Data carrier having machine-readable security feature, method for producing same, and security substrate web

Abstract

The invention relates to a data carrier (10), in particular a value document or security document, comprising a substrate (12) having a plastic layer, and further comprising machine-readable security features (52, 54). According to the invention, the machine-readable security feature (52, 54) comprises a machine-readable feature material which is present in an embedded layer applied to the substrate, i.e. A white cover layer (30, 34), a functional layer (32, 36), a print receiving layer and / or a paint layer (40).

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a data carrier, in particular a valuable document or a security document, having a substrate including a plastic layer, and the data carrier further having a machine-readable security feature. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing such a data carrier, and a security substrate web, the layer structure of which includes at least one plastic layer, and the substrate web includes a plurality of individual sheets arranged in rows and columns, each individual sheet having a machine-readable security feature respectively. Background Art

[0002] Data carriers such as valuable documents or identification documents, or other valuable items such as designer goods are usually provided with security elements for anti-counterfeiting protection. The security elements can verify the authenticity of the data carrier and at the same time be used to prevent unauthorized copying.

[0003] For some time, in addition to paper substrates, paper / polymer composite substrates or polymer materials have also been used as substrate materials for banknotes. Compared with banknotes, polymer banknotes have advantages such as high tear resistance, for example. On the other hand, polymer banknotes have not had embedded security features so far, such as watermarks, melt fibers or characteristic materials contained in the banknote substrate.

[0004] In order to protect valuable documents, a protective paint layer can be provided for them. This applies to valuable documents with paper substrates, as well as to valuable documents with paper / polymer composite substrates or polymer substrates. Since there is no suitable sensor device for automatically inspecting thin paint coatings, it is not yet possible to defectlessly inspect the coating quality of such paint layers. In addition, they are usually formed by a matting agent, making them visually unobvious and thus difficult to detect optically. Therefore, for example, the desired thickness of the paint layer can be determined by weighing the security substrate web before and after coating. The determined weight difference provides information about the total amount of paint applied, and thus also provides information about the average layer thickness of the paint. From this, changes in the surface of the substrate web cannot be detected, especially the integrity or defect-free formation of the paint layer. In addition, such inspections are only carried out on a sampling basis. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Starting from this, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the anti-counterfeiting protection of the authenticity of polymer banknotes or composite banknotes while maintaining a high degree of circulation stability.

[0006] Another technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to improve the manufacturing quality of banknotes based on paper, polymer or paper / polymer composite substrates, thereby improving their circulation stability.

[0007] This technical problem is solved by the features of the independent claims. The extended design of the present invention is the technical solution of the dependent claims.

[0008] The present invention provides a data carrier, which includes a substrate and a machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature. The substrate includes at least one plastic layer. The data carrier is advantageously a valuable document or an anti-counterfeiting document, especially a banknote. The machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature herein includes a machine-readable feature material, which is present in an embedding layer applied on the substrate, namely a white covering layer, a functional layer, a printing receiving layer, and / or a paint layer. The feature material is preferably present in the white covering layer and / or the paint layer. In the scope of this description, a layer containing one or more machine-readable feature materials is referred to as an embedding layer.

[0009] In the scope of this description, when referring to a plastic layer or a polymer layer or a plastic banknote or a polymer banknote, for example, the terms "plastic" and "polymer" can be used interchangeably.

[0010] The present invention advantageously provides that the machine-readable feature material is present in an embedding layer applied regionally or over the entire surface, and the embedding layer forms a white covering layer, a functional layer, a printing receiving layer, and / or a paint layer. The machine-readable feature material is preferably present in one or more machine-readable coding regions, and the coding regions are formed by local regions of one of the above layers. Arranging the feature material only regionally enables, in particular, coding and spatial identification, for example, to distinguish different denominations.

[0011] The machine-readable feature material is present in an embedding layer applied regionally or over the entire surface, and the embedding layer forms a white covering layer, a functional layer, a printing receiving layer, and / or a paint layer. This should be understood in particular to mean that the machine-readable feature material is present in the corresponding layer in a uniformly distributed or uniform areal density form.

[0012] The machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature advantageously contains two or more different machine-readable feature materials in the same embedding layer. Alternatively or additionally, it can be provided that the machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature contains two or more different machine-readable feature materials, and the feature materials are present in different embedding layers applied on the same side of the substrate. Arranging different machine-readable feature materials in different embedding layers provides an additional anti-counterfeiting protection effect because it is not possible to reconstruct the complete anti-counterfeiting feature by peeling and transferring individual layers.

[0013] According to the extended design of the present invention, the data carrier contains two machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features, especially different machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features, arranged on opposite sides of the substrate.

[0014] In an advantageous design, the machine-readable characteristic materials present on the same side of the substrate jointly occupy the entire surface of the substrate. In another advantageous design, the machine-readable characteristic materials present on the same side of the substrate jointly occupy the entire surface of the substrate except for the perspective window.

[0015] In the case where the machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features are arranged on different sides of the substrate, these anti-counterfeiting features are advantageously designed with a mutually reverse arrangement structure of the machine-readable characteristic materials. If each anti-counterfeiting feature particularly exactly contains two different machine-readable characteristic materials, then in the region of the front side of the substrate where the first characteristic material is present, the second characteristic material is arranged on the opposite back side. Conversely, in the region of the front side of the substrate where the second characteristic material is present, the first characteristic material is arranged on the back side.

[0016] The machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features preferably contain a plurality of different machine-readable characteristic materials, and their embedding layers produce the same color impression visually. The different regions of the embedding layer provided with the characteristic materials only differ in terms of machine-readable characteristics, but not in terms of visual impression. The visually identical color impression can also lie in a visually transparent appearance.

[0017] In an advantageous extended design of the present invention, the substrate has micro-perforations, preferably in the form of an alphanumeric character sequence, numerical value, pattern, pattern or decoration, and these micro-perforations are present in the region where at least one machine-readable characteristic material is located.

[0018] In an equally advantageous extended design of the present invention, at least one region provided with a machine-readable characteristic material forms a pseudo-watermark in the data carrier, and this pseudo-watermark can be visually recognized basically only under transmitted light.

[0019] According to an advantageous design, the machine-readable characteristic material is covered by an absorbing material in a local region, and this absorbing material suppresses or even completely blocks the excitation and / or machine detection of the machine-readable characteristic material. In this case, the machine-readable characteristic material can particularly be present on the entire surface, and the coding region can be formed by local regions with or without the absorbing material. It goes without saying that the characteristic material applied only regionally can also be combined with such absorbing regions.

[0020] For example, an absorber transparent in the visible spectral range or an ultraviolet absorber, such as TiO2, can be used as the absorbing material. The absorbing material is invisible to standard sensors and the human eye, however, a characteristic sensor adapted to the machine-readable characteristic material can detect the coding.

[0021] Advantageously, at least one machine-readable characteristic material consists of coarse particles, which are arranged in an embedded layer, in particular a white covering layer, inside the coated substrate. Alternatively or additionally, it may be provided that at least one machine-readable characteristic material consists of fine particles, which are arranged in an inner layer or an outer embedded layer, in particular an outer paint layer, of the coated substrate. Particularly preferably, it is provided that one machine-readable characteristic material comprises coarser first particles, which are arranged in an embedded layer inside the coated substrate, and another machine-readable characteristic material comprises finer second particles, which are arranged in an inner or outer embedded layer of the coated substrate. By embedding in the inner embedded layer, coarser or relatively coarser particles, such as inorganic particles having desired machine-readable properties, can also be used without causing a rough and easily worn outer layer due to these particles. The smooth outer layer also provides a surface that is easy to print on, such that the printed parts on this surface have a lower degree of wear and are thus more stable during circulation.

[0022] Advantageously provided in the present invention is that the machine-readable characteristic material is present in an outer paint layer applied over the entire surface. The outer paint layer can be used both for substrates made of polymer materials and for substrates made of paper or for paper / polymer composite substrates. On the one hand, the outer paint layer can ensure the durability of the valuable document or anti-counterfeiting document constituted thereby during circulation. On the other hand, since it can protect the substrate from contamination and wear, it can extend the service life of the valuable document or anti-counterfeiting document.

[0023] In an advantageous variant, the machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature comprises two or more different machine-readable characteristic materials. Conveniently, the two or more different machine-readable characteristic materials are present in a plurality of machine-readable coding regions, which are preferably arranged directly adjacent to each other and / or overlapping each other, and thereby cover the entire surface of the substrate. In another advantageous variant, the two or more different machine-readable characteristic materials are present on different sides of the substrate.

[0024] The machine-readable characteristic material can advantageously include an infrared-absorbing material, an infrared-transparent material, a magnetic material, a conductive material, and / or a luminescent material, in particular a phosphorescent luminescent material or an infrared-luminescent material. The machine-readable characteristic material is preferably an inorganic pigment.

[0025] The machine-readable characteristic material suitably has a Mohs hardness greater than 2, in particular greater than 3. This hard characteristic material additionally protects the embedding layer, in particular the outer paint layer of the data carrier. It is known that the scratch resistance of the surface can be improved by using suitable filler materials. However, nanoparticles are usually used for this purpose, which have the disadvantages of being harmful to health and having poor dispersion in printing pigments. The machine-readable characteristic material described herein can be firmly anchored in the paint, thereby providing protection for the embedding layer and the coloring layer located thereunder.

[0026] The size of the machine-readable characteristic material is preferably from 3 μm to 15 μm, and in particular, a characteristic material in the form of nanoparticles is not provided.

[0027] Advantageously, the machine-readable characteristic material consists of particles, and the size of the particles is substantially consistent with the layer thickness of the corresponding embedding layer. Through this adaptation of the layer thickness and the particle size, the best anchoring of the particles in the paint can be achieved. Particles larger than the layer thickness of the embedding layer have relatively poor fixability in the paint and may therefore come off. On the other hand, if the particles are very small, such as nanoparticles, the protection effect is reduced because the particles are easily peeled off together with the paint. The layer thickness of the embedding layer can be adapted to the size of the desired or required particles here. Conversely, it is also possible to select a machine-readable characteristic material with particles of appropriate size according to the desired or required layer thickness of the embedding layer.

