EP2344343B1 - Security element transfer material with multi-layered carrier - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a security element transfer material having a security element layer composite, which has a plurality of layers, and a temporary support, which is detachably connected to the security element layer composite, for transferring security elements to a valuable article, such as a security paper, a value document or a brand name, to authenticate the valuables. The invention also relates to methods of making the security element transfer material, to methods of transferring a security element from the security element transfer material to a valuable item, and to valuables secured against counterfeiting using the security element transfer material.

Valuables, such as branded goods or documents of value, in particular banknotes, are often provided with security elements which allow verification of the authenticity of the object of value and at the same time serve as protection against unauthorized reproduction. Frequently, the security elements used for this purpose are not provided individually, but in the form of transfer belts with a plurality of security elements designed as transfer elements. Characteristic of transfer belts is that the security elements are prepared on a carrier layer, wherein the order of the layers of the transfer elements must be reversed, as it should be present later on the object to be protected. The carrier layer is typically removed from the layer structure of the security elements during transfer. On the opposite side of the carrier layer, the transfer tapes have an adhesive layer, usually of a heat-sealing adhesive, which melts during the transfer of the security elements and glued the security elements with the object to be secured. The transfer ribbon is applied to the article with the heat seal adhesive layer applied and pressed by means of a heated transfer punch or a transfer roller and transferred in the outline of the heated transfer punch on the object. Transfer elements, transfer ribbons and the transfer of transfer elements to target substrates are for example in EP 0 420 261 B1 and WO 2005/108108 A2 described.

Instead of shaping the transfer elements by the transfer punch during the transfer process, the individual transfer elements can already be prefabricated in the desired outline shape on the transfer belt. The prefabrication of separate individual security elements is particularly useful if the security elements have a layer structure which makes exact separation of the entire layer structure during the transfer process difficult. This is usually the case when the layer structure of the security element to be transmitted contains a carrier substrate, for example a plastic film. Support substrates within the layer construction of security elements are required when the security elements have to be made particularly stable, for example when they have to be self-supporting, because they are to be used for closing a through opening in the object to be secured. Depending on the object and size of the opening to be closed, high demands can be placed on the stability of the security elements. Banknotes, for example, are exposed to high stresses during their orbit, are tapped, kinked and possibly exposed to moisture. The security elements must be able to withstand these stresses as well as the banknote paper itself, since otherwise there would be the danger that after a certain circulation time the through opening in the banknote would be exposed.

Security elements whose layer construction comprises a stable carrier substrate, typically a plastic film, must be present on a transfer material as prefabricated individual elements, which means that the outline shapes of the security elements in the security element material must be precut beforehand. The pre-cutting can be carried out for example by means of a laser. This results in the problem that the cutting depth must be controlled very precisely, on the one hand to cut through the entire layer structure of the security element, on the other hand, the carrier material that is separated during the transfer, not to hurt. As support materials usually plastic films are used. Although plastic films have a high tear resistance, but a low tear resistance. When they are cut, it is almost unavoidable that the security element transfer material in the form of continuous material tears on valuables in some places during the transfer process of the security elements. It must also be taken into account that the layer structures to be cut or the carrier sheets which are not to be cut are materials with thicknesses in the micrometer range. The security element laminates typically have thicknesses in the range of about 20 μm to 30 μm, and the carrier foils typically have thicknesses in the range of 10 μm to 20 μm. With the precision required here, it is almost impossible to carry out a cutting process in such a way that, although the security element layer composite is completely severed, the cutting process is stopped in such a timely manner that the carrier foil is not cut anywhere. Due to the partially cut support film, however, the security element transfer material loses stability, may even rupture, which is why accurate and smooth application of the security elements from the endless material to the products to be protected is no longer guaranteed.

The object of the present invention is therefore to avoid the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide a security element transfer material in the form of a continuous material, pre-cut in the security elements in the desired outline shapes, and then the precut elements to be secured without risk of tearing the substrate Products can be transferred.

In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a security element transfer material in the form of a continuous material in which the security element layer composite comprises a carrier substrate which gives the security elements sufficient stability to make them suitable as cover elements via through openings in valuables.

The object is achieved by the security element transfer material according to the main claim. Further objects of the invention are methods of making the security element transfer material, methods of transferring a security element from the security element transfer material to a valuable article, and a valuable article secured using the security element transfer material with a security element as set forth in the independent claims are indicated. Specific embodiments of the invention are set forth in the respective dependent claims.

The security element transfer material according to the invention is typically a continuous material, usually a belt several hundred meters in length and a width of a few millimeters / centimeter to several meters. The security element transfer material has a security element layer composite, ie the actual security element material, and a temporary carrier, ie the material on which the security elements are "stored".

The security element laminate has a plurality of layers, including a permanent support substrate, typically a plastic film, a feature layer, and a peek layer. The term "one (one, one, one)" in the present invention is to be understood as "at least one". If necessary, the security element layer composite can therefore also contain a plurality of permanent carrier substrates and / or a plurality of feature layers. The security element layer network usually contains several feature layers. A feature layer (or functional layer) is a layer that has visually detectable or machine detectable features. Examples which may be mentioned are metal layers, layers of metallic effect paints, layers with color pigments or fluorescent pigments, liquid crystal layers, coatings with a color shift effect, layers with matt structures, as described, for example, in US Pat WO 2007/107235 A1 Colored printed motif layers, layer combinations such as a color-shaded color shift layer, magnetic pigment layers, etc. are not shown. The materials, layer sequences and types of application are not limited in any way and basically all materials and methods are applicable a person skilled in the field of security elements are known. The term "permanent" carrier substrate expresses that this carrier substrate is not removed during the transfer of the security element on an object to be secured, but rather is part of the security element layer composite and is transferred to the object to be secured. Since the security elements are preferably to be used for covering through openings, wherein the presence of an opening should remain recognizable, it is preferred use transparent or translucent permanent carrier substrates. For example, films of polyester, such as polyethylene terephthalate, of polyethylene or polypropylene are suitable. Under the Blickschicht is to be understood the layer, which faces after the transmission of a security element on a valuable object to a viewer. The viewing layer may be identical to a feature layer or the permanent carrier substrate.

A suitable layer structure for the security element layer composite is, by way of example only and in no way limiting, that of the so-called L-LEAD (Longlasting Economical Anticopy Device) security elements of Giesecke & Devrient GmbH. Such security elements have a layer structure with numerous functional layers (feature layers), including a z. Holographic security feature, print accepting, protective and laminating layers, ink layers, fluorescent imprints, etc. The L-LEAD security elements also have a permanent carrier substrate.

The security element laminate is connected to a temporary support either directly or by means of a release layer. The release layer is conventional and facilitates the detachment of the security elements from the temporary carrier during the transfer process to a valuable item. The temporary support is located on the side of the security element layer composite facing an observer after the transmission of the security elements.

In the case of the security element transfer material according to the invention, the temporary carrier consists of a carrier layer composite. The carrier layer composite consists of at least two temporary carrier substrates, which by means of an adhesive layer are firmly connected. The term "temporary" carrier substrates expresses that, in contrast to the "permanent" carrier substrate, these carrier substrates are not part of the security elements. Suitable materials for the temporary carrier substrates are, as in the case of the permanent carrier substrate, also plastic films, it being of course irrelevant here whether the films are transparent or not. The films should be as thin as possible, ie have thicknesses in the range of up to about 20 microns, but be stable and preferably stretchable, which facilitates a precise transmission of the security elements in the machine transfer process. With regard to the thickness of the temporary carrier substrates is still to be noted that these may be thicker than about 20 microns in an individual case, namely z. B., when the temporary carrier substrate is formed by connecting two films or film structures.

The temporary carrier substrates of the carrier layer composite are adhesively bonded together by means of an adhesive layer. Insoluble in this context means that the bond can not be solved in the transfer process of the security elements or in any processing or treatment processes of the security element transfer material. The transfer to valuables usually takes place through a heat sealing process, which is why thermoplastic adhesives are less suitable unless they have very high softening temperatures. Accordingly, z. B. solvent-based 2-component PU adhesives whose temperature stability is usually sufficiently large. These adhesives are generally cross-linked but not radiation-curable. Also conceivable, however, are radiation-curing adhesives, in particular adhesives which are curable by UV radiation or by electron radiation. Details of the suitable laminating adhesives are known to the person skilled in the art.

According to a preferred embodiment, "self-healing" adhesives are used. Self-healing adhesives are adhesives that cure only slowly, so that an adhesive layer damaged during the curing process is still reactive enough to reverse the damage in the course of the further curing process. Suitable adhesives tend to be in the class of cationic curing adhesives because cationic radiation curing is a relatively slow process that will continue for some time after the end of irradiation.

The inventive construction of the temporary carrier as a carrier layer composite avoids that when cutting the outline of the security elements, the stability of the temporary carrier is affected by cutting the temporary carrier. A comparable result can not be achieved simply by designing a single temporary carrier film to be correspondingly thicker, since, as already mentioned, plastic films have a low tear propagation resistance, ie. H. if a film is even slightly truncated, it easily rips further and may completely through. The situation is different with the layer composite according to the invention: Even if one of the temporary carrier substrates is completely severed, the further temporary carrier substrate (or possibly the other temporary carrier substrates) generally remains undamaged and accordingly stable. The adhesive also forms an additional "buffer zone" between the temporary carrier substrates.

If a self-healing adhesive is used and cutting the contours of the security elements is performed at a time when the adhesive has not yet fully cured, cuts in the adhesive layer are reformed. The still plastic adhesive can even penetrate into the temporary carrier substrates in sections and fill them in whole or in part or at least glue them to such an extent that the stability of the trimmed temporary carrier substrates does not appreciably suffer.

