UV Illumination Accessory for Portable Device Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for authenticating objects containing pigment particles that fluoresce in the visible spectrum upon ultraviolet or blue light excitation are not conveniently integrated with portable smart devices, lacking a standardized and efficient means for positioning and illuminating these objects for accurate authentication.
Innovation Solution
A portable smart device accessory, such as a case, equipped with a UV and/or blue light illumination unit and a positioning device, aligns the camera with the object to be authenticated, allowing for fluorescence detection and comparison with stored identification codes, enabling rapid and reliable authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If existing authentication methods are used without integration to portable smart devices, then authentication functionality is available, but convenience and portability are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the authentication system components (UV illumination unit, camera, positioning device) into an integrated portable accessory that attaches to smart devices. This merging approach enables convenient portability while consolidating multiple functions into a single compact unit, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The accessory is designed to work with various smart devices and authenticate different types of objects containing fluorescent pigment particles. The universal design allows the same accessory to interface with different camera-equipped devices while maintaining consistent authentication functionality, improving convenience without proportionally increasing complexity.
2Measurement precision
If standard camera positioning is used without predetermined alignment, then device compatibility is improved, but measurement precision and authentication accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning device pre-establishes the correct spatial relationship between the camera and the authentication area before the authentication process begins. By predetermined positioning, the system ensures that the camera is correctly aligned with the fluorescent pigment particles on the object, guaranteeing measurement precision without requiring complex real-time adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning device acts as an intermediary component that mediates between the camera and the object being authenticated. It provides a fixed reference framework that ensures proper alignment and distance, enabling accurate fluorescence pattern capture while keeping the overall system design relatively simple through standardized mechanical interfaces.
3Reliability
If UV illumination is applied without controlled positioning, then fluorescence excitation is achieved, but image quality and authentication reliability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The UV illumination unit is merged with the camera and positioning device into a single integrated accessory. This combination ensures that illumination, image capture, and positioning occur simultaneously in a coordinated manner, improving authentication reliability while maintaining operational simplicity through unified control.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioning device preliminarily establishes the correct spatial configuration before UV illumination is applied. By ensuring the object is properly positioned and the camera is correctly aligned before excitation begins, the system guarantees that the fluorescence pattern is captured with optimal quality, enhancing reliability without complicating the user workflow.
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
The accessory enables convenient, rapid, and reliable authentication of objects by ensuring correct positioning and illumination, facilitating the use of portable smart devices for fluorescence pattern analysis and code comparison, thus enhancing the authentication process.
Implementation Method 1
enables the authentication of objects (e.g., paper, films, etc.) containing pigment particles that fluoresce in the visible part of the spectrum upon excitation (stimulation) with ultraviolet or blue light
Data Source
AI summary
An accessory is attachable to a portable device equipped with a camera. The accessory includes a camera lens opening and a retainer that retains the portable device such that a lens of the camera of the portable device is aligned with the camera lens opening. At least one source of electromagnetic radiation in the range of ultraviolet and/or blue wavelengths is disposed on the accessory so as to illuminate an object to be authenticated when the object is disposed in front of the camera lens opening of the accessory. A spacer on the accessory positions the accessory with respect to the object to be authenticated so that the camera lens opening has a predetermined positional relationship with a to-be-examined region of the object.