CA2132956A1 - Identification plate and method of manufacture - Google Patents
Identification plate and method of manufactureInfo
- Publication number
- CA2132956A1 CA2132956A1 CA 2132956 CA2132956A CA2132956A1 CA 2132956 A1 CA2132956 A1 CA 2132956A1 CA 2132956 CA2132956 CA 2132956 CA 2132956 A CA2132956 A CA 2132956A CA 2132956 A1 CA2132956 A1 CA 2132956A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- retro
- plate
- reflective
- regions
- mask
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R13/00—Elements for body-finishing, identifying, or decorating; Arrangements or adaptations for advertising purposes
- B60R13/10—Registration, licensing, or like devices
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G09—EDUCATION; CRYPTOGRAPHY; DISPLAY; ADVERTISING; SEALS
- G09F—DISPLAYING; ADVERTISING; SIGNS; LABELS OR NAME-PLATES; SEALS
- G09F13/00—Illuminated signs; Luminous advertising
- G09F13/16—Signs formed of or incorporating reflecting elements or surfaces, e.g. warning signs having triangular or other geometrical shape
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Geometry (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Illuminated Signs And Luminous Advertising (AREA)
- Vehicle Waterproofing, Decoration, And Sanitation Devices (AREA)
- Optical Elements Other Than Lenses (AREA)
Abstract
An identification plate which enables identification by visual and optionally electronic means is provided comprising a retro-reflective plate having two regions of differing retro-reflectivity separated by non-retro-reflective border portions, the visual information providing regions having the higher retro-reflectivity, and optionally including a passive chip or tag (as defined herein). A method of manufacturing such an identification plate is also provided.
Description
wo 93/19450 i~ l 3 2 !~ S 6 PCI/AIJ93/0011~ ;
IDENTI~ICATIQN PLATE AND ~IETHOD OF MANUFACTI~E
This inventiorl relates to a visible identification pla~e for a vehicle or other mobile apparatus for which identifica~on by visual and/or elec~onic means i5 desirable. Ln one particular aspect the inven~orl may be more ge:nerally considered in rela~don to a ~umber plate for a vehicle.
The ~vention also ~e~ate~ to a method of protu~g an iden~fic~tion plate ha~ring visual andlor e~ecko~c identification ~eans, as disclo~ed hereinafter.
Identification plate~ are &dv2nta~eously highly visible both dur~ng the day and at night, easily read both d~g the day and a~
~ught, and, economical l:o manufacture.
It is also advantageous if an identifi~ation plate can be easily and economi~ally man:ufactured to irlcorporate a passive ~hip of the ~pe which will electronically "feed~bac~" information contained on the c~hip,~ which may be specific to that iden~fica~don ~late, when the plate i~ ~n the pro~nity of electronic means enabling :~ informa~on on the:chip to be read.
One ~:of ~e more advantageous aspects of visual iden~ifica~on plates at: night 'dme, par'dcular~y but not exclusively, those used as:nu:niber~plates c~n vehic~es, occurs when ~e whole : ~ ~ identifica~on plate is re~ective to impingin~ light (hereinafter referred to as nre~o-refle~iYe") rat:her than only the readable information ther~on being:retro-reflective.
~ When~ a retro-reflectiYe material is p~si'doned on a re~o-reflec~ive background of;~the sa~e or different degree of reko-~eflec~, a~problem wi~ halation arises. This problem is greatest when th~ ion to: be~ read Oll the phte is the more highly retro-re1ective p~r~on of the plate. When light is re1ected from :su:ch an infor~ation ~plate:; the becomes di~cult or ~possibk to rèad bec~u~e of a ~halon ~ffe~t w~ich is createtl around the edges of ~e ~ ore ~reflective information, tending to blur the i~ge a~ ~erge the light re~ected IErom ~e plate 2nto a diffuse ~: image. 1~ may be cau~ed by the more highly re~e~ve nature ~f part of ~he plate, ov~powering th~ less ~e~ective por'don, ~r~ by a '.
Wo 93/19450 pcr/AlJ93/ool 1~
~1~2956 tendency of the reflected light to be more diffuse by nature. The applicant does not wish to be bound by either of these possible theories, however.
In the case of a vehicle number plate it means that the more 5retro-reflective por~on, that is, the numbers or letters which make up the information part of the plate, can be difficult or impo~sible to read at night, if the entire plate is made reflec~ive. Yet, a substan~al degree of retro-reflectivity is highly desirable from a safety point of : ~ view, at night, in relal~on to number plates of motor vehi~es.
10It is an object of the pre~ent ~nYention to provide a visual iden'dfication plate which is substantially completely retro-reflective, in which the infonnation desired to be visually read hag a different retro-reflectivity from the remainder of the identification plate, and in whi~h the halation effect w}~ch occurs wi~ a combination of retro-15reflective surfaces is substantia}ly reduced.
It is also an object of the in~en'don to provide an economical method of manufa~g such a vi~ual identifica~don :
plate, in which a passne c~ip, such as~ a surface acous'dc device, may be included. Such ~a device will be referred to as a ~tagn 20~ ~ For the purposes of this specificahon a i'tag" is defined as an electron~c unit which includes a ur~e encoded number and/or additional information, ~and, means which allows the mlmber and/or ; the o~er informalion to be read remotel~r by electronie s~nning : means at a:reading:~point. ~
one ::aspect of the invention there is pro~ided an entifica~on plate, ~ luding;~ a retro~eflec~:ve material folming the substan~ ority~of the surhoe; o~ ~e plate; said su~face havLng a first and a second main~reg~ons o~:differing re*~ectivity, sa~d re~ions together; constihlffng ~e substanffal majoraty of s~ud surface;
aid f;rst re~being:more retr:o~ ve than:wd seco~d region, ~: ~and being ~:~eparated~ ere~om by~a~non-retro-re~ective b~rderpo~ n; vthereby t~ re~uce~è~hala1don effec~ ~f said first region sufficien~ly tD allow it to be visual~y~read: when lî~ht i6 reflected from aîd surface.: ~
3S In~ one aspe~t o~ ~ invention: ~e a~ least one ba~ground WV 93/19450 ;~ i 6 P~/AU93tOo11~
region is less retro-reflective than the information re~ons.
In another aspect of this embodiment of the inven~on the border portion is of substantially uniform thicl;ness.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of producing an identification plate comprising; masking a sheet of re~o-reflecti~e ~terial; ~tting said mask to define a plurality of informa~ion regions; further cut~g ~aid mask around the ot~ e 5~d plurality of ~o~'don ~e~ions whereby to provide a plurality of border portions adjacerit thereto; whereby the remainder of said mask c~vers one or more ba~kgr6~ d regions; removing said ma~k material ~t said border portions; rendering the expo~ed plate in the area correspo~ding to said borde~ portions non-retro~re~ec~ve;
~ remoYing t~e mask mater~l eoxre~pondin~ to t~e orle or more baclcgrou~d re~ns; trea~ the expo~ed plate in the area correspondin~ t: ~aid one or more bacl~grourld regions to reduce ~e re~o-~eflectivity thereof; and, removing ~he mask material from said - informa~on regions.
In ~ne em~odiment of the method there is i~cluded ~e addi~donal step of ~ecuring a tag (a~ here~fter defined) to a norl-2Q metal~c ba~g plate secured to ~e re~o~eflective material, to complete the con~uction of the identifica~on pl~e.
In a second embsdim~t of the method of ~e in~ren~on, the plate is rendered non-re'ao-reflective in the b~der portions b~
appliuition of a light unpermeable coa~g, after removal of the mask material there~om.
In another embo~ nt of ~his aspect the one or more backgr~und regions are cs:~ated with a transparent, c~lo~ed material after removal o the mask, ~rom ~e area corresponding to ~he oxle ~
- 30 more bac~ground regions.
In a~her ~odiment of t~e me~od ~ ~e inven'd~
after IeDlO~ral of t~e mask cDvering ~e ir~o~na~on regions, it may b~ de~ired, wh~re ~or i~tance an 1nformaJdon area is r~la~ely la$geO
to ~reat t~at~ or a 11 ~e, informa~on area or area~ t~ sligh~r ~educ¢
35 - ~e~r retro reflec~ . HoweYer, ~e ~ctént of redlacti~n would be .
, WO ~3/19450 PCr/~U93/OOJ 16 9 5 ~ 4 less than that applied to the backgrs:)und regions of the identification plate.
In a preferred embodiment of the inven~ion the retro~
reflective materi~ is a high intensity corner-cube material formed of rigid plas'dcs material.
In a still further embodiment of ~is aspect the mask is made from a material having an aclhe~ive backing and covers substantially ~e whole surface of the retro-re~ective material.
:~ order ~at t~e inven~on may be more clea~ly understood a descrip'don will now be provided o~ a particularly preferred embo~ent of the inven~on, in relatio~ to a me~od fo~ producin~
a vehi~le number plate and with reference to ~he accompanying dr~w;ngs. The de~crip'don i3 in no way limi~ng on the inverl~on.
~D~
Fig ~1 shows one: embodiment of a vehicle n1lmber plate ~n accordance w~th the i~ven~on;
Fig 2 shows a second embodim~nt of vehicle ~umber plate in wh~ch a passive c}up is to be cons~ucted in ~e n~nber plate;
Fig 3 is a side view of the second embodiment of Fig 2 in assembled f~orm. ~ :
Refernng to the drawings and: to Pig 1 there is shown a veh~cle num~r plate~ lO,~ consisJdng of a sheet 11 of rigid re~o-~: ~ reflec~ve high intensity corner-cub~ pl~ 5 material which has a hi~h~ degree of retro-reflecti~ity. Sheet ll ~8 of ~he size of a vehic~Le number plate and is~ pr~vid~d on the front face *ereof wi~ a mask 12, whi~ a sheet of adhesi~e ba~ked; material.
:~ 5heet 11 ~nd ~sk 12 ~ tre~ted by a letter ntlmber punch machine whi~ provides cut~ 13 (seen on~ the mi~al 1 of Fig. 1) agh ma~l~ 14 to fir~tly define the i~osma~ regior~ of num~er : ~ -30 plate 10~ in ~i~ case ~e~letters A, B and t~ n~neral 1, and which secondly, provideli cuts 15~ ~o ~een on the numeral 1) which define border pc~tions ~14 :su~round~ng ea~h edge oÇ l~e letters and : numbers. ~he semain~g;area o~ ~heet 11 i~ a ba~kgEound r~gion 16.
- Such letterhlum6er pun~h~ma~ines are well kna~vn in the ~t an~
: ~ : 35 provide substa~tialiy even border p~r~ons ~4 ~Te~p~ g to the WO 93/19450 . ~ 9 5 6 PC~/AU93/00116 outline of the letters and numbers used.
Af~er mask 12 is cut in this manner, sheet 11 is treated to remove border portions 14, expos~ng part of the re~o-reflective sheet 11. The front face of ~heet 11 and mask 12 are then sprayed with a bla~k coa'dng material 17 (seen on the letter A of Fi~. 1), and dried.
Ba~kgroulr~ region 1~ sf mask 12 is ~en removed and the front face of s}leet 11 ancl mask 12 are ~en ~prayed with a ~ansparent coloured coa~g 18 (~hown in part as a shaded area on the left hand side of Pig 1) which coYers both ba~k~round region 1~ and border portion 14.
Because coa'dng 18 i~ tr~p~rents background re8ion 16 of nwnber plate 10 are sJdll xe~o-reflective bu~ to a lesser degree than an uncoated por~ion.
Finally, the remaining portions of maslc 12, ~ose portions coxresponding to Sh~ letter~ A, B and the numeral 1, are r~moved.
Because of the pre~ence of non-reflective border portions 14 around each of the information areas, the halation effect desceibed .
aboYe is substintially diminishet and the informa~orl is readily visually reada~le at night. Durin~ the day the information is al~o readily readable, because ~e outlining of the informa'don area~ by :~ the blaclc border por~ions 14, ~ake regions 12 highly visible and ~learly readable.
While the;applicant:does not wiæh to be li~ited ~o any par~icular :theor~r, it is believed that the borde~ portions 14 a~ in turo 2 5 ways, firstly d~ring; the day to ~ighlight the informa~oII pro~rided OI~
the number plate, that is the~letters or ~umbers which make up the ~forma~ion ~arried by ~he plate,~ and, at n~ght to reduce the halation effect as t~e number pla~e re~ect~: i~pin~ing light.
At night, li~ht iDrlpinp-g on the number plate is reflected :: 30 ms)re by the inforslution :po~tions, ~hat i8 the letters or numbers, and they st3nd :out ~ore: 6t~1y becæuse of ~heir higher retro-re~ctiviq. They: are easily readable i~ a ~umber plate co~tFucted ~:n a~c3rdance wi~i ~ inven1ion, *~ ut ~he haL~tiox~ e~ie~ blurring or di~to~ting the~read~bili~ of ~e number plate a~ a whole.
If it is tesiresl, any~addition~ informatioII may be added to 9 r~ ~3 - 6 -number plate 10, by spra~g the information on to the front of sheet 11 with a light-imper~ious coating material. Such information could relate to the authoAty issuing the number plate, to adver'dsing material, or, to any other material desired by the relevant authority to be contained on number plate 10.
~eferring now to ~ 2, there is shown a second embodim~nt of the inYen~don in whic~ a noII-metallic backing plate 19 is provided on which is positioned a tag 20. 13ac~ng plate 19 i5 brought into conhct with sheet 11, as indicated by the broken lirles, to ~and~ch ta~ 20 between ~heet 11 and plate 19. Plate 19 is sec~ared to sheet 11 by any suitable means, and such means in~lude a~esive.
Tag 20 is forme~ in two parts, a ~urface acoustic wave micro chip 21 and a ~at antenna portion 22. The reason tag 20 is sandwiched between l~e ba~k of re~o-reflective sheet 11 and ~he nvn-metal~ic ba~king plate ~9 is so that, should rlumber pl~te 10 be ~; mounted directly to a me~ fittirlg, tag 20 is spaced ~uf~ciently therefrom to avoid anterference from that metal fitting when reading :~ of the in~orma'don on tag 20 by electronic scanning means i~
: 20 performed.
Fig 3 shows assembIed :nu~ber plate lO ~n~is~ng of light impervious border por'doD~ l~, sheet 119 bac~dng pl~te l9 and tag 20. ~:~
The wavy portion:23 represents the cubed surface of the re~o- :
reflectiYe sheet l1. ~
: If:desired, for ~t;mce, fo~ reasons of protection ~m the elements or t~ alter~the~overall re~o-reElective charac~er~ of the -~ number plate, one~or more o*~r tr}ent or translueent coa~ngs may be sprayed on~the number phte lO, ei~er during the proce~s ~teps ou'dined sbnve~ or befi>re, or after.
.:
:: : :
IDENTI~ICATIQN PLATE AND ~IETHOD OF MANUFACTI~E
This inventiorl relates to a visible identification pla~e for a vehicle or other mobile apparatus for which identifica~on by visual and/or elec~onic means i5 desirable. Ln one particular aspect the inven~orl may be more ge:nerally considered in rela~don to a ~umber plate for a vehicle.
The ~vention also ~e~ate~ to a method of protu~g an iden~fic~tion plate ha~ring visual andlor e~ecko~c identification ~eans, as disclo~ed hereinafter.
Identification plate~ are &dv2nta~eously highly visible both dur~ng the day and at night, easily read both d~g the day and a~
~ught, and, economical l:o manufacture.
It is also advantageous if an identifi~ation plate can be easily and economi~ally man:ufactured to irlcorporate a passive ~hip of the ~pe which will electronically "feed~bac~" information contained on the c~hip,~ which may be specific to that iden~fica~don ~late, when the plate i~ ~n the pro~nity of electronic means enabling :~ informa~on on the:chip to be read.
One ~:of ~e more advantageous aspects of visual iden~ifica~on plates at: night 'dme, par'dcular~y but not exclusively, those used as:nu:niber~plates c~n vehic~es, occurs when ~e whole : ~ ~ identifica~on plate is re~ective to impingin~ light (hereinafter referred to as nre~o-refle~iYe") rat:her than only the readable information ther~on being:retro-reflective.
~ When~ a retro-reflectiYe material is p~si'doned on a re~o-reflec~ive background of;~the sa~e or different degree of reko-~eflec~, a~problem wi~ halation arises. This problem is greatest when th~ ion to: be~ read Oll the phte is the more highly retro-re1ective p~r~on of the plate. When light is re1ected from :su:ch an infor~ation ~plate:; the becomes di~cult or ~possibk to rèad bec~u~e of a ~halon ~ffe~t w~ich is createtl around the edges of ~e ~ ore ~reflective information, tending to blur the i~ge a~ ~erge the light re~ected IErom ~e plate 2nto a diffuse ~: image. 1~ may be cau~ed by the more highly re~e~ve nature ~f part of ~he plate, ov~powering th~ less ~e~ective por'don, ~r~ by a '.
Wo 93/19450 pcr/AlJ93/ool 1~
~1~2956 tendency of the reflected light to be more diffuse by nature. The applicant does not wish to be bound by either of these possible theories, however.
In the case of a vehicle number plate it means that the more 5retro-reflective por~on, that is, the numbers or letters which make up the information part of the plate, can be difficult or impo~sible to read at night, if the entire plate is made reflec~ive. Yet, a substan~al degree of retro-reflectivity is highly desirable from a safety point of : ~ view, at night, in relal~on to number plates of motor vehi~es.
10It is an object of the pre~ent ~nYention to provide a visual iden'dfication plate which is substantially completely retro-reflective, in which the infonnation desired to be visually read hag a different retro-reflectivity from the remainder of the identification plate, and in whi~h the halation effect w}~ch occurs wi~ a combination of retro-15reflective surfaces is substantia}ly reduced.
It is also an object of the in~en'don to provide an economical method of manufa~g such a vi~ual identifica~don :
plate, in which a passne c~ip, such as~ a surface acous'dc device, may be included. Such ~a device will be referred to as a ~tagn 20~ ~ For the purposes of this specificahon a i'tag" is defined as an electron~c unit which includes a ur~e encoded number and/or additional information, ~and, means which allows the mlmber and/or ; the o~er informalion to be read remotel~r by electronie s~nning : means at a:reading:~point. ~
one ::aspect of the invention there is pro~ided an entifica~on plate, ~ luding;~ a retro~eflec~:ve material folming the substan~ ority~of the surhoe; o~ ~e plate; said su~face havLng a first and a second main~reg~ons o~:differing re*~ectivity, sa~d re~ions together; constihlffng ~e substanffal majoraty of s~ud surface;
aid f;rst re~being:more retr:o~ ve than:wd seco~d region, ~: ~and being ~:~eparated~ ere~om by~a~non-retro-re~ective b~rderpo~ n; vthereby t~ re~uce~è~hala1don effec~ ~f said first region sufficien~ly tD allow it to be visual~y~read: when lî~ht i6 reflected from aîd surface.: ~
3S In~ one aspe~t o~ ~ invention: ~e a~ least one ba~ground WV 93/19450 ;~ i 6 P~/AU93tOo11~
region is less retro-reflective than the information re~ons.
In another aspect of this embodiment of the inven~on the border portion is of substantially uniform thicl;ness.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of producing an identification plate comprising; masking a sheet of re~o-reflecti~e ~terial; ~tting said mask to define a plurality of informa~ion regions; further cut~g ~aid mask around the ot~ e 5~d plurality of ~o~'don ~e~ions whereby to provide a plurality of border portions adjacerit thereto; whereby the remainder of said mask c~vers one or more ba~kgr6~ d regions; removing said ma~k material ~t said border portions; rendering the expo~ed plate in the area correspo~ding to said borde~ portions non-retro~re~ec~ve;
~ remoYing t~e mask mater~l eoxre~pondin~ to t~e orle or more baclcgrou~d re~ns; trea~ the expo~ed plate in the area correspondin~ t: ~aid one or more bacl~grourld regions to reduce ~e re~o-~eflectivity thereof; and, removing ~he mask material from said - informa~on regions.
In ~ne em~odiment of the method there is i~cluded ~e addi~donal step of ~ecuring a tag (a~ here~fter defined) to a norl-2Q metal~c ba~g plate secured to ~e re~o~eflective material, to complete the con~uction of the identifica~on pl~e.
In a second embsdim~t of the method of ~e in~ren~on, the plate is rendered non-re'ao-reflective in the b~der portions b~
appliuition of a light unpermeable coa~g, after removal of the mask material there~om.
In another embo~ nt of ~his aspect the one or more backgr~und regions are cs:~ated with a transparent, c~lo~ed material after removal o the mask, ~rom ~e area corresponding to ~he oxle ~
- 30 more bac~ground regions.
In a~her ~odiment of t~e me~od ~ ~e inven'd~
after IeDlO~ral of t~e mask cDvering ~e ir~o~na~on regions, it may b~ de~ired, wh~re ~or i~tance an 1nformaJdon area is r~la~ely la$geO
to ~reat t~at~ or a 11 ~e, informa~on area or area~ t~ sligh~r ~educ¢
35 - ~e~r retro reflec~ . HoweYer, ~e ~ctént of redlacti~n would be .
, WO ~3/19450 PCr/~U93/OOJ 16 9 5 ~ 4 less than that applied to the backgrs:)und regions of the identification plate.
In a preferred embodiment of the inven~ion the retro~
reflective materi~ is a high intensity corner-cube material formed of rigid plas'dcs material.
In a still further embodiment of ~is aspect the mask is made from a material having an aclhe~ive backing and covers substantially ~e whole surface of the retro-re~ective material.
:~ order ~at t~e inven~on may be more clea~ly understood a descrip'don will now be provided o~ a particularly preferred embo~ent of the inven~on, in relatio~ to a me~od fo~ producin~
a vehi~le number plate and with reference to ~he accompanying dr~w;ngs. The de~crip'don i3 in no way limi~ng on the inverl~on.
~D~
Fig ~1 shows one: embodiment of a vehicle n1lmber plate ~n accordance w~th the i~ven~on;
Fig 2 shows a second embodim~nt of vehicle ~umber plate in wh~ch a passive c}up is to be cons~ucted in ~e n~nber plate;
Fig 3 is a side view of the second embodiment of Fig 2 in assembled f~orm. ~ :
Refernng to the drawings and: to Pig 1 there is shown a veh~cle num~r plate~ lO,~ consisJdng of a sheet 11 of rigid re~o-~: ~ reflec~ve high intensity corner-cub~ pl~ 5 material which has a hi~h~ degree of retro-reflecti~ity. Sheet ll ~8 of ~he size of a vehic~Le number plate and is~ pr~vid~d on the front face *ereof wi~ a mask 12, whi~ a sheet of adhesi~e ba~ked; material.
:~ 5heet 11 ~nd ~sk 12 ~ tre~ted by a letter ntlmber punch machine whi~ provides cut~ 13 (seen on~ the mi~al 1 of Fig. 1) agh ma~l~ 14 to fir~tly define the i~osma~ regior~ of num~er : ~ -30 plate 10~ in ~i~ case ~e~letters A, B and t~ n~neral 1, and which secondly, provideli cuts 15~ ~o ~een on the numeral 1) which define border pc~tions ~14 :su~round~ng ea~h edge oÇ l~e letters and : numbers. ~he semain~g;area o~ ~heet 11 i~ a ba~kgEound r~gion 16.
- Such letterhlum6er pun~h~ma~ines are well kna~vn in the ~t an~
: ~ : 35 provide substa~tialiy even border p~r~ons ~4 ~Te~p~ g to the WO 93/19450 . ~ 9 5 6 PC~/AU93/00116 outline of the letters and numbers used.
Af~er mask 12 is cut in this manner, sheet 11 is treated to remove border portions 14, expos~ng part of the re~o-reflective sheet 11. The front face of ~heet 11 and mask 12 are then sprayed with a bla~k coa'dng material 17 (seen on the letter A of Fi~. 1), and dried.
Ba~kgroulr~ region 1~ sf mask 12 is ~en removed and the front face of s}leet 11 ancl mask 12 are ~en ~prayed with a ~ansparent coloured coa~g 18 (~hown in part as a shaded area on the left hand side of Pig 1) which coYers both ba~k~round region 1~ and border portion 14.
Because coa'dng 18 i~ tr~p~rents background re8ion 16 of nwnber plate 10 are sJdll xe~o-reflective bu~ to a lesser degree than an uncoated por~ion.
Finally, the remaining portions of maslc 12, ~ose portions coxresponding to Sh~ letter~ A, B and the numeral 1, are r~moved.
Because of the pre~ence of non-reflective border portions 14 around each of the information areas, the halation effect desceibed .
aboYe is substintially diminishet and the informa~orl is readily visually reada~le at night. Durin~ the day the information is al~o readily readable, because ~e outlining of the informa'don area~ by :~ the blaclc border por~ions 14, ~ake regions 12 highly visible and ~learly readable.
While the;applicant:does not wiæh to be li~ited ~o any par~icular :theor~r, it is believed that the borde~ portions 14 a~ in turo 2 5 ways, firstly d~ring; the day to ~ighlight the informa~oII pro~rided OI~
the number plate, that is the~letters or ~umbers which make up the ~forma~ion ~arried by ~he plate,~ and, at n~ght to reduce the halation effect as t~e number pla~e re~ect~: i~pin~ing light.
At night, li~ht iDrlpinp-g on the number plate is reflected :: 30 ms)re by the inforslution :po~tions, ~hat i8 the letters or numbers, and they st3nd :out ~ore: 6t~1y becæuse of ~heir higher retro-re~ctiviq. They: are easily readable i~ a ~umber plate co~tFucted ~:n a~c3rdance wi~i ~ inven1ion, *~ ut ~he haL~tiox~ e~ie~ blurring or di~to~ting the~read~bili~ of ~e number plate a~ a whole.
If it is tesiresl, any~addition~ informatioII may be added to 9 r~ ~3 - 6 -number plate 10, by spra~g the information on to the front of sheet 11 with a light-imper~ious coating material. Such information could relate to the authoAty issuing the number plate, to adver'dsing material, or, to any other material desired by the relevant authority to be contained on number plate 10.
~eferring now to ~ 2, there is shown a second embodim~nt of the inYen~don in whic~ a noII-metallic backing plate 19 is provided on which is positioned a tag 20. 13ac~ng plate 19 i5 brought into conhct with sheet 11, as indicated by the broken lirles, to ~and~ch ta~ 20 between ~heet 11 and plate 19. Plate 19 is sec~ared to sheet 11 by any suitable means, and such means in~lude a~esive.
Tag 20 is forme~ in two parts, a ~urface acoustic wave micro chip 21 and a ~at antenna portion 22. The reason tag 20 is sandwiched between l~e ba~k of re~o-reflective sheet 11 and ~he nvn-metal~ic ba~king plate ~9 is so that, should rlumber pl~te 10 be ~; mounted directly to a me~ fittirlg, tag 20 is spaced ~uf~ciently therefrom to avoid anterference from that metal fitting when reading :~ of the in~orma'don on tag 20 by electronic scanning means i~
: 20 performed.
Fig 3 shows assembIed :nu~ber plate lO ~n~is~ng of light impervious border por'doD~ l~, sheet 119 bac~dng pl~te l9 and tag 20. ~:~
The wavy portion:23 represents the cubed surface of the re~o- :
reflectiYe sheet l1. ~
: If:desired, for ~t;mce, fo~ reasons of protection ~m the elements or t~ alter~the~overall re~o-reElective charac~er~ of the -~ number plate, one~or more o*~r tr}ent or translueent coa~ngs may be sprayed on~the number phte lO, ei~er during the proce~s ~teps ou'dined sbnve~ or befi>re, or after.
.:
:: : :
Claims (7)
1. An identification plate, including; a retro-reflective material forming the substantial majority of the surface of the plate;
said surface having a first and a second main regions of differing retro-reflectivity, said regions together constituting the substantial majority of said surface; said first region being more retro-reflective than said second region, and being separated therefrom by a non-retro-reflective border portion; whereby to reduce the halation effect of said first region sufficiently to allow it to be visually read when light is reflected from said surface.
said surface having a first and a second main regions of differing retro-reflectivity, said regions together constituting the substantial majority of said surface; said first region being more retro-reflective than said second region, and being separated therefrom by a non-retro-reflective border portion; whereby to reduce the halation effect of said first region sufficiently to allow it to be visually read when light is reflected from said surface.
2. An identification plate as claimed in claim 1 wherein said non-retro-reflective border portions are of substantially uniform width.
3. An identification plate as claimed in claim 1 wherein said retro-reflective material is a high intensity corner cube of rigid plastics material.
4. A method of producing an identification plate comprising; masking a sheet of retro-reflective material; cutting said mask to define a plurality of information regions; further cutting said mask around the outline of said plurality of information regions whereby to provide a plurality of border portions adjacent thereto;
whereby the remainder of said mask covers one or more background regions; removing said mask material at said border portions;
rendering the exposed plate in the area corresponding to said border portions non-retro-reflective; removing the mask material corresponding to the one or more background regions; treating the exposed plate in the area corresponding to said one or more background regions to reduce the retro-reflectivity thereof; and, removing the mask material from said information regions.
whereby the remainder of said mask covers one or more background regions; removing said mask material at said border portions;
rendering the exposed plate in the area corresponding to said border portions non-retro-reflective; removing the mask material corresponding to the one or more background regions; treating the exposed plate in the area corresponding to said one or more background regions to reduce the retro-reflectivity thereof; and, removing the mask material from said information regions.
5. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein tag (as hereinbefore defined) mounted on a non-metallic plate is secured to the back of said sheet of retro-reflective material to form the identification plate.
6. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said one or more background regions are rendered less retro-reflective by application of a transparent, coloured coating material thereto.
7. A method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said plurality of border portions are rendered non-retro-reflective by application of an opaque coating thereto.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUPL1562 | 1992-03-26 | ||
| AUPL156292 | 1992-03-26 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2132956A1 true CA2132956A1 (en) | 1993-09-30 |
Family
ID=3776055
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2132956 Abandoned CA2132956A1 (en) | 1992-03-26 | 1993-03-23 | Identification plate and method of manufacture |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2132956A1 (en) |
| NZ (1) | NZ249800A (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1993019450A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2294843A (en) * | 1994-11-03 | 1996-05-08 | Ling Edward Wei Ching | Electronic encoded vehicle licence plate |
| GB2327637A (en) * | 1997-07-11 | 1999-02-03 | Nigel Gervais Stephen Willson | Vehicle tax disc with barcode or electronic memory |
| GB9724248D0 (en) * | 1997-11-18 | 1998-01-14 | Perry Andrew G | L Plates |
| DE10003881A1 (en) * | 2000-01-28 | 2001-08-16 | Witte Plusprint Druckmedien Gm | Badge, in particular approval, test, seal or toll badge, preferably for motor vehicles |
| GB2425390B (en) * | 2005-04-21 | 2009-11-04 | Curtis Consulting Ltd | Indicator signage |
| FR2897807B1 (en) * | 2006-02-24 | 2008-04-18 | Gilles Gauthier | MINERALOGIC PLATE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING A MINERAL PLATE. |
| DE102019002722A1 (en) * | 2019-04-15 | 2020-10-15 | Tönnjes Isi Patent Holding Gmbh | License plate for a vehicle and method for producing a license plate for a vehicle |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US1904850A (en) * | 1929-06-24 | 1933-04-18 | Chicago Glass Novelty Corp | Sign |
| US2207585A (en) * | 1940-03-09 | 1940-07-09 | Lester R Gasper | Glass decorating |
| DE2811656A1 (en) * | 1978-03-17 | 1979-09-20 | Berthold Deutschmann | Security design for car licence plate - has coded relief pattern over characters to be read by sensors and coded holes in edge |
-
1993
- 1993-03-23 NZ NZ24980093A patent/NZ249800A/en unknown
- 1993-03-23 CA CA 2132956 patent/CA2132956A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1993-03-23 WO PCT/AU1993/000116 patent/WO1993019450A1/en active Application Filing
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| WO1993019450A1 (en) | 1993-09-30 |
| NZ249800A (en) | 1996-01-26 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| EEER | Examination request | ||
| FZDE | Dead |