MXPA99003114A - Robust system of generation and verification of digital symbols with verification of symbols when the information of the recipient can not be recreated during the automatic processing of cor - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for generating evidence information for a document includes generating an error correction code and generating a digital symbol that employs the error correction code. A method for verifying the integrity information certification printed on a piece of mail includes obtaining an error correction code printed on the document and using the error correction code obtained to verify the validity of the evidence information. A method for verifying evidence information printed on a mailpiece includes obtaining a correction code printed on a mail piece and determining that the error correction code obtained is inaccurate. The information used to generate the printed error correction code is obtained and a correction code is generated from the information obtained. The generated error correction code is used to verify the validity of the evidence information. The document may be a piece of correspondence and the evidence information, evidence of postage evidence with the error correction code is for at least a portion of the destination address information.

Description

ROBUST SYSTEM OF GENERATION AND VERIFICATION OF DIGITAL SYMBOLS WITH VERIFICATION OF SYMBOLS WHEN THE INFORMATION OF THE RECIPIENT CAN NOT BE RECREATED DURING THE PROCESSING AUTOMATION OF MAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention refers to providing a more efficient processing system with better security allowing the verification of digital symbols when the necessary information is not legible, even when the reading is assisted with the use of correction codes of conventional errors. More particularly, the present invention relates to robust digital symbol verification systems for mail pieces, increasing the percentage of mail pieces where verification of the symbol can be aved even when the complete information of the recipient can not be recreated, and with a better ability to automatically read the information in block of the recipient by providing in each piece of correspondence the information related to the block structure of the address. Postage systems print and post postage and other unit value impressions such as delivery service charges and tax stamps. These systems have been both electronic and mechanical. Some varied types of postal postage systems are shown for example in the US patent no. 3,978,457 with the title POSTAL ELECTRONIC POSTAGE SYSTEM MICROCOMPUTING, published on August 31, 1976, US patent no. 4,301,507 titled ELECTRONIC POSTAL POSTAGE WITH MULTIPLE COMPUTER SYSTEMS, published on November 17, 1981, and US patent no. 4,579,054 with title INDEPENDENT ELECTRONIC POSTING MAE published on April 1, 1986. In addition, other types of postage systems have been developed which include different printing systems such as those that use thermal printers, ink jet printers, mechanical printers and other types of, printing technologies. Examples of other types of electronic postal franking maes are described in US Pat. 4,168,533 titled MINIATURE POSTAL POSTAGE WITH MICROCOMPUTER, published on September 18, 1979, and the patent of US NO. 4,493,252 with title DEVICE OF POSTAL PRINTING THAT HAS A PRINTING HEAD. REMOVABLE AND A PRINT DRUM, published on January 15, 1985. These printing systems allow the postal postage system to print variable information that can be information of the alphanumeric and graphic type. Postage systems controlled with a card have also been developed. These systems use both cards with magnetic tape and cards based on microprocessors. Examples of postage systems controlled with magnetic tape type cards include US Patent no. 4,222,518 titled "POSTAGE SYSTEM", published on September 16, 1980, US patent no. 4,226,360 with title POSTAGE SYSTEM, published on October 7, 1980, and US patent no. 4,629,871 titled ADJUSTABLE POSTAL POSTAL SYSTEM BY MEANS OF A REMOTELY GENERATED ENTRY DEVICE, published on December 16, 1986. A microprocessor-based card postage system ("smart card") that provides an automatic transaction system that employs a microprocessor carrying user cards issued to respective users is described in US Patent no. 4,900,903 titled AUTOMATIC TRANSACTION SYSTEM WITH INSERTABLE CARDS TO TRANSFER ACCOUNT DATA, published on February 13, 1990. In addition, systems have been developed in which a unit is used that has a non-volatile read / write memory that may consist of an EEPROM. Such a system is described in US Patent no. 4,757,532 titled SECURE TRANSPORTATION OF INFORMATION BETWEEN ELECTRONIC STATIONS, published on July 12, 1988 and US patent no. 4, 907,271 entitled "SECURE TRANSPORTATION OF INFORMATION AMONG ELECTRONIC STATIONS," published on March 6, 1990. Postal postage systems have also been developed that use encrypted information printed on a piece of correspondence. The postal value for a piece of correspondence can be encrypted together with other data to generate a digital symbol. A digital symbol is encrypted information that certifies and allows the verification of the integrity of the information printed on a piece of correspondent including postal values. Examples of postal postage systems that generate and employ digital symbols are described in US Patent no. 4,757,537 titled SYSTEM FOR DETECTING NOT ACCOUNTED FOR PRINTING IN A PRINTING SYSTEM, published on July 12, 1988; the US patent no. 4,831,555 entitled "POSITIVE INSURANCE APPLICATION SYSTEM", published on May 16, 1989, US patent no. 4,775,246 entitled SYSTEM FOR DETECTING NOT ACCOUNTED FOR PRINTING IN A PRINTING SYSTEM, published on October 4, 1988; the US patent no. 4,873,645 with the title SYSTEM SURTIZER OF SECURE POSTAGE, published on October 10, 1989, and US patent no. 4,725,718 titled POSTAL POSTAL APPLICATION SYSTEM, POSTAL INFORMATION, published on February 16, 1988 and the system described in the different specifications of the United States Postal Service, such as the key administration system plan of the trademark-based program. information, dated April 25, 1997, the specification of trademarks of the open system of the trademark-based information program (IBIP) dated July 23, 1997, specification of the host system of the information-based indications program dated October 9, 1996, and the specification of the open postal system (PSD) security device of the information-based trademark program (IBIP) dated July 23, 1997. Those systems that can use a device called a postage evidence device (PED), they use an encryption algorithm to encrypt the selected information to generate the digital symbol. The encryption of the information provides security to prevent the alteration of the printed information in such a way that any change in the values printed in the postal recovery block is detectable by means of appropriate verification procedures. Typical information that can be encrypted as part of the entry to a digital symbol includes the value of the printout, the postal code of origin, the information of the recipient, such as for example the code of the destination point), the date and a serial number of the piece. These information points when encrypted with a secret or private key and printed on a piece of correspondence provide a very high level of security that allows the detection of any attempted modification in the information in the postal recovery block, being able to print the information both in encrypted and unencrypted form. These digital symbol systems can be used with a dedicated printer, this is a printer that is securely cod to an accounting module such that printing can not be done without accounting or in systems that employ non-dedicated printers and secure accounting systems. In this case, such as in personal or network (wide area or local) computer systems, the non-dedicated printer can print the digital symbol as well as other information. The digital symbols can be computed and printed, for example, in the postal recovery block of each piece of correspondence. The digital symbol transformation (DTT) calculation requires a secret or private key, which has to be protected and can be updated periodically. One of the most difficult problems-with the evidence-of postal payment is the key administrative problem. In fact two digital symbols (postal and sale) are described in the pending patent of Us no. 5,390,251 with the title MAIL PROCESSING SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES VERIFICATION OF DATA CENTER FOR PARTS OF CORRESPONDENCE, published on February 14, 1995, the entire description is included here. In these systems, digital