EP0364730B1 - Method and device for manufacturing a book-shaped identification document - Google Patents

Abstract

In the manufacture of passports, which contain a number of paper sheets and a data sheet covered with transparent plastic film, personal details such as name, place of birth and date of birth of the passport-holder are burnt into the paper fabric of the data sheet, which is already covered with plastic, using a laser beam. The passport can be bound into book form before the plastic-covered data sheet and further paper data sheets are provided with data relating to the holder of the passport. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a method for producing an identification document in book form, for. B. a passport and a device for performing the method.

Passports usually have the shape of a small booklet, consisting of a linen or plastic cover and several sheets of paper. In order to increase security against counterfeiting, there has recently been a move to provide at least the side of the passport that contains the - photographically applied - personal data such as name, birthday, photo, signature etc. with a transparent plastic film so that this data does not are directly accessible.

In addition, an embossed pattern is embossed on the surface of the laminated plastic film and a repetition of the name of the passport holder is introduced in the form of an engraving produced by means of a laser beam. Other pages of the passport contain e.g. B. data printed using a matrix printer and a punched registration number.

This plastic coating of the data sheet makes the production more complex and leads in particular to the fact that personalized documents such. B. must be reproduced in a complex manner due to errors in the lamination or embossing. Since the lamination, the embossing of the surface of the laminated data sheet and the engraving of the name in the area of the photo using a laser beam can only take place after the photographic application of the personal data (name, place of birth and the like), this personal data must be used for the reproduction of incorrect passports be made available again. Only then can the correctly created data sheet be put together with the other sheets of paper and a cover Plastic, linen or other material can be bound in book form.

When binding identification documents, consisting of several sheets, each with different personal data, it must also be ensured that the data sheets coming from different work stations converge correctly at the binding station for a very specific passport. This assignment is more difficult to control, the more extensive the preparatory work for creating the various data sheets with personal data is.

The object of the invention is to provide a method for producing an identification document in book form, the production being simple and possible with as little rejects as possible, the problem of assigning the data sheets belonging to an identification document practically does not exist, and the personal data such as name, photo, Signature etc. can be introduced in a forgery-proof form. In addition, a device for performing the method is to be specified.

This object is solved by the features of the independent claims.

In contrast to the known method described above, in which the personal data are photographically applied before the data sheet is laminated and then bound with other sheets, the data sheet is first provided with the transparent plastic film according to the invention, and only then is the personal data shown in the data sheet is burned in using a laser beam. The binding of the laminated data sheet with the other, non-laminated sheets takes place before the personal data is registered.

The method according to the invention thus allows the personal data in the preferred embodiment to be introduced into the passport which has already been completely completed and is already bound in book form. Passport manufacturing, d. H. creating the individual sheets, lamination, embossing and binding is one of passport personalization, i.e. H. Introduction of personal data, completely decoupled process. The passport production can take place in the corresponding special workshops with a corresponding final inspection, so that only high-quality copies come for personalization. The passport personalization can be at any other point, e.g. B. decentralized, made in appropriate personalization stations.

In the method according to the invention, use is advantageously made of an invention as described in DE-PS 29 07 004. This patent describes an identification card in which the personal information is burned into the plastic-coated paper insert on both sides.

This laser inscription gives the data sheet of the passport produced according to the invention a high level of security against forgery, since the inscribed or burned-in data is not only visually recognizable in the inner paper or plastic sheet made of PVC, polyethylene, polycarbonate or another material, but is also congruent in the overlying plastic film.

If the recording parameters are selected appropriately, the data can be recorded in the outer plastic film while simultaneously forming a congruent surface relief. On the other hand, it is also possible to only cause discoloration in the transparent plastic film, so that the smooth surface remains. Laser beam recording is therefore also suitable for recording the data lines intended for machine reading.

The use of a laser beam for data recording also allows optically variable authenticity indicators to be introduced, such as e.g. B. from DE-OS 35 36 740 and DE-OS 35 36 739 known.

This document therefore contains elements that cannot be reproduced in terms of copying technology.

The method according to the invention permits the production of a passport not yet related to the holder and the final personalization of the passport after binding.

Since the plastic lamination is carried out before the personal data is registered, there is no need to specifically reproduce the committee that otherwise arises during the subsequent lamination. H. Repeat the entire personalization process including data acquisition, etc.

The neutral laminated data sheets are preferably produced in sheets, i.e. H. in the form of sheets comprising a large number of individual data sheets, which are cut into the individual data sheets after lamination and embossing.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the invention provides that, in addition to the data sheet covered with the transparent plastic film, the other sheets, which may not be provided with a plastic film, are also labeled with the corresponding, sometimes also personal, data by means of a laser beam. A laser beam can also be used for this to blacken the other paper or plastic sheets that are not provided with a transparent plastic film and to label them.

It may be necessary to do this, the parameters such. B. to change the pulse length or to use a second laser source, which may work in a different mode instead of in pulse mode in continuous operation. On the other hand, paper or plastic sheets can be used as additional data sheets which consist of a material which can be laser-labeled and which are matched to the laser type used in each case or which are provided with a corresponding surface coating. The surface coating can be limited to the whole area or only to the areas that are actually to be labeled. Laser-markable coating materials, which can be applied, inter alia, in the form of lacquer or color layers on the support to be labeled, are e.g. B. from EP-A 190 997 known. By appropriately adjusting the intensity of the laser beam, perforation of the paper sheets can also be achieved. Accordingly, according to the method according to the invention, both the printing device previously required for personalization, e.g. B. in the form of a matrix printer and punching devices.

As mentioned above, the data on the non-laminated sheets can either - as usual - e.g. B. print with a matrix printer or by means of a laser beam. When using a second printing device for printing on the further (non-laminated) data sheet or the further data sheets, this printing device, like the laser station, is preferably connected to the same data memory in which the personal data are stored. This is an economically and organizationally simple provision of the data and it is in particular guaranteed that the respectively related data, ie the data relating to one and the same passport holder, are always written into the various data sheets belonging to a passport. Assignment problems cannot arise with this.

A variant of the device according to the invention contains a document conveying device which connects the laser station, the binding station and, if appropriate, further intermediate stations, the laminating station being arranged independently of this.

Another variant of a device according to the invention provides the laser station independently of the laminating station and also independently of the binding station. The already bound passport is automatically opened here for personalization by a suitable device, fed to the laser station in this form and personalized there and finally automatically closed again. Devices for opening books are known (e.g. EP-PS 123 188). Alternatively, the passports can also be stacked after binding in the opened state, so that they are pulled open from the stack and fed to the laser station for labeling. The passports can then be closed with a relatively simple device.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing.

Fig. 1

eine perspektivische Ansicht eines aufgeklappten Reisepasses,

Fig. 2

eine Querschnittsansicht eines kaschierten Datenblatts für den Reisepaß nach Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

ein Blockdiagramm einer Vorrichtung zum Herstellen von Reisepässen,

Fig. 4

ein Blockdiagramm einer Vorrichtung zum Personalisieren von Reisepässen,

Fig. 5

eine vereinfachte Teildarstellung einer Reisepaß-Fördereinrichtung,

Fig. 6

ein Blockdiagramm einer Vorrichtung zum Personalisieren von Reisepässen,

Fig. 7

eine vereinfachte Darstellung einer Vorrichtung zum Zuklappen geöffneter Reisepässe,

Fig. 8

eine Draufsicht auf eine Transportbandanlage zum Transportieren aufgeklappter Reisepässe,

Fig. 9

eine Skizze einer Vorrichtung zum Transportieren aufgeklappter Reisepässe und

Fig. 10

eine Darstellung eines aufgeklappten Reisepasses mit herabhängendem kaschierten Datenblatt.

Show it:

Fig. 1

a perspective view of an opened passport,

Fig. 2

2 shows a cross-sectional view of a laminated data sheet for the passport according to FIG. 1,

Fig. 3

1 shows a block diagram of a device for producing passports,

Fig. 4

1 shows a block diagram of a device for personalizing passports,

Fig. 5

a simplified partial representation of a passport conveyor,

Fig. 6

1 shows a block diagram of a device for personalizing passports,

Fig. 7

a simplified representation of a device for folding open passports,

Fig. 8

a plan view of a conveyor belt system for transporting unfolded passports,

Fig. 9

a sketch of a device for transporting unfolded passports and

Fig. 10

a representation of an unfolded passport with a hanging laminated data sheet.

1 shows a passport 1, consisting of a plastic or linen envelope with a front cover sheet 2a and a rear cover sheet 2b, a first data sheet 3 covered on both sides with a plastic film, a second data sheet 4, a third data sheet 5 and a blank sheet 6 Sheets 4, 5 and 6 and, if appropriate, further blank sheets (not shown) are preferably made of paper or another material with a surface texture that permits later entries (extensions, visas, etc.).

Sheet 4 contains on the front (hidden in FIG. 1) information about the place of residence, body size, eye color and possibly further information about the passport holder. On the back of data sheet 4 there is information about children of the passport holder. There is a stamped passport number on the lower edge of data sheet 4.

The data sheet 3 shown in cross section in FIG. 2 contains two transparent plastic films 3a and 3b, between which a paper inlay 3d provided with a security print and watermark is enclosed. The edges of the two plastic films 3a and 3b are welded at 3e. An embossed pattern 3c is indicated on the top of the data sheet 3.

The passport number and the designation for the issuing state are printed on the front of data sheet 3, which is hidden in FIG. 1.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the back of the laminated data sheet 3 contains a smooth surface area 30 on the outer edge, which is reserved for the machine-readable data lines. When this data field is labeled, the laser beam intensity and any other parameters (scanning speed, etc.) are controlled so that only discoloration takes place inside the data sheet, i.e. the paper and plastic layers, while the outer plastic surface remains undamaged and therefore smooth. This is followed by an area with a surface relief 31 which serves to increase the security against forgery. In the upper left corner ("above" is the area of the back of the book-shaped passport) there is also an image of the passport holder 33 applied with a laser. Located below there is an area 37 for the signature of the passport holder, which, like all other holder-related data on the laminated data sheet 3, is burned into the paper insert 3d by means of a laser beam (DE-PS 29 07 004). The format of the data sheet is selected so that it slightly exceeds the passport size and can thus be incorporated into the passport to form an edge area 38 that reappears at the end of the passport. The burn-in makes the data in the paper inlay visible, and in addition, if the recording parameters are chosen appropriately, the surface structure of the overlying plastic film changes to form a relief that is congruent with the burned-in areas in the paper inlay.

The image of the passport holder and the signature are used when recording the personal data e.g. B. detected by a video camera and electronically processed in a form suitable for reproduction by means of the laser.

FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment of a device for producing the passport shown in FIG. 1. Sheets of paper which have not yet been laminated are pulled off in the direction of the arrow and fed to a laminating station S1. There the opaque paper sheets are laminated on both sides with a transparent plastic film (e.g. PVC) and then fed to an embossing station S2. In this embossing station, e.g. B. embossed an emblem or logo in the plastic surface. In addition, the area 31 on the back of the data sheet 3 can also be provided with a relief pattern.

Then the data sheets prepared so far are temporarily stored and checked for good quality of the embossing pattern and the lamination before further processing.

The following manufacturing steps do not correspond to those of the invention according to claim 1. The following applies only to the description of the individual processing stations, which are also essential for the invention according to claim 1.

The tested laminated and embossed data sheets are then fed to a personalization device S4. The personalization device S4 contains a laser station S41 and a printing device in the form of a matrix, thermal transfer, ink jet printer S42. A data processing system with a data memory D, which contains the personal data for the various data sheets 3, 4, etc., is connected to the personalization device S4. Non-laminated data sheets 4 are fed to the printer S42 from a supply stack 4. The printer prints the data on the basis of the respective data records which are stored in the data memory D. Simultaneously with the printing of the data sheets 4, the laminated data sheet 3 belonging to the same passport is also labeled in the laser station S41. If the data of a passport holder is stored in the data memory as a data record, a data record is fed to the printer S42 and the laser station S41. This ensures that the data sheets 3 and 4 belonging to a passport are assigned.

