US4680459A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Updatable micrographic pocket data card
Assignee: LaserCard Corp
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Filing: 1985-11-14
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Granted: 1987-07-14
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Expires: 2005-11-14
Abstract
Abstract A strip of optical contrast laser recording material is disposed on a wallet-size card, and has laser written micrographic characters recorded thereon. The characters are formed of a matrix of laser recorded character spots and are eye readable using twenty power magnification. The characters are recorded in situ on the card, after the strip is disposed in the card, by a laser having a beam focused on the strip. A light detector reads the reflected beam to confirm laser writing. Either raster-like or zig-zag scanning of the beam creates each character matrix. Each of the character spots may be made up of one laser spot or by a group of laser spots.
Inventors
- 👤 Jerome Drexler
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 07:51
CPC Classifications
B; B42; B42D; B42D25/00; B42D25/40; B42D25/405; B42D25/43; B42D25/435; B42D25/41; B42D25/45; B42D25/465; B42D25/47; G; G03; G03C; G03C11/00; G03C11/02; G06; G06K; G06K1/00; G06K1/12; G06K1/126; G06K19/00; G06K19/06; G06K19/08; G06K19/10; G06K19/14; G07; G07C; G07C9/00; G07C9/20; G07C9/22; G07C9/25; G11; G11B; G11B7/00; G11B7/002; G11B7/0033; G11B7/24; B42D2033/04; B42D2033/10; B42D2033/30; B42D2035/02; B42D2035/08; B42D2035/14; B42D2035/20; B42D2035/44; B42D25/20; B42D25/28; G11B7/003; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/24; Y10T428/24802; Y10T428/24917
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
65 words
An updatable micrographic data card comprising, a wallet size card having a strip of optical contrast laser recording material disposed thereon, a plurality of laser written micrographic characters disposed on said strip, each character formed of a matrix of laser recorded character spots, said micrographic characters being eye readable using at least 20 power magnification, but not eye readable using 5 power magnification or less.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
65 words
An updatable micrographic data card comprising, a wallet size card having a strip of optical contrast laser recording material disposed thereon, a plurality of laser written micrographic characters disposed on said strip, each character formed of a matrix of laser recorded character spots, said micrographic characters being eye readable using at least 20 power magnification, but not eye readable using 5 power magnification or less.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
The card of claim 1 wherein said character spots comprise a group of laser written spots.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The card of claim 1 wherein said strip comprises prerecorded micrographic characters and in-situ user written micrographic characters.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The card of claim 1 wherein said strip contains micrographic characters defining map features.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for recording information on a card comprising, disposing a strip of reflective direct-read-after-write laser recording material in a wallet-size card, recording micrographic indicia onto said strip, in situ, by means of a laser, a beam from said laser scanning in a pattern a matrix of spot sites corresponding to an indicium on said strip for each of said indicia, said indicia being microscopically visually readable with at least 10 power magnification, but not with 5 power magnification or less.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
81 words
A method for recording information on a card comprising, disposing a strip of reflective direct-read-after-write laser recording material in a wallet-size card, recording micrographic indicia onto said strip, in situ, by means of a laser, a beam from said laser scanning in a pattern a matrix of spot sites corresponding to an indicium on said strip for each of said indicia, said indicia being microscopically visually readable with at least 10 power magnification, but not with 5 power magnification or less.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
39 words
The method of claim 5 wherein said microscopically visually readable information is characters, each made up of a matrix of laser recorded character spots, each of said character spots being made up of at least one laser recorded spot.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 5 wherein each of said character spots is made up of a group of laser spots.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 5 further defined by prerecording micrographic indicia on said strip prior to in situ recording.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
133 words
A system for recording information with a laser comprising, a wallet-size card having a strip of optical contrast reflective direct-read-after-write laser recording material thereon capable of in-situ laser recording of information thereon, said information being microscopically visually readable indicia, the strips adapted for laser recording of data, said indicia being microscopically visually readable with at least 10 power magnification, but not with a 5 power magnification or less, laser means having a beam disposed in laser writing relation with respect to said strip for writing thereon, light detector means disposed in reading relation to said strip for reading data, and means providing relative motion between the beam and the card for writing said indicia on the card, said relative motion being in a pattern for individually recording each of said visually readable indicia.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
133 words
A system for recording information with a laser comprising, a wallet-size card having a strip of optical contrast reflective direct-read-after-write laser recording material thereon capable of in-situ laser recording of information thereon, said information being microscopically visually readable indicia, the strips adapted for laser recording of data, said indicia being microscopically visually readable with at least 10 power magnification, but not with a 5 power magnification or less, laser means having a beam disposed in laser writing relation with respect to said strip for writing thereon, light detector means disposed in reading relation to said strip for reading data, and means providing relative motion between the beam and the card for writing said indicia on the card, said relative motion being in a pattern for individually recording each of said visually readable indicia.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
39 words
The sytem of claim 9 wherein said microscopically visually readable information comprises characters, each made up of a matrix of individual laser recorded character spots, each of said character spots being made up of at least one laser spot.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 9 wherein said strip contains micrographic characters defining map features.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
19 words
The system of claim 9 wherein said strip comprises prerecorded micrographic characters and in situ user written micrographic characters.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The card of claim 1 wherein said strip contains micrographic characters indicating a date of the most recent update of information on said card.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 5 wherein some of said indicia being recorded onto said strip indicate a date of said recording.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
25 words
The system of claim 9 wherein some of said indicia are characters indicating a date of the most recent recording of information on said card.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1990-07-13 | 1991-01-12 | 1991-07-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1994-07-13 | 1995-01-12 | 1995-07-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1998-07-13 | 1999-01-12 | 1999-07-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |