Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00733—Cryptography or similar special procedures in a franking system
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00016—Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
  • G07B17/0008—Communication details outside or between apparatus
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00467—Transporting mailpieces
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00508—Printing or attaching on mailpieces
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00016—Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
  • G07B17/00024—Physical or organizational aspects of franking systems
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00016—Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
  • G07B17/00024—Physical or organizational aspects of franking systems
  • G07B2017/00072—Hybrid mail, i.e. mail delivered using different physical means along the mail delivery path, e.g. email and envelope
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00016—Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system
  • G07B17/0008—Communication details outside or between apparatus
  • G07B2017/00088—Communication details outside or between apparatus via landlines
  • G07B2017/00096—Communication details outside or between apparatus via landlines via phone lines
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
  • G07B17/00193—Constructional details of apparatus in a franking system
  • G07B2017/00201—Open franking system, i.e. the printer is not dedicated to franking only, e.g. PC (Personal Computer)
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
  • G07B17/00314—Communication within apparatus, personal computer [PC] system, or server, e.g. between printhead and central unit in a franking machine
  • G07B2017/00338—Error detection or handling
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00185—Details internally of apparatus in a franking system, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office
  • G07B17/00362—Calculation or computing within apparatus, e.g. calculation of postage value
  • G07B2017/00379—Calculation of different sending options for a mail piece
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00467—Transporting mailpieces
  • G07B2017/00491—Mail/envelope/insert handling system
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00508—Printing or attaching on mailpieces
  • G07B2017/00572—Details of printed item
  • G07B2017/00596—Printing of address
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00459—Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
  • G07B17/00508—Printing or attaching on mailpieces
  • G07B2017/00612—Attaching item on mailpiece
  • G07B2017/0062—Label
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
  • G07B—TICKET-ISSUING APPARATUS; FARE-REGISTERING APPARATUS; FRANKING APPARATUS
  • G07B17/00—Franking apparatus
  • G07B17/00733—Cryptography or similar special procedures in a franking system
  • G07B2017/00959—Cryptographic modules, e.g. a PC encryption board
  • G07B2017/00967—PSD [Postal Security Device] as defined by the USPS [US Postal Service]

