JP3979244B2 - Information display medium and authenticity determination method thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information display medium for displaying unique visible information, and in particular, a low melting point metal is partially dissolved by a heating means, and is hidden by a low melting point metal or an information display medium for recording / displaying unique information. The present invention relates to an information display medium on which information is displayed and a method for determining authenticity thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, prepaid cards, point cards, and the like have been widely used as media for displaying low-melting-point metals by partial thermal destruction.
These media are used to display the usage status of the prepaid card and the remaining amount that can be used, and the user can visually confirm the information without passing through the machine. In addition, the point card is used to display right information for receiving services such as earned points.
On the other hand, it is also used for lottery tickets, lotteries, and the like as an information display medium for thermally destroying a low melting point metal and confirming information hidden in that portion. That is, the design information is concealed in advance with a low melting point metal, the portion selected by the purchaser is thermally destroyed, and it is confirmed whether or not the winning design is won with the exposed base design. Alternatively, it can be used for various lottery tickets such as a method in which a purchaser is thermally destroyed at some portions to which the right is given and a plurality of patterns on the ground are matched.
[0003]
However, the low-melting point metal film represented by Sn, Al, etc. used in these can be forcibly scraped using a metal such as a coin or a needle. In a prepaid card or a point card, the display information can be easily altered and used illegally. In the lottery ticket, more parts than the pre-given number will be scraped off to make it appear as if it has been won, and after removing all the low melting point metal, check the character information of the winning design. It is also possible to conceal with metal again and select only the display information part to be won.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the low melting point metal thin film layer is concealed by a low melting point metal thin film layer having a concealing property so that the unique information cannot be seen from the protective layer side. The present invention provides an information display medium for recording and displaying unique information that can be visually recognized by a portion melted by heating of the image, and a method for determining authenticity that can easily check information falsification and forgery of the display medium. It is the purpose.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an information display medium having at least a printed information layer, a low melting point metal thin film layer, and a protective layer on a substrate, wherein the printed information layer excludes a visible region. A light emitting material that emits light in a visible range by an external stimulus with a specific wavelength is contained, and the protective layer contains a material that absorbs or blocks an external stimulus in which the light emitting material emits light in a visible region. It is an information display medium.
Here, “absorb or block” will be described. If the external stimulus does not reach the luminescent material sufficiently, it is difficult to confirm the luminescence even if it emits light, and if the external stimulus does not reach completely, no light is emitted. “Absorb or block” will cause an effect that does not fully or completely reach this external stimulus.
[0006]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print information portion by printing at least one of a pattern, a letter, and a number between the base material and the low melting point metal thin film layer. 1. An information display medium according to 1.
[0007]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the base material is transparent, the low-melting-point metal thin film and the protective layer are provided on one side of the base material, and a pattern, a letter, or a number is provided on the other side of the base material. The information display medium according to claim 1, further comprising at least one print information portion by printing and a concealing layer.
[0008]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the external stimulus corresponding to the light emitting material of the information display medium according to any one of the first to third aspects is applied to a certain information display medium to be subjected to authenticity determination. An authenticity determination method for an information display medium, wherein authenticity determination is performed using information on whether or not light in the visible range is emitted.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a basic embodiment of an information display medium according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the information display medium according to the present invention includes a printed information portion 12 containing a verifiable luminescent material on one side of a substrate 11, a low melting point metal thin film layer 13, and the printed information portion. A protective layer 14 containing a material that absorbs or blocks external stimuli of the light emitting material is provided.
Such an information display medium breaks the low-melting point metal layer 12 with heat so that the printed information can be viewed. When this thermal destruction is performed, the protective layer is not removed, and only the low melting point metal thin film is removed. However, if you try to remove the low melting point metal thin film layer with a coin or a needle, The protective layer will be destroyed. If a light emitting material is added to the print information section 12 as in the present invention and a material that absorbs or blocks an external stimulus that causes the print information section to emit light is added to the protective layer 14, an external stimulus such as an ultraviolet ray is applied. By giving and checking the presence or absence of light emission, it is possible to easily determine whether it is printed by thermal destruction or forcibly removed by a coin or a needle.
[0010]
The same effect can be obtained in the embodiment of the lottery ticket shown in FIGS.
