OPTICALLY READABLE MARKING SHEET AND READING APPARATUS AND METHOD THEREFOR

• US 20090289115A1
• Filed: 09/09/2008
• Published: 11/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avante International Technology
• Original Assignee: Avante International Technology
• Inventors: Chung, Kevin Kwong-Tai, Dong, Victor Jun
• Granted Patent: US 8,066,184 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/386
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 15/00 Printed matter of special format or style not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 13/00 Voting apparatus

Abstract

A ballot or sheet having an anti-copying feature provides for detecting from an image of the ballot or sheet whether the ballot or sheet is an original or is a copy. The anti-copying feature may lighten or darken, or both, when copied and may or may not be evident to the human eye. A reader comprising an imager and a processor is for reading the ballot or sheet and for determining whether the ballot or sheet is an original or is a copy, and for determining selections marked thereon. A method for reading the ballot or sheet is for determining from an image of the ballot or sheet whether the ballot or sheet is an original or is a copy, and for determining selections marked thereon.

Claims

1. An optically readable markable ballot sheet having an anti-copy feature for indicating that the ballot sheet is an original or is a copy, said optically readable markable ballot sheet for being read by a machine capable of distinguishing the anti-copy feature, said optically readable markable ballot sheet comprising:

a markable ballot sheet having a ballot identifier region thereon including a unique ballot sheet identifier, wherein the unique ballot sheet identifier is machine readable,

said markable ballot sheet having fiducial marks thereon indicating the orientation of said ballot sheet, wherein the fiducial marks are machine readable,

said markable ballot sheet also having one or more marking regions thereon, each marking region having two or more mark spaces therein for making voting selections; and

wherein the mark spaces are machine readable,

said markable ballot sheet further having a copy revealing region having an anti-copy feature therein, the anti-copy feature including a pattern of indicia that have a predetermined characteristic and that reproduce in a copy of the markable ballot sheet as having a substantially different characteristic, and

wherein the unique ballot sheet identifier or one or more of the fiducial marks or one or more mark spaces or a combination thereof are in whole or in part within the copy revealing region of the markable ballot sheet,

whereby the anti-copy feature, or the unique ballot sheet identifier, or the one or more of the fiducial marks, or the one or more mark spaces, or a combination thereof, within the copy revealing region are more evident or are less evident in a copy of the markable ballot sheet than in the original markable ballot sheet.

2. The optically readable markable ballot sheet of claim 1 wherein the anti-copy feature is evident to the human eye in an original markable ballot sheet, or is evident to the human eye in a copy of an original markable ballot sheet, or is evident to the human eye in an original markable ballot sheet and in a copy of the original markable ballot sheet.

3. The optically readable markable ballot sheet of claim 1 wherein the anti-copy feature includes a hologram, a micro-embossed hologram, a photo-polymer hologram, a holographic diffractive region, a light diffractive region, a hologram with or without over printing, a diffractive optical variable image device (DOVID), a diffractive material, a light reflecting ink, a light absorbing ink, a color-shifting ink, a light reflecting tint, a light intensity responsive variable ink, a light intensity responsive variable tint, an embedded graphic, an embedded image, an embedded text, a line-screen pattern having a particular combination of line frequencies and/or print densities, a latent image, a line-screen pattern on a tinted or other background, a latent line-screen pattern image embedded in a different line-screen pattern, lines printed at one or more interference scanning frequencies, a laser moire interference pattern, micro perforations, a hidden message, a hidden image, a number of generally parallel lines, a number of generally parallel lines of tint similar to that of said markable sheet, or a combination of any or all of the foregoing.

4. The optically readable markable ballot sheet of claim 1 wherein:

the unique ballot sheet identifier includes a bar code, a two-dimensional bar code, a prescribed font, optical character recognition (OCR) characters, alphanumeric characters, non-alphanumeric characters, symbols, or a combination thereof;

or

the unique ballot sheet identifier identifies a template corresponding to the two or more mark spaces for making voting selections in each of the plurality of contest regions;

or

the unique ballot sheet identifier is not related to the identity of any individual voter;

or

the unique ballot sheet identifier is represented by characters that are machine readable and are human readable;

or

a combination of any or all of the foregoing.

5. The optically readable markable ballot sheet of claim 1 wherein:

the mark spaces for making voting selections include mark spaces for one or more of a “

no vote,”

an “

abstain,”

a “

skip contest,” and

/or a write in selection;

or

a plurality of mark spaces are provided for each voting selection of at least one contest, wherein the plurality of mark spaces are for one or more of cumulative voting, ranked voting, and/or instant run-off voting;

or both.

6. An optically readable markable sheet having an anti-copy feature for indicating that the sheet is an original or is a copy, said optically readable markable sheet for being read by a machine capable of distinguishing the anti-copy feature, said optically readable markable sheet comprising:

a markable sheet having an identifier region thereon including a unique sheet identifier, wherein the unique sheet identifier is machine readable,

said markable sheet having fiducial marks thereon indicating the orientation of said sheet, wherein the fiducial marks are machine readable,

said markable sheet also having one or more marking regions thereon, each marking region having two or more mark spaces therein for making selections; and

wherein the mark spaces are machine readable,

said markable sheet further having a copy revealing region having an anti-copy feature therein, the anti-copy feature including a pattern of indicia that have a predetermined characteristic and that reproduce in a copy as having a substantially different characteristic, and

wherein the unique sheet identifier or one or more of the fiducial marks or one or more mark spaces or a combination thereof are in whole or in part within the copy revealing region,

whereby the unique sheet identifier or the one or more of the fiducial marks or the one or more mark spaces, or a combination thereof, within the copy revealing region are more evident or are less evident in a copy of the markable sheet than in the original markable sheet.

7. The optically readable markable sheet of claim 6 wherein the anti-copy feature is evident to the human eye in an original markable sheet, or is evident to the human eye in a copy of an original markable sheet, or is evident to the human eye in an original markable sheet and in a copy of the original markable sheet.

8. The optically readable markable sheet of claim 6 wherein the anti-copy feature includes a hologram, a micro-embossed hologram, a photo-polymer hologram, a holographic diffractive region, a light diffractive region, a hologram with or without over printing, a diffractive optical variable image device (DOVID), a diffractive material, a light reflecting ink, a light absorbing ink, a color-shifting ink, a light reflecting tint, a light intensity responsive variable ink, a light intensity responsive variable tint, an embedded graphic, an embedded image, an embedded text, a line-screen pattern having a particular combination of line frequencies and/or print densities, a latent image, a line-screen pattern on a tinted or other background, a latent line-screen pattern image embedded in a different line-screen pattern, lines printed at one or more interference scanning frequencies, a laser moire interference pattern, micro perforations, a hidden message, a hidden image, a number of generally parallel lines, a number of generally parallel lines of tint similar to that of said markable sheet, or a combination of any or all of the foregoing.

9. An optical reader for reading an optically readable markable ballot sheet having a ballot sheet identifier and an anti-copy feature thereon, the optical reader comprising:

an imager for imaging the ballot sheet wherein the image includes the ballot sheet identifier, the anti-copy feature and voting selections marked in mark spaces on the ballot sheet;

a processor for determining from the anti-copy feature in the image of the ballot sheet whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet, and, if the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet;

the processor for decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the ballot sheet identifier for selecting a template defining locations of mark spaces, and

the processor for decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the mark spaces in accordance with the selected template for recording the voting selections marked on the ballot sheet,

whereby the voting selections marked on an original ballot sheet are decoded and recorded in accordance with a template corresponding to the ballot sheet identifier.

10. The optical reader of claim 9 wherein said processor determines whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet from an anti-copy feature having a pattern of indicia that have a predetermined characteristic and that reproduce in a copy of the ballot sheet as having a substantially different characteristic.

