Abstract:
A color coding system and method process the data of an image or document to blend the data using a predetermined mapping to generate color indicia being a series of color bars or shapes having different lengths and heights. The color indicia is uniquely associated with the input data, and the use of color has a greater ability to visually distinguish one object from another.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is related to U.S. provisional application No. 60/547,960, filed on Feb. 27, 2004, now abandoned, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to identification information, and in particular to the use of indicia with color coding for enhanced identification of data and objects.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     Known computer and data systems for document storage and visualization, such as the World Wide Web and the Internet, use data employing markup languages such as Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) formatting, as well as data formatting in Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). Such data formatting uses color code definitions for specifying codes corresponding to specific colors, such as the major colors RED, GREEN, and BLUE in the RED-GREEN-BLUE (RGB) color scheme.  
         [0006]     General codes are used by markup language to specify the assignment of the contents of a web page related to the size and type of fonts and colors throughout the web page. However, in the prior art, such use of color is typically ornamental, or may be indicative only of a function, such as black for unactivated or unaccessed hyperlinks or red for activated or accessed hyperlinks.  
         [0007]     Colors may also be used to encode data, for example, in black-and-while bar codes such as two-dimensional or zebra barcodes encoding product information in Universal Product Code (UPC) symbols on product packaging, or in three-dimensional data codes. Such use of colors is limited to dealing with identification and verification purposes.  
         [0008]     Heretofore, such use of colors to encode data has been silent or passive; that is, different colors merely indicate the appearance of one region to be different from the appearance of another region. Any functional aspects of the colors serve only to provide contrasts to indicate YES/NO or ONE/ZERO.  
         [0009]     Accordingly, for a bar code with, for example, twenty vertical black lines against a white background, only 2 20  objects=1,048,576 objects may be uniquely identified. For large inventories, such as in warehouses, such bar codes may be insufficient, and may require a lengthy bar code extending over a significant portion of the object being labeled and uniquely identified for tracking.  
         [0010]     For identifying people, such as with Social Security numbers in the United States, black-and-white bar codes may be used, but would require over twenty-eight vertical lines, while larger populations in the European Union, India, China, or the entire world would require even lengthier bar codes with many more vertical lines. In addition to identifying millions or even billions of people, the identification and tracking of billions of objects globally becomes unwieldy with black-and-white bar codes.  
         [0011]     When such black-and-white vertical lines in bar codes are positioned more densely to minimized their size on a product with more lines used to identify more objects, people as well as automated scanning machines may be unable to distinguish one black-and-white bar code from another having similar but distinct appearances.  
         [0012]     However, people as well as automated scanning machines are able to easily distinguish two or more contrasting colors. For example, the colors of the basic spectrum ranging from red to violet are readily identifiable.  
         [0013]     In addition, such bar codes typically have fixed heights and orientations in a linear arrangement. However, people as well as automated scanning machines are able to readily distinguish different arrangements of colors in many different orientations beyond a fixed linear arrangement. For example, pie charts with at least two colors for the pie segments as well as bar charts used, for example, in business presentations are easily understandable to show distinct information using color.  
         [0014]     A need exists for the active use of colors and color coding of data to enhance the identification of data and objects.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     A color coding system and method process the data of an image or document to blend the data using a predetermined mapping to generate color indicia being a series of color bars or shapes having different lengths and heights. The color indicia is uniquely associated with the input data, and the use of color has a greater ability to visually distinguish one object from another.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed hereinbelow with reference to the drawings, wherein:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of the color coding system of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a flowchart of operation of the present invention;  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is an example webpage for inputting the identifying information to generate color indicia;  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is an example of a color bar code as the color indicia;  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is an example of a colored shape as the color indicia;  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is an example of a mapping;  
         [0023]      FIG. 7  is an example birth certificate with a color bar code; and  
         [0024]      FIG. 8  is an example travel bag with a tag having a color bar code. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]     As shown in  FIGS. 1-2 , a color coding system  10  is a computer-based apparatus, which may be a distributed computer system, including an input device  12 , a processor  14 , and at least one output device  16 . The input device  12  is used for inputting information  18  associated with a first object  20 . The processor  14  processes the information  18  using software implementing color indicia generating means  22  and a predetermined mapping  24  stored in a memory  26  to generate a plurality of color codes uniquely identifying the first object  20 . The output device  16  generates color indicia  28  from the plurality of color codes, with the color indicia  28  encoding the information  18  associated with the first object  20 , with the color indicia  28  being viewable on a physical substrate, and with the color indicia  28  including a plurality of different colors selected from a predetermined palette lacking the color black.  
         [0026]     In an example implementation, the color-coding system  10  may be an Internet-accessible computer including a “PENTIUM” microprocessor commercially available from “INTEL CORPORATION”, including 1 MB of RAM as the memory, 1 GB of hard drive storage, and executing the “WINDOWS” operating system commercially available from “MICROSOFT CORPORATION”. Accordingly, the input device  12  includes a mouse and optionally a keyboard for inputting the information  18  through a graphic user interface (GUI).  
         [0027]     The at least one output device  16  includes at least a color display  30  capable of displaying at least the predetermined palette of colors. As defined and used herein, the term “color” is not limited to black and white, but may be any known color or combinations thereof.  
         [0028]     The processor  14  may include the microprocessor of a personal computer of the user inputting the input information  18  to generate the color indicia  28 . The processor  14  may also include and/or be operatively connected to a web server; for example, a server computer commercially available from “IBM CORPORATION” capable of running the “WINDOWS 2003 SERVER” software available from “MICROSOFT CORPORATION”. Alternatively, the personal computer of the user may be a client computer operating as the input device  12  connected to a web server acting as the processor  14  of the color-coding system  10 .  
         [0029]     The predetermined palette may include, for example, the colors of the spectrum selected from the group of: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, and combinations thereof. With just the seven basic colors of the spectrum being red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, a color indicia forming a color bar code shown, for example, in  FIG. 4 , having ten bars, the number of unique color bar codes equals 7 10 =282,475,249 distinct color bar codes capable of uniquely representing at least every person in the United States according to the Year 2000 Census.  
         [0030]     In a preferred embodiment, the input device  12  is and/or includes a webpage  32 , for example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , which is displayed on the browser of a personal computer of a user for receiving the information  18  from the user including a plurality of user-inputted menu selections. The processor  14  is a web server operatively connected to the input device  12  through a network such as the Internet.  
         [0031]     In one example embodiment, the output device  16  is and/or includes a multi-color display  30 , and the physical substrate is a screen of the multi-color display  30 . In another example embodiment, the output device  16  is and/or includes a color printer  34 , and the physical substrate is the first object  20  itself, or alternatively the physical substrate is a second object  36  attachable to the first object  20  to be associated therewith. For example, the first object  20  may be a travel bag or other known types of items of luggage, and the second object  36  may be an identification (ID) tag removably secured to the travel bag. Alternatively, the second object  36  may be an adhesive sticker to be disposed on the first object  20 , such as a color-coded seal for a birth certificate as the first object  20 .  
         [0032]     The color indicia  28  may have any predetermined shape. For example, in a first embodiment, the color indicia  28  are arranged in a series  38  of parallel color lines representing a color bar code  40 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . Alternatively, the color indicia  28  is a colored shape  42  having a set  44  of smaller shapes are arranged in a rectangular array having at least two colored shapes in vertical direction, and at least two colored shapes in a horizontal direction, as shown in  FIG. 5 . The colored shape  42  may be rectangular, and the smaller shapes  44  may be smaller rectangles of varying sizes.  
         [0033]     In operation, the system  10  operates using the method  46  shown in  FIG. 2 , with the method for color coding the first object  20  including the steps of: receiving information  18  in step  48  input into the input device  12 , such as the example webpage  56  in  FIG. 3 , with the information  18  being associated with the first object  20 ; processing the information  18  in step  50  using the processor  14  and the predetermined mapping  24  with the color indicia generating means  22 ; generating a plurality of color codes in step  52  uniquely identifying the first object  20 ; and generating the color indicia  28  in step  54  from the plurality of color codes using the output device  16 , with the color indicia  28  encoding the information  18  associated with the first object  20 , with the color indicia  28  being viewable on a physical substrate, and with the color indicia  28  including a plurality of different colors selected from a predetermined palette lacking the color black.  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the example webpage  56  is displayed on the display  30  and operates as a GUI to receive the input information  18  as an input device  12 . The example webpage includes a plurality  58  of input fields which activate pull-down menus and/or keyboard-input fields to select and/or input data. In the example embodiment, the webpage  56  generates a birth certificate, for example, at a government agency processing birth records from a hospital. Using “JAVASCRIPT” and “JAVA”-based software as the color indicia generating means  22 , with “JAVA” being software commercially available from “SUN MICROSYSTEMS”, the browser displaying the HTML-based webpage  56  receives the input information  18 .  