The cutting of the outline shapes of the security elements is preferably carried out by means of a laser, as this allows the best precision to be achieved. However, the term "cutting" generally means all methods known to a person skilled in the art for delimiting the individual security elements from the endless material, for example punching. If a laser is used for cutting, additional measures are preferably taken which are suitable for preventing a deep cutting of the laser. Such measures are, for example, the provision of a laser protection layer between the first temporary carrier substrate and the adhesive layer and / or between the second temporary carrier substrate and the adhesive layer. For example, the temporary carrier substrates can be vapor-deposited with a laser-absorbing or a laser-reflecting material. For steaming, or in general, to equip it with a laser protective layer, are at least the locations at which laser cuts are to be carried out later. An only partial coating may be useful to indemnify control lines for the control of the transfer process. For the cutting with a CO ₂ laser, vapor deposition of at least one of the temporary carrier substrates with copper has proven to be most effective.

Alternatively or additionally, the adhesive between the temporary carrier substrates with laser-absorbing or laser-reflecting substances, for example with metal pigments, thereby protecting the underlying temporary carrier substrate.

The temporary carrier typically consists of a carrier layer composite with two temporary carrier substrates, which are connected by means of an adhesive layer. However, the carrier layer composite may also comprise more than two temporary carrier substrates, wherein in each case two temporary carrier substrates are connected by means of an adhesive layer. It is essential that the adhesive bonds ensure that the temporary carrier always holds together as a layer composite and can be separated from the security elements even when transferring the security elements to valuables as a complete layer composite. Of course, the more layers the temporary carrier has, the more complex is its production. At the same time, however, it is possible to provide a larger number of laser protective layers. In general, however, two temporary carrier substrates are quite sufficient.

The laminate structure of the temporary support, optionally with a self-healing adhesive and / or laser protection layer (s) and / or laser-absorbing or laser-reflecting substances in the adhesive layer makes it possible to form the temporary support as a whole comparatively thin, therefore flexible and yet extremely stable. The layer thicknesses for the temporary carrier, d. H. the carrier layer composite, are preferably in the range of 20 microns to 40 microns.

The production of the security element transfer material according to the invention can take place in different ways. According to a variant of the security element layer composite and the carrier layer composite are each made separately and then glued together, the Production of the security element layer composite takes place in a conventional manner. The temporary carrier is produced by bonding the temporary carrier substrates by means of an adhesive layer. Importantly, the adhesives for bonding the temporary carrier substrates and bonding the security element laminate to the temporary carrier are selected such that the adhesive bond between the temporary carrier substrates can not be released under security element transfer conditions (typically heat sealing) while the bond between Security element layer composite and temporary carrier is easily solved.

According to a further variant, the security element layer composite is first produced in a conventional manner and constructed on the security element layer composite of the temporary carrier. For this purpose, a first substance is first applied to the viewing layer of the security element layer composite (the layer which later faces a viewer) and a temporary carrier substrate is glued thereto. On the temporary carrier substrate, a further adhesive is applied and glued to this another temporary carrier substrate. Optionally, further temporary carrier substrates can be adhered. It is essential that the adhesives be chosen so that the security element layer composite can be easily detached from the carrier layer composite, while the carrier layer composite always and especially under security element transmission conditions remains firmly bonded, as described in the previous variant. The first adhesive thus forms a so-called "release layer".

According to a further preferred embodiment, firstly the temporary carrier is produced and then the security element layer composite is constructed thereon, layer by layer. As already for the previous ones Described embodiments, the temporary carrier is made by non-detachably bonding at least two, and preferably two temporary carrier substrates to a carrier layer composite. Then, the security element layer composite is constructed in a conventional manner, wherein first on one of the temporary carrier substrates, a release layer can be applied and then the first security element layer (the later facing the viewer viewing layer) is then applied. The release layer may also be omitted in this type of fabrication if the type of gaze layer in the security element transfer process permits easy separation from the temporary support. This is especially the case when the viewing layer is a lacquer layer with low adhesion to plastic films, as they are used for the temporary carrier substrates. Suitable lacquers are, for example, the embossing lacquers used for embossing diffraction structures. If necessary, the temporary carrier substrate to be coated can also be pre-treated to reduce adhesion. In general, it should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiment is presently preferred over the other production variants, in particular if the security element layer composite without a release layer is arranged on the temporary carrier substrate. As will be explained below, it is possible to dispense with a release layer between security element layer composite and temporary carrier, in particular when using one or more UV embossing lacquer layers as a sight layer; wherein the multilayer embossing lacquer details the EP 1 879154 A2 can be taken (see also below).

It should also be noted that, in a preferred variant of the last-mentioned method, the second temporary carrier substrate and the first temporary carrier substrate are glued together only after the viewing layer and further layers of the security element subelement have been arranged on the first temporary carrier, whereby the second temporary carrier substrate is protected from thermal or radiation stresses, in particular in connection with the embossing of the embossing lacquer layer. Furthermore, it is conceivable according to a further variant, the second temporary carrier substrate and the further layers of the security element partial element z. B. a permanent carrier substrate to apply substantially simultaneously.

