WO2019204482A1

WO2019204482A1 - Composition of variegated witness mark

Info

Publication number: WO2019204482A1
Application number: PCT/US2019/027919
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sheila REEP; Paul Reep
Original assignee: Invisidex, Inc.
Priority date: 2018-04-17
Filing date: 2019-04-17
Publication date: 2019-10-24

Abstract

A composition of a new witness mark in a plurality of morphologies used by industry for quality control and anti-tamper purposes. A variegated witness mark composed of multiple materials is extruded from a multi-chamber apparatus. The witness mark has chemically adjunct and physically compatible embedded security features such as unique identifier molecules or markers that enable one witness mark to have a robust, layered security hierarchy without interfering with analytical equipment.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

Composition of Variegated Witness Mark BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the fields of manufacturing, chemistry, biochemistry, analytical tools, and quality control. The present invention also relates to supply chain management, and computer networks.

2. Background

Industry routinely uses surface pastes or sealants commonly known as‘inspection lacquer’ by manually applying witness marks extruded from a tube over nuts, bolts, and other coupled items to identify product tampering and vibrational loosening. Inspection lacquer chemistry is designed to dry in ambient environmental conditions and become brittle so an operator can visually inspect for cracks in the material that indicate need for replacement or further analysis of that particular item’ s adherence to specifications such as torque value.

Inspection lacquer is routinely used by aviation, ship building, automotive, manufacturing, maintenance installation, consumer electronics, transportation, and other markets for quality control and anti-tampering purposes. Depending on the location of the item to be marked, inspection lacquer may be extruded and applied manually through a tube or precisely dispensed via automated equipment on an assembly line.

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are experiencing problems with their customers or unauthorized third parties removing the inspection lacquer applied by a OEM operator, replacing parts, and then re-applying new inspection lacquer. As a result of the similarities in product chemistry formulations between inspection lacquer producers, there is no way to reliably detect which party (OEM or unauthorized) applied the inspection lacquer. Therefore, there is a critical need for a security capability. As used in this application, the terms“inspection lacquer” and“witness mark” are interchangeable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Additional security is provided by the present invention wherein DNA is embedded in the witness mark, an operator may then simply chip off a sample of the witness mark, mix the sample with a test kit, and run the sample in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or DNA sequencing machine. If the target DNA sequence is present in the witness mark, the test result is positive.

A PCR machine’s ability to reliably detect and amplify DNA embedded in inspection lacquer chemistry may be inhibited by pigments, other chemicals present within the formula, or the presence of other security markers. As a result, it is difficult to have present a combination of security markers in the same witness mark as one marker may interfere with the analytical equipment needed to identify a separate marker.

To overcome this problem some embodiments of the present invention utilize a variegated witness mark composed of two or more heterogeneous materials in a plurality of colors and composition that are extruded and applied to a product surface so that chemically adjunct identification markers may exist within the same witness mark, and, that witness mark may be analyzed by an operator using equipment without interference. The present invention allows for the interrogation of a variegated witness mark that does not compromise the embedded data information.

Industry routinely uses inspection lacquer extruded from tubes or automated dispensers to apply a witness mark onto coupled product surfaces (e.g. nuts and bolts) for quality control and anti-tampering purposes. The witness mark dries and becomes brittle; any vibrational loosening or tampering is indicated by a crack in the witness mark.

Therefore, inspection lacquer is a quick visual tool that helps with visual inspection.

Inspection lacquer product chemistry has only incrementally changed since the product’s creation. Competitive inspection lacquer makers trade mostly similar formulations with the exception of solvents or pigments under different brand labels.

Existing inspection lacquer chemistry is limited to helping the witness mark survive harsh environmental conditions such as high temperature.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences are data fragments that can be synthesized and associated on a computer lookup table database with customer identification data, product traceability, or a plurality of other associations. The presence of DNA in a certain concentration is data, and the DNA sequence is another form of barcode that contains data similar to a barcode at the supermarket shelf.

In the example of fluorescent markers, an operator may interrogate the witness mark with a light and observe visual fluorescence from the witness mark. In the example of deoxyribonucleic acid, an operator may forensically identify the witness mark by chipping off a sample of the witness mark, preparing the witness mark chip with a test kit, and placing that sample into a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or DNA sequencing machine. If the target DNA sequence is present, the test result is positive. Unfortunately, some inspection lacquer chemistry formulations interfere with PCR’s ability to reliably identify and amplify DNA present in a witness mark. Also, the signal from chemicals designed to fluoresce which are present within the witness mark sample may be obfuscated by the presence of other pigments, chemicals, dyes or other markers and molecular identifiers embedded within the material. Therefore, a robust and highly secure heterogeneous material that contains a variety of security markers cannot be realized without interfering with analytical equipment.

Converse to commonplace inspection lacquer chemistry that is differentiated by pigment color or adherence to performance specifications (e.g. temperature resistance) some embodiments of the present invention are compositions of heterogeneous polymers, organic compounds, and solvents in a plurality of colors and materials with embedded security markers so that chemically adjunct identification markers may exist within the same witness mark, and, that witness mark may be analyzed by an operator using equipment without interference.

Existing inspection lacquer is a single composite material in a single visually observed color. Conversely, embodiments of the present invention combine variable colored materials and material types that are extruded from a multi-chamber dispensing apparatus. The resulting extruded, variegated witness mark applied onto a product surface is composed of host materials physically and chemically bound containing embedded security taggants.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 depicts a dispensing apparatus with a plurality of extrusion nozzles; Figure 2 depicts a witness mark with stripe morphology;

Figure 3 depicts a witness mark with swirl morphology; and

Figure 4 depicts a witness mark with embedded DNA and fluorescent markers in a separate pattern.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Some embodiments of the present invention utilize a dispensing apparatus 100 that may have a plurality of extrusion nozzles 102, 104, 106, to physically create the morphology of the witness mark’s composition. For example, in Figure 1, an extruder dispensing apparatus 100 is depicted having 3 nozzles 102, 104, 106. The nozzles may be in a planar configuration laying down three parallel stripes, or may be in a triangular arrangement with on upper stripe overlapping the two parallel lower stripes. The dispenser 100 may even rotate to produce an helical extrusion.

As the marker material is deposited in parallel stripes, different colors and materials may be applied at the same time and chips from each stripe may be extracted and tested. For example, a witness mark may be composed of a translucent and pigmented material that together, form a helical swirl. The translucent material may contain a DNA marker, whereas the pigmented material may contain an embedded fluorescent marker that emits a glow when interrogated.

Figure 2 shows a witness mark 200 with a stripe morphology with embedded

DNA and fluorescent molecules emitting a glow. With the benefit of this newly composed multi-material witness mark, one witness mark has the benefit of enabling a variety of authentication methods. Additionally, witness marks can be uniquely created and their morphology configured depending on the operator’s desired look of the witness mark.

As shown in Figure 3, in contrast to conventional inspection lacquer product formulations that create a uniform witness mark in one color, the present invention is a composition of materials in unique morphologies that enable the benefit of storing customer identification data and product information within the one witness mark that can be interrogated without interfering with analytical equipment. The swirled witness mark 300 in Figure 3 and the serpentine mark 400 of Figure 4 have stripes each of different material. These may be parallel or swirled and each may have different characteristics and colors. For example, material in the first stripe 302 may be a specific color requested by the manufacturer of the product on which the witness mark will be placed. The second stripe 304 may be composed of material that fluoresces in ultra violet light. The third stripe 306 may be composed of magnetic materials that are arranged in a pattern discernable by interrogation equipment. The fourth stripe 308 may have placed therein DNA taggants which when chipped away may be analyzed and compared to an associated look-up table with customer specific data on production facilities, date of manufacture, useful lifespan, and the composition of the product being marked. The concentration of the DNA is also a form of data that may be analyzed to compare to a lookup table to function similar to a barcode and provide information similar to that found in barcodes.

As depicted in Figure 4, interrogation through Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) of a chip of inspection lacquer or witness mark material may detect and amplify DNA 402 embedded in the material. This process, however, may be inhibited by the presence of other materials within the same formula. As a result, the present invention separates the DNA stripe from stripes of other materials to prevent corruption and interference.

The use of a variegated witness mark having two or more heterogeneous materials along with colors allows a variety of patterns to be used. Chemically adjunct identification markers may exist in two stripes of the same witness mark.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters-patent is:

1. A witness mark extruder comprising:

a body having open-ended compartments, each compartment containing a witness mark material;

a plunger at one end of the compartment for forcing material out of each compartment at the same time; and

a nozzle formed at the end of each compartment opposite the plunger, the nozzle forming the witness mark material into a parallel stripe so that as each compartment is pressured by the plunger material will be extruded through the nozzle to form a stripe, which when deposited on a surface will form a contiguous portion of a multi-stripe witness mark.

2. A witness mark extruder as recited in claim 1, wherein the witness mark material in each compartment differs from the witness mark material in the other compartments of the extruder.

3. A witness mark extruder as recited in claim 1, wherein the witness mark material contains DNA fragment.

4. A witness mark extruder as recited in claim 1, wherein the witness mark material fluoresces when excited by light radiation.

5. A witness mark extruder as recited in claim 1, wherein the witness mark material is colored.

6. A witness mark comprising:

a first material containing DNA fragments; and

a second material having fluorescent and excitation properties.

7. A witness mark material containing security taggants of nucleic acids.

8. A method for applying a witness mark to a product, comprising the steps of:

pushing plungers through compartments of different witness mark materials to extrude a variegated witness mark.

9. A method as recited in claim 8, wherein the witness mark material contains fragments of DNA.