 groups of articles in parallel on said N−1 other sorting machines.
A sorting/handling system for sorting/handling parcels or packets comprises a primary conveyor for conveying the packets in series around a looped path, at least one platform secondary conveyor fed by the primary conveyor and having a throughput rate lower than that of the primary conveyor, and a transfer unit for transfer between the primary conveyor and the secondary conveyor, which transfer unit comprises n chutes into which the packets coming from the primary conveyor fall by gravity so as to be received at the outlets on n parallel channels of an accumulation zone having movable barriers. Downstream from the accumulation zone, the system further comprises mechanical members for putting the packets into series by spacing them apart at a constant pitch, and then for transferring them to free platforms of the secondary conveyor at a rate of one packet per platform.
Equipment for sorting parcels in a logistics center, the equipment comprising an automated sorting conveyor mounted at a height over a platform and with sorting outlets equipped with sorting chutes in the form of ramps sloping downwards from respective sorting outlets of the conveyor to the platform below the conveyor, and shuttle trolleys mounted on wheels and for automatically moving non-standard parcels that cannot be machine-sorted on the sorting conveyor, the shuttle trolleys travelling along travel aisles passing under the ramps so as to optimize the footprint of the equipment.
A shuttle trolley for a parcel-sorting logistics center, which trolley has a deck for carrying a non-standard parcel to be sorted, wherein the deck has a central portion in the shape of a trough of V-shaped cross-section, and two side portions on either side of the central portion and that both extend in the same horizontal plane.
B07C 3/02 - Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
B62B 3/10 - Hand carts having more than one axis carrying transport wheelsSteering devices thereforEquipment therefor characterised by supports specially adapted to objects of definite shape
B60P 7/12 - Securing to vehicle floor or sides the load being tree-trunks, beams, drums, tubes, or the like
22.
Equipment for handling parcels using shuttle robots that move bags or the like
Equipment for handling parcels between loading points at which said parcels are loaded and drop-off points at which the parcels are dropped off in a logistics center, the equipment having sorting receptacles placed at the loading points and into which the parcels are poured loosely in bulk, further having trolleys, each of which is configured to carry a removable receptacle, and shuttle robots configured to dock with the trolleys and to move them automatically, and a monitoring and control unit for automatically and remotely controlling the movement of the shuttle robots as a function of a sorting plan so as to place trolleys with empty receptacles at the loading points and so as to place each of the trolleys with a receptacle loaded with parcels at a drop-off point where the receptacle loaded with parcels is replaced with an empty receptacle.
A method of sorting baggage at an airport, the method comprising: acquiring a digital image of an identification label for identifying a piece of baggage, the label including an identification code designed to correspond to a set of items of data from a first database compiled as the baggage is being checked in; the method further comprising the following steps: retrieving information that is printed on the label from the image; comparing the information with data that is recorded in a local second database at the airport before the label is printed, the second database being distinct from the first database, the data from the second database being representative of a list of flights to or from the airport; and, in response to a match being detected, transmitting data representative of a flight number corresponding to the piece of baggage to a conveyor system.
B65G 47/49 - Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyors with distribution, e.g. automatically, to desired points according to bodily destination marks on either articles or load-carriers without bodily contact between article or load-carrier and automatic control device
A method of sorting baggage at an airport, which method comprises acquiring a plurality of digital images (IN) of a piece of baggage, which piece of baggage carries an unambiguous identification label bearing textual information about a flight, the method further comprising video coding in which a computer unit automatically detects the presence of characteristic elements of the unambiguous identification label in the digital images, computes a score for each of the digital images on the basis of a count of the characteristic elements, ranks the images as a function of their respective scores, and displays the images on a screen (132) as a function of the ranking.
G06F 16/955 - Retrieval from the web using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
G06K 7/14 - Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensingMethods or arrangements for sensing record carriers by corpuscular radiation using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light
G06K 9/00 - Methods or arrangements for reading or recognising printed or written characters or for recognising patterns, e.g. fingerprints
G06K 9/32 - Aligning or centering of the image pick-up or image-field
G06Q 50/28 - Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading, distribution or shipping
The storage-and-retrieval cell for a parcel-handling logistics platform includes shuttle robots that position parcels in storage locations and that retrieve the parcels therefrom, which locations form two rows of storage locations that extend along a longitudinal direction, and four half-rows of storage locations that are disposed back-to-back in the longitudinal direction between the two rows, a hopper being open in the upper floor between one pair of half-rows and the other pair of half-rows, the hopper being designed to allow the parcels to pass through it while they are being retrieved, the cell further including nesting trolleys each of which is suitable for being hitched to a shuttle robot and which are suitable for nesting together in the same storage location, and, at the edge of the hopper, an unloading device for unloading a nesting trolley by sweeping its deck.
The sorting installation (1) of the invention for sorting mailpieces (6) includes sorting outlets (2) in line along a sorting conveyor (3), each outlet having a recess (4) for receiving a tray (5) in which sorted mailpieces are stored, and also a tray conveyor (8) that extends under the sorting outlets for transporting the trays filled with sorted mailpieces from the sorting outlets to a feed inlet (7) of the sorting conveyor. The installation of the invention further includes a tray-manipulating shuttle robot (9) suitable for moving along the tray conveyor past the sorting outlets, and for extracting a tray from a recess of a sorting outlet associated with it under the control of a monitoring and control unit (19) so as to transfer it to the tray conveyor.
A logistics installation (200) for sorting articles, the installation including a looped conveyor (210) comprising P pre-sorting devices (PT1, PT2) for pre-sorting the articles, injection zones (ZI-1, ZI-2, ZI-3, ZI-4, ZI-5, ZI-6) for injecting the pre-sorted articles onto the conveyor, and outlet zones (ZS-1, ZS-2, ZS-3, ZS-4, ZS-5, ZS-6) for unloading the articles from the conveyor, the injection zones alternating with the outlet zones along the conveyor, each injection zone being followed by an outlet zone, in which installation each injection zone is connected to one pre-sorting device only, and each pre-sorting device is connected to one in every P injection zones considered sequentially around the conveyor.
B65G 47/71 - Devices for transferring articles or materials between conveyors, i.e. discharging or feeding devices adapted to receive articles arriving in one layer from one conveyor and to transfer them in individual layers to more than one conveyor, or vice versa, e.g. combining the flows of articles conveyed by more than one conveyor the articles being discharged to several conveyors
B65G 47/52 - Devices for transferring articles or materials between conveyors, i.e. discharging or feeding devices
B65G 47/46 - Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyors with distribution, e.g. automatically, to desired points
B07C 3/08 - Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution using arrangements of conveyors
An installation for identifying handled parcels, said installation including a linear conveyor for conveying parcels in series. The installation further includes a monitoring and control central unit suitable for instantly determining the three-dimensional position of each parcel on the conveyor, and at least one handheld electronic unit that is suitable for detecting identification information on a parcel when it is placed in the vicinity of said parcel, and for transmitting said information to the central unit. The central unit is arranged to read an instantaneous three-dimensional position for said handheld unit in response to receiving said information coming from said handheld unit, and to detect a match between said instantaneous three-dimensional position of the handheld unit and said instantaneous three-dimensional position of the parcel as determined by the central unit.
G06K 19/00 - Record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings
B07C 3/12 - Apparatus characterised by the means used for detection of the destination using electric or electronic detecting means
G06Q 10/08 - Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distributionInventory or stock management
G06K 7/10 - Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensingMethods or arrangements for sensing record carriers by corpuscular radiation
G06K 7/14 - Methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers by electromagnetic radiation, e.g. optical sensingMethods or arrangements for sensing record carriers by corpuscular radiation using light without selection of wavelength, e.g. sensing reflected white light
29.
Modular and separable equipment for automatically sorting parcels into bags
Equipment for sorting parcels into bags comprises a bag support having a modular structure with modules that are provided with braked wheels and that are arranged to be coupled together in separable manner, at least one mobile shuttle robot cart and trolley assembly that is caused to be moved by being remotely controlled by a monitoring and control unit to move parcels to be sorted along the bags, and floor marking that is arranged along the bag support modules and that is detectable by the shuttle cart and trolley assembly while said shuttle cart and trolley assembly is moving along the bag support modules.
Article sorting equipment of the invention comprises a flat conveyor of the chain type having carrier links configured to convey articles towards sorting outlets in a certain conveying direction. The links are mounted to slide on the chain transversely relative to the conveying direction and the sorting outlets are disposed under the links of the chain, one after another in the conveying direction. The links are also arranged to come out from under the articles when they are slid so as to cause the articles to fall into the sorting outlets. A monitoring and control unit for monitoring and controlling the sorting equipment is also configured to cause the links to slide as a function of the sorting outlets into which the articles are to be sorted.
B65G 47/38 - Devices for discharging articles or materials from conveyors by dumping, tripping, or releasing load-carriers
B65G 47/78 - Troughs having discharge openings and closures
B65G 17/00 - Conveyors having an endless traction element, e.g. a chain, transmitting movement to a continuous or substantially-continuous load-carrying surface or to a series of individual load-carriersEndless-chain conveyors in which the chains form the load-carrying surface
31.
Method of adjusting the heights of the nipping belts in a transport conveyor
An adjustment method for adjusting the heights of the nipping belts in a transport conveyor that moves flat articles in series and on edge, so that a transport height is substantially constant for the flat articles. The method causes the conveyor to operate empty in such a manner that the nipping belts of heights that are to be adjusted run without any flat article in the conveyor, emits two parallel and superposed light beams towards a belt of height to be adjusted, spaced apart by a certain distance equal to the width of the belt between the two opposite edges of the belt to be adjusted, the light beams emitted from a portable tool, and manipulate a tensioner adjusting the belt so as to move the belt heightwise while it is running empty until the two light beams intersect respective ones of the two opposite edges of the belt.
B65H 5/02 - Feeding articles separated from pilesFeeding articles to machines by belts or chains
B65H 29/12 - Delivering or advancing articles from machinesAdvancing articles to or into piles by means of the nip between two, or between two sets of, moving tapes or bands
32.
Postal sorting equipment with a tray interchanger for slanting L-shaped shuttle trays
Postal sorting equipment for sorting flat mailpieces comprises a postal sorting machine, a storage-tray conveyor for conveying open-topped storage trays that are filled with mailpieces stacked flat, a shuttle-tray conveyor for conveying open-fronted shuttle trays that are substantially L-shaped, and in which the mailpieces are placed on-edge in stacks, and a tray interchanger that is suitable for automatically transferring the mailpieces stored flat in an open-topped storage tray to an open-fronted shuttle tray, the transfer being achieved by turning the storage tray over relative to the shuttle tray, which is held on a slant relative to the horizontal and vertical directions in order to obtain jogging by gravity of the transferred stack of mailpieces against the far inside surface of said shuttle tray.
A method of merging, on a table (7), postal articles (2) with mailpieces (3) that are already sorted into a certain sorting order comprises the steps of pre-sorting the postal articles (2) in a sorting frame having vertical slots by means of an electronic station for assisting with sorting in the sorting frame, and then in using said station again for assisting the operative with merging the pre-sorted postal articles with the mailpieces.
A sorting outlet module for a postal sorting machine, provided with a bay for receiving a storage tray for storing mailpieces, and, inside the bay, is provided with a support for supporting the storage tray in the manner of a drawer. The support is mounted to move in translation in a longitudinal direction between a storage position in which the tray on the support is retracted inside the bay and a transfer position in which the tray on the support is out of the bay. The support is also provided with pivot and alignment means for pivoting and aligning the tray, which means are arranged in such a manner that pivoting the tray through 90° on the support relative to the longitudinal direction causes one end of tray to be aligned with one side of the bay while also maintaining the tray as close as possible to the bay.
An unstacker device comprises a floor and a retaining paddle that are designed to move a stack of mailpieces from a feed magazine towards an unstacker head under the action of a monitoring and control unit as the mailpieces are being unstacked from the front of the stack. The device further comprises a vision system suitable for forming a profile digital image of said stack of mailpieces in the magazine, and said unit is arranged to evaluate a certain inclination of the mailpieces in the stack on the basis of said profile image and to cause the floor and the paddle to move so as to present the mailpiece at the front of the stack in a satisfactory position on edge so that it can be unstacked by the unstacker head.
B65H 1/02 - Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated adapted to support articles on edge
B65H 7/14 - Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles by feelers or detectors by photoelectric feelers or detectors
36.
Postal sorting machine having a sorting outlet jogger provided with a quick-release helical-blade wheel
A postal sorting machine comprises an unstacker in a mailpiece feed inlet, a sorting conveyor, and sorting outlets, each of which is provided with a receptacle designed for storing the mailpieces in a stack and on an edge. Each sorting outlet is provided with a wheel having a helical blade. The wheel projects through an opening in the bottom of the receptacle and is mounted on a transmission shaft. The transmission shaft is disposed under the receptacle to impart a rotary movement to the helical blade so that the helical blade pushes the base of a current mailpiece in the receptacle against the stack of mailpieces that is being formed. The wheel is also mounted on the transmission shaft by being clipped by moving in translation across the axis of rotation of the transmission shaft.
