High speed printing

Abstract

A system and method for high-speed processing of mail pieces is disclosed. The high-speed system includes client server that forms and prints a shipping label comprising reduced Information-Based Indicia (RIBI) on each piece of mail. The client server provides funds to the system server and reports the RIBI usage to the system server. The system server issues tokens to the client server that allow the client server to the print a shipping label including RIBI indicia for a certain value of postage.

Claims

1. A method for processing a batch of mail items including mail items requiring different postage values using a high speed mail processing system, said method comprising: tracking, by a server of the high speed mail processing system, each mail item of a plurality of mail items included in said batch of mail items as it flows through the high speed mail processing system; calculating, by the server of the high speed mail processing system, a postage value for each mail item of said batch of mail items; generating, by the server, postage indicium data for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein postage indicium data for a particular mail item is generated based at least in part on a particular postage value calculated for said particular mail item, wherein different mail items of said batch of mail items have different calculated postage values; transmitting, by the server, said postage indicium data for each mail item of said batch of mail items to a printer of the high speed mail processing system, said printer communicatively coupled to said server via a network communication link; and printing, by the printer, a shipping label for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein each of said shipping labels is printed based on postage indicium data corresponding to one of said mail items of said batch of mail items, wherein each of said shipping labels comprises a full information based postage indicium evidencing a postage value of a mail item, wherein each said full information based postage indicium comprises a computer-readable mark, and wherein said calculating, said generating, said transmitting, and said printing are performed in parallel with respect to different mail items of said batch of mail items.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said batch of mail items comprises mail items of different classes.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said calculating comprises: estimating a weight of a particular mail item based on a weight of one or more component parts of said particular mail item.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said calculating is based, at least in part, on information associated with a class of said particular mail item, a destination of said particular mail item, or both.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein each of said computer-readable marks comprises encrypted information.

6. A high speed mail processing system configured to process a batch of mail items associated with different postage values, said system comprising: a printer; a server comprising a memory and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein said server is configured to perform operations for high speed processing of said batch of mail items, the operations comprising: tracking each mail item of a plurality of mail items included in said batch of mail items as it flows through the high speed mail processing system; calculating a postage value for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein said batch of mail items includes mail items having different calculated postage values; generating postage indicium data for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein postage indicium data for a particular mail item is generated based at least in part on a particular postage value calculated for said particular mail item; and transmitting said postage indicium data for each mail item of said batch of mail items to said printer of the high speed mail processing system, said printer communicatively coupled to said server via a network communication link, wherein said printer is configured to print a shipping label for each mail item of said batch of mail items, wherein each of said shipping labels is printed based on postage indicium data corresponding to one of said mail items of said batch of mail items, wherein each of said shipping labels comprises a full information based postage indicium evidencing a postage value of a mail item, wherein each said full information based postage indicium comprises a computer-readable mark, and wherein said calculating, said generating, said transmitting, and said printing are performed in parallel with respect to different mail items of said batch of mail items.

7. The high speed mail processing system of claim 6 wherein said batch of mail items comprises mail items of different classes.

8. The high speed mail processing system of claim 6 wherein said server is further configured to: estimate a weight of a particular mail item based on a weight of one or more component parts of said particular mail item.

9. The high speed mail processing system of claim 8 wherein said calculation is based, at least in part, on information associated with a class of said particular mail item, a destination of said particular mail item, or both.

10. The high speed mail processing system of claim 6 wherein each of said computer-readable marks comprises encrypted information.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising sending, by said server of said high speed mail processing system, said postage indicium data to a remote database for storage.

12. The high speed mail processing system of claim 6, wherein said server is further configured to send said postage indicium data to a remote database for storage.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a high-speed mail processing system incorporating embodiments of the present invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a process incorporating embodiments of the present invention; and

(4) FIG. 3 is an example of a database entry for a Reduced IBI and the associated data of an IBI;

(5) FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of a computer system which is adapted to use the present invention; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a prior art high-speed mail processing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) FIG. 5 illustrates an existing system 500 for processing mail pieces. Controller 501 communicates with folder 502, inserter 503, meter 504, and printer 505 and controls the entire process. The component parts of each mail piece travel through folder 502 where they are assembled and folded. The folded pieces then travel along conveyor belt 51 to inserter 503 where the folded pieces are inserted into an envelope. Stuffed envelope 52 is then moved by conveyor belt 51 past meter 504, which applies postage of a pre-designated value to envelope 52. Marked envelope 52 then travels along conveyor 51 to printer 505 where the addressing information is printed. Envelope 52 continues down conveyor 51 to catch bin 506 where it is stored in sorted order.

