System and method for processing returned mail
DC CAFCFirst Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items comprising the steps of:
- encoding data including intended recipient identification information on each of a plurality of mail items prior to mailing;
receiving those items of the plurality of mail items that are returned as being undeliverable;
scanning and decoding the encoded data on the items of undeliverable mail to identify intended recipients having incorrect addresses; and
electronically transferring to the sender information for the identified intended recipients for the sender to update the sender'"'"'s mailing address files.
2 Assignments
Litigations
1 Petition
Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
A method, system and program product for processing returned mail includes the steps of encoding pieces of mail with data including the identity of the intended recipient, mailing the pieces of mail to the intended recipients, collecting at a processing location those pieces of mail that are returned as undeliverable, scanning the data from the returned pieces of mail, electronically updating at least address information for the intended recipients of the returned mail, and electronically transmitting the updated address and other information to a subscriber for updating the subscriber'"'"'s database of recipient addresses.
103 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items comprising the steps of:
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encoding data including intended recipient identification information on each of a plurality of mail items prior to mailing;
receiving those items of the plurality of mail items that are returned as being undeliverable;
scanning and decoding the encoded data on the items of undeliverable mail to identify intended recipients having incorrect addresses; and
electronically transferring to the sender information for the identified intended recipients for the sender to update the sender'"'"'s mailing address files. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
storing the decoded data in a data file;
updating the stored data to correct the address of each intended recipient of the items of undeliverable mail; and
delivering the updated data to a subscriber electronically for use in updating the mailing address files of the subscriber.
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3. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 1, wherein the recipient identification information encoded on each mail item includes a name and an address associated with an intended recipient of the mail item.
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4. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 1 further comprising the step of loading the plurality of undeliverable mail items on a transport mechanism for sorting into a plurality of categories.
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5. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 4 wherein the plurality of categories includes a barcode not decoded category and a barcode decoded successfully category.
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6. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 1 wherein the step of scanning the encoded data on the undeliverable mail includes reading an optically encoded barcode on each item and decoding the barcode to determine the intended recipient identification information associated with an intended recipient of the item.
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7. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 6 further comprising the step of generating an output file of the identified intended recipients from the scanned and decoded data in the optically encoded barcode.
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8. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 7 further comprising the step of transmitting the generated output file to a mailing address service provider in order to obtain an updated address for each intended recipient of an undeliverable mail item.
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9. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 1 wherein the step of encoding data includes placing an optically encoded barcode on each of the plurality of mail items.
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10. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 9, wherein the optically encoded bar code is placed on either the front side or the back side of each mail item.
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11. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 9, wherein the optically encoded bar code is placed in a return address section on each of the plurality of mail items.
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12. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 9 wherein the barcode is a two-dimensional barcode.
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13. The method for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items of claim 12 wherein the two-dimensional barcode is a Portable Data File 417 (PDF417) barcode.
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14. A method for processing returned mail items sent by a subscriber to a recipient, the returned mail items incorporating encoded intended recipient identification information, the method comprising the steps of:
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collecting the returned mail items at a processing location;
reading the encoded intended recipient identification information from the returned mail items to identify intended recipients having incorrect addresses;
electronically gathering updated recipient identification information including a different an updated address of the intended recipient; and
electronically transmitting updated recipient identification information to the subscriber for updating of a subscriber'"'"'s address database. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A computer readable medium containing a computer program product comprising instructions for controlling a computer system to process a plurality of undeliverable mail items, the computer program product comprising:
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program instructions that capture optically scanned encoded data including intended recipient identification information on each item of undeliverable mail and identify intended recipients having incorrect addresses;
program instructions that store the captured and identified intended recipient data in a data file;
program instructions that update the stored data to incorporate an updated address of the intended recipient of each item of undeliverable mail; and
program instructions that transmit the updated intended recipient address information to a subscriber electronically to update the address files of the subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A system for processing a plurality of undeliverable mail items comprising:
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a scanner for reading optically encoded data that includes intended recipient identification information on each item of undeliverable mail;
a processor for operation of a computer program for decoding the scanned data, identifying the intended recipient identification information in the decoded data, writing the identified recipient identification information into a data file, and transferring to a sender information for the identified intended recipient for the sender to update the sender'"'"'s mailing address files; and
a database for storing the data file containing identified recipient identification information. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification