Abstract:
A method that enables the post to deliver letters, flats, post cards and packages (mail) addressed to a recipient&#39;s virtual post office box and then to be delivered directly to the recipient. The process enables individuals or entities to rent a virtual post office (VPO) box i.e., a box that does not physically exist, from the post office (“post”). Mail addressed to the virtual post office box would be captured by the post during the post&#39;s sortation process and rerouted to the specified address of the renter of the virtual post office box.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Reference is made to commonly assigned copending patent application Ser. No. 09/316,403 filed herewith entitled “A System For Delivering Mail” in the name of Ronald P. Sansone. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to the field of mail delivery systems and more particularly to systems for delivering mail from virtual post office boxes to recipients. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     From the dawn of civilization people have directly transmitted information from one person to another. Information was first transmitted by speech and later by the written word. Writings enabled people to transmit information by messengers from a location in which the sender of the writing was present to another location where the receiver was present. In time, postal services were developed in which a person would deliver a letter to the post office (hereinafter “post”) in one city and an agent of the post office would deliver that letter to a post office in another city, where the letter would be picked up by the person to whom the letter was sent. 
     Ever since the numeric codification of streets and buildings received general acceptance, an individuals&#39; name and their household postal addresses have been linked. The sender of a letter or package would deliver a letter or package to the post office, that had the correct recipient postal address and the post office would deliver the letter or package to the numeric street address of the recipient of the letter or package. A correct recipient postal address for the delivery of the letter or package to the recipient included: the name of the recipient; the street address of the recipient; the city and state of the recipient; and the zip code of the recipient. Thus, the correct recipient postal address is usually the actual location of the recipient. 
     The post office also delivers letters and packages to post office boxes. A post office box is a locked receptacle, located at a specific post office, where the box has been assigned to a specific recipient so that correctly addressed letters and packages may be delivered to the box by the post office and be removed by the recipient. A correct recipient post office box address for the delivery of the letter or package to the recipient&#39;s post office box included: the name of the recipient; the number of the post office box of the recipient&#39;s; the city and state where the recipient post office box is located; and the zip code of the post office where the recipient&#39;s post office box is located. 
     One of the reasons why recipients of letters and packages rent post office boxes is that the recipient did not want the sender of the letter or package to know the actual location of the recipient. The above reason for having post office boxes has increased dramatically in the past few years because many people are conducting business out of their homes and they do not want certain senders of letters and packages to know the location of their homes. Thus, there has been a tremendous increase in the use of post office boxes. Consequently, the post at certain post offices is experiencing a shortage of post office boxes. 
     A disadvantage of the prior art is that renters of post office boxes have to go to the post office where the post office box is located to receive their letters and packages. Thus, the owners of business run out of the home and others are expending additional time to retrieve their letters and packages. 
     Another disadvantage of the prior art is that if renters of post office boxes do not remove their letters and packages before the post office box is full, the post has to specially handle the excess letters and packages. 
     A further disadvantage of the prior art is that post office boxes consume a large amount of space at post offices. 
     A additional disadvantage of the prior art is that when the renter of a post office box goes to a different location, i.e., on vacation there is no mechanism for redirecting the letters and packages located in the post office box to the different location. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a method that enables the post to deliver letters, flats, post cards and packages (mail) addressed to a recipient virtual post office box to be delivered directly to the recipient. The invention enables individuals or entities to rent a virtual post office (VPO) box i.e., a box that does not physically exist, from the post. Mail addressed to the virtual post office box would be captured by the post during the post&#39;s sortation process and rerouted to the specified address of the renter of the virtual post office box. 
     An advantage of this invention is that a renter of a virtual post office box may receive mail at their specified location while this location will not be known to parties who send mail to the virtual post office box. 
     An additional advantage of this invention is that mail can be easily redirected from one specified location to another specified location. 
     A further advantage of this invention is that virtual post office boxes do not take up any space and an unlimited number of boxes may be issued. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a drawing showing how this invention may be used in the processing of bulk entry mail; 
         FIG. 2  is a drawing showing how this invention may be used in the processing of collection mail; 
         FIG. 3A  is a drawing of a mail piece addressed to a virtual post office (VPO) box; 
         FIG. 3B  is a drawing of a mail piece addressed to a virtual post office (VPO) box which the post has indicated the actual delivery address; 
         FIG. 3C  is a drawing of a mail piece addressed to a virtual post office (VPO) box with some actual address information and some vanity address information; 
         FIG. 3D  is a drawing of a mail piece addressed to a virtual post office (VPO) box with some actual address information and some vanity address information which the post has indicated the actual delivery address; 
         FIG. 4  is a drawing showing how one may obtain a virtual post office box and how one may change the address to which the mail having a virtual post office box will be delivered; 
         FIG. 5  is a drawing of a virtual post office box registration card; 
         FIG. 6  is a drawing of a flow chart showing a request by the post for a postal address for a virtual post office box; 
         FIG. 7  is a drawing of a flow chart showing a request by a mailer requesting a virtual post office box routing change; and 
         FIG. 8  is a drawing of a flow chart showing the generation of a statement by access metering and billing process  69 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings in detail and more particularly to  FIG. 1 , the reference character  11  represents the entry of bulk entry mail to the post. The post receives and processes bulk entry mail and collection mail. Collection mail will be described in the description of  FIG. 2 . Approximately 60 percent of the mail currently received by the United States Postal Service is bulk entry mail. Bulk entry mail is mail received by the post that is trayed, presorted, metered, bearing a permit or pre-cancelled stamp. Bulk entry mail that has been bar coded but not sorted correctly by the mailer will be scanned and sorted by bar code sorter/code printer  12 . Mail that is able to be scanned and sorted by sorter  12  is sent to a delivery bar code sorter/code printer  13  or a carrier sequence bar code sorter  14 . Sorter  13  sorts mail that is going to be delivered to other postal facilities. Sorter  14  sort the mail in the order that the mail is going to be delivered by postal carrier  15 . 
     Mail that can not be scanned and sorted by sorter  12  is sent to letter sort machine  16 . Letter sort machine  16  is a manually operated machine in which the operator enters a zip code for the mail. Machine  16  is a mechanical sorter that sorts the mail in accordance with the zip code entered by the operator of machine  16 . Mail that can be sorted by letter sort machine  16  is sent to carrier casing  17 . Carrier casing  17  is the process in which the postal carrier sorts the mail in the order that the mail is going to be delivered by postal carrier  15 . Mail that can not be sorted by letter sort machine  16  is sent to manual process  19 . Manual process  19  attempts to classify the previously rejected mail piece to: redirect the mail piece; declare the mail piece dead; or manually re-code the mail piece for redelivery. Then the mail pieces that have not been processed in manual process  19  are re-coded in process  18 . In re-coder process  18  an operator may look up the VPO in virtual post office box data center  75  and produce a label to be placed on the mail piece. Bulk entry mail that has been presorted in accordance with the postal carrier route is sent in trays to manual process  19 . Then the mail would go to carrier casing where the mail is sorted in the order that the mail is going to be delivered by postal carrier  15 . 
     Mail that has been scanned by bar code sorter  12  and mail that has been scanned by scanners  13  and  14  will be checked by virtual post office box data center  75 , if scanners  12 ,  13  or  14  detect a virtual post office box in the recipient address field of the mail, i.e., VPO Box 182945AA or scan a virtual post office box in the bar code affixed to the mail by the mailer. Virtual post office box data center  75  contains a virtual post office name/address relational database  68  ( FIG. 4 ). Database  68  will use the virtual post office box number to determine the actual destination that the recipient wants the mail delivered to. The foregoing may be accomplished by looking up the virtual post office box in database  68  and determining the address that the owner of the virtual post office box wanted their mail forwarded. Database  68  supplies information to sorters  12 ,  13  and  14  and re-coder  18  via computer  54  so that sorters  12 ,  13  and  14  and re-coder  18  will place a bar code on the mail that indicates the zip code that the owner of the virtual post office box wants their mail forwarded. Sorters  12 ,  13  and  14  and re-coder  18  will also print the street, city and state that the owner of the virtual post office box wants their mail forwarded in human readable form. 
       FIG. 2  is a drawing showing how this invention may be used by the post in the processing of collection mail  21 . Approximately 40 percent of the mail currently received by the United States Postal Service is collection mail. Collection mail is metered, stamped or business reply permit mail that is placed in mail boxes or delivered to the United States Postal Service unsorted. Collection mail is sent to advanced facer canceller  22 . Facer canceller  22  first faces the mail. Then facer canceller  22  electronically identifies and separates prebarcoded mail, handwritten addresses and machine-imprinted address pieces for faster processing through automation. Mail that canceller  22  determines is optical character readable is sent to multi-line optical character reader/code printer  23 . Reader  23 : reads the entire address on the mail: sprays a bar code on the mail; and then sorts the mail. Mail that is able to be scanned and sorted by reader  23  is sent to bar code sorter/code printer  24 . Mail that the mailer has prebarcoded and contains a facing identification mark is sent to bar code sorter/code printer  24 . 
     Mail that is able to be scanned and sorted by sorter  24  is sent to a delivery bar code sorter/code printer  25  or a carrier sequence bar code sorter/code printer  26 . Sorters  25  and  26  sort the mail in the order that the mail is going to be delivered by postal carrier  27 . Mail that canceller  22  determines is not optical character readable is sent to bar code sorter/code printer  28 . Mail that canceller  22  obtains electronic images from and mail that reader  23  obtains electronic images from transfers the electronic images to remote bar code system  32 . Bar code system  32  matches the look up zip code for the mail pieces from canceller  22  and merges them. System  32  electronically transmits the bar code information to sorter  28  where the bar code information is sprayed on the mail pieces. Mail that is able to be scanned and sorted by sorters  24  and  28  is sent to a delivery bar code sorter  25 . Sorters  25  and  26  sort the mail in the order that the mail is going to be delivered by postal carrier  27 . 
     Mail that can not be scanned and sorted by sorters  24  and  28  is sent to letter sort machine  29 . Mail that can be sorted by letter sort machine  29  is sent to carrier casing  30 . Carrier casing  30  is the process in which the postal carrier sorts the mail in the order that the mail is going to be delivered by postal carrier  27 . Mail that can not be sorted by letter sort machine  29  is sent to manual process  31 . Manual process  31  attempts to classify the previously rejected mail piece to: redirect the mail piece; declare the mail piece dead; or manually re-code the mail piece for redelivery. Then the mail pieces that have not been processed in manual process  31  are re-coded in process  33 . In re-coder process  33 , an operator may look up the VPO box in virtual PO Box data center  75  and produce a label to be placed on the mail piece. Then the mail would go to carrier casing  30  where the mail is sorted in the order that the mail is going to be delivered by postal carrier  27 . 
     Mail that can not be faced and cancelled by canceller  22  is sent to manual process  31 . Manual process  31  attempts to classify the previously rejected mail piece to: redirect the mail piece; declare the mail piece dead; or manually re-code the mail piece for redelivery. Then the mail that manual process  31  is able to classify is sent to carrier casing  30  before it is delivered by carrier  27 . Mail that can not be classified by process  31  is sent to recoder  33 . Recoder  33  will look up the VPO address in virtual PO Box data center  75 . 
     Mail that has been read by reader  23  and mail that has been coded by system  32  or by re-coder  33  will be checked in virtual Post Office Box data center  75 , if a virtual post office box appears in the recipient address field of the mail or in the bar code affixed to the mail, i.e., VPO Box 182945AA or scan a virtual post office box in the bar code affixed to the mail by the mailer. Virtual post office box data center  75  contains a virtual post office name/address relational database  68  ( FIG. 4 ). Database  68  will use the virtual post office box number to determine the actual destination that the recipient wants the mail delivered to. The foregoing may be accomplished by looking up the virtual post office box in database  68  and determining the address that the owner of the virtual post office box wanted their mail forwarded. Database  68  supplies information to reader  23 , sorters  24 ,  25 ,  26  and  28  and re-coder  33  so that sorters  24 ,  25 ,  26  and  28  and re-coder  33  will place a bar code on the mail that indicates the zip code that the owner of the virtual post office box wants their mail forwarded. Sorters  24 ,  25 ,  26  and  28  and re-coder  33  will also print the street, city and state that the owner of the virtual post office box wants their mail forwarded in human readable form. 
       FIG. 3A  is a drawing of a mail piece addressed to a virtual post office (VPO) box. Mail piece  36  has a sender address field  37  and material  38  that indicates the payment of the postage for mail piece  36 . Material  38  may be a postal indicia, postal permit or one or more stamps. The recipient address field  39  will only have to include the designation  40  for a virtual post office box and the box number i.e., VPO etc. and the number of the virtual post office box and the person or entity  41  to whom mail piece  36  is sent. 
       FIG. 3B  is a drawing of a mail piece addressed to a virtual post office (VPO) box which the post has indicated the actual delivery address. Mail piece  36  has a sender address field  37  and material  38  that indicates the payment of the postage for mail piece  36 . Material  38  may be a postal indicia, postal permit or one or more stamps. The recipient address field  39  will include the designation  40  for a virtual post office box and the box number i.e., VPO etc. and the number of the virtual post office box and the person or entity  41  to whom mail piece  36  is sent. The post will print the actual delivery address  42  that the lessee of the virtual post office box wants mail piece  36  delivered to. The post will also print a postnet bar code  43  on the face of mail piece  36 . Bar code  43  represents delivery address  42  in a coded form. 
       FIG. 3C  is a drawing of a mail piece addressed to a virtual post office (VPO) box with some actual address information and some vanity address information. Mail piece  36  has a sender address field  37  and material  38  that indicates the payment of the postage for mail piece  36 . Material  38  may be a postal indicia, postal permit or one or more stamps. The recipient address field  39  will include the designation  40  for a virtual post office box and the box number i.e., VPO etc. and the number of the virtual post office box, the person or entity  41  to whom mail piece  36  is sent, the business entity  44  that the person represents, the city, state and zip code  45  of the business entity and a vanity location  46 . The city, state and zip code  45  may be the actual city, state and zip code that mail piece  36  is going to be delivered to and location  46  may be a place within zip code  45  that is used for vanity purposes. 
       FIG. 3D  is a drawing of a mail piece addressed to a virtual post office (VPO) box with some actual address information and some vanity address information upon which the post has indicated the actual delivery address  42 . Mail piece  36  has a sender address field  37  and material  38  that indicates the payment of the postage for mail piece  36 . Material  38  may be a postal indicia, postal permit or one or more stamps. The recipient address field  39  will include the designation  40  for a virtual post office box and the box number i.e., VPO etc. and the number of the virtual post office box, the person or entity  41  to whom mail piece  36  is sent, the business entity  44  that the person represents, the city, state and zip code  45  of the business entity and a vanity location  46 . The city, state and zip code  45  may be the actual city, state and zip code that mail piece  36  is going to be delivered to and location  46  may be a place within zip code  45  that is used for vanity purposes. The post will print the actual delivery address  42  that the lessee of the virtual post office box wants mail piece  36  delivery to. The post will also print a posnet bar code  43  on the face of mail piece  36 . Bar code  36  represents delivery address  42  in a coded form. 
       FIG. 4  is a drawing showing how one may obtain a virtual post office box and how one may change the address to which the mail having a virtual post office box will be delivered. Mailers  50  may communicate their intentions regarding their virtual post office box via telephone, personal computer, facsimile, or by actually going to a post office. 
     If a mailer communicated with the post via telephone, the mailer may communicate with voice response unit (VRU)  51 . A plurality of recorded messages are stored in voice response unit  51 . Data center computer  54  determines which recorded message would be transmitted to the mailer that is using a telephone. The telephone caller responds to the recorded message by pressing one or more of the buttons on keypad of the telephone. The messages are transmitted to VRU  51  from the telephone in the form of dual tone modulated frequency (DTMF) tones. The DTMF tone corresponding to a # button on keypad of the telephone will signify the end of a message. VRU  51  converts the DTMF tones into numbers that computer  54  can read. Computer  54  will then inform VRU  51  the appropriate recorded message or response. In the foregoing manner, the telephone caller VRU  51  and computer  54  may obtain enough information from the telephone caller to complete the virtual post office receipt described in the description of  FIG. 5  and/or forward mail piece  36  to a address different than the address that was originally supplied to the post, i.e., a location where someone is going on their vacation. 
     If a mailer communicated with the post via a personal computer, the mailer may communicate with post office modem  52 , which is coupled to data center computer  54 . Computer  54  and the mailer&#39;s personal computer may have various protocols that are known in the art that must be satisfied before the mailer&#39;s computer can exchange virtual post office box information with computer  54 . After the protocols have been satisfied computer  54  may obtain enough information from the mailer&#39;s computer to complete the virtual post office receipt described in the description of  FIG. 5  and/or forward mail piece  36  to a address different than the address that was originally supplied to the post, i.e., a location where someone is going on their vacation. 
     If a mailer communicated with the post via a facsimile, the mailer may communicate with post office facsimile  53 , which is coupled to data center computer  54 . The facsimile sent by the mailer may correspond to the virtual post office receipt described in the description of  FIG. 5 . 
     A mailer may also communicate by physically going to a clerk&#39;s desk  55  at data entry site  55  or mail information contained in  FIG. 5  to site  55 . The mailer would then give the postal clerk any necessary information that is required to obtain a virtual post office box and/or forward mail piece  36  to a address different than the address that was originally supplied to the post, i.e., a location where someone is going on their vacation. 
     National name and address database  65  is coupled to national postal code database  66  and validate user request process  62 . Database  65  includes the names and addresses of people and entities residing in the United States. National postal code database  66  includes every valid postal deliverable address in the United States. Change request database  67  is coupled to virtual post office box name/address relational database  68 . Database  65  is used as a reference for database  68  and changes to database  68  are received from change request database  67 . Postal code updates computer  70  will transmit new zip codes to national code database  68  via modem  60 , computer  54 , process  62  and process  69 . Name or address updates computer  71  will transmit new name or address changes to database  65  via modem  60 , computer  54 , process  62  and process  69 . 
     Computer  54  will obtain mail forwarding information for mail piece  36  by receiving the information from data base  68  when a proper request is received from validate user request process  62  and process  69  metered the above request. Data base  68  will indicate the current address that the lessee of the virtual post office wants their mail delivered. Computer  54  will transmit the current address that the lessee of the virtual post office wants their mail delivered for the requested VPO Box number to modem  56 . The current address will be sent in the form of a postnet bar code as well as in human readable text. Modem  56  will transmit the address to sorters  12 ,  13  and  14  and re-coder  18  ( FIG. 1 ) and sorters  24 ,  25 ,  26  and  28  and re-coder  33  ( FIG. 2 ). 
     Validated user request process  62  is coupled to computer  54 . Process  62  determines whether or not the mailer gave the post the correct access number  212  (described in the description of  FIG. 5 ) so that the post will be satisfied that it is communicating with the actual lessee of the virtual post office box. Process  62  also determines the forwarding address for the VPO Box number read by the post office. 
       FIG. 5  is a drawing of a virtual post office box registration card  200 . Card  200  may be used for registering a virtual post office box and as a receipt for changing the primary delivery address for the virtual post office box. Card  200  indicates: the primary residence  201  of the person or entity who is registering for a virtual post office box in space  202 ; their street delivery address in space  203 ; their delivery city in space  204 ; their delivery state in space  205 ; and their delivery zip code in space  206 . The date in which the virtual post office box service will begin and end is shown in space  207 . The assigned VPO Box is shown in space  210  and the access code is shown in space  212 . Access code  212  is used when communicating any changes or modifications to card  200  i.e., changing the primary delivery address to a temporary delivery address  222 . Access code  212  may be an encrypted number. 
