Method of presorting mail for minimized effort to sequence mail for delivery

• US 6,762,384 B1
• Filed: 09/25/2000
• Issued: 07/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Kechel, Ottmar Karl
• Primary Examiner(s): Walsh, Donald P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, Jonathan R
• Application Number:
  US09/669,205
• Time in Patent Office: 1,387 Days
• Field of Search: 209/559, 209/563-566, 209/584, 209/900, 271/3.01
• US Class Current: 209/584
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/00 Sorting according to destination collating the pages of a book B42C1/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 209/90 Sorting flat-type mail

Abstract

A method for use by a presort mailer in creating a mailing consisting of a multitude of mail pieces addressed to a predetermined list of recipients having predetermined addresses is disclosed, including the steps of: (a) determining a batch scheme applicable to the mailing, wherein the batch scheme specifies batches of mail pieces to be grouped together, the batch scheme being based on a multi-pass mail piece sort scheme such that each batch contains mail pieces that can be sorted to mail carrier delivery order on a last pass of the multi-pass sort scheme; and (b) creating the mail pieces of the mailing in an order so that the batches of mail pieces to be grouped together according to the batch scheme are created consecutively. In one embodiment, the multi-pass sort scheme may be based on a predetermined set of numbered delivery points each corresponding to a ZIP+4 destination code. The mail pieces may be created by printing addresses on a multitude of otherwise identical mail pieces in the order determined by the batch scheme, and the multi-pass sort scheme may be a two-pass sort scheme including a first pass sort based on a first significant digit of a delivery point number, and a second pass sort based on a second significant digit of the delivery point number; the batches of mail pieces being created in an order suitable for the second pass sort as if such mail pieces had been sorted in the first pass sort.

Claims

1. A method for use by a presort mailer in creating a mailing, which mailing comprises a multitude of mail pieces addressed to a predetermined list of recipients having predetermined addresses, comprising the steps of:

determining a batch scheme applicable to the mailing, wherein the batch scheme specifies batches of mail pieces to be grouped together, wherein the batch scheme is based on a multi-pass mail piece sort scheme such that each batch contains mail pieces that can be sorted to mail carrier delivery order on a second or subsequent pass of the multi-pass sort scheme; and

creating the mail pieces of the mailing in an order so that the batches of mail pieces to be grouped together according to the batch scheme are created consecutively.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the multi-pass sort scheme is based on a predetermined set of numbered delivery points.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each delivery point corresponds to a ZIP+4 +2 code.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of creating the mail pieces comprises printing addresses on a multitude of otherwise substantially identical mail pieces in the order determined by the batch scheme.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the multi-pass sort scheme is a two-pass sort scheme including a first pass sort based on a least significant digit of each delivery point number and a second pass sort based on the highest significant digit of each delivery point number, wherein the batches of mail pieces are created in an order suitable for the second pass sort as if such mail pieces had been sorted in the first pass sort.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the multi-pass sort scheme is a three-pass sort scheme including a first pass sort based on a least significant digit of each delivery point number, a second pass sort based on the next highest significant digit of each delivery point number, and a third pass sort based on the highest significant digit of each delivery point number, wherein the batches of mail pieces are created in an order suitable for the second pass sort as if such mail pieces had been sorted in the first pass sort.

7. A method of integrating presorted mail with other mail during a multi-pass sort, including the steps of:

(a) determining batch schemes applicable to a plurality of groups of a mailing, wherein each batch scheme specifies batches of mail pieces to be grouped together within each group, each batch scheme being based on a multi-pass mail piece sort scheme such that each batch contains mail pieces that can be sorted to mail carrier delivery order on a second or subsequent pass of a multi-pass sort scheme;

(b) creating the mail pieces in order so that the batches of mail pieces to be grouped together are created consecutively for each group;

(c) sending each group to one of a number of distribution centers;

(d) combining each group at its associated distribution center with respective batches of other mail pieces ready for the second pass of the multi-pass mail piece sort scheme; and

(e) executing the second pass of the multi-pass mail piece sort scheme on the combined mail pieces.