Pitney Bowes Inc.

Feliks Bator

Kathryn V Lawton

Kevin D Hunter

Andrei Obrea

Monroe A Weiant, Jr

Walter J Baker

Michael Y Swaluk

Robert A Cordery

Leon A Pintsov

William Berson

Steven J Pauly

Louis J Loglisci

John L Campo

Frederick W Ryan, Jr

Chunhua Li

Thomas J Foth

David K Lee

David W Riley

David B Chamberlin

Robert T Durst, Jr

James A Euchner

David L Rich

Gary M Heiden

Frank M D'Ippolito

Ian A Siveyer

George B Harvey

A system and method for instantly printing PC postage before establishing a postage meter account. The method includes the steps of a meter vendor obtaining a first meter license from the Post for a first meter; loaning the use of a first meter licensed in the customer's zip code to a customer; requesting a second meter license for the customer; initializing the first meter for use by the customer; and transferring the first meter to the Customer's meter license when the second meter license is received. Alternatively, when the second meter license is received a second meter is assigned to the customer and the first meter is reassigned to the meter vendor.

System and method for instant online postage metering

An apparatus for issuing money orders and similar instruments and for securing payment therefor is provided as a subsystem of an existing kiosk of a type including, but not limited to postal kiosks, informational kiosks, Automated Teller Machines (ATM), Point of Sale terminals (POS), vending machines and the like, or any combination thereof. Payment is secured by drawing funds directly from a customer's bank account; by drawing funds from a smart card, or by accepting currency through a bill acceptor. The apparatus further includes facilities for redeeming money orders and dispensing cash amounts corresponding thereto.

Secure money order issuing kiosk

A post production processing application receives and manipulates document print images, in particular to integrate postage printing and accounting into the document finishing, without the need for a specialized postage printing system. The post production processing application may run on a main frame, together with the application(s) that generate the document print images, or on some other computer platform. The post production processing application calculates postage for each document and interacts with a postage metering functionality to obtain digital tokens. Each token includes an encrypted cipher for use in validating applied postage indicia. The mail processing system uses the tokens to generate postage indicias, containing the ciphers, during the subsequent document printing and finishing processes. The meter functionality may reside in software (e.g. as part of the post production processing application), in a meter device associated with and connected to the platform that runs the post production processing application or in a remote data center in communication with that platform. The mail processing system may print the indicias on the documents or on envelopes that will carry the documents.

Encrypted postage indicia printing for mailer inserting systems

A postage metering capability is integrated in an automated teller machine. With minimal modification and using several components of the ATM to perform functions useful in dispensing of postage, the secured environment of an ATM is used to implement numerous postage metering functions. When used with a smart card, postage value is accounted for without reference to an internal vault of the apparatus or to a postal facility, by using a vault of the smart card. The smart card may be used to dispense postage by accessing a customer's postage account at a remote center to set into the internal vault a value to be dispensed, with communication secured in accordance with information provided by the smart card. Using such information, the customer's postage account may also be accessed to recharge the vault of the smart card, rather than the internal vault. Additionally, postage may be dispensed in accordance with value inputted directly by a customer, using cash, credit-, debit-, or money-cards. The internal vault of the postage meter is used when accounting for postage dispensed in accordance with such directly inputted value.

Secure postage meter in an ATM application

A Key Management System for generating, distributing and managing cryptographic keys used by an information transaction system that employs cryptographic means to produce evidence of information integrity. The system comprises a plurality of functionally distinct secure boxes operatively coupled to each other. Each of the secure boxes performs functions for key generation, key installation, key verification or validation of tokens. Computers, operatively coupled to the secure boxes, provide system control and facilitate communication among the secure boxes. A plurality of separate logical security domains provide domain processes for key generation, key installation, key verification and validation of tokens produced by the transaction evidencing device within the domain using the key management functions. A plurality of domain archives, corresponding respectively to each of the security domains, securely and reliably record key status records and master keys for each domain. The Key Management System installs the master keys in the transaction evidencing device and validates the tokens. The secure boxes include a key generation box for generating, encrypting and signing a master key; a key installation box for receiving, verifying and decrypting the signed master key and for installing the master key into the transaction evidencing device; a key verification box for verifying the installation of the master key in the transaction evidencing device, a token verification box for verifying the tokens, and at least one manufacturing box for generating domain keys and distributing the domain keys among the secure boxes for each of the domains.

Cryptographic key management and validation system

A method of manufacturing transaction evidencing devices, such as digital postage meters, includes the steps of generating a master key in a logical security domain of a Key Management System; installing the master key into a digital postage meter; verifying the installation of the master key; and registering the master key to a logical security sub-domain in the Key Management System. The step of generating the master key further includes the steps of generating a domain; generating at least one sub-domain; installing the domain in secure boxes of the Key Management System; generating a master key and test token within the domain; and recording the master key in the domain archive. The step of installing the master key further includes the steps of installing the master key into a digital meter; and associating the master key with a unique device identifier. The step of registering the master key to a logical security sub-domain in the Key Management System further includes the steps of assigning a sub-domain to the digital meter; installing a postal identifier into the digital meter; associating the postal identifier to the unique device identifier; generating a registration token in the digital meter based on the postal identifier and the unique device identifier; generating registration tokens using the master key recorded in the archives; verifying that the registration tokens are identical; and recording the master key in the sub-domain. The steps are repeated for each domain assigned to the digital postage meter.

Method of manufacturing generic meters in a key management system

A system and method of fault tolerant key management of cryptographic keys includes a key distribution computer and primary and secondary key management computers coupled to the key distribution computer, Primary and secondary server computers are each coupled to the primary and secondary key management computers, One of the primary and secondary key management computers is operational at a time, The operational one of the primary and secondary key management computers writes key data received from the key distribution computer to an archive database in each of the primary and secondary server computers, The method includes the steps of requesting storage of key data by an operational one of the primary and secondary key management computers; monitoring the operational status of each of primary and secondary server computers; writing key data to an archive database in each of the primary and secondary servers that are operational; writing key data to a log file in an operational one of the primary and secondary servers when one of the primary and secondary servers is not operational; monitoring a return to operational status of the non operational one of the primary and secondary servers; and writing to the archive database of the non-operational one of the primary and secondary server computers the key data stored in the log file of the operational one of the primary and secondary server computers.

System and method for fault tolerant key management

A weighing scale capable of weighing articles in a rapid and accurate fashion. The tray of the scale is supported by at least one spring and becomes vertically displaced in proportion to the weight of an article placed thereon. A voice coil is used to bias the tray to its original position, and the weight of the article is determined by measuring the current in the voice coil.

Weighing scale with voice coil

Growing community of inventors

Easton, CT, United States of America

Feliks Bator