Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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POSTAGE METER SYSTEM HAVING BIT-MAPPED
INDICIA, INCLUDING FRAUD PROTECTION
FIEI~D O~THEINYI~NTIO~I
The invention relates to postage metering systems and more
S panicular1y to postage metering systems which include bit-
mapped printing of the meter indiciias.
BACKGROUND QF THE lNVENTlON
Digital printing technology has made it possible to
implement digital, i.e., bit map addressable, printing for the
purpose of evidencing payment of postage by a postage-meter-
Iike device. In order to distinguish such postage-meter-like
devices from the typical postage meter which uses mechanical
printing techniques, such devices will be named herein Postage
E~,idencing Devices or PED's. The computer driven printer can
print the postal indicia in a desired location on the face of a mail
piece. As used herein the postal indicia includes a Postal Revenue
Block or PRB. The PRB typically contains data such as the postage
value, a unique PED identification number, the date and in some
applications the name of the place where the mail is originating.
From the Post Office's point of view, it will be appreciated
that the digital printing makes it fairly easy to counterfeit an ~ -
indicia with the PRB since any suitable computer may be used to
generate multiple images.
It is Icnown to prevent such counterfeiting by including
certain information in the block in both plain text and cipher text.
For example the postage amount, date and sequen~ial piece count
can be encrypted using either a secret or public key encryption
; algorithm and printed along with the plain text counterpart in the
PRB. The value of the franking used in the encryption can be
3 0 determined from the encryption to learn whether the value as
printed on the mailpiece is correct. See, for example, U.S. Patent ~ ~;
Nos. 4,757,537 and 4,775,246 to Edelmann et al. as well as U.S. ~ ~
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hl33363
Patent No. 4,649,266 to Eckert. It is also known to authenticate a
mailpiece by including the address as a further part of the
encryption as described in U.S. Patent No. 4,725,718 to Sansone et
al. and U.S. Paten~ No. 4,743,747 to Fougere et al. The encrypted
S messages may be included in graphic form as disclosed in U.S.
Patent Nos. 4,83S,713 and 4,949,381 to Pastor.
U.S. Patent No. 5,075,862 to Doeberl et al. discloses a
metering system which includes changes in the indicia based on
time of day of the printing. The Postal Authorities can riffle
1 0 through a batch of mail to determine whether the ~ime is changing
appropriately during the printing of a batch of mail. Tell locations
may also be included such that the presence or absence of a
marker at a particular location will authenticate the mailpiece.
U.S. Patent Nos. 4,637,051, to Clark; 4,641,346 to Clark et al.;
1 5 4,829,568 to Clark et al.; and 4,660,221 to Dlugos teach the
printing of indicia in human readable format wherein the dots
forming, the indicia are displaced in accordance with an a coded
message which may be read with an overlay~ The coded message ~`
may also be printed in barcode.
U.S. Patent No. 5,186,498 to Dietrich discloses the forming of
a characteristic identification pattern to be printed which includes
an encrypted number representative of the machine and the fee
amount and date of printing.
To authenticate a mailpiece using the foregoing encryption
2 S techniques, the verifying Authority must again generate the
encryption from the plain text using the identical key used by the
purported mailer. If the printed cipher text matches that
generated by the verifying authority or if the graphical pattern
matches an overlay, the mailpiece is verified. If there is no match
3 0 then appropriate action may be initiated.
When large numbers of mailpieces must be verified, it is
apparent that significant delays may be encountered in trying to
monitor such batches of mail.
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S11MMARY OF THE INYI~TION
I~ has been found that a swift veri~lcation of a batch of mail
produced by a particular mailer to guard against some fraudulent
practices can be provided without delaying the mail stream by
S utilizing a novel method and apparatus for implementing the
printing of "changes" in the indicia such that sequentially franked
indicias are artistically different from each other in a pattern
which is readily detectable by Postal Authorities.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a novel -
method for verification of the printing of a Postal Revenue Block
on a mailpiece and apparatus for producing such verifiable
Revenue Blocks which will interfere only minimally, if at all, with
the mail processing stream.
