Abstract:
We disclose herein a system and method to submit, personalize and activate a physical identity credential via the internet. This product is a new process and an improvement over existing products that either allow a user to (a) submit data and photos to an online service to personalize a physical identity credential or (b) utilize installed software to personalize and activate a physical identity credential by utilizing a local or network printing device.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/698,796 filed on Sep. 10, 2012, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is generally directed toward a cloud-based credential personalization and activation system. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Identity credentials are most commonly encoded with a unique technology number by a credential authority and then sold to employers and organizations to be personalized by a card printer. They are then activated and associated with a credential-holder within a credential automation application, such as a physical access application, logical access application, electronic time clock application or electronic tracking application. Employers or organizations with fewer than one hundred entities typically have a hard time justifying the capital expense of a card printer to personalize credentials but would benefit from having a personalized credential activated in one of these applications to control physical access to doors, have logical access to network resources, automate the collection of work hours, and track and report specific activities. 
         [0004]    As a result, these smaller employers and organizations generally resort to third-party printing services to personalize the credential and a manual process to activate the credential and associate it with a credential-holder in the automation applications. Using this process increases the risk of data entry errors that can cause inaccurate reports and could grant potentially inappropriate access to confidential information. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    We disclose herein a system and method to submit, personalize and activate a physical identity credential via the Internet. This product employs a new process and is an improvement over existing products that allow a user to either (a) submit data and photos to an online service to personalize a physical identity credential or (b) utilize installed software to personalize and activate a physical identity credential by utilizing a local or network printing device. 
         [0006]    The claimed device allows a user to submit data and photos to an online service to personalize a physical identity credential and also automate the process by automatically activating the unique technology numbers in applications that use the numbers and credential-holder information via the Internet. 
         [0007]    In one embodiment, the customer is provided installed software that collects personal information and photos, submits the print job over the Internet to a printing service, and, then collects the card technology unique numbers for automatic insertion with the personal credential-holder&#39;s record after the credential is printed. In addition, that unique credential number can be automatically loaded into an access control. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    Further advantages of the invention will become apparent by reference to the detailed description of preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the drawing: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  depicts a preferred embodiment of the claimed invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    The following detailed description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. For purposes of explanation, specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required to practice the invention. Descriptions of specific applications are provided only as representative examples. Various modifications to the preferred embodiments will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the scope of the invention. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest possible scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein. 
         [0011]    Referring to the drawings,  FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the cloud-based credential personalization and activation system. The system generally includes a cloud-based credential service  200 , one or more credential personalization facilities  303  that consist of one or more credential personalization applications  300 , and one or more employers/organizations  100  that consist of one or more credential management applications  101  and one or more credential automation applications  110 . 
       Credential Management Application 
       [0012]    All necessary data needed to personalize the credential is collected by the employer/organization  100  through a credential management application  101  that consists of a database  102  and software that has the capability to capture a live photo  103 . Other embodiments allow for importing images (photos) from file, either from the Internet, digital media, or imported from electronic scans (image and data) of government issued identifications (e.g., state issued Driver&#39;s Licenses or federal issued documents). The credential management application  101  is responsible for sending print requests  400  to the cloud-based credential service  200  as well as notifying the cloud-based credential service  200  when physical credentials have been received  402 . In addition, the credential management application  101  is responsible for checking in with the cloud-based credential service  200  on periodic bases to receive any current status updates  401 . After receiving a credential activation message  403 , the credential management application  101  is also responsible for activating the credential and associating it with a credential-holder in one or more of the credential automation applications  110 . 
       Cloud-Based Credential Service 
       [0013]    The cloud-based credential service  200  is generally responsible for queuing print requests  400  from credential management applications  101 , passing print jobs  404  to a credential personalization application  300 , propagating status updates  405  from a credential personalization application  300  to the appropriate credential management application  101  via status update messages  401 , storing unique credential technology numbers  406  received from a credential personalization application  300 , and responding back to credential management application  101  card received messages  402  with a credential activation message  403  containing one or more unique credential technology numbers. 
       Credential Personalization Application 
       [0014]    Credentials are personalized by a credential personalization facility  303  through a credential personalization application  300 , generally responsible for personalizing the credential through a credential printer  301 , notifying the cloud-based credential service  200  of any status updates  405 , and passing back one or more unique credential technology numbers  406  to the cloud-based credential service  200  once the print job  404  is completed. 
       Delivery 
       [0015]    Credentials are physically delivered to employers/organizations  100  via a delivery service  302  utilized by a credential personalization facility  303 . 
