Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
  • G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
  • G09F3/00—Labels, tag tickets, or similar identification or indication means; Seals; Postage or like stamps

Definitions

• This invention relates to identification markers and their application, and particularly to such markers for products.
• products as used herein is to be widely interpreted to include any product usefully susceptible to marking such personal property items owned by individuals and corporately, and items capable of removal as widely varied as automobiles and watches, for example, and to products comprising toxic and/or hazardous materials, for example.
• the identification of products can be important particularly to prove ownership in the event of loss of that product through theft or accidental misplacement, for example.
• the subsequent recovery of the product requires accurate identification of the product so that the correct product is returned to the owner. This problem is significant even where the particular item is visibly marked with a serial number or such other device since there is rarely a properly recorded serial number of individual personal property.
• Serial number plate While the use of a Serial number plate is of limited value for indicating ownership, another method for marking a product involves physically marking a serial number on the item with an indelible ink or by engraving the serial number on the item for example.
• Each of the foregoing techniques for property identification can be circumvented, for example, by the simple removal of the serial number or replacement of the serial number plate with another plate. The ease by which these marking systems are circumvented has created a significant problem in product recovery.
• Another problem with the foregoing techniques for property identification is that the certain marking tag systems are inappropriate in that they may interfere with the function or even aesthetic appearance of the product. For example, an item of jewellery such as a valuable gem stone mounted in a ring setting is difficult, if not impossible, to mark with an identification system that cannot be easily circumvented.
• tag particles each of which carrying an identical indicia.
• These tag particles are preferably, but not necessarily, of a small miniature size and may be generally circular of no more than 1 or 2mm in diameter or strip or thread-like of no more than 1 or 2mm width, for example, and carry microscopic identification indicia.
• the tags may be produced by any convenient method from any suitable material and may be, for example, punched, essentially as miniature particles, from a microfiche film having an identical plurality of indicia printed, or slit from an elongate film.
• tag tags are referred to herein as "marker tags of the kind described" .
• the tag particles may be loosely spread over and throughout the product concerned, and/or may be adhered to the product, and indeed may be applied to one or more surfaces of the item of property by being suspended in a liquid adhesive such as a lacquer for example which is then sprayed upon the relevant surface or surfaces, adhering the tag particle to those surfaces under the dried adhesive or lacquer layer.
• tag marker is strip or thread-like it may be used specifically in this form with the product concerned, such as, for example, tear strips on wrapped products, woven into hems of cloth, and security threads in banknotes, these being formed of plastics film, for example, which may be metallised.
• a weaknesses of any form of security labelling system is that exact copies can be made of the labels and these copies can then be used to mark items for which they were not intended in an attempt to alter or mask genuine identity of those items.
• labels can be made in the style of legitimate labels but with different indicia and these counterfeit labels can be used in an attempt to alter or mask the identity of items.
• an identification marker tag of the kind described including the step of slightly varying the physical characteristics of printed matter applied to the tagging particle between, or within and between, batches of the same or groups of batches of such tags.
• the appropriate plurality of identifying indicia are produced on a computer screen which is then photographed and reduced in size to form the microfiche. Since the printing is computer generated, it is possible to impose encryption features on any or all of the characters for any particular indicia identification text, and also to produce a highly varying pattern of background printing, such as a series of rectilinear and curvilinear lines of the kind frequently used on bank notes as referred to above. It is clear that by recording the nature of the encryption and the nature of the background printing employed on every batch, it would be a relatively simple task to differentiate between counterfeit labels and legitimately produced ones. For simplicity, this recording can be held on a computer which is programmed to store a log of all labels produced with the associated encryption data.
• Variations that are possible include the following:- a) the script size of all characters can be very slightly atypical; b) the script style of all characters can be very slightly atypical; c) the overall script can be slightly rotated from its true angle; d) a specific character may appear slightly "out of position"; e) a specific character may have a slightly atypical shape; f) a specific character may be slightly larger or smaller than usual; g) a specific character may be slightly rotated from its true angle; h) a specific character may be formed with one or more lines of a different thickness to the usual; i) a character (not necessarily alpha-numeric) may be added to the text which is generated by a random generator or by a complex algorithm so it would not be possible to anticipate which character would appear after any given string of text. j) a sub-character, such as a dot, may be added to the text in relation to one or more alpha-numeric characters, the disposition of such sub-character being made variable with respect to
• the invention includes within its scope tagging particles made using the method hereinabove specified.
• Figure 1 is a schematic view of a marker tag according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 shows schematically printed matter variations in accordance with the invention.
• Figure 1 there is shown schematically a marker tag 1, grossly enlarged, punched out from a film including microscopic identification characters 2.
• FIG. 1 illustrates character variations for the tag of Figure 1.
• the lower line shows encryption where:- the "A” is slightly smaller than normal the "C” is a slightly atypical shape the "*” is a non-standard character and is slightly “bolder” than normal.
• the "*" character can in any event either be:- derived from the other characters in the indicia by a complex algorithm, or selected as a random (non- anticipatable) character.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• Credit Cards Or The Like (AREA)

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Publications (2)

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• 1994
  • 1994-05-21 GB GB9410196A patent/GB9410196D0/en active Pending
• 1995
  • 1995-05-22 DE DE69509521T patent/DE69509521D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1995-05-22 WO PCT/GB1995/001156 patent/WO1995032490A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1995-05-22 AU AU25315/95A patent/AU2531595A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1995-05-22 EP EP95919528A patent/EP0760991B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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