TW201822901A - Intelligent mailbox and method for identifying mailing data to classify mails in advance - Google Patents

Abstract

An intelligent mailbox and a method for identifying mailing data to classify mails in advance are provided. By setting up a recognition area and storage areas in a mailbox, identifying a mailing data from a mail for generating a classified data corresponding with the mailing data after the mail passes an inlet of the mailbox, and classifying the mail from the recognition area to one of the storage areas in correspondence to the classified data, the system and the method can eliminate the time of transporting mails from mailbox to regional center, and can achieve the effect of speeding up mailing processing speed and reducing burden of postal person of classifying mails.

Description

Smart mail box and method for identifying mailings to pre-classify mail

A smart mail box and its operation method, in particular, a smart mail box and method for identifying mailing materials for pre-classifying mail.

The postbox is a postal facility that is commonly found on the streets to collect outgoing mail. If the sender is not convenient to go to the post office, he can put the mail into the nearest mailbox. The postal staff will collect the mail and mail it back to the regional postal center, and then deliver the mail to the sending place.

In fact, in the regional postal center, mails from different mailboxes in the same area will be sorted by postal personnel or machines according to the postal area code, and then the mail will be delivered to the sending centers of each area in batches according to the classification of the mail. Finally, it is delivered to the delivery location. That is to say, the mail that is put into the mail box will not be sent directly, but will need to be sent back to the regional postal service center by the postal service personnel before being classified and sent, which requires a long processing time.

In summary, it can be seen that the mail in the mail box has long existed in the prior art and it takes extra time to return to the regional postal center classification and cannot be directly sent. Therefore, it is necessary to propose an improved technical means to solve this problem.

In view of the prior art problem that the mail in the mail box needs extra time to be transported back to the regional postal center classification and cannot be directly sent, the present invention discloses a smart mail box and a method for identifying the mailing information to pre-categorize the mail, wherein:

The smart mail box disclosed in the present invention comprises at least: an input port; a text recognition area for accommodating the mail passing through the input port; and a data processing unit for identifying the mailing information of the mail placed in the text recognition area, and Corresponding classification data is generated; the mail storage area corresponds to the classified data; the mail classification unit is electrically connected with the text recognition unit, and is used for classifying the mail from the text recognition area to the mail storage area corresponding to the classified data. .

The method for identifying the mailing information disclosed in the present invention is applied to the smart mail box by means of pre-classifying the mail. The method comprises the steps of: setting a text recognition area and a mail storage area in the smart mail box; accommodating the mail passing through the input port; The mailing information contained in the mail in the text recognition area is generated corresponding to the classified information; the classified mail is sent to the mail storage area corresponding to the classified data.

The smart mail box and method disclosed in the present invention is different from the prior art in that the present invention recognizes the mailing on the mail after the mail is passed through the input port of the mail box after the text recognition area and the mail storage area are set in the mail box. The data is used to generate corresponding categorization data, and the mail is classified into the corresponding mail storage area by the text recognition area according to the categorization data, thereby solving the problems existing in the prior art, and speeding up the processing of the mail and reducing the speed can be achieved. The technical effect of the burden of mailing by postal personnel.

The features and embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments, which are sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the technical means to which the present invention solves the technical problems, and The achievable effects of the present invention.

The invention can provide a smart mail box. After the user puts the mail into the smart mail box, the smart mail box can automatically classify the mail that is put into the mail, so that each mail that is put into the smart mail box can be classified into the corresponding storage area. The mail provided by the present invention includes, but is not limited to, a postcard, a cash bag, an envelope bag, a package, and the like.

The operation of the system of the present invention will be described below with reference to the external schematic diagram of the smart mail box of the present invention and the component diagram of the smart mail box proposed by the present invention in the "Fig. 1B". As shown in "1A" and "1B", the smart mail box 100 of the present invention includes an input port 110, a character recognition area 120, a mail storage area 130, a data processing unit 150, and a mail sorting unit 160. The mail box 100 may also include a data input unit 170 and/or a data output unit 180.

The drop inlet 110 is disposed on a surface of the smart mail box 100 to provide a mailer to the mail. The drop inlet 110 may be a hole in the smart mail box 100, and the sender may insert or put the mail into the input port so that the delivered mail can enter the inside of the smart mail box 100 through the input port 110 from the outside of the smart mail box 100. In general, the input port 110 may include a baffle (not shown) for blocking the opening, but the invention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the input port 110 may also include an openable door (not shown). After the door is opened, the sender can send the mail to the input port 110 by hand, so as to place the mail on the mail. In the text recognition area 120.

