Abstract:
A martial arts student identification system is disclosed. The ID card is removably mounted to the belt. The ID card can be removed from the belt if it needs to be washed, or for when the student advances to a new belt. In one embodiment, a hook-and-loop fastener, such as VELCRO, is used to affix the ID card to the belt.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/199,909 filed on Nov. 21, 2008. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to attendance tracking, and more specifically, to attendance tracking for students of martial arts schools. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Schools for the martial arts have proliferated in recent years. Statistics indicate that there are over 30,000 schools across the United States, with a combined total of about four million students enrolled. The increased interest in the martial arts has necessitated solutions for managing the students. In particular, there is a need to record attendance, in part to keep track of tuition to be billed, as well to ensure sufficient attendance for belt advancement. To that end, a variety of martial arts attendance systems are commercially available. For example, Martial Arts Organizer, available from www.martialartsorganizer.com provides a software solution that enables a user to create a photo ID card, with a corresponding barcode. Upon entering the martial arts school, each student has their ID card scanned by a barcode scanner. However, the current ID cards have various shortcomings. Therefore, it is desirable to have an improved martial arts student identification system. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    As stated above, there are various shortcomings with the current ID cards. Primarily, students often forget them, leading to inaccurate attendance, or in some cases, preventing the student from training that day. Many martial art students are children, and therefore may be more prone to losing an ID card. Often the parent carries the ID card for the child, and if another person takes the child to the martial arts school, there is an increased chance that the card will be forgotten. 
         [0005]    These problems can be eliminated if the ID card is actually worn on the uniform. However, this creates other challenges. First, the ID card should not interfere with movement due to practicing martial arts moves, or sparring. Second, the uniform should be frequently washed, so anything attached to the uniform itself must be able to withstand washing. Embodiments of the present invention overcome these challenges with a novel approach. With embodiments of the present invention, the ID card is removably mounted to the belt. In most cases, the belts are not washed. Therefore, by mounting the ID card on the belt, the issue of washing is largely eliminated. However, the ID card can be removed from the belt if it needs to be washed, or for when the student advances to a new belt. The martial arts identification card of embodiments of the present invention is considerably smaller than those in current use. A hook-and-loop fastener, such as VELCRO, is used to affix the ID card to the belt. One part of the hook-and-loop fastener is affixed to the belt, and the complementary hook-and-loop fastener is affixed to the ID card. In this way, the ID card is always with the uniform, and hence always with the student. This eliminates the attendance issues that are present in the current systems. This will be further explained in the detailed description that follows. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]      FIG. 1  shows a user with an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  shows a detailed view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  shows a view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  shows a view of another alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIG. 5  shows a side view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 6  shows a block diagram of a system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0012]      FIG. 1  shows a user  100  with an embodiment of the present invention. As is common in martial arts, the user is wearing a belt  105 . Belt  105  is comprised of a strip of fabric. Affixed to belt  105  is ID card  110 . 
         [0013]      FIG. 2  shows a detailed front surface view of an embodiment of the present invention. As is shown in this view, ID card  110  is attached to belt  105 , preferably towards one end of the belt  105 . ID card  110  may comprise a photo  125 , school logo  130  (or other icon), and a computer-readable identifier  120 . In this case, identifier  120  is a barcode. However, a data matrix, or other suitable optical identifier may also be used as computer-readable identifier  120 . Optionally, a dividing line  115  may be used to visually separate the barcode  120  from other graphical components, such as photo  125  and logo  130 . In one embodiment, ID card  110  has rounded corners  113 , which minimize the risk of the ID card  110  getting snagged on something during sparring or training. In another embodiment, the ID card has a width ranging from about 3 centimeters (cm) to about 5 cm, and a height ranging from about 2 cm to about 3 cm. This embodiment of the present invention is considerably smaller than those in current use, and is suitable for the novel approach of affixing the ID card to the martial arts belt. 
