WO2007011259A1

WO2007011259A1 - Article optical marking method

Info

Publication number: WO2007011259A1
Application number: PCT/RU2006/000292
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yuri Leonidovich Korzinin; Vitaly Ivanovich Sukhanov
Original assignee: Yuri Leonidovich Korzinin; Vitaly Ivanovich Sukhanov
Priority date: 2005-07-22
Filing date: 2006-06-05
Publication date: 2007-01-25
Also published as: RU2311677C2; RU2005123431A

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for optically marking articles and subsequently identifying said mark for counterfeit protection purposes. The inventive method consists in selecting an article marking optical mark from a number of objects provided with a random spatial distribution of indistinguishable to the naked eye nonhomogeneities, in directing a light beam from a light source to the selected mark, in forming a spatially modulated radiation intensity distribution of a working spectral range, which is defined by the presence of said nonhomogeneities, in reading out the radiation intensity distribution in the form of a nonhomogeneity distribution information and in recording the thus read out information in the form of the article main code in an identification system database. The optical mark can be made of a transparent material provided with cords, an irregular waved surface, randomly distributed scattering birefrigent particles and with other indistinguishable to the naked eye nonhomogeneities, which are not reproducible by sophisticated technical means. The optical mark can be embodied in the form of selected fragments of the surface thereof. Said invention increases the degree of the article protection against counterfeit and reduces needs in a database volume required for the article identification.

Description

METHOD FOR OPTICAL MARKING OF PRODUCTS

The invention relates to methods for optical marking of products with subsequent identification of the brand in order to protect against counterfeiting. The invention can be used in various fields of economic activity, for example, to protect against copying bank documents (plastic cards) and identification cards, in computer technology to protect against unauthorized access to databases, to certify works of art in order to prevent the appearance of falsified copies , for protection against falsification of goods made from a wide variety of materials, for the protection of paper documents from fakes.

A known method of optical marking of the product, including the selection of the optical brand, incorporation of the named brand in the product, its packaging or in a tag attached to it. The stamp is made in the form of an embossed hologram (WO9808691; priority 30.08.1996, publication date 5.03.1998, MIZH B42D15 / 10) (WO2004029915; priority 29.09.2002; publication date 08.04.2004, IPC G09FЗ / 02). The process of product identification in accordance with a known method is reduced to lighting the brand, its visual inspection and identification based on the similarity of the observed picture to the images on the marks of similar products of the same manufacturer or by instrumental decoding of the image restored by the hologram. In the case of a professional examination, hidden micro-inscriptions or conventional signs on a holographic mark are additionally identified by instrumental methods.

A disadvantage of the method of marking products with embossed holograms is their insufficient degree of protection against counterfeiting, since embossed holograms can be reproduced and replicated using available and widespread technologies. In addition, the personification of a specific product sample, including an optical mark in the form of an embossed hologram, is impossible without the use of additional marking tools.

There is also a method for optical marking of a product, in which a pattern formed by macrospots with a given distribution of spots by size and spatial distribution is selected as a brand (US Patt Arrlistiop 20050024626; priority 20. 10. 2003; publication date 02/03/2005, IPC G06K 009/74 ) This pattern is the same for all brands of the same series. Moreover, spots additionally contain color or polarization coding due to the presence in their composition cholesteric liquid crystals with the property of selectively reflecting light of a specific wavelength or polarization. The use of additional polarization and color coding significantly increases the degree of protection of the brand from unauthorized copying, but does not completely exclude the possibility of counterfeiting it, since known photolithographic technologies can be used to make a brand with a macroscopic scale of heterogeneity .

A method has also been published for optical marking of a product, including incorporation into the product, its packaging, or in an attached optical mark tag with a spatial distribution of optical parameters that are not repeated from product to product, as well as an auxiliary optical, magnetic or electronic information carrier with a database address, and storing information about the named optical brand in the named database. The closest in technical essence to the claimed method of optical marking of the product is "Method of recognition of counterfeit" (RF Patent N ° 2 202 127 C2; country of priority CN, priority date 08.08.1998; publication date in Russia 10.04.2003; IPC: G07D7 / 02; G06K5 / 00; G09FЗ / 00).

