JP2012061840A - Method for authenticity assessment easily performed by ordinary people using printed minute mark - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that there is no system for authenticity assessment to be performed by using an identification mark which absolutely cannot be duplicated.SOLUTION: A minute identification mark is printed on a printing medium. An image of the identification mark enlarged by a microscope is stored in a storage device. The image is stored together with a serial number of the article in an authenticity assessment management center as a master image. The article is placed on the market together with printed matter including the identification mark as a warranty card. An ordinary person gets access to the webpage of the authenticity assessment management center by using a camera-equipped cellular phone, transmits the serial number of the target article in the cellular phone according to the instructed method, magnifies the identification mark on the warranty card by an inexpensive and super-mini microscope, picks up an image of the identification mark with the camera-equipped cellular phone, and then transmits the image to the authenticity assessment management center. The management center collates the image with the stored master image to assess authenticity on the basis of whether or not the shapes of the marks are identical. The results of the assessment are sent back to the transmission source, and thus, the ordinary person can obtain the authenticity assessment result.

Description

  The present invention relates to an authenticity determination method that can be easily performed by a general person using minute marks on printed matter.

  Various anti-counterfeiting techniques are used for printed matter such as securities such as banknotes and stock certificates, and identification documents such as identification cards, licenses, and guarantee cards attached to brand-name products. However, the development of digital technology has been remarkable in recent years, and it has become possible to easily make high-quality copies using a high-performance scanner or digital camera and printer. Has become difficult. To counter these forgery technologies, more and more advanced forgery prevention technologies are being developed. For example, use of ultrafine characters and patterns, cover with advanced hologram film, use of special printing ink, use of printing paper with complicated watermark pattern, etc. However, these are all anti-counterfeiting measures and not authenticity determination techniques. A printed matter for which anti-counterfeiting measures have been taken is easy to determine the authenticity by an expert, but it is extremely difficult for ordinary people to determine the authenticity of a printed matter once forged. This is because the general public usually has no knowledge of the specifications of genuine articles and the specifications of genuine printed matter guarantees and cannot compare them with the real ones.

  There are not many techniques that can easily determine the authenticity of printed matter even by ordinary people. One of the systems is as follows. For example, guarantees for branded products such as bags, wallets, clothes, watches, glasses, home appliances, passports, identification cards, cash cards, credit cards, licenses, car verifications, diplomas, securities, jewelery certificates , Livestock pedigrees, pet pedigrees, etc., prints of authenticity, such as seals, facial photographs, signs, etc. are attached to the prints as genuine guarantees. It is a system that determines the authenticity by reading and sending it to the authentication management center managed by the manufacturer of the warranty and comparing it with the information stored there.

The following patent documents are prior art documents based on a report on prior art searches based on the patent prior art search support project for SMEs of the Japan Patent Office.
JP2007-257491A The above-mentioned patent is a method in which a banknote is imaged with a mobile phone, the image is transmitted to the management center via the Internet, and the authenticity of the banknote is stored in advance and checked for authenticity. The two concepts that are the central idea of the technology, namely, the concept of using the outline shape of the printed micro mark as an observation mark for authenticity determination that cannot be absolutely duplicated, and the observation mark are expanded with an inexpensive ultra-small simple microscope. There is no concept of observing the shape of the contour.
JP2009-159474A The above-mentioned patent is a method in which a printed matter of identification information attached to the target product is imaged with a mobile phone, transmitted to the management center via the Internet, and verified with authentic identification information stored in advance there. However, the two concepts that are the central idea of the present invention, namely, the concept that the outline shape of the printed micro mark is used as an observation mark for authenticity determination that cannot be absolutely duplicated, and the observation with an inexpensive ultra-small simple microscope. There is no concept of magnifying the mark and observing its contour shape.
JP2007-293405A The above-mentioned patent is a method in which a banknote is imaged with a mobile phone, the image is transmitted to the management center via the Internet, and the authenticity of the banknote is stored in advance and checked for authenticity. The two concepts that are the central idea of the technology, namely, the concept of using the outline shape of the printed micro mark as an observation mark for authenticity determination that cannot be absolutely duplicated, and the observation mark are expanded with an inexpensive ultra-small simple microscope. There is no concept of observing the shape of the contour.
JP 2008-129564 A The above-mentioned patent is a method related to lens design and performance that can be easily attached to and detached from the lens portion of the digital camera body and can perform ultra-high magnification photography. However, the two concepts that are the central idea of the present invention, namely, a printed micro The concept of making the mark outline shape an observation mark for authenticity determination that cannot be duplicated absolutely, the concept of magnifying the observation mark with an inexpensive ultra-small simple microscope, and observing the shape of the outline, and mobile phones There is no concept of authenticity judgment that uses the three elements of collation with the master image stored on the Internet and the manufacturer side.
JP 2006-260507 A The above-mentioned patent is a method for determining authenticity by irradiating a mark printed with special ink with light of a special wavelength, but there are two concepts that are the central idea of the present invention, namely, a printed micro mark. The concept of making the contour shape an observation mark for authenticity determination that cannot be absolutely duplicated, the concept of observing the shape of the contour by enlarging the observation mark with an inexpensive ultra-small simple microscope, and mobile phones and the Internet There is no concept of authenticity determination that uses three elements of collation with a master image stored on the manufacturer side.
JP 2006-195934 A The above-mentioned patent is a method for determining the authenticity by confirming the presence or absence of a banknote, but the two concepts that are the central idea of the present invention, namely, the shape of the outline of the printed micro mark are not duplicated absolutely. The concept of making an observation mark for authenticity judgment possible, the concept of magnifying the observation mark with an inexpensive ultra-small simple microscope, and observing the shape of the outline, and also stored by the mobile phone, the Internet, and the manufacturer There is no concept of authenticity determination that uses three elements of collation with the master image.
Special table 2002-517841A The above patent is a method for judging authenticity by representing a numeric code with an image of a human face, but the shape of the outline of a printed micro mark, which is the central idea of the present invention, cannot be reproduced absolutely. The concept of making it an observation mark for authenticity determination, the concept of magnifying the observation mark with an inexpensive ultra-small simple microscope, and observing the shape of its outline, and the master image stored on the mobile phone, the Internet, and the manufacturer side There is no concept of authenticity judgment that uses the three elements of matching with.

