JP4157315B2 - Postal system and equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a postal system that identifies the sender's identity from postal items. And And related devices.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a postal system has been widely used as a system for delivering a document to a destination (hereinafter referred to as a recipient) in the form of a postcard or a sealed letter.
[0003]
In such a postal system, for example, in the case of a sealed letter, a sealed letter on which a postage stamp is pasted with the address, name and zip code of both the sender and recipient are clearly posted at the time of delivery. The sealed letter is then collected and delivered to the responsible post office and delivered to the recipient via several post offices.
[0004]
This represents a standard example of a postal system. On the other hand, as a non-standard example, even when the sender forgets to write his / her address and name, the sealed letter is delivered to the recipient if the address and name of the recipient are clearly written on the sealed letter.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the postal system as described above, even mail that is unknown to the sender is delivered to the recipient, which may cause anxiety to the recipient.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and can prevent a suspicious mail of unknown sender from being delivered, and can provide a recipient with a sense of security. And And to provide a device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The first invention is a postal system for confirming the validity of the sender of the mail according to the request of the recipient when delivering the mail to the recipient, and the address / name information of the sender The post office car that was memorized Do If the address / name matching means for matching the address / name information read from the address and the address / name information of the sender read from the postal item and the result of matching by the address / name matching means are not matched, As a result of the verification by the return means for returning the postal matter and the address / name matching means, when the two match, the postal post ID and the postal matter are obtained for the address / name information read from the post office card. Confirmation information generating means for generating sender confirmation information by adding post posting date and time information, encoding means for encrypting and encoding the sender confirmation information generated by the confirmation information generating means, and the encoding means Code assigning means for assigning the obtained code pattern to the postal matter And The postal device provided and the code pattern given by the postal device are read and decoded from the postal matter, and at least the address / name information, postal post ID and post posting date / time information obtained are And a code reading means for outputting name information.
[0008]
Here, as the “code pattern”, a two-dimensional code described later or a normal barcode can be used as appropriate. For “granting”, sticking, printing, or stamping can be used as appropriate.
[0011]
This first 1 The invention of , Post It uses a post office card comparison collation by a stool post device. Configured like this Difference It is possible to prevent delivery of suspicious mail of unknown origin, and give the recipient a sense of security.
[0012]
The above Departure Tomorrow ,all This is a case where the body is expressed as “system”, but not limited to this, and the whole or each device may be expressed as “device”, “method”, “program” or “computer-readable storage medium” Needless to say.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a postal system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this mail system, the delivery person P delivers the postal matter m sent from the sender S to the recipient R, and the sender identification information Ds of the sender S can be presented to the recipient R.
[0014]
Specifically, this postal system is used at the time of underwriting to the post office serving as the underwriting station 10 with respect to the delivery route comprising the underwriting station 10, the relay station 20 and the delivery station 30 when paying attention to the postal matter m. The sender identification information issuing unit 11 is provided, and the post office serving as the delivery station 30 is provided with a sender information acquisition device 31 carried at the time of delivery.
[0015]
Actually, each post office usually has an underwriting station 10, a relay station 20, a delivery station 30 or an underwriting / delivery for each postal matter m passing through the own station, except for stations specializing in underwriting, relaying or delivery. Since it functions as the stations 10 and 30, each post office is provided with a sender identification information issuing unit 11 and a sender information acquisition device 31.
[0016]
However, for convenience of explanation, the three types of post offices paying attention to the delivery route of a certain postal matter m are called the underwriting station 10, the relay station 20, or the delivery station 30, respectively. Further, the above-mentioned station that specializes in underwriting, relaying, or delivery is the same as the underwriting station 10, the relay station 20, or the delivery station 30 here.
[0017]
Here, the underwriting station 10 is a post office at the time of undertaking delivery of the postal matter m. In addition to the normal postal operation for sorting the postal matter m and transporting it to the relay station 20, the underwriting operation for the present invention is performed. A sender identification information issuing unit 11 is provided for execution.
[0018]
The sender identification information issuing unit 11 encrypts the sender identification information Ds presented by the sender S and gives it to the mail m when the delivery of the mail m is undertaken. As shown in FIG. 2, the information input part 12, the encryption part 13, the code generation part 14, and the code provision part 15 are provided.
[0019]
The sender identification information issuing unit 11 is used when the post office staff confirms that the sender information ds described in the postal matter m and the sender identification information Ds presented from the sender S correspond correctly. .
[0020]
Here, the postal matter m can be in any form such as a sealed letter, a postcard or a parcel, but at least the address and name of the recipient R as shown in FIG. 3 (a). And the sender information ds including at least the address and name of the sender S are described so as to be visible from the outside.
[0021]
As shown in the example of delivery in FIG. 3B, the postal matter m has a two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′] and a later-described code after the sender S confirms the validity of the sender S. The confirmed mark Mc is given.
[0022]
In any case, in the example of FIG. 3, both the recipient information dr and the sender information ds are described on the front side. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the recipient information dr is described on the front side. ds may be described on the back side.
[0023]
When the sender information ds is input by the input operation of the postal clerk based on the sender identification information Ds presented from the sender S, the information input unit 12 receives at least a person identification ID (or mail ID) in the sender information ds. ) Is added to create sender confirmation information Dsc, and this sender confirmation information Dsc is input to the encryption unit 13.
[0024]
Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the sender confirmation information Dsc includes items such as a sender address, a sender name, a person confirmation method, a person confirmation ID, a person confirmation date, a person confirmation person in charge ID, and a person confirmation person ID. It consists of information for each. However, the sender confirmation information Dsc is not limited to the example of FIG. 4, and it is sufficient that the sender confirmation information Dsc includes at least the sender address, the sender name, and the person confirmation ID (or mail ID), and other information is added as appropriate. It may be configured by changing or deleting. The additional information includes, for example, fee information.
[0025]
The encryption unit 13 encrypts the sender confirmation information Dsc input from the information input unit 12 and sends the obtained encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ to the code generation unit 14.
[0026]
The code generation unit 14 converts the encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ received from the encryption unit 13 into a two-dimensional code, and sends the obtained two-dimensional code information to the code adding unit 15.
[0027]
The code assigning unit 15 assigns the two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′] to the mail m as shown in FIG. 3B according to the two-dimensional code information received from the code generating unit 14.
[0028]
Here, as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6, the two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′] has a symbol obtained by encoding information in two dimensions in the X direction and the Y direction. Such a two-dimensional code includes, for example, a stack type two-dimensional code in which bar codes are stacked as shown in FIG. 5 and a matrix type two-dimensional code in which cells are placed on a grid of a board as shown in FIG. There are various types.
[0029]
The stack type two-dimensional code is also called a two-dimensional bar code, and is composed of a start code and a stop code, and a quiet zone attached before and after the bar code.
[0030]
The matrix type two-dimensional code includes a type having a square or L type guide cell and a type having a cutout mark having a unique shape.
[0031]
The two-dimensional code C [Dsc '] as described above has a high information density because a symbol with a large amount of information can be created with a minimum size compared to a conventional barcode, and binary such as kanji, figures, images, and voices. Data can be encoded, error correction function provides high reliability and reading rate, reading direction is not limited, non-contact reading is possible, and forgery and alteration are difficult and security is high There are advantages such as high.
[0032]
When the above-described two-dimensional code C [Dsc '] is given to the mail item m, as shown in FIG. 3B, it can be understood by humans, unlike the two-dimensional code C [Dsc']. A confirmed mark Mc is given to the postal matter m. The confirmed mark Mc represents that the sender identification information Ds has been confirmed, and is not limited to the “confirmed, post office” shown in the figure, but as other arbitrary messages such as “confirmed sender identity”. Alternatively, any other character, symbol, figure, or combination thereof can be used as long as it represents the same confirmation.
[0033]
The relay station 20 is a post office for relaying the postal matter m between the underwriting station 10 and the delivery station 30.
The delivery station 30 is a post office for delivering the postal matter m relayed from the relay station 20 to the recipient R by the delivery person P based on the recipient information dr.
Here, the delivery person P is a post office person for delivering the postal matter m from the delivery office 30 to the recipient R, and carries the sender information acquisition device 31 at the time of delivery, and the sender confirmation information of the postal matter m from the recipient R. When the presentation of Dsc is requested, the sender confirmation information Dsc obtained from the two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′] of the postal matter m is presented in the character format by the operation of the sender information acquisition device 31. Note that the format to be presented is not limited to a character format, and may be any format that can be understood by humans. For example, symbols, combinations of symbols and characters, sounds, images, or combinations thereof can be used as appropriate. Yes.
[0034]
The sender information acquisition device 31 includes a reading unit 32, a decoding unit 33, and a display unit 34 as shown in FIG.
[0035]
The reading unit 32 reads the two-dimensional code information from the two-dimensional code C [Dsc '] of the mail item m by the operation of the delivery person P, converts the two-dimensional code information into the encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc', The encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ is sent to the decryption unit 33.
[0036]
The decryption unit 33 decrypts the encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ received from the reading unit 32 and sends the obtained sender confirmation information Dsc to the display unit 34.
[0037]
The display unit 34 displays the sender confirmation information Dsc received from the decryption unit 33. The display unit 34 is not limited to displaying all of the sender confirmation information Dsc, but may display only the sender information Ds related to the address / name, for example. In addition, it is good also as a structure which displays only the information regarding arbitrary items. Moreover, it is not necessary to be limited to the display. For example, instead of the display unit 34, an output unit for printing out may be provided, or both the display unit 34 and the output unit may be provided.
[0038]
The sender identification information issuing unit 11 and the sender information acquisition device 31 as each device can be realized by a hardware configuration and / or a software configuration, respectively, but when implemented using a software configuration, corresponding functions are provided. A program to be realized is installed in advance on each computer of the sender specifying information issuing unit 11 and the sender information acquiring apparatus 31 from a storage medium or a network.
[0039]
Next, the operation of the postal system configured as described above will be described.
The sender S holds the postal matter m in which the recipient information dr and the sender information ds are written in advance and the sender identification information Ds that can specify the address of the sender S, such as a driver's license or health insurance card. Go to station 10.
[0040]
In the underwriting station 10, when the sender S presents the postal matter m as shown in FIG. 3A, the postal matter m and the sender specifying information Ds are presented to the post office staff at the underwriting window. After confirming that the sender information ds written in the post m and the sender identification information Ds presented from the sender S correspond correctly, the post office staff at the underwriting counter operates the sender identification information issuing unit 11.
[0041]
The sender identification information issuing unit 11 inputs the sender information ds and the identity verification method (for example, a driver's license) to the information input unit 12 by the operation of the post office staff.
[0042]
When the sender information ds and the identity verification method are input, the information input unit 12 adds the identity verification ID, the identity confirmation date, the identity verification department ID, and the identity verification ID to these input information as shown in FIG. The sender confirmation information Dsc is created as described above, and the sender confirmation information Dsc is input to the encryption unit 13.
[0043]
The encryption unit 13 encrypts the sender confirmation information Dsc, and sends the obtained encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ to the code generation unit 14.
[0044]
The code generation unit 14 converts the encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ into a two-dimensional code and sends the obtained two-dimensional code information to the code adding unit 15.
[0045]
The code assigning unit 15 assigns the two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′] to the postal matter m according to the two-dimensional code information as shown in FIG.
[0046]
In addition, after confirming that the two-dimensional code C [Dsc '] has been correctly assigned, the postal clerk at the window separately displays a confirmed mark Mc indicating that the sender identification information Ds has been confirmed. To grant.
[0047]
Thereafter, the postal matter m is delivered from the underwriting station 10 to the delivery station 30 via the relay station 20. The delivery person P of the delivery station 30 carries the sender information acquisition device 31 and delivers the mail m to the recipient R.
[0048]
Here, when delivering the mail m to the recipient R, the delivery person P may be required to present the sender confirmation information Dsc from the recipient R.
In this case, the delivery person P presents the sender confirmation information Dsc obtained from the two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′] of the postal matter m in the character format by operating the sender information acquisition device 31.
[0049]
Specifically, the reading unit 32 of the sender information acquisition device 31 reads the two-dimensional code information from the two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′] of the mail item m by the operation of the delivery person P, and encrypts the two-dimensional code information. The encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ is converted to the encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ and sent to the decryption unit 33.
[0050]
The decryption unit 33 decrypts the encrypted sender confirmation information Dsc ′ and sends the obtained sender confirmation information Dsc to the display unit 34.
The display unit 34 displays the sender confirmation information Dsc as shown in FIG.
[0051]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the postal clerk receives the mail m from the sender S, the sender identification information Ds of the identification card presented from the sender S and the sender information ds of the mail m are obtained. If they are compared and matched, when the sender information ds or the like is input to the sender identification information issuing unit 11, a two-dimensional code representing the sender confirmation information Dsc including the input content is given to the postal matter m. The mail m is transferred to the delivery station 30 and delivered by the post office staff of the delivery station 30.
[0052]
As a result, when the mail m is delivered to the recipient, the delivery person P operates the sender information acquisition device 31 at the request of the recipient R, and the sender confirmation information read from the post m by the sender information acquisition device 31. Since Dsc is output, it is possible to prevent the suspicious mail of unknown sender from being delivered, and to give the recipient a sense of security.
[0053]
In the present embodiment, the case where the two-dimensional code C [Dsc '] is given to the mail m has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the two-dimensional code C [Dsc'] can be read out wirelessly. The same effect can be obtained by implementing the present invention in the same manner even if the postal matter m is provided with a radio wave tag (RAIF) that holds the sender confirmation information.
[0054]
(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a postal system according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a post office card used in the system, which is the same as the above-described drawing. Parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted, and different parts are mainly described here.
That is, the present embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment, and the sender identification information Ds is confirmed by a highly functional post box instead of the underwriting window of the underwriting station 10.
[0055]
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, a post office card 40 indicating the sender identification information Ds, a post box device 50 for confirming the sender identification information Ds based on the post office card 40, and a post office card The card making machine 70 for issuing 40 is used. Accordingly, the underwriting station 10 described above includes a card making machine 70 in place of the sender specifying information issuing unit 11.
[0056]
Here, the post office card 40 is carried by the sender S at the time of posting the postal matter m and inserted into the postbox device 50. As shown in FIG. 9, the I / F unit 41 and the personal information unit 42 are provided. , An address / name part 43, a biometrics part 44, and a cryptographic version part 45.
[0057]
The I / F unit 41 has an interface function between a post box device 50 and a post office card 40 described later.
[0058]
The personal information section 42 stores personal information of the card holder from the card making machine 70 described later via the I / F section 41. As shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b), It consists of encrypted personal information Es including encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs] consisting of an address / name part 43 and a biometric part 44 and encrypted version information Ev as the encrypted version part 45. FIGS. 10A and 10B show that when the encryption version information Ev is different, the encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs] is different even for the same information Dsc, Dbs.
[0059]
In the address / name section 43, the sender confirmation information Dsc including the sender information ds such as the address and name of the cardholder is encrypted and stored in the encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs] as shown in FIG. It corresponds to the part. The sender confirmation information Dsc shown in FIG. 11 has the same format as that in FIG. 4, but includes “card creation date and time” in addition to this.
[0060]
The biometric unit 44 corresponds to a part of the encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs] in which personal biometric information Dbs such as an iris is encrypted and stored as shown in FIG.
[0061]
The information Dsc and Dbs of the address / name part 43 and the biometrics part 44 are changed in encryption key and / or encryption algorithm based on encryption version information (eg, date and time) Ev as shown in FIG. Is stored as encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs] encrypted by the encryption method.
[0062]
Therefore, the address / name part 43 and the biometrics part 44 actually hold the information Dsc and Dbs in a state in which they cannot be distinguished from each other as shown in FIG. This is schematically distinguished. The information Dsc and Dbs in the address / name part 43 and the biometrics part 44 can be rewritten by a post office that knows how to decrypt the encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs].
[0063]
As shown in FIG. 10, the cryptographic version unit 45 stores readable cryptographic version information Ev indicating the version of the encryption method used for the encryption of the address / name unit 43 and the biometrics unit 44. . Here, the encryption version information Ev is not limited to information that directly indicates the version such as a version number, but may be information that indirectly indicates the version such as a pair of a post ID and a post posting date and time. The cipher version information Ev is described as an example of being stored in a plaintext state that is not encrypted. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the encrypted version information Ev is a state that is encrypted by a predetermined encryption method (encryption method that is not changed by date and time) And may be stored.
[0064]
The post office card 40 is not limited to a single device having a card shape, but can be realized as a single device having an arbitrary shape or a part of a mobile phone having an arbitrary shape. Further, the post office card 40 is not limited to being inserted into the post box device 50, but may be attached to or detached from the post box device 50, or may be configured to communicate with the post box device 50 using short-distance wireless means. Also good.
[0065]
On the other hand, when the postal matter m as shown in FIG. 12A is posted, the postal device 50 confirms the legitimacy of the sender S, and sequentially shows FIGS. 12B, 13A and 13. As shown in (b), the confirmed mark Mc and the two-dimensional marks C [Dsw ′, Dm ′], C [Dsc ′, Dbs ′, Dp ′] are added and stored. A card reader 51, a cipher update unit 52, a biometrics authenticator 53, a collator 54, a post opening / closing unit 55, a sender reader 56, a sender collator 57, a return unit 58, a code generator 59, a code granter 60, A postal matter physical information measuring unit 61 and a storage unit 62 are provided.
[0066]
Here, the card reading unit 51 reads the encrypted personal information Es from the inserted post office card 40 and decrypts the encrypted personal information Es based on the encrypted version information Ev from the encrypted personal information Es. A function of sending the sender confirmation information Dsc and biometric reference information Dbs to the encryption update unit 52 and the verification unit 54, and a function of overwriting and saving the updated encrypted personal information Es input from the encryption update unit 52.
[0067]
The encryption updating unit 52 encrypts the sender confirmation information Dsc and the biometric reference information Dbs received from the card reading unit 51 in advance based on the insertion date / time of the post office card 40 or the post posting date / time of the postal matter. The encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs] has a function of adding the date and time used in the encryption method as the encrypted version information Ev and inputting the obtained encrypted personal information Es to the post office card 40.
[0068]
The biometrics personal authentication unit 53 has a function of reading a part of the biometric information presented from the sender S of the post office card 40 and sending the obtained biometric information Dbs ′ to the verification unit 54.
[0069]
The collation unit 54 collates the biometric reference information Dsb read from the post office card 40 by the card reading unit 51 and the biometric information Dbs ′ read by the biometrics personal authentication unit 53 to determine whether or not they match. A function for determining whether or not, a function for controlling the card reading unit 51 to return (discharge) the post office card 40 to end the processing, and a control for controlling the post opening / closing unit 55 for matching. And has a function to open the post posting port.
[0070]
The post opening / closing unit 55 is controlled by the collation unit 54 and has a function of opening / closing a post entry port.
[0071]
The sender reading unit 56 has a function of reading the sender information ds written in letters from the postal matter m posted from the post posting port and a function of passing the obtained sender information ds to the sender verification unit 57.
[0072]
The sender collation unit 57 collates the sender information ds previously read from the post office card 40 and the sender information ds read from the sender reading unit 56, and determines whether or not they match. If they do not match, the mail card 40 is returned from the card reading unit 51, and the mail m is returned from the return unit 58 to the sender S, and the processing is completed. The mark Mc is attached to the postal matter m and the postal matter m is passed to the code attaching unit 60.
[0073]
The return unit 58 is controlled by the sender verification unit 57 and has a function of returning the posted mail m to the sender S.