         [0035]     Using the predetermined mapping, for example, as shown in  FIG. 6 , in which gender is encoded either as RED or BLUE for girl or boy, respectively, in which the country is encoded as either GREEN or YELLOW for U.S. or non-U.S., respectively, and in which the day of birth is encoded as either ORANGE or VIOLET for Sunday or Monday, respectively, any child represented as the first object  20  is associated with a set of color codes  62  uniquely representing the child. It is understood that more complex and detailed mappings may be used, such as known hash functions to unique encode the name, city of birth, address, etc. of the child.  
         [0036]     The system  10  and method  46  then may generate a birth certificate  64 , for example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , having a unique identifying color indicia in the form of a color bar code  66  with at least two non-black colors, such as RED, GREEN, and ORANGE. The birth certificate  64  may be displayed on the colar display  30  as an on-screen substrate for review, and may then be printed by the color printer  34  on a paper substrate as an official color-bar-coded government document as the second object  36 .  
         [0037]     Alternatively, the person associated with the birth data as the input information  18  may have a travel bag  68  as the first object  20 , for example, as shown in  FIG. 8 , with the color bar code  66  being printed by the color printer  34  on an adhesive sticker  70  as the physical substrate to be the second object  36  which is associated with the first object  20 . That is, the adhesive sticker  70  is affixed to a removable tag  72  attached to the travel bag  68  of the person with the associated birth data.  
         [0038]     Using the system  10  and method  46  described herein, the color indicia  28  may have a multitude of applications and may employ a nearly infinite palette of colors, such as cyan, magenta, aqua, silver, gold, scarlet, etc., with predetermined and pre-defined colors signifying specific days of the week, specific countries, specific cities, specific zodiac signs, etc.  
         [0039]     Example uses of the multi-shaped and sized color bar codes include: identifying persons, foundations, materials, places, symbols, products, etc.; uses in security, education, electronic and non-electronic publication; entertainment; heliography and other signaling systems; security applications for airline passenger baggage; tracking of air-travel passengers and/or their belongings; personal identity; business identity for public an/or private sector activities; confidential information; personal data including medical records in general; medical records for patients at hospitals; banking identity verification systems for credit cards and other electronic cards; electronic signatures; government and private mail delivery services; courier mail delivery; parcels including identification of huge boxes and containers; sorting identification for multiple uses; map and road indications; personalized item identification; vehicle identification including land as well as air and sea vessels; valuable items of merchandise indicates by reference number and identity; identification of persons and corporations on the Internet; electronic matching of corporate color bar codes in parallel with predetermined corporate colors; publications such as posters, brochures, magazines, books, stickers, badges, shirts, and promotional materials; campaigns for elections, special interests, or sales promotions; color indicators for English words, Latin words, non-Latin words, and phonetic representations of words using the Latin alphabet; entertainment usage using color as a main elements such as a color scope for a person generated by blending the name of the person with their horoscope, or using the date and/or day to produce a variety of colors for each name; trademarks; identification of business corporations, universities, or other institutions; colors for fixed sets of data such as for the days of the week, for the months, for elements in an alphabet, for numerals, and for signs and symbols; stamps and coins and their quality, denomination, and source; major world locations such as countries, capitals, regions, cities, and villages; airports; historical persons including famous people; famous living persons; agendas represented by unique colors for the days of the week and months; daily colors for objects of fashion such as for clocks and watches for each day of the week; road signs indicating time and temperature for each day of the week; custom paint from paint manufacturers such as personalized colors for newly married couples blending their names, horoscopes, or relatives to create colors for rooms, walls, ceilings, doors, etc.; identification of credit cards beyond use in automatic teller machines (ATMs); vending machines and their functions; rental or purchase of software from corporations or uses on websites, vending machines, or states; media retention devices such a floppy disks, compact disks (CDs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), etc.; websites on the World Wide Web on the Internet; greeting cards incorporating the names or horoscopes of the purchasers or senders; personalized decorative or ornamental items such as necklaces, wristbands, wristlaces, ankle bracelets, fabrics, shirts, scarves, hats, towels, etc.; color codes for security shields on the Internet or networks including fire walls and access portals to prevent unauthorized violators from entering a website; satellite tracking to identify places or persons by color using a single special color or a combination of certain sets of colors by a fixed pattern, icons, seal, stamp, mark, tag, etc.; use in space technology and industry to coordinate interplanetary activities with different locations on the planets at fixed stations with each station having a unique pattern of colors which identify such locations and stations by allocation of each object through advanced technological software and hardware devices; and use in the cellular telephone industries to add new color-indexed features to its applications through specialized programming.  
         [0040]     While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described herein, it will be obvious that such embodiment is provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention herein. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.