CH680242A5 - - Google Patents

Description

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Description

The present invention relates to electronic postage meter systems and, more particularly, to a smart card accounting device for use with electronic postage meters.

A franking machine generally comprises a printer in order to print postal signs on a mail fold and a so-called measurement module to keep the funds of the franking machine secure. Ascending and descending registers are provided inside the module so as to record the total use of the postage meter and the remaining funds respectively. The module is securely connected to the printer so that any use of the device to print postage is added to the ascending register to increase the usage record during the total life cycle and is loaded against the descending register so as to reduce the amount of funds available. The module is reloaded in a known manner, for example by being taken to authorized postal authorities so that the descending register is rearmed so as to reflect a corresponding payment.

Intensive efforts have so far been made to ensure the security of the postal funds inside the franking machine. Thus, many variants of the postage module reloading systems have been proposed and great efforts have been made to ensure that the postage cannot be fraudulently or accidentally printed without having been added or loaded, respectively, in the ascending registers and descendants of the franking machine. See, for example, U.S. Patents No. 4,218,011, No. 4,629,871, No. 2,173,738A, to the description of Japanese Patent No. (Showa-61) 240,360 of 1986 and (Showa 61) 240 369 from 1986, and Japanese public disclosure no. 172 493/1987. However, no major attempt has been made so far to account for the use of the franking machine other than by providing the cumulative information recorded in the ascending and descending registers of the franking machine as to the 'total use and available funds. Thus, in the case where a single postage meter is used by several people or departments, there is no convenient method for accurately accounting for the use of the postage meter for internal or external accounting purposes. .

A system proposed for the convenience of a network of franking apparatus is described in European patent application No. 86 108 929.0, published on January 7, 1987 under No. 0 207 492 and entitled: "Method and apparatus for order postage meters ”. The equipment of SMH Alcatel provides an indication of the overall use as well as the funds still available in the reserve, but seems unable to provide a detailed analysis of the use of the meter.

In addition, Alcatel SMH equipment cannot easily be retrofitted on existing meters. Similar systems are described in some of the previously mentioned British patents and Japanese disclosures. A similar system not involving the use of integrated circuit cards is described in European patent application No. 86 108 930.8 published on January 14, 1987 under the number 0 208 231.

Consequently, the subject of the present invention is a device for convenient accounting of postal charges.

Another subject of the present invention is a device for convenient accounting of postal charges which can be used in conjunction with the existing security features of an electronic franking device.

Another subject of the present invention is a device for accounting for postal charges which can be the subject of catching up of material on site in existing electronic franking devices.

Another subject of the present invention is a postage accounting device which provides detailed accounting by department.

These highly desirable objects and advantages are obtained in a convenient postal charge accounting device while being secure.

According to the present invention, the charge accounting device has the characteristics of claim 1. For example, such a device can be provided in a franking apparatus in which a control unit is connected to an electronic franking apparatus and to a card read-write assembly intended to receive one or more integrated circuit cards comprising a memory and a microprocessor (called “smart cards”). An example of a “smart card” is described in published European patent application No. 198,642.

In the preferred embodiment, the control assembly inhibits the operation of the franking apparatus unless a valid smart card bearing appropriate identification information allowing its use with the corresponding franking apparatus is placed in the card read-write set. The smart card receives a signal indicating the establishment of the postal value from the franking machine and a confirmation that this value has been printed. The smart card sorts, collates and stores information from the franking apparatus regarding the monetary amount and quantity of the particular items of franking printed, all in a predetermined manner for later display and / or printing. Preferably, a smart card is provided for each account having access to the franking device, for example for each of the various departments of a company, so as to control the use made of the device.

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postage reil. Alternatively, a postage meter could be shared among several separate people or cases and each person or case would have its own smart card. In this way, small businesses and people for whom annoyingly high investments or maintenance costs for postage meters could share the use of the machine without loss of individual control of their own funds and would benefit from accurate and secure accounting of their mailing activities.

In addition, it is envisaged that a personal computer is attached to the franking apparatus in communication with the control assembly and / or the read-write assembly of the card so as to provide summary accounting information, periodic, detailed.

Using the same general concepts, it is also possible that the postal authorities, or a private mail delivery service, make available to their customers the use of a postage meter on a 24-hour daily basis. In this advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the mail service or post office makes available to its customers 24 hours a day a franking device of the type described here in a room to which access is permitted by the 'through a door that is opened by inserting a token with the appropriate coding. The smart card mentioned above could also serve as an identification token by providing each customer card with an appropriate identification code, part of which opens the access door.

