Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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D E S C R I P T I 0 N
PAPER SHEET HANDLING DEVICE
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a paper sheet
handling device which reads division information
described on paper sheets to sort and accumulate the
paper sheets based on the read information.
Background Art
Heretofore, as a paper sheet handling device,
there has been known a mail handling sorter having a
large number of starkers for sorting postal matters.
This sorter also has an overflow starker (hereinafter
referred to as an OVF) for accumulating postal matters
which cannot be accumulated in the respective starkers.
When the starker breaks during an operation of the
sorter, the sorter cannot be used until the starker has
been repaired. Therefore, the postal matters
distributed to the starker incapable of accumulating
the postal matters are accumulated in the OVF.
Since the postal matters accumulated in the OVF in
this manner are a mixture of the postal matters having
different divisions, an operator needs to manually sort
the postal matters after completing the sorting.
Alternatively, the postal matters need to be put into
the sorter again. When many paper sheets are
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accumulated in the OVF, there is a problem that an
operation efficiency drops.
In recent years, a mufti-stacker system (see,
e.g., Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication
No. 2003-136022) has been adopted to solve the problem.
In this mufti-stacker system, from the start, a
plurality of stackers are assigned for sorting the
postal matters to be distributed to a specific district
or corporation having a large handling amount of postal
matters. When one stacker is filled, the postal
matters are accumulated in the next stacker.
However, even in a case where this mufti-stacker
system is adopted, since the number of the stackers to
be assigned first is fixed, the postal matters that
cannot be accumulated owing to breakdown of the stacker
or the like have to be accumulated in the OVF. After
all of the stackers are filled, the postal matters are
accumulated in the OVF. Therefore, even when the
mufti-stacker system is adopted, it is not possible to
solve the above-described problem that the operation
efficiency drops.
Disclosure of Invention
An object of the present invention is to provide a
paper sheet handling device capable of largely reducing
an amount of paper sheets which cannot be accumulated
as assigned and which are accumulated in an OVF and
capable of improving an operation efficiency.
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To achieve the above-described object, in the
present invention, a paper sheet handling device has: a
plurality of accumulating sections arranged along a
conveyance direction of paper sheets; a detecting
section which detects incapability to accumulate the
paper sheets into the accumulating sections;
preliminary accumulating sections disposed between the
plurality of accumulating sections; and a control
section which accumulates the paper sheets to be
accumulated in the accumulating sections into the
nearest preliminary accumulating section on a
downstream side of the accumulating section along the
conveyance direction, when the detecting section
detects the incapability to accumulate the paper
sheets.
Moreover, in the present invention, the paper
sheet handling device comprises: readout means for
reading images of paper sheets; recognition means for
recognizing division information constituted of a
postal code or an address described in the read image
read by this readout means; a sorting section having a
stacker including a plurality of usual and preliminary
stackers for sorting and accumulating the paper sheets
based on a result of recognition of the division
information by this recognition means, and a stacker
display section which displays states of the paper
sheets accumulated in the stacker; detection means
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disposed in this sorting section to detect an amount of
the paper sheets accumulated in the starker; full-state
generation processing means for handling the paper
sheets, when the detection means detects that the paper
sheets accumulated in the usual starkers reach a
predetermined amount; preliminary starker checking
means for detecting the state of the preliminary
starker; first preliminary starker accumulation means
for switching the usual starker to the preliminary
starker to accumulate the paper sheets continuously
conveyed to the usual starker in the preliminary
starker based on a result of the full-state generation
processing means, when vacancy of the preliminary
starker is detected based on the judgment result of the
preliminary starker checking means; full-state
cancellation means for resetting the usual starker,
when the paper sheets accumulated in the usual starker
are removed in response to the display of the starker
display section; and second preliminary starker
accumulation means for switching the preliminary
starker to the usual starker to accumulate the paper
sheets continuously conveyed to the preliminary starker
in the usual starker as a result of cancellation,
thereby resetting the preliminary starker.
Furthermore, the paper sheet handling device of
the present invention comprises: readout means for
reading images of paper sheets; recognition means for
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recognizing division information constituted of a
postal code or an address described in the read image
read by this readout means; a sorting section having a
starker including a plurality of usual and preliminary
5 starkers for sorting and accumulating the paper sheets
based on a result of recognition of the division
information by this recognition means, and a starker
display section which displays states of the paper
sheets accumulated in the starker; breakdown processing
means for detecting breakdown of the usual starker from
conveyed states of the paper sheets accumulated by the
sorting section; preliminary starker checking means for
detecting the state of the preliminary starker; first
preliminary starker accumulation means for switching
the usual starker to the preliminary starker to
accumulate the paper sheets continuously conveyed to
the usual starker in the preliminary starker based on a
result of the breakdown processing means, when vacancy
of the preliminary starker is detected based on the
judgment result of the preliminary starker checking
means; breakdown cancellation means for resetting the
usual starker, when the paper sheets accumulated in the
usual starker are removed in response to the display of
the starker display section; and second preliminary
starker accumulation means for switching the
preliminary starker to the usual starker to accumulate
the paper sheets continuously conveyed to the
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preliminary stacker in the usual stacker as a result of
breakdown cancellation, thereby resetting the
preliminary stacker.
Brief Description of Drawings
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic
constitution of a mail handling sorter in an embodiment
of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram
showing a structure of a partially enlarged main part
of the sorter of FIG. l;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control system
which controls an operation of the sorter of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example
in which some of a plurality of stackers of the sorter
of FIG. 1 are assigned to preliminary stackers;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a data table in which
a preliminary stacker assigning rule of the sorter of
FIG. 1 is stored for each division designating area;
FIG. 6 is a data table showing a preliminary
stacker assigning example in a specific division
designating area;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data table for
storing a use situation of the preliminary stacker;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a data table for
temporarily storing stacker information indicating
incapability to accumulate;
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a data table for
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setting a flag indicating whether or not all of the
stackers are filled;
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a data table for
storing mail shift information;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a handling
operation of the sorter of FIG. l;
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a handling
operation by the sorter together with FIG. 11;
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a
preliminary stacker check of FIG. 11;
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a typical example in
which a full stacker is switched to a preliminary
stacker;
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a typical example in
which the full stacker is switched to the preliminary
stacker;
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a typical example in
which the full stacker is switched to the preliminary
stacker;
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a typical example in
which the full stacker is switched to the preliminary
stacker;
FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a handling
operation in a case where the stacker breaks;
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a handling
operation together with FIG. 18; and
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of the
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preliminary stacker check of FIG. 18.
Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention
A mode for carrying out the present invention will
be described hereinafter with reference to the
drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic constitution diagram of a
mail handling sorter (hereinafter referred to as the
OCR/VCS integrated system [OVIS]) as an embodiment of a
paper sheet handling device of the present invention.
OVIS handles postal matters such as postcards and
letters as paper sheets.
That is, OVIS reads an image of the postal matter,
and recognizes delivery division information
(hereinafter referred to simply as division
information) such as a postal code and an address
included in the read image. Moreover, the recognized
division information is barcode-printed on the postal
matter with an ink-jet printer (hereinafter referred to
simply as an IJP) to accumulate the postal matter in a
stacker designated as a delivery division.
Moreover, as the postal matter whose division
information cannot be recognized, image data read from
the postal matter is transmitted to a video coding
system (hereinafter referred to as a VCS), and an
operator inputs the postal code based on the image
data. Moreover, the barcode is printed on the postal
matter with the IJP based on the postal code input
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during conveyance of the postal matter, and the postal
matter is accumulated in a stacker corresponding to the
division.
To be more specific, as shown in FIG. 1, the OVIS
has a supply section l, a takeout section 2, a
discharge accumulating section 3, a barcode readout
section 4, a character recognizing section 5 (OCR), a
delay conveying section 6, an IJP 7, a barcode readout
section 8, a branching section 9, and a division
accumulating section 10. The OVIS has a plurality of
VCSs 11.
A plurality of postal matters are set into the
supply section 1 by operator's manual operation, and
taken out one by one onto a conveyance path (not shown)
by the takeout section 2. In this case, postal matters
containing foreign matters or non-standard-size postal
matters are excluded to the discharge accumulating
section 3. Among the postal matters taken out onto the
conveyance path, barcodes applied beforehand to the
postal matters which can be handled are read via the
barcode readout section 4, and the character
recognizing section 5 recognizes division information
such as the postal codes and the addresses described on
the postal matters. The postal matters which have
passed the character recognizing section 5 are conveyed
to the delay conveying section 6.
The delay conveying section 6 is disposed to save
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a time for subjecting the postal matter whose division
information cannot be read by the character recognizing
section 5 to VCS operation via a plurality of VCSs 11.
That is, in the VCS 11, an image of the postal matter
5 whose division information cannot be read is displayed
in a monitor, and the operator key-inputs division
information such as the postal code within a certain
time.
Moreover, a special-format barcode is printed on
10 the postal matter via the IJP 7 based on the division
information acquired via the barcode readout section 4
and the character recognizing section 5, or the
division information acquired by the above-described
VCS operation. This barcode is verified and read via
the barcode readout section 8.
Thereafter, the division of the postal matter is
judged based on the division information of the postal
matter, and accumulated in the stacker (described
later) corresponding to the division. In the present
embodiment, as to a plurality of stackers of the
division accumulating section 10 which are accumulation
destinations of the postal matters, two stages of 152
stackers are arranged along a conveyance direction of
the postal matters, and the stackers are halfway turned
back to an opposite direction. It is to be noted that
the stacker on the most downstream side along the
conveyance direction of the postal matter is assigned
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as an overflow stacker (OVF).
The postal matter whose division has been
determined is divided to one of upper and lower stages
via a gate (not shown) of the branching section 9, and
accumulated in the stacker designated as the division
among a large number of stackers disposed in the
stages. The postal matter which cannot be accumulated
in the designated stacker is accumulated in the OVF.
FIG. 2 schematically shows a structure of a main
part of the division accumulating section 10. Here,
there are representatively shown two arranged upper and
lower stackers 20a and the corresponding display
section 20b. In the division accumulating section 10,
all of the stackers 20a have the same structure and
function as usual or preliminary stackers as described
later. Therefore, in the following description, all of
the stackers 20a are denoted with the same reference
numeral and described.
Each stacker 20a has: a gate 29 for directing, to
the stacker, the postal matter conveyed along an arrow
25; a backup plate 26 for supporting the postal matter
passed through the gate 29 and accumulated in the
stacker so as to prevent the matter from falling; and
two switches 27, 28 for detecting an amount of
accumulated postal matters. One switch 27 is switched
when the postal matter having an amount of 75o are
accumulated in the stacker, and the other switch 28
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is switched when the starker is filled (100%
accumulation).
The display section 20b has: a full-state lamp 21
for informing that two switches 27, 28 of the
corresponding starker are switched; an LCD 22 for
displaying accumulation information such as a delivery
district of the postal matter accumulated in the
starker; and a paper tag issuing switch 23 for issuing
a paper tag on which the accumulation information is
printed. Two stages of the full-state lamps 21, the
LCDs 22, and the paper tag issuing switches 23 are
disposed corresponding to two upper and lower starkers.
It is to be noted that the paper tag issuing switch 23
is an illuminative switch which lights or blinks
itself, and also functions as the paper tag lamp 23.
FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a control system
which controls an operation of the OVIS structured as
described above.
A control unit 30 which controls the operation of
the OVIS has a takeout control unit 31 which controls
operations of the supply section 1 and the takeout
section 2; a foreign matter detection control unit 32
which controls an operation of the discharge
accumulating section 3 to exclude the postal matter
containing foreign matters and the non-standard-size
postal matters; a readout section interface control
unit 33 which transmits and receives information such
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as the postal code with respect to an external device
(not shown); a printing control unit 34 which controls
the IJP 7 to barcode-print the division information; a
conveyance and division control unit 35 which shifts
the postal matter to the designated starker to
accumulate the postal matter; and a panel control unit
36 which displays accumulation information of the
postal matters and abnormality information of the OVIS
via an operation panel.
