Printed matter – Having revealable concealed information – fraud preventer or... – Utilizing electromagnetic radiation
Reexamination Certificate
2001-06-12
2004-03-30
Fridie, Jr., Willmon (Department: 3722)
Printed matter
Having revealable concealed information, fraud preventer or...
Utilizing electromagnetic radiation
C285S072000, C428S916000, C428S161000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06712397
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a data carrier such as a security, banknote, identity card or similar which features embossing in a predefined area.
It has long been usual to give securities, such as shares for example, an embossing. Such an embossing introduced into the paper is usually described as blind embossing. Common principles have even been drawn up by the German securities exchanges for the printing of securities (“stock exchange guidelines”) which stipulate certain basic requirements for the form and execution of such embossings. For example, according to these stock exchange guidelines the embossing must be positioned in a particular area of the security. Since these embossings also serve as an anti-forgery feature, according to the stock exchange guidelines they must not simply take the form of a letter, but must involve a pattern as complex as possible, preferably using guilloches in order to make forgery more difficult.
The advantage of such blind embossing lies in the simplicity of checking, which can be carried out by purely tactile means without additional aids. In addition, special three-dimensional optical impressions are produced on viewing the embossing due to light/shade effects. However, the perceptibility of the embossing is greatly limited by diffuse or poor lighting.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is therefore based on the problem of suggesting a data carrier with an embossing which displays an increased visual perceptibility.
According to the invention, at least part of the embossing must display the form of an inclined plane, i.e. the height or depth of the embossing decreases slowly, in relation to the rest of the surface of the data carrier, starting from a maximum value, in a predefined direction. The decrease in the height or depth of the embossing thereby preferably follows a simple mathematical function, for example a straight line, a parabola or a hyperbola, whereby the continual decrease in the form of a straight line—the classic decline of an inclined plane—is preferred. For this reason, the term “inclined plane” is used in the following for the decrease in the height or depth of the embossing in accordance with the invention, but this is not intended to be restricted simply to the classic straight-line decrease, but covers all other possible forms of the declining course. The embossing can take place in such a way that the embossed structures are raised in relation to the unembossed surface of the data carrier or can form indentations. A combination of both within an embossing is also possible. The lateral dimensions and the height or depth of the embossing are so dimensioned that no optical diffraction effect occurs.
According to a preferred embodiment, the embossing consists of several partial areas in the form of inclined planes. In this way, a piece of information which is to be embossed can be created from several inclined planes. Due to the variation in the height of the embossing within a partial area and the differences in the embossing height between different partial areas, in addition to the usual light and shade effects, contrasts easily perceptible to the human eye are created which make the embossing as a whole more distinctive and thus easier to perceive. Since any desired alphanumeric characters, patterns or other graphic representations can be created with the aid of partial areas in the form of inclined planes, it is possible to create very complex and complicated embossing patterns which additionally increase security against forgery. The dimensions of the individual inclined planes must simply be chosen in such a way that each plane is easily recognisable at a normal viewing distance without any aids. All the inclined planes used can thereby display the same type of height profile, i.e. the gradient of embossing heights/depths is the same in all partial areas, for example straight-line or parabolic in form. However, any mixtures of planes of differing inclination can also be used, whereby not only the form of the height profile can be varied, but also individual parameters within a profile. For example, inclined planes can be used whereby, though all the inclined planes display an embossing height profile in the form of a straight line, the angle of inclination of these straight lines varies. However, each embossing features at least one partial area or inclined plane the angle of inclination of which is less than 10° in relation to the surface of the data carrier and which has a lateral dimension in the direction of the greatest inclination of more than 1.5 mm. In the case of a curved embossing height profile which does not display the form of a straight line, the angle of inclination is defined between the surface of the data carrier and the straight line produced by the connecting line between the starting point and the point with the maximum embossing height or depth.
Nor does the maximum embossing height or depth, which can be up to 250 &mgr;m, necessarily need to be identical for all inclined planes. In order to increase security against forgery further, the inclined planes can be overlaid with additional embossing structures.
For reasons of clarity, only embodiments with raised embossing which features inclined planes with a straight-line height profile are chosen for the following explanations.
The invented embossing can be produced using any type of embossing tool. However, it is preferably created using the intaglio imprinting method. For this purpose, the embossing structures are engraved in a metal plate using a known method. A computer-controlled process for manufacturing such intaglio printing plates is described in WO 97/48555, for example. During the printing process, the paper is pressed into the depressions in the engraved metal plate and in this way permanently deformed. To create a blind embossing, these printing plates are not filled with ink during the printing process but are simply used to deform, i.e. emboss, the document material, for example paper.
According to a preferred embodiment, the embossing consists of several partial areas in the form of inclined planes which directly adjoin one another and the inclination of which runs contrary to one another. The planes can thereby be arranged next to one another in such a way that one inclined plane declines in one predetermined direction while the inclined plane arranged next to it rises, in a wedge form, in this direction.
According to a further embodiment, the inclined planes can also adjoin one another in such a way that they quasi overlap or would interpenetrate one another if extended. Two adjoining inclined planes thereby form a V-formed height profile, for example. Several, e.g. three or four, directly adjoining inclined planes can be arranged and aligned with one another in such a way that they form a pyramid.
Advantageously, a data carrier can also feature several embossings spaced at intervals from one another. According to a preferred embodiment, at least one inclined plane continues over several embossings, especially adjoining ones.
According to a further preferred embodiment, at least one part of the embossing displays the form of an inclined plane and, in addition, the embossed area of the data carrier features at least one coating or a sequence of coatings the optical effect of which varies depending on the viewing angle. Optically variable materials such as interference coatings, liquid crystal coatings or coatings which display diffractive structures display a change in colour when the viewing angle is altered, which cannot be reproduced with copying machines. They are therefore frequently used as anti-copying elements. If such coatings are provided in the area of the invented embossing, then a clearly perceptible alteration of the viewing angle occurs due to the height profile of the inclined planes, i.e. colour differences occur along the height profile of the embossing which make the embossing stand out against the unembossed surroundings and thus make it more easily perceptible.
A similar ef
Adamczyk Roger
Baldus Christof
Mayer Karlheinz
Wisjak Eduard
Bacon & Thomas PLLC
Fridie Jr. Willmon
Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
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