Abstract: The installation comprises a delivery conveyor (4) for delivering unit items in buckets (5). A station (3) injects unit items onto the delivery conveyor. A sorting conveyor (6) carries packs (8) corresponding to respective batches to be made up. The sorting conveyor is disposed relative to said delivery conveyor so as to establish at least one item transfer zone therebetween. A central control unit (10) ensure that desired coincidences occur between item-containing buckets (5) and packs (8) for receiving the items, with the control units controlling the transfer of items from the buckets to the packs. The invention is particularly applicable to making up batches of items in response to orders therefor.

Abstract: The installation comprises a delivery conveyor (4) for delivering unit items in buckets (5). A station (3) injects unit items onto the delivery conveyor. A sorting conveyor (6) carries packs (8) corresponding to respective batches to be made up. The sorting conveyor is disposed relative to the delivery conveyor so as to establish at least one item transfer zone therebetween. A central control unit (10) ensure that desired coincidences occur between item-containing buckets (5) and packs (8) for receiving the items, with the control units controlling the transfer of items form the buckets to the packs. The invention is particularly applicable to making up batches of items in response to orders therefor.

Abstract: An installation for making up batches of articles, the installation being characterized in that it comprises at least one work station for one operator, said station including a storage member (4) for storing said articles species-by-species, said articles each being provided with automatically readable identification means, said station also including a reader (19) for automatically reading the said identification means and a hatch (17) communicating with a chute (18) whose opening is controllable, said installation further including an endless chain of buckets (21) disposed in such a manner that the buckets pass beneath the chutes, and a moving belt (25) disposed beneath the buckets and receiving the boxes (26) for receiving the batches of articles via an inlet station, each bucket being provided with a controllable pivoting device in order to cause the article contained therein to fall into a box, the installation including a station (20) from which loaded boxes are removed and being controlled by a comput

Abstract: A system for coding flat objects, in particular letters, comprises a manual coding station to enable a human operator to print coded indications on flat objects that a conveyor moves before him, using a printer. An optical addressing information reader on the upstream side of the manual coding station is adapted to control the printing of coded indications appropriate to information previously marked on the objects that it is able to recognize. A switching device on the path of the conveyor on the downstream side of the optical reader is used to route the objects to the printer from the optical reader either directly or via the manual coding station, where the operator controls the printing of coded indications appropriate to information previously marked on the objects marked on the objects that he is able to recognize.

Abstract: The article separator comprises at least one transfer station (20) receiving the articles to be transferred to the entrance of at least one delivery conveyor (4). Each transfer station is equipped with at least one pickup arm (21) with a suction head (22) at one end, driven between the transfer station and the delivery conveyor and having a plurality of orifices (23) which can be selectively connected to a vacuum source or a blown air source under the control of a video processing circuit (33) coupled to a camera (32) that registers the scene at the front of the transfer station. The separator can handle mail deemed to be non-mechanically-sortable hereto.

Abstract: In an enhanced throughput sorting machine objects injecting by two injectors working in parallel are sorted in two sorting lines also in parallel. The machine incorporates a routing unit to direct the objects from each injector to the relevent sorting line and a dynamic storage system for halting the advance of an object when the objects injected by the two injectors are for the same sorting line.

Abstract: A method and device for sorting flat and indexed articles are disclosed, the method involving two passes. In the first pass, articles having a destination common to a very large member of articles are sorted and distributed to N/2 receptacles (10), the receptacles being fewer in number than the total number (N) of possible destinations for the articles, while the other articles are put aside in a buffer receptacle (12). In the second pass, a control circuit (7) assigns new destinations to the sorting receptacles, placing a marker (16) after each pack of articles contained in the receptacles, and the articles initially set aside (21) are resorted to the new destinations. The invention is particularly applicable to mail sorting.

Abstract: The invention relates to an insertion flap for guiding letters during their insertion into the compartments of a rotary drum. It is a question of the axial insertion into the compartment of a drum rotating at an angular velocity .OMEGA. of a letter arriving at speed v. For this purpose, a flap takes up the letter at the interface between the conveying system and the drum and the flap pivots in the rotation direction of the drum at the same angular velocity as the latter and consequently accompanies the latter, whilst increasing the available insertion time before suddenly returning to its initial position for recommencing a new cycle. This makes it possible to compensate rapid speed fluctuations of the drum and bench, whilst a calculation of the departure time for each letter makes it possible to compensate the slow speed fluctuations of the drum and bench.