Metering incoming deliverable mail to identify delivery delays
US6006211A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 5, 1997 |
| Grant date | Dec 21, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 5, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q30/0283
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system that allows a third party, such as a postage meter manufacturer or PSD manufacturer, to collate data, process the data and report localized delivery delays on a nationalized basis. The foregoing is accomplished by connecting a scanner and control software to a digital postage meter or PSD processor that would read incoming digitally metered mail. Instead of printing an indicia, the scanner would read the already existing indicia and other information on the mail piece and then extract the sender data fields that are contained in the indicia or on the mail piece. The extracted mail data would be periodically uploaded to a data center. The data center would compare the extracted data with mail sender data that has previously been uploaded from sending meters and processors to determine unexpected delivery delays in the delivery network.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.