11. The optical reader of claim 10 wherein the anti-copy feature of the ballot sheet includes a hologram, a micro-embossed hologram, a photo-polymer hologram, a holographic diffractive region, a light diffractive region, a hologram with or without over printing, a diffractive optical variable image device (DOVID), a diffractive material, a light reflecting ink, a light absorbing ink, a color-shifting ink, a light reflecting tint, a light intensity responsive variable ink, a light intensity responsive variable tint, an embedded graphic, an embedded image, an embedded text, a line-screen pattern having a particular combination of line frequencies and/or print densities, a latent image, a line-screen pattern on a tinted or other background, a latent line-screen pattern image embedded in a different line-screen pattern, lines printed at one or more interference scanning frequencies, a laser moire interference pattern, micro perforations, a hidden message, a hidden image, a number of generally parallel lines, a number of generally parallel lines of tint similar to that of the ballot sheet, or a combination of any or all of the foregoing.

12. The optical reader of claim 9 wherein the optically readable markable ballot sheet has a fiducial mark thereon, the processor for decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the fiducial mark for determining the orientation of the ballot sheet and for aligning the selected template and the image of the ballot sheet.

13. The optical reader of claim 9 wherein the processor compares the mark spaces decoded from the image of the ballot sheet and the mark spaces defined by the selected template for determining the completeness of the ballot sheet.

14. The optical reader of claim 9 wherein said processor for determining whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet includes:

the processor counting from the image of the ballot sheet the number of light pixels or the number of dark pixels or the numbers of light and dark pixels for the anti-copy feature; and

the processor comparing the number of light pixels or the number of dark pixels or the numbers of light and dark pixels for the anti-copy feature with a predetermined pixel count for the anti-copy feature for said determining whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet.

15. The optical reader of claim 9 wherein the processor for decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the mark spaces in accordance with the selected template for recording the voting selections marked on the ballot sheet comprises:

the processor counting the number of light pixels and dark pixels for each mark space;

the processor determining from the counts of light and dark pixels for each mark space whether the mark space therein is an unmarked outline or is marked as a voting selection; and

the processor recording each determined marked voting selection.

16. A method for reading an optically readable markable ballot sheet having a ballot sheet identifier and an anti-copy feature thereon, the method comprising:

imaging the ballot sheet including imaging the ballot sheet identifier, the anti-copy feature and voting selections marked in mark spaces on the ballot sheet;

determining from the anti-copy feature in the image of the ballot sheet whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet, and, if the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet;

decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the ballot sheet identifier for selecting a template defining locations of mark spaces; and

decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the mark spaces in accordance with the selected template for recording the voting selections marked on the ballot sheet,

whereby the voting selections marked on an original ballot sheet are decoded and recorded in accordance with a template corresponding to the ballot sheet identifier.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said determining whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet includes determining from an anti-copy feature having a pattern of indicia that have a predetermined characteristic and that reproduce in a copy of the ballot sheet as having a substantially different characteristic.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the anti-copy feature of the ballot sheet includes a hologram, a micro-embossed hologram, a photo-polymer hologram, a holographic diffractive region, a light diffractive region, a hologram with or without over printing, a diffractive optical variable image device (DOVID), a diffractive material, a light reflecting ink, a light absorbing ink, a color-shifting ink, a light reflecting tint, a light intensity responsive variable ink, a light intensity responsive variable tint, an embedded graphic, an embedded image, an embedded text, a line-screen pattern having a particular combination of line frequencies and/or print densities, a latent image, a line-screen pattern on a tinted or other background, a latent line-screen pattern image embedded in a different line-screen pattern, lines printed at one or more interference scanning frequencies, a laser moire interference pattern, micro perforations, a hidden message, a hidden image, a number of generally parallel lines, a number of generally parallel lines of tint similar to that of the ballot sheet, or a combination of any or all of the foregoing.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the optically readable markable ballot sheet has a fiducial mark thereon, the method including decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the fiducial mark for determining the orientation of the ballot sheet and for aligning the selected template and the image of the ballot sheet.

