EP2681056B1 - Security element having a perforation raster, coded information and its method of manufacture - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a security element for a value and / or security document, which comprises a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises at least a first information area, in which a first information is encoded by means of holes formed in the at least one first information area, and a method for the production such a security element.

A security element is an entity that includes at least one security feature intended to protect an imitation, falsification, copy or manipulation of the security element itself or an article in or on which the security element is mounted. Documents which have at least one security feature and / or one security element are referred to as security documents. Security documents include, for example, passports, identity cards, identity cards, driving licenses, but also secured against forgery labels, tickets or the like. A subset of the security documents, which additionally embody a value, are also referred to as value documents. The group of value documents includes i.a. Banknotes, postage stamps, tax stamps, stocks, securities and the like, just to name a few.

From the prior art, a variety of security features and security elements are known in which information is encoded, which is to be protected against mimicking, duplication, but in particular against falsification. In particular, in such security documents that are assigned to a person, such as passports, identity cards or driving licenses, are often falsified. In order to produce such counterfeits, similar security documents are often used, which thus in part have original security features and security elements, but are falsified with regard to individual security elements and / or information stored therein.

A group of security elements in which information can be stored or encoded with information in a security element have holes formed in a substrate that together form a hole pattern.

In the JP 2006-224476 A Value and security documents are described which have arranged in a regular grid perforations. A test of authenticity includes a printed image formed of colored pixels formed on the inside of certain perforation holes. In a vertical plan view, the printed image is not / hardly recognizable, on a grazing view from a certain direction, however, the printed image is recognizable.

In the JP 2006-205674 A is a counterfeit protected medium described with an optically variable element. The medium comprises a notched image formed by a group of minute holes, the group being partly formed in an area where the optically variable element is disposed, and partly formed in an area where the group is formed optically variable element is not arranged, wherein the group of tiny holes covers a boundary between the areas.

From the FR 2 564 622 A1 For example, there is known a method of producing identification documents having indicia that enable identification or identification of at least one owner. The method described therein comprises transmitting such indicia to a solid support in the form of at least a set of points distributed as pits or bumps at discrete intervals. For example, a first set of such points represents a passport photograph of the owner. For example, a second set of points may include various symbols, such as letters, numbers, or other graphical symbols, indicating the identity, an address, or other information about the user. The dots may be formed by controlled penetration of a tool into the medium of the substrate or via an interaction with a laser. For example, the dots are arranged as pits at regular intervals. In order to obtain contrasts between lighter and darker sections, it is proposed to vary their cross-section with constant spacing of the points. Another embodiment provides that depressions of uniform depth are produced and the density of the dots is varied.

From the EP 0 936 975 B1 discloses a security feature incorporating a hole pattern in which a document is protected against counterfeiting by comprising a security feature in the form of a perforation pattern, the perforation pattern comprising holes of different sizes, the perforation pattern extending over a closed surface of the document and representing a passport photograph , wherein the perforation pattern is generated by means of laser light.

A disadvantage of these embodiments is that counterfeiters can change the information stored in such a hole pattern by changing the hole sizes or adding more holes and such a change is not or only very difficult to detect or detect.

The invention is therefore based on the technical object of providing an improved security element and a method for its production, which makes manipulation more difficult and / or makes it easier to recognize.

Basic idea of the invention

The invention is based on the idea of structurally assigning to an area of information formed a raster covering this area of information in an area which is of regular geometrical design and has raster points assumed to be punctiform. With respect to this grid, the information to be stored is binarily divided into informational portions and background portions. If, for example, an alphanumeric character is coded according to a basic division method, then those raster positions which are "covered" by the alphanumeric character are assigned an information component, the remaining raster positions a background component.

Furthermore, it is provided according to the basic idea that the information is formed quasi inversely. This means that all raster points to which no information component is assigned are provided with a hole. It is further provided that the holes all have the same geometric configuration. Comparing this type of coding with a usual black-and-white print of an alphanumeric character, the grid locations of the security element remain "in tact" to which black ink of the sign would be applied. All other raster points in the information area are provided with a hole.

