EP0328086A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Articles incorporating non-continuous holographs and methods of making them
Assignee: American Bank Note Holographics Inc
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Filing: 1989-02-09
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2009-02-09
Abstract
Abstract Non-continuous reflective holograms or diffraction gratings are provided in various forms for authenticating documents and things, and for decorative and product packaging applications. In one specific authentication application, such a hologram or diffraction grating is firmly attached to a surface that contains visual information desired to be protected from alteration. Examples of such information include written personal data and photograph on a passport, driver's license, identity card and the like. The reflective discontinuous hologram is formed in a pattern that both permits viewing the protected information through it and the viewing of an authenticating image or other light pattern reconstructed from it in reflection. In another specific authentication application, a non-transparent structure of two side-by-side non-continuous holograms or diffraction patterns, each reconstructing a separate image or other light pattern, increases the difficulty of counterfeiting the structure.
Inventors
- 👤 Donald W. Mallik
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 01:28
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03H; G03H1/00; G03H1/02; G03H1/0252; G03H1/0256; G03H1/0236; G06; G06K; G06K19/00; G06K19/06; G06K19/08; G06K19/10; G06K19/16; G03H1/0005; G03H1/0011; G03H1/024; G03H1/0244; G03H1/26; G03H1/2645; G03H1/265; G03H1/04; G03H1/18; G03H2001/187; G03H1/22; G03H1/2202; G03H2001/2223; G03H2001/2228; G03H2001/2605; G03H2001/261; G03H2001/2615; G03H2223/00; G03H2223/25; G03H2250/00; G03H2250/10; G03H2250/12; G03H2250/36; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S283/00; Y10S283/904
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 42
Claim 1
Independent Claim
50 words
An article, comprising a continuous, unperforated sheet carrying a hologram or diffraction pattern including a number of discontinuous areas thereacross having a density of substantially from 25 to 400 such areas per inch, said discontinuous areas being characterized by reconstructing a recognizable light pattern by diffraction of incident light therefrom.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
50 words
An article, comprising a continuous, unperforated sheet carrying a hologram or diffraction pattern including a number of discontinuous areas thereacross having a density of substantially from 25 to 400 such areas per inch, said discontinuous areas being characterized by reconstructing a recognizable light pattern by diffraction of incident light therefrom.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
38 words
The article according to claim 1 which additionally includes a container having a plurality of walls wherein said sheet forms a portion of said wall in a manner that any contents of the container can be viewed therethrough.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
65 words
The article according to claim 1 which additionally includes a substrate having visual information on one surface over which said sheet is affixed, and wherein said hologram or diffraction pattern areas are reflective to said incident light and regions of said sheet surrounding said areas are substantially transparent, thereby to allow viewing of the visual information layer through the substantially transparent regions of said sheet.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
The article according to claim 3 wherein said discontinuous area hologram or diffraction pattern is further characterized by said reconstructed recognizable light pattern being viewable substantially only when said article is held in a manner that said sheet visual information is substantially not viewable.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
40 words
The article according to claim 1 wherein a second hologram is formed on said sheet in areas thereof between said discontinuous areas, said second hologram being characterized by reconstructing a second recognizable light pattern by diffraction of incident light therefrom.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
47 words
The article according to claim 1 wherein said at least a portion of the sheet includes said hologram or diffraction pattern extending throughout in the form of a surface relief pattern with said discontinuous areas thereof being formed of light reflective material on said surface relief pattern.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
148 words
In an article having a substrate with at least one opaque surface area and visual information carried on at least a portion of said one surface area, and a hologram or diffraction grating device attached to said surface for the purpose of authenticating said article, the improvement comprising said device being attached to said at least one substrate surface area over at least a portion of said visual information, said device being substantially transparent but including a plurality of discontinuous reflective device portions that, when illuminated with light, reflect at least a portion of such light to form a reconstruction of a light pattern recorded on said device, thereby to both render said visual information visible through the device and allow viewing of the reconstructed light pattern, whereby alteration of the portion of the visual information that is covered by said device is made to be very difficult.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
148 words
In an article having a substrate with at least one opaque surface area and visual information carried on at least a portion of said one surface area, and a hologram or diffraction grating device attached to said surface for the purpose of authenticating said article, the improvement comprising said device being attached to said at least one substrate surface area over at least a portion of said visual information, said device being substantially transparent but including a plurality of discontinuous reflective device portions that, when illuminated with light, reflect at least a portion of such light to form a reconstruction of a light pattern recorded on said device, thereby to both render said visual information visible through the device and allow viewing of the reconstructed light pattern, whereby alteration of the portion of the visual information that is covered by said device is made to be very difficult.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
The improved article according to claim 7 wherein the size of the discontinuous reflective device portions and their spacing is such that said portions are substantially invisible at a normal reading distance.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
61 words
The improved article according to claim 7 wherein said device portions include dots having a spacing in excess of 25 per inch in at least one direction across said device, and with a density such that the total area covered by said device portions is within a range of from ten to ninety percent of the total area of said device.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
46 words
The improved article according to claim 7 wherein said device includes a continuous surface relief pattern containing information which forms a light pattern formed upon illuminating the device with polychromatic light, and a discontinuous pattern of substantially reflective areas being applied to the surface relief pattern.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
The improved article according to claim 7 wherein the visual information which is visible through said device includes characters representing information about an individual and a photograph of that individual.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
80 words
A document having visual information thereon protected from alteration, comprising a hologram firmly attached to said document over said visual information, said hologram comprising a continuous surface relief pattern in a substantially transparent layer containing information of an image and a discontinuous pattern of substantially completely reflective material carried by said surface relief pattern, said hologram being characterized by permitting, when illuminated with light, both the viewing of said visual information and an image reconstructed from said surface relief pattern.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
80 words
A document having visual information thereon protected from alteration, comprising a hologram firmly attached to said document over said visual information, said hologram comprising a continuous surface relief pattern in a substantially transparent layer containing information of an image and a discontinuous pattern of substantially completely reflective material carried by said surface relief pattern, said hologram being characterized by permitting, when illuminated with light, both the viewing of said visual information and an image reconstructed from said surface relief pattern.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
65 words
The protected document according to claim 12 wherein said pattern of complete reflective material consists primarily of a two-dimensional pattern of dots of said reflective material having a spacing in excess of 25 per inch across said hologram in any direction and a density such that said dots cover a range of from ten to ninety percent of the hologram containing said surface relief pattern.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
45 words
The protected document according to claim 12 wherein said discontinuous pattern of reflective material consists essentially of individual discrete areas of reflective material that are small enough to result in them not being resolved by a viewer observing the visual information covered by the hologram.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
21 words
The protected document according to claim 12 wherein said document is any of a passport, personal identification card or driver's license.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
38 words
The protected document according to claim 12 wherein said hologram is further characterized by permitting the simultaneous viewing of the visual information and the image reconstructed from the surface relief pattern when the document is viewed straight on.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
42 words
The protected document according to claim 12 wherein said hologram is further characterized by permitting reconstruction of said image with the maximum brightness substantially only when said document is reoriented from a normal position for viewing said visual information on the document.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
47 words
The protected document according to claim 12 wherein said hologram is further characterized by permitting viewing of an image reconstructed from said surface relief pattern substantially only upon the document being tilted by the viewer to a position where the document is observed other than straight on.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
78 words
The protected document according to claim 12 wherein the visual information on the document is oriented for observation with the document in a first rotatable position with respect to a line of vision from an observer and the document, and wherein said hologram is further characterized by permitting viewing of an image reconstructed from said surface relief pattern substantially only upon the document being rotated about said line of vision through an angle to a second rotatable position.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
22 words
The protected document according to claim 19 wherein said first and second rotatable positions are substantially ninety degrees apart from each other.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
107 words
A hologram or diffraction pattern comprising an area of a continuous surface relief pattern formed in a surface of a substantially transparent substrate which contains information of an image that is visible when light is reflected from said surface relief pattern over said area, and a layer of substantially opaque, reflective material conforming to said surface relief pattern in a discontinuous pattern across said area, said discontinuous pattern being chosen to allow both viewing of an object or information through said hologram and an image of the information stored in the surface relief pattern by reflection from the portions thereof to which said reflective material is attached.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
107 words
A hologram or diffraction pattern comprising an area of a continuous surface relief pattern formed in a surface of a substantially transparent substrate which contains information of an image that is visible when light is reflected from said surface relief pattern over said area, and a layer of substantially opaque, reflective material conforming to said surface relief pattern in a discontinuous pattern across said area, said discontinuous pattern being chosen to allow both viewing of an object or information through said hologram and an image of the information stored in the surface relief pattern by reflection from the portions thereof to which said reflective material is attached.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
60 words
The hologram or diffraction grating according to claim 21 wherein said pattern of reflective material consists essentially of a large number of dots in excess of 25 per inch in any direction across said surface relief area, said dots being spaced to cover an amount of said surface relief area within a range of from ten to ninety percent thereof.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
100 words
In a package adapted for containing product therein and of a type having a window portion adapted for viewing said product therethrough, the improvement comprising a hologram or diffraction pattern device positioned over at least a portion of said window, said device being substantially transparent but including a plurality of discontinuous reflective portions across the device that, when illuminated with light, reflect at least a portion of such light to form a reconstruction of a light pattern recorded on the device, thereby to allow viewing of both said reconstructed light pattern and the product within the package through said device.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
100 words
In a package adapted for containing product therein and of a type having a window portion adapted for viewing said product therethrough, the improvement comprising a hologram or diffraction pattern device positioned over at least a portion of said window, said device being substantially transparent but including a plurality of discontinuous reflective portions across the device that, when illuminated with light, reflect at least a portion of such light to form a reconstruction of a light pattern recorded on the device, thereby to allow viewing of both said reconstructed light pattern and the product within the package through said device.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
55 words
A holographic recording replica formed on a two-dimensional sheet, comprising: a first hologram containing a first image, said first hologram being formed in non-continuous areas across said sheet, and a second hologram containing a second image, said second hologram being formed in non-continuous areas across said sheet that are non-overlapping with the first hologram areas.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
55 words
A holographic recording replica formed on a two-dimensional sheet, comprising: a first hologram containing a first image, said first hologram being formed in non-continuous areas across said sheet, and a second hologram containing a second image, said second hologram being formed in non-continuous areas across said sheet that are non-overlapping with the first hologram areas.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
23 words
The replica according to claim 24 wherein said first and second hologram areas leave substantially no other space between them across said sheet.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
66 words
The replica according to claim 24 wherein each of said first and second holograms includes overlapping surface relief patterns in respective separated first and second layers provided as part of said sheet, the surface relief pattern of the first hologram being coated with a reflective material in its said non-continuous areas and said second hologram being coated with a reflective material in its said non-continuous areas.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
28 words
The replica according to claim 24 wherein the first and second holograms are characterized by reconstructing images along different non-overlapping paths when the sheet is illuminated by light.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
31 words
An article having the replica according to claim 24 firmly attached to a substrate in a manner that said first and second images are reconstructed in light reflected from said replica.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
75 words
A method of making a hologram or diffraction grating, comprising the steps of: forming in a surface of a substantially transparent substrate a continuous relief pattern over an area thereof that is capable of forming a recognizable image upon polychromatic viewing light being reflected from the surface relief pattern, and forming non-continuous, substantially opaque reflective layer areas over said surface relief area, thereby leaving regions of said surface relief area between said reflective layer areas.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
75 words
A method of making a hologram or diffraction grating, comprising the steps of: forming in a surface of a substantially transparent substrate a continuous relief pattern over an area thereof that is capable of forming a recognizable image upon polychromatic viewing light being reflected from the surface relief pattern, and forming non-continuous, substantially opaque reflective layer areas over said surface relief area, thereby leaving regions of said surface relief area between said reflective layer areas.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
49 words
The method according to claim 29 wherein the step of forming the reflective layer areas includes doing so with a pattern that allows simultaneous viewing completely through the substrate across said area and viewing of an image reconstructed from the portions thereof to which said reflective material is attached.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
122 words
A method of authenticating visual information on a surface of an article, comprising the steps of: forming in a surface of a substantially transparent substrate a continuous relief pattern over an area thereof that is capable of forming a recognizable image upon polychromatic viewing light being reflected from the surface relief pattern, forming a discontinuous, substantially opaque reflective layer over said surface relief area with a pattern that allows both viewing completely through the substrate across said area and viewing of an image reconstructed from the portions thereof to which said reflective material is attached, and attaching said substrate firmly to said article in a position with said surface relief area positioned over said visual information, thereby to authenticate said visual information.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
122 words
A method of authenticating visual information on a surface of an article, comprising the steps of: forming in a surface of a substantially transparent substrate a continuous relief pattern over an area thereof that is capable of forming a recognizable image upon polychromatic viewing light being reflected from the surface relief pattern, forming a discontinuous, substantially opaque reflective layer over said surface relief area with a pattern that allows both viewing completely through the substrate across said area and viewing of an image reconstructed from the portions thereof to which said reflective material is attached, and attaching said substrate firmly to said article in a position with said surface relief area positioned over said visual information, thereby to authenticate said visual information.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method according to claim 31 wherein the step of forming the reflective pattern includes the steps of: forming a thin metal layer over the entire surface relief area, printing a protective layer of material over said metal layer in said pattern, and etching away that portion of the metal layer not covered by said protective layer.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 31 wherein the step of forming a surface relief pattern includes the step of embossing said pattern into a solid thin film surface.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method according to claim 31 wherein the step of forming the surface relief pattern includes casting said pattern in a liquid form and then solidifying it by curing.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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