Compound film for an identity card with a humanly visible authenticity feature

• US 6,179,338 B1
• Filed: 06/28/1999
• Issued: 01/30/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GAO Gesellschaft Fur Automation und Organisation mbH
• Original Assignee: GAO Gesellschaft Fur Automation und Organisation mbH
• Inventors: Bergmann, Matthias, Riedl, Joseph, Krusche, Reinhard, Henkenschuh, Horst
• Primary Examiner(s): Fridie, Jr., Willmon
• Application Number:
  US09/344,973
• Time in Patent Office: 582 Days
• Field of Search: 283/86, 283/109, 283/111, 283/72, 283/85, 283/87, 283/91, 283/117, 283/74, 283/75
• US Class Current: 283/86
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/41 using electromagnetic radiation B42D25/435 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/083 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/18 Constructional details

Abstract

A multilayer data carrier is described which bears general printed data and furthermore has a transparent layer containing additives which are absorbent for a laser beam. The transparent layer is designed so that it exists in the card compound as a thin, nonself-supporting layer.

Claims

1. A compound film (26) suitable for the manufacture of a multilayer data carrier (1), said data carrier comprising said compound film and at least one additional layer, wherein the compound film comprises a plurality of coextruded layers and has at least one transparent layer (27, 39) which is sensitized by laser beam absorbing additives so that information in the form of local alterations of optical properties of the transparent layer can be introduced into the transparent layer by subjecting the transparent layer to the energy of a laser beam to change the color of the transparent layer;

and wherein said laser beam sensitized transparent layer is thin as compared to said at least one additional layer of the data carrier.

2. A compound film according to claim 1 wherein the laser beam sensitized transparent layer (27, 39) is a nonself-supporting layer and wherein an additional layer forms a carrier layer for said laser beam sensitized transparent layer.

3. A compound film according to claim 2, wherein the nonself-supporting transparent layer has a thickness of 5 to 50 microns.

4. A compound film according to claim 2, wherein the coextruded compound film (26) comprises said nonself-supporting, laser beam sensitized transparent layer (27) and two additional transparent layers (28, 29), the nonself-supporting laser beam sensitized transparent layer being arranged between the additional transparent layers.

5. A compound film according to claim 2, characterized in that the nonself-supporting laser beam sensitized transparent layer comprises a plurality of individual layers containing different additives or differing amounts of additives.

6. A compound film according to claim 1 wherein the compound film comprises a plurality of laser beam sensitized transparent layers (30, 32, 32) with different degrees of sensitization.

7. A compound film according to claim 5, wherein the individual nonself-supporting transparent layers (34, 36) are separated by additional transparent layers (37).

8. A compound film according to claim 1, wherein the layers of the compound film (26) are formed from a plurality of different film materials.