FR2621156A1 - ARTICLE COMPRISING AN INTEGRATED MARK, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SUCH AN ARTICLE, IN PARTICULAR FOR APPLICATION WITH A PHOTOCOPIER - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an article comprising an integrated mark and a method for manufacturing such an article, in particular in application with a photocopier. An article 1 for use with a detection system 31, contains a mark 2 associated with it and is integrated therein, the detection system 31 being formed for example by means 33, 34, 35 for producing a magnetic field, by means 36, 37 for receiving a magnetic field and by an alarm unit 38 and the mark 2 being made of a magnetic material disturbing the field produced by the system 31 in a prohibited or interrogation zone 32. Application in particular to protection against the theft of paper documents or against illegal reproduction of such documents.

Description

The present invention relates to brands and in particular

  particular marks intended for use in connection with

  with articles, whose presence must be detected.

  There are currently many systems which make it possible to fix marks such as magnetic marks, radio marks and the like on articles whose presence must be detected for one purpose or another. Systems of this type are arranged in such a way as to

  to be sensitive to the particular brands used, and

  typical marks are incorporated into labels

which are fixed in the articles.

  A classic label for a brand is formed

  by a support layer and an upper layer, between

  which brand is inserted. The back surface of the neck

  bracket is covered with an adhesive and the label is

  quette and therefore the mark to an article by applying

  under pressure the back surface of the support layer con-

be the article.

  Although the use of a label to attach a mark to an article has become a practice

  this does not provide a fully satisfactory result.

  because the label and therefore the

  that can in many cases be removed from the article without substantial destruction of the article. It results

  that the mark can be removed in order to remove any

  tection, whereas the article itself is

Serve.

  This possibility of withdrawing the mark without the

  The article does not suffer any substantial damage.

  particularly acute when the articles are

  Ministerial documents or valuable working documents or documents that are not to be copied or removed from a given location. Therefore the withdrawal of the mark in

  such a case leaves the document substantially intact,

  remove and / or copy this document without it being

  detected. As can be seen, this can pose serious problems

  for the ministry concerned or for the activity con-

surrounded.

  This is why a main aim of the present invention

  to provide a system for affixing a mark to an article, which requires at least partial destruction of the article and with which it is necessary to destroy

  at least partially the article to remove the mark.

  Another object of the present invention is to realize

  the system mentioned above in the context of articles

in paper.

  In accordance with the principles of the present invention,

  the goals indicated above and other goals are

  dyed by means of an article in which a mark is inte-

  in the article itself and therefore can not be withdrawn by means of at least partial

  this article. The incorporation of the mark in the article is

  fectue during the article manufacturing process so that during the manufacture of the article,

  the mark is placed automatically within this last

  deny. In addition, by integrating brands in different locations

  more protection, since a larger volume of the article must be destroyed

  when we want to remove the marks.

  According to one of the embodiments, given at

  As an illustration of the invention, which will be described later, the article is a sheet of paper and the mark is embedded in the paper in a position such that tearing of

  the mark requires a substantial tearing of the paper.

  Other features and advantages of the present

  the invention will become apparent from the description given below

  Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 shows a sheet of paper in which a mark is integrated in accordance with the principles of the present invention; - Figure 2 shows a cross section of the paper sheet of Figure 1;

  FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate systems for over-

  electronic monitoring used in connection with the paper sheet of Figures 1 and 2;

  FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate methods of

  making the paper sheet of Figures 1 and 2;

  FIG. 7 represents a second form of embodiment

  a paper sheet in which a mark is integrated in accordance with the principles of the present invention and provides improved protection; FIG. 8 shows a belt cartridge in which a belt is integrated in accordance with the principle of the present invention; and FIG. 9 represents a box or rack for

  in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

  In Figure 1, there is shown an article 1 in the form of a sheet of paper. According to the invention and as can be seen more clearly in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 2, a mark 2 is integrated in

the paper article 1.

  Mark 2 may be any type of mark, the presence of which may be detected by means of an appropriate detection system. An example could be a low frequency radio type mark whose structure is formed by superimposing a sheet and a dielectric material. Another example could be that of a high frequency radio mark, constituted

  by a diode inserted between sheet-shaped layers.

  The mark may also be a magnetic mark constituting

  killed by magnetic means such as a material

  magnetic or a combination of magnetic materials.

  The presence of a mark 2 in item 1 can be detected by means of a suitable detection system, which produces an electrical signal indicative of the presence of the mark. This signal can then be used for different monitoring purposes. For example, the signal can be used to activate an alarm to prevent the removal of paper from a given space. Otherwise, the signal may be used to prevent the operation of a copier to prevent reproduction.

paper document.

  Figure 3 shows a typical system 31 of over-

  electronic monitoring of an article, usable in the case where the mark is a magnetic mark, whose presence in a magnetic field causes detectable disturbances of the field. This system 31 is adapted to detect the presence of the article 1 having a magnetic mark 2 when the article is located in an interrogation zone or

  32, represented by a line consisting of

  nets. The transmitter part of the system includes a general

  Frequency converter 33, whose output signal is sent to a power amplifier 34 which in turn feeds a field producing coil. This coil establishes a

  alternating magnetic field having the frequency and ampli-

  desired study in the interrogation zone 32.

  The receiver portion of the system includes a field-receiving coil 36, whose output signal is sent to a receiver 37. When the receiver detects signals

  received from the coil 36 and resulting from the pre-

  the magnetic mark 2, located in item 1, in zone 32, the receiver sends a trigger signal

  for activating an alarm unit 38.

  FIG. 4 represents the system 31 of FIG.

  3 so as to detect Article 1 when it is

  in the vicinity of a photocopier 41 or on such a device.

  In this case the signal delivered by the receiver 37 is used

  to prevent the operation of the photocopier 41, for example

  by opening the switch 42 located in the power supply line of the copier. In current practice, components 33-37 can all be incorporated

in the photocopier 41.

  In the case where the mark 2 is a magnetic mark, the magnetic material of the mark may consist of

  any magnetic material or by combination of

  are able to act in the manner described above, that is,

  ie to provide a detectable disturbance of a magnetic field

  gnétique. The material may be a magnetic material

  tallin or amorphous. A typical crystalline magnetic material may be Permalloy. An amorphous magnetic material could be the magnetic material disclosed in US Patent No. 4,660,025, entitled "Magnetic Brand

  usable for the surveillance of articles having a

  hysteresis key with large discontinuities of

  Hausen "and attributed to the applicant of the present application.

  magnetic material indicated in this patent presents a

  characteristic of hysteresis with large discontinuities

  Barkhausen, that is to say, staggered variations of

  magnetic polarization. These staged transitions

  appear a signal that can be detected and delivered by the

  2, which has a short duration and is rich in harmo-

high nieces.

  The magnetic material of mark 2 could be

  what is called a "hard" magnetic material, that is,

  to say a material that is permanently magnetized by

  in relation to the materials mentioned above, which are

  Under the term "soft" magnetic materials, this is -

  to say materials whose magnetization varies with the field

  applied. The magnetic material could also be chosen

  if it can be disabled, that is,

  to be conditioned in such a way that

  turbulence in the applied field, for example through the use of magnetic materials having different coercive forces, as described in the patent

U.S. Patent No. 3,747,086.

  The magnetic material may also have a variety of configurations. For example it could have the shape of a ribbon or else it could have the shape of a wire,

  sheet, film or other

desired figuration.

  The dimensions chosen for maraue 2 are

  depending on the particular application and the requirements

  these required the detection system used. In] 'applica-

  particular to a paper in accordance with FIGS.

  2, it is important that the material is as thin as possible

  so that the mark does not interfere significantly with the

  the ability to apply writing or printing to the paper and can not be detected by touch or

  be easily observed. It is considered that the thickness of

  0.15 mm or less is usable for copy paper

or a normal writing paper.

  The position of Marue 2 in Article 1 depends on

  also the nature of the article and the application

  ticular. Preferably the positioning is such that a des-

  At least partial truction of the article is necessary to remove the mark. In Figures 1 and 2, the material is disposed in the center of the paper article 1, which requires

  significant tearing of the paper to remove the mark.

  This tear destroys the information written on the paper of

  so that the copying of the torn parts, which is then pos-

  because of the removal of mark 2 or the transport of torn parts out of the protected

  possible because of the withdrawal of the mark 2) and a temptation

  aiming to fold these parts torn off one on the other

  does not allow the reproduction of all information.

  In order to get increased protection for the item

  1, additional margins 2 may be included in this section.

  cle. Figure 7 shows the modified article 1

  to include additional marks 2A and 2B placed vertically

  and additional marks 2C, 2D arranged horizontally

  zontally. With these additional marks, it is obvious that the paper article 1 must be completely torn off to remove the marks 2 and 2A-2D, which completely alters

  the inscription on the paper. This increases as a result

the security of Article 1.

  According to the invention it is preferable to integrate the mark 2 in the article 1 during the manufacture of the latter. Figures 5 and 6 illustrate two techniques for adapting conventional papermaking processes to allow the integration of a mark into the

resulting paper.

  In FIG. 5, a device 51 for feeding a sus-

  board of pulp projects the pulp on

  strips 52 and 53 which drive the dough between

  54 and 55. These rollers 54, 55 compress the pulp

  killed on the strips 52, 53 so as to bring it in the form of thin layers that are joined together to penetrate into a cooking oven 56. At the level of the meeting of the two layers, the

  mark 2 is introduced between layers from a

  feedstock 57. The resulting paper sheet 59 coming out

  furnace 56 therefore contains the mark 2, which is inte-

  graze in it. This sheet provided with the integrated mark is then sent to a winding mechanism 58 which forms

resulting paper rolls.

  In FIG. 6, the system of FIG.

  In such a manner that the layers on the strips 52 and 53 first pass through each of the furnace 56 so as to form individual sheets of paper. These leaves

  are then combined to enter a strati-

  61. Mark 2 is introduced at the level of the zone

  entry into unit 61. Therefore mark 2 is not

  embedded in the resulting laminated paper sheet.

  Although the modified methods of manufacturing the

  described above illustrate the invention in connection with paper articles, it is obvious that the methods

  to make other articles can be modified

  similar to allow the introduction of mark 2.

  The particular modifications naturally depend on the

  articles and processes involved.

  FIGS. 8 and 9 show two other articles, a belt cartridge 81 and a box or rack 91 for food or food, of the type used to convey

  in a cafeteria, marks 2 being inte-

  in that cartridge or box or locker. The

  marks, in conjunction with a surveillance system,

  this electronics as shown in FIG. 3, the detection

  the presence of the articles, which makes it possible

  unauthorized removal of items.

  In any case it will be understood that the aforementioned devices are indicated in a purely

  illustrative of the many specific forms of

  possible examples of applications of this

  invention. Many other

  different positives in accordance with the principles of this

  invention, without departing from the scope of the latter.

Claims (40)

