CA1263753A - Remote postage meter inspection system - Google Patents
Remote postage meter inspection systemInfo
- Publication number
- CA1263753A CA1263753A CA000515346A CA515346A CA1263753A CA 1263753 A CA1263753 A CA 1263753A CA 000515346 A CA000515346 A CA 000515346A CA 515346 A CA515346 A CA 515346A CA 1263753 A CA1263753 A CA 1263753A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- memory
- postage meter
- meter
- postage
- tampering
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M11/00—Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
- H04M11/002—Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems with telemetering systems
-
- 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
- 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
- G07B2017/00088—Communication details outside or between apparatus via landlines
- G07B2017/00096—Communication details outside or between apparatus via landlines via phone lines
-
- 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
- G07B2017/00169—Communication details outside or between apparatus for sending information from a franking apparatus, e.g. for verifying accounting
-
- 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
- G07B2017/00233—Housing, e.g. lock or hardened casing
-
- 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
- G07B17/00362—Calculation or computing within apparatus, e.g. calculation of postage value
- G07B2017/00395—Memory organization
- G07B2017/00403—Memory zones protected from unauthorized reading or writing
-
- 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
- G07B17/00508—Printing or attaching on mailpieces
- G07B2017/00572—Details of printed item
- G07B2017/0058—Printing of code
Abstract
REMOTE POSTAGE METER INSPECTION SYSTEM
Abstract of the Disclosure A remote inspection of postage meters that reduces the requirement for an on site inspection. The postage meters are programmed to sense and communicate any tampering attempt. The inspection is achieved either through electronic communication or by the mailing of imprinted post cards.
Abstract of the Disclosure A remote inspection of postage meters that reduces the requirement for an on site inspection. The postage meters are programmed to sense and communicate any tampering attempt. The inspection is achieved either through electronic communication or by the mailing of imprinted post cards.
Description
12Ç~375~
REMOTE POSTA~ TER INSPl~;CTION SYSTE~M
Backqround of the Invention Postage meters are in common usage throughout the business world because of their ability to save time and allow an acc~unting of the amount of postage used. Psstage meters are charged with monetary value upon payment to the Post Office of a selected amount. This monetary value is reduced as postage is applied to mail pieces. Because the postage meter does contain monetary value, care must be taken that no unauthorized postage impressions be made for to do so would be defrauding the Postal Service. Various security measures have been devised to prevent postage meter tampering through which unauthorized postage could be printed. Included in such sec~lrity measures are break away screws, sealed housings, and the fact that postage meters are leased by the user rather than being owned. To assure that postage meter tampering has not taken place, the U.S.
Postal Service has a regulation that every leased postage meter must be physically inspected at least two times a year by the manufacturer of that postage meter. This requires an inspector visiting the premises of the user to carry out the inspection. Similar procedures exist in other countries.
The cost of such inspection is approximately $50.00 per inspection or $100.00 a year for every installed postage meter. With almost one million postage meters installed in the United States, this amounts to a cost of approximately cne hundred million dollars every year for postage meter inspection.
Recently there have been two developments in the postage meter field that are bringing about substantial changes. One of the developments is a result of the advancement of electronics which has led to the electronic postage meter. The electronic postage meter is one in which solid state devices instead of mechanical systems are used for such purposes as memory and control. The second development is the use of encryption for the purpose of
REMOTE POSTA~ TER INSPl~;CTION SYSTE~M
Backqround of the Invention Postage meters are in common usage throughout the business world because of their ability to save time and allow an acc~unting of the amount of postage used. Psstage meters are charged with monetary value upon payment to the Post Office of a selected amount. This monetary value is reduced as postage is applied to mail pieces. Because the postage meter does contain monetary value, care must be taken that no unauthorized postage impressions be made for to do so would be defrauding the Postal Service. Various security measures have been devised to prevent postage meter tampering through which unauthorized postage could be printed. Included in such sec~lrity measures are break away screws, sealed housings, and the fact that postage meters are leased by the user rather than being owned. To assure that postage meter tampering has not taken place, the U.S.
Postal Service has a regulation that every leased postage meter must be physically inspected at least two times a year by the manufacturer of that postage meter. This requires an inspector visiting the premises of the user to carry out the inspection. Similar procedures exist in other countries.
The cost of such inspection is approximately $50.00 per inspection or $100.00 a year for every installed postage meter. With almost one million postage meters installed in the United States, this amounts to a cost of approximately cne hundred million dollars every year for postage meter inspection.
