JP2001006226A - Optical card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an optical card, such as a credit card, a medical treatment card or a card for employee of a company, which has an optical recording section, has a high bending resistance and a form consisting of an optical recording member embedded in a recessed part of the card. SOLUTION: This optical card consists of an optical recording member 2 embedded in the bottom part of a recessed part formed in a card through an adhesive. The optical recording member 2 consists of a surface cured layer, a transparent protective layer, a track pattern layer and an optical recording layer which are laminated in this order. A rectangular fixing frame 3 formed with a thin belt-like material is adhered to the optical recording member and the surface of the card through an adhesive so as to cover a groove at the upper part of the groove along the outer periphery of the optical recording member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical card having an optical recording section, such as a credit card, a medical card, and an employee ID card. More specifically, the present invention relates to an optical card in which an optical recording member of the optical card is embedded in a concave portion of the card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are magnetic cards, IC cards, optical cards, and the like as recording media in card form. IC cards are classified into non-contact type and contact type, and optical cards are WORM.
There are a (postscript) type and a ROM (read only) type. Said W
Since the storage capacity of the ORM type optical card is much larger than other recording media, it has been used in the medical field requiring a large amount of information. However, since optical cards use a special plastic material as an optical recording member, they cannot be embossed on the card for card identification, and cannot be shared with a non-contact IC card requiring an antenna. there were. Therefore, a method of embedding an optical recording member in an island shape in a part of a card laminated with a base material having excellent workability such as vinyl chloride has been considered.
(For example, JP-A-7-285284, JP-A-8-341)
84, JP-A-8-138012, JP-A-9-10214
5 etc.)

[0003]

In the case of such a buried type, the thickness of the above-mentioned optical recording member is preferably 0.4 mm or more for more accurate optical recording and reading. When embedded and used in a card laminated with another base material such as vinyl, a total recess of about 0.5 mm needs to be formed in the main body card including the thickness of the adhesive. As a result, the thickness of the entire main body card is about 0.8 mm.
Since the thickness of the card is reduced by 60% or more, there is a drawback that when the completed optical card is curved, it is broken at the edge of the concave portion.

[0004] The present invention has improved the above-mentioned drawbacks,
It is intended to provide an optical card that is strong against bending.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optical card comprising a surface hardened layer, a transparent protective layer, a track pattern layer, and an optical recording layer laminated in this order. In an optical card in which a member is embedded via an adhesive at the bottom of a concave portion formed in the card, a thin band-like member is formed so as to cover the upper part of the groove along the outer periphery of the optical recording member. A rectangular fixed frame made of a material is attached to the surface of the optical recording member and the card via an adhesive.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optical card of the first aspect, the rectangular fixed frame is formed of a flat metal or plastic thin plate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the optical card of the first aspect, the optical recording member protrudes from a surface of the card.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the rectangular fixing frame is made of metal or plastic formed so as to cover a step between the optical recording member according to the third aspect and the surface of the card. And

