| 摘要 |
<p>A system (10) for accepting and storing items for subsequent pickup by a commercial carrier may include a storage area (14) which is defined by an outer housing (12), and a customer interface area (16) that includes a weighing unit (22) and a unit, such as a magnetic card reader (30), for accepting payment from a customer. The system (10) may also include a control system (100) that accepts address information from the customer through a key pad (28), and then instructs a printer (26) to print an address label for the item. The system (10) includes safeguards which prevent unauthorized access to the storage area (14), and will not provide a receipt to the customer until internal sensors (112, 114, 116) verify deposit of the item. A manifest printer (90) may also be provided for the benefit of the commercial carriers who service the system (10), to print out a summary of the transaction that pertain to each carrier.</p> |
