Where each piece of mail belongs. The mailman is friendly and helpful. Almost everybody likes him, for almost everybody likes to get mail. Efforts to bring complete mechanization to Mail Processing continue through Indepth Research into latest scientific techniques and development of operational hardware. Reduction of human effort, removal of lifting and movement of heavy burdens from human muscle to the sinews of machines. Improvements in methods for processing and everincreasing volume of mail. These are some of the fields in which r d engineers are delving into and finding new answers. This film will show you a few areas of research underway. Some of the developing hardware. The use of controlled compressed air called fluidics is getting attention for possible use in processing mail. Utilization of control devices could eliminate many moving parts and reduce maintenance costs. As seen in slow motion, this test device in the postal laboratory rolls letters over by controlled jets of air. This fluidic device separates machine of the letters from those which will not pass through Mail Processing machines. Another air jet controlled device jets mail in transit. While this one diverts mail automatically. Notice the first position location, where the stream of letters is diverted to left or right. And then, farther down the stream, where other controlled jets divert letters in two directions. In the postal test laboratory, this edging device uses directed air jets to edge mail on its longside as it comes over a Conveyor Belt. An air controlled device in a postal contractors laboratory presents an unusual idea for culling mail. This prototype has been developed to separate letter mail from other collection mail. Small parcels, papers, large flat envelopes, rolls, and the like. Assorted collection mail is emptied into the hopper of a device. A moving belt carries the mail to an open mesh screen like conveyor at the bottom of a filling chamber. Air forced through the screen at 1350 feet per minute floats mail light in relation to its surface area to the top of the chamber. Here, a second type belt carries them against it to a separate conveyor. Mail that is heavy in relation to its surface area remains on the lower belt and is carried to a different separation. 40,000 pieces of mail per hour can be handled in this mixed mail air culler. Here and another contractors laboratory, r d postal engineers are working with industry engineers to develop a fluidic phasing machine which will operate at very high speeds. This fretboard model does not have canceling equipment, but performs by fluidics the mechanical functions used in post offices today. One of these functions is letter feed. Letters are pulled over a highspeed drum by vacuum one by one from the bottom of a stack. Acceleration wheels speed up the letters and they are propelled through the system, riding on a cushion of air. Because of highspeed transport, slow motion been used to film some of the process. Note that the letters pass into the breadboard model on the flat side. Letters face of and with stamps, move directly through the machine into a stacker tray. Letters face down, but stamps leading a rolled over and are sped directly to the stack. Of letters face down, but with stamps trailing bypass the role section and are pitched in for and before reaching the stack. Letters face up but with stamps trailing are first rolled over. All are oriented with stamps in the same location, ready for the canceling and post marking operation. As soon as the tray is filled, it drops away for transporting to the sorting area. An empty tray automatically takes its place. Development of fluidic control techniques for processing letter mail is continuing for reduction in costs and improvement in performance. Maintenance and reliability may be achieved. In another postal contractors laboratory, research into increasing the speed of present day has evolved into this breadboard model of a highspeed transport system. It is being developed by r d engineers to process double the current rate, up to 50,000 letters in an hour. Operation will differ from different equipment to achieve this highspeed. Near the feeding date, one of two stamp protectors will be installed. All envelopes having stamps in a down position will be bypassed and sent to a second detector at the cancellation end of the machine. The remainder of the mail will be turned over so that the stamps will also be in the down position. A new type of turnover belt is seen here in slowmotion. It is designed for gentle handling of mail as well as for long life. The letters with recognizable stamps are turned over to the down position to flow past a second stamp collector. At this point, the cancellation unit will be installed. All recognizable stamps will be concelled through the use of a device now under development. Devices will be installed at the end of the system in place of the five now in use. A prototype model will be tested soon under actual working conditions. The present methods of shipping empty sacks from one area to another for reuse is either to stuff 19 into another one to create an unyielding weight of about 70 pounds. Or to roll and tie five empty sacks into a bundle. This is an R D Development to facilitate the handling and shipping of empty mail sacks. Inspected, flattened sacs at fixed positions along the horizontal Conveyor Belt. As the belt moves slowly at six feet per minute, loaders pile up sacks so the stack arriving contains 120. Total control stops the conveyor when a stack arrives directly below the baylor. As the baylor compresses the stack to about half its height, mental strap is inserted. It feeds the strap around the stack. This operation is being automated. The formed and strapped bale advances to the exit conveyor while another stack reaches the baler. The accumulator system now shunts the bale to the takeaway station. At this point, power handles the bale for storage or shipment. Advantage of this system include gaining of Warehouse Space and ease of inventory. Easy mechanical handling, and more sacks per cue, with flattened sacs ready for immediate reuse. Designed to relieve mail handlers of the laborious tax, task of emptying mail, this for level hamper dump or mechanize is the operation. Mechanize s the operation. The loaded hamper is positioned on the dumping mechanism. Raising the lever latch and hamper securely and automatic sequencing turns it upside down to unload the contents. Pushing the control lever downwards, returns the hamper to floor level where it is automatically a much. The controls are simple. Start button, stop button. A warning light turns red when power is on. Each operation is registered. Placing the selector switch in low position. Will dump a lower hamper to floor level. When turned to the high position, a hamper with extensions will be dumped to floor level. Or a standard hamper may be dumped into the hopper of a portable conveyor. The mechanism operates to the cycle of about six seconds per dumping and four seconds for returning the empty hamper to floor level. Another physical operation studied for mechanization is manual emptying of sacks. This prototype shakeout system developed by r d and contract engineers is in daily use on a work floor. A horizontal conveyor moves sacked mail to the shakeout table. Here, two mail handlers prepare the sacks for all omatic shakeup. Automatic shakeup. One spreads the sack opening wide. The other claims the bottom two corners of each sack into specially designed clamps. The clamps append each sack at the edge of the table and the parcels dropout. To ensure each sac will be empty, an eccentric shaker shakes the sack. The parcels fall to a Conveyor Belt which transports them to the sorting section. As the emptied sack passes through the system, the sack clamps are opened automatically and the empty sack released. A prototype model of a high rate belt sacks order is in a large truck terminal. The sorter is 225 feet long. Sorting is by keyboard control to 40 separations. 20 at each side of the Conveyor Belt. As many as six trucks may be unloaded at the same time. Extendable conveyors moving into the trailer bodies as they are emptied assists during unloading. The sacks move upward into the system. And arrive singly at one of the six keyboard positions. As the label on each sack is read, a code is typed in. Placed on the belt moving at 420 feet per minute one to six keyboards. When a sac reaches its coded separation, a diverter is activated by the memory system. It opens and closes within one second, sweeping the sack to secondary sorting. This new type of diverter handles the mail as gently as possible. Since only a twodigit code is required, it is easy to learn and keypunch. A number of separations which can be made on this type of high rate sack sorter is limited only by the space available. To mechanize loading and unloading of trailers and to reduce manual effort and timeconsuming movement of portable conveyors am a lowerlevel conveyors have been installed on one side of vehicles. Power is brought from supply. Provision has been made for valves on the brake system to prevent Truck Movement unless power is disconnected. Note the use of hinged covers to prevent loss of cube space loading directly on top of the conveyor. Use of this builtin conveyor forr his saving manual labor. Also under test and evaluation is this vertical twin belt conveyor for transporting collection mail vertically to an upper floor. Collection mail is unloaded on a conduction conveyor. Sacks and miscellaneous mail move to the bottom of the belts for automatic induction. Here, the mail is seized between the 42 inch twin belts which carry vertically upwards, 33. 5 feet to the second floor. Moving 220 feet per minute, it can handle 4000 sacks an hour. At the top of the belts, the mail is discharged to a take away conveyor and carried to the secondfloor mezzanine for processing. The transport belt of is between belts. The cover belt is loose. The pressure exerted on it by several rubber wheels to hold the items being transported securely against the transport belt. Notice the action of the pressure rollers against the cover belt as a sack moves upward. Sacks and parcels of all sizes, small pieces as well as trays filled with letter mail may be transported vertically without damage. A prototype model with a longer vertical lift is being installed for test in another facility. This compact unit simulates actual operating conditions of the keyboard of a letter sorting machine. It may be used to test personnel for dexterity. Or to help them develop rhythm at the keyboard. The machine projects a number code or letter facsimile on the display screen. The student responds by pressing keys corresponding to the number shown. When an error is made, virtual lamps illuminate the correct key. By pressing keys, the student learns correct fingering. The instructors control panel provides means for method of projection of tests or training code numbers. Rate of speed of projection, and a method of recording errors. The printer provides a permanent record of student responses. The machine introduces the student to the principle of key, trains him in code numbers and helps them acquire the speed to become a qualified sorting machine operator. You have seen a few of the research and Development Projects now active in the field of research and engineering. Many others are in the contracting stage in design or under prototype construction. Each will undergo a period of evaluation and testing. Those passing the requirements will take their place in the system for all operations of Mail Processing
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