JP2001001675A - Card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress generation of a hydrogen chloride or the like when incinerated and discarded by arranging print layers each containing a predetermined alloy and a pigment as main components on both surfaces of a sheet-like base material of an amorphous polyester of a copolymer of a terephthalic acid, a cyclohexanedimethanol and an ethylene glycol. SOLUTION: Print layers 2 each containing an alloy (alloy A) of an amorphous polyester and a polycarbonate and a pigment as main components are provided on both surfaces of a sheet-like base material 1 of an amorphous polyester of a copolymer of a terephthalic acid, a cyclohexanedimethanol and an ethylene glycol, and a sheet 3 of an amorphous polyester is further arranged to form the card. The polyester for constituting the alloy A is an amorphous polyester resin PETG, a glass transition temperature of which can be controlled by changing a blending ratio of the cyclohexanedimethanol and the ethylene glycol.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to cards such as cash cards, credit cards, ID cards (identification cards), membership cards, prepaid cards, and the like. In addition, the present invention relates to a card which retains the functions required for such a card and which is more easily discarded at the time of disposal after use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, embossed magnetic recording media have been widely used in the fields of cash cards, credit cards, ID cards and the like. The base material of this card is mainly polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
Resins and vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymers are used, and polyvinyl chloride resins are particularly common. Polyvinyl chloride resin is excellent in physical mechanical properties and embossability of a character portion, and is still widely used as a perfect substrate for a card.

However, in recent years, magnetic recording media are not limited to the fields of cash cards, credit cards, ID cards, and the like. Striped magnetic recording media in which a contact IC module is embedded, that is, IC cards with a magnetic stripe, There are various types such as a non-contact IC card with a magnetic stripe incorporating an antenna and an IC module, an optical card having an optical recording layer, and a card having all of them.

[0004] Examples of the application include an electronic wallet, a commuter pass, a telephone card, a license, an on-board card, and the like.
There is a demand for higher reliability including strength such as flexibility, scratch strength, and tensile strength, as well as resistance such as storage stability, heat resistance, and chemical resistance, as compared with conventional card base materials. Further, the polyvinyl chloride resin has a problem in disposal after use, particularly, generation of hydrogen chloride gas at the time of incineration, damaging the incinerator and shortening its life. Also, although the relationship with dioxin has not been clarified, in this regard, countries such as Germany and Northern Europe have been actively pursuing the removal of PVC, and in the construction materials and industrial materials fields in Japan. In that flow.

[0005] A general method of manufacturing a magnetic card with a magnetic stripe such as a cash card uses a white polyvinyl chloride resin as a base material, and prints the base material by a known printing method such as offset printing, gravure printing, or screen printing. After printing by the method, after laminating a highly transparent polyvinyl chloride resin sheet on both sides, the magnetic tape is transferred, heat fusing with a heating press machine, the printed base material, highly transparent poly The vinyl chloride resin sheet and the magnetic tape are integrated and punched out with a mold of a predetermined size to form a card shape.

Thereafter, the card is embossed by an embosser. The embossed PVC card does not deform such as warping, and retains its function as a card. After the transfer, the transferred magnetic tape (magnetic stripe) rises from the card surface after the transfer to produce a step, but is embedded by thermal fusion with a heating press machine and becomes flush with the card surface.

Incidentally, regarding the warping state of the card before embossing, see JIS-X6301-1998-8.
For the condition of the card surface, refer to J1.
In IS-X6301-1998-9.2.2, each is defined as follows. "Card warpage is any deformation of the flatness of the card. Any part of the convex surface of the unembossed (non-embossed) card, when placed on the platen, The maximum value, including the thickness of the card, must not exceed 1.5 mm. ”“ In the area B except for the area A shown in FIG. 3 (in JIS 9.2.2), both sides of the card are magnetic. There must be no bends, bumps or bumps that obstruct contact between the head and the magnetic stripe.... No other part of the front or back of the card should have any protrusions greater than 0.25 mm. "

[0008] The role of the magnetic stripe in the magnetic card is to record the unique data possessed by the individual and to read and write the unique data when used. Therefore, if the magnetic stripe is not flush with the surface of the card, the edge of the magnetic stripe is damaged or lost when the card is carried or repeatedly used by a reader / writer, and the role of the magnetic stripe is fulfilled. There is a danger that it will result in an unusable magnetic card.

