WO2012031596A1

WO2012031596A1 - A hand-held redaction device

Info

Publication number: WO2012031596A1
Application number: PCT/DK2011/050331
Authority: WO
Inventors: Daniel Barry
Original assignee: Daniel Barry
Priority date: 2010-09-06
Filing date: 2011-09-05
Publication date: 2012-03-15
Also published as: DK177129B1; EP2614024A1; EP2614024B1

Abstract

A hand-held redaction device adapted to apply a redaction film to a pa- per document such as to conceal confidential information, the redaction device (16) comprising a pressure-sensitive adhesive redaction film (1) being provided on a carrier tape (5) such as to be transferable to the pa- per document(12), the redaction film (1) comprising a first redaction film surface (2) having a dark colour (4a) or darkly coloured regions (4b-4g) such that when the redaction film (1) is applied to a white,whitish or other light coloured paper document(12) that is subsequently photocopied,the redaction film (1) causes markings (15a-15c) on the substantially exact area of the photocopy (14) corresponding to the area of the document (12) covered by the redaction film (1), which markings correspond to the dark colour (4a) or darkly coloured regions (4b-4g) of the first redaction film surface (2) and which distinctly render that area of the photocopy easily distinguishable to the human eye and immediately identifiable as containing confidential information that has been redacted.

Description

A hand-held redaction device

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in a first aspect to a hand-held redaction device adapted to apply a redaction film to paper documents such as to prevent disclosure of confidential information therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Redaction of confidential information in documents such as to prevent disclosure of said confidential information in connection with disclosure of the documents in which the confidential information is contained is commonly used in a number of contexts, e.g. in relation to the granting by public authorities of access to file in relation to nonconfidential versions of documents; the publication by courts and public authorities of non-confidential versions of verdicts and other decisions; and the submission by private parties of non-confidential versions of documents in relation to private litigation or proceedings before public authorities.

As used herein, the expression "confidential information" is intended to cover any kind of information, e.g. letters, numbers, symbols, drawings, tables, graphs, figures and the like, that may be provided on a paper surface, e.g. by means of printing, and which is classified, com- mercially sensitive, personal or of an otherwise confidential nature, i.e. which it is desired to keep secret, e.g. from the public.

Normally, the documents are photocopied after redaction of the confidential information using a digital photocopier, an electrostatic xerographic photocopier or the like, after which the photocopies of the documents are disclosed. Thus, it is desired to redact confidential information in a way that prevents the confidential information from being photocopied and hence from being visible on the photocopies of the documents, in particular by preventing the formation of a digital or electrostatic image of the confidential information during the photocopying process.

As used herein, a digital photocopier means a machine with which photocopying of a paper surface is carried out according to the following general principles.

Firstly, a digital image of the paper surface is formed. The paper surface is illuminated by a bright light that reflects off of the paper surface, through one or more mirrors, lenses and filters and onto a photosensitive image capture device such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) array, which transforms the reflected light into a digital image of the pa- per surface.

Secondly, the digital image is printed onto a blank piece of paper using a printing method such as inkjet printing, laser printing or the like.

As used herein, an electrostatic, xerographic photocopier means a machine with which photocopying of a paper surface is carried out according to the following general principles.

Firstly, an electrostatic image of the paper surface is formed. The paper surface is illuminated by a bright light that reflects off of the white/blank areas of the paper surface and onto a cylindrical drum coated in a photoconductive material that has been negatively charged. The areas of the drum that are exposed to light become conductive and discharge to ground, rendering them electrostatically neutralised, whereas the areas of the drum that are not exposed to light, which areas correspond to the black or coloured areas of the paper surface, remain negatively charged, resulting in a latent electrostatic image of the paper surface on the surface of the drum.

Secondly, the latent electrostatic image of the paper surface is transferred to a blank piece of paper by application of a positively charged dry pigment called toner that adheres to the areas of the drum that are negatively charged and is subsequently transferred onto a negatively charged blank piece of paper and fused thereto using heat and pressure.

Sometimes, instead of being photocopied, the documents are scanned after redaction of the confidential information using a digital scanner in order to create digital images of the documents, in much the same way as when using a digital photocopier, after which the digital images of the documents are disclosed, e.g. on a website or via email.

Furthermore, it is normally desired to redact confidential infor- mation in documents in such a way that the parts of the documents that have been redacted appear in such a way that it is clearly evident to any person reviewing the documents (or rather the photocopies or digital images of the documents) that those parts of the documents contain confidential information that has been redacted.

DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART

According to one known redaction method, on which the introductory part of claim 1 is based, redaction is carried out using a marker pen, felt-tip pen or the like having a black (or other suitably dark) colour for applying a layer of quick-drying ink over the confidential information in a document. However, the use of such pens is associated with a number of drawbacks, which are described in the following, and which all contribute to making redaction using this method a complicated and time-consuming process.

Firstly, the layer of ink applied to the paper is often so thin that multiple coatings of ink and thus repeated marking of the same area is required to completely conceal the confidential information. Even if the confidential information, at first sight, appears concealed to the naked eye, it is possible that the confidential information to some degree becomes visible after photocopying of the document due to some light being able to penetrate the layer of ink during the photocopying process and reflect off of the surface of the document. In that case, it is necessary to apply a new layer of ink on the photocopied version of the docu- ment, where the confidential information is still to some degree visible, and then photocopy the thus re-redacted document. Lack of care in this regard can result in the unintentional disclosure of confidential information.

Secondly, erroneous redactions can only be corrected with great difficulty, as the ink normally cannot be removed from the paper after application. Thus, if a person, when redacting confidential information in a document, accidentally marks a part of the document not meant to be covered, the redaction process must be repeated using a new copy of the page in question.

Thirdly, it is difficult to carry out redaction in such a way as to produce a neat and tidy result, which is desired to give an impression of professionalism. For example, it is not easy to apply the ink in a straight line without using a ruler and due to the liquid nature of the ink it often gets smeared by the user's fingers or by the ruler. Also, it is common for the user to get ink stains on his/her fingers, which can cause erroneous markings on the documents being handled.

Fourthly, with some marker pens, bleed-through of the ink is common, which can cause erroneous markings on the reverse side of the page currently being redacted, which is especially a problem when redacting information in documents printed on both sides of the paper, and on other pages lying under the page currently being redacted.

Fifthly, extensive redaction using marker pens, which is common e.g. in relation to the granting by public authorities of access to file in relation to non-confidential versions of documents, can give rise to health problems. Notably, depending on the chemical composition of the ink used, inhalation of ink vapours may cause headache, nausea, etc.

According to another known redaction method, pieces of black paper are manually cut to the appropriate size and subsequently pasted onto the confidential information in the document to be redacted. However, it is easily appreciated that redaction using this method is time- consuming and complicated, in particular as each piece of paper must be manually cut to the appropriate size using a knife or a pair of scissors and then attached to the document using glue. Furthermore, pieces of paper of even width are not easily achieved without the use of a ruler and after attachment to the document the pieces of paper cannot easily be removed without damaging the document or leaving glue residue.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention therefore aims at providing a hand-held redaction device for redacting confidential information in paper documents that obviates or mitigates the abovementioned problems, and which provides for a less time-consuming and considerably simpler redaction process.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the invention, the above objects are achieved by a hand-held redaction device as defined in the introduction, which device comprises a pressure-sensitive adhesive redaction film being provided on a first surface of a carrier tape such as to be transferable to a paper surface by means of pressure applied to a second surface of the carrier tape, the redaction film comprising a first redaction film surface adapted to adhere to the first carrier tape surface before being transferred to the paper surface, and a second redaction film surface adapted to adhere to the paper surface, the redaction film having such concealing properties and the first redaction film surface having such a dark colour or darkly coloured regions that, when the redaction film is applied to a white, whitish or other light coloured paper surface that is subsequently photocopied by means of a digital photocopier, an electrostatic, xerographic photocopier or the like, the redaction film causes the confidential information in the area of the document covered by the re- daction film not to be photocopied and hence not to be visible on the photocopy and causes markings on the substantially exact area of the photocopy corresponding to the area of the paper surface covered by the redaction film, which markings distinctly render that area of the photocopy easily distinguishable to the human eye and immediately identifi- able as containing confidential information that has been redacted.

