Patent Grant
11932044
This application is the National Stage of PCT/EP2020/062621 filed on May 6, 2020, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 of European Application No. 19174396.2 filed on May 14, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. The international application under PCT article 21(2) was not published in English.
The invention relates to a security element for securing data carriers, documents of value and the like, which has machine-readable security features, in particular magnetic features.
Security elements that have machine-readable features, in particular magnetic features, are known.
From EP 0 516 790 B1 a security document with a security element in the form of a thread or strip of transparent plastic material is known, which has a metallic layer with recesses in the form of characters, patterns or the like, wherein above or below this metallic layer a further magnetic layer is arranged in such a way that at least the readable recesses remain free.
From EP 0 310 707 B1 a document with magnetically detectable security features is known, which have regions with variable magnetic field strength.
However, with this two-dimensional magnetic information, the storage space for information is limited by the two-dimensional orientation.
A security element with spatially resolved magnetic coding is known from EP 1 871 616 B1. The magnetic codings are applied in two partial layers on different sides of the carrier substrate simultaneously with transparent recesses in the form of patterns, characters, letters, geometric figures, lines, guilloches and the like, wherein the respective magnetic layers partially overlap and wherein the magnetic codings can be spatially resolved and a coding normal to the carrier substrate plane is added to the two codings in the carrier substrate plane.
From WO 2006/042667 A1, security elements are known which have at least two magnetic materials, wherein the magnetic materials have different coercivities. The materials are applied to and/or incorporated in the security element in such a way that their remanence is equally large.
From WO 2009/090676 A1 a security element is known, in particular for banknotes, security cards and the like, which comprises a first substrate which is at least partially opaque when viewed in transmitted light, wherein magnetic regions are applied to the substrate. The magnetic regions comprise at least two different magnetic regions having different coercivity and whose residual magnetism may be the same or different. The magnetic regions are arranged to generate at least three codes different from each other.
It was the object of the invention to provide a security element with machine-readable, in particular magnetic security features, which has an increased resistance to forgery, is easy to manufacture and enables unambiguous identification.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a security element with machine-readable security features in the form of magnetic security features, which has at least two magnetic materials which have a different coercivity, wherein the magnetic materials of different coercivity are present as a mixture in at least one printing ink which is applied to a carrier film, wherein the at least one printing ink is provided in at least two regions on the security element in the same and/or different thickness, and there is a defined mixing ratio of the at least two different magnetic materials of different coercivity in the at least one printing ink.
By applying the at least one printing ink in different regions of the carrier film, different magnetic regions are formed on the said carrier film, wherein each magnetic region is built up by exactly one printing ink, and the magnetic regions can either be directly adjacent to one another or can be spaced apart from one another.
By using a defined mixing ratio, it is possible to create a unique magnetic coding that is difficult to forge. It is not necessary that the arrangement of the magnetic regions forms a magnetic coding.
According to the invention, the magnetic coding is carried out by mixing the at least two magnetic materials of different coercivity in the printing ink forming the magnetic regions and applying them with the same or different thickness to the security element. In this regard, it is initially perfectly sufficient if only a single printing ink with a defined mixing ratio is used. This has the advantage of simple and inexpensive production with nevertheless high security, since with use of only one printing ink no production fluctuations, compared with the overprinting of several printing inks, can exert an influence. Furthermore, the same printing ink can be used to feed several printing cylinders. The different signal strengths are generated exclusively by the different thicknesses with which the printing ink is applied.
The two magnetic materials are preferably a high-coercivity material and a low-coercivity material, wherein a high-coercivity magnetic material in this context means materials with >1500 Oe and a low-coercivity material means materials with <500 Oe. Preferably, the magnetic materials are selected such that they do not interfere with each other during magnetization. Since a 3-fold stronger magnetic field is usually used for each magnetic material during magnetization, the difference in the coercivity of the magnetic materials has to be chosen accordingly.
Multiple printing inks may also be used to improve security, with each printing ink having a different mixing ratio of the at least two magnetic materials.
In one embodiment of the invention, mutually adjacent magnetic regions are formed by different printing inks.
In a further variant of the invention, the magnetic regions formed by the at least one printing ink are applied spaced apart from one another, but it may also be advantageous to apply two or more, identical or different printing inks of different thicknesses directly adjacent to one another in the lateral direction, thereby forming a magnetic region group. Several magnetic region groups can be arranged on the carrier substrate spaced apart from one another, preferably equally spaced apart from one another.
In this case, the printing inks of a magnetic region group may have different thicknesses, wherein the thicknesses preferably increase or decrease from one side of the magnetic region group to the opposite side.
The printing ink, which comprises a mixture of the at least two magnetic materials of different coercivities, is applied to a carrier substrate at least in some regions
Suitable carrier substrates include, for example, transparent carrier films, preferably flexible plastic films, for example made of polyimide (PI), polypropylene (PP), monoaxially oriented polypropylene (MOPP), biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyethylene (PE), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyetherketone (PEK), polyethyleneimide (PEI), polysulfone (PSU), polyaryletherketone (PAEK), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), liquid crystalline polymers (LCP), polyester, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), cycloolefin copolymers (COC), polyoxymethylene (POM), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinyl fluoride (PVF), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and ethylene tetrafluoroethylene hexafluoropropylene fluoroterpolymer (EFEP). The carrier films can be transparent, translucent, semi-opaque or opaque.
The carrier films preferably have a thickness of 5-700 μm, preferably 5-200 μm, particularly preferably 5-50 μm.
Furthermore, metal foils, for example Al, Cu, Sn, Ni, Fe or stainless steel foils with a thickness of 5-200 μm, preferably 10 to 80 μm, particularly preferably 20-50 μm, can also serve as a carrier substrate. The foils can also be surface-treated, coated or laminated, for example with plastics, or painted.
Furthermore, cellulose-free or cellulose-containing paper, thermoactivatable paper or composites with paper, for example composites with plastics with a basis weight of 20-500 g/m2, preferably 40-200 g/m2 can be used as carrier substrates.
The security features according to the invention can thereby be applied to the carrier substrate to form a security element. This security element can then be finished and at least partially embedded in or applied to a data carrier or a document of value as a strip, thread or patch.
It is also possible to design the security element as a transfer element, wherein the carrier substrate can be peeled off after application to the data carrier or value document.
Alternatively, however, the security features can also be generated directly on the data carrier or the value document by printing the ink of at least two magnetic materials of different coercivity at least in certain regions at a predetermined location on the data carrier or value document.
According to the invention, a printing ink containing at least two magnetic materials of different coercivities is used.
The mixing ratio of the magnetic materials with different coercivities is set in a defined manner. When two magnetic materials of different coercivities are used, the mixing ratio between a magnetic material of high coercivity and a magnetic material of low coercivity can be 20:1 to 1:20, preferably 10:1 to 1:10, particularly preferably 5:1 to 1:5.
The mixing ratio and thus the printing ink can be the same for all magnetic regions of the security element.
The ratio of the different magnetic materials remains exactly constant during printing, regardless of the thickness of the applied printing inks. With the same ratio of magnetic materials, magnetic regions of different remanence are created if printing inks of different thicknesses are applied.
However, it is also possible to provide different mixing ratios for different magnetic regions of the security element. For this purpose, two or more printing inks are used, wherein the mixing ratios of the magnetic materials in the printing inks are different.
In a further embodiment, in addition to the magnetic regions formed from a printing ink comprising a mixture of two or more magnetic materials having different coercive strengths, magnetic regions comprising only low-coercivity magnetic material or only high-coercivity magnetic material may be provided on the security element. Thereby, on the security element, in addition to the magnetic regions formed of a printing ink comprising a mixture of two or more magnetic materials having different coercivities, there are preferably provided either regions of magnetic material having low coercivity or regions of magnetic material having high coercivity.
The security element may have further layers with security features.
For example, an opaque layer in the form of a reflective layer or a printed layer, for example a colored, black, or white printed layer, may be provided on the carrier substrate below and/or above the magnetic layer regions, which may be applied over the entire surface or partially.
In this context, a reflective layer is understood to be, for example, a metallic layer of Al, Cu, Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, Sn, In or alloys thereof and the like, which can be applied by PVD or CVD processes, by sputtering, electron beam evaporation or the like. A reflective layer is also understood to mean, for example, a metallic-appearing layer, such as, for example, a coating or printing ink layer containing metallic pigments or flakes, or pigments or flakes of metallic compounds, such as metal oxides. These layers are preferably applied by known printing methods, by doctoring or painting.
Furthermore, the reflective layer can also be an HRI (High Refractive Index) layer, for example a printed layer in the form of a lacquer layer or a printing ink with a high refractive index.
A partially applied reflective layer or a printed layer may preferably have recesses in the form of letters, numbers, patterns, characters, symbols, lines and the like.
The recesses in the reflective layer are preferably arranged in such a way that they are located in the magnetic-layer-free regions. Thus, on the one hand, the magnetic layer regions are visually covered so that they are not visible even when viewed in transmitted light, and on the other hand, an additional security feature is created by the recesses in the metallic or metallic-appearing layer or the printed layer that are visible in transmitted light.
Such a reflective layer may alternatively be provided on the side of the carrier substrate opposite the magnetic regions, or on both sides of the carrier substrate.
