HINGE LASER MARKING

Abstract

A secure device for securing an article that includes at least one connection element, at least one data carrier, and at least one security element. The connection element is configured to be connected to the article, and the data carrier is in connection with the connection element and is configured to be connected to the article via the connection element. The connection element is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation such, that at least one marking element is generated in the connection element upon the impingement of the electromagnetic radiation. The data carrier is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation such, that at least one further marking element is generated in the data carrier upon the impingement of the electromagnetic radiation. The security element comprises or consists of the marking element of the connection element and of the further marking element of the data carrier.

Claims

1. A secure device for securing an article such as a passport, a travel document, a visa or the like, the secure device comprising: at least one connection element; at least one data carrier; and at least one security element; wherein the connection element is configured to be connected to the article, and wherein the data carrier is in connection with the connection element and is configured to be connected to the article via the connection element, wherein the connection element is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation such, that at least one marking element is generated in the connection element upon the impingement of the electromagnetic radiation, wherein the data carrier is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation such, that at least one further marking element is generated in the data carrier upon the impingement of the electromagnetic radiation, and wherein the security element comprises of the marking element of the connection element and of the further marking element of the data carrier.

2. The secure device according to claim 1, wherein the connection element is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation of particular one or more wavelengths, whereby the marking element is generated, and wherein the data carrier is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation of said particular one or more wavelengths, whereby the further marking element is generated, and wherein the particular one or more wavelengths preferably are in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum and/or in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

3. The secure device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the marking element and the further marking element corresponds to one or more selected from a group comprising an opaque element, a bleached element, an ablated element, an evaporated element, a colour-changed element, a bubbling element, a bulging element, a blurry element, a fuzzy element, and a foaming element.

4. The secure device according to claim 1, wherein the connection element and data carrier comprises of one or more polymers or plastics

5. The secure device according to claim 1, wherein the connection element is bendable or flexible, and wherein the connection element comprises of a fabric comprising fibres of one or more polymers or plastics, wherein the connection element comprises one or more sheets, wherein the connection element comprises one or more layers, and wherein the data carrier comprises one or more layers and is configured rigidly.

6. The secure device according to claim 1, wherein the security element has the shape of an image or of an alphanumeric character, and wherein the security element comprises at least a first part and a second part, and wherein the first part is provided by the marking element and the second part is provided by the further marking element, the first part and the second part complementing one another or being arranged immediately adjacent to one another.

7. An article, in particular a passport, a travel document, a visa or the like, comprising at least one secure device of claim 1.

8. The article according to claim 7, further comprising at least one substrate, and wherein the substrate is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic such, that at least one additional marking element is generated in the substrate upon the impingement of the electromagnetic radiation, whereby an additional security element is generated, and wherein the additional security element preferably complements the security element at least in a checking position of the article.

9. The article according to claim 8, wherein the connection element comprises one or more openings, and wherein one or more additional marking elements in the substrate are aligned with respect to one or more openings of the connection element in the checking position of the article.

10. The article according to claim 8, wherein the substrate comprises at least one selected from a group comprising printed element and a reactive element that is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation such, that the additional marking element is generated, the printed element preferably being printed by offset printing, silk screen printing, or Intaglio printing, and the reactive element being a reactive pigment, a reactive additive, or a reactive colorant, and wherein the additional marking element corresponds to at least one selected from a group comprising an opaque element, a bleached element, an ablated element, an evaporated element, a colour-changed element, a bubbling element, a bulging element, a blurry element, a fuzzy element, and a foaming element.

11. A method of generating a security element in a secure device for securing an article such as a passport, a travel document, a visa or the like, the method comprising the steps of: Providing at least one connection element; and Providing at least one data carrier; wherein the connection element is configured to be connected to the article, wherein the data carrier is in connection with the connection element and is configured to be connected to the article via the connection element, wherein the connection element is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation such, that at least one marking element is generated in the connection element upon the impingement of the electromagnetic radiation, and wherein the data carrier is configured to interact with impinging electromagnetic radiation such, that at least one further marking element is generated in the data carrier upon the impingement of the electromagnetic radiation, wherein the method further comprises the step of: Irradiating electromagnetic radiation onto the connection element and the data carrier, wherein the security element comprises of the marking element of the connection element and of the further marking element of the data carrier is generated.

