System having multiple user input stations and multiple mail preparation apparatus for preparing and franking a mail piece

US5684706A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Pitney Bowes Inc. · US

Inventors

• James L. Harman · Southport, US
• Flavio M. Manduley · Woodbury, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 31, 1995
• Grant date: Nov 4, 1997
• Expiry date: May 31, 2015

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G07B2017/00677
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A system for producing mail pieces. The system includes a plurality of apparatus each having a first printer for printing documents and a second printer for printing envelopes and a mail finishing unit for receiving the printed documents from the first printer and the envelopes printed with corresponding addresses from the second printer and inserting the documents into the envelope to form and frank a mail piece, and a plurality of user input stations. The apparatus operates under the control of a single stream of job data from a mail center controller, where the job data includes a job header defining default mail piece attributes and mail piece records which include document data and address data, and which may include specific mail piece attribute data for each corresponding mail piece. The apparatus control mechanism partitions the data stream and controls the first printer to print the documents while controlling the second printer to separately print the envelopes which are moved along a separate path to an insert station where the mail piece is formed. The system also includes data stores of postal rates and of per item weights of items of materials used to form mail pieces…