According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, as the first security element layer on the temporary carrier, an embossing lacquer layer according to the method described in US Pat EP 1 879 154 A2 applied method described. In the method, the embossing lacquer layer is applied wet-to-wet in several steps, ie a first embossing lacquer layer is first applied to the temporary support, the first layer optionally partially, but not completely, cured, then a second embossing lacquer layer and optionally further embossing lacquer layers applied, then at least the top layer of the coating is embossed with a microstructure, and then cured the entire coating. Subsequently, the microstructure can be equipped with a suitable coating, for example metallized. With regard to the production of the embossing lacquer layer, the disclosure content of EP 1 879 154 A2 in this respect included in the present description.

The formation of the embossing lacquer layer directly on the temporary support without the interposition of a heat-activatable release layer avoids the problem that under certain circumstances an undefined cleavage of the release layer takes place. Release layers can also cause problems if the gaze shift occurs after the security element has been transferred a value object further treated, for example, printed, should be. Overprinting of release layers or of layers which have residues of release layers often leads to unclean print images.

On the layer of the security element layer composite disposed opposite to the viewing layer, a heat-seal adhesive layer is preferably applied for bonding to a valuable article. Suitable heat seal adhesives are known to a person skilled in the art. Preference is given to using heat-sealable adhesives which after physical drying or, in the case of hotmelt adhesives, after cooling, form substantially tack-free coatings at room temperature. Such heat seal adhesives are preferred because the security element transfer material is not usually used immediately after production, but is stored, which requires winding of the continuous material. A tack free hot-melt adhesive layer would result in blocking of the wound security-element transfer-material webs. Tack free is when security element transfer material pieces of about 100 cm ² , stacked and weighted at 10 kg and stored for 72 hours at 40 ° C, are then easily separable without damage. With regard to the heat-seal adhesive layer, it is generally to be noted that this is advantageously applied only after the necessary steps have been performed for connecting the security element sub-element layers or the layers of the temporary carrier substrate. Since the joining of said layers usually takes place at elevated temperature and / or pressure, it makes sense to apply the heat- and / or pressure-sensitive hot-seal adhesive layer only after joining these layers.

The security element transfer material can now be stored temporarily or processed immediately. Next, in the security element layer composite, the later security elements are cut out, i. H. the outline shapes of the later security elements are cut into the security element layer composite, wherein the cuts preferably completely cut through the entire security element layer composite. "Cutting" in this context includes any form of cutting, so for example, punching. The most precise and therefore most preferred type of cutting is cutting with a laser. Even when laser cutting, however, it can not be avoided that the temporary carrier is cut. However, if the temporary carrier is designed according to the invention as a layer composite, cutting the layer composite does not have the effects of impairing the stability of the composite layer as a whole. The cutting process can be controlled so precisely that at least the farthest away from the security element layer composite temporary carrier substrate remains intact and keeps the temporary support stable. In addition, additional measures can be taken to stabilize the temporary carrier or to prevent deep cutting, such as the use of self-healing adhesives and the application of laser protective layers already described above. It is understood that when using a self-healing adhesive, the cutting of the security element outline should be done at a time when the adhesive has not yet fully cured.

Advantageously, a precise control of the cutting process can take place in that a temporary carrier substrate or an adhesive layer has a laser-sensitive dye. The color of the laser-sensitive dye beats due to the laser energy and / or the wavelength the laser to, or the laser-sensitive dye reacts to the heat generated during laser cutting, for example by evaporation. This results in the following four possible variations for the precise control of the cutting process:

Variability 1 for precise control of the cutting process: The temporary carrier substrate (18 in the below Fig. 4b ), which must not be damaged by the laser, is provided with a laser-sensitive dye. Nevertheless, if the temporary carrier substrate is damaged by the laser, the dye discolors, which can be detected by a sensor. In this way, the area with the damaged temporary carrier substrate can be marked as scrap, ie as goods to be sorted out. Furthermore, in this way, a message to the machine operator that the tolerance limit is exceeded and the laser must be readjusted, for example by the laser power is reduced and / or the deflection speed of the laser is increased. The term deflection speed here is to be understood as the speed with which the laser is guided over the workpiece. A readjustment of the laser can also be done automatically via a suitable sensor.

Variability 2 for precise control of the cutting process: The adhesive layer (19 in the below Fig. 4b ) of the carrier layer composite, which may be last damaged by the laser before the laser damages a temporary carrier substrate lying under the adhesive layer, is provided with a laser-sensitive dye. If the dye discolors, this can be detected by a sensor. In this way, a message to the operator can be made that is working close to the tolerance limit and the laser must be readjusted, for example by the laser power withdrawn and / or the deflection speed of the laser is increased. A readjustment of the laser can also be done automatically via a suitable sensor.

Variability 3 for precise control of the cutting process: The security element layer composite is connected to the temporary carrier via a release layer (9 in the below-described Fig. 4d ), which must be damaged by the laser. The release layer is provided with a laser-sensitive dye. If the dye does not discolour, the cutting process is incomplete and the area marked as scrap. In this way, a message to the operator can be made that the tolerance falls below the limit and the laser must be readjusted, for example by the laser power increases and / or the deflection speed of the laser is reduced. A readjustment of the laser can also be done automatically via a suitable sensor.

Variability 4 for precise control of the cutting process: Within a carrier layer composite with several adhesive layers, the adhesive layer (17 "in the below-described Fig. 5 ), which may be damaged by the laser, provided with a laser-sensitive dye. If the dye discolors, this can be detected by a sensor and a message is sent to the machine operator that work is being carried out close to the tolerance limit and must be readjusted, for example by increasing the laser power and / or reducing the deflection speed of the laser. A readjustment of the laser can also be done automatically via a suitable sensor.

Precise control of the cutting process can also be achieved by a combination of several of the variations described above to reach. For practical reasons, however, the variation possibility 1 described above is preferred.

Even in the case of a cutting process by punching a precise control of the cutting process by the four variations described above can be done. However, in this case, an encapsulated dye is advantageously used, which bleeds through the cut of the punch.

After cutting the security feature outline shapes, and optionally after curing of the self-curing adhesive that bonds the temporary support substrates, the excess security-element laminate, ie, the laminate outside the outlines of the security features, is removed, leaving only the security features themselves are the temporary carrier, the security elements on the temporary carrier so spaced apart. The security element transfer material now consists of the temporary support with the security elements formed as transfer elements, ie the layer order of the security elements is the reverse of the layer order that exists after the transfer of the security elements on the protected object. Removal of the excess security element laminar material is also referred to as "feathering" because the excess security element laminar material forms a continuous grid (with recesses in the form of the security elements remaining on the temporary carrier) which peels / removes from the temporary carrier analogously to a separation coil can be.

The transfer of the security elements from the security element transfer material to valuables, in particular a security paper or a value document, preferably takes place by heat sealing. In this case, both the security element transfer material and the valuable article are preferably used as band material. The band materials are brought together in the appropriate position, for example in a nip, whereby the security elements stick to the valuables. Preferably, the bonding takes place by means of hot-seal adhesive, ie at elevated temperature. After bonding the security elements with the valuables, the temporary carrier is separated as a complete carrier layer composite of the transmitted security elements, for example by separation winding. The security elements can have any shapes and in themselves any sizes. Preferred embodiments are labels, Folienpatche or other planar security elements.
The dimensions are significantly influenced by the protected object of value. The security elements preferably have a thickness of 1 μm to 100 μm, particularly preferably a thickness of 2 μm to 50 μm. These are the preferred thicknesses of the security elements in the provision of valuable documents and security papers with security elements, because they are easy to handle. In terms of area, formats of a few square millimeters to a few square centimeters or larger are generally advisable.

The security element transfer material according to the invention is basically suitable for product security of goods of any kind, in particular for the authenticity assurance of security papers and value documents. The term "security paper" is understood to mean a precursor that can not yet be processed to a value document, which besides the security element can have further authenticity features. Security paper is lying Usually as continuous material before and will be further processed at a later date. Value documents are in particular banknotes, certificates, checks, identity documents, identity cards, credit cards and the like.

With particular advantage, the security element transfer material according to the invention, which has security elements which due to their permanent carrier substrate have a particular stability, is used to close through openings in value documents. If the permanent carrier substrate of the security elements is transparent, the functional layers (feature layers) can be designed such that a viewer can see through the security element at least in some areas.

An opening in a security paper or document of value may already be generated during the production of the security paper or document of value and then has a fibrous, irregular edge. Such an edge is characteristic of the openings already made during sheet formation and can not be subsequently produced. Details of the preparation of such irregular edges of the document WO 03/054297 A2 are removed, the disclosure of which is included in the present description. In other embodiments, the opening is produced only after papermaking by punching or cutting, for example by laser beam cutting.

The present invention will be further illustrated by means of figures. It should be noted that the figures are not true to scale and not proportions. Furthermore, certain features disclosed in a figure are not only in combination with the others in the corresponding figure disclosed features applicable. On the contrary, features described in connection with a specific embodiment can each be combined independently with features from other embodiments or, more generally, can be used in the security element transfer material according to the invention.

Fig. 1

einen Querschnitt durch ein Sicherheitselement-Transfermaterial des Stands der Technik,

Fig. 2

eine Aufsicht auf ein Sicherheitselement-Transfer-material, wie es in Fig.1, Fig. 4a bis 4d und Fig. 5 dargestellt ist,

Fig. 3

eine Aufsicht auf ein Wertdokument mit einem Sicherheitselement aus einem erfindungsgemäßen Sicherheits-element-Transfermaterial,

Fig. 4a bis Fig. 4d

Verfahrensstadien bei der Herstellung eines erfindungsgemäßen Sicherheitselement-Transfermaterials, jeweils dargestellt im Querschnitt entlang der Linie A-A' von Fig. 2, und

Fig. 5

eine spezielle Ausführungsform eines erfindungsgemäßen Sicherheitselement-Transfermaterials, dargestellt im Querschnitt entlang der Linie A-A' von Fig. 2.

Show it:

Fig. 1

a cross section through a security element transfer material of the prior art,

Fig. 2

a top view of a security element transfer material, as in Fig.1 . Fig. 4a to 4d and Fig. 5 is shown

Fig. 3

a plan view of a security document with a security element of a security element transfer material according to the invention,

Fig. 4a to Fig. 4d

Process stages in the production of a security element transfer material according to the invention, each shown in cross section along the line AA 'of Fig. 2 , and

Fig. 5

a special embodiment of a security element transfer material according to the invention, shown in cross section along the line AA 'of Fig. 2 ,

In the figures, like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts.

Fig. 1 shows a security element transfer material of the prior art, shown in cross section along the line AA 'of Fig. 2 , The security element transfer material has a temporary carrier 16 and a security element layer composite 15 consisting of the feature layers 4, 5 and 2, the permanent carrier substrate 3, an adhesive layer 6, a primer layer 7 and a heat-seal adhesive layer 8. The feature layer 4 is the Blickschicht, ie after the transfer of security elements to valuables, it faces the viewer. The layer 4 here is a liquid crystal layer applied over part of the area, the areas 4 'being the liquid crystal areas. Another feature layer is a metallized hologram, consisting of the embossing lacquer layer 5 and the vapor-deposited metal layer 2. The metal layer 2 has recesses 2 ', which form a negative writing. The metallization 2 is provided substantially only in the areas of the security element transfer material forming the later security elements. The security element layer composite 15 and the temporary carrier 16 are connected by means of a release layer 9, to which, as already mentioned, can also be dispensed with in a particularly advantageous embodiment.

The lines 20 and 20 'indicate how the security element laminate is cut to pre-cut the security elements in their outline shapes. As can be seen, the cuts 20 and 20 'penetrate into the plastic film forming the temporary support 16. The plastic film is destabilized by the cuts and can easily tear at the points of incisions with slight strains, as they are practically unavoidable in the course of the transfer process of the security elements.

Fig. 2 In plan view, a security element transfer material in which the security elements are pre-cut is not seen Fig. 1 shown as a cross section of a portion along the line AA ', or to a security element transfer material 1 according to the invention, as in FIGS. 4a to 4d and Fig. 5 , each represented as a cross section of a portion along the line AA ', is.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a document of value, which has a security element 10 of a security element transfer material 1 according to the invention. The FIGS. 2 and 3 will be explained later in more detail.

Fig. 4a shows a cross section through a portion of a security element transfer material 1 according to the invention along the line AA 'of Fig. 2 , The illustration corresponds to the representation of the security element transfer material of the prior art of Fig. 1 , The structure of the security element laminate 15 is the same as that in FIG Fig. 1 illustrated security element transfer material of the prior art. Also in the case of the security element transfer material 1 according to the invention, the security element layer composite 15 is connected to a temporary carrier 16 by means of a release layer 9, wherein the release layer 9, as already mentioned, can also be dispensed with in a particularly advantageous embodiment. In contrast to the security element transfer material of the prior art, however, this is not a single film but a carrier layer composite comprising a first temporary carrier substrate 17 and a second temporary carrier substrate 18, which are non-detachably connected by means of an adhesive layer 19. The two temporary carrier substrates are plastic films, for example films PET, and the adhesive layer 19 consists of a cationic radiation-curable adhesive, for example UVCS0002 from XSYS. In addition, 2K PU systems are particularly suitable as adhesives. The security element layer composite 15 has a total thickness of about 25 microns, the PET films 17 and 18 each have a thickness of about 12 microns, and the adhesive layer 19 has a thickness of about 3 microns in the dry state.

The FIGS. 4b to 4d each show the same view as Fig. 4a but in further processing states of the security element transfer material 1 according to the invention.

Fig. 4b shows the security element transfer material, after using a CO ₂ laser (wavelength 10,600 nm), the outline forms 21 (see Fig. 2 ) of the later security elements 10 were cut into the security element layer composite 15. The cuts are shown as lines 20, 20 '. The cut 20 cuts through not only the security element layer composite 15 but also the first temporary carrier substrate 17, and at the point 20 'the cut penetrates far into the adhesive layer 19.

In the security element transfer material 1 according to the invention, when the outline shapes 21 have been cut at a point in time at which the adhesive of the layer 19 has not yet completely hardened, after a certain time the outline in FIG Fig. 4c illustrated state. How out Fig. 4c As can be seen, the incision 20 'in the adhesive layer 19 is completely cured. The cuts 20 and 20 'in the temporary carrier substrate 17 are still clearly visible, but if the cutting of the outline shapes occurs early enough, the adhesive of the layer 19 is still sufficiently fluid and reactive that it at least a little way into the cuts of the temporary carrier substrate 17 penetrates and glued the cuts.

