Postage meter machine with a chip card write/read unit and method for operating same

US6418422B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Francotyp-Postalia GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Stephan Guenther · Staufen im Breisgau, DE
• Olav A. Zarges · Berlin, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 15, 1998
• Grant date: Jul 9, 2002
• Expiry date: Dec 15, 2018

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G07B2017/00177
• WIPO field: Control
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A postage meter machine with a chip card write/read unit has a controller which, in conjunction with suitably initialized chip cards, allows the function input and the administration of cost center to be handled to be simplified. For deriving chip cards that individually allow only a limited function to be implemented, i.e. the cards are of a limited function scope, a table with a specific hierarchic structure can be produced using the keyboard and display and with the assistance of the microprocessor and the appertaining non-volatile memories within the postage meter machine, so that a pre-stored structure is correspondingly modified by the user. A tree structure in the hierarchy thereby arises for second chip cards and further successor cards derived from the specific application function cards that allow access to the table with their chip card number internally stored in the chip card. The function allocation applications to the chip card number can be arbitrarily selectably stored in non-volatile memory areas by the authorized user