Patent Publication Number: US-2005132071-A1

Title: System and method for using associated knowledge databases for providing additional information in the mailing process

Description:
This is a continuation-in-part of provisional U.S. Patent Application 60/529,439 filed Dec. 12, 2003. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The invention disclosed herein relates generally to mail handling by carriers, and more particularly to accessing information that is related to a mail item but is not part of the mail item.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      Traditional mail tracking systems make use of unique identifiers that are created by mailers or mail carriers, such as Posts and private carriers, and imprinted or otherwise evidenced on mail items. The unique mail identifiers are typically used by mailers, recipients or mail carriers to determine the time and location that the mail item was last handled in the mail stream. This is a traditional arrangement for the so-called Track And Trace postal service. In this traditional arrangement, the mail sender is normally provided with the location and time stamp of recorded sighting of the mail item identified by its unique identifier. Although the time/location information is useful, its utility is limited to the cases when mailer needs a proof the mail item has been sent. Since typically the vast majority of mail in industrial world (up to 97%) is delivered within pre-specified delivery standards (2 or 3 days from the day of posting), the precise knowledge of location and time of mail sighting(s) is of limited use. However, many mailers would like to receive (and would pay for) additional and potentially valuable information about mail, its destination and recipient. Such information is usually available and can be made accessible to mailers in a computerized format that is easy to incorporate into the mailers&#39; IT applications. Specifically many advertising (so called “direct” mail) campaigns are executed with very little knowledge of the needs, desires and circumstances of the intended recipients. This not only results in a sizable waste of valuable mail resources but also ends up aggravating recipients since they bombarded by very useless information contained in promotional mailings of this type. For example, when an owner of a condominium or an apartment receives promotional materials for a lawn mower or lawn fertilizers, it creates both wasteful mail for the sender and annoyance factor for the recipient.  
      This is a known problem associated with direct mail advertising. A typical response for a recipient who is bombarded by useless information is that useful information is easily overlooked and discarded.  
      Another problem associated with unsolicited mail items, such as direct mail advertising, is experienced at the recipients end. When a recipient receives an unsolicited mail item, the recipient may not be familiar with the mailer or may not know the identity of the mailer.  
      The object of present invention is to provide a system and method for overcoming these and other problems by providing mailers and recipients with information that is not typically available for individual mail items.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention provides a system and method for maintaining a plurality of mail item, associated, knowledge databases containing information related mail items, senders of mail items, recipients of mail items, dwellings of recipients, mailing addresses and payment by senders for delivery of the mail items wherein information specifically related to a specific mail item can be retrieved from the databases using at least one pointer obtained from information is or would be printed on the specific mail item.  
      In accordance with the present invention, a method for providing information about a recipient of a mail item to a sender of the mail item is accomplished by processing a mail item with one or more identifiers that identifies at least a recipient of the mail item and a physical address of the recipient; retrieving from at least a first database recipient information relating to the recipient and physical structure attributes relating to the physical address; creating a record of the retrieved recipient information and the retrieved physical structure attributes; and associating the created record with the one or more identifiers whereby the created record can by accessed electronically using the one or more identifiers.  
      A method for providing information about the mail item received by a recipient and about a sender identified on the mail item is accomplished by receiving a first request from a recipient of a mail item, the first request including at least one unique identifier determined from the mail item, the at least one unique identifier identifying a sender of the mail item and the mail item; retrieving in response to the first request from at least a first database sender information and mail item information using the at least one unique identifier; and providing the recipient access to the retrieved sender information and the retrieved mail item information. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts.  
