Mail sorting systems and methods
First Claim
1. A system for sorting mail items, comprising:
- a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, wherein each said RFID tag is physically associated with a mail item to be delivered from a sender to a receiver;
a plurality of containers, wherein each said container is used for holding a plurality of mail items destined for a common delivery location; and
a plurality of tag reader devices, wherein each said tag reader device is physically associated with one of said plurality of containers, each said tag reader device being configured to;
read first information from the RFID tag associated with each said mail item that is brought within range of said tag reader device;
compare said first information from said tag with second information stored on said tag reader device;
determine whether said mail item belongs in said associated container based on said comparing; and
generate an alert if said determining indicates that said mail item does not belong in said associated container.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are disclosed for sorting and tracking mail items that are sent via a mail system. Such systems improve the efficiency and accuracy of mail systems by utilizing radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to communicate sorting instructions to a sorting operator. In one embodiment, a radio frequency reader device or tag can be associated with each container used to hold a plurality of mail items destined for a common delivery location. By reading information stored on RFID tags associated with mail items to be sorted, the radio frequency reader devices can be configured to automatically alert a sorting operator as to whether a mail item belongs in a selected container. The reader devices can also maintain a record of what mail items have been placed in each such container. This information can be stored in association with tracking information that is generated during the transport of the containers.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A system for sorting mail items, comprising:
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a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, wherein each said RFID tag is physically associated with a mail item to be delivered from a sender to a receiver;
a plurality of containers, wherein each said container is used for holding a plurality of mail items destined for a common delivery location; and
a plurality of tag reader devices, wherein each said tag reader device is physically associated with one of said plurality of containers, each said tag reader device being configured to;
read first information from the RFID tag associated with each said mail item that is brought within range of said tag reader device;
compare said first information from said tag with second information stored on said tag reader device;
determine whether said mail item belongs in said associated container based on said comparing; and
generate an alert if said determining indicates that said mail item does not belong in said associated container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of sorting mail items, comprising:
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associating a radio frequency identification tag with a mail item that is to be mailed from a sender to a receiver;
associating a tag reader device with a container that is to be used for holding a plurality of mail items destined for a common delivery location;
reading first information from the tag associated with said mail item when said mail item is brought within range of said tag reader device;
comparing said first information from said tag with second information stored on said tag reader device;
determining whether said mail item belongs in said container based on said comparing; and
generating an alert if said determining indicates that said mail item does not belong in said container. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification