Claims
- 1. An optically-readable medium comprising:
a reflective layer; at least one substrate coupled to said reflective layer in an arrangement in which an interrogating beam from an optical reading device must pass through at least one substrate to impinge on said reflective layer to optically read information encoded by said reflective layer; a first agent disposed in an optical communication path of said interrogating beam, wherein said first agent inhibits the ability of the interrogating beam to optically read the reflective layer after a first predetermined time; and a second agent that inhibits the ability of the interrogating beam to optically read the reflective layer after a second predetermined time.
- 2. The optically-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said first agent inhibits the ability of the interrogating beam to optically read the reflective layer by interfering with said interrogating beam.
- 3. The optically-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said second agent inhibits the ability of the interrogating beam to optically read the reflective layer by altering the reflective properties of at least a portion of said reflective layer.
- 4. The optically-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said reflective layer is a metallic layer.
- 5. The optically-readable medium according to claim 2, wherein said first agent interferes with said interrogating beam by changing from a first optical state to a second optical state in response to a predetermined stimulus.
- 6. The optically-readable medium according to claim 5, wherein said first optical state is a substantially optically transparent state and said second optical state is a substantially optically opaque state.
- 7. The optically-readable medium according to claim 2, wherein said first agent interferes with said interrogating beam after a triggering event.
- 8. The optically-readable medium according to claim 7, wherein said triggering event is releasing said optically-readable medium from an enclosure.
- 9. The optically-readable medium according to claim 7, wherein said triggering event comprises said first agent interacting with at least one environmental stimulus.
- 10. The optically-readable medium according to claim 9, further comprising an enclosure, wherein said enclosure blocks said at least one environmental stimulus.
- 11. The optically-readable medium according to claim 9, wherein said at least one environmental stimulus comprises at least one of oxygen, air, water, light, or a combination thereof.
- 12. The optically-readable medium according to claim 3, wherein said second agent alters at least a portion of said reflective layer by destroying said at least a portion of said reflective layer.
- 13. The optically-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said first predetermined time and said second predetermined time are the same.
- 14. The optically-readable medium according to claim 1, wherein said first agent and said second agent are the same.
- 15. The optically-readable medium according to claim 2, wherein said second agent inhibits the ability of the interrogating beam to optically read the reflective layer by altering the reflective properties of at least a portion of said reflective layer.
- 16. The optically-readable medium according to claim 15, further comprising a material for preventing said first agent from interfering with the interrogating beam and said second agent from altering said reflective layer.
- 17. The optically-readable medium according to claim 16, wherein said first agent interferes with said interrogating beam after a first triggering event.
- 18. The optically-readable medium according to claim 17, wherein said second agent alters said reflective layer after a second triggering event.
- 19. The optically-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein at least one of said first triggering event and said second triggering event comprises a mechanical action applied to said optically-readable medium.
- 20. The optically-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein said material blocks said first triggering event and said second triggering event.
- 21. The optically-readable medium according to claim 20, wherein said first triggering event and said second triggering event are the same.
- 22. The optically-readable medium according to claim 18, wherein said material is a package enclosing said optically-readable medium, said package maintains an essentially constant atmospheric pressure and atmospheric composition.
- 23. The optically-readable medium according to claim 22, wherein opening said package changes at least one of said atmospheric pressure or atmospheric composition.
- 24. The optically-readable medium according to claim 23, wherein said change in said at least one of said atmospheric pressure or atmospheric composition is at least one of said first triggering event or said second triggering event.
- 25. The optically-readable medium according to claim 2, wherein said first agent interferes with said interrogating beam by changing the surface topology of said substrate.
- 26. The optically-readable medium according to claim 2, wherein said first agent interferes with said interrogating beam after interacting with a stimulus included in said optically-readable medium.
- 27. The optically-readable medium according to claim 3, wherein said second agent alters at least a portion of said reflective layer after interacting with a stimulus included in said optically-readable medium.
- 28. The optically-readable medium according to claim 2, wherein said first agent changes between a first state and a second state in response to a predefined stimulus, wherein said first state does not substantially interfere with said interrogating beam and said second state substantially interferes with said interrogating beam.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of both copending U.S. Ser. No. 60/125,927, filed Mar. 23, 1999, now pending; and copending U.S. Ser. No. 60/128,197, filed Apr. 7, 1999, now pending, the entire contents of both of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein.
Provisional Applications (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60125927 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
|
60128197 |
Apr 1999 |
US |
Continuations (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09507224 |
Feb 2000 |
US |
Child |
10335701 |
Jan 2003 |
US |