In accordance with this method, the brand is chosen among objects made of materials with a clearly visible random pattern. This pattern is formed by macrostructural elements of a material, such as wood, stone, as well as artificial materials such as paper, plastic, glass with a special addition of dyes, foreign inclusions, irregular grains. At the same time, the random structural pattern of the brand, which was read by the scanning device from the product to the product, as well as the coordinates of the characteristic control points of the structural pattern are stored in the database of the product manufacturer

The identification procedure in accordance with the known method of recognizing counterfeit products is reduced to the following sequence of operations: 1) Send a request to the database for the image of the brand and / or the coordinates of the control points of the structural pattern of the brand stored in it; 2) Receive information about the structural pattern by phone, fax or Internet from a database; 3) A comparative analysis of the similarity of the control points of the displayed image of the structural pattern of the brand with the structural pattern of the brand itself is made, or the coordinates of the control points printed on the product are compared with the coordinates of the control points obtained from the base data. Based on the comparison of data, an expert opinion on the authenticity or forgery of the product is accepted.

The known method is characterized by a combination of the following essential features:

1. Choose a brand with a clear visible random structural pattern, characterized by the presence of a number of characteristic and easily distinguishable signs such as distinct spots, irregular granular inclusions, fibers, bubbles, etc.

2. Print a reference point, for example, a coordinate grid, to determine the control points of the named structural pattern.

3. Additionally, an auxiliary information carrier with a digital code of the product, which is simultaneously the address of the product information in the manufacturer’s database, is incorporated into the product, its packaging or a tag attached to the product.

4. Additionally, the coordinates of the characteristic control points of the structural pattern of the brand are entered into the auxiliary storage medium.

5. Register using a digital camera the image of the selected optical brand.

6. The image of the selected optical mark and the coordinates of the characteristic control points of the structural pattern are stored in the database

When authenticating products, they compare the information on the brand with the information stored in the database.

The advantage of this method is the simplicity of labeling and procedures for identifying the authenticity of the product. In addition, a similar approach is applicable to an almost unlimited class of products. However, at the current level of development of printing and copying equipment, the production of a copy or counterfeit identification mark with a clear visible random macrostructural pattern does not present great technical complexity, as evidenced by the numerous facts of falsification of banknotes and documents.

In addition, the disadvantage of the known method of optical marking of the product is the need to use for its identification a large database that stores information about each product, which becomes a significant limitation for products of mass production. The objective of the invention is to increase the degree of protection of the product from counterfeiting while significantly reducing the requirements for the volume of the database required for product identification.

This problem was solved by the method of optical marking of the product, including a combination of the following essential features:

1. The choice of the optical brand is made from among objects with a random spatial distribution of inhomogeneities indistinguishable to the naked eye, a light beam from the radiation source is directed to the selected brand, a spatially modulated distribution of the radiation intensity of the working spectral range is formed, due to the presence of the named visually indistinguishable inhomogeneities of the brand, the named intensity distribution is read radiation and save the read information in the database as the basis th product code.

2. The aforementioned optical brand is made of an isotropic optical material in the form of a transparent window, for example, in the form of a glass plate or a sheet of plastic, characterized by the presence of strands, irregular undulation of the surface or spatially inhomogeneous internal stresses.

3. The named optical brand is made of a transparent material containing randomly distributed birefringent particles, for example, encapsulated liquid crystals, particles of crushed mica, birefringent microcrystals or cellulose fibers.

4. The named optical brand is made of perforated birefringent material with a random distribution of holes in size and spatial arrangement, for example, of a transparent perforated polymer film.

5. The aforementioned optical brand of perforated birefringent material with a random distribution of holes in size and spatial arrangement is additionally laminated with non-perforated transparent material.

