Method and system for hybrid mail with distributed processing
First Claim
1. A method for distributed processing of hybrid mail, comprising the steps of:
- storing, in a system management facility, fixed data for a plurality of hybrid mail pieces to be produced;
receiving, at a gateway located remote from the system management facility, variable data for said plurality of hybrid mail pieces to be produced, wherein each hybrid mail piece to be produced will be defined by said fixed data and a portion of said variable data;
transmitting the variable data from the gateway to a mail production facility located remote from the gateway;
transmitting, from the mail production facility to the system management facility, a request for said fixed data;
transmitting, responsive to said request, the fixed data from the system management facility to the mail production facility;
composing, at the mail production facility, a set of electronic data for creating said plurality of hybrid mail pieces, by merging said fixed data with said variable data; and
producing said plurality of hybrid mail pieces from the composed set of electronic data.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system are provided for distributed processing of hybrid mail. There are gateways, that collect and store variable data. There are also system management sites, having storage for fixed data. Also provided are mail production sites. The gateways may be dedicated or shared among customers, and collect variable data for mailings from the customers. The gateways group the data by geographic location, and transmit the variable data to one of the appropriate geographically located mail production facilities. The mail production facility sends a transmission to the system management site, responsive to receiving variable data from the gateway, requesting and receiving the corresponding fixed data. The mail production sites produce mail pieces, including said fixed data and the corresponding variable data. The finished mail pieces are further sorted and produced so as to take advantage of, for example, geographically grouped mailings.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for distributed processing of hybrid mail, comprising the steps of:
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storing, in a system management facility, fixed data for a plurality of hybrid mail pieces to be produced;
receiving, at a gateway located remote from the system management facility, variable data for said plurality of hybrid mail pieces to be produced, wherein each hybrid mail piece to be produced will be defined by said fixed data and a portion of said variable data;
transmitting the variable data from the gateway to a mail production facility located remote from the gateway;
transmitting, from the mail production facility to the system management facility, a request for said fixed data;
transmitting, responsive to said request, the fixed data from the system management facility to the mail production facility;
composing, at the mail production facility, a set of electronic data for creating said plurality of hybrid mail pieces, by merging said fixed data with said variable data; and
producing said plurality of hybrid mail pieces from the composed set of electronic data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for distributed processing of hybrid mail, comprising:
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a system management facility having storage for fixed data for a plurality of hybrid mail pieces to be produced;
a gateway located remote from and in communication with the system management facility, the gateway having storage for variable data for said plurality of hybrid mail pieces to be produced, wherein each hybrid mail piece to be produced will be defined by said fixed data and a portion of said variable data;
a mail production facility located remote from the gateway and in communication with the gateway and with the system management facility, the mail production facility having storage for variable data, storage for fixed data, and storage for composed data;
wherein the gateway is operable to transmit said variable data to the mail production facility;
wherein the mail production facility includes a processor operable, responsive to receipt of the variable data, to transmit to the system management facility a request for fixed data corresponding to the variable data, and to receive said fixed data from the system management facility; and
wherein the mail production facility processor is operable to produce composed data by merging the fixed and variable data, and the mail production facility includes a printer operable to produce said plurality of hybrid mail pieces from said composed data. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification