Data processing: financial – business practice – management – or co – For cost/price – Postage meter system
Patent
1999-03-16
1999-12-28
Cosimano, Edward R.
Data processing: financial, business practice, management, or co
For cost/price
Postage meter system
235375, 34082531, 380 51, 380 55, 705401, 705403, 705408, G07B 1700
Patent
active
060094176
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates generally to postage meters, also called franking machines, and relates more particularly to electronic postage meters printing digital postal indicia.
BACKGROUND ART
Postage meters are well known. The present assignee has been designing and manufacturing postage meters for many, many decades. After these decades of experience, postage meters are extremely reliable and cost has been reduced to a minimum. A typical postage meter prints its postage by means of an intaglio-type metal or strong plastic printing plate or die plate, using specified fluorescent ink.
Most postage meter customers never have reason to call for repair of their postage meters. Postage meters are simple to operate and there is little to go wrong. They have been accepted by nearly all the post offices of the world. Postage meters benefit post offices by reducing the need for retail sales of postage stamps, and by making it easy for postal patrons to adjust to changes in postage rates. Present-day postage meters are able to accommodate mail pieces of varying thickness, and are able to print their indicia even if the surface of the mail piece is uneven.
Nothwithstanding the reliability, low cost, and ease of use of present-day postage meter designs, it has been suggested by some postal authorities that all postage meters presently in use be removed from service and that postage be printed instead by common computer printers using ordinary ink. This means that anyone with an ordinary computer printer can readily generate a plausible-looking postal indicium at any time and in any desired quantity. The only possible approach for reducing fraud, when ordinary computer printers are used, is to incorporate cryptographically secure information into the postal indicium, and to read and verify that information on each and every mail piece. The present invention is directed to system configurations in which such cryptographically secure information is generated for use in printing such indicia. To be commercially viable, such system configurations must not only satisfy the requirements of the postal authorities, but must also provide user function more or less approximating that of present-day postage meters.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A proof-of-postage generating system wherein finds, application of those funds, the replenishment of those funds and the auditing of those funds are secure against attempts at fraud. The system may either be a Closed System (CS) wherein the proof-of postage printing means are housed within the system computational means or within a cryptographically secure boundary. Further, the system my be an Open System (OS) wherein the proof-of postage printing means are external to the system computational means.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
The invention will be described with respect to a drawing in several figures, of which:
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a first embodiment of a closed-system type of postage meter;
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a second embodiment of a closed-system type of postage meter;
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a third embodiment of a closed-system type of postage meter;
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a first embodiment of an open-system type of postage meter;
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a second embodiment of an open-system type of postage meter;
FIG. 6A is a functional block diagram of a third embodiment of an open-system type of postage meter, with an internally mounted postal security device (PSD);
FIG. 6B is a functional block diagram of a third embodiment of an open-system type of postage meter, with an externally mounted PSD;
FIG. 7A is a functional block diagram of a fourth embodiment of an open-system type of postage meter, with an internally mounted postal security device (PSD);
FIG. 7B is a functional block diagram of a fourth embodiment of an open-system type of postage meter, with an externally mounted PSD;
FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a fifth embodiment of an open-system type of
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Brookner George
Brown Michael
Eskandari Fetneh
Schwartz Robert
Zuidema Eric
Ascom Hasler Mailing Systems Inc.
Cosimano Edward R.
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