Tamper indicating optical security device
First Claim
1. A tamper indicating security device which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements and at least one layer containing microstructured image elements, the focusing element and image element layers configured such that when the at least one layer containing image elements is viewed through the at least one layer containing focusing elements, one or more synthetic images are produced, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates between layers or within a layer when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,wherein the microstructured image elements are in the form of:
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
(b) raised areas or shaped posts;
or (c) a combination of (a) and (b).
7 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A tamper indicating optical security device that operates to produce one or more synthetic images is provided. Any attempt to detach (e.g., forcibly remove) this device from an underlying base material will cause one or more layers of the security device to separate or delaminate, rending the device partially or totally inoperable. The inventive device is contemplated for use with, among other things, currency or banknotes, secure documents such as bonds, checks, travelers checks, identification cards, lottery tickets, passports, postage stamps, and stock certificates, as well as non-secure documents such as stationery items and labels. The inventive device is also contemplated for use with consumer goods as well as bags or packaging used with consumer goods.
203 Citations
81 Claims
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1. A tamper indicating security device which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements and at least one layer containing microstructured image elements, the focusing element and image element layers configured such that when the at least one layer containing image elements is viewed through the at least one layer containing focusing elements, one or more synthetic images are produced, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates between layers or within a layer when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the microstructured image elements are in the form of: - (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
(b) raised areas or shaped posts;
or (c) a combination of (a) and (b). - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
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39. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates between layers or within a layer when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the focusing elements are reflective focusing elements or focusing reflectors, wherein the image elements are in the form of: - (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
(b) raised areas or shaped posts;
or (c) a combination of (a) and (b). - View Dependent Claims (40)
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
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41. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates between layers or within a layer when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the focusing elements are hybrid refractive/reflective focusing elements, wherein the image elements are in the form of: - (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
(b) raised areas or shaped posts;
or (c) a combination of (a) and (b).
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
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42. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the image elements are microstructures in the form of voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate.
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44. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the image elements are microstructures in the form of raised areas or shaped posts.
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46. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the optical film material comprises two or more focusing element layers that form two or more synthetic images, wherein when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, the device produces a reduced number of synthetic images.
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47. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the optical film material comprises two or more image element layers, the focusing elements forming two or more synthetic images, wherein when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, the device produces a reduced number of synthetic images.
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48. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the optical film material comprises one optical spacer or spacer layer located between and adhered to the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, wherein separation or delamination of the security device occurs between the at least one focusing element layer and the optical spacer or spacer layer of the optical film material when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material.
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49. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the optical film material comprises one optical spacer or spacer layer located between and adhered to the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, wherein separation or delamination of the security device occurs between the optical spacer or spacer layer and the at least one image element layer of the optical film material when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material.
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50. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates between layers or within a layer when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the optical film material comprises two optical spacer or spacer layers that are adhered together by a primer or adhesive layer, the two optical spacer or spacer layers located between and adhered to the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, wherein the image elements are in the form of: - (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
(b) raised areas or shaped posts;
or (c) a combination of (a) and (b). - View Dependent Claims (51, 52, 53, 54)
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
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55. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the optical film material comprises two optical spacer or spacer layers that are adhered together by a primer or adhesive layer, the two optical spacer or spacer layers located between and adhered to the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, wherein separation or delamination of the security device occurs between one optical spacer or spacer layer and the primer or adhesive layer of the optical film material when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material.
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56. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the optical film material further comprises one or more bond weakening layers located between and adhered to at least one of the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer.
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64. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates between layers or within a layer when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the focusing elements are reflective focusing elements or focusing reflectors, and wherein the security device further comprises a reflective layer located on the focusing reflectors, wherein the image elements are in the form of: - (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
(b) raised areas or shaped posts;
or (c) a combination of (a) and (b).
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
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65. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the focusing elements are reflective focusing elements or focusing reflectors, and wherein the security device further comprises a reflective layer located on the focusing reflectors, wherein interlayer failure is designed to occur between the reflective layer and the focusing reflectors.
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66. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, with the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
which further comprises one or more stiffening layers applied to the one or more image element layers of the optical film material.
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69. A method for revealing or indicating tampering with a security device adhered or bonded to a base material when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, wherein the security device comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing microstructured image elements, and at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the method comprising increasing the ability of one or more layers in the optical film material to concentrate applied or induced stress such that when an attempt is made to detach the security device from the base material, the one or more layers will separate between layers or within a layer, rendering the security device partially or totally inoperable, thereby indicating that tampering has occurred,
wherein the microstructured image elements are in the form of: - (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
(b) raised areas or shaped posts;
or (c) a combination of (a) and (b).
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
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70. A method for causing a security device that is adhered or bonded to a base material to separate between layers or within a layer when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, wherein the security device comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, and at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, wherein the image elements are in the form of:
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
(b) raised areas or shaded posts;
or (c) a combination of (a) and (b), the method comprising one or more of the following steps;(a) increasing or decreasing the stiffness, bond strength, or crosslink density of one or more layers or interfaces of the security device relative to remaining layers or interfaces of the security device; (b) incorporating stress inducing components into one or more layers of the security device; and (c) introducing a bond weakening layer at an interface between two layers of the security device.
- (a) voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate;
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71. A method for causing a security device that is adhered or bonded to a base material to separate or delaminate when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, wherein the security device comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, and at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the method comprising one or more of the following steps:
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(a) increasing or decreasing the stiffness, bond strength, or crosslink density of one or more layers or interfaces of the security device relative to remaining layers or interfaces of the security device; (b) incorporating stress inducing components into one or more layers of the security device; and (c) introducing a bond weakening layer at an interface between two layers of the security device, wherein the stiffness and crosslink density of one or more layers of the security device is increased by (a) increasing exposure of either the security device, or one or more layers of the security device to radiation during manufacture, or (b) increasing exposure of either the security device, or one or more layers of the security device to radiation once the device is in place on a base material.
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72. A method for causing a security device that is adhered or bonded to a base material to separate or delaminate when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, wherein the security device comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements, at least one layer containing image elements, and at least one optical spacer or spacer layer positioned between the at least one focusing element layer and the at least one image element layer, the at least one focusing element layer being disposed a substantially uniform distance from the at least one image element layer, the focusing elements forming one or more synthetic images of at least a portion of the image elements, the method comprising one or more of the following steps:
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(a) increasing or decreasing the stiffness, bond strength, or crosslink density of one or more layers or interfaces of the security device relative to remaining layers or interfaces of the security device; (b) incorporating stress inducing components into one or more layers of the security device; and (c) introducing a bond weakening layer at an interface between two layers of the security device, wherein stress inducing components are incorporated into the one or more layers of the security device, the stress inducing components being selected from the group of those components that shrink or evolve gas upon curing, those components that swell when exposed to certain liquids or gases, and those components that undergo a phase change or phase separation with a change in temperature. - View Dependent Claims (73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
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80. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements and at least one layer containing microstructured image elements, the focusing element and image element layers configured such that when the at least one layer containing image elements is viewed through the at least one layer containing focusing elements, one or more synthetic images are produced, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the microstructured image elements are in the form of voids or recesses in a polymeric substrate.
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81. A tamper indicating security device, which comprises an optical film material that is made up of at least one layer containing focusing elements and at least one layer containing microstructured image elements, the focusing element and image element layers configured such that when the at least one layer containing image elements is viewed through the at least one layer containing focusing elements, one or more synthetic images are produced, the device being adhered or bonded to a base material, wherein the device separates or delaminates when an attempt is made to detach the device from the base material, rendering the device partially or totally inoperable,
wherein the microstructured image elements are in the form of raised areas or shaped posts.
Specification