Patents by Inventor Eugene Pritchard

Eugene Pritchard has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9690530
    Abstract: A computer method and system to allow reconciliation of documents that were originally part of a first mail production job, but that may have been produced as part of a different second mail production job. A database stores a first record that identifies documents in the first mail production job. The record includes one or more fields indicating a production status of the documents in the first mail production job. At some point in the production process, a document is separated from what was originally defined as the first mail production job, to be instead produced as part of a second mail production job. The database further stores a second record identifying documents in the second mail production job. These records are updated to include a pointer indicating the relationship between the document and the first mail production job and the second mail production job. During mail production the production status of a document is determined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2017
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: Susan L Chapin, Eugene Pritchard, Bruce J Barrows, Srikanth V Dasamandam
  • Patent number: 6901312
    Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with mailpiece records in a corresponding mailing control file. The inserter system scans control inserts included in the mailpieces fed into the mailpiece accumulations at a downstream station to verify corresponding mailpiece records. Initially the inserter system reads an initial, dummy control insert to accesses the mailing control file to initialized the upstream stations of the inserter system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2005
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Jr., Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Publication number: 20040172158
    Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with mailpiece records in a corresponding mailing control file. The inserter system scans control inserts included in the mailpieces fed into the mailpiece accumulations at a downstream station to verify corresponding mailpiece records. Initially the inserter system reads an initial, dummy control insert to accesses the mailing control file to initialized the upstream stations of the inserter system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2004
    Publication date: September 2, 2004
    Applicant: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Patent number: 6732011
    Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with mailpiece records in a corresponding mailing control file. The inserter system scans control inserts included in the mailpieces fed into the mailpiece accumulations at a downstream station to verify corresponding mailpiece records. Initially the inserter system reads an initial, dummy control insert to accesses the mailing control file to initialized the upstream stations of the inserter system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2004
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Jr., Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Patent number: 6714835
    Abstract: A system, method and apparatus for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with mailpiece records in a corresponding mailing control file. The inserter system scans control documents included in the mailpieces to identify corresponding mailpiece records. Initially the inserter system accesses the mailing control file to identify set-up parameter values for the current mailing job.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 30, 2004
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Jr., Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Patent number: 6327515
    Abstract: An apparatus for assembling mailpieces and a method for controlling such apparatus. The apparatus includes a document feeder for feeding sets of documents to a chassis for assembly into mailpieces a constant rate. Because the number of documents varies the time to assemble a set varies and it is possible that a set may not be available when the chassis is ready to cycle; resulting in a cycle in which no mailpiece is processed. To correct for this the average number of documents for a number of mailpieces to be processed is determined and a nominal chassis speed and cycling rate are determined correspondingly. The actual chassis speed is then periodically updated to approach the nominal speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2001
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Shea, Eugene Pritchard, William G. Hart, Jr., Paul Mayer
  • Patent number: 6311104
    Abstract: A method for controlling an inserter system having a chassis for assembling mailpieces, the chassis operating cyclically with successive accumulations advancing at the end of each cycle. The inserter system further includes a document feeder for feeding accumulations of documents to the chassis, the accumulations containing varying numbers of documents whereby the document feeder is operated at a first speed such that accumulations are available for input to the chassis at varying intervals substantially depending upon the number of documents in corresponding accumulations. And the chassis is operated at a selected speed, which speed is periodically updated in dependence upon the number of documents in the corresponding accumulations in the document feeder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 29, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: Michael Shea, Eugene Pritchard, William G. Hart, Jr., Paul Mayer
  • Patent number: 6311103
    Abstract: A method and system for preparing mailpieces. A inserter system for assembling mailpieces in a mailing job is controlled in accordance with a measure of the fraction of chassis cycles which are empty. The chassis speed is continually adjusted during run-time for a mailing job to minimize the number of “dry holes”, i.e. the fraction of chassis cycles which do not contain a mailpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 30, 2001
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea
  • Patent number: 6205373
    Abstract: A method and system for tracking manually repaired mailpieces and the like. Control documents are produced by a data processing system and transported to an inserter system. The inserter system inputs the control documents and assembles mailpieces in accordance with mailpiece records identified by coded information on the documents. If a damaged mailpiece is manually repaired an operator scans the coded information from the damaged mailpiece. A data processing system accesses the mailpiece record in accordance with the scanned information and updates the corresponding mailpiece record to reflect manual repair of the document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2001
    Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.
    Inventors: William G. Hart, Eugene Pritchard, Michael Shea