Apparatus and methods for fluorescent imaging and optical character reading
US5867586A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 27, 1997 |
| Grant date | Feb 2, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 27, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG07F7/086
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
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 imag…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.