Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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a
AN INFORMATIONAL ARTICLE
AND AN ASSOCIATED METHOD
IBACI~GIZOUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an informational article
and an associated method, and more particularly to an
informational article that is alteration and duplication
resistant as well as having a tamper evident indicating
feature.
Cout~terfeiting and alteration of articles with the
intent to dec~.pive third parties is, unfortunately, a problem
in today's society. Among such articles are identification
cards, credit: cards, temporary vehicle registrations and
placards of all kinds. Unauthorized alteration of such
articles costs businesses and governments huge amounts of
money while at. the same time undermining the faith of honest
people in the integrity of such articles.
If variable information, such as an expiration date,
is written or printed on a substrate, for example a license
plate, dishonest persons can merely remove the old information
using a swab a.nd a solvent and then merely write new informa-
tion in place of the old. Even if a laminate or adhesive tape
is used to cover the information, the dishonest person can
either write on top of the tape to alter the information
(e.g. , changi~rig a "3" to an "8") or can peel the tape, with
the information being peeled along with the tape, leaving a
blank space within which to write the new information.
Whai.-. is needed, therefore, is a tamper evident
informational article which cannot be effectively duplicated
and which will resist alteration. The information entered on
the tamper evident informational article should be destroyed
upon tampering and evidence of tampering should be easily,
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visually detectable. The tamper evident informational
article should be easy to use and relatively inexpensive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has met or exceeded the above-
mentioned needs as well as others.
According to one aspect, the invention provides an
informational article including a substrate having a
surface, said article comprising: a separation control
material disposed on a portion of said surface; an
information receiving layer overlying at least a portion of
said separation control material and overlying at least a
portion of said surface of said substrate, said information
receiving layer receiving a marking material in the form of
information to be included on said informational article; a
transparent tape adhesively bonded to said information
receiving layer containing said information and said
substrate; said transparent tape being more strongly adhered
to said information receiving layer than said information
receiving layer is adhered to said separation control
material so that removal of said transparent tape from said
article removes both (i) said information receiving layer
and (ii) said marking material in the form of said
information overlying said separation control material from
the remainder of said information receiving layer and said
marking material in the form of said information, whereby
evidence of tampering is visually detectable; and said
separation control material is selected from the group
consisting of dimethyl silicones, alkyl modified silicone
fluids, paraffins and tetrafluoroethylene.
According to another aspect, the invention
provides a method of protecting an informational article
including a substrate having a surface, said method
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comprising: providing said informational article having
disposed on a portion of said surface a separation control
material with an information receiving layer overlying at
least a portion of said separation control material; placing
information on said information receiving layer; securing a
transparent tape over said information receiving layer
containing said information and said substrate, said
transparent tape being more strongly adhered to said
information receiving layer than said information receiving
layer is adhered to said separation control material so that
removal of said transparent tape from said article removes
both (i) said information receiving layer and (ii) said
information overlying said separation control material from
the remainder of said information receiving layer and said
information, whereby evidence of tampering is visually
detectable; and employing as said separation control
material a material selected from the group consisting of
dimethyl silicones, alkyl modified silicone fluids,
paraffins and tetrafluoroethylene.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A full understanding of the invention can be
gained from the following detailed description of the
invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings in which:
Figure 1 is an elevational view of a substrate
having a zone to be protected.
Figure 2 is a view similar to the view of Figure 1
only showing the separation control material thereon.
Figure 3 is an elevational view of the
informational article having the information receiving layer
printed over the zone to be protected.
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Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the
variable information printed on the background overprint.
Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 only
showing the transparent tape adhered onto the informational
article.
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along
line 6-6 of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is an elevational view of an alternate
embodiment of the informational article showing the
hologram.
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view similar to
Figure 6 only showing the tape being removed from the
informational article.
Figure 9 is an elevational view showing the
informational article after the tape is removed therefrom.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The invention is useful in resisting unauthorized
duplication and alteration of informational articles as well
as providing visually detectable evidence of tampering. As
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used herein, the term "informational article" means an article
or portion thereof which is intended to impart information and
will expressly include, but not be limited to, parking and
handicap placards, identification cards, security signs,
labels, cards, checks, bank drafts, money orders, temporary
vehicle registration certificates and plates and other types
of informational signs, labels and cards. The invention is
especially useful for protecting plastic, metal, non-fibrous
or tightly bound fibrous substrates such as plastic vehicle
hang tags, license plates, handicap and parking placards and
the like. Heretofore, the information on these substrates
could be easily removed with a solvent and new information
written in place of the old. Even providing a laminate or
transparent tape over the information was not effective
because of the ease in peeling the tape. Furthermore, the
adhesive on the tape would lift the printed information off of
the substrate so that new information could be placed on the
substrate in place of the old.
Referring to Figure 1, a portion of a plastic
substrate 10 having a zone to be protected 12 is shown. The
plastic substrate 10 can be, for example, a parking placard
that is adapted to hang from an automobile rear view mirror.
Variable information, such as an expiration date, needs to be
entered into the zone to be protected 12. The invention is
designed to resist unauthorized duplication of the entire hang
tag and unauthorized alteration of the information printed
thereon, such as changing the expiration date as well as
provide a visually detectable indication that tampering with
the informational article has occurred.
As used herein, a reference to "zone" to be
protected will generally refer to a region of the substrate 10
within which a certain portion is to be protected against
alteration, such as the square region shown in Figure 1 which
includes the variable information to be inserted, as will be
discussed below. While the zone may not have specific
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physical boundaries, it will generally be preferable to have
' it include, at minimum, the entire variable information sought
to be protected. In some instances, a substrate may have a
number of individual zones to be protected or the zone may be
coextensive with the substrate.
Referring now to Figures 2-6, the structure of an
embodiment of the invention will be discussed. Figure 2 shows
separation control materials 20, 21 and 22 placed on the
substrate 10 in some desired predetermined pattern, such as
1o the zig-zag pattern shown. The zone to be protected 12, thus
includes the separation control material 20-22 and areas of
bare substrate, such as areas 23, 24, 25 and 26. The pattern
could take any number of forms, including, but not limited to,
other patterns, words or other geometric shapes. The material
used for the separation control material is preferably
dimethyl silicone and can also include alkyl modified silicone
fluids, paraffins and teflon mold release materials. The
separation control material can be applied using known zone
coating techniques or can even be sprinted by any of a variety
of commonly used printing techniques, such as rotary screen
printing, fleatographic printing, screen printing, off-set, and
rotogravure. Preferably the coating of separation control
material is about 5 to 50 microns thick with 10 to 25 microns
being preferred.
Onc~« the separation control materials 20, 21, 22 are
placed on the substrate, an information receiving layer 30 is
printed over 1_he separation control material 20 and the bare
substrate areas 23-26 in the zone to be protected 12 as is
shown in Figua-e 3. The information receiving layer 30, also
referred to herein as the background overprint, receives
information 'thereon. The background overprint 30 is
preferably an opaque ink that will absorb at least some of the
material used for marking information thereon. A suitable
solid ink is made by Sericol of Kansas City, Kansas and sold
under the trade designation of "PC°' or "MR".
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The background overprint 30 can be applied to a
thickness of 5 to 50 microns with 10 to 25 microns being
preferred. It is also preferred that the background overprint
be a contrasting color to the substrate 10, although this is
not necessary for the invention to perform its essential
function. For example, the zone to be protected 12 could be
black whereas the background overprint 30 could be white. The
significance and purpose of the contrasting colors will be
explained below with respect to Figure 7. Furthermore, the
background overprint 30 can be a multi-color logo or a pattern
that could appear to reverse if a portion were removed. The
significance of the removal of a portion of the background
overprint 30 will become clear after the discussion of
Figures 5, 6, 8 and 9 below.
Referring now to Figure 4, variable information,
such as an expiration date 40 is then inserted on the
information receiving layer 30. The variable information 40
can be entered manually, as by using a marker, or can be
printed thereon. It is preferred to use a marking or printing
material, such as a non-washable ink, that is absorbed either
partially or completely into the background overprint 30
(see Figure 6 discussed below). The ink can be applied by any
known means, such as by a permanent ink marker.
Once the information is inserted into the background
overprint 30, the zone to be protected 12 along with the
variable information 40 is covered with a transparent tape 50
as is shown in Figure 5. As shown in Figure 5, the
transparent tape 50 is larger in area than the zone to be
protected 12. The transparent tape 50 must be at least large
enough to cover the variable information 40 entered onto the
background overprint 30.
Referring now to Figure 6 which shows a greatly
exaggerated sectional view through line 6-6 of Figure 5, it
can be seen that the transparent tape 50 consists of a face
stock 51 and a pressure sensitive adhesive layer 54. The face
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stock has an exposed surface 52 and an undersurface 56. The
pressure sensitive adhesive layer 54 is disposed on the
undersurface 56 of the face stock 51 and promotes affixation
of the tape 50 to the background overprint 30 and the
substrate 10. A suitable pressure sensitive adhesive tape
is made by Avery Dennison Specialty Tape Division of
Painesville, Ohio and sold under the trade designation of
FasTape. The exposed surface 52 has disposed thereon a
layer 58 that is preferably write resistant and ink
repellant in order to resist alteration of the variable
information by, for example, changing a "3" to an "8". The
write resisting layer 58 consists of a silicone resin and a
wax toughening agent. The preferred silicone resin is a
curable resin, which can be heat, E-beam or ultraviolet
curable. Preferably, the silicone is an E-beam cured
polydimethylsiloxane and the wax toughening agent is
polytetrafluoroethylene. The face stock 51 is preferably
about 10 to 100 microns and most preferably about 25 to 50
microns thick while the write resisting layer 58 is
preferably about 10 to 30 microns in thickness and the
pressure sensitive adhesive layer 54 is preferably about 10
to 100 microns and most preferably about 25 to 50 microns in
thickness.
It will be appreciated that the transparent tape
50 can be provided as a separate member or can be presecured
to the informational article, as was taught in United States
Patent No. 5,370,763.
As can be seen in Figure 6, the ink used to print
the variable information 40 is absorbed into the background
overprint 30, as shown by reference number 40a. As will be
explained below, this will facilitate identifying whether or
not tampering with the informational article 10 has
occurred.
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If desired, and as shown in Figure 7, a hologram
68 can be placed on top of the background overprint 30. The
variable information 40 is then written over the hologram 68
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and then the transparent tape 5o secured over the variable ,
information 40 as was discussed above. The hologram 68, as is
known, protects the informational article from unauthorized
duplication. It can be metallized (either fully or zone
metallized), partially demetallized, or clear with a high
refractive index coating. The hologram 68 can be a separate
label or a hot stamp foil which is preferably applied to the
background overprint 30 before the variable information is
inserted into the zone to be protected 12. Alternatively, the
hologram 68 can be integrated into the write resistant
layer 58 or the tape 50. It will be appreciated that the
variable information 40 can be written on the hologram 68, as
shown in Figure 7 or the hologram 68 can be placed in an area
which is not to be written on. It may be preferred to use the
latter positioning of the hologram 68 in order to make the
informational article 10 easier to reuse, as it would be
difficult to reuse (legally) the hologram 68 once it has been
written on. It will be further appreciated that the
hologram 68 does not affect the way the invention works (as
will be explained below) however, removal of the tape 5o will
most likely change the hologram 68 (especially if it is a
foil) which can also be an indication of tampering.
Referring now more particularly to Figures 5, 6
and 8, 9, it will be shown what happens when the transparent
tape 50 is removed. It will be appreciated that, in
accordance with the invention, the transparent tape 50 is more
strongly adhered to the information receiving layer 30 than
the information receiving layer 30 is adhered to the
separation control materials 20-22. As can be seen in
Figure 8, removal of the tape 50 also removes both (i) the
information receiving layer 30 and (ii) the information 40
overlying the separation control materials 20-22. In this
way, the information overlying the separation control material
is removed from the remainder of the information 40 which was
absorbed into the information receiving layer 30. As can be
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seen in Figure 9, this provides immediate, easily, visually
detectable evidence that the tape 50 has been removed and thus
the informational article tampered with. It will be
'' appreciated ~t:hat °'filling in'° the missing portions of
the
variable infarmation 40 shown in Figure 9 would be extremely
difficult. In order to accomplish this, the background
overprint 30 color would have to be matched and the remaining
portion of variable information would have to be altered in
order to change the expiration date. Furthermore, if a
hologram 68 is used, the hologram 68 would have to be
replaced.
As mentioned above, the substrate is preferably a
contrasting color to the background overprint 30. As will be
appreciated a.n viewing Figure 9, the color of the areas
overlying the separation control materials 20-22, once the
tape 50 is removed taking with it a portion of the background
overprint, will contrast to the remainder of the background
overprint 30 remaining on the informational article that
contains the :°emnants of the variable information 40. In this
way, tamper evidence is even more readily, visually,
detectable.
It krill be appreciated that an informational article
and an associ~a~ted method has been provided, the informational
article being alteration and duplication resistant as well as
having a tamper evident indicating feature. The invention is
especially su:i.table for use in association with informational
articles having substrates made of plastic, metal, non-fibrous
material and tightly bound fibrous articles which contain
variable infox-mation.
While specific embodiments of the invention have
been disclosed, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the
' art that various modifications and alterations to those
details could be developed in light of the overall teachings
' of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangements
disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting
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as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full
breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents
thereof.
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