The character recognition area 120 is a space disposed inside the smart mailbox 100, and is responsible for accommodating mail passing through the input port 110. That is, the input port 110 separates the text recognition area 120 from the outside of the smart mailbox 100. In general, the mail passing through the input port 110 is always accommodated in the text recognition area 120 until the mail classification unit 160 classifies the accommodated files into the corresponding mail storage area 130.

The mail storage area 130 is also a space provided inside the smart mail box 100, and provides a space for placing mail, thereby storing the mail classified by the mail sorting unit 160. Generally, a plurality of mail storage areas 130 are provided in the smart mail box 100.

The data processing unit 150 is responsible for scanning and identifying the mailed material that is placed on the mail in the text recognition area 120. The mailing information scanned and identified by the data processing unit 150 is the information required for sending the mail, including but not limited to the mailing address and the postal code number.

The data processing unit 150 may include one or more scanners (not shown) for scanning mailed materials on the mail located in the text recognition area 120 through the input port 110. The scanner included in the data processing unit 150 may be an image scanning device or an image capturing device. The present invention is not particularly limited, and any device that can obtain the mailing information on the mail can be used in the present invention. use.

When the data processing unit 150 includes only one scanner, the sender needs to put the mail in a predetermined manner, for example, the mail side with the mailing information (in this paper, the "will be forward") will face up or down. In a manner, the mail is inserted into or placed in the input port 110, so that the front side of the mail can face the scanner included in the data processing unit 150, so that the data processing unit 150 can accurately scan the mailing information on the mail, thereby The image containing the mailing information on the mail identifies the mailing information in the form of text; and when the data processing unit 150 includes a plurality of scanners, the scanner included in the data processing unit 150 can be disposed on the corresponding sides of the input port 110. Thus, regardless of whether the front side of the mail is inserted or placed in the input port 110 upward or downward, at least one scanner can scan the mailing information on the mail entering the text recognition area 120 through the input port 110, so that The data processing unit 150 can recognize the mailed material in the form of text from the image containing the mailed material on the mail. In addition, the scanner included in the data processing unit 150 may also be disposed on the upper, lower, left, and right sides of the character recognition area 120 and/or the front and rear side walls, so as to scan the mail contained in the text recognition area 120 to obtain the mailing information on the mail. The image processing unit 150 can identify the mailing information in the form of text from the acquired image.

The data processing unit 150 is also responsible for generating categorization data corresponding to the mail currently contained in the text recognition area 120 based on the identified mail material. The categorization data generated by the data processing unit 150 may be arbitrarily arranged by any number of characters such as characters, numbers, symbols, etc., but the format and content of the classified data proposed by the present invention are not limited to the above, and are sufficient for the mail. The classification unit 160 classifies the materials of the mail currently accommodated in the text recognition area 120 to be used in the present invention.

The categorization data generated by the data processing unit 150 may also correspond to one or more mail storage areas 130. Generally, different categorization materials may correspond to different mail storage areas 130, that is, categorized materials and mail storage. The area 130 is usually a one-to-one correspondence, but in some embodiments, in order to prevent a mail storage area 130 from having insufficient space for storing mail corresponding to a specific classified material, two or more The mail storage area 130 corresponding to the specific classification data.

The data processing unit 150 can also determine whether the zip code in the mailing data recognized by the data processing unit 150 is correct according to the mailing address in the identified mailing data. In general, the data processing unit 150 may pre-store the address range corresponding to each postal area number, thereby reading the corresponding address range according to the identified postal area number, and determining whether the identified mailing address falls on the read address. Within the address range, if yes, it means that the postal code number in the mailing information is correct. Conversely, if the mailing address recognized by the data processing unit 150 does not fall within the read address range, it means the postal area code in the mailing information. error. The data processing unit 150 may store the zip code area and the corresponding address range by using a file or a data table in the database, but the invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the data processing unit 150 determines that the manner in which the postal code number in the mailing information is correct according to the mailing address in the mailing information is not limited to the above.

The data processing unit 150 may also determine the new postal area number according to the identified mailing address when it is determined that the postal area code in the mailing information is wrong. In general, the data processing unit 150 can compare the identified mailing address with each stored address range to determine the address range including the identified mailing address, and then read and determine the determined address range. Corresponding postal area code, wherein the postal area code that is read out is the new postal area code. However, the manner in which the data output unit 180 determines the new postal code number based on the mailing address in the mailing information is not limited thereto.