(8) It will be understood by those of skill in the art that any of devices 502, 503, or 505 can be eliminated from system 500, if necessary. Meter 504 is a mechanical imprint stamp and, therefore, must print all the postage the same way. Accordingly, in the existing systems, every letter 52 must have the same weight and must be of the same class. If the weight or class vary, the machine must be stopped and meter 504 has to be reset for a new class or weight. In situations where multiple postages are required, conveyor belt 51 could be split (not shown) into two or more paths after inserter 503 and prior to meter 504. Each of the paths would have a separate meter 504, each meter having postage for a unique class and weight. In this matter multiple postage amounts may be applied using the existing high-speed production line. However, this requires additional equipment and, therefore, additional expense. Also, the number of available postage options is limited by the number of meters 504 that are added to the line.

(9) FIG. 1 illustrates high-speed mailing system 100 embodying aspects of the present invention. System 100 includes some of the same components as used in the prior art system illustrated in FIG. 5. Client server 101 communicates with system server 109 via a network 108, e.g. an intranet or Internet. The postage value and/or the applied postage indicium may be different for each mail piece. In system 100, there is no requirement that all of the mail pieces flowing through the system have the same postage value and/or be of the same class. Therefore, it is possible to intersperse different types of mail pieces and even to simultaneously process mail pieces from different companies. Each of the mail pieces is tracked by at least one of server 101 and server 109 so that system 100 tracks the proper postage for each mail piece as it is processed through the system. Note that the embodiments are described in terms of envelopes or mail pieces, however, envelopes or mail pieces may include postcards, boxes, packages, tubes, or any other item that may be sent through the mail. Further note that system server 109 may be connected to one or more client servers 101.

(10) Letter processing involves an optional letter printer 106 which prints the enclosures to be mailed. One or more pre-printed letters may be supplied to the system in lieu of the printer 106, e.g. a stack of letters. A folder/inserter 102 optionally folds the enclosures that are to be mailed and then inserts them into an envelope. The letters may be proportionally sized to the envelope such that folding is not necessary. An optional scale 103 may be used to weigh each envelope for postage calculation purposes. Note that postage may be calculated by estimating the weight of the envelope, especially when the number and weight of the enclosures and the weight of the envelope is known. Printer 104 prints a postage indicium onto the envelope. Catch bin 105 receives the envelope with the printed postage. Note that postage indicium may be applied in any orientation and at any location on the envelope. Alternatively, printer 104 may print the postage indicium onto a label which is then attached to envelope. Printer 104, another printer (not shown), or a label maker (not shown) may print either or both of a source address and a destination address to the envelope or may attach a label with the either or both of the address(es) to the envelope, as well as other envelope features such as a printed border, e.g. the standard red and blue airmail border or other design, tracking information, and/or orientation information (e.g. a facing indication mark). Database 107 contains information regarding the mail pieces to be processed by system 100. This information includes items such as the source address, destination address, mail class, folding method, weights of the inserted pages, and the other information to be used for each production job. The system may operate continuously to process mail.

(11) The printed postage amount may be computed by client server 101, system server 109, or other postage computing device (not shown), which uses information about the individual mail piece. System 100 is able to determine the postage due on a piece-by-piece basis. Printer 104 can print postage indicia for any postal class and for any weight. Accordingly, in system 100, the mail pieces can vary by class and weight and a single production line can be used to process these mail pieces.

(12) In an embodiment, server 101 is a single device that controls the operation of the client server side of the system 100, however, other embodiments may have the different functions separated into one or more other components. For example, the postage computing may be performed by a separate processor. Server 101 may direct the letter printer to generate one or more letters to be mailed. Server 101 may then direct folder-inserter 102 to combine and/or fold the one or more pages of the letter, and then insert them into an envelope. Using an actual weight of the stuffed envelope from optional scale 103 or an estimated weight of the stuffed envelope from information stored in database 107, the server may calculate the amount of postage that is required to mail the envelope. The calculations may be based upon different criteria, such as the weight of envelope, the class of the envelope, and a destination of the envelope.