       FIG. 1  is a flow diagram of a mail communication system adapted for use with the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a mail piece created with information encoded in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 3  is an example of a record that is made accessible to mailer by the carrier, which includes track &amp; trace and demographic/structural information created in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 4  represent a flow chart of the process for creation of the record of  FIG. 2 ;  
       FIG. 5  is block diagram of the mail communication system of  FIG. 1  having associated knowledge databases that are accessed in accordance with the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is block diagram of the mail communication system of  FIG. 5  shown from the perspective of the sender of a mail item;  
       FIG. 7  is a flow chart of the process of using the associated knowledge databases in  FIG. 6 ;  
       FIG. 8  is block diagram of the mail communication system of  FIG. 5  shown from the perspective of the recipient of a mail item; and  
       FIG. 9  is a flow chart of the process of using the associated knowledge databases in  FIG. 8 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION  
      In describing the present invention, reference is made to the drawings, wherein there is seen in  FIG. 1 a  flow diagram of a mail communication system, generally designate  10 , adapted for use with the present invention. A batch of mail items  12  is created by a mailer at a computer system  14  and metered by postage meter  16 . The batch is submitted to the carrier, such as a Post, which then processes the mail at one or more processing facilities  18 . The processed mail is eventually delivered to the destination  20  of respective mail items  12 . Included in the adapted mail communication system  10  is an Internet/Public communication network  22  through which various entities and components of the mailing process communicate with each other. Such entities are the mailer, through the mailer&#39;s computer  14  and/or postage meter  16 , the recipient, through the recipient&#39;s computer  24 , the postal infrastructure  26  that processes the mail items  12 , the vendor infrastructure  28  that among other things processes the meter accounting, the postal financial institution  30  and the mailer&#39;s financial institution  32 .  
      The present invention relies on information that typically is available on the physical mail item, more generally known as “mail entity” (Individual letters, flats or post cards are examples of single mail items, while trays, pallets or roller cages containing individual letters or other (smaller) containers are examples of compound mail entities). For the purpose of the present invention, it is envisioned that in all cases, however, mail entities carry a set of data elements presented in a machine-readable format for example in the form of one or two-dimensional bar code. In accordance with the present invention information present on a mail entity is treated as a set of pointers and is used with associated knowledge databases to obtain information about the recipient when requested by the sender of the mail item, or about the sender as when requested by a recipient of the mail item.  
       FIG. 2  shows a mail entity (a letter)  100  created with the information encoded according to the present invention. It contains origination address block  110  uniquely indicative of the mailing address of the mail originator (sender). It also contains a machine readable data block  120  that carries sender&#39;s instructions to postal operator. The block  120 , in general, contains encoded and agreed upon between the sender and the postal operator a set of instructions defining what the sender wants the postal operator to do with the mail entity and information concerning this mail entity (e.g. its digital image), its recipient and the process of mail delivery. It may also contain a set of instructions concerning the processing and disposal of the mail entity in the case when some or all of the sender&#39;s wishes could not be fulfilled (contingency instructions). The destination address block  130  is traditional and specifies mailing address of the intended recipient. The postal revenue block  140  represents a proof of postage paid and could be in any suitable form (for example postage stamp, meter impression or Digital Postage Mark, or permit mark). It should be expressly noted that, if block  130  is a Digital Postage Mark containing two-dimensional bar code, the information contained in block  120  could be combined with the postage information in one single block of data. In this case block  120  and block  130  are merged or can be represented as two adjacent blocks of data. It should also be expressly noted that all communications concerning mail entity  100  between parties involved in mail communication system  10  (i.e., sender, recipient and postal operators) require that mail entity  100  carry a unique identifier as a reference pointer. Such an identifier could be any of the appropriately designed identifiers such as license plate, unique serial number, the value of ascending or descending register for metered mail entities or simply a combination of origination and destination address and date (if unique).  
      One embodiment of the present invention provides information about a recipient to a sender by using information from the destination mailing address  130  on the mail item as one or more pointer(s).  
      A mailing address normally contains two data components: the intended recipient&#39;s name and the destination address. Each provides different information concerning the address.  
      The intended recipient&#39;s name typically identifies an individual (by name), a department (e.g., “marketing department”), or a function (e.g., “accounts receivable”). The recipient(s) identified by the personal name or function is an intended beneficiary of the information or object contained in the mail item. By sending the mail item to the recipient(s), the sender expects them to read, process and act upon information contained in the mail item. Information concerning individuals that reside at a given address is typically collected and stored in a database known as Individual Demographic Data Base or IDDB, which is shown in  FIG. 1  as  40 . Such demographic databases are known to exist and may contain credit data, purchasing records and other information. IDDB  40  also contains the mailing address for the primary or other residencies of the individuals.  
      The destination or mailing address is typically uniquely indicative of a location of a physical structure where mail can be received and processed. This structure may be an individual house, an apartment (flat) in a high-rise apartment or an office in an office building, an industrial factory and other structures. The physical structure that is characterized by the destination address has identifiable properties (attributes) that remain fixed for a long time and can be easily captured and computerized by any interested parties. Such attributes include, for example, the size of the structure, its type [industrial, office, residential (house, apartment, condominium), entertainment], its ownership (individual, business, government), the presence or absence certain structural details (lawn, fence), the number and type of transportation units associated with the address and a number of other characteristics that can be defined, coded and stored in a computerized database. The database containing such attributes is referred to herein as the Physical Structure Attributes Data Base or PSADB, which is shown in  FIG. 1  as  42 . The records in PSADB  42  can be naturally indexed by the mailing address of the corresponding structure.  
