EP3137313B1 - Security strip and security document incorporating said strip - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a security strip intended to be incorporated in part in the structure of a security document at least partially made of fibers.

It also relates to a security document that is provided.

To guard against counterfeit security documents, such as banknotes, it has been proposed to use various security means, such as watermarks, fibers, boards, etc.

Other techniques consist in introducing into the paper of the security document an elongated element made of synthetic material forming a banner or security thread which makes it possible to increase the difficulties of making counterfeit products, but also to facilitate the authentication of the document by the users. central banks when it is provided with automatically detectable means (such as electrical conductivity or magnetism) but also by a lambda user, ie the man in the street for so-called first-level visual characteristics.

The integration of this wire or band is performed at the time of manufacture of the sheet of paper that will ultimately form the security document.

This integration can be made in "embedded" form, in which case the wire is integrated completely into the mass of the paper.

It has also been proposed to incorporate the security thread so that it is visible by reflection, only in the form of a set of windows.

This means that this thread is embedded in the mass of the paper, sometimes flush with the surface of one of the faces of the note, which explains the use of the term "window".

Thus, the windows are visible by reflection, while the submerged parts are only visible by transmission. By the term "reflection" is meant the phenomenon by which the rays of incident light are reflected on the surface of the support.

The document US 2008/160226 A1 discloses, for example, a security strip emerging on the surface of a security document in the form of a set of windows.

In practice, this integration technique makes that the security thread is visible only from the upper face of the paper, and still partially, that is to say at the windows. The present invention aim to fill this gap. It is also intended to facilitate the authentication of the security document that incorporates this banner, especially by the man in the street.

Another goal is also to make the manufacture of this banner particularly complex, so as to limit and complexify as much as possible the manufacture of banners by unauthorized persons, other than fiduciary printers. Thus, the present invention, in a first aspect, relates to a security strip intended to be incorporated in part in the structure of a security document at least partially made of fibers, this strip emerging on the surface of said document in the form of a set of windows, and comprising a transparent or translucent support material, covered, on one or the other of its opposite faces, with at least three distinct and superposed layers of coating.

According to the invention, this strip comprises, among these three layers respectively designated first layer, second intermediate layer and third layer, a second intermediate layer which has an optical rendering different from that of the first and third layers. The second intermediate layer is opaque and comprises at least two regions at least partially free of coating, these two regions having respectively different contours and the first and third coating layers consist of at least one pattern, a part of the pattern of the first layer being visible through one of said two regions at least partially free of coating, while at least part of the pattern of the third layer is visible through the other of said two regions at least partially free of coating, said patterns being different from each other.

Thanks to this combination of characteristics, the presence of an opaque intermediate layer allows on either side of it to affix complementary layers which will respectively be visible from the front face, and the reverse face of the strip. In addition, insofar as the intermediate layer has partially recessed regions of different contours these will be additional visible safety signs and the authentication of the banner by the man of the street will be facilitated. And together, the task of a fraudster will be made more complex.

In addition, the fact that part of the pattern of the first layer is visible through one of these regions and that part of the pattern of the third layer is also visible through the other region makes the manufacture of the strip particularly complex, hence a greater difficulty for fraudsters to achieve the banner of the invention.

This gives a stencil effect, ie a filter effect. In other words, the surfaces of the patterns are "filtered" by the shape of the regions and give different information depending on whether one observes the banner from its front face or its reverse side. This stencil effect thus generates different but intrinsically related information.

• lesdits rendus optiques différents sont choisis parmi des couleurs, des brillances, des opacité/transparence et ou des contrastes différent(e)s ;
• lesdites régions sont totalement dépourvues de revêtement ;
• lesdites régions sont partiellement dépourvues de revêtement, et ont la forme d'un réseau tramé ;
• il comporte au moins une quatrième couche additionnelle ;
• ladite quatrième couche est opaque et se superpose à une partie du motif de la troisième couche ; et
• la couche la plus éloignée du support est recouverte d'une couche protective transparente, tel qu'un film ou un vernis.

According to other advantageous and nonlimiting features of this headband:

• said different optical renderings are selected from different colors, glosses, opacity / transparency and / or contrasts;
• said regions are totally devoid of coating;
• said regions are partially free of coating, and have the form of a screened network;
• it comprises at least a fourth additional layer;
• said fourth layer is opaque and superimposes a portion of the pattern of the third layer; and
• the layer furthest from the support is covered with a transparent protective layer, such as a film or varnish.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a security document such as a bank note. This is remarkable in that it comprises a strip according to one or the other of the preceding characteristics, which is incorporated within this document while emerging on the surface of at least one of its visible faces, in the form of a set of windows.

Preferably, the security document is coated locally with a deopacifying agent, that is to say improving the visibility of the strip where it does not emerge on the surface of at least one of the visible faces of the document.

