Crane Company

Crane Ab

Visual Physics, LLC

Crane Security Technologies, Inc.

Giles D Prett

Manish Jain

Kraig M Brigham

Scott Kevin Palm

Gregory R Jordan

Jonathan D Gosnell

Samuel M Cape

Paul F Cote

Michael Darroch

James Callahan

Anthony J Zucchero

Timothy W Schneider

Kaj Markkus Helminen

Karin Mörck Hamilton

Jeffrey Boody

William Blake

Nicholas G Pearson

A security document has a security substrate, a security device and a structural weakness element, wherein the security device is coupled to the security substrate, wherein the structural weakness element is integrated with at least one of the security substrate or the security device, the structural weakness element defining an anti-harvesting area and a bulk area, and wherein the anti-harvesting area has one or more of structural fidelity or optical fidelity with the bulk area.

Security document with attached security device which demonstrates increased harvesting resistance

A watermark sheet made up of a substrate layer with opposing water and fiber surfaces, a pattern of at least two watermark indicia, and a set of apertures extending from the water surface toward the fiber surface of the substrate layer, is provided. The pattern of at least two watermark indicia is distributed over a continuous area of the fiber surface. The inventive watermark sheet provides watermarks of improved quality. Also provided is a watermark sleeve made up of a cylinder mold and the inventive watermark sheet wrapped around and affixed to an outer diametric surface of the cylinder mold. In addition, methods of manufacturing the watermark sheet, the watermark sleeve, a watermarked paper and a high security document are provided, as well as products resulting from these methods of manufacture.

Watermark sheet, apparatus, and document, and methods for providing the same

A paper including one or more multi-tonal watermarks having full tonality (depth), and an improved watermarking tool for manufacturing such paper, is provided. The improved watermarking tool is selected from the group of: (a) an assembly that is made up of an electrotype element representing a halftone image of a watermark, and a wire-mesh for use in the manufacture of watermarked paper, wherein the electrotype element is affixed to the wire-mesh, and wherein the electrotype element and the wire-mesh are pressed or embossed, either separately or together in register, with the image of the watermark represented by the electrotype element; and (b) an enhanced wire-mesh made up of woven wires which may be arranged in a regular or substantially regular grid, wherein areas of the grid are filled with a polymeric material which forms regions of blocked drainage, wherein the wire-mesh including open areas as well as those areas filled with the polymeric material are pressed or embossed either separately or together with an image of a watermark.

Paper including one or more multi-tonal watermarks having full tonality, and an improved watermarking tool for manufacturing such paper

A sheet material having a security device applied over a paper machine made or 'soft-edged' through-hole and a method for preparing such a sheet material is provided. The through-hole(s) is formed in a forming fibrous web before it becomes sufficiently consolidated and then the security device is applied onto the fibrous web and preferably over the through-hole(s) at or near a couch roll or similar tool of a paper machine when the fibrous web constitutes a sufficiently consolidated, fully formed wet web. Moreover, papers made in accordance with the inventive method, when subjected to the Circulation Simulation Test, showed minimal damage at the paper/security device interface. Further, the surface-applied security devices showed acceptable levels of intaglio ink adhesion, and the papers had higher cross-direction (CD) tensile strength and much less show-through on opposing sides thereof.

Method for the surface application of a security device over a paper machine made hole

The invention relates to a security sheet or document having enhanced watermark(s). In one exemplary embodiment, the inventive security sheet or document is a single-ply paper that is made up of a paper layer including one or more watermarks, and a micro-optic security device (e.g., a patch or thread) that at least partially covers an upper or face portion of the watermark(s). The overlying patch or thread increases the durability of the watermark(s), thereby allowing for the watermark(s) as well as reduced fiber density areas therein to be made larger, and for the reduced fiber density areas to be made thinner. In a preferred embodiment, the micro-optic security device projects synthetic image(s) that coordinate or link in with the watermark design(s). In a more preferred embodiment, the micro-optic security device offers a machine detectable/readable feature in the form of enhanced IR-brightness, especially when measured in transmission.

Security sheet or document having one or more enhanced watermarks

A method for applying a security device (e.g., a micro-optic security thread) to a fibrous web during manufacture is provided. By way of the inventive method, the security device is preferably applied onto the fibrous web at or near a couch roll or similar tool of a paper machine when the fibrous web constitutes a sufficiently consolidated, fully formed wet web. Papers made in accordance with the inventive method, when subjected to the Circulation Simulation Test, showed minimal damage at the paper/security device interface. Moreover, the surface-applied security devices showed acceptable levels of intaglio ink adhesion, and the papers had higher cross-direction (CD) tensile strength and much less show-through on opposing sides thereof.

Method for the surface application of a security device to a substrate

The invention generally relates to a security sheet or document having one or more enhanced watermarks. In one exemplary embodiment, the inventive security sheet or document is a single-ply paper that is made up of a paper layer including one or more watermarks, and a micro-optic security device (e.g., a patch or thread) that at least partially covers an upper or face portion of the watermark(s). The overlying patch or thread increases the durability of the watermark(s), thereby allowing for the watermark(s) as well as reduced fiber density areas therein to be made larger, and further allowing for the reduced fiber density areas to be made thinner. In a preferred embodiment, the micro-optic security device projects one or more synthetic images that coordinate or link in with the watermark design(s). In a more preferred embodiment, the micro-optic security device offers a machine detectable/readable feature in the form of enhanced IR-brightness, especially when measured in transmission. As will be readily appreciated, the inventive security sheet or document offers greatly improved counterfeit-resistance.

An optical device projecting one or more synthetically magnified images that has been laser marked with one or more static two dimensional (2D) images is provided. The static 2D image(s) laser marked on or within this device and the synthetically magnified image(s) projected by this device help determine the authenticity of a document (e.g., passport data page) or product that employs it. Several embodiments of the inventive device also offer increased resistance to tampering or alteration and wear.

Growing community of inventors

Dalton, MA, United States of America

Giles D Prett