      An example of a potential record in PSADB  42  is shown in  FIG. 3 . The record, which is made accessible to mailer by the carrier, includes track &amp; trace and demographic/structural information created in accordance with the present invention:  
      The number and the type of attributes and the time of their last update can be also recorded in PSADB  42 . The age may relate to the age of the structure or to the age of the PO Box (time in continuous operation). This feature may be useful in detection and prevention of mail fraud.  
      It is noted that PSADB  42  may be created by the postal personnel that delivers mail to the mailing addresses or by specially trained, professional data gatherers using public records and publicly available data or personal data as law permits. Updates to the IDDB and PSADB databases may be made by any number of authorized organizations and processes, and may include information provided by the mail recipients.  
      A mail entity that requests additional information may form a part of special postal services and may be accounted and paid for by any known methods such as for example postage meters. In the case when a mailer&#39;s request for information cannot be satisfied due to, for example, a lack of required data, postage meters can be advantageously used to refund (re-credit) the price for the service back to the meter.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the process for creation of the record of  FIG. 2  will now be described. At Step  400 , the mail item is created with a unique identifier by the mailer, or the carrier. The identifier data may be created by the mailer, the carrier or may be created by a third party and communicated to other parties as appropriate. The mailer may request additional information associated with the identifier data according to a service agreed upon between the mailer and the carrier. At step  410 , the mail item is deposited into mail processing stream by mailer or a third party. During the processing of the mail item, the mail item identifier, recipient&#39;s name and destination address is captured by the carrier at step  420 . At step  430 , the IDDB and the PSADB are accessed and, by using recipient&#39;s name and destination address from mail item, all available information from the IDDB and the PSADB that pertains to the request for additional information encoded on the mail item are retrieved. At step  440 , a computerized record of the retrieved information associated with mail item identifier is created in a know manner such that this record is accessible to the mailer, for example, via an e-mail or a web-based service.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 5 , there is shown a block diagram of the mail communication system  10  in  FIG. 1  having six associated knowledge databases that are maintained and accessed in accordance with the present invention. Three of the databases correspond to sender or postal process related information and three correspond to recipient related information. It will be understood that various combinations of these databases or associated knowledge databases may be used in accordance with the present invention. The three process and sender-related databases are a Sender Information Database  500 , a Mail Entity Process Database  510 , and a Payment Database  520 . The three recipient-related databases are a Recipient Database  530 , a Dwelling Database  540 , and a Properties of the PO Box Database  550 .  
      The Sender Information Database  500  comprises information relating to the sender of the mail item. Sender Information Database  500  is defined as the database containing known characteristics of sender (such as individual or business entity), its electronic address, frequency of mail use, preferences for mailing services, properties of the sender&#39;s facilities, historical business information and the like. Sender Information Database  500  may also contain information relating to an e-address (such as and e-mail address or URL) and the volume of mailings by the sender. The Mail Entity Process Database  510  comprises information relating to the mail item. Mail Entity Process Database  510  is defined as a database of information that can be captured during mail item processing by a Postal Operator, a consolidator, carrier or any other party that could be involved in mail processing. For example, Mail Entity Process Database  510  may contain some or all of the following mail item related data: readability of information on the mail item; defects of the data elements or their representation determined during mail entity processing steps, a correct reference address database maintained by the postal operator, National Change Of Address database, the information concerning the question whether the mail item was authenticated (traceable to its originator), where and when the mail item was posted, whether the mail item was referenced by another mail entity or referenced in a submission document known as a Statement of mailing Submission (SMS), whether the mail item was handwritten or machine printed, Track &amp;Trace information, the physical condition and sensory data concerning the mail item (entity) (such as the its dimensions and whether the item has been damaged), and whether the mail item requires a time-sensitive response (such as with a bill). Payment Database  520  is defined as the database containing information about the history of payments for postal charges by mail senders, the history of mail fraud and other potentially suspicious activities. For example, Payment Database  520  may contain some or all of the following postage payment information: type of payment (meter or permit), frequency of use and a mailpiece suspect list.  
      The Recipient Database  530  comprises information relating to the recipient of the mail item. Recipient Database  530  may contain demographic information about recipient(s) located at given address, communications received and communications replied to by recipients located at a given address, preferences of recipients concerning communications they would like to receive including the timing for such communications and similar information. For example, Recipient Database  530  may contain information relating to recipient preferences, such as reminders for time-sensitive communications. The Dwelling Database  540  comprises information relating to the properties of the building to which the mail item is addressed. Dwelling Database  540  contains (publicly) available information about houses/dwellings located at given addresses such as type of the dwelling, age, size and other observable characteristic of the dwelling. For example, Dwelling Database  540  may contain information relating to the use or condition of the building, such as: commercial, residential or mixed use; age of building; lawn or no lawn; private house, condo or apartment; and garage capacity. The Properties of the PO Box Database  550  comprises information relating to the receipt of the mail. Properties of the PO Box Database  550  may contain observable (for example by carrier employees) information about time and frequency of pick-up for mail items, recipient&#39;s preferences and similar information.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a block diagram of the mail communication system of  FIG. 5  is shown for an embodiment of the present invention from the perspective of the sender of a mail item. A typical objective for a sender is to identify prospective customers. The sender accomplishes this objective by sending mail containing materials that describe the sender&#39;s products and services to potential customers. Heretofore, the sender would use the following traditional process. The sender would obtain a mailing list of recipients from a commercial source. This list, at best, is approximate and is purchased from a source that has some very imprecise knowledge of potential recipients preferences or characteristics. (This is major defect of the traditional method.) Next, the: sender would create a message (content of a mail item) consisting of a number of printed or computerized materials (CD, DVD, VHS) describing sender&#39;s products and services. Then, the sender would create a business reply card or envelope plus a business reply form containing its address, telephone number for the call center or fax number for the call center or a web site address. The sender would then create and post a mailing from the mailing list and content described above. Typically, use of this process results in the sender receiving a low return of responses from recipients (for example, between 0.05% to 2% of recipients respond).  
      In accordance with the embodiment of the present invention from the sender&#39;s perspective shown in  FIG. 6 , the carrier, such as a Post, or a third party provider creates and maintains several associated knowledge databases. Specifically, Mail Entity Process Database  510 , Recipient Database  530 , Dwelling Database  540  and PO Box Database  550  are used in this embodiment.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 7 , the process from the sender&#39;s perspective is shown. At step  700 , the sender obtains a mailing list of recipients from a commercial source. At step  710 , the sender electronically sends the mailing list to the Post or a third party (referred to as mail processing and delivery party or MPDP) that has access or control of Recipient Database  530 , Dwelling Database  540  and PO Box Database  550 . The MPDP (e.g. postal operator or a third party/consolidator) collects and stores in (several) databases information about mail senders and recipients. At step  720 , the MPDP checks the sender&#39;s mailing list against Recipient Database  530 , Dwelling Database  540  and PO Box Database  550  and sends back to the sender information concerning dwelling and recipient characteristics. At step  730 , the sender modifies the mailing list of recipients obtained in step  700 . At step  740 , the sender creates a message (content of the mail item) consisting of a number of printed or computerized materials (CD, DVD, VHS) describing sender&#39;s products and services. At step  750 , the sender creates and posts a mailing from the modified mailing list and message from step  740 , whereby each mail item (entity) has a unique identification number that serves as a reference for all subsequent communications between sender and the MPDP. Each mail item in the mailing preferably contains business reply envelope created by the sender with a unique identification directly linked to its mail item identifier. At step  760 , the MPDP processes the mailing obtained from the sender and captures all defects in mail items contained in the mailing (for example in address formation, readability and the like) and tracking information and stores this information in Mail Entity Process Database  510 . At step  770 , the MPDP delivers the mail and (preferably) electronically sends to the sender defects report together with tracking and/or delivery information. At step  780 , when a recipient responds by sending business reply mail (BRM) back to the sender, the MPDP stores the record of response in Recipient Database  530  and sends the business reply mail identifier linked with original mail item identifier to the sender.  
      Steps  710  and  720  are optional to this embodiment. These steps may be skipped when the mailer creates and posts mail items directly from commercially available lists. In this case, the MPDP would send back to mailer all Recipient Database  530 , Dwelling Database  540  and PO Box Database  550  information for each mail item indexed by the mail item identifier.  