  As for authenticity determination, in any system, if the mark itself can be copied or copied by other means, you can make a number of guarantees and guarantee cards, You can make many counterfeit products with warranty cards and guarantee cards. Therefore, such a mark is not a means for authenticity determination. If the mark is an information code and the contents can only be read by a special dedicated reader, the genuine authenticity judgment with the device is possible if the dedicated reader can be managed strictly so that it is not in the hands of a counterfeiter. A person can make an authenticity determination using an information code as a mark, but it is very troublesome for an ordinary person who does not have a dedicated reading device because the object must be brought to the place where it is located. If ordinary people can easily determine authenticity anytime and anywhere, there will be no treasures, but there is no such means yet.

As a landmark for authenticity determination, if any means is used, the mark cannot be duplicated, in other words, if it is duplicated, any means of duplication will result in another mark. It is a mark for authenticity judgment. In addition, if the authenticity of the mark can be easily determined by an ordinary person and not an expert, it is truly the ultimate authenticity determining means, and the ordinary person has obtained it. There is currently no such means in the world.
If the mark to be printed for authenticity is different for each printed material and if the mark cannot be made the same when a person tries to reproduce or duplicate it, the printed mark will be Guaranteed to be unique. If any ordinary person can easily determine the authenticity of the printed mark with a mobile phone with a digital camera, it will be extremely effective in determining the authenticity of a counterfeit product by an ordinary person. In that case, if a legitimate landmark is directly printed on the target article to be verified, or a warranty card printed with it is attached, the printed matter of the landmark is the only one in the world and sincere truth Since it can be easily determined, the target article absolutely has a true warranty. Conversely, when the printed mark product is a counterfeit product, it can be immediately determined that the printed mark product is a bag, so that the guarantee can be determined to be a bag. Such a technique has not existed in the past. The present invention uses a camera-equipped mobile phone as a unique observation mark, magnifies it with an ultra-small simple microscope, images it, and transmits it to the authentication management center managed by the manufacturer over the Internet, where the printed matter is printed. This method can easily determine the authenticity, and the present invention fundamentally solves the difficult problem of preventing forgery of articles.

In general, for printed matter, the shape and color printed by a person can be reproduced. That is, it can be counterfeited by copying or duplicating. Therefore, shapes and colors printed by humans are not appropriate as a measurement standard for authenticity determination. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to measure the true color of the printed color. In the first place, the color of the printed matter is basically reflected light, so the color of the printed matter changes depending on the characteristics of the projected light, and the color also changes depending on the characteristics of the light receiving device, so the color is not suitable as a metric for authenticity judgment. Absent.
There are prints that cannot be controlled by human intentions when printed, that is, they are generated independently of human intentions, and they cannot be controlled by humans. If there is, it can be assured that the printed matter is a printed matter that exists only once in the world by making it a measurement element for authenticity determination.

There are various types of printing such as offset printing, gravure printing, letterpress printing, screen printing, ink jet printing, etc., all of which is printed with printing ink as a mold that prints on a printing medium (hereinafter referred to as a mold) or small and large dots (dots). Or by adhesion or spraying. In the case of color printing, the shape and color intended by visual observation are formed by the accumulation of a large number of minute multiple-color molds and large and small dots. These molds and dots are scattered, mixed, and overlapped on the medium so that the shape and color of the printed material will look as intended by the person when looking at the printed material. When observed, the shapes after printing with these molds and dots are slightly different one by one even with the same printed matter, and people cannot control them uniformly.
The printing ink is a liquid, and immediately after being placed on the printing medium, a part of the printing ink penetrates into the printing medium and dries and solidifies as a whole. However, the ink oozes into the printing medium until it solidifies. The method of bleeding depends on the affinity of the ink component to the print medium, the state of the printing mold and the fiber at the dot position, the temperature and humidity of the air and the medium, etc. is not. Therefore, each type of printed matter and how the dots spread are different from each other even in the same printed matter. In addition, in order to produce a target color by visual observation, the target color by visual observation is realized on the print medium by placing each single color mold or dot mixedly on the print medium in several times. Different types and dots are mixed and the positional relationship between each type and dot is misaligned slightly from one print to another, and people cannot control them accurately and uniformly. It is. Furthermore, humans cannot accurately control the form of microscopic protrusion or missing of ink when printing ink is placed on a printing medium in the form or dots. Furthermore, in the case of a printing method in which ink particles are ejected like an ink jet printer, the arrival position of each ink particle cannot be precisely controlled.
As a result of the above, even if the same printing is performed, when observing by enlarging the ink type or dot group constituting a minute shape (hereinafter referred to as a mark) at a specific same position for each printed matter, The pattern representing the printed mark and the outline shape of the dot group have an uncontrollable disorder, and each one is different. Microscopically, even if it is intended to have the same printed shape for the same type or dot group, it cannot be printed as such.

Since the same or different shapes of marks in a plurality of printed matters are discussed, they must be defined. First, regarding the size of the mark, if it is a similar shape, the same shape is used even if the size is different. As will be described later, since images of various magnifications are sent from mobile phones having various screen sizes, even if the marks have different sizes, the shapes are the same.
Next, as for the mark size for observing the difference in shape, since the difference in the shape of the mark representing the mark and the shape of the dot group is observed as described above, there is a sufficient difference in the shape of each printed matter. In order to achieve this, the size of the mark must be different from each other in the positional relationship of the overlap in the printed mold and dot, and the difference in the overall shape of the mark as a result of bleeding, protrusion, or omission. It must be small enough to make it clearly visible. Magnify it sufficiently with a magnifying glass or a microscope (hereinafter referred to as a microscope) until the difference is visible. Under these conditions, even if the mark to be observed is different, if the printed material is different, the shape of the mark, especially the shape of the contour around the mark and the contour of the pattern inside the mark (hereinafter referred to as the contour together) is sufficient. Because it is different, it is easy to judge that it is a different printed matter, and conversely, even if the same printed matter is taken in different shooting environments and with different cameras, the characteristics of the outline shape of the observation mark stand out, and the image itself Even if there is distortion or color change, the outline features of the observation mark stand out, and the features are not lost, so these images are first checked separately from the master images that are stored separately. Thus, it can be determined that the printed matter is the same. As a conclusion from the above facts, in order to judge whether the target printed matter is the same printed matter or different printed matter, the size of the printed mark to be observed clearly distinguishes the features of the printed mold and the outline shape of the dot group. It must be sufficiently small, and it is necessary to observe with a microscope sufficiently large until the difference in the characteristics can be easily seen.

  On the other hand, if the size of the observation mark is too small, it is difficult to visually find the presence of the observation mark. The minimum size that can be readily detected visually is about 0.2 to 0.3 mm depending on the individual's visual acuity.

  The image of the observation mark magnified by the microscope is picked up by a mobile phone with a camera in order to transmit the image, but the screen of the mobile phone with a camera is about 25 mm if it is small. The image of the mark to be observed magnified with a microscope is desirably magnified so as to occupy 1/2 or more of the screen of the mobile phone, and its shape is observed. This is because judging the difference in shape with a small enlarged image that occupies only a small part of the screen of the mobile phone does not efficiently use the full screen of the mobile phone.

Based on the above, if the printed observation mark is used for the ordinary person to easily determine the authenticity anytime and anywhere, the following requirements are necessary as the conditions.
(1) The size of the mark to be observed is sufficiently small so that the difference in the shape of the printed mark of the observation mark and the outline of the dot group is distinctive when magnified with a microscope. .
(2) The size of the mark to be observed should be such that its position can be easily understood by a person with general visual acuity. 0.2 mm or more is desirable.
(3) The microscope for enlarging the observation mark may be an inexpensive microscope that can be easily purchased by ordinary people. Or even if it is attached as an accessory to the warranty card attached by the manufacturer of the article, the cost is negligible compared to the article. Therefore, it is desirable that it is 2,000 to 3,000 yen or less, and the enlargement magnification with the necessary resolution is up to about 50 times.
(4) Although the enlarged image of the observation mark by the microscope is viewed on the screen of the mobile phone, if the entire enlarged image is enlarged within the range of the mobile phone screen, the size of the mobile phone screen is small (about 25 mm wide) But there are remarkable features in the printed observation mark type and the outline of the dot group.
(5) If the printed matter is different, even if the same printed observation mark is enlarged with the microscope of (3) above, the shape of the printed mold and the outline of the dot group obtained by imaging with a camera-equipped mobile phone are different. It must be easy to judge at least by a person.
(6) If the printed matter is the same, the observation mark is magnified and photographed with many different types of camera-equipped mobile phones with various types of microscopes in the above (3) under a variety of different light environments. However, the imaged printed mold and the contour shape of the dot group maintain the same characteristic shape, and it can be easily determined that the shape is the same by at least a person.
The problem is whether observation marks that satisfy the above six conditions can actually be printed. In the past, printing specialists would have recognized that the outline shape of printing inks had individual characteristics by microscopically observing the outline shape of the printing ink with a microscope. Even experts have not imagined that authenticity can be judged with extremely high accuracy with a simple tool at hand. The most evidence is that this authentication system according to the present invention has not been realized. No one has yet proven that it can. The present invention has demonstrated that this can be done.

