Patent ID: 9508107
Filing Date: 2016-11-29
CPC Classification: B07C,G06Q,Y10S

Claim Text:
1. A method of identifying extraneous processing of mail items and correcting related operational problems in mail processing equipment, the method comprising: providing a mail sorting apparatus comprising components including at least one of a barcode reader and an optical character reader configured to read information from a mail piece; providing mail processing equipment; receiving, in the mail sorting apparatus, a mail piece having at least one encoded value located thereon which identifies the mail piece and sorting information for the mail piece, each of the at least one encoded value being only optically readable, wherein the mail piece is a tangible item for delivery to a recipient; reading, using a component of the mail sorting apparatus, one of the at least one encoded value located on the mail piece; decoding, using a processor, the read encoded value located on the mail piece to identify the mail piece; directing the mail piece to the mail processing equipment using the sorting information; processing the mail piece on at the mail processing equipment at a first time; processing the mail piece on the mail processing equipment at a second time, the second time occurring after the first time; determining, using a processor, a value relating to the processing of the mail piece, wherein the value relating to the processing of the mail piece indicates an amount of time elapsed between the first time and, the second time; determining, using a processor, that the value relating to the processing of the mail piece is indicative of extraneous processing of the mail piece by the mail processing equipment; determining, using a processor, based on the sorting information read from the encoded value, which component of the mail sorting apparatus read the encoded value and which mail processing equipment processed the mail piece; transmitting an indication of the extraneous processing and of the determined component and mail processing equipment via an interface to a device associated with the mail processing equipment and the mail sorting apparatus; and adjusting the mail processing equipment to resolve operational problems of the equipment in response to the transmitted indication.