DE69010841T2 - Sorting machine, in particular for sorting postal packages in sorting points. - Google Patents

Abstract

Sorting device characterised in that it comprises a closed-loop travelling path which is composed of driving means (2, 3, 4) which are intersected by separators (5, 6, 7) which reset the plates (12) travelling on the travelling path to a certain separation, the loading devices (8, 9, 10) being distributed along the travelling path (1), always directly downstream of a separator (5, 6, 7), the plates (12) comprising coding means in order to receive the destination coding at the position of a loading device (13, 14, 15; 8; 9; 10) and to permit the reading of the code at the entry of the receiving device (16, 17) in order to actuate the unloading from the plate (12) and the despatching of the package to the storage area corresponding to its destination. The invention relates to the general field of the sorting of documents, letters, packages, parts or the like. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a sorting machine, particularly for sorting packages in sorting centers, which comprises a loop-shaped circulation path, loading devices in which the packages are loaded onto trays to reach destinations corresponding to the address of each package and which are connected via the tray circulation path to a receiving device and to a plurality of magazines which receive each package with the corresponding address, and a return path.

The term "package" used in the description refers in a general sense to a product that is preferably, but not limited to, light in weight and takes up little space, such as documents, magazines or mail.

Such a "package" has a destination address and the sorting is done according to this address. The term "address" must also be understood in its general meaning and is not limited to a "postal address".

Such sorting machines already exist in numerous designs, such as those described in the documents US-A-4 688 678 and FR-A-2 387 697. The disadvantage of these sorting machines is that they are either complicated or inflexible, or their sorting speed is limited.

Even if you double or triple the number of feeding stations on the machine, you still cannot increase the machine’s output.

This limitation inherent in the known machines results from the fact that it is impossible to statistically increase the filling percentage of the trays circulating in the machine.

The object of the present invention is to remedy these disadvantages and proposes the creation of a sorting machine whose output can be significantly increased compared to existing machines.

The invention relates to a sorting machine of the abovementioned type, characterized in that the circulating track consists of drive means with intermediate separators by means of which the trays circulating in the circulating track are given a given speed, the loading devices being distributed along the circulating track and always immediately downstream of a separator and each comprising a tray coding device capable of coding a destination code of the loaded packet and of detecting in advance whether the tray is empty, the trays comprising coding means for receiving the destination code at the level of a loading device and for allowing the code to be read at the entrance of a receiving device so as to control the unloading of the tray and the conveyance of the packet to the magazine corresponding to its destination.

The invention thus puts an end to the concept of "entrance" and "exit" of the loop, or the principle of round trip. Rather, the insertion and reception devices or stations are distributed along the entire loop, thus improving the features of the machine without having to increase either the number of operators or the number of trays.

The feed devices are arranged in a distributed manner, instead of arranging them together at the "entrance" of the orbit, and instead of providing the receiving device or devices at the "exit" (the other end of the loop) of the orbit. The invention thus goes beyond the arrangement of the prior art, which corresponds to a preconception firmly anchored in the minds of sorting machine manufacturers.

Thanks to the positioning of the loading devices each downstream of a separator and thanks to the distribution of the loading devices along the loop formed by the tray orbit, the statistical filling coefficient of the trays is significantly increased.

The receiving device or devices are also distributed along the orbit. These Receiving devices are arranged below the tray circulation plane, which is why, depending on the design of the sorting machine, the tray circulation path can be in a horizontal plane or can go up and down so that all feeding and receiving devices can be arranged in the same plane.

However, for the design and in particular for the emptying of the magazines of the receiving devices, it is preferable that these receiving devices are not located at the level of the feeding devices, so that the transport devices of the magazines can rotate more easily.

According to a further feature of the invention, the coding and reading devices are located inside the loop formed by the endless orbit. This arrangement not only frees up the outside of the loop, but also the side of the tray corresponding to the store.

According to a further characteristic, the tray consists of a relatively low impact bar and a relatively high impact bar on the outside and inside of the orbit respectively, as well as a relatively high rear impact bar, and the inner impact bar comprises coding means and a nose projecting from the ground and intended to cooperate with a controlled stop at the level of the unloading device.

According to another characteristic, the coding means of the impact bar of the tray consist of a coding field for receiving the address of the packet placed on the tray and of an arcuate cut-out enabling the front end of the tray to be detected in order to determine the distance between the front end of this tray and the rear end of the one immediately preceding it at the level of the unloading device.

According to a further feature, the tray comprises at least one cushioning shoe at the front to cushion the impact of two trays against each other so that they do not rebound, and the bottom of the tray comprises guide rollers.

The tray thus combines in a simple way all the means necessary for its decentralized use, with the management taking place at the level of the introduction and reception devices.

According to a further characteristic, the loading device consists of a loader arranged transversely with respect to the path of passage of the trays and of at least one loading station arranged in the extension of the loader or perpendicular to it for receiving the packets (M) and for transferring them in a controlled manner to the loader, the latter automatically ensuring that the packet is transferred to an empty tray.

By separating the loader and the loading station, the loading of the trays can be better automated, since after the address code has been entered, the package can wait in the loading station until the loader, which in turn was waiting for an empty tray, becomes free.

In the case of a charger fed by two charging stations, this advantage is even more evident: when controlling the charging device, it is thus avoided that the packages from both batches are handed over for charging at the same time.

Finally, this control enables the loading or insertion device to determine that the address of the packet is on the tray receiving the packet, even if there is a waiting time. After coding, the tray becomes the carrier of the address of the packet: it circulates completely independently on the track; depending on the workload on the track and the receiving devices, it can circulate once or several times without affecting the address carried by the tray. This also allows fully secure, decentralized control; installation is simplified, a less powerful central computer can be used which achieves the same result, and the distribution of the loading devices along the track can be modified by being able to arrange more or fewer (i.e., for example, leaving one or more stations unmanned) without this requiring a Requires intervention at the machine's program level.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the loader of the loading device consists of an endless belt provided with at least one group of two crossbars defining a location, this conveyor being driven by a motor and a controlled clutch so that the groups of crossbars are always arranged to define a location for receiving packages, and the clutch controlling the intermittent movement of the conveyor to ensure the transfer of the package from the loader to the tray.

Interestingly, the loading station consists of a belt conveyor.

According to a further feature of the invention, the conveyor of the loader is delimited by two strips and on one side by an elongated spacer.

According to a further feature of the invention, the receiving device comprises a plurality of magazines, which in turn consist of a plurality of trays or cells arranged one above the other and located under the orbit, and controlled deflectors each associated with the trays so as to enter the chute over which the packets (M) descend, so that each packet is diverted into its intended trays or cells, a retractable stop being arranged in the orbit, onto which the nose of the tray to be unloaded strikes, and a reading means for reading the coding means of the tray and for controlling the operation of the retractable stop and the deflectors.

According to a further feature of the invention, the retractable stop is actuated by a controlled electromagnet with adjustable stroke.

According to a further feature of the invention, the installation comprises a three-dimensional mini-rack conveyor which moves back and forth inside the ring 1 to empty the full trays in the magazines and replace them with empty ones (in the case of tray or cassette sorting).

This device is not used for container sorting; the containers are sorted by wire-guided Carts exchanged.

The present invention is described in more detail by means of an embodiment of a sorting machine which is shown schematically in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

- Figure 1 is a plan view of the sorting machine;

- Figure 1A is a plan view of the sorting machine analogous to Figure 1, but in this case with automatically exchanged troughs or cassettes;

- Figure 2 is a perspective view of a tray of the machine;

- Figure 3 is a simplified perspective view of a two-station loading device;

- Figures 3A and 3B show the output of the loading device of Figure 3 without deflectors and with deflectors;

- Figure 4 is a side view of a receiving device;

- Figures 5 and 6 Front views of a tray and a stop device (stop) in folded and in stop position respectively.

According to Figure 1, the sorting machine consists of a circuit 1 formed by drive means such as the straight conveyors 2, 3, 4 and by slowing down means or separators such as the curved elements 5, 7 or the straight element 6. Along the circuit 1 there are a certain number of loading devices 8, 9, 10 which, viewed in the direction of rotation of the track 1, are always downstream of a slowing down device 5, 6, 7 and opposite a straight conveyor 2, 3, 4.

The machine also comprises at least one receiving station 11.

The "envelopes or packages" are transferred from loading devices 8, 9, 10 onto trolleys or trays 12 which circulate along the track 1. The contents of the tray are emptied into the receiving device 11, which comprises several containers assigned to the destination locations, which receive the packages corresponding to their respective destination.

These trays are schematically represented on the orbit by a number of trays 12. Indeed, a certain number of trays 12, independent of one another, rotate at a constant speed on the orbit 1 when they are driven by the conveyors 2, 3, 4, or they are slowed down when they pass over the curved separators 5, 7 and the straight separator 6, so that at the exit of each of the elements 5, 6, 7 they are at the correct distance from one another when they are taken over by the conveyors 2, 3, 4. The separators 5, 7, 6 separate the trays by "singling" them along the orbit.

The trays 12 rotate independently along the track 1, i.e. there is no connection between the different trays. Nevertheless, in the event of an obstruction or for any other reason, a tray can be slowed down or accelerated and the other trays line up behind it without rebounding.

However, such accumulation occurs only on a part of the circulation path, since the circulation itself of groups of trays causes them to inevitably arrive at a separating element or device 5, 6, 7, thanks to which they pass individually or in groups at a certain passing speed which is lower than the passing speed on the conveyor elements 2, 3, 4. At the exit of the separating elements 5, 6, 7, the trays are picked up again and accelerated appropriately in order to separate two consecutive trays at a time.

Only when the successive trays are sufficiently separated from one another can their contents, detected by the central control system 17 of the machine, be emptied into one of the magazines of the receiving device 11, which corresponds exactly to the destination of the packet placed on the tray 12.

To ensure reliable charging, the above-mentioned procedure is interesting. In contrast Unloading is independent of the gap between two trays. Even if two trays touch each other at the time of unloading of the first tray, the second can be accelerated enough to unload when it hits the stop. The operation of the machine is therefore completely non-rhythmic.

It should be noted that each of the trays 12 bears the destination code of the package it is transporting. This code remains on the tray until the package is unloaded.

The code corresponding to the packet loaded on the tray is written by an encoding device 13, 14, 15 provided at the level of each loading device 8, 9, 10, each encoding device having previously recognized that the tray was empty. A reading means 16 provided in the receiving device 11 controls the opening of the magazine as a function of the destination address read on the tray 12.

The reading device 16 is far enough away from the point where the tray contents are emptied (in the direction of travel of the trays according to the orbit) so that the switch commands or the commands to open the magazines can be given; only then is the packet ejected from the tray and placed in the intended container.

The sorting machine operates according to a decentralized control of the parcel loading and unloading function, which means that the machine can be operated at very high working speeds.

The trays circulating on the track are independent and the address that the loaded trays carry is permanent. This label remains on the tray even if the machine fails, as long as the contents of the tray have not yet been unloaded. Once the contents have been unloaded, the coding is erased.

Due to the fact that there is no physical connection between the trays, tray accumulations are inevitable. This accumulation can occur anywhere on orbit, but does not affect the reception or distribution of the packets (since there is no bounce).

