Apparatus and methods for authentication using partially fluorescent graphic images and OCR characters
First Claim
1. A method of authenticating articles, comprising the steps of:
- a) selecting a set of indicia recognizable by automatic optical character recognition;
b) providing articles of which authentic instances are known to have been identified with said selected indicia such that each of said selected indicia comprises two portions in complementary pair relationship, neither of said two portions by itself forming a complete recognizable character;
(i) a first portion comprising first detail elements that emit fluorescent light in predetermined portions of the optical spectrum when illuminated by light outside of the visible spectrum, and (ii) a second portion comprising second detail elements complementary to said first detail elements, said first and second portions being overlaid relative to each other so as to complete said selected indicia;
c) illuminating said articles with said light outside of the visible spectrum while selecting said predetermined portions of the optical spectrum and while performing said automatic optical character recognition; and
d) providing an affirmative output if and only if said indicia are recognized, thereby confirming the authenticity of those instances of said articles so identified.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An authentication system combines a source of ultraviolet light (and optionally a scanning mechanism) with apparatus for capturing and recognizing either graphic images or characters or both, where the graphic images and/or characters have been previously made with fluorescent substances that may be invisible under ordinary visible light, but are rendered detectable by the ultraviolet light. As in conventional optical character recognition (OCR), the characters may be conventional alphanumeric characters readable by human readers once they are made visible. The authentication system has a housing enclosing its optical path, a source of UV light, a detector for detecting graphic images or characters, conversion of the detector signal to digital form, a memory storing predetermined indicia, recognition logic, and indicating means. The system may also include a scanning mechanism and optical filters to select predetermined wavelengths of fluorescent light. The detector may be capable of detecting both fluorescent images and normal visible images, and the authentication system may incorporate switching mechanisms to allow multiplexed acquisition of fluorescent and normally visible images. The authentication system can operate in conjunction with a process for marking articles with indicia selected from a predetermined set of graphic images and characters readable by optical character recognition and/or by image comparison. That process can include printing fluorescent graphic images or characters in registration with (or with predetermined offset from) visible images or characters or indicia printed with substances fluorescent at different wavelengths. The recognition logic of the authentication system can include comparison of fluorescent and visible images or two different fluorescent images with each other. Pairs of indicia to be recognized and/or compared may be arranged to constitute a stereogram or other arrangement for first-order authentication by a human observer.
319 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of authenticating articles, comprising the steps of:
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a) selecting a set of indicia recognizable by automatic optical character recognition;
b) providing articles of which authentic instances are known to have been identified with said selected indicia such that each of said selected indicia comprises two portions in complementary pair relationship, neither of said two portions by itself forming a complete recognizable character;
(i) a first portion comprising first detail elements that emit fluorescent light in predetermined portions of the optical spectrum when illuminated by light outside of the visible spectrum, and (ii) a second portion comprising second detail elements complementary to said first detail elements, said first and second portions being overlaid relative to each other so as to complete said selected indicia;
c) illuminating said articles with said light outside of the visible spectrum while selecting said predetermined portions of the optical spectrum and while performing said automatic optical character recognition; and
d) providing an affirmative output if and only if said indicia are recognized, thereby confirming the authenticity of those instances of said articles so identified. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
e) before said article-providing step (b), identifying said articles by marking with said selected indicia such that said first detail elements of said first portion are made with fluorescent ink, while said second detail elements of said second portion of said selected indicia are made with a visible ink.
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3. The method of claim 1, wherein said light outside of the visible spectrum comprises ultraviolet light.
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4. The method of claim 1, wherein said light outside of the visible spectrum comprises infrared light.
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5. A method of authenticating articles, comprising the steps of:
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a) selecting a set of graphic image indicia recognizable by automatic image matching;
b) providing articles of which authentic instances are known to have been identified with said selected graphic image indicia such that each of said selected graphic image indicia comprises two portions in complementary pair relationship, neither of said two portions by itself forming a complete recognizable image;
(i) a first portion comprising first detail elements that emit fluorescent light in predetermined portions of the optical spectrum when illuminated by light outside of the visible spectrum, and (ii) a second portion comprising second detail elements complementary to said first detail elements, said first and second portions being overlaid relative to each other so as to complete said selected graphic image indicia;
c) illuminating said articles with said light outside of the visible spectrum while selecting said predetermined portions of the optical spectrum and while performing said automatic image matching; and
d) providing an affirmative output if and only if said graphic image indicia are recognized, thereby confirming the authenticity of those instances of said articles so identified. - View Dependent Claims (6)
e) before said article-providing step (b), identifying said articles by marking with said selected graphic image indicia such that said first detail elements of said first portion are made with fluorescent ink, while said second detail elements of said second portion of said selected graphic image indicia are made with a visible ink.
