Apparatus for analyzing signatures
US5588765A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 16, 1994 |
| Grant date | Dec 31, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 16, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB43K17/00
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
An apparatus and method to enable investigators of medical and insurance fraud to quickly and reliably determine whether a plurality of signatures affixed to a series of documents were made with the same pen and/or at the same time. According to a first embodiment, a series of indentations are formed around the periphery of the rim at the forward end of a conventional ballpoint pen. The indentations produce radially inward extending projections which are aligned with the rolling ball of the pen to induce scratches or micro-striations in the ink lines applied to the paper from the ball. By analyzing the scratch patterns of different signatures applied by the same maker to different documents, an indication can be provided whether the signatures were all made with the same pen.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.