Image formation body, image forming apparatus, and image forming method

Abstract

To provide an image formation body, etc., with which it is possible to inhibit visual recognition of a latent image from a single body of the image formation body.SOLUTION: An image formation body includes: a base material; and a Moire image part where an image is formed on the base material and which is formed by a plurality of kinds of multiple lines different in at least one of phase, line number, and angle. A plurality of boundary parts formed by the multiple lines different in kind among the plurality of kinds of multiple lines are formed on both of a part identical with a contour line of a latent image included in the Moire image and a part not identical with the contour line of the latent image.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming body, an image forming apparatus, and an image forming method. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, moire technology is used to prevent counterfeiting or copying of securities, etc. As a related technology, Patent Document 1 proposes a technology in which the phase of a deformed line pattern that is not uniform in pitch, width, and shape is shifted by 1 / 2 pitch to create a latent image. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2004-174880 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] For example, an image forming body on which a latent image is formed using a predetermined line pattern is overlaid with a transparent sheet member on which a line pattern that makes the latent image visible, thereby making the latent image visible.

[0005] Here, when a latent image is formed on an image-forming body using a simple line pattern, the latent image may be discernible from the image-forming body alone without overlaying a transparent sheet member. In this case, the effect of the original moire technique of visualizing the latent image using both the image-forming body and the sheet member cannot be obtained. Patent Document 1 does not solve such a problem.

[0006] In one aspect, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an image-forming body or the like that can suppress a latent image from being visible from the image-forming body alone. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An image forming body according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a substrate and a moire image portion formed by a plurality of types of parallel lines that are imaged on the substrate and differ from one another in at least one of phase, number of lines, and angle, and a plurality of boundary portions formed by different types of parallel lines among the plurality of types of parallel lines are formed both in locations that coincide with the contour lines of a latent image contained in the moire image and in locations that do not coincide with the contour lines of the latent image.

[0008] Moreover, an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms a moire image on a substrate using multiple types of parallel lines that differ from each other in at least one of phase, number of lines, and angle, and the image forming unit performs the image formation such that multiple boundary portions formed by different types of parallel lines among the multiple types of parallel lines are formed in both locations that coincide with the contour lines of a latent image contained in the moire image portion and locations that do not coincide with the contour lines of the latent image.

[0009] In addition, an image forming method according to one embodiment of the present invention forms a moire image on a substrate using multiple types of lines that differ from each other in at least one of phase, number of lines, and angle, and performs the image formation such that multiple boundary portions formed by different types of lines among the multiple types of lines are formed in both locations that coincide with the contour lines of a latent image contained in the moire image portion and locations that do not coincide with the contour lines of the latent image. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping of an image forming body and a sheet member in the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the image forming member of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping of an image forming body and a sheet member in a conventional technique. [Figure 4A] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first example of lines on an image forming body. [Figure 4B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a second example of lines on an image forming body. [Figure 4C]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a third example of lines on an image forming body. [Figure 4D] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a fourth example of lines on an image forming body. [Figure 5A] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first example of a part of an area that constitutes a latent image. [Figure 5B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a second example of a part of the area that constitutes the latent image. [Figure 6A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a first example of a checkerboard pattern arrangement. [Figure 6B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a second example of a checkerboard pattern arrangement. [Figure 7A] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a scale pattern in a moire image portion. [Figure 7B] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a moire image portion having a hedge pattern. [Figure 7C] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a moire image portion having a Zelkova pattern. [Figure 7D] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a moire image portion having a rhombus pattern. [Figure 7E] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a hemp leaf pattern in a moire image portion. [Figure 7F] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a moire image portion having a hexagonal swastika pattern. [Figure 7G] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a moire image portion having a basket weave pattern. [Figure 7H] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a tortoiseshell pattern in a moire image portion. [Figure 7I] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a Bishamon tortoiseshell pattern in a moire image portion. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping of an image forming body and a sheet member in a second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 9] 13 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping of an image forming body and a sheet member in a third embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10A] 13A and 13B are diagrams showing a first example of a pattern of a moire image portion formed on an image forming body in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 10B] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a second example of a pattern of a moire image portion formed on an image forming body in the fourth embodiment. [Figure 11] 13 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping of an image forming body and a sheet member in a fifth embodiment. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow of a process executed by an image forming apparatus. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] First Embodiment An image-formed body according to a first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping of an image-formed body and a sheet member in the first embodiment. An image-formed body 101 in FIG. 1 includes a substrate 101A and a moire image portion 101B. The moire image portion 101B is image-formed on the substrate 101A. For example, an image-forming apparatus described later may image-form the moire image portion 101B on the substrate 101A.

