JP2024017567A - Latent image appearing pattern, method of creating latent image appearing pattern data, and latent image appearing pattern data - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a latent image appearing pattern which has a phase modulation pattern and a visible pattern component, and in which the visible pattern can be visually recognized when not using a determination tool and the latent image can be visually recognized by using the determination tool.SOLUTION: The present invention is a latent image appearing pattern comprising, in a line pattern in which a plurality of colored streaks are disposed so as to have a constant pitch in a first direction, a phase modulation pattern that configures a latent image part and a background part by moving the phase of a part of the colored streaks in the first direction, and a visible pattern component that configures a visible pattern. The visible pattern component is provided in a region where the colored streaks are not provided in the phase modulation pattern, and the phase of a latent image configuring streak that configures the latent image part in the phase modulation pattern has a region not overlapped with the phase of the visible pattern component.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a latent image expression pattern that has a phase modulation pattern in which the phases of some of the lines of a parallel line pattern are changed to form a latent image part and a background part, and visible pattern constituent elements that make up a visible pattern.

Security printed materials such as banknotes, passports, and securities are required to be difficult to forge or copy due to their nature. A typical measure to improve security is to embed an invisible pattern called a latent image, and one such measure is to use phase modulation. A technique using phase modulation is, for example, when one line pattern is a line pattern (a pattern in which a plurality of straight lines or wavy lines with uniform line width are arranged at a predetermined period), and the other side is a latent image of the line pattern. It is composed of a phase-modulated parallel line pattern that is phase-modulated according to the density gradation.

In addition, as a technology that uses parallel line patterns and phase modulation parallel line patterns to create a latent image of a front and back composite pattern, we have developed a technique that uses parallel lines or halftone dots on either the front or back of a printing medium that transmits light. A line pattern is printed, and on the other side, a phase modulation line pattern is printed, which consists of lines or halftone dots with a design to be a latent image, so that the printing positions match each other, and this printed material is exposed to light. There is a technology in which the patterns on the front and back are combined and the latent image appears as a continuous tone image when viewed through the image.

In this technique, the line pattern formed on one side of the printing material is a line pattern with a one-to-one relationship between object lines and non-object lines, and the phase modulation pattern formed on the other side of the printing object is The line pattern has a configuration in which a latent image is formed by providing a phase difference (here, a half period of the period of the image) with respect to the period of the image using an arbitrary phase modulation method. The relationship between objects and non-objects in a phase modulation line pattern is also one-to-one, and if a phase difference of half the period of the object line is provided, the image line forming the latent image and the surrounding area The objects are placed in different phases.
When a printing material with a parallel line pattern on one side and a phase-modulated line pattern on the other side is observed in an environment where the phase-modulated line pattern can be seen through, the areas where there is no phase difference in the phase-modulated line pattern are Areas that overlap at the same position as the line pattern but have a phase difference in the phase modulated line pattern do not overlap with the line pattern, resulting in a difference in shading and can be visually recognized as a latent image. Note that the appearance of an arbitrary image by superimposing two types of patterns with such periodicity is also called a moiré phenomenon, and is applied as a variety of counterfeit prevention techniques in security printed materials.

Patent Document 1 filed by the present applicant discloses a front and back pattern composite printed matter in which a latent image of a phase-modulated parallel line pattern is visible with gradation when observed in a transparent environment. The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 allows a latent image with shading to be visually recognized by providing a phase difference according to the shading of image information, and the larger the phase difference, the darker the latent image is visually recognized in transparent viewing. According to the principle of the invention described in Patent Document 1, for example, a phase modulated parallel line pattern with a phase difference of 1/4 period with respect to the period of the drawing line, and a pattern with a phase difference of 1/2 period with respect to the period of the drawing line, Compared to a phase modulation line pattern with a phase difference of 1/2 period, the phase modulation line pattern with a phase difference of 1/2 period has a larger phase difference. The latent image becomes visible.

Patent Document 2 filed by the present applicant discloses a front and back pattern composite printed matter in which a latent image appears as a color image when observed in a transparent environment. The technology disclosed in Patent Document 2 converts separated images of the three primary colors cyan, magenta, and yellow obtained through process color separation or artificial color separation into various screen patterns such as parallel lines and halftone dots that are phase-modulated for each of the three primary colors. It has a structure in which a line pattern is applied to one side of the printing material and a parallel line pattern is applied to the other side of the printing material. When observed in a transparent environment, areas with phase differences for each of the three primary colors are combined, forming a color latent image. becomes visible.

Patent Document 3 describes a technique that uses a phase modulation parallel line pattern to make a latent image visible when observed at an angle, in which an uneven shape is formed at a predetermined pitch on a base material, and furthermore, a pattern is formed on the sides of the uneven shape. Disclosed is a printed matter in which a latent image pattern is formed by applying printing lines forming a first pattern on one side and applying printing lines forming a second pattern on the other side. There is. In the technology of Patent Document 3, the first pattern and the second pattern are composed of lines with a phase difference, and when the printed material is tilted from one side of the uneven shape, the first pattern is formed. is visible, and when tilted from the opposite side of the uneven shape, a second pattern becomes visible.

Patent Document 4 filed by the present applicant describes a phase modulation pattern in which colored image lines are arranged in parallel lines and are divided into a latent image area and a background area by different phases of some of them. It is a latent image pattern expression structure in which a latent image pattern can be visually recognized by overlapping line patterns, and the latent image part is composed of latent image constituent images arranged in a phase different from the images in the background area and the image lines in the background area. A latent image pattern expression structure is disclosed that includes a latent image image adjacent to which at least some of the density relaxation images are arranged in the same phase. The latent image pattern expression structure disclosed in Patent Document 4 includes a phase modulation pattern that improves the concealability of the latent image pattern that appears due to the phase difference during normal observation.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-139022 Patent No. 3362171 Patent No. 4910244 JP 2021-115799 Publication

The phase-modulated parallel line patterns in Patent Documents 1 to 3 can be clearly recognized as a latent image when observed through transparent vision, making it possible to determine authenticity, and by simply imitating only the parallel lines. It is possible to determine the authenticity of printed matter to be counterfeited. However, if observed carefully, there was a problem in that the phase difference inherent in the line pattern could be visually recognized. In particular, in the area where a latent image is formed, the distance between adjacent drawing lines is shorter than the period of surrounding drawing lines, and the distance between adjacent drawing lines is A region is formed that is longer than the period of the surrounding drawing lines and has a noticeable blank space. For this reason, images that appear as latent images in transparent vision are also easily guessed, which is not satisfactory from the standpoint of preventing forgery.

Furthermore, in the phase modulation parallel line pattern in Patent Document 4, in the part where the latent image is formed, the distance between adjacent drawing lines is shorter than the period of the surrounding drawing lines, and the area is visible in a darker color than the surrounding area. At the same time, the distance between adjacent strokes is longer than the period of the surrounding strokes, and the thickness of the lines is partially increased in areas where blank spaces are noticeable. By relaxing the area, the hiding ability of the latent image is improved.
However, when observed from the front, only the line pattern is visible and no other visible pattern (image) is visible, so the latent image is harder to confirm than the phase modulation line pattern in Patent Documents 1 to 3. However, if observed carefully, it was possible to guess which image appeared as a latent image, and this was not satisfactory from the standpoint of preventing forgery.

The first problem to be solved by the present invention is that the latent image has a phase modulation pattern and a visible pattern component, and the latent image cannot be completely recognized without using a discriminator, and only the visible pattern is visible. The object of the present invention is to provide a latent image expression pattern that can be visually recognized only by using a discriminator.
Further, the second problem to be solved by the present invention is that the present invention has a phase modulation pattern and a visible pattern component, and the visible pattern is visible without a discriminator, and the latent image is visible when a discriminator is used. It is an object of the present invention to provide latent image expression pattern data and a method for creating the same.

As a result of intensive studies to solve the first problem, the inventors found that the problem could be solved by a latent image expression pattern having a specific configuration, and the present invention was completed.
Furthermore, as a result of intensive studies to solve the second problem, the inventors have discovered that the above-mentioned The inventors have discovered that the problem can be solved and have completed the present invention.
That is, the present invention provides the following latent image development pattern, method for creating the latent image development pattern, and latent image development pattern data.

In the present invention, in a line pattern in which a plurality of colored lines are arranged at a constant pitch in a first direction, the phase of some of the colored lines is moved in the first direction. It has a phase modulation pattern that constitutes a latent image part and a background part, and a visible pattern component that constitutes a visible pattern, and the visible pattern component is located in an area where colored lines are not provided in the phase modulation pattern. The phase modulation pattern is a latent image expression pattern having a region in which the phase of the latent image constituent image line forming the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern constituent element.

Further, in the present invention, the latent image constituent image line is arranged at a phase different from the background constituent image line forming the background portion, and the latent image constituent image line is arranged at least one phase of the background constituent image line. The density-reduced objects are arranged adjacently in the same phase as the object, and the density-reduced objects have an object width narrower than the object line width of the background constituent objects, and the density-reduced objects are arranged in the same phase as the object lines adjacent to each other in the first direction. and a first latent image constituent picture line arranged such that the distance between the center lines thereof is smaller than the certain pitch; A latent image expression pattern having at least one of the second latent image constituent images arranged such that the distance between the center lines of adjacent image lines in the direction is larger than the certain pitch. .

Furthermore, in the area where the latent image constituent image line and the background constituent image line in the line pattern are adjacent, the line width of the visible pattern constituent element adjacent to the latent image constituent image line, and the line width of the visible pattern constituent element adjacent to the background constituent image line, This is a latent image expression pattern in which the line width ratio of the visible pattern constituent elements is approximately the same as the ratio of the line width of the corresponding latent image constituent image to the line width of the background constituent image.

Further, the present invention provides at least one of the following requirements (a) and (b);
(a) The latent image constituent image line in the phase modulation pattern is a tone of one or more chromatic colors,
(b) A latent image expression pattern in which the latent image constituent image lines in the phase modulation pattern are composed of color tones that are complementary to each other with the center line of the latent image constituent image line as a boundary.

Further, in the present invention, in a parallel line pattern in which a plurality of colored drawing lines are arranged at a constant pitch in the first direction, the phase of some of the colored drawing lines is moved in the first direction. A phase modulation pattern that constitutes a latent image portion and a background portion, and a visible pattern component that constitutes a visible pattern, wherein the visible pattern component is not provided with colored lines in the phase modulation pattern. A method for creating latent image pattern data having an area in which a phase of a latent image constituent image line provided in a region and forming a latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern does not overlap with a phase of the visible pattern constituent element, the method comprising:
The following steps;
a first base image setting step of setting a pattern expressed by the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern as a first base image;
After performing gray scale processing on the first base image, which is provided as necessary after the first base image setting step, n times the pitch of the drawing lines arranged in the first direction (n is 1< a second base image setting step of setting a vertically averaged image obtained by averaging the density for each region corresponding to n≦10 as a second base image;
a gradation inversion processing step of inverting the shading of the first base image or the second base image to generate a reversed image;
A first method of applying a first critical value array image to the first base image or the second base image to generate a binary image of a first latent image constituent line constituting a latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern. critical value array image conversion processing step,
a second critical value array image conversion process step of applying the first critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of the second background part constituent lines that constitute the background part in the phase modulation pattern; ,
a step of generating first phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the first latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
A third method of applying a second critical value array image to the first base image or the second base image to generate a binary image of the second latent image constituent lines constituting the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern. critical value array image conversion processing step,
A fourth critical value array image conversion process step of applying a second critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of the second background part constituent lines that constitute the background part in the phase modulation pattern. ,
a step of generating second phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the second latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
inverting the first phase modulation pattern data to generate inverted first phase modulation pattern data;
a step of generating visible pattern mask data, including combining the second phase modulation pattern data and the inverted first phase modulation pattern data;
a step of synthesizing visible pattern data having an arbitrary pattern and color tone with the visible pattern mask data to generate visible pattern configuration data;
combining the first phase modulation pattern data and the visible pattern configuration data;
has
The first phase modulation pattern data and the second phase modulation pattern data have different phases in the first direction, which is a method for creating latent image expression pattern data.

