US 8,478,440 B2Granted

Production of mail pieces and preparations therefor

AssigneeNeopost Industrie

InventorBertus Karel Edens

Life of this patent

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Abstract

For producing mail pieces in a mail production apparatus, starting from physical postal items, a required operating condition of the mail production apparatus is determined. At least one physical property to be realized manually of the required operating condition is determined and at least one current physical property of a current condition of the mail production apparatus is registered. A difference between the at least one current physical property and the at least one physical property to be realized manually of said required operating condition is determined and an associated indication is represented in humanly perceptible form. In response, the at least one current physical property is changed, such that the difference is removed. Next, with the mail production apparatus in the required operating condition, at least one mail piece is assembled from physical postal items. Also described are computer software and an apparatus for use with this method.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A computer program for bringing a mail production apparatus into a required operating condition prior to the production of a mail piece or a series of mail pieces, wherein data representing sets of properties associated with respective operating conditions of said apparatus required prior to initiation of the production in the respective operating condition are stored in a memory, at least one of said sets including at least one required physical property of the apparatus changeable only by manual implementation by an operator, other than by electronic data entry, the program comprising instructions for performing the following steps:

A) determining data representing at least one required physical property of a selected operating condition prior to initiation of the production;
B) registering at least one current physical property of said apparatus, prior to initiation of the production;
C) determining whether a manual change is to be made by comparing said at least one current physical property and said at least one required physical property of said selected operating condition, prior to initiation of the production;
D) in response to a manual change to be made, causing an instruction to make said manual change to be represented in humanly perceptible form, prior to initiation of the production, the instruction including information representing said at least one required physical property;
E) preventing said production from being initiated until said manual change has been made;
and thereafter
F) initiating said production after said manual change has been made.

4 more elements

A mail production apparatus for producing mail pieces, starting from physical postal items, comprising:

at least one finishing assembly for producing physical mail pieces;
a sensor for registering a current physical property of a current operating condition of said at least one finishing assembly;
representation means;
and
a control structure communicatively linked with said finishing assembly, said sensor and said representation means, said control structure including a memory in which are stored sets of properties associated with respective operating conditions of the at least one finishing assembly required prior to initiation of the production in the respective operating condition, at least one of said sets including at least one required physical property of the at least one finishing assembly changeable only by manual implementation by an operator, other than by electronic data entry, for bringing the at least one finishing assembly in an operating condition, the control structure being provided with code for performing the following functions:
A) determining data representing at least one required physical property of a selected operating condition prior to initiation of the production;
B) causing said sensor to register at least one current physical property of the at least one finishing assembly, prior to initiation of the production;
C) determining whether a manual change is to be made by comparing said at least one current physical property and said at least one required physical property of said selected operating condition, prior to initiation of the production;
D) in response to a manual change to be made, causing said representation means to represent an instruction to make said manual change in humanly perceptible form, prior to initiation of the production, the instruction including information representing said at least one required physical property;
E) preventing said production from being initiated until said manual change has been made;
and thereafter
F) initiating said production after said manual change has been made.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/783,746Filed 11 Apr 2007 · continuation
Priority: NL 101701631 Dec 2000
Published: US 2007/0250208 A125 Oct 2007
Granted: 2 Jul 2013
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

B43M 5/042
Automatic: for envelopes with only one flap
B65H 2301/4318
Features with regard to the collection, nature, sequence and/or the making thereof: gathering, associating, assembling articles from a single…
B43M
Bureau accessories not otherwise provided for
B65H
Handling thin or filamentary material