[0012] The substrate 101A is, for example, a material such as paper. The moire image portion 101B is an image having a predetermined pattern. As described below, the latent image included in the moire image portion 101B of the image forming body 101 is made visible by overlapping the image forming body 101 and a transparent sheet member 102. This makes it possible to prevent a third party who does not own the sheet member 102 from viewing the latent image, thereby ensuring security.

[0013] The moire image portion 101B of the first embodiment has a checkered pattern made up of lines 110A to 110D. The lines 110A to 110D are a collection of multiple parallel lines arranged regularly, and are formed in each area of ​​the checkered pattern.

[0014] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the image forming body 101 of Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the multiple types of lines 110A to 110D differ from each other in at least one of the phase, the number of lines, and the angle. For example, the lines 110A (solid line) and the lines 110C (solid line) extend in directions perpendicular to each other. The lines 110B (dashed line) and the lines 110D (dashed line) extend in directions perpendicular to each other.

[0015] In the first embodiment, the lines 110A and 110B formed on the base material 101A extend in the same direction, but there is a phase shift between them. Also, the lines 110C and 110D extend in the same direction, but there is a phase shift between them.

[0016] A boundary portion of the latent image (hereinafter, latent image boundary portion 111) is formed by a portion where the phase is shifted between lines 110A and 110B and a portion where the phase is shifted between lines 110C and 110D. Latent image boundary portion 111 is a portion that corresponds to the contour line of the latent image. The shape of the latent image may be any shape. For example, the shape of the latent image may be a letter, a symbol, a number, etc.

[0017] As described above, the moire image portion 101B has a checkered pattern. Therefore, the moire image portion 101B forms a boundary portion (another boundary portion) in a portion where each area in the checkered pattern is adjacent to each other. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, other boundaries 112 and 113 different from the latent image boundary portion 111 are formed at the boundary portion between the area of ​​lines 110A and the area of ​​lines 110C among the areas of the checkered pattern. The checkered moire image portion 101B includes a plurality of other boundaries.

[0018] That is, the multiple boundaries included in the moire image portion 101B are formed in both locations that match the latent image boundary portion 111 that corresponds to the contour line of the latent image, and locations that do not match the latent image boundary portion 111. The locations that do not match the latent image boundary portion 111 are the other boundaries described above (for example, the other boundaries 112, 113, etc.).

[0019] Therefore, the moire image portion 101B of the image formed body 101 has a plurality of other boundaries in addition to the latent image boundary portion 111. For this reason, when only the latent image boundary portion 111 is formed on the image formed body 101, it may be possible to visually recognize the latent image corresponding to the latent image boundary portion 111 from the image formed body 101 alone. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the moire image portion 101B of the image formed body 101 has a plurality of other boundaries, it is possible to make it difficult to visually recognize the latent image corresponding to the latent image boundary portion 111 from the image formed body 101 alone in FIG. 2. Details will be described later.

[0020] Next, the sheet member will be described. The sheet member 102 shown in Fig. 1 is a transparent member. The sheet member 102 has a sheet base material 102A and a pattern image 102B having a checkered pattern formed on the sheet base material 102A.

[0021] The pattern image 102B has a checkered pattern made up of lines 120A and lines 120C. For example, an image forming apparatus described below may form the lines 120A and lines 120C on the sheet member 102.

[0022] The lines 120A of the pattern image 102B have a pattern that matches the lines 110A of the moire image portion 101B when the substrate 101A and the sheet member 102 are superimposed. The lines 120C of the pattern image 102B have a pattern that matches the lines 110C of the moire image portion 101B when the substrate 101A and the sheet member 102 are superimposed. In other words, except for the latent image boundary portion 111, the checkered pattern of the moire image portion 101B and the checkered pattern of the pattern image 120B are the same.

[0023] Next, the overlapping of the image formed body 101 and the sheet member 102 will be described. For example, when the image formed body 101 and the sheet member 102 are overlapped by hand, the moire image portion 101B of the image formed body 101 is visible through the transparent sheet member 102. Therefore, when the image formed body 101 and the sheet member 102 are overlapped, a composite image 103 obtained by combining the moire image portion 101B of the image formed body 101 and the pattern image 102B of the sheet member 102 becomes visible from the outside.

[0024] The area of ​​the composite image 103 that corresponds to the latent image boundary portion 111 is the latent image 121, and when the image forming body 101 and the sheet member 102 are superimposed, the latent image 121 becomes visible. The areas of the composite image 103 other than the latent image 121 are formed by an area where the lines 110A of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120A of the sheet member 102 are combined, and an area where the lines 110C of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 102 are combined.