symbols are usually computed for each piece of processed mail. This calculation includes taking the input data such as serial content of pieces, date, postal code of origin and amount of postage and encrypting this data with secret keys shared by the postal evidence device (PED) and the postal or courier service and pro the postage evidence device and the device manufacturer or vendor. The fact of sharing requires the coordination of key updates, the protection of the keys and other measures commonly referred to as the key management system. The computation of digital symbols takes place after the request to generate the symbols by a sender. This calculation is made through the postage evidence device. Thus the postage evidence device needs to have all the information required for the computation, and most importantly the code keys. In addition, the filing of the franking evidence device with additional franking funds also requires separate keys and an administration process- In those systems, the symbol generation process is accomplished with a real-time symbol computation and the symbols they can be computed for any combination of input parameters allowed by the system. Many improved systems have been developed including systems described in US Pat. No. no. 5,454,038 entitled "ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE POSITION POSTAL EVIDENCE SYSTEM", published on September 26, 1995; the US patent no. 5,448,641 titled POSTAL POSTAL SYSTEM WITH VERIFIABLE INTEGRITY, published on September 5, 1995, and US patent no. 5,625,694 titled METHOD FOR INHIBITING LA. GENERATION OF SYMBOLS IN AN OPEN MEASUREMENT SYSTEM, published on April 29, 1997, its entire description is incorporated for future reference.

As noted above, it has been recognized that the recipient's information can be incorporated into the digital symbol. This provides greater security. The inclusion of the recipient's information in the digital symbol ensures that for an individual to perpetrate a copying attack by copying a valid index of a piece of correspondence into another piece of correspondence and entering it into the mail stream, the piece of fraudulent correspondence it must be addressed to the same recipient as the original valid piece of correspondence. If this has not been done, the piece of fraudulent correspondence would be detectable to have an invalid mark after verification in a mail processing facility. It has also been recognized that a better security honey can be obtained by generating the digital symbols using a sub-group of information from the recipient. This concept is described in published European patent publication no. 0782108 under the title METHOD FOR CERTIFYING THE POSTING EVIDENCE USING DIGITAL SYMBOLS GENERATED FROM A SUB-GROUP OF INFORMATION FOR THE RECIPIENT, submitted on December 19, 1996 and published on July 2, 1997. The published European application describes among other things the use of a cutout code of a predetermined appropriate section of each address field as part of the transformation process of the digital symbol. It is suggested that the first 15 characters of each line can be selected as the appropriate section of each address field for certification. An error correction code is generated for the selected address data used for example the Reed Solomon or BCH algorithms. A secure cut of this section of the address field data is generated which is sent to a deposit (PED) along with the required postage and date data. This information, the section of the address field, is part of a request for a digital symbol. The deposit that can be attached to a computer person (PC) generates the digital symbol that uses this data. The error correction code is printed on the correspondence piece in an alphanumeric or barcode character format. After verification, an OCR system reads the delivery address of the piece of correspondence and the data of the marks. Using an OCR or barcode reader, the error correction code is also read. An error correction algorithm is executed using the error correction code. If the errors are not correctable, then the recognition process is notified of a failure. If it is correctable, the appropriate section of each address field is selected for certification. A secure trimming of the selected data is generated during the verification process. A secure cut and the postal data are then sent to a verifier who then generates digital symbols that are compared to the digital symbols printed on the piece of mail to complete the verification process. It has been found that greater security can be provided in several postal systems employing digital symbols as evidence of postage payment by incorporating information into the digital symbol that is easy to recreate from the front of the mailpiece. It has also been found that many pieces of mail have recipients that are difficult and sometimes impossible to read completely, so that the digital symbol printed on the piece of correspondence can not be verified. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for the generation and secure verification of postal postage symbols that solves this difficulty by providing redundant information that can be recreated more easily. It has also been discovered that the process of directing, evidencing postage, distributing correspondence and verifying automatic payment can be greatly facilitated by computing certain auxiliary information from the destination address data. It has also been found that the objective of linking the marks with the piece of correspondence can be met substantially in the whole world for all correspondence categories, national and international, without using the eleven-digit destination point of delivery (DPDC) code of the United States Postal Service or its equivalent as recipient information incorporated in the digital symbol. It has also been discovered that the new method does not necessarily require access to regularly updated address databases and serves for all correspondence items, even if they are not distributable in the way it is intended, in this case allowing the determination of not distributable. It is another object of the present invention to provide a practical universal system for linking a piece of correspondence to a digital symbol. It has also been discovered that by printing certain information such as auxiliary information, in a suitable place, for example near the block or mark of the destination address or both, the capture and processing of the information can be improved. It has further been discovered that the above information can be printed elsewhere in the mailpiece as in a predetermined position easy to locate, for example the upper right corner of the mailpiece. This information can be a signal indicating the address block of the correspondence piece, by providing coordinates of the address block using an appropriate coordinate system with the origin that can be located automatically and easily without errors. It has also been discovered that I am tracking an error correction code of the recipient's information that is incorporated into the digital symbol as part of the process of transforming digital symbols, provides better functionality to the mail process and allows automatic verification of a greater percentage of mail pieces. It is an object of the present invention to use an error correction code as information representing the information of the recipient in a digital symbol in such a way that the error correction code is redundant with the address information. Accordingly, when the error correction code can be read from the correspondence piece, the digital symbol can still be verifiable even if the recipient's information is not legible or only partially, since the error correction code it can be recreated from the redundant information in the recipient's own information when it is readable. A new error correction code can also be generated from the recipient's information when the error correction code is not readable and the new error correction code (which must be identical to the originally printed error correction code) is used. ) is used to validate the digital symbol. So this system is such that when the address is mutilated to a point where it can not be rebuilt with the error correction code since there are too many errors in the recipient's information, however the digital symbol can be verified due to the code of error correction. When the error correction code can not be read, the digital symbol of the piece of correspondence can still be verified if the error correction code can be recreated from the address information when it is not erased or mutilated until it becomes useless to generate an accurate error correction