Definitions

• the invention relates generally to postage meters (franking machines), and relates particularly to systems in which items of correspondence are to be dispatched by any of several different means.
• the application claims priority from US application no. 60/078,487, filed March 18, 1998, which application is incorporated herein by reference to the extent permitted by the designated and elected States hereto.
• the accounting means includes an ascending register indicative of postage that has been printed, and typically a piece counter indicative of the number of mail pieces that have been printed. In many countries including the United States, the accounting means also includes a descending register indicative of the amount of postage value available to be printed.
• the printing means is used to print postage indicia on mail pieces, typically by a relief printing die with characteristic fluorescent ink. Such postage meters have worked exceeding well for decades and have proven to be reliable.
• the postage meter saves the postal authority from much of the work of printing, stocking and selling postage stamps.
• the postage meter user can simply print the new postal amount, while the stamp user must queue up at the post office to purchase stamps in the new denomination.
• nonsecure printers such as laser printers, ink-jet printers, and thermal transfer printers.
• Such printers are termed “nonsecure” because the printer itself is not in a secure housing and because the communications channel linking the printer to other apparatus is nonsecure.
• nonsecure printers because the printer itself is not in a secure housing and because the communications channel linking the printer to other apparatus is nonsecure.
• the proposed anti-fraud measure is to store information within the indicia which would permit detecting fraud.
• the indicium would include not only human-readable text such as a date and a postage amount, but would also include machine- readable information, for example by means of a two-dimensional bar code.
• the machine- readable information would be cryptographically signed, and would include within it some information intended to make fraud more difficult.
• the information would typically include an identification of the postage meter license (granted by the meter manufacturer or by the postal authorities, depending on the country), an indication of the number of mail pieces franked, the postage amount, a postal security device identifier about which more will be said later, the date and time, and a zip code or post code of the mail piece addressee.
• Yet another drawback is that it is commonplace for a mail piece to get smudged on the way to the post office or within the post office, prior to the authentication scanning by the post office. If the post office is unable to read the bar code, the post office has to decide whether to return the mail piece to the sender, or risk delivering a mail piece bearing a counterfeit indicium.
• the typical apparatus for printing such "encrypted indicia" postage includes what is called a postal security device or PSD.
• PSD has a secure housing, and within the secure housing are the accounting registers as well as a cryptographic engine.
• the engine permits cryptographic authentication and signing for communication with an external device such as the computer of the meter manufacturer or of the post office.
• the engine also permits creation of postal indicia which contain specified information and which are cryptographically signed.
• the PSD may well be physically small as compared to traditional postage meters.
• the PSD may be the size of a PCMCIA card or the size of a smart card.
• the memory must be protected against inadvertent damage due to malfunction of the processor of the PSD, for example as set forth in US Pat. No. 5668973, Protection system for critical memory information owned by the same assignee as the assignee of the present application.
• the PSD must handle power failure in a graceful fashion, for example as set forth in US Pat. No. 5712542, Postage meter with improved handling of power failure, also owned by the same assignee as the assignee of the present application.
• the printer may preferably be that described in PCT publication no. 97-46389, Printing apparatus, also owned by the same assignee as the assignee of the present application. While it has been proposed that the PSD contain a real-time clock which is keeping time continuously, desirably this requirement may be avoided as described in PCT publication no. 98-08325, Printing postage with cryptographic clocking security, also owned by the same assignee as the assignee of the present application. PSDs can form part of a network with multiple printers as described in PCT publication no. 98-13790, Proof of postage digital franking, also owned by the same assignee as the assignee of the present application.
• a user provides inputs at a user interface.
• the user's inputs relate to the expected type of delivery.
• the system may already have information stored as to the type of delivery to be used with particular correspondents.
• the system handles a sequence of items of correspondence. For each item it is determined whether the delivery will be by physical delivery of a printed document, by fax, or by email. Furthermore, it is determined whether a printed document will be enclosed in an envelope upon which an address is to be printed, or whether it will be enclosed in an envelope or package which receives printed address labels.
• the system also generates a postal indicium which is either printed on an envelope or on a label to be placed on an envelope.
• Fig. 1 shows a flow chart depicting handling of correspondence in keeping with the invention
• Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of the system.
• the system according to the invention is typified by a personal computer 50, shown in Fig. 2.
• the personal computer 50 receives, or has stored within it, information about a number of items of correspondence to be sent, all omitted for clarity in Fig. 2.
• the computer 50 has at least one printer 53, and preferably has more than one printer, one optimized for printing on paper sheets, and another optimized for printing on label stock and envelopes.
• the computer 50 has a postal security device 52, as discussed above.
• the postal security device 52 has nonvolatile memory and a cryptographic engine, and under stored program control it is able to generate digitally printed postal indicia which will be accepted by the postal authorities for payment of postage.
• the indicia are printed on the printer 53.
• the computer 50 has connected with it, or includes, a Simple Mail Transport Protocol(SMTP) server 54, and a fax server or fax modem 55.
• the user controls the computer 50 through a user interface 51.
• SMTP Simple Mail Transport Protocol
• a user interface This may be a keyboard, a touch screen, or other user input device.
• the computer 50 handles input requests, formulates desired outputs, and manages the system with respect to configuration parameters such as departmental charge-backs.
• the data routing can take a document-printing path 2, a high- volume production printing path 3, a label printing path 4, a fax path 5, and an email path 6.
• chargeback is done for example in box 9.
• the correspondence and envelope may be typed in box 10.
• a number of moderate-capacity printers are employed so that if one breaks, the load may be distributed among other printers.
• the computer 50 passes the correspondence to a fax modem, or to a fax server 55, which may be integral with the computer 50 or may be separate from it.
• the correspondence is sent by fax.
• the computer 50 passes the correspondence to a simple mail transport protocol server 54, which may be integral with the computer 50 or may be separate from it.
• the correspondence is sent by email over a TCP/IP link, omitted for clarity in Fig. 2.
• One of the chief drawbacks of the cryptographically signed postal indicium is that the postal service may require that the indicium be based in part on a Zip code or post code of the associated mail piece. This leads to great difficulty in the event that an indicium and its associated addressed envelope or package become mismatched.
• the postal authorities will assume that the sender is engaged in mail fraud, for example trying to use a single indicium more than once on more than one mail piece.
• the address and postage labels are desirably printed "two- up", side by side or adjacent in the label printer. This permits automated equipment, or a human user, to place the two labels on a mail piece (e.g. an envelope or package) at about the same time, thus reducing the likelihood of a mismatch.
• the invention comprises a system for management of correspondence, comprising a processor 50 having a user interface 51, said processor 50 communicatively coupled with a printer 53, said printer disposed to print adhesive labels, said processor 50 also communicatively coupled with a fax modem 55, said processor also communicatively coupled with a simple mail transport protocol server 54; said system further comprising means receiving information indicative of items of correspondence to be delivered, the information regarding each item further indicative of at least one means of delivery for said item; said system further comprising means responsive to the information indicative of the at least one means of delivery for causing transmission by fax via the fax modem 55 in the event that the information indicative of the at least one means of delivery indicates fax, for causing transmission by email via the simple mail transport protocol server 54 in the event that the information indicative of the at least one means of delivery indicates email, and in the event that the information indicative of the at least one means of delivery indicates mail requiring labels, causing the postal security device 52 to generate a postage indicium, and causing the printer 53 to print the post

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• 1999
  • 1999-03-18 WO PCT/US1999/005893 patent/WO1999048054A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1999-03-18 JP JP2000537178A patent/JP2002507801A/ja active Pending
  • 1999-03-18 EP EP99913943A patent/EP1062638B1/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-03-18 CA CA002324098A patent/CA2324098C/fr not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1999-03-18 AT AT99913943T patent/ATE308087T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1999-03-18 DE DE69927959T patent/DE69927959T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (4)

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