FIG. 2 shows a print information part 12 containing a verifiable light emitting material as lottery information on one side of a base material 11 and a low melting point metal thin film provided on the whole surface or a part so as to conceal the print information part. A layer 13 and a protective layer 14 containing a material that absorbs or blocks an external stimulus that emits light from the light emitting material of the print information section are sequentially laminated. On the other hand, the configuration shown in FIG. 3 is a configuration in which the low melting point metal thin film layer 13 and the protective layer 14 are provided on one side of the transparent substrate 31, and the print information layer 12 and the concealing layer 15 are provided on the other side. It is. In any case, the low melting point metal layer 13 is thermally destroyed to record information or to confirm the print information 12.
[0011]
Even in the case of these configurations, by confirming the presence or absence of light emission of the printed information layer 12 from the protective layer side, the low-melting-point metal thin film layer 13 is normally removed by thermal destruction or is forcibly destroyed. Is easily determined. Moreover, even if a metal thin film is newly provided after the low melting point metal thin film layer 13 is removed and the print information portion 12 is confirmed, a counterfeit product can be identified based on the presence or absence of light emission.
[0012]
Hereinafter, the material and manufacturing method of each component will be described in detail.
As the base material 11 and the transparent base material 31, known films and sheets can be used, and can be appropriately selected and used according to processability, operability, durability, and the like. The base material 11 can also display information by a contrast difference with the low melting point metal foil film layer 13. That is, it is desirable that the low melting point metal layer 13 is colored with a color different from the hue (metal color). As the coloring means, various pigments and dyes may be kneaded at the time of film production, or may be colored by known printing means or chemical treatment after the film production. In the transparent base material 31, when confirming the printing information layer 12, it carries out through the transparent base material 31 from the protective layer 14 side. Therefore, in the case of the transparent substrate 31, it is necessary to select a material that does not absorb or block external stimuli that cause the print information layer 12 to emit light. As a reference for transparency regarding the transparent base material 31, it is sufficient that the printed information layer 12 on the back side can be discriminated in the visible range. Colored and semi-transparent are also in the category of transparency, and do not mean completely colorless and transparent. The base material 11 and the transparent base material 31 are subjected to processing such as corona discharge processing, frame processing, chemical mat processing, easy-adhesion coating, and application of image-receiving layers for various printers so that a print information layer and a concealing layer 15 to be provided later can be easily provided. It is also possible. Moreover, the base material 11 and the transparent base material 31 do not necessarily need to be a single layer, and may be a plurality of laminated bodies. Machine reading (management) members represented by IC chips and antennas may be provided inside, or by combining films of a plurality of laminates having different refractive indexes, for example, low refractive index / high refractive index, A further anti-counterfeiting effect may be imparted as an optical interference film.
[0013]
The print information layer 12 is a layer that displays information used in the lottery and contrast difference due to the combination with the low melting point metal foil film layer 13. Light in the visible region can be displayed by an external stimulus with a specific wavelength excluding the visible region. It is made of ink that emits. In the print information layer 12, a resin serving as a binder, a light emitting material, a color material such as a dye / pigment, a lubricant, and various additives are added depending on the application (compatibility with a printer or a printing machine). The printing information layer 12 is formed by a known printing method such as an offset printing method, a silk screen printing method, a gravure printing method, a flexographic printing method, an ink jet method, a thermal transfer method using a transfer ribbon, laser printing, thermal coloring, or a printer. Is used to draw letters, symbols, numbers, figures, or images. In addition, when it is difficult to add a light emitting material when recording information using a commercially available ink jet printer or the like, a second printing information layer is formed using a transparent ink separately containing a light emitting material layer. It may be provided. In this case, the first print information layer and the substrate may be provided so as to cover the entire surface, or may be provided so as to cover only a part. Further, the unique information pattern may be formed only by the second print information layer. The external stimulus of the luminescent material needs to be limited to a region other than the visible region. The reason is that a material that absorbs or blocks the light emitting material of the print information layer 12 is added to the protective layer 14 described later. Therefore, when the printing information layer 12 uses a material that emits light by an external stimulus in the visible region, a material that absorbs or blocks visible light must be added to the protective layer 14. That is, absorbing or blocking an external stimulus in the visible region makes it impossible to visually confirm the print information layer. However, in the case where visual confirmation is not required and the reading is limited to machine reading, a material that emits light by an external stimulus in the visible region can be used.
[0014]
The above-mentioned luminescent materials emit light in the visible range by external stimuli, such as phosphors, phosphors, daylights, etc. that emit light by external stimuli such as ultraviolet rays, infrared rays, electron beams, X-rays, radiation, electric fields, chemical reactions, etc. Is mentioned. The light emitting material is used by appropriately adding to a binder resin formed with the print information layer 12. The addition amount is desirably within a range of 0.5 to 80%. When the addition amount is 0.5% or less, sufficient light emission cannot be obtained. When the addition amount is 80% or more, the binding force with the binder resin is weakened, and the durability as a final product is weakened.
[0015]
Next, these light emitting materials will be described in detail.
Phosphors emit light in the vicinity of the visible range by external stimulation (excitation), but phosphorescence that persists for more than the time perceived by the eye (about 0.1 sec) after excitation is stopped. The body. Moreover, the thing of long afterglow is called daylight.
[0016]
Examples of the fluorescent substance include the following.
Ultraviolet-emitting fluorescent agents are those that are excited by ultraviolet rays and have spectral peaks in the blue, green, red, etc. wavelength range when returning to lower energy levels. After a trace amount of metal (copper, silver, manganese, bismuth, lead, etc.) is added as an activator in order to enhance the emission of light to a high-purity phosphor of sulfide, it can be obtained by high-temperature firing. The combination of the host crystal and the activator can adjust the hue, brightness, and degree of color attenuation.
[0017]
On the other hand, there are infrared-emitting fluorescent agents that are excited by infrared light and emit visible light, and infrared-visible fluorescent agents that are excited by infrared light and emit light at longer wavelengths. The former infrared-visible conversion fluorescent agent is a phosphor having a very special excitation mechanism, and excites visible light emission by using a plurality of low-energy infrared photons. There are two types of these emission mechanisms, one of which can be highly excited by multistage excitation in the activator ion and the other by multiple times of resonance energy transfer from the sensitizer. The former type is observed in many host crystals that use Er ³⁺ or Ho ³⁺ as an activator, and the latter type absorbs infrared rays by the sensitizer Yb ³⁺ and emits light by multistage energy transfer. Er ³⁺ , Tm ³⁺ , Ho ^3+, etc. are excited to a high level.
In addition, semiconducting substances having high electron mobility, such as sulfide (ZnS, CdS) and oxysulfide (Y ₂ O ₂ S) as the base crystal, have photoconductivity as electron beam excited phosphors. It is possible to use.
[0018]
On the other hand, phosphors (Zn, Cd) S: Ag, which are highly efficient with respect to radiation such as X-rays and particle beams, and electroluminescent phosphors that directly convert electric energy into luminescence are given as examples that can be used.
In addition to the above fluorescent materials, organic pigments and dyes such as diaminostilbenzyl sulfonic acid and other stilbene, diaminodiphenyl, imidazole, thiazole, coumarin, naphthalimide, and thiophene are used. May be. These can be used by mixing a plurality of materials. For example, if a fluorescent material (1) that emits red light with an external stimulus of 254 nm and a fluorescent material (2) that emits green light with an external stimulus of 365 nm are used in combination, detection is possible at each wavelength. If you perform, you can check the emission color different from red and green. By combining a plurality of materials having different external stimulus values and luminescent colors, the effect of preventing counterfeiting and tampering is enhanced, and the combination is infinite even if external stimuli in the visible region are excluded.
[0019]
Examples of the low melting point metal thin film layer 13 include a thin film made of a metal material made of Sn, Al, or the like, or an alloy thereof. Any thin film can be appropriately selected and used as long as it is melted and removed by a heating means such as a thermal head. . The forming method is not only directly formed by a thin film forming technique such as a vapor deposition method, a sputtering method, or a CVD method, but also formed by a transfer printing method provided entirely or partially using a transfer foil on which a thin film is formed in advance. It is also possible. In the case of forming by the transfer printing method, there is a merit that it is provided by transfer at the same time by using a protective layer 14 described later as a peelable protective layer.
[0020]
The protective layer 14 is made of a binder resin made of an organic polymer material in which a material that absorbs or blocks the external stimulus of the light emitting material that forms part of the print information layer 12 is dissolved or dispersed. In addition, various lubricants and heat-sensitive sensitizers that impart thermal conductivity are necessary in consideration of the mechanical resistance and feed suitability of the printer used to remove the low melting point metal foil film layer 12. Added accordingly.
