Abstract: A magnetic game wherein the playing field between a light-transmitting top wall and a bottom wall which is parallel to the top wall receives one or more playing pieces including one or more permanent magnets. The playing piece(s) can be attracted or repelled by an impeller having at least one shifting member with a permanent magnet adjacent to the upper side of the top wall. The shifting member is movable by a handle which is provided thereon or by manipulating an elongated arm a light-transmitting portion of which overlies the top wall. The impeller can be assembled of two or three shifting members, one above the top wall, another below the bottom wall or between the top and bottom walls, and a third between the top and bottom walls or below the bottom wall. Such shifting members can define a pocket which can receive a portion of or the entire playing piece when the distance between the magnet of such playing piece and the magnet or magnets of the impeller is reduced below a critical value.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a lock having a key provided with variable key information elements which are adapted to be scanned during rotation of the key around an axis of the lock. The key preferably includes ten (10) cam plates fixedly joined together in pairs for rotation and mounted in pairs on coaxial hollow shafts. Each shaft is driven by a handwheel in an angularly variable manner. Each cam plate has five (5) different radial steps, so that each pair of cam plates correspondingly has twenty-five (25) different possible combinations of angular positions, each of which can be identified by a letter of the alphabet on the respective handwheel. The key combination is legible through a display window. The lock and its key which are of a relatively simple design, allow the key combination to be easily set and readily recalled.

Abstract: A laminated hard-to-counterfeit data carrier card with an opaque median plastic layer and transparent outer plastic layers has a plurality of groups of light conductors which extend through the median layer and represent encoded information which can be decoded by inserting the card into the slot of a decoding apparatus wherein a light source directs radiation against one side of the inserted card and a suitable circuit including rhotodiodes decodes the pattern of light rays which issue from the other side of the inserted card. The encoded information can represent sums of money, units of time, the serial number of the card, the identification number of the bearer and/or other data. Each group of light conductors can be destroyed or removed independently of the other groups, especially if each group denotes a unit of currency. The cross-sectional area of each light conductor is less than the square of the thickness of the card.

Abstract: An imitation-proof card-like data carrier which permits light to pass through a large number of light-conducting elements each having a light-admitting inlet portion, a light-discharging outlet portion which is laterally offset relative to the inlet portion, and a light-conducting intermediate portion with two reflecting surfaces, one adjacent to the inlet portion and the other adjacent to the outlet portion. The information which is stored in or denoted by an element is characterized by the distance beween the inlet and outlet portions as well as on the inclination of that reflecting surface which directs light into the outlet portion. The light rays issuing from the outlet portions of the elements impinge upon selected photodiodes of an array of photodiodes in an apparatus into which the data carrier is inserted to ascertain the genuineness thereof, to ascertain the identity of the bearer, to cancel certain elements if each element represents a sum of money and/or for other purposes.

Abstract: Specimens, the quality of whose print is to be examined, are scanned photoelectrically point-by-point and compared point-by-point with one or more originals. The resulting reflectance differences are processed in different correction stages and then subjected to a point-by-point threshold decision, an individual threshold value being used for each image point. The threshold values are produced by analysis of specimens which have acceptable deviations, the maximum positive and negative reflectance differences due to their deviations being used directly as the threshold values. The analysis is effected by reference to electronically simulated specimens, an original or originals and a specimen being electronically displaced relatively to one another and reflectances being electronically varied in order to simulate register deviations and shade or tone deviations.

Abstract: Apparatus for generating and displaying moving pictures in which a combination of a number of locally displaceable picture elements have positions that are variable and/or selectable by a number of adjustable outer or final control elements. At least part of individual final control elements have associated with them an inner control element. The position of the final control elements is variable in response to the action of the control elements, and these inner control elements are arranged on a movable inner control element carrier. The control elements constitute mechanical information storages in which the information has a total of at least two mechanical states and can be transmitted by mechanical contact to the associated final control elements, and hence to the picture elements. The information of the inner control elements is made variable by moving the control element carrier.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for ciphering and deciphering messages, wherein series of cipher pulses with an identical pulse distribution are generated by the transmitter and the receiver stations and said pulse distribution is determined by a secret basic code and a code which is derived from date and time.

Abstract: 1.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for detecting printing faults or errors in a sample of printed material, such as a bank note, by determining the relative positions of corresponding text on the sample and each of a number of original bank notes, each having been printed by a different printing process used in printing the sample combining the text of the originals optically or electronically taking into account the positions of the text in the originals relative to the text on the sample resulting from superimposition of the text produced by each of the printing process used to produce each original, and comparing the text of the sample with the total combined text. The relative positions of corresponding text on the sample and originals is determined by scanning the sample and originals and obtaining reflectances values at each of a number of corresponding raster points and correlating the corresponding reflectance values to obtaining the relative position values.

Abstract: A method is provided for automatically assessing a printed article, in particular a bank-note. The sample to be assessed is compared point by point with an original and differential values are thereby formed between the reflectance values obtained by photoelectrical scanning from the individual image points of the sample and the reflectance values of the image points of the original corresponding to the sample image points. The differential values of each image point are added, in the correct sign, with predetermined weighting, to the differential values of the image points adjacent thereto, and the sample is assessed as faulty if the absolute amount of the added differential values exceeds a predetermined threshold value at least in one image point.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for comparing a sample of printed material, such as a bank note, with a standard original print by scanning the sample and the original to provide reflectance values of text in corresponding zones in a preselected group of zones of a pattern, common to both original and sample and produced by selecting reflectance values occurring in selected parts of selected lines of scan. The difference in reflectance values of the text in corresponding zones of the preselected group of zones is obtained and from these differences the relative position of the corresponding text is determined. The relative position of the text in the remaining corresponding zones is then determined by interpolating or extrapolating the values representing the relative positions of the text in the selected zones of the group and from the reflectance values obtained from scanning those other corresponding zones.

Abstract: A mechanical lock comprises a cylindrical stator, a main rotor constituting the lock cylinder and being mounted for rotation in the stator and an auxiliary rotor mounted in the main rotor. A key carrying information can be inserted into the keyhole of the main rotor and turned to rotate the same between angular positions corresponding to an open and closed lock position through an intermediate latched position. A differential drive couples the auxiliary rotor to the main rotor for effecting relative rotational movement thereof. Key information sensing elements sense the key information during the relative rotational movement of the auxiliary rotor and are repositioned thereby, and these elements are taken along by the main rotor rotation at the end stage of the relative movement to remove them from contact with the key and return them to a rest position.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is described for preparing and assessing machine readable payment documents such as bank or postal checks to avoid fraud. The checks are prepared by enciphering the serial number and the amount for which the check is made out with secret code data to provide a crypto number which is printed on the check with the serial number and the amount. The check is assessed as valid by reading out the printed data and enciphering the amount and serial number with the same secret code data as used when preparing the check to provide a crypto number which is compared with the crypto number read from the check. If the two crypto numbers are the same the check is assessed as valid.The crypto number can be derived from additional data such as the credit card number of the person making out the check, the time and date and the number of the machine preparing the document.

Abstract: A method of, and apparatus for, transmitting and receiving electrical speech signals transmitted in ciphered form, wherein at the transmitter end there are formed in sections or intervals from the speech signals to be transmitted, by frequency analysis, signal components or parameter signals containing frequency spectrum-, voiced/voiceless information- and fundamental sound pitch coefficients, these signal components are ciphered, the ciphered signal components or parameter signals are transformed into a transmission signal and this transmission signal is transmitted over a transmission channel, and at the receiver end there is reobtained from the transmission signal the ciphered signal components or parameter signals and deciphered, and from the thus-obtained deciphered signal components or parameter signals there is generated by synthesis a speech signal which is similar to the original speech signal.