CA1283976C - Identification card and method of making same - Google Patents
Identification card and method of making sameInfo
- Publication number
- CA1283976C CA1283976C CA000538512A CA538512A CA1283976C CA 1283976 C CA1283976 C CA 1283976C CA 000538512 A CA000538512 A CA 000538512A CA 538512 A CA538512 A CA 538512A CA 1283976 C CA1283976 C CA 1283976C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- card
- paper
- data
- plastic
- sheets
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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- Credit Cards Or The Like (AREA)
Abstract
IDENTIFICATION CARD AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME
Abstract of the Disclosure A high-security identification card is produced in a system in which a photograph from a video camera is converted to digital data and reproduced with high-fidelity on a video display screen. Other images, such as signatures and fingerprints, can be treated in a similar manner using either a video camera or a CCD
(charge-coupled device). After processing, the video information is desplayed on the screen where it is com-bined with variable data typed in from a keyboard. The digital data from the terminal is fed into a laser printer that prints the portrait and any desired alpha-numeric information on a paper sheet. The paper sheet is then laminated, under heat and pressure, between two sheets of transparent thermoplastic material, at a temperature and pressure sufficient to cause the plastic material to penetrate the interstices between the fibers of the paper card and form a unitary structure that cannot be delaminated without destruction of the identifying data. The digital information is stored in a permanent memory to allow the card to be reproduced later, with or without modification.
Abstract of the Disclosure A high-security identification card is produced in a system in which a photograph from a video camera is converted to digital data and reproduced with high-fidelity on a video display screen. Other images, such as signatures and fingerprints, can be treated in a similar manner using either a video camera or a CCD
(charge-coupled device). After processing, the video information is desplayed on the screen where it is com-bined with variable data typed in from a keyboard. The digital data from the terminal is fed into a laser printer that prints the portrait and any desired alpha-numeric information on a paper sheet. The paper sheet is then laminated, under heat and pressure, between two sheets of transparent thermoplastic material, at a temperature and pressure sufficient to cause the plastic material to penetrate the interstices between the fibers of the paper card and form a unitary structure that cannot be delaminated without destruction of the identifying data. The digital information is stored in a permanent memory to allow the card to be reproduced later, with or without modification.
Description
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IDENTIFICATION CARD AND ~THOD OF l~ING S~
Background of the Invention Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to identification cards and more particularly to an identification card having a layer of paper, carrying pertinent i~entification inform-ation embedded between two layers of protective plastic, and to the method of producing such a card.
Identification cards provide a quick and convenient means of providing personal identification~ Such cards are widely used in connection with business transactions, control of access to restricted information or areas, and various governmental identification functions. Many such cards carry a magnetized stripe encoded with the ; 15 identification information or may have one or more photo-~ graphs for identification purposes. Cards that carry - photographs usually require the use of photographic film with its attendant processing costs. Such cards can represent a major expense in high volume applications such as national identity cards.
United States Patent 3,640,009 to Komiyama describes an identification card in which a protective ~` plastic layer is provided with a recess in which a paper insert carrying identification information is secured by adhesive. The edge portion of this plastic layer is laminated around its edges to another protective plastic sheet. $he plastic used forms a filter that is ~rans-paren~ to either ultraviolet or infrared wavelengths which prevent the photographic image from being examined with ambient light. The construction described by Komiyama is expensive and is not suitable for high ~; volume applications. An additional drawback is the . . :
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9~
requirement for specialized equipment to read the identification card.
United States patent 3,245,697 to Nugent describes an identifica~ion card carrying a photograph and other indicia which makes use of a photographic film as one of two plastic protective layers which ~nclose an informa-tion layer having opaque and transparent areas in the form of an intricate scroll. The card is read by ultraviolet light that is transmitted through the card.
This card has all the disadvantages of the one described by Komiyama.
United States patent 4~119J361 to Greenaway describes an identification card in which an internal information layer carries holograms, aiffraction screens or minature Fresnel prisms. That patent also discloses the use of a cellular structure for the information layer that prevents destruction of the information when the card layers are secured by chemical adhesives.
--; All of these identification cards suffer from the high cost of production and their lack of suitability for high-volume low-cost applications requiring maximum security.
Summary of the Invention The present invention is incorporated in a high volume card production system in which a photograph from a video camera is converted to digital data and processed to permit reproduction of a high-quality portrait on a video display screen. Other images, such as signatures and fingerprints, can be treated in a similar manner using either a video camera or a CCD
(charge-coupIed device). After processing, the video ` information is displayed on the screen where it is combined with variable data typed in from a keyboard, or provided from another source. The video images can ~ 35 be cropped, reduced or enlarged, and moved to any !
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desired location on the video screen. The digital data from the terminal is fed into a laser printer that prints the portrait and any desi ed alphanumeric inform ation on a paper card~ This card is then laminated, under heat and pressure, between two sheets of trans-parent thermoplastic material, at a temperature and pressure sufficient to cause the plastic material to penetrate the interstices between the fibers of the paper card and form a unitary structure that cannot be delaminated without destruction of the identifying data.
Brief Description of the Drawlng Figure 1 is diagrammatic representation of the elements of a system for making a high-security identification card in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a plan view of a card fabricated by the system represented by Figure l; and Figure 3 is an enlarged cross section of a -;; 20 portion of the card sho~ in Figure 2.
DescriPtion of the Preferred Embodiment The portrait of a person 2 or other object to be reprsduced on a high-security identification card 4 is recorded by a conventional video camera 6 and the corresponding signal fed into a image pro-cessor 8. The processor 8 modifies-the information from the camera 6 in such manner as to permit the presentation of a high quality reproduction on the screen 12 of a video display terminal 14. The portrait is represented by digital information in a ~ manner representing a half-tone image, but formed `~ in most cases by various sizes and shapes of image ~;, ~ particles rather than half-tone dots of varying ; ~ intensi~y. Software for providing such digitized '`\~'' ~`. ''" ` ` ' ' ' `. , `' ,, ' ' ~` ' ' ' i . - . ~ ~ .
~2~339~
. .
images are already known and are produced by a number of companies including Interleaf Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as the Masscomp 500 computer program produced by Rise Technology Inc., Kendall Square, Cambridge, l~assachusetts.
Alternatively, the image may be produced by a scanning CCD 16 and may include a personal signature, finger prints or other information. This information is processed also by the image processor 8 and fed into the display terminal 14. The display terminal is provided with known controls to crop, reduce or enlarge the visual images and place them in any desired position - on the screen 14.
Additional data to be included on the card 4 is typed into the display terminal from a conventional keyboard 18. When the information is displayed in the ~- desired format on the screen 12, the signal from the terminal~ is fed into a laser printer 22 which repro- -~; duces the image on a paper sheet 24. The printer may be similar to those manufactured by Cannon, Inc., and preferably is capable of producing shee~s large enough ~- to hold a number of individual bodies of card informa-`~ ~ tion~ For example, a singIe sheet of paper can be printed on both sides, in a single pass, with the information for as many as thirty identification cards.
~ Line art can be printed with a resolution of 150 pairs per inch. Photographic information is printed with a resolution of 100 pixels per inch with 64 levels of ~;
gray. The digital information is also fed into a permanent memory 25 which permits the information to be recalled at a later time for modification or producing an additional identical card.
The printed sheet of :paper is fed into a laminator 26 where the paper sheet is laminated under '''',, ~ ~
:, -~
,' '; ', . - : ' ` ' - , '76 heat and pressure between two sheets 28 and 32 of trans-parent thermoplastlc material, such as polyester. The pressure and heat are adjusted to melt the plastic suf-ficiently to cause it to penetrate the fibers of the paper, as indicated by the jagged lines "a" and "b"
in Figure 3. The lamination, including a number of individual identification cards, is passed through a cooling chamber 34 into a card puncher 36. The puncher 36 punches the individual cards 4 from the larger sheet.
As illustrated by Figure 2, the finished card may include a portrait, a personal signature and printed data. As mentioned above, the card may be printed on both sides to provide additional information. If the card is printed on one side only, then only one sheet of the plastic laminate need be transparent.
The high-cost of instant-type photographic film and the cumbersome photographic processes are eliminated by the direct imaging process described here. The resulting card is economical to produce, since it elimin-` 20 ates all requirements for film, yet provides a highly secure identification card that is substantially impos-sible to alter. Any attempt to delaminate the car~
results in destruction of the information carried by the ~- card. The system is flexible and any card in the system ~- 25 can be readily produced again, either in modified or identical form, by recalling from the memory 25 the digital information representing the card.
Additional security can be provided by using bank note paper with preprinted fine line coded patterns, such as that sold under the trademark SCR~IBLED INDICIA
by Graphic S curity Systems Corporation, 505 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, New York. Further security can be provided ` by the use of ultraviolet ~luorescent or water soluble ~ inks, watermarks, or holograms.
?, :
.:,- ~:
i ~, , ~ . . . . , . - . . . .. . . . :
~ . .: . . .
., . ,, - .
IDENTIFICATION CARD AND ~THOD OF l~ING S~
Background of the Invention Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to identification cards and more particularly to an identification card having a layer of paper, carrying pertinent i~entification inform-ation embedded between two layers of protective plastic, and to the method of producing such a card.
Identification cards provide a quick and convenient means of providing personal identification~ Such cards are widely used in connection with business transactions, control of access to restricted information or areas, and various governmental identification functions. Many such cards carry a magnetized stripe encoded with the ; 15 identification information or may have one or more photo-~ graphs for identification purposes. Cards that carry - photographs usually require the use of photographic film with its attendant processing costs. Such cards can represent a major expense in high volume applications such as national identity cards.
United States Patent 3,640,009 to Komiyama describes an identification card in which a protective ~` plastic layer is provided with a recess in which a paper insert carrying identification information is secured by adhesive. The edge portion of this plastic layer is laminated around its edges to another protective plastic sheet. $he plastic used forms a filter that is ~rans-paren~ to either ultraviolet or infrared wavelengths which prevent the photographic image from being examined with ambient light. The construction described by Komiyama is expensive and is not suitable for high ~; volume applications. An additional drawback is the . . :
~, ~
,.:. . -. . : ~ . - .
9~
requirement for specialized equipment to read the identification card.
United States patent 3,245,697 to Nugent describes an identifica~ion card carrying a photograph and other indicia which makes use of a photographic film as one of two plastic protective layers which ~nclose an informa-tion layer having opaque and transparent areas in the form of an intricate scroll. The card is read by ultraviolet light that is transmitted through the card.
This card has all the disadvantages of the one described by Komiyama.
United States patent 4~119J361 to Greenaway describes an identification card in which an internal information layer carries holograms, aiffraction screens or minature Fresnel prisms. That patent also discloses the use of a cellular structure for the information layer that prevents destruction of the information when the card layers are secured by chemical adhesives.
--; All of these identification cards suffer from the high cost of production and their lack of suitability for high-volume low-cost applications requiring maximum security.
Summary of the Invention The present invention is incorporated in a high volume card production system in which a photograph from a video camera is converted to digital data and processed to permit reproduction of a high-quality portrait on a video display screen. Other images, such as signatures and fingerprints, can be treated in a similar manner using either a video camera or a CCD
(charge-coupIed device). After processing, the video ` information is displayed on the screen where it is combined with variable data typed in from a keyboard, or provided from another source. The video images can ~ 35 be cropped, reduced or enlarged, and moved to any !
1 ~ :
, . . . .
.
:: ................ : .. .. .
. .. - , ~ - , . . . . ..
, . , . : .
~;, ' , , -~ ~33~
desired location on the video screen. The digital data from the terminal is fed into a laser printer that prints the portrait and any desi ed alphanumeric inform ation on a paper card~ This card is then laminated, under heat and pressure, between two sheets of trans-parent thermoplastic material, at a temperature and pressure sufficient to cause the plastic material to penetrate the interstices between the fibers of the paper card and form a unitary structure that cannot be delaminated without destruction of the identifying data.
Brief Description of the Drawlng Figure 1 is diagrammatic representation of the elements of a system for making a high-security identification card in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a plan view of a card fabricated by the system represented by Figure l; and Figure 3 is an enlarged cross section of a -;; 20 portion of the card sho~ in Figure 2.
DescriPtion of the Preferred Embodiment The portrait of a person 2 or other object to be reprsduced on a high-security identification card 4 is recorded by a conventional video camera 6 and the corresponding signal fed into a image pro-cessor 8. The processor 8 modifies-the information from the camera 6 in such manner as to permit the presentation of a high quality reproduction on the screen 12 of a video display terminal 14. The portrait is represented by digital information in a ~ manner representing a half-tone image, but formed `~ in most cases by various sizes and shapes of image ~;, ~ particles rather than half-tone dots of varying ; ~ intensi~y. Software for providing such digitized '`\~'' ~`. ''" ` ` ' ' ' `. , `' ,, ' ' ~` ' ' ' i . - . ~ ~ .
~2~339~
. .
images are already known and are produced by a number of companies including Interleaf Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as the Masscomp 500 computer program produced by Rise Technology Inc., Kendall Square, Cambridge, l~assachusetts.
Alternatively, the image may be produced by a scanning CCD 16 and may include a personal signature, finger prints or other information. This information is processed also by the image processor 8 and fed into the display terminal 14. The display terminal is provided with known controls to crop, reduce or enlarge the visual images and place them in any desired position - on the screen 14.
Additional data to be included on the card 4 is typed into the display terminal from a conventional keyboard 18. When the information is displayed in the ~- desired format on the screen 12, the signal from the terminal~ is fed into a laser printer 22 which repro- -~; duces the image on a paper sheet 24. The printer may be similar to those manufactured by Cannon, Inc., and preferably is capable of producing shee~s large enough ~- to hold a number of individual bodies of card informa-`~ ~ tion~ For example, a singIe sheet of paper can be printed on both sides, in a single pass, with the information for as many as thirty identification cards.
~ Line art can be printed with a resolution of 150 pairs per inch. Photographic information is printed with a resolution of 100 pixels per inch with 64 levels of ~;
gray. The digital information is also fed into a permanent memory 25 which permits the information to be recalled at a later time for modification or producing an additional identical card.
The printed sheet of :paper is fed into a laminator 26 where the paper sheet is laminated under '''',, ~ ~
:, -~
,' '; ', . - : ' ` ' - , '76 heat and pressure between two sheets 28 and 32 of trans-parent thermoplastlc material, such as polyester. The pressure and heat are adjusted to melt the plastic suf-ficiently to cause it to penetrate the fibers of the paper, as indicated by the jagged lines "a" and "b"
in Figure 3. The lamination, including a number of individual identification cards, is passed through a cooling chamber 34 into a card puncher 36. The puncher 36 punches the individual cards 4 from the larger sheet.
As illustrated by Figure 2, the finished card may include a portrait, a personal signature and printed data. As mentioned above, the card may be printed on both sides to provide additional information. If the card is printed on one side only, then only one sheet of the plastic laminate need be transparent.
The high-cost of instant-type photographic film and the cumbersome photographic processes are eliminated by the direct imaging process described here. The resulting card is economical to produce, since it elimin-` 20 ates all requirements for film, yet provides a highly secure identification card that is substantially impos-sible to alter. Any attempt to delaminate the car~
results in destruction of the information carried by the ~- card. The system is flexible and any card in the system ~- 25 can be readily produced again, either in modified or identical form, by recalling from the memory 25 the digital information representing the card.
Additional security can be provided by using bank note paper with preprinted fine line coded patterns, such as that sold under the trademark SCR~IBLED INDICIA
by Graphic S curity Systems Corporation, 505 Northern Blvd., Great Neck, New York. Further security can be provided ` by the use of ultraviolet ~luorescent or water soluble ~ inks, watermarks, or holograms.
?, :
.:,- ~:
i ~, , ~ . . . . , . - . . . .. . . . :
~ . .: . . .
., . ,, - .
Claims (9)
1. The method of fabricating an identification card comprising the steps of recording an identification image in the form of a first set of digital data, processing said first set of data to produce a visible reproduction of said image, providing a second set of digital data repre-senting additional identification information, printing a visual pattern controlled by said sets of data on a sheet of paper, and laminating said paper between two sheets of thermoplastic material, at least one of which is transparent to visible light, with sufficient heat and pressure to cause said plastic to penetrate interstices between the fibers of said paper.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said plastic is formed of polyester.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein both sheets of said plastic material are transparent to visible light.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein said step of printing said information on a sheet of paper includes the step of printing by means of a laser printer.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1 including the additional steps of presenting both of said sets of data on a video terminal screen, rearranging the format of said data, and recording both of said sets of data in a permanent memory.
6. An identification card comprising first and second sheets of thermoplastic material, at least one of which is transparent to visible light, and a sheet of paper carrying identification information laminated between said sheets of plastic, the plastic material being embedded into the fibers of the paper such that the card cannot be delaminated without destroying the identification information.
7. An identification card as claimed in claim 6 wherein both of said plastic sheets are transparent to visible light.
8. An identification card as claimed in claim 6 wherein said plastic sheets are formed of polyester.
9. An identification card as claimed in claim 6 wherein said identification information includes a personal photograph printed on said sheet of paper.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000538512A CA1283976C (en) | 1987-06-01 | 1987-06-01 | Identification card and method of making same |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000538512A CA1283976C (en) | 1987-06-01 | 1987-06-01 | Identification card and method of making same |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1283976C true CA1283976C (en) | 1991-05-07 |
Family
ID=4135790
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000538512A Expired - Lifetime CA1283976C (en) | 1987-06-01 | 1987-06-01 | Identification card and method of making same |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1283976C (en) |
-
1987
- 1987-06-01 CA CA000538512A patent/CA1283976C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKLA | Lapsed |