12. A method of generating a security element in an article such as a passport, a travel document, a visa or the like, the method comprising the steps of: Providing at least one substrate; and Providing at least one secure device; and Irradiating electromagnetic radiation onto the connection element and the data carrier, wherein the security element comprises of the marking element of the connection element and of the further marking element of the data carrier is generated.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein electromagnetic radiation is irradiated onto the substrate, wherein at least one additional marking element is generated in the substrate, and wherein the additional marking element comprises an additional security element.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is irradiated onto the data carrier, the connection element, or the substrate has the same one or more wavelengths, is in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, or is in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein electromagnetic radiation is irradiated onto the data carrier, the connection element, and the substrate in a single pass or with same settings.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the electromagnetic radiation is irradiated onto the data carrier, the connection element, or the substrate has the same one or more wavelengths, is in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum, or is in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

17. The method according to claim 12, wherein electromagnetic radiation is irradiated onto the data carrier, the connection element, and the substrate in a single pass or with same settings.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the following with reference to the drawings, which are for the purpose of illustrating the present preferred embodiments of the invention and not for the purpose of limiting the same. In the drawings,

[0059] FIG. 1a shows a perspective view of an article comprising a secure device that has a connection element, a data carrier and a security element according to the invention in a first position:

[0060] FIG. 1b shows a perspective view of the article according to FIG. 1a in a second position;

[0061] FIG. 2 shows a partial top view on another article comprising the secure device according to the invention;

[0062] FIG. 3a shows a partial top view on another article comprising the secure device according to the invention;

[0063] FIG. 3b shows an enlarged view on the secure device of the article according to FIG. 3a;

[0064] FIG. 4 shows a partial top view on an article comprising a secure device having an additional security element according to the invention;

[0065] FIG. 5 shows a partial top view on another article comprising a secure device having an additional security element according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] Aspects of the secure device 1 for securing an article 2 such as a passport, a travel document, a visa or the like according to the invention shall be further illustrated by means of the figures.

[0067] The secure device 1 comprises a connection element 3 in the form of a hinge and a data carrier 4 in the form of a datapage. The article 2 to be secured corresponds here to a passport comprising a substrate 10 in the form of a booklet having covers 12, a title page 13, and visa pages 14. That is, the secure device 1 according to the invention is configured to secure a document 2 having a multipage structure.

[0068] The connection of the datapage 4 to the hinge 3 plays an important role in the general security of articles 2 having a multipage structure such as a passport in order to prevent an unnoticed exchange of the datapage 4 by removing the datapage 4 from the hinge 3 and subsequently recombining the hinge 3 to a different datapage, which is a common fraud scenario for passports 2. In this context, the invention proposes a tamper-evident security element 5 that extends from the datapage 4 to the hinge 3 being connected to the article 2 such as the passport and thereby secures the connection between the passport 2 and the hinge 3 being in connection with the datapage 4.

[0069] The security element 5 consists here of marking elements 6 in the hinge 3 and of further marking elements 7 in the datapage 4. Said marking elements 6 and further marking elements 7 were generated by irradiating electromagnetic radiation onto the hinge 3 and the datapage 4. The hinge 3 consists of polyethylene terephthalate and the datapage 4 comprises polycarbonate. In particular, the security element 5 was generated by using electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet region of the electromagnetic spectrum, in particular with laser radiation having a wavelength of 355 nanometer. Usage of electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength region other than infrared allowed the generation of the security element 5 being a visible, joint marking in both the PET hinge material and the PC datapage material. Furthermore, not only was the security element 5 generated in the hinge 3 and the datapage 4 with electromagnetic radiation being beyond the infrared, but also with electromagnetic radiation of the same wavelength, i.e. 355 nanometer in both cases. In addition, the electromagnetic radiation was irradiated onto the datapage 4 and the hinge 3 in a single pass, that is, without any interruptions and without moving the article 2. The security element 5, in particular the marking elements 6 and the additional marking elements 7, correspond here to laser marks in the form of opaque elements.