Thereby, a hand-held redaction device is provided with which effective redaction of confidential information in a document may be carried out in a way that is faster and easier than conventional redaction methods while simultaneously providing for a tidy, professional appear- ance. A single coating of the redaction film is sufficient to prevent the confidential information in the area of the document covered by the redaction film from being photocopied, making repeated movements of the device or repetition of the redaction process after initial photocopying unnecessary. The provision of the carrier tape provides for consistent, rectilinear delimitation of the redaction film, thereby ensuring that the redaction film is applied to the paper surface in clean tidy lines of equal width. Being relatively dry upon application, the redaction film does not smear and cause erroneous markings on the paper surface. Also, the re- daction film does not cause bleed-through, thereby preventing erroneous markings on other paper surfaces and enabling redaction of confidential information in documents printed on both sides without causing erroneous markings on the reverse sides of the pages, Furthermore, even extensive use of such a hand-held redaction device does not result in any health problems as those described above, particularly when a non-toxic redaction film is used.

According to a preferred embodiment, the markings caused on the area of the photocopy corresponding to the area of the document covered by the redaction film are substantially black, such a colour, when used on white, whitish or other light coloured paper, rendering that area of the photocopy particularly easily distinguishable to the human eye and identifiable as containing confidential information that has been redacted. This is achieved, when using a colour photocopier, by using a redaction film, the first redaction film surface of which has a dark colour or darkly coloured regions that are substantially black, and when using a black-and-white photocopier, by using a redaction film, the first redaction film surface of which has a dark colour or darkly coloured regions that are either black or another dark colour, such as dark grey, brown, red, blue, green or the like.

Accord ing to another preferred embod iment, the markings caused on the area of the photocopy corresponding to the area of the document covered by the redaction film are another dark colour than black, such as dark grey, brown, red, blue, green or the like, such colours also rendering that area of the photocopy easily distinguishable to the human eye and identifiable as containing confidential information that has been redacted. This is achieved by using a colour photocopier and a redaction film, the first redaction film surface of which has a dark colour or darkly coloured regions that are another dark colour than black.

According to one preferred embodiment, the entire first film surface is provided with said dark colour. Thereby, a redaction device is provided with which the fact that confidential information has been redacted and the exact extent hereof may be clearly indicated.

According to another preferred embodiment, only some regions of the first redaction film surface are provided with said dark colour. Thereby, a redaction device is provided with which the fact that confidential information has been redacted may be clearly indicated using a lesser amount of said dark colour as well as a lesser amount of toner during photocopying. The darkly coloured regions may comprise e.g. a band of said dark colour along the centre of the first redaction film surface and/or a hatching or cross-hatching of said dark colour and/or bands of said dark colour, which are either perpendicular to the edges of the redaction film or oblique, and/or lines of said dark colour along the upper and lower edges of the redaction film and/or letters or symbols of said dark colour, which expressly indicate that the area of the document covered by the redaction film contains confidential information that has been redacted, e.g. the word REDACTED or the like.

According to one preferred embodiment, the redaction film is an opaque film concealing the area of the paper surface covered by the redaction film prior to photocopying of the paper surface. Such an opaque redaction film causes the confidential information in that area to not be photocopied and hence to not be visible on the photocopy of the paper surface.

According to another preferred embodiment, the redaction film is a transparent film such that the area of the paper surface covered by the redaction film is partly visible before photocopying. Naturally, such a transparent redaction film must still have such concealing properties that it causes the confidential information in that area to not be photocopied and hence to not be visible on the photocopy of the paper surface. Thereby, a redaction device is provided with which it is particularly easy for a person redacting confidential information in a document to check whether the intended confidential information has been redacted before photocopying the paper surface, while simultaneously ensuring that the confidential information redacted is not visible on the photocopy of the document.

According to a preferred embodiment, the redaction film comprises a concealing component, preferably a concealing layer, and an adhesive component, preferably an adhesive layer, and the adhesive force between the concealing layer and the adhesive layer is greater than both the adhesive force between the carrier tape and the concealing layer and the adhesive force between the adhesive layer and a paper surface, to which it is applied, and/or said redaction film is coated on the carrier tape. Thereby is provided a redaction device with which the redaction film and the carrier tape may be separated from one another during application of the redaction film to a paper surface in a particularly simple and effective way.

According to a preferred embodiment, the width of the redaction film is between 2 mm and 2 cm, preferably between 3 mm and 1 cm and more preferably between 4 mm and 8 mm. Thereby is provided a redaction device capable of covering text of at least the most frequently used fonts and font sizes in documents, particularly prints of electronically generated documents, using only one width of redaction film and thus only one motion of the redaction device across the paper surface.

According to a preferred embodiment, the hand held redaction device comprises at least one application tip and a housing, in which housing is provided a supply spool, a wind-up spool and a carrier tape coated in a redaction film, the carrier tape being threaded from the sup- ply spool, around the application tip and onto the wind-up spool and the supply spool and the wind-up spool being connected in such a way that moving one causes the other to move, preferably such that the carrier tape always remains tensioned, so that when applying the redaction film to the paper surface by pressing the application tip against the paper surface and moving it while maintaining pressure, the carrier tape is drawn off the supply spool, across the application tip and on to the wind- up spool . Thereby is provided a redaction device with which the adhesive redaction film may be applied to a paper surface in a particularly simple and efficient way.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the hand held redaction device further comprises one or more guiding structures for guiding the path of the carrier tape from the supply spool, across the application tip and onto the wind-up spool, preferably so that lateral movement of the carrier tape in relation to the application tip during application of the redaction film is prevented . Thereby is provided a redaction device that is particularly well functioning, especially in regard to tidiness, in applying the redaction film .

It is noted, that similar structural features are well known within the art of glue and correction tape dispensers, which will become apparent from the detailed description following below.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the above objects are achieved by a use of a redaction device according to the first aspect of the invention for redacting confidential information in documents.

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in further detail based on non-limiting exemplary embodiments and with reference to the drawings. In the drawings,

fig . 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a redaction film of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention, the redaction film being provided on a carrier tape,

fig . 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a redaction film of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention, the redaction film being a two-layered structure provided on a carrier tape,

figs. 3 to 7 show top views of segments of five different em- bodiments of a redaction film of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention,

fig . 8 shows an example of a paper document containing confidential information, prior to the confidential information being redacted, fig . 9 shows an example of a paper document containing confidential information, on which three different embodiments of a redaction film of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention have been applied in order to redact the confidential information,

fig . 10 shows an example of a photocopy of a paper document, in which confidential information has been redacted using three different embodiments of a redaction film of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention,

fig . 11 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In fig . 1, a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention is shown . The redaction film 1 is a pressure-sensitive adhesive film comprising a first redaction film surface 2 and a second redaction film surface 3. The first redaction film surface 2 has a dark colour or darkly coloured regions 4, which will be described further in connection with figs. 3 to 7 below, by way of the dark colour or darkly coloured regions 4 be- ing provided either on the first redaction film surface 2 or in the redaction film 1, in particular in the intermediate part of the redaction film 1 between the first and second redaction film surfaces 2 and 3. The redaction film 1 is coated on a carrier tape 5, comprising a first carrier tape surface 6 and a second carrier tape surface 7, by way of the first redac- tion film surface 2 adhering to the first carrier tape surface 6. The second redaction film surface 3 is adapted to adhere to a paper surface when applied thereto .

The adhesive force between the first redaction film surface 2 and the first carrier tape surface 6 is less than the adhesive force be- tween the second redaction film surface 3 and a paper surface, to which the redaction film 1 is applied. Thereby, it is ensured that, during application to a paper surface, the redaction film 1 separates from the carrier tape 5 and adheres to the paper surface.

Furthermore, the adhesive strength of the second redaction film surface 3 is sufficiently high and the tensile strength of the redaction film 1 is sufficiently low that simply removing the redaction device from the paper surface causes the redaction film 1 to break at the last point of contact with the paper surface, preferably with no discernable elonga- tion.

Accordingly, pressing the second redaction film surface 3 against a paper surface and moving the redaction device while maintaining pressure causes the redaction film 1 to adhere to and thus be applied to the paper surface while being peeled off of the carrier tape 5, whereas subsequently relieving pressure and removing the redaction device from the paper surface causes the redaction film 1 to break at the last point of contact with the paper surface, resulting in the redaction film 1 being applied to the substantially exact area of the paper surface covered by the movement of the redaction device while maintaining pressure.

Preferably, the adhesive strength of the second redaction film surface 3 and the tensile strength of the redaction film 1 is sufficiently low that a redaction film 1 may be entirely or partly removed from the paper surface (scratched or peeled off) without damage being inflicted on the paper surface such as to enable correction of erroneous redac- tions prior to photocopying.

Preferably, the thickness t of the redaction film 1 is sufficiently small that a paper surface, on which the redaction film 1 has been applied, may be photocopied without causing problems such as paper stop in the photocopying machine, but sufficiently large to ensure complete concealment of the confidential information during photocopying. An exemplary suitable thickness t lies in the range of 10 to 100 Mm, preferably below 50 Mm.

Preferably, the width w of the redaction film 1 is of a width corresponding to and enabling concealment of text of at least the most fre- quently used fonts and font sizes in documents, particularly prints of electronically generated documents. An exemplary suitable width w is between 2 mm and 2 cm, preferably between 3 mm and 1 cm and more preferably between 4 mm and 8 mm.

Turning to fig. 2, a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention is shown. The redaction film 1 according to fig. 2 differs from that of fig. 1 in that it comprises a concealing layer 8 and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 9, the concealing layer 8 comprising a first concealing layer surface corresponding to the first redaction film surface 2, and a second concealing layer surface 10, and the adhesive layer 9 comprising a first adhesive layer surface corresponding to the second redaction film surface 3 and a second adhesive layer surface 11, the second concealing layer surface 10 adhering to the second adhesive layer surface 11.

The adhesive force between the second concealing layer surface 10 and the second adhesive layer surface 11 is greater than both the adhesive force between the first redaction film surface 2 and the first carrier tape surface 6 and the adhesive force between the second redac- tion film surface 3 and a paper surface, to which the redaction film 1 is applied. Thereby, it is ensured that, during application of the redaction film 1 to a paper surface, the concealing layer 8 and the adhesive layer 9 of the redaction film 1 are held together and simultaneously separate from the carrier tape 5 and adhere to the paper surface.

Turning to figs. 3 to 7, top views of segments of five different embodiments of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention, the first redaction film surface 2 having a dark colour 4a or darkly coloured regions 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g respectively, are shown.

The dark colour 4a or darkly coloured regions 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f,

4g ensure that when the redaction film 1 is applied to a white, whitish or other light coloured paper surface and the paper surface is subsequently photocopied, the redaction film 1 causes markings on the substantially exact area of the photocopy corresponding to the area of the paper sur- face covered by the redaction film 1, which markings correspond to the dark colour 4a or darkly coloured regions 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g of the first redaction film surface 2, and which distinctly render that area of the photocopy easily distinguishable to the human eye and immediately identifiable as containing confidential information that has been redacted.

Preferably, the dark colour 4a or the darkly coloured regions 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e, 4f, 4g are black, although other dark colours such as a dark grey, brown, red, blue, green or the like are also feasible.

Fig. 3 shows a top view of an embodiment of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention, the first redaction film surface 2 having a dark colour 4a covering its entire surface.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of an embodiment of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention, the first re- daction film surface 2 having a darkly coloured region 4b in the form of a band along the centre of the first redaction film surface 2, the band being parallel to the edges of the redaction film 1 and having a width that is less than the width of the redaction film 1.

Fig. 5 shows a top view of an embodiment of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention, the first redaction film surface 2 having a darkly coloured region 4c in the form of a cross-hatching of said dark colour covering its entire surface. Obviously, the darkly coloured region 4c may be a hatching or cross-hatching having any orientation.

