JP2009176002A - Coin-type storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coin-type shapely storage medium which allows recognition of the balance, even if its chip is broken, and causes no abrasion in the display of its store name and chip ID, after repeated use. <P>SOLUTION: The coin-type storage medium comprises: a case member 11, having a concave part in the center of its upper surface; a circuit board 12 on which a communication electronic circuit element is mounted, with the element concerned being connected to an antenna coil member and having a recording area for recording medium-specific data; a laser color development layer which is located on the circuit board 12 in the concave part and on which a correlation with the medium-specific data is displayed; and a protective layer 16, which is arranged on the laser color development layer in the concave part and transmits visible light and laser light, at least at in parts of the area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coin-type IC tag used when purchasing a game medium such as a medal or a pachinko ball in a gaming machine such as a slot machine or a pachinko gaming machine installed in a store, or an IC coin, etc. The present invention relates to a coin type recording medium having a coin type shape.

  Coin-type IC tags or IC coins are known in which an IC chip, an antenna coil, or the like is enclosed in a coin-shaped case member for performing data communication without contact. The IC chip includes a control circuit, an EEPROM, a CPU, etc., and its use is a game medium payout means for a player to pay out a pachinko ball of a pachinko gaming machine, which is a game medium, or a medal of a slot machine, that is, money. Is used as an alternative.

For example, as in Patent Document 1,
An upper case member made of synthetic resin formed in a plate shape;
A circuit board to which an antenna coil member is connected and at least an electronic circuit element for data recording such as communication and balance is mounted;
A lower case member made of a synthetic resin, which is formed in a plate shape and has an enclosing portion for fixing the circuit board and the antenna coil member;
A coin-type recording medium provided with a metal ring member,
The metal ring member includes a first engagement portion projecting along the inner peripheral surface at an intermediate portion in the height direction of the inner peripheral surface, and a second engagement formed on the first engagement portion. Have joints,
The lower case member and the upper case member sandwich the first engagement portion of the metal ring member between the outer flat portions of the both case members, and integrate the metal ring member with the outer peripheral edge portion thereof. And a resin sealing body sealed in a state in which the circuit board fixed to the enclosing portion and the antenna coil member are encapsulated,
The coin-type recording medium is characterized in that one or both of the outer plane portions of the case members facing the second engagement portion are fitted into the second engagement portion. Etc. are known.

  In this case, it may be difficult to output the balance of the coin-type recording medium due to failure of the circuit board or the like due to pressure or impact. When information such as the balance disappears in this way, the balance is confirmed by specifying individual chips in order to confirm the balance. Specifically, for example, a display associated with the medium identification data such as the store name display and chip ID is displayed on the surface of the coin, and the display associated with the medium identification data such as the shop name and chip ID is visually observed. Judgment is performed, and the display is separately input to a balance confirmation device or the like, and the balance is confirmed and reissued.

The patent literature is as follows.
JP 2006-127141 A JP 2002-31745 A

  In the conventional coin-type recording medium, when the information such as the balance disappears, in order to specify the individual chip, a display associated with the medium specifying data such as the store name display of the play facility and the chip ID is displayed. There was a need. The balance is reissued by a balance confirmation device or the like by visually judging the store name and the chip ID.

  In this case, since each coin-type recording medium has a different chip, a different chip ID is used for each coin-type recording medium. For this reason, for example, it is impossible to collectively print the store name display and the display associated with the medium specifying data such as the chip ID. Therefore, it has been performed to irradiate the resin layer of the coin-type recording medium with a laser and display the display associated with the medium specifying data by the burn of the laser pattern, in this case, the store name and the chip ID.

  However, this can only be displayed in black and white, and the display is monotonous. Further, since the burnt eyes of the laser pattern were exposed on the surface, the resistance against external wear was low. In such a coin-type recording medium, since repeated use is a normal method of use, there has been a case where the display of the store name or chip ID cannot be read due to repeated wear.

  In such a state, when the chip of the coin-type recording medium becomes unable to communicate due to damage or the like, it is impossible to visually determine which chip is incorporated, and a clerk etc. It has been impossible to confirm the store name display necessary for confirming the balance and the display associated with the medium specifying data such as the chip ID.

  On the other hand, in order to prevent such a failure from occurring fundamentally, an effort has been made to increase the strength of the coin-type recording medium. For example, a technique for protecting the chip against impact by surrounding the outer periphery with a metal such as brass has been performed. Certainly, this has the effect of protecting the chip against uniform pressurization and simple dropping, and the chip is less damaged. However, because the inner surface is only covered with resin, if the chip is subjected to pinpoint pressure, the chip will eventually be damaged, and the chip is not completely protected. .

  However, the entire surface of the coin type recording medium cannot be covered with metal. If the entire surface is covered with metal, communication between the internal chip and the outside becomes impossible.

  Therefore, in the present invention, even if the chip is destroyed, the balance can be reissued by the balance confirmation device or the like, and the display associated with the medium specifying data such as the store name and the display of the chip ID is worn due to repeated use. By checking the display associated with the medium specific data visually without fail, the balance can be confirmed using a balance confirmation device based on the confirmed display, It is an object of the present invention to provide a coin-type storage medium that can take measures such as reissuance and has a beautiful display associated with medium specifying data such as the display of the store name and chip ID.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a case member having a recess at the center of the upper surface and a recording area located inside the recess and connected to an antenna coil member for recording medium specific data and capable of communication. Located on the circuit board on which the circuit elements are mounted, the circuit board in the recess, the laser coloring layer that is displayed in association with the medium specific data, and the laser coloring layer in the recess, The present invention provides a coin-type storage medium comprising a protective layer that transmits visible light and a laser in at least a part of the region.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2 of the present invention, the laser coloring layer is composed of an underlayer and a laser receiving layer, and the exposed portion is not formed by exposing the underlayer without the laser receiving layer only in the display portion. 2. A display associated with the medium specifying data.
The coin-type storage medium described is provided.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the protective layer includes a transparent region including a region where a display associated with the medium specific data is visible and a printed region, and visible light and a laser are transmitted through the transparent region. In addition, the coin-type storage medium according to claim 1, wherein a printing layer is provided on the inner side of the recess in the printing area.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the coin-shaped storage medium according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the case member is made of a hard resin.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 4 of the present invention, the protective layer is fused to the case member in a region in direct contact with the case member. A storage medium is provided.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, even if a chip breaks down, the balance can be confirmed by a balance confirmation device or the like, and appropriate measures such as reissuing can be performed accordingly. Became. In addition, the display associated with the medium specific data, for example, the display associated with the medium specific data such as the store name and the chip ID is not worn due to repeated use, and the balance is surely confirmed by a balance confirmation device or the like. In addition, it is possible to provide a coin-type storage medium that has a beautiful display and does not have difficulty in incorporating such a chip.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the display associated with the medium specifying data, such as the display of the store name and chip ID, is beautiful, and the display associated with the specific medium specifying data is ensured. It has become possible to provide a coin-type storage medium that can be provided.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a coin-type storage medium that is beautiful in display associated with medium specifying data and that can reliably provide display associated with specific medium specifying data. It became possible to provide.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a coin-shaped storage medium that can be manufactured at low cost without using metal.

  Further, according to the present invention according to claim 5, it is possible to reliably protect the display associated with the medium specifying data, and it is difficult to forge the display associated with the medium specifying data, Furthermore, it has become possible to provide a coin-type storage medium that can collectively perform the manufacturing process before laser irradiation.

  The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings using an example of the best mode of the coin type storage medium of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of the best mode of the coin-type storage medium of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view taken along the line AA. In many cases, the case member 11 has a generally cylindrical shape which is a normal shape, and the cylindrical shape has two circular surfaces, one of which is an upper surface and the other is a lower surface. Concave portions are formed on both surfaces at the center of the surface upper surface, which is the portion of the surface upper surface that is away from the tube. A recess is also provided at the center of the lower surface of the surface, which is a circular surface opposite to the upper surface, but the size of the recess is shallower than that of the upper surface. The concave portion provided at the center of the upper surface is deeply provided, and the circuit board 12 is fitted inside the bottom portion.

  The case member 11 is preferably composed of a hard member that does not transmit pressure to the inside of the recess even when external pressure is applied to protect the circuit board 12 and the like, and in particular, a material that can be fused to a protective layer described later is preferable. For example, the outer peripheral ring portion may be made of brass or the like, but the whole is made of ABS resin (acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene copolymer synthetic resin) or the like. Generally, the diameter of the case member is generally about 20 to 30 mm.

  The circuit board 12 has a recording area for recording medium-specific data of a coin-type storage medium, and is mounted with an electronic circuit element or the like capable of communication. The medium specifying data is data that allows the coin to be identified from other coins, such as the chip ID and balance of the coin, and other data that can be used to identify other coins from other coins, usage records, etc. Various data can be used. The display associated with the medium specifying data may be the same data as the medium specifying data, but may be any data as long as the medium specifying data can be specified.

