Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
  • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
  • B07C1/00—Measures preceding sorting according to destination
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
  • G07B17/00435—Details specific to central, non-customer apparatus, e.g. servers at post office or vendor
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00467—Transporting mailpieces
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00467—Transporting mailpieces
  • G07B2017/00483—Batch processing of mailpieces
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00467—Transporting mailpieces
  • G07B2017/00491—Mail/envelope/insert handling system

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for preparing for dispatch, submitting and dispatching at least two mail pieces destined for different addressees, still unfranked at the moment of being submitted for dispatch, such as letters.
• the object is to eliminate the above objections by a method according to the invention, namely, to provide a method which makes it possible to submit the mail pieces unfranked for dispatching and only afterwards, in one go, to pay for this service. This renders it superfluous for a mailer to dispose of a stock of stamps or a franking machine.
• a mailer when he uses the method according to the invention, need not individually weigh the mail pieces to be dispatched in order to determine the correct franking.
• a method comprises the following steps: collecting, by the mailer, the mail pieces in random order of addressing, in a collective package specially intended for that purpose, under addition of an order form signed by the mailer, by means of which order form the mailer declares that he will pay the amount owed for franking the mail pieces in the collective package, and which order form is provided with an identification of the mailer; closing the collective package; submitting the collective package for dispatch in the manner usual for mail pieces, such as by depositing it in a street mailbox or by submitting it to a post office; transporting the collective package along the usual route for mail pieces to a first sorting location of the postal service in question; opening and emptying the collective package at said first sorting location; having the mail pieces from the collective package counted, weighed and provided with a frank by a device appropiate for that purpose, with data obtained during said process regarding the mail pieces being stored in memory means coupled to the device, which data file is provided with the identification of the mailer as derived from
• the mailer should have provided himself in advance with a collective package intended for that purpose and having an asscociated order form, designed in accordance with the specifications drawn up by the postal service in question. Furthermore, at locations of said postal service where mail pieces arrive after collection for a first sorting, there must be equipment present for opening and emptying the collective packages, as well as for counting, weighing and franking mail pieces. At such locations, said equipment may be deployed in an economically sound manner; decentralised processing at individual mailers is converted into more centralised processing of mail flows.
• the order form is part of the collective package.
• the amounts owed for franking and utilisation of the method are automatically debited against an account belonging to the mailer, the computation and the debiting being based on the data file in the memory means coupled to the franking machine and the identification derived from the order form.
• the mailer makes use of envelopes marked "postage paid" , while the application of a frank at the first sorting location is omitted.
• FIG. 1 shows a flow diagram associated with an exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention, in which the order document is a separate document which, together with the mail pieces to be dispatched, is deposited into the collective package;
• FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the collective package for use in the method according to the invention;
• FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the order document for use in the method according to the invention.
• the method according to the invention offers private persons and small-business users the opportunity of submitting for dispatch a number of mail pieces destined for different addressees and still unfranked, and thereby offers them an ease of use comparable to that available to employees of larger companies who submit a batch of mail pieces to a mail room available at such companies.
• the method may also be applied there and no use need be made of the mail room for that part of the mail flow from a department which is dispatched in departmental collective packages .
• (C) is the offerer in question of mail pieces (Pl...Pn), the client, hereinafter to be referred to as the mailer.
• the mailer In the exemplary embodiment to be discussed here, use is made of a separate order document (0) , completed by the mailer (C) . A possible embodiment of such an order document is discussed in the description of FIG. 3.
• the mailer (C) deposits the mail pieces to be dispatched, together with the order document (0) , in the collective package. A possible embodiment of such a collective package is discussed in the description of FIG. 2.
• the mailer closes the collective package.
• step 3 he submits the collective package for dispatch in the manner customary for mail pieces; this may be done, e.g., by depositing the collective package in a street mailbox, or by submitting it at the counter of a post office.
• the collective package is thus included in the daily flow of mail pieces which are being processed by the postal service in question.