• la figure 1 est une vue de dessus simplifiée d'un document de sécurité, en l'occurrence d'un billet de banque dans lequel est partiellement intégré un bandeau, les motifs de sécurité que comporte ce bandeau n'ayant toutefois pas été représentés ici ;
• la figure 2 est une vue de la face opposée, c'est-à-dire de la face verso du document de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 3 est une vue en coupe transversale et très schématique d'un bandeau conforme à la présente invention ;
• la figure 4A est une vue partielle en perspective avec éclatement de trois couches qui sont intégrées au bandeau selon l'invention ;
• les figures 4B et 4C sont respectivement des vues de face, c'est-à-dire du recto du bandeau, et de la face verso du même bandeau, ces vues étant situées à l'aplomb l'une de l'autre ;
• les figures 5A à 5C, 6A à 6C, 7A à 7C, 8A à 8C, 9A à 9C sont des vues correspondantes aux figures 4A, 4B et 4C selon d'autres modes de réalisation du bandeau.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of some preferred embodiments of the headband. This description will be made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• the figure 1 is a simplified top view of a security document, in this case a banknote in which is partially integrated a bandeau, the security reasons that includes this band have however not been represented here;
• the figure 2 is a view of the opposite side, that is to say of the reverse side of the document of the figure 1 ;
• the figure 3 is a cross-sectional view and very schematic of a strip according to the present invention;
• the Figure 4A is a partial perspective view with bursting of three layers which are integrated in the strip according to the invention;
• the Figures 4B and 4C are respectively front views, that is to say the front of the strip, and the reverse side of the same strip, these views being located vertically one of the other;
• the FIGS. 5A to 5C, 6A to 6C , 7A to 7C, 8A to 8C , 9A to 9C are views corresponding to Figures 4A, 4B and 4C according to other embodiments of the strip.

Security document 1 represented in Figures 1 and 2 annexed here consists of a banknote.

According to a variant not shown, it could be another type of security document, such as a passport.

This security document is preferably based on cotton paper, with or without chemical pulp, cellulose-based paper or any other material containing fibers of different types and weights, including at least a portion of synthetic fibers. It is also possible to use a hybrid support combining polymer (s) and paper.

As is well known in the prior art, a strip 2 is partially incorporated in the document 1, while emerging at its upper surface corresponding to the front face 10 of the note, in the form of a set of windows.

The band extends according to the small transverse dimension of the bill. We have identified by the letter P the zones of the strip 2 which are integrated in the mass of the note and are therefore not completely visible, unlike the window areas F, as shown in FIG. figure 1 .

When looking at the reverse side of this same note 1 (see figure 2 ), it detects the presence of the strip 2, but it is completely covered by the fibers of the document, so that it constitutes a set N embedded in the mass over its entire longitudinal extent.

Referring to the figure 3 here, in cross-section, we are dealing with the structure of a strip according to the present invention.

However, this representation is for informational purposes only. In particular, the dimension scales of the different elements in this strip 2 are not respected. All layers are not represented and are symbolically represented as dots.

As shown in this figure, the strip according to the invention comprises a transparent, or at least translucent, support material 4, such as a film of plastics material.

This is for example a polyester film having a non-limiting thickness of about 10 to 12 microns.

On the underside of this support material, that is to say in the direction of the back side 11, is a thickness 3 of adhesive or a mixture of adhesives intended to secure the entire strip 2 of security with the fibrous material of the document in which it will be inserted.

Against the second face of the support material 4 is present a stack of layers 5 which will be described more precisely the nature in relation to the following figures.

A protective layer 6, for example made of a plastic film or a varnish, covers the entire stack. Preferably, it is absolutely transparent

In a particular embodiment, the same material as that of the support 4 can be used.

This coating is intended to protect all the information contained in layers 5, while allowing their readability.

Finally, the assembly is covered, on the side of the front face by another layer 7 of adhesive, preferably of the same nature as the layer 3 (but not necessarily).

To the Figure 4A and in order to facilitate reading, only the different layers of the stack 5 are shown. From bottom to top, these three layers 51, 52, 53 are superimposed and the first layer 51 is the one that is contiguous with the support material 4.

It is deliberately represented here only a small fraction of the strip 2 but it is obvious that this strip continues on both sides of the elements shown here to form a sufficiently long piece to be incorporated according to the transverse dimension of the security document.

Moreover, with regard to Figures 4B and 4C , the Figure 4B represents what is visible on the front side, that is to say in a direction of observation which is located by the top of the layer 53. As for the figure 4C , it symbolizes what is visible according to the reverse side of the stack

According to the invention, and in this embodiment, there is a stack of three layers 51, 52 and 53. For the sake of clarity, these layers have been shown as delimited by peripheral lines that form a rectangle . This is however a view of the mind and it must be remembered that only the elements that will be described as being printed or deposited must be considered.

Thus, the layer 51 is formed of a set of opaque patterns, for example consisting of a black ink printing cover.

The reasons here consist, for illustrative purposes, in a curvilinear transverse line and whose initials "FCOF" are printed upside down with the letter "O" full.

The second layer 52, which can be described as intermediate, has a different optical rendering than that of the first layer. By the term "different optical rendering", it is meant that, when these two layers are observed with the naked eye, they can immediately be distinguished from one another, in particular by their color, their brilliance, their opacity. / transparency and / or their contrast different (es).

A feature of the intermediate layer 52 is that it is opaque.

Any material having a real opacity can be used, and it will be preferred, for example, to form this layer by means of a metal deposit such as an ink impression containing gold, silver, copper, etc. metal particles. Alternatively, a thin layer of a metal, for example aluminum or opaque copper, may be deposition under vacuum and then locally removed by washing with sodium hydroxide or with water to create zones. without coating.

This layer 52 partially covers the first layer 51.

In addition, it is provided with several regions 520 in negative, which means that they are free of coating, these regions respectively having different contours.

In this case, we are dealing here with a first region 520 which consists of a window forming the number "5", and another region 520 which is constituted by the number "2014", inscribed upside down.

In this embodiment, there will also be noted the existence of a third region 520 'also formed by the number "5". It will be discussed later, more precisely.

On this intermediate layer 52 rests a third layer 53 which also has a pattern 530 consisting here of the stylized representation of the letter "O" on the one hand, and in the presence of four squares on the other hand.

Advantageously, but without this being an obligation, the materials used for the patterns of the layer 51 are the same as those of the layer 53.

When we refer to the Figure 4B it can be seen that, by one-sided observation, the four squares of the layer 53 completely obscure the region of the intermediate layer 52 formed by the number "2014". On the other hand, it is discernible through the region 520 consisting of the first digit "5" the existence of the underlying layer 51 which makes readable this figure "5".

Finally, the additional region 520 'is vertical to no printing at the layer 51.

On the other hand, when we make an observation by the reverse side ( figure 4C ), that is to say from below the support material 4, is observed through the area 520 constituted by the date "2014", the presence of the underlying layer 53 and in this case small squares which makes the date "2014" readable, while the area 520 constituted by the number "5" is completely obscured by the "full O" of the acronym "FCOF" made in black ink.

From this description, it emerges that the intermediate layer 52 makes it possible to differentiate between each other the layers 51 and 53, as well as the patterns that are present therein.

However, the presence of recessed areas, of different shapes at the intermediate layer, reveals according to observations of the front face or the reverse side, different information but intrinsically linked by their construction, to authenticate the document of security that is provided with this headband.

Referring to FIGS. 5A to 5C the nature of the layers 51 and 52 is inverted. It is the same for the layers 52 and 53. Thus, the functionality of this structure is identical to that which appears at the level of Figures 4A to 4C , but the visual rendering is different.

Referring this time to Figures 6A to 6C we see that this time we are dealing with five different layers.

Thus, there is the presence of a first layer 51 having patterns 510. On this layer is present an opaque intermediate layer 52, some areas 520 are free of coating.

Again, these areas 520 have different contours.

On this second layer is affixed a third layer 53 which is preferably identical in nature to the layer 51. This layer forms patterns referenced 530.

An additional layer that can be described as a fourth layer 54 is superimposed on the stack 5 of the layers 51, 52 and 53. This layer 54 is identical in nature or different from that of the second layer 52.

In the case in point, they are of the same nature.

This fourth layer 54 also exhibits perforated zones since the only region in which an occulting material is present is here limited to a circle 540.

Finally, a fifth layer 55 covers the assembly. It is preferably of a different nature than the first and third layers. Particularly advantageously, this layer 55 consists of an effect ink chosen from the optically variable, iridescent, liquid crystal type so as to create color change effects according to the angle of observation. This layer may be semi-transparent and comprises patterns 550 which are plumb with patterns 530 and 510 or 540.

According to Figure 6B when the stack 5 is observed from the front face in reflection, the fifth layer 55 reveals a first piece of information constituted by the patterns 550. The opaque coating of the layer 54 has recessed areas in overlap with the layer 55 and the layer 53 may incidentally advantageously reveal another negative message which itself is not overlapping layers 55 and 53.

The coating 53 is visible from the front face only through the recessed areas of the layer 54. Conversely, the coating 53 is visible from the reverse side ( Figure 6C ) only through the recessed areas of layer 52. The resulting information of the stack 51, 52, 53, 54 and 55 in line with said recessed areas and in overlap of the layers 52 and 54 are different from an observation in reflection of one of the faces, reciprocally of the other face.