Further, in the present invention, in a parallel line pattern in which a plurality of colored drawing lines are arranged at a constant pitch in the first direction, the phase of some of the colored drawing lines is moved in the first direction. As a result, the phase modulation pattern that formed the latent image part and the background part,
It has visible pattern constituent elements that constitute a visible pattern,
The visible pattern component is provided in an area where no colored image line is provided in the phase modulation pattern, and the phase of the latent image component image line forming the latent image part in the phase modulation pattern is different from the phase of the visible pattern component. having a region that does not overlap with the topology of the element,
A method for creating latent image expression pattern data for a latent image expression pattern, the method comprising:
The following steps;
a base image setting step of setting a pattern expressed by a latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern as a base image;
a gradation inversion processing step of inverting the shading of the base image to generate an inverted image;
a first critical value array image conversion process that applies a first critical value array image to the base image to generate a binary image of a first latent image constituent image that constitutes a latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern; process,
a second critical value array image conversion process step of applying the first critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of the second background part constituent lines that constitute the background part in the phase modulation pattern; ,
a step of generating first phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the first latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
A third method of applying a second critical value array image to the first base image or the second base image to generate a binary image of the second latent image constituent lines constituting the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern. critical value array image conversion processing step,
A fourth critical value array image conversion process step of applying a second critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of the second background part constituent lines that constitute the background part in the phase modulation pattern. ,
a step of generating second phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the second latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
inverting the first phase modulation pattern data to generate inverted first phase modulation pattern data;
a step of generating visible pattern mask data, including combining the second phase modulation pattern data and the inverted first phase modulation pattern data;
a step of synthesizing visible pattern data having an arbitrary pattern and color tone with the visible pattern mask data to generate visible pattern configuration data;
a step of setting a color pattern expressed by a latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern as a color base image;
generating positive latent image data from the color base image;
performing color inversion processing on the positive latent image to generate negative latent image data;
combining the phase modulation pattern data and the visible pattern mask data to generate positive color latent image mask data;
generating negative color latent image mask data by combining the phase modulation data and inverted visible pattern mask data obtained by inverting the visible pattern mask data;
combining the positive latent image data and the positive color latent image mask data to generate positive phase modulation pattern data;
combining the negative latent image data and the negative color latent image mask data to generate negative phase modulation pattern data;
combining the visible pattern configuration data, the positive phase modulation pattern data, and the negative phase modulation pattern data;
has
The first phase modulation pattern data and the second phase modulation pattern data have different phases in the first direction, which is a method for creating latent image expression pattern data.

Further, the present invention is latent image development pattern data obtained by the method for creating a latent image development pattern described in paragraphs 0018 and 0019.

The present invention has a phase modulation pattern and a visible pattern component, and when a discriminator is not used, the latent image pattern cannot be completely visualized, and only the visible pattern can be visually recognized, and only when a discriminator is used. A latent image development pattern is provided in which the latent image can be visually recognized.
The present invention also provides latent image expression pattern data and its data, which has a phase modulation pattern and a visible pattern component, the visible pattern is visible without a discriminator, and the latent image is visible when a discriminator is used. A method of creation is provided.

Latent image development pattern and its development diagram according to the first embodiment of the present invention A diagram showing the configuration of a phase modulation pattern of the present invention A diagram showing the structure of the visible pattern of the present invention A diagram showing an example of arrangement of visible pattern components of a latent image expression pattern according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Diagram showing details of latent image pattern and visible pattern components of the present invention A diagram showing the visual recognition state of the latent image development pattern of the present invention Diagram showing the configuration of line filter Diagram showing details of the phase modulation pattern and visible pattern components of the present invention A diagram showing the configuration of a latent image section according to the first embodiment of the present invention Enlarged view of the latent image part in Figure 9 A diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the first latent image image of the present invention Enlarged view of the latent image part of the present invention A block diagram showing the configuration of the latent image expression pattern data creation device (M) of the present invention A diagram for explaining the configuration of a visible pattern (30) according to the second embodiment of the present invention Enlarged view of the first latent image line (21A ₁ ) of the present invention A diagram showing a partial region of a phase modulation pattern (20) and a visible pattern (30) that constitute the latent image expression pattern (10) of the present invention A diagram showing a comparative example of the configuration shown in FIG. 16 A diagram showing a partial region other than the region shown in FIG. 16 in the phase modulation pattern (20) and visible pattern (30) that constitute the latent image expression pattern (10) of the present invention. Diagram showing the configuration of a determination tool commonly called a lenticular (T2) A diagram showing a configuration in which a plurality of drawing lines (51) are arranged on the base material (50) of the present invention to form an integrated structure. A diagram showing the configuration of the convex line pattern (60) of the present invention A plan view showing an example of the arrangement of the convex line pattern (60) and the latent image expression pattern (10) formed on the base material (2) of the present invention A diagram showing a latent image pattern forming body in which a latent image pattern (10) is formed on one side of the base material (2) of the present invention and a parallel line pattern (70) is formed on the other side. A diagram showing a modification of the parallel line pattern (70) in the present invention Enlarged view of colored line pattern in the present invention A diagram showing a latent image pattern forming body (1) provided with a hiding layer (80) in the present invention A diagram showing the configuration of the phase modulation parallel line pattern (120) described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-220872 A flow diagram showing the phase modulation pattern data generation step (S1) of the present invention A flow diagram showing details of the phase modulation pattern data generation step (S1) shown in FIG. 28 A diagram showing an example using a monochrome binary image (100) registered in advance in the database in the present invention A diagram showing an averaged image in the present invention A diagram showing an image generated by the tone inversion processing step (f3) in the present invention Enlarged view of the area surrounded by the broken line of the base image (101) shown in FIG. 30(b) Enlarged view of the region (17a) surrounded by a broken line in the inverted image (102) shown in FIG. 32(a) Enlarged view of the area (16a) surrounded by a broken line in the averaged image (102) shown in FIG. 31 Enlarged view of the region (17a) surrounded by a broken line in the inverted image (102') shown in FIG. 32(b) A diagram showing an image of a phase modulation pattern in the present invention A flow diagram showing details of the visible image mask generation step (S2) in the present invention A diagram showing phase modulation pattern data (19) in the present invention A diagram showing phase modulation pattern data (19) in the present invention A diagram showing data obtained by negative/positive inversion of phase modulation pattern data (19) in the present invention A diagram showing the area of the second phase modulation pattern data (19A) of the present invention A diagram showing image data of a visible image mask in the present invention A flow diagram showing details of the visible image data generation step (S3) in the present invention A diagram showing a "triangle" pattern as a base image for visible images in the present invention A diagram showing an image in which the visible image base image and the visible image mask image data (19D, 19d) in the present invention are superimposed A diagram showing phase modulation pattern data in the present invention Flowchart of a method for creating image data of a phase modulation pattern having the configuration shown in FIG. 27(b) A diagram showing a mask image in the present invention A diagram showing the relationship between the third phase modulation pattern data and the fourth phase modulation pattern data in the present invention A diagram showing the Mth binary image (18M) converted into a binary image by applying the Mth critical value array image to the entire averaged image (102) in the present invention A diagram showing a color latent image base image (“circular”) (130) and a color latent image inversion base image (131) in which the color of the color latent base image (130) is inverted in the present invention. A diagram illustrating that color latent image data (140) is generated by comparison and synthesis processing that extracts areas where mutual images overlap in a color latent image base image and a color latent image mask according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and includes various modified embodiments within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

The latent image expression pattern of the present invention is a parallel line pattern in which a plurality of colored lines are arranged at a constant pitch in a first direction, and the phase of some of the colored lines is shifted in the first direction. It has a phase modulation pattern that constitutes a latent image area and a background area by moving to The phase of the image line that is provided in the area where the pattern is not provided and that constitutes the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern has an area that does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern constituent elements.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a latent image development pattern (10) and a developed view thereof according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The latent image development pattern (10) shown in FIG. 1 is composed of a phase modulation pattern (20) and a visible pattern (30). The detailed structure of the phase modulation pattern (20) and the visible pattern (30) will be described later, but the phase modulation pattern (20) shown in FIG. The visible pattern (30) shown in FIG. 1(c) is an example of a "triangle" pattern.
Hereinafter, detailed configurations of the phase modulation pattern (20) and visible pattern (30) that constitute the latent image expression pattern (10) of the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the phase modulation pattern (20). The phase modulation pattern (20) is a line in which colored object lines (21) are arranged at a constant pitch (P) in a first direction (vertical direction (V1) in FIG. 2). By having different phases, it is divided into a latent image part (a "circular" pattern indicated by reference numeral (20A) in FIG. 2) that shows the pattern of the latent image and a background part (20B) that shows the background thereof.

In the present invention, "the phases of the images are different" means that the images forming the latent image area (20A) and the images forming the background area (20B) are mutually moved in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the images. By doing this (shifting), a phase difference between the parallel lines is provided. In the phase modulation pattern (20) shown in FIG. 2, the image lines constituting the latent image portion (20A) move in the upper direction (V1) of the first direction (vertical direction), thereby creating a phase difference. Although an example is shown in which the phase difference is provided, the phase difference may be provided by moving downward in the first direction (vertical direction) opposite to this. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the image lines constituting the latent image portion (20A) are arranged shifted in the first direction (V1). Also, among the lines (21) forming the phase modulation pattern (20), the lines (21) forming the latent image portion (20A) and the drawing line (21) forming the background portion (20B) will be explained separately. In the case of do.

The amount of movement (shift width) by which the image line constituting the latent image portion (20A) and the image line constituting the background portion (20B) move in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the image line is determined by the concealability of the latent image and the image line constituting the background portion (20B). From the viewpoint of visibility etc., when the constant pitch (P) in parallel lines is taken as 100%, it is, for example, 1% or more, preferably 10% or more, more preferably 20% or more, and for example, 99% or less, preferably 90%. % or less, more preferably 80% or less.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the visible pattern (30). The visible pattern (30) is composed of a plurality of colored visible pattern constituent elements (31) arranged in an area where the colored lines (21) constituting the phase modulation pattern (20) are not provided. , is an example in which a "triangle" is configured as a visible pattern. FIG. 3 shows an example in which a plurality of visible pattern constituent elements (31) are arranged at the same pitch (P) as the pitch (P) of colored drawing lines (21) constituting the phase modulation pattern (20). However, the visible pattern constituent elements (31) may be provided in areas that do not overlap with the colored lines (21) constituting the phase modulation pattern (20), and the pitch of the visible pattern constituent elements (31) is not particularly limited. It is not something that will be done.
Note that the visible pattern constituent elements do not necessarily have to be in the form of drawing lines (for example, halftone dots), but are preferably in the form of drawing lines from the viewpoint of latent image concealment and visibility.

FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the latent image portion, the drawing lines (21) forming the background portion, and the visible pattern constituent elements (31) in the latent image expression pattern (10) shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the visible pattern component (31) is a region in which the colored image line (21) is not provided in the phase modulation pattern (20), that is, a colored part constituting the latent image portion (20A). It is provided in an area in which no drawing line (21A) is provided, and in which a colored drawing line (21B) constituting the background portion (20B) is not provided. By selectively providing (arranging) the visible pattern constituent elements (31) in such areas, the visible pattern (30 ) becomes visible.

The color of the visible pattern component (31) may be the same color as the colored line (21) constituting the phase modulation pattern (20), or may be a different color. By adjusting the color tone of the visible pattern component (31), it is possible to adjust the color visually recognized from the visible pattern component (31), and by adjusting the size (area) of the visible pattern component, the visible pattern component (31) can be adjusted. It is possible to adjust the density seen from the pattern components.

FIG. 5 shows that in the phase modulation pattern (20) of the present invention, there is a region where the phase of the latent image line (21A) constituting the latent image portion (20A) does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern component (31). It is a figure explaining a structure. In the present invention, the phase of the latent image line (21A) refers to the area in the phase modulation pattern (21) where the latent image line (21A) is arranged and the area on the extension line thereof. Furthermore, in the present invention, the phase of the visible pattern component (31) refers to the region in the visible pattern (30) where the visible pattern component (31) is arranged and the region on the extension line thereof.

