JPH03219432A - Recording medium and recording medium processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an easily visible display by providing a reversible recording layer which is changed to the state of a 1st color and to the state of a 2nd color by photoirradiation and heating and is further changed from the the state of the 2nd color to the state of the 1st color by heating. CONSTITUTION:A card 1 is provided with a substrate 2, a printed layer 3 having a printing surface 1a to be printed with designs, etc., a magnetic recording layer 4 to be magnetically recorded with a utilization condition, and the reversible recording layer 5 having a recording surface 16 to be stated with a utilization condition. The layer 5 is constituted of the spiropyral compd. which is expressed by specific formula and is dispersed in a matrix polymer, such as PMMA. The layer 5 is changed from the state of the 1st color (colorless) to the 2nd color by the photoirradiation and heating and is changed from the state of the 2nd color to the state of the 1st color by the irradiation with <=350nm UV light and heating. The information recorded on the layer 4 is stated on the printing area of the recording medium at need by utilizing this property and controlling the wavelength of the light with which the layer is irradiated and the heating.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is applicable to reduced amount cards, ie prepaid cards, used in telephones, ticket vending machines, etc., ID cards of financial institutions, employee The present invention relates to a recording medium and a recording medium processing device useful for identification documents such as passports, passes used in transportation systems, securities, etc.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, with prepaid cards that are used in telephones, ticket vending machines, etc., there is a print area provided on the card each time the card is used, in order to clearly indicate the available balance. A method of printing and recording can be used. However, prepaid cards that are numerically more expensive tend to be used more frequently, making it difficult to record within a limited print area. Furthermore, if the characters are made smaller in order to fit within a limited printing area, the recorded notation becomes difficult to read. Therefore, a method is usually used in which the price of a prepaid card is divided into several levels, and each price range is printed or punched in one place to roughly record the available balance.

However, with this normal recording method, it is not possible to know the usage history and accurate balance just by looking at the card.

Therefore, in recent years, there has been a demand for a card that can rewrite the recorded content in the print area on the card as needed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a recording medium that can rewrite the recorded contents of a printing area provided on a base material as necessary. The purpose is to

Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium processing device for processing this recording medium.

[Configuration of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) The recording medium of the present invention changes from a first color state to a second color state by light irradiation and heating, and further changes from a first color state to a second color state by heating. It is characterized by comprising a reversible recording layer that changes from a color state to a first color state.

The reversible recording layer comprises spiropyran compounds 1 to 9 represented by the following general formula (1).
It is preferable to contain 5%.

(However, R,, R2 in the above formula are each →C) (2+-
CHi.

1l -(-CH2MoO-CHCL3-ShusanCH,.

1 -(-CH2 Toshi c-o→CH2mo〒CH.

1 (n+ is an integer of 3 or more, R2 is an integer of 0 to 3).

) Further, the recording medium processing device of the present invention changes from the first color state to the second color state by light irradiation and heating, and further changes from the second color state to the first color state by heating. a magnetic reading head that reads magnetic information from a recording medium that has a reversible recording layer that changes into a state and a magnetic recording layer that records information; and writes new information determined from the read information to the magnetic recording layer. A magnetic writing head, an erasing means for erasing unnecessary inscriptions on the reversible recording layer by the heating, and a writing means for writing new information in the reversible recording layer by the light irradiation and heating. do.

(Function) The reversible recording layer of the recording medium of the present invention changes from the first color state to the second color state by light irradiation and heating.
It has the property of changing from the second color state to the first color state by irradiation with ultraviolet light of 50 nm or less and heating. By utilizing this property and controlling the wavelength and heating of the irradiated light, the recording medium of the present invention can write information magnetically recorded in the magnetic recording layer in the printing area of the recording medium as needed. This is how it was done.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a reduced amount card (prepaid card) according to the present invention.

This card 1 includes a substrate 2, a printing layer 3 laminated on one side of this substrate and having a printing surface 1a, a magnetic recording layer 4 laminated on the other side of this substrate 2, and this magnetic recording layer. 4 and a reversible recording layer 5 having a recording surface 1b.

The substrate 2 is made of, for example, plastic, glass, paper, cloth, or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printed surface 1a of the printed layer 3 has the card's amount, picture, etc. printed thereon.

