UNIDIRECTIONAL FLUORESCENT INK IMPRINTED CODED DOCUMENT AND METHOD OF DECODING

• US 3,763,356 A
• Filed: 05/17/1971
• Issued: 10/02/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert M. Berler
• Original Assignee: Robert M. Berler
• Inventors: Berler, Robert M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Robinson, Thomas A.
• Application Number:
  US05/144,237
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.11,61.12 250/71R,219DC,219D,83.3UV
• US Class Current: 235/468
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/02 characterised by the selection of materials, e.g. to avoid wear during transport through the machine

Abstract

A photo optical document having a unidirection readout characteristic comprising a substantially ultraviolet light filtering translucent matrix or substrate upon which coded information is imprinted with fluorescent ink. This combination allows the coded document to be read only when the proper side of the document faces the reader light; if the wrong side faces the light, no readable glow will be emitted by the fluorescent ink. The document is read by placing a source of ultra violet light on one side of the document and the photo-electric sensor on the other side of the document.

Claims

1. A machine readable code system comprising a fluorescent ink imprinted coded document characterized in that the coded intelligence is readable from one side only by impinging ultraviolet light on the printed side of the document and reading the coded information from the other side, a reader associated with said document including a photoelectric sensor, an ultraviolet light source, and means for positioning said document for reading between said sensor and light source, said document comprising a substantially translucent substrate, and an ultraviolet light filtering layer in combination with said substrate, and having intelligence imprinted with fluorescent ink on one side of said substrate, said document being such that said printed intelligence will fluoresce and be readable only when the imprinted side of the document is exposed to ultraviolet light.

2. The code system of claim 1 wherein the ultraviolet light filtering layer is an integral part of said translucent substrate.

3. The code system of claim 1 wherein the ultraviolet light filtering layer comprises a film or sheet laminated to said substrate.

4. The code system of claim 1 wherein the ultraviolet light filtering layer comprises a separate adaptor associated with said substrate.

5. The code system of claim 1 wherein the substrate is composed of a material which is substantially translucent to yellow, orange or red fluorescent light and otherwise characterized by filtering said ultraviolet light.

6. The code system of claim 1 wherein the coded document is imprinted with fluorescent ink in the red-orange range of the color spectrum.

7. A method of recording coded intelligence on, and electronically retrieving said intelligence from a printed document which is translucent to fluorescent light, comprising imprinting intelligence with fluorescent ink on a fluorescent light translucent substrate, exposing the side of the substrate with the imprinted intelligence to a source of ultraviolet light by positioning said document between an ultraviolet light source and a photoelectric sensor of a coded document reading device, providing as a part of said document an ultraviolet light blocking fluorescent light translucent layer which is interposed between said imprinted intelligence and the photoelectric sensor, photoelectrically sensing said imprinted intelligence which has been activated by said ultraviolet light through the printed document and utilizing the intelligence data output thus derived photoelectrically from said fluorescent imprint.