Security Document Database

• US 20080272186A1
• Filed: 07/22/2008
• Published: 11/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia, Lapstun, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 7,913,924 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/105 involving programming of a portable memory device, e.g. IC cards, "electronic purses"
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/367 involving electronic purses or money safes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3674 involving authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/08 Insurance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/004 using digital security elements, e.g. information coded on a magnetic thread or strip
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/20 Manipulating the length of blocks of bits, e.g. padding or block truncation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/56 Financial cryptography, e.g. electronic payment or e-cash
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/805 Lightweight hardware, e.g. radio-frequency identification [RFID] or sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3247 involving digital signatures
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A security document database, the database storing security document data including identity data at least partially indicative of an identity of the security document and attribute data at least partially indicative of one or more attributes of the security document. The security document database allows a computer system to use received indicating data to perform an action associated with the security document.

Claims

1. A security document database, the database storing security document data including, for each of a number of security documents:

identity data, the identity data being at least partially indicative of an identity of the security document;

attribute data, the attribute data being at least partially indicative of one or more attributes of the security document;

wherein, in use, the security document database allows a computer system to;

receive, from a sensing device, indicating data at least partially indicative of at least one of;

the identity; and

one or more attributes;

use the received indicating data and the security document data to perform an action associated with the security document.

2. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the attribute data is at least partially indicative of a signature, the signature being a digital signature of the identity, and wherein the action includes the computer system authenticating the security document.

3. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the attribute data is at least partially indicative of a transaction status, and wherein the action includes allowing the computer system to perform at least one of:

verifying the transaction status of the security document; and

,

updating the transaction status of the security document.

4. A security document database according to claim 3, wherein the transaction status is at least partially indicative of whether the security document is at least one of:

a copied security document;

a stolen security document; and

,

a counterfeit security document.

5. A security document database according to claim 3, wherein the database can be queried in order to determine the presence or absence of a cash flow anomaly.

6. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the database stores a key pair for each security document, the key pair being indexed in the database by the identity associated with the security document.

7. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the attribute data is at least partially indicative of at least one:

a transaction history data representing transactions related to the security document including;

a transaction type including at least one of;

transaction details;

identities of parties involved in the transaction;

a transaction amount;

a location of the transaction; and

,

a location of the sensing device;

a currency note attribute including at least one of;

currency;

issue country;

denomination;

note side;

printing works; and

serial number;

a check attribute including at least one of;

currency;

issuing institution;

account number;

serial number;

expiry date;

check value; and

limit;

a card attribute including at least one of;

card type;

issuing institution;

account number;

issue date;

expiry date; and

limit.

8. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein each coded data portion is further indicative of at least part of a signature, the signature being a digital signature of at least part of the identity, and wherein the system is configured to:

determine, from the indicating data, a determined identity and at least one determined signature part; and

,

authenticate the security document using the determined identity and the at least one determined signature part.

9. A security document database according to claim 8, wherein the signature is a digital signature of at least part of the identity and at least part of predetermined padding, the padding being at least one of:

a predetermined number; and

,

a random number.

10. A security document database according to claim 8, wherein the entire signature is encoded within a plurality of coded data portions and wherein the system includes the sensing device configured to sense a number of coded data portions to thereby determine the entire signature.

11. A security document database according to claim 8, wherein the coded data includes a plurality of layouts, each layout defining the position of a plurality of first symbols encoding the identity, and a plurality of second symbols defining at least part of the signature.

12. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is substantially invisible to an unaided human.

13. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is printed on the surface using at least one of:

an invisible ink; and

,

an infrared-absorptive ink.

14. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is provided substantially coincident with visible human-readable information.

15. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the coded data portions encode at least one of:

a location of the respective coded data portion;

a position of the respective coded data portion on the surface;

a size of the coded data portions;

a size of a signature;

an identity of a signature part; and

,

units of indicated locations.

16. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the coded data includes at least one of:

redundant data;

data allowing error correction;

Reed-Solomon data; and

,

Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) data.

17. A security document database according to claim 8, wherein the digital signature includes at least one of:

a random number associated with the identity;

a keyed hash of at least the identity;

a keyed hash of at least the identity produced using a private key, and verifiable using a corresponding public key;

cipher-text produced by encrypting at least the identity;

cipher-text produced by encrypting at least the identity and a random number; and

,

cipher-text produced using a private key, and verifiable using a corresponding public key.

18. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the security document is at least one of:

a currency note;

a check;

a credit or debit card;

a redeemable ticket, voucher, or coupon;

a lottery ticket or instant win ticket; and

,

an identity card or document, such as a driver'"'"'s license or passport.

19. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is arranged in accordance with at least one layout having n-fold rotational symmetry, where n is at least two, the layout including n identical sub-layouts rotated 1/n revolutions apart about a centre of rotation, at least one sub-layout including rotation-indicating data that distinguishes that sub-layout from each other sub-layout.

20. A security document database according to claim 1, wherein the coded data is arranged in accordance with at least one layout having n-fold rotational symmetry, where n is at least two, the layout encoding orientation-indicating data comprising a sequence of an integer multiple m of n symbols, where m is one or more, each encoded symbol being distributed at n locations about a centre of rotational symmetry of the layout such that decoding the symbols at each of the n orientations of the layout produces n representations of the orientation-indicating data, each representation comprising a different cyclic shift of the orientation-indicating data and being indicative of the degree of rotation of the layout.