The conveyance and division control unit 35 is
connected to: a motor driving circuit 40; an encoder
input circuit 41; a gate driving circuit 42; a switch
control circuit 43; a lamp control circuit 44; an LCD
control circuit 45; an a memory circuit 46. The motor
driving circuit 40 drives and controls an inverter
motor to run a conveyance belt which conveys the postal
matters. The encoder input circuit 41 detects a
driving speed of the conveyance belt via a rotary
encoder. The gate driving circuit 42 drives and
controls a gate (not shown) of the branching section 9
and the gate 29 disposed in each starker. The switch
control circuit 43 detects states of a plurality of
shift sensors (not shown) arranged in the conveyance
path of the postal matter, the switches 27, 28 disposed
in each starker 20a, and the paper tag issuing switch
23 in order to acquire a driving timing of each gate.
The lamp control circuit 44 controls lighting and
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blinking of the full-state lamp 21 disposed in the
display section 20b of each starker 20a, and the paper
tag lamp 23. The LCD control circuit 45 displays the
accumulation information (postal code and address) via
the LCD 22 disposed in the display section 20b of each
starker. The memory circuit 46 holds a data table in
which various types of information are stored.
FIG. 4 schematically shows an example in which
some of two stages of a plurality of (40 starkers in
the present embodiment) upper and lower starkers 20a
assigned to a specific division designating area are
assigned as the preliminary starkers. Here, the
starkers assigned to the preliminary starkers are shown
by slant lines. In this example, there are assigned,
as the preliminary starkers, four starkers including
fifth, tenth, fifteenth, and twentieth starkers of the
upper stage (stage A), and twentieth starker of the
lower stage (stage B) along the conveyance direction
(arrow 25). That is, five preliminary starkers are
assigned in this division designating area.
The postal matters which cannot be accumulated in
the usual starker on an upstream side of each
preliminary starker are temporarily accumulated in the
preliminary starker. In a case where the gate 29 of
the usual starker breaks or the starker is filled with
the accumulated postal matters, the postal matters
cannot be accumulated in the usual starker, and the
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subsequently sent postal matters are accumulated in the
preliminary starker. That is, the preliminary starker
can be disposed between the usual starkers to greatly
reduce the amount of the postal matters accumulated in
5 the OVF.
For example, the tenth preliminary starker of the
stage A can accumulate the postal matters which cannot
be accumulated in the first to fourth usual starkers
and the sixth to ninth usual starkers. The postal
10 matters which cannot be accumulated in the first to
fourth usual starkers can be accumulated in the fifth
preliminary starker of the stage A, and the postal
matters which cannot be accumulated in the sixth to
ninth usual starkers can be accumulated in the
15 fifteenth or twentieth preliminary starker of the stage
A. However, it is effective to assign a new
accumulation place to the preliminary starker which is
as close as possible to the usual starker incapable of
accumulating the postal matters in order to improve
handling efficiency.
Such preliminary starker assigning rule can be
arbitrarily set, and the assigning method is
predetermined for each division designating area. It
is to be noted that the preliminary starker does not
have to be necessarily assigned for each division
designating area, and there may be a division
designating area in which any preliminary starker is
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not assigned.
FIG. 5 shows an example of a data table which
stores information on the preliminary stacker assigning
rule predetermined for each different division
designating area. The division designating area is a
postal matter delivery area such as the Kawasaki or
Yokohama area, and managed by means of a pre-granted
area number (hereinafter referred to as the area
number) for each delivery area. It is to be noted that
the data for each division designating area shown in
FIG. 5 is stored in a memory (not shown) of the control
unit 30. Every time the division designating area of
the postal matter handled by the OVIS changes, the
control unit 30 transmits the corresponding data to the
conveyance and division control unit 35 to rewrite data
contents of the memory circuit 46.
As to detailed data contents of this data table,
the data table has: an area 51 to store the number n of
the preliminary stackers assigned to the division
designating area; an area 52 prepared for each
preliminary stacker; an area 53 to store the stages A
and B of the preliminary stacker; and an area 54 to
store a stacker number of the preliminary stacker.
For example, assuming that the area number of the
division designating area is m in a case where the
postal matter to be delivered to the Kawasaki district
is handled with the OVIS, the area number in a case
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where the postal matter to be delivered to the Yokohama
district is handled is m+1 which is different from the
area number m. It is to be noted that as to the
information area 52 for each preliminary starker, n
areas are prepared as many as the preliminary starkers.
For reference, FIG. 6 shows an example of a data
table which stores, for example, a preliminary starker
assigning rule in the Kawasaki district having the area
number 5. It is to be noted that the data contents of
this data table are matched with those of the
preliminary starker assigning example described with
reference to FIG. 4.
There will be described hereinafter another data
table stored in the memory circuit 46 of the conveyance
and division control unit 35 with reference to FIGS. 7
to 10.
FIG. 7 shows a data table for storing use
situations of all of the preliminary starkers assigned
beforehand by the division accumulating section 10.
This data table stores data received from the control
unit 30, and data on the use situations of the
preliminary starker are stored. That is, this data
table includes: an area 60 to store the total number of
the preliminary starkers; an area 61 to store the
number of the preliminary starkers for use, indicating
the number of the preliminary starkers being used for
tentative accumulation; and areas 62 assigned to all of
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the preliminary starkers. For example, assuming that
the number of the preliminary starkers is n, and the
number of the preliminary starkers for use is k, there
results n >_ k > 0.
Each area 62 assigned to each preliminary starker
is constituted of: an area 621 for storing information
on the preliminary starker; and an area 622 for storing
information on the usual starker (full starker) which
designates the preliminary starker as the temporary
accumulation place.
The area 621 includes: an area 63 for storing the
stage of the preliminary starker; an area 64 for
storing starker No.; and an area 65 to set a use
situation flag for judging whether or not the
preliminary starker is used for the tentative
accumulation. The use situation flag is set to "1" in
a case where the preliminary starker is already
assigned for the tentative accumulation, and the flag
is set to "0" in a case where the starker is not used
for the tentative accumulation.
The area 622 includes: an area 66 for storing the
stage of the usual starker which has designated the
preliminary starker as the temporary accumulation
place; an area 67 for storing starker No. of the usual
starker; and an area 68 to set a full-state
cancellation flag for judging whether or not the full
state of the usual starker is cancelled. The
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full-state cancellation flag is set to "1" in a case
where the usual starker is filled, and the flag is set
to "0" in a case where the full state is cancelled.
In addition, the usual starker filled with the
postal matters has been described above as the starker
incapable of accumulating, but, for example, the usual
starker (breakdown starker) whose gate 29 has broken
can be the starker incapable of accumulating. That is,
when the above-described full starker is considered as
the breakdown starker, handling at a breakdown
generation time is possible in the same manner as in a
full-state generation time. That is, the full-state
cancellation flag turns to a breakdown cancellation
flag. The flag is set to "1" in a case where the gate
breakdown is generated. When the gate breakdown is
repaired, and a state capable of accumulating is
achieved, "0" is set (details will be described later).
FIG. 8 shows a data table to temporarily store the
information on the filled usual starker in a case where
any of the usual starkers is filled during the shifting
of the postal matters. This data table has an area for
temporarily storing full-state information. That is,
the table has an area 70 for storing the stage of the
filled usual starker; and an area 71 for storing
starker No. of the usual starker.
In a case where the data is written into these
areas 70, 71, any data is not written in the area 622
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present in the data table of FIG. 7. After assigning
the preliminary starker to the usual starker, the
information on the usual starker is written into the
areas 66, 67, and 68. Since a timing to write the
5 information on the filled usual starker into the areas
70 and 71 is different from a timing to write the
information into the areas 66, 67, and 68, the areas 70
and 71 to temporarily store the full-state information
are required.
10 FIG. 9 shows a data table having a plurality of
areas for setting a flag indicating whether or not all
of the starkers are full. All of the starkers
mentioned herein include the starkers assigned to the
preliminary starkers. At a time when the information
15 on the filled usual starker is written into the data
area shown in FIG. 8, a flag indicating that the usual
starker is full is set to the area for the usual
starker. That is, "1" is set to the area of the filled
usual starker, and "0" is set to the area of the usual
20 starker whose full state has been cancelled. In the
example shown in FIG. 9, the starker A08 is brought
into the full state, and the full state is cancelled in
the starkers A01 to A07.
FIG. 10 shows a data table for storing the shift
information of each postal matter during the shifting
in the division accumulating section 10. This data
table has: an area 75 for storing mail No. sequentially
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allocated to each postal matter; an area 76 to store a
present code for specifying the present conveyance
position of the postal matter in association with a
shift sensor (not shown) through which the postal
matter passes; and an area 77 for storing an
accumulation place (destination) of the postal matter.
The area 77 has an area 78 for storing the stage of the
starker which is an accumulation destination of the
postal code, and an area 79 for storing the starker No.
of the starker.
When the accumulation destination of the postal
matter being shifted becomes incapable of accumulating,
and the preliminary starker is assigned as a new
accumulation destination, the starker No. as the
accumulation destination of the postal matter is
replaced with the number of the preliminary starker
(area 79). Thereafter, the postal matter is shifted to
the preliminary starker having the rewritten starker
No., the postal matter to be originally accumulated in
the OVF can be accumulated in the preliminary starker,
and the postal matters to be accumulated in the OVF can
be remarkably reduced.
There will be described hereinafter a postal
matter handling operation by means of the OVIS
structured as described above with reference to
FIGS. 11 to 13. FIGS. 11 and 12 show flowcharts of the
handling operation, and FIG. 13 shows a detailed
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flowchart of processing of step 10 of FIG. 11.
First, an operator inputs the area number m (see
FIG. S) of the division designating area matched with
the postal matter to be supplied. According to this
operation, the conveyance and division control unit 35
receives, from the control unit 30, the data present in
the data table having the area number m described with
reference to FIG. 5, and clears the data contents of
the data table described with reference to FIG. 7.
Thereafter, the received data is developed into the
same data table (step 1). It is to be noted that the
following processing is controlled by the conveyance
and division control unit 35.
Next, it is checked whether or not the device is
operating (step 2). When the device is not operating
(step 2; NO), the processing ends. While the device is
operating (step 2; YES), the conveyed postal matter is
shifted (step 3). That is, in a case where the device
is not operating, even when the usual stacker is
filled, there is not any postal matter to be conveyed
next, and therefore the processing ends.
In the shift processing of the step 3, each postal
matter is conveyed and accumulated in accordance with a
detection result of the shift sensor (not shown) based
on the accumulation information of each postal matter
described with reference to FIG. 10. In this case, the
accumulation destination of each postal matter is
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stored in the areas 78, 79 of the data table of
FIG. 10.
After shifting each postal matter, it is checked
whether or not the postal matter is to be accumulated
in each starker (step 4). When the matter is other
than an accumulation object (step 4; NO), the
processing shifts to that of step 19 described later.
When the matter is the accumulation object (step 4;
YES), the processing shifts to full-state check
processing (step 5).
In the full-state checking in the step 5, states
of the switches 27, 28 disposed in the starker 20a are
checked. When the starker is not full (step 6; NO),
normal accumulation is performed (step 7), and the
processing shifts to that of step 19. When the full
state is generated (step 6; YES), full-state generation
processing is performed.
In the full-state generation processing, the full-
state information is written in the data table
described with reference to FIG. 8, and a full-state
generation flag is set to the area of a full-state
generated starker in the data table described with
reference to FIG. 9 (step 8). Thereafter, to inform
the operator that the full state is generated, the
full-state lamp 21 is blinked via the display section
20b of the starker 20a (step 9).
Furthermore, thereafter the preliminary starker is
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checked to confirm the state of the preliminary stacker
to accumulate the postal matters which cannot be
accumulated in the full stacker (step 10). This
preliminary stacker check processing will be described
later in detail with reference to a flowchart shown in
FIG. 13.
Moreover, after the preliminary stacker check
processing of the step 10, it is judged whether or not
there exists a completely empty unused preliminary
stacker or a preliminary stacker in which the postal
matters are being accumulated (step 11). When there is
not any usable preliminary stacker (step 11; NO), it is
judged that there is not any stacker for tentative
accumulation, and the postal matter to be accumulated
in the full stacker is accumulated in the OVF
(step 12).
On the other hand, when there exists the usable
preliminary stacker (step 11; YES), the preliminary
stacker is assigned to the accumulation destination to
rewrite the information on the preliminary stacker
(step 13).
When the preliminary stacker is unused, the
information of the LCD 22 and the paper tag issuing
switch 23 of the display section 20b of the preliminary
stacker is rewritten into the same information as that
of the full stacker. The information is already
rewritten in the preliminary stacker in which the same
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
type of postal matters are already accumulated. In
this case, any processing is not performed (or the
previously written information is again written).
Thereafter, to inform the operator that the
5 preliminary stacker is being used, the paper tag lamp
23 of the preliminary stacker is turned on.
Furthermore, to inform the operator of the presence of
the usual stackers (full stackers) multi-connected to
the preliminary stacker, the paper tag lamps 23 of the
10 full stackers are turned on (step 14). Moreover, the
postal matters are tentatively accumulated into the
multi-connected preliminary stacker (step 15).
Next, there is performed the full-state
cancellation processing of the full stacker switched to
15 the preliminary stacker as described above. First, it
is checked whether or not the full state of the full
stacker has been canceled (step 16). The full-state
cancellation is performed by turning on the paper tag
issuing switch of the full stacker. As a result of the
20 check of the step 16, when the full state is not
cancelled (step 16; NO), the accumulation processing
into the preliminary stacker is continued without
performing anything. When the full state is cancelled
(step 16; YES), the full-state lamp 21 of the full
25 stacker is turned off, and the paper tag lamp 23 is
also turned off (step 17).
When the full state of the full stacker is
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
26
cancelled, the subsequently conveyed postal matter is
conveyed and accumulated into the usual starker whose
full state has been cancelled instead of the
preliminary starker for use in the tentative
accumulation. Therefore, the full-state lamp 21 and
the paper tag lamp 23 of the preliminary starker are
blinked for the operator to remove the tentatively
accumulated postal matters from the preliminary starker
(step 18). In this case, the only blinking of the
paper tag lamp 23 is functionally sufficient, but the
double blinking of the full-state lamp 21 and the paper
tag lamp 23 can attract the operator's attention to
remove the postal matters.
Moreover, it is checked whether or not the postal
matters have been removed from the preliminary starker
(step 19). In this case, it is checked whether or not
the blinked paper tag lamp 23 has been depressed. When
the paper tag lamp 23 is not depressed (step 19; NO),
it is judged that the tentatively accumulated postal
matters are not removed to shift to device stop check
of step 22 (step 22).
On the other hand, when the blinked paper tag
issuing switch 23 has been depressed (step 10; YES), it
is judged that the postal matters are removed from the
preliminary starker, the paper tag lamp 23 is turned
off, and the full-state lamp 21 is turned off.
Moreover, the paper tag indicating the same information
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
27
as that of the full starker is issued (step 20).
Furthermore, to reuse the preliminary starker, the LCD
22 and paper tag information of the display section 20b
of the preliminary starker are cleared (step 21).
Finally, the device stop check (step 22) is
performed. When the device does not stop (step 22;
NO), the processing returns to the shift processing of
the step 3, and the processing loops until the device
stops (step 22; YES). When the device stops (step 22;
YES), the processing ends as such.
There will be described hereinafter the above-
described preliminary starker check processing of the
step 10 with reference to FIG. 13.
In this case, first there is confirmed the number
n of the preliminary starkers present in the area 60 of
the data table described with reference to FIG. 7 (step
30). That is, it is checked whether or not the
preliminary starker is assigned to the division
designating area of the postal matter which is the
processing object. Moreover, in a case where there is
no preliminary starker (step 30; YES), since the postal
matters cannot be tentatively accumulated, a flag is
set which indicates that there is no preliminary
starker (step 39).
On the other hand, when there are preliminary
starkers (step 30; NO), it is checked whether or not
the preliminary starkers have already been assigned as
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
28
multi-starkers for the full starker (step 31). That
is, it is checked whether or not the stage and the
starker No. stored in the areas 66 and 67 of the data
table of FIG. 7 agree with those stored in the areas 70
and 71 of the data table of FIG. 8. If two pieces of
information agree with each other (step 31; YES), it is
judged that there is the preliminary starker already
assigned to the full starker, and a flag is set which
indicates that the same preliminary starker exists
( step 32 ) .
On the other hand, in a case where any preliminary
starker is not assigned to the full starker (step 31;
NO), in order to newly assign the preliminary starker
to the full starker, there is checked the number of the
preliminary starkers for use, stored in the area 61 of
FIG. 7 (step 34). When all of the preliminary starkers
are being used (step 34; YES), it is judged that there
is no preliminary starker for the tentative
accumulation, and a flag is set which indicates that
there is no preliminary starker (step 39).
In a case where none of the preliminary starkers
are being used (step 34; NO), that is, there are usable
preliminary starkers, it is checked whether or not
there is any preliminary starker in the same stage as
that of the full starker (step 35). When there is no
preliminary starker in the same stage (step 35; NO), it
is judged that there is no preliminary starker for the
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
29
tentative accumulation, and a flag is set which
indicates that there is not any preliminary starker
(step 39).
Furthermore, it is checked whether or not there is
any usable preliminary starker on the downstream side
of the full starker along the conveyance direction of
the postal matters (step 36). That is, the starker No.
(full No.) of the full starker is compared with the
starker No. (preliminary No.) of the preliminary
starker. As a result of this comparison, in a case
where the preliminary No. is smaller than the full No.,
it is judged that there is no preliminary starker on
the downstream side of the full starker (step 36; NO).
Since the tentative accumulation is not possible, the
flag is set which indicates that there is no
preliminary starker (step 39).
Moreover, as a result of the above-described
comparison, in a case where the preliminary No. is
larger than the full No., it is judged that the
preliminary starker exists on the downstream side of
the full starker in the same stage as that of the full
starker (step 36; YES), and the postal matters are
accumulated in the preliminary starker which is nearest
to the full-state generation place. In this case, the
information stored in the areas 63 and 64 of the data
table of FIG. 7 is checked, the nearest preliminary
starker on the downstream side of the full starker is
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
judged, and the information of the full stacker is set
in the areas 66 and 67 (step 37).
In this case, the full-state cancellation flag
(area 68) of the full stacker is set to "1", and the
5 use situation flag (area 65) of the corresponding
preliminary stacker is also set to "1". Moreover, a
flag is set which indicates that there is an empty
preliminary stacker (step 38).
Thereafter, the stacker No. stored in the area 79
10 of the data table of FIG. 10 is rewritten (step 33).
Accordingly, the tentative accumulation of the
subsequently conveyed postal matters is possible.
There will be described hereinafter a typical
example in which the full stacker is switched to the
15 preliminary stacker with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17.
Here, there will be described an example in which the
preliminary stacker is assigned as in the preliminary
stacker assigning example described with reference to
FIG. 4, the eighth usual stacker (stacker A08) from the
20 right of the stage A in the drawing (along the
conveyance direction of the postal matter) turns to the
full stacker, and the tenth preliminary stacker
(stacker A10) from the right in the same stage is
assigned to a new accumulation destination.
25 It is to be noted that an internal memory of the
preliminary stacker A10 shown on the left side of each
drawing indicates each area of the data table described
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
31
with reference to FIG. 7. As a display example of the
display section 20b shown on the right side of each
drawing, there are shown the display sections 20b of
the usual stacker A08 and the preliminary stacker A10.
That is, FIGS. 14 to 17 show an image of a flow of
processing.
As shown in FIG. 14, in an initial state in which
the stacker A08 is not full, the stacker A10 is a
preliminary stacker in which the tentative accumulation
of the postal matter is not assigned. Therefore, all
of the areas 66 to 68 are cleared ("0" is set) in which
the information on the stacker A08 (full stacker) is
stored, and the area 65 is also cleared ("0" is set)
which indicates the use situation of the stacker A10
(preliminary stacker). That is, in this state, the
following data is stored in each area of the data
table.
Preliminary stacker 621: (stage 63) - 1 ...
stage A
. (stacker No. 64) - 10 ... tenth
. (use situation flag 65) - 0 ... unused
Full stacker 622: (stage 66) - 0 ... full stacker
is not yet determined
. (stacker No. 67) - 0 ... full stacker is not
yet determined
. (full-state cancellation flag 68) - 0 ...
initial state
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
32
As shown in FIG. 15, when the starker A08 is
filled, the full-state lamp 21 of the display section
20b of the starker A08 blinks, and the LCD 22 of the
display section 20b of the starker A10 is rewritten
into the same contents as those of the starker A08. In
this case, since the preliminary starker is used, "1"
is set to the use situation area 65 of the starker A10.
Moreover, the paper tag lamp 23 of the display section
20b of each starker is lit to display that the starkers
A08 and A10 constitute the mufti-starkers. The paper
tag information of the starker A10 is rewritten into
the same information as that of the starker A08
beforehand to prepare for a case where the paper tag
issuing switch 23 of the display section 20b of the
starker A10 is depressed. That is, in this state, the
following data is stored in each area of the data
table.
Preliminary starker 621: (stage 63) - 1 ...
stage A
. (starker No. 64) - 10 ... tenth
. (use situation flag 65) - 1 ... used
Full starker 622: (stage 66) - 1 ... stage A is
determined
. (starker No. 67) - 8 ... eighth
. (full-state cancellation flag 68) - 1 ...
full
As shown in FIG. 16, when the full state of the
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
33
starker A08 is cancelled, the full-state lamp of the
display section 20b of the starker A08 turns off, and
the full-state cancellation flag of the area 68 is
cleared in the data table in which the information on
the starker A10 is stored. Moreover, to inform that
the starkers A08 and A10 are not multi-starkers, the
paper tag lamp 23 of the starker A08 is turned off, and
the paper tag lamp 23 of the starker A10 is blinked to
remove the postal matters accumulated in the starker
A10. That is, in this state, the following data is
stored in each area of the data table.
Preliminary starker 621: (stage 63) - 1 ...
stage A
. (starker No. 64) - 10 ... tenth
. (use situation flag 65) - 1 ... used
Full starker 622: (stage 66) - 1 ... stage A is
determined
. (starker No. 67) - 8 ... eighth
. (full-state cancellation flag 68) - 0 ...
full state is cancelled
As shown in FIG. 17, when the paper tag issuing
switch 23 present in the display section 20b of the
starker A10 is depressed, it is judged that the postal
matters are removed from the starker A10 to turn off
the paper tag lamp 23. To inform that the starker A10
is a completely empty preliminary starker, display
contents of the LCD 22 are cleared (in this case,
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
34
"preliminary stacker" is displayed). Needless to say,
the paper tag information is cleared. That is, in this
state, the following data is stored in each area of the
data table.
Preliminary stacker 621: (stage 63) - 1 ...
stage A
. (stacker No. 64) - 10 ... tenth
. (use situation flag 65) - 0 ... unused
Full stacker 622: (stage 66) - 0 ... full stacker
is not yet determined
. (stacker No. 67) - 0 ... full stacker is not
yet determined
. (full-state cancellation flag 68) - 0 ...
initial state
As described above, according to the present
embodiment, when the usual stacker is filled, the
postal matters to be accumulated in the usual stacker
are tentatively accumulated in the preliminary stacker
disposed between the usual stackers. Therefore, it is
possible to greatly reduce the amount of the postal
matters which cannot be accumulated and which are then
accumulated in the OVF, a manual operation by the
operator can be reduced, and an operation efficiency
can be greatly improved.
Moreover, when the full state of the full stacker
is cancelled, the tentative accumulation into the
preliminary stacker is discontinued, and the postal
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
matters can be accumulated in the original stacker.
