Restricted access display system

• US 20060121372A1
• Filed: 11/15/2005
• Published: 06/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Original Assignee: Pitney Bowes Incorporated (Böwe Systec AG)
• Inventors: Singer, Benjamin D., Sansone, Ronald P., Wolfman, G. Jonathan
• Granted Patent: US 7,559,660 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 430/10
• CPC Class Codes: B44F 1/10 Changing, amusing, or secret pictures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/84 output devices, e.g. displays or monitors
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A board that hides information in a manner that only certain authorized personnel may change the information and other authorized personnel may view the information. This invention accomplishes the foregoing by placing a locked panel of translucent material over certain information written on the board that may only be changed by an authorized individual by opening the lock. A panel of opaque material is placed over the translucent material in a manner that certain information written on the board will be revealed when authorized personnel remove the opaque material or cause the opaque material to be transparent. The translucent material may be removed by activating a switch or entering a code.

Claims

1. A method for restricting access to information that is written in a color having predetermined wavelengths on a clear material that comprising the steps of:

(a) applying polarized light having the predetermined wavelengths in a specified plane to a back of a clear material;

(b) illuminating a front of the clear material with light;

having the predetermined wavelengths;

(c) adjusting the light illuminating the back of the clear material and the light illuminating the front of the clear material so that the information written on the material will have the same illumination and will be invisible to a observer; and

(d) polarizing the white light emanating from the material so that a designated observer will be able to view the information written on the material.

2. The method claimed in claim 1, further including the step of:

diffusing the polarized applied light before the light reaches the back of the clear material.

3. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined wavelengths are the wavelengths of white light.

4. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the material is glass.

5. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the material is plastic.

6. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the polarized light emanating from the material is polarized by a polarizing lens that is placed in a eye glass frame.

7. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the light illumination of the back and the front of the clear material is manually adjusted.

8. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the light illumination of the back and the front of the clear material is automatically adjusted.

9. The method claimed in claim 1, wherein the polarizer in step (a) has a neutral tint.

15. The method claimed in claim 2, further including the step of:

using a biometric to unlock the opaque panel.

10. A method for restricting access to material that is written on a board, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) placing a locked translucent panel over the board in a manner that information may be written on the board when the locked panel is open by personnel that are authorized to change the information written on the board;

(b) placing an opaque panel over some or all of the information written on the board; and

(c) unlocking the opaque panel by personnel that are allowed to view the information written on the board and not allowed to change information written on the board so that the information under the opaque panel may be viewed.

11. The method claimed in claim 10, further including the step of:

using a fingerprint scan to unlock the opaque panel.

12. The method claimed in claim 11, further including the step of:

using a retinal scan to unlock the opaque panel.

13. The method claimed in claim 11, further including the step of:

using a code to unlock the opaque panel.

14. The method claimed in claim 11, further including the step of:

using a switch to unlock the opaque panel.

16. The method claimed in claim 10, wherein the board is a hospital board that contains patient information.