초록

A network navigation method includes steps of reading machine-readable data (14) associated with an article of mail (12), and determining an electronic address (20) based upon the machine-readable data (14). A network navigation system is provided to perform the aforementioned steps.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [17.] A method comprising the steps of:physically delivering an article of mail from a sender to a recipient by a delivery service, the article of mail having a bar code which uniquely identifies the article of mail to the delivery service;receiving, from either the sender or

[ What is claimed is:] [17.] A method comprising the steps of:physically delivering an article of mail from a sender to a recipient by a delivery service, the article of mail having a bar code which uniquely identifies the article of mail to the delivery service;receiving, from either the sender or the delivery service, bar code data encoded by the bar code and an electronic address of the sender, the bar code data and the electronic address being received by a central computer via an internet from a computer which assists either the sender or the delivery service in preparing the article of mail to include the bar code;storing the bar code data and the electronic address in a database in communication with the central computer;receiving, from the recipient, the bar code data read from the article of mail using a bar code reader, the bar code data being received by the central computer via the internet from a computer associated with the recipient;translating the bar code data received from the recipient to the electronic address using the database; andcommunicating to the electronic address of the sender, a message acknowledging receipt of the article of mail after the step of translating, the message being communicated via the internet.