Secure postage payment system and method

• US 7,769,694 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2007
• Issued: 08/03/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Neopost Technologies S.A. (Quadient SA)
• Original Assignee: Neopost Technologies S.A. (Quadient SA)
• Inventors: Brown, Michael A., Gardner, Gary A., Heroy, Douglas T., Schwartz, Robert G., Mechler, David H., Eskandari, Fetneh, Brookner, George M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Augustin; Evens J
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, NANCY LOAN T
• Application Number:
  US11/889,441
• Publication Number:
  US 20070282753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,086 Days
• Field of Search: 705/60, 705/62, 705/401
• US Class Current: 705/60
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/346 Cards serving only as information carrier of service
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/0008 Communication details outside or between apparatus coin-freed apparatus for franking per se G07F17/26
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00459 Details relating to mailpieces in a franking system
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00467 Transporting mailpieces postal sorting B07C
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00177 from a portable device, e.g. a card or a PCMCIA
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00491 Mail/envelope/insert handling system
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00572 Details of printed item
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00588 Barcode
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00766 Digital signature, e.g. DSA, DSS, ECDSA, ESIGN
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/60 Digital content management, e.g. content distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3263 involving certificates, e.g. public key certificate [PKC] or attribute certificate [AC]; Public key infrastructure [PKI] arrangements network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using certificates in a packet data network H04L63/0823

Abstract

In a postage payment system, a secure integrated circuit (IC) card is used to manage postage funds, and created encrypted postage indicia. Among other things, the system is capable of performing charge-back accounting of postage expenses and generating mail contents. In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the postage indicia are applied onto selected locations of the mail contents while they are being generated. In the preferred embodiment, each mail content is placed in a window envelope such that the postage indicium on the mail content exposes through a window of the envelope to facilitate inspection of the indicium. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, by including transactional data in addition to the traditional postal data in a postage indicium, the indicium can be used to pay bills, purchase products and services, including any courier service different than the postal service.

Claims

1. A method for sending a mail piece comprising:

indicating on the mail piece information concerning a payment remittance contained in the mail piece;

providing on the mail piece an indicator for affirming that the payment remittance is included in the mail piece, said indicator causing a processor of the mail piece to inform a third party of the information while the mail piece is being sent; and

during transit of the mail piece, re-routing the mail piece to a financial institution for deposit of the payment remittance,

wherein the third party is a payee of the payment remittance, and instructions for the re-routing are provided by the third party.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the information includes an amount of the payment remittance.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the indicator includes a digital signature.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the information is encrypted.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the information is incorporated in a postage indicium.