A PRE-LAMINATE FOR A DATAPAGE OF A SECURITY DOCUMENT AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAME

Abstract

A pre-laminate usable for forming a datapage of a security document, includes layers of different optical appearance, such as a clear window-type portion, which may be obtained on the basis of a substantially even or flat surface. Since the desired optical appearances of different areas of the pre-laminate are established in an early manufacturing stage, any process steps to be applied in a later manufacturing stage upon forming, for instance, an optical window, in a datapage, may be omitted, thereby contributing to reduced overall manufacturing costs and enhanced tamper resistance of the resulting datapage.

Claims

1. A pre-laminate for a datapage of a security document, comprising a central layer having a bottom surface and a top surface; a top layer attached to said top surface, said top layer having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion having a first optical appearance and said second portion having a second optical appearance differing from said first optical appearance; and a bottom layer attached to said bottom surface, said bottom layer having a first portion and a second portion, said first portion having a third optical appearance, said central layer, said top layer and said bottom layer forming a stacked structure with said first portion of said top layer and said first portion of said bottom layer being aligned with respect to a stacking direction of said stacked structure.

2. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein said central layer has said first optical appearance.

3. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein said first optical appearance and said second optical appearance are substantially identical.

4. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein said first portion of said top layer is laterally surrounded by said second portion of said top layer.

5. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein said first portion of said bottom layer is laterally surrounded by said second portion of said bottom layer.

6. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein said second portion of said bottom layer has said second optical appearance.

7. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein a visible light transmittance associated with said first optical appearance is higher than a visible light transmittance associated with said second optical appearance.

8. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein said first portion of said top layer and said first portion of said bottom layer have a same lateral size and shape.

9. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein said first and second portions of said top layer are formed of a same first base material.

10. The pre-laminate of claim 9, wherein said first and second portions of said bottom layer are formed of a same second base material.

11. The pre-laminate of claim 1, wherein said first and second portions of said top layer and said first and second portions of said bottom layer are formed of a same base material.

12. The pre-laminate of claim 11, wherein said central layer is formed of said same base material.

13. The datapage of claim 1, wherein said first and second portions of said top layer are flush and said first and second portions of said bottom layer are flush in said stacking direction.

14. A pre-laminate for a datapage of a security document, comprising: a stacked structure including two or more layers attached to each other, each of said two or more layers including a respective transparent portion, said transparent portions of the two of more layers being aligned in a stacking direction of said stacked structure.

15. The pre-laminate of claim 14, wherein at least one of said two or more layers comprises a non-transparent portion.

16. The pre-laminate of claim 15, wherein said at least one non-transparent portion laterally surrounds a respective one of said transparent portions.

17. The pre-laminate of claim 14, wherein at least one of said two or more layers is a transparent layer.

18. The pre-laminate of claim 15, wherein said at least one non-transparent portion and said respective one of said transparent portions are flush in said stacking direction.

19. The pre-laminate of claim 14, wherein said stacked structure comprises a central layer having a bottom surface and a top surface, a top layer attached to said top surface and a bottom layer attached to said bottom surface and wherein said central layer is transparent.

20. The pre-laminate of claim 14, wherein said two or more layers are made from a same base material.

21. A method of forming a pre-laminate of a datapage for a security document, the method comprising attaching a top layer to a top surface of a central layer, said top layer comprising a first cut-out portion; attaching a bottom layer to a bottom surface of said central layer, said bottom layer comprising a second cut-out portion, said top layer, said bottom layer and said central layer forming a stacked structure; aligning said first and second cut-out portions in a stacking direction of said stacked structure; and filling said first and second cut-out portions with a fill material having a different optical appearance compared to the remainder of said top and bottom layers.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein filling said first and second cut-out portions comprises inserting a first portion of said fill material into said cut-out portion of the top layer so as to be flush with the remainder of said top layer and inserting a second portion of said fill material into said cut-out portion of the bottom layer so as to be flush with the remainder of said bottom layer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a pre-laminate in accordance with the principles disclosed herein; and

[0032] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a top view of a datapage that is formed by using the pre-laminate of FIG. 1.

BEST MODE(S) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0033] As discussed above, the present invention is based on the concept that areas of different optical appearance may be provided in a datapage, which, according to the technique disclosed herein, is accomplished in an early manufacturing stage upon forming a desired stacked structure, which has the desired optical appearance prior to forming a continuous piece of material from the pre-laminate.

[0034] With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 further illustrative embodiments will now be described in more detail.

[0035] FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a cross-sectional view of a pre-laminate 100, which is intended to become a datapage, such as a datapage 180 of a security document 190 as shown in FIG. 2. For example, the datapage 180 may have an appropriate configuration so as to represent a part of the security document 190 in order to hold sensitive data or information, such as sensitive data of a passport, a credit card and the like. To this end the pre-laminate 100 is appropriately sized and configured for receiving any type of sensitive information that has to be carried and protected by the pre-laminate 100 when performing a lamination process so as to obtain the datapage 180 having substantially uniform material characteristics, thereby providing for high tamper-resistance, as already discussed above.

[0036] The pre-laminate 100 is typically provided in the form of a layer stack or stacked structure 110 that includes two or more individual material sheets or layers which may allow insertion of the type of desired information or data into the stacked structure 110. The data or information may then be “encapsulated” in the stacked structure 110 after performing a respective lamination process, as discussed above.

[0037] In illustrative embodiments, the stacked structure 110 comprises at least two individual material layers, such as layers 101 and 103, the optical characteristics of which may have to be adapted with respect to the overall requirements and may at least impart a desired “patterning” of the optical appearance to the pre-laminate 100. In the embodiment shown, the layer 101, which may also be indicated as a top layer, may comprise a first portion 101A that has a specific optical appearance. As discussed above, optical appearance may be defined as optical response of a specific material to an incident radiation, wherein the term “optical” in the context of the present application is to include a wavelength range of 200 nm to 1000 nm. For example, the portion 101A of the top layer 101 is formed from a specific base material, such as polycarbonate or other equivalent plastic materials, wherein certain colorants and the like may result in a specific color or optical appearance.

[0038] In one embodiment, the portion 101A is substantially opaque with respect to light of the visible range, thereby hiding any underlying areas of the stacked structure 110. It should be appreciated that a certain degree of light transmittance may be implemented by appropriately preparing the respective base material, thereby also providing the potential of adjusting a desired color. For example, the color “white” is frequently used in security documents for providing substantially non-transmissive portions of a datapage. It should be appreciated, however, that any desired color may be implemented, as long as the respective colorants to be inserted into the base material are compatible with the overall material requirements of the final datapage 180.

[0039] Furthermore, the optical appearance may be basically determined, in one embodiment, by the degree of light transmittance, without requiring a substantially total blocking of any penetrating light rays. In other cases, as also discussed above, the optical appearance is determined by any appropriate parameter, such as absorbance, reflectivity and the like, wherein respective values of one or more parameters that define the optical appearance of a specific material or portion may be determined on the basis of same test conditions or environmental conditions so that different parameter values obtained during the specific conditions represent an explicit indication of a specific optical appearance.

[0040] Consequently, the portion 101A, having a specific optical appearance that is defined by one or more appropriately selected parameters, such as transmittance and the like, imparts certain optical characteristics to the layer 101, which additionally comprises a further portion 104 of appropriate lateral dimensions, i.e., the dimensions in the horizontal direction and the direction perpendicular to the drawing plane of FIG. 1. The optical appearance of the portion 104 is different from the optical appearance of the portion 101A, thereby resulting in a specific “patterning” of the total optical appearance of layer 101, depending on the difference in optical appearances and the size, shape and position of the portion 104 with respect to the portion 101A. In one embodiment, the portion 104 is positioned within the layer 101 so as to be laterally surrounded by the portion 101A, thereby forming a window-type or island-type part of the layer 101. In one illustrative embodiment, the optical appearance of the portion 104 corresponds to increased transmittance, at least in the visible wavelength range, compared to the portion 101A, so that the portion 104 may provide a view into the stacked structure 110.

