EP2031565A1 - Supply device for mail items with integrated image sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The device (10) has a receiving plate for receiving a stack of mail items to be printed. A selection module is formed of extraction rollers (20A, 20B) and a draw plate (20C), and extracts the mail items from the stack. Front and rear upper transport rollers (22B, 24B) are moved vertically and transfer the extracted mail items towards downstream. A mobile optical reading unit (26) is placed in downstream of the selection unit and displaced in synchronism with the rollers for automatically digitizing and recognizing printed data on the mail items using a processing unit (28).

Description

Field of the art

The present invention relates exclusively to the field of mail processing and more particularly relates to a device for supplying mail items comprising an integrated image sensor.

Prior art

It is known that mail items associated with value-added services, such as express mail or registered mail, use identification codes, such as barcodes or the like, to enable tracking of them during the distribution process. mail between the sender and the recipient. These barcodes are printed either directly on the envelope or on a label then affixed to the envelope before being scanned prior to printing the postal impression. Unfortunately, this scanning which requires a prior sorting of the mail items concerned is most often done in the mail room using a hand scanner and is therefore both long and tedious, especially when the pile of items mail to process is important.

Object and definition of the invention

The present invention therefore aims to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks with an improved feeding device for automatic processing of mail items associated or not with value-added services. An object of the invention is also to provide a feeding device that allows if necessary the automatic recording of data relating to these value-added services. Another object of the invention is to propose a feeding device which does not require a redefinition of its general architecture.

These objects are achieved by a mail item supply device comprising a receiving tray for receiving a stack of mail items to be printed, a selection means for extracting one by one from this stack the mail items to be printed and superimposed transport rollers including upper movable rollers for conveying downstream the mail items thus extracted one by one, characterized in that it further comprises a mobile optical reading means disposed downstream of said selection means and moving in synchronism with said upper moving mailpiece transport rollers for, in conjunction with a processing means, automatically scanning and recognizing printed data on each of said mail items.

Thus, by this simple structure moving in synchronism with the transport rollers, it is possible to adapt to all thicknesses of mail items and to automatically scan the mail items during their movement.

According to a preferred embodiment, said mobile optical reading means comprises a linear sensor supported by at least one suspension arm whose displacement in synchronism with the upper movable rollers is obtained by a transverse support axis integral with said upper movable rollers and on which come to rest said suspension arms.

Preferably, said linear sensor is mounted between an upstream deflector and a downstream deflector and fixed thereto by two lateral flanges, said at least one suspension arm being articulated at a first end on a pivot axis integral with said upstream deflector and at a second end on a transverse axis of joint joint secured to the frame of the feeding device.

Advantageously, said upstream deflector comprises an inclined leading edge to allow a smooth climb on the article of mail and said downstream deflector comprises a heel for decreasing the angle of inclination of the sensor during said mounting on the mail piece.

The feed device according to the invention may further comprise two bridges passing each over said linear sensor and being fixed by tabs on said upstream and downstream deflectors, the upper face of said bridges being intended to receive a spring bearing on said frame, so as to ensure a constant contact of said linear sensor with the upper surface of the mail items. Said tabs can also ensure the maintenance of said pivot axes in the housing of said upstream deflector.

Advantageously, said upstream and downstream baffles each comprise an opening to allow the passage of said upper movable rollers.

The linear sensor is a contact image sensor formed of an integrated module having adjacent semiconductor sensing cells, a collimating optics and a lighting system.

Brief description of the drawings

• la figure 1 est une vue schématique d'un dispositif d'alimentation en articles de courrier selon l'invention,
• la figure 2 montre en perspective un moyen mobile de lecture optique destiné à être intégré dans le dispositif d'alimentation de la figure 1,
• les figures 3A à 3C illustrent en coupe une partie du dispositif d'alimentation de l'invention dans trois positions successives du moyen mobile de lecture optique de la figure 1, et
• la figure 4 illustre un dispositif d'alimentation de l'art antérieur.

The invention will be better understood in view of the following detailed description accompanied by illustrative and nonlimiting examples with reference to the following figures in which:

• the figure 1 is a schematic view of a device for supplying mail items according to the invention,
• the figure 2 shows in perspective a mobile optical reading means intended to be integrated into the feed device of the figure 1 ,
• the FIGS. 3A to 3C illustrate in section a portion of the feed device of the invention in three successive positions of the mobile optical reading means of the figure 1 , and
• the figure 4 illustrates a feeding device of the prior art.

Detailed description of embodiments

As illustrated by figure 4 , a mail supply device 10 conventionally comprises from upstream to downstream (with respect to the forward direction D of the mail items through the device) a feed zone 12 formed essentially of a tray of receipt 14 for receiving a stack of mail items, preferably of different sizes, and with or without first transport rollers 16 for driving these mail items downstream at the entrance of a separation and transport area 18 comprising on the one hand a selection module formed of superposed extraction rollers 20A, 20B preceded by a die 20C and in which these mail items are automatically extracted one by one from the stack and on the other hand from the second rolls of transport formed for example from two adjacent sets of superimposed front transport rollers 22A, 22B and rear 24A, 24B for conveying the mail items thus extracted one by one downstream of the supply device, for example to a weighing module or, failing that, to a printing module of a franking machine to which this supply device is connected. As is known, the upper rollers 22B, 24B of these transport rollers are mounted loose and vertically movable to accommodate the different thicknesses of the mail items and the lower rollers are motorized.

The feed device further comprises various known control and control means necessary for its operation (in particular the actuation of the various rollers necessary for driving the mailpieces through the device in the direction of advance D) and it is therefore useless to describe in more detail.

According to the invention, and as schematically illustrates figure 1 , in order to allow automatic processing of mail items associated with value-added services and present in the stack of mail items resting on the receiving tray, the invention proposes to integrate with this conventional feeder a mobile way of optical reading 26 enabling in connection with a processing means 28 scanning and automatic recognition of the services associated with these mail items once their selection by the corresponding selection module. This assembly will be mobile in synchronism with at least one of the 22B mobile transport rollers to ensure processing of mail items regardless of their thickness, especially in the presence of thick envelopes, and will be compact enough not to have to change the general configuration of the supply device, and in particular its external template. The digitization by the processing means 28 will advantageously be synchronized from the pulses of an encoder 22Ba mounted on the mobile transport roller 22B and a detector 30 of a front of each of the mail items.

The perspective of figure 2 shows more precisely the mobile optical reading means 26 comprising a sensor 32 mounted between an upstream baffle 34 and a downstream baffle 36 and fixed thereto by two lateral flanges 38A, 38B. The lower surfaces of the sensor and those of the baffles are thus kept in perfect alignment to ensure plane contact with the upper surface of the mailpieces. The upstream deflector has an inclined leading edge 34A to allow a smooth climb on the mail item including thick and the downstream baffle has a heel 36A which allows by its support on the transport table to reduce the angle sensor tilt during this climb on the mail item. The sensor / deflector assembly is supported by two bent suspension arms 40A, 40B articulated at a first end on a pivot axis 42A, 42B advantageously fixed in a housing 34B, 34C of the upstream deflector and at a second end on a transverse axis joint hinge 44 whose two ends are fixed to longitudinal walls 46 arranged on either side of the transport path of the mail items and integral with the frame of the feed device (axes and flanges are illustrated in figures 2 and 3 ). To guarantee a constant contact of the sensor with the upper surface of the mail items, two bridges 48A, 48B whose upper face is intended to receive one end of an elastic pressure means, for example a spring 50 (the other end is supported on the frame (see FIGS. 3A to 3C )), each pass over the sensor 32 and are fixed by front and rear tabs respectively on the upstream and downstream deflectors. The front legs also serve to maintain the pivot axes 42A, 42B of the sensor / deflector assembly in the housing 34B, 34C of the upstream deflector.

According to the invention, in order to reduce the shocks associated with the passage of the mailpieces and the resulting bounces for the sensor, the sensor / deflector assembly is moved in synchronism with the forward movable upper movable rollers so as to lift the sensor before the passage of mail items. This displacement is obtained by a transverse support axis 52 secured to these upper movable rollers and on which rest the lower edges of each suspension arm 40A, 40B which have in their central part advantageously an accentuated curved shape whose variable slope allows the sensor / deflector assembly to follow with a slight delay the vertical displacement of these rollers.

Finally, it will be noted that in order not to increase the size of the feed device, the upstream and downstream baffles will each preferably comprise, and facing each other, an opening 54A, 54B to allow the passage of the upper movable front transport rollers 22B and back 24B mail items between which the moving optical reading means 26 is disposed transversely to the direction D of advancing mail items.

The sensor is advantageously a linear-type contact image sensor (CIS) the length of which is intended to scan at least one mail item width covering the postal stamp and the recipient address. This linear optical sensor is typically an integrated module comprising adjacent CCD or CMOS semiconductor detection cells, a collimating optics and a lighting system which when activated illuminates the surface on which the sensor is positioned and delivers in return at each of the detection cells a signal proportional to the light reflected by the surface of the mail piece.

