EP2048624A1 - Postage prepayment system with controlled point of distribution - Google Patents

Postage prepayment system with controlled point of distribution Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2048624A1
EP2048624A1 EP08165931A EP08165931A EP2048624A1 EP 2048624 A1 EP2048624 A1 EP 2048624A1 EP 08165931 A EP08165931 A EP 08165931A EP 08165931 A EP08165931 A EP 08165931A EP 2048624 A1 EP2048624 A1 EP 2048624A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
mail
identifier
communication device
portable communication
postage
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP08165931A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP2048624B1 (en
Inventor
Fabien Chatte
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Quadient Technologies France SA
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Neopost Technologies SA
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Publication date
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Publication of EP2048624A1 publication Critical patent/EP2048624A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2048624B1 publication Critical patent/EP2048624B1/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
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Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07BTICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
    • G07B17/00Franking apparatus
    • G07B17/00185Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
    • G07B17/00193Constructional details of apparatus in a franking system
    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07BTICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
    • G07B17/00Franking apparatus
    • G07B17/00016Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
    • G07B17/00024Physical or organizational aspects of franking systems
    • G07B2017/0004Determining the location of mailpieces outside apparatus
    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07BTICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
    • G07B17/00Franking apparatus
    • G07B17/00016Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
    • G07B17/0008Communication details outside or between apparatus
    • G07B2017/00112Wireless
    • G07B2017/0012Wireless in a mobile phone system
    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07BTICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
    • G07B17/00Franking apparatus
    • G07B17/00185Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
    • G07B17/00193Constructional details of apparatus in a franking system
    • G07B2017/00209Mailbox, i.e. container for outgoing mail
    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07BTICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
    • G07B17/00Franking apparatus
    • G07B17/00185Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
    • G07B17/00193Constructional details of apparatus in a franking system
    • G07B2017/00217Portable franking apparatus, i.e. the whole franking apparatus, not parts alone
    • GPHYSICS
    • G07CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07BTICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
    • G07B17/00Franking apparatus
    • G07B17/00185Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
    • G07B17/00435Details specific to central, non-customer apparatus, e.g. servers at post office or vendor
    • G07B2017/00443Verification of mailpieces, e.g. by checking databases

Definitions

  • the present invention relates exclusively to the field of mail processing and more particularly relates to a postage method implemented through a telecommunications network and whose control is facilitated.
  • the present invention therefore relates to an improved franking method through a telecommunications network which overcomes the disadvantage of the franking method of the prior art and thus allows its extension of the confidential market to which it is today. confined to a mass market.
  • a method of franking an article of mail intended to be deposited in a mail box attached to a mail reception office characterized in that it comprises at the level of a portable communication device.
  • a sender of this mail item on the one hand, an operation for entering an identifier of said mailbox, and, on the other hand, a transmission operation of this identifier with other postal data, of which at least an amount of postage relating to this mail item and a unique identification code carried by this mail piece, to a server of a franking service responsible for giving a franking authorization for the sender.
  • said unique identification code can be carried by the mail item or generated by the portable communication device.
  • the operation of inputting said identifier of the postal box may comprise either a manual key entry of said portable communication device or an optical reading of this identifier by a digital capture means of said portable communication device.
  • said input operation of the identifier further comprises extracting an email address from said mail receiving office to which said mailbox is attached.
  • the method then preferably comprises, from said portable communication device, a transfer operation to said electronic address of a portion of the postal data corresponding to the mail item deposited in said mailbox.
  • the method of the invention may further comprise a transfer operation from said postage service server of a portion of the postal data corresponding to the mail items deposited in said mailing box to a server of said office of receipt of mail to which is attached said mailbox.
  • said transfer operation is performed according to a predetermined periodicity corresponding substantially to the times of lifting of said post office box.
  • the invention also relates to a portable communication device for carrying out the above-mentioned franking method advantageously constituted by one of the following devices: a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant communicating, a communicating portable computer.
  • the invention also relates to a computer program comprising code instructions for carrying out the steps of the aforementioned franking method when it is executed on the portable communication device.
  • the invention proposes to control the point of injection of mail items in the distribution network of the postal administration.
  • the invention proposes to control the point of injection of mail items in the distribution network of the postal administration.
  • the figure 1 illustrates an example of network architecture necessary for the implementation of the franking method according to the invention.
  • the postal box 10 in which a mail item (package or envelope 12) is deposited by its sender comprises an identifier 10A advantageously constituted in the form of a high capacity coding code for digital or alphanumeric data and error corrections, such as two-dimensional bar codes, the best known of which are: Aztec code, Codablock, Code one, Code 16K, Code 49, datamatrix, PDF 417, QR Code or the Supercode.
  • the high coding capacity of this type of code (up to 4296 characters for the most powerful) allows it to include not only a specific identification number of the box but also, depending on the embodiment envisaged, a SMS-type short number or an e-mail address of a mail reception office to which this postal box is attached.
  • This identifier is preferably disposed on the front face of the mailbox to facilitate reading by a portable communication device 14 of the sender which is used to pay the postage relating to the mail item deposited in this postal box precisely identified from the postal reception office of the postal administration.
  • the portable communication device 14 may be constituted by any data processing device allowing a long-distance wireless communication through a terrestrial or satellite wireless telecommunications network (such as GSM, UMTS, WiMax, etc.) networks. like a cell phone, a personal digital assistant communicating or a communicating laptop. It advantageously comprises a digital capture means 14A, such as an integrated digital photo sensor (but a device connected as an optical pen is also possible).
  • a digital capture means 14A such as an integrated digital photo sensor (but a device connected as an optical pen is also possible).
  • the sender's portable communication device is connected to a franking server server system 16 disposed on a site of the franking service provider, this server it can itself be connected to a server system of a telephone operator 18 ensuring if necessary the payment of the requested postage by debiting the sender's telephone account, when this payment has not been made beforehand by the server system 16 from which the sender holder of the portable communication device will have previously opened an account.
  • each of the postal reception offices of the postal administration also comprises a server system 20 in conjunction with the franking service server 16.
  • the three server systems 16, 18, 20 may comprise a similar structure with one or more computer central units comprising one or more databases whose control and management are conventionally provided by one or more computer terminals (not shown).
  • the server system 18 of the telephone operator comprises in particular a customer database integrating accounting data relating to the customers of this operator and the server system 20 available in each of the offices of the postal administration comprises in particular a database of the articles of service. mail placed in the mailboxes depending on each of these offices which is an extract from the existing database at the server system level 16 and including all mail items shipped via the franking service.
  • the figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the various steps of the method allowing by means of the portable communication device 14 the payment and the control of the postage of a mail piece 12 deposited by a sender in a given mail box 10.
  • a first step 100 of implementation of the method the sender wishing to send a mail item 12 will click on an icon corresponding to a postage application preinstalled on his portable communication device 14. After entering a personal code identification, the optical reading function of this device will be activated automatically and allow the sender, using the digital capture means 10A integrated in the portable communication device, to enter, in a step 102, an image of the identifier on the post office box in which the sender will deposit his mail item.
  • This capture can be performed by the action on a shooting button (not shown) of the portable communication device, resulting in an automatic recognition of this identifier and an extraction of the data that it includes which the ID number.
  • the sender is invited to manually enter this identifier (which is possible only if it is formed of alphanumeric characters), or to choose from a set of identifiers of a defined geographical area previously defined by the sender, for example through a drop-down menu.
  • the manual entry can for example be carried out directly from the identifier carried on the post office box or from a list (with or without barcodes) that the sender has obtained beforehand from the reception office of mail from his neighborhood and containing all the identifier associated with this reception desk.
  • the portable communication device then goes to a next step 104 via its display screen to ask the sender to enter various postal data associated with the mail item to be shipped so as to automatically determine the postage amount for this article.
  • This postage amount is in fact a function of the service or services requested (priority or economic, for example), the geographical area of destination (national or foreign) and the weight class of the mail item sent.
  • the sender can simply be asked to determine the amount of postage he / she is responsible for (which is possible if the sender has the postal rates in force). For example, for a shipment of a letter of less than 20 grams priority service to the United States, the sender will pay 0.90 Euros, while for the shipment in economic service a package of 8Kg to an overseas department, he will have to pay 14 Euros.
  • the portable communication device will then either generate a unique identification code from a concatenated combination of information previously entered by the sender as the geographical area of destination, in particular the postcode of destination, and the amount of postage, and other information at its disposal (without this list being exhaustive) such as the date, the time, the version of the application software, the SIM card identifier, etc. or preferably extracting this unique identification code from an identifier (12B) this time carried by the mail article in the form of, for example, a two-dimensional bar code pre-printed on the mail piece.
  • a unique identification code from a concatenated combination of information previously entered by the sender as the geographical area of destination, in particular the postcode of destination, and the amount of postage, and other information at its disposal (without this list being exhaustive) such as the date, the time, the version of the application software, the SIM card identifier, etc. or preferably extracting this unique identification code from an identifier (12B) this time carried by the mail article in the form of, for example, a two-dimensional
  • the portable communication device then goes, in a step 108, to send to the franking server 16 a request preferably in the form of a short message of the SMS type containing, with the franking amount calculated or entered, the code of unique identification generated or extracted as previously indicated.
  • the server 16 will receive this request and on the basis of the telephone number of the portable communication device (conventionally obtained on the basis of the IMSI or IMEI numbers of the portable communication device transmitted during the call). perform various checks depending on whether the holder (the sender) is a franking customer or not. Indeed, if the sender is a customer of this service (he therefore has an account with him), the server 16 will then check his right of use and if his account is sufficiently stocked (answer yes to the test of step 112), at step 114, debit the customer's account with the amount corresponding to the requested postage. Otherwise, it will invite the sender to reload his credit and the communication will then be interrupted (step 116). The sender can not therefore post his mail item except to let the addressee pay the fine with the amount of postage when distributing the mail item as for a traditional mail.
  • the server insofar as there is an agreement between the service provider and the telephone operator, will retransmit the amount of postage to pay and the telephone number of the portable communication device associated with it.
  • the telephone operator's server 20 may in turn check, by access to its own customer database, whether the sender's account has sufficient telephone credit to pay the requested postage amount. If the telephone operator considers that the credit of the sender is insufficient, it will inform the franking service which will then invite the sender, as before, to recharge his credit and the communication will then be interrupted (step 116).
  • the server 16 can generate, in response to the communication. of the unique identification code, a request to the portable communication device, preferably in the form of a short message of the SMS type, containing a confirmation of the payment of the franking by the sender and, in the case where the mail article does not already include a pre-printed identification code, causing the display of the portable communication device to display a franking authorization code.
  • the sender will then no longer have, in a step 122, only to file his mail item in the mail box 10 which he has previously entered the identifier after possibly carried on the mail item, in a step 120, the franking authorization code 12A communicated by the franking server and necessary for checking the validity of this mail item.
  • the franking server 16 At least once a day, at a known and predetermined time, for example one hour after each mail lift, the franking server 16 will transfer to each of the servers of the mail receiving offices of the postal administration 20, on the based on the identifiers associated with each of these offices, all the postal data relating to the payment transactions made with each of them or, more simply, give him rights of direct access to all his data.
  • this transfer operation from the postage server is not necessary when the identifier of the post office box includes the address of the server of the office of reception of mail of which it depends because in the case it has already received these data, the step 102 of extraction of the identifier having provided this address and the step 108 of communication of the unique identification code being also carried out to the server of the office receiving mail corresponding to this address.
  • any shipper can proceed very simply to the shipment of any article of mail, envelope or package, to any destination without having to access an open office of the postal administration, the code of received postage authorization or the pre-printed unique identification code (which replaces the stamp or postage stamp of a postage machine in which it plays the role, although having no monetary value) on each item mail is sufficient for the postal reception office of the postal administration concerned to find this article of mail and carry out its inspection.
  • the postal administration will first of all carry out an optical reading of the mail article to extract the authorization code from the mailpiece.
  • the postage or the unique identification code it contains and the recipient's address more precisely the geographical area of destination (postcode of destination) of the article of mail, possibly the service when it is pre-printed on the postage article of mail for example "priority”, and secondly if necessary a weighing of this article of mail to determine the weight class and, from this information, it will calculate the amount of postage required for this mail article. It will only remain to verify that the amount paid by the sender and stored in the server 20 is at least equal to the amount of postage calculated to allow distribution to the recipient. In case of insufficiency payment, the Postal Administration will calculate the increased payment to be paid by the recipient to receive his mail item.

Abstract

The method involves inputting an identifier (10A) of a post office box (10) at the level of a portable communication device (14) of a mailer of a post article (12), where the identifier is constituted in the form of a high capacity alphanumeric or digital data coding code, error corrections and two dimensional bar codes such as Aztec codes. The identifier is transmitted with postal data to a stamping service server (16) that is charged to provide stamping authorization for the mailer, where the data has a stamping value and a unique identification code (12B) related to the article. An independent claim is also included for a computer program comprising a set of instructions for performing a post article stamping method.

Description

Domaine techniqueTechnical area

La présente invention se rapporte exclusivement au domaine du traitement de courrier et elle concerne plus particulièrement un procédé d'affranchissement mis en oeuvre au travers d'un réseau de télécommunications et dont le contrôle est facilité.The present invention relates exclusively to the field of mail processing and more particularly relates to a postage method implemented through a telecommunications network and whose control is facilitated.

Etat de la techniqueState of the art

Aujourd'hui, lorsqu'un particulier ou une très petite entreprise (TPE) qui ne possède pas de machine à affranchir souhaite procéder à l'affranchissement de son courrier, il est nécessaire, éventuellement après pesée, de coller un timbre sur chaque enveloppe ou colis à expédier avant de le déposer dans une boite postale. Or, si la personne chargée de cette opération ne dispose pas de timbres, elle doit se rendre auprès du bureau de réception de courrier de l'administration postale le plus proche pour en acheter ou faire apposer sur cette enveloppe ou ce colis une marque d'affranchissement. Or, ceci n'est possible que si ce bureau est alors ouvert au public.Today, when an individual or a very small company (TPE) that does not have a franking machine wants to postpone its mail, it is necessary, possibly after weighing, to stick a stamp on each envelope or package to be shipped before depositing it in a post office box. However, if the person responsible for this operation does not have stamps, he must go to the office of receipt of mail of the nearest postal administration to buy or have affixed on this envelope or this package a mark of postage. This is only possible if the office is open to the public.

C'est pourquoi, la demanderesse a proposé avec ses demandes de brevets FR 2 890 769 et FR 2 896 606 , un procédé d'affranchissement qui ne nécessite pas l'accès à un bureau de réception de courrier de l'administration postale mais peut être mis en oeuvre directement au travers d'un réseau de télécommunications. Ce procédé recourt à un numéro d'identification unique pré-imprimé sur l'article de courrier à expédier ou apposé par l'expéditeur sur cet article de courrier et qui est enregistré dans une base de données avec des données constituant une preuve du paiement de l'affranchissement.That is why, the plaintiff proposed with its patent applications FR 2,890,769 and FR 2 896 606 , a postage method that does not require access to a postal receipt office of the postal administration but can be implemented directly through a telecommunications network. This process uses a unique pre-printed identification number on the mail item to be mailed or affixed by the sender on this mail piece and which is stored in a database with data constituting proof of the payment of postage.

Ce procédé donne toute satisfaction car il ne bénéficie actuellement que d'une diffusion relativement confidentielle et ne s'adresse donc qu'à un nombre restreint d'utilisateurs. Or, la demanderesse souhaitant étendre ce service jusqu'à en faire un marché de masse, sa généralisation à un nombre beaucoup plus élevé d'utilisateurs pose un problème particulier. En effet, pour effectuer un contrôle de validité de l'affranchissement, il est nécessaire que tous les bureaux de réception de courrier de l'administration postale aient accès en temps réel (ou tout au moins avec un délai de réponse maximal prédéterminé) à la base de données renfermant les données postales de tous les utilisateurs qui est une base de données unique centralisée. Or, les réseaux de communication actuels, notamment le réseau Internet, ne peuvent garantir un tel accès.This method is very satisfactory because it currently only enjoys a relatively confidential broadcast and is therefore only for a limited number of users. However, the plaintiff wishing to extend this service to a mass market, its generalization to a much higher number of users poses a particular problem. Indeed, to carry out a validity check of the postage, it is necessary to have access in real time (or at least with a predetermined maximum response time) to all postal users' databases, which single centralized data. However, current communication networks, including the Internet, can not guarantee such access.

Divulgation de l'inventionDisclosure of the invention

La présente invention a donc pour objet un procédé d'affranchissement amélioré au travers d'un réseau de télécommunications qui pallie l'inconvénient du procédé d'affranchissement de l'art antérieur et permette ainsi son extension du marché confidentiel auquel il est aujourd'hui confiné à un marché de masse.The present invention therefore relates to an improved franking method through a telecommunications network which overcomes the disadvantage of the franking method of the prior art and thus allows its extension of the confidential market to which it is today. confined to a mass market.

Ce but est atteint par un procédé d'affranchissement d'un article de courrier destiné à être déposé dans une boite postale rattachée à un bureau de réception de courrier, caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte au niveau d'un dispositif de communication portatif d'un expéditeur de cet article de courrier d'une part une opération de saisie d'un identifiant de ladite boite postale et d'autre part une opération de transmission de cet identifiant avec d'autres données postales, dont au moins un montant d'affranchissement relatif à cet article de courrier et un code d'identification unique porté par cet article de courrier, à un serveur d'un service d'affranchissement chargé de donner une autorisation d'affranchissement pour l'expéditeur.This object is achieved by a method of franking an article of mail intended to be deposited in a mail box attached to a mail reception office, characterized in that it comprises at the level of a portable communication device. a sender of this mail item, on the one hand, an operation for entering an identifier of said mailbox, and, on the other hand, a transmission operation of this identifier with other postal data, of which at least an amount of postage relating to this mail item and a unique identification code carried by this mail piece, to a server of a franking service responsible for giving a franking authorization for the sender.