Recently there have been two developments in the postage meter field that are bringing about substantial changes. One of the developments is a result of the advancement of electronics which has led to the electronic postage meter. The electronic postage meter is one in which solid state devices instead of mechanical systems are used for such purposes as memory and control. The second development is the use of encryption for the purpose of
2 ~ 37S3 authenticating a postage indicia. It obviously would be beneficial if these recent developments may be utilized to reduce the need for the physical inspection of every postage meter.
Summary of the Invention A remote postage meter inspection system has been devised whereby a postage meter may be programmed to indicate the occurrence of any tampering or attempt to obtain unauthorized postage. A postage meter is - 10 supplied with sensors that would be electronically polled periodically through a communication link. When an act of tampering has been indicated, then the meter would be either inspected physically or removed. An alternative embodiment to this would be to have a postcard imprinted with the postage indicia by each meter with "tells" to indicate the occurrence of tampering.
In accordance with a general aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central station, at least one postage meter having a memory therein, means for placing said postage meter in communication with s id central station, means for sensing postage meter tampering, means for storing in said memory acts of tampering whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said memory will send to said central station an indication of any attempt of tampering with said poRtage meter.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central sta~ion, at least one postage meter, said postage meter having a memory and a plurality of sensors in communication with said memory, each of said sensors being associated with a component of said meter, said ~Z637~;3 sensors being enabled upon tampering with its respective component, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for storing in said memory signals generated by said sensors, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said memory will send to said central station a signal indicative of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a postage meter having a memory therein, means for sensing postage meter tampering, means for storing in said memory acts of tampering and means for accessing said memory, whereby upon said memory being accessed said memory will provide an indication of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A postage meter adapted ~or remote inspection, comprising:
a postage meter having a memory, variable printing means and a plurality of sensors in communication with said memory, each of said sensors being associated with a component of said meter, said sensors being enabled upon tampering with its respective component, means for storing in said memory signals generated by aid sensors, and means for causing the printing means to print an indicia with tells upon said signals being stored in said memory.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
In a postage meter having a memory, the combination comprising:
means for sensing tampering with the meter;
means for setting a flag in the postage meter 2b 1263753 memory in response to said sensing means sensing meter tampering; and means for accessing said memory.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
In a method of remotely inspecting a postage meter having a memory, the steps comprising:
sensing an attempt to tamper with the postage meter;
setting a flag in the memory in response to the sensing of meter tampering;
and accessing the memory to determine if a tampering flag has been set.
According to an additional aspect of the invention, there is provided:
In a method of remotely insp~cting a postage meter having a memory, the steps comprisinq:
sensing attempts to tamper with the postage meter;
setting a flag in the postage meter memory in response to the sensing of meter tampering; and printing with the postage meter an indicia having tells after a flag has been set in the memory.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central station, at least one postage meter, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for sensing postage meter tapering, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter ~aid central station is provided with an indication of the sensing of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the prasent invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
2c 12~37S3 a central station, at least one postage meter, said postag~ meter having a memory and at least one sensor in communication with said memory, said sensor being associated with a component of said meter, said sensor being operative to provide a signal upon sensing tamperinq with said component, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for storing in said memory said signal provided by said sensor, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter access to said memory will provide to said central station a indication of any attempt of tampering with said component of said postage meter.
Brief Description of the Drawinq Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a remote postage meter inspection system.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment for a remote postage meter inspection system.
Detailed ~escription of the Preferred ~mbodiments A postage meter inspection system has been devised that reduces the need for on site inspection. Referring to Fig. 1, a preferred embodiment will be described that allows the inspection of a postage meter remotely. Such a remote postage meter inspection system is shown generally at 10 and includes a central station 12. This central station 12 may be either a Post Office or the office of a postage meter manufacturer. Included within the central station 12 is a processor 1~ that is in communication with a memory 16. This memory 16 would include all the postage meters that are to be serviced by the central processing s~ation 12 and would contain information such as a meter number or customer number, the date of last inspection, the name of the user and any other pertinen~ information such as any history of ~637~;3 prior tampering. By tampering is meant any activity that appears to in~olve the obtaining of fraudulent postage, i.e.
the applying of postage to a mail piece without paying or accounting for the same. Also connected to the processor 14 would be a second memory 18 wherein a record of meters that are to be inspected for any given period would be stored.
Obviously, these two memories 16,18 could be combined into one if so desired. The central processor 14 is in communication with a communication link or port such as a modem 20 which in turn is in communication with a communication device such as a telephone 22. A postag~
meter user location 24 would include a communication port, such as a modem 26, that would provide connection between the telephone 22 and a CPU 28. When a postage meter at the user location 24 is to be inspected, communication would be made with the user location by telephone 22 through the modem 26. Alternatively, an inspection may be made simultaneously when remotely recharging a postage meter by having tampering information sent automatically to the central station 12.
The CPU 28 is electrically connected to an electronic postage meter 30 which has a CPU 32 and a memory 34 communicating directly with the CPU of the postage meter.
~lthough this embodiment shows only one postage meter 30 in communication with the CPU 28, it will be appreciated that a plurality of postage meters may be connected to the CPU 28 in network fashion. The postage meter 30 has a number of sensors 36 that are in contact with the memory 34. Any attempt of tampering would be sensed by the sensors 36, which, in turn, would communicate such sensing to the memory 34 where a flag would be set. Upon command, the memory 34 would be accessed and a determination made whether a flag had been set which would be an indication of tampering.
Such accessing could take place in accordance during power-up of the postage meter 30.
With such a system 10, a number of meters would be assigned for inspection during any given period and each group of meters to be inspected would be supplied through the memory 16. The central station 12 would then be in ~2~37~3 touch with the user station 24 indicating that inspection is to take place. Th~ processor 14 of the central station 12 would then directly contact the CPU 32 of the postage meter 30 without any inter~ention or inter~erence on the part of the user. The memory 34 of the postage meter 30 would be scanned to determine if any of the sensors 36 sensed any unusual activity. For example, if an attempt had been made to remove the postage meter cover or a break off screw is broken, an appropriate signal would be received by the central station 12. Another check to be made is whether the sum of the ascending and descending registers equals the control sum. If any indication of tampering is received, a message would be sent to the memory 18 and the meter 30 would be disabled upon command of the processor 14. A print out would show all the postage meters 30 that did not pass the electronic inspection and each of these would be physically inspected. Additionally, the ~act that a physical inspection was required for a meter would be stored in the memory 18 so that if a large number of inspections were required over a predetermined period, the meter could either be replaced or the user questioned as to the reason for the fre~uency of such physical inspection requirement.
Referring now to Fig. 2, an alternate embodiment of the invention will be described. A central station 40, which again may be either a Post Office or a postage meter manufacturer, includes a computer data base ~2 which stores the postage meter information, a printer station 44 and a scanner 46. Periodically, the computer data base 42 will cause the printer station 44 to send a mail piece such as a post card 47 to one of a number of customer or user locations 48. The post card 47 would be received by the postage meter user and a postage indicia would be printed by th user's postage meter 50. The user's postage meter 50 would be programmed so that any tampering would be sensed by sensors 36 and these sensors would send an appropria~e signal to the memory 52. In response to these signals, the memory would cause alterations in ~he postage indicia, eacn alteration being indicative of a particular sensor. Postage meters having printers capable of variable printing and
Summary of the Invention A remote postage meter inspection system has been devised whereby a postage meter may be programmed to indicate the occurrence of any tampering or attempt to obtain unauthorized postage. A postage meter is - 10 supplied with sensors that would be electronically polled periodically through a communication link. When an act of tampering has been indicated, then the meter would be either inspected physically or removed. An alternative embodiment to this would be to have a postcard imprinted with the postage indicia by each meter with "tells" to indicate the occurrence of tampering.
In accordance with a general aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central station, at least one postage meter having a memory therein, means for placing said postage meter in communication with s id central station, means for sensing postage meter tampering, means for storing in said memory acts of tampering whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said memory will send to said central station an indication of any attempt of tampering with said poRtage meter.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central sta~ion, at least one postage meter, said postage meter having a memory and a plurality of sensors in communication with said memory, each of said sensors being associated with a component of said meter, said ~Z637~;3 sensors being enabled upon tampering with its respective component, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for storing in said memory signals generated by said sensors, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said memory will send to said central station a signal indicative of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a postage meter having a memory therein, means for sensing postage meter tampering, means for storing in said memory acts of tampering and means for accessing said memory, whereby upon said memory being accessed said memory will provide an indication of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A postage meter adapted ~or remote inspection, comprising:
a postage meter having a memory, variable printing means and a plurality of sensors in communication with said memory, each of said sensors being associated with a component of said meter, said sensors being enabled upon tampering with its respective component, means for storing in said memory signals generated by aid sensors, and means for causing the printing means to print an indicia with tells upon said signals being stored in said memory.
In accordance with an additional aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
In a postage meter having a memory, the combination comprising:
means for sensing tampering with the meter;
means for setting a flag in the postage meter 2b 1263753 memory in response to said sensing means sensing meter tampering; and means for accessing said memory.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
In a method of remotely inspecting a postage meter having a memory, the steps comprising:
sensing an attempt to tamper with the postage meter;
setting a flag in the memory in response to the sensing of meter tampering;
and accessing the memory to determine if a tampering flag has been set.
According to an additional aspect of the invention, there is provided:
In a method of remotely insp~cting a postage meter having a memory, the steps comprisinq:
sensing attempts to tamper with the postage meter;
setting a flag in the postage meter memory in response to the sensing of meter tampering; and printing with the postage meter an indicia having tells after a flag has been set in the memory.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central station, at least one postage meter, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for sensing postage meter tapering, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter ~aid central station is provided with an indication of the sensing of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the prasent invention, there is provided:
A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
2c 12~37S3 a central station, at least one postage meter, said postag~ meter having a memory and at least one sensor in communication with said memory, said sensor being associated with a component of said meter, said sensor being operative to provide a signal upon sensing tamperinq with said component, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for storing in said memory said signal provided by said sensor, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter access to said memory will provide to said central station a indication of any attempt of tampering with said component of said postage meter.
Brief Description of the Drawinq Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a remote postage meter inspection system.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment for a remote postage meter inspection system.
Detailed ~escription of the Preferred ~mbodiments A postage meter inspection system has been devised that reduces the need for on site inspection. Referring to Fig. 1, a preferred embodiment will be described that allows the inspection of a postage meter remotely. Such a remote postage meter inspection system is shown generally at 10 and includes a central station 12. This central station 12 may be either a Post Office or the office of a postage meter manufacturer. Included within the central station 12 is a processor 1~ that is in communication with a memory 16. This memory 16 would include all the postage meters that are to be serviced by the central processing s~ation 12 and would contain information such as a meter number or customer number, the date of last inspection, the name of the user and any other pertinen~ information such as any history of ~637~;3 prior tampering. By tampering is meant any activity that appears to in~olve the obtaining of fraudulent postage, i.e.
the applying of postage to a mail piece without paying or accounting for the same. Also connected to the processor 14 would be a second memory 18 wherein a record of meters that are to be inspected for any given period would be stored.
Obviously, these two memories 16,18 could be combined into one if so desired. The central processor 14 is in communication with a communication link or port such as a modem 20 which in turn is in communication with a communication device such as a telephone 22. A postag~
meter user location 24 would include a communication port, such as a modem 26, that would provide connection between the telephone 22 and a CPU 28. When a postage meter at the user location 24 is to be inspected, communication would be made with the user location by telephone 22 through the modem 26. Alternatively, an inspection may be made simultaneously when remotely recharging a postage meter by having tampering information sent automatically to the central station 12.
The CPU 28 is electrically connected to an electronic postage meter 30 which has a CPU 32 and a memory 34 communicating directly with the CPU of the postage meter.
~lthough this embodiment shows only one postage meter 30 in communication with the CPU 28, it will be appreciated that a plurality of postage meters may be connected to the CPU 28 in network fashion. The postage meter 30 has a number of sensors 36 that are in contact with the memory 34. Any attempt of tampering would be sensed by the sensors 36, which, in turn, would communicate such sensing to the memory 34 where a flag would be set. Upon command, the memory 34 would be accessed and a determination made whether a flag had been set which would be an indication of tampering.
Such accessing could take place in accordance during power-up of the postage meter 30.
With such a system 10, a number of meters would be assigned for inspection during any given period and each group of meters to be inspected would be supplied through the memory 16. The central station 12 would then be in ~2~37~3 touch with the user station 24 indicating that inspection is to take place. Th~ processor 14 of the central station 12 would then directly contact the CPU 32 of the postage meter 30 without any inter~ention or inter~erence on the part of the user. The memory 34 of the postage meter 30 would be scanned to determine if any of the sensors 36 sensed any unusual activity. For example, if an attempt had been made to remove the postage meter cover or a break off screw is broken, an appropriate signal would be received by the central station 12. Another check to be made is whether the sum of the ascending and descending registers equals the control sum. If any indication of tampering is received, a message would be sent to the memory 18 and the meter 30 would be disabled upon command of the processor 14. A print out would show all the postage meters 30 that did not pass the electronic inspection and each of these would be physically inspected. Additionally, the ~act that a physical inspection was required for a meter would be stored in the memory 18 so that if a large number of inspections were required over a predetermined period, the meter could either be replaced or the user questioned as to the reason for the fre~uency of such physical inspection requirement.
Referring now to Fig. 2, an alternate embodiment of the invention will be described. A central station 40, which again may be either a Post Office or a postage meter manufacturer, includes a computer data base ~2 which stores the postage meter information, a printer station 44 and a scanner 46. Periodically, the computer data base 42 will cause the printer station 44 to send a mail piece such as a post card 47 to one of a number of customer or user locations 48. The post card 47 would be received by the postage meter user and a postage indicia would be printed by th user's postage meter 50. The user's postage meter 50 would be programmed so that any tampering would be sensed by sensors 36 and these sensors would send an appropria~e signal to the memory 52. In response to these signals, the memory would cause alterations in ~he postage indicia, eacn alteration being indicative of a particular sensor. Postage meters having printers capable of variable printing and
3~753 capable of producin~ an altered indicia are shown and described in co-pending Canadian patent applic~tions having serial numbers 459,201 and 476,242. The alterations in the pattern of printing by the postage meter are referred to as "tells".
A "tell" may be a modified indicia, number, letter, bar code and the like. The postage meter 50 would print a postage indicia with tells if any sensor indicated that tampering had taken place or if the sum of the ascending and descending registers did not e~ual the control sum. The post card 47 printed with the appropriate postage indicia would then be returned ~o the central station 40 and scanned by the scanner 46. If the scanner finds that there has been any tampering, this would be communicated to the computer data base 42 and the central station operator would cause a l~ physical inspection to take place. If no inspection is required, this would also be communicated to the memory of the data base 42.
A "tell" may be a modified indicia, number, letter, bar code and the like. The postage meter 50 would print a postage indicia with tells if any sensor indicated that tampering had taken place or if the sum of the ascending and descending registers did not e~ual the control sum. The post card 47 printed with the appropriate postage indicia would then be returned ~o the central station 40 and scanned by the scanner 46. If the scanner finds that there has been any tampering, this would be communicated to the computer data base 42 and the central station operator would cause a l~ physical inspection to take place. If no inspection is required, this would also be communicated to the memory of the data base 42.
Claims (13)
1. A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central station, at least one postage meter having a memory therein, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for sensing postage meter tampering, means for storing in said memory acts of tampering whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said memory will send to said central station an indication of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
a central station, at least one postage meter having a memory therein, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for sensing postage meter tampering, means for storing in said memory acts of tampering whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said memory will send to said central station an indication of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
2, A system of claim 1 wherein said means for communicating is a mail piece.
3. A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central station, at least one postage meter, said postage meter having a memory and a plurality of sensors in communication with said memory, each of said sensors being associated with a component of said meter, said sensors being enabled upon tampering with its respective component, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for storing in said memory signals generated by said sensors, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said memory will send to said central station a signal indicative of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
a central station, at least one postage meter, said postage meter having a memory and a plurality of sensors in communication with said memory, each of said sensors being associated with a component of said meter, said sensors being enabled upon tampering with its respective component, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for storing in said memory signals generated by said sensors, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said memory will send to said central station a signal indicative of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
4. A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a postage meter having a memory therein, means for sensing postage meter tampering, means for storing in said memory acts of tampering and means for accessing said memory, whereby upon said memory being accessed said memory will provide an indication of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
a postage meter having a memory therein, means for sensing postage meter tampering, means for storing in said memory acts of tampering and means for accessing said memory, whereby upon said memory being accessed said memory will provide an indication of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
5. A postage meter adapted for remote inspection, comprising:
a postage meter having a memory, variable printing means and a plurality of sensors in communication with said memory, each of said sensors being associated with a component of said meter, said sensors being enabled upon tampering with its respective component, means for storing in said memory signals generated by said sensors, and means for causing the printing means to print an indicia with tells upon said signals being stored in said memory.
a postage meter having a memory, variable printing means and a plurality of sensors in communication with said memory, each of said sensors being associated with a component of said meter, said sensors being enabled upon tampering with its respective component, means for storing in said memory signals generated by said sensors, and means for causing the printing means to print an indicia with tells upon said signals being stored in said memory.
6. In a postage meter having a memory, the combination comprising:
means for sensing tampering with the meter;
means for setting a flag in the postage meter memory in response to said sensing means sensing meter tampering; and means for accessing said memory.
means for sensing tampering with the meter;
means for setting a flag in the postage meter memory in response to said sensing means sensing meter tampering; and means for accessing said memory.
