Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – Business processing using cryptography – Postage metering system
Reexamination Certificate
1995-12-19
2001-09-04
Cosimano, Edward R. (Department: 2161)
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
Business processing using cryptography
Postage metering system
C705S062000, C705S401000, C705S404000, C705S408000, C705S410000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06285990
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to advanced postage payment systems and, more particularly, to advanced postage payment systems having pre-computed postage payment information.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is related to the following U.S. patent applications Ser. Nos. 08/575106 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,694), 08/575107 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,438), 08/574,746 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,604), 08/574,745 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,683), 08/574,743 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,867), 08/575,112 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,157,919), 08/575,109 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,590), 08/575,104 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,689), 08/574749 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,198) and 08/575,111 now abandoned each filed concurrently herewith, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The USPS is presently considering requirements for two metering device types: closed systems and open systems. In a closed system, the system functionality is solely dedicated to metering activity. Examples of closed system metering devices, also referred to as postage evidencing devices (PEDs), include conventional digital and analog postage meters wherein a dedicated printer is securely coupled to a metering or accounting function. In a closed system, since the printer is securely coupled and dedicated to the meter, printing cannot take place without accounting. Furthermore, printing occurs immediately after accounting is concluded.
In an open system, the printer is not dedicated to the metering activity, freeing system functionality for multiple and diverse uses in addition to the metering activity. Examples of open system metering devices include personal computer (PC) based devices with single/multi-tasking operating systems, multi-user applications and digital printers. An open system metering device is a PED with a non-dedicated printer that is not securely coupled to a secure accounting module.
When a PED prints postage indicia on a mailpiece, the accounting register within the PED must always reflect that the printing has occurred. Postal authorities generally require the accounting information to be stored within the postage meter in a secure manner with security features that prevent unauthorized and unaccounted for postage printing or changes in the amounts of postal funds stored in the meter. In a closed system, the meter and printer are integral units, i.e., interlocked in such a manner as to ensure that the printing of postage indicia cannot occur without accounting.
Since an open system PED utilizes a printer that is not used exclusively for printing proof of postage payment, additional security measures are required to prevent unauthorized printing evidence of postage payment. Such security measures include cryptographic evidencing of postage payment by PEDs in the open and closed metering systems. The postage value for a mail piece may be encrypted together with other data to generate a digital token. A digital token is encrypted information that authenticates the information imprinted on a mail piece including postage values.
Examples of systems for generating and using digital tokens are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,757,537, 4,831,555, 4,775,246, 4,873,645, and 4,725,718, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. These systems employ an encryption algorithm to encrypt selected information to generate at least one digital token for each mailpiece. The encryption of the information provides security to prevent altering of the printed information in a manner such that any misuse of the tokens is detectable by appropriate verification procedures.
Typical information which may be encrypted as part of a digital token includes origination postal code, vendor identification, data identifying the PED, piece count, postage amount, date, and, for an open system, destination postal code. These items of information, collectively referred to as Postal Data, when encrypted with a secret key and printed on a mail piece provide a very high level of security which enables the detection of any attempted modification of a postal revenue block or a destination postal code. A postal revenue block is an image printed on a mail piece that includes the digital token used to provide evidence of postage payment. The Postal Data may be printed both in encrypted and unencrypted form in the postal revenue block. Postal Data serves as an input to a Digital Token Transformation which is a cryptographic transformation computation that utilizes a secret key to produce digital tokens. Results of the Digital Token Transformation, i.e., digital tokens, are available only after completion of the Accounting Process.
Digital tokens are utilized in both open and closed metering systems. However, for open metering systems, the non-dedicated printer may be used to print other information in addition to the postal revenue block and may be used in activity other than postage evidencing. In an open system PED, addressee information is included in the Postal Data which is used in the generation of the digital tokens. Such use of the addressee information creates a secure link between the mailpiece and the postal revenue block and allows unambiguous authentication of the mail piece.
A typical problem for postage meters in general is when the meter accounting function debits the available postage funds of the meter but the indicia has not been successfully printed. Usually, the only way to recover such postage funds is to take mailpieces with misprinted indicia to the Post for a refund. For open and closed metering systems, whenever a digital token is issued by the metering function, the metering function debits the available postage funds before postage indicia is printed. Therefore, even with new meters employing digital printing of indicia, the same problem exists.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has been discovered that in an open metering system a digital token can be reissued from the metering system if the digital token is never printed or if a problem occurs preventing a printing of postage indicia with the token. It has further been discovered that the security of the open system indicia is not compromised by such reissue of a token.
The present invention provides a method for reissuing a digital token for an open metering system, such as a PC-based metering system that comprises a PC, special Windows-based software, a printer and a plug-in peripheral as a vault to store postage funds. The PC meter uses a personal computer and its non-secure and non-dedicated printer to generate digital tokens and later print evidence of postage on envelopes and labels at the same time it prints a recipient address.
The present invention provides a token generation process for an open metering system that includes security that prevents tampering and false evidence of postage payment. The present invention further provides a token generation process that includes the ability to do batch processing of digital tokens.
In accordance with the present invention a method of reissuing digital tokens in a open system meter includes the steps of calculating a digital token using the predetermined postal information including addressee information, postage amount and piece count; debiting postal funds by the postage amount; issuing the digital token for generation of postage indicia; storing the digital token and the predetermined postal information as part of a transaction record in a transaction record file indexed according to piece count; determining that postage indicia generated from the digital token has not been successfully printed on a mailpiece for a particular addressee; and reissuing the digital token from the transaction record in the transaction file to generate the indicia for another attempt to print the indicia on the mailpiece.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4725718 (1988-02-01), Sansone et al.
patent: 4757537 (1988-07-01), Edelmann et al.
patent: 4775246 (1988-10-01), Edelmann et al.
patent: 4802027 (1989-01-01), Talmadge
patent: 4809185 (1989-02-01), Talmadge
patent: 4813912
Lee David K.
Ryan Jr. Frederick W.
Cosimano Edward R.
Malandra, Jr. Charles R.
Melton Michael E.
Pitney Bowes Inc.
LandOfFree
Method for reissuing digital tokens in an open metering system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method for reissuing digital tokens in an open metering system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method for reissuing digital tokens in an open metering system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2442965