In general, polyvinyl chloride resin, which is widely used as a base material for cards, has a drawback in physical properties such as low heat resistance. About 60 ° C for polyvinyl chloride resin
Therefore, it is considered that it is not suitable for applications used in a high-temperature region, for example, for home appliances and vehicles. Furthermore, the use of polyvinyl chloride resin is not preferred due to problems at the time of disposal and the flow of PVC removal.

Therefore, there is a concept of using a halogen-free thermoplastic resin such as a polyethylene resin, a polypropylene resin, a polyester resin, a polycarbonate resin, and a polyacryl resin as the base material of the card. These resins can be used alone to form a card in the same manner as a polyvinyl chloride resin, but the physical properties of the card are inferior to those of the polyvinyl chloride resin and require some contrivance.

Here, a sheet (PET) made from a copolymer of terephthalic acid, a kind of polyester resin, and cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol is used.
G) has multi-layer thermal lamination processing and magnetic tape embedding suitability because it can be heat-sealed.
It has the flexibility and embossing suitability required for the physical properties of the card. In other words, it has properties closest to that of polyvinyl chloride resin, and has recently attracted attention as a substitute for polyvinyl chloride resin.

Further, since the heat resistance of the PETG resin alone is low, it has been devised to increase the heat resistance with an alloy in which a polycarbonate or the like containing bisphenol A as a main component is mixed. In that case, if the content of the polycarbonate is too large, it is difficult to form a card, and if the content is too small, the heat resistance is not satisfied, so the content is 5 to 80%, preferably 20 to
50% is included in the sheet.

However, conventionally, a vinyl-based printing ink has been mainly selected and used as a printing ink for a polyvinyl chloride resin substrate. When this vinyl-based printing ink is used for the PETG or the base material containing PETG as a main component, when melt-laminated in a heat laminating process,
The card shrinks due to the difference in the heat shrinkage of the substrate and the printing layer, which not only makes the card look good,
There is a risk of clogging in processing equipment in a later process or in a reader / writer when using a card, and the card cannot be used. Also, due to environmental considerations, even if a resin other than polyvinyl chloride resin is used for the card base material, if the same vinyl chloride-based material is used as the printing ink, PVC removal will be insufficient. There was a problem that would be.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. Instead of polyvinyl chloride resin as a card base material, terephthalic acid, cyclohexane dimethanol and ethylene glycol are used. Amorphous polyester, which is a copolymer with, or an alloy of this amorphous polyester and another resin, to prevent the warpage of the card when the printing layer is laminated and integrated by heat lamination, Another object of the present invention is to provide a card which does not generate hydrogen chloride at the time of incineration disposal after use and has no problems of hydrogen chloride or dioxin.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an amorphous polyester sheet, which is a copolymer of terephthalic acid and cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol, on both surfaces of an amorphous polyester sheet. A card provided with a printing layer containing alloy (alloy A) and a dye as main components.

Further, the present invention is the card according to the above-mentioned invention, wherein the amorphous polyester sheet is laminated on the printing layer.

Further, the present invention relates to an amorphous polyester which is a copolymer of terephthalic acid with cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol, a copolymer of terephthalic acid with isophthalic acid and ethylene glycol, and acrylonitrile-butadiene-copolymer. Alloy with at least one resin selected from styrene copolymer resin, polystyrene resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, polymethyl acrylate resin, polymethyl methacrylate resin, vinyl acetate resin, polycarbonate resin (alloy B A) a sheet-like base material provided on both sides with a printed layer mainly composed of an alloy of the amorphous polyester and polycarbonate (alloy A) and a dye.

Further, the present invention is the card according to the above invention, wherein the amorphous polyester sheet is laminated on the printing layer.

Further, the present invention is a card characterized in that a layer for recording information such as a magnetic recording layer and an IC module is laminated on the card according to the above-mentioned invention.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of an embodiment of a card according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the card according to the present invention comprises an amorphous polyester sheet substrate (1), which is a copolymer of terephthalic acid, cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol, on both sides of the amorphous polyester. A printing layer (2) containing an alloy of aluminum and polycarbonate (alloy A) and a dye as main components is provided, and a sheet (3) of the amorphous polyester is further laminated.

In the present invention, the amorphous polyester constituting the alloy (alloy A) which is the main component of the substrate, sheet and print layer is an amorphous polyester resin PETG. That is, the amorphous polyester PETG is produced by copolymerizing terephthalic acid with cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol. The glass transition temperature of the amorphous polyester PETG can be controlled by changing the mixing ratio of cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol.

Further, the amorphous polyester and an alloy of the amorphous polyester and another resin (alloy B) include:
If the weight ratio is 50% or less, preferably 15% or less, various additives and substances such as polymers may be added.

When the polyester sheet is amorphous, plastic deformation tends to occur, the embossability is good, and the card after embossing does not warp.

In the present invention, the polycarbonate used for the alloy (alloy B) with the amorphous polyester for the sheet-like substrate is a polycarbonate containing bisphenol A as a main component. In addition, when the content of the amorphous polyester and the polycarbonate is too large, the heat-sealing temperature becomes too high and it is difficult to form a card, and the card is greatly warped when embossing is performed due to elastic deformation. On the contrary, if the content is too small, problems such as insufficient heat resistance occur.

In the present invention, a printing layer using an alloy (alloy A) of a non-crystalline polyester, which is a copolymer of terephthalic acid, cyclohexane dimethanol and ethylene glycol, and polycarbonate, dissolves these resins. The solvent can be appropriately selected to form a varnish, and the ink can be formed using an ink in which a pigment or dye is dispersed as a pigment. As the solvent, acetone, ethyl cellosolve, butyl cellosolve, xylene, dioxane, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethane, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, methyl ethyl ketone, ethyl acetate, n-
Hexane, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, 1,3,5-
Trimethylbenzene, cyclohexanone, 3,5,5-
Organic solvents such as trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one, γ-butyrolactone, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, tetrahydrofuran, and benzyl alcohol can be used.

The sheeting of the alloy (alloy B) using the amorphous polyester and the amorphous polyester and the polycarbonate in the present invention may be carried out by an extrusion method or
It is preferably performed by a calender method. This is because, although these materials are suitable for the extrusion method or the calender method in view of their physical properties, they have an advantage that the sheet can be given functionality by processing such as multilayer extrusion.

As a method for manufacturing a card using a sheet-like substrate in the present invention, there is a melt lamination method using a heating press machine. In the melt lamination method, a transparent protective sheet is laminated on both sides of a printed base material, and at that time, the types of the protective sheets on both sides may be different. The melt lamination method is a method in which a base material or the like on which a protective sheet is laminated is sandwiched between mirror plates that are slightly larger, and the base material of the card is integrated by a hot-melt press. As the mirror plate used at this time, a nickel-chromium-plated copper plate, a stainless plate with a polished surface, an aluminum plate with a polished surface, or the like can be used.

The printing on the sheet-like substrate is performed by printing characters or patterns by the same method as that of paper or plastic film, that is, by a known printing method such as an offset printing method, a screen printing method, or a gravure printing method. be able to.
After the heat melting lamination, the base material integrated with the protective sheet is peeled off from the mirror surface plate, and punched into a card shape by punching with a single blade or a male-female mold. The card contains
A magnetic recording layer can also be provided, and a method of transferring a conventional thermal transfer type magnetic tape to one or both sides of the card, or printing the magnetic recording layer directly on the card is used.

