KR101090437B1 - Electronic postmark processing method and mail verification method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic postmark processing method and a postal mail verification method.

In the method of verifying a plurality of mails, a manufacturer producing a plurality of mails obtains an electronic stamp of a mail received from the outside, extracts the prefix information of the electronic stamp, and retrieves information related to the prefix information extracted through the management server. do. Next, the sender is verified by comparing the result of hashing the electronic postmark of the postal mail using a random bit and the hash included in the electronic postmark, and comparing the publication information of the postal mail inquiring based on the physical mail information and the prefix information of the postal mail, Validate posts based on comparison results.

In addition, the method of processing the electronic stamp of a plurality of postal items is assigned to the prefix based on the expected number of receipts of the postal mail for each mail, by adding the serial number managed by the manufacturer to the prefix Create Also, the generated electronic stamp is attached to the mail.

As a result, it is possible to detect and prevent unauthorized use of electronic postmarks such as random generation of electronic postmarks and theft and reuse of electronic postmarks by third parties when issuing electronic postmarks and producing mails.

 Postmark, Mail, Prefix, Serial Number

Description

Method for processing electronic indicia and method for verifying mail}

The present invention relates to an electronic postmark processing method and a postal mail verification method. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for processing an issuance and verification procedure of an electronic postmark for the production / reception of a mail and a method for verifying a mail.

The present invention is derived from a study conducted as part of the postal technology R & D project of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Ministry of Information and Communication Research and Development. [Task management number: 2006-X-001-03, Task name: Real-time postal logistics element technology development].

In the current mass mailing system, when a manufacturer receives a mail from a central office or a general office, the same weight mail is accepted because the weight of individual mail is divided by the total mail weight, and the weight of the mail is calculated. There is this.

However, this same weight acceptance principle does not reflect the manufacturing service characteristics of bulk mail. Since the mass mailer manages the production information through the system, it is possible to produce mails of various weights at once. Therefore, if a mix of mails of different weights is possible, the mailing ratio can be reduced by increasing the line sorting ratio.

Indeed, the Postal Service provides additional discount benefits to the user if the user takes action to reduce or automate the sorting work of the central office. However, due to the principle of equal weight acceptance, it is rare that the classification reduction requirements are met.

Therefore, if the quantity of the mail can be confirmed in advance, it can be free from the principle of receiving the same weight, and as a result, the efficiency of internal work can be brought about by increasing the line classification ratio.

Since the manufacturer manages the composition information of individual mails, mails with various weights can be produced at once. However, according to the principle of receiving mail of the same weight mail, the manufacturing company divides the work of preparing the mail at several times, and thus, additional mail is required to be assigned a unique code. In addition, in a large number of postal production departments, it is necessary to manage a plurality of objects by distributing unique codes, that is, serial numbers. It is also important to manage this serial number so that it is not duplicated in many mails.

Manufacturers need to take countermeasures against the risks of intercepting electronic postmarks containing serial numbers by third parties other than the manufacturer, or the risk of fraudulent use of third party electronics, and fraudulent use of third party electronic postmarks. Do.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide an electronic postmark processing method and a postal mail verification method capable of issuing and managing electronic postmarks and detecting and preventing fraudulent use of electronic postmarks.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for processing electronic stamps of a plurality of mails in a manufacturer producing a plurality of mails includes a prefix corresponding to the manufacturer based on an expected number of mails received for each mail. Allocating a step, adding the serial number managed by the manufacturer to the prefix, generating an electronic stamp and assigning the electronic stamp to the mail.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a management server for managing an electronic postmark, the method for verifying a postal mail containing the electronic postmark, the step of obtaining the electronic postmark of the mail received from the outside, the prefix of the electronic postmark Extracting information, retrieving information related to the extracted prefix information through the management server, comparing a result of hashing a random bit of the postal mail with a result of hashing the information of the electronic postmark; Comparing the publication information of the inquired mail item based on the real mail information and the prefix information, and verifying that the mail item is legitimate based on the comparison results.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, when issuing an electronic postmark and producing a postal mail, it is possible to guarantee the uniqueness of serial numbers managed in a distributed manner and to prevent duplicate issuance. In addition, it is possible to detect and prevent unauthorized use of electronic stamps such as random generation of electronic stamps, theft and reuse of electronic stamps by third parties.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, it means that it can further include other components, without excluding other components unless specifically stated otherwise. In addition, the terms “… unit”, “… unit”, “module”, etc. described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software. have.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings for the electronic postmark processing method and the postal verification security according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

Next, the entire mail processing structure to which the electronic stamp processing system is applied will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

1 is a view showing a whole mail processing structure to which the electronic stamp processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the overall mail processing structure includes a dispatcher 10, a plurality of mail producers 20, a postal service headquarter 30, and a central office 40.

The dispatcher 10 includes a customer management system 110, and the plurality of mail makers 20 includes a plurality of electronic stamp processing systems 210 and a plurality of mail production apparatuses for managing electronic stamp generation and production information. 220 each). In addition, the postal service headquarters 30 includes an electronic postmark management system 330, the central office 40 includes a verification system (410).

The sender 10 and the manufacturer 20 enter into a contract with the central office 40 regarding payment of postage corresponding to the mail.

The manufacturer 20 may assign a serial number corresponding to the mails produced at the same time by the electronic postmark management system 330 of the Korea Post 30 based on the contract signed with the central office 40. Have proxy power

The electronic postmark management system 330 is assigned a prefix, which is an authority for issuing an electronic stamp, to the electronic postmark processing system 210. At this time, in order to be assigned a prefix, the electronic postmark management system 330 must receive a password to be used for the prefix.

Specifically, if the sender 10 wants to produce a large amount of mail, the customer management system 110 provides the production information to the plurality of mail producers (20).

Each manufacturer 20 stores the production information in its electronic postmark processing system 210 and requests the assignment of a prefix capable of generating a serial number through the electronic postmark management system 330.

The electronic postmark processing system 210 generates a mail unique number using a prefix, transmits production information to the mail production device 220, and collects the results of the mail production device 220 to collect the postmark management system 330. To transmit.

The mail production device 220 receives the information to produce a mail, and transmits the production result to the electronic stamp processing system 210.

The electronic postage management system 330 calculates a postage fee based on the production result, and transmits the result to the central office 40 verification system 410.

When the mail comes in to the central office 40, the charge, quantity, preemptive status, etc. of the corresponding case are inquired to the electronic postmark management system 330, compared with the real thing, and the result is reported to the electronic postmark management system 330. do.

The electronic stamp processing system 210 manages a serial number including an assigned prefix. When the prefix is not included, if the serial number is issued simultaneously by the electronic stamp processing system 210, the serial number may overlap.

To prevent duplication of serial numbers and to efficiently use the address space, there is a method of managing the address space by dividing it into a tree form. Specifically, the address space is effectively managed by allocating a relatively short prefix where a large number of serial numbers are required and by using a long prefix where a small serial number is required. In addition, the electronic stamp processing system 210 to which the prefix has been assigned is managed individually by the lower bits except for the prefix, or by adding a prefix different from the assigned prefix, Prefixes added can be delegated to electronic postmark processing systems included by other mail companies.

Next, the structure of the system for processing the electronic stamp including the serial number will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

2 is a view showing the structure of an electronic stamp processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic postmark processing system 210 includes a mail production server 211 and an electronic postmark generation server 212.

First, the electronic postmark management system 330 is managed by the postal service headquarters 30, and is responsible for the authentication work and prefix management work of the issued electronic postmark.

The mail production server 211 manages mail production information, receives an electronic stamp from the electronic stamp generation server 212, and produces a mail with an electronic stamp attached.

The electronic postage generation server 212 compares the contract information regarding the postage payment contract concluded with the sender 10 and the inquired contract information to determine whether they are the same, and assigns the prefix to the electronic postmark management system 330 according to the determination result. Ask.

The electronic stamp generation server 212 receives the assigned prefix, generates and manages the electronic stamp including the prefix. In addition, a random number (password) required for verification of the electronic stamp is generated, and a code is calculated based on this and included in the electronic stamp. The calculation method of the code required for verification uses a commonly known The Keyed-Hash Message Authentication Code (HMAC).

The electronic stamp generation server 212 receives the mail individual information (weight, address, postal code) and the like from the mail production server 211, and includes the result and the electronic stamp issuance results (electronic stamp, password), electronic stamp Send to management system 330.

The electronic postmark management system 330 allocates a prefix based on the expected number of mails received and manages the assigned prefix. It also receives and manages the result of issuing the electronic stamp of the prefix. Here, the publication result includes the electronic postmark, postal code, weight, volume, etc. of the postal matter, which is used as a basis for preventing the illegal use of the electronic postmark and calculating the charge.

Electronic stamp according to an embodiment of the present invention has a form that can be recognized by the machine character or bar code, information including a serial number and authentication code to identify the mail. The electronic stamp is specifically composed of a prefix, a serial number, and an authentication code.

Next, the electronic stamp processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention based on the electronic stamp processing system 210 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Hereinafter, a method of processing an electronic postmark by one mailing company among a plurality of mailing companies will be described.

3 is a view showing an electronic stamp processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the mail production server 211 transmits a request signal for preparing mail preparation to the electronic stamp generation server 212 (S101). At this time, the electronic postage generation server 212 receiving the production preparation request inquires the contract information of the mail stored in the electronic postage management system 330. Contract information for a postal item includes the weight of the postal item, postal code, address, recipient name, password, and the like.

First, the electronic postage generation server 212 compares the contract information about the postage payment contract concluded with the sender 10 and the inquired contract information to determine whether it is the same.

If the contract information is the same, the electronic postmark generation server 212 requests the prefix assignment while transmitting the prefix request signal and the randomly generated password to the electronic postmark management system 330 (S102).

When transmitting the prefix request signal, the electronic postmark generation server 212 transmits the expected number of receipts of mails, the production date, the scheduled reception time, and the like to the electronic postmark management system 330. Here, the scheduled time of receipt includes the meaning as an expiration date of the electronic postmark, and is used as a means of confirming whether the postal item is forged or tampered with.

The electronic postmark management system 330 allocates the prefix based on the expected number of receipts of the mail (S103).

The electronic postmark management system 330 determines the required number of bits based on the total amount of mail used throughout the year, and divides the class according to the nature of the task based on this. In addition, the prefix is managed by the electronic stamp issuance request of the electronic stamp generation server 212.

When the electronic stamp generating server 212 transmits the expected number of mails received, it calculates the required number of times by taking log2 and determines the appropriate class. For example, if you plan to send 10 million, log2 (10000000) = 23.25, so you need at least 24 bits. Therefore, the unique prefix of 10 bits starting with 01 belonging to Class 1 is transmitted to the electronic stamp generation server 212. Then, the electronic stamp generation server 212 stores the transmitted password. This password will be used later to generate the mail verification code.

The electronic postmark management system 330 manages the entire bit according to the total amount of mail. The total amount of mail used in a year is 4.9 billion (2007). Then, the electronic stamp management system 330 determines the number of bits of the serial number in consideration of the expected number of receipts of the mail and the time taken for the mail to be produced and delivered. For example, the serial number of the postal mail does not have a serial number that overlaps for one year when using 36 bits, as shown in Equation (1). Here, the time of one year is a time set on the assumption that sufficient time is required to generate, deliver and return mail.

The electronic postmark management system 330 determines the number of bits of the serial number as 36 bits based on the expected number of mails received. For example, the electronic postmark management system 330 assigns a prefix to a predetermined number of bits of the serial number bits having 36 bits. If the number of mails expected to be received is more than the default number of mails set, that is, where a lot of serial numbers are required, a short prefix with the smaller number of bits is allocated. In addition, if the expected number of mail items is smaller than the basic number of mail items, that is, where a serial number is required, a long prefix having a larger number of bits among 36 bits is allocated.

Next, the electronic postmark management system 330 transmits the assigned prefix while transmitting the prefix providing signal to the electronic postmark generation server 212 (S104).

When the electronic stamp generation server 212 receives the assigned prefix, it transmits a production preparation completion signal indicating that the preparation for preparation of the postal mail is completed to the postal preparation server 211 (S105).

The mail production server 211 provides the electronic postmark generation server 212 with information capable of knowing the characteristics of the mail and information that the mail producer 20 wants to include in the electronic stamp, and requests for issuance of the electronic stamp (S106). ). Here, the information that can know the characteristics of the mail includes the mailing address, the address of the mail, the weight, the customer's unique number, the production number of the mail. In addition, the information that the manufacturer 20 wants to include in the electronic stamp and the information to include in the electronic stamp may be different or the same.

The electronic stamp generation server 212 stores the information provided from the mail production server 211. In addition, the electronic stamp generation server 212 adds the result of the hash using a serial number and a random bit (the password generated in step S102) to the prefix, and replaces the position of each bit in a specific method, As a result, that is, the electronic postmark is transmitted to the mail production server 211 (S107). The mail production server 211 receiving the electronic stamp starts a procedure of producing a mail with the electronic stamp attached. An example of a hash using a key according to an embodiment of the present invention is HMAC-SHA1, but is not limited thereto.

The electronic postmark generation server 212 transmits electronic postmark issuance information to the electronic postmark management system 330 for later verification (S108). The electronic stamp issuing information includes the serial number and information that the manufacturer 20 wants to include in the electronic stamp. The electronic postmark generation server 212 collects a plurality of electronic postmark issuance information and transmits them at once or individually.

Hereinafter, a method of managing the serial number including the prefix assigned based on the expected number of mails received by the electronic stamp management system 330 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

4 is a diagram illustrating a serial number including a prefix according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the electronic postmark processing system 210 determines the number of bits of the serial number of a postal item that can be unique for a certain period in consideration of the volume of the entire postal item and the production, reception, sorting, delivery, and return periods. The number of bits of the serial number of the mail according to the embodiment of the present invention is 36 bits, but is not limited thereto.

When the number of bits of the serial number is determined, the electronic stamp processing system 210 classifies one serial number having a predetermined number of bits into predetermined segments. In this case, the type of mail, the purpose of the work, etc. are considered, and the length of each segment may be the same or different.

 As shown in FIG. 4, one serial number according to an embodiment of the present invention includes (N + 1) classes, each class consisting of (N + 2) equal length segments. . .

Here, class N (Class N (1 ... 10)) divides (N + 1) segments into prefix segments, and classifies the remaining segments into delegate segments. The prefix segment is contiguous (N + 1) segments, and each prefix segment includes '1' to '0'.

When any electronic postmark processing system is assigned the Nth class, it has free management authority over the representative segment. That is, the representative segment may be allocated to the electronic stamp processing system of the lower node in the same manner or may be used according to a special serial number management technique of the corresponding system.

Next, Table 1 shows a structure of serial numbers that can be used according to the prefix management scheme when 36 bits are used as the serial number and the serial number is divided into six segments by 6 bits.

For example, Class2 uses three of the six segments as a prefix segment, and is assigned a prefix from the electronic post management system 330 with a specific number (starting with '110'). In addition, Class2 uses the remaining three segments of the six segments as the representative segment, and the representative segment is managed by the electronic stamp generation server 212.

That is, any postal manufacturer 20 assigned a prefix of Class2 always has a unique prefix of 18 bits starting with '110' and has administrative responsibility and assignment authority for the remaining 18 bits.

In order to verify the electronic stamp corresponding to the unauthorized generation of the serial number, the electronic stamp generation server 212 obtains a result of hashing meaningless random bits (individual ciphers) and inserts the result in an arbitrary position. Here, the result of hashing the random bits (individual encryption) is transmitted together when the electronic stamp issuance information is transmitted from the electronic stamp generation server 212 to the electronic stamp management system 330 for later verification.

Hereinafter, when the electronic postmark processing system 210 receives a postal item printed with an electronic postmark, a procedure for verifying the postal item will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

5 is a diagram illustrating a method of verifying a mail including an electronic postmark according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the electronic postmark processing system 210 receives a mail printed with an electronic postmark.

The electronic stamp processing system 210 receives the mail and detects the electronic stamp included in each mail (S201). Electronic stamp according to an embodiment of the present invention is information that has a form of a character or bar code that can be recognized by the machine, and includes a serial number for identifying the mail.

The electronic stamp processing system 210 extracts the prefix information from the detected electronic stamp information (S202), and the electronic stamp management system 330 inquires information related to the prefix information based on the extracted prefix information (S203). The electronic postmark management system 330 inquires the reception scheduled time of the stored information mail based on the information related to the inquiry prefix information. When issuing an electronic stamp, when receiving a prefix request signal, the electronic stamp management system 330 receives and holds not only the signal but also the expected number of receipts of mails, a production date, a scheduled reception time, and the like.

The electronic stamp processing system 210 adds a result of hashing random random bits (individual passwords) transmitted along with the publication information of the mail and a result of hashing random bits (individual ciphers) of the actual mail, respectively. As a result of replacing the position of the bit by a specific method, that is, it is compared with the electronic stamp (S204). If the result of hashing any random bit and the result of hashing the contents of the electronic stamp are not the same, the electronic stamp is judged to be generated by a third party and rejects the reception (S205).

The electronic postmark processing system 210 compares the publication information stored in the electronic postmark management system 330 with the actual mail information of the actual mail (S206). Here, the stored mail issuance information and the real mail information is the information provided at the time of issuance of the electronic postmark, such as the weight, volume, postal code, and address of the mail, and the information contained in the actual mail.

As a result of the comparison, if the publication information of the postal mail and the actual mailing information are not the same, the electronic postmark processing system 210 checks whether the electronic postmark publication information is false (S207). In addition, when the stored publication information of the actual mail is not inquired, the electronic postmark processing system 210 determines that the electronic postmark is generated without permission.

If the comparison result is the same, the electronic postmark processing system 210 deletes the electronic postmark information starting with the prefix among the publication information stored in the electronic postmark management system 330 (S208). Here, the step of deleting the electronic postmark information is to prevent duplicate reception that may occur by using a previously issued electronic postmark.

Therefore, when performing the production and reception of postal matters, the electronic postmark processing method can provide efficiency of work by providing a method for issuing, transmitting, managing and verifying electronic postmarks to a producer in charge of producing and receiving postal items. .

The embodiments of the present invention described above are not only implemented by the apparatus and method but may be implemented through a program for realizing the function corresponding to the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention or a recording medium on which the program is recorded, The embodiments can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art from the description of the embodiments described above.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

1 is a view showing a whole mail processing structure to which the electronic stamp processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

2 is a view showing the structure of an electronic stamp processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a view showing an electronic stamp processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a diagram illustrating a serial number including a prefix according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a method of verifying a mail including an electronic postmark according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (8)

In the method for producing a plurality of mail items in the electronic postal processing of the plurality of mail items, In an electronic postmark processing system, receiving a prefix corresponding to the manufacturer from an electronic postmark management system; Generating a plurality of electronic postmarks by adding a serial number corresponding to each postal item to a prefix in the electronic postmark processing system; And And a step of assigning each of the plurality of electronic stamps to a corresponding mail item in a mail production server. The method of claim 1, Generating the electronic stamp Determining the number of bits of the serial number; Classifying the serial number into a plurality of classes including predetermined segments; And And classifying each class into a prefix segment consisting of the prefix and a representative segment. The method of claim 1, Generating the electronic stamp After checking whether the contract information corresponding to the mail including at least one of the weight, postal code, address, recipient's name, and password of the mail is identical to the contract information corresponding to the previously paid postage payment, And generating the electronic stamp by adding the prefix to the serial number if the contract information is the same. delete In the method of verifying mail in an electronic stamp processing system, Obtaining an electronic stamp of the mail received from the outside; Extracting prefix information of the electronic stamp; Querying information related to the prefix information through a management server managing the electronic postmark; Comparing a result of hashing random bits of the postal mail with a result of hashing information of the electronic stamp; Comparing the publication information of the mail inquired based on the real mail information of the mail and the prefix information; And Verifying that the mail is legitimate based on the comparison results. The method of claim 5, Verifying that the mail is legitimate If the hashed result is not the same, judging it as an illegal mail item having an unauthorized electronic stamp; Mail verification method comprising a. The method of claim 6, If the publication information of the mail including at least one of the weight, volume, postal code, and recipient of the mail inquired based on the prefix information is not the same as the real mail information, the publication information of the electronic postmark included in the mail is included. Checking whether it is false; And And if the publication information of the real mail is not inquired, determining that the electronic stamp has been generated without permission. The method of claim 7, wherein If the publication information of the mail and the actual mail information are the same, The mail verification method further comprises the step of deleting the information of the electronic stamp corresponding to the received mail of the mail issuance information.

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