Covert authentication method and apparatus
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An authentication method comprising the steps of:
- a. tagging an item by randomly distributing a taggant in at least part of the item, the taggant being invisible to an unaided human eye under normal conditions;
b. optically detecting said taggant by i. placing a detector in proximity to the item and ii. generating data related to the taggant distribution; and
c. verifying whether the data matches previous data from previously detected items.
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Abstract
An authentication system uses the unique distribution of an invisible taggant as a “signature” to identify an item. The verification is error tolerant. The taggant is made visible to a camera by special illumination. Inert taggants, with no optical activity, can be made visible by their thermal properties.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. An authentication method comprising the steps of:
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a. tagging an item by randomly distributing a taggant in at least part of the item, the taggant being invisible to an unaided human eye under normal conditions;
b. optically detecting said taggant by i. placing a detector in proximity to the item and ii. generating data related to the taggant distribution; and
c. verifying whether the data matches previous data from previously detected items. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An authentication system for authenticating an item, the authentication system comprising:
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a. a taggant mixed with a material, at least a part of the item comprising the material;
b. a detector capable of detecting location of the taggant without being required to contact the taggant;
c. a database for storing taggant locations from one or more items; and
d. a verification unit for checking whether the item matches any of the one or more items in the database.
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8. An authentication method comprising the steps of:
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a. tagging an item by randomly distributing a taggant in at least part of the item;
b. detecting the taggant by i. placing a detector in proximity to the item and ii. generating first data related to the taggant distribution;
c. marking the item with a code related to the first data; and
d. verifiying the item at a future time by i. placing a detector in proximity to the item, ii. generating second data related to the taggant distribution and iii. comparing the second data to the marked code.
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9. A detector for detecting invisible taggant in an item, the detector comprising of:
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a. an electronic camera capable of forming an image of a taggant distribution in the item;
b. means of making the taggant detectable to the camera; and
c. image processing means capable of i. detecting a registration mark on the item and ii. registering the taggant distribution to the registration mark.
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Specification