      The following are examples of a sender using Dwelling Database  540  in accordance with the present invention to improve the mailing process. First, the sender is a company specializing in home improvements, for example new siding for residential homes or new doors or windows. Such a sender would not want to advertise its products or services to owners of new homes or owners who just made installations of new siding or windows. Dwelling Database  540  contains information that a sender would want to know before sending advertising materials or to avoid repeated sending of such materials to new homeowners. On the other hand, new homeowners buy new furniture, lighting fixtures and the like. An advertiser of such services could obtain valuable information from Dwelling Database  540 . Another example is a lawn care company that wants to advertise its fertilizers to homeowners who have lawns. The lawn care company would want to exclude condominium owners and apartment lessees. Dwelling Database  540  contains such valuable information for the lawn care company. Finally, a mail sender would like to know preferences for mail communications expressed by a recipient, which are known to the MPDP.  
      Another embodiment of the present invention provides information about a sender to a recipient by using information printed on the mailpiece as a pointer that identifies the sender. This allows a mail recipient who intended to respond to a promotional mailing or other advertising materials the chance to request additional information from Post concerning the sender. The request may be whether the sender is actually the entity identified on the mail item. In accordance with the present invention, imprinting on the mail item an identifier corresponding to the sender provides the recipient the capability to submit a request for additional information about the sender before sending in response to the received mail item any monetary instruments such as checks. This would provide better security since so-called “fly-by-night” operators typically do not have established structure or long-term legitimate address or PO Box. In this manner, fraud can be prevented.  
      In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a block diagram of the mail communication system is shown in  FIG. 8  from the recipient&#39;s perspective. Again, in this embodiment the carrier, such as a Post, or a third party provider creates and maintains several associated knowledge databases. Specifically, Sender Information Database  500 , Mail Entity Process Database  510  and Payment Database  520  are used in this embodiment.  
      Traditional methods do not provide for the recipient to take advantage of the information available to the MPDP, i.e., information from Sender Information Database  500 , Mail Entity Process Database  510  and DPM or Permit Database  520 . A mail recipient who receives a mail item that has a problem or is suspicious would like to receive information about mail item sender and the specific mail item above and beyond the information that is available from the mail item itself.  
      For example, a mail item recipient wants to know (before opening the mail item) whether the sender can be authenticated, i.e., that is the sender is as identified on the mail item and not another party pretending to be such a sender. Access to such information establishes trust and may be important if there is suspicion of contamination, explosive and other dangerous items. Another example is a mail item recipient who wants to know (before opening mail item) whether the sender is trustworthy and what the MPDP knows about the sender. In yet another example, a mail item recipient wants to know whether the mail item is referenced by another mail item. This could relate to a privacy issue, for example, if recipient replies to the mail item received what could become known about the recipient. The present invention solves these problems.  
      Referring now to  FIG. 9 , the process from the recipient&#39;s perspective is shown. At step  800 , the recipient receives the mail item delivered by the MPDP. The mail item is imprinted or otherwise marked with a unique identifier (mailitemID). At step  810 , the recipient inquires to the MPDP about mail identified with the mailitemID, specifically asking whether the mail item can be authenticated to the specific sender as identified on the mail item. At step  820 , the MPDP receives the authentication request from the recipient and checks using Mail Entity Process Database  510  to determine whether the mail item identified with mailitemID has a cryptographically secure Digital Postage Mark (DPM) and whether the private key used to generate cryptographic validation code in the DPM has been registered with the specific sender identified on the mail item. At step  830 , the MPDP notifies the recipient about authenticity of the sender identity. Preferably, this is done electronically when the recipient has been registered with the MPDP and has provided his/her electronic address as a part of registration process. At step  840 , the recipient inquires to the MPDP concerning the history of postage payments by the sender of the mail item. Specifically, the recipient wants to know how long the sender has been using mailing services and what is known about the sender&#39;s payment accuracy and timeliness. At step  850 , the MPDP receives the history of payment request and checks Payment Database  520  and communicates its findings to the recipient in the form of agreed upon message.  
      While the present invention has been disclosed and described with reference to a single embodiment thereof, it will be apparent, as noted above that variations and modifications may be made therein. It is also noted that the present invention is independent of the specific databases and, and is not limited to the examples described herein. It is, thus, intended in the following claims to cover each variation and modification that falls within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.