FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of anti- counterfeiting articles. Particularly, the present disclosure provides a security article for anti-counterfeiting and a process for production thereof. Aspects of the present disclosure also relates to a method of registering digitized information and reference image(s) for authentication of a security article, a method of authenticating a security article.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

[0003] For preventing counterfeiting of products, conventional approaches mostly resort to usage of special markings such as holograms, optically variable inks, invisible inks, and the likes where a user needs to check if the security marking is present or not and at the most, if such security marking present on the product matches with the security markings registered on the database.

[0004] However, these technologies are duplicable and can be replicated by a counterfeiter. The time and effort to replicate the labels on scale may vary depending on the type of technologies. In essence the conventional technologies suffers from several-fold disadvantages including - these technologies/security markings are not copy-proof; they can be cloned; they require a special device to authenticate the security marking; and it is very difficult for the end- consumer to verify these special marking/holograms.

[0005] With regards QR code, they can be easily copied and multiple copies can be made. With regards hologram, with the advent of technology they are easier to replicate. It is difficult for the consumer to understand the difference between original and duplicate holograms and there is no communication between brand and consumer. With regards usage of invisible ink, it requires a lot of learning curve to understand, and may require a special device to authenticate. It also can be copied easily. With regards RFID, the labels based on RFID are expensive, and on large scale cost of production is much higher than any other label of the same size. The possibility of the RFID labels being replicated and cloned is also there. They may also need a special device to read them, and also on smart phones limited models have RFID readers. To overcome the shortcomings of these technologies, numerous approaches have been suggested in the art. One being usage of physically unclonable function (PUF) as part of the label or security markings.

[0006] US20110164748A1 relates to “Packaging film for product authentication, authentication method and system”, teachings whereof are incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. It teaches a packaging film which contains pigment particles randomly distributed in a low surface-area density for the authentication of products. An imaging device is used to record a first digital image of a packaged product. The positional coordinates, and optionally the color values, of the pigment particles contained in the packaging film are determined from the digital image by means of a computer program and an identification code is calculated from the coordinate or color values and stored in a database. To authenticate the product at a later time, a second digital image is recorded and a test code is determined and compared with the recorded identification code.

[0007] WO2012038842A1 relates to“Product embodying a physical unclonable function”, teachings whereof are incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. It teaches products embodying a PUF. A method for manufacturing such a product is disclosed which relies on a material having one surface with "deterministic" asperities. The method further uses particles dimensioned such as to be able to be trapped by the asperities of the surface. Generally, the method enables particles (20) to randomly deposit on and get trapped by asperities (14) of the material surface (12), such as to obtain a pattern that forms the PUF. The resulting PUF is made easier to read out since the general pattern and the location of the particles are known. Only the filling level (of a given type) of the particles is random.

[0008] WO2015025559A1 relates to“Security film”, teachings whereof are incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. It teaches a security film which is useful as a security film for a plastic card or for an electronic passport, and in which visible fluorescent emission can be caused upon the irradiation with visible light. A security film (10) which is a transparent film comprising a transparent thermoplastic resin (12) and fluorescent organic silica particles (11) dispersed in the transparent thermoplastic resin (12), wherein the fluorescent organic silica particles (11) are particles each of which is composed of an organic fluorescent dye and an organic silica and has a diameter of 100 to 20000 nm and which can cause visible fluorescent emission upon the irradiation with visible light, the fluorescent organic silica particles (11) are contained in an amount of 1 x 10-6 to 6 parts by mass relative to 100 parts by mass of the transparent thermoplastic resin (12), the thickness of the security film is 30 to 500 pm, and the total light transmittance of the security film is 80% or more.

[0009] However, such conventional PUF having particles randomly distributed across a surface of the film suffers from several shortcomings, most notable being difficulty in production and registration of such PUF. Typically, such PUF/films are produced by embedding the particles randomly distributed across a surface of the film, and then the film is cut to produce labels/articles of desired size. During cutting of film, several sliced/cut particles tend to remain at the edges of the film, which are particularly troublesome during registration of the PUF, as standard/reference pattern cannot be accurately captured for registration. Further, several particles (including the sliced/cut particles) remain on extreme edges of the cut film (or label), which may be damaged or wear-off or dislodged during transportation or handling of the label or during handling of the product (with label attached therewith) resulting in mismatch of the test pattern with the reference pattern, and failure of the authentication, despite of the product/security article being authentic (false-negative authentication failures).

[00010] The present disclosure provides a security article and a method of manufacturing that alleviates the abovementioned shortcomings of the conventional PUF based articles, amongst other differences.

OBJECTS

[00011] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a security article that has enhanced security as compared to conventional security articles.

[00012] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a security article that does not give rise to false-negative authentication failures.

[00013] Further object of the present disclosure is to provide a method of manufacturing a security article that is cost-effective. [00014] Still further object of the present disclosure is to provide a method of authentication of security articles that takes less time for authenticating the security article as compared to convention methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[00015] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of anti- counterfeiting articles. Particularly, the present disclosure provides a security article for anti-counterfeiting and a process for production thereof. Aspects of the present disclosure also relates to a method of registering digitized information and reference image(s) for authentication of a security article, a method of authenticating a security article.

[00016] An aspect of the present disclosure provides a security article for anti-counterfeiting (100), said security article including: a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120); and an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110). In an embodiment, the plurality of particles (110) are randomly distributed across the film (120), said film comprising 2 to 200 particles per square cm, and said plurality of particles (110) collectively covering 0.01% to 90% area of the film. In an embodiment, the plurality of particles (110) are 3D particles with size ranging from 100 microns to 5000 microns. In an embodiment, the film (120) has a thickness ranging from 10 microns to 5000 microns. In an embodiment, the indicia (130) includes one or a plurality of figures. In an embodiment, the plurality of particles (110) comprises any or a combination of light absorbing particles and light emitting particles. In an embodiment, the security article further includes any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code.

[00017] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a process for preparing a security article for anti- counterfeiting (100), the process comprising the steps of: preparing a film (120) having a plurality of particles (110) distributed across the film (120); and associating an indicia (130) with said film (120), said indicia (130) affording demarcation of an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110). In an embodiment, the step of associating the indicia with the film comprises affixing the film (120) to a substrate film (150) defining the indicia. In an embodiment, the substrate film (150) further defines any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code.. In an embodiment, the step of preparing a film (120) having a plurality of particles (110) distributed across the film (120) comprises the steps of: mixing said plurality of particles with a molten film composition; and forming the film (120) having said plurality of particles (110) distributed across the film (120).

[00018] Further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of authenticating a security article (100), said security article including a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110), and any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code, the method comprising the steps of: capturing, at one or more processors, one or a plurality of images of the security article; extracting, at one or more processors, an information embedded within said any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric; identifying, at one or more processors, registered reference image(s) of registrable particles corresponding to said extracted information; determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within an area of indicia in said captured one or a plurality of images; determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within the area of indicia as registrable particles (102) in said captured one or a plurality of images; extracting, at one or more processors, a pattern generated by the registrable particles (102) from said captured one or a plurality of images; matching, at one or more processors, the extracted pattern against the registered reference image(s) of registrable particles; determining, at one or more processors, if the registered reference image matches with the extracted pattern; and authenticating, at one or more processors, a security article based on said determination.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00019] The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:

[00020] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary view of the security article (100), realized in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. [00021] FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary view of a security article that includes a plurality of squares and triangles that, collectively, serve as an indicia, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00022] FIG. 2B-2E illustrate exemplary views of the security article showing different figures that serves as an indicia, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00023] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary view of a security article, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00024] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in a process for preparing a security article for anti-counterfeiting, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00025] FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in process of preparing a film having a plurality of particles distributed across the film, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00026] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in registration of reference image(s) for authentication of a security article, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00027] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in authentication of a security article, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00028] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in for authentication of a security article, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00029] FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary functional components of a security article authentication system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00030] FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating authentication of a security article in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00031] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computer system to implement the proposed system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[00032] Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims which follow, the word“comprise” and variations thereof, such as,“comprises” and“comprising” are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense that is as“including, but not limited to.” [00033] Reference throughout this specification to“one embodiment” or“an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases“in one embodiment” or“in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[00034] As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms“a,”“an,” and“the” include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. It should also be noted that the term“or” is generally employed in its sense including“and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.

