Remote encoding center automation systems and methods

• US 8,625,842 B2
• Filed: 01/17/2012
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Ovando, Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): Fitzpatrick, Atiba O
• Application Number:
  US13/351,810
• Publication Number:
  US 20130182889A1
• Time in Patent Office: 721 Days
• Field of Search: 382100-102, 209/584, 209/900, 705401-403
• US Class Current: 382/101
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/20 Arrangements for facilitating the visual reading of addresses, e.g. display arrangements coding stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/94 Hardware or software architectures specially adapted for image or video understanding
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/96 Management of image or video recognition tasks

Abstract

A computerized method for retrofitting a legacy manual mail recognition processing system (MRPS) with an automated MRPS without substantial changes to the configuration of the legacy manual MRPS includes detecting a request by a keyer desk software component to display a mail piece scan image on a computer display connected to the keyer desk computer. The image can at least temporarily be prevented from being displayed on the computer display and the image can be read from memory. Automated recognition processing can be performed on the image to resolve the image and create an automated recognition processing results data. If said automated recognition processing was successful the automated recognition processing results data can be sent to the keyer desk software component and the image can be permanently prevented from being displayed on the computer display. Otherwise, the image can be displayed to the human user for manual processing.

Claims

1. A computer system configured to supply automated mail recognition processing to a legacy manual mail recognition processing system, said computer system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having stored therein software instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including;

detecting a request by a keyer desk software component to display a mail piece scan image on a computer display connected to said computer system to be processed by a human user, said mail piece scan image comprising a digital image of at least a portion of a mail piece;

temporarily preventing said mail piece scan image from being displayed on said computer display;

copying said mail piece scan image from memory to create a duplicate mail piece scan image;

performing automated recognition processing on said duplicate mail piece scan image to resolve an address contained within said duplicate mail piece scan image, said automated recognition processing creating an automated recognition processing result data;

sending said automated recognition processing result data to said keyer desk software component if said automated recognition processing successfully resolves said address contained within said duplicate mail piece scan image corresponding to said mail piece scan image; and

permitting the human user to manually process said mail piece scan image only if said automated recognition processing was not able to successfully resolve said address contained within said duplicate mail piece scan image corresponding to said mail piece scan image,

wherein sending said automated recognition processing result data to said keyer desk software component includes sending keystroke events to said keyer desk software component emulating the keypresses required of the human user when manually resolving an address contained in the mail piece image, and

wherein performing automated recognition processing on said duplicate mail piece scan image to resolve said duplicate mail piece scan image includes;

transmitting said duplicate mail piece scan image to an automated mail recognition processing system;

receiving an automated mail recognition processing system response from said automated mail recognition processing system; and

creating said automated recognition processing result data based on said automated mail recognition processing system response.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination ZIP code of said mail piece.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination ZIP+4 code of said mail piece.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination eleven digit ZIP code of said mail piece, said eleven digit zip code including a ZIP+4 code and a two digit delivery point.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination address.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination address and a return address.

7. A computerized method for retrofitting a legacy manual mail recognition processing system using an automated mail recognition processing system, said method comprising:

detecting, at a keyer desk computer, a request by a keyer desk software component to display a mail piece scan image on a computer display connected to said keyer desk computer;

after receiving said request to display said image on said computer display, at least temporarily preventing, at said keyer desk computer, said mail piece scan image from being displayed on said computer display;

reading, at said keyer desk computer, said mail piece scan image from memory;

performing automated recognition processing on said mail piece scan image to resolve said mail piece scan image, said automated recognition processing generating automated recognition processing result data;

sending, at said keyer desk computer, said automated recognition processing result data to said keyer desk software component if said automated recognition processing successfully resolves said mail piece scan image;

permanently preventing, at said keyer desk computer, said mail piece scan image from being displayed on said computer display if said automated recognition processing successfully resolves said mail piece scan image; and

allowing, at said keyer desk computer, said mail piece scan image to be processed if said automated recognition processing was not able to successfully resolve said mail piece scan image.

8. The computerized method of claim 7, wherein sending, at said keyer desk computer, said automated recognition processing result data to said keyer desk software component if said automated recognition processing successfully resolves said mail piece scan image includes sending a plurality of keystroke events to said keyer desk software component, said plurality of keystroke events emulating keypresses required when manually resolving the mail piece image.

9. The computerized method of claim 7, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination ZIP code of said mail piece.

10. The computerized method of claim 7, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination ZIP+4 code of said mail piece.

11. The computerized method of claim 7, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination eleven digit ZIP code of said mail piece, said eleven digit zip code including a ZIP+4 code and a two digit delivery point.

12. The computerized method of claim 7, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination address.

13. The computerized method of claim 7, wherein said performing automated recognition processing on said mail piece scan image to resolve said mail piece scan image includes:

transmitting said mail piece scan image to an automated mail recognition processing system;

receiving an automated mail recognition processing system response from said automated mail recognition processing system; and

creating said automated recognition processing result data based on said automated mail recognition processing system response.

14. A nontransitory computer readable medium having stored thereon software instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform operations comprising:

detecting a request by a keyer desk software component to display a mail piece scan image on a computer display connected to said computer for address resolution by a human user;

at least temporarily preventing said mail piece scan image from being displayed on said computer display;

copying said mail piece scan image from memory to create a duplicate mail piece scan image;

performing automated recognition processing on said duplicate mail piece scan image to resolve an address in said duplicate mail piece scan image, said automated recognition processing generating automated recognition processing result;

if said automated recognition processing successfully resolves the address in said duplicate mail piece scan image corresponding to said mail piece scan image, sending a message containing said automated recognition processing result to said keyer desk software component and permanently preventing said mail piece scan image from being displayed on said computer display; and

permitting the human user to manually process said mail piece scan image only if said automated recognition processing was not able to successfully resolve the address in said duplicate mail piece scan image.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein sending said message to said keyer desk software component if said automated recognition processing successfully resolves said mail piece scan image includes sending a plurality of keystroke events to said keyer desk software component, said plurality of keystroke events emulating keypresses required of the human user when manually resolving the mail piece image.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination ZIP code of said mail piece.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination ZIP+4 code of said mail piece.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein said automated recognition processing result data includes a destination eleven digit ZIP code of said mail piece, said eleven digit zip code including a ZIP+4 code and a two digit delivery point.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein said automated recognition processing result includes a full destination address.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein said performing automated recognition processing on said duplicate mail piece scan image to resolve the address in said duplicate mail piece scan image includes:

transmitting said duplicate mail piece scan image to an automated mail recognition processing system;

receiving an automated mail recognition processing system response from said automated mail recognition processing system; and

creating said automated recognition processing result based on said automated mail recognition processing system response.