[0021]
An example of the absorbent material added to the protective layer will be described. When the printing information layer 12 selects a material that emits light by external stimulation with ultraviolet rays, an ultraviolet absorber having a maximum absorption wavelength of 200 to 400 nm may be used. For example, salicylic acid ultraviolet absorbers such as phenyl salicylate, p-tert-butylphenyl salicylate, p-octylphenyl salicylate, 2,4-dihydroxybenzophenone, 2-hydroxybenzophenone, 2-hydroxy-4-octoxybenzophenone, 2- Benzophenones such as hydroxy-4-dodecyloxybenzophenone, 2,2′-dihydroxy-4-methoxybenzophenone, 2,2′-dihydroxy-4,4′-dimethoxybenzophenone, 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-5-sulfobenzophenone UV absorber, 2- (2′-hydroxy-5′-methylphenyl) benzotriazole, 2- (2′-hydroxy-5′-tert-butylphenyl) benzotriazole, 2- (2′-hydroxy-3) '-Tert- Til-5'-methylphenyl) benzotriazole, 2- (2'-hydroxy-3 ', 5'-ditert-butylphenyl) -5-chlorobenzotriazole, 2- (2'-hydroxy-3', 5 Benzotriazole ultraviolet absorbers such as' -di-tert-amylphenyl) benzotriazole, cyano such as 2-ethylhexyl-2-cyano-3,3'-diphenyl acrylate, ethyl-2-cyano-3,3-diphenyl acrylate Examples include acrylate ultraviolet absorbers.
In addition, inorganic fine particles having an average particle diameter of 100 nm or less, such as ZnO and TiO ₂ , and ultraviolet absorbing resin obtained by copolymerizing an ultraviolet absorbent and an acrylic resin can be used.
[0022]
When the print information layer 12 selects a material that emits light by an external stimulus using infrared rays, the following materials can be listed as usage examples. Examples of the infrared absorbing substance include glass-based materials such as phosphate glass and sulfated glass which are obtained by pulverizing and pigmenting infrared absorbing glass or heat ray absorbing glass having little absorption in the visible region. That is, the infrared absorbing material is composed of a glass powder material containing Fe ²⁺ and / or Cu ²⁺ .
Other than this, it is also possible to apply infrared absorbing dyes such as cyanine, phthalocyanine, dithiol metal complex, naphthoquinone, anthraquinone, triphenylmethane, aminium, and diimmonium that have light absorption. is there.
[0023]
The concealing layer 35 is a layer provided to make the print information layer indistinguishable from the outside. A light reflecting material such as Al or Sn is provided by vapor deposition, sputtering or transfer printing, or Al powder is used. Ink containing titanium oxide powder or the like and having a concealing property for blocking light can be provided by a known coating method or printing method. It is also possible to provide a composite of these concealment layers in order to further improve the concealability.
[0024]
It is also possible to perform various printing on the information display medium in order to improve the designability, and to provide an adhesive anchor layer between each layer in view of the adhesiveness of each layer. Furthermore, in order to cope with mechanical processing, it is easily conceivable to provide a machine-readable information recording unit such as a magnetic layer made of a magnetic material.
[0025]
【Example】
The present invention will be described in detail with specific examples.
[0026]
<Example 1>
An embodiment of the information display medium of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 will be described.
First, on the black polyethylene terephthalate film 200 μm as the substrate 11, a printed information layer 12 is provided on the entire surface by adding an ultraviolet fluorescent material that emits visible light (495 nm: yellow green) when irradiated with ultraviolet rays (365 nm). Next, Sn (melting point: 230 ° C.) with a thickness of 100 nm was provided as the low melting point metal vapor deposition layer 13 by vapor deposition.
On the protective layer 14, a composition obtained by adding a benzotriazole-based ultraviolet absorber to an acrylic resin (+ wax-based lubricant) by a gravure coating method is provided at a thickness of 1 μm, and the information display medium of the present invention is provided. Obtained.
[0027]
<Comparative Example 1>
As with the information display medium of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, a printing information layer 12 made of black ink is provided on the entire surface of a white polyethylene terephthalate film 200 μm as a base material, and then a low melting point metal vapor deposition layer is deposited. Was used to provide Sn (melting point: 230 ° C.) with a thickness of 100 nm.
An acrylic resin (+ wax-based lubricant) to which no ultraviolet absorbing material was added was provided as a protective layer with a thickness of 1 μm by a gravure coating method to obtain an information display medium of a comparative example.