The mail classification unit 160 is electrically connected to the data processing unit 150, and is responsible for classifying the mails accommodated in the text recognition area 120 into the mail storage area 130 corresponding to the classified materials generated by the material processing unit 150. The mail sorting unit 160 may include a mechanical structure, such as a robot arm or a tray or container for transporting letters, so that the mail contained in the text recognition area 120 is clipped or presented to the mail storage area 130, but the mail sorting unit 160 The manner in which the mail is classified into the mail storage area 130 by the character recognition area 120 is not limited to the above.

In some embodiments, if the data processing unit 150 does not scan or scans the mail from the mail, the mail sorting unit 160 may classify the mails accommodated in the text recognition area 120 into the specific mail storage area 130. Similarly, if the mail classification unit 160 cannot determine the mail storage area 130 corresponding to the classified data generated by the data processing unit 150, the mail classification unit 160 may also be accommodated in the text recognition area 120. The mail is classified into a specific mail storage area 130.

Further, the mail sorting unit 160 may take out all the mails in the specific mail storage area 130 by using the included robot arm or a tray or container for transporting the mail, for example, providing the identification data provided by the data input unit 170. All mails in the corresponding mail storage area 130. Wherein, the identification data may be any data that is arbitrarily arranged by any number of characters, numbers, symbols, etc., for example, a postal identification code or an employee number, or a specific range of regional identification codes, etc. There is no particular limitation, and any material sufficient for the mail sorting unit 160 to judge the mail storage area 130 that needs to take out the mail can be used in the present invention. The mail sorting unit 160 may store the correspondence between the identification data and the identification data of the mail storage area 130 in advance, and determine the mail storage area 130 in which the mail is to be taken out based on the identification data of the mail storage area 130 corresponding to the identification data. In the example, the mail classification unit 160 may also connect to the mail server (not shown) via a wired or wireless network to query the identification data of the mail storage area 130 corresponding to the input identification data.

The data input unit 170 can provide input mailing information. The data input unit 170 can be an input device such as a keyboard, a touch panel, or a touch screen, so as to provide a user to press a button to input mailing materials; the data input unit 170 can also be a communication device, so as to transmit through the blue, infrared, and near ends. The wireless communication technology such as communication or the connection interface of USB, IEEE 1934, etc. receives the mailed information transmitted by the portable device (not shown) outside the smart mailbox 100; the data input unit 170 may also be an image capturing device and an image recognition device. By picking up and identifying the mailing information displayed by the portable device outside the smart mailbox 100. However, the data input unit 170 is not limited to the above.

The material input unit 170 may be connected to the mail sorting unit 160 and may provide input identification data such that the mail sorting unit 160 provides all mails in one or more mail storage areas 130 corresponding to the input identification data. Similar to the input mailing information, the data input unit can provide input of the identification data through the input device, the communication device, the image capturing and recognizing device, and the present invention is not particularly limited.

The data output unit 180 can be electrically connected to the data input unit 170 and can include a printing device (not shown) for printing the data input unit 170 to provide input on the mail received in the text recognition area 120. Mail the information.

The data output unit 180 can also be electrically connected to the data processing unit 150, and can correct the postal area number of the mail placed in the text recognition area 120 by using the new postal area number determined by the data processing unit 150, so as to be accommodated. The postal code number on the mail in the text recognition area 120 is updated to the correct postal area code. In general, the data output unit 180 can include a printing device (not shown) for printing the correct new postal code number to the mail contained in the text recognition area 120. In some embodiments, The data output unit 180 may further include a labeling device (not shown) for labeling the wrong mailing area number such that the wrong mailing area code is blocked by the attached label. The data output unit 180 can even print the correct new postal code number on the label of the postal code of the wrong vehicle.

Next, an operation system and method of the present invention will be described with reference to an embodiment, and reference is made to the flowchart of the method for identifying mailing materials to pre-classify mails according to the "2A".

First, it is necessary to provide the character recognition area 120 and the mail storage area 130 in the smart mail box 100 proposed by the present invention (step 202).

After the smart mailbox 100 including the text recognition area 120 and the mail storage area 130 is set, when the sender puts the mail into the smart mailbox 100, the text recognition area 120 of the smart mailbox 100 can accommodate the mail passing through the input port 110 ( Step 210). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the sender's mail is an envelope containing a letter, and after the sender inserts the mail into the input port 110 of the smart mailbox 100, the sender's mail will fall into the text recognition area 120.

