Patent ID: 7522971

Claim:
A method of processing medium-sized batches of unsorted mail pieces into larger pre-sorted batches for mailing in a postal system on each day of a plurality of days, the postal system having one or more postal service facilities, one or more holding facilities, and one or more mail pre-sorting facilities separate from the one or more postal service facilities, said method characterized by the steps of: establishing, on each particular day of the plurality of days, a lower limit of the medium-sized batches based at least in part upon a total sorting load at one of the postal service facilities on the particular day; establishing, on each particular day of the plurality of days, an upper limit of the medium-sized batches based at least in part upon a capacity of one of the mail pre-sorting facilities and a number of mail pieces required for acceptance by said one of the mail pre-sorting facilities on said particular day; monitoring size of batches of mail tendered by mail senders; identifying said medium-sized batches of unsorted mail pieces, said medium-sized batches having a quantity between the lower limit and the upper limit, said mail pieces within said medium-sized batches bearing a program postage rate; after the identifying step, diverting each of said identified medium-sized batches into one or more containers; after the identifying step, transporting said containers to one of said holding facilities; after the containers are transported to said one of the holding facilities, gathering said containers into one or more pools at said one of the holding facilities; and after the gathering step, transporting said pools to said one of the mail pre-sorting facilities for sorting into a pre-sorted batch and being sent to said one of the postal service facilities for being delivered by the postal service facility at an entry rate of postage.