The magnetic recording layer 4 is capable of magnetically recording the usage status of the card 1, such as the date of use and balance amount.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the recording surface 1b of the reversible recording layer 5, the usage status of the card 1, such as the date of use and the balance, are written. This reversible recording layer 5 is made of, for example, P
It is composed of a spiropyran compound represented by the following chemical formula (2) dispersed in a matrix polymer such as MMA.

(However, R3 in the above formula is +CH2+17 C, H3
R4 is CH2-0-C-+CH2+-zoCH3
It is 1. ) If the content of this spiropyran compound is less than 1% by weight, the color-changing component will be too small for visual recognition, and if it exceeds 95% by weight, the binder polymer will be too small and film forming properties will be impaired. tend to lose.

The spiropyran compound is colorless (first color state)
, First, by irradiation with ultraviolet rays (365 nm), 580 nm
It changes into a blue merocyanine structure represented by the following chemical formula (3) having an absorption peak at m.

3. The second merocyanine structure has the property of quickly returning to a stable spiropyran compound when irradiated with visible light.

Therefore, by heating the merocyanine structure to a temperature T1, it is changed into a J-aggregate. This J-aggregate has a structure that is stable to visible light and has an absorption peak at 618 nm.
(second color state in which the color develops blue) and is stably maintained even if the temperature atmosphere becomes less than T1. Then, when the J-aggregate is heated to a temperature T2 (TI < T2 ), the J-aggregate rapidly changes to a spiropyran compound and becomes a colorless state (the first
It returns to the color state (color state) and is stably maintained even if the temperature atmosphere becomes less than 12.

In the above formula (3), T is approximately 40°C and T2 is approximately 130°C.
~140°C.

The reversible recording layer 5 contains a spiropyran compound represented by the above general formula (1) in the matrix polymer, and is not limited to the compound represented by the above chemical formula (2).

As the matrix polymer, any polymer that has film-forming properties and can disperse the spiropyran compound may be used (for example, saturated polyester, polymethyl methacrylate, silicone polymer, etc. can be used).

The reversible recording layer 5 contains a coagulation aid such as n-octadecane, a sensitizer to improve the efficiency of light absorption, and a dispersion aid to help disperse the spiropyran compound, to the extent that its properties are not adversely affected. Other additives may also be added.

In the card shown in FIG. 1, the reversible recording layer 5 is laminated over the entire surface of the magnetic recording layer 4, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, it may be laminated on a part of the magnetic recording layer 4, or may be laminated on the entire surface or a part of the printing layer 3. Further, it may be provided on both sides of the magnetic recording layer 4 and the printing layer 3.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, a colored layer 6 may be provided between the magnetic recording layer 4 and the reversible recording layer 5, or as shown in FIG. It is also possible to provide it on 6. When a transparent material such as polyethylene terephthalate is used for the base material 2, the printing layer 3 may be provided between the base material 2 and the magnetic recording layers 4 and 1, and the reversible recording layer 5 may be formed directly on the base material. can. Furthermore, a protective film 7 is provided on the reversible recording layer 5.
may be provided.

The card according to the present invention is also manufactured, for example, as follows. First, a magnetic recording layer with a thickness of about 1 μm formed using a conventional method and a protective film formed on this magnetic recording layer are laminated on one side, and the layer is made of polyethylene terephthalate with a thickness of about 188 μm. Prepare the board. Next, 1 part by weight of a condensed polycyclic aromatic compound (PH○), 18.8 parts by weight of polymethyl methacrylate, and 0.2 parts by weight of perylene were dissolved in 80 parts by weight of benzene and stirred well to form a reversible photosensitive solution. Prepare. By spin-coding this solution onto the other side of the substrate and drying it, a thickness of approximately 10 mm is obtained.
A magnetic recording card in which a reversible recording layer of μm is laminated is disclosed. Note that an oxygen permeable protective film may be provided on the reversible recording layer, if necessary.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an internal mechanism 2 of an example of a card processing apparatus for processing the magnetic recording card obtained in this manner. In this device 11, the card 1 is inserted through the card insertion slot 12, and the card 1 is inserted into the transport path 17.
It is adapted to be taken into the device 11 and conveyed by. Conveyance rollers 13 for conveying the card 1 are provided at several locations on the conveyance path 17. Along this conveyance path 17, in order, a read head 14 reads information magnetically recorded on the magnetic recording layer 4 of the card 1, a write head 15 magnetically records new information, and additional writing is possible on the reversible recording layer 5. A reflective density sensor 16 for reading the area of the printing area, a light source such as an ultraviolet light source 18 or a heat roller 19 for erasing unnecessary markings in the printing area, and a thermal head 20 for writing markings in the printable area are arranged. ing.

