Hand held OCR apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A method of sorting a batch of mail pieces, comprising:
- sorting machinable mail pieces from the batch using an automated sorting machine that scans each mail piece and sorts it to a destination bin based on the results of the scan;
taking non-machinable mail pieces from the batch which cannot be sorted using the automated sorting system;
for each such non-machinable mail piece, selecting a region of interest on a side of each non-machinable mail piece before scanning the non-machinable mail piece, the region of interest including a destination address for the mail piece;
manually positioning at least one of an imager and the mail piece such that the imager is directed toward the region of interest;
capturing an image of the region of interest with the destination information therein with the imager;
transmitting a signal including image data representing the captured image to a computer;
using the computer to process the captured image data to determine a destination address for the mail piece;
determining a postal zip code corresponding to the destination address; and
then applying a code to the mail piece that represents the postal zip code corresponding to the destination address.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided for the simple image capture and address recognition of mail, flats or parcels that does not require complex support or equipment and can be practiced on machinable and non-machinable mail pieces. The method described herein allows for further downstream processing of the scanned items by automated or manual mail or parcel systems. A simple OCR device can be used to read information on a piece of mail, flat or parcel using a hand held camera or fixed mounted camera. The image data is analyzed with OCR software or pattern recognition software, and a bar code label is printed representing the ZIP code or other relevant information and applied to the mail piece. A unique identification tag is printed on a label for those mail pieces captured but with no ZIP code results determined for later recall of the image and processing either on-line or off-line.
50 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of sorting a batch of mail pieces, comprising:
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sorting machinable mail pieces from the batch using an automated sorting machine that scans each mail piece and sorts it to a destination bin based on the results of the scan;
taking non-machinable mail pieces from the batch which cannot be sorted using the automated sorting system;
for each such non-machinable mail piece, selecting a region of interest on a side of each non-machinable mail piece before scanning the non-machinable mail piece, the region of interest including a destination address for the mail piece;
manually positioning at least one of an imager and the mail piece such that the imager is directed toward the region of interest;
capturing an image of the region of interest with the destination information therein with the imager;
transmitting a signal including image data representing the captured image to a computer;
using the computer to process the captured image data to determine a destination address for the mail piece;
determining a postal zip code corresponding to the destination address; and
then applying a code to the mail piece that represents the postal zip code corresponding to the destination address. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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3. The method of claim 3, wherein the step of capturing an image of the region of interest with the destination information therein with the imager further comprises capturing an image including the region of interest but less than the side of the mail piece oriented toward the imager.
Specification