       Credential Automation Applications 
       [0016]    The disclosed invention also comprises Credential Automation Applications  110  that provide a variety of features associated with credentials and credential-holders. An employer/organization  100  may use credentials to grant and/or restrict physical access to facilities or a portion(s) of a facility for one or more credential-holder(s). Such physical access can be granted, restricted, and/or managed by a Physical Access Application  104 . Access to software applications, databases, computing equipment, and the like may also be critical for an employer/organization  100 . Such logical access can be granted, restricted, and/or managed by a Logical Access Application  105 . 
         [0017]    A Tracking Application  107  may also be associated with credentials. A Tracking Application  107  provides for monitoring and tracking credential-holders in a facility. Tracking can be real-time and/or historical data, and it can provide information for every credential-associated event occurring at the facility at any given time. Such data may include employee and visitor traffic through access points, date and time of events, etc. Preferably, the Tracking Application  107  is web-based and includes a capability for running reports for every credential-associated event occurring at the facility at any given time. Reports can be configured to be sent via email or other suitable delivery means to an appropriate security or managing personnel of employer/organization  100  if a preset event occurs or if a door remains open for longer than a preset time. 
         [0018]    An employer/organization  100  may also add a magstripe, 2D barcode, or similar feature to a credential to allow for a credential-holder to clock in and clock out using their credential and appropriate hardware, such as scanners, readers, personal computing devices, and the like. Such feature is managed by an Electronic TimeClock Application  106 . Preferably, the Electronic TimeClock Application  106  is usable with third party software and hardware for managing employee time. An Electronic TimeClock Application  106  feature can also allow for an employee manager to access the employee time data in a web-based application for supervising, managing, and/or approving time sheets of employees at the end of pay periods. 
       Working Example 1 
       [0019]    Customer ABC is a  50  employee firm in Memphis, Tennessee and wants to enable their individual doors with keyless card access control. Customer ABC wants to use their issued employee ID Cards to allow access for the doors and have a full audit log of activity. Customer ABC does not want to purchase a system to personalize the IDs due to the fact that a typical system is three thousand dollars, roughly sixty dollars per employee. 
         [0020]    To solve the problem, a user of the claimed product would install software, database, access control panels and door locks at customer ABC&#39;s location. Customer ABC would then submit personalization requests over the Internet to the BadgePass printing service. The user would print the physical identity credential, collect the unique technology numbers, ship the credentials to customer ABC and automatically insert the credential technology numbers when customer ABC confirms the arrival of the physical ID Cards. 
         [0021]    It is further contemplated that, in addition to the existing scenario, hosted access control and time companies that have a software as a service model may use a similar system that would allow a company to submit personalization requests to an online printing service and then load the unique technology numbers into an online database, as well as push those back down into access control panels and time clocks locally. Also, access control and or time companies could use a system as disclosed herein to allow larger customers that do high volumes of card personalization for use in their locally installed systems to order physical credentials and have those automatically loaded into their system locally as they are shipped. 
         [0022]    The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” as used in the claims and specification herein, shall be considered as indicating an open group that may include other elements not specified. The terms “a,” “an,” and the singular forms of words shall be taken to include the plural form of the same words, such that the terms mean that one or more of something is provided. The term “one” or “single” may be used to indicate that one and only one of something is intended. Similarly, other specific integer values, such as “two,” may be used when a specific number of things is intended. The terms “preferably,” “preferred,” “prefer,” “optionally,” “may,” and similar terms are used to indicate that an item, condition or step being referred to is an optional (not required) feature of the invention. 
         [0023]    The invention has been described with reference to various specific and preferred embodiments and techniques. However, it should be understood that many variations and modifications may be made while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures and techniques other than those specifically described herein can be applied to the practice of the invention as broadly disclosed herein without resort to undue experimentation. All art-known functional equivalents of methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures and techniques described herein are intended to be encompassed by this invention. Whenever a range is disclosed, all subranges and individual values are intended to be encompassed. This invention is not to be limited by the embodiments disclosed, including any shown in the drawings or exemplified in the specification, which are given by way of example and not of limitation. 
         [0024]    While the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims. 
         [0025]    All references throughout this application, for example patent documents including issued or granted patents or equivalents, patent application publications, and non-patent literature documents or other source material, are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, as though individually incorporated by reference, to the extent each reference is at least partially not inconsistent with the disclosure in the present application (for example, a reference that is partially inconsistent is incorporated by reference except for the partially inconsistent portion of the reference).