FR3053000B1 - CUSTOMIZABLE DEVICE USING A LASER TO PRODUCE A COLOR IMAGE - Google Patents

Abstract

Device (1), of the type adapted to be personalized by means of a laser (2) for producing a color image, comprising a color layer (4) comprising linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) each comprising a single color, wherein at least one linear element (7Y) is intersecting with the other linear elements (7C, 7M).

Description

The present invention relates to a device customizable by means of a laser for producing an imagecouleur.

Such a device is described, for example, in the document FR 2958777.

For the record, such a device, adapted to be customized by means of a laser to produce a color image, comprisesa color layer (or printing layer) deposited on a substrate. This color layer comprises an array of elements, each element being of a single color, the elements being distributed in a succession of subgroups of identical elements, the color layer being superimposed with at least one selectively occultable transparent layer, sensitive aulaser. Said laser-sensitive layer is typically a transparent plastic layer loaded with a laser material, the laser providing at least partial occultation of the color layer by carbonization. Said occulting layer may be disposed below or / and below the color layer. Alternatively, the color of the elements is laserolabile (destroyed by the laser) outhermolabile (destroyed by heat) and the occultation layer is confused with the color layer, the occultation being achieved, not by masking, but by directdisposition colors. The color image to be obtained is broken down into pixels each representing a hue. The hue of a pixel is produced from a subgroup of elements to which are applied selective occultations / destructions of tellemanière to obtain, by composition of the remaining colors, a hue as close as possible to the hue of the pixel.

A method of (re) producing a color image performs, by means of a laser beam, a proportional occultation in intensity, usually staged on 256 levels of different intensities, and spatially selective, to the right of the parts of said elements which are desired to be masked the color, in order to express the remaining unmasked colors.

A color image thus produced by personalization is advantageously used for a security document, such as an identity or travel document, for example to make a photo ID of the bearer of said security document.

In the usual way, the elements comprising the colors are continuous lines parallel to each other.

This has the effect of creating a detrimental visual effect in that said lines remain very apparent in the final color image. These lines are more or less visible depending on the observation distance of the device.

The present invention overcomes this disadvantage. The invention relates to a device, of the type adapted to be customized by means of a laser for producing a colorimetric, comprising a color layer comprising linear elements each comprising a single color, where at least one linear element is secant to the other linear elements.

According to another characteristic, the color layer comprises a color printing performed on a couchetransparente.

According to another feature, the device further comprises at least one laser-sensitive layer disposed above and / or below the color layer.

According to another characteristic, two linear elements of different colors are intersecting.

According to another characteristic, two linear elements of the same color are parallel.

According to another characteristic, all the linear elements are arranged in two intersecting directions.

According to another characteristic, the two directions are perpendicular.

According to another characteristic, for at least one color, all the linear elements of said at least one color are arranged in only one of the two directions.

According to another characteristic, for at least one color, linear elements of said at least one color are arranged in both directions, preferably for all colors.

According to another characteristic, for at least one color, the linear elements of said at least one color are arranged periodically, preferably for all colors.

According to another characteristic, the colors of the secant elements are miscible so as to form at least one new color in the zone of secance.

According to another characteristic, at least one separator linear element, preferably without color, is interposed between two adjacent parallel linear elements, preferably periodically.

According to another characteristic, the color layer forms an array of linear elements distributed in a succession of identical groups of elements. The invention further relates to a plastic card comprising such a device. The invention also relates to a security documentcomprising such a device. The invention also relates to a depersonalization method of such a device by means of a laser for producing a color image, where the method is adapted to the modifiedposition of the linear elements.

According to another characteristic of the method, the color layer forms an array of linear elements distributed in succession of identical subgroups of elements and the method consists in decomposing the color image into a set of points, performing for each subgroup a selective darkening by lasering the laser-sensitive layer to obtain, by composition of the remaining colors of the subgroup, a closest possible tint to that of a point of the color image to be obtained. Other features, details and advantages of the invention will become more clearly apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter for reference in connection with drawings in which: FIG. 1 presents a device able to be customized by means of a laser to produce an imagecolor according to the prior art: the elements of the couchecouleur are linear and all parallel to each other, - Figure 2 shows the device of Figure 1 cut cut along AA, Figure 3 shows a device adapted to becustomized by means of a laser in order to produce an imager according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 shows the device of FIG. 3 cut along BB, FIGS. 5-7 show a device adapted to be customized by means of a laser for producing a colorimetric image according to other embodiments of the invention, - Figure 8 shows a detail of the zone of secancebetween two elements linear, - Figure 9 presents a security document comprising such a device.