In FIG. 5(a), the area corresponding to the image line width (W _21A ) of the latent image image line (21A) is the phase of the latent image image line (21A), and the area corresponding to the image line width (W 21A ) of the latent image image line (21A) is The area corresponding to the width (W ₃₁ ) in the direction is the phase of the visible pattern component (31). In the configuration shown in FIG. 5(a), the entire phase of the visible pattern component (31) overlaps with a part of the phase of the latent image image (21A), and the remaining latent image image (21A) has a region (S) that does not overlap with the visible pattern component (31). In addition, in FIG. 5(b), the phase of the visible pattern component (31) is different from the configuration shown in FIG. 5(a), but there are two regions (S) that do not overlap with the visible pattern component (31). ).

For comparison of the configurations of the present invention, FIG. 5(c) shows that the phase of the latent image image (21A) and the phase of the visible pattern component (31) are the same, and the phase of the latent image image (21A) is the same. , is a diagram illustrating an example in which there is no region that does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern component (31). In this case, when observed with normal eyes, the "circular" pattern can be visually recognized, but the hidden It is not possible to obtain the effect that the visually recognizable pattern changes when a determining tool, which will be described later, is placed on the image expression pattern (10).

In the present invention, the pattern of the latent image in the latent image expression pattern (10) is not limited to the "circular" pattern shown in FIG. 1, but may be any pattern (numbers, letters, symbols, pictures, etc.). I can do it. Furthermore, the visible pattern (30) in the latent image expression pattern (10) is not limited to the "triangle" shown in FIG. 1, but may be any pattern (numbers, letters, symbols, strokes, etc.). be able to.

FIG. 6(a) is a diagram showing the visual recognition state when the latent image expression pattern (10) is printed on a base material (2) such as paper. As shown in FIG. 6(a), when the latent image development pattern (10) is visually recognized, the "triangle" pattern represented by the visible pattern (30) shown in FIG. It is difficult to visually recognize the "circular" pattern that is the image. If the color of the visible pattern component (31) and the colored lines (21) constituting the phase modulation pattern (20) are the same color, a difference in shading will occur due to the difference in area ratio, resulting in a "triangle" pattern. is visible in dark color. In addition, when the color of the visible pattern component (31) and the colored lines (21) constituting the phase modulation pattern (20) are different colors, "triangles" with the color of the phase modulation pattern (21) as the background ” pattern is visible in different colors. In the present invention, "area ratio" refers to the colored image line (21) and the visible pattern constituent elements (31) in a certain area (here, the base material (2)) in which the latent image expression pattern is formed. It is the proportion of the area where

On the other hand, the latent image development pattern (10) in FIG. This makes it possible to visually recognize the "circular" pattern shown in FIG. 6(b). Examples of the determining tool include, but are not limited to, a line filter, a lenticular, and the like.

Here, in the latent image expression pattern (10), an example of a parallel line filter will be described as a determination tool used when visually recognizing the pattern of the latent image.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a parallel line filter (T1) as an example of a determining tool used when visually recognizing a pattern of a latent image. In the line filter (T1), a line pattern (41) is formed by printing, for example, colored ink on a light-transmitting base material (40). In addition, the color of the line pattern (41) may be the same color as the latent image expression pattern (10), or may be a different color. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 7, the line pattern (41) is a colored object line (21) in which the object line (41A) with a predetermined object width (W ₄₁ ) constitutes the phase modulation pattern (20). A plurality of them are arranged at the same pitch (P1). The light transmittance of the base material (40) forming the line pattern (41) means that when observed over the base material (2) on which the phase modulation pattern (20) is formed, the phase modulation pattern (20) ) can be seen through, and may be colored as long as the phase modulation pattern (20) can be seen through, but the base material (40) forming the parallel line pattern (41) is preferably a transparent film. Or polymer base material is good.

The line width (W ₄₁ ) of the line pattern will be specifically explained.
In the present invention, in order for the latent image of the phase modulation pattern (20) to be visually recognized, the line pattern (41) needs to hide the background image (21B) and the visible pattern component (31).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of a line pattern (41) that hides the background lines (21B) and visible pattern constituent elements (31) of the phase modulation pattern (20) shown in FIG. 5(a). In addition, in FIG. 8, one drawing line (41A) of the line pattern (41) is shown in the drawing in order to clearly explain the arrangement relationship between the background drawing line (21B) and the visible pattern component (31). The area indicated by line (41A) is indicated by a thick line. In FIG. 8, the image width of the background image line (21B) is indicated by the symbol (W _21B ), but in this embodiment, the image width (W 21B ) of the background image line ( _21B ) is the same as that of the latent image image. It is the same as the drawing width (W _21A ) of (21A).

When the line pattern (40) has the configuration shown in FIG. The latent image line (21A) in the phase of the region (S) that does not overlap with the phase of ) can be visually recognized, and the pattern in the latent image portion (20A) can be visually recognized. Therefore, in the latent image expression pattern ( ₁₀ ) shown in FIG. W _21B ) and the width (W ₃₁ ) of the visible pattern component (31) in the first direction. Note that the drawing width (W ₄₁ ) of the drawing lines (41A) constituting the parallel line pattern (41) may be larger than this, but this is not preferable because the visibility of the latent image decreases.

Here, we have explained the parallel line pattern (41) that hides the background line (21B) and the visible pattern component (31) in the configuration shown in FIG. ), the width (W ₃₁ ) of the visible pattern component (31) in the first direction, and the arrangement of the visible pattern component (31), the configuration of the parallel line pattern (41) for visually recognizing the latent image. Since they are different, it is sufficient to use parallel line filters according to the background image line (21B) and the visible pattern component (31) in the latent image expression pattern (10).

In the present invention, the ratio of the area in which the phase of the latent image constituent image forming the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern constituent element is not particularly limited, and the phase of the latent image constituent image is not particularly limited. (width in the first direction) as 100%, for example less than 100%, preferably less than 90%, more preferably less than 80%, for example 1% or more, preferably 10% or more, more preferably 20%. be able to.
By having a region in which the phase of the latent image constituent image forming the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern constituent elements, the visible pattern composed of the visible pattern constituent elements can be clearly visually recognized. This makes it possible to further improve the concealing performance of the latent image.

The latent image development pattern (10) of the present invention is a parallel line pattern in which a plurality of colored lines (21) are arranged at a constant pitch (P) in a first direction (V1). A visible pattern (30) is applied to an area where a colored image line is not provided in a phase modulation pattern (20) that constitutes a latent image area and a background area by moving the phase of a part of the image line in the first direction. A visible pattern component (31) is provided, and the phase of the latent image image line (21A) constituting the latent image portion (20A) in the phase modulation pattern (20) is the same as the phase of the visible pattern component (31). It is configured to have an area that does not overlap with the .
With such a configuration, when the latent image development pattern (10) of the present invention is visually observed, the visible pattern (30) is mainly visible, and the latent image development pattern of the present invention can be detected using a discriminator. When (10) is observed, the latent image can be clearly seen. Furthermore, when the latent image expression pattern is visually observed, the visible pattern (30) is primarily visible, so it is possible to improve the concealability of the latent image.

The second embodiment deals with cases in which the interval between adjacent lines in the latent image part (20A) in the phase modulation pattern (20) is shorter than a predetermined pitch (period), and the case in which the interval between adjacent lines in the latent image part (20A) This is a latent image expression pattern (10) that solves the problem that the pattern of the latent image is guessed when the interval between the image lines is longer than a predetermined pitch (period). FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the problem that the pattern of the latent image is guessed in the latent image portion (20A) of the phase modulation pattern (20) described in the first embodiment. The area surrounded by dotted lines (E1) stands out as a darker color than the surrounding areas, where the distance between adjacent drawing lines is shorter than the period of the surrounding drawing lines, and the area surrounded by dotted lines (E2) stands out because the distance between adjacent drawing lines is shorter than the period of the surrounding drawing lines. The distance is longer than the period of the surrounding drawing lines, and the blank space becomes noticeable. The detailed configuration of the phase modulation pattern (20) of the second embodiment that solves this problem will be described below.

FIG. 10 shows that in the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 9, when the interval between adjacent lines is shorter than a predetermined pitch (period), the pattern of the latent image is inferred. It is a figure showing the composition of the latent image part (20A) which solved the problem. As shown in FIG. 10, the latent image portion (20A) includes, for example, one first latent image line (21A ₁ ) in a boundary portion adjacent to the background portion (20B). As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 10, the image image line (21A ₁ ) is composed of a latent image constituent image line (21a ₁ ) arranged at a different phase from the background image line (21B) and a background image line (21B). Concentration relaxation lines (21b ₁ ) arranged in the same phase as at least some of the lines are adjacent to each other. Here, the latent image forming line (21a ₁ ) is arranged in a phase different from the background line (21B), as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 10, on the extension line of the background line (21B). , the latent image constituent lines (21a) do not overlap and are arranged in phase with the adjacent background line (21B). In addition, the expression that the density relaxation line (21b ₁ ) is arranged in the same phase as the background line (21B) means that at least a portion on the extension line of the background line (21B), as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. In the enlarged view of FIG. 10, the density relaxation image (21b ₁ ) is placed in the same phase as a part of the background image ( _21B ). An example is shown below.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the first latent image line (21A ₁ ). In the background part (20B), background lines (21B) with a constant line width (W _B ) are arranged at a constant pitch (P1), similar to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment. Multiple locations. In addition, in the latent image area (20A), the second and subsequent lines from the top also differ by 1/2 pitch from the background line (21B), similar to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment. A latent image image (21A) is arranged in the phase, and the latent image image (21A) has the same image width (W _A ) as the image width (W _B ) of the background image (21B), and , are arranged at the same pitch (P1) as the background drawing lines (21B).

On the other hand, the line width (W _A1 ) of the first latent image line (21A ₁ ) is equal to the line width (W _A ) of the background image line and the line width (W _A ) of the latent image line (21A). The image width (Wa ₁ ) of the latent image constituent image (21a ₁ ) and the image width (Wb ₁ ) of the density relaxation image (21b ₁ ) are also smaller than the image width (W _B ) of the background image. ) is smaller than. Further, the distance (L A1-B ) between the center lines of the first latent image line (21A ₁ ) and the background image line (21B) adjacent in the first direction (V1) and the distance between the first latent image line ( _{21A 1} ) and the center line of the background image line (21B) The distance ( _LA1-A0 ) between the center line of (21A ₁ ) and the latent image line (21A) is smaller than the pitch (P1) at which the latent image line (21A) and the background image line (21B) are arranged. . According to the configuration shown in FIG. 11, the non-image area between the latent image area (20A) and the background area (20B) is larger than the phase modulation parallel line pattern (20) of the first embodiment, In the phase modulation parallel line pattern (20) of the first embodiment, it is possible to solve the problem that the distance between adjacent lines is shorter than a predetermined pitch and is visually recognized as a dark color.

In FIG. 11, the line width (W _A1 ) of the first latent image line (21A ₁ ), the non-image line between the first latent image line (21A ₁ ) and the adjacent background line (21B), An example in which the distance of the non-image area (M _A1-B ) and the distance of the non-image area (M _A1-A ) between the first latent image image (21A ₁ ) and the adjacent latent image image (21A) are different. However, if they have the same configuration, the image area ratio per unit area is constant at the boundary between the latent image area (20A) and the background area (20B), and there is no difference in shading, thus concealing the latent image pattern. This is preferable because it improves performance. Furthermore, the distance (M _A1-B ) of the non-image area between the first latent image line (21A ₁ ) and the adjacent background image line (21B) and the first latent image line (21A ₁ ) It is also a preferable form to make the distance (M _A1-A ) of the non-image area between the adjacent latent image image (21A) the same in order to increase the concealability of the latent image pattern, but the former is more effective.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, as an example, a phase modulation pattern (20) including one first latent image line (21A ₁ ) is provided at a boundary portion adjacent to the background portion (20B). However, a plurality of first latent image lines (21A ₁ ) having the above-described configuration may be provided. If two first latent image lines (21A ₁ ) are provided and the line widths (W _A1 ) of the two first latent image lines (21A ₁ ) are the same, the first latent image lines (21A 1 ) By making the distance between the image image line (21A ₁ ) and the non-image area between the image line (21A 1 ) and the image line adjacent thereto the same, it is possible to improve the concealability of the pattern of the latent image. Furthermore, if two first latent image lines (21A ₁ ) are provided, the first latent image lines gradually increase from the boundary with the background part (20B) toward the latent image line (21A). If you increase the drawing width (W _A1 ) of the line (21A ₁ ) or increase the distance of the non-printing area between adjacent drawing lines accordingly, the change between the drawing line and the non-printing area will be gradual. This is preferable because it has a high effect of hiding the latent image pattern. In addition, regarding the configuration in which a plurality of first latent image images (21A ₁ ) are provided, the technology described in the patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-11655 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-115799)) filed by the present applicant is used. Can be used.

