DE102013015689A1 - Strip-shaped endless foil and its use - Google Patents

Abstract

A strip-shaped endless film having a front side and a back side, wherein the front side has a plurality of security elements, which are spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless foil and are each designed as a detachable from the endless foil transfer element for application to a security paper or a valuable item and each security element Starting from the front side of the endless film, a functional layer with length F having a security feature and a layer of hot-melt adhesive having the length H arranged above the functional layer, the lengths F and H being respectively related to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film and the relationship F <H meet and the functional layer having a security feature and the layer of hot-melt adhesive are such that the functional layer U-shaped surrounded by the layer of heat-seal adhesive is.

Description

The invention relates to a strip-shaped endless film with a plurality of security elements, each of which is designed as removable from the endless foil transfer element for application to a security paper, a valuable item or the like. The invention further relates to the use of the strip-shaped endless foil for securing a security paper or a valuable item.

Valuables, such as branded goods or documents of value, are often provided with security elements for the purpose of security, which allow verification of the authenticity of the object of value and at the same time serve as protection against unauthorized reproduction. Valuables for the purposes of this invention are in particular banknotes, shares, identity cards, credit cards, health cards, bonds, certificates, vouchers, checks, high-quality admission tickets, but also other papers that are subject to counterfeiting, such as passports and other identity documents, as well as product security elements such as labels, seals, packaging, Branded articles and the like. The term valuable item includes hereinafter all such items, documents and product protection means. The term security paper is understood as the precursor to a value document which can not yet be processed. The term security paper also includes paper-like substrates, eg. As plastic substrates or multi-layer substrates, such as a plastic / paper / plastic substrate or a paper / plastic / paper substrate, a.

A security element is usually with a security feature having functional layer, for. As a hologram or an optically variable coating provided. It is particularly useful if the security element by means of an adhesive, for. B. by means of a heat sealing lacquer, is glued to the valuables or the security paper. Such a security element is z. As a patch, in particular a hologram patch.

The security element is usually provided together with other security elements on a serving as a carrier, strip-shaped continuous foil and transferred from there to the surface of a security paper or a valuable item. Since the carrier film is removed in the application of the security element on the security paper or on the object of value from the surface of the security element, hereinafter the term (endless) transfer film or (endless) transfer belt and instead of the term security element of the term Term transfer element used.

A strip-shaped endless film is provided as a roll product, d. H. as an endless belt wound on a roll, so to speak, wherein the endless film is of course not endless and thus infinitely long, but in particular has a length in the range of kilometers.

Machines for applying security elements to the surface of a security paper or a valuable item are commercially available, e.g. B. OptiNota H ^® König & Bauer AG. Such a device allows the exact fit or register accurate application of security elements in the form of film strips on paper sheets. The film strip is applied by bringing a certain portion of the strip-shaped endless foil (hereinafter referred to as "foil strip section") into contact with a heatable roll and thus heating it. The heating results in softening of the heat sealing lacquer present on the surface of the foil strip section. The film strip section is then bonded to the paper sheet by means of the molten heat seal lacquer.

The foil strip section described in the preceding paragraph simultaneously defines the two breaklines at which the security element structure ruptures. All layers above the carrier film in the security element structure, in particular an embossing lacquer layer, tear during detachment or removal of the carrier film at the point at which the endless film did not come into contact with the heated roller.

In practice, it has been found that the hot roll application of thermoplastic embossing-based films is not a problem. However, in the case of UV varnish-based embossing varnish films, due to the brittleness of the UV varnish, tearing occurred in the course of the rupture described in the preceding paragraph. The term "tinsel formation" refers to the detachment of dust, crumbs and chip-shaped parts from the cut surface. The baubles are formed when the UV varnish breaks and have a disruptive effect on the subsequent processing steps during (value-document) printing. In particular, when depositing flakes on printing rollers within printing presses, disturbances in the printed image may occur.

The UV varnish within a foil strip applied to a paper sheet must be broken after application at the beginning and at the end of the paper sheet. A clean, smooth breaking of the UV lacquer by means of laser cutting is not possible in the case of a transfer film, because in addition the carrier foil has to be removed.

Based on this, the object of the present invention is to provide a strip-shaped endless foil which is improved over the prior art and its use for securing a security paper or a valuable article. This object is achieved by the feature combinations defined in the independent claims. The feature combinations defined in the dependent claims represent preferred embodiments.

Summary of the invention

• 1. (First aspect of the invention) Strip-shaped endless film having a front side and a back side, the front side having a plurality of security elements spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film and each being removable from the endless film transfer element for application to a security paper or a valuable article are formed and each security element viewed from the front side of the endless film has a security feature functional layer with the length F and a layer above the functional layer layer of heat-seal adhesive with the length H, wherein the lengths F and H respectively to the longitudinal direction the strip-shaped endless film are related and satisfy the relationship F <H and the functional layer having a security feature and the layer of hot-seal adhesive are such that the functional layer is U-shaped from the ski It is surrounded by heat seal adhesive. The difference "H - F" is preferably up to 20 millimeters. The continuous foil serving as a carrier of security elements is preferably based on a PET film.
• 2. (Preferred embodiment) strip-shaped endless film according to paragraph 1, wherein the functional feature having a functional feature layer viewed from the front side of the endless film an embossing lacquer layer with the length L, which has a planar diffraction structure, and a primer layer with the length P arranged above the embossing lacquer layer wherein the lengths L and P are respectively related to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film and satisfy the relationship L <P <H and the embossing lacquer layer and the primer layer are such that the embossing lacquer layer is U-shaped surrounded by the primer layer and the primer layer U-shaped is surrounded by the layer of heat-seal adhesive. The embossing lacquer layer is preferably a UV lacquer. The embossing lacquer layer may also have a metallization. The difference "P - L" is preferably up to 10 millimeters. The difference "H - P" is preferably up to 10 millimeters.
• 3. (Preferred Embodiment) Strip-shaped endless film according to paragraph 1 or 2, wherein a continuous separating layer is arranged between the endless foil and the plurality of security elements.
• 4. (Preferred Embodiment) Strip-shaped endless film according to paragraph 1 or 2, wherein between the endless film and the plurality of security elements, a discontinuous separation layer is arranged with separate separation layer areas.
• 5. (Preferred embodiment) Strip-shaped endless film according to paragraph 1, wherein between the endless foil and the plurality of security elements, a discontinuous separation layer is arranged with separate separation layer areas, so that each security element at each of its two perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film ends exactly one separation layer Each separating layer region with the functional layer and the layer of heat-sealable adhesive each forms a common interface.
• 6. (Preferred embodiment) Strip-shaped endless film according to paragraph 2, wherein between the endless foil and the plurality of security elements, a discontinuous separation layer is arranged with separate separation layer areas, so that each security element at each of its two perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film ends exactly one separation layer Each separating layer region with the embossing lacquer layer, the primer layer and the layer of hot-seal adhesive each forms a common interface.
• 7. (Second aspect of the invention) Use of the strip-shaped endless film according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 6 for securing a security paper or a valuable item.

Detailed description of the invention

The invention will be described below on the basis of exemplary embodiments ( 2 B . 2c . 2d . 2e . 3 and 4 ). 1 and 2a refer to a comparative example. For the sake of better clarity, a representation true to scale and proportion is dispensed with in the figures.

Show it:

1 a schematic representation of a paper sheet have been applied to the transfer ribbon strip according to the prior art;

2a a schematic representation of the layer structure of a transfer film according to the prior art;

2 B a schematic representation of the layer structure of a transfer film according to a first embodiment of the invention;

2c a schematic representation of the layer structure of a transfer film according to a second embodiment of the invention;

2d a schematic representation of the layer structure of a transfer film according to a third embodiment of the invention;

2e a schematic representation of the layer structure of a transfer film according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;

3 a schematic representation of a paper sheet, have been applied to the inventive transfer film strip according to the first embodiment;

4 a section of the transfer film according to the first embodiment of the invention.

1 shows a schematic representation of a paper sheet 1 , on the four transfer film strips 2 have been applied according to the prior art. The paper sheet shown in the figure 1 can in subsequent steps z. B. by screen, flexo and intaglio printing and finally to a variety of documents of value, especially banknotes cut. The applied transfer film strips 2 come from a strip-shaped endless foil. Applying the transfer ribbon strips 2 was carried out in that defined sections of the strip-shaped endless foil came into contact with a heated roll and were heated in this way. The heating resulted in softening of the heat sealing lacquer present on the surface of the defined film strip sections. The foil strip sections were then replaced by the molten heat sealing lacquer with the paper sheet 1 bonded.

The Indian 1 shown transfer ribbon strips 2 contains in its layer structure, inter alia, a continuous or continuous UV embossing lacquer layer. Due to its brittleness, the UV varnish tends to form baubles. Like from the left of the paper sheet 1 shown enlargement of the section "A", it comes to unclean break lines and breakouts or flutter 3 , The baubles 3 occur when breaking the UV varnish and affect the printability of the paper sheet 1 in the subsequent printing process.

2a shows a schematic representation of the layer structure of a strip-shaped endless foil 4 according to the prior art, which in the in the 1 Comparative example shown was used. The endless foil 4 contains a carrier foil 5 , in the present case a PET film. Above the carrier foil 5 are in turn a UV embossing lacquer layer 6 , a primer layer 7 and a heat sealing lacquer layer 8th , Characteristic of the layer structure of the strip-shaped endless foil 4 According to the prior art, each of the UV lacquer layer, primer layer and heat seal lacquer layer is in the form of a continuous layer. On the section of the endless film described by the term "cold" 4 finds no connection of the adhesive 8th with the paper instead, so within this section the layers 6 . 7 and 8th on the carrier foil 5 remain. On the sections of the endless foil described by the term "heat" 4 however, there is a connection of the adhesive 8th with the paper instead, so within those sections the layers 6 . 7 and 8th be applied to the paper and later from serving as a transfer film carrier film 5 be replaced.

The two in the 2a to 2e shown vertical straight lines 14 illustrate the predetermined breaklines within the on the carrier sheet 5 existing security element layer construction. In the places of the break edges, among other things, the UV varnish 6 be broken what the in the 1 shown baubles 3 entails.

2 B shows a schematic representation of the layer structure of a strip-shaped endless foil 9 according to a first embodiment of the invention. In the endless foil 9 is the UV embossing lacquer layer 6 , the primer layer 7 and the heat sealing lacquer layer 8th each left out. By eliminating the UV varnish 6 a breakage of the UV varnish and thus the tinsel formation is prevented. The production of endless foil 9 done by providing the carrier film 5 (eg a PET film) and printing on the carrier film 5 with a UV varnish layer 6 that has recesses. Subsequently, successively a primer layer 7 and a heat sealing lacquer layer 8th imprinted, each having recesses. The primer layer 7 has larger dimensions than the UV varnish 6 , The heat sealing lacquer layer 8th again has larger dimensions than the primer layer 7 ,

2c shows a schematic representation of the layer structure of a strip-shaped endless foil 10 according to a second embodiment of the invention. The endless foil 10 has a continuous or continuous separation layer or release layer 11 on that the peeling off of the layers 6 . 7 and 8th having security element layer structure of the carrier film 5 facilitated. The production of endless foil 10 done by providing the carrier film 5 and full-surface printing of the carrier film 5 with a release layer 11 , This is followed by printing on the release layer 11 with a UV varnish layer 6 that has recesses. Subsequently, successively a primer layer 7 and a heat sealing lacquer layer 8th imprinted, each having recesses. The primer layer 7 has larger dimensions than the UV varnish 6 , The heat sealing lacquer layer 8th again has larger dimensions than the primer layer 7 , The release layer 11 prevents a connection of the primer layer 7 and the heat sealing lacquer layer 8th with the carrier foil 5 , In this way, after sticking to the paper, ie after the heat-sealing operation, the paper does not crack because of the primer 7 no direct contact with the film 5 has. Compared with the dimensions of the UV varnish 6 have the primer 7 and the heat sealing lacquer 8th each larger dimensions. This "lengthy sticking" of the primer 7 or the heat sealing lacquer 8th opposite the UV varnish 6 is expediently in an area in which, due to the machine still to a sticking to the paper, ie, comes to a heat sealing.

2d shows a schematic representation of the layer structure of a strip-shaped endless foil 12 according to a third embodiment of the invention. Compared with that in the 2c the embodiment shown is the release layer or release layer 13 not continuous or continuous, but formed discontinuously. In some cases, only a good initial peel (ie, a good "initial release") of the UV varnish 6 , the primer 7 and the heat sealing varnish 8th having security element layer structure of the carrier film 5 be ensured and sticking the primer 7 with the carrier foil 5 be prevented. In these cases, it is sufficient, the release layer 13 according to the 2d only apply in a small area. In the 2d are the separate interface areas 13 arranged so that each security element at each of its two perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film ends has exactly one interface region. In the in 2d As shown, the separating layer arranged between two adjacent security elements has a recess.

2e shows a schematic representation of the layer structure of a strip-shaped endless foil 12 according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. The fourth embodiment is a modification of the third embodiment. Also in this example is the release layer or release layer 13 not continuous or continuous, but formed discontinuously. The separate interface areas 13 are arranged so that each security element has at each of its two perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film ends exactly one interface region. Unlike in the 2d As shown, the separating layer arranged between two adjacent security elements has no recess, ie the separating layer arranged between two adjacent security elements is formed continuously. The dimension of the separating layer, which is increased in comparison to the third exemplary embodiment, is advantageous because the separating layer can be produced more easily by printing on the film by printing technology.

3 shows a schematic representation of a paper sheet 15 , on the four transfer film strips 16 according to the above, in connection with 2 B described first embodiment have been applied. The applied transfer film strips 16 come from a strip-shaped endless foil. The endless film is composed of repeating units, each in the 4 have shown construction.

As the 4 shows, contains the carrier film 5 in each repeat unit, a functional layer having a security feature, in the present case a UV embossing lacquer layer 6 having a planar diffraction structure. Above the embossing lacquer layer 6 is a primer layer 7 arranged. The UV embossing lacquer layer 6 and the primer layer 7 are designed so that the UV embossing lacquer layer 6 U-shaped from the primer layer 7 is surrounded. The primer layer 7 in turn, is U-shaped from the layer of heat seal adhesive 8th surround.

The term "U-shaped surrounding of a layer" is to be understood in the present description as meaning that the relevant layer is surrounded on three sides in the form of a rectangle by a further layer. The rectangle may or may not necessarily have a regular geometry, i. H. have orthogonal interior angles. It may also be a rectangle-like layer structure, the z. B. takes the form of a trapezoid, in particular the shape of an isosceles trapezoid.

The advantageous effect of the present invention has been described in the preceding embodiments in the context of the tinsel-forming UV embossing lacquer layer. However, the invention is not limited to transfer elements with a UV embossing lacquer layer, but is suitable for all transfer elements which include a tiling-prone functional layer having a security feature.

Claims (7)

Strip-shaped endless foil with a front and a back, with the front a plurality of security elements, which are arranged spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless foil and are each designed as a detachable from the endless foil transfer element for application to a security paper or a valuable item and each security element viewed from the front of the endless film ago seen a security feature having Functional layer with the length F and has a layer arranged above the functional layer of heat sealant adhesive with the length H, wherein the lengths F and H are each related to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film and the relationship F <H meet and having a security feature functional layer and the Layer of hot-melt adhesive are such that the functional layer is U-shaped surrounded by the layer of heat-seal adhesive. A strip-shaped endless film according to claim 1, wherein the functional feature functional layer has, starting from the front side of the endless film, an embossing lacquer layer of length L which has a planar diffraction structure and a primer layer of length P arranged above the embossing lacquer layer, the lengths L and P are respectively related to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film and satisfy the relationship L <P <H and the embossing lacquer layer and the primer layer are such that the embossing lacquer layer is surrounded in a U-shape by the primer layer and the primer layer is U-shaped from the layer is surrounded by heat seal adhesive. The strip-shaped continuous sheet according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a continuous separation layer is interposed between the endless sheet and the plurality of security elements. A strip-shaped endless film according to claim 1 or 2, wherein between the endless film and the plurality of security elements, a discontinuous separation layer having separate separation layer areas is arranged. A strip-shaped endless film according to claim 1, wherein between the endless film and the plurality of security elements, a discontinuous separation layer having separate separation layer regions is arranged, so that each security element has exactly one interface region at each of its two perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film ends, each Separation layer area with the functional layer and the layer of hot-melt adhesive each forms a common interface. A strip-shaped endless film according to claim 2, wherein between the endless film and the plurality of security elements, a discontinuous separation layer having separate separation layer regions is arranged so that each security element has exactly one interface region at each of its two perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the strip-shaped endless film ends, each Separation layer area with the embossing lacquer layer, the primer layer and the layer of hot-seal adhesive each forms a common interface. Use of the strip-shaped endless film according to one of claims 1 to 6 for securing a security paper or a valuable item.

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