Mailpiece Feeder Singulation via Pulsed Air Blasts
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mailpiece sorters face inefficiencies in singulating mailpieces, leading to double-feeds and increased wear/maintenance, which hinder throughput and reliability in high-volume sorting operations.
Innovation Solution
A mailpiece feeder system utilizing a pair of opposing belts with an actuation mechanism to apply force pulses and a sensor array to control the singulation process, ensuring consistent spacing and preventing double-feeds, while optimizing throughput and reducing wear on components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional feed modules are used to singulate mailpieces, then mailpiece sorting can be performed, but double-feeds occur and throughput is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic pulsed air blasts to the mailpiece stack at controlled intervals to momentarily separate mailpieces and augment singulation. This periodic action occurs at specific moments in the feed cycle, creating rhythmic separation forces that reliably singulate mailpieces without continuous intervention, thereby improving both throughput and singulation reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces pulsed air blasts as an intermediary mechanism between the mailpiece stack and the conveying system. These air blasts act as a mediating force that momentarily separates mailpieces, facilitating reliable singulation without direct mechanical contact that could cause double-feeds or wear, thus enhancing both reliability and throughput.
2Productivity
If conventional feed modules are used to singulate mailpieces, then sorting operation can continue, but wear and maintenance of components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical separation mechanisms with pulsed air blasts to achieve mailpiece separation. This substitution eliminates direct mechanical contact between separating components and mailpieces, significantly reducing wear on both the mailpieces and the separation mechanism, thereby maintaining continuous operation while reducing maintenance frequency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs pneumatic pulsed air blasts to separate and singulate mailpieces. This pneumatic approach uses controlled bursts of air to momentarily lift and separate mailpieces from the stack, providing a non-contact separation method that minimizes mechanical wear and extends component life, enabling continuous operation with reduced maintenance.
3Productivity
If higher throughput is pursued in mailpiece sorting, then more mailpieces can be processed, but singulation reliability decreases leading to double-feeds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies pulsed air blasts as a preliminary action before mailpieces enter the main conveying and sorting path. These pulses pre-separate mailpieces from the stack, ensuring they are properly singulated and positioned before high-speed processing begins. This preliminary separation action maintains singulation accuracy even as processing speed increases, preventing double-feeds at higher throughput levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses periodic pulsed air blasts synchronized with the feed cycle to maintain reliable singulation at higher throughput. The periodic nature of these pulses ensures that mailpieces are separated at the optimal moment in each cycle, maintaining singulation accuracy regardless of the overall processing speed, thus enabling high throughput without sacrificing reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively singulates mailpieces, maintains optimal spacing, and reduces maintenance needs, enhancing the reliability and efficiency of the mailpiece sorting process.
Implementation Method 1
a first conveyance including a pair of opposing belts for singulating a mailpiece from a stack of mailpieces. The system includes an actuation mechanism operative to apply a force pulse through one of the belts to momentary separate mailpieces of the stack
Data Source
AI summary
A system for singulating mailpieces including a first conveyance including a pair of opposing belts for singulating a mailpiece from a stack of mailpieces. The system includes an actuation mechanism operative to apply a force pulse through one of the belts to momentary separate mailpieces of the stack and augment singulation of the mailpiece from the stack by the first conveyance.