         [0014]      FIG. 3  shows a view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, computer-readable identifier  127  is a data matrix. The advantage of a data matrix is that it can store considerably more data than a barcode. In some cases, a data matrix may be capable of storing a few kilobytes of data. This provides the possibility to store more information pertaining to a martial arts student than with a barcode. For example, the school name and date of birth of the student can be encoded into the data matrix. This embodiment is well suited for tournaments, where students of various schools and of various ages gather to compete. By scanning the ID cards, this information could be tracked by computer for tournament purposes. 
         [0015]      FIG. 4  shows a view of another alternative embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a student name field  145  is displayed on the ID card  110 . Instead of using an optical computer-readable identifier as with the previous two embodiments, this embodiment uses a radio identifier, such as an RFID tag  140 , which is embedded into the label. In this embodiment, optical scanning is not required, and it is possible to record the student&#39;s attendance by mounting an RFID reader in the proper position at the entrance to the school. In this way, the issue of forgetting to scan a student&#39;s ID card is solved. While this embodiment shows an embedded RFID tag, a chipless RFID tag which is printed directly on the ID card  110  could also be used to practice an embodiment of the present invention. Various companies provide RFID solutions for clothing tags, such as Checkpoint Systems, Inc. of Thorofare, N.J. 
         [0016]      FIG. 5  shows a side view of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 . In this embodiment, a loop part  150  of a complementary hook-and-loop fastener is affixed to the belt  105 . In one embodiment, loop part  150  is attached to belt  105 . In one embodiment, loop part  150  is an industrial strength, heavy duty adhesive, self-stick fastener. The user simply affixes it onto the belt. Alternatively, the loop part  150  may also be sewn to the belt  105 . Hook part  155  of the complementary hook-and-loop fastener is affixed to ID card  110  via a similar self-stick means as described above. The loop part  150  tends to be softer than the hook part  155 , and hence, the loop part  150  is preferable to affix to belt  105 . However, it is also possible to affix hook part  155  to belt  105 , and loop part  150  to ID card  110 , without departing from the scope and purpose of the present invention. 
         [0017]      FIG. 6  shows a block diagram of a martial arts student identification system  200  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Attendance system  205  is preferably located at the martial arts school. There, new students are photographed, and a record is entered into the attendance system  205  for the student. The attendance system generates a student number, and encodes that number into a barcode. The barcode, photo, and student name are uploaded to the printing system  210 . The printing system  210  may be in a different physical location than the attendance system  205 . In one embodiment, the attendance system  205  communicates to the printing system  210  via a data communication network such as the Internet. The ID card is then printed. The ID card is preferably made of durable plastic, ranging in thickness from about 25 mils to about 35 mils. In one embodiment, ID card  110  is a 30 mil PVC plastic card, such as the DATACARD 803094-001, distributed by Datacard Group, of Minnetonka, Minn. 
         [0018]    After printing the desired images on the ID card, a laminate is applied to the front surface of ID card by laminating system  215 . In one embodiment, printing system  210  and laminating system  215  are integrated into a single device, such as the Datacard ImageCard II printer. In this embodiment, the lamination is performed by using a clear topcoat ribbon, such as the Datacard 806125-103 ribbon. The clear topcoat lamination serves to protect the ID card, and reduce scratches, which might impact the readability of the barcode or other optical identifier. 
         [0019]    Once laminated, the ID cards are then cut out by cutting system  220 . In one embodiment, cutting system  220  comprises a heavy duty plastic die cutter. Suitable die cutters are available from a variety of sources, such as Union Brothers, of Gardena, Calif. Note that while this embodiment shows the ID cards being cut after being printed, it is also possible to precut the labels, and then print them, if the equipment supports that, without departing from the scope and purpose of the present invention. 
         [0020]    As can now be appreciated, embodiments of the present invention provide for an improved martial arts student identification system that overcome problems associated with prior art systems. 
         [0021]    Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments, certain equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components, the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more features of the other embodiments as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.