The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 19, 1999
Filed:
Nov. 16, 1994
S James Lazzarotti, Broomall, PA (US);
Lockheed Martin Corporation, Bethesda, MD (US);
Abstract
Apparatus and method are provided for providing multiple loading sites or entry sites for a single conveyor belt. This apparatus and method is particularly adapted to handling of pieces of flat mail. For each such loading site, another conveyor belt feeds mail flats to a transfer-buffer station measuring their sizes in the process. The feeder belt does not place a mail flat in the transfer-buffer station unless that station is sensed to be empty. The transfer-buffer station provides individual mail flats, one at a time, to an inclined conveyor belt, which serves as an inserter belt system. After a mail flat is moved by the transfer-buffer station onto the inserter belt system, the inserter belt system moves the mail flat to an intermediate 'ready-to-load' park position and then stops. When a gap appears on the main conveyor belt, the inserter belt moves the mail flat onto that gap. Multiple such insertion devices permit parallel loading of mail pieces onto a single conveyor belt, increasing packing density on that belt and permitting use of lower operating speeds to improve performance without sacrificing total throughput.