6. The named optical brand is made of granular microcrystalline material, for example, optical ceramics or multi-domain crystals.

7. The named optical brand is made of an optical material containing dispersed suspended particles. 8. The named optical brand is made of a transparent optical material with a rough surface.

9. The named optical brand is made from any reflecting radiation of the working spectral range of a material with a rough surface, for example, metal, polymer, composite, ceramic, paper or cardboard.

10. As the named optical brand, a selected fragment of the surface of the product itself is selected.

11. The aforementioned optical brand is additionally provided with a reference point, for example, crosshairs, a coordinate grid or line bars of various orientations.

12. In order to reduce the volume of the database necessary for identifying the authenticity of the product, an auxiliary optical, magnetic or electronic information carrier is additionally incorporated into it, a secondary personalized product code is received in the named carrier, obtained as a result of the encoding of the main product code of one of the encoding functions stored in the database of the identification system, and when identifying the authenticity of the product, an additional comparison is made of the named secondary personified and transcoding the result with the basic product code read by the identification encoding function applied previously to generate the title secondary personalized code.

Comparison of the invention with the closest solution - the prototype showed that the distinguishing features are the following technological operations:

2. The named optical brand is made of an isotropic optical material in the form of a transparent window, for example, in the form of a glass plate or a sheet of plastic, characterized by the presence of strands, irregular undulations of the surface or spatially inhomogeneous internal stresses.

5. The named optical brand of perforated birefringent material with a random distribution of holes in size and spatial arrangement is additionally laminated with transparent non-perforated material.

7. The named optical brand is made of an optical material containing dispersed suspended particles.

8. The named optical brand is made of a transparent optical material with a rough surface.

12. In order to reduce the volume of the database necessary for identifying the authenticity of the product, an auxiliary optical, magnetic or electronic storage medium is additionally incorporated into it, the secondary personalized product code obtained as a result of transcoding the main product code of one of the encoding functions stored in the database of the identification system, and when identifying the authenticity of the product, they additionally compare the named secondary personified to and transcoding the result with the basic product code read in the identification, the encoding function used previously to generate the named secondary personified code.

The analysis of the scientific and technical level did not allow to find any known method of optical marking of the product, which coincides in the entire set of essential features with the declared solution. This allows us to confirm the compliance of the claimed solution to such a condition of patentability as "novelty." The analysis of the scientific and technical level confirmed the novelty of the listed distinctive features of the claimed invention, which together provide a solution to the problem. The novelty of the distinguishing features of the optical marking method is a confirmation of the conformity of the claimed solution to such a condition of patentability as "inventive step". Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following descriptions and drawings:

Figure 1 represents an optical labeled product made according to the method according to the invention and comprising an optical mark in the form of a window of a transparent optically inhomogeneous material: (1) An optical mark product (2) An optical mark, (3) An additional storage medium, (4) Address code owner’s database, (5) Address of the coding function in the database, (b) Secondary personified product code, (7) Coordinates for positioning the product during identification.

Figure 2 depicts a product with optical marking made according to the method according to the invention and comprising an optical mark in the form of a selected fragment of the surface of an opaque material: (8) A product with optical marking (9) An optical mark made in the form of a highlighted portion of the surface of the product,

(3) An additional storage medium carrying the address of the code owner’s database, the address of the encoding function in the database and the secondary personified product code,

(7) Coordinates for positioning the product during identification. Figure 3 is a diagram of an interferometric device for forming in its output plane a spatially modulated distribution of the radiation intensity of the working spectral range corresponding to the spatial distribution of the optical inhomogeneities of the optical mark according to the invention:

(10) Laser illuminator,

(11) An optical mark made of a material whose refractive index and surface profile or at least one of the above parameters are spatially modulated according to a random law,

(12) Prismatic beam splitter,

(13) Holographic grating,

(14) The distribution of the radiation intensity in the cross section of the interference pattern, which coincides with the plane of the pattern.