Therefore, many stackers do not have to be assigned as
the same accumulation destination, and the stackers car.
be effectively used.
5 There will be described hereinafter a postal
matter handling operation by means of the OVIS with
reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. 18 to 20. It is
to be noted that here the handling operation will be
described in a case where the gate 29 of the stacker
10 20a breaks during the handling of the postal matters.
FIGS. 18 and 19 show flowcharts of the handling
operation, and FIG. 20 shows a detailed flowchart of
processing of step 48 of FIG. 18.
First, the operator inputs the area number m (see
15 FIG. 5) of the division designating area matched with
the postal matter to be supplied. According to this
operation, the conveyance and division control unit 35
receives, from the control unit 30, the data present in
the data table having the area number m described with
20 reference to FIG. 5, and clears the data contents of
the data table described with reference to FIG. 7.
Thereafter, the received data is developed into the
same data table (step 40). It is to be noted that the
following processing is controlled by the conveyance
25 and division control unit 35.
Next, it is checked whether or not the device is
operating (step 41). When the device is not operating
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
36
(step 41; NO), the processing ends. While the device
is operating (step 41; YES), the conveyed postal matter
is shifted (step 42). That is, in a case where the
device is not operating, even when the gate 29 of the
usual stacker breaks, there is not any postal matter to
be conveyed next, and therefore the processing ends.
In the shift processing of the step 42, each
postal matter is conveyed and accumulated in accordance
with a detection result of the shift sensor (not shown)
based on the accumulation information of each postal
matter described with reference to FIG. 10. In this
case, the accumulation destination of each postal
matter is stored in the areas 78 and 79 of the data
table of FIG. 10.
After shifting each postal matter, it is checked
whether or not the postal matter is to be accumulated
in each stacker (step 43). When the matter is other
than an accumulation object (step 43; NO), the
processing shifts to that of step 57 described later to
initialize the preliminary stacker. When the matter is
the accumulation object (step 43; YES), the gate 29 of
the corresponding stacker 20a is operated (step 44),
and the processing shifts to an accumulating operation.
Moreover, after switching the gate 29 in the step
44, it is checked whether or not the postal matter is
conveyed by the shift sensor on the downstream side of
the gate 29 (step 45). As a result of this check,
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
37
unless the postal matter is detected with the shift
sensor on the downstream side, it is judged that the
matter is normally accumulated (step 46) in the
stacker, thereby shifting to processing of step 57. On
the other hand, when the postal matter is conveyed to
the shift sensor on the downstream side (step 45; NO),
it is judged that a gate distribution mistake is made
owing to the breakdown of the gate 29, thereby setting
a flag (step 47).
Next, the preliminary stacker is checked to
confirm the state of the preliminary stacker to
accumulate the postal matters which cannot be
accumulated because the gate 29 breaks (step 48). This
preliminary stacker check processing will be described
later in detail with reference to a flowchart shown in
FIG. 20.
Moreover, after the preliminary stacker check
processing of the step 48, it is judged whether or not
there exists a completely empty unused preliminary
stacker or a preliminary stacker in which the postal
matters are being accumulated (step 49). When there is
no usable preliminary stacker (step 49; NO), it is
judged that there is no starker for the tentative
accumulation, and the postal matter to be accumulated
in the breakdown starker is accumulated in the OVF
(step 50).
On the other hand, when there exists the usable
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
38
preliminary starker (step 49; YES), the preliminary
starker is assigned to the accumulation destination to
rewrite the information on the preliminary starker
(step 51) .
When the preliminary starker is unused, the
information of the LCD 22 and the paper tag issuing
switch 23 of the display section 20b of the preliminary
starker is rewritten into the same information as that
of the breakdown starker. The information is already
rewritten in the preliminary starker in which the same
type of postal matters are already accumulated. In
this case, any processing is not performed (or the
previously written information is again written).
Thereafter, to inform the operator that the
preliminary starker is being used, the paper tag lamp
23 of the preliminary starker is turned on.
Furthermore, to inform the operator of presence of the
usual starkers (breakdown starkers) multi-connected to
the preliminary starker, the paper tag lamps 23 of the
breakdown starkers are turned on (step 52). Moreover,
the postal matters are tentatively accumulated into the
multi-connected preliminary starker (step 53).
Next, there is performed the breakdown
cancellation processing of the breakdown starker
switched to the preliminary starker as described above.
First, it is checked whether or not the gate 29 of the
breakdown starker has been repaired (step 54). When
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
39
the starker is not repaired (step 54; NO), the
processing shifts to that of step 57. When the starker
is repaired (step 54; YES), the paper tag lamp 23 of
the breakdown starker is turned off (step 55).
When the gate 29 of the breakdown starker becomes
operative, the subsequently conveyed postal matter is
conveyed and accumulated into the usual starker whose
breakdown has been cancelled instead of the preliminary
starker for use in the tentative accumulation.
Therefore, the full-state lamp 21 and the paper tag
lamp 23 of the preliminary starker are blinked for the
operator to remove the tentatively accumulated postal
matters from the preliminary starker (step 56). In
this case, the only blinking of the paper tag lamp 23
is functionally sufficient, but the double blinking of
the full-state lamp 21 and the paper tag lamp 23 can
attract the operator's attention to remove the postal
matters.
Moreover, it is checked whether or not the postal
matters have been removed from the preliminary starker
(step 57). In this case, it is checked whether or not
the blinked paper tag lamp 23 has been depressed. When
the paper tag lamp 23 is not depressed (step 57; NO),
it is judged that the tentatively accumulated postal
matters are not removed to shift to device stop check
of step 60 (step 60).
On the other hand, when the blinked paper tag
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
issuing switch 23 has been depressed (step 57; YES), it
is judged that the postal matters are removed from the
preliminary stacker, the full-state lamp 21 and the
paper tag lamp 23 are turned off, and the paper tag
5 indicating the same information as that of the
breakdown stacker is issued (step 58). Furthermore, to
reuse the preliminary stacker, the LCD 22 and paper tag
information of the display section 20b of the
preliminary stacker are cleared (step 59).