code. This provides the ability to provide large portions of correspondence by verifying the digital symbol and thus detecting practical attempts to defraud the mail processing system, such as by intentionally mutilating a portion of the recipient's information leaving enough information of the recipient in such a way that the piece of correspondence can still be delivered. Also, when the error correction code is not legible, the recipient's information can be used. Furthermore, it must be recognized that when using the error correction code as an input to the digital symbol, attempts to thwart the system by deleting a portion of the recipient's information but leaving enough information in such a way that it can be delivered is more widely protected, this is because all of the recipient's information is used as part of the verification system of digital symbol, the entire address must be recognized and used in the verification process of the digital symbol. This also inhibits the ability of unscrupulous senders who easily make duplicates to attack the correspondence stream by copying for example the eleven-digit shipping point destination code as used in the United States, and having an address that is inconsistent with the Destination code of shipping point. In that case, the digital symbol would be verified and through manual processing, the piece of correspondence could still be sent appropriately. It has also been discovered that the structure information of the address block can be included in an easily readable form by the machine in each correspondence piece to facilitate and improve the automatic reading of the address block for purposes of sorting, distributing and / or verifying. The information of the structure of the address can serve as input for the transformation of the digital symbol (DTT) and / or be used to facilitate the improved mechanical reading. A method for generating evidence of postage information applying the present invention includes generating an error correction code of information in a document and generating a digital symbol that used the error correction code. The information can be a portion of the destination address in a piece of mail.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention a method for evidencing the information printed in a document includes obtaining an error correction code printed on a document and employing the error correction code obtained to verify the validity of the evidence information. . The evidence information may be evidence of postage printed on a piece of mail. According to a feature of the present invention, a method for verifying information printed on a mailpiece includes obtaining an error correction code printed on a mailpiece and determining that the error correction code obtained is not accurate . The information used to generate the error correction code is obtained and the error correction code is generated from the information obtained. The generated error correction code is used to verify the validity of the information evidencing the postage. According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for verifying the information evidencing the postage printed on a mailpiece includes generating an error correction code from at least a portion of the recipient's information printed on the mailpiece. and using the error correction code generated to verify the validity of the information evidencing the postage.

In yet another feature of the present invention a method for generating a mailpiece includes generating an error correction code for a destination address and generating address structure information for the destination address. The error correction code and the information of the address structure is printed on the correspondence piece. In another aspect of the present invention a method for generating evidence information includes generating an error correction code to inform and generate the structure information for the information. The error correction code and the address information is printed on a mailpiece and a digital symbol is generated using the error correction code and / or the structure information. The information may be information evidencing the postage and the error correction code and the structure information may be that of at least a portion of the destination information of the matching piece. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A full understanding of the present invention can be obtained from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference numerals designate similar elements in different figures, in which: Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a system for printing mail pieces and checking mail pieces making use of the present invention; Figure 2 is a correspondence piece printed by means of the system shown in Figure 1 and includes format information and an error correction code printed on the correspondence piece in alphanumeric form and with the error correction code included in the calculation of the digital symbol printed as part of a 2D barcode; Figure 3 is a correspondence piece printed by means of the system shown in Figure 1 and having the error correction code printed on the 2D barcode and a mark having alphanumeric digital symbols included as part of the entry to the dtt. , the error correction code; Figure 4 is a piece of correspondence similar to that shown in Figure 3 with the 2D bar code placed adjacent to the steering block to provide a characteristic identification of the highlighted steering block; Figure 5 is a correspondence piece similar to that shown in Figure 3 which incorporates a different form of a 2D bar code and with the printed bar code placed in a different position in relation to the printed markings; Figure 6 is a flowchart of the mailpiece generation process employing the present invention; and Figure 7 is a flow chart of the verification process of the piece of mail created in accordance with the process shown in Figure 6. The main purpose of a digital trademark is to show that postage has been paid for a piece of correspondence given. Several implementations of digital postal marks have been proposed. When selecting an implementation, it is desirable that the digital postal marks satisfy the following group of requirements: 1) printed information in the brand must be linked to the payment 2) each digital brand must be unique 3) each digital brand must be linked with the piece of correspondence for which you provide proof of payment 4) the trademark verification process must be simple and effective, for example it must be fully automatic except for correspondence pieces that require special handling or attention or (if desired) a simple manual process that can be done through the postmen who handle the correspondence for its shipment. The first requirement is usually satisfied using cryptographic techniques. In the simplest form the link between the payment and the mark is achieved by printing encrypted information that certifies that the information printed on the piece of correspondence (digital symbols) is the mark that can be computed only by the device that holds the secret information (a key) . This key serves as an input to an algorithm that produces, for example, a message certification code (MAC) or a digital signature. Each access to the key results in an arithmetic action such as a subtraction of the postage of a postage register that stores the postal money. The second requirement provides a mechanism for detecting unauthorized duplication of marks, printing a unique identification on each piece of correspondence satisfying this requirement. The third requirement is desirable in order to simplify the detection of reused or duplicate marks. In particular, it is very desirable to perform trademark verification without access to external sources of information, such as databases of trademarks already used and verified. This requirement considerably simplifies the means to satisfy the last requirement. The postage meters meet this requirement either by the use of printers and inks attached or by linking the information in the piece of correspondence to the marks. The system described here addresses among others the requirement of link between the piece of correspondence and the brand. The link has been provided by including unique data from a piece of correspondence as input to the cryptographic or encrypted transformation by computing the encrypted information (digital symbols). Of the data present in the correspondence pieces, there is only one primary candidate of that unique data, in fact the destination address. By incorporating the destination address into a digital symbol together with all relevant information, for