Next, in the phase modulation parallel line pattern (20) of the first embodiment, when the interval between adjacent lines is longer than a predetermined pitch (period), the problem that the pattern of the latent image is guessed is solved. The configuration of the latent image section (20A) will be explained using FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 solves the problem that the pattern of the latent image is guessed when the interval between adjacent lines is longer than a predetermined pitch in the phase modulation parallel line pattern (20) of the first embodiment. It is a figure showing the composition of a latent image part (20A). As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 12, the latent image portion (20A) includes, for example, one second latent image line (21A ₂ ) at the boundary portion adjacent to the background portion (20B). As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 12, the latent image image line (21A ₂ ) of No. 2 is composed of a latent image constituent image line (21a 2 ) arranged at a different phase from the background image line (21B), and a background image line (21A ₂ ). Concentration relaxation lines (21b ₂ ) arranged in the same phase as at least a part of 21B) are formed adjacent to each other.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a more detailed configuration of the second latent image line (21A ₂ ). In the background part (20B), background lines (21B) with a constant line width (W _B ) are arranged at a constant pitch (P1), similar to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment. A plurality of lines are arranged, and in the latent image area (20A), the lines above the second from the bottom are also 1/1/2 from the background line (21B), similar to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment. The latent image image (21A) is arranged at a phase different by two pitches, and the latent image image (21A) has the same image width (W _A ) as the image width (W _B ) of the background image (21B). and are arranged at the same pitch (P1) as the background drawing lines (21B).

On the other hand, the line width (W _A2 ) of the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) is equal to the line width (W _B ) of the background image line and the line width (W _A ) of the latent image line (21A). bigger. In the second latent image image (21A ₂ ) shown in FIG. 13, the image width (Wb ₂ ) of the density relaxation image (21b ₂ ) is equal to the image width (W _B ) of the background image (21B). Although an example with the same configuration is shown, the line width (W _A2 ) of the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) is different from the line width (W _B ) of the background image line and the latent image line (21A 2 ). ), _the line width (Wb ₂ ) of the density relaxation line (21b ₂ ) may be smaller than the line width (W _B ) of the background line (21B). . Further, the distance ( _LA2-B ) between the center lines of the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) and the background image line (21B) adjacent to each other in the first direction (V1) and the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) and the center line of the latent image line (21A) (LA _-A2 ) is larger than the pitch (P1) at which the latent image line (21A) and the background image line (21B) are arranged. . According to the configuration shown in FIG. 13, the non-image area between the latent image area (20A) and the background area (20B) is smaller than the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment. It is possible to solve the problem that a part of the pattern of the statue becomes blank and is visually recognized conspicuously.

In FIG. 13, the line width (W _A2 ) of the second latent image line (21A ₂ ), the non-image line between the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) and the adjacent background line (21B), An example in which the distance of the non-image area (M _A2-B ) and the distance of the non-image area (M _A-A2 ) between the second latent image image (21A ₂ ) and the adjacent latent image image (21A) are different. However, if they have the same configuration, the image area ratio per unit area is constant at the boundary between the latent image area (20A) and the background area (20B), and there is no difference in shading, thus concealing the latent image pattern. This is preferable because it improves performance. Furthermore, the distance (M _A2-B ) of the non-image area between the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) and the adjacent background image line (21B) and the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) It is also preferable to make the distance (M _{A - A2} ) of the non-image area between the adjacent latent image image (21A) the same in order to increase the concealability of the latent image pattern, but the former is more effective.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a phase modulation pattern (20) including one second latent image line (21A ₂ ) is provided in a boundary portion adjacent to the background portion (20B), as an example. However, a plurality of second latent image lines (21A ₂ ) having the above-described configuration may be provided. If two second latent image lines (21A ₂ ) are provided and the line widths (W _A2 ) of the two second latent image lines (21A ₂ ) are the same, the second latent image lines (21A 2 ) By making the distance between the image image line (21A ₂ ) and the non-image area between the image line (21A 2 ) and the image line adjacent thereto the same, it is possible to improve the concealability of the pattern of the latent image. Furthermore, if two second latent image lines (21A ₂ ) are provided, the second latent image lines gradually increase from the boundary with the background part (20B) toward the latent image line (21A). If the drawing width (W _A2 ) of the line (21A ₂ ) is made smaller or the distance of the non-printing part between adjacent drawing lines is reduced accordingly, the change between the drawing line and the non-printing part will be gradual. This is preferable because it has a high effect of hiding the latent image pattern. In addition, regarding the configuration in which a plurality of second latent image images (21A ₂ ) are provided, the technology described in the patent application (Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-11655 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-115799)) filed by the present applicant is also applied. Can be used.

Also in the phase modulation pattern (20) of the second embodiment, the pattern of the latent image can be any pattern (numbers, letters, symbols, pictures, etc.), but the pattern (outline) of the latent image Accordingly, since the area (position) where the interval between adjacent image lines becomes narrower and the area (position) where the interval between adjacent image lines becomes wider are different, the first latent image image (21A ₁ ) and A second latent image line (21A ₂ ) may be provided. Further, in the phase modulation pattern (20) of the second embodiment, if the latent image image line (21A) has a different phase in the opposite direction to the first direction (V1), the phase modulation pattern (20) In (20), since the darkly visible area and the blank area are replaced, the first latent image image (21A 1 ) has a smaller image width than the image width (W _B ) of the background image ( _21B ). The second latent image line (21A ₂ ) having a line width larger than the line width (W _B ) of the background image line (21B) may be interchanged.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the visible pattern (30) of the second embodiment, and for explaining the relationship with the phase modulation pattern (20), two patterns (20, 30) are shown. Illustrated. Also in the second embodiment, the visible pattern (30) has a plurality of colored visible pattern constituent elements (31) in an area where the colored lines (21) constituting the phase modulation pattern (20) are not provided. It consists of being arranged. Further, in the second embodiment, the phase modulation pattern (20) is formed by a latent image line (21A), a first latent image line (21A ₁ ), and a second latent image line (21A) constituting the latent image section (20A). The image line (21A ₂ ) has a region that does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern component (31).

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 14, the second latent image image (21A ₂ ) has a region that does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern component (31). ₂ ) shows a configuration in which the phase of the latent image constituent image line (21a ₂ ) and the phase of the visible pattern constituent element (31) do not overlap. When the area shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 14 is observed using the judgment tool described above, the latent image image line (21A) and the latent image constituent image line (21a ₂ ) forming part of the latent image pattern are visually recognized. be able to. Note that the visible pattern component (31) placed in the latent image area (20A) that shows a "circular" shape overlaps with the phase of the background image line (21B), so it does not affect the latent image. .

FIG. 15 shows a configuration in which the first latent image line (21A ₁ ) has a region that does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern component (31), and as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. A configuration is shown in which the phase of the latent image constituent image line (21a ₁ ) constituting the image line (21A ₁ ) and the phase of the visible pattern constituent element (31) do not overlap. When the area shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 15 is observed using the judgment tool described above, the latent image image line (21A) and the latent image constituent image line (21a ₁ ) forming part of the latent image pattern are visually recognized. be able to. Note that the visible pattern component (31) placed in the latent image area (20A) that shows a "circular" shape overlaps with the phase of the background image line (21B), so it does not affect the latent image. .
In the area shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 15, the visible pattern component (31) is not arranged in the background part (20B), but if the area (20B) that becomes the background of the pattern in the latent image part (20A), Even when the visible pattern component (31) is arranged, a configuration may be adopted in which the latent image component image line (21a ₁ ) has an area where the phase of the visible pattern component (31) does not overlap.

In the second embodiment, a configuration with a high hiding effect of a latent image pattern (here, a "circular" pattern) will be described with reference to FIG. 16.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a part of the phase modulation pattern (20) and visible pattern (30) that constitute the latent image expression pattern (10). An area with a drawing line (21A ₂ ) is shown. Here, the distance (Y) between the second latent image element (21A ₂ ) and the latent image element (21A) shown in FIG. 16, the width (y) of the visible pattern component (31) provided therebetween, and the background By setting the relationship between the distance (X) between the elements (21B) and the width (x) of the visible pattern component (31) provided therebetween to be expressed by Formula 1, the concealability of the latent image pattern is increased. preferred.
The phase modulation pattern (20) of the second embodiment has a first latent image line (21A ₁ ) and a second latent image line ( While the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) is provided to have the effect of relaxing the density, in the area shown in FIG. 16, a second latent image line (21A ₂ ) is provided in order to eliminate the conspicuous blank space.
At that time, by setting the visible pattern component (31) provided in the background part (20B) and the visible pattern component (31) provided in the latent image part to have the configuration shown in Formula 2, the density in areas where blank spaces are conspicuous is reduced. By maintaining the density balance of the phase modulation pattern (20), the effect of hiding the latent image pattern can be obtained.

FIG. 17(a) is a diagram showing a comparative example of the configuration shown in FIG. 16, and is an example in which the width (y) of the visible pattern component (31) provided in the latent image area (20A) shown in FIG. 16 is shortened. be. In this case, the blank space between the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) and the latent image line (21A) becomes conspicuous, and the concealability of the latent image pattern deteriorates.

FIG. 17(b) is a diagram showing another comparative example of the configuration shown in FIG. 16, in which the width (y) of the visible pattern component (31) provided in the latent image area (20A) shown in FIG. 16 is lengthened. This is an example. In this case, the space between the second latent image line (21A ₂ ) and the latent image line (21A) becomes dark and stands out, and the concealability of the latent image pattern decreases.

Even in the configuration shown in FIG. 17, when observed using the judgment tool described above, the effect of changing the visible pattern (30) and the latent image of the present invention can be obtained, but the structure shown in FIG. It has the form shown in .

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a part of the phase modulation pattern (20) and the visible pattern (30) that constitute the latent image expression pattern (10), which are different from the area shown in FIG. (20) shows the area with the first latent image line (21A ₁ ).
Here, the distance (Y 1 ) between the first latent image element (21A ₁ ) and the background element (21B) shown in FIG. 18, the width (y ₁ ) of the visible pattern component ( ₃₁ ) provided therebetween, The relationship between the distance (X ₁ ) between the background elements (21B) and the width (x ₁ ) of the visible pattern component (31) provided therebetween is also determined by formula 1 described above, so that the pattern of the latent image is Concealability increases.
Further, the distance (Y ₂ ) between the first latent image element (21A ₁ ) and the latent image element (21A) shown in FIG. 18, the width (y ₂ ) of the visible pattern component (31) provided therebetween, The relationship between the distance (X ₂ ) between the background elements (21B) and the width (x ₂ ) of the visible pattern component (31) provided therebetween can also be determined by formula 1 described above, so that the pattern of the latent image can be Concealability increases.

The above is a detailed explanation of the phase modulation pattern (20) and the visible pattern (30) that constitute the latent image expression pattern (10) of the present invention.Next, the latent image expression pattern (10) of the present invention , another example of a determination tool for visually recognizing a latent image will be described.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the configuration of a determination tool generally called a lenticule (T2) in which drawing lines (51) of a lens structure are arranged in parallel, and FIG. The lenticular (T2) plan view, FIG. 19(b), shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX' in FIG. 19(a). The lines (51) of the lens structure are arranged in the second direction (V2) at the same pitch (P) as the pitch (P) at which the colored lines (21) constituting the phase modulation pattern (20) are arranged. , arranged in a line. In addition, the image width (W) of the image line (51) of the lens structure is large enough that one image line (51) can sample the phase modulation pattern (20) arranged in an area corresponding to one pitch (P1). Satoru. Specifically, for example, in the phase modulation pattern (20) shown in FIG. 8, the line width (W 21B ) of the background image line ( _21B ) and the line width (W 21A ) of the latent image line ( _21A ) are different. It becomes peace. Further, the height (H) of the image line of the lens structure is adjusted as appropriate depending on the focal length when observing the image by superimposing it on the phase modulation pattern (20).