[00035] In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as concentration, reaction conditions, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term“about.” Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable.

[00036] The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention. [00037] The headings and abstract of the invention provided herein are for convenience only and do not interpret the scope or meaning of the embodiments.

[00038] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of anti- counterfeiting articles. Particularly, the present disclosure provides a security article for anti-counterfeiting and a process for production thereof. Aspects of the present disclosure also relates to a method of registering digitized information and reference image(s) for authentication of a security article, a method of authenticating a security article.

[00039] The present disclosure provides a security article (100) for anti-counterfeiting, said security article including: a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120); and an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110).

[00040] The presence of an indicia, either on the film (120) itself or otherwise associated with the security article, affords demarcation of an area of the film. Any particles falling in the area demarcated by the indicia may be labeled, earmarked, considered or determined as“registrable particles” and rest of the particles falling outside the area may be labeled, earmarked, considered or determined as“non-registrable particles”. The non-registrable particles may not be taken into consideration while determining or registering the standard/reference pattern/image (to be used for authenticating the security article) and/or during authentication of the security article. The indicia (130) may be visible by the naked eyes or otherwise. For example, the indicia (130) may be formed using a substance that is not visible in the light of wavelength ranging 380-750 nm, but becomes visible when irradiated with a light of IR wavelength. In an embodiment, the indicia (130) is a visible indicia (i.e. the indicia is visible in the light of wavelength ranging 380-750 nm).

[00041] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary view of the security article (100), realized in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the security article (100) includes a physically unclonable function (PUF) including a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), and an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a).

[00042] In an embodiment, the indicia (130) includes one or a plurality of figures. The term “figure” as used herein throughout the present disclosure denotes any shape or figure such as line, curve, point, contour, outline, square, circle, triangle, square, rectangle, polygon and the likes that demarcates an area or otherwise aids in demarcation of an area on a surface. In an embodiment, the indicia (130) includes a plurality of squares and triangles formed towards one or more edges of the security article.

[00043] FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary view of a security article, realized in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure, that includes a plurality of squares and triangles that, collectively, serve as an indicia (130). A hypothetical line connecting the top and bottom rows of squares and triangles at their left and right edges defines and demarcates an area (140) of the film, and any particles falling in the area (140) can be labeled, earmarked, considered or otherwise determined as registrable particles (collectively shown as 110a) and other particles falling outside the area (140) can be considered as non-registrable particles (collectively shown as 110b). Any particles that remain partially within the area (140) and partially outside the area (140) may be considered as the registrable particles. Alternatively, any particles that remain partially within the area (140) and partially outside the area (140) may be considered as the non- registrable particles. FIG. 2B-2E illustrate exemplary views of the security article showing different figures that serves as an indicia (130), realized in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. A person skilled in the art would readily appreciate that any figure or shape may serve as indicia, which, in effect, demarcate or otherwise aids in demarcation of an area of the security label to serve the intended purpose as laid down in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00044] In an embodiment, the plurality of particles (110) are randomly distributed across the film (120). In an embodiment, the film comprises 2 to 200 particles per square cm. In an embodiment, the plurality of particles (110) collectively covers 0.01% to 90% area of the film. In an embodiment, the plurality of particles (110) are 3D particles with size ranging from 100 microns to 5000 microns. In an embodiment, the film (120) has a thickness ranging from 10 microns to 5000 microns. In an embodiment, the plurality of particles (110) comprises any or a combination of: light absorbing particles and light emitting particles.

[00045] In an embodiment, the security article further includes any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary view of a security article including: a ID serial code (302), a physically unclonable function (PUF) including a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), and an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a), realized in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00046] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a process for preparing a security article for anti- counterfeiting (100), the process comprising the steps of: preparing a film (120) having a plurality of particles (110) distributed across the film (120); and associating an indicia (130) with said film (120), said indicia (130) affording demarcation of an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110). In an embodiment, the step of associating the indicia with the film comprises affixing the film (120) to a substrate film (150) defining the indicia. In an embodiment, the substrate film (150) further defines any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code.. In an embodiment, the step of preparing a film (120) having a plurality of particles (110) distributed across the film (120) comprises the steps of: mixing said plurality of particles with a molten film composition; and forming the film (120) having said plurality of particles (110) distributed across the film (120).

[00047] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in a process for preparing a security article for anti-counterfeiting, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. At block 402, a film having a plurality of particles distributed across the film is prepared, and at block 402, an indicia is associated with the film, said indicia affording demarcation of an area of the film with registrable particles out of said plurality of particles. FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in process of preparing a film having a plurality of particles distributed across the film, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. At block 402a, the plurality of particles is mixed with a molten film composition, and at block 402b, a film having the plurality of particles distributed across the film if formed.

[00048] Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of registering digitized information and reference image(s) for authentication of a security article (100), said security article including a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), and an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110), the method including the steps of: capturing, at one or more processors, one or a plurality of images of the security article; determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within an area of indicia in said captured one or a plurality of images; determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within the area of indicia as registrable particles (102) in said captured one or a plurality of images; extracting, at one or more processors, a pattern generated by the registrable particles (102) from said captured one or a plurality of images; and registering, at one or more processors, the pattern as reference image(s) for authentication of said security article.

[00049] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in registration of reference image(s) for authentication of a security article, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. At block 602, one or a plurality of images of the security article is captured. At block 604, the particles falling within an area of indicia in said captured one or a plurality of images are determined. At block 606, the particles falling within the area of indicia are determined as registrable particles in said captured one or a plurality of images. At block 608, a pattern generated by the registrable particles is extracted from the captured one or a plurality of images. At block 610, the pattern is registered as reference image(s) for authentication of the security article.

[00050] Further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of authenticating a security article (100), said security article including a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), and an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110), the method comprising the steps of: capturing, at one or more processors, one or a plurality of images of the security article; determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within an area of indicia in said captured one or a plurality of images; determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within the area of indicia as registrable particles (102) in said captured one or a plurality of images; extracting, at one or more processors, a pattern generated by the registrable particles (102) from said captured one or a plurality of images; comparing, at one or more processors, the extracted pattern with pre-defined reference image(s) of said registrable particles (102) that may be stored in the database; and authenticating, at one or more processors, the security article based on said comparison.

[00051] FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in authentication of a security article, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. At block 702, one or a plurality of images of the security article is captured. At block 704, the particles falling within an area of indicia is determined in said captured one or a plurality of images. At block 706, the particles falling within the area of indicia are determined as registrable particles in said captured one or a plurality of images. At block 708, a pattern generated by the registrable particles is extracted from said captured one or a plurality of images. At block 710, the extracted pattern is compared with pre-defined reference image(s) of said registrable particles that may be stored in the database. At block 712 the security article is authenticated based on the comparison made at block 710.

[00052] Still further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of authenticating a security article (100), said security article including a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110), and any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code, the method comprising the steps of: capturing, at one or more processors, one or a plurality of images of the security article; extracting, at one or more processors, an information embedded within said any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code; identifying, at one or more processors, a registered reference image of said registrable particles (102) corresponding to said extracted information, determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within an area of indicia in said captured one or a plurality of images; determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within the area of indicia as registrable particles (102) in said captured one or a plurality of images; extracting, at one or more processors, a pattern generated by the registrable particles (102) from said captured one or a plurality of images; comparing, at one or more processors, the extracted pattern with the registered reference image of said registrable particles (102); and authenticating, at one or more processors, the security article based on said comparison.

[00053] FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram showing steps involved in for authentication of a security article, said security article including a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110), and any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. At block 802, one or a plurality of images of the security article is captured. At block 804, an information embedded within said any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code is extracted. At block 806, a registered reference image of said registrable particles corresponding to said extracted information is identified. At block 808, the particles falling within an area of indicia in said captured one or a plurality of images are determined. At block 810, the particles falling within the area of indicia are determined as registrable particles (102) in said captured one or a plurality of images. At block 812, a pattern generated by the registrable particles (102) is extracted from said captured one or a plurality of images. At block 814, the extracted pattern is compared with the registered reference image of said registrable particles (102). At block 816 the security article is authenticated based on the comparison done at step 814.

[00054] Still further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of authenticating a security article (100), said security article including a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110), and any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code, the method comprising the steps of: capturing, at one or more processors, one or a plurality of images of the security article; extracting, at one or more processors, an information embedded within said any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code; identifying, at one or more processors, a set of registered reference images of registrable particles corresponding to said extracted information, determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within an area of indicia in said captured one or a plurality of images; determining, at one or more processors, the particles falling within the area of indicia as registrable particles (102) in said captured one or a plurality of images; extracting, at one or more processors, a pattern generated by the registrable particles (102) from said captured one or a plurality of images; matching, at one or more processors, the extracted pattern against the set of registered reference images of registrable particles; determining, at one or more processors, if any of the registered reference image matches with the extracted pattern; and authenticating, at one or more processors, the security article based on said determination.

[00055] FIG. 9 illustrates exemplary functional components (900) of a security article authentication system (902) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[00056] In an embodiment, the system 902 may comprise one or more processor(s) 904. The one or more processor(s) 904 may be implemented as one or more microprocessors, microcomputers, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, central processing units, logic circuitries, and/or any devices that manipulate data based on operational instructions. Among other capabilities, the one or more processor(s) 904 are configured to fetch and execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory 906 of the system 902. The memory 906 may store one or more computer-readable instructions or routines, which may be fetched and executed to create or share the data units over a network service. The memory 906 may comprise any non-transitory storage device including, for example, volatile memory such as RAM, or non volatile memory such as EPROM, flash memory, and the like.

[00057] The system 902 may also comprise interface(s) 908. The interface(s) 908 may comprise a variety of interfaces, for example, interfaces for data input and output devices, referred to as I/O devices, storage devices, and the like. The interface(s) 908 may facilitate communication of the system 902 with various devices coupled to the system such as an input unit and an output unit. The interface(s) 908 may also provide a communication pathway for one or more components of the system 902. Examples of such components include, but are not limited to, processing engine(s) 910 and database 924.

[00058] The processing engine(s) 910 may be implemented as a combination of hardware and programming (for example, programmable instructions) to implement one or more functionalities of the processing engine(s) 910. In examples described herein, such combinations of hardware and programming may be implemented in several different ways. For example, the programming for the processing engine(s) 910 may be processor-executable instructions stored on a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium and the hardware for the processing engine(s) 910 may comprise a processing resource (for example, one or more processors), to execute such instructions. In the present examples, the machine-readable storage medium may store instructions that, when executed by the processing resource, implement the processing engine(s) 910. In such examples, the system 902 may comprise the machine-readable storage medium storing the instructions and the processing resource to execute the instructions, or the machine-readable storage medium may be separate but accessible to the system 902 and the processing resource. In other examples, the processing engine(s) 910 may be implemented by electronic circuitry. The database 924 may comprise data that is either stored or generated as a result of functionalities implemented by any of the components of the processing engine(s) 910.

[00059] In an exemplary embodiment, the processing engine(s) 910 may comprise an image capturing unit 912, an information extracting unit 914, a registrable particles determination unit 916, a pattern extracting unit 918, a matching and authentication unit 920, and other units(s) 922. It should be appreciated that units being described are only exemplary units and any other unit or sub-unit may be included as part of the system 902. These units too may be merged or divided into super-units or sub-units as may be configured. It should also be appreciated that one or more units may not be required while implementing other embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the security article authentication system for authentication of the security article that comprises a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), and an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110), may not require the information extracting unit 914.

[00060] In an embodiment, the system affords authentication of a security article (100) that comprises a physically unclonable function (PUF) comprising a plurality of particles (110) distributed across a film (120), an indicia (130) demarking an area (140) of the film with registrable particles (110a) out of said plurality of particles (110), and any or a combination of a hologram, a ID random code, a ID serial code, a 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code..

