Franking machine in two portions

United States Patent [i9]

Martin

[54] FRANKING MACHINE IN TWO PORTIONS

[75] Inventor: Claude Martin, St. Germain En Laye, France

[73] Assignee: SECAP, Boulogne Billancourt, France

[21] Appl. No.: 228,984

[22] Filed: Apr. 18, 1994

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data

Apr. 21, 1993 [FR] France 93 04694

[51] Int. CI.6 G07B 17/00

[52] U.S. CI 364/464.02

[58] Field of Search 364/464.02, 464.03,

364/466

[56] References Cited

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS

4,266,222 5/1981 Eckert et al 364/464.02 X

4,301,507 11/1981 Soderberg et al 364/464.03

4,319,328 3/1982 Eggert 364/466

4,471,440 9/1984 Check, Jr. 364/466

4,630,210 12/1986 Salazar et al 364/167.01

4,631,681 12/1986 Salazar et al 364/464.02

4,635,205 1/1987 Eckert, Jr. et al 364/464.02

lllllil II IIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIilllllllll

US005586035A [ii] Patent Number: 5,586,035 [45] Date of Patent: Dec. 17, 1996

4,636,959 1/1987 Salazar et al 364/464.02

4,646,635 3/1987 Salazar et al 364/466

4,809,186 2/1989 Freeman et al 364/464.03

5,373,450 12/1994 Gallagher et al 364/464.02 X

FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS

0086396 8/1983 European Pat. Off. .
WO83/02180 6/1983 WIPO .

Primary Examiner—Edward R. Cosimano
Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Kenyon & Kenyon

[57] ABSTRACT

A postage machine includes a first meter portion comprising postage means commanded by a first microprocessor (50), a keyboard (22) and a display (21), and a second base portion comprising a second Microprocessor (53). The first and second microprocessors, in a normal mode, mode carry into practice a communications protocol adapted to have transmitted to the base messages representative of at least some of the commands acquired on the keyboard (22) and to have retransmitted from the base to the meter the commands executable by said meter, in such a way that, from the keyboard (22) of the meter, at least certain functions cannot be commanded unless the commands relative to such functions pass through pass through the base (12).

23 Claims, 4 Drawing Sheets