Metering system with remotely resettable time lockout

Abstract: A metering system (10) requires a user to provide periodic, accurate meter readings to a billing authority. The metering system (10) includes a mechanism (24) for dispensing postage or another accountable quantity, an accounting mechanism (22,26) for updating and storing information regarding the amount of postage dispensed by the dispensing mechanism (24) and an output mechanism (30) for outputting the stored postage information. The system also includes a mechanism (28) for storing a time deadline, a clock (32) that provides a current date signal and a lock that disables the dispensing mechanism (24) when the current date is not before the stored deadline. The system also includes a reset mechanism for extending the stored deadline. A user of the system reads the output of the system to obtain a current meter reading. The user then telephones the billing authority's data center (20), provides the current reading to the data center and receives back from the center an encrypted combination that reflects the reading provided by the user. The user enters the combination into the system (10). The meter (10) decrypts the combination and verifies that the reading provided by the user matches the stored postage information. The meter then extends the stored deadline.

Description: This invention relates to postage metering systems and to methods of obtaining a meter reading. Various types of metering devices are known. One example is the electronic postage meter as, for instance, described in U.S. Patent No. 3,978,457 to Check et al. As is well known, postage meters include an ascending register, that stores a running total of all postage dispensed by the meter, and a descending register, that holds the remaining amount of postage credited to the meter and that is reduced by the amount dispensed each time postage is printed by the meter. Because U. S. Postal Service regulations require that postage be paid in advance, it had traditionally been required that the user of a postage meter periodically present the meter to a Postal Service employee for recharging. At the time of recharging, the user paid to the Postal Service the amount of postage to be credited to the meter and the postal employee credited or recharged the meter by increasing the setting of the descending register by the amount paid. As the meter was used to dispense postage (by printing meter stamps on envelopes or labels), the setting of the descending register was reduced until either the meter was again recharged, or the setting reached zero or a pre-established figure near zero, at which point the meter was automatically locked, and thereby prevented from printing further meter stamps, until the meter was recharged. This locking feature is sometimes referred to as a "credit lockout", signifying that the meter is disabled upon exhaustion of the previously credited amount. An improved and more convenient method of recharging postage meters while still satisfying Postal Service regulatory requirements has been developed and is described, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,792,446 to McFiggins, et al., entitled "Remote Postage Meter Resetting Method". As described in the McFiggins, et al. patent, a postage meter includes a combination lock that inhibits recharging of the meter. The required combination randomly changes each time the lock is opened. The user of the postage meter maintains an account with a credit balance. A central data center maintains a record of the user's account. When the user wishes to recharge the meter, he places a telephone call to the data center. The data center, using a voice answer back system, obtains identifying information from the user, verifies the information and checks to see that the user has sufficient funds in his account to cover the postage to be credited to the meter. The data center then provides a combination to the user that will allow the meter to be credited with a pre-determined amount of postage. At the same time, the center debits that amount from the user's account. The user enters into the postage meter the combination received from the data center. The meter is then unlocked so that the user can increment the descending register by the predetermined amount. The remote recharging method described by McFiggins et al. was implemented with great success. A subsequent adaptation and improvement of this method is described in U.S. Patent No. 4,097,923 to Eckert et al. The system of Eckert et al. is operable with a microcomputer controlled postage meter and allows the user to select a variable amount of postage with which the meter is to be credited. In the Eckert et al. system the user advises the data center of the selected amount of postage and the data center provides a combination that reflects the selected amount of postage. The user enters the selected amount and the combination into the meter, which makes its own calculation of a combination based upon the entered amount. The calculated combination is compared to the entered combination and if the two are consistent, the descending register is incremented by the entered amount. GB-A-2 178 696 describes a postage metering lock-out security system for use with electronic postage meters and for use with a postage metering system that operates in conjunction with a users computer and print-erthat prints postal value. With the lock-out security system, in order for postage to be printed, the postage-metering control unit must receive a valid signal or password. The password may also be used to identify a particular user for accounting purposes. The metering system can also be provided with an internal clock so that metering may take place only within circumscribed times. An additional security feature is provided by an automatic call-back for postage recharging from a remote data centre in order to assure that the meter is physically located at the appropriate location. In contrast to the U.S. Postal Service, the postal authorities of some foreign countries do not require prepayment of postage in all cases. In those countries, postage meters are not required to have the credit lock-out feature. Postage meters of the type previously described herein may be adapted for use in those countries by, for example, eliminating the mechanism that locks the meter when the descending register reaches its minimum reading, or by omitting the descending register entirely, or by setting the descending register to a very high reading, or by allowing the user to reset the descending register whenever necessary. However, since postage is not prepaid, arrangements must be made for payment after the fact. Typically these arrangements include presentation of the meter for reading by a postal employee with payment in response to billing based on the meter reading. There is considerable inconvenience in carrying the meter to a post office for reading, or in dispatching a postal employee to the user's office. Inconvenience in meter reading is not confined to postage meters used in post-payment countries. For example, conventional utility meters, such as gas, water or electric meters also are read by a utility company employee. Although some utility companies require their customers to read the meter and to mail in a reporting card with the current reading, accuracy of the customer's reports still must be periodically verified by sending an employee to read the meter. With or without interim reports from customers, the utility incurs the expense of maintaining a force of meter readers. It has been proposed to obtain meter readings via telecommunications, as for example in: U.S. Patent No. 4,833,618 to Verma et al., entitled "System for Automatically Reading Utility Meters from a Remote Location"; U.S. Patent No. 4,878,245 to Bradley et al., entitled "Control and Metering System for Pay Television over a Cable Network." However, the addition of telecommunication receiving and transmitting equipment to the meter would add significantly to the cost of manufacturing a meter. Also, and particularly in the case of utility or postage meters, attachment to the meter of a dedicated but rarely used telephone line would entail substantial additional operating costs. EP-B-0 219 577 describes a metering system in which a subscriber may pay in advance for an amount of a utility or supply of the utility for a predetermined period. According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a postage metering system according to claim 1. The deadline reset mechanism may include an input mechanism for receiving a verification signal and a comparison mechanism for comparing the verification signal with the stored accounting information. The deadline reset mechanism extends the stored time deadline if the verification signal is in accordance with the stored accounting information. A metering system as just described provides a convenient way to require a customer to provide accurate and timely meter readings. Another aspect of the invention provides a method of obtaining a postage meter reading according to claim 14. A data center of the type previously described may be conveniently adapted to operate with the method just described. For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a postage metering system and a data center for operation in accordance with one embodiment of the subject invention; Fig. 2 is a flow chart of a program that controls the metering system of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a flow chart of a program that operates the data center of Fig. 1. Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments A. Postage Metering System with Time Lockout Fig. 1 shows schematically a postage meter 10 and a data center 20 for resetting meter 10. Meter 10 includes processor 22, print mechanism 24, vault 26, non-volatile memory 28, user interface 30 and clock-calendar device 32. Connecting circuitry 34 interconnects processor 22 with mechanism 24, vault 26, memory 28, interface 30 and device 32. Vault 26 is preferably a physically secure nonvolatile memory that stores postal data such as the ascending and descending registers. Vault 26 may be combined with nonvolatile memory 28. Both nonvolatile memory 28 and clock calendar device 32 are also preferably constructed to be secure from tampering in the same known manner as vault 26. Interface 30 may comprise, for example, a keyboard (not shown) for receiving input from a user and display (not shown) for displaying information to the user. Meter 10 may also include volatile memory, such as RAM (not shown). It will be understood that processor 22 may include or be associated with a permanent program memory such as a ROM for holding a program that controls processor 22. Meter 10 may be realized by modifying a conventional electronic postage meter (such as the model 6500 marketed by Pitney Bowes Inc., Stamford, Connecticut, or such as the meter of above referenced Pat. No. 3,978,457) to include a calendar clock chip such as the model ICM7170 from Intersil Inc., Cupertino, California, the model MM58274 from National Semiconductor Corporation, Santa Clara, California, or the model MC146818 from Motorola Semiconductor Products Inc., Phoenix, Arizona. Data center 20 includes a host computer 40 connected to a memory 42 containing a customer database. Audio response unit (ARU) 44 is also connected to computer 40. In its physical realization, data center 20 may for example resemble the data center described in the above referenced U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,792,446 or 4,097,923. Connecting line 46 represents exchange of data between data center 20 and meter 10. The data exchange occurs via the user, who reads data from user interface 30 of meter 10, places a telephone call to data center 20, conveys meter data to data center 20, receives resetting data from ARU 44, and inputs the resetting data into meter 10 through interface 30. Fig. 2 illustrates a software routine that controls the operation of meter 10. The routine commences with a determination as to whether a resetting combination has been input into the meter (step 100). If so, step 102 follows, at which it is determined whether the entered combination is valid. The determination of the validity of the combination may, for example, be as described in above referenced Pat. No. 4,097,923. If the combination was found to be valid, step 104 follows, at which the descending register is incremented. Then at step 106 processor 22 receives from clock calendar device 32 a signal that represents the current date and time. Processor 22 then stores the date and time in nonvolatile memory 28 (step 108). The routine then ends. If at step 102 the combination was found not to be valid, an error message was displayed through user interface 30 (step 110) and the routine then ends. If at step 100 a resetting combination was not input, step 112 follows, at which it is determined whether postage printing is requested. If not, the routine ends. If postage printing is requested, it is next determined, at step 114, whether there are sufficient funds in the vault, i.e. whether the descending register has a reading sufficiently high to permit printing of the requested postage amount (step 114). If there are not sufficient funds, an error message is displayed (step 110) and the routine ends. If there are sufficient funds, step 116 follows at which processor 22 obtains a current date and time signal from the clock calendar device 32 and compares that to the last date and time stored in nonvolatile memory 28. Then at step 118, it is determined whether the current date and time exceed the stored date and time by more than a predetermined time limit, which may be, for instance, 30 or 90 days. If the elapsed time does exceed the limit, an error message is displayed (step 110) and the routine ends without printing of postage. Thus, it can be seen that the last stored date and time together with the predetermined time limit constitute a time deadline which results in a timed lockout of the meter once the current time reaches that deadline. Returning to step 118, if the time limit is not exceeded, step 120 follows, at which the meter prints postage through print mechanism 24 and then updates vault 26 by adding the amount of postage dispensed to the ascending register and subtracting that amount from the descending register. The routine then ends. Fig. 3 illustrates a software routine by which the data center 20 receives a meter reading from a meter user and provides a resetting combination. The routine begins with receipt of a telephone call from a meter user. At step 150, data center 20, through ARU 44, prompts the user to enter information identifying the meter that is to be reset and to provide the readings for at least one of the ascending and descending registers. Then at step 152 data center 20 looks up in customer data base 42 the records appertaining to the customer holding the identified meter. As discussed in the above referenced pats. nos. 3,792,446 and 4,097,923, data center 20 may also verify that the entered information was correct. It is then determined, at step 154, whether the customer holding the meter is subject to a credit limit. If so, step 156 follows, at which a refill amount is computed that reflects the amount of the credit limit and the meter readings supplied by the user. If not, step 158 follows, in which a resetting amount is computed which maximizes the setting on the descending register. Following step 156 or 158, as the case may be, is step 160 at which data center 20 computes and transmits to the user a resetting combination. The combination will reflect, in encrypted form, both the authorized resetting amount and at least one of the register values input to the data center 20 by the user. When the user then inputs the combination provided by data center 20 into meter 10, initiating the routine of Fig. 2, meter 10 will use the combination at step 102 to verify that valid register values had been input by the user at step 150. Returning now to Fig. 3, step 162 follows step 160. At step 162 data center 20 stores the current date and register values received from the user in customer data base 42. Data center 20 now has all information required to generate a current account billing to the customer for postage dispensed by meter 10. It will be recognized that the postage metering system just described includes a credit lockout as well as a time lockout. However, it is within the contemplation of this invention that the credit lockout be omitted. In such an embodiment, vault 26 may comprise only an ascending register. In this case, the ascending register may be reset to zero each time a valid combination is received. In operation, step 104 is replaced by a step in which the ascending register is reset to zero. In serving a meter of this embodiment, the data center's operation may omit steps 154, 156, 158 (Fig. 3). Alternatively, if it is desired to establish credit limits for meter users, or to disable meters of users who fail to make required payments, steps 154, 156, 158 may be replaced by a subroutine in which the data center determines whether the user's credit limit has been exceeded or the user is past due in his payments, in which case no combination is transmitted to the user. It will also be recognized that there are a number of alternative ways in which the time deadline may be stored. For example, in the embodiment previously described nonvolatile memory 28 stores the latest time at which a valid combination is received, and thereafter compares elapsed time from the stored time against a predetermined time limit. As an alternative, nonvolatile memory 28 may store a future time as a time deadline, which may for instance be 30 or 90 days later than date on which a valid combination was last received. The meter then compares a current time and date signal, as provided by the clock/calendar, with the stored deadline and locks or simply does not actuate the printing mechanism if the current date is not before the deadline. The metering system advantageously also includes a routine for testing whether the time deadline will soon be reached and displaying a warning of this fact. Additional steps to accomplish these functions may readily be inserted, for example between steps 118 and 120 of Fig. 2. In still another alternative embodiment of a postage metering system according to the invention, meter 10, upon an appropriate command entered by the user, calculates and displays an encrypted verification code. The verification code reflects the current reading of either or both of the ascending and descending registers and may also reflect the current date as provided by clock-calendar device 32 and/or the meter's serial number. The user then provides the verification code and the current register reading or readings to data center 20, which then uses the verification code to verify the accuracy of the register reading as provided by the user. Data center 20 then provides to the user a combination that, when input into meter 10, will cause meter 10's time deadline to be extended. It will be appreciated that the verification code and register readings may be transmitted to data center 20 by mail instead of by telephone and that the combination may also be provided to the user by mail. D. Other Applications of Time Lockout Metering Systems Although in each of the embodiments described above the data exchange between the data center and the metering system takes place via the user, it is also within the contemplation of this invention that data be exchanged between a data center and a metering system without human intervention. In one such case both the data center and the metering system are equipped with modems and either the metering system dials up to the data center, the center dials up the metering system, or communications are by a dedicated line and are initiated by the center or the meter system. While direct data exchange is not preferred because of the expense thereof, the time lockout provided by this invention may still prove advantageous by, for example, inhibiting the user from interfering with the communication link between the meter and the data center. The disclosure of above-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,978,457; 3,792,446; and 4,097,923 is hereby incorporated herein by reference. It should be recognized that the above described embodiments have been provided by way of illustration only and that other embodiments of the subject invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the above description and the attached drawings. Accordingly, limitations on the subject invention are to be found only in the claims set forth below.

Claims: A postage metering system comprising: (a) printing means (24) for printing postage indicia; (b) accounting means (22), including a vault (26), connected to said printing means for updating and storing accounting information that represents an amount of postage printed by said printing means (24); (c) output means (30) connected to said accounting means (22) for outputting said stored accounting information; (d) storage means (28) for storing a time deadline; (e) calendar means (32) for providing a signal that represents the current date; (f) locking means connected to said printing means (24), said calendar means (32) and said storage means (28), for disabling said printing means (24) when said current date is not earlier than said time deadline; and (g) deadline reset means (22) connected to said storage means (28) for extending said stored time deadline, said deadline reset means comprising: (i) input means (30) for receiving an encrypted combination; and (ii) comparison means (22) for comparing said encrypted combination with said stored accounting information; said reset means extending said stored time deadline and recharging the vault if said encrypted combination is in accordance with said stored accounting information. A metering system according to Claim 1, wherein said input means (30) is arranged to receive an encrypted version of said combination and said comparison means (22) comprises means for decrypting said encrypted version. A metering system according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said input means (30) comprises a keyboard. A metering system according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said input means comprises a modem. A metering system according to any preceding claim, wherein said output means comprises a display. A metering system according to any preceding claim, wherein said output means comprises a modem. A metering system according to any preceding claim, wherein said storage means comprises a non-volatile memory (28). A metering system according to any preceding claim, wherein said accounting means comprises a non-volatile memory (28). A metering system according to Claim 8, wherein said non-volatile memory stores said time deadline. A metering system according to Claim 9, wherein said non-volatile memory is a battery-backed-up RAM. A metering system according to any preceding claim, further comprising means, connected to said accounting means, for calculating and outputting an encrypted verification code reflecting said stored accounting information. A postage metering system according to Claim 11, wherein the metering system is so arranged that, in use, the operation of extending said deadline includes: upon receipt of a first command from said keyboard means, causing said display means to display a current reading of said stored accounting information; upon receipt of a second command from said keyboard, calculating said encrypted verification code and causing said display means to display said code; receiving from said keyboard a deadline-extending combination; verifying said received combination; and extending said stored time deadline upon verifying said received combination. A metering system according to Claim 12, wherein the metering system is so arranged that, in use, the following steps are performed: transmitting said meter accounting information and said verification code to a data center (20); receiving said combination from the data center; and entering the combination into the metering system to cause the stored time deadline to be extended. A method of obtaining a postage meter reading at a data center, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving postage meter accounting information from a user of a postage meter, said meter having a vault, a stored time deadline and means for disabling the meter if the current date is not before the deadline; (b) generating an encrypted verification code at the postage meter, said code reflecting said meter accounting information; (c) receiving said encrypted verification code at the data center; (d) verifying said meter accounting information by use of said verification code; and (e) if said meter accounting information verifies correctly, providing a deadline-extending combination to said user for inputting into said meter; and extending said stored time deadline and recharging said vault after said inputting of said combination. A method according to Claim 14, wherein said data center verifies the meter accounting information by use of said verification code. A method according to Claim 15, further comprising the step of answering an incoming telephone call from said user to establish a two-way communication channel between said user and said data center; said data center receiving said meter accounting information and said verification code via said communication channel; and said data center providing said combination to said user via said communication channel. A method according to Claim 16, wherein the step of providing said combination comprises providing audible information to said user by means of an audio response unit.

Inventors: HUNTER KEVIN D, HUNTER, KEVIN D.
Applicants: PITNEY BOWES INC, PITNEY BOWES INC.
Application year: 1992
Main classification: G07B17
IPC codes: G06F1, G07B17