[0025] As described above, the lines 110A of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120A of the sheet member 102 have matching patterns. Also, the lines 110C of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 102 have matching patterns.

[0026] Therefore, when the image forming body 101 and the sheet member 102 are superimposed, the lines 110A and the lines 120A overlap, and therefore the lines 110A and the lines 120A are visually recognized from the outside as being integrated. Similarly, the lines 110C and the lines 120C overlap, and therefore the lines 110C and the lines 120C are visually recognized from the outside as being integrated.

[0027] As described above, when the image forming body 101 and the sheet member 102 are superimposed, the latent image 121 becomes visible. The latent image 121 is formed by an area where the lines 110B of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120A of the sheet member 102 are combined, and an area where the lines 110D of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 102 are combined.

[0028] As described above, the lines 110A of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120A of the sheet member 102 have matching patterns, and the lines 110C of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 102 have matching patterns.

[0029] On the other hand, within the latent image 121, the lines 110B of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120A of the sheet member 102 do not overlap. Therefore, the area formed by the lines 110B of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120A of the sheet member 102 becomes a special line pattern composed of fine lines, as described below.

[0030] Similarly, within the latent image 121, the lines 110D of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 102 do not overlap. Therefore, the area formed by the lines 110D of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 102 becomes a special line pattern composed of fine lines, as described below. As a result, the latent image 121 in the composite image 103 becomes apparent.

[0031] The latent image 121 becomes visible so as to be visible from the outside by overlapping the image forming body 101 and the sheet member 102. In other words, in order to view the latent image 121, both the image forming body 101 and the sheet member 102 are required. In this regard, if the latent image is visible from the image forming body 101 alone, a third party who does not own the sheet member 102 can view the latent image from the image forming body 101 alone. In this case, security is not guaranteed because the latent image 121 can be viewed by a third party without proper authority.

[0032] Here, when the pattern of the moire image portion 101B formed on the image forming body 101 is simple, the latent image may be easily confirmed on the image forming body 101 alone. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping an image forming body and a sheet member in the prior art. As shown in the example of Fig. 3, a moire image portion 151B is formed on the base material of the image forming body 151.

[0033] The moire image portion 151B in Fig. 3 is composed only of the lines 110A and 110B in Fig. 1A. There is a portion where a phase shift occurs between the lines 120A and 120B. The portion where the phase shift occurs forms the latent image boundary portion.

[0034] Sheet member 152 in Fig. 3 is a transparent sheet member corresponding to image forming body 151 in Fig. 3. Only lines 120A are formed on sheet member 152 in Fig. 3. Lines 120A of sheet member 152 correspond to lines 110A of image forming body 101, and lines 120A and lines 110A overlap when image forming body 151 and sheet member 152 are superimposed.

[0035] When the image forming body 151 and the sheet member 152 are superimposed, a composite image 153 becomes visible. A latent image 155 portion in the composite image 153 is an area formed by lines 110B of the image forming body 151 and lines 120A of the sheet member 152. When the image forming body 151 and the sheet member 152 are superimposed, a latent image 161 becomes visible.

[0036] Here, the moire image portion 151B of the image forming body 151 in Fig. 3 is composed only of the lines 120A and 120B. For this reason, the moire image portion 151B in Fig. 3 is composed of a simple pattern, and the latent image boundary portion 151 may be easily visible from the outside even in the moire image portion 151B in Fig. 3 alone.

[0037] On the other hand, the image forming body 101 in FIG. 1 has a plurality of boundaries (latent image boundary 111 and other checkered pattern boundaries 112, 113, etc.). The plurality of boundaries in the image forming body 101 in FIG. 1 are arranged both in places that match the contour of the latent image and in places that do not match the contour of the latent image. This makes it difficult to visually recognize the latent image boundary 111 in the image forming body 101 in FIG. 1 alone. As a result, unless both the image forming body 101 and the sheet member 102 are aligned, the latent image 121 in FIG. 1 does not become apparent, and the above-mentioned security can be ensured.

[0038] Figures 4A to 4D are diagrams showing examples of the various lines in Figure 1. Figure 4A is a diagram showing a first example of lines 110A on image forming body 101. Lines 110A on image forming body 101 have the same pattern as lines 120A on sheet member 102. For example, lines 110A and lines 120A are parallel lines arranged at six-dot intervals.

[0039] Fig. 4B is a diagram showing a second example of lines 110B on the image forming body 101. The lines in Fig. 4B are not formed on the sheet member 102. For example, the lines 110B are parallel lines arranged at five-dot intervals.

[0040] 4C is a diagram showing a third example of lines 110C of image forming body 101. Lines 110C of image forming body 101 have the same pattern as lines 120C of sheet member 102. For example, lines 110C and lines 120C are parallel lines arranged at six-dot intervals. Lines 110C extend in a direction perpendicular to lines 110A.

[0041] Fig. 4D is a diagram showing a fourth example of lines 110D on the image forming body 101. The lines in Fig. 4D are not formed on the sheet member 102. For example, the lines 110D are parallel lines arranged at five-dot intervals. The direction in which the lines 110D extend is perpendicular to the direction in which the lines 110B extend.

[0042] 5A is a diagram showing a first example of a portion of the area constituting the above-mentioned latent image 121. As described above, the latent image 121 is formed by an area where lines 110B of the image forming body 101 and lines 120A of the sheet member 102 are combined, and an area where lines 110D of the image forming body 101 and lines 120C of the sheet member 102 are combined.

[0043] 5A is a diagram showing a first example of an area where lines 110B of image forming body 101 and lines 120A of sheet member 102 are combined. As described above, for example, lines 110B are parallel lines arranged at 5-dot intervals, and lines 120A are parallel lines arranged at 6-dot intervals. When lines 110B of image forming body 101 and lines 120A of sheet member 102 are combined, the combined area becomes an area of ​​a special pattern made up of fine lines. The special pattern has a period of 30 dots.

[0044] 5B is a diagram showing a second example of an area where lines 110D of image forming body 101 and lines 120C of sheet member 102 are combined. For example, lines 110D are parallel lines arranged at 5-dot intervals, and lines 120C are parallel lines arranged at 6-dot intervals. When lines 110D of image forming body 101 and lines 120C of sheet member 102 are combined, the combined area becomes an area of ​​a special pattern made up of fine lines. The special pattern has a period of 30 dots.

[0045] As described above, a latent image 121 of a special pattern is formed by an area where the lines 110B of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120A of the sheet member 102 are combined, and an area where the lines 110D of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 102 are combined. This makes the latent image 121 visible, and the latent image 121 is visualized from the outside.

[0046] 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an example of a checkered pattern arrangement of lines 110A to 110D on image forming body 101. Fig. 6A is a diagram showing a first example of the checkered pattern arrangement. Lines 110A and 110C formed on image forming body 101 intersect at right angles in the checkered pattern.

[0047] 6B is a diagram showing a second example of the checkered pattern arrangement. Lines 110B and 110D formed on image forming body 101 are perpendicular to each other in the checkered pattern. Lines 110A and 110B are out of phase with each other, and lines 110C and 110D are out of phase with each other.

[0048] As described above, the image forming body 101 has a substrate 101A and a moire image portion 101B formed on the substrate 101A. The moire image portion 101B has a checkered pattern composed of a plurality of types of lines 110A-110D. The moire image portion 101B includes a plurality of boundaries formed by the lines 110A-110D. Some of the plurality of boundaries (latent image boundary portion 111) are arranged at positions that coincide with the contour line of the latent image 121, and other boundaries (other boundaries 112, 113, etc.) other than the latent image boundary portion 111 are arranged at positions that do not coincide with the contour line of the latent image 121.

[0049] That is, in the moire image portion 101B, not only a boundary portion (latent image boundary portion 111) that constitutes the contour line of the latent image 121, but also a plurality of other boundary portions (other boundaries 112, 113, etc.) that do not constitute the contour line of the latent image 121 are formed. As a result, since the moire image portion 101B includes other boundary portions in addition to the latent image boundary portion 111, it becomes difficult to visually recognize the latent image 121 from the image forming body 101 alone.

[0050] In the above example, the moire image portion 101B has a checkered pattern composed of lines 110A to 110D. Here, the pair of lines 110A and 110B is referred to as a first line pair, and the pair of lines 110C and 110D is referred to as a second line pair. In the above example, the first line pair and the second line pair form a checkered pattern as a predetermined pattern.

[0051] In the case of the above-mentioned checkered pattern, the first line pair and the second line pair are perpendicular to each other. In this regard, the angle at which the first line pair and the second line pair intersect with each other does not have to be 90 degrees. Also, a pattern other than a checkered pattern may be formed in the moiré image portion 101B. Various pattern examples of the moiré image portion 101B will be described below.

[0052] 7A to 7I are diagrams showing examples of various patterns that can be formed in moiré image portion 101B. Fig. 7A is a diagram showing an example of moiré image portion 101B having a scale pattern 181. Fig. 7B is a diagram showing an example of moiré image portion 101B having a Japanese cypress fence pattern 182. Fig. 7C is a diagram showing an example of moiré image portion 101B having a zelkova pattern 183.