[0028] As described above, if a characteristic material with a Mohs hardness greater than 2 is used, the embedding layer is protected from wear by the contained characteristic material. The layer carrying the characteristics then forms a protective layer for the banknote.

[0029] If the embedding layer is damaged, thinned, or partially or even completely torn off from the banknote due to the great effect of abrasive mechanical friction, the change or damage can be detected by a local reduction in the strength of the machine-readable characteristic material. In addition to determining the layer thickness of the embedding layer, equipping with a machine-readable characteristic material also enables determination of whether the embedding layer has holes or still exists. This enables the machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature to be used for quality control in quality assurance or for checking the suitability of data carriers, such as banknotes, for circulation.

[0030] When verifying the authenticity of a correspondingly equipped banknote, a minimum intensity of the signal strength of the machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature may be required. It has been proven that the thresholds for applicability and authenticity classification are set as follows: when only a small part, for example 20% - 30% of the embedding layer is missing, it indicates that the banknote is not suitable, however, the authenticity threshold is set lower, and a banknote with 50% - 70% of the embedding layer missing can still be identified as genuine. The authenticity can also be verified based on the remaining island-shaped areas of the characteristic material. In known designs, it is not possible to check whether the protective paint layer still exists on the banknote during circulation.

[0031] The substrate advantageously consists of a plastic substrate or a composite substrate with a plastic layer. As plastics, in particular, biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP), or polyamide (PA) are considered here.

[0032] The layer provided with the machine-readable characteristic material can also be provided with other functional materials or properties, for example, fluorescent, phosphorescent, or upconversion materials.

[0033] By encoding with the machine-readable characteristic material, for example, it is possible to distinguish denominations within a currency and / or variants or batches within a denomination by machine.

[0034] The invention also includes a method for manufacturing a data carrier of the above type. In this method, a substrate containing at least one plastic layer is provided. The substrate is provided with a machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature, which includes a machine-readable characteristic material arranged in an embedding layer applied to the substrate, that is, a white covering layer, a functional layer, a printing-receiving layer, and / or a paint layer.

[0035] The machine-readable characteristic material is advantageously mixed with the printing pigment for the desired layer and printed together with it. It is also possible to print local areas of the layer with a featureless printing pigment and other local areas of the layer with the same, but printing pigment mixed with the machine-readable characteristic material.

[0036] Finally, the invention also relates to an anti-counterfeiting substrate sheet. The layer structure of the anti-counterfeiting substrate sheet includes at least one plastic layer, and the substrate sheet contains a plurality of single sheets (Einzelnutzen) arranged in rows and columns. Each single sheet has a machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature. Here, it is stipulated that each single sheet is provided with a machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature, which has two marked areas with different machine-readable characteristic materials. Among them, the first marked areas within the single sheet are respectively arranged in the same position, while the second marked areas within the single sheet are respectively arranged in different positions and / or respectively have different shapes.

[0037] Each single sheet advantageously forms a data carrier of the above type.

[0038] In a method for quality control of a data carrier of the above type, the signal intensity of the machine-readable characteristic material is detected spatially resolved and compared with a reference value to detect changes and / or damage to the machine-readable anti-counterfeiting feature.

[0039] Another aspect of the invention includes a method for manufacturing a data carrier, in particular a value document or a security document, in which a substrate is provided and a machine-readable characteristic material is applied, which is present in a paint layer with a uniform areal density, wherein, in the method,

[0040] - in particular, the substrate is coated with a paint layer over the entire surface, and

[0041] - the signal intensity of the machine-readable characteristic material in the paint layer is detected spatially resolved and compared with a reference value to detect a deviation of the layer thickness of the paint layer from a preset layer thickness. The paint layer preferably exists in the form of an outer paint layer.

[0042] The paint layer preferably occupies the entire surface of the substrate. However, especially for polymer banknotes, the paint layer is usually omitted in the region of the existing see-through window.

[0043] The signal intensity of the characteristic material represents a measure for gauging the actual local existing thickness of the paint layer. Thus, by spatially resolved measurement of the signal intensity of the characteristic material, it is possible to ensure that the paint layer is applied with the desired (constant) layer thickness. In practice, due to different manufacturing methods, the layer thickness of the paint layer may vary both in terms of spatial uniformity and spatial integrity. At each position where the measured signal intensity of the characteristic material exceeds a determined reference value, it is possible to ensure the local layer thickness in accordance with the quality and manufacturing specifications according to the invention.

[0044] Checking the layer thickness over the entire surface ensures the continuous protective effect of the paint layer and thus increases the circulation tolerance of the data carrier provided with the paint layer. The data carrier manufactured by the method according to the invention is characterized by an unchanged coating quality, which in turn can ensure a consistent aging behavior of all data carriers in a batch.

[0045] By means of the method according to the invention, by measuring the signal intensity of the characteristic material, it is possible to detect the integrity and the layer thickness of the paint layer substantially completely.

[0046] In a favorable design of the method, the signal intensity is detected over the width or page format of the substrate in order to adjust the layer thickness of the paint layer to a preset layer thickness. This is done directly after the coating process. In this way, the measured layer thickness can be used as a control variable for the ongoing manufacturing process.