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7. An authenticatable document for identification or for use in financial transactions, comprising:
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a) a substrate suitable for printing with fluorescent ink, and b) selected indicia, selected portions of said selected indicia being printed on said document with fluorescent ink containing predetermined concentrations of one or more fluorescent substances, both said selected indicia and said fluorescent substances encoding predetermined characteristics of said authenticatable document, said selected indicia being selected from predetermined sets of;
(i) characters readable by automatic optical character recognition only when said selected portions of said selected indicia are illuminated with ultraviolet light, and (ii) graphic images recognizable by automatic image comparison only when said selected portions of said selected indicia are illuminated with ultraviolet light, said selected indicia being further characterized in that each of said selected indicia comprises two portions in complementary pair relationship, neither of said two portions by itself forming a complete recognizable character or image;
(A) a first portion comprising first detail elements that emit fluorescent light in predetermined portions of the optical spectrum when illuminated with said ultraviolet light, and (B) a second portion comprising second detail elements complementary to said first detail elements, said first and second portions being overlaid relative to each other so as to complete said selected indicia. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An authenticatable document for identification or for use in financial transactions, comprising:
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a) a substrate suitable for printing with fluorescent ink, and b) selected indicia, selected portions of said selected indicia being printed on said document with fluorescent ink containing predetermined concentrations of one or more fluorescent substances, both said selected indicia and said fluorescent substances encoding predetermined characteristics of said authenticatable document, said selected indicia being selected from predetermined sets of characters readable by automatic optical character recognition only when said selected portions of said selected indicia are illuminated with ultraviolet light said selected indicia being further characterized in that each of said selected indicia comprises two portions in complementary pair relationship, neither of said two portions by itself forming a complete recognizable character;
(A) a first portion comprising first detail elements that emit fluorescent light in predetermined portions of the optical spectrum when illuminated with said ultraviolet light, and (B) a second portion comprising second detail elements complementary to said first detail elements, said first and second portions being overlaid relative to each other so as to complete said selected indicia. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. An authenticatable document for identification or for use in financial transactions, comprising:
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a) a substrate suitable for printing with fluorescent ink, and b) selected indicia, selected portions of said selected indicia being printed on said document with fluorescent ink containing predetermined concentrations of one or more fluorescent substances, both said selected indicia and said fluorescent substances encoding predetermined characteristics of said authenticatable document, said selected indicia being selected from predetermined sets of graphic images recognizable by automatic image comparison only when said selected portions of said selected indicia are illuminated with ultraviolet light, said selected indicia being further characterized in that each of said selected indicia comprises two portions in complementary pair relationship, neither of said two portions by itself forming a complete recognizable image;
(A) a first portion comprising first detail elements that emit fluorescent light in predetermined portions of the optical spectrum when illuminated with said ultraviolet light, and (B) a second portion comprising second detail elements complementary to said first detail elements, said first and second portions being overlaid relative to each other so as to complete said selected indicia.
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26. An authenticatable document for identification or for use in financial transactions, comprising:
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a) a substrate suitable for printing with ink visible only under illumination with light outside of the visible spectrum, and b) selected indicia, selected portions of said selected indicia being printed on said document with said ink visible only under illumination with light outside of the visible spectrum, said selected indicia being further characterized in that each of said selected indicia comprises two portions in complementary pair relationship, neither of said two portions by itself forming a complete recognizable image;
(A) a first portion comprising first detail elements that emit fluorescent light in predetermined portions of the optical spectrum when illuminated with said light outside of the visible spectrum, and (B) a second portion comprising second detail elements complementary to said first detail elements, said first and second portions being overlaid relative to each other so as to complete said selected indicia, and both said selected indicia and said ink encoding predetermined characteristics of said authenticatable document, said selected indicia being selected from predetermined sets of characters readable by automatic optical character recognition only when said selected portions of said selected indicia are illuminated with light outside of the visible spectrum.
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Specification