DE29713967U1 - Disk - Google Patents

Description

SAMSON 'ARTNE*R'

PATENT ATTORNEYS · EUROPEAN PATENT ATTORNEYS · EUROPEAN TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS

OUR REF DATE

W1553-1-TSJ 97 G 05 August 1997

Tu/5/be

Applicant:

Winter Value Printing GmbH Hermann-Böcker-Strasse 21 D-82140 Neu-Esting/Munich Data carrier Description

The invention relates to a data carrier for visually readable data.

Data storage devices in the form of memory, chips or processors are very common nowadays. They offer optimum mobility on the one hand and adequate information capacity on the other hand while taking up little space - in pocket format, so to speak. They are also becoming increasingly the ideal advertising medium for selling goods and services; due to the usually very high circulation, they reach large target groups.

The cards known to date, preferably plastic cards, for storing data have suitable storage means, such as memory chips or microprocessors. In order to make the handling of the stored data as forgery-proof as possible, correspondingly complex machine data recognition and/or processing systems are required. If visually readable information is also printed on such memory cards, e.g. instructions for use, advertising instructions, etc., then, in contrast to the machine-readable data, this is openly accessible to everyone - even to an unauthorized owner of the card. They cannot therefore be carriers of "secret" visually readable

MUNICH · ALICANTE

Information, e.g. numerical security codes or the like.

However, there is a need, particularly among plastic card issuers and providers, to store visually readable "secret" information on a card, protected against unauthorized access, in order to enable applications that can dispense with the expensive infrastructure of machine data recognition/processing - unless this is required for other reasons.

Previously known applications in which visually readable data is protected from open access generally use simple paper data storage devices that are placed on the market in black printed envelopes or envelopes with "disturbing prints", such as the "sea of numbers" in PIN letters for mobile phone customers. The use of such data storage devices with confidential visually readable information:--4firstly bound to storage - in well-sealed and tamper-proof envelopes. In practice, the envelopes used often do not meet these requirements, so that placing these well-known paper data storage devices on the market involves a not insignificant risk.

The invention aims to provide a visually readable data carrier for special security requirements.
30

The invention achieves this object by the subject matter of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

The invention then provides a data carrier for visually readable data with: a card-like carrier element, which has at least one data area on which visually readable data is applied; and a cover arranged on the or each data area, which - un-

damage or destruction of the cover. According to the invention, the data carrier itself is therefore protected against unauthorized access to the visually readable data without additional aids such as envelopes, envelops, etc. For this purpose, the visually readable information on the data carrier is covered by a read protection that is protected against manipulation and only releases the underlying data if the read protection is damaged/destroyed, i.e. cannot be restored after the data has been read. Any unauthorized access to the covered data that may have taken place can therefore be detected at any time by the authorized owner of the data carrier. The data carrier according to the invention is a reliable and manipulation-protected carrier of visually readable security data for public transport for certain applications and can be used in just as many different ways as, for example, known chip cards - but without requiring a complex data recognition and processing system.

to "need. ~ """""'

The structure and dimensions of the card-like carrier element depend on the desired application of the data carrier. The mobility and usability - also the acceptance by the end user - is particularly high if the carrier element is preferably designed in the style of a credit card, in particular made of plastic (synthetic material), e.g. as a thin plastic card or as a hard plastic card, or as a similar design made of paper, cardboard or carton.

In a further preferred variant, at least one data area is additionally provided on the carrier element of the data carrier, on which machine-readable data, e.g. in the form of magnetic strips, memory chips or microprocessors, is present. The invention hereby provides a combined data carrier for both access-protected machine-readable data and access-protected visually readable data, thereby opening up new areas of application for such data carriers.

, especially as credit card or credit card-like versions.

Various cover variants are proposed as read protection for the visually readable data stored on the data carrier according to the invention:

In a preferred variant, the cover is a label that is glued or sealed onto the data area on which the visually readable data is applied, and that can only be removed from the data area by destroying or damaging the label, which then tears or becomes irreversibly deformed - at least to an extent that exposes the visually readable data present there. In the simplest case, the label is made from a homogeneous, opaque material. In order to meet special security requirements, the label is preferably made from a transparent material and coated with a cover layer that can be rubbed off, scratched off and/or removed,' "in particular a colored layer".

Alternatively, such labels are preferably provided with a metallized surface, in particular a hologram surface, so that they can also be removed in a merely "destructive" manner, at least with visible damage to the surface, in order to expose at least the area of the visually readable data area.

In a further preferred variant of the cover according to the invention, a scratch-off cover layer is applied directly to the visually readable data area of the carrier, particularly preferably in the form of a scratch-off, a scrape-off and/or peel-off colored, (heat-sealed and/or cured) adhesive or metallic layer. This cover layer can additionally be covered with a peel-off transparent film.

What all of these variants have in common is that, on the one hand, the cover can be easily and quickly removed by the authorized owner of the data storage device by rubbing, scratching or peeling it off, exposing the underlying security data; on the other hand, however, an unauthorized person can only gain access to the security data by visibly damaging/destroying the original cover.

As a further feature of special security, the previously described labels and/or the cover layers are preferably provided with additional perforations so that the labels or cover layers immediately tear or are visibly damaged if attempts are made to remove them. The security standard of the data storage media is further increased by the fact that the labels preferably have interference prints on their surface. These are intended to prevent the visually readable "secret" information underneath from being recognized by their relief or by shining through the cover.

After implementing one of the described cover variants, or even a combination of them, the data carrier according to the invention also meets the highest security standards for storing secret information. It is almost impossible to make the secret information on the data carrier visible using normal means and to reverse this process after viewing it in such a way that it would not be recognizable as manipulation.

The data carrier according to the invention therefore represents an easy-to-use and particularly cost-effective solution for storing information that, on the one hand, circulates in public transport and, on the other hand, represents a secret that is worth protecting for the authorized holder. This can be, for example, numerical security codes, access codes, etc. for a wide variety of applications. It is particularly advantageous to use the data carrier according to the invention as a value unit carrier, so-called "prepaid card", "value card" or "calling card", in systems

systems of telecommunications. The visually readable information protected from unauthorized access with the help of the cover according to the invention is a numerical code that represents a monetary access authorization for telephone units managed by the card issuer, e.g. a mobile phone provider. For both the card issuer and the card buyer or holder, a card-shaped value unit carrier represents a solution for the public handling of such data that is particularly practical in organizational terms and also meets high security requirements. The high security standard of the value unit carrier according to the invention is all the more important in the present area of application as misuse would be possible on the basis of the security code that is "read" at some point without actually possessing the value unit carrier.

Furthermore, a method for producing a data carrier for visually readable data that is protected against unauthorized access is provided, comprising the following steps: providing a card-like carrier element; applying (storing) visually readable data in a data area on the card-like carrier element; and covering the data area with a cover that can be removed - without damaging or destroying the cover.

In a preferred variant, which meets particularly high security requirements of the data carrier, the cover is produced by applying a transparent carrier film with a curable adhesive layer in the form of a self-adhesive label to the data area and coating it with a color cover that can be rubbed off, scratched off and/or removed. Alternatively, an adhesive material is hot-sealed onto the data area of the data carrier as a cover and then cured to form a rubbed off, scratched off and/or removed adhesive layer.

The simple design of the data carrier advantageously allows various technologies to be used to apply the visually readable security data in the data area of the carrier element (so-called personalization or coding of the data carrier). The following are preferably used for this: thermal transfer printing, laser printing, inkjet or laser engraving, whereby the security data is covered after the personalization process, as previously described.

A further aspect of the invention consists in the production of card-shaped data carriers for visually readable data, in particular data carriers of the type described above, on a continuous carrier, according to the following procedure: dispensing, in particular sticking, the data carrier onto a continuous paper carrier; jointly labeling or printing the data carrier and the continuous paper carrier; and producing individual information carriers from the continuous paper carrier, each with at least one dispensed data carrier.

As is well known, the distribution of card-shaped data carriers also includes the production of cover letters, their personalization and the data comparison between the card and the cover letter. The present method makes it possible in a rational way for related organizational tasks to be completed with the continuous carrier in one operation with the processing of the data carrier itself. This applies in particular to the "simultaneous" production of information carriers, such as cover letters for the recipient of the data carrier, advertising or instructions for use or bar code labels, but also the production of an envelope for the cover letter including the data carrier glued on.

Further advantages and embodiments of the invention emerge from the following description of preferred embodiments. In the description, reference is made to the

attached schematic drawing. In the drawing:

Fig. la, b a plan view of a data carrier according to the invention in card format with a

cover for security data, with the original cover intact (Fig. la) and with the cover partially removed (Fig. lb); and

Fig. 2a, b, c Top views of a data carrier according to

Fig. 1, applied to an information carrier, in several production stages.

The embodiment described below relates to a data carrier in credit card format used as a value unit carrier for visually readable security data, which represents a numerically coded value unit, hereinafter referred to as "value card". For the sake of simplicity

•20 In the figures, the same features are identified by the same reference numerals.

Figures la and b each show a top view (whether front or back) of such a value card 10. The value card 10 consists of a card-shaped carrier element 12, which is e.g. a thin plastic card or a hard plastic card according to ISO 7810/13. The carrier element 12 is preferably made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). However, other materials such as ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer), PC (polycarbonate) or, to a limited extent, PE (polyethylene) and PET can also be used. As indicated in Figures la, b with section 14, the front and/or back of the carrier element 12 is printed with visually readable advertising and information notices, e.g. instructions for use. In a high-quality version of the present value card, the printing takes place during the manufacturing process of the carrier element 12 itself. The value card is then covered by a transparent overlay film so that the printed

advertising and/or information notices are protected against abrasion and manipulation.

On one side (front or back), the carrier element 12 of the value card 10 has a section or data area 16 for visually readable security data in a bottom right area according to Fig. 1a and b. According to Fig. 1a, the data area 16 is covered with a rectangular, elongated adhesive label 18. After the carrier element 12 of the value card 10 has been produced, this security data is applied to the data area 16, e.g. using thermal transfer printing, laser printing, inkjet or laser engraving. After this process, the so-called personalization of the value card, the data area 16 is covered with the self-adhesive adhesive label 18.

The adhesive label 18 shown in Fig. 1a consists of a transparent carrier film with a hardenable adhesive layer, which is coated with an (opaque) rub-off silvery color layer. The color layer is also printed with a so-called "disturbance print", i.e. with irregular black sections, so that the surface of the adhesive label 18 has an irregular black-gray shade. The carrier film of the adhesive label 18 is also provided with several arrow-shaped punched holes 20, which are lined up along the carrier film with alternating orientations (visible as thin light lines in Fig. 1a and b).

This design of the adhesive label 18 makes manipulation, i.e. unauthorized reading of the security data, almost impossible without the manipulation remaining undetectable. The security data can only be exposed by at least partially scratching or rubbing off the color layer of the adhesive label 18 and/or at least partially peeling off the carrier film of the adhesive label 18. In both cases, the cover of the data area 16 is visibly damaged or

destroyed. Once rubbed off, the color layer cannot be restored using simple means. Even if the adhesive label is removed, the carrier film itself will tear due to the punched holes 20, which will remain visible in any case if an attempt is made to restore the cover. As a further security feature, the "disturbance print" on the adhesive label 18 prevents the underlying security data from shining through when the adhesive label 18 is stuck on or from being recognized by its relief, which may be reproduced on the surface of the adhesive label 18.

This is again impressively illustrated in Fig. 1b. There, the value card 10 according to Fig. la is shown with partially exposed security data, here a numeric code 22. The carrier film of the adhesive label 18 has been partially peeled off from the left; in addition, the color layer on the carrier film of the adhesive label 18 has been partially rubbed off. The numeric code 22 is now "(partially)" recognizable - ^; "^&Lgr; iS simultaneously visible and* irreversible destruction of the original cover.

According to a preferred process variant for producing a prepaid card according to Fig. la, b, this is designed for processing on a continuous carrier in connection with so-called "letter shop projects". Prepaid cards 10 of the type described above are glued one after the other on a paper continuous carrier that is used multiple times and processed together with it. This means that related organizational tasks can be solved in one operation with the continuous carrier. This particularly concerns the joint or simultaneous labeling of prepaid cards 10 and continuous carrier, e.g. for producing cover letters, labeled information carriers and also for producing an envelope for sending prepaid cards 10.

Fig. 2a shows an example of an information carrier sheet 26 in the form of a leaflet (with its front side

te downwards) as it is obtained in such a continuous carrier manufacturing process. On the front (in Fig. 2a the back) of the information carrier 26, which can be e.g. a cover letter and/or instructions for use, a value card 10 is glued with its (hidden) back in such a way that it can be removed by the recipient of the information carrier 26 without leaving any residue. The information carrier 26 has a folding section 27 which is connected to the remaining section of the information carrier 26 via a fold 28.

During the processing of the value cards 10 dispensed onto the continuous paper carrier, the security data 22 is also applied, namely on the side of the value card 10 resting on the continuous paper carrier, in this case its back. For this purpose, openings 29 are punched out at regular intervals in the continuous paper carrier, through which the value card 10 is written (personalized or coded) with the security data 22 on the back according to one of the previously described methods. The information carrier 26 in Fig. 2a (cut out of the continuous paper carrier after the end of processing) also has such a punched-out opening 29. Also on the back, i.e. on the side of the security coding 22, an (unprotected) open serial number 30 is printed during processing together with a barcode bar on sections of the continuous paper carrier which border on the area of the value card 10 dispensed on the back.

The present method therefore advantageously enables one-sided personalization of a prepaid card together with an associated information carrier on a continuous paper carrier, i.e. the application of the security code 22 and the serial number 30 on the same side on or in relation to the continuous carrier(s) from a manufacturing point of view.

Fig. 2b shows the information carrier 2 6 with the value card 10 glued on from the front. The section 27 bearing the serial number is folded forward at the fold 28. As already mentioned above, the value card 10 is glued with its back to the information image 26. Advertising and/or information notes 14 are printed on the front of the value card 10, which is visible here.

At the end of the processing on the continuous carrier, the information carrier 26 together with the attached value cards 10 is cut for presentation in a window envelope 32 with two windows 34, 35 on the front of the envelope, as shown in Fig. 2c. In a further process step, the information carrier 26 is folded in the manner symbolically shown in Fig. 2b with the arrow drawn in and inserted into the window envelope 32 according to Fig. 2c. The openly accessible, visually readable data, namely the serial number 30 and the front of the card with advertising space 14, are placed behind the windows 35 and 34 of the envelope 32, respectively, so that they are visible from the outside.

Preferably, the security code is labelled on the back of the prepaid card in the manner described above; in addition, the security code is also covered by the closed back of the envelope and thus protected against unauthorized access.

Claims (11)

W1553-1-TSJ 97 P 05 August 1997 5 Tu/5/be Applicant: Winter Wertdruck GmbH Hermann-Böcker-Straße 21 10 D-82140 Neu-Esting/Munich Data carrier 15 claims 1. Data carrier for human readable data with: a card-like carrier element (12) having at least one data area (16) on 20 on which visually readable data (22) are applied; , , and _r; „ a cover (18) arranged on the or each data area (16) which can be removed - with damage or destruction of the cover 25 is. 2. Data carrier according to claim 1, in which the carrier element (12) is designed in the manner of a credit card. 3. Data carrier according to claim 1 or 2, in which the carrier element (12) is made of plastic, e.g. as a thin plastic card or as a hard plastic card, or of paper, cardboard or carton. 4. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, in which the carrier element (12) also comprises at least one data area on which machine-readable data is stored. 5. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, in which the cover (18) is a removable adhesive or sealable label which tears or irreversibly deforms when removed. 6. Data carrier according to claim 5, in which the label is made of transparent material and is coated with a rub-off, scratch-off and/or peelable cover layer, in particular a color layer. 7. Data carrier according to claim 5, in which the label is provided with a metallized surface, in particular with a hologram surface. 8. Data carrier according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which the cover (18) is a cover layer that can be rubbed, scratched and/or peeled off from the carrier element (12), in particular a layer of paint or a hot-sealed and/or hardened adhesive layer or a metallic layer. 9. Data carrier according to one of claims 5 to 7, in which the label and/or the cover layer is provided with several punched-out portions (22). 10. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, in which the surface of the cover is provided with a disturbance pressure. 11. Data carrier according to one of the preceding claims, which is designed as a value unit carrier, wherein the visually readable data represent value units in numerically coded form.