Abstract:
An acceptance and verification system creates data base records for each posted item of a bulk mailing so as to provide early notification to a mailing system as to the content of mail to be delivered by a bulk mailer in advance of physical delivery at the facility. A unique scanner readable bar code on the posted item provides documentation on the processing of each posted item and verifies correspondence between the notification and the documentation including item related specifics.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit under 35 USC 121 to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/202,676 filed on May 8, 2000 in the name of Greg C. Stadermann and entitled “Automated Acceptance and Verification of Mail at Bulk Mailing Facilities” and No. 60/204,954, filed May 17, 2000. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to bulk mailing systems and, in particular, to a system for notifying, accepting and verifying individual pieces of mail in the bulk mailing of posted material. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The bulk mailing of certain types of mail is becoming increasingly common. Therein, an organization preparing invoices, notices, and other informative literature directed to a plurality of addressees will oftentimes, directly or through third parties, prepare an entire item is a single highly automated, printing, stuffing and mailing operation using programs authorized by the postal authorities thereby controlling and lowering the costs for the mailing. 
     When using a third party bulk mailer or agent, for instance, an organization, such as a utility, will provide the bulk mailer with computer generated data for preparing, addressing and mailing an invoice for each customer. Accessing such data, the bulk mailer prints the invoices from plain paper in a format and with information as desired by the organization, and places the invoices in envelopes imprinted with the desired address. Item by item, depending on the rate structure applicable to the individual invoice, the proper postage is affixed. Generally, the postage rate is determined by a number of factors including postal area, weight, and the sorting capabilities. Such items are amassed, bound, and placed on trays for transfer to a mailing facility that handles bulk mail for the postal system. Upon arrival at the bulk mailing system, only limited information is provided to the postal service with regard to the items in each tray, generally limited to total postage, number of pieces, ZIP code and the like. Moreover, such limited information is available only when the trays are physically delivered to the mailing system, not in advance thereof. Accordingly, the mailing system does not possess and cannot acquire information regarding incoming shipments so as to allocate time and resources thereto in a time cost efficient manner. 
     Upon arrival at the mailing facility, the trays must be receipted and a cursory accuracy manually determined by randomly selecting items from the tray and confirming the correctness of the delivered information. If existing standards are met, the shipment, en masse, is accepted and delivered to automatic sorting machinery for further processing prior to physical delivery. Thereafter, the bulk mailer and the originating entity are removed from further operational contact with the mailing system. Further, no additional information is gathered regarding the identity or correctness of the items and/or shipment and, accordingly, the originating entity and bulk mailer have no ability to verify status, processing or delivery of their items. 
     Such existing systems are also limited in the feedback information available to both parties regarding the performance and accuracy of the overall system, the bulk mailer or the mailing system. Missing items in a presumed printing sequence cannot be determined. Duplicate or missing items are not be identified. Proper postage criteria for meeting the postal schedules are not verified. Thus, even though substantial benefits for both the addressor and the postal system are provided through bulk mailing techniques, no verification as to individual items is provided, and remedial actions for any irregularities are not readily apparent. 
     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved bulk mailing system for verifying on an item-by-item basis the accuracy between submitted and delivered items. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a system for tracking individual items from preparation by a bulk mailer through processing by a postal system. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a system for determining the accuracy with which a postal system and a mailing agent address, process and deliver individually posted items. 
     Yet another object of the invention is to provide a discrete data record for each posted item delivered to and processed by a postal system to enable ascertaining accuracy of performance. 
     A further object of the invention is to create a unique identifier on each item of posted material enabling the tracking of individual material from preparation of the posted item through processing at a postal facility. 
     A still further object of the invention is to provide a system for notifying a postage facility as to the content of a prospective bulk mailing prior to the delivery thereof. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The foregoing objects are accomplished by a bulk mailing tracking that creates data base records for each posted item of a bulk mailing so as to enable early notification to a mailing systems as to the content of mail to be delivered by a bulk mailer in advance of physical delivery at the facility, documentation as to the processing of each posted item at the postal facility, and verification as to the correspondence between notification and documentation including item related specifics thereof. The foregoing capabilities are accomplished through utilization of a unique imprinted identifier on each mailed item, preferably in the form of a postal acceptance bar code that appears in the return address envelope window. The bar code may be scanned by conventional equipment. The bar code provides subsets of information relating to the mailing of the individual item and others in the mass mailing, including, the job activity number, date, mailing agent, originating addressor, weight, postage, and physical location within a mailing container to be presented to the mailing facility. At the mailing agent, a notification file is prepared based on the bar codes of the submitted items. 
     The notification file is made available on a server to the mailing facility and provides advance notice of incoming mail so that equipment and personnel can be appropriately scheduled. In view of the notification file, the submitted mail need only be delivered. It is no longer necessary to obtain a physical receipt and to run a preliminary audit of the submitted mail to denote compliance. At the postal facility, the physical mail is processed at an acceptance machine for conventional sorting and routing, and concurrently a processing file is prepared of the mail passing therethrough as determined by the bar code scan. The processing file is compared against the notification file, and an exception file generated listing on an item by item basis any discrepancies between the lists. The exception file is available on the main server and designates items at variance with any of the bar codes or subset information. In this manner, missing and duplicate items can be identified, orphan or non-listed items designated, and variances on any of the subset information denoted. Such knowledge allows the mailing agent and originating party to eliminate redundancies, alter postage programs and take other corrective actions to increase compliance. The various files may also be accessed by the involved parties for determining processing date, location of items in the system and other productivity and marketing information helpful in evaluating performance. By converting mass mailings into individual record files, the mailing history and performance by all concerned may be quickly determined for each item. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a flow schematic diagram of the acceptance and verification system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an illustration of a statement form for use with the acceptance and verification system; 
     FIG. 3 is an illustration of a statement form enclosed in a transmittal envelope; 
     FIG. 4 is an illustration of a postal acceptance link bar code for use on the statement of FIG. 2; and 
     FIG. 5 is an illustration of a portion of a notification file, a portion of a processing file, and a notification file. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to the drawings for the purposes of illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention and not for limiting same, FIG. 1 illustrates a bulk mailing tracking system  10  for the processing, mailing and delivery of posted material. The bulk mailing tracking system  10  comprises a data processing unit  12  connected by data communication lines  14 ,  16 ,  18 , physical or satellite, to a server  20 , a bulk mailer  22  and a remote location  24 , both having printing and labeling equipment  25 , respectively. The remote location  24  prepares physical mail  26 , created from information furnished by a bulk mailer  22  and generates a notification file  27  available at the server  20 . The physical mail  26  is delivered to a postal facility  28  having conventional bulk mailing equipment including an acceptance machine  30  coupled with a terminal computer  32 . The acceptance machine  30  processes and sorts the postal mail  26  for delivery. Based on processing at the remote location  24 , a notification file  27  is generated for delivery through telecommunication lines, physical or satellite, from the server  20  to the terminal computer  32  and interconnected terminals at the postal system  34 . The physical mail  26  is transferred by conventional transportation to the postal facility  28 . Subsequent to processing at the acceptance machine  30 , a processing file  40  is prepared on the items handled at the acceptance machine. The processing file  40  is compared to the notification file  27  and an exception file  42  is generated and information based thereon is available at the server  20  for access by various parties. The server  20 , the data processing  12 , and the remote location  24  may involve separate parties, or preferably be common to the bulk mailer  22 . 
     Based on processing at the remote location  24 , a notification file  34  is generated for delivery through telecommunication lines  32 , physical or satellite, from the server  20  to the terminal computer  32  and interconnected terminals at the postal system  34 . The physical mail  26  is transferred by conventional transportation to the postal facility  28 . Subsequent to processing at the acceptance machine  30 , a processing file  40  is prepared on the items handled at the acceptance machine. The processing file  40  is compared to the notification file  27  and an exception file  42  is generated and information based thereon is available at the server  20  for access by various parties. The server  20 , the data processing  12 , and the remote location  24  may involve separate parties, or preferably be common to the bulk mailer  22 . 
     As is well known, the bulk mailer  22  may be a party that receives digital information from an originating addressor  44  for creating mass mailed items. The bulk mailer  22  formats and prints at the remote location  24  the items based on such information, inserts the items into an appropriate postal package, affixes proper postage, and delivers the items in bulk to the postal facility for further processing, and delivery  46  to the addressee. In this connection, the mailing entity and the creating entity may be a single or related entity. In other cases, the mailing entity may be a third party bulk mailing agent who receives the necessary information from the originating entity or creating addressor, formats and prints the items as requested, addresses and packages the material to the addressee, affixes postage, and delivers the material in bulk to the mailing facility. 
     For various economic and other considerations, the bulk mailing agent may transfer such information, in whole or in part, to a remote facility, local to the addressees, for such processing. The remote facility may be independent or related to the bulk mailing agent. It will nonetheless be apparent that the verification, acceptance, compliance and audit functions of the system are compatible with respect to all such alliances. 
     The data processing unit  12  is maintained by the bulk mailer  22  and receives the necessary information digitally from the originating addressor  44 . For each task supplied by the originating addressor, the bulk mailer  22  subdivides the task as necessary into separate subtasks or jobs, based for example geographical, alphabetical, subject matter and other defining criteria. 
