ES2606465T5 - Security element applicable to documents in general and particularly to banknotes, identification documents and the like - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

Security element applicable to documents in general and particularly to banknotes, identification documents and the like

The present invention relates to a security element applicable to documents in general and particularly to banknotes, identification documents, and the like.

As is known, various types of security elements are already commercially available and are provided by means of threads, strips, patches and the like, which are generally obtained by means of a support layer, generally made of polyester, on which they are applied. regions that have various characteristics.

Considering, in particular, the case of the use of fluorescent inks, current methods provide a background that is solid or optionally provided with stripes or regions, on which a second pass applies other elements that may have magnetic or visibility characteristics.

With current solutions, the fluorescent layer is intentionally covered by the additional layer without achieving a precise and preset registration between the fluorescent regions and the regions that have magnetic or visibility characteristics.

Consequently, these solutions limit the possibility of achieving a desired degree of security, since it may be impossible to apply the different regions, as there is no precise registration between them.

WO-A-0 054 985 describes a security element that alternatively has fluorescent or magnetic characteristics.

FR-A-2803939 describes a security element that has a plurality of layers.

GB-A-2 243 578 describes a security element made up of two different layers, a support layer and a drawing layer.

EP-A-O 330733 describes a security element that has two different layers, the upper layer having recesses where dyes and / or luminescent substances are deposited.

The objective of the present invention is to solve the problem outlined above, providing a security element applicable to documents in general and particularly to banknotes, identification documents, and the like, which allows to have areas that are visible to the naked eye but that contain other characteristics that can become more evident and detectable using automatic or manual devices.

Within this purpose, an object of the invention is to provide a security element applicable to documents in general and particularly to banknotes, identification documents, and the like, in which it is possible to combine various characteristics that are individually detectable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a security element that, thanks to its particular construction characteristics, is capable of offering the greatest guarantees of reliability and safety in its use.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a security element applicable to documents in general and particularly to banknotes, identification documents, and the like, which can be easily obtained starting from elements and materials commonly available commercially.

This purpose and these and other objectives that will become more apparent hereinafter are achieved by means of a security element applicable to documents and particularly to banknotes, identification documents, as defined in claim 1.

Other characteristics and advantages will become more apparent from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of a security element applicable to documents in general and in particular to banknotes, identification documents, and the like, illustrated by way of example. not limiting in the attached drawings, where:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of a thread type security element;

Figure 2 is a view of the security element fully integrated in a document;

Figure 3 is a view of the detection of the characters arranged in the security element by means of an ultraviolet light;

Figure 4 is a view of the security element inserted in a document using the window technique; Figure 5 is a view of the security element inserted into a document using the window technique and detected by means of ultraviolet light.

Modes of Carrying Out the Invention

With reference to the figures, the security element applicable to documents in general and particularly to banknotes, identification documents, and the like, according to the invention, generally indicated with the reference number 1, is constituted by a support element in sheet form, generally denoted by reference number 2, which may be constituted by a thread, a strip, a patch or the like, and is typically obtained by means of a layer of polyester or similar material.

Regions, marked with the reference number 3, are arranged on at least one face of the sheet-shaped element 2 and can be made up of characters, graphic marks, designs, etc.; Such regions have the particularity of being constituted by areas that are perfectly in agreement with each other and have magnetic characteristics, characteristics of visibility with the naked eye, and fluorescent characteristics with the possibility of detection by means of ultraviolet light.

In practice, it is possible to arrange regions that are perfectly in agreement with each other and combine three separate characteristics of possible detectability, thus allowing a particularly rigorous safety criterion. The security element described above, once fully integrated into the interior of a document, marked with reference number 10 in the drawings, is substantially invisible in reflected light and is possibly visible in transmitted light, but above all it allows the regions to be made Visible when ultraviolet light 15 strikes the document, that is, with light having a frequency of less than 400 nm.

Likewise, if the security element is inserted in the document with the window technique, the regions located in the windows, indicated with the reference number 20, always remain visible even with the naked eye, while the regions that are fully integrated are Visible only when ultraviolet light strikes them.

To achieve perfect coincidence of the regions that have the different characteristics, it has been found that it is optimal to use a security ink obtained with magnetic pigments, color pigments and fluorescent pigments that are sensitive to ultraviolet light.

Such ink can be applied by normal printing or transfer techniques or by any other system normally used for printing on threads.

Regions 3 can provide any type of characteristic that is considered appropriate, and fluorescent colors can also be obtained with the most disparate dyes, such as yellow, red, blue; likewise, the magnetic properties can be of different types.

Furthermore, the regions representing the different characters can obviously be arranged as negative regions and as positive regions.

From what has been described above, it is therefore evident that the invention achieves the intended purpose and objectives. Furthermore, in accordance with a non-claimed arrangement, a security element is provided which, by combining perfectly matched magnetic areas, areas with fluorescent characteristics and areas that are visible to the naked eye, allows to further increase useful safety criteria. The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims.

All details can also be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, can be any according to requirements.

Claims (6)

1. A security element (1) applicable to documents and particularly to banknotes, identification documents, characterized in that it comprises a sheet-type support element (2), said support element comprising a single layer, on the minus one face, of which there are regions (3) that are perfectly in agreement with each other and have at least magnetic and fluorescent characteristics that can be detected with ultraviolet light, said regions combining three separate characteristics of possible detectability, in which the regions (3) They are provided by an ink comprising magnetic pigments and fluorescent pigments or colors that can be detected with ultraviolet light. 2. The security element according to claim 1, characterized in that said regions (3) have visibility characteristics with the naked eye. 3. The security element according to the preceding claims, characterized in that said regions (3) form characters, graphic marks, or designs in a positive and / or negative way. The security element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said regions (3) have fluorescent characteristics with different coloration. The security element according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said regions (3) are detectable by both manual and automatic devices. 6. A document (10) in general, comprising a security element (1) that is, at least partially, integrated in said document, characterized in that said security element comprises a sheet-shaped support element (2) , said support element comprising a single layer, on at least one face, of which there are regions (3) that perfectly coincide with each other and have at least magnetic and fluorescent characteristics that can be detected with ultraviolet light, combining said regions three separate characteristics of possible detectability, in which the regions (3) are provided by an ink comprising magnetic pigments and fluorescent pigments or colors that can be detected with ultraviolet light.