Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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ARTICLE CLASSIFYING SYSTEM AND
ARTICLE DIMENSION MEASURING APPARATUS
This invention relates to an article classifying system for automatically
measuring the width, length, thickness and weight of articles, e.g. pieces of
mail, and comparing the measurements with preset values for various
categories of mail to classify the mail pieces. This invention also relates to
an apparatus for measuring dimensions of articles useable in such system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Postal rates for mail pieces, e.g. letters, depend on the width, length,
thickness and weight of the letters. When a clerk at a window of a post office
receives the letter, he or she measures the dimensions with a ruler or a
vernier
micrometer to determine whether the letter is a standard-size letter or
nonstandard-size letter. Then, the clerk weighs the letter, and selects the
postal rate for the letter from the list of rates predetermined on the basis
of
dimensions and weights.
Manual measurement of dimensions and weight of mail pieces has
disadvantages, such as requiring time and labor and also possible errors in
measurement. Such problems become obvious when handling a large
quantity of mail. It is, therefore, desirous to eliminate such problems.
For sending mail for which postal rates are paid later in a lump sum, a
sender sorts mail into standard mail and nonstandard mail, counts the numbers
of pieces of standard and nonstandard mail, and to writes the numbers down on
a slip to be presented to a clerk at a window of the post office.
Standard mail is mail having dimensions, i.e. width, length and
thickness within predetermined ranges of values and having weight less than a
predetermined value, and nonstandard mail is mail other than the standard
mail.
Manual sorting of mail pieces by senders into standard and nonstandard
mail, counting the numbers of standard and nonstandard mail pieces and
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writing the numbers on slips may require a lot of time and labor and involve
error.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a system for
classifying articles, such as mail pieces, by automatically measuring their
width,
length, thickness and weight, and also to provide a dimension measuring
apparatus useable in such system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An article classifying system according to the present invention includes
conveying means for conveying articles. Length measuring means, width
measuring means and thickness measuring means measure the length, width
and thickness of the articles conveyed by the conveying means, respectively.
Weighing means weighs the articles. A plurality of categories are
predetermined for articles according to length, width, thickness and weight of
articles. Classifying means classifies measured articles into categories
according to measurements of the length, width, thickness and weight of the
articles.
The classifying means may classify articles as standard articles when
the length, width, thickness and weight are within respective predetermined
values for length, width, thickness and weight.
The article classifying system may include sorting means for sorting
articles into standard and nonstandard articles in accordance with the
classification made by the classifying means.
The article classifying system may further include counting means for
counting the numbers of articles classified as standard and nonstandard
articles by the classifying means, and printing means for printing out the
numbers of the standard and nonstandard articles as counted by the counting
means.
The article classifying system according to the present invention may
further include sender reading means for reading representations of senders
indicated on articles, and first calculating means for calculating the numbers
of
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articles for respective senders.
The article classifying system may additionally include addressee
reading means for reading representations of addressees indicated on articles,
and second calculating means for calculating the numbers of articles for
respective addressees.
The article classifying system may include, in addition to the addressee
reading means, memory means for storing the addressees on articles as read
by the addressee reading means together with the categories, e.g. standard or
nonstandard, of such articles as classified by said classifying means.
The articles may be pieces of mail.
An article dimension measuring apparatus according to the present
invention can measure the dimensions of an article having outward protruding
side surfaces. For that purpose, it includes a light-emitting unit and a light-
receiving unit. The light-emitting unit includes a plurality of light-emitters
arranged in a measuring direction along the dimension to be measured. The
light-receiving unit includes a plurality of light-receivers associated with
the
light-emitters and arranged along the same direction as the light-emitters.
Each of the light-emitters is combined with two or more of light-receivers
adjacent to each other to form an emitter-receiver combination. Each light-
receiver belongs to two or more such combinations. The apparatus further
includes detecting means for detecting whether light emitted by each light-
emitter is not intercepted by the article and, therefore, is received by any
one of
the light-receivers in the emitter-receiver combination to which that light-
emitter
belongs. Computation means computes the dimension of the article, using
the detection result provided by the detecting means, the distance between the
light emitting unit and the light-receiving unit, and the distance between the
light-emitting unit or light-receiving unit and a reference plane preset so as
to
pass substantial apexes of the outward protruding side surfaces of the
article.
The light-emitters may be arranged along the dimension of articles to be
measured, at equal intervals and in substantially the same plane, with the
light-
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65259-161D
receivers arranged along the measuring direction at the same
intervals as the light-emitters and in substantially the
same plane which is in parallel with the plane in which the
light-emitters are arranged. In this case, the distance
between the reference plane to the light-emitting unit or to
the light-receiving unit is the distance between the light-
emitting unit and the light-receiving unit divided by an
integer equal to or greater than two.
In accordance with the present invention, there is
provided an article classifying system comprising: conveying
means for conveying articles; length measuring means for
measuring the length of an article being conveyed by said
conveying means; width measuring means for measuring the
width of an article being conveyed by said conveying means;
thickness measuring means for measuring the thickness of an
article being conveyed by said conveying means; weight
measuring means for measuring the weight of an article being
conveyed by said conveying means; and classifying means for
classifying an article of which length, width, thickness and
weight have been measured by said length, width, thickness
and weight measuring means into one of a plurality of
categories according to the measured length, width,
thickness and weight.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIGURE 1 is a schematic front view illustrating a
general structure of an article classifying system according
to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIGURE 2 illustrates how the location of the left
end of a mail piece is determined by a width measuring unit
of the article classifying system shown in FIGURE 1.
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65259-161D
FIGURE 3 illustrates how the location of the right
end of the mail piece is determined by the width measuring
unit of the article classifying system shown in FIGURE 1.
FIGURE 4 illustrates how the length of a mail
piece is measured by a length measuring unit of the article
classifying system shown in FIGURE 1.
FIGURES 5A and 5B illustrate a thickness measuring
unit of the article classifying system of FIGURE 1, in which
FIGURE 5A shows the thickness measuring section before it
starts measurement and FIGURE 5B shows the thickness
measuring unit during measurement.
FIGURE 6 shows another example of the arrangement
of light-emitters in the light-emitting unit used in the
classifying system.
FIGURE 7 shows an example of categories into which
mail pieces may be classified by the article classifying
system.
FIGURE 8 illustrates a part of the content of the
memory including addressees of mail pieces as classified by
the article classifying system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Now, an article classifying system with an article
dimension measuring
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apparatus, according to one embodiment of the present invention, is described
in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIGURE 1, the article classifying system includes a feeder
2 which feeds out pieces of mail 1, e.g. post cards, letters and parcels. They
are conveyed on a conveyor 9, and the thickness H, the width Xw, the length L
and the weight W of the mail piece 1 fed from the feeder 2 are measured
respectively in a thickness measuring unit 3, a width measuring unit 4, a
length
measuring unit 5 and a weighing unit 6 disposed along the conveyor 9. The
mail pieces 1 of which the three dimensions H, Xw and L, and the weight W
have been measured are classified into, for example, ten categories according
to their three dimensions and weight. A sorter 7 then puts the classified mail
pieces into first through tenth containers 8,-8,o for the respective
categories.
The ten categories are as shown in FIGURE 7. Different postal charges are
charged on mail pieces of the respective categories.
An operator visually or mechanically judges sizes of mail pieces 1, put
mail pieces 1 of similar thicknesses on the feeder 2, similarly orienting them
on
the feeder 2. For example, mail pieces 1 are placed on the feeder 2 so that
they can be conveyed on the conveyor 9 with their length aligned in the length
direction of the conveyor 9 and with their width direction aligned with the
width
direction of the conveyor 9. The feeder 2 feeds out successively one by one
the mail pieces 1 onto the conveyor 9 at predetermined time intervals.
The thickness measuring unit 3 is disposed at a location along the
conveyor 9 as shown in FIGURE 1, and is mounted on a support frame 10.
Referring to FIGURES 5A and 5B, a shaft 11 is rotatably mounted on the
support frame 10, and an arm 12 swingable about the shaft 11 is coupled to the
shaft 11. A roller is rotatably mounted at the lower end of the arm 12. The
shaft 11 is coupled to an input shaft 14a of a thickness encoder 14, which, in
turn, is mounted on the support frame 10. The shaft 11 is connected to the
support frame 10 by a tensioned coil spring 15. The roller 13 can swing about
the shaft 11 and, when it is moved from the plumb position it is biased toward
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the plumb position by its own weight and the spring force provided by the
spring
15. In FIGURE 5A, the roller 13 is shown in the plumb position. The level
at which the roller 13 is positioned is such that it can contact, in the plumb
position, a mail piece 1 being conveyed on the conveyor 9 as shown in FIGURE
5A. The shaft 11 horizontally extends in the direction orthogonal to the
direction in which mail pieces 1 are conveyed on the conveyor 9 and is in
parallel with the center axis 13a of the roller 13.
The thickness encoder 14 is connected to an arithmetic and operation
control unit 16 (FIGURE 1). When the roller 13 comes into contact with a mail
piece 1 being conveyed by the conveyor 9 and is pushed by the mail piece 1
from the plumb position toward the conveying direction 17 to a position where
it
comes into contact with the upper surface of the mail piece 1 as shown in
FIGURE 5B, the thickness encoder 14 detects the angle OH formed between the
arm 12 in the plumb position and the arm 12 in the position where the roller
13
is in contact with the upper surface of the mail piece 1. The thickness
encoder 14 develops a thickness representative signal representing the
detected angle OH and applies it to the arithmetic and operation control unit
16.
The arithmetic and operation control unit 16 achieves arithmetic
operations on the thickness representative signal OH received from the
thickness encoder 14 according to a program stored in a memory (not shown) to
determine the thickness H of the mail piece 1, i.e. the level of the upper
surface
of the mail piece 1 relative to the conveyor surface 9a. It is so arranged
that
the arithmetic operations for the thickness H are performed in such a manner
that any effect of the radius D of the roller 13 on the angle OH can be
compensated for. The spring 15 urges the roller 13 onto the upper surface of
the mail piece 1 with an appropriate force. Accordingly, accurate computation
of the thickness H can be performed. The spring 15 also acts to return the
roller 13 to its plumb position as soon as the mail piece 1 has passed the
roller
13, for the next thickness measurement.