In the example of Figures 7A to 7C the nature of the layers 51 and 52 on the one hand, and 53 and 55 on the other hand, are two by two inverted.

The functionality of such a stack is identical to that of the previous figures, but the visual rendering is different.

In the exemplary embodiment of Figures 8A, 8B and 8C it is a first layer 51 consisting of a covering of black ink covering.

Moreover, it will be noted that this black layer occupies only part of the surface of the strip.

On this first layer is deposited a second intermediate layer 52, always formed of an opaque coating, for example of metallic type, with areas devoid of coating.

More particularly, it is zones 520 which form between them the number "2014" and which are produced in the form of a screened network.

This means that there is a multiplicity of recesses in these areas, however these areas are separated by material constituting the covering material.

The shape of the dot and the raster line and its orientation and coverage are parameters well known to those skilled in the art. By way of example, and without being limiting, we propose a circular dot pattern of 10 μm, with a coverage of 50% and a 45 ° orientation.

Finally, a third layer is affixed to the second layer 52. It is identical in nature or not to that of the layer 51 and, in this case, they are of the same nature.

Referring to the Figure 8B when one observes the stack from the front face in reflection, the third layer 53 reveals a first piece of information constituted by the negative patterns 530.

The metallic-type opaque coating of the second layer 52 provides partially recessed areas overlapping with the first layer 51. The coating of the layer 51 is visible from the front face only through the partially recessed areas of the layer 52 and, conversely, the coating of the layer 53 is visible from the reverse side only through the partially recessed areas of the second layer 52. information resulting from the stacking of the three layers 51 to 53 in line with the partially recessed areas of the layer 52 are therefore different from an observation in reflection of one of the faces, reciprocally on the other side, and present a rendering visual, semi-transparent and more nuanced than in the example of Figures 4A to 4C .

Finally, in the embodiment of Figures 9A to 9C we are dealing with the same structure as in the figures just described. Only the nature of the layers 51 and 52 on the one hand, 52 and 53 on the other hand, is inverted. The functionality of the stack thus produced is identical, but the visual rendering is different.

In an exemplary embodiment not shown, it is possible to locally coat the security document according to the invention with a deopacifying agent, that is to say improving the visibility of the strip 2 where it does not emerge on the surface. at least one of the visible faces of the document, so as to make more visible the information carried by the first layer 51 of the stack 5.

In yet another embodiment not shown, at least one of the layers 51, 52, 53, 54 or 55 can incorporate authenticatable agents during a machine automatic reading. These are, for example, magnetic particles forming a continuous band, blocks or a code in the form of bits. It may also be conductive particles, fluorescent, phosphorescent, revealed by infrared radiation or having a specific signal detectable with a dedicated device.

Claims (9)

1. Security strip (2) intended to be incorporated in part into the structure of a security document (1) at least partially consisting of fibers, this strip (2) emerging on the surface of said document in the form of a set of windows (F), and comprising a transparent or translucent carrier material (4), covered, on one or the other of its opposite faces, with at least three separate and superposed coating layers (51, 52, 53), which comprises, among these three layers respectively designated first layer (51), intermediate second layer (52) and third layer (53), an intermediate second layer (52) that has an optical rendering different from that of the first and third layers (51, 53), and in which the intermediate second layer (52) is opaque and has at least two regions (520) at least partially devoid of coating,
   characterized in that said two regions (520) of the intermediate second layer respectively have different outlines, and in that the first and third coating layers (51, 53) consist of at least one pattern (510, 530), a portion of the pattern (510) of the first layer (51) being visible through one of said two regions (520) at least partially devoid of coating, whereas at least a portion of the pattern (530) of the third layer (53) is visible through the other of said two regions (520) at least partially devoid of coating, said patterns (510, 530) being different from each other.
2. Strip according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that said different optical renderings are selected from different colors, sheens, opacity/transparency and/or contrasts.
3. Strip according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said regions (520) are completely devoid of coating.
4. Strip according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by the fact that said regions (520) are partially devoid of coating, and have the form of a screen network.
5. Strip according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that it comprises at least a fourth additional layer (54).
6. Strip according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that said fourth layer (54) is opaque and is superposed on a portion of the pattern (530) of the third layer (53).
7. Strip according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the layer most distant from the carrier (4) is covered with a transparent protective layer (6), such as a film or a varnish.
8. Security document at least partially consisting of fibers, such as a banknote (1), characterized by the fact that it integrates a strip (2) according to one of the preceding claims, which is incorporated therein while emerging on the surface of at least one of its visible faces (10, 11), in the form of a set of windows (F).
9. Security document according to claim 8, characterized by the fact that it is locally coated with a de-opacifying agent, i.e. an agent that improves the visibility of said strip (2).

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