7. The postage meter of claim 6 including means for causing the postage meter to print tells in an indicia upon a flag being set in the memory.
8. In a method of remotely inspecting a postage meter having a memory, the steps comprising:
sensing an attempt to tamper with the postage meter;
setting a flag in the memory in response to the sensing of meter tampering;
and accessing the memory to determine if a tampering flag has been set.
sensing an attempt to tamper with the postage meter;
setting a flag in the memory in response to the sensing of meter tampering;
and accessing the memory to determine if a tampering flag has been set.
9. In a method of remotely inspecting a postage meter having a memory, the steps comprising:
sensing attempts to tamper with the postage meter;
setting a flag in the postage meter memory in response to the sensing of meter tampering; and printing with the postage meter an indicia having tells after a flag has been set in the memory.
sensing attempts to tamper with the postage meter;
setting a flag in the postage meter memory in response to the sensing of meter tampering; and printing with the postage meter an indicia having tells after a flag has been set in the memory.
10. The method of claim 9 including the steps of sending a mail piece from a central station to the user location of the postage meter, printing an indicia on the mail piece with the postage meter and returning the mail piece to the central station.
11. A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central station, at least one postage meter, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for sensing postage meter tapering, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said central station is provided with an indication of the sensing of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
a central station, at least one postage meter, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for sensing postage meter tapering, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter said central station is provided with an indication of the sensing of any attempt of tampering with said postage meter.
12. A system of claim 11 wherein said means for communicating is a mail piece.
13. A system for inspecting postage meters remotely, comprising:
a central station, at least one postage meter, said postage meter having a memory and at least one sensor in communication with said memory, said sensor being associated with a component of said meter, said sensor being operative to provide a signal upon sensing tampering with said component, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for storing in said memory said signal provided by said sensor, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter access to said memory will provide to said central station a indication of any attempt of tampering with said component of said postage meter.
a central station, at least one postage meter, said postage meter having a memory and at least one sensor in communication with said memory, said sensor being associated with a component of said meter, said sensor being operative to provide a signal upon sensing tampering with said component, means for placing said postage meter in communication with said central station, means for storing in said memory said signal provided by said sensor, whereby upon said central station communicating with said meter access to said memory will provide to said central station a indication of any attempt of tampering with said component of said postage meter.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US06/762,991 US4812965A (en) | 1985-08-06 | 1985-08-06 | Remote postage meter insepction system |
| US762,991 | 1991-09-20 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1263753A true CA1263753A (en) | 1989-12-05 |
Family
ID=25066591
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000515346A Expired CA1263753A (en) | 1985-08-06 | 1986-08-05 | Remote postage meter inspection system |
Country Status (8)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US4812965A (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS6258389A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1263753A (en) |
| CH (2) | CH673717A5 (en) |
| DE (1) | DE3626580C2 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2586123B1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2178880B (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1196566B (en) |
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-
1985
- 1985-08-06 US US06/762,991 patent/US4812965A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1986
- 1986-08-05 IT IT48361/86A patent/IT1196566B/en active
- 1986-08-05 CA CA000515346A patent/CA1263753A/en not_active Expired
- 1986-08-05 CH CH3161/86A patent/CH673717A5/de not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1986-08-06 DE DE3626580A patent/DE3626580C2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1986-08-06 JP JP61185002A patent/JPS6258389A/en active Pending
- 1986-08-06 FR FR868611407A patent/FR2586123B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1986-08-06 GB GB8619198A patent/GB2178880B/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
1989
- 1989-04-10 CH CH1356/89A patent/CH674425A5/de not_active IP Right Cessation
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| IT1196566B (en) | 1988-11-16 |
| DE3626580C2 (en) | 2001-02-22 |
| CH674425A5 (en) | 1990-05-31 |
| FR2586123B1 (en) | 1991-02-22 |
| US4812965A (en) | 1989-03-14 |
| DE3626580A1 (en) | 1987-02-26 |
| FR2586123A1 (en) | 1987-02-13 |
| JPS6258389A (en) | 1987-03-14 |
| CH673717A5 (en) | 1990-03-30 |
| IT8648361A0 (en) | 1986-08-05 |
| GB2178880A (en) | 1987-02-18 |
| GB8619198D0 (en) | 1986-09-17 |
| GB2178880B (en) | 1990-03-28 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKEX | Expiry |