Reference FIG. 1 and Reference FIG. 2 are images of the screen of a mobile phone taken with a camera-equipped mobile phone by enlarging a micro mark at the same position of a Japanese banknote, which is considered to have the highest accuracy as a printed matter, with a microscopic microscope. . It is a microscope screen in which the inside of the circle is reflected on the mobile phone screen. The magnification is 30 to 40 times. If the present invention can be verified with the most accurate Japanese banknotes, it should be possible to verify with all other printed materials with lower printing accuracy and large irregularity of the outline of the micro mark. All the different thousand-yen bills were taken from the top of the field of the character of Hideyo Noguchi, which was magnified with a microscope and taken with a mobile phone with a camera. However, even with very high-precision printing such as banknotes, the shapes of these fields are clearly greatly different from each other if the printed matter is different. The enlarged images revealed that there was no field print of the same shape as one.
At the same time, if the printed matter is the same, the observation mark must appear the same contour shape even when the camera-equipped mobile phone is different, the light environment for photographing is different, and the magnification is different. Otherwise, it is impossible to judge trueness. Reference Fig. 3, Reference Fig. 4 and Reference Fig. 5 are images of the same 1000-yen banknotes fielded in different fields of the mobile phone with different cameras and with different magnifications. is there. If the banknotes are the same, it can be seen that the rice field has a contoured shape with the same characteristics. It is clear that the microscopic differences between the individual printed materials shown in Reference FIG. 1 and Reference FIG. 2 are not caused by differences in photography such as the microscope and camera models and the light environment, but are the differences in the printed materials themselves. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible for a general person to easily determine the authenticity of a bill using extremely high-precision printing technology.
The microscope used is an inexpensive commercial product such as a toy with a magnification of about 30 times, and the camera-equipped mobile phone is an ordinary commercial product. It is easy to see that the outline shape of the observation mark is different if the printed matter is different even with the same observation mark, even if it is a tool that ordinary people usually have or can easily obtain, and if the same printed matter, the outline shape of the observation mark Found that there is an easy way to see that they are the same. No one imagined that there was such a clear difference, and that it was so easy for ordinary people to find out.

Furthermore, a minute observation mark having an arbitrary shape is printed by an ink jet printer, and the same verification as the above-mentioned thousand yen bill is performed.
Reference figure 6 and reference figure 7 are printed marks for observing a T-shape with a T width of about 0.6 mm, 30 identical marks are printed, magnified with a microscope, and photographed with a camera-equipped mobile phone. . It can be seen that even if they look the same shape by direct visual inspection, if the printed matter is different, the shapes of the enlarged contours are clearly greatly different from each other. It is clear from those enlarged images that there is no printed matter having the same contour shape as one, which is the same result as the experiment of a thousand yen bill.
At the same time, the mark to be observed for the same printed matter must be the same contour shape for use in authenticity determination even when the camera-equipped mobile phone is different, the shooting light environment is different, and the magnification is different. However, Reference FIG. 8, Reference FIG. 9, and Reference FIG. 10 clearly demonstrate that this is possible.
The features of the individual printed matter in the shape of the contour of the enlarged image are sufficiently large, and by matching the images, shape matching by image processing using a computer using various mathematical techniques, even by human visual judgment Even if the degree index is calculated and judged, it is easy to clearly judge that the printed matter is the same or different, and the accuracy is high.
As described above, it was demonstrated that the observation mark that satisfies the above-described six conditions can be printed.

  I would like to confirm one here. Even if the observation mark is the same, if the printed matter is different, the shape of the outline of the mark is microscopically different. What is the probability that the same shape will be produced by chance? Considering the T-shape in Fig. 6, the difference in the shape of each contour is detected by recognizing the difference in the shape of the enlarged contour line. However, the step size of the contour line that senses the difference is human. In this case, it is about 2 mm. Since the total length of the surrounding contour lines is about 100 mm, 50 steps can be made. The number of permutations of the difference considering only the unevenness of each 50 step is 2 to the 50th power. It is a large astronomical number of 16 trillion 1,000 trillion. Furthermore, if the degree of unevenness is taken into consideration, it becomes almost infinite. Therefore, it turns out that the probability that the same shape will be produced by chance may be considered to be zero.

Although it has been demonstrated that an observation mark that satisfies six conditions can be printed as in paragraph 0012 above, we have invented a system that uses this phenomenon to provide extremely high accuracy and that can be easily judged by ordinary people. The gist of the invention is described below.
First, when printing a printed material that includes micro marks to be observed for authenticity determination on the manufacturer side of the target article, the printing method, the shape and size of the observation marks, the size and spacing of the molds and dots used for printing, and the color The quality of the printing medium, the quality of the ink, and the like are selected so that the six conditions of paragraph number 0011 are satisfied. When printing by a combination of these, the contour shape of the observation mark is determined differently for each printed matter. However, since it is the essence of the present invention that the contour shape is originally uncontrollable, trial and error. There is no other way but to select a combination by experiment. The selection method is trial and error, but can be selected very easily. That is, if the observation mark size is tested from about 0.7 to 0.8 mm or less, any number of combinations that meet the conditions can be easily found immediately.
In general, printing requires high accuracy, but in order to obtain high printing accuracy, the mold and dot disturbances should be as small as possible so that the user can control the shape of the printing mold and dot group as much as possible. Or, use ink or paper quality with less bleeding of the mold or dots. However, in the present invention, since the shape of the mold and the outline of the dot group cannot be controlled by a person, the direction is opposite to this direction.