[0047] In an advantageous method variant, after separation, the signal intensity is detected quantitatively over the entire surface for each individual valuable document or security document. For example, measurements are taken at points on a grid spanning the entire surface. The grid can in particular include more than 10, more than 30 or even more than 100 grid points. Thereby, at the end of the production process, for example when checking individual banknotes on a banknote processing machine, spatially resolved measurements of the integrity and layer thickness of the lacquer layer can be carried out. This enables the quality of the lacquer layer of each banknote to be continuously ensured.

[0048] Advantageously, the machine-readable characteristic material is a luminescent, in particular infrared-luminescent, characteristic material. In this case, the detection of the signal intensity includes the quantitative detection of the luminescence of the luminescent characteristic material after local excitation.

[0049] In a particularly advantageous design, the substrate is provided with lacquer layers on opposite sides, which lacquer layers contain the same machine-readable characteristic material. Alternatively, it can be provided that the substrate is provided with lacquer layers containing different machine-readable characteristic materials on opposite sides. In the latter alternative, possible deviations in the signal intensity or the layer thickness of the lacquer layer can be detected independently of each other for the respective sides of the substrate. In addition, this process also provides an additional anti-counterfeiting protection effect, since the complete security feature cannot be reconstructed by peeling and transferring the individual layers.

[0050] In an advantageous extended design, the lacquer layer contains two or more different machine-readable characteristic materials, which characteristic materials are arranged directly adjacent to each other and / or overlapping each other in different sub-layers applied to the same side of the substrate, such that the sub-layers cover the entire surface of the data carrier.

[0051] This aspect of the invention also includes a data carrier obtainable by the above method, wherein the data carrier is designed as a valuable document or a security document, and the substrate consists of a paper substrate or a composite substrate having an outer paper layer.

[0052] In the method for quality control of the lacquer layer, the signal intensity of the machine-readable characteristic material present in the lacquer layer is detected spatially resolved and compared with a reference value to detect the deviation of the layer thickness of the lacquer layer from a preset layer thickness, wherein in particular the luminescence of the luminescent characteristic material after local excitation is detected quantitatively.

[0053] For this purpose, a suitable sensor is used on the machine to detect the signal intensity of the machine-readable characteristic material in a spatially resolved manner and compare the signal intensity with a reference value. In addition to determining the thickness of the lacquer layer, the provision of the machine-readable characteristic material also enables determination of whether, for example, the lacquer layer has holes or the like, or whether the lacquer layer is present.

[0054] In a particularly preferred case of the luminescent characteristic material, the data carrier is locally irradiated with the excitation radiation, the thus excited luminescence of the characteristic material present in the lacquer layer is detected and quantitatively measured by means of a sensor. The sensor is designed such that the detected signal intensity represents a measure for the layer thickness. The sensor exhibits in particular a linear response behavior with respect to the signal intensity. A more detailed description of the functional principle of a suitable sensor and the corresponding test methods is made in particular with reference to WO 2004 / 051582 A2, WO 2013 / 064245 A1 and WO 2019 / 242879 A1.

[0055] The following describes further embodiments and advantages of the invention with reference to the drawings, which are not shown to scale for greater clarity. Description of the Drawings

[0056] In the drawings:

[0057] Figure 1 A polymer banknote with a machine-readable security feature according to the invention is schematically shown,

[0058] Figure 2 The layer structure of a banknote according to the invention is schematically shown in cross-section,

[0059] Figure 3 Views of the front and back of a banknote of an embodiment of the invention are shown in (a) and (b),

[0060] Figures 4 to 6 Views of the front and back of a banknote of other embodiments of the invention are shown in (a) and (b) respectively,

[0061] Figure 7 A banknote according to the invention is shown with a void in the coding area,

[0062] Figure 8 A banknote according to the invention with a micro-perforated area is shown,

[0063] Figure 9 and Figure 10 Banknotes according to the invention with a pseudo-watermark are shown respectively,

[0064] Figure 11 A banknote web with a plurality of individual sheets is shown, each individual sheet having a similar first marking and a different second marking,

[0065] Figure 12 、 13 Views of the front and back of a banknote of other embodiments of the invention are shown in (a) and (b) respectively, wherein spatial coding is achieved by locally overprinting an absorbing material. Detailed implementation mode

[0066] The present invention will now be explained by taking banknotes as an example. Figure 1 For this purpose, a polymer banknote with machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features according to the present invention is shown in the schematic diagram. The banknote 10 of this embodiment includes a polymer film 12 as a substrate and is equipped with a plurality of anti-counterfeiting features. For example, two printing elements 14, 16, a pseudo watermark 18, a first perspective window 20, and a film strip 22 with a second perspective window 24 are provided as anti-counterfeiting features. In order to improve the authenticity verification by the machine, the banknote 10 is additionally equipped with machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features according to the present invention, and the specific method will be introduced in detail below.

