Verification system for document substance and content

• US 4,568,936 A
• Filed: 12/31/1984
• Issued: 02/04/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1980
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Light Signatures Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Light Signatures Incorporated
• Inventors: Goldman, Robert N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yusko, Donald J.
• Application Number:
  US06/687,708
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.34, 356/71, 235/380, 235/487, 235/494
• US Class Current: 340/5.86
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/10 at least one kind of marking being used for authentication, e.g. of credit or identity cards verification of coded identity or credit cards in mechanisms actuated by them G07F7/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/14 the marking being sensed by radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/125 Offline card verification

Abstract

An authenticator device, e.g. card, of verifiable composition substance and informational content with a system of production and verification. Character uniqueness signals identifying the composition of the device are recorded on the card in an encrypted form combined with statistical data signals representative of information on the card. Testing the card involves freshly sensing the character uniqueness data and entering the statistical data. Such fresh data is then compared with the recorded values after decoding. Favorable comparisons manifest approval and enter the statistical data for processing.

Claims

1. An authenticator device of verifiable composition substance and informational content comprising:

a sheet of medium having a machine-readable uniqueness characteristic sensible as translucency at specific locations of the sheet;

a format on said sheet of medium representative of critical statistical data; and

a machine-readable record on said sheet of medium decodable for comparison at least in part with each of said machine-readable uniqueness characteristic and said critical statistical data from a latter sensing.

2. An authenticator device according to claim 1 wherein a portion of said format on said card is located to vary the translucency of said device for at least one of said specific locations.

3. An authenticator device according to claim 1 wherein said format comprises printed indicia on said device, said indicia manifesting intelligence.

4. An authenticator device according to claim 3 wherein said printed indicia is machine readable.

5. An authenticator device according to claim 1 wherein said machine-readable record on said device comprises a magnetic stripe.

6. An authenticator device according to claim 1 wherein said format on said sheet comprises printed intelligence and wherein at least part of said printed intelligence is combined with data representative of said uniqueness characteristic, encoded and recorded as said machine-readable record on said sheet of medium.

7. An authenticator device according to claim 1 wherein said sheet of medium comprises a paper-like material.

8. An authenticator device according to claim 7 wherein said portion of said format on said card is located to vary the translucency of said device for at least one of said specific locations.

9. An authenticator device for verifying authenticity comprising:

a sheet of medium having a varying random characteristic over an area of said sheet, said characteristic being inherent in the composition of said medium;

machine-readable indicia on said sheet of medium, said indicia being decodable to specify the characteristic of said sheet at a specific area location; and

print substance on said sheet positioned on at least a part of said specific area location to vary said random chartacteristic thereat.

10. A processor for a document or the like of a basic material substance having a uniqueness characteristic and bearing a machine-readable format representative of critical statistical data, said document further bearing a record relating to said uniqueness characteristic and said statistical data, said processor comprising:

means for sensing said record on said document to provide location signals indicative of at least one specific location on said document, prior characteristic signals indicative, at least in part, of the uniqueness characteristic of the basic material substance of said document at said specific location from a prior sensing, and prior data signals indicative, at least in part, of the critical statistical data on said document;

means for sensing said uniqueness characteristic from said document to provide fresh characteristic signals representative, at least in part, of the uniqueness characteristic of the basic material substance of said document at said specific location;

means for sensing said document format to provide fresh data signals representative, at least in part, of said critical statistical data; and

means for comparing at least portions of said characteristic signals representative of said uniqueness characteristic and at least portions of said data signals representative of said critical statistical data to provide signals indicative of the authenticity of said document substance and content.

11. A system according to claim 10 wherein said means for sensing said uniqueness characteristic comprises means for sensing the translucency of said document at said one specific location.

12. A processor according to claim 10 wherein said means for sensing said uniqueness characteristic provides signals representative of a range of said uniqueness characteristic for a specific location on said document.

13. A processor according to claim 10 wherein said means for providing signals representative of said critical statistical data comprises an optical reader.

14. A processor according to claim 10 wherein said means for sensing a record comprises a magnetic stripe sensor.

15. A processor according to claim 10 further including means for supplying said signals representative of said critical statistical data conditioned on said signals indicative of the authenticity of said document substance and content.