U.S. patent application number 12/018479 was filed with the patent office on 2008-07-31 for system for processing addresses at a very fast rate.
This patent application is currently assigned to NEOPOST TECHNOLOGIES. Invention is credited to Dennis GILHAM, Ruben RICO.
Application Number | 20080183329 12/018479 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38430576 |
Filed Date | 2008-07-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080183329 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
GILHAM; Dennis ; et
al. |
July 31, 2008 |
SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING ADDRESSES AT A VERY FAST RATE
Abstract
A mail processing system including a franking machine for
franking mail items, which franking machine is connected to a first
server that is itself connected to a second server in communication
with a sorting machine, the franking machine including scanner
means for scanning the destination addresses borne on the mail
items as said mail items are inserted, storage means for storing
the digital images of the addresses scanned in this way, in
association with respective unique identification numbers, and
communications means for periodically transferring the digital
images as indexed in this way to the first server, the first or
second server further including means for extracting determined
data from the digital images, which data, associated with said
unique identification numbers, is suitable for enabling said
sorting machine to be controlled automatically on receiving said
franked mail items.
Inventors: |
GILHAM; Dennis; (ESSEX,
GB) ; RICO; Ruben; (Paris, FR) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SUGHRUE MION, PLLC
2100 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 800
WASHINGTON
DC
20037
US
|
Assignee: |
NEOPOST TECHNOLOGIES
BAGNEUX
FR
|
Family ID: |
38430576 |
Appl. No.: |
12/018479 |
Filed: |
January 23, 2008 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
700/224 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 50/32 20130101;
G07B 17/00508 20130101; G07B 2017/00709 20130101; G07B 17/00
20130101; G07B 2017/00475 20130101; G07B 17/00467 20130101; G07B
17/00661 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
700/224 |
International
Class: |
G07B 17/02 20060101
G07B017/02; G06F 19/00 20060101 G06F019/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 26, 2007 |
FR |
0752904 |
Claims
1. A mail processing system including a franking machine for
franking mail items, which franking machine is disposed in a
sender's mail room and is connected remotely to a first server that
is itself connected to a second server, said second server being in
communication with a sorting machine for sorting franked mail items
received at an office for receiving said mail items, wherein said
franking machine includes scanner means for scanning the
destination addresses borne on the mail items as said mail items
are inserted into said franking machine, storage means for storing
the digital images of the addresses scanned in this way, in
association with respective unique identification numbers, and
communications means for periodically transferring the digital
images as indexed in this way to said first server, and wherein
means are provided for extracting determined data from said digital
images, which data, associated with said unique identification
numbers, is suitable for enabling said sorting machine to be
controlled automatically on receiving said franked mail items.
2. A mail processing system according to claim 1, wherein said
first server is a server of the dealer of said franking
machine.
3. A mail processing system according to claim 2, wherein said
second server is a server of the postal authorities or of a private
carrier who handles mail delivery.
4. A mail processing system according to claim 3, wherein said
means for extracting determined data from said digital images are
disposed in one or the other of said first and second servers.
5. A mail processing system according to claim 1, wherein said
determined data comprises at least a destination post code.
6. A mail processing system according to claim 5, wherein said
first server further includes means for verifying said destination
post code on the basis of a database of valid addresses.
7. A mail processing system according to claim 1, wherein said
unique identification number is printed on the mail item at the
same time as the postal imprint is printed thereon.
8. A mail processing system according to claim 1, wherein said
unique identification number is read from the mail item together
with the address of the destination.
9. A mail processing system according to claim 7, wherein said
unique identification number as printed or read is a bar code or an
alphanumeric code.
10. A mail processing system according to claim 1, wherein said
unique identification number is extracted from a RFID transponder
stuck to the mail item.
11. A mail processing system according to claim 1, wherein said
unique identification number is extracted from a three-dimensional
"fingerprint" of the paper forming the mail item.
12. In a mail processing system including a franking machine for
franking mail items, which franking machine is disposed in a
sender's mail room and is connected remotely to a first server that
is itself connected to a second server, said second server being in
communication with a sorting machine for sorting franked mail items
received at an office for receiving said mail items, said franking
machine including scanner means for scanning the destination
addresses borne on the mail items as said mail items are inserted
into said franking machine, storage means for storing the digital
images of the addresses scanned in this way, in association with
respective unique identification numbers, and communications means
for periodically transferring the digital images as indexed in this
way to said first server, and said system including means for
extracting determined data from said digital images, a method of
automatically controlling said sorting machine, said method
comprising the following steps: reading said unique identification
numbers on receiving said franked mail items, retrieving said
determined data associated with said unique identification numbers
as read, and automatically controlling said sorting machine as a
function of said determined data as retrieved.
