Back to results
US 6,581,782 B2Granted
System and method for sorting letters, parcels, and other items of mail
AssigneeSort-It, Incorporated
InventorLance Patrick Reed
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for assisting an operator in sorting mail includes a wireless headset equipped with a microphone, and a workstation that includes a processing unit, voice-recognition and voice-synthesis circuitry, and a database. In operation, addressee information spoken into the microphone is transmitted to the workstation where it is used to search the database. Destination information from a matching database record is then output to the operator on one or more of a display terminal, headset speakers, and heads-up display fixed to the headset. The convenience and enhanced capability provided by this system streamlines operator productivity and sorting volume.
Claims33
A system for assisting an operator in manually sorting mail, comprising:
- a headset including a microphone which translates a verbal statement from the operator into speech signals and a wireless transmitter wirelessly transmits speech signals;
- and
- a computer workstation at a location remote, during operation, from the operator, said workstation including:
- (a) a receiver which receives the speech signals wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmitter in the headset,
- (b) a speech recognition unit which recognizes addressee information corresponding to an item of mail from the speech signals,
- (c) a processor;
- (d) a control program which instructs the processor to search a database to locate at least one record matching the addressee information recognized by said speech recognition unit, and
- (e) an output unit which outputs to the operator destination information included in the at least one record matching the addressee information.
5 more elements
A system for assisting an operator in manually sorting mail, comprising:
- a headset including a microphone which translates a verbal statement from the operator into speech signals and a wireless transmitter which wirelessly transmits the speech signals;
- and
- a computer workstation including:
- (a) a receiver which receives the speech signals wirelessly transmitted from the transmitter in the headset,
- (b) a speech recognition unit which recognizes addressee information corresponding to an item of mail from the speech signals,
- (c) a processor which searches a database for at least one record matching the addressee information recognized by said speech recognition unit, and
- (d) an output unit which outputs to the operator destination information included in the at least one record matching the addressee information,
- wherein said headset includes a receiver and a heads-up display, and wherein said output unit includes a transmitter which wirelessly transmits said destination information to the receiver in said headset, said heads-up display displaying said destination information to the operator.
5 more elements
A method for sorting items of mail, comprising:
- providing an operator with a headset that includes a microphone;
- converting a verbal statement spoken into the microphone into speech signals;
- wirelessly transmitting the speech signals from the headset to a computer workstation remotely located from the operator;
- recognizing addressee information corresponding to an item of mail from the speech signals;
- searching a database to find at least one record that at least substantially matches said addressee information;
- and
- outputting destination information included within the at least one record to the operator.
4 more elements
The method of 14, further comprising:
- tracking at least one of operator productivity and sorting volume statistics based on information derived from said computer workstation.
A method for sorting items of mail, comprising:
- providing an operator with a headset that includes a microphone;
- converting a verbal statement spoken into the microphone into speech signals;
- wirelessly transmitting the speech signals from the headset to a computer workstation;
- recognizing addressee information corresponding to an item of mail from the speech signals;
- searching a database to find at least one record that at least substantially matches said addressee information;
- outputting destination information included within the at least one record to the operator;
- and
- displaying said destination information on a heads-up display of the headset.
5 more elements
A method for sorting items of mail, comprising:
- providing an operator with a headset that includes a microphone;
- converting a verbal statement spoken into the microphone into speech signals;
- wirelessly transmitting the speech signals from the headset to a computer workstation;
- recognizing addressee information corresponding to an item of mail from the speech signals;
- searching a database to find at least one record that at least substantially matches said addressee information;
- and
- outputting destination information included within the at least one record to the operator, wherein in said transmitting step, the speech signals are wirelessly transmitted as RF signals.
4 more elements
A method for sorting items of mail, comprising:
- providing an operator with a headset that includes a microphone;
- converting a verbal statement spoken into the microphone into speech signals;
- wirelessly transmitting the speech signals from the headset to a computer workstation;
- recognizing addressee information corresponding to an item of mail from the speech signals;
- searching a database to find at least one record that at least substantially matches said addressee information;
- and
- outputting destination information included within the at least one record to the operator, wherein said computer workstation is located in a first room and the operator manually sorts mail in a second room.
4 more elements
A kit for assisting an operator in manually sorting mail, comprising:
- a headset including a microphone for translating a verbal statement from the operator into speech signals and an RF transmitter for wirelessly transmitting the speech signals;
- a receiving unit adapted for connection to a computer workstation;
- and
- a computer-readable medium storing an application program for execution by a processor of said computer workstation, said application program including:
- (a) a first code section which instructs the processor of said computer workstation to search a database for at least one record that at least substantially matches address information spoken by the operator into the headset, and
- (b) a second code section which controls output of destination information derived from the at least one record in said database to the operator.
3 more elements
The kit of 26, wherein the application program includes:
- a third code section for tracking at least one of operator productivity and sorting volume statistics.
A kit for assisting an operator in manually sorting mail, comprising:
- a headset including a microphone for translating a verbal statement from the operator into speech signals and a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting the speech signals;
- a receiving unit adapted for connection to a computer workstation;
- and
- a computer-readable medium storing an application program for execution by a processor of said computer workstation, said application program including:
- (a) a first code section which instructs the processor of said computer workstation to search a database for at least one record that at least substantially matches address information spoken by the operator into the headset, and
- (b) a second code section which controls output of destination information derived from the at least one record in said database to the operator,
- wherein the headset includes a heads-up display for displaying the destination information output from the at least one record in said database.
4 more elements
A system for assisting an operator in sorting mail, comprising:
- a headset including a microphone which translates a verbal statement from the operator into speech signals and a wireless transmitter which wirelessly transmits the speech signals;
- and
- a computer workstation at a location remote, during operation, from the operator, said workstation including:
- (a) a receiver which receives the speech signals wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmitter in the headset,
- (b) speech recognition means for recognizing addressee information corresponding to an item of mail from the speech signals,
- (c) processing means for searching a database to locate at least one record which matches the addressee information recognized by said speech recognition means, and
- (d) output means which outputs to the operator destination information included in the at least one record matching the addressee information.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.