摘要:
A postage meter accounting system is provided having a user terminal which interfaces with and controls an electronic postage meter. The user terminal is also connected to an integrated circuit card read-write unit for receiving user, administrator, service and/or program integrated circuit cards. The user terminal activates and permits use of the meter upon presentation of a valid user card, storages postage meter use information and transmits the postage meter use information to the user card for storage in a user card transaction table. The postage meter use information stored in the user terminal and in user card memory may be accessed for later reference on a user terminal display and/or printer. Preferably, an administrative computer is provided for periodically receiving all postage meter use information from the user cards or, alternatively, directly from the user terminal to generate one or more postage meter use accounting reports. The administrator card permits access to and revision of user card memory, postage meter use information and owner-variable user terminal application program information. The service card permits access to and revision of administrator card memory and all user terminal application program information. Program cards facilitate application program loading and revision.
摘要:
The postage meter terminal has the ability to telecommunicate with a remote central computer for the principal purpose of remotely resetting the funding registers of the postage meter terminal. During the telecommunication and subsequent to completing meter recharge, the postage meter terminal can be remotely inspected by the central computer. The terminal includes a microprocessor control system which is programmed to generating inspection data and store that data in a memory unit. The microprocessor control system also includes a random number generator for generating a random number within a limited range. Each number within the range of random number selections corresponds to a respective scrambling technique executable by the microprocessor system. The method of remote inspection is carried out by the microprocessor control system storing desired inspection data in the terminal memory unit generating a random number and then creating a data word of the inspection data and the random number. The data word is then partitioned into a first and second partition. The first partition of the data word including the random number selection at a predetermined bit location within the first data word portion. The second partition of the data word is scrambled pursuant to the scrambling techniques which corresponds to the random number. The data word may then be encrypted utilizing the encryption key which was generated during the remote reset process and communicating the data to the central computer via the communication port. The central computer can then decrypt the encrypted data word since it is aware of the encryption key used to complete the remote meter reset. The central computer then retrieves the random number and descrambles the second portion of the data work according. The central computer is thereby informed of the inspection data for that particular postage meter terminal.
摘要:
A postage system includes a data center, a population of postage metering systems and a control system that is in operative communication with the data center and the population of postage metering systems. The population of postage metering systems are located remote from the data center and are geographically distributed. The control system receives an incoming telephone call at one postage metering system of the population of postage metering system, stores a voice message associated with the telephone call and retrieves the voice message from another postage metering system of the population of postage metering systems.
摘要:
An integral conduit section of a multiple conduit system includes an outer housing having a straight coupling portion at one end and a belled coupling portion at the other end, a plurality of innerducts disposed in a parallel manner within the outer housing, one or more spacers for parallely positioning said innerducts in the outer housing, and a three-piece innerduct coupler disposed within the belled portion of the outer housing and engaged with the trailing ends of a plurality of innerducts, being linearly interconnectable with like conduit sections. The innerduct coupler includes a guide for facilitating entry of the plurality of innerducts of an adjacent conduit section into a like section; a seal that creates an air and water tight seal between the adjacent innerducts when like sections are interconnected, without the need for cement or sealing lubricants; and a seating component that terminally positions the innerducts in the innerduct coupler upon the interconnection of like integral conduit sections.
摘要:
A process for installing a liner in a generally horizontal pipe section includes the steps of: providing a hollow generally cylindrical folded pipe liner having a reduced cross section sized to allow the liner to be slidably drawn into the pipe section from an upstream end to a downstream end; pulling the folded liner through the pipe section leaving end sections of the liner extending from the upstream end and the downstream end of the pipe; snaking a pull wire through the liner; pulling an air hose and a steam hose through the folded liner from the downstream end to the upstream end; providing a floating plug assembly including at least two disk shaped expanders; attaching the steam hose to the floating plug assembly downstream of the disk shaped expanders; attaching the air hose to the floating plug assembly upstream of the disk shaped expanders; inserting the floating plug assembly into the liner at the upstream end; and providing steam to the steam hose and cooling air to the air hose, while pulling the floating plug assembly through the liner to progressively heat the liner to a softening point downstream of the disk shaped expanders, and expand the liner to fill the pipe and cool the expanding liner upstream of the disk shaped expanders.