     The date in which the lessee of the virtual post office box wants mail to be delivered to the temporary delivery address  222  is shown in space  208  and the date which the lessee of the virtual post office box no longer wants mail to be delivered to the temporary delivery address  222  is shown in space  209 . The signature of the person who is registering the virtual post office box or the authorized representative of the entity who is registering the virtual post office box will be placed in space  213 . The date the signature was signed in space  213  is indicated in space  214 . A biometrics  215  of the person whose signature appears in space  213  may also be placed on card  200 . Biometrics  215  may be: a picture of the person signing in space  213 ; the person&#39;s fingerprint; etc. 
     The lessee of the virtual post office box may modify or change any information contained in card  200  by going to data center  75  ( FIG. 4 ) and showing card  200  to the clerk; faxing the information contained in card  200  to data center  75 ; telephoning data center  75  and giving a voice response unit  51  ( FIG. 4 ) information contained in card  200 ; sending the information contained in card  200  to data center  75  via a computer. Biometrics  215  may be used by data center  75  to further authenticate the person modifying or changing any information contained in card  200 . 
       FIG. 6  is a drawing of a flow chart showing a request by the post for a postal address for a virtual post office box. The program begins in block  100  where a postal scanner ( FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2 ) captures a virtual post office box number from a mail piece  36  ( FIG. 3A ,  FIG. 3B ). Then the program goes to block  101  where the post requests data center  75  to lookup the current requested delivery address for the virtual post office box number scanned. Now the program goes to block  102  where data center  75  receives a lookup request from the post. Next in block  103  data center  75  captures the identity of the post office that scanned the mail piece. 
     In block  104 , the process searches the virtual post office boxes in database  68  to find the current postal requested delivery address for the VPO Box number captured. In block  105  the process determines whether or not a requested delivery address matches the VPO Box number captured. Then the program goes to block  106  where access metering and billing process  69  meters the above transaction so that the post or mailer may be charged for the services provided. At this point in block  107  the process appends the aforementioned request with the forwarding delivery address that matches the VPO Box number captured. The looked up address is supplied in a postnet bar code format as well as in human readable text. Next in block  108  the post extracts the looked up address. Then in block  109  the post&#39;s scanners ( FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 ) prints the looked up address on a mail piece in a postnet bar code format as well as in human readable text. At this point the program goes back to the input of block  100 . 
       FIG. 7  is a drawing of a flow chart showing a request by a mailer requesting a virtual post office box routing change. The program begins in block  120  where a mailer enters a request to have the delivery address for their virtual post office box number changed to a different delivery address for a fixed period of time or permanently. Then the program goes to block  121  where the mailer enters their access number  212 . Access number  212  may be an encrypted number. Now the program goes to block  122  where data center computer  54  validates the mailer by determining whether or not the mailer has the correct access number. Next, in block  123 , computer  54  accepts the request from the mailer. In block  124  computer  54  makes the address change requested by the mailer. The requested changes are stored in databases  67  and  68 . In block  125  access metering and billing process  69  meters the above transaction so that the post or mailer may be charged for the services provided. Then the program goes to block  126 , where process  69  indicates the process was completed. Now the program goes to block  127  where the mailer receives a message that the requested address change has been completed. At this point the program goes back to the input of block  120 . 
       FIG. 8  is a drawing of a flow chart showing the generation of a statement by access metering and billing process  69 . The program begins in block  150  where a statement initiation process is begun. Then the program goes to block  151  where the current fees for the requested services are transmitted. Now the program goes to block  152  where data center computer  54  sorts the transactions metered by process  69  and records the transactions by specific mailers and the post. Next in block  153  computer  54  converts each transaction type to a cost. In block  154  computer  54  totals the cost for each specified mailer and the post. The program goes to block  155  to reset the account registers. In block  156  the program produces a done message upon completion of the task. Next in block  157  a printer (not shown) at data center  75  produces statements for the provided services. Then the program goes to block  158  to indicate that the printed statements are completed. At this point the program goes back to the input of block  150 . 
     The above specification describes a new and improved system and method for enabling the post to deliver mail addressed to a recipient&#39;s virtual post office box to be delivered directly to the recipient. It is realized that the above description may indicate to those skilled in the art additional ways in which the principles of this invention may be used without departing from the spirit. It is, therefore, intended that this invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.