The present invention will be described more specifically.
An observation mark is printed at a predetermined position arbitrarily determined in advance. At the same time, a blank area of printing ink is provided around the observation mark as a mark for indicating the position of the point, and printing is performed by enclosing it with a thick line as an outer frame. For example, refer to the upper right frame and the dots in FIG. 2 (guarantee card). Since the observation mark is very small, in order to look for its presence visually, a mark is necessary around it, and when the observation mark is digitally photographed, the position of the small point is searched and magnified with a microscope. Marks such as blank areas of ink and outer frames are required. Hereinafter, a case where there is an outer frame as a mark and a printing ink blank area will be described. Generally, an area around the observation mark is a color having a large color difference from the mark (including a printing blank), or a person has The position of the observation mark by a method that can easily and accurately identify the position of the observation mark (printing a pattern such as an arrow and showing it at the tip, or printing a specific character or shape and specifying a part of it) Can be easily recognized.

Next, the observation mark and a part of the blank area of the surrounding ink are magnified and observed with the microscope aiming at the center of the outer frame and the blank area.
Next, the image of the observation mark type and the outline shape of the dot group magnified with a microscope are taken with a mobile phone with a digital camera or a WEB camera equivalent thereto,
Next, the captured image is recorded as digital information in a digital storage device via a computer of the manufacturer's authenticity determination management center, and this is used as mark information for observing a genuine genuine printed matter. This is called master image information. At this time, the manufacturing number of the target article is also input to the storage device and stored in association with the master image information.
Next, the printed matter is attached to the product and sent to the market. This printed matter for authenticity determination may be used as long as it can be printed directly on the target product. For example, printing on a paper packaging box is also conceivable.

On the other hand, when the general public himself / herself wants to verify the authenticity of the goods distributed in the market or held by the general public, the area of the mark printed on the printed matter for authenticity determination attached to the target article, for example, the guarantee card Magnify the observation mark near the center of the cellphone with a simple microscope to about 1/2 or more of the screen of the mobile phone.
Next, the enlarged observation mark is imaged with a digital camera of a mobile phone, and the image data and the manufacturing number of the target article are transmitted to the URL of the center that manages and determines the authenticity of the printed matter using the Internet communication line.
Next, the authenticity judgment management center calls the master information image stored in the storage device based on the transmitted manufacturing number, compares it with the enlarged image of the transmitted observation mark, and the contour shape characteristics substantially match. If so, it is determined that the guarantee card is genuine, and if it is difficult to say that it matches, it is determined that the guarantee card is highly likely.
The judgment method is that a person is waiting for an inquiry at the management center like a call center, and each time an enlarged image of the observation mark on the guarantee is sent to the management center, the master image is visually checked to determine the degree of coincidence. There is also a method of judging. The accuracy of this method is considered to be considerably high because of the high human image determination capability. Alternatively, authenticity may be determined by calculating a shape matching index by image processing using a computer using various mathematical methods.
Next, those determination results are returned to the transmission destination through the Internet communication line.
By constructing the system described above, the authenticity of printed guarantees can be determined by ordinary people using a simple magnifier or microscope and a mobile phone with a digital camera. As a result, the authenticity of the product itself with the printed guarantee can be determined with extremely high accuracy.
If it is confirmed that this warranty card or warranty card is the only genuine product in the world, it is almost certain that it will be authentic even if the target article with it is not directly judged authentic. is there. Because even if you buy a real item to get a real warranty card and try to sell it as a genuine item with a genuine warranty card attached to a bag, you can't forge a real warranty card, so one real warranty card This is because there is only one item that can be attached, so only one item can be made, and the item business cannot be realized. This is the same situation regardless of whether or not the target article and the guarantee are physically combined. Therefore, it is obvious that the target article and the guarantee are not necessarily physically connected.

At the end of this section we consider why this socially significant invention was not made earlier, and why there was some special difficulty with the present invention. First, there are no new inventions or developments that are very difficult for the individual technologies constituting the present invention. In addition, the social needs are so serious that it is said that the product of goods will rise to 100 trillion yen on a global scale, and companies and governments spend enormous costs to prevent counterfeiting. It is serious. In addition, the ideal characteristic of an observation mark that serves as a landmark for authenticity determination is that the observation mark is absolutely impossible to duplicate and will become a separate object if it is duplicated, that is, it is the only existence in the world. It is generally recognized that if it has that characteristic, it becomes the ultimate authenticity mark. Furthermore, if the general public can easily and instantly make the determination with almost no cost, it is easy to think that it will become the ultimate antifouling system socially. Despite the above situation, the technology that meets this urgent need has not yet been realized in the world, and the Patent Intellectual Property Organization (World Intellectual Property Organization) registered in Japan, the United States, and PCT. It does not exist even if any electronic library is searched. The reason is discussed below.
(1) Since ordinary desktop microscopes are not in the hands of ordinary people, ordinary people cannot easily use them at any time. So it was impossible for ordinary people to use a microscope for authenticity judgment.
(2) Since the position of the observation mark must be surely and easily grasped with an error of 1/10 mm, it is considered impossible for the general public to observe, and the general public has not thought of using it for authenticity determination.
(3) In the printing technology, all research and development efforts are made in the direction of minimizing the disturbance of the shape of the microscopic outline of the printing as much as possible as it impairs the clearness of the printing. Therefore, the idea of using the turbulence itself is a reverse idea. Printing companies have made great efforts to research and develop anti-counterfeiting technology and sell the results. There is no reason that these printing companies have not studied the technology of authenticity judgment, but the idea of reversal that the strong idea that the micro disturbance of printing is harm that humans cannot control is used instead of the fact that humans cannot control it. It seems to have inhibited.
(4) Even if the printing company fully understands the printing characteristics such as the disturbance of the outline shape, the warranty using the characteristics is a small business scale for a mere printing product, so it is involved in the printing business. It seems that there was no interest in the authenticity judgment system using turbulence.
(5) Even if the size of the observation mark is large enough to be easily recognized by visual observation, the observation mark can be viewed with a microscope until the characteristics of individual disturbances in the contour shape of the entire observation mark can be clearly recognized. When the magnified image is taken with a mobile phone camera and displayed on the screen, the mobile phone screen is still enlarged even if the microscope is enlarged until the characteristics of the disturbance in the outline shape of the observation mark can be clearly recognized. However, the necessary magnification and resolution of a microscope that satisfies this requirement is not surprisingly large, so it should be sufficient for a microscope like a cigarette lighter that is extremely simple and inexpensive. I did not notice. In other words, (a) it is only necessary to identify the differences in the contour shape of the observation mark, and a microscope with a low magnification and a low resolution is sufficient for identifying the difference in the contour shape. (B) So, it was impossible to come up with the three conditions at the same time: a lighter-sized microscope, and (c) a cheap and affordable accessory.
(6) Actually, it is necessary to accurately fix the microscope and the mobile phone at the correct positions. Otherwise, the microscope and mobile phone will be misaligned and the magnified image of the observation mark cannot be taken correctly. In order to correctly fix the mobile phone to the microscope, prepare a board such as a cardboard for placing the mobile phone on the microscope, make a hole in the board, and insert a ring such as a cardboard to fit the microscope tube around the hole. Attach to the plate and fix the plate and microscope. Place the mobile phone on the plate, align the camera lens of the mobile phone with the hole and gradually shift the lens position so that a round microscopic image is located near the center of the mobile phone screen, then use the cello tape from above the mobile phone. Attach the mobile phone to the board. Only when the microscope and the mobile phone are correctly fixed in this way, an enlarged image of the observation mark appears on the mobile phone screen easily. Without such a device, it is not practical. This ingenuity would not be conceived without a strong awareness of the above recognitions (1), (2), (3), (4), and (5) and a strong sense of purpose of authenticity determination.

As long as printing is a minute observation mark, as long as it is printed, the outline shape is distorted to some extent, and the outline shape cannot be controlled by humans. Therefore, the observation mark, which is a printed microprint, has a completely different contour shape regardless of how precisely it is copied or replicated by any sophisticated means. In other words, duplication is absolutely impossible. For example, human-written signatures, random numbers, and radio wave fluctuations are output that cannot be controlled by humans, but once they are materialized as observation marks or signals, it is extremely easy to duplicate them. On the other hand, the minute observation mark by printing has an unavoidable disorder that humans cannot control the shape, so it can never be duplicated and there can only be one in the world. In the sense that there are no other observation marks having such properties yet in the world, the shape of the outline of the printed minute mark is the ultimate means of identification. The present invention using it becomes an absolute guarantee or absolute individual identification tag for anything with absolute uniqueness. Moreover, the present invention is a technique that can be easily observed by ordinary people. Further, the present invention has no technical obstacles to be overcome and is characterized by extremely low start-up costs and operation costs. Probably, there is no other means of authenticity determination that has all these features at present, and probably will not exist in the future. The present invention is the ultimate means of authenticity determination.

  Currently, industrial damage caused by freight is serious worldwide. The total amount of counterfeit products in the world is 100 trillion yen, and the amount of domestic medicines is 30 trillion yen. The present invention, which can easily determine the authenticity of any ordinary person at a low cost, can immediately meet the needs of society. If this invention becomes widespread, there will be no flea. The huge cost of extermination of monsters is no longer necessary. With this invention, there is no doubt that a huge security industry will be born rapidly and grow worldwide. The present invention can easily determine the authenticity of not only every article but also a large amount of public printed matter such as banknotes, so that it can be expected to have a great effect in preventing counterfeiting of banknotes.

Conceptual diagram of authentication system Warranty card Record of observation mark shape of warranty card (acquisition and storage of master information)

One mode for carrying out the invention will be described below. The embodiments are of course not limited to the method described here.
(1) First, as shown in FIG. 2, the manufacturer of the target article prints a printed matter with an observation mark and a printing ink blank zone and an outer frame as a mark as shown in FIG. Make it. Since the width of the observation mark is about 0.4 to 0.8 mm and is very small, a blank area of printing ink is provided around it as a landmark (and an outer frame may be provided as a landmark) to facilitate identification of the observation mark. . Further, the mark to be observed may be either single color or multicolor. In any case, the shape of the printed mark and the outline of the dot group cannot be controlled by a person. In particular, in the case of multiple colors, in order to obtain a target color by visual observation, the target color by visual observation is realized on the print medium by placing and mixing each single-color mold or dot on the print medium in several degrees. However, the mixed state of each type and dot is slightly different from one printed matter to another due to the inevitable shift in the positional relationship between each type and dot, and it is difficult for people to control them accurately and constantly. is there. In addition, since it is not possible to control the printing ink bleeding, protrusion, and omission, it is inevitable that the outline of the minute observation mark is disturbed.
Further, the width of the blank area of the printing ink should be wide enough to identify the observation mark as a mark, but is preferably about 5 to 10 times or more the observation mark in order to make it actually stand out. However, if the blank area is too large, it is difficult to search for the observation mark with a microscope. Therefore, an arbitrary guide line (such as an arrow) may be printed on the blank area to make it easy to reach the observation mark with a microscope.
The printing ink and the printing medium are selected so that the printing ink has an appropriate affinity with the printing medium, and the printing ink and the printing ink appropriately penetrate so that the printing mold and the dots are appropriately spread.
There are various types of printing presses such as offset printing, gravure printing, letterpress printing, screen printing, ink jet printing, and the like. Furthermore, the serial number of the target article is printed on this guarantee card.

Also, as shown in FIG. 2, the guarantee card is printed with a description of a method for obtaining the authentication method using a mobile phone through the homepage of the authentication management center managed by the manufacturing company. That is, the following description is printed.
“This guarantee card is used to prove with high accuracy that the goods with this guarantee card (manufacture number XXXXXXXX) are manufactured by XX company. . You can check whether this warranty card is genuine by the following methods. ○○○ Company's homepage (URL: http: //www.abcd..../ If you want to check if this URL is true, Please check the company's public relations department by phone, and if you write the phone number here, it may be a fake, so please check it yourself.) Call on your mobile phone and follow the instructions Magnify the mark (visible as a dot) in the frame printed on the upper right with a microscope, shoot it with a mobile phone camera, and send it. The authentication result of this card is immediately returned to the sender. In addition, if it is confirmed that this guarantee card is unique in the world, it is almost certain that the goods attached to it are also genuine. This is because no one buys a real item and sells it with a real warranty card in order to get a real warranty card. ]

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the manufacturer of the target article sets the outer frame printed on the guarantee card 33 and the printing ink blank zone as a target and the observation mark located in the center and the surrounding printing ink blank. A part of the zone is magnified with a 32 microscope, and an enlarged image is taken with a 31 digital camera. The enlargement magnification is such that the enlarged image of the observation mark occupies the full screen of a general mobile phone. Then, the magnification of the microscope is about 30 to 50 times.
Next, an enlarged image of the observation mark captured by the digital camera is transmitted to the reference numeral 35 server and recorded in the reference numeral 36 storage device, which is used as observation mark information (referred to as master image information) of a genuine true printed matter. At this time, the manufacturing number of the target article is also input to the storage device and stored.
This guarantee card is attached to the target article.
Thereafter, the target article is shipped to the market.

(2) The target article is distributed in the market. When the general buyer or owner wants to know whether the article is manufactured by an authorized manufacturer, the authenticity of the article can be determined by the following procedure.
This will be described with reference to FIG.
First of all, with the mobile phone with a digital camera 11 the URL of the authenticity judgment management center of the manufacturing company and the URL written on the warranty card 13 attached to the target article, or the person himself confirms with the public relations department of the manufacturing company by phone Or a URL known by the public. The procedure of authenticity determination written on the called home page is as follows 1) 2) 3).

1) A small mark printed near the center of the thick frame at the upper right of the warranty card is magnified to a suitable magnification by a microscope, and is copied to the screen of the mobile phone. The enlarged mark is approximately 1 / of the screen of the mobile phone. Please enlarge clearly until it occupies 2 or more. The specific method and device were explained in detail below, so please refer to it.
"How to take magnified images of marks to be observed with a microscope and a mobile phone with a camera"
A. When using the microscope you have. (If you do not use the microscopic microscope and mobile phone base attached to the warranty card)
The microscope is preferably a stereomicroscope that uses reflected light. Since the observation mark is extremely small, holding it at the center of the microscope image and simultaneously copying the microscope image to the center of the mobile phone screen is a considerable manual operation because it will deviate greatly from the screen if it is actually shifted by 0.1 mm. With difficulties. A certain amount of ingenuity is necessary to do it easily. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to devise a technique to fix the image center axis of the microscope and the screen center axis of the mobile phone camera in alignment. For example, a microscope peeper and a holed cardboard (a table on which a mobile phone is placed) are bonded at right angles with double-sided tape. In this case, a cardboard tube is made around the microscope's viewing tube by matching the size of the microscope's viewing tube, and the cardboard tube is fixed to the above-mentioned cardboard base with double-sided tape or gummed tape. Cover completely and fix with cello tape. Next, place the mobile phone on the above cardboard stand and hold the camera lens over the microscope through the hole made in the cardboard, and the enlarged image range of the microscope looks round on the mobile phone screen, so the circle is the screen of the mobile phone Shift the position of the mobile phone slightly above the cardboard base so that it is in the center of the cardboard, and fix the mobile phone to the cardboard base with cello tape at that position. In this way, you can see the round microscope screen on the mobile phone screen. Adjust the magnification of the microscope to focus, and display the observation mark on the screen of the mobile phone by magnifying it to more than half of it, and then release the shutter.
B. When using the microscopic microscope and mobile phone stand that come with the warranty card.
Secure the microscope and mobile phone stand as described on the warranty card. Subsequent operations are as follows. Is the same. The microscope is equipped with a battery and an LED lamp.
2) Place the serial number printed on the warranty card by placing the cursor on the relevant frame on the mobile phone screen homepage and entering it.
3) Take an enlarged image of the observation mark and send it as described in 1) above. The destination of the transmission is already installed on this website, so there is no need for the operator to input it. The serial number is also sent at the same time. "Please wait for a while" or "Please hang up your mobile phone. A message will be sent after a few minutes.