B65H 29/42 - Members rotated about an axis parallel to direction of article movement, e.g. helices
B65H 29/38 - Delivering or advancing articles from machinesAdvancing articles to or into piles by movable piling or advancing arms, frames, plates, or like members with which the articles are maintained in face contact
B07C 3/00 - Sorting of mail or documents according to destination
B07C 3/06 - Linear sorting machines in which articles are removed from a stream at selected points
B07C 3/14 - Apparatus characterised by the means used for detection of the destination using light-responsive detecting means
B65H 31/06 - Pile receivers with movable end support arranged to recede as pile accumulates the articles being piled on edge
The invention relates to a method of measuring a 3D profile of an article moving on a conveyor in a certain conveying direction, which method includes a step consisting in using an optical sensor to scan, by triangulation, a laser line projected onto the article moving on the conveyor. The method further includes a step of using the optical sensor to scan, by contrast difference, the article moving on the conveyor, and a step of making combined use of the results of the scans by triangulation and of the scans by contrast difference in a data processor unit for the purpose of measuring the 3D profile of the article.
G01B 11/25 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques for measuring contours or curvatures by projecting a pattern, e.g. moiré fringes, on the object
G01B 11/00 - Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of optical techniques
B07C 1/10 - Sorting according to size or flexibility
B07C 1/04 - Forming a stream from a bulkControlling the stream, e.g. spacing the articles
B07C 5/00 - 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 featureSorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
38.
Method of handling parcels by using shuttle carts, nesting racks, and lift trolleys having trays
A method of handling articles in a logistics center uses an unloading zone for unloading the articles arriving at the center and an article stowage zone where the articles are stored in ordered manner, nesting racks coupled to shuttle robot carts, and also trays placed on lift trolleys coupled to the shuttle robot carts, and at least one vertical tray rack for storing the trays loaded with the articles in superposed manner in the stowage zone. If an article is loaded on a nesting rack in the unloading zone, the shuttle robot cart stores the article with the nesting rack in a lower portion of the tray rack.
A method of sorting mailpieces by using a dynamic assignment process and an overbooking mechanism whereby an overbooked sorting destination (D) is substituted for a sorting destination that is already assigned to a certain sorting outlet (S) comprises the following steps: a) identifying from among said sorting outlets (S) a sorting outlet that has a filling level (N) greater than a first threshold (s1) and the longest idle time, and assigning the overbooked sorting destination to that sorting outlet; b) if all of the sorting outlets (S) have filling levels (N) less than said first threshold (s1), identifying from among the sorting outlets the sorting outlet that has the longest idle time, assigning that sorting outlet to said overbooked sorting destination, and indicating that said other sorting destination is a sorting destination to be amalgamated.
An installation for handling parcels, with independently self-propelled motor-driven shuttle carts, and a monitoring and control central unit that is suitable for individually and remotely controlling the shuttle carts to travel in freely guided manner on the basis of data indicating the instantaneous three-dimensional position of each shuttle cart, further includes at least one handheld electronic unit suitable for inputting information marked on a parcel and for transmitting said information to the central unit. The central unit is arranged to read the three-dimensional positions of the handheld unit and of the shuttle carts so as to associate said information with a certain shuttle cart, in a memory.
A storage module (1) comprises a storage zone (3) for storing flat articles (2) by accumulation in a stack and on edge, a main conveyor (9) that extends transversely to the storage zone, a stacking function for transferring an article from the main conveyor to the storage zone and for stacking it at the back of the stack of articles in the storage zone, and an unstacking function for extracting an article from the stack of articles and for transferring it to the main conveyor. The unstacking function comprises an unstacking plate (7) having a perforated belt and controlled suction and disposed between the main conveyor and the storage zone, said unstacking plate having a first segment parallel to the stack of articles and a second segment that is adjacent to the first segment and that extends slantwise relative to the first segment, said controlled suction being disposed in the slantwise second segment of the unstacking plate.
B07C 1/02 - Forming articles into a streamArranging articles in a stream, e.g. spacing, orientating
B65H 31/06 - Pile receivers with movable end support arranged to recede as pile accumulates the articles being piled on edge
B65H 83/02 - Combinations of piling and depiling operations, e.g. performed simultaneously, of interest apart from the single operation of piling or depiling performed on the same pile
B65H 3/12 - Suction bands, belts, or tables moving relatively to the pile
B65H 3/56 - Elements, e.g. scrapers, fingers, needles, brushes, acting on separated article or on edge of the pile
B65H 1/02 - Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated adapted to support articles on edge
B65H 1/08 - Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated with means for advancing the pile to present the articles to a separating device
B65H 31/08 - Pile receivers with movable end support arranged to recede as pile accumulates the articles being piled one above another
42.
Postal sorting equipment including a feed magazine with two superposed decks
Postal sorting equipment comprises a sorting machine with an unstacking member (5) and a feed magazine (7). The equipment further comprises storage trays (4) for storing mailpieces (3) and for bringing them into the feed magazine. The magazine has a deck with a first deck portion (22) that is superposed above a second deck portion (23). Each tray (4) has a bottom (26) provided with a groove that is open to the front and to the top of the tray. The first deck portion and the groove of each tray are designed to fit together so that when a tray filled with mailpieces in a stack and on edge is standing on the second deck portion, the first deck portion comes to fit into the groove in the tray under the stack of mailpieces, thereby enabling the mailpieces to be unloaded automatically from the tray.
B65B 69/00 - Unpacking of articles or materials, not otherwise provided for
B07C 1/02 - Forming articles into a streamArranging articles in a stream, e.g. spacing, orientating
B65H 1/30 - Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated with means for replenishing the pile during continuous separation of articles therefrom
B65H 1/02 - Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated adapted to support articles on edge
43.
Postal sorting machine with robotized handling arms
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.
An installation for separating and singulating non-uniform postal articles of the small parcel or packet type comprises a platform for temporarily storing a pile of loosely placed postal articles, a vision system adapted to form digital images of the pile of loose postal articles, which pile is static on the platform, a data-processing unit adapted to use these digital images to identify a postal article to be singulated, i.e. an article that has a pickup face that is not covered by any other postal article, the unit being suitable for delivering data indicating the three-dimensional position, the facing direction, and the dimensions of the pickup face, and a pneumatic pickup head of a robotized arm that is controlled on the basis of the data to lift up the postal article to be singulated via its pickup face, and to deposit the postal article on a deposition zone that is off the platform.
B25J 15/06 - Gripping heads with vacuum or magnetic holding means
B65G 43/08 - Control devices operated by article or material being fed, conveyed, or discharged
B65G 47/14 - Devices for feeding articles or materials to conveyors for feeding articles from disorderly-arranged article piles or from loose assemblages of articles arranging or orientating the articles by mechanical or pneumatic means during feeding
B65G 47/91 - Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials incorporating pneumatic, e.g. suction, grippers
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
Goods & Services
(1) Simulateurs pour la conception et l'utilisation d'installations industrielles, particulièrement d'installations de tri, de logistique; Logiciels pour simulateurs de conception et d'utilisation d'installations industrielles, particulièrement d'installations de tri, de logistique; Logiciel de simulation pour la conception et l'utilisation d'installations industrielles, particulièrement d'installations de tri, de logistique; Logiciels de simulation d'usage de logiciels d'installations industrielles, particulièrement d'installations de tri, de logistique
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
37 - Construction and mining; installation and repair services
42 - Scientific, technological and industrial services, research and design
Goods & Services
(1) Machines de manutention, nommément chariots et navettes de manutention; équipements de déplacement et de manutention des colis, paquets, frets, courriers nommément chariots et navettes automatisés, palettes métalliques de manutention, palettes en matières plastiques de manutention, caisses métalliques de manutention, caisses en matières plastiques de manutention, bacs à lettre, transporteurs automatiques à bande, transporteurs à courroie; appareils robotisés de manutention, de tri, nommément robots industriels automatisés pour la manutention et le tri des colis, paquets, frets et courriers; machines automatiques et installations de tri des colis, paquets, frets et courriers; robots de transport de colis, paquets, frets et courriers, sans conducteur
(2) Logiciels pour les machines, appareils, installations de manutention, de tri, nommément logiciels de reconnaissance optique de caractères, de régulation, orientation et suivi de documents, paquets, colis, fret et courriers, logiciels de commande et de pilotage desdites machines, appareils et installations de manutention et de tri (1) Services d'installation, de maintenance et réparation de machines, d'installations automatisées, de robots, pour le transport, la manutention et le tri;
(2) Services d'ingénierie en matière de machines automatisées de manutention, de transport et de tri; maintenance de logiciels
47.
Method of handling parcels, and a logistics center for handling parcels
A method of handling parcels (2) and a logistics center (1) for handling parcels, use is made of superposable racks (5) and motor-driven shuttle carts (6) that are remotely controlled by a central processing unit (7) to travel in freely guided manner and that are suitable for docking with each rack (5), each parcel (2) is unloaded onto a rack (5) and the destination of the parcel is identified (103), a specific location is assigned (104) to said rack (5) using an outward shipping plan, and said corresponding shuttle cart (6) is caused to move (105) so as to store said parcels (2) side-by-side and in superposed manner, and then, using an inward delivery plan, each rack (5) is docked (110), and each parcel (2) is transferred (111) from said stowage zone (11) to a loading point (3) so that parcels (2) are presented in their order of delivery.
