Method and system for preparing items to be mailed

Claim 1

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: supplying instructions for printing a main document and a corresponding envelope to a control unit; converting said instructions into separate printing instructions for printing the main document at a first printer and for printing the corresponding envelope at a second printer; supplying said separate printing instructions to said first printer and to said second printer, respectively; printing a main document sheet using the first printer; directly passing said main document sheet from the first printer to a document supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed and from said document supply path to an inserter station; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes of width corresponding to said main document sheet to a hopper of the second printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the second printer; printing information that corresponds to said main document sheet on said one envelope using the second printer; individually conveying said printed envelope from the second printer along an envelope supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed to the inserter station; holding said envelope in an opened condition; inserting said main document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 2

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: supplying instructions for printing a main document and a corresponding envelope to a control unit; converting said instructions into separate printing instructions for printing the main document at a first printer and for printing the corresponding envelope at a second printer; supplying said separate printing instructions to said first printer and to said second printer, respectively; printing a main document sheet using the first printer; directly passing said main document sheet from the first printer to a document supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed and from said document supply path to an inserter station; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes of width corresponding to said main document sheet to a hopper of the second printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the second printer; printing information that corresponds to said main document sheet on said one envelope using the second printer; individually conveying said printed envelope from the second printer along an envelope supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed to the inserter station; holding said envelope in an opened condition; inserting said main document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 10

A system for preparing items to be mailed, said system comprising: a first printer and a second printer, a sheet container for receiving main document sheets, means for feeding individual document sheets from the sheet container to the first printer, an envelope hopper for receiving separate prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheets, means for feeding individual envelopes from the envelope hopper to the second printer, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into a corresponding envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the first printer to said inserter station, an envelope supply path for individually supplying printed envelopes from the second printer to said inserter station, and a control unit interconnected for communication with the first printer and the second printer, the document supply path, the envelope supply path and the inserter station, said control unit supplying said first and second printers with separate printing instructions which have been converted from instructions supplied to said control unit has been inserted; said inserter station including means for holding an envelope supplied along said envelope supply path in an opened condition, and said inserter station being connected to said envelope supply path and to said document supply path.

Claim 11

A system for preparing items to be mailed, said system comprising: a first printer and a second printer, a sheet container for receiving main document sheets, means for feeding individual document sheets from the sheet container to the first printer, an envelope hopper for receiving separate prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheets, means for feeding individual envelopes from the envelope hopper to the second printer, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into a corresponding envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the first printer to said inserter station, an envelope supply path for individually supplying printed envelopes from the second printer to said inserter station, and a control unit interconnected for communication with the first printer and the second printer, the document supply path, the envelope supply path and the inserter station, said control unit supplying said first and second printers with separate printing instructions which have been converted from instructions supplied to said control unit has been inserted; said inserter station including means for holding an envelope supplied along said envelope supply path in an opened condition, and said inserter station being connected to said envelope supply path and to said document supply path.

Claim 22

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: reading data on a document sheet; feeding a plurality of separate prefabricated envelopes to a printer; printing information corresponding to the data read from the document sheet onto one of the envelopes; individually conveying said one printed envelope from the printer to an inserter station; holding said one printed envelope in an opened condition; feeding said document sheet to said inserter station; and inserting said document sheet into said one printed envelope.

Claim 23

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: reading data on a document sheet; feeding a plurality of separate prefabricated envelopes to a printer; printing information corresponding to the data read from the document sheet onto one of the envelopes; individually conveying said one printed envelope from the printer to an inserter station; holding said one printed envelope in an opened condition; feeding said document sheet to said inserter station; and inserting said document sheet into said one printed envelope.

Claim 24

A method of preparing items to be mailed using a mail preparation system comprising a first printer and a second printer, a sheet container, an envelope hopper, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into an envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the first printer to said inserter station, an envelope supply path for supplying individual envelopes from the second printer to said inserter station, and a control unit interconnected for communication with the first printer and the second printer, the document sheet supply path, the envelope supply path and said inserter station, comprising the steps of: transmitting instructions for printing a main document and a corresponding envelope to the control unit; converting said instructions into separate printing instructions for the first printer and the second printer; supplying said separate printing instructions to the first printer and to the second printer, respectively, and controlling the document supply path, the envelope supply path and the inserter station in accordance with the instructions transmitted to the control unit; printing a main document sheet using the first printer; directly passing said main document sheet from the first printer to the document sheet supply path and from said document sheet supply path to the inserter station; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheet to the envelope hopper; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the second printer; printing information that corresponds to said main document sheet on said one envelope using the second printer; individually conveying said printed envelope from the second printer along the envelope supply path to the inserter station; holding said envelope in an opened condition; and inserting said main document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 25

A method of preparing items to be mailed using a mail preparation system comprising a first printer and a second printer, a sheet container, an envelope hopper, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into an envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the first printer to said inserter station, an envelope supply path for supplying individual envelopes from the second printer to said inserter station, and a control unit interconnected for communication with the first printer and the second printer, the document sheet supply path, the envelope supply path and said inserter station, comprising the steps of: transmitting instructions for printing a main document and a corresponding envelope to the control unit; converting said instructions into separate printing instructions for the first printer and the second printer; supplying said separate printing instructions to the first printer and to the second printer, respectively, and controlling the document supply path, the envelope supply path and the inserter station in accordance with the instructions transmitted to the control unit; printing a main document sheet using the first printer; directly passing said main document sheet from the first printer to the document sheet supply path and from said document sheet supply path to the inserter station; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheet to the envelope hopper; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the second printer; printing information that corresponds to said main document sheet on said one envelope using the second printer; individually conveying said printed envelope from the second printer along the envelope supply path to the inserter station; holding said envelope in an opened condition; and inserting said main document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 26

A method of preparing items to be mailed comprising the steps of: optically scanning an address on a main document sheet; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes to a hopper of a printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the printer; directly printing an address on said one envelope, said address being identical to at least a part of the scanned address on said document sheet and received solely from said scanning step; individually conveying said printed envelope from said printer to an inserter station; holding said printed envelope in an opened condition; feeding said scanned document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 27

A method of preparing items to be mailed comprising the steps of: optically scanning an address on a main document sheet; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes to a hopper of a printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the printer; directly printing an address on said one envelope, said address being identical to at least a part of the scanned address on said document sheet and received solely from said scanning step; individually conveying said printed envelope from said printer to an inserter station; holding said printed envelope in an opened condition; feeding said scanned document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 28

A system for preparing items to be mailed, said system comprising: scanning means for scanning an address from a document, a sheet container for receiving main document sheets, means for feeding individual document sheets from the sheet container to the scanning means, an envelope hopper for receiving separate, prefabricated envelopes, an envelope printer connected to the scanning means and adapted directly for printing an address that is identical to at least a part of the address scanned by and received solely from the scanning means, means for feeding individual envelopes from the envelope hopper to the envelope printer, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into a corresponding envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the scanning means to said inserter station, and an envelope supply path for individually supplying printed envelopes from the envelope printer to said inserter station, said inserter station including means for holding an envelope supplied along said envelope supply path in an opened condition, and said inserter station being connected to said envelope supply path and to said document supply path.

Claim 29

A system for preparing items to be mailed, said system comprising: scanning means for scanning an address from a document, a sheet container for receiving main document sheets, means for feeding individual document sheets from the sheet container to the scanning means, an envelope hopper for receiving separate, prefabricated envelopes, an envelope printer connected to the scanning means and adapted directly for printing an address that is identical to at least a part of the address scanned by and received solely from the scanning means, means for feeding individual envelopes from the envelope hopper to the envelope printer, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into a corresponding envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the scanning means to said inserter station, and an envelope supply path for individually supplying printed envelopes from the envelope printer to said inserter station, said inserter station including means for holding an envelope supplied along said envelope supply path in an opened condition, and said inserter station being connected to said envelope supply path and to said document supply path.

Claim 30

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: supplying instructions for printing a main document and a corresponding envelope to a control unit; converting said instructions into separate printing instructions for printing a main document at a first printer and for printing an associated envelope at a second printer; supplying said separate printing instructions to said first printer and to said second printer respectively; printing a main document sheet using the first printer; directly passing said main document sheet from the first printer to a document sheet supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed and from said document sheet supply path to an inserter station; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheet to a hopper of the second printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the second printer; printing information that corresponds to said main document sheet on said one envelope using the second printer after the printing of said main document; individually conveying said printed envelope from the second printer along an envelope supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed to the inserter station; holding said envelope in an opened condition; and inserting said main document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 31

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: supplying instructions for printing a main document and a corresponding envelope to a control unit; converting said instructions into separate printing instructions for printing a main document at a first printer and for printing an associated envelope at a second printer; supplying said separate printing instructions to said first printer and to said second printer respectively; printing a main document sheet using the first printer; directly passing said main document sheet from the first printer to a document sheet supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed and from said document sheet supply path to an inserter station; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheet to a hopper of the second printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the second printer; printing information that corresponds to said main document sheet on said one envelope using the second printer after the printing of said main document; individually conveying said printed envelope from the second printer along an envelope supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed to the inserter station; holding said envelope in an opened condition; and inserting said main document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 32

A system for preparing items to be mailed, said system comprising: a first printer and a second printer, a sheet container for receiving main document sheets, means for feeding individual document sheets from the sheet container to the first printer, an envelope hopper for receiving separate prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheets, means for feeding individual envelopes from the envelope hopper to the second printer, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into a corresponding envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the first printer to said inserter station, an envelope supply path for individually supplying printed envelopes from the second printer to said inserter station, a detection system for locating an envelope that corresponds to a jammed document sheet or for locating a document sheet that corresponds to a jammed envelope, a control unit interconnected for communication with the first printer and the second printer, the document supply path, the envelope supply path and the inserter station, said control unit controlling said first printer, said second printer, said document supply path and said envelope supply path to prevent mismatches when said detection system locates and diverts a document sheet or envelope which corresponds to a jammed document sheet or envelope, said inserter station including means for holding an envelope supplied along said envelope supply path in an opened condition, and said inserter station being connected to said envelope supply path and to said document supply path.

Claim 33

A system for preparing items to be mailed, said system comprising: a first printer and a second printer, a sheet container for receiving main document sheets, means for feeding individual document sheets from the sheet container to the first printer, an envelope hopper for receiving separate prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheets, means for feeding individual envelopes from the envelope hopper to the second printer, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into a corresponding envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the first printer to said inserter station, an envelope supply path for individually supplying printed envelopes from the second printer to said inserter station, a detection system for locating an envelope that corresponds to a jammed document sheet or for locating a document sheet that corresponds to a jammed envelope, a control unit interconnected for communication with the first printer and the second printer, the document supply path, the envelope supply path and the inserter station, said control unit controlling said first printer, said second printer, said document supply path and said envelope supply path to prevent mismatches when said detection system locates and diverts a document sheet or envelope which corresponds to a jammed document sheet or envelope, said inserter station including means for holding an envelope supplied along said envelope supply path in an opened condition, and said inserter station being connected to said envelope supply path and to said document supply path.

Claim 34

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: supplying instructions for printing a main document and a corresponding envelope to a control unit; converting said instructions into separate printing instructions for printing a main document at a first printer and for printing an associated envelope at a second printer; supplying said separate printing instructions respectively to said first printer and to said second printer; printing a main document sheet using the first printer; directly passing said main document sheet from the first printer to a document sheet supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed and from said document sheet supply path to an inserter station; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheet to a hopper of the second printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the second printer; printing information that corresponds to said main document sheet on said one envelope using the second printer after the printing of said main document so that correspondence between main documents and envelopes is maintained at the inserter station irrespective of possible jams or misfeeds in the first printer; individually conveying said printed envelope from the second printer along an envelope supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed to the inserter station; holding said envelope in an opened condition; and inserting said main document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 35

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: supplying instructions for printing a main document and a corresponding envelope to a control unit; converting said instructions into separate printing instructions for printing a main document at a first printer and for printing an associated envelope at a second printer; supplying said separate printing instructions respectively to said first printer and to said second printer; printing a main document sheet using the first printer; directly passing said main document sheet from the first printer to a document sheet supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed and from said document sheet supply path to an inserter station; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes of a width corresponding to said main document sheet to a hopper of the second printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the second printer; printing information that corresponds to said main document sheet on said one envelope using the second printer after the printing of said main document so that correspondence between main documents and envelopes is maintained at the inserter station irrespective of possible jams or misfeeds in the first printer; individually conveying said printed envelope from the second printer along an envelope supply path of the system for preparing items to be mailed to the inserter station; holding said envelope in an opened condition; and inserting said main document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 36

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: optically scanning an image on a main document sheet; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes to a hopper of a printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the printer; directly printing an image on said one envelope from said scanning step, said image being substantially identical to at least a part of the scanned image on said document sheet and received solely from said scanning step; individually conveying said printed envelope from said printer to an inserter station; holding said printed envelope in an opened condition; feeding said scanned document sheet to said inserter station; and inserting said scanned document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 37

A method of preparing items to be mailed, comprising the steps of: optically scanning an image on a main document sheet; feeding a plurality of separate, prefabricated envelopes to a hopper of a printer; feeding one of said envelopes from the hopper to the printer; directly printing an image on said one envelope from said scanning step, said image being substantially identical to at least a part of the scanned image on said document sheet and received solely from said scanning step; individually conveying said printed envelope from said printer to an inserter station; holding said printed envelope in an opened condition; feeding said scanned document sheet to said inserter station; and inserting said scanned document sheet into said printed envelope.

Claim 38

A system for preparing items to be mailed, said system comprising: scanning means for scanning an image from a document, a sheet container for receiving main document sheets, means for feeding individual document sheets from the sheet container to the scanning means, an envelope hopper for receiving separate, prefabricated envelopes, an envelope printer connected to the scanning means and adapted for directly printing an image scanned by said scanning means, and that is substantially identical to at least a part of the image scanned by and received solely from the scanning means, means for feeding individual envelopes from the envelope hopper to the envelope printer, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into a corresponding envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the scanning means to said inserter station, and an envelope supply path for individually supplying printed envelopes from the envelope printer to said inserter station, said inserter station including means for holding an envelope supplied along said envelope supply path in an opened condition, and said inserter station being connected to said envelope supply path and to said document supply path.

Claim 39

A system for preparing items to be mailed, said system comprising: scanning means for scanning an image from a document, a sheet container for receiving main document sheets, means for feeding individual document sheets from the sheet container to the scanning means, an envelope hopper for receiving separate, prefabricated envelopes, an envelope printer connected to the scanning means and adapted for directly printing an image scanned by said scanning means, and that is substantially identical to at least a part of the image scanned by and received solely from the scanning means, means for feeding individual envelopes from the envelope hopper to the envelope printer, an inserter station for periodically inserting a document sheet into a corresponding envelope, a document sheet supply path for supplying document sheets from the scanning means to said inserter station, and an envelope supply path for individually supplying printed envelopes from the envelope printer to said inserter station, said inserter station including means for holding an envelope supplied along said envelope supply path in an opened condition, and said inserter station being connected to said envelope supply path and to said document supply path.