Mailpiece reject processing of first pass dps rejects

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, software and systems are disclosed for improved processing and especially sorting of mailpieces in order to reduce expensive manual steps. Mailpieces rejected during a first pass DPS sort, in one embodiment, are transferred to a special Reject Encoding Machine (REM) instead of a manual sort process. The REM preferably includes a labeling machine and on-board OCR engine, in order to read and barcode the reject mailpiece in a single processing step. This technique provides very fast turnaround so as to enable returning the mail to the DBCS in time to be included in the first pass run. In this way, the once rejected mailpieces are returned to resume automated processing.

1 . A method for processing a mailpiece, comprising:
 receiving a mailpiece that was rejected from an automated sorting process during a first pass DPS—delivery point sequence—sort because the mailpiece barcode is not automatically resolvable;   transferring the reject mailpiece to a labeling machine having an on-board OCR system;   in the OCR system of the labeling machine, obtaining a digital image of a front side of the reject mailpiece, and attempting to resolve an address of the mailpiece based on the digital image;   if the address is resolved successfully, in the labeling machine, placing a new label on the mailpiece, and applying machine-readable indicia to the new label indicating a postal delivery point corresponding to the resolved address; and then   returning the mailpiece to the DPS sorting process.   
   
   
       2 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein said applying machine-readable indicia comprises applying a barcode to the new label, the bar code including the postal delivery point. 
   
   
       3 . A method according to  claim 2  wherein said applying machine-readable indicia comprises spraying barcode indicia of a postal delivery point corresponding to the resolved address onto the new label in the labeling machine. 
   
   
       4 . A method according to  claim 3  including returning the labeled mailpiece for sorting in a Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS) system before completion of the first pass DPS sort. 
   
   
       5 . A method according to  claim 1  and further comprising, if the address is resolved successfully, in the labeling machine, applying a barcode corresponding to the resolved address in a POSTNET Clear Zone of the mailpiece. 
   
   
       6 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the labeling machine comprises a reject encoding machine. 
   
   
       7 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein said transferring step includes transferring the mailpiece automatically along a powered transport track into the labeling machine. 
   
   
       8 . A method according to  claim 1  including over-labeling an unresolved barcode in the labeling machine so as to create a new clear zone. 
   
   
       9 . A method according to  claim 1  including, instead of applying a label, resurfacing a POSTNET clear zone  108  and applying a barcode to the new surface. 
   
   
       10 . A reject encoding machine (REM) for processing rejected mail pieces to reduce manual processing, comprising:
 input means for receiving a rejected mailpiece where the mailpiece was rejected due to failure to automatically resolve an address of the mailpiece;   a driven transfer track for automatically moving the mailpiece to an image capture position within the reject encoding machine;   an image capture device arranged to capture an image of a mailpiece positioned in the image capture position;   an address resolution means for determining an address of the mailpiece from the captured Image; and   labeling means for labeling the mailpiece in accordance with the determined address.   
   
   
       11 . A reject encoding machine (REM) according to  claim 10  and further comprising a track for automatically transferring a newly labeled mailpiece back to a DBCS system to resume automated processing. 
   
   
       12 . A reject encoding machine (REM) according to  claim 10  wherein the address resolution means includes a local on-board optical character recognition OCR engine. 
   
   
       13 . A reject encoding machine (REM) according to  claim 10  and further including an over-label mechanism for applying a new label over at least a portion of the Postnet clear zone of the mailpiece for use in subsequent processing the mailpiece. 
   
   
       14 . A method for sorting of mail pieces into DPS Delivery Point Sequence, comprising the steps of:
 in an initial processing system, automatically reading an address of a mailpiece, and applying a bar code to the mailpiece, the bar code indicating a postal delivery point corresponding to the address;   assembling a plurality of such bar-coded mail pieces into a batch for further processing;   processing the batch of mail pieces in a delivery bar code sequence DBCS sorting machine, in which the DBCS reads the bar code of each mailpiece, and directs each mailpiece into a selected output bin based on the bar code;   rejecting from the DBCS machine a mailpiece for which the barcode was not successfully resolved;   automatically feeding the rejected mailpiece into a reject encoding machine, instead of directing the rejected mailpiece to manual sort;   in the reject encoding machine, resolving the address of the rejected mailpiece;   in the reject encoding machine, applying a barcode to the rejected mailpiece, the bar code indicating a postal delivery point corresponding to resolved address; and   returning the mailpiece back into the DBCS machine while the machine is still processing the first pass of delivery point sequencing of the batch of mail pieces from which the rejected mailpiece came, so as to continue automated processing without manual sorting.   
   
   
       15 . A method according to  claim 14  wherein said resolving the address in the reject encoding machine includes providing a digital image capture device in the reject encoding machine for capturing an image of the address on the rejected mailpiece. 
   
   
       16 . A method according to  claim 14  including automatically returning the mailpiece back into the DBCS machine while the machine is still processing the batch of mail pieces from which the rejected mailpiece came, so as to continue automated processing without manual sorting. 
   
   
       17 . A method according to  claim 14  wherein the batch processing is a first-pass DPS sorting process.