example the date, the postage amount, the identification of the device, the device evidencing the postage effectively eliminates the possibility of reuse of the trademark information once issued (and paid) for unpaid correspondence pieces, except correspondence pieces destined for exactly the same address on the same day. This last attack subjects the attacker to a greater danger (since the pieces of correspondence must to the same addressee the same day) with little economic benefit for the attacker. Thus it is desirable to include the destination address in the digital symbols. The above method, however, has to solve many difficulties. The address information and its presentation format must be standardized in such a way that the verification process must produce (based on the address present on the correspondence piece) the address entry data exactly identical to the entry data of the address. address used during the process of generation of marks by means of the device evidencing the postage. This standardization must also adapt to international correspondence. This means that: a) correspondence with a destination outside a given country must be processable as national mail, and b) correspondence within countries that do not use postal codes or use only relatively short postal codes (and therefore not unique to that country). address), which for example indicate a post office, must also be processable. The prerequisites persist even when the address information printed within the mark in J.TI machine-readable format such as a two-dimensional bar code. The root of the problem lies in the fact that a postage evidencing device for many applications computes brand formation including the digital symbols of a computerized entry of input data and other computerized input data such as inputs through of a keyboard, while a verification process must compute the digital symbols of the data obtained by scanning (or otherwise obtained, for example, by manual typing) of the correspondence piece where this data exists in the form of optical images. The process of interpreting the optical images to obtain a computerized file has a noticeable tendency to error and the probability of error grows rapidly with the growth of the content of the optical image information. On the other hand, cryptographic verification fails even in the presence of a single error in the interpretation of the optical image. The cryptographic verification process does not tolerate errors. In the United States of America, the United States Postal Service defined an eleven-digit destination point of delivery (DPDC) code that is the only indicator of the destination address. This code when present in the piece of correspondence and is known for the device producing the evidence of postage, can serve as the input required for the calculation of the digital symbol. However, even in the United States of America this DPDC code has not been defined for many addresses. Access to this code requires the position of huge databases that must be distributed to a large number of end users and updated frequently. This means a financial burden for the mails. In addition, a code similar to the DPCD does not exist in a vast majority of countries including the main countries of the industrialized world, thus reducing the usefulness of the DPDC method considerably. Additionally, many postal administrations are reluctant to introduce long DPDCs as unnecessary for the main functions in the postal service, mainly in the classification and distribution of mail.

There is also a significant problem in mail processing, which is the problem of automatic mail sorting. The solution to this problem usually requires several separate processing steps, these are: 1) Find the destination address block in the digital image on the front of the envelope. 2) Transcribe the address block in lines and words, 3) Divide the words of the address into individual characters, 4) Recognize the individual characters by means of an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) process, 5) Interpret the information of the address to execute the classification. Each of the processing steps identified above can fail by introducing frequently unrecoverable. The steps of finding the address block, of transcribing and segmenting can be responsible for up to 60% of the faults in the processing of mechanically printed mail, leaving only 40% of the errors to the OCR and the interpretation. It is therefore desirable to assist the mail processing equipment in carrying out at least the first four processing steps described above. The use of block locators is well known and has been carried out in several countries. These address block locators are special graphic or alphanumeric symbols that indicate the location of the destination address on the envelope. In some countries preprinted vertical lines or special symbols such as asterisks are used, other countries are contemplating the use of a series of numerical characters printed above or below the address block with the length of this series being equal to the length of the line longer in the address block. And still other countries can use a linear bar code also printed above or below the address block with similar length restrictions as in the case of alphanumeric characters. These arrangements, however, do not touch any of the processing stages 2,3 and 4. For many pieces of correspondence, the computation and formatting of the data necessary to create a piece of correspondence including the destination address block and the marks is made by means of a computer (for example a portable standard personal computer). The processes of directing, evidencing postage, sorting the mail and automatic payment verification are greatly facilitated by means of the present system when computing certain auxiliary information from the destination address data and printing this information with the appropriate placement and orientation in the proximity of the destination address block or brand or both.

Alternatively this information may be printed elsewhere in the correspondence piece but must indicate the coordinates of the address block within an appropriate coordinate system within an origin that can be easily located and without errors. Thus the preparation and processing of the correspondence, the verification of classification and payment, are improved by printing certain additional information on the piece of correspondence. The integration of correspondence processing and payment verification is also advantageous and very economical when both processes can benefit from such integration, for example during an automatic mail sorting process. As previously observed, the process of producing digital symbols, digital signatures or text in figures by means of devices that show the postage is well known, the entry to the transformation of digital symbols can be formed by means of the date of shipment, value of the postage, non-reactivable serial parts account or the value of the growing register (understood in the traditional sense of the franchiser's architecture), the zip code of the post office that registers the device and other optional information if desired. The transformation of digital symbols generates a semi-random number or digital symbol from that data by applying a secret key. In a known implementation, the algorithm used is double or triple DES in a digit block chaining mode. The resulting MAC is truncated to a single digit representing a simple digital symbol. Two digits can be used to represent two digital symbols, etc. If desired, the digital symbols can be longer than a single digit until the full MAC is reached. Each digit appears to be a random number for a group that does not know the secret key. The idea of using two separate secret keys (one controlled by the seller of the device evidencing the postage and the other controlled by the mail that accepts it) is also well known. The system A mail envelope can contain traditional elements such as brands and destination address block. As an example, the trademarks may consist of two data blocks, the human readable block with conventional elements such as postage and date and the bar code block. This bar code block contains digital symbols and other data elements that can aid automatic sorting of mail such as data elements that can help facilitate the above-mentioned reading process. It should be expressly noted that the present system could be implemented in different ways. For example, if a cryptographic scheme of public keys is used, then the brand can contain a digital signature (with or without a public key certificate signed by a certification authority) = as well as a text of figures. The