Ainsi, en identifiant avec précision la boite postale dans laquelle sera posté l'article de courrier, il devient possible de garantir un temps d'accès aux données postales compatible avec un contrôle de validité des articles de courrier en temps réel, car en effet seules les données du bureau de réception du courrier concerné sont traitées.Thus, by precisely identifying the post office box in which the article of mail will be posted, it becomes possible to guarantee a time of access to the postal data compatible with a check of validity of the articles of mail in real time, because indeed only the data of the office receiving the mail concerned are processed.

Avantageusement, ledit code d'identification unique peut être porté par l'article de courrier ou généré par le dispositif de communication portatif.Advantageously, said unique identification code can be carried by the mail item or generated by the portable communication device.

Selon le mode de réalisation envisagé, l'opération de saisie dudit identifiant de la boite postale peut comporter soit une saisie manuelle au clavier dudit dispositif de communication portatif soit une lecture optique de cet identifiant par un moyen de capture numérique dudit dispositif de communication portatif.According to the embodiment envisaged, the operation of inputting said identifier of the postal box may comprise either a manual key entry of said portable communication device or an optical reading of this identifier by a digital capture means of said portable communication device.

Selon un mode de réalisation particulier, ladite opération de saisie de l'identifiant comporte en outre l'extraction d'une adresse électronique dudit bureau de réception de courrier auquel est rattachée ladite boite postale. Dans ce cas, le procédé comporte alors de préférence, depuis ledit dispositif de communication portatif, une opération de transfert vers ladite adresse électronique d'une partie des données postales correspondant à l'article de courrier déposé dans ladite boite postale.According to a particular embodiment, said input operation of the identifier further comprises extracting an email address from said mail receiving office to which said mailbox is attached. In this case, the method then preferably comprises, from said portable communication device, a transfer operation to said electronic address of a portion of the postal data corresponding to the mail item deposited in said mailbox.

Selon un autre mode de réalisation, le procédé de l'invention peut comporter en outre une opération de transfert depuis ledit serveur du service d'affranchissement d'une partie des données postales correspondant aux articles de courrier déposés dans ladite boite postale vers un serveur dudit bureau de réception de courrier auquel est rattachée ladite boite postale.According to another embodiment, the method of the invention may further comprise a transfer operation from said postage service server of a portion of the postal data corresponding to the mail items deposited in said mailing box to a server of said office of receipt of mail to which is attached said mailbox.

Avantageusement, ladite opération de transfert est effectuée selon une périodicité prédéterminée correspondant sensiblement aux horaires de levée de ladite boite postale.Advantageously, said transfer operation is performed according to a predetermined periodicity corresponding substantially to the times of lifting of said post office box.

L'invention se rapporte aussi à un dispositif de communication portatif destiné à la mise en oeuvre du procédé d'affranchissement précité constitué avantageusement par l'un des dispositifs suivants : un téléphone cellulaire, un assistant numérique personnel communiquant, un ordinateur portable communiquant.The invention also relates to a portable communication device for carrying out the above-mentioned franking method advantageously constituted by one of the following devices: a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant communicating, a communicating portable computer.

L'invention concerne également un programme informatique comportant des instructions de code pour la réalisation des étapes du procédé d'affranchissement précité lorsqu'il est exécuté sur le dispositif de communication portatif.The invention also relates to a computer program comprising code instructions for carrying out the steps of the aforementioned franking method when it is executed on the portable communication device.

Brève description des dessinsBrief description of the drawings

D'autres caractéristiques et avantages de la présente invention ressortiront mieux de la description suivante, faite à titre indicatif et non limitatif, en regard des dessins annexés, sur lesquels:

  • la figure 1 montre un exemple d'une architecture de réseau permettant la mise en oeuvre du procédé d'affranchissement selon l'invention, et
  • la figure 2 est un organigramme explicitant les différentes étapes du procédé mis en oeuvre sur le réseau de la figure 1.
Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will emerge more clearly from the following description, given by way of non-limiting indication, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
  • the figure 1 shows an example of a network architecture for implementing the franking method according to the invention, and
  • the figure 2 is a flow diagram explaining the different steps of the process implemented on the network of the figure 1 .

Mode(s) de réalisation de l'inventionMode (s) of realization of the invention

Pour résoudre le problème posé par cet accès en temps réel, l'invention propose de contrôler le point d'injection des articles de courrier dans le réseau de distribution de l'administration postale. Ainsi, en associant à chaque article de courrier porteur d'un code d'identification unique un identifiant de la boite postale dans laquelle cet article de courrier sera déposé, il devient possible au bureau de réception de courrier de l'administration postale de n'accéder qu'aux données postales de la base de données correspondant aux seuls articles de courrier dont il devra assurer le contrôle de validité.To solve the problem posed by this access in real time, the invention proposes to control the point of injection of mail items in the distribution network of the postal administration. Thus, by associating with each article of mail carrying a unique identification code an identifier of the post office box in which this article of mail will be deposited, it becomes possible to the office of receipt of mail of the postal administration of n ' access only the postal data of the database corresponding to the only mail items whose validity check it will have to carry out.

La figure 1 illustre un exemple d'architecture de réseau nécessaire à la mise en oeuvre du procédé d'affranchissement selon l'invention.The figure 1 illustrates an example of network architecture necessary for the implementation of the franking method according to the invention.

Selon l'invention, la boite postale 10 dans laquelle un article de courrier (colis ou enveloppe 12) est déposé par son expéditeur comporte un identifiant 10A constitué avantageusement sous la forme d'un code à haute capacité de codage de données numériques ou alphanumériques et de corrections d'erreurs, comme les codes à barres à deux dimensions dont les plus connus sont : l'Aztec code, le Codablock, le Code one, le Code 16K, le Code 49, le datamatrix, le PDF 417, le QR Code ou encore le Supercode. La haute capacité de codage de ce type de code (comportant jusqu'à 4296 caractères pour le plus performant) permet ainsi à celui-ci de comporter non seulement un numéro spécifique d'identification de la boite postale mais aussi, selon le mode de réalisation envisagé, un numéro court de type SMS ou une adresse électronique d'un bureau de réception de courrier auquel est rattachée cette boite postale.According to the invention, the postal box 10 in which a mail item (package or envelope 12) is deposited by its sender comprises an identifier 10A advantageously constituted in the form of a high capacity coding code for digital or alphanumeric data and error corrections, such as two-dimensional bar codes, the best known of which are: Aztec code, Codablock, Code one, Code 16K, Code 49, datamatrix, PDF 417, QR Code or the Supercode. The high coding capacity of this type of code (up to 4296 characters for the most powerful) allows it to include not only a specific identification number of the box but also, depending on the embodiment envisaged, a SMS-type short number or an e-mail address of a mail reception office to which this postal box is attached.

Cet identifiant est disposé de préférence sur la face avant de la boite postale pour en faciliter la lecture par un dispositif de communication portatif 14 de l'expéditeur qui est utilisé pour procéder au paiement de l'affranchissement relatif à l'article de courrier déposé dans cette boite postale précisément identifiée du bureau de réception de courrier de l'administration postale.This identifier is preferably disposed on the front face of the mailbox to facilitate reading by a portable communication device 14 of the sender which is used to pay the postage relating to the mail item deposited in this postal box precisely identified from the postal reception office of the postal administration.

Le dispositif de communication portatif 14 peut être constitué par tout dispositif de traitement de données permettant une communication sans fil longue distance au travers d'un réseau de télécommunications sans fil terrestre ou satellitaire (tel que les réseaux GSM, UMTS, WiMax, etc.) comme un téléphone cellulaire, un assistant numérique personnel communiquant ou encore un ordinateur portable communiquant. Il comporte avantageusement un moyen de capture numérique 14A, tel un capteur photo numérique intégré (mais un dispositif raccordé comme un crayon optique est aussi envisageable).The portable communication device 14 may be constituted by any data processing device allowing a long-distance wireless communication through a terrestrial or satellite wireless telecommunications network (such as GSM, UMTS, WiMax, etc.) networks. like a cell phone, a personal digital assistant communicating or a communicating laptop. It advantageously comprises a digital capture means 14A, such as an integrated digital photo sensor (but a device connected as an optical pen is also possible).

Lors du processus de paiement d'un affranchissement, le dispositif de communication portatif de l'expéditeur est mis en relation avec un système serveur d'un service d'affranchissement 16 disposé sur un site du fournisseur de ce service d'affranchissement, ce serveur pouvant lui-même être mis en relation avec un système serveur d'un opérateur téléphonique 18 assurant si nécessaire le paiement de l'affranchissement demandé par débit du compte téléphonique de l'expéditeur, lorsque ce paiement n'a pas été effectué préalablement par le système serveur 16 auprès duquel l'expéditeur titulaire du dispositif de communication portatif aura préalablement ouvert un compte. Enfin, chacun des bureaux de réception de courrier de l'administration postale comporte également un système serveur 20 en liaison avec le serveur du service d'affranchissement 16.During the franking payment process, the sender's portable communication device is connected to a franking server server system 16 disposed on a site of the franking service provider, this server it can itself be connected to a server system of a telephone operator 18 ensuring if necessary the payment of the requested postage by debiting the sender's telephone account, when this payment has not been made beforehand by the server system 16 from which the sender holder of the portable communication device will have previously opened an account. Finally, each of the postal reception offices of the postal administration also comprises a server system 20 in conjunction with the franking service server 16.

Les trois systèmes serveurs 16, 18, 20 peuvent comporter une structure semblable avec une ou plusieurs unités centrales informatiques comprenant une ou plusieurs bases de données dont le contrôle et la gestion sont assurés classiquement par un ou plusieurs terminaux informatiques (non représentés). Le système serveur 18 de l'opérateur téléphonique comporte notamment une base de données client intégrant des données comptables relatives aux clients de cet opérateur et le système serveur 20 disponible dans chacun des bureaux de l'administration postale comporte notamment une base de données des articles de courrier déposés dans les boites postales dépendant de chacun de ces bureaux qui est un extrait de la base de données existant au niveau du système serveur 16 et comportant tous les articles de courrier expédiés via le service d'affranchissement.The three server systems 16, 18, 20 may comprise a similar structure with one or more computer central units comprising one or more databases whose control and management are conventionally provided by one or more computer terminals (not shown). The server system 18 of the telephone operator comprises in particular a customer database integrating accounting data relating to the customers of this operator and the server system 20 available in each of the offices of the postal administration comprises in particular a database of the articles of service. mail placed in the mailboxes depending on each of these offices which is an extract from the existing database at the server system level 16 and including all mail items shipped via the franking service.

La figure 2 est un organigramme illustrant les différentes étapes du procédé permettant au moyen du dispositif de communication portatif 14 le paiement et le contrôle de l'affranchissement d'un article de courrier 12 déposé par un expéditeur dans une boite postale déterminée 10.The figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the various steps of the method allowing by means of the portable communication device 14 the payment and the control of the postage of a mail piece 12 deposited by a sender in a given mail box 10.

Dans une première étape 100 de mise en oeuvre du procédé, l'expéditeur désirant expédier un article de courrier 12 va cliquer sur une icône correspondant à une application d'affranchissement préinstallée sur son dispositif de communication portatif 14. Après saisi d'un code personnel d'identification, la fonction de lecture optique de ce dispositif va être activé automatiquement et permettre à l'expéditeur, au moyen du moyen de capture numérique 10A intégré au dispositif de communication portatif, de saisir, dans une étape 102, une image de l'identifiant figurant sur la boite postale dans laquelle l'expéditeur va déposer son article de courrier.In a first step 100 of implementation of the method, the sender wishing to send a mail item 12 will click on an icon corresponding to a postage application preinstalled on his portable communication device 14. After entering a personal code identification, the optical reading function of this device will be activated automatically and allow the sender, using the digital capture means 10A integrated in the portable communication device, to enter, in a step 102, an image of the identifier on the post office box in which the sender will deposit his mail item.

Cette saisie, comme il est connu, peut être effectuée par l'action sur un bouton de prise de vue (non représenté) du dispositif de communication portatif, entraînant une reconnaissance automatique de cet identifiant et une extraction des données qu'il comporte dont le numéro d'identification. Lorsque le dispositif de communication portatif est dépourvu d'un moyen de capture numérique, l'expéditeur est invité à saisir manuellement cet identifiant (ce qui n'est possible que si celui-ci est formé de caractères alphanumériques), ou à le choisir parmi un ensemble d'identifiants d'une zone géographique déterminée préalablement définie par l'expéditeur, par exemple au travers d'un menu déroulant. La saisie manuelle peut par exemple être effectuée directement à partir de l'identifiant porté sur la boite postale ou à partir d'une liste (comportant ou non des codes à barres) que l'expéditeur se sera procuré préalablement auprès du bureau de réception de courrier de son quartier et renfermant l'ensemble des identifiant associé à ce bureau de réception.This capture, as is known, can be performed by the action on a shooting button (not shown) of the portable communication device, resulting in an automatic recognition of this identifier and an extraction of the data that it includes which the ID number. When the portable communication device is without a digital capture means, the sender is invited to manually enter this identifier (which is possible only if it is formed of alphanumeric characters), or to choose from a set of identifiers of a defined geographical area previously defined by the sender, for example through a drop-down menu. The manual entry can for example be carried out directly from the identifier carried on the post office box or from a list (with or without barcodes) that the sender has obtained beforehand from the reception office of mail from his neighborhood and containing all the identifier associated with this reception desk.

Le dispositif de communication portatif va ensuite dans une étape suivante 104 via son écran d'affichage demander à l'expéditeur de saisir différentes données postales associées à l'article de courrier à expédier de façon à déterminer automatiquement le montant d'affranchissement pour cet article de courrier. Ce montant d'affranchissement est en effet fonction du ou des services demandés (prioritaire ou économique par exemple), de la zone géographique de destination (nationale ou étranger) et de la classe de poids de l'article de courrier envoyé. De façon alternative, il peut être demandé simplement à l'expéditeur de déterminer lui même sous sa seule responsabilité le montant de l'affranchissement souhaité (ce qui est possible si l'expéditeur dispose des tarifs postaux en vigueur). A titre d'exemple, pour un envoi d'une lettre de moins de 20 grammes en service prioritaire vers les Etats Unis, l'expéditeur devra payer 0,90 Euros, alors que pour l'envoi en service économique d'un colis de 8Kg vers un département d'outre-mer, il devra payer 14 Euros.The portable communication device then goes to a next step 104 via its display screen to ask the sender to enter various postal data associated with the mail item to be shipped so as to automatically determine the postage amount for this article. mail. This postage amount is in fact a function of the service or services requested (priority or economic, for example), the geographical area of destination (national or foreign) and the weight class of the mail item sent. Alternatively, the sender can simply be asked to determine the amount of postage he / she is responsible for (which is possible if the sender has the postal rates in force). For example, for a shipment of a letter of less than 20 grams priority service to the United States, the sender will pay 0.90 Euros, while for the shipment in economic service a package of 8Kg to an overseas department, he will have to pay 14 Euros.

Dans une étape suivante 106, selon le type d'articles de courrier utilisé par l'expéditeur, le dispositif de communication portatif va alors soit générer un code d'identification unique à partir d'une combinaison concaténée des informations saisies précédemment par l'expéditeur comme la zone géographique de destination, notamment le code postal destinataire, et le montant d'affranchissement, et d'autres informations à sa disposition (sans que cette énumération soit limitative) comme la date, l'heure, la version du logiciel d'application, l'identifiant de la carte SIM, etc. soit de façon préférentielle extraire ce code d'identification unique d'un identifiant (12B) porté cet fois par l'article de courrier sous forme par exemple d'un code à barres à deux dimensions pré-imprimé sur l'article de courrier.In a next step 106, depending on the type of mail items used by the sender, the portable communication device will then either generate a unique identification code from a concatenated combination of information previously entered by the sender as the geographical area of destination, in particular the postcode of destination, and the amount of postage, and other information at its disposal (without this list being exhaustive) such as the date, the time, the version of the application software, the SIM card identifier, etc. or preferably extracting this unique identification code from an identifier (12B) this time carried by the mail article in the form of, for example, a two-dimensional bar code pre-printed on the mail piece.

Le dispositif de communication portatif va alors dans une étape 108 envoyer vers le serveur d'affranchissement 16 une requête de préférence sous la forme d'un message court de type SMS contenant, avec le montant d'affranchissement calculé ou saisi, le code d'identification unique généré ou extrait comme indiqué précédemment.The portable communication device then goes, in a step 108, to send to the franking server 16 a request preferably in the form of a short message of the SMS type containing, with the franking amount calculated or entered, the code of unique identification generated or extracted as previously indicated.

Dans une nouvelle étape 110, le serveur 16 va recevoir cette requête et sur la base du numéro de téléphone du dispositif de communication portatif (obtenu classiquement sur la base des numéros IMSI ou IMEI du dispositif de communication portatif transmis lors de l'appel) va procéder à différentes vérifications selon que son titulaire (l'expéditeur) est ou non client du service d'affranchissement. En effet, si l'expéditeur est un client de ce service (il dispose donc d'un compte auprès de lui), le serveur 16 va alors vérifier son droit d'utilisation et si son compte est suffisamment approvisionné (réponse oui au test de l'étape 112), débiter à l'étape 114 son compte client du montant correspondant à l'affranchissement demandé. A défaut, il invitera l'expéditeur à recharger son crédit et la communication sera ensuite interrompue (étape 116). L'expéditeur ne pourra dès lors poster son article de courrier sauf à laisser régler à son destinataire le paiement avec amende du montant d'affranchissement lors de la distribution de l'article de courrier comme pour un courrier traditionnel.In a new step 110, the server 16 will receive this request and on the basis of the telephone number of the portable communication device (conventionally obtained on the basis of the IMSI or IMEI numbers of the portable communication device transmitted during the call). perform various checks depending on whether the holder (the sender) is a franking customer or not. Indeed, if the sender is a customer of this service (he therefore has an account with him), the server 16 will then check his right of use and if his account is sufficiently stocked (answer yes to the test of step 112), at step 114, debit the customer's account with the amount corresponding to the requested postage. Otherwise, it will invite the sender to reload his credit and the communication will then be interrupted (step 116). The sender can not therefore post his mail item except to let the addressee pay the fine with the amount of postage when distributing the mail item as for a traditional mail.

Si, par contre, l'expéditeur n'est pas un client du service d'affranchissement et ne possède donc pas de compte client au niveau du serveur 16, celui-ci, dans la mesure où il existe une convention entre le fournisseur du service d'affranchissement et l'opérateur téléphonique, va retransmettre le montant d'affranchissement à payer et le numéro de téléphone du dispositif de communication portatif qui lui est associé au serveur de l'opérateur téléphonique 20 qui pourra vérifier à son tour, par accès à sa propre base de données client, si le compte de l'expéditeur présente un crédit téléphonique suffisant pour payer le montant d'affranchissement demandé. Si l'opérateur téléphonique estime que le crédit de l'expéditeur est insuffisant, il en informera le service d'affranchissement qui invitera alors l'expéditeur, comme précédemment, à recharger son crédit et la communication sera ensuite interrompue (étape 116). Par contre, si ce crédit est suffisant, son compte téléphonique sera débité du montant correspondant et le serveur 16 du service d'affranchissement crédité en contrepartie de sorte que, à l'étape 118, le serveur 16 puisse générer, en réponse à la communication du code d'identification unique, une requête à destination du dispositif de communication portatif, de préférence sous la forme d'un message court de type SMS, contenant une confirmation du paiement de l'affranchissement par l'expéditeur et, dans le cas où l'article de courrier ne comporte pas déjà de code d'identification pré-imprimé, provoquant sur l'écran d'affichage du dispositif de communication portatif l'affichage d'un code d'autorisation d'affranchissement.If, on the other hand, the sender is not a customer of the franking service and therefore does not have a client account at the level of the server 16, the server, insofar as there is an agreement between the service provider and the telephone operator, will retransmit the amount of postage to pay and the telephone number of the portable communication device associated with it. The telephone operator's server 20 may in turn check, by access to its own customer database, whether the sender's account has sufficient telephone credit to pay the requested postage amount. If the telephone operator considers that the credit of the sender is insufficient, it will inform the franking service which will then invite the sender, as before, to recharge his credit and the communication will then be interrupted (step 116). On the other hand, if this credit is sufficient, its telephone account will be debited with the corresponding amount and the server 16 of the postage service credited in return so that, at step 118, the server 16 can generate, in response to the communication. of the unique identification code, a request to the portable communication device, preferably in the form of a short message of the SMS type, containing a confirmation of the payment of the franking by the sender and, in the case where the mail article does not already include a pre-printed identification code, causing the display of the portable communication device to display a franking authorization code.

L'expéditeur n'aura alors plus, dans une étape 122, qu'à aller déposer son article de courrier dans la boite postale 10 dont il a saisi préalablement l'identifiant après avoir éventuellement reporté sur l'article de courrier, dans une étape préalable 120, le code d'autorisation d'affranchissement 12A communiqué par le serveur d'affranchissement et nécessaire au contrôle de validité de cet article de courrier.The sender will then no longer have, in a step 122, only to file his mail item in the mail box 10 which he has previously entered the identifier after possibly carried on the mail item, in a step 120, the franking authorization code 12A communicated by the franking server and necessary for checking the validity of this mail item.

Au moins une fois par jour, à un instant connu et prédéterminé, par exemple une heure après chaque levée de courrier, le serveur d'affranchissement 16 transférera vers chacun des serveurs des bureaux de réception de courrier de l'administration postale 20, sur la base des identifiants associés à chacun de ces bureaux, l'ensemble des données postales relatives aux opérations de paiement effectuées avec chacun d'eux ou, plus simplement, lui donnera des droits d'accès direct à l'ensemble de ses données. On notera que cette opération de transfert depuis le serveur d'affranchissement n'est pas nécessaire lorsque l'identifiant de la boite postale comporte l'adresse du serveur du bureau de réception de courrier dont elle dépend car dans le cas celui-ci aura déjà reçu ces données, l'étape 102 d'extraction de l'identifiant ayant fournie cette adresse et l'étape 108 de communication du code d'identification unique étant effectuée également à destination du serveur du bureau de réception de courrier correspondant à cette adresse.At least once a day, at a known and predetermined time, for example one hour after each mail lift, the franking server 16 will transfer to each of the servers of the mail receiving offices of the postal administration 20, on the based on the identifiers associated with each of these offices, all the postal data relating to the payment transactions made with each of them or, more simply, give him rights of direct access to all his data. It will be noted that this transfer operation from the postage server is not necessary when the identifier of the post office box includes the address of the server of the office of reception of mail of which it depends because in the case it has already received these data, the step 102 of extraction of the identifier having provided this address and the step 108 of communication of the unique identification code being also carried out to the server of the office receiving mail corresponding to this address.

Ainsi, avec la présente invention, tout expéditeur peut procéder très simplement à l'expédition d'un article de courrier quelconque, enveloppe ou colis, vers toutes destinations sans avoir à accéder à un bureau ouvert de l'administration postale, le code d'autorisation d'affranchissement reçu ou le code d'identification unique pré-imprimé (qui remplace le timbre ou l'empreinte postale d'une machine d'affranchissement dont il joue le rôle bien que n'ayant aucune valeur monétaire) porté sur chaque article de courrier étant suffisant pour que le bureau de réception de courrier de l'administration postale concerné retrouve cet article de courrier et procède à son contrôle.Thus, with the present invention, any shipper can proceed very simply to the shipment of any article of mail, envelope or package, to any destination without having to access an open office of the postal administration, the code of received postage authorization or the pre-printed unique identification code (which replaces the stamp or postage stamp of a postage machine in which it plays the role, although having no monetary value) on each item mail is sufficient for the postal reception office of the postal administration concerned to find this article of mail and carry out its inspection.