As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, a mail piece 1 usually has outward
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protruding side surfaces having side edges E and F with relatively acute or
round apexes. The width of the mail piece 1 is the distance between the side
edges E and F, which is measured by the width measuring unit 4. The width
measuring unit 4 is disposed between the output end of the conveyor 9 and the
input end of a weighing conveyor 18 disposed next to the conveyor 9, as shown
in FIGURES 1 and 4. The width measuring unit 4 includes a light-emitting
unit 19 disposed at a level below the conveyors 9 and 18, a light-receiving
unit
20 disposed at a level above the conveyors 9 and 18, detecting means and
computation means. The width measuring unit 4 measures the width Xw of
the mail piece 1 conveyed by the conveyor 9. The width Xw is the dimension
of the mail piece 1 in the width direction of the conveyor 9.
As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the light-emitting unit 19 includes
sixteen (16) light-emitters, e.g. light-emitting diodes, L,-L5 and L"-L2,. The
light-receiving unit 20 includes eighteen (18) light-receivers, e.g.
photodiodes,
P,-P6 and P"-P22. The light-emitters and the light-receivers are connected to
the arithmetic and operation control unit 16.
FIGURE 2 schematically shows the left-side parts of the light-emitting
and light-receiving units 19 and 20 viewed in the conveying direction 17. The
units 19 and 20 include the light-emitters L,-L5 and the light-receivers P,-P6
for
determining the position of the left side edge E of the mail piece 1 being
conveyed on the conveyor 9. FIGURE 3 shows a similar view showing the
light-emitters L"-L2, and the light-receivers P"-P22 for determining the
position
of the right side edge F of the mail piece 1. Only the light-emitters L"-L,2,
and L,8-L2, and the light-receivers P"-P,2 and P,8-P22 are shown, but the
light
emitters L,3-L,~ and the light-receivers P,3-P" are not shown.
As shown in FIGURE 2, the light-emitters L,-L5 are arranged in a
straight line at intervals of, for example, 3 mm in the width direction of the
mail
piece 1. Also, the light-receivers P,-P6 are arranged in a straight line at
the
same intervals of 3 mm as the light-emitters L,-L5 along the width direction.
The light-receivers P2 through Ps are disposed right above the light-emitters
L,
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through L5, respectively, while the light-receiver P, is located diagonally
above
the light-emitter L,, being shifted leftward from the light-receiver P2.
As shown in FIGURE 3, the light-emitters L"-L2, are arranged in a
straight line at the same intervals, i.e. 3 mm, as the light-emitters L,-L5
along
the width direction of the mail piece 1, and the light-receivers P"-PZZ are
arranged in a straight line at the same intervals of 3 mm as the light-
emitters
L"-L2, along the width direction of the mail piece 1. The light-receivers P"
through P2, are disposed right above the light-emitters L" through L2,,
respectively, with the light-receiver P22 disposed diagonally above the light-
emitter Lz, and shifted rightward from the light-receiver P2,. As is seen from
FIGURES 2 and 3, the light-emitter L" is located at a position spaced by 109
mm from the light-emitter L,, in the illustrated example.
An item 21 shown in dashed lines in FIGURE 2 is a guide. The guide
21 is fixed on the conveyor 9, being spaced from the width measuring unit 4.
The guide 21 defines the leftmost possible position the left side edges of
mail
pieces 1 on the conveyor 9 could assume. The guide surface 21 a of the guide
21 for guiding mail pieces is horizontally spaced by 1 mm from the leftmost
light-emitter L,.
The width measuring unit 4 with the above-described arrangement can
determine the position of the leftmost edge E of the mail piece 1 when the
edge
E is within a distance range of from 0 mm to 12 mm from the guide surface 21a,
as shown in FIGURE 2, and can determine the position of the rightmost edge F
within a distance range of from 110 mm to 140 mm from the guide surface 21 a,
as shown in FIGURE 3. In the illustrated example, 1 mm is the minimum
detectable unit.
A distance S between the line along which the light-emitter L,-L5 and
L"-L2, are aligned and the line along which the light-receivers P,-P6 and P"-
P22
are aligned is, for example, 120 mm. A distance A of a reference horizontal
plane 22 set to pass through the leftmost and rightmost edges E and F of the
mail piece 1 from the plane in which the light-emitters are arranged is 40 mm
in
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the illustrated example, which is equal to the distance S of 120 mm divided by
3.
Thus, the distance B of the plane 22 to the plane in which the light-receivers
are arranged is 80 mm.
