JPH049719A - Postage balance - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To print data of a date onto a stamp in a suitable format corresponding to the kind of a mail or the area of the delivery by providing a storing mechanism for storing a plurality of formats to indicate the printing order of the date. CONSTITUTION:This postage charge balance is comprised of an operating part 10, a weighing part 30, a display part for customer 40 and a stamp issuing device 50. The operating part 10 displays various kinds of data, having a data input keyboard 11 and a display part for operator 12 to display the kind, weight and postage of a mail. The weighing part 30 measures the weight of the mail, and the customer's display part 40 displays data of the postage charge and the like. A stamp is issued from the stamp issuing device 50 after the postage charge and date are printed on the stamp. A plurality of formats are stored to indicate the printing order of dates in format storing part ROMs 17, 18 etc. A format is selected from the ROMs 17, 18 etc. based on the kind of the mail input through the input part 11. Then, the data of the data is printed on the stamp in a specific format corresponding to the kind of the mail through control of a printing controlling part CPU 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field J] The present invention relates to a postage processing device, particularly a postage scale that measures the weight of mail items to calculate postage charges and prints the calculated charges on stamps. Regarding.

``Prior Art'' There are two types of mail: domestic mail whose address is within Japan, and international mail whose address is outside Japan. In addition, the types of mail are further subdivided into domestic and international mail items, and it is also possible to specify special handling such as registered mail or express delivery.

Therefore, the fee calculation process in conventional postage scales is performed by a normal postage scale that calculates the price of an item from the weight and unit price of the item, or a counting scale that calculates the number of items from the weight of the item and the unit weight of the item. is significantly more complex than .

For this reason, a single postage scale that can calculate the postage for both domestic mail and international mail and issue stamps with the calculated charges printed on them has not been put into practical use.

However, recently, with the development of microcomputers and high-performance load cells that can process large amounts of data at high speed, it has become possible to calculate the charges for domestic mail and international mail and to issue stamps with the calculated charges printed on them. A postage scale that made it possible was developed.

``Problem to be Solved by the Invention'' By the way, while the fee is printed on the certificate stamp, the date of issue is also printed on it, but this does not apply to calculation of fees for domestic mail and international mail. Postage scales that issue certificate stamps have the following problems to be solved regarding the arrangement of date data printed on certificate stamps (hereinafter referred to as format).

In other words, in the conventional postage scale for domestic mail items, the 8th
As shown in Figure (a), the date data on the certificate stamp is "year", "
In contrast, in the conventional postage scale for international mail, the numbers are printed in the order of "Month" and "Day" (90.02.16 in the figure), as shown in Figure 8 (b). As in, usually
Write the date data on the certificate stamp in the order of "day", "month", "year" (
In the figure, 16.02.90) is printed.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 8(c), depending on the delivery area (for example, North America - America, Canada), date data may be written on the certificate stamp in the order of "month", "day", and "year" (in the figure). 02
・16・90) In some cases, it is printed. Note that below, format A is used to print date data in the order shown in Figure 8 (a), and format B is used to print date data in the order shown in Figure 8 (b).
1. The case where date data is printed in the order shown in FIG. 8(c) is called Format C.

Therefore, as mentioned above, in a postage scale that handles both domestic mail and international mail and issues stamps with date data printed on them, the printing format of date data can be changed. 2 or 3 of the above
Seed format A.

If you standardize on one of B and C, the order of date data will be different from the normal order of date data for those using other formats, making it difficult to judge date data or This causes the inconvenience that data reading errors are more likely to occur.

To resolve this inconvenience, each time a certificate stamp is issued, the operator should use a key to specify whether to print the date data in the format after confirming the destination of the mail. Such a designation operation is completely unnecessary in the past, and forcing the operator to perform a special designation operation causes the inconvenience of complicating the operation of the postage scale.

Furthermore, if a specification operation is required, the specification operation is troublesome, and if the specification operation is forgotten or the wrong format is specified, the date data may be stored in a format different from the format that should be used. This is extremely inconvenient as it will end up being printed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and allows date data to be printed on certificate stamps in an appropriate format according to the mail type and delivery area without placing an extra burden on the operator. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a postage scale that does the following.

"Means for Solving the Problems" A postage scale according to the first invention of the present application includes an input section for inputting a postal type of mail, a weighing section for weighing the weight of the mail, and the postage type and the weight. A format in which a plurality of formats indicating the printing order of the dates are stored, comprising a postage calculation unit that calculates the postage based on the date, and a printing unit that prints the postage on the stamp along with date data. a storage section, a determining means for determining whether the mail is a domestic mail or an international mail based on the postal type inputted from the input section, and a format storage section for specifying the format based on the determination result of the determining means. The present invention is characterized by comprising a selection section for selecting a seven format format, and a print control section for controlling printing of the date data on the certificate stamp in accordance with the specific format selected by the selection section.

The postage scale of the second invention of the present application includes an input section for inputting the mail type and delivery area of the mail, a weighing section for measuring the weight of the mail, and a postage scale for inputting the postal type and delivery area and the weight. A format storage unit that stores a plurality of formats indicating the printing order of the dates, the apparatus comprising a postage calculation unit that calculates postage charges, and a printing unit that prints the postage charges on a certificate stamp together with date data; , determining means for determining whether the mail item is a domestic mail item or an international mail item based on the postal type input from the input unit, and further determining the delivery area when it is determined that the mail item is an international mail item;
a selection section that selects a specific format from the format storage section based on the judgment result of the judgment means; and a print control section that controls printing of the date data on the certificate stamp in accordance with the specific format selected by the selection section. It is characterized by being equipped.

"Operation" In the postage scale of the first invention of the present application, the format storage section stores a plurality of 7 oz. A particular 7-ormant is selected from the format store based on the format. Then, the print control unit prints the date data on the certificate stamp according to a specific format corresponding to the type of mail.

In the first invention of the present application, based on the postal type that is always input during normal mail reception work, a format corresponding to this postal type is automatically selected, and date data is stored according to this specific format. Since it is printed on the certificate stamp, it corresponds to mail belonging to a specific mail type.
Date data can be automatically printed in the optimal format.

In addition, in the postage scale of the second invention of the present application, a plurality of formats indicating the printing order of dates are stored in the 7-order storage section, and the selection section selects the postal type input by the operator from the input section. and a particular format is selected from the format storage based on the delivery area. Then, the print control unit prints the date data on the certificate stamp according to a specific format corresponding to the delivery area.

In the second invention of the present application, based on the postal type that is always input during normal mail reception work and the delivery area that is input as necessary, a format corresponding to the postal type and delivery area is automatically created. Since the date is selected and printed on the certificate stamp according to this specific format, the date data is automatically printed in the optimal format for mail belonging to the specific postal type yJ11 and delivery area. be able to.

“Embodiment” An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the postage scale of this embodiment includes an operation section 1o for inputting data such as mail type and displaying various types of pigs, and a weighing section 30 for weighing the weight of mail. , a customer display section 40 that displays data such as postage, and a stamp issuing machine 5o that prints the amount and date and issues a stamp. The operation section 1o also includes a keyboard 11 for inputting data, and an operator display section 12 for displaying mail type, weight, and postage.

FIG. 2 shows the electrical configuration of the postage scale of this embodiment.

The keyboard 11 and operator display section 12 are connected to the CPU 13 via a bus. The measuring section 30
is connected to the CPU 3 via a weighing section interface (in the drawings, it is referred to as the weighing section INF) 14, and the customer display section 40 is connected to the customer display section interface (in the drawings, it is called the customer display section INF). ) 15 is connected to C, PU 13. Further, the certificate stamp issuing machine 50 is connected to the CPU 13 via a certificate stamp issuing machine interface (described as a certificate stamp issuing machine INF in the drawing) 16.
It is connected to the.

Further, the CPU 13 is connected to a control ROM 17 in which a program for controlling the entire postage scale is stored, and a charge ROM 1B in which a postage table corresponding to each mail type is stored. Furthermore, CPtJ13 includes RAM1 which stores various data and is used as a work area.
9 and a clock unit 20 with a calendar function that measures the year, month, day, and time are connected via a bus. In addition, in FIG. 2, 21 is an expansion interface used when connecting other equipment to the postage scale.

Inside the certificate stamp issuing machine 50, there is a
R-shaped paper is wound into a roll, and the paper is fed out and cut into a predetermined length after printing. Printing on certificate stamps is usually done using red ink. Inside the certificate stamp issuing machine 50, as shown in FIG.
"Japan Post", "a stamp printing unit that prints a stamp consisting of a pigeon shape J, etc., and "postage amount data",
It has a built-in numeric printing section that prints numeric data consisting of "date data."

The stamp printing section prints a common stamp mark on all certificate stamps using a stamp installed in the proof stamp issuing machine, and the number printing section prints a stamp stamp that is common to all certificate stamps.
Variable data such as "amount data" and "date data" are printed in response to signals from the operation unit 10.

Further, the certificate stamp issuing machine 50 prints the data sent from the operation unit 10 at predetermined positions on the certificate stamp in the order in which they are sent. That is, the certificate stamp issuing machine 50 simply prints the data in the order in which it was sent, but does not rearrange the data.

On the other hand, the operation section 10 rearranges the date data and amount data into a predetermined 7-order format before transmitting them to the certificate stamp issuing machine 50. Date data is stored in a date register, which will be described later, and amount data is stored in a total amount register, which will be described later.

That is, the date data in the clock section 20 of the operation section 10 is periodically read out by the CPU 13 and stored in the RAM.
It is stored in the date register in 19.

This date register is composed of a year register, a month register, a day register, and an era year register. Here, if we take the certificate stamps shown in Figures 8(a), (b), and (c) as an example, "90" is in the year register and "0" is in the month register.
"2" is stored in the day register, "16" is stored in the era name/year register, and "02" is stored in the era name/year register. Here, the era name year register is used when printing the date in the era name display as well as the Western calendar display, and the CPU 13 reads the data in the year register of the date registers and performs predetermined calculations. After converting to era name year, this result is stored in the era name year register.

Furthermore, the RAM 19 of the operation unit 10 is provided with a total amount register in which the total amount of postage is stored. The total amount including the special handling fee depending on the case is stored.

For example, in the case of FIG. 8(a), 360 is stored, and in the case of FIG. 8(1), 4800 is stored.

On the other hand, the RAM 19 of the operation unit 10 is provided with a mail type register in which the mail type is encoded and stored.

This mail type register stores a code (for example, 013) corresponding to the mail type input from the keyboard 11. The code in the mail type register is configured so that it can be determined from the numerical value whether the mail type is domestic mail or international mail. That is, in the code 013 illustrated above, the first number 0 indicates that it is a domestic mail item.

In the case of international mail, the code is set so that the first number is 1, for example, 130.

Next, the operating procedure and order of operation of the postage scale of this embodiment will be explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

That is, when the power switch is turned on, the program version is displayed on the operator display section 12 and a screen informing that a memory check is in progress is displayed, and then an initial screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed.

The operator receives the mail from the customer, listens to the customer's request, determines the mail type, and inputs the mail type from the keyboard 11 (Step 1 (denoted as SL in the drawings; the same applies hereinafter)). . For example, if the type of mail you received is an ordinary parcel, District 1 (inner city), press the Brise Nod key "Package (1) Inner City" and input.
The operator display section 121 is not shown in FIG. 5. A screen like this is displayed.

Next, the operator places the mail on the weighing pan of the weighing section 30 and weighs the mail (step 2).

As a result, the mail weight signal from the weighing section 30 is changed to CP.
The weight value is input to U13, converted into a weight value, and displayed on the operator display section 12 and the customer display section 40. At this time, C
The PU 13 refers to the data in the charge ROM 15, determines the weight category to which the mail belongs and the corresponding normal charge according to the charge system of the mail type, and displays these together on the operator display section 12 ( Step 3). As a result, the screen of the operator display section 12 becomes as shown in the sixth section. Note that the Kamishi regular charge is also displayed on the customer display section 40.

The above-mentioned normal charge is stored in the normal charge register and the total amount register of the RAM 19.

The operator further listens to the customer's request and determines whether special handling (for example, registered mail, express delivery) is available (step 4).

In step 4, if there is special handling, use the keyboard 11 to select the special type and various data (
For example, the amount of compensation for damages when sending cash by registered mail is input (step 5).

The CPU 13 refers to the charge ROM 18 and calculates a special charge for special handling according to the input special handling type, adds the charge to the above-mentioned normal charge, and stores it in the RAM 1.
The total amount is stored in the total amount register 9 and displayed on the operator display section 12 and the customer display section 40 (step 6).

Note that the above-mentioned special handling can be specified multiple times, and if two or more points are pointed out, the processing of steps 5 and 6 above is repeated.

On the other hand, if the judgment in step 4 is rNOJ, that is, if no special handling is to be performed, or if the designation of special handling has already been completed in the process of step 5.6, the operator decides whether to issue a certificate stamp or not. (Step 7).

When issuing a certificate stamp, press the "end" key (step 8). The operation of this "end" key also serves as a certificate stamp issuance command. In addition. When there is no need to issue a certificate (for example, to confirm a fee), the process ends.

In step 8, when the "Exit" key is pressed, the CP
U13 determines whether the mail type specified in step 1 is domestic mail (step 9). That is,
When the "end" key is pressed, the CPU 13
, AM19, and compares whether the first number is rQJ or rlJ to determine whether the mail is a domestic mail or an international mail.

If it is determined in step 9 that it is a domestic mail item, the date data is printed on the stamp in the order of "year", "month", and "day" according to format A, as shown in Figure 8 (a). (Step 10). That is, when the mail is a domestic mail, the data in the rate register, the data in the era name year register in the date register, the data in the year register in the date register, the data in the month register in the 84-inch register, and the date register. The CPL 113 sends a data group consisting of the order of data in the day register to the certificate stamp issuing machine 50.
Send to. The certificate stamp issuing machine 50 reads this data group from the beginning and prints it at a predetermined position on the certificate stamp.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 9 that the item is other than domestic mail, that is, if the item is international mail,
As shown in Figure (b), the date data is printed on the certificate stamp in the order of ``day'', ``month'', and year F according to 7 Omatsu B (
Step 11). In other words, when the mail is an international mail, a data group consisting of the data in the charge register, the data in the era name/year register in the date register, the data in the day register, the data in the month register, and the data in the year register is created. , the CPU 13 transmits the information to the certificate stamp issuing machine 50. Then, the certificate stamp issuing machine 50 reads this data group from the beginning and prints it at a predetermined position on the certificate stamp.

When the certificate stamp is issued in steps 10 and 1, the operator display section 12 returns to the initial screen as shown in FIG. 4, and the process ends.

As explained above, in this embodiment, the optimal format corresponding to the postal type of the mail is selected based on the postal type that is always input from the keyboard 11 during normal work, and the print data is printed in this format. Therefore, date data can be printed in the optimal format corresponding to the mail type without the operator having to be particularly aware of the need for special format designation operations. Therefore, there is no possibility of making a mistake or forgetting to select the 7-ohmat.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to flowchart 1 in FIG. In this embodiment, as mentioned above, the certificate stamp of international mail usually has the date, month, and
For example, the number 8 is printed on the stamp of mail destined for North America (USA, Canada).
As shown in Figure (c), date data is printed in accordance with 7 Omatsu C.

This device performs substantially the same processing as in the embodiment described above. In this embodiment, by taking advantage of the fact that a delivery area (for example, an area for international mail parcels) may be specified as data input for postage calculation from the keyboard 11 in step 1, in step 9 After determining whether the item is a domestic mail item or an international mail item, if it is determined that the item is an international mail item, it is determined whether the item is destined for North America or not (step 12).

When it is determined in step 12 that the date is destined for North America, the date (-j data is printed in the 7-orbit C shown in FIG. Then, send the data group to the certificate stamp issuing machine 50, and arrange the data in the charge register, the era year register, the month register, the day register, and the year register in this order. The certificate stamp issuing machine 50 prints the date data at a predetermined position on the certificate stamp.

In this embodiment, the formant in which date data is printed is selected based on the delivery area information (for example, area designation for international mail parcels) that is set along with the mail type. The region may be specifically input using the keyboard 1], and the format may be selected based on this delivery region. In this case, it is possible to more precisely specify the 7 Omatsu depending on the delivery area.

In each of the above embodiments, the certificate stamp issuing machine 5 is
0, send a data group formatted by rearranging the year data, month data, and day data in the printing order, and read and print this data group sequentially from the beginning, or set it in advance. The CPU 13 stores date data consisting of year data, month data, and day data stored in order, and format data specifying the printing order.
to the certificate stamp issuing machine 50, and on the certificate stamp issuing machine 50 side,
The printing order of the date data may be determined and printed based on the format data.

In each of the embodiments described above, the operation unit 10 and the certificate stamp issuing machine 50 are configured separately, but they may be configured as one unit. Furthermore, these may be integrated with the weighing section 30 and the customer display section 40.

In each of the above embodiments, the printing mechanism of the certificate stamp issuing machine 50 employs a stamp system for printing with a stamp.
A dot printer can also be used.

In each of the above embodiments, the data in the date register in the RAM 19 is automatically updated by the clock section 20 connected to the CPU 13. At times, the date may be entered manually from the keyboard 11 and stored in the date register.

"Effects of the Invention" As explained above, the postage scale of the present invention stores a plurality of formats indicating the printing order of date data, and selects a specific format according to the input mail type. Since the date data is printed on the certificate stamp according to this specific format, the date data can be printed without any special operation by the operator.
The certificate stamp can be printed in an appropriate format according to the mail type and delivery area. Therefore, it is possible to prevent misreading of formatted date data and improve visibility without placing an extra burden on the operator.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 6 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing its overall configuration, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing its electrical configuration, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operating procedure, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the initial screen of the operator display, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operator display screen when a specific mail type is specified, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the operator display screen. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing various print formats. 10... Operation unit, 11... Keyboard, 13...
CPU117...Control ROM, 1B...Charge ROM
, 20...Clock department, 30...Measuring department, 50...Certificate issuing machine. Figure 3

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An input section for inputting the postal type of the mail, a weighing section for measuring the weight of the mail, a postage calculation section for calculating the postage based on the postal type and the weight, and the postal charge calculating section for calculating the postage based on the postal type and the weight; A postage scale comprising a printing unit that prints charges on a certificate stamp along with date data, a format storage unit storing a plurality of formats indicating the printing order of the dates, and a postage scale based on the postal type input from the input unit. determining means for determining whether the mail is a domestic mail item or an international mail item; a selection unit for selecting a specific format from the format storage unit based on the determination result of the determination unit; and a print control unit that controls printing of the date data on the certificate stamp according to a specific format. (2) An input section for inputting the postal type and delivery area of the postal item, a weighing unit for measuring the weight of the postal item, and a postage rate for calculating the postage based on the postal type, delivery area, and weight. A postage scale comprising a calculation unit and a printing unit that prints the postage along with date data on a certificate stamp; a determination means for determining whether the mail is a domestic mail or an international mail based on the determined mail type, and further determining the delivery area when the mail is determined to be an international mail; A postage charge comprising: a selection section that selects a specific format from the format storage section; and a print control section that controls printing of the date data on the certificate stamp in accordance with the specific format selected by the selection section. Scales.