GB2275668A - Data carrying articles such as stamps - Google Patents

Abstract

Data carrying articles of flexible sheet material carry or incorporate at least one zone of data storage material which data can be written to and stored in, and/or from which data can be read, magnetically, electronically, optically or by other machine-readable/writeable method, or by a combination of these methods. An example is a self-adhesive or non-self-adhesive, postage stamp or sheet of postage stamps, or a stamp or sheet of stamps ancillary to, or used in relation to or connection with or for a purpose associated with, a postage stamp or sheet of stamps, and having one or more zones of such data storage material. The stamps or like may include electronic devices such as microchips embedded or imprinted therein or thereon. <IMAGE>

Description

Data-carrying articles and arrangements and devices for handling them 1. Field of the invention 1. Field of the invention This invention relates to articles arranged to carry machine-readable data. Such articles can include e.g. postage stamps and articles of related function; and the invention also relates to arrangements for handling such articles, e.g. systems such as postal sorting systems, utilising such articles.

The data carried on such stamps or other data-carrying articles can comprise information and instructions, in machine-readable form (and if desired also in directly visible form), and the invention relates also to arrangements, systems, processes and devices for handling such articles, comprising arrangements for mechanical reading and optionally also writing such machine-readable data, and for handling and/or sorting the articles according to the results of reading and processing the data carried thereon.

2. Prior Art The prior art includes the following specifications: GB 2048817 (Walsall) discloses sheets of stamps adhering to a base material, and that with suitable choice of printing ink the base part can be read by sensing devices for automatic stock control or anti-fraud applications.

GB 962610 (NCR) discloses postage stamps printed with concentric circles of magnetic ink, in circular patterns arranged to carry information.

GB 876289 (HM PMG) discloses postage stamps marked with patterns of electrically conducting ink, and machinery to detect the patterns.

GB 665644 (Marchandandriessen) discloses stamps with magnetic stripes and equipment to detect them, especially for the purpose of automatically turning stapmed letters into a desired orientation.

US 5064222 discloses stamps showing bar code arrays.

3. Background to current invention In spite of the existence of the prior art, problems can at present arise during, for example, the process of postal checking, sorting and delivery, e.g. to ascertain the amount of postage stamps used for each postal letter, packet or parcel.

There can be administrative and technical difficulty in making sure that valid postage stamps are used; that they have not been used before; that they are sufficient for the weight of the article and, if not, by how much (so that the amount can be recovered from the sender or addressee); difficulty in ascertaining which class of post the postage paid is sufficient for; difficulty in notifying the destination office and postman of the fact of the underpayment, the need to collect the monies due, and reminding them of it; and difficulty in cancelling stamps to prevent re-use.

At present, it is also difficult for more data, other than what is normally found on postage stamps, to be incorporated in postage stamps. It is also difficult for data or instructions which are capable of activating other devices or for such data or instructions to be incorporated into such stamps after the stamps have been printed.

4. Statement of invention According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a data-carrying sheet article such as for example a self-adhesive stamp or sheet of stamps, of flexible or otherwise sheet material, wherein said sheet article carries on one or both of its surfaces, or embedded, incorporated, imprinted, added, attached, pasted, bonded (or one or more of these processes) to it at least one zone of magnetic data-storage material, capable of having analogue or digital data magnetically written to said zone, stored in said zone and read from said zone.

Such an article can for example comprise a postage stamp having its monetary value or other data written in magnetically-readable form in such a zone of data-storage material, especially for example in analogue or digitally-encoded form.

'Stamp' includes a postage stamp or a stamp ancillary to a postage stamp, e.g. self-adhesive stamps, e.g. assembled detachably in sheets.

Sheet articles according to the invention can include stamps with data storage material applied by any desired treatment, of any desired design, printed or otherwise.

As an alternative to magnetic data storage zones any other type of machine-readable data-storage material can be used.

The data storage material can be writeable and/or programmable as well as readable if desired.

The material can be applied in the form of ink-markings, which may if desired include alpha-numeric characters and/or areas of other shapes.

The data storage material may cover the whole area of a stamp or part only of the area, and may be present in sections and/or parts and take the form e.g. of magnetic strips.

The stamps can if desired include electronic devices (including silicon and/or other microchips) e.g. embedded, incorporated or imprinted in or on the sheet articles, on extensions of the sheet articles, or on additional sheet articles..

The above-mentioned features can if desired present information visibly on the sheet articles. The data can be machine-readable in any desired manner. There can also if desired be arrangements for writing and/or programming the data-storage material or electronic devices.

As described below, the data storage materials in these sheet articles are useful as part of a system for handling articles such as for example mail items which have such sheet articles attached thereto, and the data are also useful to actuate any desired machine functions or signals.

Such functions can also include those which are relevant at the time of manufacture of the sheet articles as well as those which become relevant subsequently.

The data-carrying articles such as stamps may be made of any material, whether for example, paper, synthetic materials, devices such, for example, as micro-chips, electronic devices etc. or a combination of two or more of them and which may constitute the totality or part or parts of the data-carrying articles.

The articles can be formed by any of the following methods, embedding, incorporation, imprinting, adding, attaching, pasting, bonding components to a substrate, with any appropriate treatment method, or as an extension of or addition to a section of sheet article without data carrying properties.

The data storage material may be any capable of accepting and/or embodying and/or carrying and/or reading and/or writing data, information or instructions. It may be present on either or both sides of the data-carrying articles or within them.

Functions enabled by the use of such articles include (1) the reading by suitable machines of postage class (whether First Class, Second Class or any other class) or type of classification and/or the value of stamp/s; (2) combined with weighing machines, checking whether the stamp/s is/are sufficient for the weight of the letter/s, and if not, for classifying the letter/s to (among other things) be sent under a lower class or for imprinting with the postage due from the recipient and/or any message desired etc.; (3) using this information for speedy processing of letters; (4) automatically re- classifying (First Class, Second Class etc.) or re-valuing etc. stamps when postage rates are changed; (5) enabling senders of letters to mark the postcode either positively (by marking or adding) or negatively (by deleting) on (or on part of) the stamp(s); (6) facilitating a much higher level of mechanisation, thereby reducing costs of handling and errors of postage charges, increasing speed of processing and delivery etc.

Stamps may also be cancelled magnetically, for instance, and preventing their subsequent re-use.

Areas, whether physically and/or visually and/or with laser beams and/or electrically and/or electronically and/or electromagnetically or otherwise readable and/or writeable and/or programmable and/or have electronic brains (including silicon and/or other microchips), may also be used to enable employees, as well as users, of the postal system to provide information.

The invention also includes handling, sensing and marking systems and/or processes and/or devices for, for example, reading from and/or writing to such data-carrying articles, including stamps and/or stamps ancillary to postage stamps and acting on information and/or instructions received from such data-carrying articles, including postage stamps and/or stamps ancillary to postage stamps.

These include, for instance, a system comprising (a) a sensing device arranged to read data from a data carrying sheet article as aforesaid, which is carried on an item in passage along a conveyor; (b) a data-processing arrangement arranged to compare at least one data-value read by the sensing device (a) with reference data appropriate to the item in passage, and (c) a discrimination device arranged to treat or handle the item in passage in a discriminating manner dependent on the result of the data comparison carried out by the data-processing arrangement (b).

The discriminating treatment of the item in passage, as performed by device (c), can for example comprise the process of writing appropriate further data to the magnetic data-carrying zone of the sheet article carried on the item in passage. It can also comprise the printing of a design or message on, or the physical application of an adhesive warning or other label to, the item in passage. It can also comprise diversion of the item in passage to one of different destinations or outlets of the same conveyor or a further conveyor, in conditional accordance with a signal from the data-processing arrangement (b).

5. Description of preferred embodiments and examples, and drawings In a preferred embodiment, the data-carrying article can be a postage stamp which carries one or a plurality of magnetically readable and writeable data-carrying zones. Such a zone can be in the form of an area or pattern of magnetic ink. Such magnetic ink can, for example, be applied to the stamp by a printing process.

