U.S. patent application number 11/123575 was filed with the patent office on 2005-09-22 for mail receipt terminal having deposit tracking capability.
This patent application is currently assigned to Pitney Bowes Inc.. Invention is credited to Bailey, William F., Shukaitis, Michael J..
Application Number | 20050209976 11/123575 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 34794516 |
Filed Date | 2005-09-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050209976 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bailey, William F. ; et
al. |
September 22, 2005 |
Mail receipt terminal having deposit tracking capability
Abstract
A mail receipt terminal for accepting an envelope having
evidence of postage applied thereto. The mail receipt terminal
includes a controller module and an input scanner module and a
printer module, both in operative communication with the controller
module. The controller module includes a control system and a clock
module. The input scanner module: (i) receives the envelope, (ii)
scans the evidence of postage to determine its veracity, and (iii)
rejects the envelope if the evidence of postage is determined to be
improper. If the evidence of postage is determined to be proper,
then the printer module prints a receipt including data thereon
corresponding to the envelope where the receipt data includes a
date/time stamp and an ID tracking number that uniquely corresponds
to the envelope.
Inventors: |
Bailey, William F.;
(Guilford, CT) ; Shukaitis, Michael J.;
(Waterbury, CT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Martin F. Noonan
Pitney Bowes Inc.
35 Waterview Drive
P.O. Box 3000
Shelton
CT
06484-8000
US
|
Assignee: |
Pitney Bowes Inc.
|
Family ID: |
34794516 |
Appl. No.: |
11/123575 |
Filed: |
May 5, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11123575 |
May 5, 2005 |
|
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09645398 |
Aug 24, 2000 |
|
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6925451 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/402 ;
705/406 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07B 2017/00225
20130101; G07B 17/00193 20130101; G06Q 20/40 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/402 ;
705/406 |
International
Class: |
G06F 017/60 |
Claims
What is Claimed is:
1. A mail piece receipt terminal for accepting a mail piece having
payment information applied thereto, the mail receipt terminal
comprising: a controller module including a control system and a
clock module; an input scanner module in operative communication
with the controller module for: (i) receiving the mail piece, and
(ii) scanning the payment information to determine its veracity; a
receipt module in operative communication with the controller
module for providing receipt data corresponding to the mail piece;
and an interface in operative communication with the controller
module for providing the receipt data to a data center.
2. The mail piece receipt terminal of claim 1, wherein: the
controller module includes a memory device in operative
communication with the controller system for storing the receipt
data.
3. The mail piece receipt terminal of claim 1, further comprising:
a portable data carrier for transferring the receipt data from the
interface to the data center.
4. The mail piece receipt terminal of claim 1, wherein: the receipt
data includes a date/time stamp and an ID tracking number that
uniquely corresponds to the mail piece.
5. The mail piece receipt terminal of claim 4, wherein: the receipt
data further includes a terminal ID number that uniquely
corresponds to a particular terminal that received the mail piece
where the particular terminal is one of a plurality of remotely
distributed terminals.
6. The mail piece receipt terminal of claim 4, wherein: the receipt
data further includes an indicator of a class of service for the
mail piece.
7. The mail piece receipt terminal of claim 1, wherein: the receipt
module includes an encoder for generating an encoded version of at
least a portion of the receipt data.
8. The mail piece receipt terminal of claim 1, wherein: the receipt
module includes a printer for printing a receipt including receipt
data thereon corresponding to the mail piece.
9. The mail piece receipt terminal of claim 1, wherein: the input
scanner module rejects the mail piece if the payment information is
determined to be improper.
10. A method of operating a postal system for receiving a mail
piece having payment information applied thereto, the method
comprising the step(s) of: receiving the mail piece at a mail piece
receipt terminal; scanning the payment information to determine its
veracity; generating receipt data corresponding to the mail piece;
and transferring the receipt data to a data center.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step(s) of:
storing the receipt data in a memory device.
12. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step(s) of:
transferring the receipt data from the mail piece terminal to the
data center using a portable data carrier.
13. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step(s) of:
including within the receipt data a date/time stamp and an ID
tracking number that uniquely corresponds to the mail piece.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step(s) of:
including within the receipt data a terminal ID number that
uniquely corresponds to a particular terminal that generated the
receipt data where the particular terminal is one of a plurality of
remotely distributed terminals.
15. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step(s) of:
including within the receipt data an indicator of a class of
service for the mail piece.
16. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step(s) of:
generating an encoded version of at least a portion of the receipt
data.
17. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step(s) of:
rejecting the mail piece if the payment information is determined
to be improper.
18. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step(s) of:
printing a receipt including receipt data thereon corresponding to
the mail piece.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No.
09/645,398 filed Aug. 24, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No.______.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The invention relates generally to the field of postal
system. More particularly, in the preferred embodiments, this
invention is directed to a postal system, a mail receipt terminal
and methods for providing proof of deposit of a mail piece by a
sender with the postal authority.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] When dispatching important communications (contracts, legal
notices, deeds, etc.), the sender and recipient of a mail piece are
both often very interested in knowing when the mail piece was
deposited with the carrier for delivery and in tracking the
progress of the mail piece until it is received by the
recipient.
[0004] No matter what form of postage payment a sender utilizes,
there exists no convenient way for the sender to receive proof that
a particular mail piece was deposited with the postal authority on
a given day. If the sender utilizes permit payment methods, then
the date of deposit of the batch mailing with the postal authority
will not confirm that a particular mail piece was contained with
that batch. If the sender utilizes stamps, then the sender has even
less proof of when the envelope was deposited. If the sender
utilizes a postage meter, then the mail piece does contain a date
on which the postage was applied to the mail piece. However, this
does not necessarily correspond to the date when the mail piece was
deposited for delivery because the sender may process the mail
piece on one day and deposit it with the postal authority on
another day.
[0005] On the other hand, the sender may visit the post office
window and make payment for first class postage, deposit the mail
piece with the postal authority and request a receipt from the post
office window clerk. However, this receipt will only evidence that
a given amount of postage was dispensed on a given date. There is
no relationship between the postage, the date and the recipient. As
an added option, the sender may request special services, such as:
certified mail delivery, priority mail or the like. In this
instance, a unique identification number is issued by the postal
authority, typically by placing it on the certified mail label or
the priority mail label (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively),
and the sender must fill out additional paper work (the label) and
pay a premium for these special services. In this case, the sender
does receive a receipt that corresponds to a particular mail piece.
However, this process is: (i) time consuming for both the sender
and the postal authority; (ii) costly for both the sender and the
postal authority; and (iii) only available during the postal
authority's normal working hours.
[0006] Therefore, there is a need for a more cost effective and
efficient system for providing senders with proof of deposit of a
mail piece with the postal authority.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The present invention provides a mail receipt terminal, a
method of operating a postal system and a postal receipt.
Generally, this is accomplished by generating a unique ID tracking
number and controlling the acceptance of an envelope prior to
printing a receipt that corresponds to the envelope.
[0008] In accordance with the present invention, there is provided
a mail receipt terminal for accepting an envelope having evidence
of postage applied thereto. The mail receipt terminal includes a
controller module and an input scanner module and a printer module,
both in operative communication with the controller module. The
controller module includes a control system and a clock module. The
input scanner module: (i) receives the envelope, (ii) scans the
evidence of postage to determine its veracity, and (iii) rejects
the envelope if the evidence of postage is determined to be
improper. If the evidence of postage is determined to be proper,
then the printer module prints a receipt including data thereon
corresponding to the envelope where the receipt data includes a
date/time stamp and an ID tracking number that uniquely corresponds
to the envelope.
[0009] Therefore, it is now apparent that the present invention
substantially overcomes the disadvantages associated with the prior
art. Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in
the description that follows, and in part will be obvious from the
description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The
objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and
obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations
particularly pointed out in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and
constitute a part of the specification, illustrate presently
preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the
general description given above and the detailed description of the
preferred embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles
of the invention. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference
numerals designate like or corresponding parts.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a simplified diagrammatic representation of a
postal system in accordance with the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is an example of a certified mail label that exists
in the prior art.
[0013] FIG. 3 is an example of a priority mail label that exists in
the prior art.
[0014] FIG. 4 is an example of an envelope processed in accordance
with the present invention is shown.
[0015] FIG. 5 is an envelope deposit customer receipt printed in
accordance with the present invention
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0016] Referring to FIG. 1, a postal system 100 including a postage
metering system 110, a postal authority data processing system 130
and a terminal 200 for receiving an envelope 20 is shown. As
described herein, the term envelope 20 is intended to include any
type of mail piece, such as: envelopes, post cards, packages and
the like. Since postage metering systems 110 are well known in the
art, their description will be limited to that which is necessary
for an understanding of the present invention. Accordingly, the
postage metering system 110 includes a computer device (not shown)
and a printer (not shown) and may generally be based on any
conventional postage metering platform, such as the ClickStamp.RTM.
Online postage metering system or the PostPerfect.RTM. meter, both
available from Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Conn. Similarly, the
postal authority data processing system 130 is also well known in
the art and its description will be limited to that which is
necessary for an understanding of the present invention
[0017] The terminal 200 acts as a repository for accepting
envelopes 20 as they are deposited with the postal authority for
delivery. The terminal 200 may be located remotely (street corner,
shopping mall, university student center, etc.) at any convenient
location or even in the post office lobby for use during off hours.
The postal authority data processing system 130 includes a data
center 132 and a portable data carrier 134 that collects data from
the terminal 200 and passes it to the data center 132.
[0018] The terminal 200 includes customer facing elements 210, a
controller 230 and postal service elements 250. The customer facing
elements 210 provide an interface to the customer so as to make the
terminal 200 a self-service experience for the customer. The postal
service elements 250 are intended to be utilized exclusively by the
postal authority. The controller 230 is operatively coupled to the
customer facing elements 210 and the postal service elements 250
and generally directs their behavior. The controller 230 may
generally be of any conventional design, including a suitable
combination of hardware, software and peripheral devices. The
controller 230 includes a control system 232 operatively connected
to a memory device 234 and a secure real time clock device 236.
Additionally, the controller 230 is operatively connected to both
the customer facing elements 210 and the postal service elements
250. The memory device 234 may be of any conventional type (hard
disk, non-volatile memory, etc.) sufficient to store data collected
by the customer facing elements 210. The secure real time clock 236
may also be of any conventional type sufficient to provide a
reliable indication of the date and time to the controller 230 so
that fear of tamper by someone with fraudulent intent is not a
realistic consideration. Generally, the customer facing elements
210 are directed to receiving input from and communicating
information to the customer. The customer facing elements 210
include a display 212, a keyboard 214, a printer 216 and an input
scanner 218, all under the control of the control system 232. Here
again, these components may be of any conventional design. The
postal service elements 250 include a postal interface 252, in
operative communication with the control system 232, and a bin 254
that collects and holds the envelopes 20 that have been inserted
into the terminal 200 until they are retrieved by the postal
authority.
[0019] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 in view of FIG. 1, a certified
mail label 50 and a priority mail label 60, both available in the
prior art, are shown, respectively. As discussed above, these
labels 50 and 60 are issued by the postal authority, cooperatively
filled out by both the customer and the postal authority and are
applied to the envelope 20. The certified mail label 50 includes an
ID number 52, printed on both the postal authority portion and the
customer portion of the label 50. Similarly, the express mail label
60 includes an ID number 62, printed on multi-page form so that
both the customer and the postal authority may have record of it on
their respective copies of the label. Both the postal authority and
the customer use the ID numbers 52 and 62, respectively, for
tracking purposes.
[0020] Referring to FIG. 4 in view of FIG. 1, an envelope 20
processed by the postal metering 100 in accordance with the present
invention is shown. The envelope 20 includes a recipient address
22, a sender address 24 and a postal indicia 30 printed thereon.
The postal indicia 30 includes both fixed data that does not change
from postal indicia to postal indicia and variable data that may
change from postal indicia to postal indicia. Generally, the fixed
data includes a graphic design 31 (an eagle), a meter serial number
32 uniquely identifying the postage meter (not shown) and a
licensing post office identifier (zip code) 36. Generally, the
variable data includes a date 34 indicating when the postage was
dispensed, a postal value 38 indicating an amount of postage and
verification data 39 (shown in the form of a 2D bar code) for use
by the postal authority for verifying the authenticity of the
postal indicia 30 using conventional techniques. The variable data
also includes an ID tracking number 33 generated by the postal
system 100 in response to a request from the customer. The ID
number is preferably an alphanumeric number and may be printed on
the envelope 20 in human readable format, machine readable format
or both formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize
that the exact content of both the fixed data and variable data is
subject to regulation of the postal authority and a matter of
design choice.
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, in the most preferred
embodiment, the postage metering system 110 is compliant with the
Information-Based Indicia Program (IBIP) as defined by the United
States Postal Service (USPS). The IBIP is intended to augment
existing postage meters using new technology known as
information-based indicia. The IBIP relies on digital signature
techniques to produce for each mail piece a postal indicia 30 whose
origin cannot be repudiated. The IBIP requires that, for each
envelope 20, the recipient address 22 and the corresponding postage
indicia 30 be generated and printed together and an integral unit.
Thus, various input data, such as the recipient address 22, the
date 34, the meter serial number 32 and the postage amount 38, are
utilized by the postage metering system 110 to generate the
verification data 39. This is to ensure that address cleansing is
performed and that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the
recipient address 22 and its associated postage indicia 30. As a
result, the postage metering system 110 must print this unit on the
actual envelope 20 or on label stock for later attachment to the
envelope 20.
[0022] It should be understood that the verification data 39 is not
unique to each envelope 20. Different combinations of the input
data may yield the same verification data 39. That is, two
different postage metering systems 110 with different serial
numbers 32 on different days 34 applying different postage amounts
38 to envelopes 20 addressed to different recipient addresses 22
may yield the same verification data 39. However, the encryption
algorithm that defines the verification data 39 is generally immune
from attack.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 5 in view of FIG. 1, an envelope deposit
customer receipt 90 printed by the terminal in accordance with the
present invention is shown. The receipt 90 is generated by the
terminal 200 and printed by the printer 216 in response to receipt
of the envelope 20 that has been properly verified by the control
system 232 as containing a readable and authentic postal indicia 30
containing sufficient postage. The receipt 90 includes a deposit
date 92, a deposit time 94, a postal class indicator 96, a terminal
ID number 98 (optional), the ID tracking number 33 and an encoded
representation 95 (optional) of the receipt data. The deposit date
92 and the deposit time 94 are obtained by the control system 232
from the clock 236. The terminal ID number 98 identifies a
particular one of a plurality of remotely located terminals 200
that received the envelope 20. The postal class indicator and the
ID tracking number 33 are obtained from the envelope 20 itself. The
encoded representation 95 of the receipt data may be printed in
both a machine readable format 95a, such as a bar code, and in
human readable format, such as an alphanumeric string 95b. The
encoded representation 95 may further employ cryptographic
techniques to prevent tampering with the receipt data. As examples,
the encoded representation 95 may be: (i) a hash of the receipt
data; (ii) a digital signature based upon the receipt data; or
(iii) some other manipulation of the receipt data utilizing
techniques that are generally undiscoverable by the public.
[0024] Referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, with the structural elements
generally described as above, the operational aspects and
additional details of the present invention in the most preferred
embodiment will now be described in view of the life cycle of an
envelope 20. For the sake of this discussion, it is assumed that
the customer not only wants to mail the envelope 20, but also wants
the receipt 90 or acknowledgement, from the postal authority that
the envelope 20 has been received (deposited by the customer with
sufficient postage).
[0025] The customer begins by utilizing the postage metering system
110 to process the envelope 20 and requests deposit tracking and
feeds the envelope 20 through the postage metering system 110. The
postage metering system 110 generates the ID tracking number 33
using conventional techniques and prints it on the envelope 20.
Preferably, the ID tracking number 33 is unique to each mail piece
and is derived from envelope data (the recipient address 22 and the
postal indicia 30). Most preferably, the ID tracking number 33 is
derived from the recipient address 22 and a sender identifier, such
as the meter serial number 32. Although the tracking number 33 may
be printed on the envelope 20 at any convenient time, it is
preferably printed along with the postal indicia 30 and the
recipient address 22 as part of the postage evidencing transaction
so that any required payments may be accounted for at one time.