The present invention relates to a device 1 customizable by means of a laser 2 for producing an imagecouleur. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate, respectively in front view and in profile view, a possible embodiment of such a device 1. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the device 1 comprises a color layer 4 comprising elements, generically denoted 1 In the figures, the colors are represented by patterns, the same pattern representing the same color and a different pattern representing a different color. The figures are given with three colors, an element 7 being specified by a letter among C, M, Y referencing its color, for example Cyan, Magenta and Yellow (yellow): 7C, 7M, 7Y. Lacouche color 4 is stacked with a sensitive layer aulaser 5, for example here below the color layer 4. Lacouche color 4 can still be stacked with a layer 6transparente superior protection. The whole is advantageously arranged above a substrate or support 3.

According to a possible embodiment, the color layer 4 is formed by color printing on the upper surface of the lower layer, white or advantageously transparent, or on the lower surface of the upper layer 6, advantageously transparent.

The device 1 may also comprise at least one laser-sensitive layer 5, disposed beneath the color layer 4, and / or at least one protective layer 6, which may or may not be laser-sensitive, disposed above the color layer 4. In this case, the transparent layer 5, which receives the impression forming the color layer 4, merges with the laser sensitive layer 5 and / or with the protective layer 6. In this case, the substrate 3 is transparent.

It should be noted that the thicknesses of the layers in the figures are not indicative, the thickness of the color coat 4 being clearly exaggerated to improve comprehension.

The elements 7C, 7M, 7Y may be of any shape. They are generally distributed and arranged in the plane of the color layer 4 in such a way as to spatially distribute the different colors C, M, Y so that, in the immediate vicinity of any point of the color layer 4, are present a plurality of colors.

A dot (or pixel) of a color image to (re) produce on said device 1, defines a hue. This hue isdecomposed colorimetrically on the colors of the elements present in the color layer 4 in the vicinity of a point of the device 1 homologous to the point of the image. Thus, for each color is determined a colorimetric component. The additive composition of the colors each affected by their colorimetric component producing substantially the color of the point. In this pointhomologist, each color is then obscured by laser firing2, right of said point, in the laser sensitive layer 5, according to an intensity function of said component colorimetric.

According to an illustrated embodiment, the occulting layer 5 is a transparent plastic layer loaded in a laser sensitive material. The laser 2 performs a concultation by carbonization 9 more or less opaque.Plus the intensity of the laser shot 2 is high, more lacarbonization 9 is important, and the color opposite is obscured, and therefore less this color is expressed. By producing inverse proportional occultations of the color components on the different colors present in the vicinity of the point of the device 1, this homologous point reproduces substantially the color of the point of the image. The repetition of this operation for all the points thus reproduces the color image.

The elements 7C, 7M, 7Y can be of any shape. However, in order to simplify the realization of the color coat, typically carried out by offset printing, while ensuring a regular distribution of colors, a conventionally used arrangement consists in making elements 7C, 7M, 7Y linear, periodically reproduced, as illustrated in Figure 1.

However, such an arrangement is detrimental in that the linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y show lines that persist in the final color image and produce a visual hash of the color image. The invention aims to reduce or eliminate this damaging effect.

For this, according to the invention, an embodiment of which is illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, at least one linear element 7Y is disposed secant to the other linear elements 7C, 7M. It goes without saying that the line effect is all the more attenuated as the number of secant linear elements increases.

In relation to a prior art arrangement, as illustrated in FIG. 1, said at least one secant linear element 7Y may be "added", or may be "moved", in that an element 7Y 'is deleted for each element 7Y disposed secant.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a color layer 4 is typically produced by printing the elements 7C, 7M, 7Y on a surface of one of the layers 5, 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the elements 7C, 7M, 7Y can be printed on the upper face of the occulting layer 5.Alternatively, the elements 7C, 7M, 7Y can be printed on the underside of the protective layer 6. This is exploited, as illustrated in FIG. 4, according to the invention: the secant linear element 7Y is printed on the lower surface of the protective layer 6, while the other linear elements 7C, 7M are printed on the upper faces of the occulting layer 5. Other embodiments are still possible. It is possible to print in several superimposed passes the linear elements 7 of different directions. It is still possible to insert other transparent layers in order to separate different planes comprising printed linear elements. A certain difference in depth, of the order of 100 pm, is quite acceptable between the different linear elements.

The distribution of the linear elements 7 according to different planes or layers is advantageous in that it makes more complex counterfeiting. This is particularly advantageous for a device 1 conventionally used to realize a safety device.

