Printed matter – Having revealable concealed information – fraud preventer or... – Having plastic laminate
Reexamination Certificate
1995-11-16
2002-08-06
Wellington, A. L. (Department: 3722)
Printed matter
Having revealable concealed information, fraud preventer or...
Having plastic laminate
C283S086000, C283S091000, C283S901000, C428S916000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06428051
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to value-bearing documents, and more particularly, to value-bearing documents, such as for example, bank notes, cheques, traveler's cheques, share certificates, credit cards and identity cards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Particularly having regard to the options afforded by modern color copiers and other reproducing systems, there is an urgent need for value-bearing documents to be provided with special security elements which make it difficult to produce a forgery using items of equipment of that kind. A large number of possible procedures have already been proposed for that purpose.
It is known for example for value-bearing documents such as value-bearing papers, cards, identity cards etc to be provided with security elements in the form of reflecting surfaces. Those reflecting surfaces are normally reproduced by a color copier as black surfaces. In this case however there is the possibility of subsequently applying a suitable, metallically shiny layer.
A further improvement in affording a safeguard against forgery is achieved when security elements in the form of structures which have an optical-diffraction or optical-refraction effect, so-called diffraction structures, for example holograms, so-called pixelgrams etc are used. However those security elements are comparatively expensive in terms of production.
It is also already known for security elements for value-bearing documents to be so designed that they are suitable in particular for viewing in a transillummination mode. For example AU-patent specification No 488 652 describes security documents which comprise a plurality of interconnected plastic webs, wherein at least one optically variable security element is arranged between those webs and a transparent window is provided in at least one of the cover webs in the region of the security element so that the security element can be viewed through the window. For applying the security elements, in accordance with the state of the art for example the procedure is such that an opening is produced in a plastic web which is disposed in the interior of the document, the security element being fitted into the opening. The security element is then fixed in the opening by cover foils which are applied at both sides. A procedure of that kind suffers on the one hand from the disadvantage that the operation of applying the security element gives rise to major difficulties and in particular the procedure requires lamination over the full surface areas of coaratively large regions of plastic foils. Inclusion of the security element between the two foils frequently results in a marked impairment in the level of brilliance and thus an adverse effect on the discernibility of the security element, in particular under poor lighting conditions. The known document can only be used with difficulty as a value-bearing paper, in particular banknotes, because it is fundamentally different in terms of its surface nature and other properties, from the properties of paper which are known and familiar in particular in the case of banknotes.
It is also already known from Australian banknotes for printing to be applied to the surface of transparent carriers in such a way that a given region is left window-like, that is to say transparent. In this case also however the advantages of paper have to be foregone. It is for example not possible to apply a watermark. In addition the tactile properties which are known to the citizen are different in comparison with paper (absence of the particular grippy feel). The tried and tested processing and treatment properties as well as the circulation properties of paper are also no longer enjoyed. Finally it is not possible in a pure printing process to produce specific security elements, for example diffraction structures.
It is also already known to use security threads as security elements in value-bearing documents, the arrangement being such that the thread or a corresponding strip is superficially exposed in a region-wise manner in order to be able to check additional security features which are preferably based on optical effects, on the thread or strip, for example printing patterns, diffraction structures etc. European patent specification No 0 229 645 describes the production of a security paper with an incorporated security element in the form of a thread or strip in such a way that two separate layers or plies of paper are formed, the layers of paper having regions of smaller thickness or openings therethrough. The two layers of paper are brought together and, during the operation of bringing them together, the strip which serves as the security element is introduced. In that respect the arrangement may also be such that the openings through the two layers of paper (on the top and underside respectively of the strip serving as the security element) coincide in aligned relationship so that the security element is exposed at the same location on the paper web on both sides thereof in order also to permit the security element to be viewed in the transillumination mode. In practice however it has been found that it was hitherto not possible to produce corresponding documents. In general terms on the contrary the arrangement was only so selected that the security thread or the security element was exposed alternately on the top side and the underside respectively. At any event a serious disadvantage of the known procedure is that, as the security threads have to be incorporated into the paper web, they may only be of comparatively small width in order not to destroy the cohesion of the paper in itself. In order however for the security threads to be of adequate strength in spite of their small width, it is necessary to use security threads of correspondingly large thickness, which can result in undesirable increases in the thickness of the value-bearing papers produced from the corresponding paper web; in that case, when the value-bearing papers are stacked—in spite of using the so-called wobble or offset procedure—those thickened portions would always be disposed in a relatively narrow region, which results in the sheets not lying properly flat and gives rise to problems in processing of the document.
OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore that of proposing a value-bearing document with a window-like security element suitable for transillumination, which can be produced easily and without adversely affecting the discernibility of the security element, while the problems known in regard to the production of security papers with incorporated security thread are not to be expected in the production procedure. The invention however seeks to ensure that forgery of the security element by pure printing or color copying is impossible, but at the same time there is a large number of different possible design configurations for the security element.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, in a value-bearing document having at least one security element and at least one window-like through opening which is closed by means of a light-transmitting film, to attain that object, it is proposed that the opening is subsequently produced in the finished carrier and the finished carrier thereafter serves for production of the value-bearing document such as a bank note, check form or the like and is closed by means of an at least region-wise transparent cover foil which projects beyond the opening on all sides and which is fixed on a surface of the carrier over the full area thereof.
In accordance with the invention therefore the attempt is no longer made to incorporate a security element into the carrier. On the contrary the opening is deliberately subsequently produced in the carrier and then the opening is closed again by means of a cover foil which is transparent at least in a region-wise manner, wherein the fact that the cover foil is fixed on the surface of the carrier, over the full area thereof, means that detachment of
Herrmann Jürgen
Reinhart Werner
Hoffmann & Baron , LLP
Leonhard Kurz GmbH & Co.
Wellington A. L.
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