[0041] In other illustrative embodiments, the optical appearances of the portions 101A, 104 may differ due to a different optical response within a specific wavelength range, for instance, in the UV range, if considered appropriate. The portion 104 is, in one embodiment, formed so as to have substantially the same layer thickness as the portion 101A, wherein layer thickness is to be understood as the dimension of the portion 104 or 101A along a stacking direction D. In this case, the portion 104 is substantially flush with the portion 101A along the stacking direction D, thereby obtaining a substantially flat surface 101S of the layer 101.

[0042] It should be appreciated that although the portions 104 and 101A have different optical appearances, for example, different optical light transmittance for radiation in the visible wavelength range, in one illustrative embodiment, these portions are formed from the same base material, such as polycarbonate. In one illustrative embodiment, the portion 104 may be made of substantially clear polycarbonate material, while the portion 101A is formed from a substantially opaque polycarbonate material, such as a white polycarbonate and the like.

[0043] Similarly, the layer 103, also referred to as “bottom layer,” has a portion 103A of desired lateral size and shape and with an optical appearance that complies with the overall requirements of the pre-laminate 100. Furthermore, a portion 105 is formed in the layer 103 so as to have a desired lateral size and shape and to provide an optical appearance that differs from the optical appearance of the portion 103A. Basically, the same criteria apply for the portion 105 in combination with the portion 103A as discussed above in the context of the layer 101, i.e., the portions 104 and 101A.

[0044] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the lateral size and shape of the portions 104, 105 are identical and also the portions 104 and 105 are aligned along the stacking direction D.

[0045] In one illustrative embodiment, the optical appearance of the portion 105 is substantially the same as the optical appearance of the portion 104, thereby substantially imparting the same optical appearance to the pre-laminate 100 when viewed from a front side or a back side thereof. In other illustrative embodiments, the optical appearances of the portions 104 and 105 may differ from each other and may also differ from the optical appearances of the portions 101A and 103A, thereby achieving superior flexibility in adjusting the overall optical appearance of the pre-laminate 100. For example, the portions 104, 105 may differ from each other in terms of transmittance, color, response to non-visible radiation and the like. In other cases, the portions 104, 105 have a relatively high transmittance, for instance, as a substantially clear material, thereby providing see-through capabilities to the stacked structure 110. Nevertheless, even for substantially identical response to radiation in the optical wavelength range, the optical appearances of the portions 104, 105 may differ in other illustrative embodiments with respect to optical response in a non-visible wavelength range, depending on the overall requirements with respect to optical response of the pre-laminate 100.

[0046] In one illustrative embodiment, as, for instance, illustrated in FIG. 1, the pre-laminate 100 comprises at least one further layer 102 positioned, with respect to the stacking direction D, between the top layer 101 and the bottom layer 103. The layer 102 may be adapted with respect to layer thickness, lateral size and shape so as to comply with the overall requirements of the pre-laminate 100. In one illustrative embodiment, the layer 102, also referred to as a central layer, has an optical appearance that complements the optical appearances of the portions 104, 105 in order to obtain a desired total optical appearance or optical effect. In one preferred embodiment, at least a central portion (not shown) of the layer 102 has similar optical appearance, at least with respect to transmittance in the optical wavelength range, thereby providing the possibility of a see-through portion in the pre-laminate 100. A corresponding configuration may be highly advantageous in the context of security documents that require image data to be identified, while still providing for a high degree of tamper resistance, as already discussed above. For example, frequently an image of an owner of a security document or any other relevant symbols or tokens have to be identified by human eye and/or image recognition systems, while other areas of the finally obtained datapage 180 may have to respond very differently to an optical examination of the security document.

[0047] In one illustrative embodiment, the layer 102 as a whole is formed of a material having the optical appearance as required adjacent to the portions 104, 105. For example, if a high degree of transmittance is necessary at the portions 104, 105, the layer 102 may be provided in the form of a substantially clear plastic material, such as clear polycarbonate. It should be appreciated, however, that the layer 102 may basically comply with transmittance requirements, but may, however, have a different color so as to allow a further overall adaptation of optical response of the pre-laminate 100, as considered appropriate.

