Patent ID: 7219084
Filing Date: 2007-05-15
Classification: G07B

Abstract:
1. A method for processing postal matter comprising the steps of: providing a receiving station having no security against monetary theft and at said receiving station allowing a customer to deposit a postal item to be shipped by a shipper that requires payment before shipping said item, and to enter shipping data for said postal item into said receiving station, requiring said customer to arrange for payment for said shipping at said receiving station, and, at said receiving station, printing a machine-readable marking, not governmentally approved for franking, on said postal item representing said shipping data, to produce a marked but unfranked postal item, and temporarily storing said marked postal item at said receiving station; transporting said marked postal item to a distributing station, remote from and unconnected to said receiving station, and providing a franking apparatus and a memory accessible by said franking apparatus at said distributing station, and transferring said shipping data from said marking into said memory at said distributing station; and franking said postal item with said franking apparatus with a governmentally approved franking imprint at said distributing station according to said shipping data transferred from said marking and stored in said memory to produce a franked postal item.