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the optical card according to the first aspect, when the optical recording member is embedded in the recess formed in the card via an adhesive, the width of the groove is 0.3 m.
It is characterized in that it is set to be 0.5 mm from m.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the width direction of the rectangular fixed frame, the rectangular fixed frame can be inserted into a groove formed between the optical recording member and the card according to the fifth aspect. Is formed of a metal or plastic formed in a T-shape.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an optical card according to the present invention when viewed from a side where an optical recording member is embedded.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a card (hereinafter referred to as a main body card) in which an optical recording member 2 of an optical card is embedded.
(International Organization for Standardization) Complies with standards. Body card 1
Is made of polyvinyl chloride, amorphous polyester, or the like, and is laminated by heat or an adhesive. Reference numeral 2 denotes an optical recording member, which has a rectangular shape in this drawing, but as in the present invention, when an optical card is produced by embedding an optical recording unit in a main body card, the shape of the optical recording member is, for example, as follows. Ellipse, trapezoid, etc. can be set freely. The optical recording member 2
Will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 3 denotes a fixing frame for fixing the optical recording member 2 to the main body card 1 for the purpose of maintaining strength against bending of the optical card. The condition required for the fixing frame 3 is that it is important to secure the adhesive strength between the fixing frame 3 and the surface of the optical recording member 2 and the vinyl chloride or polyester of the main body card 1, and to have structural strength. Therefore, it is sufficient if the thickness is about 20 μm to 100 μm. The material of the fixing frame 3 may be a metal such as stainless steel, copper, chromium-plated copper, etc., as long as it does not rust under normal temperature and humidity conditions. Good.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 showing the configuration of the optical card according to the first embodiment of the present invention. An example is shown in which a flat rectangular frame is provided as a fixed frame 3 around the optical recording member. In this method, the fixed frame is most easily manufactured because of the flat shape, and the bending strength of the optical card is sufficiently maintained.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the optical card according to the first embodiment in an easily understandable manner, and is an enlarged sectional view of the card edge portion of FIG. In FIG. 3, 1 is a main body card, 2 is an optical recording member, 3 is a fixed frame, 4 is an adhesive for the fixed frame, and 5 is a groove formed by cutting by the thickness of the fixed frame tried in the first embodiment. It is. Such a groove 5 is used for fixing frame 3
Is extremely thin, so that it is not particularly necessary in terms of function, but is effective for fixing the adhesive 4 and the fixing frame 3 during bonding. 10
Is an optical recording member 2 adhesive and the optical recording member 2
And plays a role of a cushion for absorbing an error in the thickness of the optical recording member 2. Therefore, the adhesive 10 preferably has flexibility, and for example, a pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet based on a sponge or a nonwoven fabric is preferable.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a section of the optical recording member. In FIG. 4, 6 is a surface hardened layer, 7 is a transparent protective layer, 8 is a track pattern layer, and 9 is an optical recording layer.
The surface hardening layer 6 is provided with a hard coat agent on one surface of the transparent protective layer 7 so as not to damage the transparent protective layer 7, specifically, an acrylic UV curable hard coat agent, a melamine hard coat agent. It is coated with a material that is suitable for temperature and humidity and that does not easily crack during bending, such as an agent or a silicon-based hard coat agent.

The material used for the transparent protective layer 7 needs to have low birefringence. Specifically, polycarbonate,
Polymethyl methacrylate, acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer, cellulose propionate, cellulose acetate butyrate, polyvinyl chloride, etc. can be used,
Of these, polycarbonates having low birefringence and easy to process are often used.

The track pattern layer 8 in FIG. 4 is generally formed using a 2P method, an injection method, a casting method, or the like. UV curing resin is used for patterning by the 2P method, and patterning by the injection method and the casting method is performed at the time of forming the transparent protective layer 7, so that the material is the same as that of the transparent protective layer 7.

As the optical recording material generally used for the optical recording layer 9 in FIG. 4, there are a metal optical recording material and a dye optical recording material. Examples of the metal optical recording material include tellurium and bismuth. Dye-based optical recording materials include phthalocyanine-based and naphthoquinone-based. These recording materials can be used not only in the WORM type optical card but also in a ROM type optical card.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 showing the configuration of the optical card according to the second embodiment of the present invention. An example is shown in which a member having an L-shaped cross section is provided on the periphery of an optical recording member as a fixed frame 11 of a rectangular frame. 5, the optical recording member 2 and the adhesive 10 are the same as those in FIG. Regarding the main body card 1, the material is polyvinyl chloride or amorphous polyester, but in order to improve the strength of the optical card against bending, it is characterized in that the cutting depth for forming the concave portion of the main body card is reduced, The inside of the emboss area of the main body card is defined as an optical recording section. As long as it is within the embossed area, it may protrude to a height corresponding to the height of the embossed character, and more specifically, it is allowed up to about the thickness of the optical recording member. The fixing frame 11 for that must be designed according to the height of the protrusion.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the card edge portion of FIG. 1 is a main body card, 2 is an optical recording member, 1
0 is an adhesive, 11 is a fixed frame, and 41 is a fixed frame adhesive. The fixing frame 11 serves to fix the optical recording member 2 protruding from the main body card 1. In FIG.
Although the adhesive 41 is applied to the entire inner surface of the fixed frame 11, the adhesive 41 may be effectively applied only to the portion in contact with the main body card 1. Since the fixing frame 11 has a complicated shape, the fixing frame 11 can be formed by pressing a metal thin plate with a press and punching it at the same time. Alternatively, the fixing frame 11 may be formed by plastic molding.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 showing the configuration of an optical card according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. The optical recording is performed by using a member having a T-shaped cross section as a fixed frame 12 of a rectangular frame. The example provided on the periphery of the member is shown. In FIG. 7, the main body card 1,
The optical recording member 2 and the adhesive 10 are the same as those described with reference to FIG. 2 is different from the case of FIG. 2 in that the cutting size for forming the concave portion of the main body card 1 is set to be about 0.6 mm to 1 mm larger than the length of the long side and the short side of the optical recording member. 0.3mm generated between
A fixed frame 12 having a T-shaped cross section
Is fixed in the groove. The features of the method according to the third embodiment are as follows.
As in the first embodiment, the fixed frame 12 can be fitted without cutting grooves at the surface edges of the main body card 1 and the optical recording member 2, and the card can be manufactured efficiently.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of an end portion of FIG. 1 is a main body card, 2 is an optical recording member, 10 is an adhesive for an optical recording member, 12 is a fixed frame, and 42 is an adhesive for a fixed frame. Since the fixing frame 12 has a T-shape, it is manufactured by injection molding of a resin or by using a shape memory alloy. The adhesive 42 may be applied to the entire inner surface of the T-shape of the fixing frame 12 or may be only the adhesive portion to the main body card.

[0023]

(Embodiment 1) Next, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG.

(Preparation of Optical Recording Member) First, a hard coating agent (manufactured by Toray Co., Ltd., manufactured by Toray Co., Ltd.) was applied to one surface of a 0.4 mm thick polycarbonate (transparent protective layer 7) formed into a sheet as shown in FIG. "UH-001") after drying 2
It was applied so as to have a thickness of 0 μm to form a hardened surface layer 6.

Next, an optical recording layer 9 was formed on the surface opposite to the surface hardened layer 6 by sputtering tellurium oxide (TeOx) to a thickness of 30 nm. Next, an adhesive 10 (manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd., “PPET-2101”) was applied to a thickness of 50 μm on the optical recording layer 9 using a T-die.

Further, the optical recording member 2 was manufactured by cutting the optical recording member so that the optical recording film portion was positioned at the center of the positioning so as to be parallel to the edge of the main body card. At this time, the outermost periphery of the surface of the optical recording member 2
A groove 5 having a depth of 0 μm and a width of 2.0 mm was additionally cut.

(Preparation of main body card) On the other hand, 0.28 mm
Each of the two core sheets made of milky white PVC was printed on one side by an offset method (not shown), and these two sheets were printed.
The non-printed surfaces of the core sheets were combined and sandwiched between two 0.10 mm oversheets, and a four-layer body card 1 was formed by heat fusion. A 650 Oersted magnetic tape (not shown) was transferred to one side of one oversheet by a transfer method, and a 290 Oersted magnetic tape (not shown) was transferred to one side of the other oversheet.

Further, a flat rectangular recess in which the optical recording member 2 is embedded is formed in the main body card 1 by cutting. In forming the concave portion, the optical recording member 2 is 3
Cutting was performed at a size and depth of 0 μm larger.

Thereafter, a groove 5 having a width of 2.0 mm was further added to the edge portion of the surface of the main body card 1 which is in contact with the outer periphery of the flat rectangular recess so as to be 30 μm deeper than the surface of the main body card 1. processed.

(Preparation of Fixed Frame) On the other hand, from a stainless steel plate having a thickness of 30 μm, the fixed frame 3 having the same outer dimensions as the groove 5 cut on the surface of the main body card and having a width of 4.0 mm was subjected to laser processing. It was cut out and made. An adhesive 4 (manufactured by Toa Gosei Co., Ltd., “PPET-2101”) was applied to one surface of the stainless steel fixed frame 3 with a thickness of 10 μm using a stamper.

(Embedding of Optical Recording Member in Main Body Card) An elastic double-sided adhesive sheet 10 ("UT5870" manufactured by Sony Chemical) for absorbing errors in the cutting depth is provided in the recess of the main body card 1 prepared above. Then, the optical recording member 2 was buried, and the stainless steel fixing frame 3 was adhered to the groove 5 formed at the boundary between the concave portion of the main body card and the optical recording member 2.

The thus completed optical card was hot-pressed at 120 ° C. and 6 kg / cm ² for 2.5 seconds using a flat press adapted to the shapes of the optical recording member 2 and the fixed frame 3. As a result, the adhesive 4 was dissolved, and the end surfaces of the optical recording member 3 and the main body card 1 could be bonded while covering the bottom surface of the fixed frame 3. Optical recording member 2
As for the vinyl chloride material of the main body card 1 corresponding to the bottom surface of the above, since the transparent protective layer 7 (polycarbonate) absorbs heat, there was no dripping due to heat.

Laser writing was performed on the optical recording surface of the sample obtained above, and a track guide and a track pattern were recorded.

(Characteristic Check) The optical card sample obtained in Example 1 was used as an optical card R / W (Omron, "3B
3H-DJ-01 ”), data of 100 tracks was written, and the error rate was within 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ , which was higher than that of a general optical card in practical use. In addition, when a bending test was performed on the above sample in accordance with the ISO bending test standard, cracks or streaks occurred on the back surface of the card base material along the shape of the optical recording member in the conventional embedded type card. In the optical card according to the present embodiment, the occurrence is suppressed.

