METHOD OF OBTAINING A FRANKING CREDIT VIA A TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK

• US 20070078795A1
• Filed: 09/07/2006
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Neopost Technologies S.A. (Quadient SA)
• Original Assignee: Neopost Technologies S.A. (Quadient SA)
• Inventors: Chatte, Fabien
• Application Number:
  US11/470,848
• Publication Number:
  US 20070078795A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/403
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/0008 Communication details outside or between apparatus coin-freed apparatus for franking per se G07F17/26
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00661 Sensing or measuring mailpieces weighing G01G19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00064 Virtual meter, online stamp; PSD functions or indicia creation not at user's location
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00112 Wireless
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00717 Reading barcodes

Abstract

Method of obtaining a franking credit including the following operations: entry via a user'"'"'s portable communications device (10) of a unique identification number (12A) carried by a mail item (12) to be sent, entry of a franking credit at the portable communications device and transmission of the franking credit thus requested to a franking credits delivery server (16), debiting the user'"'"'s account by an amount corresponding to the franking credit requested and transmission by the franking credits delivery server of a debit confirmation to the user'"'"'s portable communications device, and depositing the mail item in a post box (14).

Claims

1. Method of obtaining a franking credit, characterised in that it includes the following operations:

entry via a user'"'"'s portable communications device (10) of a unique identification number (12A) carried by a mail item (12) in the user'"'"'s possession,

entry of a franking credit at the portable communications device and transmission of the franking credit thus requested to a franking credits delivery server (16),

debiting the user'"'"'s account by an amount corresponding to the franking credit requested and transmission by the franking credits delivery server of a debit confirmation to the user'"'"'s portable communications device, and

depositing the mail item in a post box (14).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the operation of entering said unique identification number includes a manual entry via the keypad of the portable communications device of a string of alphanumeric characters printed on the mail item and forming this unique identification number.

3. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the operation of entering said unique identification number includes a digital capture (10A) by the portable communications device of a barcode printed on the mail item.

4. Method according to claim 3, characterised in that said barcode is a two-dimensional code selected from the following codes:

Aztec code, Codablock, Code one, Code 16K, Code 49, data matrix, PDF 417, QR Code, Supercode.

5. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the operation of entering said unique identification number includes a reading/interrogation (10B) by the portable communications device of an RFID tag carried by the mail item or its contents.

6. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the operation of sending a franking credit to the franking credits delivery server from the portable communications device includes the transmittal of an SMS message including the requested franking credit.

7. Method according to claim 1, characterised in that the operation of debiting the user'"'"'s account includes a check of available funds in the user'"'"'s account at the franking credits delivery server or a check of the user'"'"'s telephone credit at a server (20) of the user'"'"'s telephone operator.

8. Method according to claim 7, characterised in that the operation of sending a debit confirmation to the user'"'"'s portable communications device from the franking credits delivery server includes the transmittal of an SMS message including the debited amount of the franking credit requested.

9. Portable communications device (10) intended to put into effect the method of obtaining a franking credit according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. Device according to claim 9, characterised in that it is comprised of one of the following devices:

a mobile or portable telephone, a web-enabled personal digital assistant, a web-enabled portable computer.

11. Computer program including code instructions for performing the steps of the method of obtaining a franking credit according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when it is executed on the portable communications device.