(13) The e-meter 111 is the trusted structure that generates the data for a full IBI indicium. Note that there may be more than one e-meter. One or more e-meters may be dedicated to each client server. Alternatively, the one or more e-meters may be shared by the different client servers, wherein each client server has an associated data record that is loaded into the e-meter(s) when the client server interacts with the system server. For further information see U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,214, Pagel et al., issued May 3, 2005, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/862,058, entitled VIRTUAL SECURITY DEVICE, filed Jun. 4, 2004. As shown in FIG. 1, the e-meter may reside in the system server 109. However, the e-meter may also reside in the client server 101. The e-meter may be a software, hardware, or combination structure.

(14) In an embodiment, postage application printer 104 is a high-speed ink jet printer that prints an Information-Based Indicia (IBI) on the envelopes or mail pieces. The IBI is a fully (or at least partially) computer-readable mark, e.g. a bar code, which comprises encrypted information which provides security to the postage system but reducing the risks of forgery, meter tampering, and unauthorized use. Each IBI is unique and may include information such as one or more of a date, a time, a printer registration number, a user number, a source address, a destination address, mailing information (e.g. postage value, class, weight, size of the envelope, and/or number of pages, etc.), an IBI serial number, a digital signature, zip code, tracking information, and special services information (e.g. insurance, return receipt, certified mail, registered, express mail, or other services).

(15) Thus, each envelope would be marked with a unique IBI. The data for the IBI may be formed by either server 101, server 109, or by a combination of both servers. Note that if the data is formed by server 109 or a combination of servers 101 and 109, then the data for the IBI is provided to server 101. The IBI may include human readable information such as a postage amount, a USPS postal mark, and/or a client selected indicia. Note that the IBI data may be collected or inputted into the system server 109 and stored on the database 110.

(16) The information encoded into information based postage indicia has typically included sufficient information to authenticate an indicium from information on the face on the postal item. For example, the machine readable portion of an information based postage indicium may include an indicia version number, an algorithm identification, a software identification, a label sheet identification, a label identification, a vendor identification, a meter number, a postal security device model number, a postal security device serial number, a transaction number, an ascending register value, a descending register value, the postage value, addressor information, addressee information, originating zip code, a date of creation of the postage indicia, a mail category, a digital signature, an authentication certificate number, and/or an authentication certificate, perhaps signed using public key/private key cryptography. Accordingly, information based postage indicia may often comprise 64-96 bytes of encoded information. A current configuration of information based indicia acceptable to the United States Postal Service comprises the following information encoded in the machine readable portion thereof.

(17) TABLE-US-00001 IBI DD Field Field Order Reference Field Indicia in Indicia Number Length Offset Data Elements 1 11 1 0 Indicia Version Number 2 1 1 1 Algorithm ID 3 3 4 2 Certificate Serial Number 4 10 2 6 IBI Vendor ID 5 16 2 8 PSD Model Number 6 17 4 10 PSD Serial Number 7 2 5 14 Ascending Register 8 15 3 19 Postage Value 9 5 4 22 Date of Creation 10 14 4 26 Originating Zip Code 11 18 2 30 Software ID2 12 27 7 32 LabelSheetID 13 28 2 39 LabelID 14 7 4 41 Descending Register 15 12 4 45 Mail category 16 9 40 49 Digital Signature

(18) Use of a two-dimensional barcode, such as PDF 417, DataMatrix, or MaxiCode, to encode such information in an information based postage indicia results in a relatively large postage indicium.

(19) An IBI that includes all or much of the information outlined above may require a large-sized indicia, that in turn, may require a significant amount of time to print onto the envelope, such that the system 100 may operate at a slow or less-than optimum speed. Thus, an IBI Light indicia may be used. Going forward, this type of indicia will be referred to as a Reduced IBI or RIBI in this application. RIBI may have a size of 32 bytes or less of data, while IBI typically has 64 bytes or more of data. The reduced size allows a standard ink-jet printer to print the indicia in a single pass, thus increasing the speed of the system, while reducing the cost of the system by allowing standard printers to be used (or at least standard printer components to be used). The data for the RIBI may be formed by either server 101, server 109, or by a combination of both servers. Note that if the data is formed by server 109 or a combination of servers 101 and 109, then the data for the RIBI is provided to server 101. Note that if the RIBI formation involves the server 101, then the server 101 and/or the software associated with RIBI formation will have security features to prevent tampering with RIBI formation.

(20) To maintain postal security, the RIBI should include enough data to allow for association of the RIBI with the full data typically needed to form a IBI indicium. In a first embodiment, the RIBI indicium may comprise a portion of the IBI indicium. The IBI indicium is formed using the standard information, then the RIBI indicium is formed from a portion of the IBI indicium. For example, the first 21 bytes of the IBI indicium is used as the RIBI indicium, and the remaining bytes of the IBI are not used in the RIBI. In a second embodiment, the RIBI indicium is formed using a portion of the data used in forming the IBI indicium. For example, suppose the IBI indicium is to be formed by from the following information: a date, a time, a printer registration number, a user number, a source address, and a destination address. The RIBI indicium may be formed by using only a date, a time, and a printer registration number. In a third embodiment, the RIBI indicium may comprise a pointer that points to a database address for the IBI information.

(21) In any event, database 107 would include entries for the RIBI and the corresponding IBI information and/or data for each of the RIBIs that have been applied to envelopes. This information may be shared with database 110 of the system server 109. The USPS may be supplied or access information from server 109 (including database 110) and/or server 101 (including database 107). Note that the second and third embodiments do not require the formation of IBI indicia. For these embodiments, the IBI information that is used to form the indicia may be stored without storing the IBI indicia. Thus, for these two embodiments, the client server need not form IBI indicium, nor does the client server need to have the ability to form the IBI indicium.

(22) Light information based postage indicium is referred to as light or reduced herein due to the information based postage indicia encoding a reduced set of data in the indicia. The RIBI data may be collected or inputted into client server 101 and stored on database 107. Although light information based postage indicium of embodiments of the invention provides for encoding postage data therein, such as indicia version number, meter number, vendor identification, vendor model number, postal security device model number, transaction number, piece counter, ascending register value, descending register value, postage value, addressor information, addressee information, posting zip code, mail service information, authentication certificate number, and/or authentication certificate, light information based postage indicium encodes less postage data than is encoded in information based postage indicium. For example, embodiments of light information based postage indicium encode approximately 20 bytes of information within machine readable portion rather than the 64-96 bytes of information encoded within the machine readable portions of information based postage indicia. A configuration of light information based indicia acceptable to the United States Postal Service comprises the following information encoded in the machine readable portion thereof.

(23) TABLE-US-00002 IBI DD Field Reference Field Number Length Indicia Offset Data Elements 1 11 1 0 Indicia Version Number 2 30 4 1 Piece Counter 3 35 1 5 IBI Vendor/Model 4 36 3 6 PSD Serial Number 3 5 15 3 9 Postage Value 6 37 2 12 Intelligent Mail Service 7 6 14 Blank

(24) FIG. 3 depicts an example of a data entry 300 in a database, e.g. database 107 and/or database 110. The data entry includes RIBI data 301 and the associated IBI data 302.

(25) FIG. 2 shows an example of process 200 that marks envelopes with an RIBI indicium using the system 100 of FIG. 1, Note that system 100 may use other processes and process 200 may be used on other systems. The process 200 starts by transferring funds 201 from the client server 101 to the system server 109. Once the funds have been received, system server 109 issues a token to client server 101. The token represents a value of postage that the client is allowed to mark envelopes with. The token may be equal to the amount of funds received or may be a lesser amount. Fur example, $1000 US funds may have been transferred, while the issued token may be for $100 US postage. The e-meter 111 in the system server 109 may maintain a balance of available fund. Token register 112 in the client server 101 may maintain a balance of available postage.

(26) After the token has been received, the client server 101 may begin processing mail by stuffing a letter into an envelope 203. The client server may then calculate the postage for the letter 204 as described above. The client server then checks to see if sufficient value in the token for this letter 205. If not, then the process proceeds to block 212. If so, then client server applies the calculated postage against the token 206. The client server may then generate the RIBI indicium 207 using one of the three embodiments described above. The generated RIBI and the associated IBI information is logged in database 107. Alternatively, the system server may generate the RIBI indicium and then provide the indicium to the client server; or the system server and the client server may form the RIBI indicium together. The printer 104 would then apply the RIBI indicium to the envelope 208. Note that server(s) may generate the indicium and send it to the printer, such that the printer receives printing instructions. Alternatively, the printer may be an intelligent printers such that the printer generates and prints the indicium.

(27) In block 209, the process may optionally report the action of the client server to the system server. The report may include recent data base entries of RIBI data and the associated IBI information. The reported information would allow the system server to form additional IBI information and/or an IBI indicium, if necessary, such that each RIBI indicium may be authenticated with an IBI indicium. The process then checks to see if there are more letters 210. If not, then the process ends at 211. If so, then the process returns to block 203 to get the next letter and repeats. Note that IBI information and/or IBI indicium formation by the system server may occur after or in parallel with RIBI formation by the client server.