[0070] Moreover, and as best seen in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the datapage 4 is connected to the substrate by means of the hinge 3, wherein the hinge 3 is bendable and flexible such that the datapage 4 can be moved with respect to the covers 12 by turning the datapage 4. Both, the hinge 3 and the datapage 4 comprise a common security element 5 in the form of the alphanumeric character A1233457 that extends across part of the hinge 3 and part of the datapage 4. In particular, the security element 5 is arranged in adjacent edge regions 15, 16 of the hinge 3 and the datapage 4.

[0071] As becomes apparent from FIGS. 1a to 3b, the parts 5a, 5b of the security element 5 being provided in the hinge 3 and the datapage 4 complement one another. Namely, in FIGS. 1a and 1b, an upper part 5a of the alphanumeric character A1233457 is formed in the hinge 3 and a lower part 5b of the alphanumeric character A1233457 is formed in the datapage 4 immediately adjacent to the upper part Sa. As such, the security element 5 has an uninterrupted appearance.

[0072] Additionally, in the example depicted in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the security element 5 extends entirely through the datapage 4 and the hinge 3 such that a top side of the security element 5 is visible in the configuration depicted in FIG. 1a and a bottom side of the security element 5 is visible upon turning the datapage 4 and in the configuration depicted in FIG. 1b.

[0073] FIGS. 2 to 5 depict further examples of the secure device 1 according to the invention. Namely, the secure device 1 of FIG. 2 comprises a security element 5 in the form of the alphanumeric character AB12 AB12 and the secure device 1 of FIGS. 3a to 36 comprises a security element 5 in the form of the letters GEMALTO. It should be noted that the invention can be realized with different hinge technologies. For instance, the hinge 3 can be embedded into the datapage 4. Alternatively, it is likewise conceivable that the hinge 3 is attached to a surface of the datapage 4. Furthermore, different datapage structures are conceivable. For example, the hinge 3 can be visibly or invisibly embedded into the datapage 4. In the former case, it is preferred that the datapage 4 at least in its region of connection with the hinge 3 is translucent. In the latter case, it is preferred that the datapage 4 at least in its region of connection with the hinge 3 is non-translucent, for instance opaque. Furthermore, the hinge 3 itself can have different designs. For instance, the hinge 3 can be a solid hinge, i.e. a hinge without any openings or the like but being composed of continuous one or more sheets, for instance. However, it is likewise conceivable that the hinge 3 comprises openings 11, for instance mesh openings of a hinge in the form of a fabric, see FIGS. 3a and 3b.

[0074] The provision of a hinge 3 with openings 11 allows the generation of additional security elements 9 in the article 2, in particular in the substrate 10 of the article 2 such as the inner cover 12 or the visa page 14. In fact, and as apparent in FIGS. 4 and 5, the hinge 3 with openings 11 enabled to additionally mark through the hinge 3 onto the inner cover 12 or the first visa page 14 so as to achieve a paper marking or an ink bleaching of these components 12, 14. In this regard it should be noted that the generation of additional markings such as a paper marking or an ink bleaching in the inner cover or the like can likewise be obtained in the event that the hinge 3 is transparent or translucent. A further possibility is that the data page may be transparent in the hinge attachment region and markings in the data page may be at least partially repeated in the inner cover (or visa page respectively).

[0075] These markings can be seen as additional markings 8 that are generated in the substrate 10 upon the impingement of the electromagnetic radiation, whereby the additional security element 9 is generated.

TABLE-US-00001 LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 1 secure device 2 article 3 connection element 4 data carrier 5 security element 5a, 5b part of security element 6 marking element 7 further marking element 8 additional marking element 9 additional security element 10 substrate 11 opening 12 cover 13 title page 14 visa page 15 edge region 16 edge region