Normally, after a card is formed, a floating character is embossed by an embosser, and the character is colored by tipping the character with a thermal transfer foil, magnetic information is encoded on a magnetic recording layer, or in some cases. Transfer your face photo, barcode, etc. to finish the card. Then, a protective layer can be provided for the purpose of improving the resistance of the character or picture printing layer to wear or the like.

[0030]

The present invention will be described below in more detail with reference to examples. <Embodiment 1> FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a card of Embodiment 1. 600 μm-thick white PETG sheet (4) (Mitsubishi Plastics Corporation: PETG, Diafix PG-W)
Is the center core, and the following ink (A)
The pattern printing layer (5) is 5μ thick by screen printing
m, and a thickness of 100 on which the magnetic tape (6) is transferred.
μm transparent PETG sheet (7) (Mitsubishi Plastics Corporation)
Manufactured by: PETG, Diafix PG-C), and a printing layer (8) provided on the entire surface by the screen printing method using the following ink (B).
The TG sheet (9) was stacked, sandwiched between stainless steel plates having a smooth surface, subjected to heat bonding at 100 ° C. for 20 minutes, solidified by cooling, and then punched into a card to form a card.

Ink (A) PETG / PC alloy resin: 30 parts by weight (Toray, EASTALLOY: DA003) Yellow pigment (Mokuni pigment, MHI Black # 220): 6 parts by weight Solvent: 70 parts by weight (cyclohexanone / γ-butyrolactone) = 50/50) Ink (B) PETG / PC alloy resin: 30 parts by weight (Toray, EASTALLOY: DA003) Aluminum paste: 7 parts by weight (Toyo Aluminum, Alpaste 0200M) Solvent: 70 parts by weight (cyclohexanone / γ- (Butyrolactone = 50/50)

The durability and chemical resistance of the card of Example 1 were higher than required levels. And the warpage of the card was at a level without any problem. In addition, since the vinyl chloride resin is not used, it can be said that the card is extremely excellent in disposability even if it is incinerated after being used. Also, it was excellent in embossing suitability used for credit cards and the like.

<Embodiment 2> FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of a card of Embodiment 2. PETG resin (Toray, EAST
A mixture of ER: GN002), a polycarbonate resin (Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Iupilon) and titanium oxide as a white pigment is formed into a white sheet (10) having a thickness of 600 μm by a melt extrusion method, and one side of the white sheet (10) is formed. The following ink (C) was provided with a picture printing layer (11) in a film thickness of 2 μm by a gravure printing method. Next, the magnetic tape (1
A stainless steel plate having both sides sandwiched between an alloy sheet (13) of 100 μm thick transparent PETG and polycarbonate having the transferred 2) and the above-mentioned alloy sheet (14) not having the magnetic tape (12) transferred thereon. The mixture was pressed and fused at 140 ° C. for 30 minutes to be cooled and solidified, and then punched into a card shape to form a card.

Ink (C) PETG / PC alloy resin: 30 parts by weight (Toray, EASTALLOY: DA003) Yellow pigment (Mokuni pigment, MHI Black # 220): 6 parts by weight Solvent (tetrahydrofuran): 70 parts by weight

The durability and chemical resistance of the card of Example 2 were higher than required levels. And the warpage of the card was at a level without any problem. In addition, since the vinyl chloride resin is not used, it can be said that the card is extremely excellent in disposability even if it is incinerated after being used. Also, it was excellent in embossing suitability used for credit cards and the like.

Comparative Example 1 Ink (A), Ink (B)
Was prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the inks (X) and (Y) were used instead of.

