US 2022/0188834 A1Published application

System and Method for Generating Postage

AssigneePitney Bowes Inc.

InventorsFrederick W. Ryan, JR., Tarunya Goel, Paresh Sahasrabudhe, William Rodriguez, Chintapalli S. Reddy, Henry Rogando

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Abstract

A postage generating system and method that allows for the generation of postage without the use of a PSD, while still maintaining the necessary data integrity and non-repudiation aspects. The cryptographic and accounting functions are performed separately when an indicium is generated and reconciled to ensure that every transaction is properly accounted for and funds are deducted from the user's account. The cryptographic functions for an indicium are performed utilizing a cloud-based Hardware Security Module (HSM). Transaction records for indicium generated by an HSM are stored in a database. The accounting is performed by a transaction server, separate and remote from the HSM, to make updates to the client's account to account for generated indicia. An Integrity Monitor Server monitors the consistency of the transactions, i.e., that every transaction performed by an HSM is properly accounted for by the transaction server and funds are deducted from the user's account.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A method for generating an indicium that evidences payment of postage, the method comprising:

receiving at a first server a request to generate the indicium from a shipper;
retrieving, by the first server, an account associated with the shipper from a database maintained by a second server;
generating, by the first server, an indicium data record for the requested indicium, and sending at least a portion of the indicium data record to a third server;
performing, by the third server, cryptographic operations one or more parts of the at least a portion of the indicum data record to generate the indicium, the cryptographic operations not including any accounting functions to account for the indicium in the account associated with the shipper;
sending, by the third server to the first server, the generated indicium, and sending, by the third server to a fourth server, a transaction log for the generated indicium;
storing, by the fourth server, the transaction log in a transaction database maintained by the fourth server;
updating by the first server, the account associated with the shipper based on the generated indicium received from the third server, and sending the updated account to the second server;
sending, by the second server, an account transaction log to the fourth server;
determining, by the fourth server, if there is a transaction log stored in the transaction database that corresponds to the account transaction log received from the second server;
if it is determined by the fourth server that there is a transaction log stored in the transaction database that corresponds to the account transaction log received from the second server, removing the transaction log stored in the transaction database that corresponds to the account transaction log received from the second server;
and
if it is determined by the fourth server that there is not a transaction log stored in the transaction database that corresponds to the account transaction log received from the second server, performing a mismatched transaction error process for the account associated with the shipper.

9 more elements

A method to validate that funds for postage value used to generate a postage indicium have been accounted for in a postage account, the method comprising:

receiving, at a first server, a transaction log from a second server for an indicium generated for the postage account, the indicium being generated using cryptographic operations performed by a cryptographic device associated with the second server that is remote from the first server, the cryptographic operations not including any updating of the postage account to account for funds used to generate the indicium;
storing, by the first server, the transaction log in a transaction database maintained by the first server;
receiving, at the first server, an account transaction log for the postage account from a third server, the third server being remote from the first and second servers, the account transaction log including an update to data stored in the postage account to account for funds used to generate the indicium;
determining, by the first server, if there is a transaction log stored in the transaction database that corresponds to the account transaction log received from the third server;
if it is determined by the first server that there is a transaction log stored in the transaction database that corresponds to the account transaction log received from the third, removing the transaction log stored in the transaction database that corresponds to the account transaction log received from the third server;
and
if it is determined by the first server that there is not a transaction log stored in the transaction database that corresponds to the account transaction log received from the third server, performing a mismatched transaction error process for the postage account.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/539,610Filed 1 Dec 2021
Priority: 10 Dec 2020
Published: 16 Jun 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

G06Q 20/42
Payment protocols; Details thereof: confirmation, e.g. check or permission by the legal debtor of payment
G07B 17/00024
Relations between apparatus, e.g. franking machine at customer or apparatus at post office, in a franking system: physical or organizational…
G06Q 20/145
Specially adapted for billing systems: payments according to the detected use or quantity
G06Q 20/3829
Insuring higher security of transaction: involving key management