number text for all secure public key systems is quite large and independent of the size of the simple text up to the upper limit determined by the size of the key used. This means that in many secure trademark applications there is space in the simple text that would normally be filled in by non-functional information. Thus this space can be used to include in the simple text (and subsequently retrieve it from the text is figures) certain useful information for the address process, such as for example the coordinates of the address block, the composition of the address block in term of the number of lines, the number of words and the number of characters in each line, the identity of the font used to print the address, etc. All that information together with an adequate error correction code (EC) can greatly improve the computer processing of the address by eliminating essentially all unrecoverable errors at least in the measurement environment with PC and more generally when correspondence pieces are going to processed have been printed by means of computer controlled systems. One of the purposes of the method of the present system is to provide effective distraction and detection mechanisms for duplicate digital marks. From this point of view, if an unscrupulous sender intentionally changes the address by corrupting the information of the address, for example by entering several extra characters or changing several characters or words to create corrupted but deliverable addresses, in such a way that this address will have an error correction code and address structure information identical to the error correction code and the structure information of the address of another legitimate address, such case is easy to detect by the postmen (and other personnel postcard with access to mail) by a simple direct visual examination. Thus the pieces of correspondence with the recipients altered in such a way as to raise suspicions about unusual recipients, and so address the unscrupulous sender. This will guarantee the investigation, which can easily fraud when intercepting different pieces with identical marks. If a sender receives a certified copy of the address database and address cleaning software, then the cleaning software will automatically remove all artificially created errors and spelling errors at least for all recipients common to the list of addresses. correspondence of the sender and the database. (This covers the vast majority of mailing lists used by commercial and recreational senders even without regular updating of the address data base). If the sender still persists with the artificial alteration of the delivery addresses in order to avoid duplicate payment of legitimate marks, then this again can be detected by means of simple direct visual examination. In this case, the authority responsible for compliance with the postal law will have proof of the deliberate alteration by the sender for the purpose of committing fraud since no computer system in possession of a database of an appropriate address would generate correspondence with those addresses. corrupted. This, for example, could be a certified address database. The system can be implemented with a PC or equivalent, for example a single-keyboard computer), a storage unit (known as a PED) operatively connected to the PC and a PC-controlled printer. The sender can enter the list of addresses of PC receivers (for example by means of some external storage medium, such as a magnetic floppy disk, a CD ROM, network or keyboard) together with an associated list of price parameters or Postage fees for each shipping address. Typically, the price parameters consist of weight and an indicator of the size of the piece of the piece of correspondence (regular or large size). The price parameters together with the rate table (or rate table) stored in the PC should allow the PC to compute the postage value for each of the recipients in the shipping list. After calculating the postage, the PC calculates the error correction code (ECC) for each address. This ECC can have many different linear or non-linear types depending on the computational requirements and the capabilities of the coding and decoding systems. In the middle of shipments, these computational constraints are generally not as strong as in high-bandwidth and high-speed communication networks. One type of commonly used ECC is the Reed-Solomon code (R.Blahut, Theory and practice of error control codes, Addison-Esley Pub. Co. 1984). The Reed-Solomon code is built on the finite field GF (q), where q is the number of elements in the field. N is the length of the code, this code word uses N field elements and s a factor of the number of non-zero elements in the field. If the dimension of the code is k (that is, there are q * code words) then the Reed-Solomon code (RS code) (N, k) in GF (q) can detect Nk errors or correct [(Nk) / 2] errors, where the square parentheses denote the largest integer less than or equal to (Nk) / 2. In the case of error correction, two types of error correction are typically considered: cancellations (known in the OCR field as rejections) and misrepresentation errors (known in the OCR field as substitutions). The distance for the RS code is d = N-k + i. The RS code with such distance can correct "s" substitutions and "r" messages if d >; 2s + r. The delivery address information including the structural information defined as the number of lines in the address, the number of words and characters including spaces in each line, the code for the print type and possibly other similar characteristics can be represented as a binary arrangement or a message through the alphabet. { 0, l} . A second possible alphabet is used to represent the message for example as 128 symbols (each symbol is a 1-byte ASCII code). Out of 128 symbols, 112 symbols represent the address and its structural information and 16 symbols represent parity symbols (correction). Still gold example uses the properties of the alphanumeric alphabet with capital letters, numbers, a space, a new line, a punctuation symbol. An RS code that uses GF (1601) codes two of those characters per field element. Selecting the field element 13 as a generator, we find that 13 has order 64, that is 136 * 0 1 mod 1601. The code for assistance in reading the address consists of error correction information and address structure information. To correct 5 substitutions or 10 rejections requires 11 field elements. The address structure information, which consists of for example the number of characters in each of a maximum of five lines, uses 3 field elements. The assistance code for reading the address thus uses 11 + 3 = 14 field elements. 63 field elements represent a single code word in this Reed Solomon code. The remaining 63-14 = 49 field elements are used to represent delivery address information which in this case is limited to a maximum of 98 characters. The address reading assistance code may be represented in the form of a two-dimensional bar code such as the DataMatrix code. In this case, the amount of space in the address block required to do so is a 0.9 cm square with the module size equal to 0.06 cm. This is very possible The error correction capability of the newly described code will be able to correct performance even with a very modestly accurate OCR algorithm (accurate recognition rate of 90%). The verification process applicable to the present method includes first electronically scanning the piece of correspondence and obtaining a digital image of the marks and the address block. The second phase of the verification is as mentioned before a direct examination of the delivery address printed by the staff that handles and delivers the correspondence in order to detect any artificially created error. This second phase can also be automated when the address reading software is updated to detect and point out any errors and unusual misspellings. Both manual and automatic methods can be used if needed since they take place during different stages of the correspondence processing cycle. Structure and organization Now we refer to FIGURE i. a computer system which may be for example a personal computer 104, optionally includes an address database 106. It should be recognized that the system can be either a PC only system or a network system or other suitable arrangement. A printer 108 prints a series of mail pieces generally shown at 110. The mail pieces can include an encrypted 2D bar code 112 and have a printed error correction code information format for the address information on the piece of mail. correspondence 114. The encryption indications include information that authenticates the postal payment of the correspondence piece.

