System of controlled certificate production and management

• US 20040073798A1
• Filed: 06/10/2003
• Published: 04/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Krasa, Robert T., Wei, Chen, Wei, Zhang, Look, Thomas F., Hong, Ji, Gundale, Jeremy P., Yubao, Liu, Jianyong, Mao, Schmidt, Craig A., Tian, Qui, Tien-Hsiagn, Huang
• Application Number:
  US10/458,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20040073798A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/175
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/10 Registration, licensing, or like devices
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/0292 tamper indicating labels

Abstract

Techniques are described for distributed production of controlled certificates, such as license plates for motor vehicles, in a secure manner. Controlled certificates may be printed at a local branch office subject to the control of a client computer. A server computer may regulate the operations of the client computers at the branch offices. The production system includes any of several security features to deter forgery and counterfeiting. For example, the security components that make up a finished controlled certificate may be separately secured with unique security elements. The finished controlled certificate may also have a unique security element.

Claims

1. An article of manufacture comprising a controlled certificate, the controlled certificate comprising:

a first component comprising a first security element; and

a second component comprising a second security element bonded to the first component.

2. The article of claim 1, wherein the controlled certificate comprises at least one of a vehicle registration sticker, a vehicle validation sticker, a driver license, a passport, a visa, and a personal identification card.

3. The article of claim 1 wherein at least one security element uniquely identifies the component.

4. The article of claim 3, wherein the security element that uniquely identifies the component uniquely identifies the controlled certificate.

5. The article of claim 3, wherein the security element that uniquely identified the component comprises encrypted information.

6. The article of claim 1 wherein the first security element uniquely identifies the first component and the second security element uniquely identifies the second security element.

7. The article of claim 6 wherein the first security element in combination with the second security element uniquely identify the controlled certificate.

8. The article of claim 1, wherein the security element comprises at least one of a bar code, a dot code, a color-shifting mark, a watermark, a holographic mark, a visibility-shifting mark, a mark visible in ultraviolet light, a mark visible in infrared (IR) light, a mark that includes a specular reflection shift, a mark of a specific color, a foil mark and a radio frequency identification tag.

9. The article of claim 1, further comprising informational content printed to at least one of the components.

10. The article of claim 1, wherein the first component is bonded to the second component with an adhesive.

11. The article of claim 1, wherein the first component is selected from paper, a polymeric sheet and a metal.

12. The article of claim 1 wherein the second component is selected from transparent film and transparent coating.

13. A system comprising:

a client computer, associated with a branch office, that transmits a controlled certificate request via a computer network;

a server computer that receives the controlled certificate request from the client computer via the computer network, and transmits a response to the controlled certificate request to the client computer via the computer network, the response including one of an authorization and a denial of the controlled certificate request; and

a printer coupled to the client computer to generate at least a portion of a controlled certificate when the client computer receives an authorization of the controlled certificate request.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the controlled certificate comprises at least one of a license plate, a vehicle registration sticker, a vehicle validation sticker, a driver license, a passport, a visa, and a personal identification card.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the transmitted controlled certificate request is encrypted.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the transmitted response to the controlled certificate request is encrypted.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the controlled certificate comprises at least two security components.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the security components comprise a panel and a substrate.

19. The system of claim 17, further comprising a scanner coupled to the client computer to read at least one security element on at least one security component.

20. The system of claim 17, further comprising a bonding apparatus coupled to the client computer that bonds at least one security component to another security component.

21. A method comprising:

receiving a controlled certificate request;

transmitting the controlled certificate request to a server computer;

receiving a response to the controlled certificate request from the server computer, the response including one of an authorization and a denial of the controlled certificate request; and

generating a controlled certificate according to the controlled certificate request when an authorization is received.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the controlled certificate comprises at least one of a license plate, a vehicle registration sticker, a vehicle validation sticker, a driver license, a passport, a visa, and a personal identification card.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein generating a controlled certificate comprises printing a panel with identifying information, the panel configured to be bonded to a substrate.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the panel includes at least one first security element and the substrate includes at least one second security element, the method further comprising scanning the first and second security elements.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the second security element comprises at least one of a bar code, a dot code, a color-shifting mark, a watermark, a holographic mark, a visibility-shifting mark, a mark visible in ultraviolet light, a mark visible in infrared (IR) light, a mark that includes a specular reflection shift, a mark of a specific color, a foil mark and a radio frequency identification tag.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein printing the panel comprises printing a security element unique to the controlled certificate.

27. A method comprising:

receiving a receiving a controlled certificate request from a branch office;

validating the controlled certificate request; and

authorizing the branch office to generate a controlled certificate according to the controlled certificate request when the controlled certificate request is valid.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the controlled certificate comprises at least one of a license plate, a vehicle registration sticker, a vehicle validation sticker, a driver license, a passport, a visa, and a personal identification card.

29. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

receiving encrypted information associated with the generated controlled certificate; and

recording the information in a database.

30. A system comprising:

a computer that is authorized to generate a controlled certificate comprising a first security component and a second security component; and

a digital printer coupled to the computer to print informational content and a first security element on at least one of the first and second security components,

wherein the first security component includes a second security element prior to printing, and

wherein the second security component includes a third security element prior to printing.

31. The system of claim 30, wherein the first security component comprises a panel and the second security component comprises a substrate.

32. The system of claim 30, further comprising a scanner that reads at least one of the first, second and third security element.

33. The system of claim 30, wherein at least one security element comprises at least one of a bar code, a dot code, a color-shifting mark, a watermark, a holographic mark, a visibility-shifting mark, a mark visible in ultraviolet light, a mark visible in infrared (IR) light, a mark that includes a specular reflection shift, a mark of a specific color, a foil mark and a radio frequency identification tag.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the computer is a client computer, and wherein the client computer receives the authorization to generate the controlled certificate from a server computer.

35. The system of claim 30, further comprising a bonding apparatus that bonds the first security component to the second security component.

36. The system of claim 35, further comprising a conveying apparatus that moves at least one of the first security component and second security component to the bonding apparatus.

37. The system of claim 30, wherein the system is automated.

38. The system of claim 30, wherein the controlled certificate comprises at least one of a driver license, a passport, a visa, and a personal identification card.

39. The system of claim 30, further comprising a hopper to hold at least one of a first and second security component.

40. The system of claim 30, further comprising a finishing device.

45. The method of claim 40, wherein the first security component comprises a panel and the second security component comprises a substrate.

41. A method comprising:

receiving from a branch office a first tracking identifier that identifies a first security component used in making a controlled certificate;

receiving from the branch office a second tracking identifier that identifies a second security component used in making the controlled certificate; and

verifying that the first and second security components are in the inventory of the branch office.

42. The method of claim 41, further comprising receiving from the branch office a controlled certificate tracking identifier that identifies the controlled certificate.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the controlled certificate comprises at least one of a driver license, a passport, a visa, and a personal identification card.

44. The method of claim 41, further comprising recording the first and second tracking identifiers in a database.