The central control station 17 is connected to various encoders 13, 14, 15 and a decoder 16. This central station 17 receives all information, particularly information of a statistical nature, so that the functional status of the sorting machine is always known, or aggregate information such as the number of packets sorted per unit of time or during a certain period of time. The system 17 can also receive quantified information on the destination addresses of the packets, so that these are taken into account when controlling the receiving device 11; this makes it possible to provide larger containers in the receiving device 11, depending on the quantities of products to be sorted, or to provide a frequency of intervention at the level of the containers (in order to replace them).

Advantageously, the bending element 5, 7 corresponds to the design described in French patent 88 11 117; in particular, the bend allows a gradual reduction in speed in order to prevent the packets from being pushed forward in the tray and falling when passing from the rapid transport element 2, 3, 4 to the bending element 5, 7. The belt conveyors 2, 3, 4 can be conveyors with two or more belts, in particular conveyors starting from a support, as described in patent FR 86 04 974.

To give just one numerical example, the trays move around the machine at a relatively high speed of around 90 m/min. These trays are to be loaded automatically by a loading device which will have detected that the tray is empty. The tray is also emptied automatically as soon as the identity of the tray, i.e. in particular the address of the package being transported on it, is detected upstream of the receiving device.

It is also worth mentioning that the inventive Sorting machine offers a great deal of flexibility as regards the arrangement of the loading and unloading devices; the order of these devices is relatively uncritical, provided that the loading devices are each arranged downstream of a separating element, at the entrance to a belt conveyor which ensures the collection of the products.

Figure 1A shows a variant of the sorting machine of Figure 1. The parts of the machine which are identical to those of Figure 1 bear the same reference numerals, and the description will not be repeated.

This variant comprises a mini-rack conveyor which circulates on a roller conveyor 401 arranged between the circulation tracks 2, 3, 4 of the machine and exchanges full and empty trays via an input/output 402 formed by conveyors arranged one above the other or other means for emptying full trays and introducing empty ones.

In a conventional manner, the mini- rack conveyor comprises two telescopic forks arranged one above the other.

A tray such as the tray 12 of Figure 1 will be described in more detail below with reference to Figure 2.

The trolley or tray used to transport a package along the orbit between a loading device and its associated receiving device has an asymmetrical structure since, in the sorting machine, all the loading devices 8, 9, 10 are located outside the bend defined by the orbit 1.

Thus, the tray consists of a base 100 with a relatively low impact strip 101 on the outer side in relation to the orbit and a relatively high impact strip 102 along the opposite side. The rear side of the tray is closed off by a rear impact strip 103, which is preferably exactly as high as the inner impact strip 102.

That it has the largest dimensions and is Located inside the loop, the inner impact bar 102 comprises an arcuate cutout 104 for detecting the front end of a tray and, behind this cutout, an encoding field 105 which receives the information, such as that relating to the address of the packet, read by the reading device 16 in order to control the receiving device as a function of the destination address of the packet transported by the corresponding tray.

The lateral impact strip 101 on the side on which the packet is inserted (arrow B) thus represents the opening of the tray. The front 106 is completely open in the extension of the base 100.

At the front end, the tray also includes one or two damping shoes 107, 108 to dampen the collision of two trays in the event of a jam and to enable the accumulation of trays without rebounding.

Finally, the two side edges 109, 110 represent the guide border of the trays, which has a special shape to prevent jamming. The edge is a rectangular step that is inserted under the side guide of the orbits. Jamming is avoided, which could occur when stopping at a stop or as a result of a large accumulation of trays.

The lower part of the floor 100 under the sides represents the rolling or sliding zone 111, 112 and has a nose 113 at the level of the rear end.

The direction of passage of the tray 12 is indicated here as well as in Figure 1 with the arrow A; the direction of insertion of the packets onto the tray is indicated with arrow B.

The loading devices are positioned so that the transported packages, which are also called flat packages or even more simply "flat material", pass easily over the impact bar 108; this impact bar 108 nevertheless represents a means of retaining the package on the tray when the tray performs a pivoting movement at a certain speed, for example with the curved separators 5, 7.

Finally, it should be noted that the bottom of the tray has guide rollers 114, 115 on the outside.

