Method for covertly marking a carrier connected to a product

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for concealed marking of a support associated with a product. The invention finds a particularly advantageous, but not exclusive, application with the packaging of high added-value products, such as perfumes and cosmetic products. The invention aims to conceal a unitary identification to ensure the traceability of a product.

[0002] There are several methods for concealing product identification. For example, using a technique called "Watermaking," invisible ink is sprayed onto the graphics of a product's packaging to form a hidden code. However, due to the printing technology, this solution requires batch marking of products and therefore does not allow for individual marking of each product.

[0003] Other processes teach the development of a code from a specific signature of the material linked to a local distribution of fibers or materials (for example, gilding) for a given product packaging. However, such a principle does not allow for a certain guarantee of the uniqueness of the marking, since the more the number of products placed on the market increases, the greater the probability that two packages have the same or very close local distribution of fibers and therefore the same signature. In addition, the relationship between the unit identification and this unit distribution is based on a mathematical interpretation which remains difficult to access for an audit providing proof of the interpretation.

[0004] The invention aims to effectively remedy these drawbacks by proposing a method for concealed marking of a support associated with a product, characterized in that it comprises: a step of generating a unique code intended to be associated with the product, and a step of marking a code invisible to the naked eye corresponding to the unique code on a predetermined area of ​​the support, characterized in that the marking of the invisible code consists of an attack on the material of the support intended to weaken certain portions of the predetermined area of ​​the support forming the invisible code without affecting an aspect of the support, so that the weakened portions of the support during the step of marking the invisible code will be the first portions of the support to be altered to reveal the invisible code during a subsequent reading step carried out by a second attack on the material of the support.

[0005] According to one implementation, the step of marking the invisible code consists of a mechanical and / or chemical and / or optical attack by a laser and / or electrical attack on certain portions of the support.

[0006] Depending on one implementation, the carrier is a product package or label.

[0007] Depending on an implementation, the carrier is a primary packaging or a secondary packaging of the product.

[0008] Depending on an implementation, the invisible code is a one-dimensional or two-dimensional code.

[0009] Depending on one implementation, the invisible code is chosen from: one or more alphanumeric characters, a barcode, a matrix code, a QR code, or any other developed digital code.

[0010] According to the invention, the marking step consists of an optical attack by a laser having a wavelength in the infrared range.

[0011] According to one implementation, the invisible marking is carried out on a support comprising paper and / or plastic fibers.

[0012] According to one implementation, several invisible codes are marked during a single operation on areas defined for this purpose.

[0013] According to one implementation, said method further comprises a step of marking a visible code with which the invisible code is associated.

[0014] According to one implementation, the invisible code is determined from a reading of the visible code which may be the unique code.

[0015] According to one implementation, the reading of the visible code and the marking of the corresponding invisible code are synchronized with each other.

[0016] According to one implementation, the synchronization between the reading of the visible code and the marking of the invisible code is performed with respect to a movement of the medium.

[0017] According to one implementation, the marking of the visible code can be performed before the marking of the invisible code so that these two operations are asynchronous with respect to each other.

[0018] The invention will be better understood by reading the following description and examining the accompanying figures. These figures are given only for illustrative purposes but in no way limit the invention. [ Fig. 1 ] There figure 1 is a schematic representation of a system for concealed marking of a support of a product according to the present invention; [ Fig. 2 ] There figure 2 is a diagram of the different stages of the method of marking a support according to the invention; [ Fig. 3a ] There figure 3a is a high-magnification photograph of an area bearing an invisible code before reading it by chemical attack; [ Fig. 3b ] There figure 3b is a high-magnification photo of the area bearing the invisible code that was revealed by chemical attack.

[0019] Identical, similar or analogous elements retain the same reference from one figure to another.

[0020] There figure 1 shows a marking system 10 for a support 11, such as packaging or a label of a product. This system 10 aims to associate a unique code with the product in order to ensure traceability from the packaging operation to the point of sale. This system 10 also makes it possible to identify the product to verify its authenticity.

[0021] The support 11 to be marked is a cardboard, a decorated or undecorated paper, laminated or not, varnished or not, and / or a plastic. In the case of packaging, it may be a primary packaging, that is to say a packaging directly containing the product or a secondary packaging of the product, that is to say a packaging containing the primary packaging. For example, for a liquid product of the perfume type, the primary packaging consists of the bottle containing the perfume, while the secondary packaging consists of the decorated packaging containing the bottle. Alternatively, the marking is carried out on a label of the product.

[0022] The marking system 10 comprises a server 12, a control automaton 13, a visible marking device 15, an optical reader 16 associated with a control unit 17, and an invisible marking device 19. The various components described in more detail below are connected to a local computer network 20, in particular of the Ethernet type, which can be connected to the Internet network 21.