Fig. 6 shows a top view of an embodiment of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention, the first redaction film surface 2 having darkly coloured regions 4d in the form of oblique bands of said dark colour spanning its entire width. Obviously, the darkly coloured regions 4d may comprise bands being any degree of oblique, including perpendicular to the edges of the redaction film 1, and having any thickness and any spacing.

Fig. 7 shows a top view of an embodiment of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention, the first redaction film surface 2 having darkly coloured regions 4e, 4f, 4g in the form of two bands 4e, 4f along the upper and lower edges, respectively, of the redaction film 1, and text 4g provided in the space between the two bands 4e, 4f and forming the word REDACTED. Obviously, the darkly coloured regions 4e, 4f may be of any width and the darkly col- oured regions 4g may be in the form of any word in any language that is suitable to expressly indicate that the area of the paper surface covered by the redaction film 1 contains confidential information that has been redacted, such as also CONCEALED, CONFIDENTIAL, SECRET or the like.

Turning to fig. 8, an example of a paper document 12 containing text 13 comprising confidential information 13a, 13b, 13c prior to the confidential information 13a, 13b, 13c being redacted, is illustrated.

The paper document 12 is white, but may alternatively be whitish or another light colour such as cream coloured, light yellow, light green, light blue, light red or the like.

Turning to fig. 9, an example of a paper document 12, as illustrated in fig. 8, on which three different embodiments la, lb, lc of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention have been applied in order to redact the confidential information 13a, 13b, 13c prior to the document being photocopied, is illustrated.

On the confidential information 13a is applied a redaction film la that has on its first redaction film surface 2 a dark colour 4a, as illustrated in fig. 3, and that is an opaque film that completely conceals the confidential information 13a before photocopying of the document 12.

On the confidential information 13b is applied a redaction film lb that has on its first redaction film surface 2 a dark colour 4a, as illustrated in fig . 3, but that - as distinct from the redaction film la - is a transparent film so that the confidential information 13b is partly visible before photocopying of the document 12.

On the confidential information 13c is applied a redaction film lc that has on its first redaction film surface 2 darkly coloured regions 4e, 4f, 4g, as illustrated in fig. 6, and that is an opaque film that completely conceals the confidential information 13c before photocopying of the document 12.

Turning to fig. 10, an example of a photocopy 14 of a paper document 12, as illustrated in fig. 9, containing markings 15a, 15b, 15c caused by the application of the three different embodiments la, lb, lc, as illustrated in fig. 9, of a redaction film 1 of a hand-held redaction device according to the invention to the confidential information 13a, 13b, 13c, as illustrated in fig. 8, is illustrated.

The markings 15a cover the substantially exact area of the photocopy 14 corresponding to the area of the original document 12 having been covered by the redaction film la, as illustrated in fig. 9, and are identical to the dark colour 4a, as illustrated in fig. 3. The confidential in- formation 13a, as illustrated in fig. 8, is not visible.

The markings 15b cover the substantially exact area of the photocopy 14 corresponding to the area of the original document 12 having been covered by the redaction film lb, as illustrated in fig. 9, and are identical to the dark colour 4a, as illustrated in fig. 3. The confidential in- formation 13b, as illustrated in fig. 8, is not visible.

The markings 15c cover regions of the substantially exact area of the photocopy 14 corresponding to the area of the original document 12 having been covered by the redaction film lc, as illustrated in fig. 9, and are identical to the darkly coloured regions 4e, 4f, 4g, as illustrated in fig. 6, the remaining regions of the area being white. The confidential information 13c, as illustrated in fig. 8, is not visible, even in the regions of the area of the photocopy 14 corresponding to the area of the original document 12 having been covered by the redaction film lc that are not covered by markings corresponding to the darkly coloured regions 4e, 4f, 4g.

Turning to fig. 11, an embodiment of a hand-held redaction device 16 according to the invention is shown.

