Patent ID: 6609117
Filing Date: 2003-08-19
Classification: G07B

Abstract:
A postage metering system for generating and authenticating an indicium representative of a postage value comprising an element in an indicium value sequence defined by a selected maximum postage value, the system comprising a postage meter and an indicium authenticator,A. the postage meter being configured to generate the indicium, the indicium having an indicium value field for receiving the postage value and a random number field for receiving a random number, the postage meter being configured to generate the random number according to a predetermined methodology using random number generating information, the random number generating information including a seed value and another value, the seed value being a function of the selected maximum postage value and the other value, the predetermined methodology having the characteristics that (i) a random number sequence is generated, each random number in the random number sequence being associable with an element of the indicium value sequence, (ii) values of the random numbers in the random number sequence have values which are a function of the selected maximum postage value, (iii) the postage meter can readily generate values of the random numbers in the random number sequence associable with postage values which are less than the maximum postage value, and (iv) the postage meter cannot readily generate values of the random numbers in the random number sequence associable with values in the indicium value sequence which are more than the maximum postage value, the postage meter using as the random number for the random number field the random number value from the random number sequence associated with the postage value in the indicium value sequence, B. the indicium authenticator being configured to authenticate the indicium by determining whether the random number value in the random number field corresponds to a correct random number for the postage value in the indicium value field as determined by the predetermined methodology.