Patents Assigned to Hydragraphix LLC
  • Patent number: 11943416
    Abstract: A redundantly printed security-enhanced document, printing method, and system for better ensuring that the meaning of the information imparted by variable indicia printed by redundant printing indicia on a document protected by a removable Scratch-Off Coating (SOC). By printing the variable indicia with multiple colors, redundancy and integrity of the intended indicia is achieved relative to the perception of human eye photoreceptor cones. The redundantly printed document, methods, and systems enhance the overall appearance of the redundantly printed document, and reduce possible consequences resulting from misprinted variable indicia.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 26, 2024
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Kenneth Earl Irwin, Jr., Fred W Finnerty
  • Patent number: 11839824
    Abstract: A security-enhanced document includes a substrate and variable indicia comprising ink having a signal. The variable indicia is of a specific type and is applied to the substrate using a specific application technique. At least one other printed portion, which is a back of the document, has background ink noise, and the type of ink of the back of the document is of the same type of ink applied to the substrate using the same application technique as the ink of the variable indicia. The document also includes a scratch-off-coating applied over the variable indicia. The document has a signal-to-noise ratio of the ink of the variable indicia relative to the background ink noise of the back of the document that is not appreciable, thereby making the variable indicia unreadable with reference to the back of the document when the scratch-off-coating remains intact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Kenneth Earl Irwin, Jr., Fred W. Finnerty
  • Patent number: 11707942
    Abstract: A redundantly printed security-enhanced document, printing method and system ensure the meaning of the information imparted by variable indicia printed by redundant printing on the document with removable scratch-off coatings. By printing the variable indicia with multiple colors, redundancy and integrity of the intended indicia is achieved. Additionally, inverted color indicia countermeasures to pinprick attacks are also disclosed. The redundantly printed document, methods and systems enhance the overall appearance of the redundantly printed document, and reduce possible consequences resulting from misprinted variable indicia. The resultant printed process color indicia maintains a grayscale equivalent level of a process color greater than or equal to the measured grayscale equivalent level of the substrate surface plus an additional contrast delta of 15%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Fred W. Finnerty, Kenneth E. Irwin, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11706372
    Abstract: A redundantly printed security-enhanced document, printing method, and system for better ensuring that the meaning of the information imparted by variable indicia printed by redundant printing indicia on a document protected by a removable Scratch-Off Coating (SOC). By printing the variable indicia with multiple colors, redundancy and integrity of the intended indicia is achieved relative to the perception of human eye photoreceptor cones. The redundantly printed document, methods, and systems enhance the overall appearance of the redundantly printed document, and reduce possible consequences resulting from misprinted variable indicia.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Kenneth Earl Irwin, Jr., Fred W Finnerty
  • Patent number: 11623133
    Abstract: A security-enhanced document including a substrate, at least one lower portion of graphic imaging with or without first variable indicia directly or indirectly digitally imaged on the substrate, at least one release coat applied over the lower portion, at least one scratch-off layer over the release coat to maintain the lower portion imaging unreadable until removal of the scratch-off layer, and at least one second surface material portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Kenneth Earl Irwin, Jr., Keith Cash, George Adkins
  • Patent number: 11383154
    Abstract: A security-enhanced document including a substrate, variable indica applied to an area of a first side of the substrate, a scratch-off-coating applied over the variable indicia to maintain the variable indicia unreadable until the scratch-off-coating is removed by being scratched off, and digital imaging applied to an area of a reverse side of the substrate from the variable indicia, wherein the digital imaging applied to the area of the reverse side of the substrate includes the same materials as the variable indicia, is uniformly spread over the area of the reverse side of the substrate, and such that the digital imaging overlaps at least 50% of the variable indica applied to the area of the first side of the substrate, such that the variable indicia exhibits an insufficient signal-to-noise ratio relative to the signal-to-noise ratio of the digital imaging on the reverse side of the substrate so that the variable indicia cannot be discerned so long as the scratch-off-coating remains intact.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventor: Kenneth Earl Irwin, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11351445
    Abstract: A security-enhanced document with a removable SOC is provided that is compatible with process color digital imaging, method and system for producing the document enhances production, and expands the aesthetics of the documents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: HYDRAGRAPHIX LLC
    Inventors: Mark Chiles Tevis, Fred W. Finnerty, Kenneth E. Irwin
  • Patent number: 11336794
    Abstract: A method is provided of digitally imaging a secure portion and a non-secure portion of scratch-off-coating protected documents of at least one game using middleware. The method includes: (a) generating the secure variable indicia in non-vector raster format; (b) generating vector graphics to be imaged on physical document locations; (c) assigning the secure variable indicia in a non-vector raster format to documents in and shuffling the documents throughout a print run; and (d) linking via middleware the secure variable indicia in the non-vector raster format to associated vector graphics variable indicia to be digitally imaged on the documents and to generate vector graphics-formatted data for each document in the print run. The secure variable indicia assignment and shuffling are executed by non-vector raster game generation software output that is reinterpreted by the middleware to produce related vector graphic output for the secure variable indicia.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: HYDRAGRAPHIX LLC
    Inventor: Fred W. Finnerty
  • Patent number: 11203218
    Abstract: A redundantly printed security-enhanced document, printing method and system ensure the meaning of the information imparted by variable indicia printed by redundant printing on the document with removable scratch-off coatings. By printing the variable indicia with multiple colors, redundancy and integrity of the intended indicia is achieved. Additionally, inverted color indicia countermeasures to pinprick attacks are also disclosed. The redundantly printed document, methods and systems enhance the overall appearance of the redundantly printed document, and reduce possible consequences resulting from misprinted variable indicia. The resultant printed process color indicia maintains a grayscale equivalent level of a process color greater than or equal to the measured grayscale equivalent level of the substrate surface plus an additional contrast delta of 15%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: Hydragraphix, LLC
    Inventors: Fred W. Finnerty, Kenneth E. Irwin, Jr.
  • Patent number: 11039036
    Abstract: A method of encrypting at least a portion of PostScript vector language, where the PostScript vector language includes a cleartext portion and a ciphertext portion, the method including: (a) encrypting at least a part of the PostScript cleartext portion via an encryption algorithm with a generated encryption key resulting in at least a part of the ciphertext portion and overwriting the PostScript cleartext portion with the resulting at least part of the ciphertext portion; (b) saving the encryption key in a file separate from a file containing the PostScript vector language; (c) linking both the encryption key file and the PostScript file in an image processor interpreting the PostScript vector language to display or print PostScript graphics; (d) decrypting the at least part of the ciphertext portion resulting in decrypted PostScript cleartext; and (e) executing the resulting decrypted Postscript cleartext to produce an image on a document or screen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Kenneth E. Irwin, Jr., Fred W. Finnerty
  • Patent number: 10792555
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a secure substrate provides a print-ready surface for printing scratch-off products and eliminates the need to print lower security layers for protecting against attempts to view hidden indicia information. In one embodiment, a secure substrate comprises applying microperforations to a dyed substrate that meets a predefined transmission optical density to resist an attempt to reduce the opacity of the dyed substrate by delamination. In another embodiment, a secure substrate comprises applying a lower opacity layer and a lower background layer on a substrate to provide a secure substrate that meets a predefined transmission optical density. In another embodiment, a secure substrate comprises applying a lower opacity layer on a substrate, applying a reflective coating, and applying a lower background layer over the reflective coating to provide a secure substrate that meets a predefined transmission optical density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2020
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Gavin Lee Gaynor, Paul John Stamas, Kenneth E. Irwin, Jr., Fred W. Finnerty
  • Publication number: 20200282298
    Abstract: A security-enhanced document with a removable SOC is provided that is compatible with process color digital imaging, method and system for producing the document enhances production, and expands the aesthetics of the documents.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 22, 2018
    Publication date: September 10, 2020
    Applicant: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Mark Chiles Tevis, Fred W. Finnerty, Kenneth E. Irwin
  • Patent number: 10752035
    Abstract: A redundantly printed security-enhanced document, printing method and system ensure the meaning of the information imparted by variable indicia printed by redundant printing on the document with removable scratch-off coatings. By printing the variable indicia with multiple colors, redundancy and integrity of the intended indicia is achieved. Additionally, inverted color indicia countermeasures to pinprick attacks are also disclosed. The redundantly printed document, methods and systems enhance the overall appearance of the redundantly printed document, and reduce possible consequences resulting from misprinted variable indicia. The resultant printed process color indicia maintains a grayscale equivalent level of a process color greater than or equal to the measured grayscale equivalent level of the substrate surface plus an additional contrast delta of 15%.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 25, 2020
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Fred W. Finnerty, Kenneth E. Irwin, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10742848
    Abstract: Production methods and systems enable the inline production of instant lottery tickets or documents using at least three different digital imagers. By interfacing at least three digital imagers in a common printing line, heretofore unknown printing efficiencies are realized, particularly on smaller volume print runs. These methods and systems enhance the overall appearance of the printed instant lottery tickets or documents, as well as potentially expand the consumer base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Allen Lorne Weil, Fred W. Finnerty, Kenneth E. Irwin, Jr.
  • Patent number: 10516800
    Abstract: A method is provided of digitally imaging a secure portion and a non-secure portion of scratch-off-coating protected documents of at least one game using middleware. The method includes: (a) generating the secure variable indicia in non-vector raster format; (b) generating vector graphics to be imaged on physical document locations; (c) assigning the secure variable indicia in a non-vector raster format to documents in and shuffling the documents throughout a print run; and (d) linking via middleware the secure variable indicia in the non-vector raster format to associated vector graphics variable indicia to be digitally imaged on the documents and to generate vector graphics-formatted data for each document in the print run. The secure variable indicia assignment and shuffling are executed by non-vector raster game generation software output that is reinterpreted by the middleware to produce related vector graphic output for the secure variable indicia.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2019
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventor: Fred W. Finnerty
  • Patent number: 10456661
    Abstract: A removable scratch-off document with a display portion, printing method and system ensuring the integrity and security of the document with variable win and lose variable information protected by a scratch-off coating by overprinting at least one of at least a part of the scratch-off coating and at least a part of the display portion using stochastic imaging. The resulting printed document is more attractive and consistent over varying surfaces, as well as more secure against illicit attempt to remove the scratch-off coating by lift and float techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: Hydragraphix LLC
    Inventors: Fred W. Finnerty, Kenneth E. Irwin, Jr.