The advantage of the invention is that the information is stored almost inverted in the document and additionally in such a way that only holes of a uniform shape can occur at predetermined by the regular grid locations.

Manipulation options are drastically limited. If, for example, an appearance of a passport picture encoded in this manner is to be changed, then this is very difficult to do without additional holes outside the predetermined grid or holes with a different geometric shape, in particular a deviating, enlarged diameter. It is only possible to convert information shares into background shares without this being noticeable during a verification.

A verification is possible even with hole diameter sizes greater than or equal to 50 microns in diameter usually without technical aids. If holes are introduced with a different larger shape or outside the given geometric grid, this is perceptible to a human observer. Alternatively or additionally, a machine evaluation and verification is possible. Meaningful changes in the information content that can be generated by converting pieces of information into background portions are very limited, so that possibilities for forgery due to a manipulation of an already existing security element are drastically reduced or completely excluded.

definitions

As a hole, each recess of material is taken from a substrate. A hole may thus be a depression, for example a blind hole, but also a through hole which completely penetrates the substrate in which it is formed.

A raster is understood to be any regular geometric arrangement of points which have a regularity in at least two non-collinear directions. A preferred grid is formed by mutually equally spaced parallel first lines and at an angle thereto extending second lines, which are also mutually parallel and equally spaced. Preferably, the distances between the first lines are identical to the distances between the second lines. An angle between the first lines and the second lines is 90 ° in a preferred embodiment. The grids are given by the intersections of the first and second lines. In principle, however, other regular grids are also possible in which the graticules along each direction have an equidistant spacing along individual predefined directions.

As an information portion of information to be encoded, that portion of the information printed after converting the information into binary display elements with, for example, a black ink on an infinitely expanded white background along with the other information portions, results in an image by which to encode Information is visible. In an information encoded by alphanumeric characters, the division is thus made so that the printing area (mentally) the grid is superimposed. Those raster points that coincide with places where printer ink is or would be located are allocated one piece of information, and the remaining rasters are assigned a background share. In principle, it is advantageous to carry out the division so that the number of background shares outweighs the number of information shares. Thus, since the background portions are formed by holes in the substrate, only a few raster locations remain in the security element embodying the information.

Preferred embodiments

A preferred embodiment of a security element for a value and / or security document comprises a substrate, wherein the substrate comprises at least one first information area in which a first information is coded by means of holes formed in the at least one first information area, it being provided that the first Information area a two-dimensional geometrically regular, the at least a first information area areal covering grid with (dot-shaped) grid points (mentally) is assigned and the first information regarding this grid is divided into binary information portions and background portions and the information is encoded in such a way that at all Raster locations in the at least one first information area, which is assigned no information share, one of the holes is formed, wherein the holes all have the same geometric configuration.

Such a security element can be produced by a method comprising the steps of providing a substrate, receiving or acquiring at least a first information, introducing holes into at least a first information area of the substrate such that the first information is encoded in the substrate It is provided that the first information area a two-dimensional geometrically regular, the at least a first information area area covering grid with (dot-shaped) raster points (mentally) is assigned, and the first information regarding this grid is divided into binary information parts and background portions and the information in the Is encoded in such a way that at all grid locations in the at least one first information area to which no information component is assigned, one of the holes is formed, wherein the holes are formed so that they are all the same geometric he embodiment have.

The substrate may be a paper substrate or even a plastic substrate or a metal foil or the like. The substrate may also be a laminate formed of different layers. All substrate materials occurring in the field of manufacturing security documents, which are well known to the person skilled in the art, are conceivable. The holes may or may be formed as depressions or as through-holes through the substrate. For example, these can be punched by means of a mechanical tool. However, embodiments in which the holes are introduced into the substrate by means of laser radiation are particularly preferred. Preferably, these are formed as through holes. This offers the advantage that a verification when viewed in transmitted light in a simple manner is possible.

