Automated Mail Inserting Envelope Document Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated mail inserting systems face challenges in verifying the match between documents and envelopes, especially in high-throughput systems, due to issues like jamming and the high technical cost of extracting addressee information from documents with unrestricted layouts, whereas envelopes follow standardized formats making extraction easier.
Innovation Solution
The method involves scanning the envelope to extract addressee data and then scanning the document to locate a match, designating an area of interest, and comparing data to verify the match, leveraging the lower technical cost of envelope data extraction and streamlining the process using previously verified matches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the entire document is scanned to extract addressee information, then the matching accuracy between envelope and document is improved, but the scanning and processing time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by designating specific areas of interest within the document where addressee information is most likely to appear. Instead of scanning the entire document uniformly, the system focuses scanning resources on these localized regions, thereby maintaining high matching accuracy while significantly reducing overall scanning time and processing requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the document scanning process into multiple stages: first scanning the envelope to extract addressee information, then using that information to identify and scan only the relevant areas of interest on the document. This segmentation approach divides the large task of full-document scanning into smaller, more efficient sub-tasks.
2Ease of manufacture
If special marks are placed on documents to facilitate addressee information location, then the extraction process is simplified, but the document design freedom is reduced and personalized presentation is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the addressee information identification task from the general document scanning process by first scanning the envelope separately to obtain the addressee information. This extracted information is then used to guide the subsequent document scanning, eliminating the need for special marks on documents while maintaining extraction simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces envelope-scanned addressee information as an intermediary that mediates between the envelope and document matching process. This intermediary data serves as a reference guide that enables accurate information location on documents without requiring any physical marks or modifications to the document design.
3Productivity
If high throughput processing is implemented, then the productivity of the mail inserting system is improved, but the reliability of matching verification decreases due to disturbances like jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary scanning of the envelope to extract addressee information before the document arrives at the verification station. This preliminary action prepares the reference data in advance, allowing for rapid verification when the document arrives, thereby maintaining high throughput while ensuring reliable matching even during high-speed operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the envelope-addressee data obtained from preliminary scanning is used as a reference to verify the document content. This feedback loop ensures that even in high-throughput conditions with potential disturbances, the system can reliably verify matching by comparing document information against the pre-obtained envelope reference data.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for verifying the match of envelopes and documents in an automated matched mail system, by for a first envelope and a first document, scanning a face of the envelope and extracting envelope-addressee data indicative of the human-readable addressee information on the envelope; scanning the document so as to extract document data indicative of the content of the document; searching through the document data to locate a match to the envelope-addressee data and designating an area of interest within the document at the location at which the match occurs; for a further envelope and a further document, scanning a face of the envelope and extracting envelope-addressee data indicative of the human-readable addressee information on the envelope; scanning the document so as to extract document-addressee data at a location within the document corresponding to said designated area of interest and comparing the envelope-addressee data and the document-addressee data so as to verify the match of the further envelope and further document.