SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFICATION OF ITEMS USING UNIQUE OPTICAL ELEMENT

Abstract

A system of identification of items and products is provided, comprising an optical identification mark associated physically and in the database with specific item or product, wherein the optical identification mark comprising an optical element with unique refractive properties and a laser beam source and said optical identification mark configured to transmit the laser beam trough said optical element and surrounding medium to create a light beam with unique light and shape properties which utilized as token for identification of specific optical identification mark and subsequent identification of the associated specific item or product.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Present invention relates to the field of authentication and counterfeit detection and more specifically to a methods and apparatus for labeling and identification items, goods or products.

2. Discussion of the State of the Art

It is often desirable to uniquely label or identify items, goods or products, such as different objects, legal documents, personal identity, for tracking, identification, verification, authentication, or for other purposes.

Existing technologies for uniquely labeling or identifying items, goods and products, such as bar codes, electronic microchips/transponders, radio-frequency identification (RFID) are often inadequate. For example, existing technologies may be too complicated for certain applications, may not provide enough different codes, may not provide sufficient security and be easy to copy by potential forgers.

Therefore, it would be desirable to obtain a labeling technique that provides the capability of providing identification mark with unique properties, that can be extremely difficult to copy by potential forgers and give customers relatively simple means of reading or recognizing particular identification mark and such way give customers means to get all available information about associated with said identification mark items, goods or products.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an embodiment of present invention a system of identification of items and products is provided, comprising an optical identification mark associated with particular items and products and said optical identification mark includes an optical element with unique refraction properties and said optical identification mark configured to transmit laser beam trough said optical element and medium to expose resulting primary unique refraction image at matt flat surface.

In another embodiment of present invention a mobile device with build-in camera with function to capture resulting primary refraction image produced with refracted laser beam at matt flat surface is provided.

In another embodiment of present invention a mobile device with build-in central processor unit (CPU) for processing resulting primary refraction image of optical element to determinate unique refraction pattern of optical element is provided.

In another embodiment of present invention the mobile device with build-in means for data communications with database is provided.

In another embodiment of present invention a database of unique refraction patterns of optical elements each of them associated with particular optical identification mark and optical identification marks each of them associated with particular item or product is provided.

In another embodiment of present invention a remote central processor unit (CPU) combined with database for determination unique refraction pattern of particular optical identification mark is provided.

In another embodiment of present invention the build-in to the mobile device means to display available at database information about labeled item or product associated with particular optical identification mark and all previous information request about said optical identification mark are provided.

In further embodiment of invention an optical identification mark is provided comprising: a laser diode, a power source, a power switch, an optical element with unique refraction properties and casing to keep said optical element and said laser diode at fixed position to each other to transmit laser beam through optical element and medium.

In another aspect of invention an optical element is provided consisting of one or several transparent objects of random highly irregular shape fixed at random position to each other and to the casing of optical identification mark and refraction index of transparent objects differ from refraction index of medium.

In another aspect of invention an optical identification mark is provided further comprising the power switch located at casing of optical identification mark at position mostly fit to be activated with a thumb.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1: The general layout of the proposed invention.

FIG. 2: The block-diagram illustrating steps of identification of items and products using optical identification mark according proposed invention.

FIG. 3: The plan view of optical identification mark physically attached to associated labeled item.

FIG. 4: The cross section of optical identification mark at switched on position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Inventor provides system for identification of items and products using optical identification element with unique optical refraction properties. The present invention described in enabled detail in the following examples, which may represent more than one of embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1: The general layout of the proposed invention illustrating a system of identification by customer the items or products associated with particular optical identification mark.

Optical identification mark 1 includes an optical element with unique refraction properties and said optical identification mark configured to transmit laser beam trough said optical element and medium to expose primary refraction image 2 at matt flat surface 3. To start process of identification the items or products associated with particular optical identification mark customer should switch on optical identification mark and direct refracted laser beam 4 to the any flat matt surface preferably from 1 . . . 2 ft. and angle preferably close to 70 . . . 90 degrees and then using mobile device 5 with build-in camera, in the preferred embodiment of the invention such as smartphone or tablet, capture resulting primary refraction images 2 for processing it with build-in to the mobile device or remote central processor unit (CPU) to determine unique refraction pattern of optical element of said optical identification mark.

A power switch located at casing of optical identification mark at position mostly fit to be activated with a thumb 6 and such way resulting primary refraction image 2 of optical element always tended to be positioned at flat matt surface at similar manner.

After central processor unit (CPU) determination of unique refraction pattern of optical element of said optical identification mark, refraction pattern of optical element using build-in to mobile device communication means is transmitted to the database containing unique refraction patterns of optical elements of optical identification marks each of them associated with particular items or products.

Then using build-in to mobile device communication means all available at database information associated with said particular items or products transmitted to mobile device and displayed to customer.

Because of optical element included to optical identification mark is unique at sense of refraction properties the customer can get from database reliable information about items and products associated with particular optical identification mark and such way verify quality and origin of items and products.

At another embodiment of invention process of determination the unique refraction pattern of optical element of optical identification mark is performed using remote central processor unit (CPU) combined with remote database. At that embodiment of invention order of identification of items and products is different, primary refraction image using communication means of mobile device is transmitted to remote central processor unit (CPU) combined with database for determination unique refraction pattern of particular optical identification mark and search for matches with stored at database refraction patterns of optical identification marks and associated with them items and products. After that all available information using communication means of mobile device is transmitted and displayed at mobile device for customer.

FIG. 2: The block-diagram illustrating steps of identification of items and products using optical identification mark according proposed invention. The numbering in FIG. 2 corresponds to the routine steps that are used in the preferred embodiment of invention. The realization of the identification routine in the preferred embodiment of the invention is described in details below and comprises the following steps:

Displaying primary refraction image of optical identification mark at flat matt surface:

Step-1: Customer using a thumb switch on optical identification mark and direct refracted laser beam to any flat matt surface preferably from 0.2-0.5 meter and angle preferably close to 70 . . . 90 degrees and such way display at flat matt surface primary refraction image of optical identification mark.

Primary refraction image acquisition with camera of mobile device:

Step-2: In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the primary refraction image acquisition is performed using a camera build-in to the mobile device such as smartphone or tablet.

Primary refraction image processing with central processor unit (CPU) to determine unique refraction pattern of optical identification element of optical identification mark:

Step-3: In the embodiment of the invention, the primary refraction image is processed to determine unique refraction pattern of optical element of particular optical identification mark and process is performed using central processor unit (CPU), remote or built-in to the mobile device such as smartphone or tablet.

Step-4: Enhancing the primary refraction image by highlighting segments of the image produced with the light corresponding with light of particular wavelength emitted from the laser diode of optical identification mark.

Step-5: Determination of unique refraction pattern of optical element of optical identification mark.

Registration at the database the unique refraction pattern of optical identification element of particular optical identification mark:

Step-6: 6Registration at the database the unique refraction pattern of optical identification element of particular optical identification mark.

Identification at the database the particular optical identification mark:

Step-7: Search at the database refraction pattern matching with the unique refraction pattern of optical identification element of particular optical identification mark.

Step-8: Associate matching refraction pattern with particular optical identification mark.

Extracting from the database available information of items and products associated with particular optical identification mark;

Step-9: Collecting at the database available information about items and products associated with particular optical identification mark.

Step-10: Transmitting to the mobile device collected at database available information about items and products associated with particular optical identification mark and previous information requests about that optical identification mark.

Displaying at the mobile device available information of items and products associated with particular optical identification mark and all previous information requests about that optical identification mark:

Step-11: Displaying at the mobile device available information of items and products associated with particular optical identification mark.

Step-12: Displaying at the mobile device information of previous information requests about that particular optical identification mark.

FIG. 3: The plan view of optical identification mark physically attached to associated labeled item.

In this example Optical identification mark 1 is physically attached to associated labeled item 7 with connector 8.

Readers of skill in the art will immediately recognize that different means of associating an optical identification mark with particular items or products may be configured in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4: The cross section of optical identification mark at switched on position.

In this example optical identification mark I includes casing 9 containing an optical element 10 with unique refraction properties, a laser diode 11, a power source 12, a power switch 13 and protective transparent cover 14.

At this embodiment of invention optical element 10 comprising one or several transparent objects 15 of random highly irregular shape fixed with transparent binder material 16 at random position to each other and to the casing 9 of optical identification mark 1

Refractive index of transparent objects differ from refractive index of binder material and refractive index of medium. Laser beam 16 transmitted through optical element 10 is refracted and at scattered form comes out of the optical identification mark 1 through transparent protective cover 14.

It will be apparent to one with skill in the art that the system of identification of items and products of the invention may be provided using some or all of the mentioned features and components without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It will also be apparent to the skilled artisan that the embodiments described above are specific examples of a single broader invention which may have greater scope than any of the singular descriptions taught. There may be many alterations made in the descriptions without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A system for identification of items and products comprising an optical identification mark associated physically and in the database with a specific item or product, wherein the optical identification mark comprising an optical element with unique refractive properties and a laser beam source, fixed in the optical identification mark relative to each other in a position that allows a laser beam from said laser source to pass through the optical element with the possibility of an output of a light beam with unique properties, formed by said laser beam refracted by said optical element beyond said optical identification mark, followed by identification of the specific optical identification mark in the said database by identifying its unique refractive image appearing on a surface located in the direction of propagation of the said light beam(screen surface), followed by demonstrating of information on the said specific item or product associated with this optical identification mark in the said database to the user.

2. A system for identification of items and products of claim 1 (Currently amended), further comprising: a database of unique refractive images of optical identification marks array, wherein each of optical identification marks in turn is associated with a specific item or product;a mobile device with a built-in camera, built-in means of communication with said database and built-in means of demonstrating information to the user, designed to capture the unique refractive image that appears on the said at the claim 1 (Currently amended) screen surface, transfer the said image to the said database, as well as receive and demonstrate the information on the specific item or product associated with the specific optical identification mark in the database to the user;a central processor designed to determine the characteristics of said unique refractive image of a specific optical identification mark captured by said mobile device camera in order to search for the corresponding unique refractive image stored in the said database of the optical identification marks array, each of which in turn is associated with a specific item or product,

3. An optical identification mark comprising: a casing intended for mutual fixation of the elements of the optical identification mark;a laser diode as a source of a laser beam;a power source;a power switch;an optical element with unique refractive properties that comprising one or more transparent objects of irregular random shape randomly conjugated to each other, while the said optical element is fixed in the optical identification mark in a random spatial position relative to the said casing at the same time providing passing of the laser beam from said laser diode through the optical element with the possibility of an output of a light beam with unique properties formed by said laser beam refracted by the optical element beyond the optical identification mark for subsequent identification of the specific optical identification mark by the unique properties of the said light beam; at that, the refractive index of the material of said transparent objects differs from the refraction index of the medium surrounding the said transparent objects.

4. The optical identification mark of claim 3 (Currently amended) further comprising a power switch designed to be activated with a human thumb.