The redaction device 16 comprises an application tip 17 and a housing 18, in which is provided a supply spool 19, a wind-up spool 20 and a carrier tape 5, on which first carrier tape surface 6 is coated a redaction film 1. The carrier tape 5 is threaded from the supply spool 19, around the application tip 17 and onto the wind-up spool 20. The supply spool 19 and the wind-up spool 20 are connected in such a way that moving one causes the other to move so that, when applying the redac- tion film 1 to the paper surface by pressing the application tip 17 against the paper surface and moving it while maintaining pressure, the carrier tape 5 is drawn off the supply spool 19, across the application tip 17, where the adhesive redaction film 1 is applied to the paper surface leav- ing the carrier tape 5 bare, and onto the wind-up spool 20.

The redaction device 16 further comprises two guiding structures 21a, 21b in the form of vertical side flanges mounted on the application tip 17 for guiding the path of the carrier tape 5 from the supply spool 19, across the application tip 17 and on to the wind-up spool 20.

The hand-held redaction device 16 according to the invention may furthermore be provided with additional not shown features, such as

a blocking device for preventing undesired unwinding of the carrier tape 5 from the supply spool 19,

an externally accessible device for manual rotation of one or both spools 19, 20 such as to enable manual tensioning of the carrier tape 5,

a combined supply spool 19 and wind-up spool 20,

a tip cap for protecting the application tip 17 when the redaction device 16 is not in use,

an exchangeable cartridge containing an application tip 17, a supply spool 19, a wind-up spool 20 and a carrier tape 5 coated in a redaction film 1, which cartridge may be removed from the housing 18 and exchanged for a new cartridge,

a retractable cartridge containing an application tip 17, a supply spool 19, a wind-up spool 20 and a carrier tape 5 coated in a redaction film 1, which may be alternately extended from and retracted into the housing 18 in order to protect the application tip 17 when the redaction device 16 is not in use,

additional or alternative guiding structures provided inside the housing 18 or on the application tip 17, and

alternative shapes of the application tip 17 and housing 18, such as a pen-like shape.

It is noted that devices comprising features similar to the above are commonly known for purposes such as dispensing a film of glue for the purpose of adhering paper to a substrate or dispensing correction tape for the purpose of correcting erroneous markings on paper. Examples of such devices of varying construction are disclosed and described, inter alia, in US patents no. 4,718,971 (DISPENSER FOR A TRANSFER ADHESIVE), 4,849,064 (HAND-OPERATED DEVICE FOR TRANSFERRING A FILM FROM A CARRIER TAPE), 4,851,076 (ADHESIVE FILM APPLICATOR) and 4,891,090 (TWO-REEL DISPENSER FOR A TRANSFER ADHESIVE), 4,997,512 (HAND DEVICE FOR TRANSFERRING A FILM FROM A CARRIER FOIL TO A SUBSTRATE), 5,006,184 (HAND OPERATED DEVICE FOR TRANSFERRING A FILM FROM A CARRIER TAPE TO A SUBSTRATE), 5,049,229 (APPARATUS FOR THE APPLICATION OF AN ADHESIVE FILM), 5,125,589 (TAPE DISPENSER WITH CONTROLLED-FRICTION UNWIND), 5,281,298 (FILM TRANSFER DEVICE), 5,303,759 (DISPENSER FOR AP- PLYING AN ADHESIVE MATERIAL ONTO A SU BSTRATE), 5,310,437 (SINGLE SPOOL CORRECTION TAPE DISPENSER), 5,346,580 (DEVICE FOR APPLYING A POSSIBLY COATED ADHESIVE FILM TO A SUBSTRATE), 5,393,368 (CORRECTION TAPE DISPENSER), 5,759,270 (CORRECTION TAPE ADHESIVER FOR CORRECTING MISSTYPED LETTERS), 5,942,036 (CORRECTION TAPE ROLLER DEVICE), 6,171,397 (PAINT FILM TRANSFER DEVICE), 6,260,599 (CORRECTION TAPE ROLLER DEVICE), 6,601,632 (MANUAL DEVICE FOR TRANSFERRING A FILM FROM A BACKING STRIP TO A SUBSTRATE), 6,622,768 (CORRECTION TAPE ROLLER DEVICE), 6,730,186 (COATING FILM TRANSFER TOOL AND METHOD FOR REPLACING COATING FILM TRANSFER TAPES), 6,997,229 (RO- TATABLE APPLICATOR TIP FOR A CORRECTIVE TAPE DISPENSER) and 7,654,297 (CORRECTION TAPE DISPENSER), which US patents are hereby all incorporated by reference herein. Features regarding the devices disclosed in these US patents may also be used in hand-held re- daction devices according to the present invention.