The distance G of the horizontal plane 22 from the conveyor surface 9a
is H12, where H is an average thickness of mail pieces 1 to be handled which
are fed through the feeder 2. In the illustrated example, the average
thickness H is set to 20 mm, and, therefore, the distance G is 10 mm. The
average thickness H can be varied for handling mail pieces 1 of different
thickness. Accordingly, when a different average thickness H is set, the
distance G between the horizontal plane 22 passing through the left side edge
E and the right side edge F, and the conveyor surface 9a changes, and,
therefore, if a largely differing thickness H is set, the level of the
conveyor
surface 9a may have to be adjusted so that the distance A can be maintained to
be 40 mm which is equal to the distance S=120 mm divided by 3.
Next, the detecting means is described. The detecting means
includes programs stored in the arithmetic and operation control unit 16 and
the
memory.
As shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, each of the light-emitters L,-L5 and L"-
L2, forms a light-emitter-receiver combination with two or three mutually
adjacent light-receivers, such as a light-emitter-receiver combination (L,;
P,,
PZ) as indicated by arrowed solid lines connecting the light-emitter L, to the
light-receivers P, and P2. The light-emitter L2 forms a light-emitter-receiver
combination with the light-receivers P,, P2 and P3. Similarly, the light-
receivers L3, L4 and L5 for light-emitter-receiver combinations with
associated
ones of the light-receivers P2-Ps as indicated by arrowed solid and phantom
lines in FIGURE 2 connecting the light-emitters to the light-receivers..
Similarly, the light-emitter L,B, for example, forms a light-emitter-
receiver combination (L,8; P,B, P,s~ P2o) with the light-receivers P,B, P,9
and Pzo,
as indicated by arrowed phantom lines connecting the light-emitter L,8 with
the
light-receivers P,B, P,9 and PZO in FIGURE 3. Like light-emitter-receiver
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combinations are formed, as indicated by arrowed solid or phantom lines
connecting the respective ones of the light-emitters L"-L" and L,e-L2, to two
or
three of the light-receivers P"-P22.
Each of the fight-receivers P2-P2, belongs to three light-emitter-receiver
combinations, and each of the light-receivers P, and P22 belongs to two light-
emitter-receiver combinations.
The detecting means detects whether light emitted by a light-emitter is
received by one or more light-receives of the light-emitter-receiver
combination
to which the light-emitter belongs.
The light-emitters L,-L5 and L,~-L2, are enabled successively one by one
in the named order. When one light-emitter is enabled, the remaining light-
emitters are kept disabled. Whether or not one or more light-receivers in
each combination receive light emitted from the light-emitter in the same
combination enabled to emit light is determined.
More specifically, first, for detecting the position of the left-side edge E
of a mail piece 1, the light-emitters L,-L5 are enabled one by one
successively.
When it is determined that at least one of the light-receivers of a light-
emitter-
receiver combination has not received light emitted by the light-emitter
belonging to the same combination, the detection of the left-side edge E is
terminated. Referring to FIGURE 2 as an example, when the light-emitters L,
and L2 are successively enabled to emit light, all of the light-receivers P,
and P2
of the combination to which the light-emitter L, belongs and all of the light
receivers P,, PZ and P3 of the combination to which the light-emitter LZ
belongs
receive light emitted by the respective light-emitters L, and L2. Hawever,
when the light-emitter L3 emits light, the light-receiver P2 receives the
light, but
the light-receivers P3 and P4 do not because the passage of the light to them
is
blocked by the mail piece 1. The succeeding light-emitters L4 and L5 are not
enabled, and the detection of the left-side edge E is terminated, and the
detection of the right-side edge F of the same mail piece 1 is done.
Next, the fight-emitters L"-L2, are successively enabled one by one to
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emit light for detection of the right-side edge F. When at least one of the
light-receivers belonging to the same light-emitter-receiver combination as
the
light-emitter being enabled then belongs to receives light, the detection of
the
right-side edge F is terminated. For example, referring to FIGURE 3, the
light-emitter L" is first turned on to emit light, but, since the passage of
light is
blocked by the mail piece 1, the light is received by none of the light-
receivers
P~,, P,2 and P,3. Then, the next light-emitter L,2 alone is turned on to emit
light, but the light cannot be received any of the light-receivers P,2, P,3
and P,4.
(The light-receivers P,3 and P,4 are not shown in FIGURE 3.) In the same
way, the light-emitters L,3-L,e are successively enabled, but light emitted is
received by none of the light-receivers P,3-P2o since the passages of light
are
blocked by the mail piece 1. When the light-emitter L,9 is enabled, the light
it
emits is received by neither of the light-receivers P,9 and P2o, but it is
received
by the light-receiver P2,. Then, the succeeding light-emitters L2o and LZ, are
not enabled, but the step for detecting the right-side edge F of the mail
piece 1
is terminated. This completes the detection of the locations of the left and
right side edges E and F of the mail piece 1.
Next, computation means for computing the width Xw of mail pieces is
described. The computation means is formed by predetermined programs
stored in the arithmetic and operation control unit 16 and the memory. The
computation means computes the width Xw of a mail piece 1 from the results of
the detection provided from the detecting means, the distance A and the
distance S. As previously described, the distance A is the distance of the
plane 22 in which the mail piece edges E and F fie from the plane in which the
light-emitting unit 19 is disposed, and the distance S is the spacing between
the plane in which the light-emitting unit 19 is disposed and the plane in
which
the light-receiving unit 20 is disposed.