[0023] More specifically, the server 12 contains a database BD which records all the information relating to the products and the corresponding codes. The database BD makes it possible to generate the codes and to associate an invisible code CI with a visible code CV for a given support 11 and therefore a given product. The server 12 makes it possible to avoid any duplication in the development of the codes by ensuring that a given code is unique for a given product. The server 12 will thus be able to signal any malfunction of the visible marking device 15 which would cause, due to a blockage of its print head for example, the marking of the same code on two different product supports 11.

[0024] The server 12, which is accessible via the Internet, will also be able to remotely manage the maintenance of data systems and their backups. The server 12 will also be able to authorize client access to obtain information relating to the production of products.

[0025] The main role of the control automaton 13 is to ensure synchronization between the various components of the system. In particular, the control automaton 13 ensures synchronization between the reading of a visible code CV and the marking of a corresponding invisible code CI. The synchronization is not carried out in relation to time but in relation to the movement of the product on the production line. This makes it possible to ensure that the marking of the support 11 will occur at a predetermined location on the production line despite possible variations in the speed of movement of the supports on the production line.

[0026] The control automaton 13 may also integrate a human-machine interface allowing the operator to automate the settings of the marking line, in particular according to the size of the support 11. This interface may include a coding format selection module and a communication module with the system peripherals (server, marking devices, reader, and client links).

[0027] The visible marking device 15 makes it possible to affix a visible code CV in a predetermined area of ​​the support 11. The visible marking can be carried out by different marking technologies, in particular by means of an inkjet device 15.1, a laser 15.2, or a magnetic device, or any other device adapted to the application. The visible code CV may be a one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) code, or a digital code. The visible code CV is chosen in particular from: one or more alphanumeric characters, a bar code, a matrix code, a QR code, or any other developed digital code. According to one embodiment, a solid black area on a white background is deposited on the support 11. Certain portions of the solid area may be removed by laser, so as to create an alternation of black portions and white portions representing the code. The code is checked by means of the optical reader 16. The visible code CV is associated with an invisible code CI.This invisible CI code can be the same code as the visible CV code or a different code.

[0028] For this purpose, the invisible marking device 19 makes it possible to affix the invisible code CI in a predefined area. By "invisible" code, we mean a code invisible to the naked eye. This code is also not visible when observed at high magnification under an electron microscope, namely a magnification of 0.4 square nanometers. This code is also not visible under a mass spectrometer, since the marking of this code does not require any addition of additional material for its production.

[0029] The marking of the invisible code CI consists of an attack on the material of the support 11 intended to weaken certain portions of the predetermined zone of the support 11 forming the invisible code CI without affecting an aspect of the support 11. The attack on the material is an optical type attack by a laser.

[0030] Advantageously, the invisible marking is carried out by means of a laser operating at a wavelength in the infrared range between 700 nm and 1300 nm, and preferably between 1000 and 1200 nanometers, in particular of the order of 1064 nanometers. By "of the order of" is meant a possible variation of plus or minus 5% with respect to this value. The laser is advantageously a fiber YAG type laser, but could be another type of laser suitable for the application.

[0031] For example, on cellulose paper, the energy generated by the laser allows the transition from a crystalline part in which the number of hydrogen bonds is maximum to an amorphous part which is favorable to alteration. On the graphics of materials (ink, varnish, gilding, polymer, etc.), this energy allows the destruction of molecular bonds (favorable terrain for alteration) previously created by a printing process, generally hot, of crosslinking (physicochemical phenomenon which creates bonds between the macromolecular chains by increasing the resistance of the product).

[0032] The laser comprises a source 19.1 arranged in a remote housing. This source 19.1 is connected by optical fibers 19.2 to a head 19.3 comprising a plurality of controlled mirrors to deflect the laser beam generated by the source 19.1 in order to produce the desired marking in the predetermined area. This predetermined area is constituted for example by a surface of 80mm x 80mm.

[0033] Like the visible code CV, the invisible code CI can be a one-dimensional (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) code, or a numeric code. The invisible code CI is chosen from among: one or more alphanumeric characters, a barcode, a matrix code, a QR code, or any other developed numeric code. The visible code CV can be the same code as the invisible code CI or a different type of code.

[0034] Several invisible CI code markings can be carried out during the same operation on areas defined for this purpose.

[0035] The following is described, with reference to the figure 2 , an implementation of the method according to the invention.

[0036] In a first step 100, the server 12 generates a unique code to be affixed to a support 11 of a product.

[0037] In a step 101, the control automaton 13 controls the marking of a visible code CV which corresponds (identically or not) to the unique code on a first predetermined zone of the support 11.

[0038] In a step 102, the visible marking is read by the optical reader 16 to determine the invisible code CI to be affixed to the support 11. The invisible code CI may be the same code as the visible code CV or a different code. The server 12 establishes the correspondence between the product, the visible code CV, and the invisible code CI.