[00061] In an embodiment, the image capturing unit 912 facilitates capturing of one or a plurality of images of the security article. In an embodiment, an information extracting unit 914 facilitates to extract information embedded within the any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code. The information embedded within the any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code may be a number/code identifying a unique security articles manufactured in a batch or a code identifying a particular class of the security articles or such other information that, wholly or in part, may aid in identification of a security article or a bunch of the security articles. For example, the ID random code may be IXE0001, which identifies a security article uniquely, wherein IXE denotes a batch under which 10 or more security articles were manufactured and numbered as IXE0001, IXE0002, IXE0003 and likewise.

[00062] In an embodiment, a registrable particles determination unit 916, facilitates determination of registrable particles (i.e. particles falling within the area of indicia) out of said plurality of particles from the captured image(s). In an embodiment, the pattern extracting unit 918 facilitates extracting a pattern generated by the registrable particles (102) from the captured one or a plurality of images.

[00063] In an embodiment, the matching and authentication unit 920 facilitates determination/extraction of set of registered images corresponding to the information extracted from any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code. For example, 100 registered images may be stored in a database corresponding to the information (e.g. against the batch code IXE ranging from IXEOOOl to IXEOIOO), and the matching and authentication unit 920 facilitates determination/extraction of the image(s) of the security article from the database corresponding to the information/code IXEOOOl extracted by the information extracting unit 914. Accordingly, the information embedded within any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code aids in identifying one or a set of reference images against which the test image needs to be compared for verification and authentication, greatly enhancing the speed of analysis (i.e. the processing speed is increased by several fold). In an embodiment, the matching and authentication unit 920 further facilitates matching of the extracted pattern against the reference image(s) of registrable particles, and a determination is made if the registered reference image matches with the extracted pattern. Based on the determination the security article is authenticated.

[00064] In an embodiment, the system 902 can be implemented using any or a combination of hardware components and software components such as a cloud, a server, a computing system, a computing device, a network device and the like. Further, the system 902 can interact with any of the entity devices through a website or an application that can reside in the entity devices. In an implementation, the system 902 can be accessed by website or application that can be configured with any operating system, including but not limited to, Android™, iOS™, and the like. Examples of the computing devices can include, but are not limited to, a computing device associated with industrial equipment or an industrial equipment based asset, a smart camera, a smart phone, a portable computer, a personal digital assistant, a handheld device and the like.

[00065] In an embodiment, the system 902 can include one or more processors (interchangeably can be referred to as processors, herein) of control unit which can be communicatively coupled to a memory which can store one or more instructions to be executed by processors. In an embodiment, the system 902 may not be connected to the network at all and may be a standalone device which has alphanumeric character stored on the system itself. The system 902 may be implemented on a mobile communication device.

[00066] Further, the network can be a wireless network, a wired network or a combination thereof that can be implemented as one of the different types of networks, such as Intranet, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Internet, and the like. Further, the network can either be a dedicated network or a shared network. The shared network can represent an association of the different types of networks that can use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), and the like.

[00067] The provision of PUF along with any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code on the security article is advantageous, in that, it affords enhanced security, reducing the risk of cloning and copying, without need of complex patterns of the particles. Further, provision of any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, a 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code on the security article can afford embedding the information, such as code or number denoting a security article or a class of security articles, against which one registered reference image or a set of registered reference images of registrable particles may be stored in the database. Provision of storage of one registered reference image or a set of registered reference images against a code or number (or any such information) affords significant enhancement in speed of the matching and authentication step(s) by the processor(s)/engine(s) as compared to the conventional systems, wherein the pattern produced by the particles/PUF needs to be compared with numerous registered images. For example, during manufacturing of the security articles, code IXE may be embedded within the ID random code along with serial codes from 0001 to 0100 i.e. IXE0001 to IXE0100 that pertains to 100 security articles. During registration of the PUF, reference images of each of the 100 security articles may be registered in the database by tagging them with the code IXE ranging from IXE0001 to IXE0100, and during the authentication, once the code IXE0001 (i.e. the information) embedded within ID random code provided on the security article is identified/extracted, the processor/engine or the matching and extraction unit only need to match the test pattern generated by the PUF against the one or a plurality of registered reference images tagged with IXE0001 and based on the matching, authentication can be done quickly.

