BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings illustrate presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. As shown throughout the drawings, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts.
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a mail processing system according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing certain components of the mail processing system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of printing evidence of postage payment that includes a two dimensional barcode that detects and prevents duplicate printing of the evidence of postage payment
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring to FIG. 1, an isometric view of a mail processing system 10, such as a mailing machine, according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Mail processing system 10 comprises a base unit, designated generally by the reference numeral 12, the base unit 12 having a mail piece input end, designated generally by the reference numeral 14, and a mail piece output end, designated generally by the reference numeral 16. A User Interface Controller (UIC) 18 is fixedly mounted on the base unit 12, and includes one or more input/output devices, such as, for example, a keyboard 20 and a display device 22. One or more cover members 24 are pivotally mounted on the base 12 so as to move from the closed position shown in FIG. 1 to an open position (not shown) so as to expose various operating components and parts for service and/or repair as needed.
The base unit 12 further includes a horizontal feed deck 30 that extends substantially from the input end 14 to the output end 16. A plurality of nudger rollers 32 are suitably mounted under the feed deck 30 and project upwardly through openings in the feed deck so that the periphery of the rollers 32 is slightly above the upper surface of the feed deck 30 and can exert a forward feeding force on a succession of mail pieces placed in the input end 14. A vertical wall 34 defines a mail piece stacking location from which the mail pieces are fed by the nudger rollers 32 along the feed deck 30 and into a transport mechanism (not shown) that transports the mail pieces in a downstream path of travel, as indicated by arrow A, through one or more modules, such as, for example, a separator module and moistening/sealing module. Each of these modules is located generally in the area indicated by reference numeral 36. The mail pieces are then passed to a metering/printing module (including print head controller 44 and ink jet print head 46 shown in FIG. 2) located generally in the area indicated by reference numeral 38, and exit the mailing processing system 10 at the output end 16.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing certain components of the mail processing system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As seen in FIG. 2, the mail processing system 10 includes a micro control system 42 which may be of any suitable combination of microprocessors, firmware and software. The micro control system 42 includes a print head controller 44 having a suitable processor and memory which is in operative communication with ink jet print head 46, an accounting module 48 (e.g., a postage meter or postal security device (PSD)) for tracking and managing postal funds, a microprocessor 50, and a memory 52. Print head controller 44 and accounting module 48 can optionally be separate microprocessor systems that include operating systems, memory, and other peripherals. Ink jet print head 46 may be any type of ink jet print head (e.g., thermal (bubble) ink jet or piezoelectric ink jet). Additionally, the micro control system 42 is in operative communication with an encoder system 54 for receiving signals indicating an appropriate change of state of the encoder system 54. These signals are used by the print head controller 44 to generate and control the timing of firing pulses for ink jet print head 46. In response to the firing pulses, selected nozzles are activated, thereby ejecting ink (each firing pulse in conjunction with a selected nozzle will cause the ejection of a corresponding drop of ink from that nozzle). Those skilled in the art will recognize that the various components of the micro control system 42 are in operative communication with each other over conventional communication lines, such as a communication bus.
As described elsewhere herein, many postal services around the world provide for the use of Digital Postage Marks that include two dimensional barcodes having various types of information included therein, including encrypted information that may be used for later authentication of the DPM printed on the mailpiece. The mail processing system 10 described above may be used to print such DPMs using the print head controller 44 and the ink jet print head 46. As will be appreciated, the barcode information for each DPM that is printed will be different due to the nature and inherent variability of the data elements included in the barcode (e.g., the postage value, ascending register value, and addressee information) and due to the randomness that is included in the generation of the encrypted information that is included in the barcode, typically in the form of a digital signature. Thus, the number of and position of the darkened (e.g., black) and light (e.g., white) modules of each two dimensional barcode forming a part of a printed DPM will be different. In addition, it is common practice to dither the number of pixels in the module of a two dimensional barcode such that the number of pixels used in each darkened module is variable throughout the barcode, based on the adjacency of the dark module to a light module. Typically, this dithering is performed along the direction of the media movement to optimize several characteristics of the quality of the printed image such as print growth on the media and the control of misty spots.
Thus, due to the variability of the information included in the barcodes and/or the dithering, if employed, each barcode generated as part of a DPM by the mail processing system 10 will employ or include a different number of pixels (relative to the other barcodes generated by the mail processing system 10). Furthermore, because each pixel corresponds to a drop of ink emitted by the print head 46, each DPM will have a different ink drop count. As described in greater detail below, this ink drop count variability is used to detect and prevent duplicate printing and/or use of DPMs in the mail processing system 10.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of printing evidence of postage payment that includes a two dimensional barcode that detects and prevents duplicate printing of the evidence of postage payment. As will be appreciated, the method steps described herein may be implemented in one or more routines stored in the memory 52 and executed by the print head controller 44 and/or microprocessor 50. As is known, when a DPM is to be printed by the mail processing system 10, image data commonly referred to as a nozzle map is generated in advance, typically by any one of the microprocessor 50, print head controller 44, or accounting module 48, or any combination thereof. The nozzle map is sent to the print head controller and is used thereby to cause the print head 46 to print the specified image, i.e., the specified DPM. Each nozzle map includes data that identifies each firing pulse, and the timing thereof, that is necessary to properly print the corresponding DPM. Each nozzle map will thus include data that identifies each pixel as dark or light and the timing and position thereof to properly print the corresponding DPM. Each nozzle map will thus include data that identifies each pixel characteristic required to print the two dimensional barcode forming a part of the DPM. As described above, the nozzle map data will therefore include data that specifies the number of drops of ink that will be used in printing the DPM and in particular the two dimensional barcode. As described below, that ink drop count is used in a method to detect and prevent fraud. In addition, according to an aspect of this embodiment of the present invention, the memory 52, or alternatively some other internal or external memory associated with the print head controller 44, stores data identifying the ink drop count used to print a predetermined number of previous DPM printed by the mail processing system, which, as described below, are used in the method of detecting and preventing fraud described herein.
Referring to FIG. 3, the method begins at step 100, wherein the print head controller 44 receives image data for a DPM that is to be printed on a mailpiece (either directly or on a label to be attached to the mailpiece). At step 105, the drop count, i.e., the number of dark pixels and thus the number of drops of ink, for a defined portion or zone of the DPM to be printed is determined from the image data. The defined zone of the DPM that is used is determined in advance and may be any of a number of different portions or zones, including, without limitation, the entire two dimensional barcode, a selected portion of the barcode, the entire DPM (including human readable portions) a selected portion of the human readable portion of the DPM (possibly including an image such as an eagle or the like), or all or a selected portion of the barcode along with all or a selected portion of the remainder of the DPM. In the preferred embodiment, the defined zone of the DPM that is used includes at least a portion of the two dimensional barcode to take advantage of the drop count variability discussed elsewhere herein. However, it should be understood that the human readable portions of the DPMs will also include variability as a result of the changes in certain of the information included therein (e.g., postage amount, addressee information, etc.).
Next, at step 110, the drop count data for the defined zone of a predetermined number of DPM printed before the current DPM (e.g., without limitation, the last ten DPMs printed before the current DPM) is obtained from storage. At step 115, a determination is made as to whether the drop count determined at step 105 is equal to any of the drop counts obtained from storage in step 110. If the answer at step 115 is yes, then that is an indication of possible duplication fraud due to the fact that it is highly unlikely that the defined zones of any of the DPMs in question (especially if the zones include at least a portion of the barcode) will include the exact same number of ink drops. As a result, if the answer at step 115 is yes, then, at step 120, one or more fraud prevention actions are initiated. Such actions may include, without limitation, shutting down or locking out the mail processing system 10 and/or sending an electronic message to the party that administers the use of the mail processing system 10 and/or the purchase of postal funds for the mail processing system 10.
If the answer at step 115 is no, meaning that no drop count match was detected, then, at step 125, the DPM is printed. Specifically, the print head controller 44, based on the image data it received, sends appropriately timed firing pulses to the print head 46 to cause the print head 46 to print the DPM onto a mailpiece or a label to be applied to a mailpiece. Next, at step 130, the stored drop count data is updated to include the drop count data for the DPM just printed. Preferably, step 130 involves adding the drop count data for the DPM just printed and deleting the drop count data for the “oldest” DPM being stored (i.e., the DPM having the earliest time of printing of the stored DPMs).
In an alternative embodiment, the image data received in step 100 and printed in step 125 may include data for printing, in human readable or encoded human readable form (e.g., as part of the printed barcode), the drop count data for the defined zone of the DPM. As will be appreciated, the printed drop count data may later be used by a third party, such as a postal service, when examining a batch of mailpieces to determine wither duplication fraud may have been committed. Specifically, when examining a batch of mailpieces processed by a system such as the mail processing system 10, if the third party sees duplicate drop count numbers, that party will be alerted to possible fraud and can therefore take appropriate action.
According to still another alternative embodiment, the defined zone used in the method shown in FIG. 3 for the mail processing machine 10 may be changed from one power up session to another power up session. For example, the defined zone could include columns 1 through 250 of the two dimensional barcode of the DPM to be printed for one session and columns 251-500 of the two dimensional barcode for another session, and so on. In addition, as a further alternative, a preset number of such defined zones may be established for the mailing machine 10, the particular one of those defined zones that is used in any power up session may be selected based on a particular characteristic of the mail processing system 10. For example, the defined zone could be changed to one of ten preset zones based on the last digit of the ascending register of the mail processing system 10 at power up. As will be appreciated, any time that the defined zone is so changed, the stored drop count data should be reset to avoid errors. As another alternative, the defined zone used in the method shown in FIG. 3 may be changed after a predetermined time period has expired after power up, such as for example, after some number of hours. As another alternative, the defined zone used in the method shown in FIG. 3 may be changed after a predetermined number of indicia have been printed, such as, for example, 500, 1000, etc. As another alternative, the defined zone used in the method shown in FIG. 3 may be changed after a predetermined number of maintenance operations have been performed on the print head 46, such as, for example, after some predetermined number of cappings, wipings or spittings.
While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of the invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Additions, deletions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be considered as limited by the foregoing description but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080033891