20. The method of claim 16 further comprising comparing the mark spaces decoded from the image of the ballot sheet and the mark spaces defined by the selected template for determining the completeness of the ballot sheet.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein said determining whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet includes:

counting from the image of the ballot sheet the number of light pixels or the number of dark pixels or the numbers of light and dark pixels for the anti-copy feature; and

comparing the number of light pixels or the number of dark pixels or the numbers of light and dark pixels for the anti-copy feature with a predetermined pixel count for the anti-copy feature for said determining whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein said decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the mark spaces in accordance with the selected template for recording the voting selections marked on the ballot sheet comprises:

counting the number of light pixels and dark pixels for each mark space;

determining from the counts of light and dark pixels for each mark space whether the mark space therein is an unmarked outline or is marked as a voting selection; and

recording each determined marked voting selection.

23. A method for reading an optically readable ballot sheet having a copying revealing region thereon including an anti-copy feature that has a predetermined intensity when viewed under a first lighting condition and that has a lighter or darker intensity when viewed under a second artificial lighting condition, the ballot sheet further having plural marking features thereon at least some of which are within the copy revealing region and some of which are not within the copy revealing region, said method comprising:

imaging the ballot sheet under the second artificial lighting condition, the image including the copying revealing region having the anti-copy feature and the plural marking features;

determining from the image of the ballot sheet the intensity of at least a part of the anti-copy feature;

decoding from the image of the ballot sheet at least one of the marking features that are within the copy revealing region;

comparing the intensity of the at least part of the anti-copy feature or the intensity of the at least one marking features or both with a predetermined anti-copy feature intensity for determining whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet, and, if the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet;

decoding from the image of the ballot sheet a ballot sheet identifier for selecting a template defining locations of mark spaces; and

decoding the mark spaces from the image of the ballot sheet in accordance with the selected template for recording the voting selections marked on the ballot sheet,

whereby the voting selections marked on an original ballot sheet are decoded and recorded in accordance with a template corresponding to the ballot sheet identifier.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the predetermined anti-copy feature intensity includes a first predetermined intensity relating to the at least part of the anti-copy feature and a second predetermined feature intensity relating to the at least one of the marking features.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein said determining from the image of the ballot sheet the intensity of at least a part of the anti-copy feature includes determining from an anti-copy feature having a pattern of indicia that have a predetermined characteristic and that reproduce in a copy of the ballot sheet as having a substantially different characteristic.

26. The method of claim 23wherein the anti-copy feature of the ballot sheet includes a hologram, a micro-embossed hologram, a photo-polymer hologram, a holographic diffractive region, a light diffractive region, a hologram with or without over printing, a diffractive optical variable image device (DOVID), a diffractive material, a light reflecting ink, a light absorbing ink, a color-shifting ink, a light reflecting tint, a light intensity responsive variable ink, a light intensity responsive variable tint, an embedded graphic, an embedded image, an embedded text, a line-screen pattern having a particular combination of line frequencies and/or print densities, a latent image, a line-screen pattern on a tinted or other background, a latent line-screen pattern image embedded in a different line-screen pattern, lines printed at one or more interference scanning frequencies, a laser moire interference pattern, micro perforations, a hidden message, a hidden image, a number of generally parallel lines, a number of generally parallel lines of tint similar to that of the ballot sheet, or a combination of any or all of the foregoing.

27. The method of claim 23 wherein the optically readable markable ballot sheet has a fiducial mark thereon, the method including decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the fiducial mark for determining the orientation of the ballot sheet and for aligning the selected template and the image of the ballot sheet.

28. The method of claim 23 further comprising comparing the mark spaces decoded from the image of the ballot sheet and mark spaces defined by the selected template for determining the completeness of the ballot sheet.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein said determining whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet includes:

counting from the image of the ballot sheet the number of light pixels or the number of dark pixels or the numbers of light and dark pixels for the anti-copy feature; and

comparing the number of light pixels or the number of dark pixels or the numbers of light and dark pixels for the anti-copy feature with a predetermined pixel count for the anti-copy feature for said determining whether the ballot sheet is an original ballot sheet.

30. The method of claim 23 wherein said decoding from the image of the ballot sheet the mark spaces in accordance with the selected template for recording the voting selections marked on the ballot sheet comprises:

counting the number of light pixels and dark pixels for each mark space;

determining from the counts of light and dark pixels for each mark space whether the mark space therein is an unmarked outline or is marked as a voting selection; and

recording each determined marked voting selection.