Method and apparatus for multiple quality transaction card images

• US 5,727,089 A
• Filed: 01/05/1995
• Issued: 03/10/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Ellson, Richard N., Ray, Lawrence A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Couso, Jose L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Do, Anh Hong
• Application Number:
  US08/369,015
• Time in Patent Office: 1,160 Days
• Field of Search: 382/232, 382/117, 382/118, 382/201, 382/115, 382/240, 382/233, 382/237, 358/452, 235/380
• US Class Current: 382/240
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/008 Vector quantisation
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/25 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/3082 Vector coding for television signals, see H04N19/94

Abstract

The disclosed method for compressing an image to be stored on a transaction card at one of a plurality of quality levels performs the steps of: a. providing a number of compression codebooks each corresponding to a quality level of the to be compressed image data; b. determining the quality level of the compressed image to be stored on the transaction card; c. determining the compression codebook that best corresponds to the determined quality level of step b; and d. compressing the image with the determined compression codebook. A decompression system is disclosed for processing, the transaction cards having the compressed image data stored thereon at one of a plurality of quality levels by, determining the maximum quality level common to the transaction card and the decompression system; and decompressing the compressed image data at the above maximum quality level. At each quality level of compression/decompression that represented image is of equal size.

Claims

1. A method for decompressing an image on a transaction card to a first quality level and for augmenting the image at the first quality level to a second quality level with augmented data not stored on the transaction card, comprising the steps of:

a. providing at least one decompression codebook corresponding to the first and the second quality level of compressed image data and augmented data, respectively;

b. determining the first quality level of the compressed image stored on the transaction card;

c. decompressing the compressed image data to the first quality level; and

d. combining the augmented data with the decompressed image of the first quality level to form the decompressed image of the second quality level.

2. A method for decompressing indicia stored on a transaction card said indicia representing an image stored at a first quality level to form an image of a second quality level, where the indicia stored on the transaction card can be decompressed either to the first or a second quality level, comprising the steps of:

a. providing at least one decompression codebook corresponding to the first quality level of compressed image data and to augmented data, respectively;

b. decompressing the compressed image data to the first quality level; and

c. combining the augmented data with the decompressed image of the first quality level to form the decompressed image of the second quality level.