Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/0014—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for vending, access and use of specific services not covered anywhere else in G07F17/00
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00016—Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
  • G07B17/0008—Communication details outside or between apparatus
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
  • G07B17/00193—Constructional details of apparatus in a franking system
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07F—COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS
  • G07F17/00—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services
  • G07F17/26—Coin-freed apparatus for hiring articles; Coin-freed facilities or services for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00016—Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
  • G07B17/0008—Communication details outside or between apparatus
  • G07B2017/00153—Communication details outside or between apparatus for sending information
  • G07B2017/00177—Communication details outside or between apparatus for sending information from a portable device, e.g. a card or a PCMCIA
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
  • G07B17/00193—Constructional details of apparatus in a franking system
  • G07B2017/00209—Mailbox, i.e. container for outgoing mail
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00467—Transporting mailpieces
  • G07B2017/00483—Batch processing of mailpieces

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method and a device for processing mail with billing of the postage incurred.
• the invention had for its object to provide a method and a device that enables processing of mail in a simple manner, without expensive franking printing and possibly manual sorting.
• the advantage of the invention consists in a simple construction of a mail processing device, as well as its economical production and maintenance, since in this method a value print is omitted and therefore no printing unit is required.
• the process comprises two steps: a fee calculation and a subsequent secure storage of the mail, possibly separated according to the mode of dispatch in a container that is only accessible to authorized persons.
• a mail processing device practically an intelligent mailbox, has a mail feeder, an operator device, a billing unit and storage containers.
• the postal goods feed consists of an opening, e.g. a letter slot for a standard letter format, and a transport lock.
• the transport lock is only unlocked after the postage has been billed. Then the mail drops into the storage container.
• separate postal items feeders are provided, whereby a common storage container is used.
• the operator device is reduced to a minimum compared to the devices of conventional franking devices.
• only one postage value is charged.
• the fee is selected by choosing the postage feeder, which is identified by, for example, signs with the respective postage.
• a function key can identify a different shipping method and thus control both the postage fee allocation and the access to the corresponding storage container.
• a slot-shaped opening for a postage credit card or an authorization card is provided on the front of the mail processing device as the operator device.
• the billing unit is activated via the postage credit card.
• the interaction of postage credit card and the posting of the postal items on the transport lock of a postal goods supply causes the postage fees to be debited on the one hand and the transport lock to be unlocked on the other.
• the mail is considered franked and goes to the assigned storage container.
• Postage billing using a credit card also allows the post processing facility to be used in public public traffic at a post office and / or in addition to conventional mailboxes.
• poto credit cards When using the post processing facility in organizations or companies, the use of poto credit cards supports the charging of postage fees to the respective cost centers.
• a disposable card or a reusable, reloadable card can be used as a postage credit card.
• the storage container (s) are secured against unauthorized opening by security locks or seals. Access to the storage containers is also made possible by a special chip card. In this case, the chip card is inserted into the opening for the postage credit card to unlock the storage containers. Additional security can be achieved by encrypting the data exchange between the chip card and the billing unit.

Landscapes

• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Devices For Checking Fares Or Tickets At Control Points (AREA)
• Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (3)

Family

ID=6427222

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (7)

Citations (8)

Family Cites Families (8)

• 1991
  • 1991-03-09 DE DE4108180A patent/DE4108180A1/de not_active Ceased
• 1992
  • 1992-02-15 EP EP92102576A patent/EP0503311B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1992-02-15 DE DE59209990T patent/DE59209990D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1992-03-06 CA CA002062396A patent/CA2062396C/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1992-03-09 US US07/848,262 patent/US5293030A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (9)

Also Published As

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