There may be a relationship between the address information error correction barcode and the encrypted information to provide an improved robust digital symbol generation and verification system. As noted above, the system accommodates verification of the digital symbol in which the address information can not be recreated in an automated mail processing and in situations where the addressed information error correction code can not be obtained exactly. The system also provides an improved ability to retrieve address information in a way that facilitates the processing of correspondence.

The matching pieces 110 are forwarded to a receiving location shown at 116. The matching stream can be processed by a selector 118 that reads addresses associated with the matching piece with the assistance of the matching correction code. A sampling of the mapping stream may be fed to a verification process system 120 as a sampled matching piece III, scanned by an explorer 124, which is connected to a check processor 126. for secret key systems, that is, In systems where the digital symbol is encrypted using a secret key, a cryptographic coprocessor 128 can be coupled to the verification processor 126. An encrypted key database 130 can be coupled to the verification processor 126. It should be recognized that the particular printing system and the system Verification is a matter of system design selection. For example, rather than employing a secret key system to generate the digital symbols, a public key system can be used to generate the digital symbol. Alternatively, several forms of encryption can be used in the system, for example, a digital standard curve elliptic data encryption signature and RSA. In addition, the form and format of the printed information can be substantially modified and used to benefit the aspects of the present invention. The key database 130 may not be required where the data marks include a digital certificate as set forth in the Proposed Specifications of U'SPS Information Base Marks and in U.S. Patent 4,853,961 issued August 1, 1989. for RELIABLE DOCUMENT CERTIFICATION SYSTEM. Reference is made to FIGURE 2. A matching piece 202 includes marks shown at 204 and a 2D barcode 206. The sender information is shown at 209 and the receiver address information at 210. An error correction code is displayed. to recreate the address information 210 is generated and printed on the matching piece 212. A bar half-bar code may be printed on the piece 214. The marks shown at 204 may include graphic information 216, information of the amount of the postage 218, the generating series of insurance symbol 220, the postal code of the origin, and the date of printing 224. Some or all of this information can be encrypted in the 2D bar code 206 as part of the digital symbol together with everything for of the error correction code 212. This digital symbol incorporating the information can be retrieved by subsequent scanning, to verify the authenticity of the marks 20 4. The bar half bar code 214 may be a post bar that includes any desired information to assist the scanning team in the postal services in the writing process. This information can be the complete shipping code to the 11-digit destination point (5-digit postal code plus 4-digit plus 2-digit code) as used in the United States Postal Service or parts of the information. address, such as the destination code of the receiving Post Office. It should be noted that the piece of correspondence has printed on it two different forms of bar code as well as other information to make the system more robust. Certain address block structure information 226 may also be included on the mailpiece. This address block structure information may include the coordinates of the address block, composition of the address block in terms of the number of lines, number of words and number of characters in each line, the identity of the print used to print the address, etc. Such information shown in diagram at 226, in conjunction with an adequate error correction code 212 helps greatly improve the processing of the address computer, and can reduce or eliminate unrecoverable errors, particularly in the mail-controlled printing environment. computer. It should be stated that not only the correction code 212 can be included in the digital symbol transformation process, but additionally this additional information 226 can advantageously be included as part of the digital symbol. It should be recognized that the formatting information 226 is very important in increasing the information provided by the error correction code to allow the recreation of the address information. An example would be the scanning process where two adjacent characters or numbers are mistakenly constructed as being a single letter such as the sequence of letters IV interpreted as "N". In such a case, the error correction could not be sufficient to recreate the correct address information. However, along with the formatting information, such recovery can be facilitated. It should be recognized that the trademark program based on information from the United States Postal Service in its specification, employs the shipping point destination code to be used in the digital symbol transformation process, the current, more universal and more secure systems they are not based on a particular address scheme, such as using postal code information and are also specific to the specific address or recipient of the piece of mail. This further enhances the protection against a duplicate attack in the system where duplicate correspondence pieces enter the mail stream.

An implementation for address structure information 226 is shown in the first seven digits "4343411" above the address. The first digit '4' represents the distance in inches from the right end of the envelope to the left end of the address.The second digit "3" represents the distance in inches from the top of the envelope to the bottom of the address block. The third digit "4" is the number of lines in the address field The remaining four digits "3411" are each calculated from the number of characters and number of words in a line The first of these four digits "3" corresponds To the first line of the address, the code for a line is given by ((number of characters) mod3) + 3 (number of words) mod 3), where mod 3 is the remainder after dividing by 3. two values (number of characters) mod) and 3. ((number of words) mod 3) can be easily calculated from the code The first line "MS CD receiver" contains 4 words and 12 characters.The code is therefore " 3. "The other lines follow similarly. Box 12345"has four words and ten characters. The structure code for this line is therefore "4". The street address "456 Washington Street" has three words and nineteen characters as does the city state line. Therefore the last two lines correspond to "1." In this example, a character is either a letter or a number; Punctuation and spaces are not included as characters. Any sign separated by a space or punctuation is treated as a separate word. Many other implementations are possible, including counting the punctuation as characters, counting only the boundaries of words with spaces or including more detailed information about each word. We now refer to FIGURE 3. A mail piece 302 contains a sender address information 304 and receiver address information 306. It should be noted that the addresses included are addresses in the United Kingdom and France as opposed to addresses in the Figure 1, which refer to the United States. This is because the present invention is capable of being used with all the management schemes used in the world by the global postal services. A mark 308 includes several relevant information. A correspondence date is printed on 310 as well as the postage amount on 312. The amount shown is a Euro. Additionally, the serial number of the encryption, measurement or security device is printed in 314 as it is the postal code originating from the correspondence piece in 316. The digital symbol information is printed on the mailpiece at 318. The digital symbols can be single digital symbols such as 5 and 6, one associated with the vendor and one associated with the port services set forth in the patents noted above. The number l can be a manufacturer's designation and the number 0 an error detection code associated with the number of the measuring device. An error detection code for all marks may be provided at 310 and a serial part count associated with the measuring device at 322. A 2D 324 bar code is printed adjacent to the digital mark. The 2 D bar code may include the digital symbols 5 and 6 printed in alpha numerical form as part of the digital marks and also include an error correction code associated with the directed information 306 and similar to the information contained in the numeric code 212. Additionally the 2D bar code 324 may include the formatting information associated with the recipient information 306 and similar to the information contained in the numerical code 212. Additionally the bar code @D 324 may include the formatting information with the Recipient information 306 similar to the formatted information printed in numerical form at 226 as shown in Figure 2. Reference is now made to Figure 4, which >; includes information similar to that shown in Fig. 3 . Corresponding numbers show corresponding elements in Figure 4. The 2D bar code 424, however, is printed adjacent to the recipient information 406. When printing the 2D barcode 424, as shown in Figure 4, a marking is provided. for the scan team to locate the area that contains the recipient's information. This is particularly important since the pieces of correspondence come in various sizes and shapes and the recipient's information is printed in many different places and forms and in formats and styles. In addition, since many other extra information may be printed on the piece such as "express delivery" "open immediately" "air mail", the provision of a base mark such as 2D barcode 424 provides the necessary information, including information of formatted and the error correction code, the state of the value in the piece of correspondence is saved, as opposed to having the 2D barcode in another place with a different form of identification of the base mark recipient printed on the piece. Reference is now made to Figure 5. A mail piece 502 includes sender information 504 and recipient information 506. The particular mark put on the piece in Figure 5 is divided between the humanly readable portion and a bar code portion. 