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Description  |
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FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an identification card, comprising two cover
sheets of which at least one is transparent, and a card core or inner
layer of an opaque material, in particular paper, which is provided with
information which can be perceived visually through said transparent cover
sheet.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In connection with the production of identification cards there is an
underlying, basic need to protect these as far as conceivably possible
from being forged and/or counterfeited in entirety.
The term forgery is defined as an alteration in the card information, such
as the personal particulars of the owner of the card, the photograph of
the owner and the data of the issuing authority, whereas a counterfeit in
entirety, also known as a total counterfeit, is understood to mean the
complete imitation of a card.
In order to aggravate or prevent total counterfeiting, the card core--i.e.
the opaque inner layer or substrate upon which the variable data are
subsequently provided--can be safeguarded by a number of different
measures and by employing a number of different techniques which are known
from the printing of security documents or banknotes. For instance, it is
possible to produce a paper-laminated identification card whose card inlet
consists of watermarked paper. True watermarks form during the paper
production in special paper machines and permit the positioned or
continuously running reproduction of multistage motives. It is also
possible to print the card core, which in addition to the above-described
watermarked paper can also consist of plastics or other materials, with
what are termed guilloches in several colors, a technique which is also
known from the printing of securities. While the afore-mentioned features
can be examined and checked in the visual charge, it is also possible to
equip the card core with invisible hallmarks. The highly sophisticated
technology of safeguarding securities from total counterfeiting, which has
only be mentioned briefly here, enhances the security of identification
cards with respect to total counterfeiting considerably because the amount
of time and energy expended in counterfeiting or forging the document
exceeds by far the gains which can be expected.
The known methods, however, only make it possible in principle to provide
hallmarks which are at all times identical and thus uniform for all
identification cards and which can be correspondingly altered depending on
the wishes of the user and the various applications and aims of the
identification cards. In addition to these hallmarks, identification cards
also include as a rule variable information such as the personal
particulars of the card owner, his photograph and other data specific to
his person. To prevent this information from being forged, steps are
generally taken to ensure that access to the variable information
contained on the identification card is virtually nonexistant and the
successful alteration of the same is virtually impossible. If changes are
nonetheless made on the card, these should be easily recognizable so that
manipulation of the card will become completely useless to the forger. It
is known from the former technology of identification card manufacture,
for example, that those elements which are intended to prevent total
counterfeiting in the printing of the card core can also be utilized to
identify and reveal manipulation or alteration in the variable information
on the identification card. The guilloches which were mentioned above and
which consist of very fine lines, for example, serve to render erasures
made on the card information visible owing to the fact that, in so doing,
the guilloches are destroyed at these sites.
As far as the forgery safeguarding aspect is concerned, the so-called
polylaminated identification card has proved to be valuable. A card core
which can consist either of paper or of plastic or of any other material
which is printed with a safety background similar to securities in order
to render a total counterfeit or a forgery impossible, is laminated
between two cover sheets. The visual authenticity examination of the
identification card is facilitated by additionally providing a photograph
in the interior of the identification card, thereby additionally enhancing
the forgery safeguarding aspect.
A fundamental differentiation is made in the manufacture of such
identification cards between central and decentral processes.
In the case of central card manufacture, all operations including the entry
of the personal data of the respective owner of the identification card as
well as the lamination of the blanks are performed by the manufacturer of
the identification cards.
The advantage of this system is to be seen in the fact that access to
unpersonalized and unlaminated identification cards, which would
facilitate unauthorized tampering with the cards, can be excluded almost
entirely. The drawback of this system, however, is the fact that all
identification cards must be personalized and, if desired, equipped with
photographs at the place where they are manufactured. This results in very
high personal expenses and makes short-term measures--relating to regional
distribution and card quantities--well-nigh impossible in the case of very
voluminous identification card systems. The unscheduled manufacture of a
small number of identification cards is therefore expensive and very
time-consuming in the case of this system. Furthermore, it is necessary in
this manufacturing process to transfer the personal data required to
produce the identification card from the applicant, i.e. the issuing
authority for instance, to the card manufacturer, thus making these data
accessible in compiled form to a larger circle of persons.
The decentral process is characterized in that the card core is
manufactured centrally. The entry of the personal data as well as the
subsequent lamination of the identification cards is performed decentrally
by the applicant, e.g. in regionally distributed issuing offices.
One advantage of this process is that the manufacture of identification
cards is possible at any time, even in smaller quantities, and that the
transfer of personal data, which is necessary in the case of the central
process, is unnecessary in this case.
The disadvantage is the widely distributed storage of unpersonalized card
cores which thus enhances the general security risk and which may
necessitate greater security regulations in many locations owing to the
risk of theft.
Since expensive laminating devices are necessary to laminate the
identification cards, the cores are personalized by the applicant, but the
cards are laminated by the manufacturer of the identification cards in a
combined form of both systems. From an economical point of view, the
results in a few advantages, although the security risk is additionally
enhanced by sending the unlaminated identification card cores back and
forth twice.
The identification card can also be additionally equipped with a machine
readable data carrier. The most frequent form today is a magnetic strip on
the obverse side of the identification card. This data carrier must also
be inscribed at the same time the personal data are provided.
Since this inscription takes place on the finished identification card,
whereas the visually readable data have already been provided on a
prefabricated product, the association of both sets of data is very
difficult on account of the intervening production stages (lamination,
punching, packaging). Compliance with this requirement requires a very
high expenditure of manufacturing technology.
Yet another process for manufacturing identification cards is known in
which unpersonalized, completely laminated identification cards are
provided with personal data by embossing these on the surface thereof. The
card is embossed, the embossed indicia are dyed and the magnetic strip
located on the card is inscribed in one single operation. Although the
identification cards can be provided with the personal data in this
process both by the manufacturer and by the user of the identification
cards, it is in no case necessary in this operation to send unlaminated
card blanks through the mails. The resultant advantage, however, must be
purchased at the cost of a number of serious, additional disadvantages.
Since the personal data are provided by embossing the surface of the cover
sheet, the data are readily accessible and thus subject to a greater
chance of being forged.
In order to improve the legibility of the data, the raised portions of the
embossed information are dyed. This dye, however, is subject to much wear
precisely in this area so that the legibility of the data varies
considerably and changes constantly in the course of time. The use of such
cards in automatic optical card readers is thus out of the question.
Moreover, the universal use of this type of card is also impossible due to
absence of any possibility of providing photographs in the interior of the
identification card.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the identification cards are subjected
to greatly fluctuating loads during the embossing operation which as a
rule result in a deformation of the card body. Apart from the resultant
difficulties of packing, storing the cards, etc., the use of these
identification cards involves many difficulties even in general automatic
identification card inspection devices, e.g. for reading magnetic data.
It is known in principle (German patent specification No. 1,499,422) to use
the energy of laser beams to evaporate or even burn materials which absorb
this energy to a greater or lesser degree. In the afore-quoted
publication, the energy of the beam is used to burn a card code into a
recording carrier (punched tape) which is enclosed between transparent
substrates and which absorbs the irradiation, without destroying the
substrate layers. The special advantage of this use of the laser is seen
in the fact that the data supplied by the computer of a data processing
unit can be processed in real time by virtue of the high processing speed
of the computer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is to provide an identification card and a
process for the production of the same which makes it possible to inscribe
individual features, in particular personal data, in the interior of said
card after lamination of the card blank. This is intended to facilitate
both central and decentral completion of the identification cards without
increasing the security risk.
This object is accomplished in accordance with the invention in that the
information is provided on the core of the identification card through the
transparent cover sheet which has already been laminated onto the card by
means of a controlled laser beam. The invention thus avails itself of the
principle which is already known per se for providing identification cards
with the necessary information. In so doing, a number of advantages
surprisingly result owing to this special use.
The identification card can be completed except for the information to be
provided with the laser beam, i.e. the card can also be laminated, thereby
protecting it from manipulation or tampering to a far greater extent than
with unlaminated card cores, should they fall into the wrong hands.
At the same time as the information is provided on the core of the card by
means of the laser beam, it is possible to concurrently mark the cover
sheet which is then accessible to manual inspection by virtue of the
resultant, permanent relief-type structure on the cover sheet. In
addition, this results in these areas in greater partial fusion of the
cover sheet and card core, thereby intimately bonding the sites treated
with the laser beam with the cover sheet itself. This makes it impossible
to remove the information without visibly damaging the cover sheet (the
inscription on the card core and on the cover sheet are of course in
register).
Since the sites treated with the laser beam are located inside the card, so
to speak, owing to the localized burning of the core--the extent to which
the core is burned being adjustable in a simple manner--thus making them
an element of the card core, these data cannot be altered without
destroying the core material itself.
One essential advantage in the manufacture of identification cards for use
in automats is finally that both the machine readable personal data of the
card which are located on the magnetic strip as well as the visible card
information, including the photograph if desired, can be placed on the
card in one single operation. In accordance with the invention, the
process possesses the organizational advantages associated with the
embossing process. It not only avoids the security drawbacks associated
therewith, however, but also offers substantially greater security and
protection from forgery and counterfeiting compared to merely inscribing
the paper core.
Another advantage of the invention can be seen in the fact that in addition
to the afore-mentioned photograph, a valueable security individuality
accessible to visual inspection can be imparted to each and every card,
e.g. when providing the personal data to the card, each card is also
provided with a symbol which is specific for the card owner or the
identification card, or a pattern which varies either from card series to
card series or even from card to card can be provided at some later date
on the information already placed on the card core.
Particularly when using patterns which vary from card to card, the
information exhibited in this pattern can be employed not only as a visual
hallmark, but also to safeguard the data on the magnetic strip. The
pattern is scanned with an appropriate optical scanning means along a
predetermined track on the identification card with subsequent processing
of the scanning signals and scrambling of the individual data with the
data recorded on the magnetic strip. The signals are scanned and processed
in a manner similar to the scanning of individual magnetic data as already
known, for example, from German laying-open print DE-OS No. 2,635,795.
A pattern which varies from series to series, on the other hand, serves
preferably to increase the manufacturing costs for forgers and also
permits visual inspection of the authenticity of the card.
Owing to the possibility of being able to provide guilloche- and stamp-like
or other types of patterns, alphameric data and picture information on the
completely laminated identification card, the range of applications is
expanded to all cases conceivable in practice.
Advantageous further developments of the invention are the subject matters
of the subclaims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
An embodiment of the invention will now be described in the following with
reference to the enclosed drawing, in which by way of example:
FIG. 1 is a view of the identification card;
FIG. 2 is a cross section through the identification card;
FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the system for providing personal data on the
identification card;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the personalizing apparatus; and
FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the components of the system and
their functional association.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The identification card illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is termed a
polylaminated identification card consisting of two cover sheets 10, 12
and a card core or inner opaque layer 14. At least the upper cover sheet
10 is designed to be transparent so that the information provided on the
core can be perceived visually. Since the control of the laser printer can
be varied almost arbitrarily without mechanical intervention by a computer
program, the type face can be freely chosen by appropriately adapting the
control program. In the present case, alphanumeric OCR (optical character
recognition) print was employed so that, in addition to being readable
visually, it is also possible to process the data by computer by using an
optical OCR reader. A signature strip 16 is laminated onto the cover foil
and can be inscribed with a normal writing instrument.
A photograph 18 and two data areas are provided on the inlet 14, the data
area 20, for example, including the name of the issuing authority and the
data area 22 including the personal data of the client. Moreover, one
portion of the core in the embodiment illustrated is provided with a
pattern 24 individual for this card and applied by means of a laser beam.
The pattern is arranged such that it covers a portion of the photograph,
the general paper core as well as areas of the signature strip as well.
Since the graphic structure of the pattern and, if desired, the location
of the pattern are varied from card to card, it is thus possible for the
first time ever to visually inspect the matching relation of these partial
card areas in a very simple way. The pattern is located in the area of the
signature strip 16 not on the core, but rather is continued onto the
surface of the signature strip. If there is no signature strip, the
pattern can of course also cover the entire paper core and can be easily
varied from card to card as well, thereby making it more difficult to
forge the identification card. The pattern has a stamp-like structure in
the present example. Another design such as a guilloche-like structure or
the like is also possible.
A magnetic strip 26 is laminated onto the underside of the cover sheet 12
and includes data which concur with the data provided by means of the
laser beam in addition to other data necessary to permit the
identification card to be computer-processed.
The alphameric indicia are printed on the card core 14 by burning them into
the surface thereof or appropriately blackening the same. As will be
described in the following, the data is printed by means of an
appropriately controlled laser beam. Depending on the energy quantum of
this laser beam, the upper cover sheet 10 can be melted concurrently in
such a way that a relief is formed above the line of printed information
and in register therewith which can also be felt manually. An example is
indicated by arrow X.
If the card core is coated with a suitable substance capable of causing a
thermochemical reaction, irradiating the layer with the laser does not
have to cause a blackening or destruction of the core, but merely a change
in color. The background pattern 24 is preferably designed such that it
appears in lines of another color, using this color change principle, in
contrast to the burned-in indicia in the data strips 20 and 22. A
background pattern such as background pattern 24 may be printed on the
card inlet 14 by means of conventional printing technology. Arrow Y in
FIG. 2 designates such a site on the card core which stands out against
the surrounding field solely due to a color change. Examples of such
thermosensitive materials are well-known to the person skilled th the art.
Suitable substances are cited in German patent specification No. 695,406,
for instance, which exhibit a color change from white to brown, from pink
to blank, from yellow to red-brown, etc. when irradiated with an
appropriately adjusted laser. An arbitrary selection from a number of the
known substances can be made in accordance with the respective
requirements. When working with heat-laminated identification cards,
however, the priorities in selecting the respective substances must be
laid down such that the color change occurs at a temperature above the
laminating temperature. Since the laminating temperature does not exceed
180.degree. C. as a rule in conventional laminating devices, the range of
dyes which can be employed is only insignificantly restricted. Moreover,
polychromatic designs are possible using only one single substance by
choosing dyes which have several color transition temperatures and by
appropriately adjusting the laser.
The cover sheets preferably consist of plastics, e.g. PVC, with a thickness
of 0.05-0.5 mm, for example. The card core is preferably white paper with
a substance of 70-120 g/m.sup.3. Both cover foils are as a rule
hot-laminated onto the card core due to the simultaneous action of
pressure and heat, as already described hereinbefore. Devices for such
laminating operations are well-known.
The identification card, of course, does not have to include all
individualizing features shown here. For instance, the background pattern
24 or even the photograph 18 may be omitted. On the other hand, however,
other features not shown here may also be provided by means of the laser
beam without departing from the scope of the invention.
The set-up for what is termed personalizing the identification cards will
now be explained with reference to FIG. 3.
A magnetic tape, e.g. a magnetic tape cassette, as is known from video
engineering is inscribed with specific information in a data tape coding
machine. The client data and, if desired, even the data of the issuing
authority can be supplied to the coding machine 28 by means of a data
input unit 30 with an appropriate keyboard. Furthermore, the picture of
the card owner is recorded by a video camera 32 on the magnetic tape in
the coding unit as a mosaic picture comprising many shades of gray. Such
storage of video pictures is already known. Finally, the coding unit 28
can be supplied with information concerning a particular, e.g.
guilloche-like pattern, a specific configuration, for example, be related
to a specific company. The pattern is input via an auxiliary unit 34. The
data tape contains additional instructions concerning the respective
positioning of the information on the identification card. When
manufacturing larger series of identical identification cards, it can also
be meaningful to supply the information about the additional pattern
(pattern memory 34) not via the data tape coding unit and thus via the
magnetic tape, but rather directly by way of the identification
personalization unit which will be described in the following.
The data tape is evaluated in a downstream identification personalization
unit 36 and a card blank is inscribed accordingly.
The identification personalization unit must not be located at the same
place as the data tape coding unit 28. The data tape coding machine, for
example, can also be in a branch office of a firm, the completed data
sheets in this case being forwarded to the company headquarters where the
card blanks are personalized centrally. The identification cards which are
then returned to the company branch offices are those identification cards
which have been personalized completely and therefore are forgery-proof.
It is also possible, however, to combine the identification
personalization unit 36 with the data tape coding unit 28 to form one
system so that, when the appropriate card blanks are at hand, the
completely personalized identification cards can be made right there.
The structure of the personalization unit 36 will now be explained in
detail with reference to FIG. 4.
The magnetic tape is first read in a cassette reader 38, e.g. a magnetic
tape unit for video cassettes, and the signals are supplied to a control
computer 40. A suitable computer is available, for example, from the
company Hewlett Packard and is designated as the System 3000.
The computer 40 is connected to a control unit 46 for controlling the card
transport unit 44, to a control unit 48 for controlling the laser and
finally to a recording unit 50 for recording the magnetic data. The latter
unit is not obligatory, and is only provided if the identification cards
include a magnetic strip. If in addition to recording the general magnetic
strip data, the individual pattern provided by the laser printer is
examined and the derived information is concurrently employed when coding
the magnetic strip, a scanning element 55 must be provided on the laser
side which scans the optical pattern on a predetermined track and
simultaneously processes the scanning signal via the magnetic data
recording device 50.
The control unit 48 for controlling the laser controls the intensity of the
laser on the one hand and the beam deflection unit on the other hand. Both
are combined in block 52 in FIG. 4 for the sake of simplification.
FIG. 5 depicts the units once again in their spatial and functional
arrangement. The laser and deflection unit are separate components.
A system consisting of a laser, deflection unit and appropriate energy
supply 53 for the laser is available commercially from the company Siemens
under the name Silamatic.
The identification cards are personalized as follows (FIG. 4). The card
blank is introduced into the card transport system and synchronized by the
control unit 46 positioned beneath the deflection unit 52 of the laser.
The laser beam now inscribes the client data, data of the issuing office
and, if desired, a photograph at the predetermined sites on the
identification card depending on the information stored. Special
importance must certainly be attributed to the possibility of providing a
photograph as an individual characteristic directly on the paper core in a
manner such as to make it inseparable therefrom. The picture is "burned"
into the paper core as a mosaic picture with many shades of gray. The
corresponding technology is already known and thus not a subject matter of
the instant invention.
The card can be covered with a pattern of fine lines either prior or
subsequent to the inscription of the variable data. If the paper core is
coated with a thermosensitive material, these fine lines can also be
rendered visible in the form of color changes, whereby the density of the
laser beam energy must be reduced appropriately. If the thermosensitive
material is deposited onto the core in the form of a grid, for example,
rows of fine dots will be formed as the laser beam passes over this grid.
There are almost no limits as far as the conceivable card designs and
configurations are concerned.
After the identification card has been personalized in this way, it is
advanced by the card transport system 44 to a magnetic head 54 which, if
desired, inscribes the magnetic strip 26 of the identification card with
the appropriate data. The data preferably correspond to the data of the
issuing office and the client data which has been visually inscribed by
the laser so that the identification card can be processed by machine in
the known manner.
As already mentioned hereinbefore, the identification card does not have to
contain all of the information and features mentioned. It may be
sufficient for simple cases to provide the cards solely with the personal
data of the user. Changes involving the number, form and positioning of
the information can be made as desired.
It goes without saying that the term identification card is understood to
include all cards of similar structure such as identity cards, credit
cards, check cards, membership cards, passports and similar documents.
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