Arrangement and method for data exchange between a postage meter machine and clip cards

US6385597B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Francotyp-Postalia GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Stephan Guenther · Staufen im Breisgau, DE
• Ralf Kubatzki · Berlin, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 15, 1998
• Grant date: May 7, 2002
• Expiry date: Dec 15, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G07B2017/00935
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

In an arrangement and a method for data exchange between a postage meter machine and chip cards, a postage meter machine is equipped with a chip card write/read unit and appertaining control system wherein first, corresponding to a succession number a specific insertion sequence for valid chip cards is required in order to reload (update) data, and second, an authorized user is allowed to define a specific sequence for the insertion of lower-ranking, suitably initialized chip cards in order to simplify the function and data entered into the postage meter machine. These latter chip cards set a limited function scope within the postage meter. For their initialization, a table with a specific hierarchic (tree) structure is produced by the user by modifying a pre-stored structure in the postage meter machine. The further chip cards allow access to the table with their chip card number in order to call function applications with limit data that are stored in non-volatile memory areas allocated to the chip card number.