US5032003A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Optially variable surface pattern
Assignee: OVD Kinegram AG
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Filing: 1989-11-28
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Granted: 1991-07-16
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Expires: 2009-11-28
Abstract
Abstract An article of manufacture including an optically variable surface pattern is disclosed. The optical surface pattern makes visible one out of a plurality of N image representations for each one out of N predetermined viewing directions. The surface pattern comprises M grating elements, each of the grating elements being divided into N grating element sub-portions. Each of the N sub-portions of each grating element contains a diffraction element in the form of a relief structure with predetermined parameters for diffracting incident light. Each of the sub-portions of each grating element thereby corresponds to one pixel of one of the N image representations, so that one of the N image representations is visible from each of said predetermined viewing directions.
Inventors
- 👤 Gregor Antes
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-07 12:41
CPC Classifications
B; B42; B42D; B42D25/00; B42D25/30; B42D25/328; G; G02; G02B; G02B5/00; G02B5/18; G02B5/1842; B42D25/324; G03; G03H; G03H1/00; G03H1/26; G03H1/268; B42D25/40; B42D25/405; B42D25/425; G03H1/0005; G03H1/0011; G03H1/02; G03H1/024; G03H1/0244; G03H1/04; G03H1/0493; G03H2001/0497; G03H2270/00; G03H2270/10; G03H2270/12
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
An article of manufacture including an optically varying surface pattern embossed into a support for making visible one out of a plurality of N image representations for each one out of N(N>1) predetermined viewing directions, said optically varying surface pattern comprising M(M>1) grid elements, each of said M grid elements being divided into N grid element sub-portions, each of said N grid element sub-portions of each of said M grid elements corresponding to a pixel of one of said N image representations and containing a diffraction element in the form of a relief structure with predetermined parameters for diffracting incident light, so that one of said N representations is visible from each one of said N predetermined viewing directions.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
119 words
An article of manufacture including an optically varying surface pattern embossed into a support for making visible one out of a plurality of N image representations for each one out of N(N>1) predetermined viewing directions, said optically varying surface pattern comprising M(M>1) grid elements, each of said M grid elements being divided into N grid element sub-portions, each of said N grid element sub-portions of each of said M grid elements corresponding to a pixel of one of said N image representations and containing a diffraction element in the form of a relief structure with predetermined parameters for diffracting incident light, so that one of said N representations is visible from each one of said N predetermined viewing directions.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
32 words
The article of claim 1 wherein at least one of said relief structure has an asymmetric relief profile and therefore has an azimuth angle in a range between 0° and 360 °.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The article of claim 1 or 2 wherein each of said grid elements is in the form of a regular polygon whose longest diagonal is less than 0.3 mm.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
The article as in one of the claims 1 or 2 wherein the relative area of the diffraction element of each of the N grid element sub-portions in each grid element is determined by the relative predetermined brightness of the corresponding pixel of each of the N image representations.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
50 words
The article as in one of the claims 1 or 2 wherein the relative amount of diffraction of incident light of each of the N grid element sub-portions of each grid element is determined by the relative, predetermined brightness of the corresponding pixel for each of the N image representations.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
18 words
The article as in claim 5, wherein each grid element comprises N grid element portions of equal size.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
26 words
The article as in claim 6, wherein a region of each grid element portion not occupied by a diffraction element is occupied by a matte structure.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
The article as in claim 1 wherein the N image representations are views of one and the same object from different, predetermined perspectives.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
The article of claim 1 wherein the N image representations are images of one and the same object from a predetermined perspective of the object with said object being illuminated from different, predetermined directions.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
The article as in claim 1 wherein the N representations are photographic images comprising pixels with at least two levels of the brightness value.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
41 words
The article of claim 1 wherein N is an even number, and wherein the image representations include at least one stereoscopic pair of images of the same object, so that a threedimensional view of the object appears to the naked eye.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
30 words
The article of claim 1 wherein said surface pattern is part of a larger, graphic motif and in that a border of said surface pattern is surrounded by said motif.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The article of claim 1 wherein said support onto which the surface pattern is embossed is provided with an adhesive surface on a non-embossed side.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
38 words
The article of claim 1 wherein the largest spatial dimension of each of said grid elements is equal to or less than 0.3 mm and each of said relief structure has a spatial frequency of over 10 lines/mm.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1994-07-15 | 1995-01-14 | 1995-07-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-07-15 | 1999-01-14 | 1999-07-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-07-15 | 2003-01-14 | 2003-07-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |