EP0621574A1

EP0621574A1 - Forgery-preventing textured or printed emblem

Info

Publication number: EP0621574A1
Application number: EP94302713A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shigeyuki Nakamura Label Co Ltd Nakamura
Original assignee: Nakamura Label Inc
Current assignee: Nakamura Label Inc
Priority date: 1993-04-19
Filing date: 1994-04-15
Publication date: 1994-10-26
Also published as: IT224411Z2; ITMI950836U1

Abstract

The invention provides a textured emblem (1) having an identification mark (2) such as a trademark. Said mark is made of thread having inorganic fluorescent material applied thereon which will emit light when subjected to illumination with ultraviolet radiation. The invention also provides a forgery-preventing printed emblem (1) comprising a strip of textile fabric of natural, synthetic and or chemical fibers bearing an identification mark (2). Said mark is indicated by coating portions of the strip of fabric with resin liquid containing inorganic fluorescent material.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to textured or printed emblems bearing trademarks, distributors' names, manufacturers' names or the like which may be applied to garments, etc..

BACKGROUND ART

Heretofore, the prior art has employed peculiar woven textures, special colors and/or peculiar styles of letters for the purpose of preventing forgery of trademarks, etc. on textured or printed emblems .
While identification marks such as trademarks have heretofore been made in the form of textured emblems, printed names or labels, all of them can be easily forged in that if samples were given, it was possible to easily produce counterfeits which could not readily be distinguished form the real.
Should articles having forged trademarks or the like affixed thereon be found to be poor in quality, the distributors or manufacturers would be obliged, in some instances, to accept returned goods, resulting in badly impairing the distributors' or manufacturers' credit.
For this reason, it was a common practice in the past to make emblems such as trademarks by the use of peculiar woven textures, special colors and/or peculiar styles of letters in an attempt to prevent forgery. Nevertheless, the method of manufacture could be found out by analyzing the structure and/or constituents, so that such emblems could easily be imitated and it was hard to discern fakes.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention contemplates providing a forgery-preventing textured or printed emblem formed of a special material which makes it possible to detect any counterfeit despite any resemblance in appearance.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a forgery-preventing textured emblem having an identification mark such as letters, figures and/or other indicia woven thereinto, the mark being made of thread having inorganic fluorescent material applied thereon.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a forgery-preventing printed emblem comprising a strip of textile fabric of natural, synthetic and or chemical fibers bearing an identification mark such as letters, figures and/ or other indicia, the mark being indicated by coating portions of the strip of fabric with resin liquid containing inorganic fluorescent material.
The forgery-preventing textured emblem according to the present invention will appear white or in an other particular color under the visible light, but due to the mark such as trademark formed of inorganic fluorescent material-coated thread being woven into the emblem, illumination of the emblem with ultraviolet radiation in the range of wavelength between 300 nm and 400 nm will immediately cause only that portion of the emblem having the mark to emit a light of a particular shade inherent to the inorganic fluorescent material. It is thus to be appreciated that one glance is enough to discriminate any counterfeit made to imitate only the appearance of the real, because the counterfeit will not emit a light when subjected to illumination.
Likewise, the forgery-preventing printed emblem according to the present invention will appear white or in an other particular color under the visible light, but due to the mark such as trademark formed of natural, synthetic and or chemical fibers being coated with inorganic fluorescent material, illumination of the emblem with ultraviolet radiation in the range of wavelength between 300 nm and 400 nm will immediately cause only that portion of the emblem having the mark to emit a light of a particular shade inherent to the inorganic fluorescent material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The construction and features of this invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:
Fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the textured emblem according to this invention.
Fig. 2 is a plan view of an embodiment of the printed emblem according to this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown an embodiment of the textured emblem according to the present invention. This emblem generally designated by the reference numeral 1 includes an identification mark 2 such as letters, figures and/or other indicia representing trademarks, distributors' names, manufacturers' names or the like. The mark 2 is made of thread having inorganic fluorescent material applied thereon and is woven into the emblem 1.
For the purpose of this invention, inorganic fluorescent materials having red, green, blue or any other suitable color that will emit light of the characteristic color of the material when illuminated with ultraviolet radiation in the range of wavelength between 300 nm and 400 nm may be used either alone or in combination.
As indicated above, the textured emblem of this invention including a mark such as a trademark formed of inorganic fluorescent material-coated thread will emit a light of the characteristic color (or colors) of the fluorescent material (or materials) the instant that the emblem is illuminated with ultraviolet radiation, whereby anybody can readily distinguish the imitation from the original.
Fig. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the printed emblem according to the present invention. This emblem generally designated by the reference numeral 10 comprises a strip of textile fabric of natural, synthetic and or chemical fibers bearing an identification mark 11 such as letters, figures and/or other indicia. The mark 11 is indicated by coating or printing portions of the strip of fabric with resin liquid containing inorganic fluorescent material.
The coating or printing may be effected by applying inorganic fluorescent material on the fabric by means of resin adhesives.
As described with respect to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, inorganic fluorescent materials having red, green, blue or any other suitable color that will emit light of the characteristic color of the material when illuminated with ultraviolet radiation in the range of wavelength between 300 nm and 400 nm may be used either alone or in combination for this embodiment as well.
Resin adhesives suitable for use in the present invention include polyacrylic resin, polyvinyl chloride resin, polyester resin, polyurethane resin, nylon or others.
In addition, an appropriate amount of curing agent, plasticizer, release agent or fire retardant depending upon the type of the resin used may be added to the resin adhesive.
Curing agent will enhance the bond between the resin and the fabric as well as fastness to rubbing. Plasticizer will provide a soft feeling.
It is thus to be understood that the present invention makes it possible for even distributors to easily verify identification marks such as trademarks put on goods returned from the market as substandard products, and lends itself to prohibiting forgery of identification marks.
From the above discussion, many variations will be apparent to one skilled in the art that would yet be encompassed by the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

A forgery-preventing textured emblem having an identification mark such as letters, figures and/or other indicia woven thereinto, said mark being made of thread having inorganic fluorescent material applied thereon, said inorganic fluorescent material originally appearing white or in an other color under a visible light, but emitting a color different from the original color.
A forgery-preventing printed emblem comprising a strip of textile fabric of natural, synthetic and or chemical fibers bearing an identification mark such as letters, figures and/or other indicia, the mark being indicated by coating portions of the strip of fabric with resin liquid containing inorganic fluorescent material, said inorganic fluorescent material originally appearing white or in an other color under a visible light, but emitting a color different from the original color.