Method for capturing and processing information in a communication system

• US 20050075987A1
• Filed: 09/20/2004
• Published: 04/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Original Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Inventors: Obrea, Andrei, Pintsov, Leon A.
• Application Number:
  US10/944,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20050075987A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/401
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00024 Physical or organizational aspects of franking systems
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00435 Details specific to central, non-customer apparatus, e.g. servers at post office or vendor
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00443 Verification of mailpieces, e.g. by checking databases
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00451 Address hygiene, i.e. checking and correcting addresses to be printed on mail pieces using address databases

Abstract

The postal operator or carrier completes an “incomplete” address or modifies or overrides elements of the address that were misprinted or are unreadable, and forwards the corrected address to the sender for the sender'"'"'s subsequent use. The foregoing will allow the sender to take advantage of postal operator'"'"'s work sharing and postal discounts.

Claims

1. A method for capturing and processing event information in mail communications systems, said method comprising the steps of:

(A) capturing information present on a mail entity;

(B) capturing unique identity information present on a mail entity;

(C) detecting defects in the information and the unique identity information;

(D) classifying the detected defects;

(E) communicating the classified defects to interested parties using unique identity information as a reference; and

(F) applying the classified defects in order to correct information on future mail entities.

2. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the interested party is a sender.

3. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the interested party is a postal operator.

4. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the interested party is a carrier.

5. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the information captured in step (A) is address information.

6. The method claimed in claim 5, further including the step of:

correcting the address information using a computerized address matching system.

7. The method claimed in claim 6, further including the step of:

communicating the corrected address information to interested parties in real time.

8. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein defects in the captured information indicates requests regarding which information should be reported by a party who captured the information to a party requesting the information.

9. The method claimed in claim 8, wherein defects in the captured information are reported to the sender.

10. The method claimed in claim 8, wherein defects in the captured information are reported to a third party.

11. The method claimed in claim 9, wherein the third party is a law enforcement agency.

12. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein defects in the captured information are classified as to severity of the defect.

13. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein defects in the captured information are classified as to consequences of the defect.

14. The method claimed in claim 1, further including the step of:

obtaining recipient preferences for delivery of the mail entity.

15. The method claimed in claim 14, wherein the preferences are selected from the names of people located at a address on the mail entity.

16. The method claimed in claim 15, wherein the preferences are selected from the date and time when delivery is requested.

17. The method claimed in claim 15, wherein the preferences are contained in a data base.

18. The method claimed in claim 15, wherein the data base is maintained by a party other than a postal operator or a carrier.

19. The method claimed in claim 15, further including the step of:

placing a pointer at the recipient'"'"'s mail box that indicates the location of the preferences in the data base.

20. The method for capturing and processing event information in mail communications systems, said method comprising the steps of:

(A) capturing address information from a mail entity;

(B) correcting the address information using a computerized address matching system;

(C) placing correct address information in a data base;

(D) marking a Business Reply Mail entity with an indicator of a new address;

(E) creating a unique identifier for the Business Reply Mail Entity;

(F) linking the identifier of the Business Reply Mail Entity with the identity of the original mail entity;

(G) mailing the Business Reply Mail entity to the sender;

(H) receiving the corrected address information from the carrier;

(I) linking the correct address information with the Business Reply Mail entity; and

(J) performing the action requested by the recipient.