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US 4,500,083 AGranted
Collating and binding system and method with postage indication
AssigneeR. R. Donnelley & Sons Company
InventorDid-Bun Wong
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A collating and binding system for producing customized versions of books includes means for detecting a defective book, means responsive to the detecting means for rejecting the defective book and means for reordering the rejected book at a point in an original production sequence determined in accordance with a comparison of the postal information of the rejected book with the postal information of a book currently being produced. An indication of the postage required to mail the produced books is derived from an amount calculated before the books are produced and from indications of postage increases for those books which were reordered at subsequent portions in the original production sequence.
Claims41
A method of operating a collating system, comprising:
- producing a series of books in an original sequence, such original sequence being determined in accordance with postal information relative to such books;
- checking for a defective book;
- generating a signal when a defective book is detected;
- reordering the defective book in response to the generated signal at a point in the original sequence determined in accordance with the postal information relative to the rejected book and another book to produce the series of books in a revised sequence;
- and
- deriving an indication of postage for the nondefective produced books in accordance with the revised sequence.
3 more elements
A collating system, comprising:
- means for producing a series of books in an original sequence, such original sequence being determined in accordance with postal information relative to such books;
- means for detecting a defective book;
- means responsive to the detecting means for generating a signal when a defective book is detected;
- means for reordering the defective book in response to the generated signal at a point in the original sequence determined in accordance with the postal information relative to the rejected book and another book to produce the series of books in a revised sequence;
- and
- means for deriving an indication of postage for the non-defective produced books in accordance with the revised sequence.
3 more elements
A collating system comprising:
- a plurality of signature feeders for delivering signatures to a plurality of stations along a conveyor;
- means controlling the signature feeders for progressively building different groups of signatures on the conveyor to thereby build a series of books in an original sequence;
- means for providing a precalculated indication of the postage required for the books being built on the conveyor;
- means disposed along the conveyor for detecting a defective book;
- means responsive to the detecting means for rejecting the defective book;
- means for reordering the rejected book at a point in the sequence determined in accordance with a comparison of the postal information of the rejected book with the postal information of a book on the conveyor;
- and
- means for revising the precalculated indication of the postage required in accordance with the point in the sequence at which the rejected book is reordered.
5 more elements
A collating system, comprising:
- a plurality of signature feeders for delivering signatures to stations along a conveyor;
- means coupled to the signature feeders for individually controlling the signature feeders to build a series of customized books in a particular sequence, such particular sequence being determined in accordance with postal information relative to each book to be built so that the books are produced in an order which permits groups of books having common postal information to be bundled together and thereby receive a postal discount;
- means adjacent the conveyor for detecting a defective book;
- means responsive to the detecting means for reordering the defective book at a point in the particular sequence dependent upon a comparision of the postal information relative to the defective book and the most recent book being built on the conveyor;
- and
- means for deriving an indication of the difference in postage, if any, for the reordered book over the defective book.
3 more elements
A collating system, comprising:
- a plurality of signature feeders for delivering signatures to stations along a conveyor;
- means coupled to the signature feeders for individually controlling same to build customized books in a particular sequence, such particular sequence being determined in accordance with postal information including carrier route and zip code designations relative to each book so that groups of books having common postal information can be bundled together and receive a postal discount;
- means for providing a precalculated indication of postage required for the books if produced in the original sequence;
- means for detecting a defective book on the conveyor;
- first means responsive to the detecting means for immediately reordering the defective book if the carrier route and zip code designations of the defective book are the same as the carrier route and zip code designations of the most recent book being produced;
- second means responsive to the detecting means for reordering the defective book at a subsequent point in the particular sequence if the carrier route designation of the defective and most recent books do not match;
- and
- means responsive to the second means for revising the precalculated indication of postage by an amount dependent upon the point in the particular sequence at which the defective book is reordered.
5 more elements
A collating system, comprising:
- a plurality of signature feeders for delivering signatures to stations along a conveyor;
- means coupled to the signature feeders for individually controlling same to build customized books in a particular sequence, such particular sequence being determined in accordance with postal information including carrier route and zip code designations relative to each book so that groups of books having common postal information can be bundled together and receive a postal discount;
- means for detecting a defective book on the conveyor;
- first means responsive to the detecting means for immediately reordering the defective book if the carrier route and zip code designations of the defective book are the same as the carrier route and zip code designations of the most recent book being produced;
- second means responsive to the detecting means for reordering the defective book at a subsequent point in the particular sequence if the carrier route designation of the defective and most recent books do not match;
- and
- means responsive to the first and second means for generating an indication of the postage for the books based upon the point in the particular sequence at which the defective book is reordered.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.