Identification card and a method of producing same

• US 4,597,593 A
• Filed: 04/19/1984
• Issued: 07/01/1986
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GAO Gesellschaft Fur Automation und Organisation mbH Euckenstrasse 12 8000 Munchen 70 German Federal Republic
• Original Assignee: GAO Gesellschaft Fur Automation und Organisation mbH
• Inventors: Maurer, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Bell, Paul A.
• Application Number:
  US06/602,079
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 283/75, 283/77, 283/85, 283/91, 283/107, 283/112, 283/904, 346/76 L
• US Class Current: 283/94
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/00 Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof printing processes to produce identification or security features B41M3/14
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/23 Identity cards
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/324 Reliefs
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/337 Guilloche patterns
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/41 using electromagnetic radiation B42D25/435 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/425 by deformation, e.g. embossing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/904 Credit card

Abstract

An identification card with high-embossed data, in which the high-embossed data are superimposed by a security pattern which is inscribed in the identification card by means of a laser beam recorder. The security pattern may be present, for example, only on the high-embossed data themselves or else cover a larger area of the card. Attempted back-embossing of the high-embossed data is immediately recognizable due to distortion of the security pattern.

Claims

1. An identification card comprising high-embossed alphanumeric characters formed of card material capable of being used as a printing block, wherein the surface of the card has locally embossed areas corresponding to the characters and intermediate areas between said locally embossed areas and non-embossed card areas at which the surface of the card is inclined with respect to the plane of the card;

a security pattern inscribed by a laser beam recorder on the card material in the area of the card including the embossed characters, said security pattern appearing as a change of color in the card material, said security pattern extending over intermediate and non-embossed areas of the card in such a manner that, when observed normally with respect to the card plane, the security pattern appears free of distortion.

2. An identification card as claimed in claim 1, wherein the security pattern comprises parallel lines.

3. An identification card as in claim 1, wherein the security pattern is a guilloche pattern.

4. An identification card as in claim 1, wherein the security pattern comprises characters in the form of microwriting.

5. An identification card as in claim 4, wherein the microwriting contains current data on the owner of the identification card.