Method of Processing Mailpieces That Enables Virtual Identification of The Mailpieces to be Used With Forwarding

• US 20100163612A1
• Filed: 06/17/2008
• Published: 07/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Solystic
• Original Assignee: Solystic
• Inventors: Caillon, Christophe
• Granted Patent: US 8,047,446 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/18 Devices or arrangements for indicating destination, e.g. by code marks applying data to information carriers G06K1/12

Abstract

In a method of processing mailpieces, a digital image of a surface of a current mailpiece is formed for the purpose of using OCR to recognize a recipient postal address for said current mailpiece, and, if it is determined that the recognized recipient address corresponds to an incorrect recipient address, a forwarding address is placed on said surface of the current mailpiece. In addition to said forwarding address, an OCR-detectable mark is placed on the surface of the current mailpiece, which mark indicates that the current mailpiece bears a forwarding address, and also constitutes an index for retrieving said forwarding address from a database.

Claims

1. A method of processing mailpieces, said method comprising the steps of forming a digital image of a surface of a current mailpiece for the purpose of using OCR to recognize a recipient postal address for said current mailpiece, and, if it is determined that said recognized recipient address corresponds to an incorrect recipient address, placing a forwarding address on said surface of the current mailpiece, and, in addition to placing said forwarding address on the surface of the current mailpiece, placing an OCR-detectable mark on said surface of the current mailpiece, which mark indicates that the current mailpiece bears a forwarding address, and also constitutes an index for retrieving said forwarding address from a database.

2. A method according to claim 1, in which said mark is placed in the form of an OCR-recognizable symbol that is juxtaposed with an identification number that is also OCR-recognizable.

3. A method according to claim 2, in which the identification number is placed in the form of a hexadecimal number.

4. A method according to claim 1, in which, if said mark is not detected in the image of the current mailpiece, and if said recipient address recognized by OCR is not an incorrect recipient address, further comprising a step of deriving a digital signature from the digital image of the current mailpiece, which digital signature constitutes an index for retrieving the recognized recipient address from said database.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of deriving a digital signature is derived from said digital image, which digital signature constitutes an index for retrieving information from a database, the method further comprising a step of searching in said image of the mailpiece for the presence of a mark indicating that the mailpiece is a mailpiece undergoing forwarding or a mailpiece of the Business Reply Mail type, said mark being formed by an OCR-recognizable symbol juxtaposed with a mailpiece identification number that is also OCR-recognizable.