Method and system for weighing items such as mail pieces
US6825423B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 28, 2002 |
| Grant date | Nov 30, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 27, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01G19/035
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A weighing system and a postage metering system including such a weighing system. The weighing system includes a transport assembly having a transport for receiving and outputting mail pieces to be weighed and for supporting mail pieces while they are weighed, and a feeder for successively feeding the mail pieces to the transport. A transducer supports the transport and generates and output representative of the load presented by pairs of mail pieces on the transport. After a current item and a previous item are weighed together on the transport, the transport is energized to output the previous item and replace the previous item with the current item, and the feeder is energized to input a next item to the transport as a new current item. The postage metering system computes the weight of the current mail piece as the difference between the weight measured for the current mail piece and the previous mail piece weighed together and the weight of the previous mail piece and determines the appropriate postage in accordance with that weight. The postage metering system prints the previous mail piece with the postage determined for it when it was the current mail piece as it is output.…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.