In operation, a smart card for specialized use with a particular postage meter is assigned to each user of the postage meter, for example from an internal department of a company. To operate the franking apparatus, a user places a card in the read-write assembly and, if necessary, enters an identification code into the keyboard of the control assembly in a known manner. After confirmation that the card is valid for use with the postage meter, the control assembly activates the postage meter. The card, via the controller and the appropriate interfaces, then interrogates the franking machine for information on establishing postal value and confirmation that the franking has been printed. Then, the card sorts, assembles and stores information on the use of the franking machine, this coming from the franking machine in a preset format, appropriate to the needs of the user. The card can be left in the read-write set to collect information during a given mail processing session and removed at the end of the session. When the card is removed, the control unit invalidates the postage meter until another valid smart card is placed in the read-write unit.

Via the keyboard of the control unit, the user can request the display of the postal use information which is stored on the card. This information can simply be displayed on the display device of the device. In the preferred embodiment comprising a personal computer, it is envisaged that the information stored in the card is read from it and written to the memory of the computer. In practice, it is envisaged that all of the individual cards distributed in the departments be read in this way, for example, at the end of a given accounting period, so that the personal computer obtains in the cards a record of all uses of the meter during this accounting period. It is further contemplated that the personal computer software will display and print information on the use of the postage meter in various formats. By way of example only, the personal computer could display and / or print desired details or summaries of the use of the postage meter by each cardholder during the accounting period. This could include details on the daily usage of the postage meter, the amount of particular postal values printed on a daily or periodic basis, or the total usage of the postage meter per day or period.

As an additional check (optional) that the card system takes into account all uses of the postage meter in a given accounting period, it is also envisaged that an additional card is used to monitor values complete with "item counting" and "total establishment" of the franking machine at the beginning and at the end of each accounting period. These values could then be checked against the cumulative information collected in the maps.

Advantageously, since the measurement module remains at all times inside the franking apparatus, the control assembly and the associated card read-write assembly forming part of the present invention can be 'subject of catching up of equipment in existing electronic franking devices in the known manner via a communications link. Naturally, it is also envisaged that future electronic devices will be designed and constructed to include the control assembly and the card read-write assembly in an integrated structure. However, as the traditional arrangement approved measurement module-printer located inside the franking machine is maintained, the base and the accounting system of the integrated franking machine according to the present invention must meet the conditions of existing regulations.

Thus, there is described herein a postage accounting device which provides accounting for the use of the postage meter by the desired number of separate users. In addition, the device according to this in5

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Vention can advantageously be the subject of a retrofitting of equipment in existing electronic postage meters and can be extended so as to incorporate a personal computer to produce complete accounting reports.

The present invention will be clearly understood from the following description given in conjunction with the attached drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a postage meter accounting device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of part of a second embodiment of the accounting device of the franking apparatus according to the present invention, comprising a computer for producing accounting reports;

Fig. 3 is a first example of an accounting report of the franking machine;

Fig. 4 is a second example of an accounting report of the franking machine;

Fig. 5 is a third example of an accounting report of the franking machine;

Fig. 6 is a fourth example of an accounting report of the franking machine; and

Fig. 7 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of a device according to the present invention.

In connection now with the drawings, there is shown in a diagram in the form of blocks an example of a device 10 for accounting for postal charges according to the present invention which comprises an electronic franking device 12 connected to a control assembly 14, a card read / write assembly 16, and at least one card 18 with integrated circuits. Information on the use of the postage meter is stored on cards 18 and can be displayed when desired. In the preferred embodiment, the device according to the present invention further comprises a personal computer 20 (see FIG. 2) and an associated read-write unit 22 intended for reading cards 18 so as to obtain information on the use of the franking machine and produce accounting reports such as those illustrated in fig. 3 to 5.

More specifically in connection with FIG. 1, the electronic franking device 12 includes a display device 24. Examples of electronic franking devices suitable in the present invention include electronic franking devices which can be obtained from the company Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Connecticut, under model numbers 6500 or 6900. Previous postage meters need only be connected to control assembly 14 in the known manner via a communications link 26. The control assembly 14 includes a keyboard 28 which is used in place of the keyboard of the control panel mounted on the franking machine 12. The display device 24

on the other hand, remains active. The control assembly 14 is connected by a communication link 30 to the write-read assembly 16 on an integrated circuit card and at least one card 18 with integrated circuits or called “intelligent” is provided. The preferred smart card is a contactless integrated circuit card containing memory space which is available from The General Electric Company p.l.c., Chelmsford, Essex. Advantageously, the smart card of this company can easily include security features which are useful in the present invention to limit the use of the franking machine to designated persons, for example to specific persons, specific companies or departments of companies, and / or to limit the use of a given card to a specified postage meter. In addition, the smart card from General Electric advantageously draws its energy from the card's read-write assembly. Smart card read / write packages are available from the smart card manufacturer.

In practice, a set of specialized smart cards 18 for use with a given franking machine 12 are distributed to the accounting entities which are authorized to use the machine 12. To use the machine, a person places the card 18 in the assembly 16 and, if the device is equipped in this way, enters an authorization code in the keyboard 28 of the control assembly 14. The control assembly, which inhibits the use of the apparatus 12 in the absence of an authorized card, confirms that the card inserted in the card read-write assembly is valid for use with the device 12 and, if appropriate, confirms that the authorization code entered by the user on keyboard 28 is correct.

When presenting a valid card to a user, the control assembly 14 activates the franking device 12 so that it is used. The franking apparatus is used in the normal manner for printing postal signs, with the appropriate data entries made in the traditional manner in ascending and descending registers in the measurement module. In addition, during each transaction for printing a postal value, information on the use of the postage meter, for example the value and quantity of postal items, is transmitted via the communication links 26 and 30, the control assembly 14, and the write-to-read assembly 16 from card to card 18 disposed in this assembly. The card is left in the card read-write set for the duration of the postal processing so as to record the value and quantity of all the postal items processed. When the card is removed from the read-write assembly 16, the control assembly 14 deactivates the franking machine 12.

The card stores the value and number of postal items printed in a format designed to meet the needs of the user. For example, the card could be programmed to store the

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quantity of particular values printed, such as the most common postal values, with a running total of all articles of this type printed. The card can also be programmed to record the number and total of all other items printed, that is, values that are not routinely printed and a running total of all items printed by the user. As it is easy to equip the smart card with a clock, all the previous information can be checked during a given period, for example daily, weekly, monthly, etc. The data stored on the smart card can be accessed by entering a display instruction in the keyboard 28 so as to display information on the use of the franking apparatus for the accounting entity having the smart card, on the display device 24.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention which is shown in FIG. 2, a computer 20, such as a personal computer, is connected in the known manner by a communication link 32 to a second set 22 of card read-write. Naturally, it is envisaged that the card read-write assemblies 16 and 22 are one and the same assembly. The computer is provided with an appropriate program enabling the computer to interact with the card read-write assembly 22 so as to receive information on the use of the franking machine from a card 18 inserted in the assembly 22. In this way, if necessary, all the cards can be periodically collected from accounting entities and read in a card reader 22 so as to transfer the information from the cards to the memory from the computer. It is envisaged that the cards will be erased simultaneously during this information transfer process so that they are ready to start a new accounting period.

The information transferred from the cards to the computer 20 thus constitutes an accounting of all the uses of the franking apparatus 12 for the given accounting period. Advantageously, the computer can be programmed to store, display and / or print accounting information on the use of the postage meter in various formats. For this purpose, the computer 20 is connected to the display device 33 and / or to a printer 35 by communication links 37 and 39 and a keyboard 41. By way of example only and not limiting, three accounting formats for display and / or printing of information on the use of the franking apparatus for a given accounting entity are represented in fig. 3 to 5. In each of these illustrations, the accounting entity is indicated as hypothetical "department 123 credit control".

As shown in fig. 3, the computer 20 can be programmed to produce an accounting report indicating the type and value of postal transactions undertaken by the accounting entity during the accounting period. As shown in 34, for example, the identity of the hypothetical accounting entity is indicated. The accounting period 36, here "October 1986" is given and columns 38, 40, 42, respectively, identify the value, quantity and total cumulative value of each type of printed postal item. In column 38, designated "printed value", the value of each type of postal item checked is listed. In column 40, the quantity of articles corresponding to the types listed in column 38 is given, with a total value for each type of article indicated in column 42. As shown, at the bottom of each column, the totals 44 are given .

A second example of an accounting report is shown in fig. 4. In this example, a daily summary of activities is given. Columns 46, 48, 50 indicate the date, the quantity and the postal value of the postal articles printed by the hypothetical department 123 during the accounting period, namely October 1986. This configuration takes advantage of the clock provided in card 18 for store information on a daily basis. For any date shown in column 48, the total quantity of items printed and their total monetary value are shown in columns 48 and 50, respectively. Of course, the total period can be indicated as shown on line 52.

