Prior art

This analysis focuses on identifying the most relevant prior art for US Patent 9,242,502. Prior art refers to any public information existing before the patent's filing date (November 10, 2010) that describes or teaches the same invention, or an invention so similar that the claimed invention would have been obvious. This section will examine the patent citations listed in US9242502.

The USPTO website (uspto.gov) provides tools for patent searching, including access to databases of patents and patent application publications.

Here are the patent citations listed for US9242502 and an assessment of their relevance:

1. US3414998A

• Full Citation: US3414998A, "Counterfeitproof, encapsulated identification card"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: December 10, 1968. Filing Date: June 1, 1966.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a tamper-proof identification card where various layers, including a transparent covering, encapsulate identifying indicia to prevent alteration. The core elements are permanently encased.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US3414998A broadly covers multilayer identification documents with transparent layers for security. While it discusses encapsulating information, it does not appear to explicitly teach a translucent security element in a thinner region of a non-transparent core that is only visible under backlighting, as claimed in US9242502 (Claims 1 and 11). Therefore, it may serve as general background art but is unlikely to directly anticipate the specific translucent security element feature.

2. US4222662A

• Full Citation: US4222662A, "Access control system"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: September 16, 1980. Filing Date: April 4, 1979.
• Brief Description: This patent describes an access control system utilizing identification cards with encoded data. The focus is on the system's operation and the encoding/reading of information, rather than specific document security features related to translucency.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is directed to an access control system and the functionality of cards within that system. It does not appear to disclose the structural features of US9242502's translucent security element within a thinned non-transparent core. Thus, it's likely considered distant prior art, providing context on ID card usage but not directly anticipating the claimed invention.

3. US4579754A

• Full Citation: US4579754A, "Identification card having laser inscribed indicia and a method of producing it"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: April 1, 1986. Filing Date: December 24, 1981.
• Brief Description: This patent describes an identification card with personal data inscribed within the card using a laser. The laser inscription creates indicia that are protected beneath a surface layer, making alteration difficult.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US4579754A is highly relevant as it teaches laser engraving of information into identification documents for security purposes, which is a method also mentioned in US9242502 for placing a photo or information. However, the critical distinction lies in the translucent security element within a thinned non-transparent core that is revealed by backlighting. While US4579754A discusses embedded indicia, it does not explicitly disclose creating a region of reduced core thickness to achieve a translucent effect that is normally hidden. This patent could potentially anticipate aspects of claims related to embedding information (e.g., non-transparent element 8 in Claim 1), but likely not the specific structural and optical properties of the translucent security element itself.

4. US4632430A

• Full Citation: US4632430A, "Secure and self-verifiable image"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: December 30, 1986. Filing Date: May 8, 1984.
• Brief Description: This patent describes a security document with an image that is verifiable by examining its construction. It generally relates to methods of securing images in documents to prevent forgery.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent broadly covers secure images. Without more specific details about the image's implementation, it's difficult to assess direct anticipation. It's likely general prior art in the field of document security, but not specifically anticipating the translucent security element and thinned core as defined in US9242502.

5. CA1279533C

• Full Citation: CA1279533C, "Security document protection process"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: January 29, 1991. Filing Date: May 16, 1986.
• Brief Description: This Canadian patent describes a process for protecting security documents. The available information suggests it relates to general methods of preventing forgery.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): As with US4632430A, this is likely general prior art regarding document security. Specific details would be needed to determine if it anticipates the unique features of US9242502's translucent security element.

6. WO2004074000A1

• Full Citation: WO2004074000A1, "Identity card and travel document"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: September 2, 2004. Filing Date: February 24, 2003.
• Brief Description: This international publication describes identity cards and travel documents, likely focusing on various security features to prevent counterfeiting and tampering.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document would be relevant to the broad category of identification documents. However, without reviewing the full content, it is not possible to definitively state if it anticipates the specific combination of a translucent security element in a thinned non-transparent core that is hidden in normal light and visible under backlighting.

7. US20050247794A1

• Full Citation: US20050247794A1, "Identification document having intrusion resistance"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: November 10, 2005. Filing Date: March 26, 2004.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes an identification document designed to resist intrusion and tampering. It likely focuses on the physical construction to make unauthorized access or alteration difficult.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This document is relevant to the general goal of making identification documents resistant to forgery. However, the specific means of achieving this in US9242502 (the translucent security element in a thinned core) may not be present in this prior art. It could anticipate the general concept of a robust identification document.

8. EP1698485A2

• Full Citation: EP1698485A2, "Identification document with lenticular watermark"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: September 6, 2006. Filing Date: March 4, 2005.
• Brief Description: This European patent application describes an identification document featuring a lenticular watermark. Lenticular features are known for creating images that change appearance depending on the viewing angle.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent introduces lenticular watermarks as a security feature. While US9242502 mentions Changeable Laser Images (CLI) or Multiple Laser Images (MLI) in Claim 7, which share some functional similarities with lenticular features in terms of changing appearance, EP1698485A2 does not appear to teach the core invention of a translucent security element within a thinned non-transparent core that is only visible under backlighting. Therefore, it might be relevant to Claim 7, but not directly to the independent claims.

9. DE102007034716A1

• Full Citation: DE102007034716A1, "Security element"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: January 29, 2009. Filing Date: July 23, 2007.
• Brief Description: This German patent application describes a general security element. Without further details of its construction, a specific assessment is difficult.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This patent is broadly related to security elements. A detailed review of its content would be necessary to determine any direct anticipation of the specific features of US9242502.

10. US20110266349A1

• Full Citation: US20110266349A1, "Contact smart cards having a document core, contactless smart cards including multi-layered structure, pet-based identification document, and methods of making same"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: November 3, 2011. Filing Date: December 24, 2001. (Note: The publication date is after the priority date of US9242502, but the filing date is earlier, making it potential prior art).
• Brief Description: This patent application describes various types of smart cards and multi-layered identification documents, including those with a document core and methods of making them. It covers a broad range of smart card constructions.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): This application has an earlier filing date than US9242502 and describes multi-layered identification documents with a core. Given the broadness of its description, it's possible it discloses a core with varying thickness or translucent features, or a non-transparent element within. A thorough review would be required to determine if it explicitly or inherently teaches all the elements of Claim 1 or 11 of US9242502, particularly the combination of a thinner region in a non-transparent core for a translucent security element, visible only under backlighting. It could anticipate aspects related to the general construction of multi-layered documents or the inclusion of a microchip/antenna (Claim 8).

11. US20100196587A1

• Full Citation: US20100196587A1, "Security element"
• Publication/Filing Date: Publication Date: August 5, 2010. Filing Date: July 23, 2007.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a security element, without specific details provided in the search results.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): Similar to DE102007034716A1, this is general prior art for security elements. Its content needs to be fully reviewed to assess any potential anticipation. Its filing date is earlier than US9242502, making it relevant prior art if it discloses the claimed invention.

Most Relevant Prior Art:

Based on the descriptions, US4579754A appears to be among the most relevant due to its focus on laser-inscribed indicia within an identification card for security. This directly addresses the concept of embedding information for forgery deterrence, which is a key aspect of US9242502. However, the distinct feature of US9242502's independent claims (Claims 1 and 11) lies in the thinner region of the non-transparent core that creates a translucent security element visible only under backlighting, and whether US4579754A explicitly teaches this specific structural and optical effect needs careful examination.

US20110266349A1 also stands out as potentially highly relevant due to its earlier filing date and broad coverage of multi-layered smart cards and methods of making them. The potential for overlap in structural features and manufacturing processes for secure documents suggests it could anticipate elements of US9242502. A detailed claim-by-claim comparison against this reference would be crucial.

To confirm actual anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102, a thorough review of the full text and drawings of each of these cited patents would be necessary to determine if every element of an independent claim in US9242502 is explicitly or inherently disclosed in a single prior art reference.