[0053] Fig. 7D is a diagram showing an example of a pine bark diamond pattern 184 in moiré image portion 101B. Fig. 7E is a diagram showing an example of a hemp leaf pattern 185 in moiré image portion 101B. Fig. 7F is a diagram showing an example of a hexagonal swastika pattern 186 in moiré image portion 101B.

[0054] Fig. 7G is a diagram showing an example of a basket weave pattern 187 in moiré image portion 101B. Fig. 7H is a diagram showing an example of a tortoiseshell pattern 188 in moiré image portion 101B. Fig. 7I is a diagram showing an example of a Bishamon tortoiseshell pattern 189 in moiré image portion 101B.

[0055] The above various patterns have a plurality of boundaries. A latent image boundary 111 is disposed at a location among the plurality of boundaries that coincides with the contour line of the latent image 121, and a plurality of other boundaries other than the latent image boundary 111 are disposed among the patterns at locations that do not coincide with the contour line of the latent image 121. As described above, each embodiment is applicable to various patterns other than the checkered pattern.

[0056] <Second embodiment> Next, a second embodiment will be described. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping an image formed body and a sheet member in the second embodiment. The image formed body 201 in Fig. 8 includes a substrate 201A and a moire image portion 201B. The moire image portion 201B is image-formed on the substrate 201A.

[0057] The moire image portion 201B includes lines 110A-110D. The lines 110A-110D are the same as the lines 110A-110D in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the direction of the boundary of each area of ​​the checkered pattern included in the moire image portion 201B coincides with the direction of the contour line of the latent image. The latent image boundary portion 211 in the example of FIG. 8 is the contour line of the latent image.

[0058] 8, the sheet member 202 is a transparent member. In the sheet member 202 of Fig. 8, a pattern image 202B having a checkered pattern is formed on a sheet base material 202A. The parallel lines 120A and 120C are the same as the parallel lines 120A and 120C of the first embodiment.

[0059] When the image forming body 201 and the sheet member 202 are superimposed, a composite image 203 becomes visible through the transparent sheet member 202. The composite image 203 includes an area where the lines 110B of the image forming body 201 and the lines 120A of the sheet member 202 are combined, and an area where the lines 110D of the image forming body 201 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 202 are combined. A latent image 221 is formed by these areas. The latent image 221 has a special pattern and is manifested so as to be visible from the outside.

[0060] As described above, the direction of the boundaries of each area of ​​the checkered pattern included in the moire image portion 201B of the second embodiment coincides with the direction of the contour line of the latent image 221. As a result, compared to the moire image portion 101B of the first embodiment, the moire image portion 201B of the second embodiment makes it even more difficult to visually recognize the latent image 221 from the image forming body 201 alone. Therefore, the second embodiment can further enhance the effect of suppressing the latent image from being visually recognized from the image forming body alone, compared to the first embodiment.

[0061] <Third embodiment> Next, a third embodiment will be described. Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping an image formed body and a sheet member in the third embodiment. The image formed body 301 in Fig. 9 includes a substrate 301A and a moire image portion 301B. The moire image portion 301B is image-formed on the substrate 301A. The moire image portion 301B includes lines 110A to 110D. The lines 110A to 110D are the same as the lines 110A to 110D in the first embodiment.

[0062] In the third embodiment, the pattern of the transparent sheet member 302 is a checkered pattern. The sheet member 302 of the third embodiment has lines 120B and lines 120D in addition to lines 120A and 120C. Lines 120B correspond to lines 110B of the first embodiment, and lines 120D correspond to lines 110D of the first embodiment.

[0063] The lines 120A and 120B extend in the same direction, but there is a phase shift between them. The lines 120C and 120D extend in the same direction, but there is a phase shift between them. The lines 120A and 120B are perpendicular to the lines 120C and 120D.

[0064] 9, each area formed by lines 110B and lines 110D of image forming body 301 constitutes a part of the latent image. Also, each area formed by lines 120C and lines 120D of sheet member 302 constitutes a part of the latent image.

[0065] When the image forming body 301 and the sheet member 302 are superimposed, the composite image 303 becomes visible through the transparent sheet member 302. A first region, which is half of the latent image 313, is composed of an area where lines 110B of the image forming body 301 and lines 120A of the sheet member 302 are combined, and an area where lines 110D of the image forming body 301 and lines 120C of the sheet member 302 are combined.

[0066] In addition, the second region, which is the remaining half of the latent image 313, is composed of an area where lines 110A of the image forming body 301 and lines 120B of the sheet member 302 are combined, and an area where lines 110C of the image forming body 301 and lines 120D of the sheet member 302 are combined.