In the event that the reflective layer is provided on the same side of the carrier substrate below and/or above the magnetic regions, it may be useful to provide a protective layer between this layer and the magnetic regions in order to prevent mutual interference between the magnetic layer and the metallic layer. The protective layer prevents, for example, corrosion phenomena, in particular when the security element is exposed to moisture, especially if the layer is metallic or contains metallic pigments or flakes.
This protective layer can take the form of a thin film, but can also be a protective lacquer layer.
Furthermore, optically variable security features can also be present on the carrier substrate or in the layer structure, for example diffractive structures, such as surface reliefs, holograms, diffraction gratings and the like, or also layers which exhibit a viewing-angle-dependent color change effect. Such security features with viewing-angle-dependent color change effects are formed, for example, by thin film elements comprising a reflective layer, a dielectric spacer layer and an absorber layer, or by cholesteric liquid crystal layers combined with a dark, preferably black, printing layer or metallization. However, printing layers with interference pigments or liquid crystalline pigments can also be used to produce a layer with a viewing-angle-dependent color change effect.
Further, the security element may optionally include additional colored, black, gray, or white printed layers.
All these security features can be applied over the entire surface or partially on one or both sides of the carrier substrate. The security features can be applied true to register and/or with register accuracy, for example to the magnetic regions.
The term true to register or register accuracy is understood to mean a defined position of the features in relation to each other.
These security features can also be applied in such a way that they are at least partially located in or at least partially cover the magnetic-layer-free regions.
The further security features may also be provided on a second carrier substrate and may be bonded by lamination or lining to the layered structure on which the magnetic regions are located
Optionally, the second carrier substrate can then be peeled off. Expediently, the security element may be provided on one and/or both sides with a protective lacquer layer in order to protect the security features present on the security element against mechanical, physical and/or chemical influences
The protective lacquer layer may be based, for example, on nitrocellulose, acrylates and their copolymers, polyamides and their copolymers, polyvinyl chlorides and their copolymers, or may consist of a crosslinking lacquer.
Further, the security element may be provided with an adhesive layer on one or both sides to enable it to be fixed to or within a data carrier or value document. This adhesive layer may be in the form of either a heat seal, cold seal or self-adhesive coating.
The protective lacquer layer and/or the adhesive layer can also be pigmented, wherein all known pigments or dyes, for example TiO2, ZnS, kaolin, ATO, FTO, aluminum, chromium and silicon oxides or, for example, organic pigments, such as phthalocyanine blue, i-indolide yellow, dioxazine violet and the like, can be used as pigments. Furthermore, luminescent dyes or pigments which fluoresce or phosphoresce in the visible, in the UV range or in the IR range, effect pigments such as liquid crystals, pearlescent, bronzes and/or multilayer color change pigments, and heat-sensitive dyes or pigments can be added. These can be used in all possible combinations. In addition, luminescent pigments can also be used alone or in combination with other dyes and/or pigments.
The security element may also be configured as a transfer element, wherein after the security element has been applied to a data carrier or value document, the carrier substrate may be peeled off.
To facilitate the removal of the carrier substrate, a release layer can be provided on the carrier substrate and under the layer structure present on the carrier substrate.
a show embodiments of the security element according to the invention.
The numbers mean the following in the figures:
The embodiment illustrated in
Magnetic regions 2 spaced apart from each other are applied to the reflective layer 5. The magnetic regions 2 have the same distance between each other and thus do not form any coding.
The coding results from the composition of the magnetic regions 2 and their sequence.
In the embodiment shown in
A hidden magnetic coding is formed by the magnetic regions 2 from the printing ink with fixed proportions of both low-coercivity and high-coercivity material.
The recesses 7 in the reflective layer 5 may also be designed in accurate register with the magnetic-layer-free regions.
Alternatively, a black, white or colored printing layer 6 may be provided in place of the reflective layer 5.
In an embodiment not shown, the reflective layer 5 or the printing layer 6 with recesses 7 may also be provided on the side of the carrier substrate opposite the magnetic regions 2.
On the reflective layer 5, magnetic regions 2 which are spaced apart from each other are applied, each of which is made of a printing ink having fixed proportions of high-coercivity material 3 and low-coercivity material 4. The ratio of high-coercivity material 3 to low-coercivity material 4 in this exemplary embodiment is 4:1.
The magnetic regions 2 have the same distance from each other, the coding results from the fixed proportions of both low-coercivity and high-coercivity material of the printing ink.
In an embodiment not shown, the magnetic regions 2 may be applied with different thicknesses, which additionally results in different remanences.
Alternatively, a black, white or colored printing layer 6 may be provided in place of the reflective layer 5.
In an embodiment not shown, the reflective layer 5 or the printing layer 6 with recesses 7 may also be provided on the side of the carrier substrate opposite the magnetic regions 2.
A reflective layer 5 with recesses 7 is arranged above and below each of the magnetic regions 2, wherein the recesses in the two reflective layers are arranged true to register with one another. In the magnetic-layer-free regions, the recesses 7 of the two reflective layers 5 can be seen in transmitted light.
On the one hand, the coding results from the mixture of the specified proportions of both low-coercivity and high-coercivity material of the respective magnetic regions 2 as well as the different mixing ratios in the printing inks used.
Alternatively, a black, white or colored printing layer 6 may be provided in place of the reflective layer 5.
In an embodiment not shown, the reflective layer 5 or the printing layer 6 with recesses 7 may also be provided on the side of the carrier substrate 1 opposite the magnetic regions 2.
In an alternative embodiment thereto, a security element may comprise only a single magnetic region group.
Alternatively, as shown in
The printing inks 2 of a magnetic region group can also be applied in such a way that they each have a decreasing or increasing thickness when viewed in one direction, wherein the increase or decrease in thickness can also take place in a progressive manner, as shown in
Alternatively, instead of the partially applied reflective layer 5, a black, white or colored printing layer 6 may also be partially applied.
In an embodiment not shown, the reflective layer 5 or the printing layer 6 with recesses 7 may also be provided on the side of the carrier substrate opposite the magnetic region groups.
In the exemplary embodiment shown in
Alternatively, a black, white or colored printing layer 6 may be provided in place of the reflective layer 5.
In an embodiment not shown, the reflective layer 5 or the printing layer 6 with recesses 7 may also be provided on the side of the carrier substrate 1 opposite the magnetic region groups.
Alternatively, a black, white or colored printing layer 6 may be provided in place of the reflective layer 5.
In the embodiment shown in
Alternatively, a black, white or colored printing layer 6 may be provided in place of the first and/or second reflective layer 5.
A transparent protective layer 8 is applied over this layered structure, on which spaced-apart magnetic regions 2 consisting of a printing ink with fixed proportions of low-coercivity material 4 and high-coercivity material 3 are printed.
Subsequently, a second transparent protective layer 8 is applied, on which in turn a second reflective layer 5 with recesses 7 is situated.
An adhesive layer 13 is applied to the entire structure, by which the security element can be fixed to an object. The carrier substrate 1 is then peeled off.
The security element shows a color-shift effect and a hidden magnetic coding.
Alternatively, a black, white or colored printing layer 6 may be provided in place of the second reflective layer 5.
In
The security element shows a partial color-shift effect as well as a hidden magnetic coding.
According to an embodiment not shown, the dielectric spacer layer 11 and/or the absorber layer 12 may also be partially applied, preferably true to register with the partially applied reflective layer 5.
In the embodiment of the security element shown in
The security element shows a partial color-shift effect and additionally a diffractive effect as well as a hidden magnetic coding.
In the embodiment shown in
A protective layer 8 is applied over the magnetic regions, on which a black reflective layer 5 or a partial black printed layer 6 is applied. This layer 5 or 6 has recesses 7 which may be in the form of letters, characters, patterns, symbols, lines and/or the like.
Against this layered structure, an LC layer 14 provided on a second carrier substrate is laminated by means of a laminating adhesive and the second carrier substrate is then peeled off. The layered structure can then be provided with an adhesive layer 13. The color-shift effect of the LC layer 14 is only visible in those regions in which the LC layer 14 is situated above the black reflective layer 5 or the black printing layer 6.
The security element shows a partial color-shift effect and a hidden magnetic coding.
Instead of a protective layer 8 made of a lacquer, as shown in the exemplary embodiments, a thin polymeric protective film can be used, which is bonded to the structure by means of a laminating adhesive
It is understood that the mixing ratios of low-coercivity material 4 and high-coercivity material 3 given in the exemplary embodiments are merely provided by way of example, and other mixing ratios within the range of 1:20 to 20:1 according to the invention can be used in each exemplary embodiment. Likewise, the individual magnetic regions 2 can always have different mixing ratios as well.
The security elements according to the invention are suitable, optionally after appropriate finishing in the form of threads, strips or patches, for at least partial embedding in or application to data carriers, in particular value documents such as identity cards, cards, banknotes or labels, seals and the like. Furthermore, the security elements according to the invention in the form of a strip or patch can also be used to close an aperture in a data carrier.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19174396 | May 2019 | EP | regional |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2020/062621 | 5/6/2020 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2020/229271 | 11/19/2020 | WO | A |
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