[0039] In the event that, following a reading of the visible code CV, the server 12 highlights a duplication of a code already used due to a malfunction of the marking device 15, the control machine 13 or the control unit 17 of the optical reader 16 may display an error message relating to the coding of the support 11. This operation leads to the destruction of the supports 11 and / or the products determined to have duplicate numbering.

[0040] In the case where reading the visible code CV confirms that the code is indeed a unique code, the invisible code CI is affixed by the marking device 19 in a second predetermined zone, during a step 103. The first predetermined zone and the second predetermined marking zone are preferably distinct zones of the support 11. This marking step consists of attacking the material of the support 11, in particular by infrared laser, intended to weaken certain portions 23 of the predetermined zone of the support 11 forming the invisible code CI without affecting an aspect of the support 11.

[0041] In a step 104, an attempt is made to read the invisible code CI to determine the authenticity of a product. To this end, another material attack is carried out at least in the area of ​​the support bearing the invisible code CI, so that the weakened portions 23 of the support 11 during the invisible marking step will be the first portions of the support 11 to be altered to reveal the invisible code CI. The material attack is of the chemical type, being carried out using a chemical solvent used to produce the graphics on the support 11.

[0042] As can be seen on the figure 3a , the surface of the support 11 presents at high magnification a random distribution of fibers 22 of paper and / or plastic. The invisible marking uses this random spatial organization to practice, via the aforementioned material attack, a series of deformations of the fibers 22 in an organized manner constituting the invisible code CI. The deformations of the fibers 22 are similar to ruptures of the material. The chemical attack carried out in reading makes it possible to highlight these ruptures. The noise (random nature of the material) is advantageously cleaned to reveal only the coding of the organized points, as illustrated by the figure 3b .

[0043] In the example shown, the invisible code CI is an alphanumeric code in order to facilitate understanding of the invention but this code could of course be of another type as indicated previously. The choice of the type of code depends on the intended application.

[0044] The marking of the visible code CV can be carried out before the marking of the invisible code CI in such a way that these two operations are asynchronous with respect to each other. Thus, the visible marking could be carried out on a first site while the reading of the visible code and the affixing of the corresponding invisible code CI could be carried out on a second site so as to maintain total confidentiality on the way in which the invisible marking is carried out. These operations could also be carried out at two different locations on the same site. The reading of the visible code CV and the marking of the invisible code CI are operations that are carried out synchronously in a short period of time to avoid any product confusion.

[0045] Alternatively, only an invisible CI code is affixed to the support. In this case, the invisible CI code may correspond (identically or not) to the unique code generated for each product by the server 12.

Claims

1. A method for carrying out a hidden marking on a support (11) associated with a product, said support (11) to be marked being chosen from: cardboard, paper, decorated or not, laminated or not, varnished or not and / or plastic, characterized in that it comprises: - a step of generating a unique code to be associated with the product, and - a step of marking a code invisible to the naked eye corresponding to this unique code on a predetermined zone of the support (11), so that - the marking of the invisible code (CI) consists of attacking the material of the support (11) so as to weaken certain portions (23) of the predetermined zone of the support (11) forming the invisible code (CI) without affecting an aspect of the support (11), attacking the material consisting of an optical attack by a laser (19.1, 19.2) having a wavelength in the infrared range, - so that the weakened portions (23) of the support (11) during the step of marking the invisible code (CI) will be the first portions of the support (11) to be altered in order to reveal the invisible code (CI) during a subsequent reading step carried out by a second attack of the material of the support (11), - said method further comprising the reading step carried out by the second attack of the material of the support (11), the second attack of the material of the support (11) being of the chemical type insofar it is carried out with a chemical solvent used to produce a drawing of the support (11).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the support (11) is a packaging or a label of the product.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the support (11) is a primary packaging or a secondary packaging of the product.

4. The method according to any one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the invisible code (CI) is a one-dimensional or two-dimensional code.

5. The method according to any one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the invisible code (CI) is chosen from: one or more alphanumeric characters, a bar code, a matrix code, a QR code, or any other developed digital code.

6. The method according to any one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the invisible marking is carried out on a support (11) comprising fibers (22) of paper and / or plastic.

7. The method according to any one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that several invisible codes (CI) are marked during the same operation on zones defined for this purpose.

8. The method according to any one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it further comprises a step of marking a visible code (CV) with which the invisible code (CI) is associated.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the invisible code (CI) is determined from a reading of the visible code (CV).

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the reading of the visible code (CV) and the marking of the corresponding invisible code (CI) are synchronized with each other.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that the synchronization between the reading of the visible code (CV) and the marking of the invisible code (CI) is carried out in relation to a movement of the support (11).

12. The method according to any one of the claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the marking of the visible code (CV) can be carried out upstream of the marking of the invisible code (CI) so that these two operations are asynchronous with respect to each other.