[00068] FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram 1000 illustrating authentication of a security article in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, at block 1002 one or a plurality of images of the security article is captured. At block 1004, an information embedded within any or a combination of hologram, ID random code, ID serial code, 2D random code, 2D serial code and an Optically Readable Alpha-numeric code present on the security article is extracted. At block 1006, a set of registered reference images of registrable particles corresponding to the extracted information are identified. At block 1008, the particles falling within an area of indicia in the captured one or a plurality of images are determined. At block 1010, the particles falling within the area of indicia are determined as registrable particles (102) in the captured one or a plurality of images. Further, at block 1012, a pattern generated by the registrable particles (102) from said captured one or a plurality of images is extracted. At block 1014, the extracted pattern is matched against the set of registered reference images of registrable particles. At block 1016, it is determined whether the registered reference image matches with the extracted pattern, and at block 1018, based on the determination, a security article is authenticated.

[00069] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computer system 1100 to implement the proposed system in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 11, a computer system can include an external storage device 1110, a bus 1120, a main memory 1130, a read only memory 1140, a mass storage device 1150, communication port 1160, and a processor 1170. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system may include more than one processor and communication ports. Examples of processor 1170 include, but are not limited to, an Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2 processor(s), or AMD® Opteron® or Athlon MP® processor(s), Motorola® lines of processors, FortiSOC™ system on a chip processors or other future processors. Processor 1170 may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present invention. Communication port 1160 can be any of an RS-232 port for use with a modem based dialup connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabit port using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or other existing or future ports. Communication port 1160 may be chosen depending on a network, such a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which computer system connects.

[00070] Memory 1130 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. Read only memory 1140 can be any static storage device(s) e.g., but not limited to, a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) chips for storing static information e.g., start-up or BIOS instructions for processor 1170. Mass storage 1150 may be any current or future mass storage solution, which can be used to store information and/or instructions. Exemplary mass storage solutions include, but are not limited to, Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal or external, e.g., having Universal Serial Bus (USB) and/or Lirewire interfaces), e.g. those available from Seagate (e.g., the Seagate Barracuda 7102 family) or Hitachi (e.g., the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000), one or more optical discs, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage, e.g. an array of disks (e.g., SATA arrays), available from various vendors including Dot Hill Systems Corp., LaCie, Nexsan Technologies, Inc. and Enhance Technology, Inc.

[00071] Bus 1120 communicatively couples processor(s) 1170 with the other memory, storage and communication blocks. Bus 1120 can be, e.g. a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) / PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), USB or the like, for connecting expansion cards, drives and other subsystems as well as other buses, such a front side bus (FSB), which connects processor 1170 to software system.

[00072] Optionally, operator and administrative interfaces, e.g. a display, keyboard, and a cursor control device, may also be coupled to bus 1120 to support direct operator interaction with computer system. Other operator and administrative interfaces can be provided through network connections connected through communication port 1160. External storage device 1110 can be any kind of external hard-drives, floppy drives, IOMEGA® Zip Drives, Compact Disc - Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc - Re- Writable (CD-RW), Digital Video Disk - Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM). Components described above are meant only to exemplify various possibilities. In no way should the aforementioned exemplary computer system limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[00073] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented entirely hardware, entirely software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or combining software and hardware implementation that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,”“module,”“component,” or“system.” Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product comprising one or more computer readable media having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

[00074] Thus, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the like represent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems and methods embodying this invention. The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the entity implementing this invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systems described herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are not intended to be limited to any particular named.

[00075] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term "coupled to" is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms "coupled to" and "coupled with" are used synonymously. Within the context of this document terms "coupled to" and "coupled with" are also used euphemistically to mean“communicatively coupled with” over a network, where two or more devices are able to exchange data with each other over the network, possibly via one or more intermediary device.

[00076] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C ... . and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

[00077] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.

ADVANTAGES

[00078] The present disclosure provides a security article that has enhanced security as compared to conventional security articles.

[00079] The present disclosure provides a security article that does not give rise to false negative authentication failures.

[00080] The present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a security article that is cost-effective.

[00081] The present disclosure provides a method of authentication of a security article that takes less time for authenticating the security article as compared to convention methods.