[0074]
As shown in FIG. 14, the code generation unit 59 adds posting information Dp including a post ID and post posting date and time to the sender confirmation information Dsc and the biometric reference information Dbs obtained from the post office card 40. A function for obtaining encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs, Dp] by encrypting by an encryption method based on the posting date and time, and encoding the encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs, Dp], and coding the obtained code information And a function of passing to the granting unit 60.
[0075]
The code assigning unit 60 creates a two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′, Dbs ′, Dp ′] based on the code information received from the code generation unit 59 and generates a two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′, Dbs ′, Dp ′]. Is provided to the postal matter m, and the postal matter m is provided to the postal matter physical information measuring unit 61.
[0076]
As shown in FIG. 15, the postal matter physical information measuring unit 61 measures the physical quantity such as the shape (vertical, horizontal, thickness) and weight of the postal matter m to obtain the shape / weight data Dsw, while photographing the postal matter m. The postal image data obtained by encoding the postal image information Dm, and the encrypted postal information E [Dsw, Dm] by encrypting the shape / weight data Dsw and postal image information Dm. Is obtained, the encrypted mail piece information E [Dsw, Dm] is encoded, and the two-dimensional code C [Dsw ', Dm'] generated based on the obtained mail piece code information is converted into the mail piece m. It has a function to give and a function to store the postal matter m after the grant in the storage unit 62.
[0077]
When the postal matter m is stored by the postal matter physical information measuring unit 61, the storage unit 62 has a function of holding the postal matter m until it is collected by the post office staff of the underwriting station 10. When the postal matter m stored in the storage unit 62 is collected by the post office staff of the underwriting station 10, the postal matter m is delivered to the delivery station 30 through the relay station 20 as appropriate, as described above. Delivered to recipient R via 30 delivery personnel P.
[0078]
On the other hand, the post office card 40 is issued by the underwriting station 10 after being created by the card making machine 70 in the underwriting station 10.
As shown in FIG. 16, the card creator 70 includes an address / name input unit 71, a biometrics input unit 72, a personal information input unit 73, an encryption unit 74, and a creation unit 75.
[0079]
When the sender information ds indicating the address / name of the sender S is input by the operation of the post office staff, the address / name input unit 71 adds at least a person identification ID (or mail ID) to the sender information ds. It has a function of creating sender confirmation information Dsc and inputting the sender confirmation information Dsc into the personal information input unit 73. The address preferably includes a zip code from the viewpoint of improving the efficiency of the postal service.
[0080]
The biometrics input unit 72 collects a part of the biological information (eg, iris) of the sender S and generates the biological reference information Dbs by the operation of the post office staff, and generates the biological reference information Dbs as the personal information input unit 73. It has a function to input to.
[0081]
The personal information input unit 73 has a function of inputting the sender confirmation information Dsc received from the address / name input unit 71 and the biometric reference information Dbs received from the biometric input unit 72 to the encryption unit 74 as shown in FIG. Have
[0082]
The encryption unit 74 encrypts the sender confirmation information Dsc and the biometric reference information Dbs received from the personal information input unit 73 with different encryption methods according to the current date and time, and as shown in FIG. Dsc, Dbs] and the date and time used for this encryption method are added to the encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs] as the encrypted version information Ev, and the obtained encrypted personal information Es is created by the creating unit 75. It has a function to pass to.
[0083]
The creation unit 75 has a function of writing the encrypted personal information Es received from the encryption unit 74 into the unissued post office card 40.
[0084]
Note that the post office card 40, the post box device 50, and the card creation machine 70 as each device can be realized by a hardware configuration and / or a software configuration, respectively. Programs for realizing the functions are installed in advance on the respective computers of the post office card 40, the post box device 50, and the card making machine 70 from a storage medium or a network. However, since the post office card 40 does not require computation, it can be realized as a memory card having no computation function.
[0085]
Next, the operation of the postal system configured as described above will be described in the order of “card issuing procedure” and “mailing procedure”.
(Card issue procedure)
The sender S goes to the underwriting station 10 while holding his / her identification card such as a driver's license, and requests the underwriting station 10 to issue the post office card 40.
[0086]
When the post office member of the underwriting station 10 is requested by the sender S to issue the post office card 40 and is presented with the sender identification information Ds such as an identification card, the sender identification information Ds is operated by operating the card making machine 70. The sender information ds indicating the address / name is input to the address / name input unit 71.
[0087]
The address / name input unit 71 creates sender confirmation information Dsc by adding at least the person confirmation ID (or mail ID) to the sender information ds, and inputs the sender confirmation information Dsc to the personal information input unit 73.
[0088]
In addition, from the viewpoint of not giving the sender S the anxiety of entering other information such as the family register, the post office staff must separately submit the card issuance application form to the sender S. After confirming the consistency between the card issuance application form and the sender specifying information Ds and returning the sender specifying information Ds, the card issuing application form may be referred to.
[0089]
Further, the post office staff of the underwriting station 10 collects a part of the biological information of the sender S (for example, iris, etc.) by the biometric input unit 72 by operating the card making machine 70, and obtains the biological reference information Dbs.
[0090]
The personal information input unit 73 sends the sender confirmation information Dsc and the biometric reference information Dbs to the encryption unit 74 as shown in FIG.
[0091]
Upon receiving the sender confirmation information Dsc and the biometric reference information Dbs, the encryption unit 74 encrypts the encrypted information with different encryption methods according to the current date and time, and as shown in FIG. 10A, the encryption information E [Dsc, Dbs ] Is obtained.
[0092]
Thereafter, the encryption unit 74 adds the date and time used for this encryption method to the encryption information E [Dsc, Dbs] as the encryption version information Ev, and sends the obtained encrypted personal information Es to the creation unit 75. hand over. The encrypted personal information Es differs (generally) depending on the encrypted version information Ev even if the information Dsc and Dbs before encryption is the same. For example, for the same Dsc and Dbs, in the case shown in FIG. 10A, the encryption version information Ev is date / time information having a value of “2001-12-13 23:10”, and is created by an encryption key based on this Ev. The encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs] is a ciphertext having a value of “2378... Fsyr”. On the other hand, the encrypted personal information Es of the comparative example is shown in FIG. ^* As shown, encryption version information Ev ^* Is date and time information having a value of “2002-01-07 15:32”, and this Ev ^* Encryption information E created with an encryption key based on ^* [Dsc, Dbs] is a ciphertext having a value of “cm98... 7f8y”.
[0093]
The creation unit 75 writes the encrypted personal information Es into the unissued post office card 40. The post office card 40 stores this encrypted personal information Es as an address / name part 43, a biometrics part 44, and an encrypted version part 45 in the personal information part 42 via the I / F part 41.
[0094]
As a result, the post office card 40 is issued to the sender S.
[0095]
(Postal procedure)
The sender S holds the postal matter m and his post office card 40 and goes to the place where the postbox device 50 is installed.
[0096]
When arriving at the installation location, the sender S inserts the post office card 40 into the card reading unit 51 of the post box device 50 (ST1) as shown in FIG. 17, and a part of his / her biological information (eg, iris). Is presented to the biometrics authentication unit 53 (ST2).
[0097]
The card reading unit 51 reads the encrypted personal information Es from the post office card 40 through the I / F unit 41, and decrypts the encrypted personal information Es based on the encrypted version information Ev. The sent sender confirmation information Dsc and biometric reference information Dbs are sent to the cipher update unit 52 and the verification unit 54.
[0098]
On the other hand, the biometrics personal authentication unit 53 reads a part of the biometric information presented from the sender S and obtains the biometric information Dbs obtained. ^* Is sent to the verification unit 54.
[0099]
The collation unit 54 uses the biometric reference information Dbs in the post office card 40 and the biometric information Dbs read from the sender S. ^* Are matched (ST3). If they do not match, the mail card 40 is returned from the card reader 51 (ST4), and the process is terminated. Note that the processing may be terminated without returning the mail card 40.
[0100]
On the other hand, in the case of matching as a result of step ST3, the collation unit 54 controls the post opening / closing unit 55 to open the post posting port. The mail m is delivered to the sender reading unit 56 when it is delivered from the post delivery port (ST5).
[0101]
The sender reading unit 56 reads the sender information ds from the postal matter m as shown in FIG. 12A (ST6), and passes the sender information ds to the sender verification unit 57.
[0102]
The sender collation unit 57 collates whether the sender information ds read in step ST6 matches the sender confirmation information Dsc received from the card reading unit 51 after step ST1 (ST7). Returns the postal matter card 40 from the card reading unit 51 and returns the postal matter m from the return unit 58 to the sender S (ST4), and ends the process.
[0103]
On the other hand, in the case of matching as a result of step ST7, the sender collation unit 57 gives a confirmed mark Mc to the postal matter m as shown in FIG. 12B (ST8).
[0104]
As shown in FIG. 14, the code generation unit 59 adds posting information Dp including a post ID and post posting date and time to the sender confirmation information Dsc and biometric reference information Dbs obtained from the post office card 40, Encryption information E [Dsc, Dbs, Dp] is obtained by encryption by an encryption method based on the posting date and time. Thereafter, the code generation unit 59 encodes the encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs, Dp] and passes the obtained code information to the code adding unit 60.
[0105]
The code assigning unit 60 creates a two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′, Dbs ′, Dp ′] based on this code information, and as shown in FIG. 13A, the two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′, Dbs ′]. , Dp ′] is added to the mail m (ST9).
[0106]
Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the postal matter physical information measuring unit 61 measures physical quantities such as the shape (vertical, horizontal, thickness) and weight of the postal matter m to obtain the shape / weight data Dsw (ST10). The postal matter image data Dm obtained by encoding the postal matter image data obtained by photographing the postal matter m is obtained.
