Systems and methods for activation of postage indicia at point of sale
AssigneeStamps.com Inc.
InventorsJames Michael Bortnak, Kenneth Thomas McBride
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods which provide for activation of postage indicia at a point of sale are shown. In operation according to embodiments, unassigned (e.g., not yet activated or not yet representing postage value) tokens (e.g., IBI barcodes) suitable for later use as postage indicia are distributed to various point of sale locations, such as retail locations, consumer kiosks, vending machines, etc. and made available for purchase by users. Upon purchase, at a point of sale, such unassigned tokens are preferably activated as valid or “live” postage indicia. Thereafter, the postage indicia may be used to post mail items.
Claims20
A method for activating postage indicia for shipment of a postal item from a sender to an intended recipient using a postage account of a third party, the method comprising:
- scanning, by a scanner of a point of sale terminal of a retail location, a pre-produced token configured for activation as a value bearing postage indicium for shipment of the postal item to the intended recipient;
- determining, by the point of sale terminal, a postage value for shipping the postal item to the intended recipient;
- and
- activating, by the point of sale terminal, the pre-produced token as the value bearing postage indicium based on the postage value, wherein the activating comprises:
- receiving full payment from the sender, and
- charging, to a postage account of an operator of the point of sale terminal the postage value, wherein the operator is a third party with respect to:
- 1) the shipment of the postal item, 2) the sender, and 3) the intended recipient, wherein a status of the pre-produced token is changed from unactivated to activated after the charging of the postage account of the operator, and wherein activation of the pre-produced token transforms the pre-produced token into the value bearing postage indicium for shipping the postal item to the intended recipient.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions thereon that, upon execution by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations for activating postage indicia for shipment of a postal item to an intended recipient using a postage account of a third party, the operations comprising:
- scanning, by a scanner of a point of sale terminal of a retail location, a pre-produced token configured for activation as a value bearing postage indicium for shipment of the postal item to the intended recipient;
- determining, by the point of sale terminal, a postage value for shipping the postal item to the intended recipient;
- and
- activating, by the point of sale terminal, the pre-produced token as the value bearing postage indicium based on the postage value, wherein the activating comprises:
- receiving full payment from a retail customer, and
- charging, to a postage account of an operator of the point of sale terminal, the postage value, wherein the operator is a third party with respect to:
- 1) the shipment of the postal item, 2) the retail customer, and 3) the intended recipient, wherein a status of the pre-produced token is changed from unactivated to activated after the charging of the postage account of the operator, and wherein activation of the pre-produced token transforms the pre-produced token into the value bearing postage indicium for shipping the postal item to the intended recipient.
A system for activating postage indicia for shipment of a postal item to an intended recipient using a postage account of a third party, the system comprising:
- a point of sale terminal at a retail store location, the point of sale terminal comprising:
- a scanner configured to scan a pre-produced token configured for activation as a value bearing postage indicium for shipment of the postal item to the intended recipient;
- at least one processor configured to:
- determine a postage value for shipping the postal item to the intended recipient;
- and
- activate the pre-produced token as the value bearing postage indicium based on the postage value, wherein the activation comprises:
- receiving full payment from a retail customer, and
- charging, to a postage account of an operator of the point of sale terminal, the postage value, wherein the operator is a third party with respect to:
- 1) the shipment of the postal item, 2) the retail customer, and 3) the intended recipient, wherein a status of the pre-produced token is changed from unactivated to activated after the charging of the postage account of the operator, and wherein activation of the pre-produced token transforms the pre-produced token into the value bearing postage indicium for shipping the postal item to the intended recipient;
- and
- a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.