• said postal service sees to the transport of the collective package included in the postal flow to a first sorting location.
• step 5 the collective package is opened at said sorting location and the mail pieces PI ... Pn are retrieved therefrom.
• said mail pieces are counted, weighed and provided with franking.
• the equipment required in steps 5 and 6 such as envelope-emptying machines and franking machines, may be of a type generally known in the industry, so that this point need not be gone into. If it is permitted to deposit mail pieces in a collective package to which different tariff lists are applicable, such as a combination of domestic mail and mail destined for abroad, in step 6 part of the address information on mail pieces Pl...Pn should be read as well. If, on the other hand, it suffices to introduce the method for one type of mail, e.g., letters for domestic destinations, the reading of information on destination addresses may be omitted. This also applies when for different types of mail collective packages are introduced having different external characteristics or encodings.
• step 7 the relevant information on the order document (0) is read in parallel to the franking of the mail pieces Pl...Pn.
• (0) preferably comprises the identification of the mailer in the form of a bar code.
• the postal service in question may provide the collective packages after having preprinted thereon the bar code of the mailer; smaller clients will have to stick on such a bar code themselves.
• the mail pieces Pl...Pn continue on their way through the processing system of the postal service in order to arrive - franked and all — at the respective addressees.
• step 9 the data required for invoicing the mailer (C) is stored in memory means coupled to the franking machines and reading equipment used in steps 6 and 7.
• FIG. 2 shows a possible embodiment of the collective package for use in the method according to the invention.
• a reclosable envelope shown here in folded-up state and having, e.g., a lip (L) provided with an adhesive strip, and furthermore provided with an indication (such as an imprint (Al)), from which it is apparent that the envelope is intended for use in the dispatching and franking method described above.
• the mailer if the order document is not coupled to the collective package (or even printed thereon) , provide the envelope with an identification of the mailer by filling out name and address in a box (SI) and/or provide for a bar code (BS1) applied to the envelope.
• SI box
• BS1 bar code
• FIG. 3 shows a possible embodiment of the order document for use in the method according to the invention.
• the order document also serves as an authorisation form.
• the order document includes at least one box (S2) for data on the name, street and city of the mailer, an imprint (A2) which shows that the document is intended for use in the dispatching and franking method described, and a box (SG) for the signature of the mailer.
• the order document is preferably provided with bar codes (BS2, BO, BL) for the identification of the mailer (the "client number"), an order number, and a delivery-location/sequence number.
• the boxes (N) and (D) are intended for a sequence number for use in the postal service in question and for the date of posting.
• the table (T) may comprise data, such as a product description, and quantities, weights and the like.
• the imprint (A2) may comprise a reference to general conditions and information on the types of mail piece to be dispatched by way of said method.
• the design of the order document, shown in FIG. 3, is only one of the possible designs; the location and dimensions are determined by the postal service in question. It should be noted that the order document may also be attached to the collective package, or may be printed on the collective package. In the latter cases A2 , BS2 and S2 take the place of Al , BS1 and SI, respectively.
• a possible embodiment of said variant is the one in which the lip (L) is elongated and the order document is attached to said lip.
• the mailer when using the method according to the invention, may be permitted to use envelopes having the imprint "postage paid" for the mail pieces, without the mailer needing to go to a location of the postal service in question for submitting such mail pieces, as is currently required.
• the mailer may deposit such mail pieces in a street mailbox in a collective package. In such cases, providing a frank at a first sorting location by the postal service (step 6) may of course be omitted.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
• Devices For Checking Fares Or Tickets At Control Points (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19765882

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Families Citing this family (5)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 1997
  • 1997-10-23 NL NL1007334A patent/NL1007334C2/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1998
  • 1998-10-19 WO PCT/EP1998/006974 patent/WO1999021138A2/en active Application Filing
  • 1998-10-19 EP EP98962317A patent/EP1023697A2/de not_active Ceased
  • 1998-10-19 AU AU17534/99A patent/AU1753499A/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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