Abstract: A flat-article feed device comprising a supply magazine in which flat articles are moved in a stack on edge in a first transfer direction, a separator for separating the leading flat article of the stack from the remainder of the stack and for driving it in a second transfer direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first transfer direction, an unstacker that takes a flat article that is being unstacked and brings it in the second transfer direction to the inlet of a conveyor, and a retainer that exerts a retaining force that opposes movement of the flat article towards the conveyor, the unstacker being offset from the separator by a distance not less than the maximum length of a flat article, and the retainer being provided facing the unstacker. A postal sorting machine including such a feed device.

Abstract: A method of processing mailpieces for sorting mailpieces into sequence in a sorting machine depending on delivery points of delivery rounds, in which method the mailpieces are grouped together into batches associated with delivery rounds and are sorted as a function of various sorting plans each associated with a respective batch of mailpieces and defining a list of delivery points of delivery rounds, which method includes the following steps, assessing the batches of mailpieces before the machine sorting to detect those that will under-use the sorting capacities; aggregating the batches of mailpieces detected as under-using the capacity so as to constitute aggregated batches of mailpieces; computing an associated sorting plan resulting from the aggregating; feeding each aggregated batch of mailpieces into the postal sorting machine and controlling the sorting of the mailpieces as a function of the sorting plan computed for said aggregated batch of mailpieces.

Abstract: This device has an arrival corridor via which the articles arrive, an article-receiving zone on which a stack (P) of said articles is formed, and a rotary actuator (22) suitable for pushing said articles away against a retaining element (32) for retaining the stack. The actuator (22) has at least one protective member (281, 282) 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.

Abstract: The postal sorting machine has sorting outlets in which mailpieces are accumulated, said sorting outlets being disposed in line along a certain longitudinal axis. It further includes a recirculation device for recirculating the mailpieces stored in the sorting outlets, this device comprising a belt (40) mounted to move along the sorting outlets and to which cleats (41, 42) are fastened to define a succession of compartments (4a, 4b, 4c) that face respective ones of the sorting outlets, each compartment being arranged to store, on edge, mailpieces taken from a corresponding sorting outlet.

Abstract: In a method of processing mailpieces, Customer Applied Identifier (CAI) codes are assigned to the mailpieces by a sender of the mailpieces, and are used by the postal operator while the mailpieces are passing through a postal sorting system. Said CAI codes are recorded in memory in the sorting system in correspondence with first digital fingerprints or image signatures prior to the first pass of the mailpieces through the postal sorting system. While a current mailpiece is passing through the sorting system in a first sorting pass, an image is formed of the surface of the mailpiece that bears a postal address block, and a current fingerprint and location information for locating said mailpiece in the sorting process is derived from the image of said mailpiece. A search is made for a match between said current fingerprint and a first fingerprint recorded in memory in order to retrieve a current CAI code with which said location information is.

Abstract: Image acquisition apparatus (1) for acquiring images of mailpieces (P), the apparatus comprising a housing (3) inside which the following are placed: a first camera (4) co-operating with a first lighting system (8) emitting light radiation at a certain wavelength suitable for exciting a fluorescent mark to acquire an image of the surface of a mailpiece through a first window (5); a second camera (6) co-operating with a second lighting system (9) emitting light radiation in the visible light domain to acquire an image of the surface of a mailpiece through a second window (7); and means (10) for preventing light interference, which means are concave in shape and are disposed between the first window and the second window, the second lighting system (9) being disposed in the cavity of said means (10) for preventing light interference.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: A postal sorting machine comprising an automatic feed station (8) with an unstacker device (2), a manual feed station (9), and a sorting conveyor adapted to move mailpieces in series one behind another in a conveying direction (31), the automatic feed station being designed to feed the conveyor automatically with mailpieces from a stack of mailpieces, the manual feed station (9) being adapted to receive mailpieces inserted individually and to place them in the conveyor. The manual feed station (9) comprises a protective cover forming a sort of tunnel over the conveyor, and an insertion slot (26) provided in the protective cover and through which a mailpiece can be inserted into the tunnel, said slot being in vertical alignment with a mailpiece receiving and handling space (34) for receiving and handling a mailpiece in the conveyor, which space is funnel-shaped.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: 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.

Abstract: In a method of sorting mailpieces in a plurality of sorting passes in a sorting machine having accumulation sorting outlets, use is made of a technique for identifying the mailpieces by image signatures derived from the images of the mailpieces. The mailpieces are transferred in trays between two sorting passes. A match between a current fingerprint in the second sorting pass and fingerprints generated in the first sorting pass is searched for in an exploration memory space containing a limited number of fingerprints. The size of this exploration space is optimized by associating the signatures and the trays with designation data indicative of sorting outlets, and with time data delivered by a clock.

Abstract: A method of processing uniform mailpieces referred to as a “run” of mailpieces, during which method OCR is performed for recognizing certain information in a zone of interest of an image of each mailpiece, and during which method the following steps are performed: a) initializing a matrix accumulator associated with said run and including unitary accumulation elements that correspond to the pixels of the image; b) consolidating said matrix accumulator by incrementing certain unitary accumulation elements by deriving an indication of the spatial position of a block of pixels in which said certain information has been recognized unambiguously, or by using construction and local graphical correlation of blocks of image pixels to derive an optical flow map indicating local graphical movements; and 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.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of optimizing a process for handling mail, which method comprises the following steps: subjecting mailpieces to a first machine-sorting cycle in which a plurality of first sorting outlets are allocated to respective ones of a plurality of first delivery destinations having high rates of filling and one other sorting outlet is allocated to second delivery destinations having low rates of filling; directing separators to the first sorting outlets; re-circulating the mailpieces coming from the other sorting outlet; and subjecting them to a second sorting cycle in which the first sorting outlets are allocated to the second delivery destinations. If the sorting outlets use storage bins, at the end of the second sorting cycle, the mailpieces of a first destination and the mailpieces of a second destination are sorted in layers in the same bin by being separated by a separator.

Abstract: In a method of processing mailpieces, signatures are derived from images of the mailpieces and serve as identifiers for the mailpieces in the sorting process. The signatures are grouped together into signature categories or graphical classes on the basis of a certain criterion of graphical similitude so as to compute a mean signature value for each graphical class. For each graphical class in question, activity of the mean signature value is analyzed for detecting significant activity of an information block in the digital images. The results of this activity detection are used for searching for a match, in a second sorting pass, between a current signature and signatures recorded in the first sorting pass.

Abstract: In a method of sorting mailpieces, in which method the mailpieces sorted into the sorting outlets of a postal sorting machine are transferred from said sorting outlets to an unstacker magazine of the machine, or to an unstacker magazine of another sorting machine for the purpose of being sorted again into sorting outlets, said mailpieces are handled by means of shuttle trays of variable storage capacity for the purpose of transferring them from the sorting outlets to the unstacker magazine.

Abstract: In a method of processing mailpieces, a digital image of a surface of a current mailpiece is formed for the purpose of using OCR to recognize a recipient postal address for said current mailpiece, and, if it is determined that the recognized recipient address corresponds to an incorrect recipient address, a forwarding address is placed on said surface of the current mailpiece. In addition to said forwarding address, an OCR-detectable mark is placed on the surface of the current mailpiece, which mark indicates that the current mailpiece bears a forwarding address, and also constitutes an index for retrieving said forwarding address from a database.

Abstract: A method of processing postal items in which an image is formed of each item, the image including address information (1), and on the basis of the image of the item and a reference address base (6), OCR is used to perform automatic recognition of the destination address information (8, 9), is characterized in that during automatic recognition of destination address information, use is made (10) of a database (11) in which there are organized ordered lists of delivery points for delivery rounds in such a manner as to take account of an estimated extra cost for destination error associated with processing the item should the item be delivered to an erroneous delivery point.

Abstract: A device for conveying flat articles, in which device the flat articles are moved in series while being at a pitch one from the next that is normally constant, includes a synchronization device for compensating for a certain amount of variation in said pitch. This device includes: means for categorizing the articles on the basis of certain physical characteristics of the articles; means for identifying a certain amount of variation in the pitch for the current article and for recording said pitch variation in a memory in correspondence with the class of the current article; and means for servocontrolling the synchronization system on the basis of said pitch variations recorded in the memory in correspondence with said classes of articles.

Abstract: A method of sorting a plurality of articles (A, B, C), in which each article goes through a sorting installation in at least two passes, comprises the steps of recording the image of each article that is generated during the first sorting pass in a memory and in correspondence with a data item indicating a sorting outlet to which the article is directed during the first sorting pass. If an article is misrouted, a correctly routed reference article is chosen in the vicinity of the misrouted article in the sequence of articles obtained during the last sorting pass, the memory is searched (22-28) for an image of said correctly routed reference article, and, on the basis of said reference article image, a set of article images grouped together in the memory and that includes the image of the reference article is looked through (29-34) to identify an image of the misrouted article.

Abstract: A conveyor device for conveying flat objects on edge, which device comprises at least two wheels having elastically deformable treads and disposed facing each other so as to move a flat object on edge by pinching and friction. The two wheels are arranged in such a manner as to exert a pinching force on the flat object on edge that varies progressively as the flat object is driven forwards.