Patent Application
20080067114
The accompanying drawings illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts.
a and 2b depict embodiments of a separator card according to the present invention having a linear pattern or array of ferromagnetic material (otherwise referred to as ferromagnetic symbology) imprinted or otherwise integrated on a face surface of the card.
c depicts another embodiment of the inventive separator card having a circular ferromagnetic symbology imprinted or otherwise integrated on a face surface of the card.
a is a perspective view of an inductive proximity detector for sensing a ferromagnetic signature produced by the ferromagnetic symbology.
b is a top view of the inductive proximity detector shown in
The invention will be fully understood when reference is made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
A system and method is provided for separating batches of mail in a mailpiece sorter. The system employs a card stock interposed between batches of mail, which card stock includes a ferromagnetic symbology disposed on a face surface of the card stock. An inductive proximity detector is employed to scan the ferromagnetic symbology and produce a ferromagnetic signature signal indicative of the ferromagnetic parameters of the symbology. The system conveys batches of mail containing the card stock past the inductive proximity detector such that the signature signals may be read and compared to predefined ferromagnetic signature signals stored in a signal processor. The processor may then determine the beginning and/or ending of a mailpiece job run for use by the mailpiece sorter.
A system and method is described for segregating mail or batches of mail using a separator card having properties which can be interpreted by a microprocessor. While separator cards of the prior art provided a minimum of information pertaining to when mail batches begin and end, the present invention provides an intelligent separator card which can provide a degree of security and certainty that mailpieces of one mail run are not inadvertently intermixed with mailpieces of another mail run.
In
The present invention provides a system and method for distinguishing between mailpiece job runs through the use of a novel separator card 20 capable of providing information unique to each customer or mailpiece job run. More specifically, the separator card 20 includes a unique pattern or symbology 22 printed or otherwise integrated with the face surface of the underlying card stock 24. The card stock 24 may be composed or fabricated from any of a variety of sheet material stock, such as paper, cardboard, plastic, composite material (fiber reinforced resin matrix material), etc.
The separator card 20 is interposed between batches of mailpieces 10A, 10B wherein it is desirable to have or use certain information to perform sorting operations. For example, one job run may require only a few mailpiece containers for sorting operations while others may require a multiplicity of containers to handle the volume of sorted mail. Furthermore, the frequency and speed of container replacement must be known to maximize throughput. Consequently, information concerning when a job run ends and another begins provides critical information to optimize sorting operations.
In
In
Stored in a database file of the processor 40 are predefined signature profiles which correspond to the ferromagnetic signatures produced by the separator card symbology 22. That is, by comparing the ferromagnetic signature signals produced by the symbology 22 to the predefined signature profiles stored in the processor 40, information may be extracted to perform a variety of mail sortation functions. In addition to providing information concerning the beginning and/or ending of a particular mail/job run, the separator card can, inter alia, associate a mail run with a particular customer and provide information concerning the type and number of containers to be employed.
In view of the vast variety of parameters which can be examined, i.e., the spacing, number, width and material properties of the ferromagnetic symbology, several parameters can be examined and cross-checked to ensure that a separator card 20 has been properly characterized and identified. To ensure that these same parameters are not misinterpreted, i.e., as a result of a card 20 being skewed relative to the inductive proximity detector 34, threshold tolerances can be incorporated to permit rotation or skewing of the separator card 20. For example, simple geometric/trigonometric relationships can be used (e.g., Pythagorean Theorem) to calculate the maximum tolerances or deviations which may develop should the linear bars rotate or skew through a certain angle.
To further simplify or prevent anomalies arising from rotation or skewing, in
The method for segregating mailpieces using the separator cards can best be summarized by reference to the flow diagram of
In summary, the separator card 20 of the present invention includes a ferromagnetic symbology 22 which can be interpreted by a processor 40 such that mail job runs can be processed with a high degree of reliability. Various symbology parameters can be employed to produce discernable information useable by the mail sortation or other handling equipment. Various parameters may be adapted, including linear or curvilinear patterns, to produce a variety of geometric and material properties. The patterns may be interpreted against a variety of profiles to ensure that job runs are properly identified and handled.
Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and deviations in the form and detail thereof may be made without departing from the scope of this invention.