In the arrangement shown in FIGURE 2, AIS=113, and the spacing
between adjacent ones of the light-emitters L,-L5 and the spacing between
adjacent ones of the light-receivers P~-P6 are both 3 mm. The intersections
xo,
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x,, ... x,2 and x,3 of the light paths from the respective light-emitters L,-
L5 to the
associated light-receivers P,-P6 and the plane 22 in which the edges E and F
of
the mail piece 1 lie are at locations 0 mm, 1 mm, ..., 12 mm and 13 mm,
respectively, away from the guide surface 21a which is a reference point,
which
are spaced at intervals of 1 mm.
Similarly, in FIGURE 3, the intersections x"o, x",, ..., x,ao and x,4, of the
fight paths from the respective light-emitters L"-L2, to the associated light
receivers P"-P22 and the plane 22 are at locations at 110 mm, 111 mm, ..., 140
mm and 141 mm from the guide surface 21 a, respectively, which are spaced at
intervals of 1 mm.
When the detecting means judges that any of the light-receivers in a
light-emitter-receiver combination shown in FIGURE 2 is not receiving light
from the light-emitter in that combination, the computation means judges one
of
the intersections, xo, x,, ..., x,2 or x,3, to be the location of the left-
side edge E
of the mail piece 1. This intersection is the one, i.e. the intersection x6 in
the
example illustrated in FIGURE 2, of the plane 22 and the path connecting the
last enabled light-emitter, i.e. the light-emitter L3, and the leftmost one of
the
light-receivers which have not received light, i.e. the light-receiver P3.
When the detecting means judges that any of the light-receivers in a
light-emitter-receiver combination shown in FIGURE 3 receives light from the
light-emitter in that combination, the computation means judges one of the
intersections X"o, x",, ..., x,4o and x,4, to be the position of the right-
side edge
F of the mail piece 1. This intersection is the one, i.e. the intersection
x,35 in
the example illustrated in FIGURE 3, of the plane 22 and the path connecting
the last enabled light-emitter, i.e. the light-emitter L,9, and the light-
receiver left
to the leftmost one of the light-receivers P"-P22 which has first received
light,
i.e. the light-receiver P2o.
The computation means subtracts 6 mm corresponding to the location x6
of the left-side edge E from 135 mm corresponding to the location x,35 of the
right-side edge F of the mail piece 1 to thereby obtain the width of the mail
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piece 1, Xw, of 129 mm. That is, calculation of (135 mm - 6 mm = 129 mm) is
carried out. In this manner, the width Xw of the mail piece 1 can be measured
with a resolution of 1 mm.
The length measuring unit 5 determines the length L of the mail piece 1.
Prior to the measurement of the width Wx of the mail piece 1 in the width
measuring unit 4, the light-emitter L5 is kept turned on so that it continues
to
emit light which is received by the fight-receiver P6 right above the light-
emitter
L5. Then, the front edge J of the mail piece 1 interrupts the light from the
light-emitter L5 to the light-receiver P6, which is detected by the arithmetic
and
operation control unit 16. Then, the light-emitters L,-L5 and L"-L2, are
successively turned on to measure the width Xw of the mail piece 1.
Immediately after the completion of the measurement of the width Xw, the light-
emitter L5 is enabled to emit light and kept enabled. Because of the mail
piece 1, the light emitted from the light-emitter L5 does not reach the light-
receiver Ps. When the rear edge of the mail piece 1 passes the line
connecting the light-emitter L5 and the light-receiver P6, the light emitted
from
the light-emitter L5 begins to be received by the light-receiver P6, again.
Thus,
the length L can be determined by the arithmetic and operation control unit 16
from the length over which the mail piece 1 is conveyed in a time period of
from
the time the front edge J has interrupted the light from the light-emitter LS
to the
light-receiver Ps until the light-receiver Ps begins to receive the light
again.
The light-emitter L5 and the light-receiver Ps are used to measure the
length L of mail pieces 1 because they are located closer to the center of the
width of the conveyor 9 and, therefore, can detect mail pieces 1 having small
width Xw. Accordingly, if necessary, other light-emitter and light-receiver
combination, e.g. a combination of the light-emitter L4 and the light-receiver
P5,
may be used to detect mail pieces 1.
As shown in FIGURE 4, a length encoder 24 has its input shaft 24a
coupled to a support shaft 23a of a pulley 23 for rotation with the pulley
shaft
23a. The conveyor belt of the conveyor 9 is looped around the pulley 23.
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The length encoder 24 is connected with the arithmetic and operation control
unit 16.
The length encoder 24 develops a detection signal 0~ when the front
edge J interrupts the light emitted by the light-emitter L5 and received by
the
light-receiver P6, and continues to develop it until the mail piece 1 advances
to
such a point that the light-receiver P6 can receive the light from the light-
emitter
L5 again. The arithmetic and operation control unit 16 receives the detection
signal 0~ and processes it in accordance with the programs stored in the
memory to compute the length L of the mail piece 1.
As shown in FIGURE 1, the weighing unit 6 includes a weighing
conveyor 18 and a weigher 25, e.g. a load cell unit, disposed to support the
weighing conveyor 18. The weigher 25 is connected to the arithmetic and
operation control unit 16.
The weighing conveyor 18 is disposed after the conveyor 9. It
receives mail pieces 1 conveyed by the conveyor 9 and sends them to the
sorter 7 in the succeeding stage. The conveying speed of the weighing
conveyor 18 is the same as that of the conveyor 9.
The weigher 25 measures the weight W of mail pieces carried on the
weighing conveyor 18 and develops a weight signal, which is coupled to the
arithmetic and operation control unit 16.
Next, means for classifying mail pieces 1 of which the three dimensions
H, Xw and L, and the weight W have been measured, into first through tenth,
ten categories is described. The classifying means is formed of
predetermined programs stored in the arithmetic and operation control unit 16
and in the memory and classifies the mail pieces 1 according to the three
dimensions and weight of the mail pieces 1 as determined in the thickness
measuring unit 3, the width measuring unit 4, the length measuring unit 5 and
the weighing unit 6. Ten different postal charges are applied to the
respective
ones of the ten categories.
The ten categories are as shown in FIGURE 7. Mail pieces 1 of the
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first and second categories have a length L of not less than 14 cm and not
greater than 23.5 cm, a width Xw of not less than 9 cm and not greater than 12
cm, and a thickness H of not greater than 1 cm. Mail pieces 1 of the first
categories have a weight W of not greater than 25 g. The second category
mail pieces 1 have a weight W of greater than 25 g and not greater than 50 g.
Mail pieces 1 of the first and second categories are "standard" mail, and mail
other than the standard mail is "nonstandard mail".
The third through tenth categories are for "nonstandard" mail. Mail
pieces of the third category has dimensions other than those of the standard
mail and has a weight not greater than 50 g. Mail pieces 1 having weight
greater than 50 g are classified into appropriate ones of the fourth through
tenth categories, regardless of their dimensions. The fourth category is for
mail pieces 1 having a weight W of greater than 50 g and not greater than 75
g.
The fifth category is for mail pieces 1 having a weight W of greater than 75 g
and not greater than 100 g. The sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth categories
are for mail pieces having weights W greater than 100 g and not greater than
150 g, greater than 150 g and not greater than 200 g, greater than 200 g and
not greater than 250 g, and greater than 250 g and not greater than 500 g,
respectively. The tenth category is for mail pieces 1 having a weight W of
greater than 500 g.
The sorter 7 automatically sorts or puts mail pieces 1 classified into the
ten categories into respective containers 8, through 8,Q. (Only the containers
8,, 82, 89 and 8,o are shown in FIGURE 1.) The sorter 7 includes first through
tenth sorter conveyors 26, through 26,o arranged in the named order one after
the other, with the sorter conveyor 26, following the weighing conveyor 18 and
with the conveyor 26,o disposed at the end. (Only the sorter conveyors 26,,
262, 269 and 26,o are shown in FIGURE 1.) Mail pieces 1 conveyed by the
weighing conveyor 18 are sorted into the first through tenth containers 8,
through 8,o by the respective sorter conveyors 26~ through 26,0. The sorter
conveyor 26, carries mail pieces 1 of the first category into the first
container 8,.
CA 02400038 2002-09-16
Similarly, the sorter conveyors 262 through 26,o carry mail pieces of the
second
through tenth categories into the second through tenth containers 82 through
8,0, respectively. For this purpose, the first through ninth sorter conveyors
26, through 269 are arranged to move from the horizontal position to the
inclined position indicated by phantom lines in FIGURE 1 in which the rear
ends
of the respective sorter conveyors fall by a given amount, and back to the
horizontal position.
When a mail piece 1 classified into one category is conveyed to the
sorter conveyor for that category, the rear end of that sorter conveyor falls
so
that the mail piece 1 can be put into the associated container. For example, a
mail piece 1 classified as a ninth category mail piece is carried over the
first
through eighth sorter conveyors 26, through 268 and put on the ninth sorter
conveyor 269. Then, the ninth sorter conveyor 269 is caused to swing down
about the front end thereof with an appropriate timing so as to put the mail
piece 1 down into the container 89. Then, the conveyor 269 returns to the
original horizontal position so that it can forward to the tenth sorter
conveyor
26,0, mail pieces 1 of the tenth category conveyed to it to from the sorter
conveyor 268. The tenth sorter conveyor 26,o is not arranged to have its rear
end fall down, but it simply sends out mail pieces 1 of the tenth category
into
the tenth container 8,0.
With the above-described arrangement of the article classifying system,
an operator put mail pieces 1 on the feeder 2. The mail pieces 1 are
successively fed out onto the conveyor 9 and onto the weighing conveyor 18.
While they are conveyed, their thickness H, width Xw, length L and weight W
are automatically measured accurately in short time. The measured mail
pieces 1, regardless of the number of mail pieces 1 to be handled, are then
classified automatically and accurately at high speed into respective
categories
according to their measured dimensions and weights, and sorted into the
corresponding ones of containers 8, through 8,o associated with respective
postal charges. Standard mail pieces are put into the containers 8, and 82,
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and nonstandard mail pieces are sorted into the containers 83 through 8,0,
respectively. Thus, error accompanying manual classification and sorting can
by avoided, and troublesome labor and time associated with manual
classification and sorting can be eliminated.
Although the spacing between adjacent light-emitters or light-receivers
is 3 mm as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the width Xw of mail pieces 1 can be
measured with a higher resolution of 1 mm. In other words, precise
measurement of the width Xw of mail pieces 1 can be realized with a relatively
small number of light-emitters and light-receivers.
Because a plurality of light-emitters and light-receivers are arranged at
fixed intervals (3 mm in the illustrated example) along the measuring
direction
(the width direction in the illustrated example) and the distance A (= 40 mm
in
the illustrated example) between the reference plane 22 passing through the
two edges E and F of a mail piece 1 and the light-emitting unit 19 is the
distance S (= A + B, which is equal to 120 mm in the illustrated example)
between the light-emitting unit 19 and the light-receiving unit 20 divided by
an
integer which is equal to two or larger (three in the illustrated example),
the
width Xw of mail pieces 1 can be measured in a constant minimum unit amount
(= 1 mm in the illustrated example).
Now, the reason why the positions of the edges E and F of mail pieces 1
in the horizontal plane 22 at a location spaced by the distance G from the
lower
surface of the mail piece 1, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, are determined is
described. In FIGURE 2, the conveyor 9 is positioned such that the edges E
and F of mail pieces 1 as represented by solid lines can be in the horizontal
plane 22 which divides the distance S in a ratio of A : B. With this
arrangement, the position of the left-side edge E of the mail piece 1 can be
accurately determined to be x6, which is 6 mm from the guide surface 21 a.
If the conveyor 9 were positioned such that the lower surface of a mail
piece 1 as represented by phantom lines in FIGURE 2 can be located along the
horizontal plane 22, light emitted from the light-emitter L3 would be received
by
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the light-receivers PZ and P3 but would not be received by the light-receiver
P4.
Thus, a wrong judgement would be made as if the left-side edge E were at x,,
which is 7 mm from the guide surface 21a.
Similarly, the right-side edge F of the mail piece 1 indicated by solid
lines in FIGURE 3 can be accurately determined as being at x,35, which is 135
mm from the guide surface 21 a. However, if the mail piece 1 were located as
indicated by phantom lines, an erroneous judgment as if the right-side edge F
were at x,34, which is 134 mm from the guide surface 21 a.
As will be understood from the above, the width Xw of the mail piece 1
when it is in the position indicated by solid lines can be accurately measured
as
being Xw = X,35 - xs = 129 mm, whereas if the mail piece 1 were position in
the
phantom line position, the width would be judged to be Xw = X,34 - x, = 127
mm,
which includes an error of 2 mm.
Thus, the conveyor 9 is positioned such that the left-side and right-side
edges E and F of the mail pieces 1 to be handled are located on the horizontal
plane 22 for accurate measurement of their width.
The arithmetic and operation control unit 16 may include first and
second counters (not shown), with a printer (not shown) connected to the unit
16.
The first counter counts the number of standard mail pieces which have
been classified into the first and second categories by the classifying means.
The second counter counts the number of nonstandard mail pieces which have
been classified into the third through tenth categories by the classifying
means.
The printer can print out the numbers of the standard and nonstandard
mail pieces counted by the first and second counters, respectively.
Accordingly, if it becomes necessary to inform the Post Office of the numbers
of
standard and nonstandard mail pieces to be posted, a printout can be
immediately available.
The arithmetic and operation control unit 16 may be provided with third
and fourth counters (not shown), with first and second bar code readers (not
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shown) connected to the unit 16.
The first bar code reader is associated with the conveyor 9 and reads
sender-representative bar codes on mail pieces 1 being conveyed on the
conveyor 9. The second bar code reader is also associated with the conveyor
9 and reads addressee-representative bar codes on mail pieces 1 being
conveyed on the conveyor 9.
The third counter counts the number of mail pieces 1 for each of the
senders as identified by the first bar code reader. The fourth counter counts
the number of mail pieces 1 for each of the addressees as identified by the
second bar code reader.
The number of mail pieces 1 for every sender counted by the third
counter and the number of mail pieces 1 for every addressee counted by the
fourth counter may be printed out by the printer. Any of individuals,
companies, departments of companies etc. may be chosen as the senders and
addressees.
When the first bar code reader and the third counter are used with the
printer, an operator can compare the number of mail pieces of each sender as
counted and printed on a sheet with the number of mail pieces as actually
prepared by that sender to thereby determine whether all the actually prepared
mail pieces of each sender have been classified by the classifying system.
If the second bar code reader and the fourth counter are used with the
printer, the operator can compare the number of mail pieces for each addressee
as counted and printed on a sheet with the number of mail pieces as actually
addressed to that addressee to thereby determine whether all the actually
prepared mail pieces for that addressee have been classified by the
classifying
system.