Although the lenticular (T2) shown in FIG. 19 shows a state in which the drawing lines (51) are arranged separately, it may also have a configuration in which the drawing lines (51) are adjacent to each other and are integrated. However, as shown in FIG. 20, a plurality of drawing lines (51) may be arranged on a base substrate (50) to form an integrated structure. The lenticular (T2) shown in FIGS. 19 and 20 may have an integrated structure formed on the phase modulation pattern (20) formed on the base material (2), or may have a structure similar to the structure shown in FIG. A separate type may be used, in which a base material (50) having lenticules (T2) is superimposed on a base material (2) on which a phase modulation pattern (20) is formed, and the latent image is visually recognized. When overlapping the lenticular (T2) on top of (20), the second direction (V2) and the first direction (V1) are set in the same direction, and by overlapping, the latent image can be visually recognized.

Next, the latent image expression pattern (10) of the present invention and the latent image expression pattern forming body (1) in which image lines for observing the latent image are formed on the base material (2) will be explained.

In FIG. 21(a), a convex object line (61) is arranged on the base material (2), and a colored object line (21) forming a phase modulation pattern (20) is arranged in the first direction (V1). 21(b) is a diagram showing the configuration of a convex line pattern (60) arranged at the same pitch (P) as the pitch (P) shown in FIG. FIG. The convex drawing line (61) can be formed by applying a known paper-cutting process using a circular net or dandy roll, or by laser processing the paper or polymer base material (2) in the paper manufacturing process. It can also be formed by removing part of (2). In addition, by performing printing with bulges such as intaglio printing or screen printing on the base material (2), the convex drawing lines (61) can be formed.

In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 21(b), when observed from the viewpoint position (S1) directly above the vertex (T) of the convex drawing line (61), the entire base material (2) is observed. When observed from the viewpoint position (S2) in a direction tilted with respect to the base material (2), it becomes a blind spot of the convex drawing line (61) and a part of the base material (2) is visually recognized. Can not do it. Using this principle, the latent image is placed on the convex parallel line pattern (60) in an arrangement where only the latent image image (21A) is visible when observed from an oblique direction with respect to the base material (2). By forming the expression patterns (10) in an overlapping manner, the latent image can be visually recognized.

FIG. 22(a) is a plan view showing an example of the arrangement of the convex line pattern (60) and the latent image expression pattern (10) formed on the base material (2). Although the latent image expression pattern (10) overlaps the line pattern (60), they are shown separately here in order to explain their positional relationship in an easy-to-understand manner. Furthermore, the corresponding positions of the latent image development pattern (10) and the convex parallel line pattern (60) are indicated by dashed lines, and the position of the apex (T) of the convex object line (61) is indicated by a broken line. .

FIG. 22(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X ₁ -X ₁ ' in FIG. 22(a), and shows the state of the background portion (20B). In FIG. 22(b), when observed from a viewpoint (S2) diagonally with respect to the convex object line (61), the visible pattern component (31) and the background object line (21B) are convex. It becomes a blind spot of the drawing line (61) of the shape and cannot be visually recognized. FIG. 22(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X ₂ -X ₂ ' in FIG. 22(a), showing the state of the latent image portion (20A). In FIG. 22(c), when observed from the viewpoint position (S2) diagonally with respect to the convex image line (61), the latent image image line (21A) is visually recognized, but the visible pattern structure The element (31) becomes a blind spot of the convex drawing line (61) and cannot be visually recognized. As a result, when observing the convex image line (61) from the oblique viewpoint position (S2), the visible pattern component (31) cannot be visually recognized, and the latent image image (21A) The pattern of the latent image can be visually recognized by only being visually recognized. Note that the arrangement of the convex line pattern (60) and the latent image expression pattern (10) shown in FIG. 22 is not limited to this. For example, when a latent image pattern is visually recognized by the latent image image line (21A), even if the background image line (21B) is visible, a difference in shading between the latent image area (20A) and the background area (20B) may occur. If it is, the latent image pattern can be visually recognized. Further, when only the background image line (21B) is visually recognized, the pattern of the latent image can be visually recognized in a state in which the negative and positive images are reversed.

FIG. 23 shows a latent image pattern forming body (1) in which a latent image expression pattern (10) is formed on one surface of a base material (2) and a line pattern (70) is formed on the other surface, Similar to Patent Document 1, the phase modulation pattern (20) and parallel line pattern (30) formed on the front and back sides of the base material (2) are combined under transmitted light. The line pattern (70) is composed of lines (71) similar to the configuration shown in FIG. formed on the surface. The positional relationship between the latent image expression pattern (20) and the line pattern (70) formed on the front and back surfaces of the base material (2) is such that the line pattern (71) forming the line pattern (70) is similar to the phase modulation pattern (20). ) The visibility of the latent image is highest when it is formed so as to overlap with the background image (21B) constituting the background image (21B), but it is possible to visually recognize the latent image even if it is slightly shifted. In this form, the base material (2) is opaque to such an extent that the line pattern (70) cannot be seen when visually observed from the side of the latent image expression pattern (10), and when observed with transmitted light, It is sufficient to use a paper or resin material that has a light transmittance that allows the two patterns to be combined.

FIG. 24 is a modification of the parallel line pattern (70) according to the present invention, in which a drawing line (72) of a different color from the drawing line (71) is placed between the drawing lines (71) and the same drawing line (71). This is an example of a line pattern (70) arranged at a pitch (P1). In this case, when observed under transmitted light, the phase modulation pattern (20) and parallel line pattern (70) are combined, and the latent image area showing the "circular" number and the surrounding background area are the same as each image line. It can be visually recognized by the colors (71, 72). Although FIG. 24 shows a configuration in which the parallel line pattern (70) is formed on the base material (2), the so-called multi-line pattern (70) formed on the light-transmissive base material (3) shown in FIG. It may also be a line filter configuration.

Further, as another form of the parallel line pattern (70) of the present invention, a colored parallel line pattern described in JP-A-2018-199323 can be used to enrich the color expression of the latent image. The colored line pattern (70') described in JP-A-2018-199323 constitutes the colored line pattern (70') corresponding to the pattern of the latent image part (20A) of the phase modulation pattern (20). The color of the lines is different. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 25(a), when the colored line pattern (70') is observed under reflected light, it appears that achromatic lines are arranged at regular intervals (P1). However, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 25(a), in the part corresponding to the "circular" pattern, the drawing line (71) and the drawing line (72) of complementary colors are adjacent to each other, and the "circular" pattern is formed. The part corresponding to the background of the pattern consists of achromatic lines. When the latent image pattern forming body (1) on which the colored line pattern (70') and the latent image development pattern (10) shown in FIG. 25(a) are observed under transmitted light, the phase modulation pattern (20) is observed. Due to the arrangement of the colored line pattern (70'), the "circular" pattern is visible in the color of the drawing line (71) or the color of the drawing line (72), and the background of the "circular" pattern is seen as an achromatic color. Visible.

In addition, in the colored parallel line pattern (70') described in JP-A-2018-199323, the drawing line (71) shown in FIG. In addition to the configuration in which the drawing line (72) is composed of the remaining color in the combination of complementary colors, the drawing line (72) is partially composed of the remaining color in the drawing line (71), as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 25(b). The colors may be different. In that case, each part of the object line (71) composed of a different color has a different color of the adjacent object line (72). In the enlarged view of FIG. 25(b), the lines (71, 72) composed of different colors are shown in different patterns; This is a configuration in which lines of complementary colors such as ``and yellow'' or ``green and red'' are adjacent to each other. In the colored line pattern (70') shown in FIG. 25(b), the color of the object line (71) or object line (72) can be visually recognized as a latent image due to the overlapping arrangement of the phase modulation pattern (20). A latent image with rich colors can be visually recognized.

FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a latent image pattern forming body (1) in which a line pattern (70), a concealing layer (80), and a latent image expression pattern (10) are laminated in this order on a base material (2). The configurations of the line pattern (70) and the latent image expression pattern (10) and the arrangement in which the lines constituting each pattern overlap are the same as described above, and therefore the description thereof will be omitted.

In the latent image pattern forming body (1) shown in FIG. 26, the hiding layer (80) hides the underlying line pattern (70) when visually observed from the latent image expression pattern (10) side, and transmits through the latent image pattern forming body (1). It has light transparency so that the line pattern (70) can be seen under light. The hiding layer (80) is formed of a coloring material other than black for printing, such as general process CMY ink or white ink, and is provided so as to cover the line pattern (70). The effect of hiding the line pattern (70) is higher as the printing density of the hiding layer (80) is higher, and can be adjusted by adjusting the particle size of the pigment contained in the coloring material used and the thickness of the coloring material. , and may be adjusted as appropriate so that the parallel line pattern (70) is hidden under reflected light. Note that if the coloring material forms the above-mentioned concealing layer (80), the parallel line pattern (70) will be visible under transmitted light and will be combined with the phase modulation pattern (20), but black Since the coloring material does not transmit light, it cannot be used as a material for forming the hiding layer (80). Further, it is preferable to use white ink as the coloring material forming the hiding layer (80) because it does not affect the color of the latent image pattern that is visually recognized when observed under transmitted light.

The latent image pattern forming body (1) shown in FIG. 26 is provided with the hiding layer (80), so that when visually observed, the pattern expressed by the visible pattern (30) formed by the latent image expression pattern (10) is visually recognized. When observed under transmitted light, the phase modulation pattern (20) and the parallel line pattern (70) are combined and a latent image can be visually recognized.

In the present invention, in addition to being formed by printing on the base material (2) described above, the latent image expression pattern (10) can also be formed on a screen by a liquid crystal display of a PC, a smartphone, a mobile phone, or an organic EL display. The configuration shown in . In this case, the latent image expression pattern (10) is composed of RGB light, which is the three primary colors of light, and can be expressed in any color by changing the RGB light and the strength of these lights. Furthermore, the line pattern (70) may have the configuration of the line filter described in paragraph 0038, or, like the latent image expression pattern (10), it can be formed into any color by using RGB light and the strength of those lights. It may also be an expressed configuration. If the line pattern (70) is configured as a line filter, the latent image pattern can be visually recognized by superimposing the line filter on the screen displaying the latent image expression pattern (10).

Further, when the latent image pattern (10) is formed by RGB light and displayed on a display, the RGB image of the latent image pattern (10) is displayed in image processing software such as Photoshop (registered trademark). By overlapping the RGB images corresponding to the line pattern (70), the latent image can be visually recognized. In addition, as for the method of displaying the latent image that the phase modulation pattern (20) appears, it is also possible to partially perform addition or subtraction processing on the image of the phase modulation pattern (20). This may be done by using a processing function, or by using dedicated software that only performs the process of displaying the latent image pattern.

In the latent image expression pattern (1) of the present invention, a configuration in which the phase modulation pattern (20) is formed by image lines of a plurality of colors will be described. The basic configuration is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-220872 proposed by the present applicant, and will be explained using FIG. 27.

FIG. 27(a) is a diagram showing the configuration of the phase modulation parallel line pattern (120) described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-220872, and the phase modulation parallel line pattern (120) is an enlarged version of FIG. 27(a). As shown in the figure, in a parallel line in which colored lines are arranged at a constant pitch (P) in the first direction (V1), the latent image area appears as a "circle" due to partially different phases. It is divided into a background area (120A) and a background area (120B). The feature of the phase modulation parallel line pattern (120) is that, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. Objects of different colors (121A ₁ , 121A ₂ ) have a complementary color relationship. Furthermore, the object line (121B) constituting the background portion (120B) is an achromatic color that is a mixture of the colors of the complementary color object lines (121A ₁ , 121A ₂ ). Therefore, since the latent image part (120A) and the background part (120B) have the same achromatic color, when observed under reflected light, the image forming the latent image part (120A) and the background part (120B) It is not possible to visually recognize the difference in color.