Subsequently, the excess material of the security element layer composite 15, in the cross-sectional representations, the material between the cuts 20 and 20 ', removed, whereby 15 gaps 22 are formed in the security element layer composite. This condition is in Fig. 4d shown. On both sides of the gap 22 are security elements 10. In the top view of the Fig. 2 it can be seen that the security elements 10, in Fig. 2 represented as their outlines 21, now represent "islands" on the temporary support 16. The islands are surrounded by areas 22 where there is no longer any security element laminar material. Fig. 2 shows the security element transfer material 1 according to the invention as an endless belt, in which only one security element is located in the direction of the width. In practice, the endless belts may be wider and include a plurality of juxtaposed security elements.

Fig. 5 shows a specific embodiment of the security element transfer material 1 according to the invention, wherein a state is shown, which corresponds to the in Fig. 4b shown state corresponds. At the in Fig. 5 shown security element transfer material, the temporary carrier 16 consists of three temporary carrier substrates 17 ', 17 "' and 18, which are permanently connected by means of adhesive layers 17" and 19 to a carrier layer composite. The layers 17 ', 17 "and 17"' are each very thin, and the adhesive layer 17 "contains copper in pigment form which reflects laser beams to limit the depth of cut As can be seen, at least the cut 20 'does not penetrate deeply into the temporary Carrier 16. The temporary carrier 16 remains sufficiently stable with three temporary carrier substrates as long as the outermost carrier substrate 18 is not cut.

Immediately on the temporary carrier 16 is an embossing lacquer layer 5 after the in EP 1879154 A2 described method by application of two embossing lacquer coats that were coined and cured, produced. As already related to Fig.1 and 4 mentioned, the is in Fig. 5 shown direct arrangement of the security element layer composite 15 on the temporary support 16, ie without a release layer, particularly preferred and also for in Fig.1 and 4 shown embodiments very advantageous. On the embossing lacquer layer 5, the metallization 2 was vapor-deposited by physical vapor deposition. In the metallization 2, by means of a washing process (as disclosed for example in US Pat WO 99/13157 and WO 97/23357 ) generates the recesses 2 '. Then a layer of laminating adhesive 6 was applied and a PET film as a permanent carrier substrate 3 bonded thereto. On the permanent support substrate 3 further layers have been built, the exact nature of the present invention, however, is irrelevant, and which are designated generally by the reference numeral 11. If the excess security element layer composite material is removed after the outline forms 21 of the security elements 10 have been cut in, the result is a plan view, as shown in FIG Fig. 2 is shown.

Fig. 3 shows a banknote 30, which has a through opening 31. The through opening 31 is closed with a foil patch 10, which has a larger area than the through opening 31. The foil patch 10 is a security element made from a security element transfer material 1 according to the invention, as shown in FIGS FIGS. 4a to 4d is shown. In addition, the banknote 30 has yet another security element, the security thread 40, on. For applying the security element 10 to the banknote 30, webs with banknotes 30 (uncut) and security element transfer material webs with the security elements 10, such as in Fig. 4d represented, brought together so that in each case a security element 10 with a through opening 31 is congruent. For this purpose, the security elements 10 must be prefabricated in the security element transfer material 1 in the appropriate sizes and distances. Under elevated temperature and elevated pressure, a security element 10 is glued to a banknote 30 in each case. The hatched area 4 'represents the area of the security element 10 in which liquid crystal material is located. The regions 2 'are the recesses in the metallization 2, through which a viewer can essentially see through the security element 10.

Claims (13)

1. A security-element transfer material (1) having

   - a security-element layer composite (15) which has a multiplicity of layers including at least one feature layer (2; 4), a permanent carrier substrate (3) and a viewing layer (4), wherein the viewing layer is the layer facing a viewer after the transfer of a security element (10) to an object of value (30), and wherein the viewing layer can be identical with a feature layer or the permanent carrier substrate, and

   - a temporary carrier (16) which is detachably connected to the viewing layer (4) of the security-element layer composite (15), wherein

   - the temporary carrier (16) has a carrier layer composite which consists of a first (17) and a second (18) temporary carrier substrate which are indissolubly bonded by means of a bonding-agent layer (19), and outline shapes (21) of the security elements (10) are precut in the security-element layer composite (15), wherein the cuts (20, 20') partly or completely sever the first temporary carrier substrate (17), where applicable, and partly or completely sever the bonding-agent layer (19), where applicable, but do not penetrate into the second temporary carrier substrate (18), so that the temporary carrier (16) can be detached as a complete carrier layer composite.
2. The security-element transfer material (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the bonding-agent layer (19) consists of a self-healing bonding agent, preferably of a cationically radiation-curing bonding agent.
3. The security-element transfer material (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the layer-composite material outside the outline shapes (21) of the security elements (10) has been removed from the security-element layer composite (15), so that the security-element transfer material (1) has gaps (22) in the security-element layer composite (15) while the temporary carrier (16) has no gaps.
4. The security-element transfer material (1) according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the viewing layer (4) is an embossing lacquer layer which is formed directly on the temporary carrier (16).
5. A method for producing a security-element transfer material (1) which comprises a security-element layer composite (15) and a temporary carrier (16), having the following steps:

   - producing the temporary carrier (16), and

   - building up the security-element layer composite (15) on the temporary carrier (16), wherein the security-element layer composite (15) has a multiplicity of layers including at least one feature layer (2; 4), a permanent carrier substrate (3) and a viewing layer (4), wherein the viewing layer is the layer facing a viewer after the transfer of a security element (10) to an object of value (30), and wherein the viewing layer can be identical with a feature layer or the permanent carrier substrate, wherein

   - the temporary carrier (16) is produced by indissolubly bonding a first (17) and a second (18) temporary carrier substrate by means of a bonding-agent layer (19) to form a carrier layer composite, and

   - the security-element layer composite (15) is built up by detachably connecting the viewing layer (4) to the first temporary carrier substrate (17) and applying the further layers of the security-element layer composite (15) on the viewing layer (4) detachably connected to the first temporary carrier substrate (17), and

   - outline shapes (21) of the security elements (10) are cut into the security-element layer composite (15), wherein a self-healing bonding agent is preferably employed for producing the bonding-agent layer (19) of the temporary carrier (16), and the outline shapes (21) are cut in while the bonding agent has not yet cured.
6. A method for producing a security-element transfer material (1) which comprises a security-element layer composite (15) and a temporary carrier (16), having the following steps:

   - producing the security-element layer composite (15), wherein the security-element layer composite (15) has a multiplicity of layers including at least one feature layer (2; 4), a permanent carrier substrate (3) and a viewing layer (4), wherein the viewing layer is the layer facing a viewer after the transfer of a security element (10) to an object of value (30), and wherein the viewing layer can be identical with a feature layer or the permanent carrier substrate,

   - producing the temporary carrier (16), and

   - connecting the security-element layer composite (15) and the temporary carrier (16), wherein

   - the temporary carrier (16) is produced by indissolubly bonding a first (17) and a second (18) temporary carrier substrate by means of a bonding-agent layer (19) to form a carrier layer composite, and

   - the connecting of the security-element layer composite (15) and the temporary carrier (16) is effected by producing a dissoluble bonded connection between the viewing layer (4) of the security-element layer composite (15) and the first temporary carrier substrate (17) of the temporary carrier (16), and

   - outline shapes (21) of the security elements (10) are cut into the security-element layer composite (15), wherein a self-healing bonding agent is preferably employed for producing the bonding-agent layer (19) of the temporary carrier (16), and the outline shapes (21) are cut in while the bonding agent has not yet cured.
7. A method for producing a security-element transfer material (1) which comprises a security-element layer composite (15) and a temporary carrier (16), having the following steps:

   - producing the security-element layer composite (15), wherein the security-element layer composite has a multiplicity of layers including at least one feature layer (2; 4), a permanent carrier substrate (3) and a viewing layer (4), wherein the viewing layer is the layer facing a viewer after the transfer of a security element (10) to an object of value (30), and wherein the viewing layer can be identical with a feature layer or the permanent carrier substrate, and

   - building up the temporary carrier (16) on the security-element layer composite (15), wherein the temporary carrier (16) is built up by

   - dissolubly bonding a first temporary carrier substrate (17) with the viewing layer (4) of the security-element layer composite (15), and

   - indissolubly bonding a second temporary carrier substrate with the first temporary carrier substrate (17) by means of a bonding-agent layer (19), and

   - outline shapes (21) of the security elements (10) are cut into the security-element layer composite (15), wherein a self-healing bonding agent is preferably employed for producing the bonding-agent layer (19) of the temporary carrier (16), and the outline shapes (21) are cut in while the bonding agent has not yet cured.
8. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the viewing layer (4) is formed by an embossing lacquer layer which is built up directly on the temporary carrier (16).
9. The method according to any of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the layer-composite material of the security-element layer composite (15) outside the outline shapes (21) of the security elements (10) has been removed from the security-element transfer material (1).
10. A method for transferring a security element (10) from a security-element transfer material (1) to an object of value (30) such as a security paper, a value document or a branded article, having the following steps:

    - bringing together a security-element transfer material (1) according to any of claims 1 to 4 and the object of value (30),

    - pressing together the security-element transfer material (1) in the region of the security element (10) to be transferred and the object of value (30), under elevated temperature, where applicable, and

    - detaching the temporary carrier (16) as a complete carrier layer composite from the transferred security element (10).
11. An object of value (30), such as a security paper or value document, which has been equipped with a security element (10) while employing a security-element transfer material (1) according to any of claims 1 to 4.
12. The object of value (30) according to claim 11, characterized in that the object of value has a through opening (31), and the security element (10) is so attached that it substantially closes the through opening (31).
13. The object of value (30) according to claim 12, characterized in that the object of value is a bank note having a through opening (31), wherein the permanent carrier substrate (3) is preferably transparent or translucent, and the feature layer (2) has a negative script (2').

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