In addition, after the sender inserts the mail into the input port 110 of the smart mailbox 100, the data processing unit 150 of the smart mailbox 100 can recognize the mailed information on the mail contained in the character recognition area 120 of the smart mailbox 100 ( Step 230). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the scanner included in the data processing unit 150 is disposed on the upper and lower sides of the input port 110. When the mail enters the text recognition area 120 through the input port 110, the data processing unit 150 can scan and recognize the pass. Mailing information on the mail of the entrance 110.

After the data processing unit 150 of the smart mailbox 100 recognizes the mailing information, the data processing unit 150 may generate the categorization data corresponding to the identified mailing data (step 260). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the zip code in the mailing data recognized by the data processing unit 150 indicates that the mailing is to be sent to the local first area, and the data processing unit 150 can generate the local number according to the identified zip code area. Corresponding categorization data for a district.

After the data processing unit 150 of the smart mailbox 100 generates the classified data, the mail sorting module 160 of the smart mail box 100 can classify the mails accommodated in the text recognition area 120 of the smart mail box 100 into the data processing unit 150. The generated categorization data is in the mail storage area 130 (step 270). In the present embodiment, the mail classification unit 160 may classify the mails accommodated in the text recognition area 120 into the mail storage area 130a storing the mails sent to the local first area according to the classified materials.

Then, when the postal person comes to the smart mailbox 100 to retrieve the message, the identification data can be input through the data input unit 170 of the smart mailbox 100 as shown in the flow of the "Picture 2B" (step 282), so that the mail sorting of the smart mailbox 100 can be made. The unit 160 provides all the mails in the respective mail storage areas 130 corresponding to the input identification data to the postal personnel (step 286). In this embodiment, the mail classification unit 160 can obtain the identification data of the corresponding mail storage area 130 according to the input identification data provided by the data input unit 170, and corresponding mail according to the identification data of the obtained mail storage area 130. The mail in the storage area 130a and the mail storage area 130b are taken out separately, so that the mail person can obtain the mails to be delivered to different areas in a divided manner.

In this way, through the present invention, the mail can be directly classified and delivered to the postal personnel, without being sent to the regional postal center for classification and then delivered to the postal personnel, which can speed up the processing of the mail in the mail box. And reduce the burden of sorting mail for postal personnel in the regional postal service.

In the above embodiment, after the data processing unit 150 of the smart mailbox 100 recognizes the mailed information on the mail contained in the text recognition area 120 of the smart mailbox 100 (step 230), it may be as shown in "2C". As shown in the flow, the data processing unit 150 can determine whether the zip code in the identified mailing information is correct according to the mailing address in the identified mailing data (step 240). If so, the data processing unit 150 can generate categorization data corresponding to the identified mailing material (step 260).

If the data processing unit 150 of the smart mailbox 100 determines that the zip code in the identified mailing information is incorrect, the data processing unit 150 can determine the correct new zip code according to the mailing address in the identified mailing data (step 251). The data output unit 180 of the smart mailbox 100 can correct the zip code of the mail placed in the text recognition area 120 of the smart mailbox 100 according to the new zip code determined by the data processing unit 150 (step 255).

In addition, in the above embodiment, after the sender inserts the mail into the input port 110 of the smart mailbox 100 so that the character recognition area 120 of the smart mailbox 100 accommodates the mail passing through the input port 110 (step 210), the smart mail box 100 The data input unit 170 can provide the sender to input the mailing information, and the data output unit 180 of the smart mailbox 100 can print the input mailing information on the mail contained in the text recognition area 120.

In summary, it can be seen that the difference between the present invention and the prior art is that after the text recognition area and the mail storage area are set in the mail box, when the mail passes through the input port of the mail box, the mailing information on the mail is recognized to generate a corresponding correspondence. The categorization data, and the technical means of classifying the mail from the text recognition area into the corresponding mail storage area according to the categorization data, can solve the problem that the mail in the mail box of the prior art needs extra time by using a technical means The problem of being transported back to the regional postal center and not directly sent, thereby achieving the technical effect of speeding up the processing of mail and reducing the burden of postal mail.

Furthermore, the method for identifying postal mail of the present invention may be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software in a method of pre-classifying mail, or may be implemented in a centralized manner in a computer system or distributed in a plurality of mutual elements by different components. Even the decentralized way of implementing computer systems.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Any modification of the form and details of the practice of the present invention, which is a matter of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, is a patent protection of the present invention. range. The scope of the invention is to be determined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Smart Postbox

110‧‧‧ Input

120‧‧‧Text recognition area

130‧‧‧Mail storage area

130a, 130b‧‧‧ mail storage area

150‧‧‧Data Processing Unit

160‧‧‧ mail classification unit

170‧‧‧Data input unit

180‧‧‧ data output unit

Step 202‧‧‧Set the text recognition area and mail storage area in the smart mail box

Step 210‧‧‧Enclose mail through the input port

Step 230‧‧‧ Identify the mailing information on the mail contained in the text recognition area

Step 240‧‧‧According to the mailing address to determine whether the postal code is wrong

Step 251‧‧‧According to the mailing address to judge the new postal code

Step 255‧‧‧ Correct the postal code on the mail by the new postal code

Step 260‧‧‧ Generate classification information corresponding to postal information

Step 270‧‧‧ classified emails to the mail storage area corresponding to the classified materials

Step 282‧‧‧ Provide input identification information

Step 286‧‧‧ Provide all the mail in each mail storage area corresponding to the identification data

FIG. 1A is a schematic view showing the appearance of a smart mail box according to the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of components of the smart mail box according to the present invention. FIG. 2A is a flow chart of a method for identifying mailing materials for pre-classifying mails according to the present invention. FIG. 2B is a flow chart of an additional method for providing mail according to the present invention. FIG. 2C is a flow chart of an additional method for updating the error zip code area according to the present invention.

Claims (10)

A smart mail box, the smart mail box includes at least: an input port; a text recognition area for accommodating mail passing through the input port; and a data processing unit for identifying the mail received in the text recognition area One of the mailing materials and the corresponding one of the classified materials; at least one mail storage area, wherein at least one of the mail receiving areas corresponds to the classified data; and a mail sorting unit electrically connected to the text identifying unit And categorizing the mail from the text recognition area to a mail storage area corresponding to the classified material. For example, the smart mail box according to item 1 of the patent application, wherein the mailing information includes a mailing address and a postal area code. The smart mail box according to claim 2, wherein the smart mail box further comprises a data output unit electrically connected to the data processing unit for determining whether the mailing area number is correct according to the mailing address in the mailing data. And when the postal area code is incorrect, the new postal area code is judged according to the mailing address, and the postal area code on the mail is corrected by the new postal area code. The smart mail box of claim 1, wherein the smart mail box further comprises: a data input unit for receiving the mailing information transmitted by a portable device, or capturing and recognizing a portable device The mailing information is displayed; and a data output unit is electrically connected to the data input unit for printing the mailing information on the mail received in the text recognition area. The smart mail box according to claim 1, wherein the smart mail box further comprises a data input unit connected to the mail sorting unit for providing input of an identification data, so that the mail sorting unit provides the corresponding information. All the mail in the mail storage area. A method for identifying mailing materials for pre-classifying mails is applied to a smart mail box having an input port, the method comprising at least the following steps: setting a text recognition area and at least one mail storage area in the smart mail box; Storing an email passing through one of the input ports; identifying one of the mails contained in the text recognition area to mail the data, and generating a corresponding one of the classified materials; and classifying the mail to correspond to the classified data One of the mail storage areas. The method for identifying the mailing information for pre-classifying the mail as described in claim 6 wherein the step of identifying the mailing information on the mail contained in the text recognition area is to identify one of the mailing materials included in the mailing Address and one postal code. The method for identifying the mailing information for pre-classifying the mail as described in claim 7 of the patent application, wherein the method further comprises determining the mailing area number based on the mailing address before the step of generating the classified information corresponding to the mailing data In case of error, the new postal area code is judged according to the mailing address, and the step of correcting the postal area code on the mail is performed by the new postal area code. The method for identifying mailing materials for pre-classifying mails according to claim 6 of the patent application, wherein the method further comprises receiving one of the mailing materials before the step of identifying the mailing information on the mail received in the text recognition area. The mailing information transmitted by the portable device, or capturing and identifying the mailing information displayed by the portable device, and printing the mailing data on the mail received in the text recognition area. The method for identifying a mailing item according to claim 6 of the patent application to pre-categorize the mail, wherein the method further comprises providing an input after the step of categorizing the mail to the mail receiving area corresponding to the mailing data. And providing the steps of all the mails in the mail storage area corresponding to the identification data.