METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR VERIFYING POSTAGE

Abstract: An indicia (10) having an encrypted mark (20) is stamp­ ed upon a mail piece to represent postage so as to provide a code for authentication of such postage.

Description: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for verifying postage. Postage meters find extensive use throughout the world for imprinting postage on objects to be mailed. Postage, of course, is the amount of money or fee required to have the Post Office deliver a mail piece to which the postage is applied to an indicated address. The postage may be applied to a mail piece by a print head enclosed within the postage meter, i.e., directly upon an envelope or upon a label. When postage is printed upon a label, the label is then placed in adhering contact onto an envelope, parcel or other object to be mailed. The postage meter is also capable of printing information in addition to the amount of postage. For example, the postage meter is used for imprinting the date of mailing, the piece number, suitable indicia designating instructions and/or routing information for transport by private carriers, and the like as is well known (e.g. in the form of bar codes, cf. GB-A-2 097 330). Furthermore, if desired, the postage meter can be utilized for the imprinting of yet other forms of labels, such as tax stamps, assuming that governmental approval for such tax stamps is obtained. A potential problem in the use of imprinted postage is the attempt at fraudulent adulteration of such postage; whereby, in effect, the person adulterating the postage is stealing the value of the postage. A fraudulent impression may enable someone to obtain postage, or in the case of a tax stamp, to avoid paying the tax. The foregoing problems have been overcome by various methods of determining if the postage on a mail piece is genuine through various forms of encryption and apparatus has been designed to implement such methods. US-A-3 990 558 describes a method and apparatus for preparing and assessing payment documents. The described method enciphers a serial number of the document and the amount to which the document relates using a secret code to generate a cryptic number which is printed on the document in full. Such a method is not well-adapted for use in verifying postage, and the document does not suggest this as an application. An object of the invention is to provide methods and apparatus for verifying postage in a simple and effective way. According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of producing a mailpiece having verifiable indicia including an encrypted mark that is part of alphanumeric indicia applied thereto, comprising generating postal data to be imprinted on the mail piece; deriving a single encrypted alphanumeric character based upon a stored seed number and the generated postal data; and imprinting said mail piece with indicia including a string of alphanumeric characters representing at least a portion of said data and including said single encrypted alphanumeric character as the only encryption of said indicia. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for the validation of postage comprising applying an encrypted mark as a part of indicia applied to a mail piece, the indicia including said encrypted mark and alphanumeric data comprising: deriving a single digit encrypted number from said data; and comparing said derived single digit encrypted number with said encrypted mark. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for verifying postage, comprising: encryption means for generating an encrypted mark; means for supplying information relating to data printed on a mail piece to said encryption means; and means for indicating said encrypted mark. According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided apparatus for providing mailpieces with verifiable indicia, comprising: encryption means for generating an encrypted mark; means for supplying information relating to data to be printed on a mailpiece to said encryption means; and means for printing said encrypted mark on said mailpiece. For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a typical indicia imprinted by a postage meter upon a label, and Fig. 2 is a block diagram describing the features of the invention. Referring now to Fig. 1, a standard indicia that is imprinted by a postage meter on a mail piece is shown generally at 10. The indicia includes the amount of postage 12, a meter number 14 that identifies the postage meter that printed the indicia, the date 16 on which the postage is printed, the piece count 18, that indicates the number of times the postage meter has printed postage, and a code or encrypted mark 20. In this embodiment, the encrypted mark 20 is in the form of numerics and is placed as if it were the least significant number of the piece count 18. It will be appreciated that the encrypted mark 20 may be in the form of alphanumerics, and that the encrypted mark may be placed anywhere whether in the form of numerics, alphanumerics or any similar type of mark. Coders for obtaining an encrypted mark 20 are well known and may use a variety of systems such as that used by the National Bureau of Standards based on the multiplication of pairs of large numbers. A coder that may be utilized in the instant invention for obtaining a seed number and a resulting encrypted mark is described in EP-A-0 131 964 (US Serial No. 515,760 assigned to the assignee of this application) the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. In Fig. 2, a system is shown that may be utilized to validate the information shown in Fig. 1., and includes a decoder 22. This decoder may be a microprocessor such as an Intel model 8039. When there is a question as to the validity of the postage on a mail piece, a postal official, or clerk, would input into the decoder 22 the postage amount 12, the serial number 14, the date 16, the piece count 18 in any convenient manner. The decoder 22 would have resident therein the seed number generated by a coder. The decoder is utilized for decoding and performs an encryption algorithm for determining the valid encryption mark based upon information supplied to the decoder. After processing the input information, the valid mark would be supplied to the postal official, as for example, on a display. If the mark generated by the decoder 20 corresponds to the number following the piece count, than the operator knows the postage is genuine. If there is no such match, then the postal official is aware of wrongdoing and can take appropriate action. As stated previously, the encrypted mark 20 may be placed at any appropriate part of the indicia in any convenient form. For example, the encrypted mark 20 could be a part of the postage meter number or it could stand alone. In any event, as long as a standard system is established in accordance with the teachings herein, the authenticity of postage may be verified. The above describes an advantageous method and apparatus for determining if the postage on a mail piece is genuine. The apparatus includes electronic circuitry for the development of an encrypted mark, and a printer which is driven by the electronic circuitry to imprint an indicia with both the postage and other information in combination with an encrypted mark. The encrypted mark may be in the form of alphanumeric characters or other printwork and may be used for verifying the postage. An important feature of the method is that encryption derived from data on the mail piece such as the amount of postage, the date, and, if desired, the sender and other data; thereby, the data imprinted on the mail piece or label is related to the encrypted mark. In the event that the printed matter is altered, either the encrypted mark cannot be decoded or, if decoded, the postage will not agree with the encrypted mark imprinted on the mail piece.