A method of tracking mail in a postal sorting system comprising first and second networks of sorting machines with first and second unique identification protocols for uniquely identifying the mailpieces, the first and second networks producing first and second dated tracking data as a mailpiece is passing through the sorting machines, this first and second dated data being associated with first and second unique mailpiece identifiers generated using the first and second protocols, said dated data associated with said first and second unique mailpiece identifiers is retrieved in a data-processing unit for the purpose of measuring a time characteristic of the journey of the mailpiece through the first and second networks, and a match is established between the unique identifiers via digital images of the mailpiece.
A postal sorting machine comprises a conveyor system having a conveyor adapted to move mailpieces along a certain conveyor path along sorting outlets of the sorting machine. The sorting machine includes at least one pass sensor to detect the mailpieces in motion on the conveyor going past at a certain point of the conveyor path and to respond to a detection of the mailpiece by delivering a pass detection signal to a monitoring and control unit which responds to the detection signal by delivering a control signal for an electromechanical actuator of the conveyor. The pass sensor is a virtual sensor. A movement tracking system generates digital images of the mailpieces. An emulator generates 3D-modeled mailpieces and detects interactions between the 3D-modeled mailpieces a 3D model of the conveyor to generate the pass detection signal.
G06F 19/00 - Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific applications (specially adapted for specific functions G06F 17/00;data processing systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial, supervisory or forecasting purposes G06Q;healthcare informatics G16H)
B65G 43/00 - Control devices, e.g. for safety, warning or fault-correcting
B07C 3/14 - Apparatus characterised by the means used for detection of the destination using light-responsive detecting means
A sorting machine (1) for sorting flat articles on edge, which machine has sorting outlets (2) for stacking the sorted flat articles, each of which sorting outlets is equipped with a stacking actuator (5) and with at least one slide plate (4) having a front face (40) against which the flanks of the flat articles slide while the flat articles are being stacked, the sorting machine (1) being provided with a noise damper and reducer (8, 12) for damping and reducing noise generated by the flat articles while they are being stacked, at least a portion of the noise damper and reducer (8) being provided on the slide plate (4).
A sorting machine (1) for sorting flat articles (2) on edge, which machine includes an upstream conveyor (10), and a downstream conveyor (30) that conveys the flat articles (2) by nipping them, the upstream conveyor (10) and the downstream conveyor (30) being separated by detector means (100) including an intermediate conveyor (20) provided with intermediate belts (22) that convey said flat articles (2) by nipping them, and that are associated individually with suction means (24, 25) pressing any flat article (2) against one or the other of said intermediate belts (22), image capture means (26) for capturing images of the bottoms of said flat articles (2) passing between the intermediate belts (22), and analysis and processing means (4) for analyzing and processing said images to detect any bunching of said flat articles (2).
B07C 1/04 - Forming a stream from a bulkControlling the stream, e.g. spacing the articles
B07C 5/342 - Sorting according to other particular properties according to optical properties, e.g. colour
B65H 3/12 - Suction bands, belts, or tables moving relatively to the pile
B65H 3/46 - Supplementary devices or measures to assist separation or prevent double feed
B65H 5/02 - Feeding articles separated from pilesFeeding articles to machines by belts or chains
B65H 7/12 - Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles by feelers or detectors responsive to presence of faulty articles or incorrect separation or feed responsive to double feed or separation
52.
Sorting machine for sorting flat articles having non-uniform physical characteristics, and a method of sorting said flat articles
A sorting machine (1) for sorting flat articles (100, 101) having non-uniform physical characteristics, the sorting machine having sorting outlets equipped with stackers (3) controlled by a monitoring and control unit in compliance with a plurality of programs, each of which is assigned to a predefined type of flat article (100, 101) having predetermined physical characteristics and setting predetermined operating parameters such as, in particular, the pitch between said flat articles (100, 101), and the speed at which said flat articles (100, 101) are conveyed, the sorting machine (1) having means for determining the predetermined physical characteristics of each incoming flat article (101) arriving in said stacker (3), said monitoring and control unit being arranged to act after said determination to assign a predefined type of flat article to said flat article (101) arriving in said stacker (3) and to activate the corresponding unstacking program so as to apply predetermined operating parameters while said incoming flat article (101) is being stacked.
B07C 5/00 - 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 featureSorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
B07C 1/04 - Forming a stream from a bulkControlling the stream, e.g. spacing the articles
B65H 29/40 - Members rotated about an axis perpendicular to direction of article movement, e.g. star-wheels formed by S-shaped members
B65H 31/06 - Pile receivers with movable end support arranged to recede as pile accumulates the articles being piled on edge
B65H 29/60 - Article switches or diverters diverting the stream into alternative paths
53.