2D The human portion 508 includes the mail data printed at 510, the postage amount at 516. The serial number of the measuring device 514 and the postal code of the sender at 516. A 2D bar code 524 includes the digital symbol as well as the structure information shown at 226 in Figure 2. All this information together with various encrypted information authenticating the mailpiece as postage paid is printed in the 2D bar code 524. The 2D bar codes shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4 are of the Datamatrix 2D code type. The 2D bar code shown in Figure 5 is a barcode type PDF 417. The marks printed on the piece 5 can be a public key encryption scheme based on digital marks that is printed in the PDF 417 format shown at 524. As is aprently for the four previous formats of the pieces shown in Figures 2-5 various forms and organizations of the present invention employing error correction code and / or format information as part of the encryption of the recipient information, in the digital symbols, may be employed. Reference is now made to FIGURE 6. The shipping address information and the corresponding parameters of the piece rate are entered into the processing system 104 of FIGURE 1 at 602. The address structure information and the correction of error for the address is computed in 604. The digital symbol is then computed in 606. The digital symbol can be of the type that encrypts the date of the calendar, the data of the postage rate, the serial number of the measuring device, the registration ascending, and the original zip code. The specific information and the type of digital symbol transformation as well as the particular encryption algorithm employed may vary depending on the design system chosen. The digital symbol also employs the correction code and / or the address structure as input computed in step 604. The sending address csn the error correction code and the address structure information is printed on the matching piece at 608. It should be noted that if the format used is as shown in FIGURE 2, the information at 608 is printed as part of the address block. However, the information can be printed in different ways and in different places as shown in FIGURES 3-5. The digital marks, including the digital symbol, are printed in 610. Optionally, it can be add a slogan or slogan at that time. Reference is now made to FIGURE 7 which shows the operation in the verification facility. The face of the correspondence piece is scanned and the image is obtained and digitized at 702. The encrypted address structure information and the error correction code are determined from the digitized image at 704. The address structure information and the The error correction code is decoded and interpreted in 706. The address block is located and divided into 708 in preparation for further processing. The following processing includes the recognition of the optical character that is operated in 710. A determination is made in 712 if the address structure and error correction is decodable. If the address structure and the error correction code is not decodable, the address structure and the correction code are reconstructed from the OCR output at 714. This step provides the extra utility of ensuring that a large number of matching pieces will be verifiable despite the inability to decode the address structure and the information of the error correction code. As noted, the code and / or structure information are included in the digital symbol transformation to generate the digital symbol printed on the matching piece. Without this information, the brand of the piece can not be verified to determine its authenticity and postage payment. Therefore, the ability of the process to reconstruct the address structure and the code from the OCR output provides an improvement and greater resistance to the process, which is not found in other systems. After the address structure and the correction code are reconstructed from the OCR output, a determination is made that the correct address block has been obtained at 716. This block has direct access from block 712 if the address format and the correction code were decodable. Another determination is made in 718 about whether the mail is enviable. If the mail is not enviable, this is an incomplete address or a non-recoverable address, the piece is rejected in 720. If the piece is not enviable, the marks are found and interpreted in 722. Additionally and optionally if the correction code of error is in the same mark in undeciphered form as may be the case in connection with FIGURES 3-5, the error correction code is obtained from the mark in 724 or from the 2D barcode, such as the case. A determination can be made in decision block 726 if the piece data is consistent. This can be for example an analysis to determine the consistency between the address structure information and the error correction information obtained at 706. The address block information obtained at 710, the mark information obtained at 722 and optionally, could be the case, the correction code information obtained in 724, are all, or some part, consistent. This consistency check can also include the verification of the digital symbol, as it is an authentic digital symbol for the sample number of the tested pieces that can be from a very simple sample to essentially 100% of the pieces of correspondence, depending on the level of security and verification that is needed for the design of the system. If the pieces are determined to be consistent, the pieces are selected and sent in 728. If, on the other hand, the piece's data is not consistent, an investigation of the piece is done in 730. An alternative mode of the system for a printed document It is a "certification code and helps in reading a document". A bar code can contain "the certification code and help in reading a document". this bar code can use an internal error correction code, ensuring a possible reading. The code can consist of some or all of the following: 1) format information indicating the number of pages and lines per page; 2) format information that indicates the number of words and characters in each line; 3) other format information, such as general geometric description of the page, paragraph format, typeface, etc; 4) an indication of which parts of the document (for example, which lines) are included in the error correction code; 5) an error correction code for the indicated parts. The level of error correction may be different for different parts of the document. 6) a cryptographic digital signature computed using the error correction code and the format information. The error correction code can be strong enough to make the problem of finding other usable document contents with the identical code untreatable. As an extreme example, the error correction code can be strong enough to reconstruct the entire document, the indicated parts. The level of error correction may be different for different parts of the document. A simple error detection code can be used for some lines, some selected critical lines, at the signature's discretion, using a code that allows the reconstruction of selected lines. Even the error detector code, combined with the format information, provides valuable help for character recognition. This information helps with dividing a line into words and characters, and provides a measure that allows for exact decisions where the OCR output is uncertain. The cryptographic signature provides assurance that the source of the document is authentic and that the document has not been changed. There are several advantages to generating the cryptographic signature using error correction code and format information. If any part of the document can not be completely reconstructed, the signature can still be verified, if the majority of the reading help code matches or matches the legible part of the document then the signature provides a selectable level, by which it signs, of security. When verifying an associated signature, the different grades with the entire document, the reader is assured that the part of the document with a strong error correction is actually part of the total document. There is a major difficulty when verifying a digital signature based on a shredded mixture. Each part of the entry must be read in exactly the same way for the signature to be verified. Although this is quite possible for a document in digital form, it is much more difficult for a printed document. Although the present invention has been presented and described with reference to a single embodiment thereof, it is clear that many modifications and variations can be made, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (21)

1. CLAIMS 1. - A method to generate information evidencing the postage consisting of the steps of: a) generating an error correction code for at least a portion of the destination address; and b) generate a digital symbol that uses the error correction code.