Figure 3 is a very simplified perspective view of a loading device and shows both a part of the orbit and a tray facing the loading device. This loading device is an embodiment of a device which is shown schematically with the reference numerals 8, 9, 10 in Figure 1.

This loading device has two stations; more precisely, it consists of a loader 201 arranged perpendicular to the orbit 1, the orbit being indicated by two conveyor belts 1A, 1B on which a tray 12 is located.

Upstream of the charger 201 there are a first and a second charging station 202, 203, one of which is arranged in the extension of the charger 201 and the other transversely to it.

These charging stations 202, 203 are identical and they are controlled in the same way, so that the staff can easily work at one or the other station without having to make ergonomic changes.

More precisely, the loader 201 consists of a relatively short belt conveyor 204 that runs over two cylinders 205, 206, at least one of which is driven (for example, the cylinder 206). The motor 208 drives the cylinder 206 via a clutch 209. The drive is intermittent and dependent on the control; the conveyor makes a half revolution each time.

On its outside, the conveyor 204 carries two spacers 210, 211, 212, 213. These two groups of spacers have the same function. The front spacer 211 serves as a front stop and the rear spacer 210 serves as a rear stop.

When a package is thrown onto the conveyor from station 202 or station 203, it automatically to lie between the two spacers 210, 211. By actuating the clutch 209, the cylinder 206 is then set in rotation, which drives the conveyor 204 for half a revolution. Due to this strong acceleration, the package is taken along by the sliding spacer 210 and ejected, ie transferred to the tray 12.

In order to prevent the resulting air movement (arrows P, Q in Figure 3A) from disturbing the trajectory of the packet 81 during its ejection, particularly when it is a relatively light packet with a large surface area such as an envelope, two deflectors are provided as shown in Figures 3A and 3B, one (214) above the gap behind the outlet of the loader 201 and the other (221) at the outlet of the loader where the packet arrives on the tray 12. The envelope, even if it is thrown very quickly, cannot therefore fly away but follows the arrow B and reaches the tray 12.

The feeders 202, 203 also each consist of an endless belt, the movement of which is controlled by the corresponding user of the machine. This movement also preferably corresponds to a half-turn of the conveyor or, more generally, the turn necessary for the package to pass from the feeder 202, 203 to the conveyor 204.

The people who are at the workstations near the delivery devices 202, 203 receive a number of packages (envelopes, mailings, magazines) to be fed into the machine. They take one package at a time, read the address and enter this address into the memory. They then place the package on the corresponding delivery device 202, 203. The address assigned to this package has been entered into the memory and when the package is transferred to a tray, this tray is labeled with the address of the package that is on it.

To realize the shed-like arrangement of the goods coming from the suppliers 202, 203 The output of the packages is detected by two light barriers 215, 216, which determine whether the transfer of a package from the deliverer 202, 203 to the conveyor 204 has been successful.

Finally, it should be noted that the conveyor 204 includes two side strips 217, 218 at a certain distance from the edges, which laterally delimit the conveyor. On the side opposite the transverse station corresponding to the delivery device 202, an elongated spacer 219 is provided, which prevents a package from being inadvertently thrown out of the belt conveyor 204 by the delivery device 202.

In the direction corresponding to the deliverer 203, such a means is neither necessary nor possible.

The entire device 201 is covered by a hood to close off the protective and working areas; an opening remains to the right of the delivery devices 202, 203. At the level of each work station, in front of each delivery device 202, 203, there is a coding device 220, 221, for example in the form of a keyboard, to enter the address of the package placed on the delivery device into the system.

Figure 4 shows an example of a receiving device to which a stop device shown in Figures 5 and 6 is assigned.

The receiving device 300 represents a magazine and comprises several troughs or cells 301, 302, 303, which are located below the level of the circulation path 1 (the circulation takes place in the direction of arrow A) on which the trays 12 rotate.

