Mail sorter, method, and software product for a two-step and one-pass sorting algorithm

摘要

A sorter, method, and software product are used for sorting objects into a sequence of destination addresses, in at most a single pass through the sorter. In a first stage of the single pass through the sorter, the objects are sorted into a plurality of batches corresponding to groups of the destination addresses. The batches are then eventually advanced from the first stage to a second stage of the single pass through the sorter. During that second stage, objects in each of the batches are sorted into the sequence of destination addresses.