Abstract: 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.

Abstract: The postal sorting machine comprises a sorting conveyor suitable for transporting postal articles in series past sorting outlets and a postal article feed unit having a magazine for loosely storing postal articles to be sorted and a separator that has a robotized arm and a vision sensor and that is suitable for picking up the postal articles to be sorted one-by-one from the magazine and for putting them on the sorting conveyor while placing them in series at constant pitch. The sorting conveyor has a flat conveyor that slopes sideways to form a jogging edge against which the postal articles are jogged by gravity.

Abstract: A steel sheet is provided with a coating providing sacrificial cathodic protection. The coating includes between 1 and 40% by weight zinc, between 0.01 and 0.4% by weight lanthanum, optionally up to 10% by weight magnesium, optionally up to 15% by weight silicon, and optionally up to 0.3% by weight, in cumulative amounts, of additional components, the remainder includes aluminum and unavoidable impurities or residual elements. A method of producing parts by hot or cold swaging and the parts which can be obtained in this way are also provided.

Abstract: The postal sorting machine comprises a sorting conveyor suitable for transporting postal articles in series past sorting outlets and a postal article feed unit having a magazine for loosely storing postal articles to be sorted and a separator that has a robotized arm and a vision sensor and that is suitable for picking up the postal articles to be sorted one-by-one from the magazine and for putting them on the sorting conveyor while placing them in series at constant pitch. The sorting conveyor has a flat conveyor that slopes sideways to form a jogging edge against which the postal articles are jogged by gravity.

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

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

Abstract: 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.

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: 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: The method of processing postal items comprises the following steps: causing the postal items to advance in series past a camera (120) for the purpose of generating an image (1) of one face of each postal item, which face bears postal address information; filtering the image of a current postal item for the purpose of isolating, in the image, at least one region of interest (ROI) containing the address information; and sending the filtered image to an automatic recognition unit (130) for automatically recognizing postal addresses by means of OCR so as to extract the postal address from said filtered image and so as to direct the current postal item to a sorting outlet. In order to construct a filter mask, the method further comprises causing a card (20) of the “separator” type to advance past the camera (120), which card has a face on which said region of interest (ROI) is represented.

Abstract: The method of processing postal items comprises the following steps: causing the postal items to advance in series past a camera (120) for the purpose of generating an image (1) of one face of each postal item, which face bears postal address information; filtering the image of a current postal item for the purpose of isolating, in the image, at least one region of interest (ROI) containing the address information; and sending the filtered image to an automatic recognition unit (130) for automatically recognizing postal addresses by means of OCR so as to extract the postal address from said filtered image and so as to direct the current postal item to a sorting outlet. In order to construct a filter mask, the method further comprises causing a card (20) of the “separator” type to advance past the camera (120), which card has a face on which said region of interest (ROI) is represented.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of using a multi-input sorting machine for sorting mail in delivery point order.

Abstract: This invention relates to a process and device for assisting positioning of workpieces by superposition of images, wherein there are displayed on a screen the image of the workpiece to be positioned and the image of a model positioned with respect to a marking system and the workpiece is displaced over its support until the image thereof is brought into superposition with the image of the model.