Data carrier

The invention relates to a data carrier, such as securities, banknotes, identification cards Or the like, which is arranged in a predetermined region with a Embossing.

It has long been customary to use securities, such as shares, with a Embossing. Such an embossing imprinted in the paper Is usually referred to as blind embossing. There were even shared Principles of the German securities exchanges for the printing of securities ( "Exchange Rules"), the specific basic conditions For the form and execution of such imprints. So must The minting in accordance with these Exchange Rules in a particular pre - Area of ​​the security. Because these imprints Also serve as an anti - counterfeiting feature, they may, according to the Exchange Rules Not only have the form of a letter but they must An as complicated as possible pattern, preferably using Guillochines to make imitation more difficult.

The advantage of such blind embossings lies in the simple verifiability, Which can be carried out purely tactically without further auxiliary means. Furthermore Are obtained by considering the embossing due to light / shadow effects Special three-dimensional optical impressions. However, the Permeability of embossing in diffuse or poor lighting highly limited.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a data carrier having a Embossing suggesting an increased visual perceptibility Respectively.

This object is achieved by the features of the main claims. Further developments are the subject of the subclaims.

According to the invention, at least part of the embossing must take the form of a Oblique plane. This means that the embossing height or depth falls with respect to The remaining surface of the data carrier, outgoing from a maximum Value, along a given direction. The drop in embossing height Or depth preferably follows a simple mathematical Function, such as, for example, a straight line, a parabola or a hyperbola, Wherein the continuous waste is in the form of a straight line - the classical one Case of an oblique plane. For this reason For the inventive reduction of the embossing height or depth of the Term "oblique plane", which, however, is not limited to the classical Rectified waste, but also all other possibilities Of the sloping trend. The embossing may be effected in such a way that The embossed structures face the unembossed data carrier surface Or form depressions. Also a combination of both Within an embossing is possible. The lateral dimensions as well as the The embossing height and depth of the embossing are dimensioned such that they are diffraction-resistant Are not effective.

According to a preferred embodiment, the embossing consists of several Partial surfaces in the form of oblique planes. In this way, one can Formative information from several oblique levels will. Due to the embossing height variation within a partial area and Of the differences in embossed height between different partial surfaces In addition to the usual light and shadow effects for the human Eye easily noticeable contrasts, which make the entire embossment more conspicuous And thus make it more easily perceptible. Since with the help of the partial surfaces in Form of oblique planes any alphanumeric characters, patterns or Other pictorial representations can be generated, it is possible to very much Elaborate and complicated embossing patterns which reduce the counterfeiting security In addition. The dimensions of the individual oblique planes Must only be chosen so that each plane is at normal viewing distance For the human eye even without tools Is. In this case, all the oblique planes used can be the same Type of height profile, ie the embossing height / depth profile is shown in FIG In all subregions, for example rectilinear or parabolic. However, any mixtures of different slate planes can also be used Wherein not only the shape of the tread profile is varied But also individual parameters within a profile. So can For example oblique planes may be used, although all have an embossing height profile In the form of a straight line, the inclination angles of these Straight lines, however, vary. However, each embossing has at least one Surface or oblique plane, the slope angle of which is opposite the data carrier surface Is less than 10 ° and has a lateral dimension in the direction Of the largest slope of more than 1.5 mm. For a curved Embossing height profile, which does not have the form of a straight line, Is the slope angle between the data carrier surface and the straight line Defined by the connecting line between the starting point And the point with the maximum embossing height or depth.

Also the maximum embossing height or depth, which can be up to 250 μm, Does not necessarily have to be identical for all oblique planes. To the Falsification security still further increase, the inclined planes Further superstructures are superimposed.

For the sake of clarity, the following explanations are given Only selected embodiments with high - Oblique planes with a rectilinear height profile.

The production of the embossing according to the invention can be carried out with any desired Stamping tool. Preferably, however, it is applied by the stamping method generated. For this purpose, the pre-structures are established by known methods Engraved in a metal plate. A computerized method for the Production of such pressure plate plates is carried out, for example, in the WO 97/48555. In the printing operation, the paper is placed in the recesses Of the engraved metal plate and in this way Sustainably deformed. For the production of a blind embossing these Printing plates are not filled with ink during the printing process, but instead Are used only to transfer the document material, such as Paper, to deform, ie, to emboss.