  1. Article intended to be. used with a detection system (31) capable of detecting the presence of the article by virtue of the presence of a mark (2) associated with this article, characterized in that this mark (2) is integrated in the article article (1).   2. Article according to claim 1, characterized in that the mark (2) is made of a magnetic material such that in the presence of a magnetic field, the mark causes detectable disturbances of the field, which are indicative the presence of the maraue.   3. Article according to claim 2, characterized   this magnetic material is a soft magnetic material.   4. Article according to claim 3, characterized in that the soft magnetic material is a crystalline magnetic material. 5. Article according to claim 4, characterized   the crystalline magnetic material is PErmalloy.   Article according to claim 3, characterized in   this aue the magnetic material douy is an amorphous material.   7. Article according to claim 6, characterized in   the amorphous magnetic material has a characteristic   hysteresis tick which produces staggered variations of the magnetic polarization.   8. Article according to claim 2, characterized   that the magnetic material can be deactivated.   9. Article according to claim 2, characterized in that the magnetic material is a hard magnetic material. Article according to claim 2, characterized   in that it consists of paper.   11. Article according to claim 2, characterized   in that it consists of a tape cartridge.   12. Article according to claim 2, characterized   in that it is constituted by a rack for food.   13. Article according to claim 2, characterized   in that it has one of the following configurations: ban, wire, leaf and film.   14. Article according to claim 1, characterized in that it consists of paper and that the thickness   the mark (2) is equal to or less than about 0.15 mm.   15. Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that it is constituted by paper.   16. Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that it consists of a tape cartridge.   Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that it is constituted by a rack for food.   18. Article according to claim 1, characterized   in that it has one of the following configurations: ban, wire, leaf and film.   19. Article according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises an additional mark (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) integrated in itself.   20. Article according to claim 19, characterized in that the mark (2) and the additional mark (2A, 2B, 2C,   2D) are positioned differently.   21. Article according to claim 20, characterized in that the mark (2) and the additional mark (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) cross each other.   22. Article according to claim 20, characterized in that it consists of paper and that the mark (2) extends in the longitudinal direction of the paper and that the additional mark (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) s 'extends in the direction the width of the paper.   23. Article according to claim 22, characterized in that the mark (2) and the additional mark (2A, 2B, 2C, 2D) cross each other.   24. A process for producing a paper-foldable article for use with a detection system (31) for detecting the presence of the article (1) by means of a mark ( 2) associated with the latter,   characterized by including the steps of   the article (1) and insert a mark (2) in the article during its manufacture.   25. The method of claim 24, characterized in that the article is a locker.   26. Process according to claim 24, characterized   in that the article is a tape cartridge.   27. The method of claim 24, characterized   in that the article is formed by paper.   28. The method of claim 27, characterized in that said manufacturing step includes the application   superimposed two sheets of paper (62), and that said   integration process consists in introducing the said mark (2)   said sheets (62) before being superimposed,   and to maintain the said mark between the said sheets overlay.   29. The method of claim 27, characterized in that said manufacturing includes the production of layers   opposed (62) formed of a paper pulp, the meeting of the   your layers and their heating to form a sheet   of paper, and that said integration step consists of introducing   drawing said mark (2) between said layers (62) when   the latter are united, and to maintain that mark in -   said layers during heating thereof.   30. The method of claim 24, characterized   in that said mark (2) is made of a magnetic material   which, in the presence of a magnetic field,   detectable turbulence of the field, which are indicative of the presence of the material.   A system for detecting the presence of a paper-like foldable article (1) in an interrogation zone (32), characterized in that it comprises means (33,34,35 ) for producing a magnetic field in the interrogation zone, an article (1) in which a magnetic material is integrated, and means (36, 37) for detecting magnetic field disturbances produced by said magnetic material when said Article (1) is in the interrogation zone (32).   32. System according to claim 31, characterized   in this respect, the said article is a paper.   33. A method for detecting the presence of an article in an interrogation zone (32), characterized in that   includes the steps of integrating magnetic material   in the article (1), producing a magnetic field in the interrogation zone (32) and detecting disturbances of the   magnetic field caused by said magnetic material when   said article (1) is in the interrogation zone (32).   34. Process according to claim 33, characterized   in fact the article is paper.   35. System intended to be used with a photo-   copier (41) is used to signal the approach of an article (1) of this machine, characterized in that it mprtel'Arcle (l) in the water is embedded a magnetic material and which can be   folded like paper, means (33,34,35) serving to pro-   creating a magnetic field in the vicinity of the photocopier, and mcyens (36, 37) for detecting disturbances of the magnetic field produced by said magnetic material   said article (1) arrives in the vicinity of the photocurrent pieur.   36. System according to claim 35, characterized   in that it further comprises means (42) sensitive to   said detection means (36, 37) to interrupt the function the said photocopier.   37. System according to claim 35, characterized   in that said article is made of paper.   38. Process for use with a photocopier (42)   and used to indicate the approach of an article (1), characteris-   in that it includes the steps of integrating a   magnetic material in the article, produce a magnetic field   in the vicinity of the photocopier and to detect disturbances   bations of the magnetic field caused by said magnetic material   when the article arrives in the vicinity of the photocom-   pieur. 39. Process according to claim 38, characterized   in that it includes the step of preventing the function   the photocopier in response to the results of the step detection.   40. Process according to claim 38, characterized   in that said article (1) is made of paper.