The substrate preferably has a certain opacity, at least in the area of the at least one first information area, so that the holes can be clearly seen when viewed in transmitted light.

The information encoded in the at least one first information area is preferably an individualizing or personalizing information item. An individualizing information is an information that individualizes the security element compared to other similar security elements. An individualizing information is, for example, a serial number of a security document or of a security element. Personalizing information is information associated with a particular person, who in turn is associated with the security element or security document into which the security element is or will be integrated. Examples of personalizing information represent, for example, biometric data, for example a passport photo, or even a name, an address, a place of birth, a residential address or the like.

In a preferred embodiment, for example, a passport picture is coded as information in the at least one first information area. The first information area is preferably selected to be so large that a background information portion is allocated along one edge in an edge strip of the information area to all the grid locations, ie all grid locations are formed with a hole. This means that the first information area preferably a Area which is larger than the area required for the graphical representation of the first information.

Preferably, the holes are formed circular. However, other embodiments may use other geometric shapes, such as square, triangular, star, or oval shapes, to name but a few. A focus of the geometric shape preferably coincides with the grid point. If the shape is not rotationally symmetrical, then all holes are oriented identically with respect to their geometric configuration.

In order to obtain the smallest possible number of raster sites to which an information component is assigned, it is preferable to divide the information into information and background components such that information components to be incorporated represent their information content by a geometric figure, for example a letter or a digit is that only the raster points which coincide with the outer contours or are immediately adjacent, an information component is assigned and raster points, which would be assigned due to the geometric shape of the alphanumeric character an information component, yet a background portion is assigned, if all the nearest neighbors the corresponding grid location is also or would be assigned an information share due to the shape of the alphanumeric character. Such a division is synonymous with the use of a font in which the characters are characterized by an outer circumferential outline and the characters inside transparent or have the background color of a substrate on which these alphanumeric characters are printed.

It is thus preferred to use alphanumeric characters in a font size (character size) to encode information in the at least one first information area whose typical line width is sized to be greater than twice the spacing of adjacent raster locations.

An embodiment of the invention thus provides that the at least one first piece of information is divided into the information and background portions in such a way that, in the case of pieces of information which are alphanumeric characters, those grid positions which are due to a shape of the alphanumeric character Information portion would be assigned, however, a background portion is assigned, if all the nearest neighbors of the grid location due to the shape of the alphanumeric character is also assigned an information share or would be assigned.

In order to secure the information stored in the at least one first information area or at another point in the security element or a security document onto which or in which the security element is integrated, in one embodiment at least one second information area is provided in which at least one second information is encoded by means of second holes, wherein the at least one second information area is associated with a further two-dimensional geometrically regular grid covering the at least one second information area with (dot-shaped) detents (mental), wherein the second holes all have the same geometric configuration and for each grid location of the second grid is formed in the at least one second information area of one of the second holes, wherein the second holes all have the same geometric shape, the second one Holes each encode a portion of information about a relative positioning with respect to the associated dot-shaped raster location. This means that a hole is formed in the at least one second information area for each of the grid locations of the second grid, but that the holes may be arranged differently with respect to a predetermined point, for example their geometric center of gravity, relative to the dot-shaped grid location.

In a preferred embodiment, each of the second holes may occupy one of nine predetermined positions relative to the raster position so as to encode a value between 0 and 8. A possible positioning provides that the center of gravity of the second hole coincides with the grid position. For the remaining eight further positions, the center of gravity of the second hole is at a predetermined distance from the screen, the eight positions being defined by the different angles 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, 315 have an excellent direction. A position is thus determined by the distance and possibly additionally an angular orientation of a connecting line of the center of gravity with the grid point with respect to an excellent predetermined direction in the grid. With n wide holes in the at least one second Information area can thus be encoded, for example, 9 ⁿ numbers. For example, if two adjacent second holes are combined to encode symbols, then by such a pair of second holes 9 ² different symbols, ie 81 different symbols or characters, can be encoded. This is sufficient, for example, to encode all uppercase and lowercase letters of a Latin alphabet and additionally the nine Arabic numerals.

Of course, other codings are possible in which more or fewer possible relative positions, relative to the grid point, are predetermined for forming an information component in the second holes.

In a preferred embodiment, the grid locations of the at least one second grid coincide with the grid locations of the grid of the at least one information area, provided that this would be extended such that it also covers the at least one second information area. In this case, it is assumed that the grid associated with the at least one first information area and the grid which is assigned to the at least one second information area have the same geometric shape.

Embodiments in which the at least one second information includes protection information indicating a number of the holes in the non-manipulated first information area and / or a number of non-perforated grid locations in the non-manipulated first information area are particularly preferred. In this way it is possible to reliably detect also manipulations which are made by adding further holes in the first information area in order to change the information perceivable there. The information formed in the second information area can almost not be manipulated, since each grid location is already assigned a second hole and these holes all have the same geometric shape. Adding holes or increasing hole diameters can be easily detected.

The second information area is usually provided only for a machine verification, in which, for example, an image of the security element or security document is detected under transmitted light conditions and the positions of the individual second holes relative to the grid locations by means of a Computer-implemented algorithm determined and the information is evaluated on this. If an image of the at least one first information area is also detected, preferably under transmitted light conditions, at the same time or with a time offset, then a counting of the existing holes in the first information area or, correspondingly, a counting of the grid locations at which no hole is arranged can be determined together with a backup information whether the information perceivable in the first information area is manipulated or not.

It goes without saying that more complex security information and additional information, for example biometric data, a name, a place of birth or the like, can alternatively or additionally be coded in the at least one second information area and thus made available for a machine reading.

Fig. 1

eine schematische Darstellung eines als Sicherheitsdokument ausgebildeten Sicherheitselements;

Fig. 2

eine schematische Darstellung einer zu speichernden ersten Information, über die ein dem ersten Informationsbereich zugeordnetes Raster gelegt ist;

Fig. 3a

eine schematische Darstellung der Informationsanteile der ersten Information nach Fig. 2 gemäß einer ersten Aufteilung in Informations- und Hintergrundanteile;

Fig. 3b

die entsprechenden Hintergrundanteile der ersten Information nach Fig. 2;

Fig. 4a

die Informationsanteile der Information nach Fig. 2 gemäß einer weiteren Aufteilung in Informations- und Hintergrundanteile;

Fig. 4b

die entsprechenden Hintergrundanteile, welche mit den Informationsanteilen gemäß Fig. 4a korrespondieren;

Fig. 5

eine weitere Darstellung eines weiteren als Sicherheitsdokument ausgebildeten Sicherheitselements;

Fig. 6

eine schematische Darstellung zur Erläuterung der Codierung von Informationen in einem zweiten Informationsbereich; und

Fig. 7

eine schematische vergrößerte Darstellung der in dem zweiten Informationsbereich der Fig. 5 codierten Information.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments. Hereby show:

Fig. 1

a schematic representation of a trained as a security document security element;

Fig. 2

a schematic representation of a first information to be stored, over which a first information area associated with the grid is placed;

Fig. 3a

a schematic representation of the information portions of the first information after Fig. 2 according to a first division into information and background shares;

Fig. 3b

the corresponding background portions of the first information Fig. 2 ;

Fig. 4a

the informational parts of the information Fig. 2 according to a further division into information and background shares;

Fig. 4b

the corresponding background shares, which with the information shares according to Fig. 4a correspond;

Fig. 5

a further illustration of another security element designed as a security document;

Fig. 6

a schematic representation for explaining the encoding of information in a second information area; and

Fig. 7

a schematic enlarged view of the in the second information area of Fig. 5 coded information.

In Fig. 1 schematically illustrated as a security document 1 security element 2 is shown. The security element 2 comprises a box-shaped formed substrate 3. This may be, for example, a prepared over a lamination of several films document body. Likewise, in other embodiments of a security element, the substrate may consist of a single film of plastic, metal or also of a pulp-based sheet or sheet. The substrate 3 comprises a first information area 4, the surface of which is opaque in the illustrated embodiment, for example printed black. If the substrate is a lamination body, then the printing ink is preferably applied to one of the films lying inside after lamination. In addition to the first information area 4, an information 5 is shown in the illustrated security document 1, which information is for example imprinted, loose or formed by laser blackening. The information 5 can be any information, preferably personalizing information. For example, this information 5 is preferably a passport photograph of the person to whom the security document 1 is assigned, which is to identify this person. For the sake of simplicity, the Arabic numeral 1 is chosen as the information content.

In the illustrated embodiment, this stored in the security document 1 information 5 is to be secured by an additional security feature. For this purpose, the same information is additionally coded as so-called first information 11 in the first information area 4. This is done via holes 6, which are formed in the first information area 4. The first information area 4 is associated with a grid 7, which is formed by horizontal lines 8 and vertical lines 9. The horizontal lines 8 are parallel to each other and each have to adjacent lines 8 an equidistant distance. The same applies to the vertical lines 9, which are oriented parallel to one another and in each case have the same distance from the nearest neighbors. The intersections of the horizontal lines 8 and the vertical lines 9 form the grid 7, wherein the intersections are referred to as raster points 10. The first information 11 encoded in the first information area, which in this embodiment is identical to the information 5 already stored in the security document 1, is stored by superimposing the raster 7 associated with the first information area 4 of the first information 11 to be stored. This is exemplary in Fig. 2 shown. Those raster positions which lie in the region of the contour 12 of the number "1" representing the first information 11 to be displayed are assigned an information component 14. The remaining grid locations 10 are assigned a background portion 15 of the first information 11.

Schematically, the breakdown is in Fig. 3a and 3b shown in FIG Fig. 3a at the raster points to which an information portion 14 is assigned, a filled circle is shown. Fig. 3b shows at those raster points, which is assigned a background portion 15 of the information, each an open circle. The first information 11 in the at least one first information area 4 is stored in that a hole 6 is formed at all grid locations 10 of the grid 7, to which no information component 14 is assigned. The hole may be a blind hole in the substrate 3 or, preferably, a through hole through the substrate 3. Preferably, the holes 6 are introduced by means of laser radiation into the substrate 3 of the security element 2, which in this case is the security document 1.

In order to further complicate a manipulation, it is possible to reduce the information share in the division of the information into the information component and the background component so that information components that are redundant for a perception of the information are removed as far as possible. In the example shown the Fig. 1 For example, it is sufficient if only the contour remains of the numeral "1", which indicates the information to be stored or stored information 11 in the first information area 4, as a negative image. This means that such raster positions, for example the raster position 10-1 (cf. Fig. 2 ), a background portion can also be assigned, since all the nearest neighbors 10-2 to 10-9 are also assigned an information share or due to the geometric shape of the digit 1 without consideration of the elimination of redundant information shares also an information share would be assigned.

The resulting division is in Fig. 4a and 4b shown, with the remaining information portions 14 in Fig. 4a again shown as full circles and in Fig. 4b the background portions 15 are shown as open circles.

In Fig. 5 a security document is presented which corresponds to Fig. 1 is similar, wherein the first information area 11 stored in the first information area 4 is now stored according to the division into information and background portions which are stored in Fig. 4a and 4b. Same technical features are provided with identical reference numerals. In addition, the embodiment detects Fig. 5 for securing the first information 11 stored in the first information area 4 to a second information area 24. The second information area 24 is assigned a further grid 27, which is formed from horizontal grid lines 28 and vertical grid lines 29. Again, the intersections of the horizontal grid lines 28 and the vertical grid lines 29 represent grid locations 30. Second information 21 in the second information area 24 is stored by means of second holes 26. In the second information area, a second hole 26 is formed for each of the grid locations 30. The information storage takes place here about the fact that the second holes can be introduced differently in relation to their associated grid position in the second information area 24 or are introduced and are.