Method of merging non-machine-sortable postal articles with machine-sorted mail pieces
responding to each said detection by inserting a separator (10) into the sorting machine so as to direct it automatically towards the sorting outlet of the machine that corresponds to the delivery address of said postal article.
Storage tray for automatically unloading stacks of flat articles stacked on edge, the storage tray having panels and a bottom plate provided with slots through which moving fingers can pass for moving the edges of the flat articles away from or towards the bottom plate and for automatically unloading the flat articles from the storage tray, and for automatically loading the flat articles into the storage tray, the panels defining bearing faces suitable for receiving the flanks of the stacks of flat articles and provided with grooves in register with the ends of the slots so that the moving fingers extend beyond the stack of flat articles into the grooves so as to ensure that all of the flat articles are moved. Also a method of loading and of unloading the storage tray.
2) for protecting the last article (N) in the stack (P) being formed, said protective member being suitable for being interposed between said last article and a current article (N+1) coming from the arrival corridor.
c) defining, in the OCR processing, said zone of interest on the basis of the unitary accumulation elements of the consolidated matrix accumulator that present extreme accumulation values.
In a method of sorting mailpieces in a plurality of sorting passes in a postal sorting machine (10) provided with sorting outlets so as to sequence the mailpieces in the sorting outlets for delivery in the order of a delivery round, delivery points defining the delivery round are grouped together into disjoint subsets of delivery points. For the various sorting passes, the delivery points of each subset are associated every time with a common sorting outlet. Statistical data (11) is retrieved from a memory of the machine, which data is associated with respective ones of said delivery points, and is representative of the volume of mail delivered in association with the delivery point in question, and successive delivery points are grouped together into a common subset of delivery points by taking account of said statistical data associated with said delivery points.
The method of detecting a mailpiece of the open mailpiece type such as a non-wrapped magazine consists in causing the mailpiece (3) to pass on edge through a first conveyor (2A) arranged to move the mailpiece (3) by nipping it while holding it tightly over substantially the entire height of the mailpiece, then to pass on edge through a second conveyor (2B) arranged to move the mailpiece (3) by nipping it while leaving a top end (3B) of the mailpiece free to fan out. Two measurements are taken of the thickness of the mailpiece (3) respectively when the mailpiece is in the first conveyor (2A) and when it is in the second conveyor (2B), for the purpose of determining, by differentially comparing the two measurements, whether the mailpiece is an open mailpiece.
B65H 7/02 - Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles by feelers or detectors
59.
Multi-mode unstacker device for unstacking mailpieces
A mailpiece unstacker device comprises a feed magazine for moving the mailpieces in a stack and on edge in a certain direction towards an unstacker head. It is provided with materials sensors for delivering signals indicating that a current mailpiece has a cover made of a plastics material and/or includes a metal material. A control unit forces the feed magazine and the unstacker head to operate as a function of the signals generated by the sensors so that the mailpieces are presented facing the unstacker head in positions that are inclined backwards to various extents.
A method of sorting mailpieces amongst N logical sorting destinations with a sorting machine including a mailpiece conveyor that serves M sorting outlets, each of which is provided with a removable mailpiece storage tray that is handled by a tray conveyor, where M is less than N, consists in detecting that a current mailpiece to be sorted has a certain logical destination that is said to be “overbooked” and that is not associated with a sorting outlet, and in dynamically allocating to said overbooked logical destination a certain sorting outlet of the machine that is occupied by another logical destination. In said certain sorting outlet, a tray change is made and the tray extracted from said certain sorting outlet is put on standby on a loop of the tray conveyor.
B07C 5/00 - 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 featureSorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
41 - Education, entertainment, sporting and cultural services
Goods & Services
(1) Équipement de reconnaissance optique de caractères constitué d'un lecteur, d'un calculateur programmé, pour l'interprétation et le codage des adresses sur les envois postaux; documentation pour l'utilisation et la maintenance d'équipements et de logiciels dans le domaine du tri postal. (1) Formation à l'utilisation et à la maintenance d'équipements et de logiciels dans le domaine du tri postal.
62.
