CA2279666A1 - Laser application of bar codes and cancellation of stamps - Google Patents

Abstract

Bar codes are applied to mail pieces using a controlled laser beam which burns into the surface of the mail piece envelope. A controller laser beam can also be used to cancel postage stamps. In this case the beam removes the colour material forming the picture image on the stamp revealing the underlying stamp. This cancellation method destroys the image and prevents the stamp from being reused.

Description

LASER APPLICATION OF BAR CODES AND CANCELLATION OF STAMPS
Field of the Invention This invention relates to the processing of mail pieces and, in particular, to the application of bar codes to mail pieces and the cancellation of postage stamps affixed to mail pieces.
Background of the Invention In a mail sorting facility, as part of the mail sorting process a bar code including the mail address and postal code as well, optionally, as additional information is applied to each mail piece to assist in sorting and further routing.
Currently, the bar code is applied by a print head using fluorescent ink.
Additionally, the postage stamps which have been affixed to the mail process have to be cancelled to present the recipient of a particular mail piece, or a third party, from removing the stamp and reusing it. Currently, such cancellation is effected using print heads which apply black ink, the print heads usually being located as part of the mail sorting line.
The use of ink for applying the bar code and the cancellation stamp represents an ongoing consumable cost.
Additionally, the print heads have to be continuously maintained and routinely cleaned and the ink represents an environmental hazard.
Also, with particular regard to the stamp ' cancellation, the use of ink is only partly effective in determining the re-use of the stamps. A whole criminal industry has evolved in which batches of cancelled postage stamps are washed in solvents to remove the ink after which the stamps find their way back into circulation.

Moreover, with particular regard to the fluorescent bar code, this may be considered by the recipient of the mail piece to be unsightly, particularly if the correspondence has sentimental value.
Summary of the Invention The invention involves the use of laser printing technology in the processing of mail pieces.
According to one aspect, the bar code representing information including the address is applied using a laser beam.
If the envelope has a coloured dye or paint thereon, the laser beam would remove the colour material down to the underlying envelope material. Most often, however, the envelope would not have a colour material thereon, in which case the laser beam-would burn the bar code in the envelope rather than printing the bar code in the form of a removed colour. In this case the "burned" bar code is very light and would not be readily noticeable to the naked eye. It may need a specially designed optical character reader (OCR) to be used with it.
According to another aspect, a postage stamp carried on a mail piece is cancelled using a laser beam. The laser beam removes the colour on the stamp surface leaving the underlying colour of the stamp material to spell out the cancellation stamp. Because material has been removed from the stamp it is impossible for the stamp to be reconstituted economically thereby preventing criminal re-use.
These and other aspects of the invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawing.
Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 illustrates a mail piece carrying a postage stamp cancelled by a method according to the invention.

Typically, in a multiline optical character reader (MLOCR), mail is placed first in a jogger which stacks the mail such that all mail pieces are placed on the same starting edge.
The mail then moves onto a feeder where each piece is singulated and fed between two friction belts.
As the mail pieces are fed along they are each sprayed on the back with a fluorescent barcode known as the VES bar code. Typically this is done by an inkjet printer. The address and postal code on each mail piece is read by an optical character reader (OCR) and further along the line each mail piece is sprayed on its front with a 27 bit fluorescent barcode by means of an inkjet printer. This bar code is used in conjunction with bar code readers further down the line in sorting the pieces into different stacked pockets.
Shortly after the location of the second bar code printer there is a double print head inkjet printer used to cancel the stamps on the mail pieces using black ink. Two print heads are used to ensure that the wide range of heights of the mail pieces can be accommodated.
The invention involves replacing one or more of the inkjet printers with a laser beam device. A specific device that has been utilized on an experimental basis with good results is the Domino DDC2 digital laser coder. The invention is not, of course, dependent on the use of a particular laser beam device but by way of example the technical specifications of the Domino DDC2 digital laser coder are reproduced below.
Laser Type:
Sealed C02, RF Excited (gas consumption nil) Data Entry & Display:
Integral, sealed membrane keyboard & display with large colour LCD display.
Lines of Text:
Up to 2 lines per head.

Character Generation:
Up to 2,000/sec.
Print Formats:
5x5, 7x5, 9x7 (can be bolderized up to 9x).
Character Height Range:
( lmm up to 12 . 7mm) ~fian~ar~ ~nft-wara Faa+"rcc-Sequential Numbering/Batch Numbering/Full Clock Options/Password protection.
Computer Interface:
RS232 Dual Ports PC based VGA colour output.
Flexible Conduit Length:
15' (4.5 m) Std. up to 41" (12.5 m).
Power Requirement:
90-132V @ l0A or 180-264V @ 5A, 50-60 HZ.
Cooling:
Air cooled.
Operating Temperature:
40°F to 113°F, (5°C to 45°C).
Cabinet:
Stainless Steel IP55.
Ili man c i nn c 30.6"H, 17"W, 23"D (776 mm, 432 mm, 587 mm) Wei ht:
159 lbs (72kg).
Approved Standards:
UL, cUL, TUV, FCC, CE, CDRH.
The use of this device for the application of bar codes and the cancellation of stamps is in an early trial stage and refinement to determine the correct operating parameters to take into account the speed of the feed of the mail pieces and the different thickness of mail pieces and stamps has yet to be completed. It is recognized, however, that the speed of the feed of the mail pieces may be important to ensure that the dwell time of the laser is sufficient to remove the coloured material from the stamp without burning the stamp in the case of the cancellation laser and is sufficient to burn the bar code on 5 the envelope in the case of the bar code applier.
Referring now to Figure 1, this shows the upper right hand portion of the front 10 of a letter mail piece 11. A
postage stamp 12 is affixed to the front 10. The stamp has an indented periphery 13 formed by perforations between the stamp and neighbouring stamps on a sheet of stamps. Typically, the stamp has a white border 14 extending entirely around the periphery, the border being formed by the colour of the stock material from which the stamp is formed. Inside the border 14 is a pictorial area 15 which typically bears a multicoloured-picture including the country of origin, the price description and other pictorial imagery perhaps of a historical or commemorative nature. This multicoloured picture is represented in the drawing by simple cross-hatching. In other words, the cross hatching represents layers of coloured pigments forming the multicoloured picture.
The stamp 12 illustrated has been cancelled according to the invention by applying a controlled laser beam. The cancellation stamp formed by the laser beam has two portions, a first portion 16 formed on the stamp and a second portion 17 formed on the front of the mail piece i.e. the front of the letter. The cancellation stamp contains the sorts of symbols and letters typically included in cancellation stamps. The portion 16 on the stamp has been formed by the laser beam removing the coloured pigments to reveal the underlying colour of the stamp material, white in this case. In contrast, the portion 17 has been formed by the laser beam burning slightly into the envelope surface to form a slightly darker cancellation stamp.

Claims (8)

1. A method of applying a bar code to a mail piece comprising applying a laser beam in a desired pattern onto the mail piece for a sufficient time to apply the bar code to the mail piece.

2. A method of applying a bar code to a mail piece comprising an OCR reading the address on the mail piece, passing the address information to a laser head, and the laser head applying a laser beam in the mail piece for a sufficient time to apply to the mail piece a bar code containing at least the address information.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the bar code is burned into the mail piece by the laser beam.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein the mail piece has a surface coating of a colour different from the colour of the underlying mail piece and the bar code is established by the laser beam removing portions of the surface coating.

5. A method of cancelling a postage stamp having a surface coating of a colour different from the colour of the underlying stamp, comprising applying a laser beam in a desired pattern onto the surface coating of the postage stamp for a sufficient time to remove portions of the surface coating.

6. A method according to claim 1, wherein the mail piece is continuously moving as the laser beam is applied.

7. A method according to claim 2, wherein the mail piece is continuously moving as the laser beam is applied.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein the mail piece is continuously moving as the laser beam is applied.