Postage meter that provides on a mailpiece evidence of postage paid together with cryptographically secured, third party certified, non-shipping information about the sender of the mailpiece

• US 6,260,029 B1
• Filed: 08/11/1999
• Issued: 07/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Original Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Inventors: Critelli, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cosimano, Edward R.
• Application Number:
  US09/372,254
• Time in Patent Office: 699 Days
• Field of Search: 705/50, 705/64, 705/75, 705/76, 705/400, 705/401, 705/410, 705/408
• US Class Current: 705/408
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00508 Printing or attaching on mailpieces printing mechanisms B41J; security printing B41M3/14; marking methods B41M5/00; inks C09D11/00; record carriers with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00733 Cryptography or similar special procedures in a franking system
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/0058 Printing of code
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00588 Barcode
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00629 Circuit, e.g. transponder
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00717 Reading barcodes
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00766 Digital signature, e.g. DSA, DSS, ECDSA, ESIGN
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00911 Trusted party

Abstract

A postage metering system that dispenses postage on a mailpiece, the postage metering system including accounting circuitry to account for the postage dispensed; apparatus for providing on the mailpiece evidence of postage paid and third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender of the mailpiece. A method implements the postage metering system described above.

Claims

1. An electronic indicium for use on an item being shipped by a sender to a recipient, the electronic indicium comprising:

an integrated circuit chip having a memory; and

wherein the memory has stored therein evidence of shipping payment and third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender.

2. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 1, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender is information about the credit worthiness of the sender.

3. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 1, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender is information about at least one of the financial status and the organizational structure of the sender.

4. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 1, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender is information about a rating of the sender by the third party.

5. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 1, wherein the electronic indicium is a postage indicium including evidence of postage paid.

6. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 1, wherein the integrated circuit chip further includes means for interfacing with an external circuit to permit the external circuit to obtain the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender from the memory.

7. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 6, wherein the integrated circuit chip further includes a processor which communicates with the external circuit via the interfacing means to exchange the third party, certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender between the processor and the external circuit.

19. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 6, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender is information about at least one of a rating of the sender by the third party and the rating of a sender product by the third party.

8. A postage metering system that dispenses postage on a mailpiece, the postage metering system comprising:

accounting circuitry to account for the postage dispensed;

means for providing on the mailpiece evidence of postage paid and third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender of the mailpiece.

9. A postage metering system as recited in claim 8, wherein the providing means includes an electronic indicium attached to the mailpiece, the electronic indicium including an integrated circuit chip having a processor, a memory, and means for interfacing with an external circuit, and wherein the memory has stored therein the evidence of postage paid and a cryptographically secured certificate issued by a third party which certificate includes non-shipping, non-product information about the sender of the mailpiece, and wherein the processor via the interfacing means transmits the non-shipping information for receipt by the external circuit.

10. A postage metering system as recited in claim 8, wherein the providing means includes a printer which prints the evidence of postage paid and the third party, certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender on the mailpiece.

11. A postage metering system as recited in claim 10, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender is at least one of a creditworthiness assessment, a financial report about the sender, and an organizational structure of the sender.

12. A method for providing information on an item being shipped, the method comprising the steps of:

A) providing on the item evidence that shipping costs for the item have been paid; and

B) providing on the item third party certified, cryptographically secured non-shipping, non-product information about the sender of the item.

13. A method as recited in claim 12, wherein the item being shipped is a mailpiece and the evidence of step A and the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping, non-product information about the sender of step B are included as a single indicium.

14. A method as recited in claim 13, further providing printing the single indicium on the item.

15. A method as recited in claim 13, further comprising attaching a memory device to the item and storing the single indicium as readable data within the memory device.

16. An electronic indicium for use on an item being shipped by a sender to a recipient, the electronic indicium comprising:

an integrated circuit chip having a memory; and

wherein the memory has stored therein evidence of shipping payment and third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender and

wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secure, non-shipping information about the sender is information about at least one of credit worthiness of the sender, financial status of the sender, the organizational structure of the sender, a rating of the sender by the third party, and a rating of a sender product by the third party.

17. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 16, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender is information about the credit worthiness of the sender.

18. An electronic indicium as recited in claim 16, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender is information about at least one of the financial status and the organizational structure of the sender.

20. A postage metering system that dispenses postage on a mailpiece, the postage metering system comprising:

accounting circuitry to account for the postage dispensed;

means for providing on the mailpiece evidence of postage paid and third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender of the mailpiece; and

wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender is at least one of a creditworthiness assessment, a product rating, a financial report about the sender, and an organizational structure of the sender.

21. A method for providing information on an item being shipped, the method comprising the steps of:

providing on the item evidence that shipping costs for the item have been paid; and

providing on the item third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender of the item, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secure, non-shipping information about the sender is information about at least one of credit worthiness of the sender, financial status of the sender, the organizational structure of the sender, a rating of the sender by the third party, and a rating of a sender product by the third party.

22. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender that is provided is information about the credit worthiness of the sender.

23. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender that is provided is information about at least one of the financial status and the organizational structure of the sender.

24. A method as recited in claim 21, wherein the third party certified, cryptographically secured, non-shipping information about the sender that is provided is information about at least one of a rating of the sender by the third party and the rating of a sender product by the third party.