WO2006095978A1

WO2006095978A1 - Keyboard for a forgery discrimination

Info

Publication number: WO2006095978A1
Application number: PCT/KR2006/000728
Authority: WO
Inventors: Young-Jun Cho
Original assignee: Young-Jun Cho
Priority date: 2005-03-08
Filing date: 2006-03-02
Publication date: 2006-09-14
Also published as: KR200385547Y1

Abstract

A keyboard having a counterfeit identification function is provided. The keyboard having a counterfeit identification function includes a main body equipped with a plurality of input keys, an ultraviolet (UV) lamp unit which is installed on a first printed circuit board (PCB) inside the main body and comprises at least one UV lamp which determines whether a target object is counterfeit, and an approach sensing unit which is installed on one side of the main body and activates the UV lamp unit according to the result of determination whether the target object is nearby and approaching.

Description

KEYBOARD FOR A FORGERY DISCRIMINATION

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a keyboard, and more particularly, to a keyboard for counterfeit identification, which has a counterfeit identification function and can thus easily determine, using a host device, i.e., a computer, whether credit cards or notes are counterfeit without the aid of additional, expensive counterfeit identification equipment.

Background Art

With recent developments in photocopying and printing technologies due to the advent of photocopiers and digital printers, there has been an increase in crimes involving the counterfeiting and forgery of notes, checks, securities, coupons, credit cards, and security certificates. Thus, the public demand for measures to fight such crimes has steadily grown.

In general, certificates such as passports, notes, and securities, and credit cards are manufactured by marking certain characters (hidden characters), patterns, numbers, or fingerprints on the back surface thereof using a magnetic medium or an ultraviolet (UV) fluorescent material, and can thus be examined to determine whether they are counterfeit.

Also, in the case of notes and credit cards manufactured using a counterfeit prevention method, it is possible for ordinary people to determine whether they are counterfeit by examining them with the naked eye, by touching them, or by using sunlight or professional counterfeit identification equipment. However, there is a clear limit in determining whether notes, securities, and credit cards are counterfeit simply using the human senses of vision and touch. Professional Counterfeit identification equipment is relatively large and thus accompanied by spatial restrictions. In addition, such counterfeit identification equipment requires an additional power supply unit and an expensive system. Thus, it is difficult for small stores such as convenience stores or supermarkets to use counterfeit identification equipment. Disclosure of the Invention

The present invention provides a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function, which can determine whether various certificates, such as notes and securities, and credit cards are counterfeit or falsified without the aid of highly expensive counterfeit identification equipment.

These and other objects of the present invention will be described in or be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function includes a main body equipped with a plurality of input keys, an ultraviolet (UV) lamp unit which is installed on a first printed circuit board (PCB) inside the main body and comprises at least one UV lamp which determines whether a target object is counterfeit, and an approach sensing unit which is installed on one side of the main body and activates the UV lamp unit according to the result of determination whether the target object is nearby and approaching.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the exterior of a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating both the exterior and interior of the keyboard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 A is a lateral cross-sectional view of a laser unit of the keyboard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a mark generation unit of the laser unit illustrated in FIG. 3A; FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating an operation of the keyboard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Best mode for carrying out the Invention

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of accomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention will only be defined by the appended claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

The present invention will be described preferred embodiments of the invention hereinafter with reference to flowchart illustrations of methods.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the exterior of a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating both the exterior and interior of the keyboard according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. A keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. A structure and operation of a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention are almost the same as a structure and operation of existing keyboards. Referring to FIG. 1, the keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 1, a switch 2 which is located on one side of the main body 1 and controls the operations of an ultraviolet (UV) lamp unit 5 and an approach sensing unit 4, and an switch operation display unit 6 which displays the state of the switch 2. The UV lamp unit 5 can optically determine whether a target object is counterfeit by radiating UV rays under the control of the switch 2, and the approach sensing unit 4 is located in the vicinity of the UV lamp unit 5 and determines whether the target object is nearby and approaching. Meanwhile, the main body 1 includes a first printed circuit board (PCB) 10 which generates a code command corresponding to a key input applied thereto, and transmits the code command to a host device via a predetermined communication cable. The UV lamp unit 5, the approach sensing unit 4, and the switch 2 may be implemented on the first PCB 10. A structure and operation of the first PCB 10 will now be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, the first PCB 10 includes the UV lamp unit 5, the approach sensing unit 4, the switch 2, and a control unit 8.

The UV lamp unit 5 comprises a plurality of light emission diodes (LEDs) and is formed on the top surface of the first PCB 10. In an exemplary embodiment, the UV lamp unit 5 may comprise one or more UV lamps. If the UV lamp unit 5 comprises more than one UV lamp, i.e., first through fourth UV lamps 5a through 5d, the UV lamps 5a through 5d are regularly arranged on a certain portion of the first PCB 10. When the first PCB 10 is installed in the main body 1, part of the UV lamp unit 5 protrudes through the surface of the main body 1, and each of the UV lamps 5 a through 5d of the UV lamp unit 5 comprises a reflective shade 50, as illustrated in FIG. 1, so that the UV lamp unit 5 can be protected against external shock and light radiated by the UV lamp unit 5 can be concentrated. The UV lamp unit 5 is controlled by the switch 2, which is located on one side of the main body 1. The UV lamp unit 5 may be supplied with power by a user's computer 100, which is a host device, via a communication cable 20.

The approach sensing unit 4 determines whether a target object which is subjected to counterfeit identification is nearby and approaching and then determines whether to activate the UV lamp unit 5 with reference to the determination results. The approach sensing unit 4 is located in the vicinity of the UV lamp unit 5. The approach sensing unit 4 may include an approach sensor (not shown) and a circuit (not shown) for driving the approach sensor. A part of the approach sensor protrudes through the surface of the main body 1. For example, the approach sensor may be a beam reflective-type photoelectric sensor which is comprised of a light emitter and a light receptor. The operation of an approach sensing unit 4 comprising a beam reflective-type photoelectric sensor as an approach sensor will now be described in detail. When the switch 2 is turned on, a light emitter of the approach sensor emits light having a predetermined wavelength. When the target object moves near the approach sensor, the light emitted by the light emitter is reflected by the target object, and the reflected light is received by a light receptor of the approach sensor. In this manner, the approach sensor determines whether the target object is nearby and approaching, and the approach sensing unit 4 provide the determination results to the control unit 8.

The control unit 8 determines whether to activate the UV lamp unit 5 with reference to the determination results provided by the approach sensing unit 4. In detail, if the target object has not yet been detected even though the switch 2 is turned on, the control unit 8 deactivates the UV lamp unit 5, thereby preventing the UV lamp unit 5 from operating unnecessarily. If the target object has been detected while the switch 2 is turned on, the control unit 8 activates the UV lamp unit 5, thereby allowing a user to optically determine whether the target object is counterfeit or falsified. Also, the control unit 8 generates a code corresponding to a key input applied thereto by the user hitting one of a plurality of keys installed on the main body 1, and enables the code to be transmitted to the user's computer 100 via the communication cable 20 (e.g., a USB cable).

The switch 2, which allows the user to manually control the operations of the UV lamp unit 5 and the approach sensing unit 4, is located on one side of the main body 1. As described above, when the switch 2 is turned on, the UV lamp unit 5 and the approach sensing unit 4 operate. When the switch 2 is turned off, the UV lamp unit 5 and the approach sensing unit 5 do not operate.

The first PCB 10 may include the switch operation display unit 6 which displays the state of the switch 2. The switch operation display unit 6 may comprise an LED 6'. When the switch 2 is turned on, the LED 6' is turned on. When the switch 2 is turned off, the LED 6' is turned off. The keyboard according to the current embodiment of the present invention may also include a laser unit 9 which projects a laser beam onto the target object in various shapes such as a bar shape, a circular shape, a rectangular shape, or a triangular shape. The laser unit 9 allows the user to easily perceive the range of UV radiation of the UV lamp unit 5.

If the keyboard includes the laser unit 9, a hole may be formed in the main body 1 of the keyboard so that the laser unit 9 can be installed in the hole.

FIG. 3 A is a lateral cross-sectional view of the laser unit 9. Referring to FIG. 3 A, the laser unit 9 includes a laser diode 93 which generates a laser beam having a predetermined wavelength, a convex lens 94 which condenses light emitted by the laser diode 93, a mark generation unit 95 which forms the condensed light into a predetermined shape and projects the resulting light onto a target object which is subjected to counterfeit identification, a first body 91, and a second body 92.

The laser diode 93 is located on the bottom surface of the first PCB 10. The laser diode 93 may be located at the center of the UV lamp unit 5. For example, the laser diode 93 may be located between the second UV lamp 5b and the third UV lamp 5 C illustrated in FIG. 2. The laser diode 93 may be designed to produce light in various colors such as red, blue, green, and yellow, hi order to make a laser beam more perceivable to a user, the laser diode 93 may be realized as a red laser diode. The mark generation unit 95 may be formed of a transparent plastic material. In this case, one surface of the mark generation unit 95 may be flat as illustrate in FIG. 3 A, and the other surface of the mark generation unit 95 may be formed a plurality of triangular prism that arranged, as illustrated in FIG. 3 A and FIG. 3B. In this case, the mark generation unit 95 is placed as the triangular prism cross the ground vertically and the surface of the mark generation unit 95 including that plurality of triangular prism faces the target object 200 at the same time. If the mark generation unit 95 is placed as described above, the mark generation unit 95 projects condensed light onto the target object 200 as a bar, as illustrate in FIG. 4A.

The mark generation unit 95 may be comprised of a filter having a hole having a predetermined shape. In this case, the shape of a laser beam projected onto the target object 200 is determined according to the shape of the hole of the mark generation unit 95. The hole of the mark generation unit 95 may be circular, rectangular, or triangular. For example, referring to FIG. 4B, the mark generation unit 95 may project a laser beam onto the target object 200 in the form of a rectangular rim.

The first body 91 is cylindrical, and a hole is formed at the top of the first body 91. The bottom of the first body 91 is open. The first body 91 and the second body 92 are connected in such a manner that an upper portion of the second body 92 is screwed into a lower portion of the first body 91. Irregularities may be formed on the exterior of the lower portion of the first main body 91 so that they can fix the first body 91 to the main body 1 when the first and second bodies 91 and 92 are connected. The mark generation unit 95 and the convex lens 94 may be installed inside the first body 91.

The second body 92 is cylindrical, and the top and the bottom of the second body 92 are open. The upper portion of the second body 92 is screwed into the lower portion of the first body 91. Irregularities may also be formed on the exterior of the upper portion of the second body 92 so that they can fix the second body 92 to the main body 1 when the first and second bodies 91 and 92 are connected. The laser diode 93 is installed inside the second body 92 through the bottom of the second body 92.

The operation of the laser unit 9 may be controlled by the approach sensing unit 4. In detail, when a target object is detected by the approach sensing unit 4 when the switch 2 is turned on, the laser unit 9 is activated such that a laser beam in a predetermined shape can be projected onto the target object. On the other hand, when no target object is detected by the approach sensing unit 4 even when the switch 2 is turned on, the laser unit 9 is deactivated.

The operation of the keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail.

When the user's computer 100, which is a host device, is powered up, the keyboard, which is connected to the user's computer 100, is supplied with power via the communication cable 20. Assuming that the target object 200 is a credit card, a user turns on the switch 2. When the switch 2 is turned on, the switch operation display unit 6 is turned on so that the user visually determine whether the switch 2 is turned or not, and the approach sensing unit 4 and the laser unit 9 begin to operate. When the credit card 200 approaches the UV lamp unit 5, the approach sensing unit 4 senses the credit card 200 and provides the sensing result to the control unit 8. Thereafter, the control unit 8 determines whether to activate the UV lamp unit 5 with reference to the sensing result. When the UV lamp unit 5 is activated, the user can optically determine whether the credit card 200 is a counterfeit card by determining whether a fluorescent material of the credit card 200 is developed by UV rays emitted by the UV lamp unit 5.

The control unit 8 drives the laser unit 9 according to the sensing result such that a laser beam can be projected onto the credit card 200 in a predetermined shape. Then, the user can easily recognize the range of UV radiation of the UV lamp unit 5 based on the shape of the laser beam projected onto the credit card 200.

The keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to the current embodiment of the present invention may be realized in various manners.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the keyboard includes a UV lamp unit 5, a laser unit 9, and an approach sensing unit 4 which are formed on a PCB other than a first PCB 10, i.e., a second PCB 15. In detail, the UV lamp unit 5, the laser unit 9, the approach sensing unit 4 and a power supply unit 21, which supplies power to the UV lamp unit 5, the laser unit 9 and the approach sensing unit 4, are formed on the second PCB 15. The power supply unit 21 is supplied with power via the first PCB 10.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, the keyboard includes a counterfeit identification unit 30 which comprises a UV lamp unit 5, an approach sensing unit 4, and a laser unit 9. The counterfeit identification unit 30 is formed as a cartridge. A main body 1 includes a slot 40 into which the counterfeit identification unit 30 can be inserted. When connected to the main body 1 via the slot 40, the counterfeit identification unit 30 can be supplied with power by a user's computer 100, which is a host device. The main body 1 also includes a switch 2 which is located on one side of the main body 1 and controls the operation of the counterfeit identification unit 30 when the counterfeit identification unit 30 is connected to the main body 1 via the slot 40. The structure and operation of the keyboard according to the current embodiment of the present invention are almost the same as the structure and operation of the keyboards according to the previous embodiments of the present invention. While the keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiments without substantially departing from the principles of the present invention.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, a keyboard having a counterfeit identification function according to the present invention has the following advantages.

First, it is possible to easily determine whether credit cards or notes are counterfeit without expensive counterfeit identification equipment by connecting the keyboard having a counterfeit identification function to a computer, which is a host device.

Second, it is possible to prevent a UV lamp unit of the keyboard having a counterfeit identification function from operating unnecessarily and to protect users against UV rays by controlling the operation of the UV lamp unit with a switch.

Third, it is possible for users to easily determine the range of UV radiation of the UV lamp unit by projecting a laser beam in a predetermined shape onto a target subject which is subjected to counterfeit identification.

Fourth, the keyboard having a counterfeit function is supplied with power by a host device and thus does not need an additional power supply unit.

Claims

1. A keyboard having a counterfeit identification function comprising: a main body equipped with a plurality of input keys; an ultraviolet (UV) lamp unit which is installed on a first printed circuit board

(PCB) inside the main body and comprises at least one UV lamp which determines whether a target object is counterfeit; and an approach sensing unit which is installed on one side of the main body and activates the UV lamp unit according to the result of determination whether the target object is nearby and approaching.

2. The keyboard of claim 1 further comprising a laser unit located in the vicinity of the UV lamp unit and indicating the range of UV radiation of the UV lamp unit by projecting a laser beam in a predetermined shape onto the target object.

3. The keyboard of claim 2, wherein the laser unit is activated by the approach sensing unit.

4. The keyboard of claim 3, wherein the laser unit comprises: a light emitter which generates light; a convex lens which condenses the light generated by the light emitter; and a mark generation unit which projects the condensed light onto the target object in a predetermined shape.

5. The keyboard of claim 4, wherein the mark generation unit has a first surface that is a flat surface, and a second surface that is a serrate surface having irregularities.

6. The keyboard of claim 5, wherein the second surface of the mark generation unit projects the condensed light onto the target object in the form of a bar.

7. The keyboard of claim 4, wherein the mark generation unit projects the condensed light onto the target object in the form of a rectangular rim.

8. The keyboard of claim 7, wherein the UV lamp unit, the approach sensing unit, and the laser unit are supplied with power by a host device via a communication cable.

9. The keyboard of claim 2 further comprising a switch which controls the supplying of power to the UV lamp unit and the approach sensing unit.

10. The keyboard of claim 9 further comprising an switch operation display unit which is located on one side of the main body and displays a state of the switch.

11. The keyboard of claim 10, wherein at least one of the UV lamp unit, the approach sensing unit, and the laser unit is installed on a second PCB which is separate from the first PCB.

12. The keyboard of claim 11 , wherein the second PCB formed as a cartridge and the cartridge is connected to the first PCB via a slot of the main body that the cartridge can be inserted.