Pitney Bowes Inc.

Mark A Clendinning

Henson C Ong

Kenneth S Zaldo

Dana Hoggatt

Kenneth Zaldo

A sortation bin module having a conveyor and diverter module for pneumatically securing, releasing and diverting selected mailpieces to a bank of sortation bins. The conveyor module includes a conveyor surface for transporting sheet material along the feed path and a pneumatic system for developing a pressure differential across the conveyor surface to hold the sheet material on the conveyor surface during transport. The diverter module includes a diverter surface for sorting sheet material from the conveyor surface, i.e., diverting sheet material from the feed path. The diverter module, furthermore, includes a pneumatic system for developing a pressure differential across the diverter surface to hold the sheet material on the diverter surface during sortation. The conveyor and diverter surfaces are also arranged such that the surfaces oppose each other to define a transfer interface. Moreover, the bin module includes a processor operative to independently control the pressure differential of the conveyor and diverter modules such that sheet material is held against the respective conveyor and diverter surfaces by a negative pressure differential and transferred from the conveyor to the diverter surface by controlling the pressure differential of the modules when the sheet material is interposed at the transfer interface.

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Brookfield, CT, United States of America

Mark A Clendinning