The arrangement within this processing device is not limited to the above arrangement; the reading head 14 is located in front of the writing head 15 and the thermal head 20, and the reflection density sensor 16 is located in front of the erasing light source 18 and heat roller 19. Any other arrangement order is acceptable as long as the erasing light source 18 and heat roller 19 are located in front of the thermal head 20. In addition, reading head 1
4 is located in front of the erasing light source 18 and one heat roller, the reading head 14 can read the margin area of the print area.
6 may not be provided.

When marking the reversible recording layer 5 in a mode from colorless (second state) to blue (first state), contrary to the above device 11, an ultraviolet light source 18 of 350 nm or less or Thermal Head 20 A thermal head is used as the writing light source 20.

Further, one heat roller may be placed in front of the ultraviolet light source 18, and other heating means such as an infrared lamp with a wavelength of 900 to 1500 nm, an electric heater, etc. may be used instead of one heat roller.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of this card processing device. As shown in this block diagram, the card processing device includes a transport control section 22 that drives a transport mechanism 23, and the reading head 1.
4, a read control section 24 that reads magnetically recorded information of usage history balance 4, a write control section 25 that magnetically records usage history and balance information updated by the write head 15, the thermal head 20, the ultraviolet light source 18, and It is composed of a print control section that writes or erases the usage history remaining amount by driving the heat roller 19, and a main control section 21 that controls the entire system.

This main control section 21 is connected to a control section of a ticket vending machine main body or a telephone main body as an external device (not shown), and outputs information on the last use date and balance amount to the control section,
Information such as date of use and balance amount is accepted as updated information.

Next, the processing operation of the card according to the present invention will be explained by taking as an example a ticket vending machine or a telephone equipped with the device 11 having such a configuration and a prepaid card dedicated to these devices. First, when the card 1 is inserted into the card insertion slot 12, the card 1 is transported by the transport mechanism 23, and the reading head 14 reads the information of the last use date and balance π9 from the magnetic recording layer 5 from the magnetic recording layer 4. Next, the main control section 21 outputs the magnetically recorded information of the date of last use and balance to the ticket vending machine or the control section of the telephone main body. This allows the user to purchase a ticket or make a phone call from the ticket vending machine or the main body of the telephone.

Thereafter, when magnetic recording information such as the date of use and balance amount to be updated is supplied from the control section of the main body of the phone to the main control section, the main control section 21 uses the write head 15 to write information on the magnetic recording layer 4 of the card 1.
The updated usage date and balance amount information is magnetically recorded, and the usage date and balance amount information is additionally written on the reversible recording layer 5 of the card 1 using the thermal head 20. Before performing this additional notation, the oldest notation on the reversible recording layer 5 is erased using the ultraviolet light source 18 and the heat roller 19, and the information to be updated is inserted in the erased place. Additional notation. As described above, usage status can be sequentially added to the private card. Moreover, instead of only erasing a part of the notation and adding an additional notation as described above, it is also possible to erase all the notation and write the final usage status.

Further, an example in which the configuration shown in the device 11 is applied to an automatic ticket gate installed in a station premises will be described below with reference to FIG. 9. However, here, only the automatic ticket gate installed at the ticket gate in the station premises will be explained, and the automatic ticket gate installed at the bidding gate will not be explained because it has the same configuration.

