The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 04, 2006
Filed:
Dec. 31, 2001
William E. Ryan, Jr., Monroe, CT (US);
Robert K. Gottlieb, Milford, CT (US);
Joseph D. Mallozzi, Trumbull, CT (US);
William E. Ryan, Jr., Monroe, CT (US);
Robert K. Gottlieb, Milford, CT (US);
Joseph D. Mallozzi, Trumbull, CT (US);
Pitney Bowes Inc., Stamford, CT (US);
Abstract
A system including a mailpiece sorting apparatus which includes a feeder, an OCR scanner, a mailpiece deliverer, a diverter and output module, compartments or bins for receiving sorted mailpieces, an optical character recognition system for reading addressee information, an addressee database, and microprocessor based control system is described. In an illustrative example, harmful materials are detected in mailpieces and such mailpieces are diverted from the mail stream. In another example, the system is contained in a detection area and clean room; and/or the system uses x-ray technology to determine the content of the mailpieces. The system provides for detection of harmful materials in mailpieces so as to help deter delays in incoming mail delivery caused by the presence of life harming material and to sanitize the mail so as to protect the intended recipients from harm.