THREE-DIMENSIONAL AUTHENTICATION OF MICROPARTICLE MARK

• US 20080034426A1
• Filed: 03/13/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: StealthCo, Inc. (Wellness Center USA, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Smi Holdings, Inc. (Source Media LLC)
• Inventors: Zdon, Chris, Stierman, Thomas, Hunt, Dan
• Granted Patent: US 7,831,042 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/30 Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/00 Security arrangements for protecting computers, components thereof, programs or data against unauthorised activity
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06084 the marking being based on nanoparticles or microbeads
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/12 Visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/2033 Matching unique patterns, i.e. patterns that are unique to each individual paper
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/00 Labels, tag tickets, or similar identification or indication means medals or badges A44C3/00; making labels B31D1/02; sheets temporarily attached together B42F; labelling B65C; labels on record carriers G11B23/38, G11B23/40; Seals; Postage or like stamps

Abstract

A system, method, and apparatus for authenticating microparticle marks or marks including other three-dimensional objects. The authentication utilizes two or more sets of information captured or acquired for the mark in response to illumination of the mark by electromagnetic energy such as in the visible frequency range. These sets of information are then used to verify that the mark includes three-dimensional objects such as microparticles. The two or more sets of information about the mark preferably vary from each other in time, space/directionality, color, frequency or any combinations thereof, and can be captured or acquired as part of one, two, or more images of the microparticle mark.

Claims

1. A method for automatically authenticating an article to determine an authenticity of a microparticle mark having a plurality of microparticles, comprising:

acquiring at least a first set and a second set of information from the article, the second set of information differing from the first set of information;

using a processing system to perform an automatic analysis of at least the first set and the second set of information to determine the authenticity of the microparticle mark for the article based on validation of a code generated for the microparticle mark and confirmation that the microparticle mark includes at least one difference between the first set and the second set of information due to characteristics that are producible only by three-dimensional microparticles; and

providing a tangible indication of an authentication of the article in response to the automatic analysis of the existence and authenticity of the microparticle mark.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the automatic analysis is performed by an automated reader and comprises:

generating a code based on analysis of the microparticles in the microparticle mark;

determining if the code is valid;

if the code is valid, confirming the authenticity of the microparticle mark by comparing the first set and the second set of information to determine the at least one difference between the first set and the second set of information is due to at least one of an existence and placement shadows from at least one three-dimensional microparticle or changes in features attributable to differences in orientation of at least a plurality of sides of at least one three-dimensional microparticle as the authentication that the microparticle mark contains at least one three-dimensional microparticle.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of determining if the code is valid is performed by comparing the code to an authorized database of codes representing authentic articles.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of determining if the code is valid is performed by processing the code using an algorithm that determines if the code is valid.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of acquiring the at least first set and the second set of information comprises obtaining information about the microparticle mark by generating variations in images captured of the microparticle mark selected from the set including:

variations of frequencies of an illumination system of the microparticle mark, variations in geometries of at least one of the illumination system, the article and a detector system, variations in a time of capture of the images by the detector system, variations in a number of images captured by the detector system, and any combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of acquiring the at least first set and the second set of information comprises at least one method selected from the set including:

using two or more differently-colored light sources, using two or more directionally-oriented light sources, using two or more directionally-oriented detectors, effecting movement of the article, a light source, a detector or any combination thereof.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

storing a set of data captured from the microparticle mark at a time the microparticle mark was created, the set of data being capable of reproducing an existence and placement of shadows and changes in features observed on a plurality of the sides of a multiplicity of three-dimensional microparticles positioned in the microparticle mark,

wherein the automatic analysis further comprises comparing at least one of the at least one difference and the at least first set and second set of information to the set of data captured from the microparticle mark at a time the microparticle mark was created as part of the confirmation that the microparticle mark includes at least one difference between the first set and the second set of information due to characteristics that are producible only by three-dimensional microparticles.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the automatic analysis further comprises:

receiving a challenge based on an expected information pattern generated from the set of data captured from the microparticle mark at a time the microparticle mark was created, the challenge being variably changeable; and

analyzing the at least first set and second set of information to determine whether the expected information pattern is discernable for the microparticle mark.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of microparticles in the microparticle mark are multi-layer, multi-color microparticles and wherein acquiring at least the first set and the second set of information is accomplished by moving the article relative to an automated reader that scans the microparticle mark to generate at least two images of the microparticle mark such that the automatic analysis includes analyzing changes in features of the at least two images attributable to differences in color expressed by at least a plurality of sides of the multi-layer, multi-color microparticles.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein acquiring at least the first set and the second set of information is accomplished by providing an automated reader adapted to scan the microparticle mark and including a variable illumination system that is used to dynamically vary illumination of the microparticle mark while at least two different images of the microparticle mark are scanned.

11. An automatic reader apparatus having an illumination system, a detector system and a processing system adapted to automatically perform the method of claims 1-10.

12. An article having a microparticle mark, an existence and authenticity of the microparticle mark being confirmed by the method of claims 1-10.