Figure 4 is a diagram of a polarizing device for forming in its output plane a spatially modulated distribution of the radiation intensity of the working spectral range, corresponding to the spatial distribution of the optical inhomogeneities of the optical brand according to the invention:

(16) Polaroid

(17) An optical mark made of a material whose optical anisotropy is spatially modulated according to a random law,

(18) Polaroid

(19) a Lens depicting the surface of the optical mark on the surface of the matrix photodetector,

(20) Distribution of radiation intensity in the image plane of the optical mark. Figure 5 represents an embodiment of a coherent-optical device for forming in its output plane a spatially modulated distribution of the radiation intensity of the working spectral range corresponding to the spatial distribution of the optical inhomogeneities of the optical brand according to the invention:

(10) Laser illuminator

(9) An optical mark made of a material whose surface profile is spatially modulated according to a random law (reflection, scattering)

(21) Distribution of radiation intensity in the reading plane of the main optical code. The products shown in Fig.1,2, marked by the method in accordance with the claimed invention. They contain an optical brand with a spatial distribution of optical parameters that does not repeat from product to product. Moreover, the named parameters are spatially modulated according to a random law, and information on the named spatial variations of the parameters cannot be obtained without the use of special optical devices. However, this information is contained in the amplitude-phase distribution of the wave field transmitted through these optical marks or reflected by them, and can easily be detected using known interferometric, coherent optical, polarizing and other optical devices, for example, shadow ones that form spatially in the observation plane modulated distribution of the radiation intensity of the working spectral range, corresponding to the spatial distribution of the optical indistinguishable by the eye optical brand according to the invention. In the future, we agree for brevity to call this procedure “visualization” of the spatial distribution of brand parameters even if the working wavelength corresponds to the spectral range outside the visible range of the spectrum. This spatially modulated distribution of the radiation intensity can be read using widely used scanning devices, for example, photodetector arrays. The resulting signal can be represented in numerical form and used as the main personified product code. The named code is entered into the database of the manufacturer or supplier of the product (code owner).

When identifying the product, it is positioned relative to the reader, which contains an interferometric, coherent-optical, polarizing or other device for visualizing spatial indistinguishable by the eye at least one of the optical parameters of the optical brand. A visualized image in the form of a spatially modulated distribution of the radiation intensity is read by a scanning device, for example, an array photodetector, the received signal is presented numerically and via a communication network, for example, the Internet, sent to the code owner’s database, where the received signal is compared with that stored in the database main personalized product code. If they coincide from the database, they send a signal to the consumer about the successful authorization of the product via the same communication network. Automatic connection to the database is carried out with using an auxiliary optical, magnetic or electronic information carrier with a code carrying information about the address of the database of the owner of the main code and the product code.

Since the spatial variations in the optical parameters of the brand according to the invention are randomly distributed, each brand is unique and the number of combinations of specific distributions of the brand parameters is practically unlimited. So, if when reading the main code, a line of photodetectors containing 100 elements is used, and each element allows 256 gradations of illumination in the registration plane, then the number of different product codes is 100 ²⁵⁶ (V.P.Sigorsky, Mathematical Apparatus of Engineer, Kiev, “ Texnika ", 1975, p.171). In addition, unlike the prototype, the optical marks according to the invention do not use clearly visible random structural patterns characterized by the presence of a number of characteristic and easily distinguishable fragments of a macroscopic scale, such as distinct spots, grainy inclusions of irregular shape, fibers, bubbles, etc. The indicated structural macrozones can be quite easily reproduced using widely used technologies, and copies of the structural patterns can be used for falsified labeling of counterfeit products. Objects selected in accordance with the invention as an identification mark, refractive index, optical anisotropy, optical activity and surface profile of which are spatially modulated according to a random law, cannot be reproduced by modern technical means. In addition, the conclusion that there is no falsification is made not on the basis of a subjective visual assessment, as in the case of the prototype, but on the basis of the results of comparing the data presented in numerical form, which significantly increases the reliability of the method. Thus, the choice as the optical brand of objects of this class solves one of the objectives of the present invention is to increase the degree of protection of the product from counterfeiting.

