Permanent invisible magnetic tags with digital data

• US 7,698,922 B1
• Filed: 06/26/2006
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/01/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Donald M. Danko, Joseph H. Taddeo
• Original Assignee: Donald M. Danko, Joseph H. Taddeo
• Inventors: Danko, Donald M., Taddeo, Joseph H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jones; David B
• Application Number:
  US11/474,701
• Time in Patent Office: 1,394 Days
• Field of Search: 72/151, 72/153, 72/205, 72/310.1, 72/311, 332/06, 337/51, 235/493, 235/449, 235/450, 235/462, 235/468, 235/494, 430/322, 430/320, 219/121.85
• US Class Current: 72/15.3
• CPC Class Codes: B21C 51/005 Marking devices
• CPC Class Codes: B21K 1/74 forked members or members with two or more limbs, e.g. U-bolts, anchors

Abstract

A permanent invisible magnetic marking and positioning system of unfinished ferrous rods, bars, workpieces, and the like. A midpoint, center or other point of the workpiece is automatically located and a high-energy pulse is applied for installing an embedded magnetic marker. The magnetizing heads can also be repositioned to various points on a workpiece for imparting digital manufacturing and product identification in a data strobe pulse, that is analogous to a picket fence, where each picket provides a weighted binary representation in a data array comprised of data cells.

Claims

1. A system for imparting digital data in a workpiece, comprising:

a means for embedding an invisible magnetic imprint in the workpiece, wherein said imprint contains digital data that is stored and retrieved as a packed, high density, digital packet, located in predetermined locations on the workpiece;

the digital packet comprising a basic data file used for storing or retrieving the imprint from the workpiece; and

a means for error checking in the digital packet.

2. The system as defined in claim 1, wherein a maximum length of the digital packet depends on a bit packing density and upon an available area dedicated to storage of digital data on the workpiece.

3. The system as defined in claim 2, wherein each data packet is divided into a header, a data storage array and a checksum.

4. The system as defined in claim 3, wherein the header contains information needed for storing and retrieving the data.

5. The system as defined in claim 4, wherein the data storage array of the data packet is ultimately retrieved.

6. The system as defined in claim 5, wherein the checksum of the data packet determines an integrity of the retrieved or stored data.

7. The system as defined in claim 6, wherein a signal span of a retrieved digital data packet has a shape analogous to a picket fence.

8. The system as defined in claim 7, wherein each picket of the picket fence contains one bit of stored data.

9. The system as defined in claim 8, wherein each digital data packet has a length ranging from a grouping of 4-bits to as many as 64-bits, dependent upon an application.

10. The system as defined in claim 9, wherein said data storage array in the data packet comprises a workpiece part number, a date of manufacture, a type of material used, a height, a width and other workpiece information.

11. The system as defined in claim 10, wherein the data packet is encrypted for military or other covert applications.

12. A system for imparting digital data in a workpiece, comprising:

a means for locating a desired point on the workpiece;

a means for embedding in the workpiece at the desired point a permanent invisible magnetic tag that provides a retrieved digital signal that has a shape analogous to a picket fence;

wherein each picket of the retrieved digital signal provides a sample pulse with a weighted binary representation that yields a “

1”

level if a picket is present on the analogous fence and a “

0”

level indicates an absence of a picket on the fence.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a data storage array including 512 or more bits in data cells that are essentially 6-bits or greater in length.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein an initial sequence component of each data storage array includes a first 6-bits that give a synchronization signal with a special meaning of “

Data Follows”

.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein a next component of the sequence of each data storage array includes a plurality of 6-bit data cells containing stored data.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein each data storage array comprises compressed data.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein each data storage array comprises encrypted data, which is determined by stored values in a header portion, followed by two 0-stop bits of an end-of-file mark.