Now in connection with FIG. 5, there is shown a third example of an accounting report according to the present invention. This more complete format is a daily summary of postage meter usage for the period, including the quantity of the values of specific postal items printed on any day of the period. In addition, information on cumulative jobs from the year to the date in question is provided. Again, in fig. 5, the use by the hypothetical department 123 for the period October 1986 is indicated. In column 54 each date of use of the franking machine is mentioned. In columns 56 and 58, the quantity of particular items for postal values of interest that are printed for the corresponding date in column 54 is indicated. Column 60 represents the quantity of other types of postal items constituting the remaining postal value printed for the day in question. Column 62 lists the total monetary value of postage printed for each day shown in column 54. Again, the total quantity and monetary value figures for the period are shown in row 52. As shown in row 64, there It is envisaged to program the computer so as to provide, on an annual basis up to the date in question, the running total of the quantity and total monetary value of the postage printed. The programming for such a fabrication on the basis of previous periodic reports in the memory of the computer remains the competence of the technician.

Naturally, it is envisaged that item values, etc. can be shown. other than those shown in the previous illustrations. It is also envisaged that other for5

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Reports may be desirable or useful, such as, for example, monthly or annual reports and reports on the use of the postage meter by all departments.

Preferably, an additional smart card is provided for collecting and storing from the franking apparatus 12 the values “item count” and “total establishment” maintained in the franking apparatus. Thus, in the case where this data is collected at the beginning and at the end of each accounting period, this information can be cross-checked to ensure that account has been taken of all jobs in the 'postage meter. In addition to cross-checking the total use of the postage meter, this information would allow the calculation of information on jobs in the case of a lost card.

In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, which can be used when several departments of a company have their own smart cards and these departments share a single franking machine comprising the possibilities of writing / reading of card exposed above, each card may have been set to have a credit limit. Specifically, when a user inserts a card into the postage meter and attempts a postage operation which, if executed, would result in a total amount of funds spent by that user exceeding the credit limit, the the postage meter would be invalidated. This provision could also be useful when several companies share the use of a single postage meter.

In another advantageous embodiment of the present invention, a budget figure may have been preset in each card. This can be exceeded because it is not a credit limit. The card is programmed so that, when inserted into the card write-read assembly, a report is displayed (or can be printed) which has variances from the budget figures. An example of such a report is shown in fig. 6. Note that the different users identified in fig. 6 by the identification numbers I.D. 0011 to 0016 could be different departments of the same company, or different people or companies who share the use of the same franking machine.

Now in connection with FIG. 7, there is shown a relatively sophisticated accounting device for franking apparatus, according to the present invention. The illustrated device comprises a franking apparatus 100 connected to a user terminal 102 via a conventional communication link. An electronic balance 104 and, optionally, a printer 106 are also connected to the terminal 102. In place of the printer 106, an administration set 108 can be connected to the terminal 102, the set 108 comprising a microcomputer desktop 110, its display device 112 and a printer 114. The terminal 102 comprises a keyboard 120, a display device 122, and a set 124 for reading and writing a card. Also shown are smart cards SC1, SC2 and SCN. It will be noted that the device can take into account a multitude of users each having their own smart card.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, not illustrated, the smart card of one or more particular users can be programmed to operate in a manner particularly desired by this user. For example, a smart card could include additional programming that obtains and maintains a separate but subsidiary total for postage spent on all items for which the postal cost was greater than a predetermined limit. As other examples, if a particular user wants his reports to be displayed or printed in a particular format, a program will then be incorporated into his smart card, which, when the card is inserted in the read-write assembly of card, is read in the terminal 102 so as to instruct its display part so that it uses the required format.

Thus, the present invention provides a very flexible accounting system for multi-user franking apparatus. The system according to the present invention can advantageously be the subject of a catching up of material in existing electronic franking devices, this catching up being done on the spot. In fact, since the measuring module always remains inside the postage meter, and only an external electrical connection with the additional accounting system is necessary, the present system is easily adaptable to the existing regulations concerning the postage meters. Naturally it is envisaged that in the future it may prove desirable to provide, in the form of a single integrated set, the franking apparatus, the control unit and the card reading-writing unit. . However, since the functions of the postal measurement and printing module remain in the franking apparatus in a traditional manner, the integration of the control assembly and of the card read-write assembly in the housing of the device must meet existing postal regulations.

In addition, the preferred embodiment comprising a computer connected to a card read-write assembly allows for more advanced accounting than that which can be obtained with a standalone card accounting device and provides greater flexibility in the types of reports. accountants that can be produced.

The present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments which have just been described, it is on the contrary liable to modifications and variants which will appear to those skilled in the art.

As the principles of the present invention can be applied to the payment of various services, the word "postal" when used here must be considered more broadly and therefore not be limited to the activities of postal authorities alone.

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Claims (24)

Claims 1. Postal charges accounting device, characterized in that it comprises: a) an electronic franking device (12) comprising internal accounting registers; b) control assembly means (14) connected to the franking apparatus for controlling the latter; c) at least one intelligent user card (18) programmed to process information relating to the use of the franking apparatus, this card being arranged to be exclusively used with said apparatus, and the information relating to the use of the device comprising data entered in the internal accounting registers; and d) card read-write assembly means (16) connected to the control assembly means for reading information relating to the use of the postage meter from the smart user card. , as well as to write such information on it. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the control assembly means (14) activates the franking apparatus (12) for use when an authorized card (18) is inserted in the assembly means (16) card read-write, the control assembly means deactivating the franking machine in the absence of an authorized card. 3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the assembly means (16) of card read-write receives information on the use of the franking machine from this machine and transmits this information to the card (18), the card storing this information in a memory which it comprises. 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the information on the use of the franking apparatus stored in the card is read by the assembly means (16) of card read-write and is transmitted by means of control assembly (14) for display. 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the control assembly means transmits information on the use of the franking machine read from the card to the electronic franking machine (12 ) for display on a display panel (24) of this apparatus. 6. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that it further comprises a computer means (20) connected to the assembly means (22) of card read-write (18) for receiving from the card the information stored on the use of the franking apparatus when the card is introduced into the assembly means (22) for reading and writing the card and communicates with the latter. 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the computer means (20) is constructed so as to receive stored information on the use of the franking apparatus at from a multitude of cards (18) with integrated circuits. 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the computer means (20) produces accounting reports on the use of the franking machine from said information on the use of the franking machine. postage. 9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the information on the use of the franking apparatus comprises, for each transaction of this franking machine, the monetary value of the franking printed. 10. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that at least part of the cards (18) includes a budgetary figure and in that the computer means (20) is arranged so as to produce accounting reports comprising variances compared to the budget from said information on the use of the postage meter. 11. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one of the cards is pre-programmed with information on the format and the control assembly means (14) displays in accordance with format information. 12. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that at least one of the cards is pre-programmed with information on the format and the computer means (20) displays in accordance with the format information. 13. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: - computer means (20) for producing accounting reports; and - a second assembly means (22) for card read-write control connected to the computer means for reading information on the use of the franking apparatus from the card and providing said information to the means computer, so that this means produces accounting reports on the basis of said information on the use of the postage meter. 14. Device according to claim 13, characterized in that it further comprises a multitude of integrated circuit cards. 15. Device according to claim 14, characterized in that each card of the multitude of cards is supplied to an accounting entity. 16. Device according to claim 15, characterized in that the second card read-write assembly means reads information on the use of the postage meter from each of the cards and transmits this information by means computer. 17. Device according to claim 16, characterized in that the information on the use of the franking apparatus comprises, for each transaction of this franking machine, the value of the frankings printed during such a transaction. 18. Device according to claim 17, characterized in that the information on the use of the franking apparatus further comprises, for each date or period of use of the franking apparatus, the quantity of one or more 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 13 CH 680 242 A5 items of specific postage value printed on that date. 19. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: - a set of specialized integrated circuit cards (18) for use with the franking apparatus; - the assembly means (16) of card read-write being able to read the information of any of the cards inserted in the assembly means of read-write and to write information in said card; - the control assembly means being arranged so as to activate the franking apparatus for use when said card is placed in the card read-write assembly means, the information on the use of the franking apparatus being transmitted by this apparatus, the control assembly means and the read-write assembly means to said card, the card storing this information; and - a means (33) for displaying information on the use of the franking machine read from the card. 20. Device according to claim 19, characterized in that the means for displaying information on the use of the franking apparatus further comprises a computer means (20) connected to the reading assembly means. card writing to read said information from cards. 21. Device according to claim 20, characterized in that the computer means produces accounting reports on the basis of information on the use of the franking machine read from the cards. 22. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the integrated circuit card includes a credit limit and further comprises means which invalidate the franking apparatus when a user attempts a transaction which, if it were carried out, would result in exceeding the credit limit. 23. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the integrated circuit card has a part of its memory which contains a code by which access can be obtained via a security door at a location equipped with at least the franking apparatus and the entire card read-write means. 24. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises: - an electronic balance connected to the control unit, and - Printing means connected to the control assembly means for printing information according to the content of the accounting registers. î- 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8