En effet, lors de la remise de l'article de courrier dans un des bureaux de réception de courrier, l'administration postale va effectuer d'une part une lecture optique de l'article de courrier pour en extraire le code d'autorisation d'affranchissement ou le code d'identification unique qu'il comporte et l'adresse du destinataire, plus précisément la zone géographique de destination (code postal destinataire) de l'article de courrier, éventuellement le service lorsque celui-ci est préimprimé sur l'article de courrier par exemple « prioritaire », et d'autre part si nécessaire une pesée de cet article de courrier pour en déterminer la classe de poids et, à partir de ces informations, elle va calculer le montant d'affranchissement nécessaire à cet article de courrier. Il ne lui restera plus qu'à vérifier que le montant payé par l'expéditeur et stocké dans le serveur 20 est au moins égal au montant d'affranchissement calculé pour autoriser sa distribution à son destinataire. En cas d'insuffisance de paiement, l'administration postale calculera le paiement majoré qui devra être payé par le destinataire pour recevoir son article de courrier.In fact, when the mail item is delivered to one of the mail reception offices, the postal administration will first of all carry out an optical reading of the mail article to extract the authorization code from the mailpiece. the postage or the unique identification code it contains and the recipient's address, more precisely the geographical area of destination (postcode of destination) of the article of mail, possibly the service when it is pre-printed on the postage article of mail for example "priority", and secondly if necessary a weighing of this article of mail to determine the weight class and, from this information, it will calculate the amount of postage required for this mail article. It will only remain to verify that the amount paid by the sender and stored in the server 20 is at least equal to the amount of postage calculated to allow distribution to the recipient. In case of insufficiency payment, the Postal Administration will calculate the increased payment to be paid by the recipient to receive his mail item.

Claims (11)

Procédé d'affranchissement d'un article de courrier (12) destiné à être déposé dans une boite postale (10) rattachée à un bureau de réception de courrier, caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte au niveau d'un dispositif de communication portatif (14) d'un expéditeur de cet article de courrier d'une part une opération de saisie d'un identifiant (10A) de ladite boite postale et d'autre part une opération de transmission de cet identifiant avec d'autres données postales, dont au moins un montant d'affranchissement et un code d'identification unique (12B) relatif à cet article de courrier, à un serveur d'un service d'affranchissement chargé de donner une autorisation d'affranchissement pour l'expéditeur.Method of franking a mail item (12) intended to be deposited in a mail box (10) attached to a mail receiving office, characterized in that it comprises at a portable communication device ( 14) of a sender of this mail item on the one hand an operation of entering an identifier (10A) of said mailbox and on the other hand a transmission operation of this identifier with other postal data, including at least one postage amount and a unique identification code (12B) relating to this mail item, to a postage meter server responsible for providing franking authorization to the sender. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que ledit code d'identification unique est porté par l'article de courrier ou généré par le dispositif de communication portatif.Method according to claim 1, characterized in that said unique identification code is carried by the mail piece or generated by the portable communication device. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que ladite opération de saisie de l'identifiant de ladite boite postale comporte une saisie manuelle au clavier (14B) dudit dispositif de communication portatif.A method according to claim 1, characterized in that said input operation of the identifier of said mailbox includes manual keyboard input (14B) of said portable communication device. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que ladite opération de saisie de l'identifiant de ladite boite postale comporte une lecture optique de cet identifiant par un moyen de capture numérique (14A) dudit dispositif de communication portatif.A method according to claim 1, characterized in that said input operation of the identifier of said mailbox comprises an optical reading of this identifier by a digital capture means (14A) of said portable communication device. Procédé selon la revendication 4, caractérisé en ce que ladite opération de lecture optique de l'identifiant comporte en outre l'extraction de cet identifiant d'une adresse électronique dudit bureau de réception de courrier auquel est rattachée ladite boite postale.A method according to claim 4, characterized in that said operation of optical reading of the identifier further comprises the extraction of this identifier from an electronic address of said mail receiving office to which is attached said mailbox. Procédé selon la revendication 5, caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte en outre, depuis ledit dispositif de communication portatif, une opération de transfert vers ladite adresse électronique d'une partie des données postales correspondant à l'article de courrier déposé dans ladite boite postale.A method according to claim 5, characterized in that it further comprises, from said portable communication device, a transfer operation to said electronic address of a portion of the postal data corresponding to the mail item deposited in said mailbox . Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte en outre une opération de transfert depuis ledit serveur du service d'affranchissement d'une partie des données postales correspondant aux articles de courrier déposés dans ladite boite postale vers un serveur (20) dudit bureau de réception de courrier auquel est rattachée ladite boite postale.Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a transfer operation from said postage service server of a part of the postal data corresponding to the mail items deposited in said post office box to a server (20) said office of receipt of mail to which is attached said mailbox. Procédé selon la revendication 7, caractérisé en ce que ladite opération de transfert est effectuée selon une périodicité prédéterminée correspondant sensiblement aux horaires de levée de ladite boite postale.Method according to claim 7, characterized in that said transfer operation is carried out according to a predetermined periodicity corresponding substantially to the times of lifting of said post office box. Dispositif de communication portatif (14) destiné à la mise en oeuvre du procédé d'affranchissement selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 8.Portable communication device (14) for implementing the franking method according to any one of claims 1 to 8. Dispositif selon la revendication 9, caractérisé en ce qu'il est constitué par l'un des dispositifs suivants : un téléphone cellulaire, un assistant numérique personnel communiquant, un ordinateur portable communiquant.Device according to claim 9, characterized in that it is constituted by one of the following devices: a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant communicating, a communicating portable computer. Programme informatique comportant des instructions de code pour la réalisation des étapes du procédé d'affranchissement selon l'une quelconque des revendications 1 à 8 lorsqu'il est exécuté sur le dispositif de communication portatif.A computer program comprising code instructions for performing the steps of the postage method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 when executed on the portable communication device.
EP08165931.0A 2007-10-12 2008-10-06 Method and system for postage prepayment Active EP2048624B1 (en)

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FR0758256A FR2922345A1 (en) 2007-10-12 2007-10-12 DELIVERY SYSTEM WITH CONTROLLED DISTRIBUTION POINT

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US9058700B2 (en) 2015-06-16
US20090106039A1 (en) 2009-04-23
EP2048624B1 (en) 2018-08-01
FR2922345A1 (en) 2009-04-17

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