In Fig. 6 For example, an exemplary coding approach is shown in which each raster location 30 of the second information area can store nine different information contents, associated, for example, with digits 0 through 9. In terms of thought, one can imagine a square 33 around the raster point 30, in the center of which the raster point 30 is located. Possible center point positions for the arrangement or formation of the second hole associated with the grid point 30 are given by the intersection 40 of the horizontal grid line 28 and the vertical grid line 29 and the intersections 41 to 44 with the square 33 and the corner points 45 to 48 of the square 33 , The specified intersections 40 to 44 and vertices 45 to 48 are assigned the numbers 0 to 9, as in Fig. 6 is shown. At the in Fig. 5 In the embodiment shown, the second holes 6 are made smaller in size with respect to their hole diameter than the holes 6 formed in the first information area 4 for reasons of simplicity. However, embodiments are also conceivable in which the second holes 6 and the holes 6 formed in the first information area 4 have an identical diameter and an identical geometric shape. In the second information area 24 of the Fig. 5 A backup information is stored which facilitates locating manipulations in the first information area. In an upper row 51 of the further grid 27, the grid locations 30 and the second holes 26 associated with these grid locations 30 each represent the number of grid locations 10 of an upper half 52 of the grid 7, which represent an information component in the overlying column of grid locations. Accordingly, in the second line 53 of the second information area 27 by the second holes 26 in each case the number of grid locations 10 are coded, which encode an information portion 14 in a lower half 54 of the grid 7 in the first information area in the corresponding vertical column.

In Fig. 7 is the second information area 24 shown enlarged accordingly. The numbers encoded by the individual raster points 30 and second holes 26 are indicated above the line 51 and below the line 53, respectively. These numbers represent the second information content of the second information.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that a large amount of information may be stored in the second information area. In these additional information, such as biometric data, such as a fingerprint or a name, a serial number or the like can be encoded. Reading out for a human observer is difficult here. However, machine reading is easy and reliable.

Manipulation possibilities are very severely limited, since one of the second holes 26 is formed for each raster point 30 in the second information area, so that it is not possible to add holes 26. Changes in the hole diameter of the second holes, however, are easy to find, so that manipulations can be easily detected.

In the illustrated embodiment, the grid 7 and the further grid 27 are similar in terms of their geometric shape. In addition, the further grid 27 is aligned relative to the grid 7 so that the grid locations 30 coincide with grid locations 10, provided that the grid 7 would be extended so that it would also cover the second information area 24. However, this is not absolutely necessary and the grid 7 and the additional grid 27 can be designed differently in other embodiments.

It goes without saying for the person skilled in the art that the security element 2 embodied here as a security document can in other embodiments also be embodied as a component which is integrated into a security document. Further, it should be understood that the security document 1 may include other additional security elements and security features that are not shown for the sake of simplicity.

In the described embodiments, only exemplary embodiments are described. To implement the invention, the individual features of the different embodiments can be combined with each other.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

The security document

2

security element

3

substratum

4

first information area

5

information

6

holes

7

grid

8th

horizontal lines

9

vertical lines

10

grid point

11

information to be coded

12

contour

14

information component

15

Background portion

21

second information

24

second information area

26

second holes

27

another grid

28

horizontal grid lines

29

vertical grid lines

33

square

40-44

intersections

45-48

corners

51

row

52

upper half

53

second line

54

bottom half

Claims (10)

1. Security element (2) for a value document and / or security document (1) comprising a substrate (3), wherein the substrate (3) comprises at least one first information zone (4), in which a first piece of information (11) is encoded in the substrate (3) by means of holes (6) formed in the at least one first information zone (4),
   characterised in that
   a two-dimensional geometrically regular grid (7) covering the entire surface of the at least one first information zone (4) with dot-shaped grid positions (10) is associated with the first information zone (4) and the first piece of information (11) about this grid (7) is split in a binary form into information portions (14) and background portions (15) and the first piece of information (11) is encoded in such a way that at all the grid positions (10) in the at least one first information zone (4), with which no information portion (14) is associated, one of the holes (6) is formed, wherein the holes (6) all have the same geometric shape, and the substrate (3) in the first information zone (4) remains intact at the grid positions (10), with which an information portion (14) is associated.
2. Security element (2) according to claim 1, characterised in that the at least one first information zone (11) is divided into information and background portions in such a way that, in the case of information components which are alphanumeric characters, a background portion (15) is nonetheless associated with those grid positions (10-1) with which an information portion (14) is associated on the basis of a form of the alphanumeric character, provided that an information portion is or would be likewise associated with all adjacent neighbours (10-2 to 10-9) of the grid position (10-1) on the basis of the form of the alphanumeric character.
3. Security element (2) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that at least one second information zone (24) is provided, in which at least one second piece of information is encoded by means of second holes (26), wherein a further two-dimensional geometrically regular grid (27) covering the entire surface of the at least one second information zone (24) with dot-shaped grid positions (30) is associated with the at least one second information zone (24), wherein the second holes (26) are all of the same geometric design and each of the second holes (26) encodes an information portion by means of a relative positioning with regard to the associated dot-shaped grid position (30).
4. Security element (2) according to claim 3, characterised in that the information portion of each second hole (26) can have n different values, wherein a value is specified by means of a central arrangement of the hole's centre of gravity on the grid position (30) and n-1 values by a spacing of the hole's centre of gravity from the grid position (30) and an angle of a connecting line which connects the grid position to the hole's centre of gravity, relative to a specified direction.
5. Security element (2) according to claim 3 or 4, characterised in that the grid positions (30) of the at least one further grid (27) coincide with the grid positions (10) of the grid (7) of the at least one first information zone (4), provided that the latter has been extended such that it likewise covers the at least one second information zone (24).
6. Security element (2) according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterised in that the at least one second piece of information comprises a piece of backup information which indicates or represents a number of the holes (6) in the first information zone (4) and / or a number of grid positions (10) without a hole in the first information zone (4).
7. Security element (2) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the holes are made as through-holes.
8. Method for making a security element (2) in which information is encoded with the help of holes (6), comprising the following steps: Provision of a substrate (3), receipt or capture at least of a first piece of information (11), introduction of holes (6) in the substrate (3) in at least one first information zone (4) of the substrate (3), so that the first piece of information (11) is encoded in the substrate (3), characterised in that a two-dimensional geometrically regular grid (7) covering the entire surface of the at least one first information zone (4) with dot-shaped grid positions (10) is associated with the first information zone (4), and the first piece of information (11) is divided with regard to this grid (7) in a binary manner into information portions (14) and background portions (15), and the first information (11) is encoded in such a way that at all the grid positions (10) in the at least one first information zone (4), with which no information portion (14) is associated, one of the holes (6) is formed, wherein the holes (6) are formed so that they all have the same geometric design, and the substrate (3) in the first information zone (4) remains intact at the grid positions (10) with which one information portion (14) is associated.
9. Method for making a security element (2) according to claim 8, characterised in that the holes (6) are introduced by means of laser radiation.
10. Method for making a security element (2) according to claim 8 or 9,
    characterised in that the first piece of information is divided into information portions (14) and background portions (15) in such a way that an information content of the first piece of information (11) is perceptible to the observer on an infinitely extended white background, provided that the grid (7) is notionally laid over the white background (15) and a black marking (18) is in each case placed on the grid positions (10) associated with the information portions (14), wherein all markings (18) are created the same and wherein on the infinite background a dimension of the first information zone (14) is not additionally encoded by the information portions (14).

Images