Another objective of the present invention - a significant reduction in the requirements for the volume of the database used in the recognition of fake products - is solved as follows:

1. Get the main personalized product code as a result of visualization of the spatial distribution of the parameters of the selected optical brand in accordance with the invention, reading the visualized picture and presenting the received signal in numerical form. 2. The main personified product code is recoded using one of the coding functions stored in the database of the owner of the main code. The result is a secondary personalized code for the named product.

3. The named secondary personified code of the product, as well as the address in the database of the encoding function used to generate the second personified code, is entered into an auxiliary optical, magnetic or electronic storage medium incorporated into the product.

When performing product authentication, the main personified product code is read according to the procedure of step l, the address of the encoding function is read from the auxiliary storage medium and this code is transmitted via communication networks to the code owner’s database, where the received main personalized code is transcoded by the requested encoding function, t .e. generation of a second personalized product code. This secondary personalized code is sent to the consumer via communication networks, where the received code is compared with the secondary personalized product code stored in the auxiliary storage medium incorporated therein. If the named secondary personalized codes do not match, the product is identified as a counterfeit product. It is significant to note that the code owner’s database in this case does not contain any personalized data about each product sample, and the same coding function, as well as its address in the database, can be used for marking a large series of similar products and subsequent verification their authenticity. The secondary personalized code is generated by recoding the unique personalized code unique for each product sample, the carrier of which is an optical mark protected from falsification. In this case, the conversion is carried out by a function known only to the owner of the code. This provides a high degree of protection against counterfeiting of the product marked in accordance with the present invention with a significant reduction in the requirements for the volume of the database used in the recognition of counterfeit products.

Thus, the method of optical marking of products according to the invention allows to determine the authenticity of products, i.e. compliance with their trademark, without personification of the product itself, which is sufficient to certify most products of mass demand. At the same time, this marking method does not exclude the possibility personification of a particular product by comparing its main code read from the optical mark with the main code of the same product stored in the database, which is essential, for example, when conducting financial transactions using credit cards. However, in this case, a preliminary authentication of the object without its personification can be useful as an additional barrier to protect the database storing personalized data from hackers. For a better understanding of the essence of the claimed invention and to prove the compliance of this decision with the patentability condition "industrial applicability", we give examples of specific performance. These examples do not exhaust the essence of the proposal.

Example 1

An optical brand is selected from among objects made of a material whose refractive index or surface profile is spatially modulated according to a random law. In this case, the optical mark can be made of an isotropic optical material in the form of a transparent window, for example, a glass plate or a sheet of plastic. Note that the swirls and irregular undulations are always present in sheet materials, and their appearance is due to the influence of many factors that are difficult to control. Only in high-grade optical glass the number of stitches is normalized and is reflected in the respective catalogs of manufacturers. As for the mass production of transparent materials, they inevitably contain a large number of optical inhomogeneities, most of which are indistinguishable by the eye.

Examples of products with optical marking, including an optical mark from a material that transmits radiation of a given spectral range, can serve as identification plastic cards (Fig. 1) and labels of various goods with an incorporated window, isolated fragments of glass and commercial plastic containers and other products from these materials.

In accordance with the invention, the selected optical brand is positioned in an optical device visualizing a random spatial distribution of the optical heterogeneities of the brand. For example, an interferometer (Fig. 3) or a shadow device can be used as such a device. The visualized picture is read using a scanning device, for example, a line of photodetectors, and the main personified in this way the product code is entered into the code holder database. Also, in accordance with the invention, the main personified code can be re-encoded by one of the encoding functions stored in the code owner’s database, and the obtained secondary personified product code can be entered into an auxiliary storage medium incorporated into the product (Fig. 1,2) along with the address the code owner’s database and the address of the encoding function used to generate the named secondary personified code

Examples of the implementation of an auxiliary storage medium incorporated in a marked object may include:

- a barcode printed on an additional sticker or directly on the surface of the product (figure 2);

- a graphic image of a digital code displayed on the product by embossing, printing or laser engraving (Fig.l);

- a strip of magnetic material on the surface of the object;

- an electronic microchip incorporated in a product, for example, in a plastic bank card.

As a device for visualizing a random spatial distribution of optical heterogeneities of a brand, for example, the interferometer shown in FIG. 3. In this case, the optical mark (11), made of a material whose refractive index and surface profile or at least one of the mentioned parameters are spatially modulated according to a random law, are positioned in the interferometer using special coordinate landmarks, for example, crosshairs, deposited on the surface of the product, and direct radiation from the laser illuminator (10) onto it, for example, a Laser Diode Module 31-0441-000 semiconductor laser manufactured by Socherept, emitting 0.95 MW at a wavelength of 635 nm. The radiation transmitted through the optical mark is directed to a prism beam splitter (12), which splits the incident beam into two and brings them together in the plane of the holographic grating (13), so that the wavefront of one of them turns out to be mirror-inverted relative to the other. As a prismatic beam splitter, for example, gluing two identical diamond-shaped prisms made of K-8 glass with a beam-splitting vacuum coating is used, and as a lattice (13), a hologram recorded, for example, on PFG-OZm photographic plates manufactured by Public Corporation Slavich. Behind lattice (13), there is a rearrangement of the zero diffraction order of one of beams incident on it and first-order diffraction of another beam. As a result, an interference pattern is formed, the spatial position of the bands of which is uniquely associated with the spatial distribution of optical inhomogeneities of the optical brand. The illumination distribution (14) in the above interference pattern is read using a scanning device, for example, the TSL 3301 line of photodetectors manufactured by TAOS, represent it numerically using standard electronic devices, and use the received signal as the primary personalized product code that is entered in code owner database. It should be noted that interferometric methods make it possible to identify differences in the optical paths of interfering beams of the order of 0.1 wavelength. This corresponds to spatial variations in the refractive index of the optical mark of the order of 3XlO ^"4 at a thickness of 0.1 mm, or relative local variations in thickness 2x10 ^{" 4} . Naturally, such small defects cannot be detected by visual inspection. It is known that such or large optical inhomogeneities are characteristic of the vast majority of transparent objects, with the exception of high-precision optical parts.

Further, the main personified code can be re-encoded by one of the encoding functions stored in the code owner’s database, and the received secondary personified product code is entered into the auxiliary storage medium incorporated into the product, together with the address of the code owner’s database and the address of the encoding function used to generate named secondary personified code. For example, these data can be entered by known methods in the magnetic strip on a bank plastic card. The authentication of the marked product is carried out in accordance with the procedure described above in the description of the invention. Example 2

An optical brand is selected from among objects made of a material, optical anisotropy, the optical activity of which or at least one of these parameters are spatially modulated according to a random law. In this case, the optical mark can be made in the form of a transparent window from an anisotropic optical material, for example:

- from a transparent material, for example, a polymer containing randomly distributed birefringent microparticles, for example, encapsulated liquid crystals, particulate mica particles, birefringent microcrystals or cellulose fibers; from a transparent material characterized by the presence of spatially heterogeneous internal stresses, for example, in the form of a glass plate or a plastic sheet, not subjected to thermal annealing.

- from perforated birefringent material with random distribution of holes in size and spatial arrangement. For example, commercial rolled transparent polymeric materials such as polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, prolyvinyl chloride, which, due to the technological features of manufacturing, always turn out to be oriented and exhibit significant birefringence, can be used for these purposes. The holes in the material can be made, for example, by mechanical perforation, using laser ablation, or as a result of breakdown of the material by a spark electric discharge. The mark can be additionally laminated with non-perforated sheet material in accordance with the known technology for manufacturing plastic cards, which makes the holes indistinguishable to the naked eye. from granular microcrystalline material, for example, optical ceramics or multidomain crystals; from a transparent optical material, for example, a polymer containing microparticles of optically active substances, for example, sugar.

Examples of products with optical marking, including an optical brand from a material, optical anisotropy, the optical activity of which or at least one of these parameters are spatially modulated according to a random law, can be identified by plastic cards and labels of various goods with an incorporated window containing this brand . In addition to choosing a brand, the considered example of implementing the method of optical marking of a product differs from Example 1 by the choice of a device that implements visualization of a random spatial distribution of optical inhomogeneities of the brand. In the considered example, for these purposes, for example, a polarization device is used, the circuit of which is shown in Figure 4. In this case, the optical mark (17), made of a material whose optical anisotropy is spatially modulated according to a random law, is positioned in the said device between two crossed polaroids (16), (18) using special reference points, for example, crosshairs, deposited on the surface of the product, and direct radiation from the illuminator (15) onto it. As polaroids, for example, film polaroids or Nicolas prisms are used, and as a illuminator, a semiconductor LED, for example, LS503NWH1-15G white light emitter, manufactured by I-WITTY TΕCHNNOLOGY Ltd. Using the lens (19), the surface of the optical mark is depicted on the surface of a scanning device, for example, the TSL 3301 line of photodetectors manufactured by TAOS, and the distribution of radiation intensity (20) is recorded in the image plane of the optical mark, which is in accordance with the distribution of the anisotropy of the optical mark material . The registered signal is represented in numerical form using standard electronic devices and is used as the primary personalized product code.

In this example, the same data and the same procedure are recorded in the code owner’s database and in the auxiliary storage medium incorporated into the product using the same procedure as described in Example 1. Example 3.

The optical brand is selected from among the objects made of material with scattering centers, the distribution of which over the volume or surface of the named object is spatially modulated according to a random law. In this case, the optical mark can be made in the form of: a window made of a transparent optical material, for example, glass or polymer, containing dispersing microparticles, for example, fine powders of solid substances;

- windows of transparent optical material, for example, glass or polymer, with a microrough surface;

- the selected fragment of the marked product made of an opaque material with a microrough surface, for example, metal, polymer, composite, ceramic, stone, paper or cardboard.

Examples of products with optical marking, including an optical brand of material with scattering centers, the distribution of which over the volume or surface of the named object is spatially modulated according to a random law, are frosted glass and polymer products, engineering parts, paper documents, packaging of goods, electronic and radio engineering industry, building materials, works of art and other products, the selected fragments of which are available for hardware control. In addition to choosing a brand, the considered example of implementing the method of optical marking of the product differs from Examples 1.2 by the choice of a device that implements visualization of the random spatial distribution of the scattering centers of the brand. In the considered example, for these purposes, for example, a coherent optical device is used, the embodiment of which is shown in Figure 5. In this case, the optical mark (9) made of light-scattering material is positioned in the said device using special reference points, for example, crosshairs, deposited on the surface of the product, and laser radiation (10) is sent to it, for example, a Laser Diode Module 31-0441-000 semiconductor laser manufactured by Socherept, emitting 0.95 MW per dl no wavelength 635 nm. The radiation reflected by the optical mark forms a spotted, so-called speckle pattern as a result of the interference of waves emanating from different scattering centers of the optical mark. The distribution of radiation intensity (21) in the named speckle pattern is determined by the spatial distribution of scattering microcenters. Since, according to the invention, objects with a random distribution of these centers are selected, the speckle pattern is purely individual for each brand. The illumination distribution in the named speckle pattern is read using a scanning device, for example, the TSL 3301 line of photodetectors manufactured by TAOS, represent it in numerical form using standard electronic devices and use the received signal as the primary personalized product code.

Similarly, it is possible to visualize the optical inhomogeneities of light-transmitting scattering optical marks made, for example, of a transparent optical material containing scattering microparticles, or of a transparent optical material with a microrough surface with the difference that the speckle pattern is analyzed in transmitted light by placing a scanning device behind the mark with side opposite the illuminator.

In this example, the same data and the same procedure are recorded in the code owner’s database and in the auxiliary storage medium incorporated into the product using the same procedure as described in Example 1.

Thus, random, usually miraculous, but detectable by optical microvariance methods used in the invention to select the optical brand the parameters of the material from which it is made, provide a high degree of protection of marked products from fakes. In this case, recording in an auxiliary storage medium, incorporated into the object, an additional secondary personalized product code obtained as a result of recoding the main product code of one of the coding functions stored in the code owner’s database, can significantly reduce the requirements for the volume of the named database used to identify counterfeit products.

The invention is also characterized by:

• the impossibility of faking an optical mark;

• the security of the database from hackers, since insufficient information is transmitted through communication networks to decrypt codes or make duplicate markings;

• the ability to identify counterfeit products among mass batches of products with an extremely limited amount of the database used for this;

• the ability to produce both the identification of a specific sample of the product, and the identification of the authenticity of the product without personification of a specific sample;

• an almost unlimited range of products capable of optical marking according to the invention;

• the possibility of using in some cases as an optical mark not a specially made object, but a selected fragment of the product itself.

Claims

CLAIM.

1. The method of optical marking of the product, including selecting an optical mark, characterized by the presence of heterogeneities with random spatial distribution, reading information about the distribution of these inhomogeneities and storing the received information in the database of the identification system, characterized in that the selection of the optical mark is made from among objects with random spatial by the distribution of inhomogeneities indistinguishable to the naked eye, a beam of light from a radiation source is directed to the selected brand The signals form a spatially modulated distribution of the radiation intensity of the working spectral range due to the presence of the aforementioned visually indistinguishable inhomogeneities of the brand, the aforementioned radiation intensity distribution is read, and the read information is stored in the database as the main product code.

2. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 1, characterized in that said optical brand is made of an isotropic optical material in the form of a transparent window, for example, in the form of a glass plate or a plastic sheet, characterized by the presence of stubs, irregular surface undulations or spatially inhomogeneous internal stresses .

3. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 1, characterized in that said optical brand is made of a transparent material containing randomly distributed birefringent particles, for example, encapsulated liquid crystals, particles of crushed mica, birefringent microcrystals or cellulose fibers.

4. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 1, characterized in that said optical brand is made of perforated birefringent material with random distribution of holes in size and spatial arrangement, for example, of a transparent perforated polymer film.

5. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 4, characterized in that said optical brand of perforated birefringent material with random distribution of holes in size and spatial arrangement is additionally laminated with non-perforated transparent material.

6. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 1, characterized in that said optical brand is made of granular microcrystalline material, for example, optical ceramics or multi-domain crystals.

7. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 1, characterized in that said optical brand is made of an optical material containing dispersed suspended particles.

8. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 1, characterized in that said optical brand is made of a transparent optical material with a rough surface.

9. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 1, characterized in that said optical brand is made from any reflecting radiation of the working spectral range of a material with a rough surface, for example, metal, polymer, composite, ceramic, paper or cardboard.

10. The method of optical marking of the product according to claim 1, characterized in that the selected fragment of the surface of the product itself is selected as the named optical brand.

11. The method of optical marking of an article according to claim 1, characterized in that the said optical mark is additionally provided with a reference point, for example, crosshairs, a coordinate grid or line bars of various orientations.

12. The method of optical marking of the product according to claim 1, characterized in that, in order to reduce the amount of the database necessary for identifying the authenticity of the product, an auxiliary optical, magnetic or electronic storage medium is additionally incorporated into it, the secondary personalized product code received as a result of transcoding the main product code of one of the encoding functions stored in the database of the identification system, and additionally compare the named secondary personified code with the result of transcoding the main product code, read during identification, by the encoding function used earlier to generate the named second personified code.