[0067] The layer structure of the banknote 10 according to the present invention is schematically shown in Figure 2 in cross-section. A first white covering layer 30, a conductive functional layer 32, a second white covering layer 34, an optically variable functional layer 36, a banknote printing layer 38 produced by offset printing and / or intaglio printing, and a paint layer 40 are applied on both sides of the central polymer film 12. A film element 22 is additionally arranged on the front side of the banknote.

[0068] The machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features according to the present invention are composed of machine-readable feature materials, which exist in one or more layers applied on the polymer film 12, specifically, the white covering layers 30, 34, the functional layers 32, 36, Figure 2 the printing receiving layer not shown in

[0069] and / or one or more layers in a paint layer 40.

[0070] In Figure 3 the embodiment of, the banknote 50 has a front printing layer 52 on its front side 50-V and a back printing layer 54 on its back side 50-R, wherein the two printing layers are respectively loaded with different machine-readable feature materials, such as different infrared absorbers, on the entire surface.

[0071] The printing layer 52 on the front side is constituted by one of the layers arranged on the front side of the polymer film 12, while the printing layer 54 on the back side is constituted by one of the layers arranged on the back side. The printing layers 52, 54 are preferably constituted by one of the white covering layers 30, 34 or one of the paint layers 40. The printing layers 52, 54 may have different colors upon visual observation, yet preferably have the same color. In the latter case, the two printing layers 52, 54 are only different in terms of their machine readability, and there is no difference in the visual impression.

[0072] Advantageously, the layer or layers carrying features each have a code, which will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments in Figures 4 to 11 In these designs, the machine-readable feature material is present in the machine-readable coding regions, which are each constituted by only a partial region of the layer.

[0073] For example, according to Figure 2 , a part of the white covering layers 30, 34 can be applied with a white covering pigment containing the feature material, while the remaining part of the surface of the white covering layers 30, 34 is applied with a white covering pigment not containing the feature material. After the banknote printing layer 38 is produced, the paint layer 40 is applied over the entire surface, wherein the paint contains a second feature material different from the first feature material of the white covering layer.

[0074] In this way, the amount of the feature material in the individual pigments of the white covering layers 30, 34 and the paint layer 40 can be reduced, thus bringing printing technical advantages. The anti-counterfeiting protection effect is also improved by the combination of the two different feature materials, because whether the paint layer equipped with the feature material does not have the correctly corresponding white covering pigment, or the paint layer equipped with the feature material does not have the correctly corresponding paint, the signs belonging to genuine banknotes will not be shown during authenticity verification.

[0075] Furthermore, the pigment size of the feature material can be adapted according to the position of the corresponding layer in the layer stack. For example, relatively large feature pigments can be used in the inner white covering layer 30 or 34, while relatively small feature pigments can be used in the outer paint layer 40. The combined machine-readable security features are on the one hand very wear-resistant, but on the other hand, relatively large or coarser particles can still be used. And the conventional design of setting large particles in the outer layer usually results in a rough and thus color-wearing layer.

[0076] The coding regions having one of the machine-readable feature materials can be constructed symmetrically or asymmetrically. With respect to the front and back sides of the banknote, the coding regions can advantageously be constructed to complement each other, or in another design to be mirror-symmetric to each other.

[0077] Figure 4Shows a banknote 60 as an encoding embodiment, wherein the machine-readable feature material is not present over the entire surface, but rather regionally in the encoding regions 62, 64 respectively. Encoding is achieved in the banknote 60 by the size, shape and / or arrangement structure of these encoding regions containing the feature material. Specifically, the banknote 60 of the illustrated embodiment includes a first encoding region 62 and a second encoding region 64, the first encoding region being provided with a first machine-readable feature material at a uniform areal density, and the second encoding region being provided with a different second machine-readable feature material at a uniform areal density.

[0078] The first and second encoding regions 62, 64 are symmetrically arranged on the front and back of the banknote 60 respectively with reference to the longitudinal axis and the transverse axis of the banknote. The encoding regions 62-V, 64-V on the front and the encoding regions 62-R, 64-R on the back respectively complementarily form the entire surface of the banknote. In addition, the first encoding region 62-V on the front coincides with the second encoding region 64-R on the back, and the second encoding region 64-V on the front coincides with the first encoding region 62-R on the back.

[0079] Specifically, the first encoding region 62-V or 62-R can be constituted, for example, by local regions of the second white covering layers 34-V or 34-R on the front and back of the banknote, and the second encoding region 64-V or 64-R can be constituted by local regions of the paint layers 40-V and 40-R on the front or back.

[0080] In Figure 5 the embodiment of, the banknote 70 has a first encoding region 72 and a second encoding region 74, the first encoding region being provided with a first machine-readable feature material at a uniform areal density, and the second encoding region being provided with a different second machine-readable feature material at a uniform areal density. However, different from the Figure 4 embodiment of, the first and second encoding regions 72, 74 are arranged asymmetrically on either the front or the back of the banknote 70. Although the encoding regions 72-V, 74-V on the front and the encoding regions 72-R, 74-R on the back respectively complementarily form the entire surface of the banknote, the encoding regions on the front and the back do not coincide, but rather exhibit a completely different surface division.

[0081] Specifically, the first encoding region 72-V or 72-R in the embodiment is formed, for example, by local regions of the optically variable functional layers 36-V or 36-R on the front or back of the banknote, while the second encoding region 74-V or 74-R is formed by local regions of the paint layers 40-V, 40-R on the front or back.

[0082] Figure 6Another embodiment of the present invention is shown, in which the banknote 80 has a first coding region 82 and a second coding region 84. The first coding region is provided with a first machine-readable characteristic material with a uniform areal density, and the second coding region is provided with a different second machine-readable characteristic material with a uniform areal density. The first coding region and the second coding region are arranged in the region of a fold with reference to a longitudinal axis and / or a transverse axis. Since banknotes are usually folded longitudinally or transversely when placed in a wallet, folds parallel to the edges of the banknote that are subject to higher mechanical stress are generated. Therefore, the second coding region 84 including such a fold is advantageously designed such that the characteristic material is well protected against wear in these regions, for example, by using fine particles in these regions and / or by introducing the characteristic material particles only into an internal embedding layer.

[0083] The first and second coding regions 82, 84 are symmetrically arranged on both the front and back of the banknote 80, and the coding regions 82-V, 84-V on the front and the coding regions 82-R, 84-R on the back respectively complementarily form the entire surface of the banknote. However, the coding regions on the front only partially coincide with the coding regions on the back.

[0084] In the layer structure, Figure 6 in the embodiment of, the first coding region 82-V or 82-R is constituted by a local region of the first white covering layer 30-V or 30-R on the front or back of the banknote, and the second coding region 84-V or 84-R is constituted by a local region of the second white covering layer 34-V or 34-R.

[0085] Figure 7 The embodiment of shows that the banknote 90 can also include one or more cutouts, so that the coding regions do not complementarily form the entire surface of the banknote. Only the front of the banknote 90 is shown in the figure, which includes a first coding region 92 and a second coding region 94. The first coding region 92 has a first characteristic material, and the second coding region 94 has a different second characteristic material. Here, a cutout 96 can be provided in the first coding region 92, a cutout 98 can be provided in the second coding region 92, and / or a cutout 95 overlapping the first and second coding regions can be provided. The coding regions 92, 94 can be present in the same or different layers. It goes without saying that, as described above, the banknote 90 can also have the same or different types of machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features on its back.

[0086] Figure 8Shows an embodiment of a banknote 100 which, in addition to a first coding region 102 with a first machine-readable characteristic material and a second coding region 104 with a different second machine-readable characteristic material, also has a micro-perforation region 106 arranged in one of the first coding regions 102. The micro-perforations can form an overall information, such as text, numerical digits, such as the numerical digit "20" as shown in Figure 8 the numerical digit "20", patterns, visual objects or ornaments, especially when viewed perspectively. Since the perforations are through, this information can be easily read by machines from both sides. It is understood that the micro-perforation region can also be arranged in one of the second coding regions 104, or the two coding regions 102, 104 can be arranged overlappingly.

[0087] In another embodiment, information, text characters or visual objects are printed under or within a white covering layer with a translucent pigment containing a characteristic material, so that although these information, text characters or visual objects cannot be recognized when viewed from above, they appear in the form of darker positions in appearance when viewed perspectively.

[0088] Figure 9 Shows a banknote 110 as an embodiment, in which a multi-level portrait 112 and a two-level denomination number 114 are printed in a conductive functional layer 32 under a white covering layer 34 with a machine-readable characteristic material. Similar to traditional paper watermarks, the portrait 112 and the denomination number 114 can basically only be recognized when viewed perspectively, so a pseudo watermark is formed in the polymer banknote 110.

[0089] Figure 10 The embodiment shows that the pseudo watermark can be formed in a positive view or a negative view, i.e., a blank view. Specifically, the first denomination number 122 of the banknote 120 is printed in a positive view with a machine-readable characteristic material, while the second denomination number is formed by a blank 124 in a negative view in a printed region 126 containing a characteristic material.

[0090] Two pigments with the same characteristics (signal increase and intensity change generated by darker regions) or different characteristics (specific inspection of translucent pigments) can also be integrated. For this purpose, the first pigment can be designed as a layer over the entire surface, such as a white covering layer, and the second pigment can be designed as a translucent but opaque pigment, which is printed in the form of a pattern under or between the white covering layers to produce a pseudo watermark. In the first design, both the layer over the entire surface and the layer in the form of a pattern are provided with a characteristic material, so that the pseudo watermark can be detected as a region with a higher characteristic intensity. In the second design, the layer over the entire surface and the layer in the form of a pattern have different characteristic materials, so that a specific inspection of the translucent pigment can be carried out.

[0091] Figure 11 Illustrated is the anti-counterfeiting protection of a banknote web 130 using the described anti-counterfeiting features. The banknote web 130 has a plurality of individual sheets 132 arranged in columns 134 and rows 136. A first mark 138 having a first machine-readable feature material is applied to the web 130, and the first mark is located at the same position in each individual sheet 132. In addition, other marks 140, 142, 144, 146, 148 having different second feature materials are applied to the web 130, and the other marks are located at different positions in each sheet or have different shapes in each sheet. The other marks may, for example, extend obliquely (marks 140, 142), bend or undulate (marks 144, 146) or change their shape (mark 148). These marks may also form two-dimensional barcodes.

[0092] This improves the machine recognition of counterfeiting, especially the machine recognition of so-called composite counterfeiting or fragment counterfeiting. In these types of counterfeiting, different regions are cut from multiple genuine banknotes and then added together to form a counterfeit banknote. However, when manufacturing banknotes using Figure 12 the illustrated banknote web, due to the variability of the other marks, the probability that a counterfeiter can find multiple genuine banknotes with the same mark pattern and add them together to form a correctly combined composite counterfeit banknote is very low.

[0093] Returning to the basic design of the machine-readable anti-counterfeiting features, spatial coding can be generated not only by regionally printing pigments containing the feature material, but also by regionally masking a coating containing the feature material on the entire surface with a suitable absorbent material.

[0094] The basic geometric arrangement structure of the coding region can correspond to the arrangement in Figures 4 to 10 . Figure 12 And Figure 13 Exemplarily shows a design scheme in which the spatial arrangement structure of the coding region is consistent with Figure 4 or Figure 5 .

[0095] In the Figure 12 embodiment, the banknote 150 includes a layer 152-V carrying a machine-readable feature material on the entire surface on the front side 150-V. In a local region 154-V, the layer 152-V containing the feature material is masked with an absorber that can block the excitation and / or detection of the machine-readable feature. The machine-readable feature material may, for example, be a luminescent material that can be excited by ultraviolet radiation, and the absorber may be an ultraviolet absorber.

[0096] By printing with an absorber to produce a coded area 156-V of machine-readable feature material in which layer 152-V can be detected, and a zero area 158-V of machine-readable feature material in which layer 152-V cannot be detected. The zero area 158-V is here formed by a locally printed area 154-V, and the coded area 156-V is formed by the non-printed locally area of layer 152-V.

[0097] The back 150-R of the banknote 150 includes in the same way a layer 152-R carrying machine-readable feature material over the entire surface, which layer is printed with an absorber in a locally area 154-R that blocks the excitation and / or detection of the machine-readable features to form a coded area 156-R and a zero area 158-R.

[0098] Figure 13 The structure of the banknote 160 is constructed similarly to Figure 13 the banknote 150 and also includes a layer 162-V or 162-R carrying machine-readable feature material over the entire surface. However, the locally areas 164-V or 164-R with absorption material are not symmetrically arranged on either the front or the back of the banknote 160, so the resulting coded areas 166-V, 166-R and zero areas 168-V, 168-R are also not symmetrically constructed.

[0099] List of reference numerals

[0100] 10 Banknote

[0101] 12 Polymer film

[0102] 14, 16 Printing element

[0103] 18 Watermark

[0104] 20 Transparency window

[0105] 22 Film strip

[0106] 24 Transparency window

[0107] 30 First white covering layer

[0108] 32 Conductive functional layer

[0109] 34 Second white covering layer

[0110] 36 Optically variable functional layer

[0111] 38 Banknote printing layer

[0112] 40 Paint layer

[0113] 50 Banknote

[0114] 52 Front printing layer

[0115] Printing layer on the back of 54

[0116] 60 Banknote

[0117] 62, 64 Coding areas

[0118] 70 Banknote

[0119] 72, 74 Coding areas

[0120] 80 Banknote

[0121] 82, 84 Coding areas

[0122] 90 Banknote

[0123] 92, 94 Coding areas

[0124] 95, 96, 98 Blank spaces

[0125] 100 Banknote

[0126] 102, 104 Coding areas

[0127] 106 Micro-perforation area

[0128] 110 Banknote

[0129] 112 Portrait

[0130] 114 Denomination number

[0131] 120 Banknote

[0132] 122 Denomination number in the positive view

[0133] 124 Denomination number as a blank space

[0134] 126 Printing area containing characteristic material

[0135] 130 Banknote page size

[0136] 132 Single page

[0137] 134, 136 Columns, rows

[0138] 138 First mark with the first characteristic material

[0139] 140, 142, 144, 146, 148 Marks with the second characteristic material

[0140] 150 Banknote

[0141] 152 Layer loaded on the entire surface

[0142] 154 Local area covered by the absorber

[0143] 156 Encoding Area

[0144] 158 Zero Area

[0145] 160 Banknote

[0146] 162 Layer Loaded on the Entire Surface

[0147] 164 Local Area Masked by the Absorber

[0148] 166 Encoding Area

[0149] 168 Zero Area

[0150] Structure on the nn-V Front

[0151] Structure on the nn-R Back

Claims

1. A data carrier (10), in particular a valuable document or a security document, comprising a substrate (12) and a machine-readable security feature (52, 54), the substrate comprising at least one plastic layer, characterized in that The machine-readable security feature (52, 54) includes a machine-readable feature material present in an embedding layer, i.e., a white overlay layer (30, 34), a functional layer (32, 36), a print-receptive layer and / or a lacquer layer (40) applied to a substrate (12).

2. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that The machine-readable feature material is present in an embedding layer applied regionally or over the entire surface, which embedding layer forms a white cover layer (30, 34), a functional layer (32, 36), a print-receiving layer and / or a lacquer layer (40).

3. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The machine-readable characteristic material is present in one or more machine-readable coding regions (62, 64), each of which is formed by a partial region of one of the layers.

4. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that The machine-readable security feature comprises two or more different machine-readable feature materials in the same layer and / or the machine-readable security feature comprises two or more different machine-readable feature materials present in different layers applied to the same side of the substrate.

5. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that The data carrier contains two machine-readable security features (52, 54), in particular different machine-readable security features, arranged on opposite sides of a substrate.

6. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that A plurality of different machine-readable feature materials are used whose embedded layers produce visually the same color impression.

7. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that The substrate has microperforations (106) in an area where at least one machine-readable feature is located, preferably in the form of an alphanumeric string, a numerical value, a pattern, a visual object, or a decorative feature.

8. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that At least one area provided with machine-readable characteristic material forms a pseudo watermark (112; 114) in the data carrier, which pseudo watermark is visually recognizable essentially only in transmitted light.

9. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that The machine-readable feature material is covered in localized areas (154) by an absorbing material that inhibits or even completely blocks excitation and / or machine detection of the machine-readable feature material.

10. The data carrier (10) according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that The machine-readable characteristic material comprises coarse particles which are arranged in an inner layer of the coated substrate, in particular in a white covering layer (30, 34), and / or the machine-readable characteristic material comprises fine particles which are arranged in an outer layer of the coated substrate, in particular in an outer paint layer (40).

11. The data carrier (10) according to at least one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that The machine-readable characteristic material comprises an infrared-absorbing and / or luminescent, in particular phosphorescent or infrared-luminescent characteristic material, wherein the machine-readable characteristic material is preferably present in the form of an inorganic pigment.

12. The data carrier (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that The machine-readable feature material is formed from particles having a size which corresponds substantially to the layer thickness of the corresponding embedding layer.

13. The data carrier (10) according to at least one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The substrate (12) is composed of a polymer substrate or a composite substrate having a plastic layer.

14. A method for producing a data carrier (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein: A substrate (12) comprising at least one plastic layer is provided and provided with a machine-readable security feature (52, 54), the security feature comprising a machine-readable feature material arranged in an embedding layer applied to the substrate (12), i.e. a white cover layer (30, 34), a functional layer (32, 36), a print-receptive layer and / or a lacquer layer (40).

15. A method for producing a data carrier (10), in particular a valuable document or a security document, wherein: A substrate is provided and provided with a machine-readable feature material, which is present in a uniform surface density in the lacquer layer (40), wherein in the method, - in particular by coating the substrate over the entire surface, and - spatially resolved detection of the signal intensity of the machine-readable characteristic material in the paint layer and comparison of the signal intensity with a reference value in order to detect deviations of the layer thickness of the paint layer from a predefined layer thickness.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The signal intensity is detected on the web or sheet of the substrate in order to adjust the layer thickness of the lacquer layer to a predefined layer thickness.

17. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The data carrier is designed as a value document or security document and after separation the signal strength is detected quantitatively and over the entire surface of the value document or security document for each individual value document or security document.

18. The method according to at least one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that The machine-readable characteristic material is a luminescent, especially infrared luminescent characteristic material, and the detection of the signal intensity comprises quantitative detection of the luminescence of the luminescent characteristic material after local excitation.

19. The method according to at least one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that The substrate is provided with lacquer layers containing the same machine-readable characteristic material on opposite sides, or the substrate is provided with lacquer layers containing different machine-readable characteristic materials on opposite sides.

20. The method according to at least one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that The lacquer layer comprises two or more different machine-readable feature materials which are arranged directly adjacent to one another and / or overlapping one another in different sub-layers applied to the same side of the substrate so that the sub-layers cover the entire area of ​​the data carrier.

21. A data carrier (10) obtainable by a method according to at least one of claims 15 to 20, characterized in that: The data carrier is designed as a value document or as a security document.

22. A security substrate web (130), wherein the layer structure of the security substrate web comprises at least one plastic layer, and the security substrate web comprises a plurality of individual sheets (132) arranged in rows (136) and columns (134), wherein the individual sheets each have a machine-readable security feature, characterized in that: Each individual sheet (132) is provided with a machine-readable security feature, the security feature having two marking areas (138, 140-148) having different machine-readable feature materials, wherein the first marking areas (138) are arranged at the same position in the individual sheets (132), and the second marking areas (140-148) are arranged at different positions and / or have different shapes in the individual sheets (132).

23. The anti-counterfeiting substrate web (130) according to claim 22, characterized in that: Each individual leaf (132) forms a data carrier according to one of claims 1 to 13.

24. A method for quality control of a data carrier according to one of claims 1 to 13, wherein: The signal intensity of the machine-readable feature material is detected in a spatially resolved manner and compared with a reference value in order to detect changes and / or damage to the machine-readable security feature.

25. A method for quality control of a lacquer layer on a data carrier, wherein: The signal intensity of a machine-readable characteristic material present in the lacquer layer is detected in a spatially resolved manner and compared with a reference value in order to detect deviations of the layer thickness of the lacquer layer from a predefined layer thickness, wherein in particular the luminescence of the luminescent characteristic material is detected quantitatively after local excitation.

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