JP2012040835A - Identification medium for determining genuine article, method for forming identification mark, and method for determining genuine article - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely determine a genuine article without limiting a target medium and without being influenced by environment.SOLUTION: Surface temperature of the identification mark 3 put on the genuine article and showing that it is the genuine article is measured, the image of the identification mark 3 is read on the basis of the measured surface temperature, and the read image data of the identification mark 3 are registered as identification information of the genuine article. When determining whether the target article is the genuine one, surface temperature of the target article is measured, the image at a position corresponding to the identification mark is read on the basis of the measured surface temperature, and the read image data are collated with the registered image data. If they agree with each other, the target article is determined as the genuine one.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for determining whether or not a target product is a genuine product.

  Conventionally, in order to protect genuine products, efforts have been made to prevent the distribution of counterfeit products by applying anti-counterfeiting processing such as holograms, latent images, or IC chips to products and their packaging containers. However, with recent improvements in printing and processing technologies, copying and duplication can be easily performed, and anti-counterfeiting processing equivalent to genuine products can be performed, so there is a distinction between genuine products and counterfeit products. It's getting harder.

  Under such circumstances, as a technique for guaranteeing that the product is a genuine product, for example, the invention described in the following patent document is known. In order to guarantee the originality of certificates such as securities and product guarantees, the invention of this document reads the fiber information on the paper based on the marks on the paper and converts the read fiber information into predetermined pattern data. And print it on the certificate. At the time of authentication, the fiber information on the paper is read based on the mark attached to the certificate paper, the read fiber information is converted into predetermined pattern data, and the converted pattern data is compared with the read pattern data. It is designed to authenticate the originality.

JP 2004-112644 A

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, there is a problem that the target medium is limited to paper because the pattern data converted by reading the fiber information of the paper is collated. Further, when reading the fiber information of the paper, a light spot is irradiated from the reading head to the background of the paper, and the reflected light is detected by the light receiving element. For this reason, there is a problem in that the reading accuracy depends on the color of the background of the paper, the change in the brightness of the environment, and the like, and erroneous recognition of authentication may occur due to these influences.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and the object of the present invention is not limited to the target medium, and it is possible to reliably determine the genuine product without being affected by the environment. It is to be able to do it.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an identification medium for authentic product determination, and shows that the product is a genuine product on the base material by using ink having a specific heat different from that of the base material. An identification mark is formed.

  In addition, the present invention provides a method for forming an identification mark for authentic product determination, and is a genuine product by applying an ink having a specific heat different from that of the base material on the base material. The identification mark shown is formed.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for determining genuine products, and measures the surface temperature of an identification mark indicating that the product is a genuine product attached to the product, and based on the measured surface temperature, Read the image, register the read image of the identification mark as the identification information of the genuine product, measure the surface temperature of the target product, read the image of the position corresponding to the identification mark based on the measured surface temperature, and read the image Is compared with the registered image, the target product is determined to be a genuine product.

  Here, “attached to the product” includes not only the product directly attached to the product but also the product attached to the product packaging or container.

  In the present invention, the material of the substrate is not particularly limited, and paper, resin film, etc. can be used. When a thermal recording material such as thermal paper, thermal coating film, or rewrit coating film is used for the base material, necessary information can be printed on the base material with a thermal head at the same time as authentic product determination. Therefore, it is preferable. Moreover, if a base material is a label which has an adhesive layer, an identification mark can be provided by affixing on goods, its packaging, a container, etc.

  In the present invention, various forms of the identification mark can be considered. For example, the identification mark is formed by applying repelling ink to the base layer on which the ink is applied on the base material to form irregularities, or ink having a different specific heat on the base material. What is comprised with the mixed ink mixed by the mixture ratio, and what is comprised by separately apply | coating the ink with different specific heat on the said base material are employable.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, the identification mark may be an optical reading code on which product information is recorded, and the product information recorded on the optical reading code may be read simultaneously with reading of the image of the identification mark. If the color of the identification mark is the same or similar to the color of the base material or a transparent color, it is difficult to understand that the product design is not affected and that anti-counterfeiting is applied. This is preferable.

  According to the present invention, since the identification mark is formed on the base material by applying an ink having a specific heat different from that of the base material, it is sufficient that the base material has ink acceptability. There is no limitation on the medium. Further, since the image data of the identification mark is read based on the surface temperature of the identification medium, it is possible to reliably determine the genuine product without being affected by the material and the environment. Also, the identification mark is unique information that can identify the genuine product. Even if the mark of the same shape is printed, it will be identified as a different mark if the ink used has a different characteristic or fill amount. The identification mark cannot be duplicated. For this reason, it is impossible to forge a genuine product, and a high forgery prevention effect can be obtained. Furthermore, since the identification mark for authentic product determination is obtained by applying ink on the base material, it is difficult to recognize that the anti-counterfeiting processing has been performed, and at the same time, imparts design to the identification medium itself. You can also.

It is explanatory drawing which shows one structural example of the identification mark provided to the genuine goods. It is an expanded sectional view of the vicinity of the identification mark shown in FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the determination method of a genuine product. It is a graph which shows the relationship between heating time and temperature. It is a schematic diagram which shows the image data of the read identification mark. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode at the time of collating the image data of an identification mark. It is sectional drawing which shows the structural example which used the base material of the identification medium as the thermosensitive recording body. It is sectional drawing which shows the structural example which used the base material of the identification medium as the label. It is a top view which shows the example which applied the identification mark to the barcode.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings attached to the application.

<Identification medium, identification mark>
As shown in FIG. 1, the identification medium 1 for authentic product determination according to the present embodiment is provided with an identification mark 3 on a base material 2 by printing in order to identify genuine products and counterfeit products. This identification mark 3 is configured by applying a specific heat ink different from that of the base material 2 to the base material 2 to form a unique mark indicating that it is a genuine product.

  The material of the base material 2 is not particularly limited, and if it is used only for reading, for example, paper such as plain paper and high-quality paper, and resin films such as PET, PETG, and PVC can be used. In this embodiment, the container in which the product is packed is used as the base material 2, and the identification mark 3 is printed directly on the container. If the product itself is a printable medium, the identification mark 3 may be printed directly on the product.

  Regarding the types of ink, in the present embodiment, two types of inks that are repelled are used. That is, first, underprint printing is performed on the surface of the substrate 2 with an oxidation polymerization type ink or an ultraviolet curable ink, which is a general ink for printing. After the underprinted general ink is cured to form the undercoat layer 4, a repelling ink having no affinity for the general ink is overprinted. For example, a top coat layer 5 designed on the underlayer 4 as shown in FIG. 2 by applying a water-repellent transparent ink made of wax, silicone-containing ink or the like on the underlayer 4 in a predetermined pattern. Is formed, and a unique pseudo-embossing process having irregularities is performed.

<Authentication method for authentic products>
The identification medium 1 for authentic product determination of the present embodiment is configured as described above, and authentic product determination is performed as follows.

(1) Measurement of surface temperature of genuine product First, the surface temperature of the identification medium (genuine product) 1 on which the identification mark 3 is printed is measured (step 1 in FIG. 3). As the temperature measuring means, for example, a thermal head of a reader (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-13654) manufactured by Cyber Imaging Co., Ltd. can be used. This thermal head measures temperature individually for each of a plurality of minute heating elements constituting the thermal head while instantaneously heating the measurement object at a low temperature. Using the thermal head having such a function, the surface temperature of the identification medium 1 is measured while heating the surface on which the identification mark 3 is formed.

(2) Reading the image of the identification mark Next, the image of the identification mark 3 printed on the base material 2 is read from the surface temperature measured in Step 1 (Step 2). As the image reading means, the above reading device can be used. In this reading device, based on the real-time temperature change measured by the thermal head, the curve that changes at a high temperature from the change in temperature with respect to the heating time as shown in FIG. It is detected that the curve transitioned by is a convex portion in contact with the minute heating element. Thereby, the uneven | corrugated shape of the identification medium 1 vicinity of the identification mark 1 can be recognized, and the image data of the identification mark 3 printed on the base material 2 like FIG. 5 can be read.

(3) Registration of Identification Mark Image Then, the image of the identification mark 3 read in step 2 is registered as identification information of the identification medium (genuine product) 1 (step 3). The image data of the identification mark 3 read by the reading device becomes unique information for identifying the genuine product. Therefore, for example, an ID (serial number or the like) for each product is given to the image data of the identification mark 3, and this is stored and registered in a memory such as a personal computer connected to the reading device. According to the above-described reading apparatus, image data can be read by either a monochrome binary image or a 256 gradation image. However, in consideration of accuracy at the time of collation described later, the latter 256 gradation image is read and registered. It is preferable to keep it.

(4) Measurement of surface temperature of target product When determining whether or not the product is a genuine product, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the surface temperature of the target product 1A is measured (step 4). The temperature measurement is performed by the same method as in Step 1 using the above-described thermal head of the reading device manufactured by Cyber Imaging Corporation.

(5) Reading the image of the position corresponding to the identification mark of the target product Next, from the surface temperature measured in step 4, the position corresponding to the identification mark 3 in the genuine product for the target product 1A (the identification mark 3A in the example of FIG. 6). ) Is read (step 5). Image reading is performed by the same method as in step 2 using the above-described reading device.

(6) Collation of image data Finally, the image data of the identification mark corresponding position (identification mark 3A) read in step 5 is collated with the image data of the identification mark 3 of the identification medium (genuine product) 1 registered in step 3. (Step 6). As a result of the collation, if the image data of both identification marks 3 and 3A completely match (Yes in step 7), it is determined that the target product 1A is a “genuine product”. On the other hand, if the two image data are different (No in step 7), it is determined that the target product 1A is not a genuine product, that is, a “counterfeit product” or a “imitation product”.

  As described above, the identification medium 1 for authentic product determination according to the present invention is formed by printing the identification mark 3 indicating that the product is a genuine product by using ink having a specific heat different from that of the substrate 2. Yes, it can be manufactured easily and at low cost. In addition, since the image data of the identification mark 3 is read from the surface temperature difference of the medium by the thermal head, the reading accuracy is not affected by the influence of the material or the environment such as the color of the background of the medium or the change in brightness, and the authenticity determination is reliable. Can have a function. Moreover, the identification mark 3 is different for each product and is unique information that can identify a genuine product. Even if a mark having the same shape is printed, it will be identified as a different mark if the characteristics of the ink used and the amount of ink are different. Therefore, the same identification mark 3 cannot be duplicated. For this reason, it is impossible to forge a genuine product, and a high forgery prevention effect can be obtained. Furthermore, since the identification mark 3 is obtained by performing pseudo embossing with a transparent ink on general ink used for normal printing, it is difficult to recognize that the anti-counterfeiting process has been performed, and the identification medium 1 can also be given a design.

  In the authentic merchandise determination method described above, it is also possible to select the reading accuracy by the reading device (setting of a threshold). In the present invention, as described above, the uneven printing of the identification mark 3 formed by the repelling ink becomes unique information, but it is only necessary to detect the presence or absence of the uneven printing of the identification mark 3, and the printed shape is the same. If so, the same information is determined for each product. Accordingly, since it is sufficient to read only the presence or absence of the identification mark 3, it is possible to read with two gradations. In addition, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 gradations may be selected depending on the required reading accuracy. According to the present invention, since it is not known at which gradation the genuine product is determined, it can be said that this also provides an anti-counterfeit effect.

<Other embodiments>
The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and various modifications as described below are possible for the present invention.

  For example, for the base material 2, paper or a resin film is used for read-only in the above-described embodiment, but the base material 2 to be used is not limited to this. If it is a use which performs not only reading but also printing, a thermal recording material represented by thermal paper, thermal coated paper, or rewrit coated film can be used as the substrate 2. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, a leuco dye type or transparent cloudy type thermal coloring layer 6 is applied and formed on a substrate 2 made of paper or a resin film, and a repelling ink is formed on the thermal coloring layer 6. An identification mark 3 by a combination of the above is provided. According to such a structure, there is an advantage that necessary information (notice of expiration date, etc.) can be printed on the thermosensitive coloring layer 6 with the same thermal head when determining the genuine product. In addition, since the thermosensitive coloring layer 6 is under the identification mark 3, the information printed on the thermosensitive coloring layer 6 is not confused with the unique information by the identification mark 3, and erroneous recognition does not occur.

  Moreover, you may make the base material 2 into a label. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the adhesive layer 7 which apply | coated the adhesive to the back surface of the base material 2 for labels which consists of paper or a resin film is formed. According to such a structure, even if the product, its packaging, container, or the like is a material that is not printable, the product or packaging container can be obtained by attaching the identification medium 1 printed with the identification mark 3 with the adhesive layer 7. The identification mark 3 can be given to.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the identification mark 3 may be an optical reading code such as a barcode, and information relating to the product (country code, manufacturer code, product item code, etc.) may be recorded. According to such a structure, when reading the image data of the identification mark 3 described above, the product information recorded in the optical reading code can be read at the same time. The optical reading code is not limited to a bar code, and a two-dimensional code such as a QR code, DataMatrix, PDF417, or MaxiCode may be employed.

  Furthermore, regarding the type of ink, in the above-described embodiment, two types of inks that are repelled are used, but it is also possible to use inks having different specific heats instead. For example, two or more ink compositions may be mixed to produce a mixed ink having a specific specific heat, and this mixed ink may be applied onto the substrate 2 to form the identification mark 3.

Here, the following combinations of inks having different specific heats are conceivable.
A. Resin used for general ink (oxidation polymerization type ink, UV curable ink) ・ Natural resin (Rosin, Shellac, Gilsonite, etc.)
・ Synthetic resin (acrylic resin, phenolic resin, alkyd resin, etc.)
B. Pigments (color pigments, extender pigments, special pigments such as fluorescent and phosphorescent pigments, etc.)
In particular, extender pigments such as metal powders such as titanium oxide, barium sulfate, calcium carbonate, silica, and talc contribute to the difference in specific heat.

  That is, an ink having a specific specific heat may be generated by using the A resin alone, the A resin combination, or the A resin and B pigment combinations (a plurality of A and B can be selected). Moreover, even if it is the same combination, it can be set as the ink of different specific heat by changing a compounding ratio. .. Is used for each identification medium 1, 1,..., And the ink is applied and dried to form an identification mark 3 having a specific specific heat.

  Further, two or more kinds of inks may be separately applied on the substrate 2. The ink can be produced and used in combination with the resin A and the pigment B. As a result, inks having different specific heats are dispersed and arranged on the substrate 2 to form a unique identification mark 3.

  In this way, even by using inks having different specific heats, it is possible to form different unique identification marks 3 for each genuine product, and to provide a reliable authenticity determination function as in the above-described embodiment. Can do.

  Furthermore, the color of the ink constituting the identification mark 3 may be set to the same color or a similar color as the color of the substrate 2 or may be set to a transparent color. As a result, the printing of the identification mark 3 is less conspicuous, so that the design of the identification medium 1 (product) is not affected, and it is difficult to understand that further anti-counterfeiting processing has been performed.

  Specifically, for example, an identification mark 3 in which a barcode or a two-dimensional code is printed with white ink is provided on the surface of the white base 2. In this case, it is not possible to read with a general bar code verifier and it is difficult to understand that printing is performed visually. However, according to the present invention, it is possible to read both the optical reading information recorded by a bar code or the like and the unique information for authentic product determination. The optical reading information and the unique information can be read with different gradations.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Identification medium 2 ... Base material 3 ... Identification mark 4 ... Underlayer 5 ... Topcoat layer 6 ... Thermosensitive coloring layer 7 ... Adhesive layer

Claims (11)

  An identification medium for authenticity determination, characterized in that an identification mark is formed on a base material, which is made of an ink having a specific heat different from that of the base material and indicates an authentic product.   2. The identification medium according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a thermal recording material represented by thermal paper, a thermal coating film, or a rewrite coating film.   The identification medium according to claim 1, wherein the base material is a label having an adhesive layer.   The identification medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the identification mark is formed by applying a repelling ink to an undercoat layer on which the ink is applied on the base material to form irregularities. An identification medium for authentic product determination, characterized in that there is.   The identification medium according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the identification mark is composed of a mixed ink obtained by mixing inks having different specific heats with a specific blending ratio on the base material. An identification medium for authentic product determination as a feature.   4. The authentic medium according to claim 1, wherein the identification mark is formed by separately dispersing and applying inks having different specific heats on the base material. Identification medium for product judgment.   The identification medium according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the identification mark is an optical reading code in which product information is recorded.   6. The identification medium according to claim 1, wherein the color of the identification mark is the same color as or similar to the color of the base material, or a transparent color. Identification medium.   A method for forming an identification mark for authentic product determination, wherein an identification mark indicating an authentic product is formed on a substrate by applying an ink having a specific heat different from that of the substrate. Measure the surface temperature of the identification mark indicating the genuine product attached to the product, read the image of the identification mark based on the measured surface temperature, and register the read image of the identification mark as the identification information of the genuine product Leave
Measure the surface temperature of the target product, read the image at the position corresponding to the identification mark based on the measured surface temperature, and if the read image matches the registered image, the target product is determined to be a genuine product A method for determining a genuine product, characterized by:   The determination method according to claim 10, wherein the identification mark is an optical reading code in which product information is recorded, and the product information recorded in the optical reading code is read simultaneously with the reading of the image of the identification mark. How to determine genuine products.

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