摘要:
A postage meter includes a vault that accounts for postage dispensed by the postage meter; and a printhead module having a printhead for printing the postage dispensed; a smart card chip having a ROM having software code stored therein; an EEPROM having an encrypted key and executable code stored therein, a CPU; a RAM; and a flash memory having an encrypted pointer data file stored therein. During power-up of the postage meter the encrypted pointer data file is read from the flash memory into the RAM by the CPU, the CPU uses the executable code to decrypt the encrypted pointer data file to obtain from the software code components parts of a decryption key and to assemble in the ram the decryption key from the component parts, the CPU uses the assembled decryption key and the executable code to decrypt the encrypted cryptographic key, and the CPU stores the decrypted cryptographic key in a secure area of the EEPROM, erases the decryption key and the encrypted pointer data file from the RAM, erases the encrypted cryptographic key and executable code from the EEPROM, and erases the pointer data file from the flash memory.
摘要:
A method for printing a postal indicia on a mailpiece includes moving a printing mechanism and the mailpiece relative to each other during a plurality of passes; and printing with the printing mechanism at least a corresponding portion of the postal indicia during each of the plurality of passes, each of the corresponding portions being in overlapped relationship to the other corresponding portions so that the combined effect of the corresponding overlapped portions is a postal indicia which is detectable by a facer/canceler machine as a valid postal indicia. Furthermore, during no more than one of the plurality of passes is its corresponding portion of the postal indicia detectable by the facer/canceler machine as the valid postal indicia. An apparatus incorporates the above method.
摘要:
A method for installing a pipe liner in a pipe includes the steps of reducing the diameter of the liner, so that it can be positioned within the pipe, installing the liner in the pipe, enlarging an upstream end of the liner, disposing a liner expander within the upstream end of the liner, pressurizing the upstream end of the liner with a heated fluid, the temperature of the heated fluid being sufficient to soften the liner, and the pressure of the heated fluid being sufficient to propel the liner expander from the upstream end of the liner to a downstream end, allowing a portion of the heated fluid to bypass the liner expander for heating and softening the liner ahead of the expander, and reducing the temperature of the pressurizing fluid to cool the liner below the softening temperature, to allow it to stiffen and form a liner within the pipe.
摘要:
A method and apparatus for generating cryptographic keys for a postal manifest and for synchronizing cryptographic keys for transmitting postal data securely on a communication link is presented. The techniques for generating a key and for synchronizing keys use the same apparatus but use slightly different data to create a cryptographic key.The postal data center maintains a unique set of data for each server station. Using this set of data along with a manifest sequence number (or communication transaction number) and the date, a cryptographic key is created. Each server station stores a fixed master key, KO, a permutation table, Pt, and ID, and GMT date. Using the manifest sequence number (or the communication transaction number) a row of the permutation table is altered and the master key KO is scrambled with the permutation table top get a new key K2. With K2, the date, server ID, and manifest sequence number (our communication transaction number) are encrypted. The result of this encryption yields another key K3. K3 is then used for encrypting the postal manifest or for communicating with a postal data center.
摘要:
System and method for securely backing up and reliably retrieving vault data in a metering system that includes a host processor operatively coupled to a vault. Whenever a transaction is completed by the vault, the vault cryptographically signs the vault data, including ascending register, descending register and piece count and sends the cryptographically signed vault data to the host processor where it is stored in a data file assigned to the vault. Each storage of the cryptographically signed vault data is indexed to create a historical log of vault transactions. If the vault is lost or damaged so that vault data cannot be retrieved from the vault, the cryptographically signed vault data is retrieved from the host processor data file and verified.