JPH04340583A - Identification seal and structure and method for identification using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the identification seal which gives high identification performance to an object and is hardly forged and easy to handle by providing an optical identifying means on the surface and also providing a light reflecting surface which has identifiable diffraction characteristics. CONSTITUTION:The identification seal 2 provided with a hologram part 2a as the light reflecting surface part which has its own diffraction characteristics on the surface is stuck on a bill 1. The identification structure for identifying the bill 1 as a regular bill is equipped with a touch type hand scanner 4 and an identification unit which is connected to the hand scanner 4 and identifies whether the bill 1 is regular or not. When the bill 1 is actually identified, the read surface of the hand scanner 4 is brought into contact with the identification seal 2 of the bill 1. In this case, a light emitting element 6 emits illumination light to the hologram part 2a, the light refracted by the hologram part 2a is reflected to a light receiving element 7, and when its light reception intensity exceeds specific intensity, the bill is identified as the regular bill.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an identification seal for distinguishing between a plurality of objects and for identifying that the object is a legitimate object, and an identification structure and identification method using the identification seal.

0002

[Prior Art] Traditionally, for example, a registered trademark has been printed on the corresponding product, and a sticker with the trademark printed on the product has been pasted on the product for sale, but the distribution mechanism has become more complex. As a result, counterfeit products other than genuine products were occasionally delivered to sellers from manufacturers other than the official manufacturer. Seller identifies whether the product is genuine or not based on the trademark displayed on the product, but if the above-mentioned trademark is imitated and displayed on the counterfeit product, the seller will be able to determine whether the product is genuine or not. could not be identified. Another idea is to place a barcode on the surface of the product and use this barcode to identify whether it is a genuine product, but since the barcode itself is easy to imitate, it is difficult to identify whether the product is genuine or not. I can't wait.

[0003] On the other hand, it has traditionally been important to prevent counterfeiting of various securities and tickets, etc., and it is made difficult to counterfeit by applying markings, multi-color printing, etc. to the objects. This also made it easier to identify them as counterfeits.

However, due to recent developments in paper processing technology and printing technology, it has become possible to imitate the above-mentioned structures relatively easily and inexpensively. In addition, even if the above-mentioned markings or multicolor printing are applied to the object, conventionally it is visually identified, so if the difference between the genuine object and the counterfeit is small, there is a problem that the identifiability decreases. there were. This decrease becomes especially noticeable when the design of the object changes.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the problems of the prior art, the main object of the present invention is to provide an identification sticker that is highly distinguishable for objects, difficult to forge, and easy to handle. An object of the present invention is to provide an identification structure and an identification method using this identification seal.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, such an object is an identification sticker that is attached to an object in order to identify the object, which has an optical identification means on the surface of the identification sticker. An identification sticker characterized by being provided with a light-reflecting surface portion having a unique diffraction characteristic, and an identification structure using the identification sticker for identifying an object, the light-reflecting surface portion having a unique diffraction characteristic on its surface. an identification sticker provided with an identification sticker, a means for irradiating illumination light toward the light reflection surface portion, a means for receiving reflected light of the illumination light irradiated toward the light reflection surface portion, and the reflection received by the light reception means. An identification structure using an identification sticker, characterized in that the object has a means for identifying that the object is a legitimate object from the state of light, and an identification method using an identification sticker for identifying an object. , irradiating illumination light toward the light-reflecting surface portion of an identification sticker, the surface of which is provided with a light-reflecting surface portion having unique diffraction characteristics, and receiving reflected light of the illumination light irradiated toward the light-reflecting surface portion; This is achieved by providing an identification method using an identification sticker, characterized in that the object is identified as a legitimate object from the state of the reflected light received by the light receiving means.

[0007]

[Operation] In this way, by pasting an identification sticker on an object with a light-reflecting surface part such as a hologram or diffraction grating that has unique diffraction characteristics that can be identified by optical identification means, the light-reflecting surface part It is difficult to analyze the unique diffraction characteristics of the identification sticker and to counterfeit it, both in terms of cost and printing technology.In other words, it is difficult to counterfeit the object to which this identification sticker is affixed.

[0008] Furthermore, it is possible to determine whether an object is a regular object based on the state of the reflected light received by the light receiving means, the illumination light irradiation means similar to a bar code reader, the light receiving means for the reflected light from the light reflecting surface section, and the light receiving means. By having a structure in which the above-mentioned identification seal is identified as a regular identification seal with a means for identifying the object, the above-mentioned identification can be performed simply by determining the relative position of the identification seal with respect to the illumination light irradiation means and the light receiving means. It is possible to identify that the seal is a genuine identification seal.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment based on the present invention, which is an example in which the present invention is applied to securities. As shown in FIG. 1, an identification sticker 2 is affixed to a security 1, the identification sticker 2 having a hologram portion 2a as a light reflecting surface portion having unique diffraction characteristics, which will be described later, on the surface thereof.

On the other hand, the identification structure 3 for identifying that the security 1 is a genuine security includes a touch scanner type hand scanner 4, a touch scanner type hand scanner 4, and a known CPU, memory, I/O, etc. connected to the hand scanner 4. Securities 1 consisting of F etc.
It has an identification unit 5 for identifying whether or not it is a genuine security.

A light emitting element 6 is provided within the hand scanner 4 as a means for irradiating illumination light consisting of a laser beam toward the identification seal 2 on the security 1. This light emitting element 6
2, when the reading surface 4a of the hand scanner 4 is placed on the identification sticker 2, the light emitting element 6 and the hologram section 2a are
The relative position is shown as a solid line, and the hologram part 2a is viewed from a direction forming an angle θ1 with respect to the extending plane of the hologram part 2a.
It is designed to emit illumination light. Hologram part 2
A lens 7 is provided between the light emitting element 6 and the light emitting element 6 to convert the light emitted from the light emitting element toward the hologram section 2a into parallel light. A light receiving element 8 made of a photodiode is provided in the direction in which the light emitted from the light emitting element 6 is diffracted and reflected by the hologram section 2a. This light receiving element 8 is connected to the identification unit 5.

[0012] The hologram section 2a is
When illumination light is irradiated from a direction forming an angle θ1 with respect to the extending plane, it is mainly diffracted and reflected in a direction forming an angle θ2 with respect to the irradiation direction.

In order to actually identify the security 1, the reading surface 4 of the hand scanner 4 is placed on the identification seal 2 of the security 1 placed thereon.
Guess a. Then, from the light emitting element 6 to the hologram part 2a
Illumination light is irradiated towards. And hologram part 2
The light diffracted by a is reflected toward the light receiving element 7,
When the intensity of the received light exceeds a predetermined intensity, the security 1 is identified as a genuine security. Therefore, for example, even if you obtain Securities 1 for the purpose of forging, it is not only technically extremely difficult to analyze the diffraction characteristics of the hologram and forge it, but it also costs a lot of money to create a similar hologram. This makes counterfeiting virtually impossible.

[0014] In reality, the security 1 as described above may be slightly deformed, but the diffraction characteristics of a hologram or a diffraction grating, which will be described later, will hardly change even if it is deformed by about 5 degrees, for example. It can be easily attached to a curved part such as the handle 10 of a tennis racket 9 as shown in FIG. 3 and used for identification.

As an application of this embodiment, the light emitting element 6 is a light emitting element having two light sources with different wavelengths, such as one in which a plurality of laser chips such as a two-wavelength laser are housed in one package. If light-receiving elements are provided at two positions corresponding to , the identifiability will be further improved.

FIG. 4 is a diagram similar to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment to which the present invention is applied, and the same parts as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. Omitted.

In this embodiment, a diffraction grating portion 12a having a unique diffraction characteristic is provided as a light reflecting surface portion of the identification sticker 12 attached to the security 1. This diffraction grating section 12a
consists of several hundred grooves/mm to several thousand grooves/mm, and when illumination light is irradiated from a direction forming an angle θ1 with respect to the extending surface of the diffraction grating portion 12a, the 0th order diffracted light is directed in the irradiation direction. The light is reflected in a direction forming an angle θ2 with respect to the light beam. The rest of the configuration is the same as the first embodiment.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the third embodiment to which the present invention is applied.
An example is shown below. In this embodiment, the light receiving element 28 is provided integrally with the light emitting element 26 so as to surround the light emitting element 26 (FIG. 5). This light receiving element 28 is composed of a multi-division photodiode divided in the radial direction into eight parts 28a to 28h, each of which can separately receive light. In addition, the light emitting element 26
The light receiving element 28 is arranged to directly face the identification sticker 22.

On the other hand, the identification sticker 22 diffracts light from a direction directly facing the sticker, and reflects it toward any two of the portions 28a to 28h located at symmetrical positions with the light emitting element at the center. It has a hologram portion 22a as a light reflecting surface having diffraction characteristics (FIG. 6). Therefore,
According to this embodiment, the hand scanner 4 is miniaturized compared to the first and second embodiments.

To actually identify the security 1, the reading surface 4a of the hand scanner 4 is applied to the identification seal 22 of the security 1 placed thereon, as in the first and second embodiments. Then, illumination light is irradiated from the light emitting element 26 toward the hologram section 22a. Then, the light diffracted by the hologram section 22a is reflected toward any one of the sections 28a to 28h of the light receiving element 28. By comparing the received light intensity of that part with the received light intensity of other parts, it is determined that the security 1 is a regular security.

In this embodiment, a hologram is used for the light reflecting surface of the identification sticker 22, but it goes without saying that a diffraction grating may be used as in the second embodiment.

It should be noted that, as shown in FIG.
The hologram section (or diffraction grating section) 22a may be formed so as to diffract and reflect the illumination light toward one or more locations. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the hologram section (or diffraction grating section) 22a may be divided into a number of regions 22b and 22c that are adjacent to each other and have different diffraction characteristics.

In each of the above embodiments, a touch scanner type hand scanner is used as the identification structure, but the scanner side may be fixed and the object side may be transported to a position corresponding to the scanner.

[0024]

As described above, according to the identification sticker and the identification structure and identification method using the identification sticker according to the present invention, it is possible to use a hologram, a diffraction grating, or the like that has a unique diffraction characteristic that can be identified by an optical identification means on the surface. By pasting an identification sticker with a reflective surface on an object, the unique diffraction characteristics of the light reflective surface can be analyzed and counterfeiting is difficult both in terms of cost and printing technology. Since it becomes difficult to counterfeit objects to which the sticker is attached, the counterfeit prevention effect is improved.

[0025] Furthermore, it is possible to determine whether an object is a regular object based on the state of the reflected light received by the light receiving means, which includes means for emitting illumination light similar to a bar code reader, means for receiving reflected light from the light reflecting surface section, and means for receiving reflected light from the light receiving means. By having a structure that identifies that the identification sticker is a regular identification sticker with a means for identifying that it is an object, it is possible to identify the object by simply determining the relative position of the object with respect to the illumination light irradiation means and light receiving means. Since the object can be identified, the ease of identifying the object is improved without complicating handling. From the above, the effects of the present invention are significant.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a principal part of a security and an identification structure for identifying that the security is a regular security, showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the main part of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram similar to FIG. 1 showing an applied example of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram similar to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment according to the invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a light emitting element and a light receiving element showing a third embodiment based on the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram similar to FIG. 2 showing a third embodiment according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a light reflecting surface of an identification sticker showing an applied example of the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Securities 2 Identification sticker 2a Hologram section 3 Identification structure 4 Hand scanner 4a Reading surface 5 Identification unit 6 Light emitting element 7 Lens 8 Photo receiving element 9 Tennis racket 10 Pattern 12 Identification sticker 12a Diffraction grating section 22 Identification sticker 22a Hologram section 22b, 22c area 26 Light emitting element 28 Photo receiving element 28a-28h part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An identification sticker to be attached to an object to identify the object, characterized in that the surface thereof is provided with a light reflecting surface portion having unique diffraction characteristics that can be identified by an optical identification means. Identification sticker. 2. Claim 1, wherein the light reflecting surface is made of one of a hologram and a diffraction grating.
Identification sticker listed on. 3. An identification structure using an identification sticker for identifying an object, the identification sticker having a light-reflecting surface portion having a unique diffraction characteristic on its surface, and an illumination light directed toward the light-reflecting surface portion. a means for receiving reflected light of the illumination light irradiated toward the light-reflecting surface, and determining that the object is a regular object based on the state of the reflected light received by the light-receiving means. An identification structure using an identification seal, characterized in that it has a means for identifying. 4. An identification method using an identification sticker for identifying an object, wherein illumination light is directed toward the light reflecting surface portion of the identification sticker, the surface of which is provided with a light reflecting surface portion having a unique diffraction characteristic. irradiating the object, receiving the reflected light of the illumination light irradiated toward the light reflecting surface portion, and identifying that the object is a regular object from the state of the reflected light received by the light receiving means. An identification method using an identification sticker characterized by: 5. Receiving reflected light of illumination light directed toward the light reflecting surface portion at a position corresponding to the diffraction characteristic,
5. The identification method using an identification sticker according to claim 4, wherein the object is identified as a legitimate object based on whether the received light intensity is within a predetermined range. 6. By receiving the reflected light of the illumination light irradiated toward the light reflecting surface portion at a position corresponding to the diffraction characteristic and a position not corresponding to the diffraction characteristic, and comparing the received light intensity at each position. 5. The identification method using an identification sticker according to claim 4, further comprising identifying that the object is a regular object.