Observe under transmitted light the latent image pattern forming body in which the phase modulation line pattern (120) shown in FIG. 27(a) and the line pattern (not shown) corresponding to the phase modulation line pattern (120) are formed. Then, due to the arrangement of the phase modulated line pattern (120) and the line pattern, the "circle" is visually recognized in the color of the object line (121A ₁ ) or the color of the object line (121A ₂ ).

FIG. 27(b) is an enlarged view of another example of the main part of the phase modulation parallel line pattern (120) in FIG. 27(a), in which the image line (121A ₁ , 121A ₂ ) are arranged with the center of the drawing line forming the background portion (120B) as the border. If the drawing lines (121A ₁ , 121A ₂ ) are complementary colors, by using the color of the drawing lines (121A ₁ , 121A ₂ ) for the drawing line of the background part (120B), the background part (120B) can be made into an achromatic color. It can be any color.

Moreover, FIG. 27(c) is an enlarged view showing another example of the main part of the phase modulation line pattern (120) shown in FIGS. 27(a) and 27(b). 121A ₁ ), the colors may be partially different. In that case, each part of the object line (121A ₁ ) composed of a different color has a different color in the adjacent object line (121A ₂ ), and the colors of each part of the adjacent object line have a complementary color relationship. There is. In the phase modulation line pattern (120) shown in FIG. 27(b), the color of the object line (121A ₁ ) or object line (121A ₂ ) can be visually recognized as a latent image pattern due to the overlapping arrangement of the line patterns. A latent image pattern with rich colors can be visually recognized.

The phase modulation pattern (120) described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-220872 shown in FIG. 27 is replaced with the phase modulation pattern (20) described in the latent image development pattern (10) of the first embodiment. It can be used as On the other hand, when used for the phase modulation pattern (20) described in the second embodiment, the first latent image image (21A ₁ ) and the second latent image line (21A ₂ ), the colors of the lines may be made different from each other, and the lines of different colors may have a complementary color relationship (not shown).

The latent image expression pattern of the present invention is formed by printing on at least a part of a base material made of one or more types of paper, metal, glass, plastic, etc. using colored ink that is different from the base material. be able to. For example, the latent image pattern of the present invention can be used for security printed materials such as banknotes, stamps, passports, various certificates such as driver's licenses and insurance cards, and securities.
The means for printing the latent image pattern is not particularly limited. Examples include printing means using printing machines such as offset printing, flexographic printing, screen printing, intaglio printing, and letterpress printing, and printing means using inkjet printers, laser printers, and the like.
Further, the latent image pattern of the present invention can be formed on a part of the base material by laser irradiation or the like. In addition, in this specification, the base material on which the latent image expression pattern is formed may be referred to as a "latent image pattern forming body."

The first and second embodiments of the method for creating latent image pattern data of the present invention can be schematically represented by the flow diagram shown in FIG. 28.
The first step (S1) is a step of generating phase modulation pattern data (1), and can be roughly represented by the flowchart shown in FIG. 29.
The second step (S2) is a step of generating visible pattern mask data (2), and can be roughly represented by the flowchart shown in FIG. 30.
The third step (S3) is a step of generating visible pattern data (3), and can be roughly represented by the flowchart shown in FIG. 31.
The fourth step (S4) is a step of generating latent image appearance pattern data (4), in which the phase modulation pattern data (1) generated in the first step (S1) and the visible image generated in the third step (S3) are used. Latent image expression pattern data is generated by combining the pattern data (3).
Each step (S1, S2, S3, S4) will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing details of the phase modulation pattern data generation step (S1) shown in FIG. It can be done in the same way. The details of the phase modulation pattern data generation step (S1) will be explained using FIG. 29.
As a method for generating phase modulation pattern data, a conventionally known method can be adopted.
For example, a base image setting step of setting a pattern expressed by a latent image part in a phase modulation pattern as a base image;
a gradation inversion processing step of inverting the shading of the base image to generate an inverted image;
a first critical value array image conversion process that applies a first critical value array image to the base image to generate a binary image of a first latent image constituent image that constitutes a latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern; process,
a second critical value array image conversion process step of applying the first critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of the second background part constituent lines that constitute the background part in the phase modulation pattern; ,
a step of generating phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the first latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
Accordingly, phase modulation pattern data can be generated.

The base image in the present invention is a colored image, and is formed from white and one color other than white. Further, the base image may be an image that has been subjected to grayscale processing. When the color constituting the base image is a color other than black, the grayscale-processed image is an image expressed by the shading of the color. The term "grayscale" in the present invention includes not only a black and white grayscale, but also a grayscale in which black is replaced with a predetermined color.

The code (f1) shown in FIG. 29 is a step of setting the base image of the latent image pattern to be embedded in the phase modulation pattern (20) in the form of a grayscale image (hereinafter referred to as "base image setting step (f1)"). This uses images captured by a digital camera or images registered in a database in advance. Note that if the image is a grayscale image, it is set as the base image (101) as shown in Figure 30, and if it is an RGB image or a monochrome binary image, it is converted to a grayscale image (8 bits) by performing grayscale conversion. The image is converted into a base image (101).

FIG. 30(a) shows an example in which a monochrome binary image (100) registered in advance in the database is used as the base image setting step (f1), and the monochrome binary image in FIG. 30(a) In (100), the "circular" pattern has density data of "1", and the surrounding area has density data of "0". FIG. 30(b) is a diagram showing a base image (101) converted into a grayscale image by grayscale conversion. In this case, the "circular" pattern has density data of "255", and the surrounding area is " 0'' density data.

The code (f2) shown in FIG. 29 indicates the image line (latent image image) that constitutes the phase modulation pattern (20) by vertically averaging the grayscale base image (101) shown in FIG. 30(b). This is a step (hereinafter referred to as "vertical averaging process (f2)") of vertically averaging the gray level (density) of the pixels at twice the pitch (P1) of the pixels (and background lines). The vertical averaging processing step (f2) is a process performed when creating latent image development pattern data related to the latent image development pattern (10) of the second embodiment, and This step is not performed when creating latent image expression pattern data related to image expression pattern (10).

For this averaging, a known image processing technique such as spatial filtering may be used. For example, if the pitch (P1) of the lines constituting the phase modulation pattern (20) is 16 pixels, the number of pixels averaged in the vertical averaging process (f2) is 32 pixels, which is shown in FIG. 30(b). ) The averaged image (102) shown in FIG. 31 is obtained by averaging the gray scale base image (101) shown in FIG. 31 every 32 pixels in the vertical direction. Note that in the vertical averaging processing step (f2), the horizontal size is arbitrary and may be one pixel or a plurality of pixels.

The code (f3) shown in FIG. 29 refers to the step (hereinafter referred to as "gradation inversion processing (f3) )") and is processed by the phase modulation pattern generation means. For example, in a monochrome binary image, the process of reversing the shading is converting a black image into a white image, and converting a white image into a black image.Furthermore, in a grayscale image, A deep black image is converted to a light black image, and a light black image is converted to a deep black image according to the respective gradations. FIG. 32 is a diagram showing an image generated by the gradation inversion processing step (f3), and FIG. 32(b) shows an inverted image (102') in which the shading of the average image (101) is inverted.

The symbol (f4) shown in FIG. 29 is a step of generating a binary image corresponding to the latent image line (21A), and the symbol (f4) is a step of generating a binary image corresponding to the background image line (21B). For example, it can be converted by a process that applies a critical value array image. First, a process for generating data related to the phase modulation pattern (20) in the first embodiment will be described. Note that processing for converting the region (16a) surrounded by a broken line in the base image (101) shown in FIG. 30(b) and the region (17a) surrounded by a broken line in the inverted image (102) shown in FIG. 32(a) will be explained. .

FIG. 33(a) is an enlarged view of the region (16a) surrounded by a broken line in the base image (101) shown in FIG. 30(b), and the critical A value array image (hereinafter referred to as "first critical value array image") is applied to convert it into a binary image shown in FIG. 33(b).
Note that the predetermined area of the base image (101) is a 16-pixel area (h ), and in the image shown in FIG. 33(a), the horizontal direction is arbitrary, but here, an example will be explained in which the area (i) is 8 pixels.

In the present invention, the first critical value array image is a pattern image for converting into a binary image according to the density information of a predetermined area of the base image (101), which is an image before conversion into a binary image. , and is registered in the database in advance. In addition, the first critical value array image is for converting a binary image into the phase of the latent image image, and in FIG. The region corresponding to the phase of the background image is indicated by the symbol "B". Further, the size of the first critical value array image is the same size as the predetermined area of the base image (101) that refers to the density information, and here, the size is 16 pixels in the vertical direction and 8 pixels in the horizontal direction. This is a pixel pattern image.

By converting the base image (101) shown in FIG. 33(a) into a binary image for each region of the same size as the first critical value array image, the first critical value array image shown in FIG. 33(b) is converted into a binary image. A binary image (18A) is obtained. In the binary image converted by the first critical value array image, the higher the density of the predetermined area of the base image (101) shown in FIG. 33(a), the larger the area of the converted binary image is converted. . Furthermore, by applying the first critical value array image to convert it into a binary image, the higher the density of the predetermined area of the base image (101) shown in FIG. 33(a), the higher the phase of the latent image line. Starting from the boundary between the region (A) corresponding to the phase of the background image and the region (B) corresponding to the phase of the background image, the area is successively converted to a larger value. In the base image (101) shown in FIG. 33(a), since the density of the predetermined region is the same, the area of the converted binary image in the predetermined region shown in FIG. 33(b) is also the same.
Note that the process of applying the critical value array image is performed, for example, using a custom pattern created in advance in the mode conversion processing function of Photoshop (registered trademark), which is an image processing software manufactured by Adobe (registered trademark). be able to.

FIG. 33(c) shows the first binary image (18A) which has been converted into a binary image by applying the first critical value array image to the entire base image (101). The first binary image (18A) shown in FIG. 33(b) is placed in the area (18a1) surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 33(c).

FIG. 34(a) is an enlarged view of a region (17a) surrounded by a broken line in the reversed image (102') shown in FIG. 32(a). , a threshold value array image (hereinafter referred to as "second threshold value array image") is applied to convert it into a binary image shown in FIG. 34(b). Note that the predetermined area of the inverted image (102) is a 16-pixel area (h ), and in the image shown in FIG. 34(a), the horizontal direction is arbitrary, but here, an example will be explained in which the area (i) is 8 pixels.

In the present invention, the second critical value array image is a pattern image for converting into a binary image according to the density information of a predetermined area of the inverted image (102), which is an image before conversion into a binary image. , and is registered in the database in advance. The second critical value array image is for converting a binary image into the phase of the background image, and in FIG. , an area corresponding to the phase of the background image is indicated by the symbol "B". The size of the second critical value array image is the same size as the predetermined area of the inverted image (102) that refers to the density information, and here, the size is 16 pixels in the vertical direction and 8 pixels in the horizontal direction. This is a pixel pattern image.

By converting the inverted image (102) shown in FIG. 34(a) into a binary image for each region of the same size as the second critical value array image, the second critical value array image (102) shown in FIG. A binary image (18B) is obtained. For the binary image to be converted using the second critical value array image, the higher the density of the predetermined area of the inverted image (102) shown in FIG. 34(a), the larger the area of the converted binary image is converted. . In addition, by applying the second critical value array image to convert into a binary image, the higher the density of a predetermined area of the inverted image (102) shown in FIG. 34(a), the higher the phase of the latent image line. Starting from the boundary between the region (A) corresponding to the phase of the background image and the region (B) corresponding to the phase of the background image, the area is successively converted to a larger value.

FIG. 34(c) shows a second binary image (18B) that has been converted into a binary image by applying the second critical value array image to the entire inverted image (102). The second binary image (18B) shown in FIG. 34(b) is placed in the area (18b1) surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 34(c).

Next, a process for generating data related to the phase modulation pattern (20) in the second embodiment will be described. Note that processing for converting the area (16a) surrounded by the broken line in the averaged image (102) shown in FIG. 31 and the area surrounded by the broken line in the inverted image (102') shown in FIG. 32(b) will be described.

FIG. 35(a) is an enlarged view of the area (16a) surrounded by the broken line of the averaged image (102) shown in FIG. The critical value array image is applied to convert it into a binary image shown in FIG. 35(b). The process of applying the first critical value array image to convert it into a binary image is as described above. The difference is in the point of conversion.
The averaged image (102) shown in FIG. 35(a) is an image whose density gradually becomes lighter in each predetermined region (h) from the bottom to the top. When the first threshold array image is applied and converted based on the density, the first binary image (18A) is converted so that its area gradually becomes smaller, as shown in FIG. 35(b).

FIG. 35(c) shows the first binary image (18A) that has been converted into a binary image by applying the first critical value array image to the entire averaged image (102). The first binary image (18A) shown in FIG. 35(b) is placed in the area (18a1) surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 35(c).

FIG. 36(a) is an enlarged view of the region (17a) surrounded by a broken line in the reversed image (102') shown in FIG. , the second critical value array image is applied to convert it into a binary image shown in FIG. 36(b). The process of applying the second critical value array image to convert it into a binary image is as described above. The difference is that the reversed image (102') is converted. The inverted image (102') shown in FIG. 36(a) is an image in which the density gradually increases in each predetermined area (h) from the bottom to the top. When the second threshold value array image is applied and converted based on the density, the second binary image (18B) is converted so that the area gradually increases as shown in FIG. 36(b).

FIG. 36(c) shows a second binary image (18B) that has been converted into a binary image by applying the second critical value array image to the entire inverted image (102'). The second binary image (18B) shown in FIG. 36(b) is placed in the area (18b1) surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 36(c).

The code (f6) shown in FIG. ) (hereinafter referred to as "synthesis (f6)"), the first binary value shown in FIG. 33(c) is the data related to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment. The image (18A) and the second binary image (18B) shown in FIG. 34(c) are combined to create the phase modulation pattern image (19) shown in FIG. 37(a). Furthermore, as data related to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the second embodiment, a first binary image (18A) shown in FIG. 35(c) and a second binary image (18A) shown in FIG. 36(c) are used. The images (18B) are combined to create a phase modulation pattern image (19) shown in FIG. 37(b).

Next, the visible image mask generation step (S2) shown in FIG. 28 will be explained using FIG. 38. FIG. 38 is a flowchart showing details of the visible image mask generation step (S2). Details of the visible image mask generated in the visible image data generation step (S3) will be described later, but the visible pattern (30 ) is subjected to mask processing and used to generate image data related to the visible pattern (30).

The code (S2-1) shown in FIG. 38 indicates phase modulation pattern data (hereinafter referred to as " This is a step of generating "second phase modulation pattern data (19A)" (hereinafter referred to as "generation of second phase modulation pattern data (S2-1)").
FIG. 39(a) is a diagram showing phase modulation pattern data (19) generated in the phase modulation pattern data generation step (S1) related to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment. In the step (S2-1) of generating data of the second phase modulation pattern, for example, as shown in FIG. image data (19A) is generated. The second phase modulation pattern data (19A) shown in FIG. 39(b) is an example in which the phase is different on the upper side from the phase modulation pattern data (19) shown in FIG. 39(a). , the phase may be different on the lower side.
The method of generating the second phase modulation pattern data (19A) is the same as the process of applying the first critical value array image described above to the base image (101) and the averaged image (102). Then, the base image (101) and the averaged image (102) are converted into binary images according to the density of predetermined areas, but the positions of the conversion into the binary images are different.

Specifically, in the case of conversion using the first critical value array image, starting from the boundary between the region (A) corresponding to the phase of the latent image image and the region (B) corresponding to the phase of the background image, When converting to a binary image, in the case of the second phase modulation pattern data (19A), the area (A) corresponding to the phase of the latent image line or the area (B) corresponding to the phase of the background image line is converted to a binary image. The reference position for converting to a binary image is set within. When converting to a binary image using the area (A) corresponding to the phase of the latent image line as a reference, as shown in FIG. When data (19A) is generated and converted into a binary image based on the area (B) corresponding to the phase of the background image, second phase modulation pattern data ( 19A) is generated (not shown).

FIG. 40(a) is a diagram showing phase modulation pattern data (19) generated in the phase modulation pattern data generation step (S1) related to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the second embodiment. In the step (S2-1) of generating phase modulation pattern data in step 2, for example, as shown in FIG. Generate data (19A). The second phase modulation pattern data (19A) shown in FIG. 40(b) is an example in which the phase is different from the phase modulation pattern data (19) shown in FIG. 40(a) on the upper side. The phase may be different on the lower side.

The code (S2-2) shown in FIG. 38 indicates the step of generating an inverted image (19C) by inverting the phase modulation pattern data (19) between negative and positive (hereinafter referred to as "inverted image generation step of phase modulation pattern data (S2-2)"). 2). By inverting the negative and positive, in the phase modulation pattern data (19), "black" parts are converted to "white" and "white" parts are converted to "black". When the phase modulation pattern data (19) related to the phase modulation pattern (20) of the first embodiment is reversed from negative to positive in the phase modulation pattern data inversion image generation step (S2-2), the result is shown in FIG. 41(a). An image (19C) shown in FIG. Ru.

The code (S2-3) shown in FIG. 38 generates the image data (19D) of the visible image mask using the second phase modulation pattern data (19A) and the inverted images (19C, 19c) of the phase modulation pattern data. (hereinafter referred to as the visible image mask generation step (S2-3)), specifically, the second phase modulation pattern data (19A) and the inverted images of the phase modulation pattern data (19C, 19c) In this step, comparison and synthesis processing is performed to extract regions where "black" image parts overlap.

FIG. 42(a) is a diagram showing the area of the second phase modulation pattern data (19A), and FIG. 42(b) is a diagram showing the area of the inverted image (19C) of the phase modulation pattern data. When these two images are superimposed as shown in FIG. 42(c), only the overlapping area is extracted, thereby generating visible image mask image data (19D) shown in FIG. 42(d).
Similarly, in the second phase modulation pattern data (19a) and the inverted image (19c) of the phase modulation pattern data, a comparative synthesis process is performed to extract an area where the "black" image part overlaps, so that the image shown in FIG. Image data (19d) of the visible image mask shown in 43 is generated.

Next, the visible image data generation step (S3) shown in FIG. 28 will be explained using FIG. 44. FIG. 44 is a flow diagram showing details of the visible image data generation step (S3).

The reference numeral (S3-1) shown in FIG. In this step, an image captured by a digital camera or an image registered in a database in advance is used as the image input means (M1a).
There is no particular limitation on the image formation formula for the visible image base image (X), and an RGB image, a monochrome binary image, a gray scale image, etc. can be used. Here, an example will be described in which the "triangle" pattern shown in FIG. 45 is set as a monochrome binary image.

The symbol (S3-2) shown in FIG. 44 indicates the visible image data (XXX ) (hereinafter referred to as the "visible image data generation step (S3-2)"), specifically, the step is to generate the visible image base image (X) and the image data of the visible image mask (19D, In step 19d), comparison and synthesis processing is performed to extract regions where "black" image parts overlap.

FIG. 46(a) shows an image in which the visible image base image (X) and the visible image mask image data (19D, 19d) are superimposed in the visible image data generation step (S3-2). By extracting only the region that overlaps with the image data (19D, 19d) of the visible image mask in the image base image (X), visible image data (XXX) shown in FIG. 46(b) is generated.

Next, the step of generating latent image pattern data (S4) shown in FIG. 28 will be explained.
In the latent image expression pattern data generation step (S4), a process of synthesizing the phase modulation pattern data (19) and visible image data (XXX) is performed.
Specifically, the phase modulation pattern data (19) shown in FIG. 47(a) and the visible image data (XXX) shown in FIG. 47(b) are combined to create the latent image development pattern shown in FIG. 47(c). Generate data (ZZ).

The data created by the synthesis processing step (f4) of synthesizing the phase modulation pattern data (19) and the visible image data (XXX) may be stored in a database or displayed on a display means such as a monitor. Alternatively, it may be printed on the base material (2) using an output means such as a printer.

Next, a method of generating phase modulation pattern data having the configuration shown in FIG. 27 will be described. The phase modulation pattern (120) shown in FIG. 27 has different colors at the center of the image line, so that a latent image with rich colors can be visually recognized. Here, as an example, a method of creating data to be processed using an averaged image (102), which is an image (19X) of a phase modulation pattern having the configuration shown in FIG. 27(b), will be described.

FIG. 48 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a method for creating image data of a phase modulation pattern having the configuration shown in FIG. 27(b). In FIG. 48, the steps (S1-1) to (S1-5) are the same as the method described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-220872, so the explanation will be omitted. , S1-7, S1-8) will be explained in detail.

The symbol (S1-6) shown in FIG. 48 indicates an image corresponding to the object line on one side and the object line on the other side with the center of the object line of the phase modulation pattern shown in FIG. 27(b) as the border. (hereinafter referred to as "color latent image mask generation (S1-6)").
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 49(a), the mask image ( 19M) and a mask image (19N) shown in FIG. 49(c).

FIG. 49(b) is a mask (19M) for extracting the drawing line located above the center of the drawing line of the phase modulation pattern shown in FIG. 27(b) as a border, and This is an image extracted from the center of the drawing line in the phase modulation pattern data (19). Moreover, FIG. 49(c) is a mask (19N) for extracting the drawing line on the lower side with the center of the drawing line of the phase modulation pattern shown in FIG. 27(b) as the border, and FIG. ) is an extracted image below the center of the object line in the phase modulation pattern data (19) shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the mask shown in FIG. 49(b) will be referred to as the "first color latent image mask (19M)" and the mask shown in FIG. 49(c) will be referred to as the "second color latent image mask (19N)". explain.

The first color latent image mask (19M) includes phase modulation pattern data (19) and phase modulation pattern data (hereinafter referred to as "third phase modulation") arranged at a different phase from the phase modulation pattern data (19). In the pattern data (referred to as "19XX"), "black" image parts are generated by comparison and synthesis processing to extract overlapping areas. In addition, the second color latent image mask (19N) has the phase modulation pattern data (19) and the fourth phase modulation pattern data (19YY) which is the inversion of the third phase modulation pattern data (19XX). The "black" image portion is generated by comparison and synthesis processing that extracts overlapping areas. The details of the process for generating the first color latent image mask (19M) and the second color latent image mask (19N) will be described below.

FIG. 50 is a diagram showing the relationship between phase modulation pattern data (19), third phase modulation pattern data (19XX), and fourth phase modulation pattern data (19YY). As mentioned above, the phase modulation pattern data (19) shown in FIG. 50(a) is different from the phase modulation pattern data (19XX) shown in FIG. As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 50(b), the entire third phase modulation pattern data (19XX) is different from the phase modulation pattern (19 ) is out of phase by half the width (W) of the drawing line. The third phase modulation pattern data (19XX) shown in FIG. 50(b) is an example of the phase modulation pattern data (19) in which the lower part has a different phase, but the upper part has a different phase. Good too. The fourth phase modulation pattern data (19YY) shown in FIG. 50(c) is an image obtained by inverting the third phase modulation pattern data (19XX). '' image area and the ``black'' image area are swapped.

In order to generate the third phase modulation pattern data (19XX) shown in FIG. On the other hand, the "M-th critical value array image" and the "N-th critical value array image" which are converted into a binary image from a position shifted by half the width of the image line are applied to convert the image into a binary image.
Specifically, by applying the M-th critical value array image to the averaged image (102) shown in FIG. 51(a), , the process of converting the image to the phase indicated by the upward diagonal line in FIG. 51(b) to generate the M-th binary image (18M) shown in FIG. 51(c), and the average processing shown in FIG. 51(d) The N-th critical value array image is applied to the inverted image (102') obtained by inverting the converted image (102), and the image is converted to the phase indicated by the upward diagonal line in FIG. 51(e). The process of generating the Nth binary image (18N) shown in f) is performed.