Numerous embodiments, varying the orientations, their number, and the colors of the linear elements 7, are possible.

According to a first embodiment, two linear elements 7 of different colors can not be parallel and are necessarily intersecting. This leads to a layout requiring at least as many different non-parallel detections as colors. An example of such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 5. For three colors C, M, Y, the linear elements 7 are arranged in at least three directions. Assuming, as here, that all the linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y of a same color are arranged parallel to each other, exactly three directions are necessary. The directions, here in the number of three are arbitrary. An angularly equal distribution modulo 60 °, as illustrated, allows a regular disposition to be maintained, while effectively eliminating the detrimental line effect.

During the implementation of the personalization process, it is necessary, in order to produce the color image, to carry out a metrological recording or registration operation for each direction used by at least one element 7.Also, in order to simplify the personalization it is advantageous to reduce the number of these directions. According to a characteristic, further illustrated in FIG. 5, two linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y of the same color are arrangedparallel. This reduces the number of directions to the number of colors, here three.

According to another embodiment, in order to further reduce the number of different directions, all the linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y are arranged in two directions D1, D2sécantes. Figures 6.7 give two illustrations of this embodiment, among a multitude of possibilities. The angle between the two directions D1, D2 can be whatever. According to one advantageous possibility, the twodirections D1, D2 are perpendicular. This is further illustrated in FIGS.

On these bases, many configurations are possible. Referring to Figures 6 and 7, two features of particular configurations are described.

According to a first characteristic, for at least one color, for example the color Y in FIG. 6, all the linear elements 7Y of said at least one color are arranged in only one of the two directions, or in the direction D2 only, in FIG. Here, this characteristic is further verified by the color C, for which all elements 7C are arranged only in the direction DI. Similarly for the color M, for laquelletous 7M elements are arranged only in the DI direction.

Alternatively, according to an opposite characteristic, for at least one color, for example the color Y in FIG. 7, linear elements 7Yh of said at least one color are arranged in the first direction DI and linear elements 7Yv of this same color are arranged in the same direction D2. In order to evenly distribute the colors on the surface of the color layer 4, this characteristic is advantageously applied to all the colors C, M, Y.

Without this feature being mandatory, for at least one color, the linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y of the tile minus one color are arranged periodically, preferably for all colors. This is the case of all the embodiments illustrated in the figures. Such a characteristic is advantageous in that itimplifies the firing card used by the laser 2 during customization. Advantageously, the linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y are distributed in a succession of identical subgroups of elements to form a network.

A known constraint of a device 1 adapted to be customized by means of a laser 2 and an associated process of personalization, is that the same principle of personalization, by carbonization 9 can produce a high black optical density, darkening the imagecolor produced. Also a device 1 advantageously comprises white, or at least a light color, at least initially, this white can be hidden if necessary.

One embodiment for obtaining this blank is to insert at least one separating element 8, for example linear, between adjacent parallel linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y. A separating element 8 may be inserted between two lines, or more generally all the n lines, advantageously n equal to the number of colors. This insertion is advantageously periodic. According to an advantageous embodiment, the separating element 8 is colorless, and corresponds to a lack of printing. Thus, it allows the appearance of the color, preferably white, of the underlying support.sub.3.

According to the invention, it is necessary to maintain a surfaceminimale of white. This white can take the form of linear elements 8 according to one and / or the other direction D1, D2. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 7, blanks 8h according to the direction D1 can be interposed between elements 7Ch, 7Mh, 7Yh and / or blanks 8v in the direction D2 that can be interposed between elements 7Cv, 7Mv, 7Yv.

This characteristic implies an appropriate spacing of the linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y. Thus, in the embodiment of FIG. 6, the dense linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Ypeu have a relatively small spacing: 7 vertical lines along the width. In contrast, in the embodiment of Figure 7, where the linear elements 7Cv, 7Mv, 7Yv are denser, a relatively higher spacing is retained: 3 vertical lines across the width.

Referring to Figure 8 is now described advantage of the invention. Figure 8 shows a detailed view of the area of intersection (or intersection) between two linear elements 7C, 7Y.

According to a first embodiment, the colors of the secant elements are not able to mix. It follows that, in a zone of secance, only the colorituated above remains visible.

According to another embodiment, insofar as the inks used for the colors are mixed, it appears at the intersection between two elements 7C, 7Y of respective colors C, Y an XX 7X sensitivity area, resulting from the mixing of the colors C and Y. The color X is different from the color C, different from the color Y and in the general case, different from the color M. This x-ray region 7X of color X may advantageously be used in the composition of the hues of the color image produced by occultation. selective and proportional. This results in several advantages. A first advantage is that the palette of initial colors C, M, Y is enriched with as many new colors as there are zones of secance between the initial colors C, M, Y, thus increasing the possibilities of producing hues for Another advantage is that these new colors Xcomplex advantageously the algorithm of projectioncolorimetric and composition of the image used to calculate the shots of the laser 2. Thus the color image produced is even more difficult to produce and therefore to reproduce The device 1 according to the invention is particularly suitable for producing a plastic card or a safety device. Such a device 1 thus advantageously secures an image, such as a photo ID, affixed to a plastic card or a security document 10. The invention also relates to a plastic card, such as an identity card, a bank card or the like, including such a card. virgin device 1 or a device 1 in which is customized a color image by means of a laser 2. The invention also relates to a security document 10, such as an identity card, a passport, a permit to conduct a card, a card. social security card, a bank card or other equivalent, as illustrated in Figure 9, including such a device 1 blank or such a device 1 in which is customized a color image by means of a laser 2. Security document 10 can, the case where appropriate, be supplemented by other elements 11, textual, graphic or other.

The personalization method of such a device 1 according to the invention must be adapted according to the modifiedposition of the linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y. As obvious way, the map of the shots of the laser 2, has to be adapted, on the one hand spatially to take into account the elements 7 which have changed of place and other partcolorimetrically to take into account the possiblenew colors X created by the zones of secance The invention still relates to such a method.

When the linear elements 7C, 7M, 7Y form a network and are distributed in a succession of identical subgroups of elements and the method consists of breaking down the imagecouleur into a set of points, producing for each subgroup a selective obfuscation by lasisation of the laser-sensitive layer 5 to obtain, by remaining composition of the subgroup, a shade as close as possible to that of a point of the color image to be obtained, the latter operation being repeated and the draw adapted for each subgroup .

Claims (5)

A device (1), comprising: - a color layer (4) comprising linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) each comprising a single color, said linear elements being printed on at least one transparent layer (5, 6); a laser-sensitive layer (5) disposed above and / or below the color layer (4), adapted to be laser-carbonized to obscure points of the color layer (4), so as to produce a colorimeter; characterized in that at least one linear element (7Y) is secant and superimposed on the other linear elements (7C, 7M). 2. Device (1) according to claim 1, wherein deuxéléments linear (7C, 7M, 7Y) of different colors sestsécants. 3. Device (1) according to claim 1 or 2 ,wheretwo linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) of the same color areparallèles. 4. Device (1) according to claim 1, wherein all the linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) are arranged in twodirections (D1, D2) intersecting. 5. Device (1) according to claim 4, wherein the two directions (D1, D2) are perpendicular. 6. Device (1) according to any one of claims 4 or 5, wherein, for at least one color, all the linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) of said at least one color are arranged in only one of the two directions (D1, D2 ). 7. Device (1) according to any one of claims 4 or 5, wherein for at least one color, linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) of said at least one color are arranged in both directions (D1, D2 ), preferably for all colors. 8. Device (1) according to any one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein for at least one color, the linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) of said at least one color are arranged periodically, preferably for all colors. 9. Device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein at least one linear elementparateur (8), preferably without color, isintercalé between two linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) paralleladjacent, preferably periodically. 10. Device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the colors of the intersecting elements (7Y, 7C) are miscible so as to form at least one new color (X) in the region of precance (7X). 11. Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the color layer (4) forms a network of linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) distributed in a succession of identical subgroups of elements. 12. Security document (10) characterized in that it comprises a device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 11. 13. A method of personalization of a device (1), comprising: - color printing, on at least one transparent layer (5, 6) of linear elements (7C, 7M, 7Y) of a color layer (4), said linear elements each having a single color; - laser carbonization of a laser-sensitive layer (5) disposed above and / or below the color layer (4), to obscure points of the color layer (4) so as to produce a color image; characterized in that at least one linear element (7C, 7M, 7Y) is secant and superimposed on the other linear elements (7C, 7M). 14. Personalization method according to claim 13 characterized in that: the color layer (4) forms an array of linear elements (7C, 7M, 7 Y) distributed in a succession of identical subgroups of elements and the method consists of - Decomposing the color image into a set of points, - performing for each subgroup a selective obscuring by laserization of the laser-sensitive layer (5) to obtain, by composition of the remaining colors of the subgroup, a hue most as close as possible to a point of the color image to be obtained.