Determining disposition of undeliverable as addressed mail

• US 8,350,173 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2008
• Issued: 01/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens Postal, Parcel & Airport Logistics LLC (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Trinity Technical Group Incorporated
• Inventors: Kiani, Shahrom, Bruce, Ben F., Macia, Carlos
• Primary Examiner(s): MATTHEWS, TERRELL HOWARD
• Application Number:
  US12/181,884
• Publication Number:
  US 20090143898A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,624 Days
• Field of Search: 209/583, 209/584, 209/900, 382/101, 700/219, 700/224, 700/226, 705/402
• US Class Current: 209/584
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/00 Sorting according to destination collating the pages of a book B42C1/00

Abstract

In some example, a computerized method includes sorting mail, wherein sorting mail for a mail piece comprises reading an encoded value located on the mail piece. Sorting the mail also includes decoding the encoded value to determine an identification of a class of the mail piece and an identification of a service type of the mail piece. Sorting the mail includes performing the following operation in response to determining that the mail piece is undeliverable as addressed: performing final disposition of the mail piece using at least one of the identification of the class of the mail piece or the identification of the service type of the mail piece derived from the encoded value, in response to a determination that the mail piece is an actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece.

Claims

1. A computerized method comprising:

sorting mail, wherein sorting mail for a mail piece comprises;

reading an encoded value located on the mail piece;

decoding the encoded value to determine an identification of a class of the mail piece and an identification of a service type of the mail piece;

determining that the mail piece is an actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece, wherein the actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece comprises a mail piece that cannot be delivered as addressed, wherein in response to the mail piece being determined to be the actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece, the mail piece is either forwarded to the addressee of the mail piece, returned to the sender of the mail piece, or treated as waste; and

performing the following operation in response to determining that the mail piece is the actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece;

determining a final disposition of the mail piece using at least one of the identification of the class of the mail piece or the identification of the service type of the mail piece derived from the encoded value,

wherein the class of the mail piece comprises a level of service for the mail piece that is based on at least one of a feature of the mail piece, a service level of the mail piece, a postage price of the mail piece, and a presort requirement of the mail piece, and

wherein the service type of the mail piece that define instructions for how to process the mail piece in response to the mail piece being an actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece.

2. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein decoding the encoded value comprising decoding the encoded value to determine an identification of a recipient of the mail piece, wherein performing the following operation comprises:

retrieving a name of the recipient of the mail piece using the identification of the recipient of the mail piece from the encoded value; and

confirming that the mail piece is an actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece, using the name of the recipient of the mail piece.

3. The computerized method of claim 2, wherein decoding the encoded value comprising decoding the encoded value to determine an identification of a delivery point for the mail piece and an identification of a recipient of the mail piece, wherein determining that the mail piece is an undeliverable as addressed comprises determining whether the mail piece is undeliverable as addressed using the identification of the delivery point for the mail piece and the identification of the recipient of the mail piece from the encoded value.

4. The computerized method of claim 3, wherein retrieving the name of the recipient of the mail piece comprises performing a lookup into a database of names of recipients of the mail pieces using the identification and return address of the sender of the mail piece and the identification of the recipient of the mail piece.

5. The computerized method of claim 4, wherein the database is stored in a machine-readable medium that is remote relative to where operations of the computerized method occur.

6. The computerized method of claim 5, wherein the machine-readable medium is under the control of the sender of the mail piece.

7. The computerized method of claim 4, wherein the names of the recipients stored in the database are encrypted, wherein retrieving the name of the recipient of the mail piece comprises decrypting the name of the recipient of the mail piece prior to confirming that the mail piece is an actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece.

8. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the final disposition of the mail piece that is undeliverable as addressed comprises at least one returning the mail piece to a sender of the mail piece, forwarding the mail piece to a different address, and treating the mail piece as waste.

9. The computerized method of claim 1 further comprising performing the following operation in response to determining that the mail piece is an actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece:

transmitting, to a mailer of the mail piece, at least one of the encoded value of the mail piece, a destination address for the mail piece, a name of a recipient for the mail piece, a delivery point bar code for the mail piece, a final disposition of the mail piece, a new destination address for the mail piece or a new destination delivery point bar code.

10. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein sorting the mail comprising sorting mail for a number of mail pieces, the computerized method further comprising sorting the number of mail pieces;

storing, for the number of mail pieces that are sorted and by identification of mailers of the number of mail pieces, in a machine-readable medium, data for the number of mail pieces that includes the encoded value, the identification of the class of mail piece and the identification of the service type of the mail piece, wherein the data for the number of mail pieces is accessible from the machine-readable medium using the encoded value, wherein the data stored in the machine-readable medium is accessible by a mail sorter at a mail sorting facility; and

updating, by mailers of the number of mail pieces, of the data for the number of mail pieces stored in the machine-readable medium.

11. The computerized method of claim 10, further comprising:

retrieving the data for mail piece from the machine-readable medium;

performing final disposition of the mail piece using the data for the mail piece retrieved from the machine-readable medium; and

sorting the mail piece based on the final disposition of the mail piece.

12. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising performing the following operation in response to determining that the mail piece is a candidate undeliverable as addressed mail piece:

attaching, to an image of the mail piece, the identification of the class of the mail piece and the identification of the service type of the mail piece that are derived from decoding of the encoded value, in response to a determination that the mail piece can not be confirmed as an actual undeliverable as addressed mail piece.

13. The computerized method of claim 1, further comprising performing the following operation in response to determining that the mail piece is undeliverable as addressed:

attaching, to an image of the mail piece, the identification of the class of the mail piece and the identification of the service type of the mail piece that are derived from decoding of the encoded value, in response to a determination that final disposition cannot be performed on the mail piece.

14. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the sorting of the mail comprises sorting mail, by a mail delivery service provider as part of delivery of the mail as part of final disposition of the mail.

15. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the final disposition of the mail piece that is undeliverable as addressed comprises forwarding the mail piece to a different address and not returning to the sender.

16. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein the final disposition of the mail piece that is undeliverable as addressed comprises treating the mail piece as waste and not returning to the sender.

17. The computerized method of claim 1, wherein determining the final disposition of the mail piece comprises determining the final disposition using the identification of the class of the mail piece and the identification of the service type of the mail piece derived from the encoded value.