Patents Examined by Daniel H. Sherr
  • Patent number: 6126070
    Abstract: An IC memory card for use with a host information processing has an interface with the host information processor, a common memory having one or more IC memories and a security circuit for prohibiting access to the common memory if address data input from the host processor does not coincide with preset data. The IC memory card may further provide with an attribute memory which stores a security data and attribute information about the IC card wherein the security circuit checks not only the address data but also the data read out from the attribute memory to enhance the security.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2000
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tomoya Fukuzumi
  • Patent number: 6089460
    Abstract: A semiconductor device is provided with a data security protection function. A ciphering program is given from a control device to a logic-changeable logical circuit. The logical circuit changes its logic in accordance with the ciphering program. Data to be stored is ciphered on the basis of the changed logic, and then stored in a memory device. It is possible to store the data in the memory device as it is and to cipher the data on the basis of the changed logic when the data is output from the memory device. Further, it is possible to cipher an address related to the data. Further, a deciphering program is given from the control device to the logic circuit. The logic circuit changes its logic on the basis of the deciphering program. The ciphered data is applied a deciphering process on the basis of the changed logic. The ciphering and/or the deciphering processes can be stored in a computer readable medium for causing a computer to execute those processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2000
    Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
    Inventor: Katsuki Hazama
  • Patent number: 6073850
    Abstract: A casing of an optical reader comprises a reading head and a handle. The reading head includes a frame portion having a bottom opening constituted as a parallelogram. The optical reader comprises an angular speed sensor. The optical reading is controlled in accordance with the trembling speed of the casing sensed by the angular speed sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2000
    Assignee: Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuhiro Tani, Tetsuya Abe, Shuzo Seo
  • Patent number: 6070793
    Abstract: A method for tracking and controlling the delivery and/or pickup of goods/containers for goods comprises the steps of a) taking a mobile data terminal in a service center, the mobile data terminal having an integrated barcode scanner for reading the data required for performing tracking and control; b) reading the data which identify a driver performing the pickup or delivery, his route and transportation vehicle used for this purpose; c) storing of the data read in step b) in a storage of the mobile data terminal and displaying of the data read in step b) in a readable form; d) arriving at all customers on the round and reading of each customer's barcoded data and of the data of the goods/containers for goods to be picked-up or delivered at the customer together with the simultaneous storage of date and the time; e) storing the data (including the date and the time) read in step d) in the storage of the mobile data terminal and displaying the data read in step d) in readable form in the display of the mobile
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Horst Reichl, Peter Schirmbeck, Hergen M. Tantzen
  • Patent number: 6070799
    Abstract: Copy protection for an original recordable medium such as an optical disk having at least one recording surface which records digital information, including the digital information having a title ID code which identifies the digital information; and a copy classification code for the digital information which indicates to a recorder whether it is prohibited from making copies, permitted to make only a single copy or does not restrict the number of copies to be made.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2000
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Philip R. Ashe
  • Patent number: 6068193
    Abstract: Chip cards are described which remotely transfer the information of magnetic strip cards without contact to chip card terminals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2000
    Assignee: Angewandte Digital Elektronik GmbH
    Inventor: Hans-Diedrich Kreft
  • Patent number: 6062475
    Abstract: A portable data collection device providing for dataform decoding and color imaging. An imaging assembly is provided that includes a board camera having black and white circuitry and generates a composite video signal representing an image of a target area of the imaging assembly when actuated. The imaging assembly includes a two dimensional photosensor array overlaid by a color filter having a repeating pattern of four color filter elements. The imaging assembly is selectively actuatable with a first trigger for reading a target dataform in the imaging assembly's target area and actuatable with a second trigger for capturing a image of the target object in the target area. When the device is operated in the dataform reading mode, compensation circuitry is actuated to operate on digital gray scale values extracted from the composite video signal to adjust gray scale value magnitudes to compensate for the transmittivity differences of the color filter elements to improve decodability of the imaged dataform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 1997
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2000
    Assignee: Metanetics Corporation
    Inventor: Chen Feng
  • Patent number: 6053408
    Abstract: A dataform reader which includes a hand-portable sized housing and an image assembly included within the housing. The image assembly includes a lens array or other optical system for obtaining a plurality of images of the dataform when positioned a given distance from the dataform. Each of the plurality of images is obtained relative to a different respective best focus length from the image assembly. The dataform reader further includes processing circuitry within the housing for selecting, from among the plurality of images, an image satisfying a predefined focus criteria. The selected image may then be decoded.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2000
    Assignee: Telxon Corporation
    Inventor: Paul Douglas Stoner
  • Patent number: 6053414
    Abstract: The data carrier card has a card base structure formed with a recess in which one or more chips are disposed. The recess can be closed by a cover that is connected to the card base structure via a flexible area. The cap can thereby be pivoted relative to the base body of the card, with the flexible area acting as a hinge. The flexible region and the cover may either be construed in one piece with the card base structure, or the flexible area may be part of a label.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2000
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Frank Stoll, Frank Pohlau
  • Patent number: 6050490
    Abstract: This disclosure provides a handheld writing device and a related data entry system. In particular, a digital electronic clipboard is used to mount pages or forms utilized in forms processing applications, such as inventory tracking. A stylus having a writing tip at one end of the stylus and a bar code scanning mechanism at another end of the stylus is used to enter data on the pages or forms and scan bar codes appearing on the pages or forms themselves, or on a separate item to be associated with the form. The system detects whether bar code data or stylus position data is being generated and causes its CPU to responsively process entered data. In an alternative embodiment, the system also permits generation of only one of stylus position data and bar code data at any given time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2000
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Robert Leichner, Bo Curry, Daniel Flickinger
  • Patent number: 6050494
    Abstract: A smart card includes a transparent circuit board on which an integrated circuit, function switches, a power source, and other parts are mounted, an upper substrate facing the circuit board, upper and lower electrodes respectively located on facing surfaces of upper substrate and the circuit board, orthogonal to each other, orientation films coating the upper and lower electrodes, and a liquid crystal material located and sealed between the upper and lower electrodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2000
    Assignee: Samsung Display Devices Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Man-gon Song, Si-han Kim, Seung-bae Lee
  • Patent number: 6039246
    Abstract: Disclosed is a notes accepting apparatus capable of immediately notifying a management person of a forged notes being used. The notes accepting apparatus is constructed such that the notes inserted as those that should be accepted, are classified into first type notes having a high probability of being accepted, second notes having a high probability of being forged notes, and third notes having smaller probability of being accepted than the first type notes and a smaller probability of being the forged notes than the second type notes, and information purporting that the forge notes are inserted is outputted when a predetermined number of the second type notes are contained in the notes inserted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2000
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventor: Masanori Mukai
  • Patent number: 6039259
    Abstract: Card reader in which the card is read in a direction parallel to the input direction (9) after the card by means of a first movement has been fed a first distance essentially equal to or longer than the carrier length in the input direction. The reading takes place during simultaneous movement of the card (1) and a head (2) in opposite directions (9, 8). A transmission element (6) fixedly mounted to the device is arranged, in dependence of a second continued movement of the carrier (1) a second distance which is shorter than the carrier length, to take care of an opposite movement of the read head (2) by a movement which is shorter or equal to the second distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2000
    Assignee: U.S. Philips Corporation
    Inventor: Per Gustav Mattson
  • Patent number: 6039255
    Abstract: A data symbol reading apparatus, for reading an encoded data symbol, includes: an image pickup element; an image forming optical system for forming an image of the encoded data symbol located within a symbol read area onto a light-receiving surface of the image pickup element; and an illumination system. The illumination system includes a plurality of light sources, a diffusion plate for diffusing light emitted from the light sources, and a lens member for transmitting diffused light diffused by the diffusion plate onto the symbol read area. The plurality of light sources, the diffusion plate, and the lens member are arranged such that a light distribution within the symbol reading area is almost uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2000
    Assignee: Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shuzo Seo
  • Patent number: 6036097
    Abstract: A transaction card reader for manually inserted cards includes a vertically moveable gate located just inward of the card insertion opening. The gate is moved from its closed or blocking position in response to the leading card edge engaging and applying symmetrical lifting forces to the gate. Guide members guide the vertical gate movement if the card is oriented at the correct angle in the insertion plane to produce symmetrical lifting forces. These guide members impede the gate from moving from its closed position if one card leading edge portion engages the gate before the other. In one exemplary embodiment, the gate includes a pair of spaced cam surfaces facing the user. If the leading card edge engages one cam surface before the other, the gate will skew and bind in a gateway. If both cam surfaces are engaged substantially simultaneously, the gate rises vertically in the gateway. A gate spring symmetrically biases the gate member toward the closed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2000
    Inventors: Leonard Harsock, Jerry Parsons
  • Patent number: 6036094
    Abstract: A lightweight, easy to grasp and manipulate hand-held optical scanning device for scanning and digitizing image data from a two-dimensional bar code symbol for subsequent decoding in a personal computer platform. The scanning device achieves a small footprint in the user's workspace by utilizing a non-folded, substantially vertical optical path extending from an image viewing area upwardly to a linear charge-coupled device (CCD) array upon which the successive rows of the target two-dimensional bar code symbol are imaged. The scanning device is easily aligned with the symbol by placing it behind the symbol, and scanning of the successive rows of the symbol is accomplished by swiping or rolling the scanning device towards the user. Mechanical rollers on the underside of the scanning device provide translation information for use in clocking data out of the linear CCD array in order to scan the successive rows of the two-dimensional bar code symbol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2000
    Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Ron Goldman, Peter Wyatt, Steven Chew, Peter Fazekas
  • Patent number: 6036087
    Abstract: A production history information system using a bar code system and a method of the same improve the quality of products and realize the collection and processing of accurate information in real time by entering the production particulars from a manufacturing process to a sending-out process with the bar code system and storing them in a system control computer so as to prevent defective products from being sent out and avoid repetitive occurrences of the same failure. The bar code system is installed in the production line so as to immediately suspend the production line in case of a situation corresponding to production line stop conditions, thereby preventing repetitive occurrences of the same failure and sending-out of the same SET failure history even after another same defective is sent out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2000
    Assignee: SamSung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yu-Pyo Hong, Jai-Chil Song
  • Patent number: 6032856
    Abstract: A storage phosphor reader comprising: a receiving station for receiving a cassette containing a removable storage phosphor; a movable extraction mechanism for extracting and replacing a storage phosphor contained in a received cassette; a bar code located on the cassette/storage phosphor, the bar code including dimension data of a storage phosphor contained in the cassette; a bar code reader located at the receiving station for reading the bar code dimension data on a received storage phosphor cassette; and control means for controlling the movement of the extraction mechanism relative to a received storage phosphor cassette as a function of the read dimension data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: David Bischoff, Michael K. Rogers
  • Patent number: 6027029
    Abstract: A smart card capable of adjusting voltages supplied from an external device. In the smart card, a voltage detector detects levels of the voltages supplied from the external device and generates enable signals, if the detected levels are lower than a predetermined level. A voltage controller converts levels of the voltages supplied from the external device into levels of operating voltages of the smart card, in response to the enable signals. A logic level converter converts logic levels of signals received from the external device into logic levels of the smart card, based on a voltage difference between the voltages from the external device and the converted operating voltages.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2000
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
    Inventor: Kwan-Sung Kim
  • Patent number: 6024284
    Abstract: A wireless scanning system for a bar code scanner and a personal computer. The bar code scanner sends raw bar code data via a wireless connection to the personal computer. The personal computer decodes the raw bar code data, and sends the digitized version of the raw bar code data to a keyboard buffer, in order to simulate data from the keyboard at the personal computer based on the raw bar code data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2000
    Assignee: PSC Inc.
    Inventors: William M. Schmid, James R. Behrens