According to a preferred embodiment, the embossing consists of several Partial areas in the form of oblique planes, which adjoin each other directly And whose slope is opposite to each other. The levels can Can be arranged side by side, so that in a predetermined direction An oblique plane falls, while the adjacent obliquely Plane in this direction increases wedge-shaped.

According to a further embodiment, the oblique planes can also be used So close to each other that they almost overlap each other or in their extension Would penetrate. Two adjoining inclined planes Thereby forming, for example, a V-shaped height profile. Several, For example three or four mutually adjoining inclined planes Can be arranged and aligned with each other to form a pyramid form.

Advantageously, a data carrier can also be provided with a plurality of data carriers Spaced embossings. According to a preferred embodiment At least one oblique plane extends over several, Particularly adjacent embossments.

According to a further preferred embodiment, at least one Part of the embossing takes the form of an oblique plane, and the embossed area Of the data carrier is additionally provided with at least one layer or one The optical appearance of which is determined as a function of the viewing angle Varied. Optically variable materials, such as interference layers, Liquid crystal layers or layers, the diffraction structures , Exhibit a color change play when the viewing angle is changed, Which can not be reproduced with the aid of copying devices. they Are therefore often used as copy protection elements. One sees such Layers in the region of the embossing according to the invention, Of the height profile of the oblique planes a clearly perceptible Change of the viewing angle. That is, along the elevation profile Of the embossing, color differences occur which have the embossing opposite the Unembossed environment and thus make it more perceptible.

A similar effect occurs when in the region of the embossing according to the invention High-gloss, for example metallic, layers are provided. The high-gloss layers appear very much in the luster angle Bright and luminous, while darker at all other angles Less brilliantly perceived. Due to the high profile of the Oblique planes appear at a certain viewing angle Certain areas of embossing bright and shiny, while others Areas darker. In this way, an additional Contrast, which makes the embossing more prominent.

The optically variable layers mentioned can be prepared by any known method Process to the data carrier. You can, for example Prepared on a separate carrier and then filled with Transfer method to the data carrier. At the same time The prepared carrier material is applied to the data carrier via an adhesive layer And possibly under heat and pressure To the data carrier. Subsequently the carrier becomes While the transferred layer remains on the data carrier.

Depending on the material to be transferred, the carrier material must be prepared during preparation With different layer sequences. In case of For example, the carrier material is usually diffraction structures With a plastic layer, into which the diffraction structures in Shape of a relief. Afterwards this relief with A thin aluminum layer and finally an adhesive layer Covered. However, there may also be other Layers are provided on the carrier material and placed on the data carrier be transmitted. Numerous methods are known from the prior art For the preparation of carrier materials with optically variable layers, For example, from DE 29 07 186 C2, US Pat. No. 3,858,977, EP 0 420 261 A1, EP 0 435 029 B1.

However, the layers can also be provided as printing ink layers will. In this case, they contain the optically variable effect Layer pigments, which are admixed with customary printing ink binders And can be scribbled or printed on the data carrier. interference layer pigments For example, by Merck under the Designation IRIODINE® or from the company BASF under the designation PALIOSECURE®.

Further exemplary embodiments and advantages of the invention are described with reference to FIGS Of the figures. It is noted that the figures do not have any True-to-scale representation, but merely for the sake of illustration Of the invention.

Show it:<dl tsize="6"><dt>FIG</dt><dd>Sketch of a data carrier according to the invention,</dd><dt>FIG</dt><dd>Cross-section through the data carrier according to the invention A-B in FIG. 1,</dd><dt>FIG</dt><dd>4 shows a sketch of an embossing according to the invention in top view,</dd><dt>FIG</dt><dd>Section along A - B in FIG. 3,</dd><dt>FIG</dt><dd>4 shows a sketch of an embossing according to the invention in top view,</dd><dt>FIG</dt><dd>Section taken along the line A - B in FIG. 5.</dd></dl>

FIG. 1 shows a data carrier 1 according to the invention, in the present case A banknote. It is usually made of paper, made of cotton fibers And / or synthetic fibers. According to the invention, this has Banknotes have an embossed region 2. This embossed region 2 can additionally With one or more optically variable layers, Which are applied to the banknotes 1 before or after the embossing process can.