10 Finally, the device stop check (step 60) is
performed. When the device does not stop (step 60;
NO), the processing returns to the shift processing of
the step 42, and the processing loops until the device
stops (step 60; YES). When the device stops (step 60;
15 YES), the processing ends as such.
There will be described hereinafter the above-
described preliminary stacker check processing of the
step 48 with reference to FIG. 20. Here, the full
stacker described with reference to FIG. 7 is replaced
20 with the breakdown stacker, and the full-state
information is replaced with the breakdown information.
The full-state temporary storage area described with
reference to FIG. 8 is replaced with a breakdown
information temporary storage area. According to this
25 replacement, even if the unusable stacker is generated
owing to the breakdown of the gate 29, processing can
be performed using the preliminary stacker in the same
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
41
manner as in the above-described processing in the full
state. The stacker check processing will be described
hereinafter.
First there is confirmed the number n of the
preliminary stackers present in the area 60 of the data
table described with reference to FIG. 7 (step 70).
That is, it is checked whether or not the preliminary
stacker is assigned to the division designating area of
the postal matter which is the processing object.
Moreover, in a case where there is not any preliminary
stacker (step 70; YES), since the postal matters cannot
be tentatively accumulated, a flag is set which
indicates that there is not any preliminary stacker
(step 79) .
On the other hand, when there are preliminary
stackers (step 70; NO), it is checked whether or not
the preliminary stackers have already been assigned as
mufti-stackers for the breakdown stacker (step 71).
That is, it is checked whether or not the stage and the
stacker No. stored in the areas 66 and 67 of the data
table of FIG. 7 agree with those stored in the areas 70
and 71 of the data table of FIG. 8. If two pieces of
information agree with each other (step 71; YES), it is
judged that there is the preliminary stacker already
assigned to the breakdown stacker, and a flag is set
which indicates that the same preliminary stacker
exists (step 72).
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
42
On the other hand, in a case where any preliminary
starker is not assigned to the breakdown starker (step
71; NO), in order to newly assign the preliminary
starker to the breakdown starker, there is checked the
number of the preliminary starkers for use, stored in
the area 61 of FIG. 7 (step 74). When all of the
preliminary starkers are being used (step 74; YES), it
is judged that there is no preliminary starker for the
tentative accumulation, and a flag is set which
indicates that there is no preliminary starker
(step 79) .
In a case where all of the preliminary starkers
are not being used (step 74; NO), that is, there are
usable preliminary starkers, it is checked whether or
not there is any preliminary starker in the same stage
as that of the breakdown starker (step 75). When there
is no preliminary starker in the same stage (step 75;
NO), it is judged that there is no preliminary starker
for the tentative accumulation, and a flag is set which
indicates that there is no preliminary starker
(step 79) .
Furthermore, it is checked whether or not there is
any usable preliminary starker on the downstream side
of the breakdown starker along the conveyance direction
of the postal matters (step 76). That is, the starker
No. (breakdown No.) of the breakdown starker is
compared with the starker No. (preliminary No.) of the
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
43
preliminary stacker. As a result of this comparison,
in a case where the preliminary No. is smaller than the
breakdown No., it is judged that there is no
preliminary starker on the downstream side of the
breakdown starker (step 76; NO). Since the tentative
accumulation is not possible, the flag is set which
indicates that there is no preliminary starker
(step 79) .
Moreover, as a result of the above-described
comparison, in a case where the preliminary No. is
larger than the breakdown No., it is judged that the
preliminary starker exists on the downstream side of
the breakdown starker in the same stage as that of the
breakdown starker (step 76; YES), and the postal
matters are accumulated in the preliminary starker
which is nearest to the breakdown generation place. In
this case, the information stored in the areas 63 and
64 of the data table of FIG. 7 is checked, the nearest
preliminary starker on the downstream side of the
breakdown starker is judged, and the information of the
breakdown starker is set in the areas 66 and 67
(step 77).
In this case, the breakdown cancellation flag of
the breakdown starker is set to "1", and the use
situation flag of the preliminary starker is also set
to "1" (step 77). Moreover, a flag is set which
indicates that there is an empty preliminary starker
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
44
(step 78).
Thereafter, the stacker No. stored in the area 79
of the data table of FIG. 10 is rewritten (step 33).
Accordingly, the tentative accumulation of the
subsequently conveyed postal matters is possible.
As described above, even in the present
embodiment, it is possible to greatly reduce the amount
of the postal matters accumulated in the OVF owing to
the breakdown of the stacker and improve a handling
efficiency in the same manner as in the above-described
full-state cancellation processing.
It is to be noted that the present invention is
not limited to the above-described embodiment as such,
and can be embodied by deforming constituting elements
without departing from the scope in an implementation
stage. Various types of invention can be formed by
appropriately combining a plurality of constituting
elements disclosed in the above-described mode for
carrying out the invention. For example, several
constituting elements may be deleted from all of the
constituting elements described above in the mode for
carrying out the invention. Furthermore, the
constituting elements of different embodiments may be
appropriately combined.
For example, in the above-described embodiment,
there has been described the processing to tentatively
accumulate the postal matters in the preliminary
CA 02537902 2006-03-03
starker in a case where the usual starker is filled and
the gate 29 of the starker breaks. However, the
present invention is not limited to this embodiment,
and the present invention is applicable to a case where
5 the postal matters cannot be accumulated in the usual
starker owing to another factor.
Moreover, in the usual processing by the above-
described OVIS, both the full starker and the breakdown
starker are generated in some case. Even in this case,
10 the starkers are incapable of accumulating the postal
matters, and can be similarly handled using the
preliminary starker disposed between the usual starkers
as described above.
Industrial Applicability
15 According to the present invention, preliminary
starkers are not fixed as multi-starkers for a specific
usual starker, and they are arbitrarily and
automatically multi-connected to a plurality of usual
starkers, and used. Therefore, it is possible to
20 reduce an amount of postal matters accumulated in an
OVF when the usual starker is filled or breaks. In
consequence, it is possible to greatly reduce
troublesome re-handlings of the postal matters
accumulated in the OVF and improve operation
25 efficiency.