     Referring to FIG. 2 for illustrative purposes, the originating entity or creating addressor may be a utility  50  sending a statement  51  of usage to an addressee as set forth in an addressee field  52 . Therein, in addition to the relevant information relating to the account, the statement normally will contain an addressee field  52  setting forth the name, address and postal bar code for the recipient, a return field  54  setting for the name, address and postal bar code for remittances, usually in a windowed enclosed return envelope, and an originating or mailing field  56  setting forth the name and address of the mailing entity and including a postal acceptance link bar code, hereinafter “PAL code”  60 , in readable bar code format as shown in greater detail in FIG.  3  and set forth in greater detail below. After printing, the statement  51  is folded and stuffed into a two-window envelope  62  as shown in FIG. 4, along with ancillary material and a return envelope. The envelope  62  is sealed and postage  64  applied using conventional equipment. As completed, the addressee field  54  is visible and machine readable through envelope window  66 , and the mailing field  56  including PAL code  60  is visible and machine readable through envelope window  68  in the upper left hand corner thereof. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, the PAL code  60  is printed in accordance with a bar code format used by the postal service for sorting and delivery as appended in the addressee field  54  and the mailing field  56 . The PAL code  60  is formatted to create a unique identifier for each piece of mail. The PAL code is arranged in subsets, including a date subset  70 , a mailing agent subset  72 , a “ghost” subset  74  for the originating party, a job name subset  76  for identifying the task at the mailing agent or remote location, a weight subset  78  based on calculated weight, a postage subset  80  for affixed postage, and a sequence identity subset  82  denoting spatial location of the item in the physical packaging of the job. Such information creates for data processing a unique identifier for each mailing piece. Such unique identifier may be used as the item progresses through the mailing process from the remote location to ultimate delivery. For upstream purposes, the code  60  may be used by the mailing agent and/or creating entity for accessing information on the delivery as well as the content of the statement. For downstream purposes, the code  60  may be used by the mailing agent, creating entity, or postal system for verification, acceptance, status, and other purposes incident to the discrete item, to be described in greater detail below. 
     The record for each item is routed as a data file and the notification file  27  created for each job. The notification file  27  comprises the PAL codes for the mailing and other summary or aggregate information on the subsets. The notification file  27  is routed to the server  20  and therethrough made available at the terminal  32  of the acceptance equipment  30 . Upon creation, the bulk mailing facility is apprised of scheduled incoming bulk mail and specifics thereof. Based on such advance notice, the acceptance facility can allocate appropriately personnel and equipment resources. In the past, only limited information was available upon actual physical delivery of the bulk mail job, and the information was not item specific. With the present system, concurrently information through the notification file  27  is available to the bulk mailer and addressor at the server  20  on a real-time basis. 
     In order to process and track the pieces of mail in the notification file  27 , the acceptance machine  30  is provided with a secondary bar code reader, not shown. The secondary bar code reader, conventional in construction and operation, creates a record for each mail item passing therethrough including the PAL code  60  and identifying aspects of the acceptance such as date, time facility and the like. Based on such reading, the terminal  32  then prepares the processing file  40 . Referring to FIG. 5, the processing file  40  is then compared with the notification file  27 , and the exception file  42  is generated listing any additions, deletions or variations and inconsistencies between the notification file  34  and the processing file  40 . The exception file  42  is then routed to the server  20  for access by the bulk mailer  22 , the originating addressor  44 , and postal facility  28  and postal system  34 . Alternatively, the records may be transferred to the data processing unit  12  for preparation and issuance of the exception file. 
     As shown in FIG. 5, the exception file  42  may only note compliance between the notification file and the processing file. Where variances occur, it will be appreciated that each variance may be noted by subset, individually or collectively, characterization of the variance provided, remedial payments for actual and estimated postage assessed, system accuracy defined, and other information for assessing, tabulating or correcting the performance of the mailing delineated. Such information identifies duplicate material, orphan material not appearing on the notification file, incorrect postage and any other information inconsistently resulting from such comparison. 
     From the foregoing it will be readily apparent that number benefits are provided to the various parties through use of the subject acceptance and verification system. For the addressor, the status within the mail handling process may be accessed at the server. Duplicate and out-of-sequence statements can be remedied. The cost effectiveness of the bulk mailing strategy and content can be assessed and modified for further savings. For the mailing agent, the timeliness and accuracy of the mailing routine can be demonstrated, varied and modified to optimize performance and increase effectiveness. For the postal system, physical acceptance of the items is not required, affixed postage versus correct postage determined and any deficiencies readily reported and collected, and status for each item processed demonstrated. 
     Having thus described a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will now be appreciated that the objects of the invention have been fully achieved, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many changes in construction and widely differing embodiments and pherein are intended to be illustrative and are not in any sense limiting of the invention, which is defined solely in accordance with the following claims.