In place of bar codes, the senders and the addressees may be
represented by OCR characters which an optical character reader (OCR) can
read. Such OCR characters representing senders and addressees are read in
by an optical scanner. The scanner is disposed in association with the
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conveyor9.
The arithmetic and operation control unit 16 performs such processing,
in accordance with the predetermined programs, as to store in the memory the
addressee of each mail piece 1 as read by the second bar code reader and its
category as classified by the classifying means, together.
FIGURE 8 shows the content of the memory including the addressees of
eight mail pieces 1 processed by the classifying system according to the
present invention, their addresses, dates posted, categories (standard or
nonstandard mail), types of special handling (e.g. special delivery,
registered
mail, etc.) and postal charges. The content may be displayed in this format
on a display associated with the arithmetic and operation control unit 16 or
may
be printed out for checking.
Addresses in the address columns 1 and 2 are pre-stored in the memory
in association with the addressees. When the addressees are read in by the
second bar code reader, the arithmetic and operation control unit 16 calls out
the corresponding addresses 1 and 2 and stores them in the memory in
association with the addressees.
Types of special handling are indicated on mail pieces 1 together with
the addressees, and are read by the second bar code reader. The arithmetic
and operation control unit 16 causes the types of special handling as read out
by the second bar code reader to be stored in the memory in association with
their addressees. Mail pieces with no indication of special handling will be
treated as ordinary mail.
The arithmetic and operation control unit 16 calculates the postal
charge for each mail piece according to the thickness H, width Xw, length L
and
weight W obtained in the above-mentioned manner, and the calculated postal
charges are stored in the memory in association with the addresses of the
respective mail pieces 1. Postal rates are pre-stored in the memory for
various combinations of thickness, width, length and weight of mail pieces,
and
the arithmetic and operation control unit 16 selects appropriate ones out of
pre-
CA 02400038 2002-09-16
stored postal charges for mail pieces having particular dimensions and
weights.
Instead of storing "standard mail" or "nonstandard mail" in the memory as the
categories of mail pieces, the first through tenth categories may be stored.
The number of mail pieces in each of the first through tenth categories may be
counted and stored in the memory.
In the illustrated example, the light-emitters L,-L5 and L"-L2, and the
light-receivers P,-P6 and P"-P22 are arranged in the width direction at
intervals
of 3 mm, but they may be spaced at different intervals.
Also, instead of disposing the light-emitting unit 19 below the light-
receiving unit 20, it may be placed above the light-receiving unit 20.
In the above-described example, the light-emitters and the light-
receivers are arranged on the respective straight lines at equal horizontal
intervals of 3 mm. Instead, the light-emitters may be staggered about a line
extending in the measuring direction (i.e. the width direction) in the same
plane
at the same horizontal intervals D, as shown in FIGURE 6. In this case,
although not shown, the light-receivers are correspondingly staggered at the
same horizontal intervals D in the same relationship with the light-emitters
as
shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.
The distance A of the horizontal plane 22 from the light-emitting unit 19
may be the distance S divided by an integer other than three (3) used in the
illustrated example, provided that it is not smaller than two (2). For
example,
when the distance A is SI4, an additional light-receiver Po is disposed at a
location spaced left by 3 mm from the light-receiver P, in the arrangement
shown in FIGURE 2, and another additional light-receiver P23 is disposed at a
location spaced right by 3 mm from the light-receiver P22 in the arrangement
shown in FIGURE 3. The light-emitter L, and the light-receivers Po, P, and PZ
form a combination. Each of the light-emitter L2-L2, form a combination with
four light-receivers which are adjacent to each other. For example, the light-
emitter L2 forms a combination with the light-receivers Po, P,, P2 and P3. The
light-emitter L" forms a combination with the light-receivers P", P,2, P,3 and
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P,4. The last light-emitter L2, forms a combination with three light-receivers
P2,, P22 and P23. Each of the light-receiver P,-P22 belongs to four
combinations, and each of the light-receivers Po and P23 belongs to three
combinations. Light emitted from the light-emitter in a particular combination
is directed to the light-receivers in the same particular combination.
In a manner similar to the one explained with reference to the
arrangement shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, the width of a mail piece 1 is
determined by detecting which ones of the light-receivers cannot receive light
from their associated light-emitters. With this arrangement, the width Xw of
mail pieces 1 can be measured to a precision of 0.25 mm (=1 mm = 4).
The present invention has been described with reference to an
embodiment for classifying pieces of mail, but the classifying system can be
used to classify articles other than mail pieces.
Of course, the number of categories into which articles are classified
can be other than ten and can be any number equal to or larger than two.
As described above, according to the present invention, thickness,
length, width and weight of articles, such as mail pieces, can be accurately
measured at high speed, and, then, such articles can be classified accurately
into categories at high speed according to their measured dimensions and
weights. Also, the numbers of articles of respective categories can be
counted, stored in a memory, displayed andlor printed out.
22
