Document protection methods and products

• US 5,788,285 A
• Filed: 06/19/1996
• Issued: 08/04/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Adlertech International, Inc., Estate Of Ralph C. Wicker
• Original Assignee: Ray Maxon
• Inventors: Wicker, Thomas M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fridie, Jr., Willmon
• Application Number:
  US08/666,006
• Time in Patent Office: 776 Days
• Field of Search: 283/93, 283/91, 283/902, 283/58, 359/566, 359/568, 359/569, 359/567, 359/577
• US Class Current: 283/93
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 3/146 using a non human-readable pattern which becomes visible on reproduction, e.g. a void mark
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 285/902 Canted ring

Abstract

A method and product for making non-reproducible documents, in which a nearly invisible indicia on the document is printed by continuous screened lines of a desired pitch, and a background that will not reproduce by copying that is formed by orthogonal reproduction of positive/negative images of continuous lines to produce broken lines of a desired width and pitch.

Claims

1. A press printed document which is counterfeit resistant to known electronical optical copiers and scanners, comprising a print surface;

a first indicia printed on at least a portion of the print surface and formed by a set of continuous lines of substantially uniform pitch throughout the first indicia;

a second indicia printed on at least a portion of the print surface adjacent to the first indicia and formed by a set of broken lines of substantially uniform pitch throughout the second indicia, each broken line defined by a plurality of coaxial short line segments of substantially equal width and equal length and by spaces between the short line segments the spaces being of substantially equal length and each of which has a length within a range from about 10% to about 45% of the length of each of the short line segments;

in which the continuous lines are at angles to the broken lines and in which the copiers and scanners substantially reproduce the first indicia but not the second indicia.

2. The document according to claim 1 in which the continuous lines are of the same width as the coaxial short line segments.

3. The document according to claim 1 in which the length of the spaces between adjacent short line segments of each broken line is approximately equal to the width of the short line segments.

4. The document according to claim 1 in which each of the continuous lines has a width from about 0.0005 inches to about 0.015 inches.

5. The document according to claim 1 in which the uniform pitch of the set of broken lines is from about 50 lines per inch to about 200 lines per inch.

6. The document according to claim 1 in which the ratio in the width of the short line segments to the width of the continuous lines is from about 1:

1 to about 1;

6.

7. The document according to claim 1 in which the continuous lines have a uniform width from about 0.0015 inches to about 0.008 inches.

8. The document according to claim 1 in which the uniform pitch of the broken lines is from about 75 lines per inch to about 140 lines per inch.

9. The document according to claim 1 in which the ratio in the width of the short line segments to the width of the continuous lines is from about 1:

1 to about 1;

2.

10. The document according to claim 1 in which continuous lines are printed in up to four orthogonal angles of about five, forty-five, ninety-five and one-hundred thirty-five degrees relative to a vertical axis of the document.

11. A press printed document which is counterfeit resistant to known optical copiers and scanners, having a print surface and comprising:

a. a first indicia printed on at least a portion of the print surface and formed by a plurality of continuous printed lines of substantially uniform pitch throughout the indicia, each of the continuous lines having substantially the same width in which the width is between about 0.0005 inches to about 0.015 inches;

b. a second indicia printed on at least a portion of the print surface and formed by a plurality of broken lines, the lines having a substantially uniform pitch throughout the second indicia within the range from about 50 lines per inch to about 200 lines per inch, in which each broken line is defined by a plurality of coaxial printed short line segments of substantially equal width and substantially equal length and unprinted spaces between the short line segments in which each of the spaces is approximately equal in dimension to the width of the short line segments;

c. the continuous lines being printed at angles to the broken lines and the ratio in the width of the short line segments to the width of the continuous lines being from about 1;

1 to about 1;

6; and

d. in which known copiers and scanners substantially reproduce only the continuous lines.

12. The document according to claim 11 in which continuous lines are printed in up to four orthogonal angles of about five, forth-five, ninety-five and one hundred thirty-five degrees relative to a vertical axis of the document.