Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company

Veritec, Inc.

3m Innovative Properties Company

Other

Thomas F Look

Bruce D Orensteen

Robert V O'Keefe

Richard T Podvin

Van Thuy Tran

Joseph M McGrath

Franklin C Bradshaw

Joseph R Zwack

Craig A Schmidt

Thomas I Bradshaw

Lisa Flatt Nelson

Thanh-Huong Thi Nguyen

Michael G O'Reilly

Alan J Craig

Carlyle A Weigel

Robert F Watkins

Steven E Poss

Combined use transaction cards are disclosed including preferably the functionality of being usable for conducting a financial transaction along with the additional functionality for activation or access to at least one other event. Many types of non-financial events are contemplated such as for access or entry, employee need, student need, and the like. Such cards preferably utilize electronically readable means as may be provided to such cards, such as including magnetic stripes, RFID transponders, OCR text, and one dimensional or two dimensional bar codes.

Combined event driver and financial card

Methods of personal and article identification and licensing are disclosed. Methods and constructions of cards and plates include driver's license fabrication and production for the purpose of regulating or identifying a driver and assuring their identity and compliance with jurisdictional regulations and license plate fabrication and production for the purpose of regulating or identifying a vehicle and assuring its identity and compliance with jurisdictional regulations. Driver's licenses and license plates are described herein as exemplary embodiments of identification cards and licensing devices that are produced according to certain processes of manufacturing and issuing.

Secure devices for personal article identification, such as driver's licenses and vehicle license plates, and methods of producing such improved devices

Methods and systems for a secure financial transaction that can be processed through open loop or closed loop networks using electronically readable or visual data that is preferably provided or integrated into a financial card to determine network selection and card authentication and verification requirements.

Financial card transaction security and processing methods

Secure devices for personal or article identification, such as driver'S licenses and vehicle license plates, and methods of producing such improved devices

Multi-dimensional symbology codes that use plural characteristic features encoded in a data cell and related methods. Such methods include methods of encoding, methods of creating and methods of reading multi-dimensional symbology codes that use such plural characteristic features. The features, for example, include colors, grey scale levels, cell shape, patterns within a cell or any grouping discernable by an area array camera or similar device.

Multi-dimensional symbologies and related methods

The present disclosure includes a system that provides visual and electronic information in a readily identifiable system. For example, the present disclosure is directed to a combination tag, suitable for use as a vehicle identification window sticker. The combination tag includes a retroreflective article having an optical surface and a radio frequency responsive element. The radio frequency-responsive element includes an antenna and an integrated circuit. The radio frequency-responsive element has information storage and transmission capabilities adapted to enable an interrogation system to obtain information from the radio frequency-responsive element. The radio frequency-responsive element is operably coupled to the retroreflective article.

Article with retroreflective and radio frequency-responsive features

The present disclosure includes a system that provides visual and electronic information in a readily identifiable combination tag where the radio frequency-responsive element is in close proximity to the retroreflective element. The combination tag includes a retroreflective article with an optical article and a reflective layer. The optical article has an optical surface and structured surface. For example the optical article can include as optical elements glass microspheres (optical beads) or cube corner reflectors. The reflective layer is deposited on at least a portion of the structured surface of the optical article. For example, the reflective layer can include a non-contiguous metal layer. The combination tag also includes a radio frequency-responsive element. The radio frequency-responsive element includes an antenna and an integrated circuit. The radio frequency-responsive element has information storage and transmission capabilities adapted to enable an interrogation system to obtain information from the radio frequency-responsive element. The radio frequency-responsive element is coupled to one of the optical surface or the rear surface of the optical article.

The present invention relates to a method of printing polymer films and corresponding articles. The invention is useful for providing dimensional stability during printing and/or improving the print quality, particularly for contact or thermal printing methods such as thermal mass transfer printing.

Method of printing film and articles

A method of thermal mass transfer printing a colorant including a binder media from a ribbon onto a first surface of a web having a non-homogeneous thermal conductivity, a non-planar printing surface, a non-homogeneous structure or chemical incompatibility. The first surface of the web is preheated prior to thermal mass transfer printing. The surface of the ribbon containing the colorant is positioned opposite the first surface of the heated web at an inner face. A thermal print head is positioned at the interface on the side of the ribbon opposite the colorant. The web is moved relative to the thermal print head. Printing is completed by selectively applying localized heat to the ribbon from the thermal print head and pressure at the interface to cause the transfer of colorant from the ribbon to the heated web.

Method and system for thermal mass transfer printing

An improved method and apparatus for machine reading of license plate numbers on license plates uses separate illumination sources to (1) identify and locate the license plate image within a field of view, and (2) to read the license plate number from the license plate image. The use of separate sources allows the use of preferred equipment and reduces power consumption of the system.

Method and apparatus for machine reading of retroreflective vehicle

A thermal printing apparatus 41 that can transfer a colorant from a moving ribbon 66 onto printable areas 140a, 140b of a thermal print receptive sheeting 46. The apparatus 41 includes a thermal print head 44, a transport, a mechanism that can move the thermal print head 44 in a second direction x, a ribbon travel mechanism that is capable of supporting a ribbon 66, and a mechanism that allows colorant to be transferred to a thermal print receptive sheeting 46 while the ribbon travel mechanism is in operation and while the thermal print head 44 is moving in the second direction x. The ribbon 66 and the thermal print head 44 are in motion while the indicia is being printed on the thermal print receptive sheeting. The thermal print head 44 is elongate, has a length L of at least one centimeter, and extends substantially in a first direction y. An apparatus of this construction allows sheetings having a width greater than S to receive a thermally printed indicia without encountering a significant ribbon wrinkling problem because narrow ribbons may be employed in transferring the indicia onto the thermal print receptive sheeting. A single ribbon also can be used to print on sheetings of various widths.

Thermal printing apparatus

A method of thermally transferring colorant from a movable ribbon onto printable areas of a thermal print receptive sheeting. The method includes arranging a print head so that its length is substantially parallel to the direction of travel of the thermal print receptive sheeting and transferring colorant from the movable ribbon to the sheeting as the sheeting is stationary and the thermal print head is moved in a second direction substantially normal to the length of the thermal print head. The system includes a thermal print head, a transport for moving the thermal print receptive sheeting past the thermal print head in the first direction, and a mechanism that moves the print head in a second direction normal to the first direction when the print head is transferring colorant onto the sheeting.

Growing community of inventors

Ham Lake, MN, United States of America

Thomas F Look