13. A method according to claim 12, wherein said determined data
comprises at least a destination post code.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of processing
documents, and it relates more particularly to a system for
processing addresses making it possible to sort mail items at a
very fast rate.
PRIOR ART
[0002] In order to avoid bottlenecks while processing mail for
delivery, the mail items should preferably be sorted at a fast
rate. One known way of accelerating sorting is to print specific
codes, in general bar codes, on the envelopes to be sorted, which
codes, by forming automatically-readable graphic representations of
the post code or "ZIP code" of each destination, make it possible
to accelerate sorting.
[0003] Unfortunately, that solution is not universal, and, since
not all mail items have such codes, it is necessary to perform
destination address recognition at the inlet of the sorting machine
in order for the sorting to be performed correctly. Since such
recognition is complex, it takes time, which results in the mail
delivery process being slowed down significantly.
OBJECT AND DEFINITION OF THE INVENTION
[0004] An object of the present invention is thus to provide a mail
processing system that makes it possible to achieve a sorting rate
that is particularly fast for franked mail items, i.e. for mail
items that bear postage values.
[0005] This object is achieved by a mail processing system
including a franking machine for franking mail items, which
franking machine is disposed in a sender's mail room and is
connected remotely to a first server that is itself connected to a
second server, said second server being in communication with a
sorting machine for sorting franked mail items received at an
office for receiving said mail items, wherein said franking machine
includes scanner means for scanning the destination addresses borne
on the mail items as said mail items are inserted into said
franking machine, storage means for storing the digital images of
the addresses scanned in this way, in association with respective
unique identification numbers, and communications means for
periodically transferring the digital images as indexed in this way
to said first server, and wherein means are provided for extracting
determined data from said digital images, which data, associated
with said unique identification numbers, is suitable for enabling
said sorting machine to be controlled automatically on receiving
said franked mail items.
[0006] Thus, with this particular configuration that makes it
possible to scan the mail items as they are being sent, and thus to
recognize the addresses of the destinations before the mail items
enter the sorting machine, the mail items can be sorted very
rapidly and at lower cost, and delivering the mail items to the
destinations can be planned.
[0007] Preferably, said first server is a server of the dealer of
said franking machine and said second server is a server of the
postal authorities or of a private carrier who handles mail
delivery, and said means for extracting determined data from said
digital images are disposed in one or the other of said first and
second servers.
[0008] Advantageously, said determined data comprises at least a
destination post code, and said first server further includes means
for verifying said destination post code on the basis of a database
of valid addresses.
[0009] Depending on the embodiment, said unique identification
number may be printed on the mail item at the same time as the
postal imprint is printed thereon, or else said unique
identification number may be read from the mail item at the same
time as the address of the destination is read therefrom, or indeed
said unique identification number may be extracted from a
Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) transponder stuck to the mail
item or from a three-dimensional "fingerprint" of the paper forming
the mail item.
[0010] Preferably, said unique identification number as printed or
read is a bar code or an alphanumeric code.
[0011] The invention also provides a method of automatically
controlling the sorting machine, said method comprising the
following steps: reading said unique identification numbers on
receiving said franked mail items, retrieving said determined data
associated with said unique identification numbers as read, and
automatically controlling said sorting machine as a function of
said determined data as retrieved.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] The characteristics and advantages of the present invention
appear more clearly from the following description given by way of
non-limiting indication and with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
[0013] FIG. 1 is a simplified diagrammatic view of a mail
processing system that makes it possible for accelerated sorting to
be implemented in accordance with the invention; and
[0014] FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an example of the processing
method implemented in the FIG. 1 system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0015] FIG. 1 diagrammatically shows a mail processing system
including, as is known, a franking machine or "postage meter" 10
that is disposed in a sender's mail room, that is designed to print
a postal imprint 12A on the mail items 12 that it receives, e.g.
from a mail item feed system (not shown), and that is connected
remotely to a server 14 of a dealer of the franking machine, which
server is itself connected to a server 16 of the postal
authorities. At an office of the postal authorities for receiving
the mail items, the second server is in communication with a
document optical reader 18 whose outlet is connected to a sorting
machine 20 having a plurality of mail item receiving trays 20A to
20ZA, each of which corresponds to a particular destination for the
mail items. The optical reader receives the franked mail items and
extracts therefrom various information necessary for sorting said
mail items, e.g. bar codes when the mail item is provided with such
a bar code.
[0016] In accordance with the invention, the franking machine 10
includes an optical reader 10A, advantageously of the scanner type
provided with a contact sensor for scanning the destination address
12B borne on the mail item, and storage means 10B of the database
type for storing the image of the address scanned in this way. Said
image is associated in the database with a unique identification
code 12C that is printed on the mail item by the franking machine
while the postal imprint is being printed. Alternatively, said
unique code can also already be present on the mail item,
preferably in the address, and it is then scanned with said
address. Similarly, the dealer's server is connected to an address
database 22 containing an up-to-date list of valid addresses.
[0017] Operation of the system is described below in association
with FIG. 2. In a first step 100, the envelopes or labels to be
franked are inserted stack-by-stack into the franking machine in
which, during a step 102, the destination addresses borne on the
envelopes are scanned one-by-one by the scanner means 10A. In the
next step 104, the postal imprint is printed on the envelope as is
the unique identification code (step 106) when said code is not
already present on the envelope. In step 108, the unique
identification number is stored in the database 10B of the franking
machine together with the digital image of the address
corresponding to the envelope bearing said number. Periodically,
and at the latest while the mail is being collected, the contents
of said database (two records of which are shown by reference 24)
are, in another step 110, sent automatically for processing to the
dealer's server 14 via known communications means (not shown). In a
step 112, this processing consists in implementing an optical
character recognition (OCR) process to extract from each of the
received digital images the destination address (optionally limited
merely to the post code) of the envelope in question, to recognize
it (decoding it by character recognition), and to verify the
validity of said address (in particular that the post code does
really exist) by means of the address database 22 associated with
the dealer's server. Once this operation has been performed, the
verified address and the associated unique identification number
are sent, in a step 114, to the postal authorities' server 16, or
are merely made available to that server so as to accelerate the
sorting operations, and, correspondingly, so as to plan in advance
the logistics of delivering the mail to its destination. Two
records of the database that are accessible in this way are shown
by reference 26.
[0018] On inserting the envelopes into the optical reader 18 in a
step 116, it is possible, merely by reading the unique
identification number (step 118), for the exact destination address
(i.e. the address after any correction) to be retrieved
automatically, in a step 120, without any prior character
recognition at said reader, and, on the basis of that address, it
is possible, in a final step 122, to control the sorting machine as
a function of the address retrieved in this way. Naturally, the
mail items that have not been subjected to the above-mentioned
processing, i.e. essentially those mail items that are mailed in
mailboxes, undergo different processing that implements, as is
known, a video coding center with the post code being input
manually after the mail items have been directed to a specific
reject tray of the sorting machine.
[0019] It should be noted that, although in the above-mentioned
description, the sorting is performed by the postal authorities,
the invention may naturally be used by a private carrier providing
a mail delivery service and whose server is then in communication
with the dealer's server. Similarly, the contents of the database
that are accessible by the postal authorities or by the private
carrier are not limited to the above-mentioned records, but rather
they may, for example, also include the image of the destination
address or indeed a code corresponding directly to one of the mail
item receiving trays of the sorting machine.
[0020] It should also be noted that, although in the example shown,
operations are performed to extract the images, to decode them, and
to verify them at the dealer's server, it should be understood that
those operations can just as well be performed at the postal
authorities' server (provided that the valid address database 22 is
connected to it) as soon as the dealer's server receives the
corresponding data, and thus above all well before the mail items
are scanned at the mail-receiving office of the postal
authorities.
[0021] It is also clear that, although reference is made above to a
franking machine that incorporates scanner means, it is also
possible to provide external scanner means, in particular when it
is necessary to scan addresses borne on thick envelopes or parcels.
Said scanner means may also incorporate RFID read means when the
mail item is provided with a RFID transponder in which the unique
identification number is written, or indeed a scanner for scanning
the three-dimensional structure of the paper, of the type developed
by Ingenia.RTM. when said unique identification number is
constituted merely by the 3D "fingerprint" of the paper forming the
mail item.
* * * * *