Registers – Coded record sensors – Particular sensor structure
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-30
2004-11-23
St.Cyr, Daniel (Department: 2876)
Registers
Coded record sensors
Particular sensor structure
C235S436000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820808
ABSTRACT:
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of optically readable bar codes and, more particularly, to a bar code that may be printed with less precision than current bar codes and a scanner for reading it. Also disclosed is a communication system including such a bar code and scanner. The present invention also relates generally to the field of commercial security and, more particularly, to a method and system for authorizing and carrying out a secure financial transaction.
Bar codes are everywhere. Modern man encounters data hidden within such code devices often throughout each normal day. Most commercial products have a price tag or product label with a barcode which is scanned in order to ring up the purchase price and/or identify the product for inventory control or other purposes. Passports and drivers licenses have information encoded on bar codes which are readable by the relevant authorities. Checks we write may have bar coded data on them which is scanned into our bank records.
The prior art reflects a wonderfully diverse and interesting array of applications for bar codes, including the following: U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,058 which describes introducing data into an electronic baseball game via a bar code; U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,124 which shows an electronic trading card system in which bar coded data is disposed on an insertable and removable medium; U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,678 which describes sound emitting cards having data thereon in the form of bar codes; U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,731 which shows electronic cards with copy protection using bar coded safeguards; U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,029 which describes the interaction with intelligent virtual objects, with data transferred by bar code; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,248 which shows a system and method for carrying out information related transactions using World Wide Web documents with URL encoded symbols carried by bar codes and other storage mediums. There is almost no end to the utility of bar codes for condensing, conveying and displaying data for many purposes.
However, if one examines present bar codes, one cannot but be impressed with the precision with which the parallel stripes are disposed on the substrate, be it a product label or any other object. Indeed, it is essential that bar codes be precise in the configuration and placement of the parallel lines and spaces. Any deviation in line thickness or relative spacing will result in misread data, with potentially serious consequences.
In order to be able to rely on the achievement of such precision, it is necessary to use a high quality printer that prints the entire bar code in a single press, for example an offset printer. Printers that print line-by-line, such as dot matrix, inkjet and laser printers, are susceptible to misspacing due to irregular feed speeds and other causes.
Printing in a single press is commercially feasible only for labels and other pre-printed substrates for which there is needed a large printing run of identical appearance. Single press printing is impractical for products for which there is only a limited quantity required, and makes it difficult to use bar codes for applications in which a large number of bar coded units are required, but with each having unique data, such as one time use cards or specific user identified products. It is commercially unfeasible to print individualized bar codes during the initial printing run of the substrate. For such units it is necessary to reprint on already printed substrates the uniquely different bar code needed. Such secondary printing is customarily done with a printer that prints in a line-by-line fashion, however the results do not achieve the same level of read accuracy as do the results of single press printing.
There is thus a widely recognized need for a readable bar code that may be individually printed with line-by-line printing methods on pre-printed substrates and which may be accurately read by an optical scanner.
E-commerce via the Internet is a growing segment of commerce in the world today, with transactions totaling billions of dollars annually. A substantial amount of E-commerce is consumer purchasing from commercial Websites, in which a consumer orders a product and pays for it by credit card via a computer, the transaction details being transmitted electronically over a communications network.
The dangers inherent in such a practice are well known. The methods used to breach the security of such transactions are equally well known and include invading the switching, transmission, and host computer components, for example, by use of so-called Trojan Horse programs, therewith compromising secret keys stored in a given user's personal computer, tampering with switches to redirect traffic, and intercepting and manipulating transmission facilities. Indeed, such practices are well known to hackers and are frequently transmitted around the World Wide Web for all to see.
In order to avoid such vulnerability, it is common for commercial enterprises to provide a method of payment that does not expose their clients' confidential information to the electronic communications environment. Such merchant independent payment mechanisms which utilize communication networks may provide a direct link from customer to vendor for ordering, but with payment effected in a manner that does not require electronic transmission, and thus, without the need to disclose credit card information. Accordingly, a known client may order and pay for a product without exposing his credit account to theft and misuse. However, this practice, at present, does not permit users to utilize conventional financial instruments such as credit cards, debit cards, and demand deposit account balances to pay for products.
Other merchant independent payment mechanisms, particularly those commonly employed by Web based enterprises, include a customer database which stores their clients' credit card details and utilizes conventional financial instruments to effect payment. This practice allows a client to order a product without exposing his credit account in the initial link to the merchant. However, the vulnerability remains in the subsequent link from the merchant to the credit supplier when obtaining authorization for the payment. It is widely known that this practice, even when transmissions are encrypted, only partially addresses the problem. Accordingly, the public remains rightly reluctant to pass on credit card information over the Internet.
Many payment solutions have been attempted that avoid the electronic security issue. One such idea is in the form of “gift certificates” either prepaid and issued by a merchant or association of merchants, or linked to a credit account and issued by a credit supplier, such as the AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CHECK program and the AMERICAN EXPRESS “BE MY GUEST” program, which allow payment via a credit account but which do not require the disclosure of credit card information. However, such certificates do not provide complete security as they may be misappropriated and used by an unauthorized user. They do, however, provide partial protection in that they cap potential losses to the face amount of the certificate.
Another proposed solution is in the form of convenience checks drawn on a credit account, or combination credit cards/gift certificates known as gift checks, which can be used much as travelers checks. These too may be stolen and used by unauthorized users.
A solution has been proposed in the form of single-use credit card numbers. The number can be used for one transaction only so that if intercepted while transacting business over the Internet, it is of no further use anyway. This solves the theft during use problem, but does not address the problem of an unused single-use number being misappropriated and used by an unauthorized user, as a stolen credit card might be so used.
Accordingly, a way is needed to provide secure payment by credit card over a communications network that is not subject to the abovementioned limitations and vulnerabili
G.E. Ehrlich (1995) Ltd.
St.Cyr Daniel
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