Ink (X) Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin: 30 parts by weight (Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., Esrec A) Yellow pigment (Mikuni pigment, MHI Black # 220): 6 parts by weight Solvent: 70 parts by weight (cyclohexanone / Γ-butyrolactone = 50/50) Ink (Y) Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin: 30 parts by weight (Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., Esrec A) Aluminum paste: 7 parts by weight (Toyo Aluminum, Alpaste 0200M) Solvent: 70 parts by weight (cyclohexanone / γ-butyrolactone = 50/50)

Comparative Example 2 A card was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the ink (Z) was used instead of the ink (C).・ Ink (Z) Vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate copolymer resin: 30 parts by weight (Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., Esrec A) Yellow pigment (Mikuni pigment, MHI Black # 220): 6 parts by weight Solvent (tetrahydrofuran): 70 parts by weight

The cards of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are as follows. The light resistance and chemical resistance required for the card were the same as in Examples 1 and 2, but the card after thermal lamination had a large warp and was not usable as an information recording card.

As described above, the cards of Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are warped because the heat shrinkage of the substrate and the printed layer are different, so that not only the appearance of the card but also the processing facilities and There is a risk of jamming in the reader / writer during practical use, and it cannot be used as a card. Even if a resin other than polyvinyl chloride resin is used for the card base due to environmental considerations, PVC removal will be insufficient because a vinyl chloride-based material is used for the printing ink as in the past. Would.

On the other hand, in the magnetic cards of Examples 1 and 2, the amorphous thermoplastic resin is used for the base material, and the resin having the same heat shrinkage rate is used for the print layer. Since the card does not use any polyvinyl chloride resin, it can be said that the card is extremely excellent in disposability even if it is incinerated after being used.

[0042]

Industrial Applicability The present invention is directed to an amorphous polyester sheet which is a copolymer of terephthalic acid and cyclohexane dimethanol and ethylene glycol, on both surfaces of an amorphous polyester sheet-like substrate (alloy A). ) And a dye-based printing layer to prevent card warpage when the printing layers are laminated and integrated by heat lamination, and to generate hydrogen chloride when incinerated after use. It is a card without problems of hydrogen chloride and dioxin.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of an embodiment of a card according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a card according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a cross section of a card according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1. Amorphous polyester sheet substrate 2, 8, printing layer 3. Amorphous polyester sheet 4, 7, 9 PETG sheet 5, 11, picture printing layer 6, 12,. Magnetic tape 10, white sheet 13, 14, alloy sheet

Front page of the continued F-term (reference) 2C005 HA07 HA21 HB03 HB05 HB08 HB09 HB14 JA01 JA09 JA26 KA03 KA40 4F100 AK12A AK12D AK21A AK21D AK22A AK22D AK25A AK25D AK27A AK27D AK41A AK41B AK41C AK41D AK41K AK45A AK45B AK45C AK45D AK74A AK74D AL05A AL05B AL05C AL05D AT00E BA03 BA04 BA05 BA06 BA10B BA10C BA10D BA10E BA16 CA13B CA13C GB71 HB31B HB31C JA12A JA12B JA12C JA12D JG01E JG06E JL00 JL04 5B035 AA06 AA07 BA05 BC00

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An amorphous polyester / polycarbonate alloy (alloy A) and a dye are coated on both sides of an amorphous polyester sheet-like substrate which is a copolymer of terephthalic acid and cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol. A card having a printed layer as a main component. 2. The card according to claim 1, wherein a sheet of the amorphous polyester is laminated on the printing layer. 3. An amorphous polyester which is a copolymer of terephthalic acid with cyclohexanedimethanol and ethylene glycol, a copolymer of terephthalic acid with isophthalic acid and ethylene glycol, and an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer Alloy (alloy B) sheet with at least one resin selected from resin, polystyrene resin, polyacrylonitrile resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, polymethyl acrylate resin, polymethyl methacrylate resin, vinyl acetate resin, polycarbonate resin, etc. A card comprising, on both sides of a base material, a printed layer mainly composed of an alloy (alloy A) of the amorphous polyester and polycarbonate and a dye. 4. An alloy (alloy B) on the printing layer
4. The card according to claim 3, wherein said sheets are laminated. 5. The card according to claim 1, wherein:
A card characterized by laminating information recording layers such as a magnetic recording layer and an IC module.