Method of sorting postal items with predictive management of sort-outlet tray replacement
A method of sorting postal items in a plurality of sorting passes in a sorting machine having sort outlets with removable trays, the method including the steps of: (i) after a first sorting pass during which the sorted items are stored in the trays, determining and storing in a memory the pass sequence in which the items are to pass through the sorting machine for the subsequent sorting pass; and (ii) during said subsequent sorting pass, while a current item to be directed towards a sort-outlet tray is passing, determining in the pass sequence the difference in rank between the current item and a next item immediately following the current item and that is to be directed to the same sort-outlet tray as the current item, and comparing the difference with a threshold for causing the sort-outlet tray to be replaced with an empty tray.
B07C 5/00 - 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 featureSorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
63.
Method of handling postal objects using dynamic overflow
In a method for sorting postal objects in a sorting machine comprising sorting outlets with movable trays for the storage of the postal objects, respective logical destinations (DL) are associated to the sorting outlets and some sorting outlets of the machine are reserved, called reserved sorting outlets, without logical destination association. In case of the detection of a tray overflowing in a sorting outlet (DP′), the postal objects intended to this overflowing sorting outlet are directed to a reserved sorting outlet (DP″) extracted (40) from a logical waiting list (36) of reserved sorting outlets, an index is associated (32) to the empty tray of the reserved sorting outlet, the overflowing sorting outlet is inserted (42) into said waiting list and an empty tray is loaded (46) in the overflowing sorting outlet in the place of the full tray.
B07C 5/00 - 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 featureSorting by manually actuated devices, e.g. switches
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
Goods & Services
(1) Équipement d'acquisition et de traitement d'images d'envois postaux constitué d'une caméra permettant notamment de réaliser une binarisation des images des envois postaux, une image multi-niveaux de gris ou encore une localisation et un décodage de codes inscrits sur les envois postaux.
65.
METHOD OF VIDEO CODING IMAGES COMPRISING ADDRESS INFORMATION
The invention relates to a method of processing images (IN) comprising address information by means of video coding. According to the invention, a reject category that corresponds to an image being rejected from an OCR address recognition system is identified for each rejected image using a cascade of filters (F1-F4) which are applied to the confidence values in the image attribute vector associated with the rejected image. Subsequently, when the reject category corresponding to the rejected image has been identified at a filter, the following operations are performed after said filtering process: (i) an operator coding (VC1-VC4) specific to the reject category so as to complete or modify the image attribute vector associated with the rejected image and (ii) an evaluation (E) of the image attribute vector associated with the rejected image such that a decision can be taken to stop the video coding for said rejected image.
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
38 - Telecommunications services
42 - Scientific, technological and industrial services, research and design
Goods & Services
Automatic sorting machines for sorting letters, flat parcels, and packages Optical apparatus and instruments, namely, address and bar code readers and printers used in the field of mail processing; optical reader and video encoder apparatus and instruments for reading and processing postal addresses and post codes; electric apparatus and instruments, namely, address and bar code readers and printers for data processing for use in automatic sorting of mail, flat parcels, and packages [ Satellite Communications Services; electronic transmission of electronic messages and images via the Internet; and communication via the Internet, namely, electronic transmission of data and documents via computer terminals ] Software design and rental; computer engineering; studying and analyzing technical projects, surveying; all of the aforementioned services in the field of apparatus and machines for processing and sorting mail, packages, and parcels; inspecting operational centers for sorting and processing mail, packages, and parcels
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
38 - Telecommunications services
42 - Scientific, technological and industrial services, research and design
Goods & Services
(1) Machines de tri automatique de lettres, de colis plats et de paquets.
(2) Appareils et instruments optiques, nommément lecteurs de codes barre et d'adresse pour le tri postal; appareils et instruments de lecture optique et de vidéo codage, pour le traitement des adresses postales et des codes postaux, nommément lecteurs d'adresses et de codes barre dans le domaine du tri postal. (1) Services de diffusion d'informations générales dans le domaine du courrier postal par voie électronique, nommément pour les réseaux de communication mondiale (de type Internet); transmission électronique de messages et de données, nommément transmission de données et de documents par télécopie, par télégrammes, par courrier électronique; transmission électronique au moyen de terminaux informatiques, nommément services de courrier électronique par réseau Internet/Intranet; transmission de messages et d'images assistée par ordinateurs, nommément services de courrier électronique, transmission d'images sur les réseaux interactifs de type Internet ou Intranet.
(2) Élaboration (conception) et location de logiciels, ingénierie informatique, nommément travaux de programmation pour ordinateur et tout conseil dans le domaine informatique et les technologies de pointe; étude et analyses de projets techniques expertises; tous ces services sont destinés aux appareils et machines de traitement et de tri de courrier, de paquets et de colis; centres opérationnels de tri et de traitement de courrier, de paquets et de colis.