[0107]
Next, the postal matter physical information measuring unit 61 encrypts the shape / weight data Dsw and the postal matter image information Dm to obtain encrypted postal matter information E [Dsw, Dm], and then encrypts the postal matter information Em. [Dsw, Dm] is encoded, and a two-dimensional code C [Dsw ′, Dm ′] generated based on the obtained mail code information is given to the mail m as shown in FIG. (ST11).
[0108]
Thereafter, the postal matter m is stored in the storage unit 62 (ST12) and held until it is collected by the underwriting station 10.
Further, after storing the postal matter m, the cipher update unit 52 encrypts the sender confirmation information Dsc and the biometric reference information Dbs based on the post posting date and time, and encrypts the obtained encrypted information E [Dsc, Dbs]. The date and time used for the encryption method is added as encryption version information Ev, and the obtained encrypted personal information Es is input to the post office card 40.
[0109]
Thereby, the encrypted personal information Es in the post office card 40 is updated. To be exact, the sender confirmation information Dsc and biometric information Dbs embedded in the encrypted personal information Es in the post office card 40 are unchanged, but the encryption method is updated (ST13). The value of the personal information Es is changed to a different value. At the time of updating, from the viewpoint of correcting the change in the biological information due to the growth of the sender S, the current biological measurement information Dbs is used instead of the biological reference information Dbs described above. ^* May be used.
[0110]
On the other hand, the postal matter m in the storage unit 62 is collected and sorted by the underwriting station 10 and delivered to the recipient R via the relay station 20 and the delivery station 30.
[0111]
The recipient R requests the delivery person or the delivery station 30 to confirm the sender S of the delivered mail m as desired.
[0112]
At this time, the delivery person or the contact person in the delivery station 30 operates the sender information acquisition device 31 to obtain at least sender information ds included in the sender confirmation information Dsc from the two-dimensional code C [Dsc ′, Dbs ′, Dp ′]. The sender information acquisition device 31 acquires the shape / weight data Dsw of the postal matter m and the postal matter image information Dm from the two-dimensional code C [Dsw ′, Dm ′].
[0113]
Subsequently, the delivery person or the contact person of the delivery station 30 displays the mail image based on the display screen of the sender information acquisition device 31 displaying the sender information ds and the shape / weight data Dsw and the mail image information Dm. It is presented to the recipient R while switching the display screen of the sender information acquisition device 31 or at the same time.
[0114]
At this time, the identity of the sender S is confirmed by presenting the sender information ds, and it is confirmed that there is no replacement of the postal matter m by presenting the shape / weight data Dsw and the mail image. You can open the mail m in mind.
[0115]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, instead of the comparison and verification of the identification card by the post office staff in the first embodiment, the comparison and verification of the post office card 40 by the post box device 50 may be used. The same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.
[0116]
Further, the post office card 40 issued to each sender S has its stored contents encrypted by different encryption methods based on the encryption version information Ev using the date and time, etc. Tampering and counterfeiting are difficult.
[0117]
Further, since the identity authentication of the sender S is performed using the biometric technology, even if the regular post office card 40 is stolen, it can be prevented from being illegally used by a third party.
[0118]
Furthermore, since the biometric reference information in the post office card 40 is updated and stored by the postbox device 50, even if the biometric information Dsb ′ changes due to the growth or aging of the sender S, the person himself / herself is not mistaken for another person. In addition, identity verification can be performed based on the change.
[0119]
Further, the postal matter physical information measuring unit 61 measures the physical quantity of the postal matter m, and gives the postal matter m a two-dimensional code C [Dsw ′, Dm ′] including the measurement result (shape / weight data Dsw). It is possible to prevent the mail m from being replaced. Similarly, since the two-dimensional code C [Dsw ′, Dm ′] includes the photographed result (postal piece image information Dm) of the postal matter m, it is possible to more reliably prevent the postal matter m from being replaced. .
[0120]
The method described in each of the above embodiments is a program that can be executed by a computer, such as a magnetic disk (floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, etc.), an optical disk (CD-ROM, DVD, etc.), a magneto-optical disk ( MO), and can be stored and distributed in a storage medium such as a semiconductor memory.
[0121]
In addition, as long as the storage medium can store a program and can be read by a computer, the storage format may be any form.
[0122]
In addition, an OS (operating system) running on a computer based on an instruction of a program installed in the computer from a storage medium, MW (middleware) such as database management software, network software, and the like implement the present embodiment. A part of each process may be executed.
[0123]
Further, the storage medium in the present invention is not limited to a medium independent of a computer, but also includes a storage medium in which a program transmitted via a LAN, the Internet, or the like is downloaded and stored or temporarily stored.
[0124]
Further, the number of storage media is not limited to one, and the case where the processing in the present embodiment is executed from a plurality of media is also included in the storage media in the present invention, and the media configuration may be any configuration.
[0125]
The computer according to the present invention executes each process according to the present embodiment based on a program stored in a storage medium, and includes a single device such as a personal computer or a system in which a plurality of devices are connected to a network. Any configuration may be used.
[0126]
In addition, the computer in the present invention is not limited to a personal computer, but includes an arithmetic processing device, a microcomputer, and the like included in an information processing device, and is a generic term for devices and devices that can realize the functions of the present invention by a program. .