FIG. 51(b) shows an area to be converted into a binary image by applying the M-th critical value array image, and the process of applying the M-th critical value array image is based on the phase of the latent image image. From the boundary between the area (A) corresponding to the phase of the background line and the area (B) corresponding to the phase of the background line, the phase differs by 1/4 h toward the bottom, and from the phase at that position, the averaged image ( In step 102), the area is converted to become larger in accordance with the density of the predetermined area.
FIG. 51(c) shows the M-th binary image (18M) which is converted into a binary image by applying the M-th critical value array image to the entire averaged image (102). The M-th binary image (18M) shown in 51(b) is placed in the area (18M1) surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 51(c).

FIG. 51(d) shows a region that is converted into a binary image by applying the Nth critical value array image to the inverted image (102') obtained by inverting the averaged image (102). The process of applying the critical value array image is carried out by 1/4 h downward from the boundary between the region (A) corresponding to the phase of the latent image image and the region (B) corresponding to the phase of the background image. The phases are different, and conversion is performed so that the area is sequentially increased according to the density of a predetermined region in the inverted image (102') based on the phase at that position. FIG. 51(f) shows the Nth binary image (18N) which is converted into a binary image by applying the Nth critical value array image to the entire inverted image (102'). The Nth binary image (18N) shown in 51(e) is placed in the area (18N1) surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 51(f).
Note that the direction in which the N-th critical value array image is converted into a binary image (vertical direction in FIG. 51(e)) is the same as the direction in which the M-th critical value array image is converted into a binary image (FIG. 51(b)). 51(b), the M-th critical value array image has a region (A) corresponding to the phase of the latent image line and a region (B) corresponding to the phase of the background image line. With respect to the boundary, the image is converted into a binary image from a position where the phase differs by 1/4 h toward the lower side and toward the upper side. In FIG. 51(e), the Nth critical value array image is the latent image image. With respect to the boundary between the area (A) corresponding to the phase of the line and the area (B) corresponding to the phase of the background image, 2 An example of conversion to a value image is shown.

By combining the Mth binary image (18M) shown in FIG. 51(c) and the Nth binary image shown in FIG. 51(f), the third phase modulation pattern data shown in FIG. 50(b) is generated. (19XX) is obtained. Here, the process of generating the third phase modulation pattern data (19XX) by the process of applying the Mth critical value array image and the Nth critical value array image has been explained, but the phase modulation pattern data (19XX) The same third phase modulation pattern data (19XX) can be generated by performing processing to remove half of the drawing line with the center as the boundary.

The first color latent image mask (19M) shown in FIG. In the shifted third phase modulation pattern data (19XX), "black" image parts are generated by comparison and synthesis processing to extract overlapping areas. That is, in the phase modulation pattern data (19) shown in FIG. 49(a), the lower object line from the center of the object overlaps with the third phase modulation pattern data (19XX), so that the image shown in FIG. 49(b) A first color latent image mask (19M) shown in is generated.

The second color latent image mask (19N) shown in FIG. In step 19), the "black" image portion is generated by a comparative synthesis process that extracts overlapping areas. Since the fourth phase modulation pattern data (19YY) is an image obtained by inverting the third phase modulation pattern data (19XX), when this is compared and synthesized with the phase modulation pattern data (19), the result is shown in FIG. 49(a). In the phase modulation pattern data (19) shown in FIG. 49, the upper lines from the center of the lines overlap to generate the second color latent image mask (19N) shown in FIG. 49(c).

The code (S1-7) shown in FIG. 48 indicates the step (hereinafter referred to as "color color This is referred to as "base image setting (S1-7)"). Here, in the phase modulation pattern (XXX) shown in FIG. 27, an example will be described in which a "circular" pattern and its background are visually recognized as two complementary colors.
In the color base image setting step (S1-7), a color latent image base image (130) is created in which the "circle" shown in FIG. 52(a) and its background are different colors and are configured in a complementary color relationship. Then, a color latent image inversion base image (131) in which the color of the color latent base image (130) shown in FIG. 52(b) is inverted is set. Examples of complementary colors include combinations of blue and yellow, green and red, etc., and it is sufficient to set a color latent image base image (130) and a color latent image inversion base image (131) of the desired color. .

The code (S1-8) shown in FIG. 48 indicates the step of generating data of the phase modulation pattern (20) shown in FIG. .”

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 53(a), comparative synthesis is performed to extract areas where the images overlap between the color latent image base image (130) and the first color latent image mask (19M). The processing generates first color latent image data (140). In addition, as shown in FIG. 53(b), a comparative synthesis process is performed to extract areas where the images overlap in the color latent image inversion base image (131) and the second color latent image mask (19N). , generates second color latent image data (141). The first color latent image mask (19M) is generated by extracting the lower line from the center of the line in the phase modulation pattern data (19). ) also becomes image data corresponding to the object line (121A ₁ ) shown in FIG. 27(b). In addition, the second color latent image mask (19N) extracts the upper image line from the center of the image line in the phase modulation pattern data (19), so the generated second color latent image data ( 141) is also image data corresponding to the drawing line (121A ₂ ) shown in FIG. 27(b).

Here, an example has been described in which image data for forming the phase modulation pattern (XX) shown in FIG. 27(b) is generated, but image data shown in FIG. 27(c) may also be generated.

10 Latent image development pattern 18 Binary image 19 Phase modulation pattern data 20 Phase modulation pattern 21 Colored lines 21A Latent image constituent lines 21B Background constituent lines 30 Visible pattern 31 Visible pattern constituent elements 41 Line pattern 61 Convex shape 700,000-line pattern 101 Base image 102 Reversed image

Claims (7)

In a line pattern in which a plurality of colored lines are arranged at a constant pitch in the first direction,
a phase modulation pattern in which a latent image part and a background part are formed by moving the phase of a part of the colored image line in a first direction;
It has colored visible pattern constituent elements that make up the visible pattern,
The visible pattern component is provided in an area in the phase modulation pattern where the colored line is not provided,
A latent image expression pattern, in which a latent image constituent image line constituting the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern has a region that does not overlap with the visible pattern constituent element. The latent image forming line is arranged at a different phase from the background forming line forming the background part,
The latent image forming line is composed of adjacent density relaxation lines arranged in the same phase as at least part of the phase of the background forming line,
The density reduction drawing line has a drawing width narrower than the drawing width of the background constituent drawing line, and the distance between the center lines of the drawing line adjacent to the drawing line in the first direction is smaller than the certain pitch. a first latent image constituent image line arranged;
and a second object having a drawing width wider than the drawing width of the background constituent drawings and arranged such that the distance between the center lines of the drawings adjacent in the first direction is larger than the certain pitch. latent image composition line,
The latent image expression pattern according to claim 1, which has at least one of the following. In a region in the line pattern where the latent image constituent image line and the background constituent image line are adjacent, the line width of the visible pattern constituent element adjacent to the latent image constituent image line;
The ratio of the line width of the background constituent line and the adjacent visible pattern constituent element is approximately the same as the ratio of the line width of the corresponding latent image constituent line to the line width of the background constituent line. ,
The latent image development pattern according to claim 1 or 2. At least one of the following requirements (a) and (b);
(a) the latent image constituent lines in the phase modulation pattern are in one or more chromatic tones;
(b) the latent image constituent image lines in the phase modulation pattern are composed of color tones that are complementary to each other with the center line of the latent image constituent image lines as a boundary;
The latent image expression pattern according to claim 1, which satisfies the following. In a line pattern in which a plurality of colored lines are arranged at a constant pitch in the first direction,
a phase modulation pattern in which a latent image part and a background part are formed by moving the phase of a part of the colored image line in a first direction;
It has visible pattern constituent elements that constitute a visible pattern,
The visible pattern component is provided in an area in the phase modulation pattern where the colored line is not provided,
A method for creating latent image expression pattern data, wherein the phase of a latent image constituent image forming the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern has an area that does not overlap with the phase of the visible pattern constituent element,
The following steps;
a first base image setting step of setting a pattern expressed by the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern as a first base image;
After performing gray scale processing on the first base image, which is provided as necessary after the first base image setting step, n times the pitch of the drawing lines arranged in the first direction (n is 1< a second base image setting step of setting a vertically averaged image obtained by averaging the density for each region corresponding to n≦10 as a second base image;
a gradation inversion processing step of inverting the shading of the first base image or the second base image to generate a reversed image;
Applying a first critical value array image to the first base image or the second base image to generate a binary image of a first latent image constituent image line that constitutes the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern. a first critical value array image conversion process step;
a second critical value array image that applies the first critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of a second background part constituent line that constitutes the background part in the phase modulation pattern; conversion process,
a step of generating first phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the first latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
Applying a second critical value array image to the first base image or the second base image to generate a binary image of a second latent image constituent image line that constitutes the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern. a third critical value array image conversion processing step,
a fourth critical value array image that applies the second critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of a second background part constituent line that constitutes the background part in the phase modulation pattern; conversion process,
a step of generating second phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the second latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
inverting the first phase modulation pattern data to generate inverted first phase modulation pattern data;
a step of generating visible pattern mask data, including combining the second phase modulation pattern data and the inverted first phase modulation pattern data;
a step of synthesizing visible pattern data having an arbitrary pattern and color tone with the visible pattern mask data to generate visible pattern configuration data;
composing the first phase modulation pattern data and the visible pattern configuration data;
The method for creating latent image pattern data, wherein the first phase modulation pattern data and the second phase modulation pattern data have different phases in the first direction. In a line pattern in which a plurality of colored lines are arranged at a constant pitch in a first direction, by moving the phase of a part of the colored lines in the first direction, a latent image portion is formed. The phase modulation pattern that made up the background part,
It has visible pattern constituent elements that constitute a visible pattern,
The visible pattern component is provided in an area in the phase modulation pattern where the colored image line is not provided, and the phase of the latent image component image forming the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern is having a region that does not overlap with the phase of the pattern constituent elements,
A method for creating latent image expression pattern data for a latent image expression pattern, the method comprising:
The following steps;
a base image setting step of setting a pattern expressed by the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern as a base image;
a gradation inversion processing step of inverting the shading of the base image to generate an inverted image;
A first critical value array image that applies a first critical value array image to the base image to generate a binary image of a first latent image constituent image line that constitutes the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern. conversion process,
a second critical value array image that applies the first critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of a second background part constituent line that constitutes the background part in the phase modulation pattern; conversion process,
a step of generating first phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the first latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
a third critical value array image that applies a second critical value array image to the base image to generate a binary image of a second latent image constituent image line that constitutes the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern; conversion process,
a fourth critical value array image that applies the second critical value array image to the inverted image to generate a binary image of a second background part constituent line that constitutes the background part in the phase modulation pattern; conversion process,
a step of generating second phase modulation pattern data, including combining a binary image of the second latent image constituent lines and a binary image of the second background part constituent lines;
inverting the first phase modulation pattern data to generate inverted first phase modulation pattern data;
a step of generating visible pattern mask data, including combining the second phase modulation pattern data and the inverted first phase modulation pattern data;
a step of synthesizing visible pattern data having an arbitrary pattern and color tone with the visible pattern mask data to generate visible pattern configuration data;
setting a color pattern expressed by the latent image portion in the phase modulation pattern as a color base image;
generating positive latent image data from the color base image;
performing color inversion processing on the positive latent image to generate negative latent image data;
combining the phase modulation pattern data and the visible pattern mask data to generate positive color latent image mask data;
generating negative color latent image mask data by combining the phase modulation data and inverted visible pattern mask data obtained by inverting the visible pattern mask data;
combining the positive latent image data and the positive color latent image mask data to generate positive phase modulation pattern data;
combining the negative latent image data and the negative color latent image mask data to generate negative phase modulation pattern data;
a step of synthesizing the visible pattern configuration data, the positive phase modulation pattern data, and the negative phase modulation pattern data,
The method for creating latent image expression pattern data, wherein the first phase modulation pattern data and the second phase modulation pattern data have different phases in the first direction. Latent image development pattern data obtained by the method for creating a latent image development pattern according to claim 5 or 6.

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