The invention relates to a security document and method for improving the security of a flexible hinge binding a laminate sheet into the security document such as a passport or other identification document to prevent unauthorized transfer of the laminate sheet to another such security document.
Security documents, such as passports, typically include both a personalized laminate data sheet and multiple flexible, thinner booklet sheets, typically made of paper, which are bound together to form the passport. The laminate sheet is comprised of a laminae of multiple layers of a hard, durable synthetic material, such as a laminate of polycarbonate, which may be personalized using a laser engraving process to provide greater security and/or may include an embedded chip and antenna used for personalization verification. The laminate sheet is provided with a flexible hinge extending from one side thereof that is used to bind it and the flexible (paper) sheets together, for example, by sewing together the flexible hinge and flexible sheets down the middle of the flexible sheet and then folding them at the sewing line whereby the fold edge becomes the bound side. The laminate sheet with flexible hinge used to bind the laminate sheet into the security document may be manufactured as described in the applicant's PCT publication number
However, persons seeking to alter security documents by modifying personal information presented on such laminate data sheets for illegal activities, are known to do so by cutting out the data sheet adjacent the sew line of the laminate sheet hinge and transferring it to another passport or replacing it with another laminate data sheet. The possibility of such a modification presents a serious security issue.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a security feature to the flexible hinge attaching such a data sheet to the security document to make such modifications event and thereby prevent such modifications from occurring.
The present invention provides a security document comprising a laminate data sheet with an attached flexible hinge that is attached to a binding of the security document, the flexible hinge comprising personalization data for authenticating the laminate data sheet. A portion of the metalized flexible hinge attached to the laminate data sheet extends from a side of the laminate data sheet and binds with one or more other sheets at a binding of the security document, such that at least a portion of the metalized surface of the flexible hinge is visible proximate to the laminate data sheet. Personalization data etched on the visible portion of the metalized surface of the flexible hinge matches personalization data of the laminate data sheet.
The metalized flexible hinge may be a nylon film, for example, metalized with aluminum, and may comprise a complex pattern of metal deposits in rastor form or may comprise a solid metallic film. Further, the metalized flexible hinge may be metalized on both the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible hinge. When this is done there is an option to etch the surfaces in such a manner that at least a portion of the etched personalization data comprises offset etchings in the metalized surfaces, wherein different images are viewable upon viewing the flexible hinge from different angles relative to the surfaces. Preferably, the metalized surface of the flexible hinge is over coated with a protective coating which may comprise a UV curable ink.
Further, a method is provided for protecting the authenticity of a laminate data sheet of a security document. A laminate data sheet having an attached flexible hinge comprising a metalized surface is provided, wherein a portion of the metalized flexible hinge attached to the laminate data sheet extends from a side of the laminate data sheet. The flexible hinge attached to the laminate data sheet is bound together with one or more other sheets to form the security document, wherein at least a portion of the metalized surface of the flexible hinge is visible proximate to the laminate data sheet of the security document. Personalization data is laser etched onto the visible portion of the metalized surface of the flexible hinge wherein the etched personalization data matches personalization data of the laminate data sheet. Optionally, when the upper and lower surfaces of the flexible hinge are metalized the laser etching may be applied at an angle to surface of the flexible hinge to produce offset etchings in the metalized surfaces which are viewable at from different angles relative to the surfaces. The metalized surface may be formed by vapour deposition and an Nd:YAG laser may be used for the laser etching.
The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer throughout to like elements.
In
An improved method is provided for securing a flexible hinge in the area of a security document's binding 1200 that binds a laminate sheet 1100 to the security document such as a passport or other security document formed as a booklet. The laminate sheet 1100 comprises a plurality of hard synthetic material layers, selected to be polycarbonate sheets in the illustrated embodiment, which are laminated together. As described in the applicant's PCT publication number WO/2013/006939, before the polycarbonate sheets are laminated together a flexible hinge 1000, selected to be nylon, such as that shown in
Before the laminate sheet is laminated in this manner, however, the nylon film 100 of the flexible hinge 1000 is metalized to produce a metallic film 200 over its surface as shown by
For the illustrated embodiments nylon is selected for the flexible hinge. The nylon film 100 is transparent and highly flexible. As an example for the production of the hinge, approximately 601 m2 of 102 um thick nylon 6, 6 (C917 DARTEK®) corona treated film is utilized to produce approximately 250,000 hinges. The corona treatment increases the receptivity of the film to metallization. The treated nylon film is metalized on both sides of the film with approximately 280 Å thick aluminum deposited on both sides of the film. The metalized film is then slit into 90 mm width film on a 6″ core. Then the film is perforated and slit into 19 mm width hinges as illustrated in
It is preferred to cover the metallic film layer 200 of the flexible hinge by a protective coating 400, as illustrated by
In a further embodiment, illustrated by
The nylon film 100 is metallized using a known vapor deposition technique to deposit a thin metallic film, being aluminum for the illustrated embodiment, onto the upper and lower surfaces of the nylon film 100. Vapour deposition of metallic deposits (coatings) is used in the packaging industry and a number of services are available to do this, for example, Celplast Metallized Products Limited of Toronto, Ontario. Other types of radiation sensitive metals including gold, silver, vanadium, copper, zinc, tin, chromium, titanium, and alloys of these metals could be used instead of aluminum. Care must be taken during the vapor deposition to avoid scratching the metal. If both surfaces of the nylon file are to be metalized, it is preferred that both surfaces be metallized at once to minimize opportunity for the introduction of scratches. As an alternative to using a vapour deposition process to metalize the nylon surface, it may be possible to print onto the surface a coating of a metallic ink (known as mirror inks, using mainly for flexo and screen printing applications) which carries fine particles of metal such as aluminum. After printing, metallic inks dry and form a mirror-like feature similar to that achieve by the employed vapour deposition process. However, this may be undesirable for reasons of cost.
The metal deposits can be applied in solid form 700 with 100% coverage of the surface of nylon film 100 as illustrated by part A of
After the laminate sheet has been bound into the passport a visible portion of the metalized hinge in the area of the binding 1200 is personalized by laser engraving/etching to further increase the security of the laminate sheet. For example, this may be done using an Nd:YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) personalization laser or other types of lasers including but not limited to YVO4, CO2, etc., as will be understood by a person skilled in the field of security printing. Laser etching of the metalized hinge is illustrated by
Laser engraving/etching procedures and materials are well known to persons skilled in the field of security printing and skilled persons will be readily able to perform laser engraving or etching according to the foregoing to produce a personalized marking or set of markings on the hinge in the area of the binding of the security document. Persons skilled in the field will also be readily able to apply the present invention to implement various applications of the same. Consequently, it is to be understood that the particular embodiment described herein by way of illustration is not intended to limit the scope of the invention claimed herein by the inventors and defined by the appended claims.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/576,004, filed Nov. 21, 2017, which in turn is a U.S. National Stage of PCT/CA2016/050573, filed May 20, 2016, and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/165,131, filed May 21, 2015, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62165131 | May 2015 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15576004 | Nov 2017 | US |
Child | 16817283 | US |