Patent ID: 7659487

Claim:
A method of automatically controlling mail processing, comprising: feeding a stream of unaddressed mail flats by an automatic feeder to an automatic sorting system; receiving an address data file containing information that defines mail stops on a delivery route of a mail carrier; generating feeder and collation instructions based on the received address data file; and controlling the automatic feeder for feeding the unaddressed mail flats to the automatic sorting system, to add the unaddressed mail flats during sorting of mail, so as to include one of the unaddressed mail flats in each of a plurality of groupings of sorted stop-sequence mail, corresponding to the received address data file, each stop-sequence grouping comprising one or more mail pieces intended for delivery to each of a plurality of the mail stops on the delivery route of the mail carriers, wherein the received address data file identifies a sub-set but not all of the mail stops on the carrier's route, and the controlling causes the automatic inclusion of one of the unaddressed mail flats in each grouping of mail intended for delivery to a respective mail stop in the identified sub-set.