Fluorescent Marking Materials for Secure Machine-Readable Information Embedding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for embedding and recovering machine-readable information on objects lack the ability to make information invisible to human viewers yet readable by machines, and they have limited capacity for storing large amounts of encrypted data, especially in a way that prevents copying and maintains security.
Innovation Solution
The use of fluorescent marking materials that are invisible under ambient light but become visible and machine-readable when exposed to specific radiation, allowing for the creation of high-density codes using dots or glyphs that can encode more information than conventional methods and resist copying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fluorescent marking materials are used to make information invisible under ambient light, then security and anti-copying capability are improved, but detection and reading capability under normal conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the marking material's visibility dynamic rather than static. The fluorescent marking materials remain invisible under ambient light conditions but become visible when exposed to specific radiation wavelengths (UV or blue light). This dynamic visibility change resolves the contradiction by providing security during storage/transport while enabling detection during authorized reading operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs parameter changes by altering the optical properties of the marking material based on radiation exposure. The fluorescent materials have different absorption and emission characteristics under different light conditions, allowing them to transition from invisible to visible states. This parameter change enables the system to maintain security while facilitating machine-readable detection when needed.
2Quantity of substance
If dots are used instead of glyphs to encode information, then information storage capacity increases, but the complexity of the encoding system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses parameter changes to increase information density by varying multiple properties of dot-based markers including position, size, fluorescence intensity, and emission wavelength. By encoding information across multiple parameters rather than relying solely on glyph shapes, the system achieves higher storage capacity while maintaining relatively simple dot-based structures that are easier to print and detect.
3Reliability
If fluorescent marking materials are used instead of photochromic materials, then information can be made invisible under ambient light, but the complexity of the marking system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/chemical photochromic system with a fluorescent optical system. Instead of relying on photochromic materials that change absorption properties, the system uses fluorescent materials that absorb UV/blue light and emit visible light. This substitution achieves superior information hiding capability under ambient light while using well-established fluorescent printing technologies, thereby managing complexity effectively.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables secure, high-capacity storage and retrieval of machine-readable information that is invisible to unauthorized observers and resistant to copying, with increased data density and improved security features compared to existing technologies.
Implementation Method 1
uses different shapes and/or colors to encode the information. The code may be formed using fluorescent marking materials such as fluorescent inks or toners... by irradiation with radiation of an appropriate wavelength, be made to fluoresce
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method of embedding machine readable information on a substrate, including converting the information to machine readable code format and writing the machine readable code format on the substrate with at least one fluorescent marking material. Also disclosed is a system for embedding and recovering machine readable information on a substrate, including an image forming device containing at least one fluorescent marking material, wherein the image forming device receives data representative of the machine readable information, and forms an image corresponding to the data in a machine readable code format with the at least one fluorescent marking material on an image receiving substrate, and a document reading device including a radiation emitting unit that emits radiation effecting fluorescence of the at least one fluorescent marking material, and a reader that detects the data in the image on the image receiving substrate while the at least one fluorescent marking material is fluorescing.