  The circuit board 12 generally includes a storage area, or is connected to the storage area, and further includes an IC chip having a communication function and an antenna necessary for communication. In order to fix the position, a groove corresponding to the circuit board 12 may be provided in the concave portion of the case member 11, and the groove may be stored in the groove or simply stored in the concave portion. However, if it is located at the end of the recess, it may become an obstacle to fusion described later, so it may be necessary to consider it.

  For example, the circuit board 12 has a structure in which a circuit member formed by pressing a thin copper plate on a thin sheet substrate made of ceramics or a resin film is bonded. The circuit board 12 is connected to its circuit members with a CPU, an EEPROM (Electronically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), an IC chip such as a RAM, etc., and at least an electronic circuit element for communication and data recording is mounted. An IC mounting substrate is configured.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an antenna coil member is connected to the circuit board 12 by soldering or the like. The antenna coil member has a shape in which one copper wire having a diameter of about 0.5 mm is wound in a coil shape several times. Since the coin-type recording medium encloses the circuit board integrally connected with the antenna coil member as described above, processing such as transmission / reception of data and reading / writing of data without contact using electromagnetic waves is performed. It becomes possible.

  On top of this, a laser coloring layer comprising an underlayer 13 and a laser receiving layer 14 is overlaid so as to cover the circuit board 12. The underlayer 13 and the laser receiving layer 14 are laminated and are not scheduled to be separated. The underlayer 13 is a layer that can be seen from the surface when the laser receiving layer 14 is removed by a laser, and this color becomes a character color or the like. The laser receiving layer 14 is made of a material in which the laser receiving layer disappears only due to a phenomenon such as dissolution or evaporation when irradiated with a laser. Is used. Further, this laser coloring layer is provided in the central portion of the recess. This is because if it is located at the end of the recess, there is a case where it becomes an obstacle to fusion described later, and it may be necessary to consider it.

  For example, by irradiating the laser in the form of “ABC123”, the hologram of the irradiated portion is solved, and the letter “ABC123” of red, for example, the color of the underlayer is displayed in the hologram.

  In this case, as a base layer, for example, black paper dry lamination or the like is used, and a thickness of about 50 μm is used. As the laser receiving layer, a material generally used for holograms having a thickness of about 22 to 24 μm is used.

  Next, the protective layer 16 with the printing layer 15 is provided thereon, and this protective layer 16 becomes the outermost surface. The printing layer 15 for the protective layer 16 is formed on the inner side of the recess. As a result, since the printing layer 15 is not exposed, there is no obstacle that cannot be read due to wear or the like. Further, the material of the protective layer 16 needs to be transparent and capable of transmitting laser. This is because the display contents of the laser coloring layer cannot be seen from the surface and the laser irradiation to the laser receiving layer 14 cannot be performed without such a material.

  Furthermore, the printing layer 15 is not provided on the entire inner surface of the protective layer 16, but a transparent region 18 in which the printing layer 15 is not provided is provided at least in part. An area other than the transparent area 18 becomes a print area 17. The transparent region 18 is a region where the laser coloring layer is located below. Since the transparent region 18 does not have the print layer 15, the laser coloring layer can be directly observed, and laser irradiation is also possible, so that the display provided by laser irradiation or laser irradiation can be visually observed through the protective layer 16. Is possible. The protective layer 16 is preferably made of a material that can be fused to the case member 11. If it can be fused with the case member, the circuit board 12 can be reliably sealed, and it will not come off, and it will be useful for preventing counterfeiting. This fusion needs to be performed in a region that is in direct contact with the case member 11, but is generally provided at the peripheral edge of the recess. As the protective layer 16, a polycarbonate resin or the like is used, and a thickness of about 0.5 mm is used.

  In this state, in order to prevent the protective layer 16 from being worn, a shape in which the peripheral edge of the case member 11 is about 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm higher than the surface of the protective layer 16 is used.

  A method for manufacturing such a coin-type storage medium will be described below. First, the case member 11 is created by various plastic molding machines. Next, the circuit board 12 is fitted into the recess. Next, a laser color-developing layer in which the laser receiving layer 14 is provided on the entire surface of the base layer 13 by transfer, vapor deposition or other means is used. Further, the laser receiving layer 14 is overlaid so as to be on the surface side. Next, a protective layer 16 on which a printing layer 15 is separately printed is overlaid so that the printing layer 16 is on the inner side of the recess, and the case member 11 is formed so that the protective layer 16 is not peeled off. As shown in FIG. 3, a coin-type storage medium that is not displayed by laser irradiation is obtained.

  Finally, for each coin-type storage medium that has not been displayed by laser irradiation, the display associated with the specific data of the coin-type storage medium, such as each chip ID and store name, is irradiated through the transparent area of the protective layer. As a result, the laser receiving layer of the part is dissolved or evaporated by the laser irradiation, and the base layer is exposed by the action of dissolution or evaporation, and the medium identification data such as the chip ID and the store name is externally received. The balance corresponding to the coin-type storage medium can be confirmed by a balance confirmation device or the like by inputting medium identification data or the like that can be visually confirmed.

  Next, a method for using a coin-type storage medium will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a balance confirmation device related to the use of a coin-type storage medium includes a coin-type storage medium use device 21, a coin-type storage medium balance storage device 22, a coin-type storage medium balance confirmation terminal 23, It is made up of.

  Then, the coin-type storage medium using device 21 associates the balance after use with the medium specifying data and transfers it to the coin-type storage medium balance storage device 22, and the used balance is used as the coin-type storage medium specifying data. Relate to remember.

  On the other hand, if the balance of the coin-type storage medium can no longer be confirmed, or if the storage area such as the IC chip of the circuit board 12 is destroyed by dropping the coin, the store clerk etc. The display associated with the specific data is confirmed, and the store clerk operates the coin-type storage medium balance confirmation terminal 23 to input the display associated with the medium specific data such as the chip ID.

  Then, the coin-type storage medium balance storage device 22 searches the associated balance, and displays the balance stored in association with the medium specifying data of the coin-type storage medium from the coin-type storage medium balance storage device 22. As a result, the store clerk takes measures such as ensuring the balance by issuing a new coin-type storage medium corresponding to the balance of the coin-type storage medium.

  For example, when a game is played with a pachinko and the balance of “ABC123” is reduced from 3000 to 2000, as a result, the coin-type storage medium using device 21 integrated with the pachinko machine is stored in the coin-type storage medium balance storage device 22. The data is transmitted, and the coin-type storage medium balance storage device 22 stores that the balance of “ABC123” is 2000 or rewrites the balance as 2000.

  If the balance of the coin-type storage medium cannot be read due to various reasons such as the IC chip information disappearing or the antenna is broken, etc., it is requested to the store to operate the coin-type storage medium balance confirmation terminal 23 to the store clerk. The data of the chip ID “ABC123” is retrieved, and the balance information 2000 is displayed on a display or the like.

  In the store, by confirming this balance, the balance is guaranteed, for example, by issuing another coin-type storage medium having another balance 2000.

It is a top view of an example of the best form of the coin type storage medium of the present invention. It is a partial expansion cut perspective view by the AA line. It is the partial expansion cut perspective view by the same AA line before laser irradiation of the coin type storage medium of the present invention. It is a system block diagram of the balance confirmation apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Case member 12 ... Circuit board 13 ... Underlayer 14 ... Laser receiving layer 15 ... Print layer 16 ... Protective layer 17 ... Print area 18 ... Transparent area 21 ... Coin-type storage medium using device 22 ... Coin-type storage medium balance storage device 23 ... Coin-type storage medium balance confirmation terminal

Claims (5)

  A case member having a recess at the center of the upper surface, a circuit board that is located inside the recess, has a recording area to which the antenna coil member is connected and records medium specific data, and on which an electronic circuit element capable of communication is mounted, Located on the circuit board inside the recess and displayed on the laser coloring layer associated with the media specific data, and on the laser coloring layer inside the recess and transmits visible light and laser in at least some areas A coin-type storage medium characterized by comprising a protective layer.   The laser coloring layer is composed of a base layer and a laser receiving layer, and only the display part has no laser receiving layer and the base layer is exposed, so that the exposed part is displayed in association with the medium specific data. The coin-type storage medium according to claim 1, wherein:   The protective layer includes a transparent area including a visible area associated with the medium-specific data and a print area. In the transparent area, visible light and a laser are transmitted, and in the print area, a print layer is provided on the inner side of the recess. The coin-type storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the coin-type storage medium is provided.   4. The coin-shaped storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the case member is made of a hard resin.   5. The coin-type storage medium according to claim 1, wherein the protective layer is fused to the case member in a region in direct contact with the case member.

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