U.S. patent application number 15/039950 was filed with the patent office on 2016-10-13 for object marking for optical authentication and method for producing same.
The applicant listed for this patent is AUTHENTIC VISION GMBH. Invention is credited to Thomas Weiss.
Application Number | 20160297231 15/039950 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49752960 |
Filed Date | 2016-10-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160297231 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Weiss; Thomas |
October 13, 2016 |
Object Marking for Optical Authentication and Method for Producing
Same
Abstract
Object marking (6), and method for producing same, for optical
authentication of an object (10), wherein at least one section (8)
of a material piece (1) of a basic material is determined
arbitrarily or randomly and the object marking (6) is produced with
the at least one section (8), and wherein the basic material of the
material piece (1) has a repeating security feature (5) having
optical properties dependent on the viewing angle, the dimensions
of said security feature being larger than the dimensions of the
section (8), more particularly larger than the dimensions of the
object marking (6), such that each section (8) is unique and has
only a part of the security feature (5).
Inventors: |
Weiss; Thomas; (Salzburg,
AT) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
AUTHENTIC VISION GMBH |
|
|
|
|
|
Family ID: |
49752960 |
Appl. No.: |
15/039950 |
Filed: |
November 28, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
November 28, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP14/75916 |
371 Date: |
May 27, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B42D 25/328 20141001;
B42D 25/425 20141001; B42D 25/29 20141001; G03H 1/0011
20130101 |
International
Class: |
B42D 25/328 20060101
B42D025/328; B42D 25/425 20060101 B42D025/425; G03H 1/00 20060101
G03H001/00; B42D 25/29 20060101 B42D025/29 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 28, 2013 |
EP |
13194863.0 |
Claims
1.-19. (canceled)
20. A method for producing an object marking for optical
authentication of an object comprising: randomly determining at
least one section of a material piece of a basic material, the
section having dimensions; producing an object marking comprising
the at least one section; wherein the basic material of the
material piece has a repeating security feature having optical
properties dependent on the viewing angle; and wherein the security
feature has larger dimensions than the section dimensions such that
each section is unique and comprises only a part of the security
feature.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the security feature has larger
dimensions than the object marking.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein the security feature of the
basic material is an optically variable feature.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the security feature of the
basic material is a hologram.
24. The method of claim 20, wherein the security feature and/or its
optical properties have dimensions which correspond at least to a
resolving power of a human eye.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the security feature and/or its
optical properties have dimensions that correspond to a resolving
power of a commercially available camera, such that the security
feature is readable and verifiable with a commercially available
camera.
26. The method of claim 20, wherein the material piece is designed
in the form of a band, and a position of the band is selected by a
random or non-controlled advance of the band and the section is
determined in relation to the selected position.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein the advance of the band
deviates from the period of the security feature of the basic
material.
28. The method of claim 20, wherein the section is determined by a
variable, random selection mask, wherein the section is determined
either in correspondence with a region of the material piece masked
by the selection mask or in correspondence with a region of the
material piece unmasked or spared by the selection mask.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the variable selection mask is
applied on the material piece in the form of a partial cover.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the variable selection mask is
applied on the material piece in the form of a layer applied in
places or in regions.
31. The method of claim 20, wherein at least one randomly
determined part of the material piece is removed prior to the
production of the object marking.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein the at least one randomly
determined part of the material piece is removed prior to the
determining of the section.
33. The method of claim 20, wherein at least one further section of
the same material piece or of a further material piece of the basic
material is determined arbitrarily or randomly and the object
marking is produced with the at least two sections.
34. The method of claim 33, wherein the at least two sections are
mixed with an at least temporarily liquid or paste-like carrier
mass which is applied on the object directly or indirectly.
35. The method of claim 20, wherein the at least one section is
applied on a carrier material for producing the object marking.
36. The method of claim 20, wherein the object marking is connected
with the object, wherein the object marking is arranged variably
and randomly with respect to the object or an orientation mark
applied on the object.
37. The method of claim 36, wherein the properties generated by the
random arrangement of the object marking are determinable and
readable with a commercially available camera.
38. An object marking for optical authentication of an assigned
object comprising: at least one section of a material piece of a
basic material which has been determined randomly, the section
having dimensions; wherein the basic material of the material piece
has a repeating security feature having dimensions and optical
properties dependent on the viewing angle; and wherein the
dimensions of the security feature being larger than the dimensions
of the section of the material piece such that each section is
unique and comprises only a part of the security feature.
39. The object marking of claim 38, wherein the security feature
has larger dimensions than the object marking.
40. The object marking of claim 38, wherein the security feature of
the basic material is an optically variable feature.
41. The object marking of claim 40, wherein the security feature of
the basic material is a hologram.
42. The object marking of claim 38, wherein the security feature
and/or its optical properties have dimensions which correspond at
least to a resolving power of a human eye.
43. The object marking of claim 42, where security feature and/or
its optical properties have dimensions that correspond to a
resolving power of a commercially available camera, such that the
security feature is readable and verifiable with a commercially
available camera.
44. The object marking of claim 38, wherein the section is
determined by a variable, random selection mask, the selection mask
being formed by a partial cover of the material piece.
45. The object marking of claim 38, wherein the section is
determined by a variable, random selection mask, the selection mask
being formed by a layer applied on the material piece in
places.
46. The object marking of claim 38, wherein the section is arranged
along with at least one further variable, preferably random,
section of a material piece of the basic material in a carrier mass
which is at least temporarily liquid or paste-like.
47. The object marking of claim 38, wherein the object marking
comprises a carrier material, wherein the at least one section is
arranged on the carrier material.
48. A set comprising a plurality of object markings of claim 38,
wherein the section of every single object marking differs from the
sections of all the other object markings of the plurality of
object markings.
49. A set of claim 48, wherein each section is statistically
independent of every other section.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a method for producing an object
marking, and to the object marking itself, for optical
authentication of an object, wherein at least one section of a
material piece of a basic material is determined variably and
arbitrarily and/or randomly and the object marking is produced with
the at least one section.
[0002] Product counterfeiting has become increasingly problematic.
Systems enabling the authentication of an object, especially of a
product, provide remedy in this respect. These systems assign, as a
rule, a unique serial number to each object and store it along with
object properties, similar to a finger print with people.
Accordingly, authentication means in this context the examination
of authenticity of a product, or more general, of any object, in
particular with respect to the question of whether the product
constitutes product counterfeiting or not. In this process,
particular differentiating features of the object are generally
identified and examined in that they are compared to the, e.g.
stored, features of a true object. If the objects to be
authenticated lack the appropriate differentiating features, these
may be added artificially. The main purpose of object marking as
defined by the invention is accordingly the adding of additional
differentiating features to the object, which may be taken into
account during authentication and increase reliability.
[0003] In order to protect an object property from being copied,
known solutions make use of microscopic properties such as surface
structures or discoloration of fibers (reference). This is getting
to a point where objects are marked with a specific DNA. A drawback
of these solutions is that these properties are only readable with
specific equipment, at any rate, however, not with commercially
available cameras. The reason for the counterfeit protection
achieved by the use of such physical properties lies in the
stochastic nature of the properties mentioned, i.e. they are
practically not reproducible.
[0004] Such object marking is already known from U.S. Pat. No.
8,090,952 B2 which describes a unique product marking verifiable by
means of a smart phone. The product marking and/or a segment of the
product marking is formed by an arbitrarily chosen section of a
repeating pattern. A label may be arranged at an arbitrarily chosen
position in the segment as an additional security feature, wherein
the label may also comprise a hologram. Since both the repeating
pattern as such and the content of the label are defined, such
product marking may be reproduced with relatively little effort
already. Since the label, apart from the arrangement, does not
comprise any random elements and thus has to be analyzed once only,
a simple photocopy of the arrangement suffices to be able to
duplicate the section of the pattern and the position of the
label.
[0005] Furthermore, WO 2004/070667 A2 describes the production of a
security indicator on the basis of a random pattern which is in
turn produced on the basis of a random physical process. Although a
much larger number of random and hence unique differentiating
features may be embedded in the product marking in this manner,
these are also completely detectable by means of a simple photocopy
and thus duplicatable--although with increased effort.
[0006] US 2002/0080221 A1 describes a digital hot embossing system
suitable for the application of security features, such as
holograms, in freely selectable shapes. Although the shapes may
allegedly be chosen "randomly", there is not disclosed how this
"random" is achieved, and it must be assumed that this is a digital
and hence deterministic "random" which is accordingly digitally
replicable. Due to the structure of the pre-printed pattern used,
it is possible to completely analyze and consequently also
reproduce the security feature already on the basis of one single
original. Moreover, the arrangement and orientation of the security
feature is defined by the pre-printed pattern and is hence
predictable.
[0007] EP 2 461 307 A2 illustrates a method for producing markings
for the identification and for the proof of authenticity of
products. The individual markings are punched out of a sheet of
holographically exposed material by means of a cutting tool.
[0008] EP 2 075 114 A2 describes a method in which labels on which,
for instance, holograms are arranged as primary identification
features are produced in individual shapes by cutting or punching
from a label web. The concrete individual shape is predetermined by
a computer-controlled system and is hence reproducible.
[0009] Finally, WO 2010/001203 A1 discloses a method for producing
markings for protection from counterfeiting which are verifiable by
means of a cameraphone. A web provided with a periodic pattern is
cut into a plurality of identical sections, i.e. the dimensions of
the sections correspond exactly to the period of the pattern.
[0010] It is an object of the invention to provide an object
marking and/or a method for producing the same, which may be
examined by a commercially available programmable device with
incorporated camera (e.g. a smart phone), on the one hand, and
which can at the same time be replicated or counterfeited neither
by a two-dimensional color copy with sufficiently high resolution
nor with the aid of identical production resources.
[0011] The invention solves this object in that, in a method of the
kind stated in the outset, the basic material of the material piece
comprises a repeating security feature (i.e. a periodic sequence of
security features) having optical properties dependent on the
viewing angle, the dimensions of said security feature (which
correspond to one period of the sequence of security features)
being larger than the dimensions of the section, more particularly
larger than the dimensions of the object marking, such that each
section is unique and comprises only a part of the security
feature. The section may in particular also have smaller dimensions
than the material piece, such that the removal of a section need
not stringently result in a cut through of the material piece. The
section may, for instance, be produced by separation, e.g. by means
of cutting or punching, or else by detachment, for instance, by
means of an embossing method. Essential for the security of the
invention is--along with the relationship of the dimensions--the
arbitrary and/or random determining of the section, i.e. the
section is determined in the scope of a random process. "Random"
means in this context the dependence on a true random as it occurs,
for instance, in stochastic physical processes. In contrast to
pseudo random which is usually provided by specific deterministic
algorithms with the aid of a computer, such "true" random is not
reproducible and not predictable. Security features means in this
connection those features of a material and/or of the basic
material which have optical properties dependent on the viewing
angle, such that it is not possible to reproduce all available
optical properties on the basis of a two-dimensional copy. Typical
security features are, for instance, water marks, a specific paper
quality, specific three-dimensional printing techniques, safety
threads, printing elements with tilting effect, optically variable
colors, or generally optically variable features, e.g. in the form
of kinegrams, holograms, or patterns, signs and shapes which are
recognizable under a certain viewing angle only and/or change their
color, as well as combinations of the techniques mentioned. It is
to be understood that the basic material may also comprise a
plurality of equal or similar security features as well as any
combination of equal and different security features. Such security
features may, in the case of complete knowledge, be replicated at
least up to such an extent that the replicate stands up to an
examination by means of a--comparatively coarsely
resolving--camera. The object marking in accordance with the
invention, however, aggravates replication additionally in that the
individual object marking only discloses a small part of the
security features of the basic material. Since this part is
selected randomly, the number of object markings to be analyzed for
a replication of the basic material cannot be predicted: In some
circumstances, even if all produced object markings are available,
not all security features of the basic material are disclosed, and
an imitation of the production method is therefore not possible. On
the basis of an individual object marking it is not even possible
to derive the periodicity of the security feature and/or the
sequence of security features. On the other hand, from a joint view
of a plurality of object markings it cannot be reconstructed with
certainty whether the respective sections have been taken from the
same basic material, i.e. there is no reliable method for
reconstructing the basic material. The instant invention thus
achieves protection from copies which could otherwise be produced
with the aid of identical production resources, by the use of a
random production process. Thus, even with the knowledge and the
production resources of the creator and/or the original producer, a
specific production of two objects with identical properties is not
possible.
[0012] Accordingly, the above-mentioned object is solved in
accordance with the invention by an object marking of the kind
stated in the outset, in which the basic material of the material
piece has a repeating security feature having optical properties
dependent on the viewing angle, the dimensions of said security
feature being larger than the dimensions of the section, more
particularly larger than the dimensions of the object marking, such
that each section is unique and comprises only a part of the
security feature. The following improvements and/or the advantages
associated therewith apply to this effect both to the method for
producing an object marking and to the object marking itself, as
well as to a set of object markings.
[0013] The advantageous properties of the object marking in
accordance with the invention are recognizable and verifiable
especially by means of a set with a plurality of object markings,
wherein the section and/or the sections of every single object
marking of the set differs/differ from the sections of all the
remaining object markings of the set. This is in particular even
then true if all sections have been taken from the same basic
material. In this case the periodicity of the sequence of security
features of the basic material may be recognized basically by means
of a sufficiently large number (dependent on the dimension of the
section in relation to the period), which does not mean, however,
that the basic material could be reconstructed completely by means
of the same number. Moreover, it is of advantage if every section
is statistically independent of every other section. Contrary to
this, a significant statistic dependence and/or correlation would
indicate deterministically defined sections which could thus be
predicted and in the last consequence be counterfeited.
[0014] Due to the high effort of a replication as compared to the
production costs it is particularly advantageous if the security
feature of the basic material is an optically variable feature,
i.e. a material having properties dependent on the viewing angle,
in particular a hologram.
[0015] It is further favorable if the security material and/or its
optical properties have dimensions which correspond at least to the
resolving power of the human eye, in particular the resolving power
of commercially available cameras, such that the security feature
is readable and verifiable with a commercially available camera. In
the case of dimensions which correspond at least to the resolving
power of the human eye, the security feature may also be examined
by direct comparison e.g. with a plurality of simplifying images.
Depending on the camera technique used, a minimum dimension of 100
.mu.m may, for instance, be provided. As a matter of principle, the
security feature is to be readable and verifiable with a
commercially available camera without subsequent enhancement and/or
modification of the optics, such that this feature may be
incorporated in an automatic examination. In particular, in this
case the verifiable features and/or properties cannot only be used
for verification, but also for identification of the object
marking, i.e. the identity of the object marking may be determined
on the basis of the security features taken and/or the optical
properties thereof (which, as stated above, illustrate a randomly
determined part of the security features of the basic material). It
is not necessary that always the entire section is detectable
and/or readable at once, but authentication on the basis of one or
a plurality of partial regions of the object marking, which
generally does not comprise all sections completely, may be
allowed.
[0016] A non-deterministic and at the same time easy-to-generate
contribution to the random selection of the section may be achieved
in that the material piece is designed in the form of a band and a
position of the band is selected by a random and/or non-controlled
advance of the band which preferably deviates from the period of
the security feature of the basic material, and the section is
determined in relation to the selected position.
[0017] It is of further advantage for the selection of the security
features if the section is determined by a variable, random
selection mask, wherein the section is determined either in
correspondence with a region of the material piece masked by the
selection mask or in correspondence with a region of the material
piece unmasked and/or spared by the selection mask. The selection
mask makes it possible to determine the portion of the security
features of the basic material disclosed by an individual object
marking in an even more flexible manner, and to reduce the size of
said portion.
[0018] The variable selection mask may preferably be applied on the
material piece in the form of a partial cover, in particular in the
form of a layer applied in places and/or in regions. Such a cover
may selectively cover and hence mask a part of the security
features comprised in the section. Moreover, the cover may be
applied by physically random and/or chaotic processes, such that
the selection mask contributes to randomness, i.e. to
non-determinism, of the selection of security features used for
authentication. It is irrelevant whether the cover exceeds the
section or is applied within the limits of the section only.
[0019] The diversity of the variations of object markings
achievable with the method may be further increased if at least one
arbitrarily and/or randomly determined part of the material piece
is removed prior to the production of the object marking,
preferably even prior to the determining of the section. The part
removed can accordingly no longer be a part of the corresponding
object marking.
[0020] It is furthermore particularly advantageous if at least one
further section of the same material piece or of a further material
piece of the basic material is determined arbitrarily and/or
randomly and the object marking is produced with the at least two
sections. In this respect, it is not only the properties of the two
separate sections, but also their relative arrangement which is
preferably chosen randomly, which forms a part of the features used
for the authentication of the object marking. In general, partial
or complete overlappings of the sections may also occur, which is
also absolutely desired.
[0021] In this connection a physical random of the arrangement may
additionally be introduced in that the at least two sections are
mixed with an at least temporarily liquid or paste-like carrier
mass. In this process, not only the two-dimensional arrangement,
but the three-dimensional arrangement of the sections is varied and
determined randomly, such that the sections are arranged under
different viewing angles and--in the case of optically variable
features--may comprise a combination of optical features which is
not even available in the basic material. Accordingly, during
object marking, the section is favorably arranged along with at
least one further variable, preferably random, section of a
material piece of the basic material in an at least temporarily
liquid or paste-like carrier mass.
[0022] If the carrier mass for producing the object marking is
applied directly on the object, the marked object becomes an
inseparable part of the object marking since it serves as a carrier
for the carrier mass which is not inherently stable, such that a
detachment of the carrier mass results in the destruction of the
object marking. Accordingly, in an object with an appropriate
object marking the carrier mass with the sections for forming the
object marking may be applied directly on the object or form a
constituent of the object.
[0023] Alternatively, a foil may also be produced from the carrier
mass. Subsequently, the object marking is produced with this foil.
The advantage of this is that objects which do not have sufficient
inherent stability (e.g. elastic substances or the like) can also
be marked without the object marking being destroyed by the
expedient use of the object. Accordingly, the carrier mass may be
processed with the sections as a foil for forming the object
marking.
[0024] As a third possibility it has turned out to be of advantage
if the at least one section is applied on a carrier material for
producing the object marking. The carrier material may especially
be a web or a sheet of a flat material, e.g. paper or a foil. Due
to further stochastic processes in the production process, e.g.
caused by minimally different advance speeds of the section and/or
of the basic material, on the one hand, and the carrier material,
on the other hand, in a series production, the position of the
section may vary within the object marking individually and
randomly, such that a positioning inaccuracy of the section within
the object marking which is achieved in this way also corresponds
to a "true" random and may be evaluated and thus contributes to the
safety of the object marking. In particular in series
production--and the associated accumulated effect e.g. of
inaccuracies in advance speed synchronization--no series with
identical object markings can thus be produced even with existing
basic material and selection provision.
[0025] The described production variants, i.e. where the object
marking comprises a carrier mass or a carrier material, have the
advantage that, due to the additional stochastic physical processes
in the course of the connection of the section with the carrier
mass and/or the carrier material, individually deviating object
markings are even achieved in the unlikely case that a section is
twice taken with a particular selection mask at the same position
of the security feature and is applied on the carrier material
an/or incorporated in the carrier mass.
[0026] Furthermore, it is favorable if the same material piece
and/or at least a further section of the material piece is used for
the production of at least one further object marking. This means
that only a selected part of the basic material is taken from the
material piece for producing a first section, and the remaining
material which does not belong to the section remains part of the
material piece and may thus be further used. This multiple and/or
repeated use of a material piece, i.e. one and the same material
piece, for producing a plurality of separate object markings, in
particular for different objects, makes it possible to efficiently
use the quantity of required basic material, on the one hand, and,
on the other hand, all sections which have already been taken
influence the section assigned to the corresponding object marking,
such that the reproducibility is further reduced. Moreover, in this
case sections which have been taken successively cannot or can
hardly be referred to for reconstruction of the basic material
since in this case naturally no overlappings of the sections are
disclosed.
[0027] Moreover, further authentication features may be added to
the object marking when the object marking is connected with the
object, wherein the object marking is arranged variably and
randomly with respect to the object and/or an orientation mark
applied on the object. In particular, the section and/or the
sections may be connected with an object in a variably determined
arrangement or a random arrangement caused by production
tolerances, such that the arrangement relative to the object and/or
to an orientation mark provided on the object forms a part of the
object marking. In this connection, an appropriate object marking
may be connected with an object, wherein the object marking is
arranged with respect to the object and/or an orientation mark
applied on the object variably, in particular caused by production
tolerances, randomly.
[0028] Moreover, it is particularly favorable in this connection if
the properties generated by the random arrangement of the object
marking are determinable and readable with a commercially available
camera. In this case the respective properties may be taken into
account with an electronic examination of the object marking.
[0029] The invention also relates in particular to the use of the
described object marking in connection with a method and/or system
for the distinct marking of an object, as described in the
preceding PCT application with file number PCT/AT2013/050121,
wherein unique features are digitized and signed with a private
key, and the unique features themselves are arranged on the object
or a package of the object in addition to the signature of the
digitized features, or are formed by at least a part of the object
or the package thereof, and the authenticity of the object is
determined by a comparison of the unique features with the
signature of the digitized features arranged on the object or the
package thereof and decrypted with a public key. For providing a
safe method which can be implemented easily and in a cost efficient
manner, the unique features are formed by optically detectable
three-dimensional structures or materials having optical properties
differing as a function of the viewing angle, and the digitized
features are generated with the aid of an algorithm which is
applied to at least two digital pictures of the unique features
which are taken with at least one digital camera.
[0030] In the following, the invention will be explained further by
means of particularly preferred embodiments to which it is not to
be restricted, though, and with reference to the drawing. The
drawing illustrates in detail in:
[0031] FIG. 1 schematically a material piece of a basic material
having optical properties dependent on the viewing angle;
[0032] FIG. 2 schematically a number of examples of material pieces
of different basic materials under different viewing angles;
[0033] FIG. 3 schematically the selection of a section of a
material piece pursuant to FIG. 2 for producing an object
marking;
[0034] FIG. 4 schematically three sequentially selected sections of
a material piece in accordance with a random advance;
[0035] FIG. 5 for comparison schematically three sequentially
selected sections of a material piece in accordance with a constant
advance;
[0036] FIG. 6 schematically a period of a security feature of a
material piece;
[0037] FIG. 7 schematically the application of different selection
masks to one and the same selection of the material piece for
producing different object markings;
[0038] FIG. 8 schematically the combination of the sections of
three material pieces defined in accordance with different
selection masks to form an object marking; and
[0039] FIG. 9 schematically a fragmentation of a plurality of
material pieces and the combination of sections in the form of
pieces of each material piece to form an object marking.
[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates a material piece 1 of a basic material,
wherein a region 2 of the material piece is illustrated in
accordance with its appearance under a first viewing angle .alpha.
(indicated schematically by the eye 3 of the observer) and in
accordance with its appearance under a second viewing angle .beta..
The arrow 4 indicates schematically a change of the viewing angle
between the illustrations .alpha., .beta. (cf. FIG. 2). For
protection from two-dimensional copies, a plurality of security
features 5 are arranged on the material piece 1, which each have
different appearances and/or more generally different optical
properties under different viewing angles .alpha., .beta.. The
security features 5 may, for instance, correspond to
machine-readable patterns or signals. A change 4 of the viewing
angle on the material piece 1 thus causes, for instance, a change
of the illustrated pattern and/or sign, its coloring and/or its
visibility.
[0041] In order to enable the evaluation with the aid of a
commercially available programmable device, such as a smart phone,
the optical properties, such as patterns and/or signs, must have
certain properties. They must, for instance, have a minimum size of
100 .mu.m.times.100 .mu.m. Moreover, a sufficiently high contrast
between the properties and their background is required for the
computer-aided image processing. This may be expressed by
differences in brightness, advantageously, however, in their
coloring or other optical properties. The patterns used may
comprise the most different characteristics, as is illustrated in
FIG. 2. Thus, geometric figures are as suited as the illustration
of different signs. Examples of such basic materials are materials
with holograms, lenticular materials, saw tooth foils, or foils for
restricting the viewing angle.
[0042] FIG. 3 illustrates the production of an object marking 6 by
the application 7 of a section 8 in accordance with a selected
region 9 of the material piece 1. The section 8 may be applied on
an object 10 by different methods, such as cold or hot embossing
technologies, wherein the object 10 may also be a carrier material
belonging to the object marking 6. The method used for application
7 is predominantly dependent on the nature of the object 10 and/or
the material piece 1, such as heat sensitivity or surface
structure.
[0043] Increased protection from copying with the aid of identical
production resources is achieved by the use of a random application
7. In this process, a region 9 of the material piece 1 is selected
arbitrarily and the section 8 of the material piece 1 which
corresponds to the region 9 is applied on the object 10. In the
case of a cold or hot embossing method the selection of the region
9 and the application 7 are one process step. The material piece 1
is available in the form of a continuous foil of the basic
material, wherein the embossing method does not register the
positioning of the material piece 1, such that the region 9 is
selected by an arbitrary material advance and the corresponding
section 8 is applied on the object 10.
[0044] In order that the security features 5' applied on the object
10 can be referred to for authentication in combination with a
unique series number 11, care is taken when selecting the basic
material that the security features 5 contained thereon have
sufficiently high variation and a period exceeding the dimensions
of the region 9. Since such materials, for instance, holograms,
regularly have periodically repeating patterns, a sufficiently
arbitrary selection with a given period may be achieved by the
choice of a suitable size of the region 9 and by a suitable
material advance 12 (cf. FIG. 4).
[0045] The actual variation, i.e.--broadly speaking--the number of
sections to be produced until a pattern repeats, is calculated by
the lowest common multiple of the period of the pattern of the
basic material and the selected dimension of the material advance
12, 12', unless further measures are applied for varying the
sections and/or the object markings. FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the
possible effects of a favorable (FIG. 4) and/or unfavorable (FIG.
5) choice of these parameters. In FIG. 4 some advantageous regions
9 of the material piece 1 are indicated which are selected by a
variable random material advance 12 and result in a variation of
the resulting sections 8 and hence the object markings 6. In FIG. 5
the most unfavorable possible selection of regions 9 of the
material piece 1 is illustrated, wherein the material advance 12'
corresponds exactly to the period of the security features, such
that always the same region is selected and thus always the same
section 8 is used for the production of the object markings 6.
[0046] The security features 5 dependent on the viewing angle and
the optical properties of the basic material may be completely
different patterns or variations of a pattern and/or sign, for
instance, by rotation or perspective projection of the same
pattern. The use of rotation and projection yields advantages with
the storing of the digital object properties since a smaller
quantity of data is required due to better compressibility.
[0047] If the period of the (unchanged) security feature is
relatively small and/or only slightly larger than the dimensions of
the object marking to be produced, i.e. if the security feature
(e.g. the pattern) on the material piece 1 repeats in short
periodic intervals 13, as illustrated in FIG. 6, only little
variation is achieved with the hitherto described methods. An
increase in variation is achieved by the method for producing an
object marking by a plurality of sections 14 of a material piece 1,
illustrated schematically in FIG. 7. Here, from a region 9 selected
in a first step 15, only the sections 14 corresponding to a
selection mask 16 are applied on the object 10 in a second step 17.
