Bell & Howell Postal Systems, Inc.

Walter Conard

Eduard M Svyatsky

James Carl McClain

John M Buday

David Schwaba

Stephen R Archer

Anatoly Estis

Fred Hegland

The present invention provides for a continuous flow transfer system designed to transfer the contents of a mail tray into a cartridge for subsequent processing and then, after processing, to transfer the contents of the cartridge back into a mail tray without disrupting the facing or orientation of each piece of mail. The continuous flow transfer system comprises both a cartridge loader and a cartridge unloader, both of which have a tray section, a transfer conveyor and a cartridge section. The tray section, or infeed section, of the cartridge loader is designed to deliver filled mail trays to the transfer section of the loader. At the transfer section, the contents of each mail tray are deposited into an intermediate container that is affixed to the transfer section. The transfer section then delivers the contents of the intermediate container into empty cartridges being fed onto the cartridge section, or discharge section, of the loader. Once filled, each cartridge is then transported away from the cartridge loader for processing, where the mail is removed from each container, processed and place back into a cartridge. After processing, the filled cartridges are then delivered to the cartridge section, or infeed section, of the cartridge unloader. Similar to the loader, the contents of each cartridge are transferred into an intermediate container affixed to the transfer section. The transfer section then delivers the contents of the intermediate container to the mail section, or discharge section, of the unloader, where the mail is transferred back into mail trays. The filled mail trays are then ready for delivery.

Continuous flow transfer system

A document transporting system for conveying documents along a transport path in a first direction from a document infeed station to a document processing station, certain of such documents being advanced along the transport path from the infeed station with an improper facing orientation. A plurality of document re-orienting devices are disposed adjacent the transport path between the infeed station and the document processing station. Each of the document re-orienting devices are adapted to receive an improperly oriented document, to reverse the orientation of the previously improperly oriented document, and to transport the correctly oriented document back onto the document transport path. Control elements operatively associated with each of the plurality of document re-orienting devices deliver improperly oriented documents into a pre-selected empty re-orienting device. Correctly oriented documents are conveyed onto the transport path when a gap is present between documents being transported along the document transport path.

Mail facing transport system

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Lake Villa, IL, United States of America

Walter Conard