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AssigneeFerro Corporation
InventorsDaniel Swiler, Terry Detrie, Bertram Gardner, David Kapp, Sean Weir, Ronald Harris
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The present invention provides methods of forming and detecting non-visible marks and articles marked in accordance with the methods. In accordance with the methods of the invention, a marking material is applied to a substrate to form a mark that is contrastable from the substrate in one or more regions of the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The mark is covered with a film, which can be a bonded coating or a non-bonded covering sheet, that comprises an amount of one or more inorganic pigments such that the film appears opaque in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum but is sufficiently transmissive in one or more regions of the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to facilitate the detection of the mark covered by the film. The non-visible marks can be applied to articles such as automobile parts, aircraft parts and other articles of manufacture to deter counterfeiting.
A method of forming and detecting a mark on a substrate comprising:
A method of forming a durable infrared detectable mark on a substrate comprising:
A method of forming a durable infrared detectable mark on a substrate comprising:
A multilayer coating comprising a marking layer disposed between a substrate and a cover coating layer that comprises an inorganic pigment, wherein the marking layer reflects or absorbs radiation at a predetermined wavelength within the range of from about 0.75 μm to about 40 μm at a sufficiently different level than the substrate, and wherein the cover coating layer appears substantially opaque in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum but is sufficiently transmissive of radiation emitted at the predetermined wavelength that the mark can be discerned from the substrate through the cover coat at the predetermined wavelength.
An article marked with a non-visible authentication mark comprising a marking layer disposed between a surface of the article and a cover coating layer that comprises an inorganic pigment, wherein the marking layer reflects or absorbs radiation at a predetermined wavelength within the range of from about 0.75 μm to about 40 μm at a sufficiently different level than an area beneath the cover coating adjacent to the marking layer, and wherein the cover coating layer appears substantially opaque in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum but is sufficiently transmissive of radiation emitted at the predetermined wavelength that the mark can be discerned from the area beneath the cover coating adjacent to the marking layer through the cover coat at the predetermined wavelength.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.