Logic system for a postal facility

Claim 1

A system for dispensing postage or the like comprising: a memory containing charge data stored in addresses; a plurality of manually actuatable switches; address code generating means including the manually actuatable switches for generating memory address codes corresponding to the status of the switches; data retrieval means connecting to the address code generating means and to the memory for retrieving charges from the memory addresses whose address codes are generated by the generating means; postage dispensing means connecting to the data retrieval means for dispensing postage as specified by the manually actuated switches at a cost determined by the charges retrieved from the memory; money accepting means for accepting money and for generating signals indicative of the amount of money accepted; deposit accumulating means connected to these signals for keeping track of the total amount deposited; charge storage means for the charges retrieved from the memory; comparison means connecting the deposit accumulating means to the storage means for disabling the money accepting means when the amount deposited exceeds the charges; change dispensing means for dispensing an amount of change equal to the amount by which the amount deposited, as indicated by the deposit accumulating means, exceeds the charges, as indicated by the charge storage means, said change dispensing means including a first counter that is initially set to zero count and that comprises a plurality of recirculating, one-bit shift registers connected in series, with the data output of one shift register connecting to the shift input of the next shift register and with the shift input of the first serving as a counter input; and either said deposit accumulating means or said charge storage means including a second counter that is initially set to the amount deposited or to the amount of charges, said first and second counters then advancing simultaneously until the amount presented by said second counter is increased from the amount of charges to the amount deposited or is decreased from the amount deposited to the amount of charges.

Claim 2

A system for dispensing postage or the like comprising: a memory containing charge data stored in addresses; a plurality of manually actuatable switches; address code generating means including the manually actuatable switches for generating memory address codes corresponding to the status of the switches; data retrieval means connecting to the address code generating means and to the memory for retrieving charges from the memory addresses whose address codes are generated by the generating means; postage dispensing means connecting to the data retrieval means for dispensing postage as specified by the manually actuated switches at a cost determined by the charges retrieved from the memory; money accepting means for accepting money and for generating signals indicative of the amount of money accepted; deposit accumulating means connected to these signals for keeping track of the total amount deposited; charge storage means for the charges retrieved from the memory; comparison means connecting the deposit accumulating means to the storage means for disabling the money accepting means when the amount deposited exceeds the charges; change dispensing means for dispensing an amount of change equal to the amount by which the amount deposited, as indicated by the deposit accumulating means, exceeds the charges, as indicated by the charge storage means, said change dispensing means including a first counter that is initially set to zero count and that comprises a plurality of recirculating, one-bit shift registers connected in series, with the data output of one shift register connecting to the shift input of the next shift register and with the shift input of the first serving as a counter input; and either said deposit accumulating means or said charge storage means including a second counter that is initially set to the amount deposited or to the amount of charges, said first and second counters then advancing simultaneously until the amount presented by said second counter is increased from the amount of charges to the amount deposited or is decreased from the amount deposited to the amount of charges.

Claim 3

A system for dispensing postage or the like comprising: a memory containing charge data stored in addresses; a plurality of manually actuatable switches; address code generating means including the manually actuatable switches for generating memory address codes corresponding to the status of the switches; data retrieval means connecting to the address code generating means and to the memory for retrieving charges from the memory addresses whose address codes are generated by the generating means; postage dispensing means connecting tO the data retrieval means for dispensing postage as specified by the manually actuated switches at a cost determined by the charges retrieved from the memory, said dispensing means comprising a printer which prints out a postage label including indications of the type of postage in accordance with the state of the manually actuated switches and also the cost of the postage in accordance with the charges retrieved from the system memory, said printer including first means for printing pre-defined indicia, second means for printing characters or numbers in response to receipt of data words containing instruction codes and code representations of the characters or numbers, and third means for printing a decimal point at an appropriate position between the characters or integers under the control of single bit in the instruction code, whereby a multi-bit code designating the decimal point as a character is not required.

Claim 4

A system for dispensing postage or the like comprising: a memory containing charge data stored in addresses; a plurality of manually actuatable switches; address code generating means including the manually actuatable switches for generating memory address codes corresponding to the status of the switches; data retrieval means connecting to the address code generating means and to the memory for retrieving charges from the memory addresses whose address codes are generated by the generating means; postage dispensing means connecting tO the data retrieval means for dispensing postage as specified by the manually actuated switches at a cost determined by the charges retrieved from the memory, said dispensing means comprising a printer which prints out a postage label including indications of the type of postage in accordance with the state of the manually actuated switches and also the cost of the postage in accordance with the charges retrieved from the system memory, said printer including first means for printing pre-defined indicia, second means for printing characters or numbers in response to receipt of data words containing instruction codes and code representations of the characters or numbers, and third means for printing a decimal point at an appropriate position between the characters or integers under the control of single bit in the instruction code, whereby a multi-bit code designating the decimal point as a character is not required.

Claim 5

A system for dispensing postage or the like comprising: a memory containing charge data stored in addresses; a plurality of manually actuatable switches; address code generating means including the manually actuatable switches for generating memory address codes corresponding to the status of the switches; digital display means for displaying data; data retrieval means connecting to the address code generating means and to the memory for cyclically retrieving charges from the memory addresses whose address codes are generated by the generating means and for displaying said charges by presenting the charges as data to said digital display means in accordance with the status of the manually actuatable switches at a fast enough rate so that the display appears to change instantaneously whenever one of the switches is manually actuated; postage dispensing means connecting to the data retrieval means for dispensing postage as specified by the manually actuated switches at a cost determined by the charges retrieved from the memory; total charges display means for displaying data representing a total charge; arithmetic means for summing the charges each time they are retrieved comprising two registers, an adder having inputs connected to the two registers and an output connected to the memory input, a total charges address within the memory which serves as an accumulator, and access means for transferring the adder output to the total charges address and for transferring the contents of the total charges address into one of the two registers; wherein the data retrieval means includes means for placing each charge retrieved from the memory into the other of the two registers and for actuating the access means; and wherein the access means includes means for transferring the contents of the total charges address to said total charges display means at the end of each cycle of the data retrieval means.

Claim 6

A system for dispensing postage or the like comprising: a memory containing charge data stored in addresses; a plurality of manually actuatable switches; address code generating means including the manually actuatable switches for generating memory address codes corresponding to the status of the switches; digital display means for displaying data; data retrieval means connecting to the address code generating means and to the memory for cyclically retrieving charges from the memory addresses whose address codes are generated by the generating means and for displaying said charges by presenting the charges as data to said digital display means in accordance with the status of the manually actuatable switches at a fast enough rate so that the display appears to change instantaneously whenever one of the switches is manually actuated; postage dispensing means connecting to the data retrieval means for dispensing postage as specified by the manually actuated switches at a cost determined by the charges retrieved from the memory; total charges display means for displaying data representing a total charge; arithmetic means for summing the charges each time they are retrieved comprising two registers, an adder having inputs connected to the two registers and an output connected to the memory input, a total charges address within the memory which serves as an accumulator, and access means for transferring the adder output to the total charges address and for transferring the contents of the total charges address into one of the two registers; wherein the data retrieval means includes means for placing each charge retrieved from the memory into the other of the two registers and for actuating the access means; and wherein the access means includes means for transferring the contents of the total charges address to said total charges display means at the end of each cycle of the data retrieval means.

Claim 9

A system for dispensing goods or services comprising: charge determining means including selection sWitches for determining charges in accordance with the status of the switches; money accepting means for accepting money and for generating signals indicative of the amount of money accepted; deposit accumulating means connected to these signals for keeping track of the total amount deposited; goods or services dispensing means connected to the charge determining means and to the deposit accumulating means for dispensing goods or services as specified by the manually actuated switches at a cost determined by the charges when the total amount deposited equals or exceeds the charges; charge storage means for the charges; comparison means connecting the deposit accumulating means to the charge storage means for actuating the goods or services dispensing means when the amount deposited equals or exceeds the charges; change dispensing means for dispensing an amount of change equal to the amount by which the amount deposited, as indicated by the deposit accumulating means, exceeds the charges, as indicated by the charge storage means, including a change dispensing counter that is initially set to zero count, and wherein either the deposit accumulator or the charge storage means includes a second counter that is initially set to the amount deposited or to the amount of charges, and wherein said charge dispensing and said second counter are advanced simultaneously until the amount presented by said second counter is increased from the amount of charges to the amount deposited or is decreased from the amount deposited to the amount of charges; and wherein said change dispensing counter comprises a plurality of recirculating, one-bit shift registers connected in series with the data output of one shift register connecting to the shift input of the next and with the shift input of the first serving as a counter input.