(Embodiment 2) Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, 5, and 6. FIG.

(Preparation of Optical Recording Member) A surface protection member 7 of polymethyl methacrylate with an optical recording pattern having a thickness of 0.4 mm was prepared by a casting method. At this time, the long side of the member located in the top direction was designed to be curved (not shown) so as to draw an arc.

Next, a hard coat agent ("UH-00" manufactured by Toray Co., Ltd.) was applied to the opposite side of the track pattern surface 8 by spin coating.
1)) to form a surface hardened layer 6, and then an optical recording layer 9 was formed by sputtering tellurium oxide (TeOx) on the pattern surface to form an optical recording layer 9.
An adhesive 10 (“PPET-2101” manufactured by Toa Gosei) was applied on the optical recording layer 9 with a stamper to a thickness of 50 μm.

(Preparation of Main Body Card) On the other hand, the optical recording member 2 having a card size of 0.78 mm and a depth of 0.3 mm was slightly protruded by an injection method using ABS resin. A main body card 1 partially having a concave portion that fits in was manufactured. Also, in this case,
The pattern was formed by in-mold molding.

(Preparation of Fixed Frame) A fixed frame 11 having a thickness of 100 μm and having a shape for closing a boundary between the outer periphery of the optical recording member 2 and the concave portion of the main body card 1 is prepared by an injection method using an ABS resin. did. This ABS fixed frame 1
1, an adhesive 41 ("PPET-21" manufactured by Toa Gosei Co., Ltd.)
01 ") was applied.

(Embedding of the optical recording member in the main body card) The optical recording member 2 is embedded in the concave portion of the main body card 1 manufactured as described above.
Is buried so that the position of the long side curved portion (not shown) matches,
Further, the ABS fixed frame 11 was positioned and covered so as to cover the outer peripheral portion of the optical recording member 2 protruding from the surface of the main body card.

The optical card thus completed was hot-pressed at 120 ° C. and 6 kg / cm ² for 2.5 seconds using a flat press adapted to the shapes of the optical recording member 2 and the fixed frame 11. As a result, the adhesive 41 was dissolved, and it was possible to bond the optical recording member 2 while covering the bottom and end surfaces of the optical recording member 2 and the bottom surface of the fixed frame 11. At this time, the optical recording member 2
The condition that no air bubbles remain between the camera and the main body card was set.

(Characteristics Check) The optical card sample obtained in the above-mentioned Example 2 was used as an optical card R / W (Omron, “3B
3H-DJ-01 ”), data of 100 tracks was written, and the error rate was within 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ , which was higher than that of a general optical card in practical use. In addition, when a bending test was performed on the above sample in accordance with the ISO bending test standard, cracks or streaks occurred on the back surface of the card base material along the shape of the optical recording member in the conventional embedded type card. In the optical card according to the present embodiment, the occurrence is suppressed.

(Embodiment 3) Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 4, 7, and 8. FIG.

(Preparation of Optical Recording Member) First, a hard coating agent was applied to one surface of a sheet-formed polycarbonate (transparent protective layer 7) having a thickness of 0.4 mm by spin coating.
(Manufactured by Toray, “UH-001”) was applied to form a surface hardened layer 6.

Next, a guide track pattern layer 8 was formed on the surface opposite to the surface hardened layer 6 by a 2P method, and tellurium oxide (TeOx) was sputtered thereon to form an optical recording layer 9. Next, an adhesive 10 (manufactured by Toagosei Co., Ltd., “PPET-210”) was formed on the optical recording layer 9 using a T-die.
1 ") was applied at a thickness of 50 µm. Then, the optical recording member 2 was manufactured by cutting to a predetermined size so as to be parallel with the track of the card.

(Preparation of main body card) On the other hand, 0.28 mm
Is printed on one side of each of the two core sheets made of milk white vinyl chloride by a silk screen method, and the non-printed surfaces of the two core sheets are combined with each other to form an oversheet 2 having a thickness of 0.10 mm. The main body card 1 having a four-layer laminated structure was prepared by sandwiching the sheets with each other and performing heat fusion.

Further, a flat rectangular recess in which the optical recording member 2 was embedded was formed in the main body card 1 by cutting. At the time of the formation of the recess, the outer periphery of the recess is cut by 0.50 mm larger than the optical recording member 2, and the end face of the main body card 1 is formed so that the recess is parallel to the optical recording member 2. Was also cut.