2. 2. - A method to verify the information evidencing the postage printed on a correspondence piece, consisting of the steps of: a) obtaining an error correction code printed on a correspondence piece, and b) using the correction code of error obtained to verify the validity of the information evidencing the postage.
3. 3. - A method to verify the information evidencing the postage printed on a piece of correspondence, consisting of the steps of: a) obtaining an error correction code printed on a piece of correspondence, b) determining that the code of error correction obtained is imprecise; c) obtain the information used to generate the error correction code imprecise d) generate an error correction code from the information obtained; and e) use the error correction code obtained to verify the validity of the information evidencing the postage.
4. 4. - A method for verifying the information evidencing the postage printed on a piece of correspondence, consisting of the steps of: a) obtaining an error correction code printed on a piece of correspondence for other information printed on a piece of mail correspondence, b) determine that the error correction code obtained is inaccurate; c) obtain the information used to generate the error correction code imprecise d) try to regenerate the error correction code from the information obtained; and e) determining that the error correction code obtained is inaccurate; f) using the error correction code obtained and the other information obtained to regenerate a correct error correction code for the other information; and g) employing the regenerated error correction code to verify the validity of the information evidencing the postage.
5. 5. A method to verify the information evidencing the postage printed on a piece of correspondence, which consists of the steps of: a) obtaining an error correction code from at least a portion of the recipient's information printed on a piece of correspondence, and b) use the error correction code generated to verify the validity of the information evidencing the postage.
6. 6. - A method for generating a piece of mail consisting of the steps of: a) generating an error correction code for at least a portion of the destination address; b) generating an address structure information for the destination address and c) printing the error correction code and information about the structure on the mailpiece.
7. 7. - A method according to claim 6 further comprising the step of printing the destination address on the matching piece.
8. 8. - A method according to claim 6 in which the error correction code and the address structure information are printed on the matching piece in a bar code format.
9. 9. - A method according to claim 6 in which the information of the address structure includes at least one of the following: the number of characters in a line, coordinates of the piece of correspondence of the block and address in the piece of correspondence, type of letter, number of lines in the line, number of words in each line and total number of characters in the address block.
10. 10. - A method to verify the information evidencing the postage printed on a piece of correspondence, consisting of the steps of: a) obtaining an error correction code printed on at least a portion of the destination address; b) determine that the error correction code obtained is inaccurate; c) obtain the information used to generate the error correction code imprecise d) regenerate an error correction code from the other information obtained; and e) use the error correction code obtained to verify the validity of the information evidencing the postage.
11. 11. A method to generate information evidencing the postage consisting of the steps of: a) generating an error correction code for at least a portion of the destination address; b) generating an address structure information for the destination address; c) printing the error correction code and information on the structure of the address on the correspondence piece; and d) generating a digital symbol employing the error correction code and the address structure information.
12. 12. - A method according to claim 11 further comprising the step of printing the destination address on the matching piece.
13. 13. - A method according to claim 11 in which the error correction code and the address structure information are printed on the matching piece in a bar code format.
14. 14. - A method according to claim 11 in which the information of the address structure includes at least one of the following: the characters in a line, coordinates of the piece of correspondence of the block and address in the piece of correspondence , type of letter, number of lines in the line and number of words in each line and total number of characters in the address block.
15. 15. - A method for generating certification and information on data integrity that includes the steps of: a) generating an error correction code for the information in a document; and b) generate a digital symbol that used the error correction code.
16. 16. - A method to verify certification and information on the integrity of the information printed in a document that includes the steps of: a) generating an error correction code printed in that document and b) using the error correction code obtained for Verify the validity of the evidence information.
17. 17. A method for generating certification and information on integrity that includes the steps of: a) generating an error correction code printed in that document b) generating document structure information for the information printed in the document; c) print the error correction code and information about the structure of the document on the document; and d) generating a digital symbol employing the error correction code and the address structure information.
18. 18. - A method according to claim 17 wherein the structure of the document information includes at least one among: the number of characters in a line, typeface, number of lines in the destination address, number of words in each line and total number of characters in the document.
19. 19. A method for facilitating the reading of the information about the destination address in a correspondence piece comprising the steps of: a) generating an address structure information for the destination address; and b) print the information about the address structure in the correspondence piece.
20. 20. A method according to claim 19 in which the address structure information is printed on the matching piece in a bar code format.
21. 21. A method according to claim 20 in which the information of the address structure includes at least one of the following: the number of characters in a line, font type, number of lines in the destination address and number of words in each line and total number of characters in the document. A method to generate evidence information for a document includes generating an error correction code and generating a digital symbol that used the error correction code. A method for verifying the certification of integrity information printed on a piece of mail includes obtaining an error correction code printed on the document and using the error correction code obtained to verify the validity of the evidence information. A method for verifying the evidence information printed on a piece of mail includes obtaining a correction code printed on a mail piece and determining that the error correction code obtained is inaccurate., the information used to generate the inaccurate error correction code is obtained and a correction code is generated from the information obtained. The generated error correction code is used to verify the validity of the evidence information. The document may be a piece of correspondence and the evidence information, evidence of postage evidence with the error correction code is for at least a portion of the destination address information.