Handpunch readers, a brief history of the technology
Hand Punch Repairs
With all the new biometric readers out there, did you ever wonder as to where it all began?
Handpunch readers were originally designed in 1978 by Ingersol Rand, the power tool company. Yes, drills, table saws, presses, industrial and commercial tools, that IR company. President James Carter, a peanut farmers son who became a nuclear physicist, then 39th President of the United States, saw a need. He wanted an unbeatable access control system to protect our nuclear power plants. Rather than have the taxpayers pay for the development for this space-age techology, he put it out to the major manufacturers: Make this device and we will give you an unprecidented 50 year patent. Ingersol Rand stepped up to the plate, and about a year later, the handpunch was invented.
Over the years, the equipment has improved, and improved, and improved. The reliability is the best, it is flat-out impossible to buddy-punch for anyone else, and they are still made right here in U.S.A.
It consists of a combination of 6 infra-red lasers, several mirrors, a laser etched reflecting platen, a receiving sensor, and a circuit board that interpets and compares all this information. It can be set for an extremely tight tolerance, or, since they are so accurate anyway, you can leave it at the factory default settings and still not beat the system - except one in one billion times. You can use these machines for a small office, or as an ID system for a bank with several thousand customers, for the safe deposit box vault.
Click on the images below to learn how this equipment works!
Ingersol Rand has made several versions of the handpunch reader since we got in to this, back in 1991. The Handpunch 50E, which works with just 50 employees and on a network, the handpunch 1000E, which works for just 100 employees, also on a network, the handpunch 2000e which works for just 512 employees, the handpunch 3000e which starts at 512 employees and can be upgraded to 9,063 and the handpunch 4000e which starts with 9,000 and can be upgraded to 36,000.
Handpunch terminals use a 1 to 1 process. You enter an ID number, place your hand on the platform. It instantly matches your hand map to your ID number. With fingerprint readers, you normally just use 1-to-many, where it is scanning the entire database to match your fingerprint. It's less reliable that way. It's the same for facial recognition systems.
If you have the money and want the best, HandPunch readers are the way to go.