PC postage™ service indicia design for shipping label

• US 8,108,322 B2
• Filed: 07/29/2003
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United States Postal Service (Government of the United States of America)
• Original Assignee: United States Postal Service (Government of the United States of America)
• Inventors: Gullo, John F., Wilkerson, Wayne A., Gordon, Roy R., Lord, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jung, Allen J
• Application Number:
  US10/628,411
• Publication Number:
  US 20040186811A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,108 Days
• Field of Search: 705/1, 705/401
• US Class Current: 705/401
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0641 Shopping interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 17/00435 Details specific to central, non-customer apparatus, e.g. servers at post office or vendor
• 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 2017/00064 Virtual meter, online stamp; PSD functions or indicia creation not at user's location
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00145 via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00443 Verification of mailpieces, e.g. by checking databases
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00588 Barcode
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/0062 Label
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00717 Reading barcodes
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 2017/00766 Digital signature, e.g. DSA, DSS, ECDSA, ESIGN

Abstract

Systems and methods of insuring payment of a proper amount of postage, comprise receiving payment for an amount of postage, affixing a postage indicia to a piece of mail, wherein the postage indicia includes the postage amount in a format readable only by machine, and adjusting the postage amount at a time subsequent to receipt of payment.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for paying a proper amount of postage comprising:

estimating, by a computer accessing a website associated with a mail delivery system, a postage amount necessary to send a mailpiece;

prepaying for the estimated postage amount through the computer;

printing, by a printing device, a postage indicia that represents the estimated postage amount, an addressee information, a sender information, a unique postage number that uniquely identifies the postage indicia and prevents duplication of the postage indicia, a unique delivery confirmation number that uniquely identifies the mailpiece, and a date,

wherein the postage indicia represents the estimated postage amount in a format readable by machine only, and

wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is used to retrieve billing information of a sender that includes an account number of the sender;

affixing the postage indicia to the mailpiece;

depositing the mailpiece to the mail delivery system; and

paying an adjusted postage amount, subsequent to the depositing, in response to a bill generated using the billing information.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein prepaying the estimated postage amount comprises prepaying the estimated postage via the Internet.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the format readable by machine only comprises a bar code format.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the unique postage number is used to verify that the postage indicia has not previously been used on a second mailpiece.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the bar code format is a two dimensional bar code format.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the postage indicia further includes a human-readable printed notation indicating online payment of the estimated postage amount.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the postage indicia represents at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number in a human readable format.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the postage indicia represents at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number in a machine readable format.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the postage indicia represents at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number in both a human readable format and a machine readable format.

10. A system for preventing postage fraud comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

a processor configured to;

execute the instructions to receive an estimated postage amount necessary to send a parcel;

execute the instructions to electronically prepay the estimated postage amount;

execute the instructions to output a postage indicia comprising a unique postage number that uniquely identifies the postage indicia, a unique delivery confirmation number that uniquely identifies the parcel, and a stealth postage, the stealth postage comprising the estimated postage amount in a format readable by machine only; and

execute the instructions to electronically pay for an adjusted amount of postage, subsequent to depositing the parcel with a delivery service, in response to a bill generated using billing information of a sender that includes an account number of a sender,

wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is used to retrieve the billing information of the sender.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein electronically prepaying comprises an Internet payment service.

12. The system of claim 10, further comprising a printer for printing the postage indicia.

13. The system of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions to encode the stealth postage.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein the format readable by machine only is a bar code format.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the bar code format is a two-dimensional bar code format.

16. The system of claim 10, the processor being further configured to execute instructions to verify that the postage indicia has not previously been used on a second parcel.

17. The system of claim 10, wherein the postage indicia further includes a human-readable printed notation indicating online payment of the estimated postage amount.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in a human readable format.

19. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in the format readable by machine only.

20. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in both a human readable format and the format readable by machine only.

21. A computer-implemented method for adjusting postage on a mailpiece, comprising:

estimating, by a computer accessing a website, an estimated postage amount necessary for the mailpiece;

transmitting, by the computer through a network, payment information for the estimated postage amount; and

printing, by a printing device, a postage label including the estimated postage amount represented only in an electronically readable format and a verification information including a unique postage number that uniquely identifies the postage label and a unique delivery confirmation number that uniquely identifies the mailpiece,

wherein the verification information is used by a mailing system to adjust the estimated postage amount subsequent to the mailpiece being deposited with the mailing system, and

wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number of the verification information is used to retrieve a sender'"'"'s billing information that includes an account number of the sender, and the billing information is used to generate a bill including the adjusted postage amount.

22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising creating the postage label by producing a bar code containing the estimated postage amount, wherein the postage label further includes a date, an addressee information, and a sender information.

23. The computer implemented method of claim 22, wherein the bar code is a two dimensional bar code.

24. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in a human readable format.

25. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in a machine readable format.

26. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in both a human readable format and a machine readable format.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions for implementing a method for adjusting postage on a mailpiece, the method comprising:

estimating a postage amount necessary for the mailpiece;

transmitting payment information relating to the estimated postage amount; and

printing a postage label including the estimated postage amount represented only in an electronically readable format, and a verification information including a unique postage number that uniquely identifies the postage label and a unique delivery confirmation number that uniquely identifies the mailpiece,

wherein the verification information is used by a mailing system to adjust the estimated postage amount subsequent to the mailpiece being deposited with the mailing system, and

wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number of the verification information is used to retrieve a sender'"'"'s billing information that includes an account number of the sender and the billing information is used to generate a bill including the adjusted postage amount.

28. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein the method further comprises creating the postage label by producing a bar code containing the estimated postage amount, wherein the postage label further includes a date, an addressee information, and a sender information.

29. The computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the bar code is a two dimensional bar code.

30. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in a human readable format.

31. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in a machine readable format.

32. The computer-readable medium of claim 27, wherein at least one of the unique postage number and the unique delivery confirmation number is in both a human readable format and a machine readable format.