117results about "Digital marking by photographic/thermographic registration" patented technology

A system of bill presentment and bill payment. The parties to the process, which typically include the bill presenter, bill payer, and bank, credit card company or other intermediary, select from a number of choices in the selection of information to include in the bill, preparation of the bill, acceptable payment methods, means to send the bill and bill payment instrument, means of signing the bill, bill payment instrument, receipt acknowledging deposit and payment, method of recording and reconciling payments, and further actions. An accumulation of choices by the involved parties can include digital information in each step that represents all of the significant data accumulated up to and including that step. That digital data preferably includes digital signatures of each party at each step so as to provide an audit trail in purely digital form. Where digital data is chosen for each step, the digital data can be electronic or, using machine readable code, printed on paper, regardless of the form chosen in prior or later steps.

A method of calibrating a laser marking system includes calibrating a laser marking system in three dimensions. The step of calibrating includes storing data corresponding to a plurality of heights. A position measurement of a workpiece is obtained to be marked. Stored calibration data is associated with the position measurement. A method and system for calibrating a laser processing or marking system is provided. The method includes: calibrating a laser marker over a marking field; obtaining a position measurement of a workpiece to be marked; associating stored calibration data with the position measurement; relatively positioning a marking beam and the workpiece based on at least the associated calibration data; and calibrating a laser marking system in at least three degrees of freedom. The step of calibrating includes storing data corresponding to a plurality of positions and controllably and relatively positioning a marking beam based on the stored data corresponding to the plurality of positions.

A laser-based method and system for processing targeted surface material and article produced thereby are provided. The system processes the targeted surface material within a region of a workpiece while avoiding undesirable changes to adjacent non-targeted material. The system includes a primary laser subsystem including a primary laser source for generating a pulsed laser output including at least one pulse having a wavelength and a pulse width less than 1 ns. A delivery subsystem irradiates the targeted surface material of the workpiece with the pulsed laser output including the at least one pulse to texture the targeted surface material. The pulsed laser output has sufficient total fluence to initiate ablation within at least a portion of the targeted surface material and the pulse width is short enough such that the region and the non-targeted material surrounding the material are substantially free of slag.

A method of radiantly marking substrates including metals, plastics, ceramic materials, glazes, glass ceramics, and glasses of any desired form, which comprises electrostatically applying to the material to be marked a variable thickness layer of marking material containing energy absorbing components and / or enhancers, then irradiating said layer with a radiant energy source such as a laser or diode based energy source such that the radiation is directed onto said layer, optionally in accordance with the form of the marking to be applied, preferably using a laser or diode based energy source of a wavelength which is sufficiently absorbed by the marking material so as to create a bonding of the marking material to the surface of the workpiece at the irradiated areas.

A laser marking apparatus has a number of individual laser devices (1) mounted at angles to one another. The output ends (2) of the laser devices are disposed closely adjacent to one another and a number of laser beam redirectors (5) are disposed to intercept the laser beams (3) emitted from the laser output ends (2) so as to extend the length of the laser beam paths and to decrease the angle between said laser beams (3).

The present invention provides a system and method for the verification of the purchase of a retail item wherein an encoding device provides a machine-readable post-purchase indicia on the label for a retail item at the point of sale of the retail item. When a customer returns the retail item for a refund or exchange, a detecting device analyzes the label for the presence of the post-purchase indicia. Presence of the post-purchase indicia indicates a legitimate exchange whereas the absence of the post-purchase indicia signifies a fraudulent exchange.

A method of formatting digital data and a method of decoding the formatted digital data. User selectable format parameters vary the dimensions and other attributes of spots and the cells containing those spots as well as other features which the formatting process formats into a pattern. A method of encoding the formatted digital data using these format parameters allows for encoding a substrate optimally for any given printer or scanner. One embodiment provides for markers to facilitate determination of cell locations. In one embodiment the decoding process achieves a pyramid gain of knowledge by locating a landmark (801), which is located in a known position relative to a metasector (802), which contains information about the encoding process used to encode the main body of data (803), which the decoding process decodes to recover the original digital data. Further embodiments include encryption, transmission by facsimile, inclusion of human readable information, and automatic launches of computer files.

A plastic product such an animal ear tag (1) is laser marked with indicia (2). The contrast between the indicia (2) and the surrounding surface of the tag (1) is enhanced by the heated of the indicia following laser marking to a temperature at which the indicia and the surrounding surface have melted. In the preferred embodiment the indicia (2) is provided as a raised surface (3) and with a plurality of spaced apart peaks (4) with gaps (6) therebetween. The heating of the tag (1) is preferably by the application of a hot plate to the indicia surface of the tag and simultaneaouly or subsequently to the non-indicia surface of the tag.

The present invention relates to a laser marking device that irradiates a laser beam on a workpiece (W) to transform a portion inside the workpiece at a focal point of the laser beam, thus putting a dot in each predetermined area. The laser marking device includes acquiring means (10, 20) that acquires, as information on the dot, at least two-dimensional position information of an exposed section of the workpiece (W), and density information of the dot, coordinate setting means (30) that calculates, for each dot according to the density information, dot depth information showing the distance from the surface of the workpiece (W) to the dot in the thickness direction of the workpiece (W), and sets three-dimensional coordinates for each dot based on a position specified by the dot depth information and the two-dimensional position information, and laser marking means (40) that performs marking with the three-dimensional coordinates as a laser beam focal point.

A laser-based method and system for processing targeted surface material and article produced thereby are provided. The system processes the targeted surface material within a region of a workpiece while avoiding undesirable changes to adjacent non-targeted material. The system includes a primary laser subsystem including a primary laser source for generating a pulsed laser output including at least one pulse having a wavelength and a pulse width less than 1 ns. A delivery subsystem irradiates the targeted surface material of the workpiece with the pulsed laser output including the at least one pulse to texture the targeted surface material. The pulsed laser output has sufficient total fluence to initiate ablation within at least a portion of the targeted surface material and the pulse width is short enough such that the region and the non-targeted material surrounding the material are substantially free of slag.

A method and apparatus for labeling plant products based on laser activation of a color-changing compound is disclosed. In the preferred embodiment, a nozzle sprays a coating of photosensitive material containing color-changing chemical component. An optional drying station is set up to optimize homogeneity and adhesiveness of the color-changing coating. A laser equipped with beam steering optics is used to image the desired mark on the plant product by inducing a change of color in the photosensitive coating, without contacting the plant product skin and at a high speed. An optional nozzle sprays a sealant coating after printing, for extended durability of the imaged label. In addition, an optical sensor detects the incoming plant product, determines its size and sends information for selecting the proper label to be imaged. An additional optical sensor can be placed at the end of the process to verify the quality and legibility of the imaged label. The apparatus described can be extended to multiple marking stations, which can be controlled by a central computer to allow for dynamic updating of the desired label(s).

Authentication systems, apparatus, and methods authenticate an identification marking including a nanocrystalline material. One or more properties of the marking are ascertained to provide a measured profile. The measured profile is compared to at least one member of a closed set of reference profiles. Each reference profile has predetermined values of one or more properties. Each reference profile is unique within the set. At least one reference profile is characteristic of an indicator material in a nanocrystalline morphology and non-characteristic of the same indicator material in a bulk morphology.

Laser processing data based on which a laser processing system scans a work with a laser beam adjustable in focal distance in two dimensions is generate by specifying a two-dimensional pattern in an X-Y coordinate plane and a shift pitch at which the two-dimensional pattern is shifted in a Z-axis direction and repeatedly shifting the two-dimensional pattern at the shift pitch in the Z-axis direction in synchronism with the scan with the two-dimensional pattern.

An optical disk having a first recording area for recording information; and a second recording area having auxiliary information including disk identification information unique to that optical disk recorded therein, wherein the second recording area including circumferentially arranged multiple stripe patterns each strip extending along a radius of the disk; and indicator indicating the presence of auxiliary information.

Authentication systems, apparatus, and methods authenticate an identification marking including a nanocrystalline material. One or more properties of the marking are ascertained to provide a measured profile. The measured profile is compared to at least one member of a closed set of reference profiles. Each reference profile has predetermined values of one or more properties. Each reference profile is unique within the set. At least one reference profile is characteristic of an indicator material in a nanocrystalline morphology and non-characteristic of the same indicator material in a bulk morphology.

A container suitable for storing biological material which is laser etched with a two-dimensional bar code and methods for producing the same. The container can be in the form of a straw having a thickness between about 0.1 mm and about 0.3 mm or can be in the form of another container that holds multiple straws. The laser etched mark can be in the form of a two-dimensional bar code may be located on an exterior surface of the container, and when the container is a straw, it remains unwarped and impermeable to fluids.

It is judged whether a marking unit formed on a material becomes a bright mark or a dark mark. Based on this judgment, for the work W of a material in which the marking unit becomes a bright mark, the code symbol of the 2-dimensional code of the original image is bright / dark-reversed to generate a reversed code symbol 1R. By doing this, a laser marker 10 is controlled so as to apply a laser beam to the cell of the background portion without applying the laser beam on the cell of the code portion. On the other hand, in the case of the normal material in which the marking unit becomes a dark mark, the laser marker 10 is controlled to apply the laser beam to the cell of the code portion without applying the beam to the cell of the background portion.

A method for printing is described. The method includes providing a printing system for printing a code on a product moving in a direction. The code is constructed from a plurality of pixels in a first data set indicating the positions of the pixels and generates a corrected data set indicating the position that each pixel would occupy if each pixel was moved at the velocity of the product until the pixel was printed. The method also includes printing the code according to the corrected data set.

Individual two-dimensional barcodes 30, 91 and 173 are provided for individual chips 31 arrayed on a wafer 50, individual lead frames 93 to each of which chips 92 are bonded and individual packaged products 171 constituted of resin sealed semiconductor chips based upon chip ID information to enable information management to be implemented separately for individual chips 31, individual frames 93 and individual chip products 171. Thus, a higher degree of efficiency and a higher degree of accuracy in the information management for semiconductor devices are achieved in all processes of semiconductor production including the individual manufacturing processes, the physical distribution process, the shipping process and the claim handling process.

A method of calibrating a laser marking system includes calibrating a laser marking system in three dimensions. The step of calibrating includes storing data corresponding to a plurality of heights. A position measurement of a workpiece is obtained to be marked. Stored calibration data is associated with the position measurement. A method and system for calibrating a laser processing or marking system is provided. The method includes: calibrating a laser marker over a marking field; obtaining a position measurement of a workpiece to be marked; associating stored calibration data with the position measurement; relatively positioning a marking beam and the workpiece based on at least the associated calibration data; and calibrating a laser marking system in at least three degrees of freedom. The step of calibrating includes storing data corresponding to a plurality of positions and controllably and relatively positioning a marking beam based on the stored data corresponding to the plurality of positions.

Manufacturing steps for a cathode ray tube or a glass bulb for the cathode ray tube are controlled in such a manner that a two-dimensional matrix code 3 comprised of a plurality of dots is marked by laser in an outer side surface of a glass bulb 1, 5, the two-dimensional matrix code 3 containing the information which can identify individually glass bulbs, and the manufacturing steps are conducted by using a computer and the particulars specified by the serial information.

A method of laser marking metals, plastics, ceramic materials, glazes, glass ceramics, and glasses of any desired form, which includes applying to the material to be marked a variable thickness layer of marking material containing energy absorbing enhancers then irradiating said layer with a laser or diode based energy source such that the radiation is directed onto said layer in accordance with the form of the marking to be applied, and using a laser or diode based energy source of a wavelength which is sufficiently absorbed by the marking material so as to create a bonding of the marking material to the surface of the workpiece at the irradiated areas.

A disclosed marking control device controls a marking device to mark a target image on a thermoreversible recording medium by applying a laser beam includes a marking position determination unit dividing the image into plural marking lines, and determining their marking positions; a marking order determination unit determining a marking order to mark the marking lines in mutually opposite directions; an adjusting unit adjusting a distance between a first ending point and a second starting point to be longer than a distance between a first starting point and a second ending point, or adjusting laser power applied to a second starting point side of the second marking line to be lower than the laser power applied to a second ending point side of the second marking line; and a marking instruction generator unit generating marking instructions including the marking positions of the marking lines and the marking order thereof.

A laser marking system includes a means for generating a laser beam and a marking control unit which generates individual signals applied to a laser system for producing an NxM matrix of dots used to mark an object. Each dot is created from the laser light from at least one laser diode. If multiple lasers are used, their power can be combined with a concentrator to produce a single beam with a higher power and also provide for simplified control over the beam's power.

A display and record medium includes a digital information record section, which is implemented as an IC memory and can record record information in noncontact, and an information display section implemented as a liquid crystal display medium of light write type into which display information can be written. A digital information rewrite section of an information writer communicates with the digital information record section of the display and record medium by electromagnetic waves to rewrite record information as required. A display information rewrite section of the information writer irradiates an optical pattern to the information display section of the display and record medium to rewrite display information. It is possible to rewrite both digital information and display information concurrently in noncontact.

The invention relates to a method for producing a data carrier having a laser-markable layer and a transparent optically variable layer overlapping therewith at least in certain areas, wherein visually visible markings that at least partly overlap with the optically variable layer are produced in the laser-markable layer after the application of the optically variable layer. The invention further includes a data carrier produced by the method and a semifinished product, such as a data carrier blank, that is provided for processing by the method.

A method for generating optically machine readable code is provided. The method includes capturing an image with a user device, automatically generating, by the user device, an optically machine readable code comprising information about the image recorded during the capturing of the image, and associating the optically machine readable code and the image. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs and an apparatus are also provided.

A laser energy microinscribing system, comprising a semiconductor excited Q-switched solid state laser energy source; a cut gemstone mounting system, allowing optical access to a mounted workpiece; an optical system for focusing laser energy from the laser energy source onto a cut gemstone; a displaceable stage for moving said gemstone mounting system with respect to said optical system so that said focused laser energy is presented to desired positions on said gemstone, having a control input; an imaging system for viewing the gemstone from a plurality of vantage points; and a rigid frame supporting said laser, said optical system and said stage in fixed relation, to resist differential movements of said laser, said optical system and said stage and increase immunity to vibrational misalignments. The laser energy source is preferably a semiconductor diode excited Q-switched Nd:YLF laser with a harmonic converter having an output of about 530 nm. The system may further comprise an input for receiving marking instructions; a processor for controlling said displaceable stage based on said marking instructions and said imaging system, to selectively generate a marking based on said instructions and a predetermined program; and a storage system for electronically storing information relating to images of a plurality of workpieces. A secure certificate of authenticity of a marked workpiece is also provided.