Electronic postage meter operating voltage variation sensing system

A postage meter system, comprising:

• a source of operating voltage for said postage meter system;
• means for printing postage;
• accounting means operatively coupled to said source of operating voltage and to said postage printing means for accounting for postage printed by said printing means, said accounting means having an operative state and an inoperative state;
• means operatively coupled for sensing the voltage level of said source of operating voltage and providing signal information representative of the level of said source of operating voltage;
• means coupling said sensing means to said accounting means for applying said signal information representative of said level of said source of operating voltage;
• a first transistor and a second transistor, said first and said second transistor each adapted to be biased into and out of conduction;
• transistor coupling means interconnecting said first and second transistor to said accounting means;
• said first transistor operable once biased into conduction to maintain said accounting means in said operative state;
• and
• said second transistor once biased into conduction operative to cause said first transistor to maintain said accounting means in said operative state independent of the signal information representative of the voltage level of said source of operating voltage.

A postage meter system, comprising:

• a source of operating voltage for said postage meter system;
• means for printing postage;
• accounting means coupled to said source of operating voltage and to said postage printing means, said accounting means accounting for postage printed by said printing means;
• said accounting means including a first terminal which when energized causes said accounting means to be in an operative state, a second terminal which where energized causes said accounting means to initiate an interrupt operation and a third terminal for providing a current path to ground when said accounting means first terminal is energized to cause said accounting means to be in said operative state, said accounting means operable to interrupt said current path when an interrupt operation initiated by energization of said second terminal has been completed;
• means coupled to said source of operating voltage for sensing the voltage level of said source of operating voltage and providing signal information representative of the level of said source of operative voltage;
• means coupling said voltage sensing means and said accounting means second terminal for applying said signal information representative of the level of said source of operating voltage to said second terminal;
• a first and second transistor, said first and said second transistor each having a base electrode, a collector electrode and an emitter electrode;
• said first transistor collector-emitter electrode current path coupled between said accounting means first terminal and said source of operating voltage, and said first transistor base electrode connected to said means coupling said voltage sensing means and said accounting means second terminal;
• and
• said second transistor collector-emitter electrode current path coupled between the base electrode of said first transistor and said accounting means third terminal and said second transistor base electrode connected to said source of operating voltage.