System and method for combined mailing of a plurality of diverse publications

• US 7,221,996 B2
• Filed: 11/18/2004
• Issued: 05/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Donald B. Benson
• Original Assignee: Donald B. Benson
• Inventors: Benson, Donald B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi H.
• Application Number:
  US10/991,677
• Publication Number:
  US 20050197975A1
• Time in Patent Office: 915 Days
• Field of Search: 700/220, 700/221, 700/222, 700/223, 700/224, 700/225, 700/226, 700/227, 270/1.01, 270/1.02, 270/1.03, 270/52.01, 270/52.02
• US Class Current: 700/221
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00185 Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office digital data processing G06F; coin-freed apparatus for franking per se G07F17/26
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00379 Calculation of different sending options for a mail piece

Abstract

A system for combined mailing of a plurality of diverse publications to a plurality of recipients at an optimized mail rate. The system includes a bindery for binding a plurality of the signatures where the bindery binding the plurality of signatures creates a plurality of first publications and a plurality of second publications. Each of the plurality of first and second publications are in a unique order, where the unique order identifies each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications with each of the plurality of recipients. A co-mailer is part of the system for combining the plurality of first publications with the plurality of second publications to form a plurality of diverse publications. The co-mailer merges the plurality of first and second publications in the unique order to send the plurality of diverse publications to the plurality of recipients at the optimized mail rate.

Claims

1. A system for combined mailing (co-mailing) of a plurality of diverse publications to a plurality of recipients, comprising:

a bindery, the bindery creating a plurality of first publications and a plurality of second publications, each of the plurality of first publications identified with one of the plurality of recipients on a first list, each of the plurality of second publications identified with one of the plurality of recipients on a second list; and

a co-mailer, the co-mailer combining the plurality of first publications with the plurality of second publications to form the plurality of diverse publications, the co-mailer comprising;

a co-mailer merge and sequence module that merges the first list and the second list to create a merged list, the merged list being used to determine a mail rate for each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications;

a co-mailer control module that communicates with the co-mailer merge and sequence module to merge each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications on a merge stream and into the plurality of diverse publications based on the merged list;

a printing device that receives the plurality of diverse publications merged and places the mail rate on each of the plurality of diverse publications; and

a sortation device that receives the plurality of diverse publications from the merge stream and sorts each of the plurality of diverse publications by the mail rate.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the bindery comprises:

a bindery sequence list module, the bindery sequence list module receiving a record list containing a plurality of records and sequencing one or more of the plurality of records into a sequence list.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the bindery comprises:

a bindery verification device, the bindery verification device being in communication with the bindery sequence module to verify the sequence list into a verified sequence list, the verified sequence list for the plurality of first publications being the first list, the verified sequence list for the plurality of second publications being the second list.

4. The system of claim 1, the bindery further comprising:

a thickness measurement device for determining a thickness of each of the plurality of publications; and

a weight measurement device for determining a weight of each of the plurality of publications, wherein the thickness and the weight of each of the plurality of publications is communicated to the co-mailer.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the bindery binds the plurality of first publications and a second bindery binds the plurality of second publications.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of diverse publications comprises magazines, catalogs, books, bound letters or periodicals.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a bindery bundling device for stacking, wrapping and labeling the plurality of first publications and the plurality of second publications to be transferred to the co-mailer.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the co-mailer further comprises:

a co-mailer control module in communication with the co-mailer merge and sequence module, the co-mailer control module controlling the co-mailer to merge each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications in an order listed in the merged list.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the co-mailer further comprises:

a co-mailer control module in communication with the co-mailer merge and sequence module, the co-mailer control module controlling the merge stream, printing device and sortation device to mail the plurality of diverse publications to the plurality of recipients.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the co-mailer further comprises:

a co-mailer verification device in communication with the co-mailer control module, the co-mailer verification device located at a number of locations relative to the merge stream to verify an order that each of the plurality of diverse publications have been merged.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the printing device is located between the merge stream and a stacking device.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the printing device is located after the merge stream and after the sortation device.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a bundling device for stacking, labeling and wrapping the plurality of diverse publications, the bundling device being coupled to and in communication with the co-mailer.

14. A system for co-mailing a plurality of diverse publications to a plurality of recipients, comprising:

a co-mailer comprising;

a co-mailer merge and sequence module that merges the first list and the second list to create a merged list, the merged list being used to determine a mail rate for each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications;

a co-mailer control module that communicates with the co-mailer merge and sequence module to merge each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications on a merge stream and into the plurality of diverse publications based on the merged list;

a printing device that receives the plurality of diverse publications merged and places the mail rate on each of the plurality of diverse publications; and

a sortation device that receives the plurality of diverse publications from the merge stream and sorts each of the plurality of diverse publications by the mail rate.

15. A method for co-mailing of a plurality of diverse publications to a plurality of recipients, comprising:

binding a plurality of signatures to create a plurality of first publications and a plurality of second publications, each of the plurality of first publications identified with one of the plurality of recipients on a first list, each of the plurality of second publications identified with one of the plurality of recipients on a second list;

transferring the first list and the second list to a co-mailer;

determining, by the co-mailer, a mail rate for each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications by merging the first list and the second list to form a merged list;

merging each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications in the order of the merged list to form the plurality of diverse publications;

printing, by a printing device in communication with the co-mailer, the mail rate on each of the plurality of diverse publications merged; and

sorting the plurality of diverse publications by the mail rate to mail the plurality of diverse publications to the plurality of recipients.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the binding step further comprises:

bindery printing, at the bindery, an identifier information on one or more of the plurality of signatures to customize one or more of the plurality of first publications and one or more of the plurality of second publications with one or more of the plurality of recipients.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the binding step further comprises:

providing the list to a bindery sequence list module in communication with the bindery, the list containing the identifier information for each of the plurality of recipients; and

sequencing the list in a predetermined sequence to obtain a sequence list used to determine the mail rate.

18. A method for co-mailing of a plurality of diverse publications to a plurality of recipients, comprising:

co-mailing the plurality of diverse publications by merging each of the plurality of diverse publications in an order, the order identifying each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications with each of the plurality of recipients;

printing a mail rate on each of the plurality of diverse publications merged; and

sorting each of the plurality of diverse publications from the co-mailer by the mail rate to deliver each of the plurality of diverse publications to the plurality of recipients at the mail rate.

19. A computer readable medium having computer instructions stored thereon that, when loaded into a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method for co-mailing of a plurality of diverse publications to a plurality of recipients, the method comprising:

binding a plurality of signatures to create a plurality of first publications and a plurality of second publications, each of the plurality of first publications identified with one of the plurality of recipients on a first list, each of the plurality of second publications identified with one of the plurality of recipients on a second list;

transferring the first list and the second list to a co-mailer;

determining, by the co-mailer, a mail rate for each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications by merging the first list and the second list to form a merged list;

merging each of the plurality of first publications and each of the plurality of second publications in the order of the merged list to form the plurality of diverse publications;

printing, by a printing device in communication with the co-mailer, the mail rate on each of the plurality of diverse publications merged; and

sorting the plurality of diverse publications by the mail rate to mail the plurality of diverse publications to the plurality of recipients.