Apparatus, systems and methods for interfacing with digital scales configured with remote client computer devices

• US 7,359,887 B1
• Filed: 10/06/2000
• Issued: 04/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Iship Incorporated, Auctane LLC (Stamps.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Iship Incorporated, Stamps.com, Inc.
• Inventors: McLaughlin, Paul R., Hu, Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): CUFF, MICHAEL A
• Application Number:
  US09/684,808
• Time in Patent Office: 2,748 Days
• Field of Search: 705/25, 705/28, 705/407, 705/401
• US Class Current: 705/407
• CPC Class Codes: G01G 19/4148 for controlling postal rate in articles to be mailed franking apparatus with means for computing G07B17/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0834 Choice of carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems

Abstract

The present invention provides apparatus, systems and methods providing a digital scale interface in a global communications shipping management environment so that a shipping management system resident on a server computer device remote from a user client computer device, receives and recognizes a weight of a parcel from the digital scale configured with the remote user client computer device.

Claims

1. A shipping management computer system, said shipping management computer system programmed to:

receive a first digital scale configuration input from a first user, via a first remote user client computer device of a plurality of remote client computer devices, wherein said first digital scale configuration input corresponds to a first digital scale configured with the first remote user client computer device, wherein the first digital scale configuration input comprises at least one item of scale configuration information that is selected from a group consisting of;

(A) a make of the first digital scale, (B) a model of the first digital scale, and (C) a type of port through which the first digital scale communicates with the first remote user client computer device, and wherein each remote user client computer device of the plurality of remote user client computer devices accesses the shipping management computer system using browser software installed on the respective remote user client computer device over a communications network;

receive an indication from the first user, via the first remote user client computer device, that a first weight of a first parcel will be input;

send a first set of executable computer program instructions, according to information about the scale configuration information of the first digital scale, to the first remote user client computer device, wherein the first set of executable computer program instructions is configured to;

1) determine, according to the first digital scale configuration input, an at least one weight measurement instruction for instructing the first digital scale to measure the first weight of the first parcel, and

2) send the at least one weight measurement instruction to the first digital scale instructing the first digital scale to measure the first weight of the first parcel; and

receive, via the first remote user client computer device, the first weight measured by the first digital scale.

2. The shipping management computer system of claim 1, said shipping management computer system further programmed to:

use the first weight to calculate at least one shipping rate for shipping the first parcel.

3. The shipping management computer system of claim 1, said shipping management computer system further programmed to:

use the first weight to calculate at least one shipping rate for shipping the first parcel; and

display the at least one shipping rate on a first display device configured with the first remote user client computer device.

4. A method using a computer system for managing shipping of a plurality of parcels shipped by any one of a plurality of carriers, the method comprising:

receiving configuration input from a first user, via a first remote user client computer device, wherein said configuration input comprises;

(A) a make of a digital scale configured with the first remote user client computer device, (B) a model of the digital scale, and (C) a type of port through which the digital scale communicates with the first remote user client computer device, wherein the first remote user client computer device accesses the computer system using a first set of computer software installed on the first remote user client computer device, and wherein the first set of computer software is adapted to retrieve and render hyper-media content;

receiving an indication from the first user, via the first remote user client computer device, that a weight of a parcel will be input;

sending a first set of executable computer program instructions to the first remote user computer device, wherein the first set of executable computer program instructions comprise program instructions for;

1) determining, according to the configuration input, whether the first remote user client computer device is connected to the digital scale;

2) for a determination in

     1) that the first remote user client computer device is connected to the digital scale;

a) determining an at least one weight measurement instruction for instructing the digital scale to measure weight according to the configuration input, and

b) sending the at least one weight measurement instruction to the first digital scale to instruct the digital scale to measure the weight of the parcel according to information about the make and model of the digital scale;

receiving a stream of data from the digital scale; and

translating the stream of data into a set of scale communication information according to the make and model of the digital scale, wherein the set of scale communication information comprises the weight measured by the digital scale.

5. The method of claim 4, said method further comprising:

using the weight to calculate at least one shipping rate for shipping the parcel.

6. The method of claim 5, said method further comprising:

sending the at least one shipping rate, via the first remote access system, for display on a display device configured with the first remote user client computer device.

7. The method of claim 4, said method further comprising:

using the weight to calculate a first shipping rate for shipping the parcel via a first delivery service offered by a first carrier;

using the weight to calculate a second shipping rate for shipping the parcel via a second delivery service offered by the first carrier; and

using the weight to calculate a third shipping rate for shipping the parcel via a third delivery service offered by a second carrier.

8. The method of claim 7, said method further comprising:

sending, via the first remote access system, the first shipping rate, the second shipping rate, and the third shipping rate, for display on a display device configured with the first remote user client computer device.

9. A computer program product embodying computer program instructions for execution by a computer system for managing shipping of a plurality of parcels shipped by any one of a plurality of carriers, said computer program product comprising computer executable instructions to, for each particular one of a plurality of remote user client computer devices:

(A) receive, via a set of browser software executing on a particular remote user client computer device of the plurality of remote user client computer devices, an indication from a particular user associated with the particular remote user client computer device that a digital scale configured with the particular remote user client computer device will be used to measure a weight of a particular parcel, wherein said digital scale is of a particular make and model, and wherein said digital scale is configured with the remote user client computer device via a particular type of port, wherein the set of browser software is configured to retrieve and render hyper-media content from one or more computers via a global communications network; and

(B) send, according to information about the particular make and model of the digital scale, via the set of browser software, a first set of executable computer instructions to the particular remote user client computer device to;

(1) determine an at least one weight measurement instruction for instructing the digital scale to measure a weight of a parcel;

(2) send the weight measurement instruction to the digital scale;

(3) receive the weight of the particular parcel as measured by the digital scale; and

(4) communicate the weight of the particular parcel to the shipping management computer system.

10. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein said computer program product further comprises computer executable instructions for receiving, via the set of browser software, a package weight from the particular remote user client computer device.

11. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein said computer program product further comprises computer executable instructions to:

receive, via the set of browser software, a parcel weight from the particular remote user client computer device, wherein the parcel weight corresponds to a particular parcel; and

use the parcel weight to calculate at least one shipping rate for shipping the particular parcel.

12. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein said computer program product further comprises computer executable instructions to:

receive, via the set of browser software, a parcel weight from the particular remote user client computer device, wherein the parcel weight corresponds to a particular parcel; and

use the parcel weight to calculate;

(A) a first shipping rate for shipping the particular parcel via a first delivery service offered by a first carrier;

(B) a respective second shipping rate for shipping the particular parcel via a second delivery service offered by the first carrier; and

(C) a respective third shipping rate for shipping the particular parcel via a third delivery service offered by a second carrier.

13. The computer program product of claim 9, wherein said computer program product further comprises computer executable instructions to:

receive, via the set of browser software, a parcel weight from the particular remote user client computer device, wherein the parcel weight corresponds to a particular parcel; and

use the parcel weight to calculate;

(A) a first shipping rate for shipping the particular parcel via a first delivery service offered by a first carrier;

(B) a second shipping rate for shipping the particular parcel via a second delivery service offered by the first carrier; and

(C) a third shipping rate for shipping the particular parcel via a third delivery service offered by a second carrier; and

send, via the set of browser software, the first shipping rate, the second shipping rate, and the third shipping rate, for display on a display device configured with the particular remote user client computer device.