Authenticity identifying system for information storage cards

A system for determining authenticity of an information storage card in which:

• said card comprises an Information storage region for storing information in coded form so as to be accessed by a card reader/writer, and an identification region having a unique optical property thereon;
• and
• said card reader/writer comprises means for accessing said coded information, light emitting mean for projecting incident light upon said identification region carried by said card, light receiving means for detecting light reflected by or transmitted through said identification region, and identification circuit for evaluating said light received by said light receiving means and producing a signal for indicating authenticity of said card, wherein:
• said identification region comprises a plurality of segments which are arranged substantially closely to one another within said identification region so that all of said segments may be accessed simultaneously by said incident light projected from said light emitting means;
• and
• said light receiving means is provided with a plurality of parts each capable of individually detecting light reflected by or transmitted through said identification region, said identification circuit determining authenticity of said card according to a combination of said parts which detected light from said identification region.

An information storage card, comprising:

• a card main body;
• an information storage region provided in said card main body for storing information in coded form so as to be accessed by a card reader/writer;
• and
• an identification region provided on an optically accessible part of said card main body and having a plurality of groups of segments, each group having a different reflective or transmissive directivity, said segments in each group being distributed substantially uniformly over an entire area of said identification region.

An information storage card, comprising:

• a card main body;
• an information storage region provided in said card main body for storing information in coded form so as to be accessed by a card reader/writer;
• and
• an identification region provided on an optically accessible part of said card main body and having a plurality of segments, said segments including those having different reflective or transmissive directivities and being arranged substantially closely to one another within said identification region so that all of said segments may be accessed simultaneously by said incident light projected from said light emitting means.