Decorative foil

• US 20040076802A1
• Filed: 06/13/2003
• Published: 04/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OVD Kinegram AG (Leonhard KURZ Stiftung & Company KG)
• Original Assignee: OVD Kinegram AG (Leonhard KURZ Stiftung & Company KG)
• Inventors: Tompkin, Wayne Robert, Staub, Rene
• Granted Patent: US 7,078,090 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/174
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/04 Transparent material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 2033/10 Metallic material
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/324 Reliefs
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/328 Diffraction gratings; Holograms
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/346 Perforations
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/351 Translucent or partly translucent parts, e.g. windows
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/373 Metallic materials
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/41 using electromagnetic radiation B42D25/435 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/45 Associating two or more layers
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0011 for security or authentication holograms on information-bearing cards B42D25/328; testing papers with holograms G07D7/0032
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0244 Surface relief holograms replicating hologram without interference recording G03H1/0276
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0256 having specific functional layer
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2250/34 Colour layer
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2250/36 Conform enhancement layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/916 Fraud or tamper detecting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24355 Continuous and nonuniform or irregular surface on layer or component [e.g., roofing, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24479 including variation in thickness
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24628 Nonplanar uniform thickness material
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24868 Translucent outer layer
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24876 : Intermediate layer contains particulate material [e.g., pigment, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24909 : Free metal or mineral containing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24917 : including metal layer

Abstract

A decorative foil is in the form of a layer composite structure (1) and comprises at least a transparent base foil (2), a transparent cover layer (4) and a transparent dielectric layer (3) arranged between the base foil (2) and the cover layer (4). When the decorative foil serves as a lamination foil for a substrate (5) the material of the cover layer (4) is an adhesive. A reflective metallic layer (6) is arranged at least in surface portions between the dielectric layer (3) and the cover layer (4) and optionally a metal film (11) is also arranged on the side of the dielectric layer (3) facing the base foil (2). General items of information shown by the decorative foil are produced by means of modulation of the thickness (s) of the dielectric layer (3). Transparent locations (7) form individual items of information, wherein the transparent locations (7) are produced with a laser beam (19) by perforating the metal layer (6; 11). Besides being used as a lamination foil the decorative foil can also be used as a packaging foil.

Claims

1. A decorative foil with a layer composite structure (1) comprising at least a transparent base foil (2), a transparent cover layer (4) and a transparent dielectric layer (3) arranged between the base foil (2) and the cover layer (4), characterised in that a metallic layer (6) is arranged between the dielectric layer (3) and the cover layer (4) at least in surface portions (7) and provided between the dielectric layer (3) and the base foil (2) is a first interface (13) in which the refractive index abruptly changes.

2. A decorative foil as set forth in claim 1 characterised in that the cover layer (4) is adapted for glueing the layer composite structure (1) on to a substrate (5).

3. A decorative foil as set forth in claim 1 or claim 2 characterised in that a metal film (11) is arranged between the dielectric layer (3) and the base foil (2) at least in regions of the metallic layer (6).

4. A decorative foil as set forth in claim 3 characterised in that the metal film (11) comprises a metal from the group of aluminum, silver, gold, chromium, copper and tellurium.

5. A decorative foil as set forth in claim 3 or claim 4 characterised in that the metal film (11) is of a transparency of at least 50%.

6. A decorative foil as set forth in one of claims 1 through 5 characterised in that the metallic layer (6) comprises a metal from the group of aluminum, silver, gold, chromium, copper and tellurium.

7. A decorative foil as set forth in claim 6 characterised in that the metallic layer (6) is of a layer thickness in the range of between 50 nm and 300 nm.

8. A decorative foil as set forth in one of claims 1 through 7 characterised in that the layer composite structure (1) additionally has a transparent thermoplastic lacquer layer (10) between the first interface (13) and the base foil (2).

9. A decorative foil as set forth in one of claims 1 through 8 characterised in that the dielectric layer (3) comprises one of the transparent dielectrics of the group MgF₂, ZnO, TiO₂, SiO, SiO₂, ZnS or a chalcogenide substance.

10. A decorative foil as set forth in claim 9 characterised in that the thickness (s) of the dielectric layer (3) is less than 300 nm.

11. A decorative foil as set forth in one of claims 1 through 10 characterised in that the thickness (s) of the dielectric layer (3) is a function of the location and changes over the surface of the layer composite structure (1) with a gradient in respect of the thickness (s) of between 2 nm/cm and 250 nm/cm.

12. A decorative foil as set forth in claim 10 or claim 11 characterised in that the thickness (s) of the dielectric layer (3) is modulated periodically at least in a direction (z) over the surface of the layer composite structure (1).

13. A decorative foil as set forth in one of claims 1 through 12 characterised in that the dielectric layer (3) in partial regions has a light (12)-diffracting, microscopically fine relief structure of a surface pattern (27) at the first interface (13) towards the base foil (2) and/or at a second interface (14) towards the cover layer (4).

14. A decorative foil as set forth in one of the preceding claims characterised in that at least the metallic layer (6) is perforated in a raster, in a dot and/or line pattern or in the form of alphanumeric characters (33) and emblems (34), in such a way that the layer composite structure (1) is transparent at said locations.