Updatable micrographic pocket data card

• US 4,680,459 A
• Filed: 11/14/1985
• Issued: 07/14/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 02/27/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LaserCard Corp. (Assa Abloy AB)
• Original Assignee: Drexler Technology Corporation (Assa Abloy AB)
• Inventors: Drexler, Jerome
• Primary Examiner(s): Trafton, David L.
• Application Number:
  US06/798,146
• Time in Patent Office: 607 Days
• Field of Search: 235/468, 235/487, 235/494, 283/76, 283/93, 283/901, 283/902, 350/241, 353/27 R, 354/7, 346/76 L, 428/209, 427/7, 427/145
• US Class Current: 235/487
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/04 Transparent material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/10 Metallic material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/30 Plastic material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/02 Nature of the markings
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/08 Alphanumerical data
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/14 Dot or raster patterns
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/20 Optical effects
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2035/44 Miniaturised markings
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/00 Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof printing processes to produce identification or security features B41M3/14
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/20 characterised by a particular use or purpose
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/28 for use in medical treatment or therapy
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/41 using electromagnetic radiation B42D25/435 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/435 using electromagnetic radiation, e.g. laser
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/47 using adhesives
• CPC Class Codes: G03C 11/02 Marking or applying text
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/126 by photographic or thermographic registration recording apparatus for measuring instruments G01D15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/08 using markings of different kinds or more than one marking of the same kind in the same record carrier, e.g. one marking being sensed by optical and the other by magnetic means
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/14 the marking being sensed by radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/25 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/003 with webs , filaments or wires, e.g. belts, spooled tapes or films of quasi-infinite extent
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/0033 : with cards or other card-like flat carriers, e.g. flat sheets of optical film
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/24 : Record carriers characterised by shape, structure or physical properties, or by the selection of the material characterised by the arrangement of information on the carrier G11B7/007
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24917 : including metal layer

Abstract

A strip of optical contrast laser recording material is disposed on a wallet-size card, and has laser written micrographic characters recorded thereon. The characters are formed of a matrix of laser recorded character spots and are eye readable using twenty power magnification. The characters are recorded in situ on the card, after the strip is disposed in the card, by a laser having a beam focused on the strip. A light detector reads the reflected beam to confirm laser writing. Either raster-like or zig-zag scanning of the beam creates each character matrix. Each of the character spots may be made up of one laser spot or by a group of laser spots.

Claims

1. An updatable micrographic data card comprising,

a wallet size card having a strip of optical contrast laser recording material disposed thereon,

a plurality of laser written micrographic characters disposed on said strip, each character formed of a matrix of laser recorded character spots, said micrographic characters being eye readable using at least 20 power magnification, but not eye readable using 5 power magnification or less.

2. The card of claim 1 wherein said character spots comprise a group of laser written spots.

3. The card of claim 1 wherein said strip comprises prerecorded micrographic characters and in-situ user written micrographic characters.

4. The card of claim 1 wherein said strip contains micrographic characters defining map features.

13. The card of claim 1 wherein said strip contains micrographic characters indicating a date of the most recent update of information on said card.

5. A method for recording information on a card comprising,

disposing a strip of reflective direct-read-after-write laser recording material in a wallet-size card,

recording micrographic indicia onto said strip, in situ, by means of a laser, a beam from said laser scanning in a pattern a matrix of spot sites corresponding to an indicium on said strip for each of said indicia, said indicia being microscopically visually readable with at least 10 power magnification, but not with 5 power magnification or less.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said microscopically visually readable information is characters, each made up of a matrix of laser recorded character spots, each of said character spots being made up of at least one laser recorded spot.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein each of said character spots is made up of a group of laser spots.

8. The method of claim 5 further defined by prerecording micrographic indicia on said strip prior to in situ recording.

14. The method of claim 5 wherein some of said indicia being recorded onto said strip indicate a date of said recording.

9. A system for recording information with a laser comprising,

a wallet-size card having a strip of optical contrast reflective direct-read-after-write laser recording material thereon capable of in-situ laser recording of information thereon, said information being microscopically visually readable indicia, the strips adapted for laser recording of data, said indicia being microscopically visually readable with at least 10 power magnification, but not with a 5 power magnification or less,

laser means having a beam disposed in laser writing relation with respect to said strip for writing thereon,

light detector means disposed in reading relation to said strip for reading data, and

means providing relative motion between the beam and the card for writing said indicia on the card, said relative motion being in a pattern for individually recording each of said visually readable indicia.

10. The sytem of claim 9 wherein said microscopically visually readable information comprises characters, each made up of a matrix of individual laser recorded character spots, each of said character spots being made up of at least one laser spot.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein said strip contains micrographic characters defining map features.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein said strip comprises prerecorded micrographic characters and in situ user written micrographic characters.

15. The system of claim 9 wherein some of said indicia are characters indicating a date of the most recent recording of information on said card.