A punching station S5 connects to the printer S42. Data sheets 5 to be punched are also fed to this punching station S5. The punched data sheets 4 and 5, like the data sheets 3 and blank sheets 6 described by means of a laser beam, are fed to a binding station S6, where the sheets 3, 4, 5 and 6 are each bound into a book form with a linen cover 2.

In the invention, data is written into data sheet 3 and, if appropriate, data sheet 4 is printed after the passport has already been bound.

Fig. 4 shows a stack with bound but not yet personalized passports 1 '. The closed passports 1 'are via a conveyor one Folding device A supplied. A laser / printer station S4 'connects to the opening device A. There the information is written into data sheets 3 and 4 using a laser beam. The station S4 'can separately contain a laser device and a matrix printer. Preferably, the station S4 'contains only one laser device with which both the laminated data sheet 3 and the non-laminated data sheet 4 can be described.

At the station S4 'a closing or folding device S connects. The finished passports 1 are stacked after being closed.

Fig. 5 shows schematically a part of a system in which the not yet personalized passports are opened and individually transported in the opened state. To open the passports and to expose the pages to be labeled, devices and methods can be used, such as z. B. from EP-PS 129 188 are known.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment modified compared to the embodiment according to FIG. 4. The folded, not yet personalized passports 1 'are fed to a swap-open station SW. A laser station S4 'is connected to this station, in which all pages to be printed are printed by means of a laser beam. When a sheet is already labeled, the unfolded passport is sent to station S4 and, after turning the page, the next data sheet is written in the laser station. The fully personalized passport is closed and stacked in a locking station.

Fig. 7 shows a simple device for folding a completely personalized passport.

The passport is transported by a conveyor device, not shown, to the center of a table formed by two pivotable flaps, so that the back of the book-shaped passport is located approximately in the area of the slot formed between the flaps. By swiveling the two flaps 50a and 50b down into the position shown in dashed lines, the passport falls downward in the direction of the arrow and is closed in the process. The closed passport passes between two conveyor belts 51a and 51b and is fed by these to a stack, not shown.

To transport the unfolded passport, a belt conveyor is recommended, in which the unfolded passport z. B. is held between a lower band 53 and two upper bands 51 and 52. The straps on both sides of the unfolded passport prevent the pages of the passport from moving. In the laser station, this or another type of passport holder ensures that the respective data sheet assumes a prescribed position and distance from the laser device.

9, a passport 1 'is transported unfolded on a base, while the upstanding laminated data sheet 3 is driven by two rollers 61 and 62, which have a vertical axis. The passport moves perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. The data sheet 3 is transported and held in a position suitable for labeling by such a transport device. In this embodiment, the front and back can optionally also be labeled without turning the data sheet.

You can transport the passport 1 'as shown in FIG. 10 in a state in which the laminated data sheet 3 is exposed on both sides and z. B. hangs down, while the rest of the leaves are folded far up. In this form, the front and back are also accessible for labeling without mechanical intermediate steps.

Claims (19)