(Preparation of Fixed Frame) Further, the boundary between the outer periphery of the optical recording member 2 and the cut recess of the main body card is closed using a Nitinol (Ti-Ni) shape memory alloy, and the cross section is T. A fixed frame 12 having a character shape and a thickness of 0.80 mm was produced. An adhesive 42 (“PPET-2101” manufactured by Toa Gosei) was applied to a portion of the fixed frame 12 made of the alloy, which was in contact with the optical recording member 2 and the main body card.

(Embedding of Optical Recording Member in Main Body Card) The optical recording member 2 is embedded in the concave portion of the main body card 1 prepared as described above, and the above-mentioned alloy fixed frame 12 is connected to the cut concave portion of the main body card 1. The optical recording member 2 was positioned and covered so as to cover the boundary with the outer peripheral portion. At this time, the alloy fixed frame 1
2 was covered so that the vertical portion of the T-shape fit in the boundary gap between the optical recording member 2 and the cut concave portion.

With respect to the optical card completed in this way, using a flat press adjusted to the size of the optical recording member 2, 120
Hot pressing was performed for 2.5 seconds at 6 ° C. and 6 kg / cm ² . As a result, the adhesive dissolves, and while the bottom surface and the end surface of the optical recording member 2 and the bottom surface of the alloy fixing frame 12 are covered, the T-shaped vertical portion of the alloy fixing frame 12 is optically recorded. The member 2 and the main body were able to be bonded in a state in which they were accommodated in the gap between the concave portions formed by cutting the card. Further, since vinyl chloride of the main body card which hits the bottom of the optical recording member 2 transmits heat from the upper surface of the transparent protective layer 7 (polycarbonate), there was no dripping due to the heat.

(Characteristic Check) The optical card sample obtained in Example 3 was used as an optical card R / W (manufactured by OMRON, "3B
3H-DJ-01 ”), data of 100 tracks was written, and the error rate was within 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ , which was higher than that of a general optical card in practical use. In addition, when a bending test was performed on the above sample according to the ISO bending test standard, cracks or streaks occurred on the back surface of the card base material along the shape of the optical recording member in the conventional embedded type card, In the optical card of this embodiment, the occurrence is suppressed.

[0052]

According to the optical card of the present invention, since the fixed frame is attached to the outer periphery of the optical recording member, the optical recording member in which the optical recording member is embedded in an island shape is bent at the periphery of the embedded portion when the optical card is curved. The strength against cracking and breaking of the main body card can be improved. Further, in the optical card of the present invention, it was also confirmed that the optical recording member embedded in the shape of an island can be implemented in any shape and has a wide application range.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an optical card according to an embodiment of the present invention when viewed from a side where an optical recording member is embedded.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the optical card according to the first embodiment,
Line cross section

3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the optical card according to the first embodiment in an easily understandable manner, and is an enlarged sectional view of a card edge portion in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an optical recording member.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, showing the configuration of the optical card implemented in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a card edge portion of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 in the configuration of the optical card implemented in the third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a card edge portion of FIG. 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card (body card) 2 Optical recording member 3, 11, 12 Fixed frame 4, 10, 41, 42 Adhesive 5 Groove 6 (cut by the thickness of the fixed frame tried in Example 1) Surface hardened layer 7 Transparent protective layer 8 Track pattern layer 9 Optical recording layer

Claims (6)

[Claims] An optical recording member in which a surface hardened layer, a transparent protective layer, a track pattern layer, and an optical recording layer are laminated in this order,
In an optical card embedded with an adhesive at the bottom of a concave portion formed in the card, a thin band-shaped material is formed so as to cover the upper part of the groove along the outer periphery of the optical recording member. An optical card, characterized in that a rectangular fixed frame is attached to the surface of the optical recording member and the card via an adhesive. 2. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein the rectangular fixed frame is formed of a flat metal or plastic thin plate. 3. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein the optical recording member protrudes from a surface of the card. 4. The rectangular fixed frame is made of metal or plastic formed to cover a step between the optical recording member according to claim 3 and a card surface. 3. The optical card according to 3. 5. The groove is set to have a width of 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm when the optical recording member is embedded in a recess formed in a card via an adhesive. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein: 6. The rectangular fixed frame has a cross section in the width direction of the rectangular fixed frame so that the rectangular fixed frame can be inserted into a groove formed between the optical recording member and the card according to claim 5. The optical card according to claim 5, wherein the optical card is made of a metal or a plastic formed in a letter shape.