Claims: A method of producing a mailpiece (10) having verifiable indicia including an encrypted mark (20) that is part of alphanumeric indicia applied thereto, comprising: generating postal data to be imprinted on the mail piece (10); deriving a single encrypted alphanumeric character (20) based upon a stored seed number and the generated postal data; and imprinting said mail piece (10) with indicia including a string of alphanumeric characters (18,20) representing at least a portion of said data and including said single encrypted alphanumeric character (20) as the only encryption of said indicia. A method according to claim 1 including the step of providing the postage fee (12), the meter serial number (14), the piece count (18) and the date as part of the input data. A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said string of characters consists of a piece count (18) terminated by said alphanumeric character (20). A method according to any preceding claim wherein said encrypted character (20) is combined in said string as the terminal part and only encrypted part of said string. A method according to claim 4 wherein said postal string comprises a piece count (18) indicating the number of times a postage meter for imprinting the indicia has printed postage. A method according to claim 4 or 5 wherein said indicia applied to said mail piece includes a postage amount (12) and a date (16), and said method of deriving an encrypted number comprises deriving a single digit encrypted number (20) that depends in a predetermined manner on said postage amount and date. A method according to any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein said step of imprinting comprises printing said single digit (20) as the terminal part of an uncoded series of alphanumeric characters relating to postal information. A method for the validation of postage comprising applying an encrypted mark (20) as a part of indicia applied to a mail piece (10), the indicia including said encrypted mark (20) and alphanumeric data; comprising: deriving a single digit encrypted number (20) from said data; and comparing said derived single digit encrypted number with said encrypted mark (20). Apparatus for verifying postage, comprising: encryption means (22) for generating a single character encrypted mark (20); means for supplying information relating to data printed (10) on a mail piece to said encryption means (22); and means for indicating said encrypted mark. Apparatus for providing mailpieces (10) with verifiable indicia, comprising: encryption means for generating a single character encrypted mark (20); means for supplying information relating to data to be printed on a mailpiece (10) to said encryption means; and means for printing said encrypted mark on said mailpiece (10). Apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said means for printing on said mail piece (10) is operable to print a string of alphanumeric characters representing at least a portion of said data and including said encrypted mark (20) as the sole encryption of the indicia. Apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, wherein said encryption means is operable to derive a single digit encrypted number (20) from said data; and to combine said encrypted number as a part of and the only encrypted part of said data; and and said printing means is operable to imprint said combined encrypted number and data on said mailpiece (10). Apparatus according to claim 12 wherein said alphanumeric data comprises a piece count (18) indicating the number of times a postage meter for imprinting the indicia has printed postage, said means for combining comprising means for combining said encrypted number (20) as the terminal part of said piece count (18). Apparatus according to any of claims 9 to 13, including means for generating a seed number as part of said encryption means (22). Apparatus according to any of claims 9 to 14, wherein said encryption means comprises: means for storing a seed number; and means for deriving an encrypted alphanumeric character (20) based upon the stored seed number and entered postal data.

Inventors: ECKERT, ALTON B.
Applicants: PITNEY BOWES INC.
Application year: 1985
Main classification: G07D7
IPC codes: G07B17, G07D7