Credential production using a secured consumable supply

• US 20060123471A1
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Assa Abloy AB
• Original Assignee: Fargo Electronics Inc. (Assa Abloy AB)
• Inventors: Platner, Thomas C., Klinefelter, Gary M., Goldenstein, Angela Marie, Fontanella, D. Alan, Nehowig, Kelly R., Ekers, John E., Upin, Jeffrey D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,620,815 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/5
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/122 Online card verification

Abstract

A method and system for securely processing a credential substrate using a credentials production system and secured consumable supply. The consumable supply is selectively in one of a plurality of states including a production disabled state and a production enabled state. The state of the consumable supply is changed from the production disabled state to the production enabled state. The state in the consumable supply is verified as being in the production enabled state prior to processing the credential substrate using the consumable supply.

Claims

1. A consumable supply comprising:

a consumable material; and

a programmable memory selectively encoded to indicate a production enabled state and a production disabled state, wherein the consumable supply is usable with a credential production device when the memory indicates the production enabled state and is prevented from use with the credential production device when the memory indicates the production disabled state.

2. The consumable supply of claim 1, wherein the consumable material is selected from the group consisting of a print consumable material, an overlaminate consumable material, a security label, and a credential substrate consumable material.

3. The consumable supply of claim 1, wherein the programmable memory includes a security code that limits the use of the consumable supply with a credential production device that includes a corresponding security code.

4. The consumable supply of claim 1, wherein the programmable memory includes production event data related to uses of the supply.

5. The consumable supply of claim 4, wherein the production event data is indicative of one of an amount of remaining consumable material or an amount of consumable material consumed.

6. A credential production system comprising:

a consumable supply including a programmable memory, the programmable memory selectively encoded to indicate a production enabled state and a production disabled state;

a credential production device comprising;

a credential processing device configured to process the credential substrate using the consumable supply; and

a controller configured to allow the processing of the credential substrate when the programmable memory of the consumable supply indicates the production enabled state and configured to prevent the processing of the credential substrate when the programmable memory of the consumable supply indicates the production disabled state.

7. The credential production system of claim 6, wherein the consumable supply includes an unauthorized state in which the consumable supply can not be encoded to indicate the production enabled state.

8. The credential production system of claim 6, wherein the consumable supply includes an authorized state in which the consumable supply can be encoded to indicate the production enabled state.

9. The credential production system of claim 6, further comprising a programmer configured to selectively encode the programmable memory of the consumable supply with the production enabled state and the production disabled state.

10. The credential production system of claim 6, further comprising an inventory management system including an inventory database, the inventory management system configured to enroll supply information from the consumable supply into the inventory database.

11. The credential production system of claim 10, wherein the inventory management system further comprises an audit trail log configured to log production event information stored in one of the programmable memory of the consumable supply and a memory of the credential production device.

12. A method of securely processing a credential substrate using a credential production system, the method comprising:

providing a consumable supply that is selectively in one of a plurality of states including a production enabled state and a production disabled state;

changing the state of the consumable supply from the production disabled state to the production enabled state;

verifying that the state of the consumable supply is in the production enabled state; and

processing the credential substrate using the consumable supply if the consumable supply is in the production enabled state.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising verifying that an operator is authorized to change the state by performing a security check on an operator prior to changing the process state of the consumable supply.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein:

the states of the consumable supply include an unauthorized state; and

the changing of the state of the consumable supply includes changing the state from the unauthorized state to the production disabled state prior to changing the state from the production disabled state to the production enabled state.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising preventing the changing of the state of the consumable supply from an unauthorized state to a production enabled state.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising changing the state of the consumable supply from the production enabled state to the production disabled state after processing the credential substrate using the consumable supply.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising enrolling supply information stored in the consumable supply into an inventory database.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising installing the consumable supply in a credential production device after the consumable supply is changed to the production enabled state.

19. The method of claim 12, further comprising logging an audit trail log with production event information related to processing of the credential substrate.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising comparing the production event information to an intended credential substrate processing job.