The removable trays 301 - 303 are supported, for example, by angle profiles 304. In contrast, the cells are fixed and the packets reaching them are removed manually.

The receiving device comprises, as already mentioned above, a reader 16, 305 which is located upstream of the device or at its entrance, in the direction of circulation A of the trays and the packages. Behind this reading device 305 there is a controlled stop 306 (described in detail below with reference to Figures 5 and 6) which moves into position to meet the nose 113 of the tray 12 when the reader 305 has read on the coding field 105 that the tray 12 contains a packet. The reader 305 has also read the destination address of the packet M in order to control, as a function of this address, the deflector 309, from the deflectors 307, 308, 309 associated with the trays 301, 302, 303 respectively, which corresponds to the destination address of the packet M.

These magazines are distributed along the entire length of the machine exclusively under the conveyors 2, 3, 4 of Figure 1, resulting in a machine with n directions.

This diverter 309 thus blocks the chute 310 of the receiving device to divert the packet M, and lets it slide into the trough 303. If the address had corresponded to the trough 301, the diverter 307 would have positioned itself in the chute 310 to divert the packet 306 to the trough 301. The same would have been the case if a packet had been destined for the trough 302 (positioning of diverter 308).

The ejection of the packet M from the tray 12 takes place thanks to the inertia or the speed reached by the packet M, the tray 12 being held back by its stop 113 which strikes the retractable stop device 306.

The retractable stop 306 shown in Figures 5 and 6 consists of a piece mounted in an articulated manner around an axis 320 which is supported by a support 321. This piece is also connected to a joint 322 via an intermediate member 323, the intermediate member in turn being connected to the rod 324 of an electromagnet 325. The other end of the rod 324 of the electromagnet 325 goes against an adjustable stop 326 which is also supported by the support 321.

On its surface that meets the nose 113 of the tray 112, the stop 306 also includes a Shoe 327.

According to one variant, the stop 306 has no shoe; in this case, the nose 113 of the tray 112 is provided with a shoe. This variant has the advantage of allowing trays of different masses to be placed on the sorting ring, since the trays of different masses receive the same rebound from the stop thanks to the adjustment of the shoe.

The retractable stop pivots in the direction of arrows D and E (Figures 5, 6) to move into the active or rest position. The electromagnet 325 is preferably energized in response to the detection made by the reader 305.

The stop is arranged transversely to the direction of passage A of the trays 12. As already indicated, the surface of the stop 307 which meets the nose 113 of the trays is provided with an elastic block in order to on the one hand to dampen the collision with the nose 113 and on the other hand, thanks to its elasticity, to cause the recoil of the tray 112 so that the stop 306 can move back. Therefore, a weak electromagnet, i.e. of low inertia or, in other words, a fast electromagnet, can be used as the electromagnet 325, the retraction command of which is delayed after the rebound of the loaded tray 12, which was stopped by the stop 306.

In the above description of the embodiment of the sorting machine, the coding is done manually by reading the address on the package, after which this address is then entered into the machine, for example in the form of the postal code, with the help of the coding devices 320, 321.

However, this coding can also be done as you walk past by voice, by reading a bar code, by recognizing surface patterns or similar, depending on how the sorting machine is used.

When a tablet 12 passes in front of the reader 305, the reader detects the information (address) entered in the field 105. A proximity switch also detects the arcuate cutout 104 of the tablet following the tablet whose field 105 was read. This information is stored to process the following tablet.

The inner cavity of the tray 112 is lined with a lining, preferably made of dampening foam, the surface of which has a smooth texture to dampen noise and to improve the sliding characteristics for emptying the packet.

The sorting machine according to the invention can be used to sort a wide variety of "packages", whether in mail sorting centers or in the postal service of a large company; the invention can also be used for the distribution of parts in a company, in a courier company, a mail order company or similar.