The automatic ticket gate 30 includes an input slot 32 into which the card 1 is inserted;
transport parts 34, 36, 38 and 40 for transporting the card 1;
A drive unit (not shown) that drives the transport units 34 to 40, a read head 42 that reads magnetic information recorded on the magnetic recording layer 4 of the card 1, and a read head 42 that reads magnetic information recorded on the magnetic recording layer 4 of the card 1;
a writing head 44 for recording on the reversible recording layer 5 of the card 1, a heat roller 46 for erasing unnecessary markings in the display-recordable printing area on the reversible recording layer 5, and a heat roller 46 for erasing unnecessary markings in the display-recordable printing area on the reversible recording layer 5. It is composed of an ultraviolet light source 48 for discharging the card 1, a heat roller 49, a discharge port 50 for discharging the card 1, and the like.

In this automatic ticket gate 30, for example, when a card 1 such as 7 shown in FIG.
and 36 are driven by a drive unit (not shown) to transport the card 1 in the direction of the arrow 52. Then, within the conveyance unit 36, the information recorded on the card 1 (for example, balance and entry station) is read by the reading head 42 from the magnetic recording layer 4 of the card 1, and the fare from the entry station to the exit station is calculated. A calculation is performed to subtract the recorded information from the balance, and the new balance obtained by this calculation is recorded in the magnetic recording layer 4 by the write head 44.

Next, the card 1 is transported by the next stage transport sections 38 and 40, a new balance is printed on the printing area on the reversible recording layer 5 by the ultraviolet light source 48 and the heat roller 49, and the card 1 is ejected to the ejection port 50. Ru.

At this time, if there is no area to print the new balance amount on the reversible recording layer 5 to be printed, the unnecessary information in the print area is erased by the heat roller 46,
Ultraviolet light source 48 and heat roller 4 are applied to the erased printing area.
The printer is configured to print new remaining information, etc.

8. The magnetic recording medium according to the present invention can be used as a prepaid card,
In addition to transportation tickets, commuter passes, and train tickets, it can be widely used as identification cards such as cash cards, passports, driver's licenses, and employee cards, hospital treatment cards, and stored funia cards.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the magnetic recording medium of the present invention,
By providing a reversible recording layer on a base material and heating it, numbers, letters, symbols, etc. can be written on the base material, and by further irradiating light and heating, the reversible recording layer changes from the first color state to the second color state. You can change the color state and rewrite these written contents as necessary. For this reason,
The reversible recording layer eliminates disadvantages such as insufficient margins in the printing area, making it impossible to indicate usage status, and using small characters to fit within a limited area, making it difficult to read. It is possible to provide a recording medium that allows you to quickly know the usage history and accurate balance just by looking at the surface.

9. According to the present invention, new information can be additionally printed on the recording medium, and the printed information can also be erased, so it can be used for various purposes such as checking fraudulent securities. can.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a magnetic recording card according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a top view of a card seen from the reversible recording layer side showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a card processing device, and FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the card processing section. , 8th
The figure is a diagram showing the configuration of an automatic ticket gate representing an embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Card, 2... Base material, 3... Printing layer, 4...
... Magnetic recording layer, 5... Reversible recording layer, 1]... Card processing device, 30... Automatic ticket gate, 42... Reading head, 440... Writing head, 46... Ultraviolet light source, 48...
・Light source 1

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) Light irradiation and heating change the state from the first color to the second color.
1. A recording medium comprising a reversible recording layer that changes from a second color state to a first color state upon heating. (2) The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the reversible recording layer contains 1 to 95% of a spiropyran compound represented by the following general formula (1). ▲There are mathematical formulas, chemical formulas, tables, etc.▼...(1) (However, R_1 and R_2 in the above formula are each ▲There are mathematical formulas, chemical formulas, tables, etc.▼, ▲There are mathematical formulas, chemical formulas, tables, etc.▼ , ▲There are mathematical formulas, chemical formulas, tables, etc.▼ (n_1 is an integer of 3 or more, n_2 is an integer of 0 to 3). (3) Light irradiation and heating change the state from the first color to the second color.
reading magnetic information from a recording medium that has a reversible recording layer that changes from a second color state to a first color state upon heating, and a magnetic recording layer that records information. a magnetic reading head, a magnetic writing head for writing new information determined from the read information into the magnetic recording layer, an erasing means for erasing unnecessary inscriptions on the reversible recording layer by the heating, and the light irradiation and 1. A recording medium processing device comprising: writing means for writing new information into a reversible recording layer by heating.