Opex Corporation

William R Lile

Robert R DeWitt

Albert F Stevens

Mark A Stevens

Michael E York

Roy E Patterson

Jeffrey L Chodack

Paul R Mitchell

Stephen Tentarelli

David A Keller

George L Hayduchok

Russell M Lange

Robert N DeWitt

An apparatus for the automated processing of bulk mail in a continuous and automatic procedure includes an operative combination of processing stations including an input station for receiving incoming mail in bulk fashion and for separating the pieces of mail for individual delivery to the remainder of the apparatus a station for detecting irregularities in the contents of the envelopes, such as metal items, folded contents, or oversized items; a station for outsorting envelopes rejected in accordance with determinations made at the detection station; a station for opening the envelopes, preferably along multiple edges; a station for removing the contents from the opened envelopes, for subsequent processing of the contents; and a series of stations for handling and orienting the contents for subsequent delivery to a plurality of output stackers.

Automated mail extraction and remittance processing

Envelopes with unspecified contents are inspected by a &ldquo;magnetic imaging&rdquo; device which operates to identify magnetic indicia associated with the contents of the envelopes in order to identify the orientation of contents within the envelopes and/or to identify magnetic indicia indicative of the magnetic stripe of a credit/debit card or its remnants, in addition to a second detection device (e.g., a thickness measuring device or a metal detecting device) which can then verify whether the indicia indicative of a magnetic stripe signify the presence of a credit/debit card or some other stimulus such as a paper clip or the like. Similar assurances can be provided by employing a thickness measuring device and a metal detecting device, in operative combination (with or without the addition of a magnetic imaging device). Alternatively, the magnetic imaging device may be deleted in favor of a thickness measuring device which, through additional processing, operates to remove subsequent analyses from the time domain in order to achieve a more reliable determination of the contents of an envelope, in less time. Such techniques are applicable to the detection of credit/debit cards contained within the envelopes which are to be processed, as well as the detection of other articles which such envelopes might contain, such as folded documents and the like.

Method and apparatus for detecting credit/debit cards in connection with the processing of bulk mail

An apparatus for the automated processing of bulk mail in a continuous and automatic procedure includes an operative combination of processing stations including an input station for receiving incoming mail in bulk fashion and for separating the pieces of mail for individual delivery to the remainder of the apparatus; a station for detecting irregularities in the contents of the envelopes, such as metal items, folded contents, or oversized items; a station for out-sorting envelopes rejected in accordance with determinations made at the detection station; a station for opening the envelopes, preferably along multiple edges; a station for removing the contents from the opened envelopes, for subsequent processing of the contents; and a series of stations for handling and orienting the contents for subsequent delivery to a plurality of output stackers.

In a method for the automated processing of bulk mail, envelopes are transferred to a receiving apparatus in bulk fashion (from incoming mail trays or the like) for the extraction of documents contained by the envelopes, and the extracted documents are delivered to a remittance processing device, preferably both automatically and without the need for human intervention. Subsequent processing of the extracted documents within the remittance processing device then proceeds in usual fashion, completing the acquisition of information which is necessary to ready such documents for deposit into the banking system. Also disclosed are various presorting functions so that only envelopes containing documents of a specified type will be fully processed, other sorting functions such as the identification of specific types of documents (invoices or checks) for separate processing, and the use of a single extraction device to deliver extracted documents to either one, or a series of remittance processing devices. If desired, a buffer is provided which can receive and temporarily store documents received from the extraction device, for appropriate delivery to the remittance processing device responsive to demand.

An apparatus for the automated processing of bulk mail which incorporates a number of operating stations that serve to accomplish the various aspects of mail extraction, as well as the subsequent processing of extracted documents, and which are operatively associated with one another to serially process envelopes and extracted documents in continuous fashion and substantially independent of their characteristic features. To this end, the operating stations of the apparatus are configured to be as independent as possible of the characteristics of the envelopes and their contents so that envelopes and contents of varied characteristics can be effectively handled by the apparatus without requiring any significant adjustments. As a result, the apparatus is made capable of processing (as a single job if desired) envelopes and contents of varied characteristics, reducing the need to remove non-conforming envelopes and contents from further processing, and increasing the versatility and productivity of the apparatus.

Apparatus for the automated processing of bulk mail having varied

To identify the orientation of specified documents, such as checks bearing magnetic ink markings, steps are taken to magnetize ink markings associated with the document, and to then detect magnetized ink markings on the document to develop electrical signals which can then be subjected to processing for identifying the orientation of the document based upon certain preestablished criteria. The result is a stand-alone device adapted to operate upon documents which are contained within envelopes to be subjected to an extraction procedure, prior to extraction from the envelopes, achieving a pre-processing of envelopes to identify those which contain the specified documents, and the orientation of the identified documents. The device is similarly adapted to operate upon the extracted documents, to identify those requiring special handling, and their orientation.

Method and apparatus for determining the orientation of a document

Method for automated mail extraction and remittance processing

An apparatus for the automated processing of bulk mail in a continuous and automatic procedure includes an operative combination of processing stations including an input station for receiving incoming mail in bulk fashion and for separating the pieces of mail for individual delivery to the remainder of the apparatus; a station for detecting irregularities in the contents of the envelopes, such as metal items, folded contents, or oversized items; a station for out-sorting envelopes rejected in accordance with the determinations made at the detection station; a station for opening the envelopes, preferably along multiple edges; a station for removing the contents from the opened envelopes, for subsequent processing of the contents; and a series of stations for handling and orienting the contents for subsequent delivery to a plurality of output stackers.

Method for the automated processing of documents and bulk mail

An apparatus for the automated processing of bulk mail, wherein envelopes are transferred to the apparatus in bulk fashion (from incoming mail trays or the like) for the extraction of documents contained by the envelopes, communicates with a remittance processing device, preferably both automatically and without the need for human intervention. Subsequent processing of the extracted documents within the remittance processing device then proceeds in usual fashion, completing the acquisition of information which is necessary to ready such documents for deposit into the banking system. Also disclosed are various presorting functions so that only envelopes containing documents of a specified type will be fully processed, other sorting functions such as the identification of specific types of documents (invoices or checks) for separate processing, and the use of a single extraction device to deliver extracted documents to either one, or a series of remittance processing devices; if desired, in connection with a buffer which can receive and temporarily store documents received from the extraction device, for appropriate delivery to the remittance processing device responsive to demand.

Apparatus for automated mail extraction and remittance processing

An apparatus for orienting a plurality of documents received in differing orientations relative to the apparatus, for delivery from the apparatus in a uniform orientation, generally comprises a device for determining the orientation of a document according to characteristic features of that document, and devices for orienting the document in accordance with signals received from the orientation determining device. The orientation determining device can operate upon the magnetic ink markings on a check to determine its orientation according to prescribed criteria representative of the anticipated locations for such markings. The orienting devices can then operate to invert the checks from end to end and/or from top to bottom and bottom to top, responsive to signals received from the orientation determining device.

Apparatus for the automated processing of bulk mail and the like

An apparatus for extracting contents from a plurality of envelopes comprises a device for severing edge portions of the envelopes and for discharging the edge-severed envelopes serially and one at a time, and a device for extracting the contents from the edge-severed envelopes including a pair of conveyor belts which diverge from a nip for receiving the edge-severed envelopes from the severing device, and vacuum ports cooperating with the conveyor belts to separate faces of the envelopes from one another, and a device for separating contents from the separated faces of the envelopes, for discharge from the apparatus. Also a device for receiving the separated contents and envelope faces, and for testing them to verify that only effectively extracted contents are passed on for further processing.

Growing community of inventors

Medford, NJ, United States of America

William R Lile