Jds Uniphase Corporation

Other

Flex Products, Inc.

Wilfred C Kittler, Jr

Vladimir P Raksha

Paul G Coombs

Alberto Argoitia

Charles Thomas Markantes

Cornelis Jan Delst

Charlotte R LeGallee

Stephen R Neifert

Roger Winston Phillips

Neil Teitelbaum

Stacey A Yamanaka

John D Sonderman

Garth Zambory

Dave Williams

Opaque flakes, such as pigment or bright flakes used in paints and inks, have a selected shape and/or other indicia to provide a covert security feature to an object. Shaped opaque covert flakes are not readily detectable by causal observation, but in some embodiments are easily seen at 50&#xd7; magnification. In manufacturing the flakes a sheet of embossed frames are provided having embossed symbols or indicia within. Upon removing a coating from the embossed sheet the coating material tends to break along frame lines or grooves and the resulting flakes are substantially uniform in size. In order to have the flakes break along frame lines or grooves more readily than along the embossing or grooves defining indicia within a frame, the frames are provided with a deeper groove than indicia grooves. As well a groove having a different shaped profile conducive to breakage can be used for the frame grooves whereas a groove having a profile less conducive to breakage can be used to form the indicia grooves. We have found that the flakes can be further protected from breakage by coating them in a protective coating. This coating may have other features which makes the logo more visible.

Provision of frames or borders around pigment flakes for covert security applications

A printed article is disclosed having a light transmissive substrate having a reverse printed region on a surface thereof in the form of a plurality of very closely spaced printed lines or regions. The printed regions and spaces therebetween are subsequently flood coated with special effect ink such as optically variable ink wherein the ink particle size is on average greater than the gap between reverse printed regions. The image is viewed from the non-printed side of the substrate and very fine lines of the special effect flood coated special effect ink appear as very clear sharp lines having a fine resolution. This eliminates the typical jagged edges that would otherwise be seen if the inked region was not present. This effect is due to the first printed inked regions or lines forming a mask through which the flood coated ink is seen.

Printed article with special effect coating

A method of planarizing a plurality of orientable non-spherical flakes supported by a longitudinal web is disclosed. A web supporting a coating of field orientable non-spherical flakes is placed between magnets so that the fields from the magnets traverse the web. First and third magnets are provided on one side of a feedpath and a second magnet is provided between the first and third magnets on the other side of the feedpath. The first and third magnets have a same polarity and the second magnet has a complementary polarity to the first and third magnets, so that a first magnetic field spanning the feedpath is present between the first and second magnets and second magnetic field spanning the feedpath is present between the second and third magnets, wherein the magnets are positioned so that a plurality of non-spherical field orientable flakes moving along the feedpath experience a first rotation as they pass the second magnet during relative movement between the web and the magnets; The web is then moved through the fields passing the magnets and the coating is subsequently cured.

Two-axial alignment of magnetic platelets

A security article is a substrate having a diffractive grating thereon, coated with a windowed high index layer and a color shifting coating visible through the window. The color shifting coating is disposed on the high index layer or on the opposite side of the substrate. Alternatively, a thin film color shifting structure conforming the diffractive grating is disposed between the grating and the windowed high index layer, also conforming to the shape of the diffractive grating. Alternatively, an ink with low density of color shifting pigments is applied over the high index layer conforming to the shape of the diffractive grating. The resulting color shifting image provides a reference to a holographic image.

Patterned optical structures with enhanced security feature

In one embodiment of the present invention, non-toxic inorganic flakes are used for identification and anticounterfeit protection of pharmaceutical articles, such as pills, tablets and capsules, having a core of a biologically active material and/or a biologically inert material. Non-toxic inorganic authentication flakes, either optically variable flakes or taggant flakes having one or more symbols and/or a selected shape are disposed on the surface or inside of the pharmaceutical article.

Non-toxic flakes for authentication of pharmaceutical articles

A method and an apparatus for producing unsupported thin film particles are provided. The apparatus includes: (a) a vacuum chamber; (b) a rotatable drum disposed within the vacuum chamber; (c) means within the vacuum chamber for depositing a surface coating onto the drum when the drum is rotating; (d) means for depositing at least one thin film layer onto the surface coating to provide a thin film structure disposed atop the surface coating; and (e) a knife blade disposed proximate to the surface of the drum, such that a thin film structure deposited onto the drum can be scraped away from the drum by the rotation of the drum. In the method, a surface coating, such as a wax, is applied directly to the moving surface. Thereafter, one or more thin film layers is deposited upon the surface coating. The thin film layer or layers are thereafter scraped away from the surface coating using the knife blade. Residual surface coating material is removed from the thin film flakes and is then recycled for redeposition onto the drum.

Method for the production of unsupported thin film particles

A laser imageable direct write printing member for use with a laser producing laser radiation comprising a flexible sheet of plastic having first and second surfaces serving as a film substrate. A vacuum-deposited laser ablative coating is carried by said first surface formed of a metal selected from a group consisting of titanium, zirconium, aluminum hafnium and alloys thereof.

Laser imageable lithographic printing member

A laser imageable direct write printing member for use with a laser producing laser infrared radiation comprising a flexible sheet of plastic having first and second surfaces serving as a film substrate. A vacuum-deposited laser ablative coating is carried by said first surface formed of a metal selected from a group consisting of titanium, zirconium, hafnium and alloys thereof.

Growing community of inventors

Rohnert Park, CA, United States of America

Wilfred C Kittler, Jr