FIG. 2 shows a section along A - B through the embossing 2. The embossing 2 Consists, therefore, of an oblique plane 3. The embossing height profile Of the arrow 4 is straight. However, it could also have a different form Respectively. Preferably, however, the embossing height profile can be determined by a Simple mathematical function.

FIG. 3 shows an embossing 5 in top view, which is in the form of a bar Respectively. This embossing 5 is made up of four directly contiguous one Part regions 6, 7, 8, 9, the partial regions 6, 7, 8 forming the partial regions 6, 7, 8, Shape of an oblique plane and arranged side by side. The arrows indicate, analogously to FIG. 2, the direction of the embossing height rise. From this it is clear that the oblique planes of the subregions 6, 7 and 7 And 8 are arranged opposite each other. The subregion 9, on the other hand, is Not in the form of an oblique plane, but has a constant Embossing height.

The partial regions 6, 8, 9 could also be used as edge contour and partial region 7 as Fill area of ​​a character, for example the letter "I" will. This type of decomposition of an alphanumeric to be embossed Or pictorial representation into an edge contours and a filling surface Has proven to be particularly advantageous. Both the contour of the margins are as follows The filling surface also has at least one partial region in the form of an oblique plane , Wherein the oblique planes of the edge contours and of the filling surface are opposing To each other.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic sectional view taken along the line A - B in FIG. 3; FIG And alignment of the oblique planes or the course of the embossing height profile to clarify. The oblique plane of the partial region 7 falls thereby From a maximum embossing height value to the level of the unembossed data carrier from. This area is followed by the one with a constant embossing height Embossed subregion 9. In the background is additionally the oblique plane Of the partial region 6, which in the left region from the oblique plane of FIG Part region 7 and is therefore shown in dashed lines in this region becomes.

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of an embossing according to the invention 10. In this case, the embossing 10 is also composed of two partial areas 11, 12, which however, in contrast to the partial regions shown in FIG Not juxtaposed, but rather overlapping one another are. The oblique planes of the subregions 11, 12 are also shown in FIG In this case, as indicated by the arrows, in opposite directions.

The profile of the embossing height profile of this embossing 10 is shown along the section A-B shown in FIG. Here it becomes clear that the oblique Planes of the subregions 11, 12 and the embossing 10 is a quasi V-shaped embossing height profile. The dashed regions 13, 14 were Just drawn to the skew of the individual course Planes in the partial regions 11 and 12 without the overlap.

Since the viewing angle along the cutting line is relatively long The viewer takes the impression at a fixed observation point Clearly distinguishable angles of incidence True, as indicated in FIG. Because of this fact, there are additional Contrasts that emphasize the embossing and thus for the eye More easily.

This effect can be further enhanced by the area of ​​embossing Is provided with an optically variable layer. Preferably, This layer utilizes an optically variable printing ink, which essentially Consists of a binder and optically variable pigments. As Optically variable pigments are, for example, interference layer layers Liquid crystal pigments which, when the viewing angle is changed, Color change. If these colors are applied to the oblique planes, The viewer takes the color of each partial region 11, 12 below one Angle of incidence, ie, due to the embossing height profile The partial areas of the embossing for the observer under one Clearly distinguishable viewing angle, so that color differences Within the embossing, the visual perceptibility of the Improve imprinting.

Of course, several different printing inks can also be used A printing ink with several different optically variable pigments Can be used. The printing inks can be applied by any method will. However, a screen printing process is preferably used.

The data carrier material can consist of any embossable material, Preferably, however, paper becomes in any composition Respectively. But also plastic films or multilayer laminates from different Materials, such as, for example, in identification and passports Can be provided with an embossing according to the invention will.