AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS HAVING MAGNETIC STRIPE
First Claim
1. A method for authenticating a document that includes a magnetic stripe having a distinct magnetic characteristic, wherein the magnetic characteristic exists over one or more predetermined segments of the magnetic stripe, the method comprising:
- receiving, at an authentication device, a set of expansion coefficients corresponding a set of continuous basis functions, wherein the expansion coefficients are based on digital samples of an analog signal representative of the magnetic characteristic;
comparing the received expansion coefficients to reference expansion coefficients; and
based on the comparison, providing a measure of an authenticity of the document.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, systems, and apparatus for efficiently authenticating a document (e.g. a credit card) having a magnetic stripe are provided. The magnetic field at different points of the magnetic stripe are measured, e.g., by a checkout scanner to create a magnetic signature. Digital samples of the measurements may be transformed into coefficients of continuous basis functions, e.g., a Fourier transform. These coefficients are then compared to reference values (e.g. corresponding coefficients) to produce a measure of the authenticity of the document. The number of coefficients used can advantageously be smaller than the number of digital samples without compromising accuracy, thus using less bandwidth between a scanner and an authentication entity.
27 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for authenticating a document that includes a magnetic stripe having a distinct magnetic characteristic, wherein the magnetic characteristic exists over one or more predetermined segments of the magnetic stripe, the method comprising:
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receiving, at an authentication device, a set of expansion coefficients corresponding a set of continuous basis functions, wherein the expansion coefficients are based on digital samples of an analog signal representative of the magnetic characteristic; comparing the received expansion coefficients to reference expansion coefficients; and based on the comparison, providing a measure of an authenticity of the document. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A computer program product comprising a computer readable medium encoded with a plurality of instructions for controlling a computing system to perform a method for authenticating a document that includes a magnetic stripe having a distinct magnetic characteristic, wherein the magnetic characteristic occurs over one or more predetermined segments of the magnetic stripe, the instructions comprising:
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receiving a set of expansion coefficients corresponding a set of continuous basis functions, wherein the expansion coefficients are based on digital samples of an analog signal representative of the magnetic characteristic; comparing the received expansion coefficients to reference expansion coefficients; and based on the comparison, providing a measure of an authenticity of the document. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A system for authenticating a document that includes a magnetic stripe having a distinct magnetic characteristic, wherein the magnetic characteristic occurs over one or more predetermined segments of the magnetic stripe, the system comprising:
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an input for receiving a set of expansion coefficients corresponding to a set of continuous basis functions, wherein the expansion coefficients are based on digital samples of an analog signal representative of the magnetic characteristic; a processor communicably coupled with the input, the processor configured to; compare the received expansion coefficients to reference expansion coefficients; and based on the comparison, provide a measure of an authenticity of the document. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification