The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 18, 2003
Filed:
Jul. 24, 1998
Chandrakant J. Shah, Stockton, CA (US);
David A. Coolidge, Berkeley, CA (US);
Neopost, Inc., Hayward, CA (US);
Abstract
A meter and/or base (or computer), coupled to one or more modems, perform automated fraud reporting to a service center upon detection of particular ones of detectable faults. Diagnostic software and/or tamper detection devices test the meter to ensure that the meter operates in an expected manner. A detected fault can be classified into one or more categories or levels. For faults within certain levels, an alarm message is sent to the service center. Corrective action can be performed in accordance with a response from the service center. For major faults, the meter can be disabled until service is performed and the alarm message can be sent to the postal inspectors.