[0067] In other words, in the third embodiment, a latent image boundary portion 311 corresponding to a first region that is half of the latent image 313 and a latent image boundary portion 312 corresponding to a second region that is the remaining half are distributed and arranged on the image forming body 301 and the sheet member 302.

[0068] 9, the image forming body 301 includes a latent image boundary portion 311, but does not include a latent image boundary portion 312 formed on the sheet member 302. In other words, a portion of the latent image 313 corresponding to the latent image boundary portion 312 formed on the sheet member 302 cannot be seen from the image forming body 101 alone. This prevents the latent image from being seen from the image forming body alone.

[0069] In the above example, the first region, which is half of the latent image 313, and the second region, which is the remaining half, are distributed between the image forming body 301 and the sheet member 302. However, the size of the first region and the size of the second region may be different. For example, the first region may be twice as large as the second region.

[0070] <Fourth embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. Fig. 10A is a diagram showing a first example of a pattern of a moire image portion formed on an image forming body in the fourth embodiment. The pattern of a moire image portion 401 in Fig. 10A is formed by the lines 110A-110D of the first embodiment. The latent image in Fig. 10A has a fish-shaped outline, and a latent image boundary portion 411 corresponding to the latent image is formed in the pattern of the moire image portion 401.

[0071] Lines 110A to 110D are different from one another in at least one of phase, number of lines, and angle. Also, the pattern of moire image portion 401 has not only latent image boundary portion 411 but also boundaries (other boundaries) of each area of ​​the checkerboard pattern other than latent image boundary portion 411. Therefore, compared to the example of FIG. 3, the outline of the shape of a fish as a latent image is less easily visible from the pattern of moire image portion 401 alone formed on the image forming body.

[0072] On the other hand, while the boundaries of the checkered pattern formed by the lines 110A to 110D are linear, the contour of the fish shape as the latent image includes a curved shape. For this reason, it is preferable that the contour of the fish shape as the latent image is not inhibited from being viewed from the pattern alone of the moire image portion 401 formed on the image forming body.

[0073] Fig. 10B is a diagram showing a second example of a pattern of a moire image portion formed on an image forming body in the fourth embodiment. The pattern of the moire image portion 410 in Fig. 10B includes a plurality of types of parallel lines that are different from each other in at least one of the phase, the number of lines, and the angle. The boundary portion of the plurality of types of parallel lines is curved. For example, in the pattern of the moire image portion 410 in Fig. 10B, the boundary portion between the area of ​​parallel lines 110A and the area of ​​parallel lines 110B is curved.

[0074] When the contour of the latent image is curved, the latent image boundary 411 showing the contour of the latent image is curved. In the fourth embodiment, as in the pattern of the moire image part in Fig. 10B, the boundaries (other boundaries) of each area other than the latent image boundary 411 are formed in a curved shape. This enhances the effect of suppressing the contour of the latent image having a curved shape from being visible, compared to the example in Fig. 10A.

[0075] <Fifth embodiment> In the first embodiment, an example has been described in which the pattern of the moire image portion 101B formed on the image forming body 101 is formed by four types of lines, lines 110A to 110D. Here, the number of types of lines used in the moire image portion may be two. The fifth embodiment is an example in which the moire image portion is formed by using two types of lines.

[0076] 11 is a diagram showing an example of overlapping of an image-formed body and a sheet member in the fifth embodiment. Image-formed body 501 includes substrate 501A and moire image portion 501B. Moire image portion 501B is image-formed on substrate 501A.

[0077] The moire image portion 501B includes lines 110A and lines 510B. The lines 110A are the same as the lines 110A in the first embodiment. The lines 510 are the same as the lines 110B in the first embodiment.

[0078] In the fifth embodiment, the moire image portion 501B has a circular latent image boundary portion 511 and another rectangular boundary portion 512. The latent image boundary portion 511 is the same as the latent image boundary portion 111 in Fig. 1. The latent image boundary portion 511 is a portion where the phase is shifted between the lines 110A and the lines 110B.

[0079] The other boundary 512 is a portion where the phase is shifted between the lines 110A and the lines 510B. The other boundary 512 is arranged at a location that does not coincide with the contour line of the latent image. Therefore, the other boundary 512 is arranged at a location different from the latent image boundary 511. In the example of FIG. 11, the other boundary 512 is rectangular, but the shape of the other boundary 512 does not have to be rectangular. Furthermore, there may be one other boundary 512, or there may be multiple other boundary 512. Furthermore, the other boundary 512 may be in contact with the latent image boundary 511, or may partially overlap with it.