1. A method for producing an identification document (1') in book form, e.g. a passport, having at least a first data sheet (3) and at least a second writable and/or printable data sheet (4, 5, 6), said first data sheet (3) consisting of opaque paper or plastic and being provided at least on one side with a transparent coating which covers at least the personal data (33, 35, 36, 37) located on said first data sheet (3), characterized in that
      said first data sheet (3) is provided with a transparent plastic film (3a, 3b),
      at least said first and second data sheets (3, 4, 5, 6) are bound into book form, and
      at least a portion of said personal data (33, 35, 36, 37) is then inscribed into said first data sheet (3) with a laser beam.
2. The method of claim 1, characterized in that at least a portion of said personal data (33, 35, 36, 37) is inscribed into said second data sheet (4, 5, 6).
3. The method of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said second data sheet (4, 5, 6) is likewise inscribed with a laser beam.
4. The method of at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the same laser beam is used to inscribe said first and second data sheets (3, 4, 5, 6).
5. The method of at least one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that laser beams with different power and/or modes are used to inscribe said first and second data sheets (3, 4, 5, 6).
6. The method of claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said second data sheet (4, 5, 6) is printed with said personal data in a printing unit.
7. An apparatus for producing an identification document (1') in book form, e.g. a passport, having at least a first data sheet (3) and at least a second writable and/or printable data sheet (4, 5, 6), said first data sheet (3) consisting of opaque paper or plastic and being covered at least on one side with a transparent coating which covers at least the personal data (33, 35, 36, 37) located on said first data sheet (3), characterized in that this apparatus includes the following units:
      a laminating unit (S1) in which said first data sheet (3) is provided with a transparent plastic film (3a, 3b),
      a binding unit (S6) in which at least said first and second data sheets (3, 4, 5, 6) of said document (1') are bound into book form,
      a writing unit (S4') including at least one laser unit in which at least one portion of said personal data (33, 35, 37) is inscribed into said first data sheet (3) and optionally at least one portion of said personal data (33, 35, 36, 37) is inscribed into said second data sheet (4, 5, 6), after at least said first and second data sheets have been bound into book form.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, characterized in that said writing unit (S4') includes a second laser unit which differs from the first for example in terms of power and/or mode and in which said second data sheet (4, 5, 6) is inscribed.
9. The apparatus of claim 7, characterized in that said writing unit (S4') additionally includes a printer for printing at least said second data sheet (4, 5, 6).
10. The apparatus of claim 9, characterized in that said printer is connected to a data memory (D) storing said personal data (33, 35, 36, 37).
11. The apparatus of at least one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that said laser unit or laser units are connected to a data memory (D) containing said personal data (33, 35, 36, 37).
12. The apparatus of at least one of claims 7 to 11, characterized in that a punching device (S5) is provided for punching data into at least one of said data sheets (3, 4, 5, 6).
13. The apparatus of at least one of claims 7 to 12, characterized in that said writing unit (S4'), said binding unit (S6) and optionally other intermediate units are connected to a document conveying device and designed or disposed so to be independent of said laminating unit (S1).
14. The apparatus of any of claims 7 to 13, characterized in that said laminating unit (S1) is followed by an embossing unit (S2) in which at least one side of said first data sheet (3) is provided with a surface relief (3c).
15. The apparatus of any claims 7 to 14, characterized in that said writing unit (S4') is disposed independently of said laminating unit (S1) and also independently of said binding unit (S6), and said writing unit (S4') is preceded by an opening device (A) for opening the bound document (1') and exposing the page (3, 4, 5, 6) to be inscribed, and is followed by a closing device (S).
16. The apparatus of claim 15, characterized in that said opening device (A) and said closing device (S) are combined into a unit (SW) designed as a page turning unit.
17. An identification document (1') in book form, e.g. a passport, having at least a first data sheet (3) and at least a second writable and/or printable data sheet (4, 5, 6), said first data sheet (3) consisting of opaque paper or plastic and being covered at least on one side with a transparent plastic film which covers at least the personal data (33, 35, 36, 37) located on said data sheet (3), characterized in that said personal data (33, 35, 36, 37) inscribed in said first data sheet (3) are present in the form of visually recognizable local discolorations resulting from accordingly controlled laser radiation.
18. The identification document (1') of claim 17, characterized in that said second data sheet (4, 5, 6) is likewise provided with personal data (33, 35, 36, 37).
19. The identification document (1') of claim 15 or 16, characterized in that said second data sheet (4, 5, 6) consists of a laser-writable material or a laser-writable surface coating, and said personal data (33, 35, 36, 37) are likewise present in the form of visually recognizable local discolorations resulting from accordingly controlled laser radiation.

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