Postage metering system employing positional information

Abstract

A postage metering device that includes a processor coupled to a memory and a receiver. The memory holds data indicative of a designated geographic area. The receiver receives and processes signals from a number of transmitting sources to provide an estimate of a position of the metering device. The processor receives data from the memory and the estimated position from the receiver and determines whether the metering device is located within the designated geographic area. The processor can initiate a responsive action based on the estimated position of the metering device. The responsive action can include disabling the entire metering device, disabling a set of operations of the metering device, making a call to the service center, and other actions. The positional estimation can be initiated by the metering device, the service center, or other entities. The transmitting sources can be Global Position System (GPS) satellites, cellular base stations, or other systems.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.