Integrated electronic scale, and a system and method which uses the scale automatically to compute postal/carrier rates
AssigneeVaghi Family Inteleectual Properties, LLC.
InventorNino Richard Vaghi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electronic scale integrally formed within the housing of a piece of office equipment increases a user's work space in a home or business environment. The piece of equipment may be a personal computer or one of its peripheral devices. A mailing system automatically computes postal and/or private carrier rates for items of mail based on weight signals derived from the electronic scale. Since the scale is integrated into the computer, all mailing tasks are performed at a user's desk using the least space possible. The system is performed in accordance with a computer program which steps a user through the postage-computing method using one or more interactive display screens.
Claims4
An electronic scale integrally formed within a CRT monitor, comprising:
- a platform for supporting an item;
- and
- a weighing unit mounted at least partially within a housing of said CRT monitor, said weighing unit including a force transducer which outputs a weight signal indicative of a weight of said item when said item is placed on said platform.
A CRT monitor for a personal computer, comprising:
- a housing;
- a platform for supporting an item;
- and
- a weighing unit mounted at least partially within the housing and including a force transducer which outputs a weight signal indicative of a weight of said item when said item is placed on the platform.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.