Claims (13)

1. Sorting machine, particularly for sorting packages in sorting centers, which comprises a loop-shaped circuit, loading devices (8, 9, 10) in which the packages are loaded onto trays to reach destinations according to the address of each package and which are connected via the tray circuit to a receiving device and several magazines which receive each package with a corresponding address, and a return track, the sorting machine being characterized in that the circuit consists of drive means (2, 3, 4) with intermediate separators (5, 6, 7) by means of which the trays (12) circulating in the circuit are given a certain speed, the loading devices (8, 9, 10) being distributed along the circuit (1) and always immediately downstream of a separator (5, 6, 7) and each a tray coding device (13, 14, 15) capable of coding a destination code of the loaded packet and of detecting in advance whether the tray is empty, the trays (12) comprising coding means for receiving the destination code at the level of a loading device (13, 14, 15; 8, 9, 10) and allowing the code to be read at the entrance to the receiving device (16, 11), so that the unloading of the tray (12) and the conveyance of the packet to the magazine corresponding to its destination can be controlled. 2. Sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the coding and reading devices are located in the interior of the loop formed by the endless circulating track (1). 3. Sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the tray (12) consists of a relatively low impact bar (101) and a relatively high impact bar (102) on the outside and the inside of the orbit respectively, as well as a relatively high rear impact bar (103), and that the inner impact bar (102) comprises coding means (104, 105) and a nose (113) which projects from the ground and is provided with a controlled stop (306) at the level of the unloading device. 4. Sorting machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the coding means (104, 105) of the impact bar (102) of the tray (12) consist of a coding field (104) for receiving the address of the packet placed on the tray and of an arcuate cutout (104) with which the front end of the tray can be detected in order to determine the distance between the front end of this tray and the rear end of the immediately preceding one at the level of the unloading device. 5. Sorting machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the tray (12) comprises at least one damping shoe (107, 108) at the front in order to mitigate the impact of two trays against one another so that they do not rebound. 6. Sorting machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the bottom of the tray (100) has guide rollers (114, 115). 7. Sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the loading device consists of a loader (201) arranged transversely with respect to the passageway (1, 1A, 1B) of the trays (12) and of at least one loading station (202, 203) arranged in the extension of the loader (201) or perpendicular to it for receiving the packets (M) and their controlled transfer to the loader (201), the latter automatically ensuring the transfer of the packet to an empty tray. 8. Sorting machine according to claim 7, characterized in that the loader (201) of the loading device consists of an endless belt provided with at least one group of two crossbars (210, 211; 212, 213) defining a place, this conveyor being driven by a motor (208) and a controlled clutch (209) so that the groups of crossbars are always arranged so as to define a place for receiving packages, and the clutch controls the intermittent movement of the conveyor to ensure the transfer of the package from the loader to the tray. 9. Sorting machine according to claim 7, characterized in that the loading station (202, 203) consists of a belt conveyor. 10. Sorting machine according to claim 9, characterized in that the conveyor (204) of the loader (201) is delimited by two strips (217, 218) and on one side by an elongated spacer (219). 11. Sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the receiving device (300) comprises several magazines, which in turn consist of several troughs or cells (301 - 303) arranged one above the other and arranged under the circulation track (1), and controlled deflectors (307 - 309) which are each assigned to the troughs or cells (301 - 303) in such a way that they go into the chute (310) over which the packages (M) come down, so that each package is deflected into its intended trough (301 - 303), a retractable stop (306) being arranged in the circulation track (1), onto which the nose (313) of the tray (12) to be unloaded strikes, and a reading means (305) for reading the coding means (104, 105) of the tablet (12) and to control the operation of the retractable stop (306) and the deflectors (307 - 309). 12. Sorting machine according to claim 11, characterized in that the retractable stop (306) is actuated by a controlled electromagnet (325) with adjustable stroke (326). 13. Sorting machine according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises a mini-rack conveyor which moves back and forth between the circulation paths (2, 3, 4) of the trays to ensure the exchange of empty and full trays.