Claim 10

A system for dispensing goods or services comprising: charge determining means including selection sWitches for determining charges in accordance with the status of the switches; money accepting means for accepting money and for generating signals indicative of the amount of money accepted; deposit accumulating means connected to these signals for keeping track of the total amount deposited; goods or services dispensing means connected to the charge determining means and to the deposit accumulating means for dispensing goods or services as specified by the manually actuated switches at a cost determined by the charges when the total amount deposited equals or exceeds the charges; charge storage means for the charges; comparison means connecting the deposit accumulating means to the charge storage means for actuating the goods or services dispensing means when the amount deposited equals or exceeds the charges; change dispensing means for dispensing an amount of change equal to the amount by which the amount deposited, as indicated by the deposit accumulating means, exceeds the charges, as indicated by the charge storage means, including a change dispensing counter that is initially set to zero count, and wherein either the deposit accumulator or the charge storage means includes a second counter that is initially set to the amount deposited or to the amount of charges, and wherein said charge dispensing and said second counter are advanced simultaneously until the amount presented by said second counter is increased from the amount of charges to the amount deposited or is decreased from the amount deposited to the amount of charges; and wherein said change dispensing counter comprises a plurality of recirculating, one-bit shift registers connected in series with the data output of one shift register connecting to the shift input of the next and with the shift input of the first serving as a counter input.

Claim 11

A system for collecting money for goods or services comprising: charge determining means including manually actuatable switches for determining charges for the goods or services called for by the switches; a printer including first means for printing pre-defined indicia, second means for printing characters or numbers in response to receipt of data words containing instruction codes and code representations of the characters or numbers, and third means for printing a decimal point at an appropriate position between the characters or integers under the control of a single bit in the instruction code, whereby a multi-bit code designating the decimal point as a character is not required; and dispensing means including said printer for printing out the type of goods or services selected in accordance with the state of the manually actuated switches and also the cost of the goods or services selected in accordance with the charges determined by the charge determining means.

Claim 12

A system for collecting money for goods or services comprising: charge determining means including manually actuatable switches for determining charges for the goods or services called for by the switches; a printer including first means for printing pre-defined indicia, second means for printing characters or numbers in response to receipt of data words containing instruction codes and code representations of the characters or numbers, and third means for printing a decimal point at an appropriate position between the characters or integers under the control of a single bit in the instruction code, whereby a multi-bit code designating the decimal point as a character is not required; and dispensing means including said printer for printing out the type of goods or services selected in accordance with the state of the manually actuated switches and also the cost of the goods or services selected in accordance with the charges determined by the charge determining means.

Claim 13

A system for dispensing goods or services comprising: a memory containing charge data stored in addresses; a plurality of manually actuatable switches; address code generating means including the manually actuatable switches for generating memory address codes corresponding to the status of the switches; digital display means; data retrieval means connecting to the address code generating means and to the memory for cyclically retrieving charges from the memory addresses whose address codes are generated by the generating means and for cyclically displaying the charges on the digital display means in accordance with the status of the switches at a fast enough rate so that the display appears to change instantaneously whenever one of the switches is actuated; goods or service dispensing means connecting to the data retrieval means for dispensing goods or services as specified by the switches at a cost determined by the charges retrieved from the memory; arithmetic means for summing the charges each time they are retrieved comprising two registers, an adder having inputs connected to the two registers and an outpUt connected to a memory input, a total charges address within the memory which serves as an accumulator, and access means for transferring the adder output to the total charges address and for transferring the contents of the total charges address into one of the two registers; said data retrieval means including means for placing each charge retrieved from the memory into the other of the two registers and for actuating the access means; and display means for displaying the total charges as calculated by the arithmetic means, and means within said access means for transferring the contents of the total charges address to the display means at the end of each cycle of the data retrieval means.

Claim 14

A system for dispensing goods or services comprising: a memory containing charge data stored in addresses; a plurality of manually actuatable switches; address code generating means including the manually actuatable switches for generating memory address codes corresponding to the status of the switches; digital display means; data retrieval means connecting to the address code generating means and to the memory for cyclically retrieving charges from the memory addresses whose address codes are generated by the generating means and for cyclically displaying the charges on the digital display means in accordance with the status of the switches at a fast enough rate so that the display appears to change instantaneously whenever one of the switches is actuated; goods or service dispensing means connecting to the data retrieval means for dispensing goods or services as specified by the switches at a cost determined by the charges retrieved from the memory; arithmetic means for summing the charges each time they are retrieved comprising two registers, an adder having inputs connected to the two registers and an outpUt connected to a memory input, a total charges address within the memory which serves as an accumulator, and access means for transferring the adder output to the total charges address and for transferring the contents of the total charges address into one of the two registers; said data retrieval means including means for placing each charge retrieved from the memory into the other of the two registers and for actuating the access means; and display means for displaying the total charges as calculated by the arithmetic means, and means within said access means for transferring the contents of the total charges address to the display means at the end of each cycle of the data retrieval means.

Claim 17

A system for dispensing postage for parcels or the like comprising: an addressable memory containing a plurality of data storage locations; parcel weighing means for generating a first digital electrical signal representing the weight of a parcel in a first unit, such as pounds; and for generating a second digital electrical signal representing the weight of the parcel in a second, related but smaller unit, such as ounces; first and second manually actuatable switch means for respectively generating third and fourth digital electrical signals which signals may correspond respectively to a parcel delivery zone and to an applicable class of postage; weight logic means controlled by the state of said first and/or second digital electrical signals and also by the state of said fourth digital electrical signal for presenting as a fifth digital electrical signal either said first or said second digital electrical signal in accordance with whether the postage rate for a given parcel weight and class of postage is to be computed using the parcel weight measured in said first or in said second units - i.e., in pounds or in ounces; a memory address code signal comprising said third, fourth, and fifth digital electrical signals in combinations; and memory access means for retrieving from said addressable memory the contents of the storage location specified by said memory address code signal.

Claim 18

A system for dispensing postage for parcels or the like comprising: an addressable memory containing a plurality of data storage locations; parcel weighing means for generating a first digital electrical signal representing the weight of a parcel in a first unit, such as pounds; and for generating a second digital electrical signal representing the weight of the parcel in a second, related but smaller unit, such as ounces; first and second manually actuatable switch means for respectively generating third and fourth digital electrical signals which signals may correspond respectively to a parcel delivery zone and to an applicable class of postage; weight logic means controlled by the state of said first and/or second digital electrical signals and also by the state of said fourth digital electrical signal for presenting as a fifth digital electrical signal either said first or said second digital electrical signal in accordance with whether the postage rate for a given parcel weight and class of postage is to be computed using the parcel weight measured in said first or in said second units - i.e., in pounds or in ounces; a memory address code signal comprising said third, fourth, and fifth digital electrical signals in combinations; and memory access means for retrieving from said addressable memory the contents of the storage location specified by said memory address code signal.

Claim 20

A system for determining postage for parcels or the like comprising: an addressable memory containing a plurality of data storage locations; parcel weighing means for generating a first digital electrical signal representing the weight of a parcel; first and second manually actuatable switch means for respectively generating second and third digital electrical signals which signals may correspond respectively tO parcel delivery zone and to applicable class of postage; at least one additional manually actuatable switch means for generating additional digital electrical signals which signals may correspond to requests for special services; a digital counter generating a count signal output; gate means controlled by said count signal for presenting as a fourth digital electrical signal either said first, second, and third digital electrical signals or one of said additional electrical signals in accordance with the count presented by said counter; a memory address code signal comprising said fourth and said count digital electrical signals in combination; memory access means for retrieving from said addressable memory the contents of the storage location specified by said memory address code signal; arithmetic means for computing and presenting the sum of the data retrieved from the memory; and means for periodically advancing said counter and actuating said memory access means.

Claim 21

A system for determining postage for parcels or the like comprising: an addressable memory containing a plurality of data storage locations; parcel weighing means for generating a first digital electrical signal representing the weight of a parcel; first and second manually actuatable switch means for respectively generating second and third digital electrical signals which signals may correspond respectively tO parcel delivery zone and to applicable class of postage; at least one additional manually actuatable switch means for generating additional digital electrical signals which signals may correspond to requests for special services; a digital counter generating a count signal output; gate means controlled by said count signal for presenting as a fourth digital electrical signal either said first, second, and third digital electrical signals or one of said additional electrical signals in accordance with the count presented by said counter; a memory address code signal comprising said fourth and said count digital electrical signals in combination; memory access means for retrieving from said addressable memory the contents of the storage location specified by said memory address code signal; arithmetic means for computing and presenting the sum of the data retrieved from the memory; and means for periodically advancing said counter and actuating said memory access means.