[0127]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention at the stage of implementation. In addition, the embodiments may be appropriately combined as much as possible, and in that case, combined effects can be obtained. Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, when an invention is extracted by omitting some constituent elements from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment, when the extracted invention is implemented, the omitted part is appropriately supplemented by a well-known common technique. It is what is said.
[0128]
In addition, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the gist thereof.
[0129]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a suspicious mail having unknown sender from being delivered, and to give the recipient a sense of security.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a postal system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a sender identification information issuing unit in the embodiment
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of mail in the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of sender confirmation information according to the embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a two-dimensional code according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a two-dimensional code according to the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a sender information acquisition device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a postal system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a post office card in the embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a personal information section in the embodiment;
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining a personal information section in the embodiment;
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a mail item in the embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a mail item in the embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining addition of posting information in the embodiment;
FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing shape / weight data and postal image information in the embodiment;
FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a card making machine according to the embodiment;
FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining the operation in the embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
10: Underwriting station
11. Sender identification information issuing department
12. Information input part
13 ... Encryption part
14, 59 ... code generator
15, 60 ... code assigning section
20 ... Relay station
30 ... Delivery Bureau
31 ... Sender information acquisition device
32. Reading unit
33: Decoding unit
34 ... Display section
40 ... Post Office card
41 ... I / F section
42 ... Personal Information Department
43 ... Address / Name
44 ... Biometrics
45 ... Cryptographic version part
50 ... Postbox equipment
51 ... Card reader
52. Encryption update unit
53 ... Biometrics authentication section
54. Verification unit
55 ... Post opening / closing part
56. Sender reading section
57: Sender verification section
58 ... Return part
61 ... Postal physical information measuring unit
62. Storage unit
70 ... Card making machine
71 ... Address / name input section
72 ... Biometrics input section
73 ... Personal information input section
74 ... Cryptographic part
75 ... Creation part
S ... From
P ... Deliveryman
R ... Recipient
m ... Mail
Ds: Sender identification information
dr: Recipient information
ds ... From information
Dsc ... Sender confirmation information
C ... Two-dimensional code
Mc: Confirmed mark
Es ... Encrypted personal information
E ... Encryption information
Ev ... Cryptographic version information
Dbs: Biological reference information

Claims (6)

A mail system for confirming the validity of the sender of the mail according to the request of the recipient when delivering the mail to the recipient,
And the address and name information that address and name information of the sender read the post office card or et al., Which is stored, and the address and name matching means to match the sender's address and name information read from the mail,
As a result of the collation by the address / name collation means, when both do not match, a return means for returning the mail piece;
As a result of the collation by the address / name collating means, when the two are matched, the postal date and time information of the postal mail is added to the address / name information read from the post office card. Confirmation information generating means for generating sender confirmation information;
Encoding means for encrypting and encoding the sender confirmation information generated by the confirmation information generating means;
Code applying means for applying the code pattern obtained by the encoding means to the postal matter ;
And postal post device provided with,
A code reading that reads and decodes the code pattern given by the postal device from the postal matter and outputs at least the address / name information among the obtained address / name information, postal post ID, and post posting date / time information Means,
A postal system characterized by comprising: A postbox device for confirming the validity of the sender based on a post office card provided by the sender of the mailpiece and storing at least the address and name information of the sender when the mailpiece is posted Because
Address / name collation means for collating the address / name information read from the post office card with the address / name information of the sender read from the postal matter;
As a result of the collation by the address / name collation means, when both do not match, a return means for returning the mail piece;
As a result of the collation by the address / name collating means, when the two are matched, the postal date and time information of the postal mail is added to the address / name information read from the post office card. Confirmation information generating means for generating sender confirmation information;
Encoding means for encrypting and encoding the sender confirmation information generated by the confirmation information generating means;
Code applying means for applying the code pattern obtained by the encoding means to the postal matter;
A post box device characterized by comprising: The postbox device according to claim 2 ,
Biometric information collating means for measuring the biometric information of the sender and collating the obtained biometric information with the biometric information in the post office card when the postal card in which the biometric information of the sender is stored in advance is provided. When,
As a result of collation by the biometric information collating means, when both match, a post opening / closing control means for controlling the post-loading port through which the postal items are posted to an open state;
A post box device characterized by comprising: The postbox device according to claim 3 ,
Biometric information updating means for updating and storing the biometric information measured by the biometric information collating means in the post office card when the provision by the code providing means is completed;
A post box device characterized by comprising: The postbox device according to any one of claims 2 to 4 ,
A measurement result encoding means for measuring the shape and / or weight of the mail piece and encoding the obtained measurement result;
A postal matter code attaching means for attaching the postal matter code pattern obtained by the measurement result encoding means to the postal matter;
A post box device characterized by comprising: The postbox device according to claim 5 ,
The post-post apparatus characterized in that the measurement result encoding means images a postal object together with the measurement, and encodes the obtained photographing result together with the measurement result.

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