Patent ID: 6111951
Filing Date: 2000-08-29
Classification: G06K,G07B

Abstract:
A postage meter machine comprising:a printer for printing an imprint on a print-receiving medium;a control system connected to said printer for controlling a printing procedure resulting in printing of said imprint by said printer, said control system including a microprocessor, a non-volatile memory, having a plurality of non-volatile memory areas, connected to said microprocessor, and a user interface connected to said microprocessor;a chip card write/read unit connected to said microprocessor;plurality of chip cards, including a first chip card and further chip cards, individually insertable into said chip card write/read unit, each of said chip cards having a chip card number;said user interface allowing a user to store a plurality of functions, associated with said printing procedure, in said non-volatile memory areas with said functions being allocated in an arbitrarily selectable manner by said user, via said user interface, to the respective chip card numbers of said chip cards;said first chip card having limit data stored therein which limit the respective functions allocated to said chip card numbers;said microprocessor, upon insertion of said first chip card in said chip card write/read unit, loading said limit data into a storage medium and storing said limit data therein;a program memory, accessible by said microprocessor, containing a plurality of programs respectively allocated to said plurality of functions; andsaid microprocessor, upon insertion, after insertion and removal of said first chip card, of one of said further chip cards in said chip card write/read unit as an inserted chip card, loading only the number of said inserted chip card and calling the application function allocated thereto in said non-volatile memory areas, as a called function, and also calling the limit data allocated to said called function, and executing, limited by said limit data, the program allocated to said called function in said program memory.