Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Inventory
Reexamination Certificate
2003-01-27
2004-09-21
Le, Thien M. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Inventory
C235S375000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06793136
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for utilizing electronic information and electronic messaging markets to increase the efficiency in the handling and delivery of mail pieces. In particular, the present invention provides an automated electronic verification system operative at the point of creation of a mail piece, with electronic connections through the Internet or a dedicated intranet to permit customer tracking of mail pieces, data exchange between the Postal service, mass mailers and their customers, and electronic postage reporting and payment. Additionally, enhanced transportation planning and distribution of the mail is provided by the present invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A large volume of mail today is produced and/or prepared for distribution and delivery to a customer delivery point by mass producers or mailers, such as banks, credit card management companies, billing departments of retail establishments and mass mailing advertisers, to name a few. Postage discounts are given by the Postal Service to large mailers, who in turn are required pursuant to established rules, to properly address and barcode each mail piece, sort and tray the mail pieces in sequence according to ZIP code, and label each tray as to destination, postage paid, weight, and other information. At present, the U.S. Postal Service has approximately 4,000 employees engaged in the manual verification of mail at 3,500 Business Mail Entry Units (BMEU's) located in postal facilities, and 800 Detached Mail Units located at various mailers' facilities who produce large volume mailings. These employees, or acceptance clerks, manually verify mailings for piece counts, present makeup, barcode quality and proper postage, to ensure the mailer is entitled to the postage discount it claims. Failure to follow these procedures can result in major revenue losses to the Postal Service, and these manual verification procedures are time consuming, costly, and lead to error. As a result, there is a need to automate the manual verification process utilized by the Postal Service, and by large mailers, and to account for every mail piece produced on a host mail production machine, such as an inserter.
One such solution is the Automatic Verification Equipment disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/909,640 titled “Automatic Verification Equipment”, which application is commonly assigned, and which disclosure is incorporated by reference as if set forth herein. The Automatic Verification Equipment of that application is a stand-alone verification unit that weighs sample quantities of bulk mail, captures an image of all address and postage information on each piece of sampled mail, scans a barcode on the tray label submitted by the mailer, and issues a report as to the accuracy of the relevant information submitted by the mailer to support qualification for postage discounts. The Automatic Verification Equipment performs its operation on each mailpiece in one or more randomly selected trays of mail, which are representative of a larger bulk shipment of same or similar mail pieces.
It has been found desirable to provide a system which instead of verifying randomly selected mail piece quantities, verifies the correct postage and address information on each mail piece produced, as well as provide electronic payment of postage, electronic status and tracking of each mailpiece, and provide ease of transportation planning for large productions of bulk mail, either letter mail or flat mail. The present invention performs these functions by weighing each mail piece, and capturing the image of the address information and postage value indicia on, every finished mail piece produced within a mailer's facility. This total verification of each mail piece enhances the revenue protection of the Postal Service.
In one embodiment, the present invention captures, analyzes, stores and retrieves data pertaining to the weight, delivery point address and postage visible on a face of a mail piece. This data is used to automatically perform mail verification and acceptance processes heretofore performed manually by Postal Service personnel.
In an additional embodiment of the present invention, an automatic weight and image capture system, such as described in the above-mentioned commonly assigned patent application, is connected as a client via a local area network (LAN) to a central server which processes incoming image and weight data, and performs required verification, analysis, diagnostic, reconciliation, data storage, data retrieval and communication functions. Data passed from the automatic weight and image capture system to the central server includes: mail piece image data, mail piece weight, image capture timestamp and the weight and image capture system unique identification number, when provided.
The central server of the present invention maintains a database at the mail piece level containing discreet information relating to each mail piece as to requirements and rules to be followed which are embedded in the system software. The central server also interfaces with the mailer's computer system(s) used in the generation of the mail pieces, and also provides controlled remote access to Postal Service and manufacturer representatives for diagnostics, data retrieval, software downloads or other designated purposes.
The present system will permit earlier pickup of mailings, in some cases allowing mail to be delivered by road on trucks, rather than by more expensive air transportation. The system of the present invention generates real time mailing data that improves plan loading requirements at the point where the mail is generated. By using the presently disclosed apparatus and method, shipments of large quantities of bulk mail can by-pass local Processing and Distribution Centers (P&DC) maintained in many locations by the Postal Service. Instead, the mail is capable of delivery directly from a mail piece preparation house to a regional or local Post Office for carrier distribution to customer delivery points serviced by that Post Office. Likewise, mail bypasses the Bulk Mail Entry Units (BMEU) since the accuracy of postage data and address information is totally verified at the point of creation of a mail piece.
The present invention also provides the ability for a large mailer to link into the planet code system established by the Postal Service, for example allowing the mailer to track outgoing mail pieces so that the sender of the mail piece can know where that mail piece is, or to track the payment (or non-payment) of invoices by return mail. The planet code is a revised bar code applied to outgoing mail pieces and/or to return envelopes. In one embodiment of the use of the planet code technology, once a return envelope has been mailed and reaches a P&DC operated by the Postal Service, the sortation equipment at the P&DC will read the planet code, and store the information in a database reflecting the entry of that payment envelope into the mail system. The creator of the invoice to which the payment is responsive will have access through the Internet, or through a Postal Service intranet, to that portion of the database containing information solely for that mailer's access. This enables the mailer to plan the receipt of revenues, and to send out dunning letters faster if the sortation system at the P&DC shows that a payment envelope has not been processed at the P&DC by the date a payment was scheduled. The present invention is the vehicle whereby the outgoing mail can be tracked. This is only one example of the use of planet code technology in association with the total tracking system of mail pieces offered by the present invention.
The present invention also permits the automatic preparation of Postage Summary Reports and reconciliation of these reports to actual physical mailing. This ensures correct postage payments. Additionally, by placing the presently disclosed mail piece weighing and image capture module adjacent the point of completion of each
Wells Thomas R.
Wojdyla Richard
Bell Bowe & Howell Postal Systems Company
Le Thien M.
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
LandOfFree
In-line verification, reporting and tracking apparatus and... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with In-line verification, reporting and tracking apparatus and..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and In-line verification, reporting and tracking apparatus and... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3203175