Security Element with Light-Emitting and Diffraction Structures

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current security features in documents, such as banknotes, are vulnerable to forgery and lack ease of verification, particularly in recognizing optically variable elements under different viewing angles.

Innovation Solution

A security element comprising light-emitting elements and transmissive diffraction structures, where the light-emitting elements emit light that is transmitted through the diffraction structures, creating color changes, brightness contrasts, and beam shaping effects when the element is tilted or rotated, providing enhanced security and recognition.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional security features like watermarks or security threads are used, then the security document provides basic security recognition, but the security is vulnerable to forgery and verification is not easy

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesecurity against forgeryVSAvoidease of verification
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs transmissive diffraction structures that produce color changes when viewed from different angles. The security element contains light-emitting elements whose light is transmitted through diffraction structures, creating angle-dependent color effects that are difficult to replicate and easily verifiable by observers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

Solution Approach 2:

The security element incorporates dynamic optical effects where the appearance changes based on viewing angle. The diffraction structures cause the transmitted light to exhibit varying colors and patterns when the document is tilted or rotated, providing a dynamic verification process that is simple for users but complex to forge.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If optically variable elements are used to improve security, then forgery protection increases, but recognition under different viewing angles becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesecurity against forgeryVSAvoidrecognizability under different viewing angles
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The transmissive diffraction structures are specifically designed to produce color changes when viewed from different angles. This ensures that the security feature remains recognizable and verifiable across multiple viewing conditions, directly addressing the problem of difficulty in detection under varying angles.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

Solution Approach 2:

The diffraction structures create periodic optical effects as the document is tilted, producing repeating patterns of color changes and brightness variations. This periodic behavior makes the security feature easily detectable and verifiable through simple angular manipulation by the observer.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

3Reliability

If transmissive diffraction structures with light-emitting elements are implemented, then forgery protection and visual appearance are improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprotection against forgeryVSAvoidstructure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines light-emitting elements with transmissive diffraction structures in a single integrated security element. This merging of functions reduces the need for separate components and simplifies the overall structure while maintaining the complex optical effects required for high security protection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The security element serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides security against forgery, creates attractive visual appearance, enables easy verification, and works under different viewing angles. This multi-functionality is achieved through the integrated design of light-emitting elements and diffraction structures that work together to produce all desired effects from a single component.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The security element offers high protection against forgery with easily recognizable features and an attractive visual appearance, as the transmissive diffraction structures modify the light emission characteristics, making it difficult to replicate, thus enhancing verification.

Implementation Method 1

one or more transmissive diffraction structures, which are designed in such a way that they change the colored appearance, the spectral composition, the brightness contrast, the distribution of the emission angles and/or the beam shaping of one or more of the light-emitting elements when the security element is tilted and/or rotated

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectDiffraction: Diffraction

Data Source

PatentEP2897811B1Security element and security document
Publication Date: 2018.05.30 OVD KINEGRAM AG
  • EP2897811B1 patent drawingFigure 1a~1c
  • EP2897811B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2897811B1 patent drawingFigure 3a~3b

AI summary

The invention relates to a security element (2), more particularly in the form of a multilayered flexible film body, having a top side facing an observer and a rear side facing away from the observer, and to a method for producing said security element. The security element (2) comprises one or more light-emitting elements arranged in a first region (30) of the security element, said one or more light-emitting elements emitting light upon activation and being formed more particularly in each case by a self-luminous, electrically operated, display element. The security element (2) comprises one or more transmissive diffraction structures in the first region (30). In this case, the one or more transmissive diffraction structures are arranged in such a way that at least part of the light emitted by the activated one or more light-emitting elements transmits through at least one partial region of the transmissive diffraction structures.