The operation of the feeding device will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3C which show the moving optical reading means in three successive advancement positions of a mail piece. On the figure 3A , the mobile optical reading means 26 is at rest, the sensor lying flat on the transport table of the mail items such as the upper front and rear transport rollers 22B, 24B whose transverse support axis 52 is in contact with the suspension arm 40A, 40B. On the figure 3B , the mail item that has been selected upstream by the selection module is engaged with the forward transport rollers 24A, 24B. The upper forward transport rollers 22B moving vertically upwardly drive the transverse support shaft 52 which they are secured, which support shaft in turn raises the suspension arms 40A, 40B so that the sensor / deflector assembly is inclined by resting on the heel 36A of the downstream deflector and the leading edge 34A is substantially at an angle of the order of 40 °. On the figure 3C , the mailpiece has moved downstream by fully lifting the sensor / baffle assembly which, by pivoting only about the pivot axes 42A, 42B, has now become perfectly horizontal and kept in contact with the surface the upper part of the mail article by the spring 50. In this perfectly stable position, it can then be the acquisition line after line of an image of the surface of the mail article.

As illustrated by figure 1 , this acquisition is performed from a start signal delivered by the detector 30 of the front of the mail article and according to the advance of this mail item detected by the encoder secured to one of the upper movable rollers , so as to successively deliver, under the control of the processing means 28, a control signal and read signals of the intensity levels of the detection cells, the frequency of the control signals depending on the desired reading resolution. The signals collected by the processing means may be analog or digital depending on the nature of the sensor and will therefore be digitized and standardized if necessary at a programmable circuit (FPGA 28A) before being stored in a RAM 28B of the device. at which level the image of the mail item will be restored. A digital processing of this image at the level of a microprocessor 28C will then, depending on the application implemented and available in a program 28D ROM, an interpretation of this image, that is to say an OCR recognition. address and, when present on the mail item, a barcode recognition. The recognition of these address or code data printed on the mail items will, as is known, from these data addressed to the franking machine and postal data entered by the operator at the level of this machine. franking, creating a database of addresses and tracking of mail items.

It will be noted that by integrating the mobile optical reading means just after the selection module, that is to say well before the printing module of the franking machine, the processing means is left with the time necessary to this recognition of data and thus there is no slowdown in the process of processing mail items.

Claims (9)

Device for feeding mail items (10) comprising a receiving tray (12) for receiving a stack of mail items to be printed, a selection means (20A, 20B, 20C) for extracting one by one from this stack the mailpieces to be printed and stacked transport rollers (22A, 22B; 24A, 24B) including upper movable rollers (22B, 24B) for conveying the mail items thus extracted one by one downstream, characterized in that it comprises further movable means of optical pickup (26) disposed downstream of said selection means and moving in synchronism with said upper movable rollers transport the mailpieces to, in association with a processing means (28) automatically scan and recognize printed data on these mail items. Device for supplying mail items according to claim 1, characterized in that said mobile optical reading means comprises a linear sensor (32) supported by at least one suspension arm (40A, 40B) whose displacement in synchronism with said upper movable rollers is obtained by a transverse support axis (52) integral with said upper movable rollers and on which rest said suspension arms. Device for supplying mail articles according to claim 2, characterized in that said linear sensor is mounted between an upstream deflector (34) and a downstream deflector (36) and fixed thereto by two lateral flanges (38A, 38B ), said at least one suspension arm being articulated at a first end on a pivot axis (42A, 42B) integral with said upstream deflector and at a second end on a transverse axis of joint joint (44) integral with the device frame power. A mail piece feeder according to claim 3, characterized in that said upstream baffle has an inclined leading edge (34A) to allow a smooth climb on the mail piece and said downstream baffle includes a bead ( 36A) for decreasing the angle of inclination of the sensor during said mounting on the mailpiece. Device for supplying mail articles according to claim 3, characterized in that it further comprises two bridges (48A, 48B) each passing over said linear sensor and being fastened by tabs on said upstream and downstream baffles, the upper face of said bridges being intended to receive a spring (50) bearing on said frame, so as to ensure a constant contact of said linear sensor with the upper surface of the mail items. Device for supplying mail articles according to claim 5, characterized in that said tabs also maintain said pivot axes in housings (34B, 34C) of said upstream deflector. Feeding device for mail articles according to claim 3, characterized in that said upstream and downstream baffles each comprise an opening (54A, 54B) to allow the passage of said upper movable rollers. An article feeder device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said linear sensor is a contact image sensor formed of an integrated module having adjacent semiconductor detection cells. , a collimation optics and a lighting system. A mail processing machine comprising a mail item feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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