Solystic

François Gillet

Emmanuel Miette

Guy Forella

A method of sorting postal items for preparing postman's walks on a postal sorting machine having an inlet and a set of sorting outlets includes loading a first batch of postal items and a second batch of postal items consecutively into the inlet of the machine, and directing the postal items of the first batch towards a first subset of sorting outlets, and the postal items of the second batch of postal items towards a second subset of sorting outlets that is separate from the first subset of sorting outlets; and while the postal items of the second batch of postal items are being directed towards the second subset of sorting outlets, reloading the inlet of the machine with the postal items taken from the first subset of sorting outlets, and, while the postal items of the first batch of postal items are being directed towards the first subset of sorting outlets, re-loading the inlet of the machine with the postal items taken from the second subset of sorting outlets.

Method of sorting postal items in flip/flop mode

In the method of handling mail items, while a mail item is on its first pass through the machine, the method consists in forming a digital image of the surface of the mail item, in deriving, from the image, a digital fingerprint characterizing the mail item, and in recording said digital fingerprint in a memory in correspondence with the bar code printed on the mail item. While the mail item is on its second pass through the machine, the method consists in reading the printed bar code that is printed on the mail item, and, if it has not been possible to extract completely the information contained in the printed code read off the mail item, in using said correspondence in the memory between the printed code that is printed on the mail item and the digital fingerprint that characterizes the mail item to continue machine-sorting the mail item, thereby contributing to reducing the error rate. The printed bar code that is printed on the mail item may be a mail item identity code, a customer applied identifier, or a sorting code for outward and/or inward sorting.

Method of handling mail items with improved bar-code reading

In order to eliminate addressing errors on postal articles in a process () of sorting, routing, and delivery performed by a postal operator on mail articles () handed over to the operator by a sender of mail articles constituting a client of the postal operator, respective mail article identity numbers (I) are generated for the mail articles to be processed in the sorting, routing, and delivery process, said identity numbers (I) being applied to the respective mail articles in machine readable form () and being recorded in an electronic file (F) in association with data (A) giving the postal addresses of the mail articles. These mail article identity numbers (I) or 'extended client codes' are generated by the mail article sender and they are applied by the sender to the mail articles prior to handing them over to the postal operator. The file (F) containing the mail article identity numbers in association with the data giving postal addresses is also prepared by the sender of mail articles and is transmitted by the sender to the postal operator.

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Lyons, France

François Gillet