These and other objects of the invention are realized in a
method for verifying mailpieces comprising the steps of creating a
predetermined bit-mapped first indicia image, printing the first
indicia image on a mailpiece, changing thç bi~-mapped first indicia
imagc in a predetermined manner after the printing thereof, and
thereafter sequentially printing and changing successive indicias
2 0 on respective successive mailpieces franked by the system in
accordance with a predetermined pattern of changes.
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~[I;F DESCRIPT~ON OF THE DRAWlNG
!
3 Fig. 1. is a schematic view of a system which may be used in
accordance with the invention.
2 5 Figs. 2a, 2b and 2c illustrate ~ypical successive indicias
which may be printed by a postage evidencing device (PED)
operated in accordance with the invention.
` Fig. 3 is a flow chart of the operation of the printing of
sequential bit-maps for verification in accordance with the
3 0 invention.
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DESClRllPTIO~HE ~B;EFERREI) l~l~lBODI~NT
In Fig. 1, there is shown generally at 10 a system in
accordance with the invention. Mailpieces 12, 14, and 16, which
are representative of those to be sequentially printed during a
5 batch run by a particular mailer are shown being fed to printer 18
for printing of a postal indicia by the printer which is suitably
connected to computer 20 in known manner as described for
example in U.S. Patent No. 4,757,537 to E~delmann e~ al or U.S.
Patent No. 4,831,555 to Sansone et al, specifically incorporated by
10 reference herein.
Fig. 2a shows a first bit-mapped print 50 on a mailpiece 52
illustrative of a predetermined indicia for a particular machine
assigned to a given mailer. As seen in Fig. 2b, the indicia print 54
on mailpiece 56 has been changed only slightly so as to be
15 artistically different from the previously prin~ed indicia 50. Fig.
2c shows indicia 58 on the next mailpiece in the printing sequence
shown at 60. It in turn has been modified slightly from both the
previously illustrated indicias. It will be appreciated that the
variations in successive printed indicias may form a pattern such
2 0 that when a se~uentially printed batch of the mailpieces are
rimed, an animated sequence occurs. It will be understood that
the visibly anirnated pattern created by riffling through the batch
may form such noticeable changes as, for example, an eagle of the
indicia flapping its wings, or it may be made more subtle in order
2 5 to be harder for the attempted fraudulent prin~er to find. It will
also be apprec;ated that a particular predetermined pattern may
be associated with a corresponding mailer or group of mailers.
Fig. 3 is a flow chart of the operation of the postage metering
device in accordance with the invention. The data for the bit map
30 may be chosen to be the image of a standard indicia or one
~, associated with a particular user. In any event the chosen bit map
data is stored, block 100, in memory of computer 20 for printing
in conventional manner when commanded in association with the
j known postage meter accounting routines described for example
3 5 in the previously cited U.S. Patents incorporated by reference.
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~133363
The image is printed, block 102, and the image is changed, bloclc
104, in accordance with a predetermined change program. The
program checks to determine if any more mailpieces are to be
franked, decision block 106, and if there are the program loops
5 back to printing block 102 in order to assure that the next printed
indicia in the sequence will be different in some way from the
indicia just printed previously. If there are no more mailpieces in `
the particular batch, the prograsn returns to its idling sequence,
not further described herein.
It will be appreciated that entirely new bit map data may be
selected from a library of bit maps to form the new image.
Alternatively the change may be to selected portions of the image
via a library or via an algorithm for changing the bit map. The
program and/or bit map library is preferably selected to provide
a pattern that will produce an easily-viewed animated sequence
for the selected changes of the indicia. That is, the animated
pattern will become apparent simply by flipping through a batch
of mailpieces where the indicia changes may be as apparent as the
flapping of the wings of the typical eagle of the indicia or the
. 2 0 changing of the number of stars or the like in accordance with the
predetermined pattern. It will be understood that in the event
the mailpieces are not in proper order a random pattern of
~ changes will result which will in itself provide an indication that
1, simple copies have not been made.
~, 25 It will be apparent that the use of such a pattern will allow
the postal authorities to make a swift visual check to preclude the
fraudulent use of a simple copy of the postal indicia for franking a
quantity of mailpieces by a user and to identify a particular
device.
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