[0048] When forming the pre-laminate 100, depending on the overall complexity of the stacked structure 110, one layer of the structure 110 may be provided with any appropriate optical characteristics, as discussed above. For example, the layer 101 may be attached to a top surface 102T of the central layer 102 by any appropriate means, such as adhesion enhancing agents, mechanical attachments means (not shown) and the like. In one illustrative embodiment, the layer 101 is provided with a cut-out portion 101C that corresponds in position, size and shape to the portion 104. Consequently, after having attached the layer 101 to the surface 102T, an appropriate fill material, also denoted by reference numeral 104, is appropriately prepared and inserted into the cut-out portion 101C, thereby providing the desired material characteristics and optical appearance for the portion 104, as previously discussed. Furthermore, by using the fill material or portion 104, the thickness may be adapted so as to obtain the substantially flat surface 101S, as also discussed above. The fill material or portion 104 may be attached to the layers 101 and 102 by any appropriate means, such as mechanical attachment, adhesion agents and the like.

[0049] Thereafter, the layer 103 may be attached to a bottom surface 102B of the layer 102, which may be accomplished by, for instance, flipping the previously assembled layers 101 and 102 and using the same working equipment for aligning the layer 103 with respect to the layer 102, wherein, also in this case, a cut-out portion 103C may be present in the layer 103. The respective cut-out portion may be prepared at any appropriate stage of the overall manufacturing process. Also, the lateral position, size and shape of the portion 105 may be defined by the cut-out portion 103C, which may then be filled with an appropriate fill material, also denoted by the same reference numeral 105, in order to implement the required characteristics, in particular, the optical appearance of the layer 103. Moreover, the fill material or portion 105 may be attached by any appropriate means, such as mechanical attachment, adhesion agent and the like. Consequently, by appropriately selecting the position, size and shape of the cut-out portions 101C and 103C, the lateral “patterning” of the optical appearances of the pre-laminate 100, when viewed from a front side, i.e., from the layer 101, and when viewed from the back side, i.e., from the layer 103, may be appropriately adjusted, while the total optical response may also be selected on the basis of the respective fill materials or portions 104, 105. For instance, by using a substantially clear material for the portions 104, 105, and a clear material at least for the central part of the layer 102, a see-through window is obtained in the pre-laminate 100.

[0050] It should be noted that the stacked structure 110 may be formed on the basis of two layers, such as the layers 101, 103, without providing the central layer 102, or more than three layers may be provided in the stacked structure 110, if this is required by respective demands imposed on the pre-laminate 100. In this case, the optical appearance of respective parts adjacent to the portions 104, 105 are appropriately selected in order to obtain the total optical response of the portions 104, 105.

[0051] It should be further appreciated that processing the stacked structure 110 so as to have the appropriate lateral dimensions may be accomplished by preparing the layers 101, 102, 103 with appropriate dimensions in advance, or, in other cases, the stacked structure 110 may be cut into the desired dimensions after having attached at least some of the layers 101, 102, 103.

[0052] In this stage, the pre-laminate 100 may receive any further treatment so as to store thereon or therein sensitive data, security features and the like, as is necessary for the security document 190. Thereafter, the stacked structure 110, including any additional security features and sensitive data may be heat treated so as to form a laminated material, which, in some illustrative embodiments, may have substantially flat outer surface areas due to the surfaces 101S and 103S of the pre-laminate 100. Consequently, the resulting datapage 180 may exhibit superior surface characteristics and, therefore, increased tamper resistance, while still providing for a desired optical appearance, such as a window-type appearance, due to the portions 104, 105 and, if provided, any further materials of appropriate optical appearance, such as the layer 102.

[0053] FIG. 2 illustrates the security document 190 in top view with the datapage 180 formed by using the pre-laminate 100, as discussed above. In the embodiment shown, the datapage 180 includes a window-type portion 184 having the optical appearance as determined by the pre-laminate 100, as explained above. For example, the portion 184 may represent a see-through portion with high transparency, when respective portions of the pre-laminate, such as the portions 104, 105 and possibly other portions of further layers, such as the layer 102, have been provided with a desired high degree of optical transmittance. On the other hand, a remaining portion 181A of the datapage may be opaque. It should be appreciated, however, that the portions 184 and 181A may have any desired optical appearances as long as the respective optical appearances of the portions 181A and 184 differ from each other. Similarly, the lateral shape, the size and position may be adjusted depending on the requirements of the security document under consideration.