Moreover, it should be noted that the above description of preferred embodiments are merely examples and that the skilled person would know that numerous variations are possible without departing from the scope of the claims.

Claims

P A T E N T C L A I M S

1. A hand-held redaction device adapted to apply a redaction film on a paper surface such as to conceal confidential information,

cha racterised in that

the redaction device comprises a pressure-sensitive adhesive redaction film being provided on a first surface of a carrier tape such as to be transferable to the paper surface by means of pressure applied to a second surface of the carrier tape, the redaction film comprising a first redaction film surface adapted to adhere to the first carrier tape surface before being transferred to the paper surface, and a second redaction film surface adapted to adhere to the paper surface, the redaction film having such concealing properties and the first redaction film surface having such a dark colour or darkly coloured regions that when the re- daction film is applied to a white, whitish or other light coloured paper surface that is subsequently photocopied by means of a digital photocopier, an electrostatic, xerographic photocopier or the like, the redaction film causes the confidential information in the area of the document covered by the redaction film not to be photocopied and hence not to be visible on the photocopy, and causes markings on the substantially exact area of the photocopy corresponding to the area of the paper surface covered by the redaction film, which markings distinctly render that area of the photocopy easily distinguishable to the human eye and immediately identifiable as containing confidential information that has been re- dacted.

2. A redaction device according to claim 1, cha racterised in that said markings are substantially black markings.

3. A redaction device according to claim 1 or 2, cha racter- is e d in that the entire first redaction film surface is provided with said dark colour or in that the darkly coloured regions comprise e.g. a band along the centre of the first redaction film surface and/or a hatching of said dark colour and/or oblique or perpendicular bands of said dark colour and/or lines of said dark colour along the upper and lower edges of the redaction film and/or letters or symbols of said dark colour that indicate that the area of the paper surface covered by the redaction film contains confidential information that has been redacted.

4. A redaction device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, cha racterised in that said redaction film is an opaque film con- cealing the area of the paper surface covered by the redaction film before photocopying.

5. A redaction device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, cha racterised in that the redaction film is a transparent film such that the area of the paper surface covered by the redaction film is at least partly visible before photocopying.

6. A redaction device according to any one of the above claims, cha racterised in that the redaction film comprises a concealing component, preferably a concealing layer, and an adhesive component, preferably an adhesive layer, and that the adhesive force between the concealing layer and the adhesive layer is greater than both the adhesive force between the carrier tape and the concealing layer and the adhesive force between the adhesive layer and a paper surface, to which it is to be applied and/or that said adhesive redaction film is coated on the carrier tape.

7. A redaction device according to any one of the above claims, cha racterised in that the width of the redaction film is between 2 mm and 2 cm, preferably between 3 mm and 1 cm and more preferably between 4 mm and 8 mm.

8. A redaction device according to any one of the above claims, cha racterised in that it comprises at least one application tip and a housing, in which housing is provided a supply spool, a wind-up spool and a carrier tape coated in a redaction film, the carrier tape being threaded from the supply spool, across the application tip and onto the wind-up spool and the supply spool and the wind-up spool being con- nected in such a way that moving one causes the other to move so that when applying the film to the paper surface by pressing the application tip against the paper surface and moving it while maintaining pressure, the carrier tape is drawn off the supply spool, across the application tip and on to the wind-up spool.

9. A redaction device according to claim 8, cha racterised in that it further comprises one or more guiding structures for guiding the path of the carrier tape from the supply spool, across the application tip and onto the wind-up spool.

10. Use of a redaction device according to any one of the previous claims for redaction of confidential information in a document.