Radiant energy – Photocells; circuits and apparatus – Photocell controlled circuit
Patent
1988-01-22
1990-03-13
Nelms, David C.
Radiant energy
Photocells; circuits and apparatus
Photocell controlled circuit
250566, 2504581, 356 71, G06K 500
Patent
active
049085166
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to the verification of a security document or article, e.g. a card such as a credit card, identity card, telephone card, clock card or access control card, having information recorded on a magnetic strip which is disposed on the surface of the document or article.
Plastics cards, such as credit cards, identity cards, telephone cards, clock cards and access control cards, having information recorded on a magnetic strip which is disposed on the surface of the card are well known. The card generally consists of layers of PVC and the magnetic strip is adhered to the outer surface of one face of the card. The magnetic strip is usually not covered by an outer PVC laminating layer. Consequently, counterfeiters have been able to forge such cards by delicately removing the magnetic strip from the card and by adhering the strip to a forged card bearing false markings. Thus, the security of such magnetic strip cards is poor.
So-called magnetic swipe readers are also known for use in reading the magnetic information which is stored (usually on one of four tracks) on the magnetic strip. Such magnetic swipe readers include a slot having disposed therein at one side thereof a magnetic detecting head. The card is passed through the slot and the magnetic strip passes the magnetic detecting head which reads the magnetic information stored on the magnetic strip. However, for the reason discussed above, the security of the magnetic strip cards is poor and so it is relatively easy for a determined counterfeiter to produce a forged card having the correct magnetic information thereon for him to be able to pass the card through a magnetic swipe reader to access the desired service without the forgery being detected.
It is an object of the present invention to increase the security of a document or article having such a magnetic strip and to provide an apparatus and method for verifying whether or not the document or article is genuine.
The present invention provides apparatus for characterising or identifying an article having a magnetic material thereon which stores information relating to the article, the apparatus comprising means for irradiating the article with electromagnetic radiation of a particular spectral characteristic, means for detecting electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by or reflected from the article due to the irradiation thereof by the means for irradiating, means for determining whether or not the detected radiation has prescribed spectral characteristics thereby to detect whether or not the article is genuine, and a magnetic detector means for reading information which is stored on the magnetic material, the means for determining being arranged to control the magnetic detector means in response to the detection of whether or not the article is genuine.
Preferably, the means for detecting electromagnetic radiation comprises a plurality of optical filters each arranged to transmit a different wavelength and a plurality of photo-detectors, each being arranged to receive filtered radiation from a respective optical filter.
The apparatus may further comprise an article detector which detects when an article to be characterised or identified is at a testing station adjacent the means for irradiating and the means for detecting electromagnetic radiation, the article detector being operable to actuate the means for determining when the article is at the testing station.
Desirably, the means for determining is adapted to integrate values which are representative of the intensity of the detected radiation at predetermined wavelengths, to halt the integration of the values when one of the integrated values reaches a predetermined threshold and to compare the final integrated values thereby to determine whether or not the integrated values at the predetermined wavelengths correspond to respective prescribed values.
The present invention further provides a method for characterising or identifying an article having a magnetic material thereon which stores information relating to the
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patent: 3795805 (1974-03-01), Swanberg et al.
patent: 4047033 (1977-09-01), Malmberg et al.
patent: 4277689 (1981-07-01), Thomas et al.
patent: 4607160 (1986-08-01), Sakakino
International Search Report.
Allen Stephone B.
Nelms David C.
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