SYSTEM FOR DETECTING UV-FLUORESCENT INDICA WITH A CAMERA

1 . A system for detecting UV-light-fluorescent indicia with a camera comprising:

a camera flash that emits visible light;

a conversion device mounted over the camera flash that converts the emitted visible light to UV light; and

a sensor that captures a visible-light image of the indicia after the indicia is exposed to the UV light.

2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the conversion device comprises:

a photovoltaic device that converts the visible light emitted by the camera flash to electrical power; and

a UV lamp that converts the electric power to UV light.

3 . The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a microprocessor for analyzing the captured image, comparing the analyzed image to stored information, and authenticating the captured image if it matches the stored information.

4 . The system of claim 3 wherein the microprocessor includes software for comparing the elements of the image to a threshold to determine a binary value.

5 . The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a display for displaying the captured image and indicating authenticity if the displayed captured image matches a standard.

6 . The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a first transmitter for transmitting captured image information from the camera to a remote computer;

wherein the remote computer authenticates the transmitted information if it matches a standard;

a second transmitter for transmitting the authentication back to the camera;

a receiver in the camera for receiving the authentication; and

an indicator on the camera for indicating authenticity.

7 . The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia comprises a plurality of UV-responsive particles that are spatially arranged.

8 . The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia comprises a plurality of UV-responsive particles that each has a different fluorescent response to UV light.

9 . The system of claim 8 wherein the different response is color of emission.

10 . The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia comprises a plurality of UV-responsive particles that each has a different luminance

11 . The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia comprises a plurality of UV-responsive particles with different decay rates.

12 . The system of claim 11 further comprising:

an image-capture burst mode function in the camera for capturing a sequence of images of the indicia with the sensor.

13 . The system of claim 12 wherein the camera further includes a microprocessor that analyzes the sequence of images.

14 . The system of claim 12 wherein the camera further includes a microprocessor and the microprocessor compares detected elements in the image.

15 . The system of claim 12 comprising:

a flash burst mode function for operating the flash in burst mode.

16 . The system of claim 15 wherein the flash burst mode function operates the flash at regular intervals.

17 . The system of claim 15 wherein the flash burst mode function operates the flash at irregular intervals.

18 . The system of claim 15 comprising:

means for obtaining information from the first captured image; and

wherein the flash burst mode function operates the flash at an interval responsive to the obtained information.

19 . The system of claim 15 wherein the sensor includes a mode for capturing at least one image when the flash is not operated.

20 . The system of claim 3 wherein the flash includes a mode for operating the flash more than once so that least one element of the indicia emits more visible light than if the flash is operated only once.

21 . The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia comprise an image, text, graphic element, bar code or logo.

22 . The system of claim 1 wherein the camera is a cell-phone camera or smart phone camera and further includes means for external communication, local area network communication, or cellular telephony communication.

23 . The system of claim 1 wherein the indicia changes color over time.