Patent Application
20240260744
Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of mobile customer service terminals and, more particularly, to a postal service cart including a mobile customer service terminal.
A typical post office includes a walk up counter manned by one or more postal employees. Patrons wait in line to interact with the postal employee to mail a letter and/or package. The patron will present the letter and/or package to the postal employee to be weighed. Based on the weight and the dimensions of the letter and/or package a postal rate will be established. Other factors such as letter and/or package destination, speed of delivery, tracking, insurance, and the like may factor into establishing the postal rate. After receiving payment, the postal employee prints out a postage label and sends the letter and/or package to the destination.
Depending on how many people are in line, mailing a letter and/or package can take time. While some patrons require full service, e.g., weighing and printing out the postage label, other patrons simply want to drop off a package or are mailing a package having a fixed rate. Such patrons require little if no interaction with a postal employee and expect a minimal wait time. If lines are long, that expectation may not be met. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a solution that would allow postal patrons a self-service option for generating a postage label and shipping packages/letters without the need to interact with a postal employee.
A postal service cart includes a base member and a support member extending from the base member. The support member includes a first end connected with the base member and a second end. A system support surface is connected to the support member at the second end. The system support surface includes a first support zone configured to support a first portion of a customer interface system and a second support zone including a component placement location restrictor configured to support a second portion of the customer interface system. The component placement location restrictor confines placement of the second portion of the customer interface system to a section of the second support zone adjacent the forward edge.
A mobile customer service system includes a postal service cart including, a base member and a support member extending from the base member. The support member includes a first end connected with the base member and a second end. A system support surface is connected to the support member at the second end. The system support surface includes a first support zone and a second support zone. A first customer interface system including an input terminal is supported on the system support surface in the first support zone. A second customer interface zone including a component placement location restrictor is defined on the system support surface in the second support zone. A second customer interface system is arranged on the system support surface in the second support zone. The component placement location restrictor confining placement of the second customer interface system to a section of the second support zone adjacent the forward edge.
The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike:
A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.
A mobile customer service station, in accordance with a non-limiting example, is indicated generally at 10 in
In a non-limiting example, support member 22 includes a first end 46 and a second end 48. First end 46 is connected to first base surface 28 and second end 48 is connected to system support surface 24. A first flange 50 is connected to first end 46 and provides an interface between first end 46 and first base surface 28. A second flange 51 is connected to second end 48 and provides an interface between second end 48 and system support surface 24. A plurality of mechanical fasteners, such as shown at 53, join first flange 50 to first base surface 28. Second flange 51 is secured to system support surface 24 in a similar manner. In accordance with a non-limiting example, support member 22 has a fixed length that establishes a selected height of system support surface 24 so as to be accessible to a wide range of patrons. However, it should be understood, that support member 22 may be adjustable to accommodate an even wider range of patrons.
In a non-limiting example, system support surface 24 includes a first support surface 60 and a second support surface 62. Second support surface 62 is opposite to first support surface 60. System support surface 24 includes a forward edge 67, a rear edge 69, a first side edge 71, and a second side edge 73. Forward edge 67 is spaced from rear edge 69 so as to define a surface depth “D” of system support surface 24. First side edge 71 is spaced from second side edge 73 so as to define a surface width “W” of system support surface 24.
In accordance with a non-limiting example, system support surface 24 includes a component placement location restrictor 80 that limits where a component may be placed on first support surface 60 as will be detailed herein. By confining component placement to a limited area on first support surface 60, customers having reach limitations may readily access the component. In a non-limiting example, component placement location restrictor 80 is shown in the form of a cut-out 84 formed in system support surface 24.
Cut-out 84 includes a first edge 86 and a second edge 89. In one non-limiting example shown in
At this point, it should be understood that component placement location restrictor 80 may take on various forms, including obstacles, walls, or other structure that may confine the placement of a component to a specific forward area of system support surface 24, and should not be considered as being limited to a cut-out or a material void. It should be further understood that the dimensions as well as the placement (i.e., location on system support surface 24) of component placement location restrictor 80 may vary.
In a non-limiting example, system support surface 24 depicted in
In a non-limiting example, a second customer interface system 128 is arranged in second support zone 108. Second customer interface system 128 takes the form of a scanner 130 having a support 132. While shown as a single integrated component, scanner 130 and support 132 may be separate elements. Scanner 130 may be used to scan one-dimensional bar codes and/or two-dimensional bar codes such as quick response (QR) codes to generate a pre-paid postage label which may be printed on printer 119. Component placement location restrictor 80 ensures that scanner 130 in second support zone 108 is readily accessible by all customers and cannot be placed to far from forward edge 67 making access difficult to a patron that may be have reach limitations.
In another non-limiting example, a customer may use all-in-one computer system 121 to select and pay for a postage label which may then be printed at printer 119. In a non-limiting example, in order to support customer postage efforts, forward edge 67 of system support surface may be provided with a measurement device such as a ruler 134 that can be used to measure package size. In addition, mobile customer service station 10 may include a scale (not shown) for weighing packages or an optical measurement system (also not shown) that may scan and measure package dimensions which may be input directly into all-in-one computer 121. Still further, a customer may print out receipts that may include postal tracking information using printer 119.
As shown in
The term “about” is intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application. For example, “about” can include a range of ±8% or 5%, or 2% of a given value.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the non-limiting examples described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof. Further, the use of terms “upper”, “lower”, “right”, and “left” are merely exemplary and should not be considered to limit the scope of the non-limiting examples disclosed herein.
It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the non-limiting examples discussed herein. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosed non-limiting examples without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the non-limiting examples disclosed herein not be limited to the particular examples disclosed, but will include all examples falling within the scope of the claims.