Since a static selection mask 16 does not result in an improvement
of the variation, but merely in a smaller area of the same
selection, the pattern of taking 18 of the selection mask 16 is
always changed. Due to the variable selection masks 16, 16' a new
combination of security features and hence different object
markings 6 are applied on the objects 10 even with identical
selection of the region 9. By the different selection masks 16 and
16' such a change is illustrated schematically and may be achieved
with an embossing method, for instance, by the rotation of a stamp.
The use of digital embossing methods is more advantageous, wherein,
for instance, the embossing punch is changed dynamically or the
adhesive is applied dynamically.
[0048] An alternative or additional approach for the dynamic
selection of a plurality of sections 8 of a material piece 1
without separating it is a partial covering by a further material.
Here, a material section corresponding to the entire selected
region 9 is applied on the object 10 and overlapped by a covering
material having the form of a selection mask 16. The covering
material may, for instance, be a color layer which is applied by a
digital printing method. Overlapping may be performed before or
after the selection of the material section.
[0049] A further increase in variations and in the end also in
security is possible by the method for producing an object marking
6 by a plurality of sections 8 of a plurality of independent
material pieces 1, as illustrated in FIG. 8. Due to the use of
different basic materials and/or materials with different security
features the achieved variation of the resulting object marking is
many times higher and a copy is thus more difficult to obtain. The
security features corresponding to the sections 8 and hence the
object marking 6 have an optical appearance which differs with a
change 4 of the viewing angle .alpha., .beta..
[0050] The variation of the security features may moreover be
increased by a repeated use of a, i.e. one and the same, material
piece 1. Thus, for instance, a material piece 1 which has already
been used comprises gaps having an influence on the resulting
sections 8 during further use.
[0051] Furthermore, an increase in the variations is moreover
possible by the removal of arbitrary sections prior to the
selection of a region 9 and/or the application 7, 17 of the
selected section 8 of the material piece 1. Thus, it is, for
instance, possible to punch arbitrary patterns out of a foil before
it is applied.
[0052] Moreover, a further property usable for authentication may
be introduced by a variation of the position of the object marking
6 relative to the object 10 itself or an orientation mark 19
applied on the object 10 (cf. FIG. 3).
[0053] The indirect application illustrated schematically in FIG. 9
is an alternative method for producing an object marking in the
scope of the invention. Here, in a first step 20 at least one
material piece 1 having optical properties dependent on the viewing
angle and/or security features is divided into small parts and/or
sections 21 which are applied arbitrarily on the object 10 in a
second step. This may, for instance, be implemented by the chaffing
of a hologram foil, the mixing of the resulting small parts 21 with
a fluid or paste-like carrier mass, such as a varnish, and the
application of the carrier mass along with the small parts 21 with
the aid of a printing method. In order to enable the readability of
the object marking produced this way with the aid of a commercially
available programmable device with a camera, it has turned out
favorable if the resulting small parts 21 have a minimum diameter
of 100 .mu.m. Examples of suitable basic materials having
properties dependent on the viewing angle are: holograms,
lenticular materials, saw tooth foils, or foils for restricting the
viewing angle.
[0054] A variant of the method for producing an object marking by
means of indirect application in accordance with the invention is
the incorporation of the material parts and/or sections 21 of at
least one material piece 1 in a foil (not illustrated), from which
foil subsequently at least one arbitrary region is selected and a
corresponding section of the foil is applied on the object 10.
[0055] If an application of the parts and/or sections 21 by
embedding in a further material, i.e. a carrier material, with
sufficient material strength is chosen, it is in particular
possible to also use materials which themselves do not have any
properties dependent on the viewing angle. This is based on the
fact that the parts 21, with sufficient material strength of the
embedding and/or surrounding material, may have different
orientations, i.e. orientations which are generally not parallel to
the object surface, so that properties dependent on the viewing
angle result for the entirety of the arrangement. An example
thereof are parts 21 of a reflecting material which are fragmented,
e.g. chaffed, and incorporated in a foil. Depending on the viewing
angle the foil such produced thus has different reflecting
properties.
* * * * *