Time controlled pre-paid delivery

• US 6,526,393 B1
• Filed: 11/30/1999
• Issued: 02/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert Alan Fredman
• Original Assignee: Robert Alan Fredman
• Inventors: Fredman, Robert Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Dixon, Thomas A.
• Application Number:
  US09/451,427
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• Field of Search: 705/408, 705/410, 101/91
• US Class Current: 705/408
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• 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 17/00508 Printing or attaching on mailpieces printing mechanisms B41J; security printing B41M3/14; marking methods B41M5/00; inks C09D11/00; record carriers with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/0058 Printing of code

Abstract

A method for generating, providing, and utilizing time controlled date sensitive pre-paid postage on an item to be delivered, including a desired delivery amount and personalized postage mark, with the intention of causing action prior to a chosen date. An Issuer would send prepaid postage to a Recipient with a chosen effective date and a chosen expiration date. Said effective date and expiration date would allow Issuer to encourage Recipients to initiate action within a predetermined time window. After effective expiration date, postage would expire requiring new postage/delivery fees to be added to the item for it to be mailed/delivered.

Claims

1. A method of time controlled prepaid delivery in which an issuer provides prepaid date sensitive postage to a recipient in order to expedite the sending of an item by the recipient to the issuer comprising the steps of:

a) making a postage mark which mark is prepaid with at least one of;

a predetermined effective expiration date and a predetermined effective starting date or a predetermined effective expiration date without a predetermined effective starting date or a predetermined effective starting date without a predetermined effective expiration date wherein the predetermined effective starting date or predetermined effective expiration date may be flexible to permit earlier or later delivery actions for a fee charged by issuer to recipient;

b) affixing or printing of the postage mark, with said data, on the item to be delivered; and

c) time controlling the prepaid delivery of the item to be delivered from the recipient to the issuer based of said printed data.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said postage mark is a mark selected from the group consisting of:

a stamp, a meter mark from a postal meter, an electronic stamp, electronically generated stamp, an internet stamp, a label, an adhesive stamp, a design preprinted on an envelope, or a design preprinted on a card.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method is used for a product selected from the group consisting of:

rebates, coupons, catalogs, advertising, bill payment, payment coupon books, rent payments, utility payments, mortgage payments, credit card payments, subscriptions, memberships, renewals, surveys, polls, questionnaires, forms, package delivery, product returns, package returns, votes, or applications.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the mark is made to look like a mark selected from the group consisting of:

a stamp, a logo, a label, an advertisement, a bar code, graphic, hologram, picture, photo, or art work.

5. A method according to claim 1 wherein the mark is placed on an envelope, label, post card, box, bag, form, slip, or piece of paper.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the mark is made by a computer, meter machine, stamp, printing machine, or copying machine.

7. A method according to claim 1 of distributing the prepaid postage by the issuer to the recipient in which the prepaid postage entitles the recipient to send an item for delivery via a delivery service;

i. wherein prepaid predetermined effective starting date postage would be for a limited time with the predetermined effective starting date determined by issuer;

ii. wherein prepaid predetermined effective expiration dated delivery would have a defined expiration date determined by issuer.

8. A method according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined effective starting date and the predetermined effective expiration date are emphasized.

9. A method according to claim 6 wherein the predetermined effective starting date and the predetermined effective expiration date are emphasized through causing the typeface to be bold, highlighted, bordered, colored, background or italicized.

10. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method further comprises the step of a graduated reduction in the level of postage paid by the issuer for the item to be delivered with the reduction occurring over a selected period of time.

11. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method further comprises that after the predetermined effective expiration date a charge for the postage can be charged by the issuer to an account of the recipient.

12. A method according to claim 1 wherein the Issuer selected from the group consisting of:

credit card companies, landlords, utility companies, mortgage companies, banks, finance companies, retailers, catalog companies, internet companies, membership organizations, service companies, professional companies, or associations.

13. A method according to claim 1 wherein the issuer utilizes a computer database to target recipients to obtain maximum cost effectiveness of issuing date sensitive postage.

14. A method according to claim 1 wherein the issuer creates a period of prepaid postage between predetermined effective starting date and predetermined effective expiration date wherein Recipient can utilize postage;

wherein recipient would have the benefit of postage paid for an item sent following predetermined effective starting date and prior to the predetermined effective expiration date.

15. A method according to claim 1, wherein the issuer would pay the delivery fees due to the United State Postal Service for such a service in response to the recipient opting to use the prepaid postage following predetermined effective starting date and prior to the predetermined effective expiration date.

16. A method according to claim 1 wherein said postage mark is a personalized mark selected from the group consisting of:

a company logo, graphic, image, art design, trademark, service mark or photographs.

17. A method according to claim 1 wherein said prepaid time sensitive postage mark is a used for the purposes selected from the group consisting of:

special coupons, mail in rebates, catalog returns, refunds, promotional material, advertising, sponsoring charities, coupon books, membership payments, regular bill payment, RSVP, information requests, promotions, eliminate the threat of reuse of prepaid postage, or subscription offers.

18. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method further comprises allowing recipients to use an envelope after the predetermined effective expiration date by affixing the correct postage to the item to be delivered.

19. A method according to claim 1 wherein the method further comprises allowing the date sensitive information of predetermined effective expiration date and predetermined effective starting date to be electronically represented in bar-coding adjacent to or included in the label wherein the bar coding would be readable by the post office and would allow the post office to tell if postage was expired.