[0080] The sheet member 502 of the fifth embodiment is a transparent sheet member. The sheet member 520 has lines 120A and lines 520B formed thereon. The lines 510A are the same as the lines 110A of the first embodiment. The lines 520B are the same as the lines 120B of the first embodiment.

[0081] There is a portion where the phase is shifted between parallel lines 120A and parallel lines 520B formed on sheet member 520. This portion forms sheet member boundary portion 522. Sheet member boundary portion 522 is formed at a position corresponding to other boundary portion 512 described above.

[0082] When the image forming body 101 and the sheet member 502 are superimposed, a composite image 503B is visualized. The composite image 503B includes an area where the lines 110B of the image forming body 501 and the lines 120B of the sheet member 502 are combined. A latent image 531 is formed in this area. The latent image 531 has a special pattern and is manifested so as to be visible from the outside.

[0083] In composite image 503B, a rectangular region corresponding to the other boundary portion 512 described above is formed by lines 510B of image forming body 501 and lines 520B of sheet member 502. Lines 510B and lines 520B both correspond to lines 110B, and have the same phase, number of lines, and angle. Therefore, the region in composite image 503B corresponding to the other rectangular boundary portion 512 does not change even if image forming body 101 and sheet member 502 are superimposed.

[0084] Here, the moire image portion 501B of the image formed body 501 of the fifth embodiment includes, in addition to the latent image boundary portion 511, another boundary portion 512 unrelated to the latent image 531. Since the moire image portion 501B of the image formed body 501 includes the other boundary portion 512 unrelated to the latent image 531, it becomes difficult to visually recognize the latent image 531 from the image formed body 501 alone. Therefore, even if the moire image portion 501B formed on the image formed body 501 is formed by two types of parallel lines, it is possible to suppress the latent image 531 from being visually recognized from the image formed body 501 alone.

[0085] Sixth Embodiment Next, a sixth embodiment will be described. Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 600 forms an image of the above-mentioned various patterns on a substrate to generate an image-formed body. The image-formed body is also called a printed matter. The image forming apparatus 600 may form an image of the above-mentioned various patterns on the sheet substrate.

[0086] The image forming apparatus 600 includes a control unit 601, a display unit 602, an operation unit 603, a paper feed unit 604, an image forming unit 605, and a paper discharge unit 606. The control unit 601 controls the entire image forming apparatus 600. The configuration of the image forming apparatus is not limited to the example in FIG.

[0087] The control unit 601 has a processor and a memory. The processor of the control unit 601 executes a plurality of instruction sets (programs) stored in the memory, thereby realizing various controls of each embodiment. The processor may be any processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0088] The display unit 602 displays predetermined information. The operation unit 603 accepts operations from a user who operates the image forming apparatus 600. The display unit 602 and the operation unit 603 may be integrated into one unit as, for example, a touch panel display.

[0089] The paper feed unit 604 is a mechanism for feeding paper. For example, when the substrate 101A of the image forming body 101 is paper, the substrate 101A is set in the paper feed unit 604, and when a predetermined operation (for example, a print instruction) is performed, the substrate 101A is fed from the paper feed unit 604 into the image forming apparatus 600. The substrate 101A may be a material other than paper, for example, a sheet material made of film.

[0090] The image forming unit 605 forms the above-mentioned various line patterns on the substrate 101A. For example, the image forming unit 605 forms a moire image portion 101B (moire image) composed of lines 111A to 111D on the substrate 101A. As a result, the moire image portion 101B is formed on the substrate 101A. The same applies to image formation on the sheet substrate 102A.

[0091] 13 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the image forming apparatus 600. For example, the user sets the substrate 101A in the paper feed unit 604 (step S101). When the control unit 601 detects that the substrate 101A has been set in the paper feed unit 604, the control unit 601 causes the display unit 602 to display whether or not to perform image formation.

[0092] The control unit 601 determines whether an operation (print instruction) for forming an image has been performed (step S102). For example, assume that a user has performed an operation for forming an image using the operation unit 603. In this case, the control unit 601 determines Yes in step S102 and proceeds to step S103. If an operation for forming an image has not been performed on the operation unit 603, the process returns to step S102.

[0093] If the answer to step S102 is Yes, the control unit 601 generates a moire image including a latent image in a checkered pattern using a plurality of types of lines (step S103). The moire image is, for example, the image data of the moire image unit 101B in FIG. 1. The generated moire image may be the moire image of the second to fifth embodiments. Alternatively, the image forming unit 605 may generate the moire image.

[0094] The image forming unit 605 forms an image of the generated image data of the moire image portion 101B on the substrate 101A (step S104). The paper ejection unit 606 ejects the substrate 101A on which the moire image portion 101B has been formed (step S105). Although the flowchart in FIG. 13 has been used to explain an example of the process of the first embodiment, the sixth embodiment can be applied to any of the first to fifth embodiments.

[0095] The image forming apparatus 600 as described above may form a moire image on the substrate of the image-formed body of any one of the first to fifth embodiments. The image forming apparatus 600 may form an image on the sheet substrate of the sheet member, or an image forming apparatus other than the image forming apparatus 600 may form an image on the sheet substrate of the sheet member.

[0096] <Other> In the above embodiments, when the image forming body and the sheet member are superimposed, moire occurs in the portion where the lines of the image forming body and the lines of the sheet member do not match, and the latent image is made visible, and moire does not occur in the portion where they match. For example, in FIG. 1, the lines 110C of the image forming body 101 and the lines 120C of the sheet member 102 have a matching pattern, and when the image forming body 101 and the sheet member 102 are superimposed, moire does not occur in the above-mentioned matching portion. In this regard, if the pattern does not cause moire, it is not essential that the lines of the image forming body and the lines of the sheet member match when the image forming body and the sheet member are superimposed. In other words, as long as moire does not occur in the portion other than the latent image of the image forming body, any pattern may be adopted for the image forming body.

[0097] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The technical scope of the present invention also includes embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments. Furthermore, new technical features can be formed by combining the technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments. In addition, the order of the processes in the flowcharts described in the above-described embodiments can be changed as much as possible.

[0098] A program for realizing the functions of each embodiment is stored in a non-transitory recording medium such as a semiconductor medium, an optical recording medium, or a magneto-optical recording medium. For example, a non-volatile memory card may be used as the semiconductor medium. For example, a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) may be used as the optical recording medium or the magneto-optical recording medium. The above program may be supplied to a computer via any transmission medium capable of transmission. [Explanation of symbols]

[0099] 101 image forming body, 101A to 101D lines, 102 sheet member, 120A to 120D lines, 103 composite image, 111 latent image boundary portion, 112, 113 other boundary portion, 121 latent image, 600 image forming apparatus, 601 control portion, 602 display portion, 603 operation portion, 604 paper feed portion, 605 image forming portion, 606 paper discharge portion

Claims

1. A substrate; a moire image portion formed on the base material and composed of a plurality of types of lines differing from one another in at least one of phase, number of lines, and angle; An image forming body, wherein a plurality of boundary portions formed by different types of lines among the plurality of types of lines are formed in both locations that coincide with the contour lines of a latent image contained in the moire image portion and locations that do not coincide with the contour lines of the latent image.

2. The plurality of types of lines include a plurality of line pairs extending in the same direction, a first line pair and a second line pair among the plurality of line pairs intersect with each other at different angles to form a predetermined pattern; The image forming member according to claim 1 , wherein a part of a boundary between the plurality of regions included in the predetermined pattern is disposed at a position not coinciding with a contour line of the latent image.

3. 3. The image forming body according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined pattern is any one of a checkered pattern, a scale pattern, a cypress fence pattern, a sash pattern, a pine bark diamond pattern, an hemp leaf pattern, a hexagonal swastika pattern, a basket weave pattern, a tortoise shell pattern, and a Bishamon tortoise shell pattern.

4. 3. The image forming member according to claim 2, wherein a direction of boundaries between a plurality of regions included in the predetermined pattern coincides with a direction of a contour line of the latent image.

5. 3. The image forming body according to claim 2, wherein a portion of the regions constituting the latent image among a plurality of regions included in the predetermined pattern are dispersed and arranged on a transparent sheet member which generates the latent image by being overlaid on the image forming body.

6. 3. The image forming member according to claim 2, wherein the boundaries of the plurality of regions included in the predetermined pattern are curved.

7. an image forming unit that forms a moire image on a base material using a plurality of types of lines that are different from each other in at least one of phase, number of lines, and angle; the image forming unit forms the image such that a plurality of boundary portions formed by different types of lines among the plurality of types of lines are formed in both a portion that coincides with a contour line of a latent image included in the moire image portion and a portion that does not coincide with the contour line of the latent image. Image forming device.

8. When a moire image is formed on a substrate using a plurality of types of parallel lines which are different from each other in at least one of phase, number of lines, and angle, the image is formed such that a plurality of boundary portions formed by different types of parallel lines among the plurality of types of parallel lines are formed in both a portion which coincides with a contour line of a latent image included in the moire image portion and a portion which does not coincide with the contour line of the latent image. Image forming method.

Images