As described above, the enlarged image of the guarantee card observation mark appearing on the screen of the camera-equipped mobile phone is transmitted to and received by the server of the authenticity determination management center of the target article manufacturer through a general Internet communication line. Before this image is shipped, the serial number and the enlarged image information (master image information) of the observation mark on the warranty card are stored in the recording device, and are called up and collated. Whether the transmitted image and the master image match can be determined by visual inspection by an operator of the authentication management center or by image processing using a computer using various mathematical techniques. The authenticity may be determined by calculating a shape matching index.
If the authenticity guarantee card is a genuinely manufactured guarantee card, it can be determined to be genuine with a very high probability. At least visually, it can be determined almost 100% accurately. If the received image matches the master image, “This guarantee card is authentic”, and if it does not match, “This guarantee card is very likely not authentic” Reply message. The sender can receive it and make a professional level authentication.

  Regarding the accuracy of determination, the size of the observation mark, the size of the observation mark, the size of the dot, and the size of the observation mark can be determined almost at 100%. Since the interval, color, ink quality, printing medium quality, printing machine type, etc. have already been found and used by trial and error, it is natural that the determination accuracy is extremely high. It is easy to find it by experiment.

By constructing the above system, it is possible for ordinary people to determine the authenticity of minute printed matter using a simple microscopic microscope and a mobile phone with a digital camera. A simple and inexpensive micro-microscope can be easily obtained by the general public, but it is also cheaper that the manufacturer of the target product attaches the microscope and mobile phone base for a fee or free of charge when attaching the warranty card. You can do it easily. As a result, the authenticity of the product itself with the guarantee card can be determined with extremely high accuracy. If it is confirmed that the warranty card is unique in the world, it is almost certain that the article to which it is attached is also genuine. This is because no one buys a real item and sells it with a real warranty card in order to get a real warranty card.

Currently, brand items such as banknotes, medicine, bags, wallets, clothes, watches, glasses, home appliances, passports, identification cards, cash cards, credit cards, licenses, car verifications, diplomas, securities, It is said that the damage caused by counterfeit goods such as jewelery appraisal, livestock pedigree, pet pedigree, etc. has reached $ 1 trillion worldwide (Sources: UN, World Customs Organisation, US Immigration and US). Customs Enforcement). Enormous costs are spent on the prevention measures. The present invention greatly reduces their counterfeiting. A feature of the present invention is that an identification mark for authenticity determination cannot be duplicated. For example, in the case of pharmaceutical products, if the packaging is exactly the same as the real product, and if the form of the drug and the chemical component analysis result are exactly the same, the manufacturer cannot distinguish between the real product and the product. Even in such a case, if the micro observation mark according to the present invention is printed on the packaging material, the authenticity can be discriminated immediately. As a result, counterfeit goods cannot exist and the huge cost of extermination is unnecessary. In addition, the present invention is characterized in that it costs little and a general person can easily determine authenticity. There was no such system in the past. However, an article that is manufactured and sold as a counterfeit product is not effective because it is known that the product is a counterfeit product.

11: Camera-equipped mobile phone 12: Microscope 13: Guarantee card 14: Observable mark 15: Server for authenticity judgment center 16: Storage device for authenticity judgment center server 21: Guarantee card 22: Non-printing zone that serves as a mark for the observation mark And outer frame 23: observation mark 31: mobile phone with camera 32: microscope 33: guarantee card 34: observation card observation card 35: authenticity judgment center server 36: authenticity judgment center server storage device

Claims (3)

For the purpose of authenticity determination, use microscopic shape differences of printed ink that cannot be controlled by humans, that is, generated regardless of human intentions. A method of authenticity determination characterized by printing as a mark. For the purpose of authenticity determination, the mark for observing authenticity determination is a printed matter of a mark of any arbitrary shape, and the area around it is a color that has a large color difference from the observation mark (including printing blanks), or human easy The position of the observation mark can be identified by a method that can accurately identify the position of the observation mark, that is, by printing a pattern such as an arrow and indicating the position at the tip, or by printing a specific character or shape and indicating the position as a part of it. A method for authenticity determination, wherein the position is easily recognized and the minute printed matter is printed as an observation mark for authenticity determination. A method for authenticity determination, comprising attaching a micro-microscope as an accessory to the guarantee card having the observation mark according to claim 1.

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