Lenticular security screen production method

• US 5,034,982 A
• Filed: 01/03/1989
• Issued: 07/23/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Dittler Brothers, Inc. (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Original Assignee: Dittler Brothers, Inc. (RR Donnelley & Sons Company)
• Inventors: Heninger, Bryne E., Sullivan, Philip B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Buczinski, Stephen C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gregory, Bernarr Earl
• Application Number:
  US07/293,118
• Time in Patent Office: 931 Days
• Field of Search: 380/54, 350/130, 350/131, 350/167, 283/17, 283/73, 283/94, 283/102, 283/903, 273/139
• US Class Current: 380/54
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/27 involving lenticular arrays
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/903 Lottery ticket

Abstract

A method for producing a scrambled image for deciphering by a lenticular lens having a specific regular lineation, by exposing two photographic film negatives to two desired images and processing each film negative to form two image negatives, and by contacting and exposing one of said image negatives to a working negative through a first grating screen having the same regular lineation as the lenticular lens, to create a lineated image of said first image negative on said working negative, and then contacting and exposing the other image negative to said working negative through a second grating screen having the same regular lination as the lenticular lens, whereby said second grating screen is aligned with respect to said working negative complementary to the alignment of said first grating screen during said first contacting and exposing step such that lineated images of one negative are formed on said working negative which are parallel to and between the lineations of the image of the other image negative. The working negative is then exposed to create the desired positive scrambled lineated image.

Claims

1. A method for producing a positive image for deciphering by a lenticular lens having a specific regular lineation, comprising the steps of:

(a) exposing a first photographic film negative to a first desired image and processing said first film negative to form a first image negative;

(b) exposing a second photographic film negative to a second desired image and processing said second film negative to form a second image negative;

(c) positioning a first grating screen adjacent to and above a working negative, which grating screen contains a number of parallel transparent spaces separated from each other by a number of parallel members so that the spaces and members are disposed in an alternating fashion, each of which spaces and members is of width substantially equal to one-half the width of a lenticule in the lenticular lens;

(d) positioning said first image negative adjacent to and above the first grating screen and exposing said first image negative to the working negative through the first grating screen in order to create a lineated image of said first image negative on said working negative;

(e) positioning an second grating screen, which has members and spaces of dimensions equal to the first grating screen, so that its members substantially cover the working negative lineated image of the first negative image, and its spaces are substantially aligned with unexposed portions of the working negative;

(f) positioning said second image negative adjacent to and above the second grating screen and exposing said second image negative to said working negative through the second grating screen; and

(g) exposing said working negative to form a positive image comprising a first series of parallel panels containing portions of the first image and a second series of parallel panels containing portions of the second image, each of which panels is of substantially one-half the width of a lenticule in the lenticular lens, and which panels in the first series are disposed in an alternating fashion with the panels in the second series, so that when the lenticular lens is aligned appropriately over the positive image, one of the images can be viewed.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the positive image is a printing element for use in printing multiple copies of said image.

3. The method of claim 1 in which the steps of positioning the grating screens comprise using pin-register means.

4. The method of claim 3 in which said first grating screen is created by positioning the lenticular lens lens-side adjacent to a first film negative, exposing the lenticular lens to the first film negative and processing said first film negative, and said second grating screen is created by exposing the first grating screen to a second film negative, registered to each other by pin-register means, and processing said second film negative.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the grating screens are first created by positioning the lenticular lens lens-side adjacent to a film negative, exposing the lenticular lens to the film negative and processing said negative.

6. The method of claim 1 in which said positive image is reproduced on printed matter for purposes of providing security against counterfeit printed matter, and in which the associated lenticular lens is used to view the printed matter in order to determine whether the positive image is present and thus whether the matter is counterfeit.

7. The method of claim 6 in which at least one color overprint tint is printed over the positive image to inhibit counterfeiting through reproduction.

8. The method of claim 7 in which said overprint tint has limited reproducibility, in order to inhibit reproduction.

9. The method of claim 6 in which said printed matter comprises lottery tickets.

10. A method for producing a positive image for deciphering by a lenticular lens having a specific regular lineation, comprising the steps of:

(a) exposing a first photographic film negative to a first desired image and processing said first film negative to form a first image negative;

(b) exposing a second photographic film negative to a second desired image and processing said second film negative to form a second image negative;

(c) positioning a lenticular lens flat side adjacent to a working film negative, positioning the first image negative adjacent to the lens side of the lenticular lens, and exposing the first film negative to the working negative through the lenticular lens;

(d) positioning the lenticular lens one-half lenticule-width orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lenses, relative to the position it was in during exposure of the first image negative, and flat side adjacent to the working film negative, positioning the second image negative adjacent to the lens side of the lenticular lens, and exposing the second film negative to the working negative through the lenticular lens; and

(e) exposing said working negative to form a positive image comprising a first series of parallel panels containing portions of the first image and a second series of parallel panels containing portions of the second image, each of which panels is of substantially one-half the width of a lenticule in the lenticular lens and which panels in the first series are disposed in an alternating fashion with the panels in the second series, so that when the lenticular lens is aligned properly over the positive image, one of the images can be viewed.

11. The method of claim 10 in which said positive image is a printing element for use in printing multiple copies of said positive image.

12. The method of claim 10 in which said steps of positioning the lenticular lens comprise using pin-register means.

13. The method of claim 12 in which at least one color overprint tint is printed over the scrambled image to inhibit counterfeiting through reproduction.

14. The method of claim 10 in which said positive image is reproduced on printed matter for purposes of providing security against counterfeit printed matter, and in which the associated lenticular lens is used to view the printed matter in order to determine whether the positive image is present and thus whether the matter is counterfeit.