[0026] Once the envelope 20 is ready for deposit with the postal
authority, the customer takes it to the terminal 200. Using the
customer facing elements 210, the customer requests a receipt 90
and inserts the envelope 20 into the terminal 200 so that the
envelope 20 passes through the input scanner 218. The input scanner
218 scans the recipient address 22 and the postal indicia 30 to
determine the authenticity of the postal indicia 30. If the postal
indicia 30 is found to be valid, then the receipt 90 is issued by
the terminal and a record of this transaction that is generally the
same as the information contained in the receipt 90 is stored by
the control system 232 in the memory device 234. The accepted
envelope 20 is fed into the bin 254 where it waits to be collected
by a postal authority representative. If the postal indicia 30 is
deemed improper (not found valid), then the envelope 20 is rejected
by the terminal 200 and returned to the customer.
[0027] On a periodic basis, the postal authority dispatches a
representative to retrieve the envelopes 20 that have collected in
the bin 254 and gather the records that have been stored in the
memory device 234. The postal authority representative utilizes a
portable data carrier 134 to retrieve the records. The portable
data carrier 134 may be a smart card, a personal digital assistant
or any other suitable device. The portable data carrier 134
communicates with the terminal 200 via the postal interface 250
(smart card reader/writer, infrared, docking connector, etc.) which
is adapted to be compatible with the type of portable data carrier
134 being used. The portable data carrier 134 then further
transmits the records to the postal data center 132 for use in
tracking the envelope 20 and reporting back to the customer as to
the status of the envelope 20.
[0028] Based on the above description and the associated drawings,
it should now be apparent that the present invention improves many
aspects of obtaining proof of deposit of an envelope 20 with the
postal authority. Both the customer and the postal authority
experience improvements in the overall efficiency and convenience
of this postal system 100. For example, the customer is not
required to go to a post office window during normal working hours.
As another example, the customer is not required to fill out any
paperwork (forms). As yet another example, the postal authority
does not have to print and distribute specialized forms (certified
mail, priority mail, etc.). As yet still another example, the
postal authority becomes more efficient because they do not have to
supply as much service at the post office window and the ID
tracking numbers 33 are issued and input into their system
automatically. As a further example, the receipt 90 may be uniquely
tied to various parameters of each specific envelope 20, such as:
the recipient address 22, the date, the time, the customer (via the
meter serial number 32), the class of service (first, priority,
registered, etc.) and/or any combination of the above. Furthermore,
the veracity of the receipt 90 is verifiable by a third party (the
postal authority) in case a dispute arises between the customer and
the recipient of the envelope 20. Still further, if there is a
problem (readability--smearing of the image, fraudulent
manipulation of the image, etc.) with the postal indicia 30 so that
it may not be verified, then the customer knows this immediately.
This saves the customer time since the envelope 20 does not have to
be subsequently returned to the customer by the postal authority.
This also saves the postal authority the expense of handling the
envelope 20 only to have to return it to the customer. Those
skilled in the art will likely recognize still other benefits of
the present invention.
[0029] Many features of the preferred embodiment represent design
choices selected to best exploit the inventive concepts as
implemented in an environment where the method of postage payment
is by a postage meter. However, those skilled in the art will
recognize that various modifications and adaptations can be made
without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In
other words, the present invention, as described above with respect
to the most preferred embodiment, may be modified to provide
additional capability. For example, if the customer chooses to use
stamps to evidence postage payment, then the terminal 200 can be
adapted to scan the stamps, verify them, cancel them and issue the
ID tracking number 33. As another example, the terminal 200 in the
postage metering system embodiment may also generate the issuance
of the ID tracking number 33. As yet another example, the
verification data 39 and the ID tracking number 33 could be
combined into a single set of data. As yet still another example,
the terminal 200 may be located in a more controlled environment,
such as the post office lobby. In this instance, the need for the
portable data carrier 134 and the postal interface 250 is obviated
because the control system 232 may communicate directly with the
data center 132. As a further example, the postage payment
capability may be incorporated into the terminal 200. In this case,
the customer facing elements 210 could accept payment (cash, credit
card, debit card, etc.) and print evidence of postage payment on
the envelope 20.
[0030] Therefore, the inventive concept in its broader aspects is
not limited to the specific details of the preferred embodiments
described above, but is defined by the appended claims and their
equivalents.
* * * * *