Security marking, method and device for reading the security marking, security document marked with the security marking, and method and system for verifying said security document

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12367359-B2
Application number	US-202118024185-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2021
Priority date	Sep 2, 2020
Publication date	Jul 22, 2025
Grant date	Jul 22, 2025

Abstract

The invention relates to a security marking ( 100 ), a method and a device for reading and decoding the security marking ( 100 ), a security document ( 150 ) marked with the security marking ( 100 ), and a method and a system for verifying and authenticating said security document ( 150 ). The security marking ( 100 ) comprises a machine readable marking ( 130 ) overlapping with a magnetically induced layer ( 120 ) of a material including magnetically oriented reflective platelet-shaped magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles with two zones ( 120 a ) and ( 120 b ) of distinct orientations of the particles. The encoded data on the machine readable marking ( 130 ) being decodable only after the data separately read from the two zones ( 120 a ) and ( 120 b ) are gathered.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A security marking comprising:
a flat substrate;
a magnetically induced layer of a material comprising magnetically oriented reflective platelet-shaped magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles, the magnetically induced layer being applied on the substrate and comprising a first zone wherein said magnetically oriented reflective platelet-shaped magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles have their planar faces oriented in a first direction and a second zone, distinct from the first zone, wherein said magnetically oriented reflective platelet-shaped magnetic or magnetizable pigment particles have their planar faces oriented in a second direction distinct from the first direction, the platelet-shaped particles in the first zone having planar faces with an elevation angle γ 1 with respect to a plane of the substrate and the platelet-shaped particles in the second zone having planar faces with an elevation angle γ 2 with respect to the plane of the substrate, each acute angle of the planar faces with respect to the plane of the substrate being in a range from about 5° to about 25°;
a machine readable marking including a reference pattern and a code pattern representing encoded data, the machine readable marking being respectively applied either on a top face of the magnetically induced layer or on the substrate between said substrate and a rear face of the magnetically induced layer, a first area of the code pattern being disposed in front of the first zone and a remaining second area of the code pattern being disposed in front of the second zone.

2. The security marking according to claim 1 , wherein
a) said pigment particles comprise:
a magnetic metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt, iron, gadolinium and nickel;
a magnetic alloy of iron, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel or a mixture of two or more thereof;
a magnetic oxide of chromium, manganese, cobalt, iron, nickel or a mixture of two or more thereof; or
a mixture of two or more thereof; or

b) the code pattern is any one of a one-dimensional barcode, a stacked one-dimensional barcode, a two-dimensional bar code, and a three-dimensional barcode.

3. The security marking according to claim 1 , wherein the first zone and the second zone of the magnetically induced layer belong to a same single layer of material.

4. The security marking according to claim 1 , wherein the first zone and the second zone of the magnetically induced layer respectively belong to a first sub-layer and an adjacent second sub-layer forming the magnetically induced layer.

5. The security marking according to claim 1 , wherein the machine readable marking is applied on the top face of the magnetically induced layer and encoded with dark symbols and a dark primer layer is applied on the substrate, and the rear face of the magnetically induced layer is applied on a top face of the dark primer layer.

6. The security marking according to claim 1 , wherein the machine readable marking is applied on the top face of the magnetically induced layer and encoded with bright symbols and a dark primer layer is applied on the substrate, and the rear face of the magnetically induced layer is applied on a top face of the dark primer layer.

7. The security marking according to claim 1 , wherein the machine readable marking is applied on the substrate and encoded with dark symbols.

8. A method for reading and decoding the security marking according to claim 1 , with a portable device equipped with a light source operable to deliver illumination light, an imager, and a processor equipped with a memory and adapted to perform image processing and decoding operations, comprising the steps of:
disposing the security marking within a field of view of the imager;
illuminating the security marking with illumination light delivered by the light source;
acquiring a first digital image of the security marking with the imager at a first viewing angle θ 1 associated with the first elevation angle γ 1 , and storing the acquired first digital image in the memory;
acquiring a second digital image of the security marking with the imager at a second viewing angle θ 2 associated with the second elevation angle γ 2 , and storing the acquired second digital image in the memory;
forming, via image processing with the processor, a composite digital image of the code pattern from the stored first digital image and the stored second digital image by aligning with respect to the reference pattern, detected in the first digital image and the second digital image, a first part of the code pattern corresponding to the first area of the code pattern detected on the first digital image and a second part of the code pattern corresponding to the second area of the code pattern detected on the second digital image, and storing the obtained composite digital image in the memory;
reading and decoding with the processor the code pattern from the stored composite digital image.

9. A portable device for reading and decoding the security marking according to claim 1 , comprising:
a light source operable to deliver illumination light;
an imager; and
a processor equipped with a memory,

and adapted to perform the steps of:
illuminating the security marking with illumination light delivered by the light source;
acquiring a first digital image of the security marking with the imager at a first viewing angle θ 1 associated with the first elevation angle γ 1 , and storing the acquired first digital image in the memory;
acquiring a second digital image of the security marking with the imager at a second viewing angle θ 2 associated with the second elevation angle γ 2 , and storing the acquired second digital image in the memory;
forming, via image processing with the processor, a composite digital image of the code pattern from the stored first digital image and the stored second digital image by aligning with respect to the reference pattern, detected in the first digital image and the second digital image, a first part of the code pattern corresponding to the first area of the code pattern detected on the first digital image and a second part of the code pattern corresponding to the second area of the code pattern detected on the second digital image, and storing the obtained composite digital image in the memory;
reading and decoding with the processor the code pattern from the stored composite digital image.

10. A security document delivered by an authority to a user, comprising:
a security marking according to claim 1 applied on the security document, wherein encoded data in the code pattern of the security marking contain digital identity data corresponding to the user and a digital signature of said user digital identity data, the digital signature delivered by the authority being obtained by signing the user digital identity data with a cryptographic key.

11. A method of verifying a security document of a user according to claim 10 , with a portable device, the portable device comprising:
a light source operable to deliver illumination light;
an imager; and
a processor equipped with a memory,

and adapted to perform the steps of:
illuminating the security marking with illumination light delivered by the light source;
acquiring a first digital image of the security marking with the imager at a first viewing angle θ 1 associated with the first elevation angle γ 1 , and storing the acquired first digital image in the memory;
acquiring a second digital image of the security marking with the imager at a second viewing angle θ 2 associated with the second elevation angle γ 2 , and storing the acquired second digital image in the memory;

Assignees

• Sicpa Holding Sa

Inventors

• Dinoev Todor
• Dorier Jean-Luc
• Raemy Xavier Cédric
• Carnero Benito
• Loginov Evgeny
• Callegari Andrea

Classifications

• B42D25/369

  Magnetised or magnetisable materials · CPC title

• B42D25/24

  Passports · CPC title

• B42D25/23

  Identity cards · CPC title

• G06K7/1417 Primary

  2D bar codes · CPC title

• B42D25/305 Primary

  Associated digital information (record carriers for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00) · CPC title