[0028]
<Example 2>
An embodiment of the information display medium of the present invention shown in FIG. 4 will be described.
First, 3 μm of an adhesion anchor layer 16 (polyester resin) is provided on a polyethylene terephthalate film 188 μm as a transparent substrate 31 by a gravure coating method, and Sn (melting point 230 ° C.) is formed thereon by a vapor deposition method as a low melting point metal vapor deposition layer 12. It was provided with a thickness of 100 nm.
On top of that, an acrylic resin (+ wax-based lubricant) formed by adding an ultraviolet absorber by a gravure coating method was provided as a protective layer 13.
[0029]
Next, pre-programmed game information is recorded on the opposite side of the transparent base material 31 from the low-melting-point metal vapor-deposited layer 12 using a thermal transfer ribbon manufactured using ink in which a material that emits fluorescence is dispersed by ultraviolet irradiation. The printed information layer 12 was formed by printing with reverse characters (mirror characters) using a commercially available thermal printer. Furthermore, 10 μm of silver ink (polymer resin + aluminum paste) was provided as a concealing layer 15 on the printing information layer 12 by screen printing. Thus, an information display medium of the present invention used for a lottery ticket or the like was obtained.
[0030]
First, numbers were printed on the information display media prepared in Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 using a thermal head, and then falsified by adding numbers using a needle. When these information display media were irradiated with ultraviolet rays, in Example 1, light emission was observed in the numbered portion added, and light emission was not observed in the portion printed with the thermal head, and it was easily found that the information was altered. However, in the comparative example, since there is no light emission from the beginning, the portion printed by the thermal head cannot be distinguished from the portion added later, and the alteration cannot be detected.
On the other hand, in Example 2, a part of the low-melting-point metal thin film layer 12 was removed with a thermal head so that the underlying pattern could be observed. After that, other parts were cut using coins, and the display information was falsified.
When this information display medium was irradiated with ultraviolet rays, light emission was observed at the portion destroyed by the coin, and it was easily found that the information display medium was falsified.
The information display medium produced as described above is the same in appearance in any of the configurations of Example 1, Example 2, and Comparative Example 1, and the trap for preventing counterfeiting and tampering is not overlooked. The configurations of the first and second embodiments can be detected by an external stimulus only when tampering is performed. That is, it appears when an act of tampering is performed.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the unique information is concealed by the low melting point metal thin film layer having a concealing property so that it cannot be seen from the protective layer side. The protective layer of the information display medium that records and displays the unique information that can be contained contains a luminescent material that emits light in the visible range by external stimuli such as ultraviolet rays, infrared rays, electron beams, X-rays, radiation, electric fields, chemical reactions, etc. As a result, it is possible to provide a true / false determination method that allows easy confirmation of falsification and forgery of information on the display medium.
Therefore, for the counterfeiting method in which the low melting point metal thin film of the information display medium of the present invention is partially removed, the information is falsified, all the low melting point metal thin film is peeled off, the information is confirmed, and the metal thin film is provided again However, the counterfeit product can be easily identified.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an information display medium according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an information display medium used for a lottery ticket according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of an information display medium used for a lottery ticket according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of an information display medium used for a lottery ticket according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Base material 12 ... Print information layer 13 ... Low melting-point metal thin film layer 14 ... Protective layer 15 ... Concealing layer 31 ... Transparent base material 16 ... Adhesive anchor layer

Claims (4)

In an information display medium having at least a printed information layer, a low-melting-point metal thin film layer, and a protective layer on a substrate, the printed information layer emits light in the visible range by external stimulation with a specific wavelength excluding the visible range. And the protective layer contains a material that absorbs or blocks an external stimulus in which the light emitting material emits light in the visible range. The information display medium according to claim 1, further comprising a print information portion formed by printing at least one of a pattern, a letter, and a number between the base material and the low melting point metal thin film layer. The base material is transparent, the low melting point metal thin film and the protective layer are provided on one side of the base material, and the other side of the base material is printed with at least one of patterns, letters, or numbers. The information display medium according to claim 1, further comprising a print information section and a concealing layer. The said external irritation | stimulation corresponding to the said luminescent material of the information display medium of any one of Claims 1-3 is given to a certain information display medium made into the object of authenticity determination, and the light of this visible region is emitted. A method for determining authenticity of an information display medium, wherein authenticity determination is performed using information on whether or not the information is displayed.

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