Objects to be checked for authenticity, and method and apparatus for checking whether or not objects are authentic

摘要

An object to be checked contains a large number of magnetic polymer elements scattered at random. Each of magnetic polymer elements is made up of an element main body formed of a high molecular material, and magnetic metal powder contained in the element main body. The magnetic polymer elements are integrally incorporated in paper and tangled with the wood pulp fibers of the paper three-dimensionally. In the manufacturing process of the object, a processing apparatus magnetically scans the magnetic polymer elements incorporated in the scanning region of the object while moving the scanning region at a predetermined speed, converts a detection signal obtained by the magnetic scan into a cipher code, and records the cipher code in a code indicator section. In the authenticity checking process, the processing apparatus magnetically scans the magnetic polymer elements once again, and a detection signal obtained thereby is collated with the cipher code recorded in the code indicator section. When the detection signal and the cipher code agree with each other, the object is determined as being authentic.