(28) If there is not sufficient value in the token at block 205, the process then proceeds to block 212, where the actions of the client server are reported to the system server. The report may include recent data base entries of RIBI data and the associated IBI information. The reported information would allow the system server to form additional IBI information and/or an IBI indicium, if necessary, such that each RIBI indicium may be authenticated with an IBI indicium. Note that IBI information and/or IBI indicium formation by the system server may occur after or in parallel with RIBI formation by the client server. Either the reporting of the actions or a separate message would be sent to the system server to indicate that the client server needs another token. The system server would then determine whether sufficient funds exist to issue another token. If so, then the system server returns to block 202 and issues another token. If not, then the system server would send a message or otherwise indicate need for additional funds to the client server. The client server would then send the funds to the system server, and the process would return to block 201.

(29) The reporting action blocks 209 and 212 are optional. The process may have only one of blocks 209 and 212, both of blocks 209 and 212. Block 209 incrementally reports the use of each indicium to the system server. Block 212 reports the indicia usage on a per token basis. Thus, each indicia that was generated and used against a token is reported when the value of the token value is insufficient for further postage. The reporting block(s) may be used at other locations in the process. Reporting may be a requirement for further tokens to be issued. In other words, no further tokens will be issued to the client server until the client server reports the information on the indicia formed for the previous token. Typical reporting actions may include the transfer of the RIBI/IBI entries 300 in the database 107 to the system server.

(30) The system server may send the reporting information to the USPS. Alternatively, the USPS may download the reporting information from one or both of the databases 107 and 110. Thus, the system server or the USPS may review the RIBI information printed onto a envelope and then using the database entries determine the IBI information for the particular piece of mail.

(31) Note that any of the functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, and/or firmware, and/or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the elements of the present invention are essentially the code segments to perform the necessary tasks. The program or code segments can be stored in a processor readable medium or transmitted by a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave, or a signal modulated by a carrier, over a transmission medium. The processor readable medium may include any medium that can store or transfer information. Examples of the processor readable medium include an electronic circuit, a semiconductor memory device, a ROM, a flash memory, an erasable ROM (EROM), a floppy diskette, a compact disk CD-ROM, an optical disk, a hard disk, a fiber optic medium, a radio frequency (RF) link, etc. The computer data signal may include any signal that can propagate over a transmission medium such as electronic network channels, optical fibers, air, electromagnetic, RF links, etc. The code segments may be downloaded via computer networks such as the Internet, Intranet, etc.

(32) FIG. 4 illustrates computer system 400 adapted to use the present invention. System 400 may be used as either or both of servers 101 and 109. Central processing unit (CPU) 401 is coupled to system bus 402. The CPU 401 may be any general purpose CPU, such as an HP PA-8500 or Intel Pentium processor. However, the present invention is not restricted by the architecture of CPU 401 as long as CPU 401 supports the inventive operations as described herein. Bus 402 is coupled to random access memory (RAM) 403, which may be SRAM, DRAM, or SDRAM. ROM 404 is also coupled to bus 402, which may be PROM, EPROM, or EEPROM. RAM 403 and ROM 404 hold user and system data and programs as is well known in the art.

(33) Bus 402 is also coupled to input/output (I/O) controller card 405, communications adapter card 411, user interface card 408, and display card 409. The I/O adapter card 405 connects to storage devices 406, such as one or more of a hard drive, a CD drive, a floppy disk drive, a tape drive, to the computer system. The I/O adapter card 405 may also connect to a database, such as database 107 and/or database 110. The I/O adapter 405 is also connected to printer 414, which would allow the system to print paper copies of information such as document, photographs, articles, etc. Note that the printer may a printer (e.g. dot matrix, laser, etc.), a fax machine, or a copier machine. The printer 414 may be postage printer 104. Communications card 411 is adapted to couple the computer system 400 to a network 412, which may be one or more of a telephone network, a local (LAN) and/or a wide-area (WAN) network, an Ethernet network, and/or the Internet network. The network 412 may be the network 108. User interface card 408 couples user input devices, such as keyboard 413, and pointing device 407, to the computer system 400. User interface card 408 also provides sound output to a user via speaker(s) 415. The display card 409 is driven by CPU 401 to control the display on display device 410.

(34) Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.