A zone can also, for instance, be made from a magnetic strip such, for instance, as is applied in the manufacture of credit cards or magnetic tape for audio or video tape recording purposes, and can be for instance be pasted or welded onto or otherwise incorporated into the stamp at the time of manufacture of the stamp.

The data can, for example, be carried in binary, analogue, digital or other form/s or combinations of forms.

Embodiments of the invention are described non-limitatively, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a postage stamp according to an embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a postage stamp according to a further embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 shows diagrammatically an embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention for dealing with data-carrying articles according to an embodiment of the invention.

Referring first to Figure 1, there is shown a postage stamp on which the postage amount is printed in magnetically readable ink waker

Referring to Figure 2, there is shown a postage stamp which has a magnetic strip similar to the strip as applied to commonly-used credit cards or magnetic tape in audio or video tapes.

Referring to Figure 3, there is shown inter alia a conveyor carrying a letter past a station (a) where a machine weighs it; and then to a station (b) where a detector magnetically ascertains whether the postage stamps have been used before and, if not, reads the value of the postage stamps affixed to the letter and compares this value with the data relating to the current postage due on different weights stored on a computer (c); and then to a station (d) where, if the postage paid is insufficient for the weight, a machine prints a message on the letter (or on a sticky piece of paper and affixes it to the letter); station (b) also, immediately after reading the value of Lhe postage stamps, magnetically cancels the stamps, preventing their l e-use; there is also be a station (bob) there a visible ink is used to deface the stamp, to enable the public to identify stamps which are already cancelled.

As transport mechanisms, reading and writing mechanisms, printing mechanisms and the like are commercially available and well-known, it is considered unnecessary to describe them in detail.

However, the present invention and disclosure includes modifications and variations and all alternative combinations and subcombinations of the features disclosed herein together with such ancillary matters as will be apparent to the reader skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure and the appended claims.

Claims (1)

1. Claims

   1: A data-carrying sheet article (such as for example a self-adhesive stamp or sheet of stamps), of flexible sheet material, wherein said sheet article carries on its surface at least one zone of magnetic data-storage material, capable of having digital data magnetically written to said zone, stored in said zone and read from said zone.

   2: An article as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a postage stamp having its monetary value or other data written in magneticallyreadable form in such a zone of data-storage material, e.g. in digitally encoded form.

   3: A system for sensing and marking items carrying data-carrying sheet articles as claimed in claim, the system comprising: (a) a sensing device arranged to read data from a data carrying sheet article as aforesaid, which is carried on an item in passage along a conveyor; (b) a data-processing arrangement arranged to compare at least one data-value read by the sensing device (a) with reference data appropriate to the item in passage, and (c) a discrimination device arranged to treat or handle the item in passage in a discriminating manner dependent on the result of the data comparison carried out by the data-processing arrangement (b).

   4: A system according to claim 3, wherein the discrimination device (c) includes means for writing appropriate further data te the magnetic data-carrying zone of the sheet article carried on the item in passage, and/or means for physical application of an adhesive warning or other label to the item in passage, and/or means for diversion of the item in passage to one of different destinations or outlets of the same conveyor or a further conveyor, in conditional accordance with a signal from the data-processing arrangement (b).

   5: Sheet articles and sensing and marking systems substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one or more of the features of the the accompanying description and drawings.

   Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1: A data-carrying sheet article (such as for example a self-adhesive stamp or sheet of stamps), of flexible sheet material, wherein said sheet article carries on its surface, or embedded in it, or incorporated in it, at least one zone comprising a magnetic data-storage material, or a micro-chip or an electronic brain or a combination of two or more of them, capable of having analogue, binary, digital or other form/s of data or signals magnetically, electronically or otherwise written to said zone, stored in said zone and read from said zone.

   2: An article as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a postage stamp having its monetary value or other data written in magneticallyreadable form in such a zone of data-storage material, e.g. in digitally encoded form.

   3: Sheet articles substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any one or more of the features of the the accompanying description and drawings.