JP6990375B2 - Form pieces using thermal paper and thermal paper - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a thermal paper provided with a heat-sensitive color-developing layer printed on the surface of a paper substrate by heating with a thermal printer.

The thermal paper used as a printing medium of a thermal printer includes a plurality of pieces of paper that are separated after printing by the thermal printer, and the separated pieces of paper are used as tickets such as admission tickets and coupon tickets. ing. As such thermal paper, for example, one that is wound in a roll shape and a plurality of paper pieces are continuously provided at predetermined cutting intervals is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

In the above-mentioned use such as a ticket, an optical code storing information necessary for the use may be printed. In the thermal paper in this case, after the optical code is printed on each piece of paper by a thermal printer, the piece of paper is separated and used as a ticket or the like. Here, in general, when printing is performed on thermal paper by heating and coloring with a thermal printer, the printing can be visually recognized. Therefore, since the optical code printed by the thermal printer can be easily duplicated by a copier or the like, there is a risk that the optical code may be easily forged or tampered with in the above-mentioned applications such as admission tickets and coupon tickets. In order to prevent such forgery and falsification, for example, a thermal paper provided with a heat-sensitive color-developing layer that develops infrared color is used to print the optical code, and further, a concealing layer that transmits infrared light. It is known that the optical cord is covered in whole or in part. In such a configuration, since the optical cord printed by the thermal printer is covered with the concealing layer, when the optical cord is duplicated by the copier, the optical cord cannot be accurately duplicated by the concealing layer, and forgery or tampering can be prevented. The optical cord covered with the concealing layer is heat-printed on the heat-sensitive color-developing layer that develops infrared color, and the concealing layer is capable of transmitting infrared light, so that infrared light is emitted. It can be read by using a dedicated reading device for irradiation.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-246151

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration in which the optical code printed by the infrared color development of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer is covered with the concealing layer, for example, a dark-colored seal that transmits infrared light after heat printing by a thermal printer. The concealing layer is formed by attaching the above. In order to generate a ticket or the like having such a conventional configuration, in addition to a thermal printer in which an optical code is printed on thermal paper, a device for attaching the seal to be the concealing layer is required. Here, since printing by a thermal printer is usually performed at a site where a piece of paper is separated from the thermal paper (such as a ticket sales site), in addition to the space for installing the thermal printer at the site, the seal Space was needed to install the affixing device. In applications such as tickets in which the optical cord printed on the thermal paper is covered with a concealing layer, there is a problem that a large space is required for installing the thermal printer and the sticker affixing device at the site, and the above-mentioned Since two steps of printing by a thermal printer and forming a concealing layer are carried out at the site, there is also a problem that these two steps take time.

Further, in a ticket or the like in which the above-mentioned optical code is covered with a concealing layer, the presence of the concealing layer may imply the existence of information (optical code) hidden under the concealing layer. Then, if a person who intends to forge or the like thinks of using infrared light to obtain information hidden by the concealing layer, it is possible to acquire the information (optical code) and forge it. Is.

The present invention proposes a thermal paper that can solve the above-mentioned problems and improve the anti-counterfeiting effect of a piece of paper separated after printing by a thermal printer.

The present invention is a thermal paper provided with a heat-sensitive color-developing layer on the surface of a paper substrate, which is printed by heating with a thermal printer, and a plurality of pieces of paper to be separated after printing by the thermal printer. The reflectance of infrared light is 70% or more and the reflectance of visible light is 30% or less at the color-developing portion where the heat-sensitive color-developing layer is heated and colored, and the surface of each piece of paper is optically read. At least one possible first optical code is printed with a light-colored infrared light-absorbing ink that is transparent or unreadable with visible light, and further, on the surface of each piece of paper, an optical different from the first optical code. The thermal paper is characterized in that the second optical code that can be read is duplicated printed by the thermal printer so as to overlap with at least a part of the first optical code.

Here, the thermal paper of the present invention is provided with a heat-sensitive color-developing layer on the surface of a paper base material, and is in a state before printing with ink or heating with a thermal printer, as in a general case. The reflectances of visible light and infrared light are extremely high (for example, the reflectances of both are 80% or more).
Further, as the first optical code and the second optical code, a bar code or a two-dimensional code can be applied, and a two-dimensional code having an error correction function is preferably used. The first optical code and the second optical code are not limited to the case where both are barcodes or two-dimensional codes, but one may be a barcode and the other may be a two-dimensional code.
Further, at least one first optical code printed on each piece of paper indicates a state in which the information stored in the first optical code can be read by irradiation with infrared light. Therefore, for example, when the first optical code has the above-mentioned error correction function, even if a part of the first optical code printed on a piece of paper is printed on an adjacent piece of paper, after separation. If it can be restored by the error correction function, it is included in the first optical code printed on each piece of paper according to the present invention.
Further, in the infrared absorbing ink for printing the first optical code, a light color in which visible light cannot be read means a color having extremely high visible light transmittance.

In the thermal paper according to the present invention, a piece of paper is separated after printing the second optical code with a thermal printer, and the separated piece of paper can be identified by the first optical code which cannot be read by visible light (a form piece (). For example, it can be used as a ticket such as an admission ticket or a coupon ticket), in other words, it is for generating a form piece having an anti-counterfeiting effect by the authenticity determination. That is, in such a configuration, the first optical code is printed on the surface of each piece of paper with infrared absorbing ink, and the first optical code is printed on the surface of each piece of paper, which is used as a printing medium of a thermal printer. The second optical code is printed on the lower side (heat-sensitive color-developing layer) of the first optical code. Then, in the paper piece portion (corresponding to the above-mentioned form piece) after the second optical code is printed by the thermal printer, the color-developed portion and the non-color-developed portion of the second optical code printed by the heating color development of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer. Since there is a relatively large difference in the reflectance of visible light, the second optical code can be visually recognized, and by using an optical code reader (hereinafter referred to as a visible light reader) that irradiates the visible light. , The second optical code can be read. Here, since the first optical code is printed in transparent or light color, visible light is transmitted through the printed portion, and there is no large difference in reflectance between the non-printed portion and visible light. It cannot be read by the visible light reader. On the other hand, when an optical code reader that irradiates infrared light (hereinafter referred to as an infrared light reader) is used, the infrared light is absorbed at the printed portion of the first optical code, and the infrared light is absorbed at the non-printed portion. Since the light is not absorbed, there is a relatively large difference in the reflectance of infrared light between the printed portion and the non-printed portion, and the first optical code can be read. Here, since the non-printed portion of the first optical cord has a high reflectance of infrared light (70% or more) regardless of whether or not it is the color-developing portion of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer, the second optical cord is referred to as red. It cannot be read by an external light reader. For this reason, when the paper piece (form piece) separated after printing by the thermal printer is copied by a copier (which uses visible light), for example, the second optical code is copied and the first optical code is copied. Is not copied. Therefore, the copy by this copier cannot be easily determined as a fake (copied) because the first optical code cannot be read by the infrared light reader described above. Therefore, according to the thermal paper of the present invention, a piece of paper having a high anti-counterfeiting effect that can be suitably used for the above-mentioned applications such as admission tickets and coupon tickets can be easily separated after printing by a thermal printer at a cutting interval. Can be generated.

Further, as described above, the second optical code that can be seen and the first optical code that cannot be seen are printed on the piece of paper (corresponding to the form piece) printed by the thermal printer, so that it can be confirmed at a glance. The presence of the second optical cord has a high effect of concealing the existence of the first optical cord. As described above, since this configuration has a high concealing effect of the first optical cord, it is not necessary to provide a concealing layer (such as a concealing seal) as in the conventional configuration described above, and the optical cord concealed by the concealing layer. It does not imply the existence of. Further, since it is not necessary to install a device for providing a concealing layer (such as the above-mentioned seal attachment device) at a site where printing is performed by a thermal printer (such as a ticket sales site) as in the conventional configuration, the device at the site does not need to be installed. The installation space can be saved.

In the above-mentioned thermal paper of the present invention, a plurality of pieces of paper are continuously provided at predetermined cutting intervals in the longitudinal direction and wound in a roll shape, and the first optical cords are adjacent to each other. A configuration in which a plurality of prints are printed in the longitudinal direction at a printing interval determined based on the cutting interval and the longitudinal width of the first optical cord so that at least one is printed within the cutting interval. Proposed.

The thermal paper having such a structure is a long one wound in a roll shape, and a plurality of pieces of paper are continuously formed in the longitudinal direction thereof. In this configuration, the first optical cord is printed at a printing interval set based on the cutting interval and the longitudinal width of the first optical cord, so that at least one piece is printed on each piece of paper that is continuous in the longitudinal direction. The first optical code of is printed. That is, in the manufacturing process, by printing a plurality of first optical cords at the printing intervals in the longitudinal direction, the thermal paper having the present configuration wound in a roll shape can be stably manufactured. Here, since the printing interval of the first optical cord is the interval in the longitudinal direction, the printing interval in the longitudinal direction is set based on the same cutting interval in the longitudinal direction and the width in the longitudinal direction of the first optical cord, so that adjacent printing can be performed. The interval may be such that at least one first optical cord can be reliably printed within the interval (each piece of paper).

Since the thermal paper wound in a roll shape is long as described above, it is necessary to print at least one first optical cord on each piece of paper in the manufacturing process. It is necessary to set the printing position of the first optical cord with high accuracy so that at least one first optical cord is printed within the adjacent cutting intervals constituting each piece of paper. On the other hand, according to this configuration, as described above, the printing position of the first optical cord is relatively easy and stable due to the printing interval set based on the cutting interval and the longitudinal width of the first optical cord. At least one first optical cord can be reliably printed on each piece of paper.

Therefore, according to the thermal paper of this configuration, each piece of paper after printing by the thermal printer can surely and stably exert the above-mentioned anti-counterfeiting effect. Therefore, by separating each piece of paper, an admission ticket can be obtained. It is possible to stably generate a form piece that is suitably used as a ticket such as a coupon ticket or a coupon ticket.

When the first optical code is a two-dimensional code having an error correction function as described above, it is assumed that the print interval is corrected by using the restoration rate (error correction level) by the error correction function. It is also possible. That is, even if there is a first optical code printed across adjacent cutting intervals, it suffices if it is printed so that it can be restored by the error correction function within one cutting interval, so it is corrected by the restoration rate. It is also possible to use the printed interval.

In the above-mentioned thermal paper of the present invention, the first optical cord has a longitudinal width S satisfying the following equation (1) with respect to the cutting interval W, and the first optical cord is printed. As the interval T, a configuration is proposed in which the relationship between the cutting interval W and the longitudinal width S of the first optical cord is set so as to satisfy the following equation (2). Here, T> 0 is inevitably set from the viewpoint that the first optical code is optically readable.
(1) W> 2S
(2) T ≦ W-2S

In such a configuration, as shown in the above equation (1), the first optical cord has a size in which the double value of the longitudinal width S is smaller than the cutting interval W, and the first optical As shown in the above equation (2), the printing interval T of the cord is set to be equal to or less than the value obtained by subtracting the double value of the longitudinal width S of the first optical cord from the cutting interval W. At least one first optical cord is reliably printed within the adjacent cutting intervals. Further, in the process of printing predetermined patterns on each piece of thermal paper at equal intervals (for example, cutting interval), the thermal paper is usually long and a plurality of pieces of paper are continuous. Therefore, it is required to position the printing reference position of the thermal paper with high accuracy. This causes a piece of paper in which the pattern is not printed correctly, for example, when the print reference position shifts, the pattern is printed over the adjacent piece of paper, or a piece of paper in which the pattern is not printed occurs. Due to the risk of printing. On the other hand, if the printing interval T is set as in this configuration, at least one first optical code can be reliably printed on each piece of paper without positioning the printing reference position with high accuracy on thermal paper. Can be done. Therefore, according to this configuration, there is an excellent advantage that the work load can be reduced without requiring high-precision positioning work in the printing process of the first optical cord.

When a plurality of different cutting intervals are set, or when the cutting intervals are not clearly defined, the printing interval T is set by using the shortest cutting interval W, as described above. At least one first optical cord can be reliably printed on a piece of paper. Further, in the case where the first optical code is a two-dimensional code having an error correction function as described above, the longitudinal width S of the first optical code is set to the restoration rate (error correction level) by the error correction function. It is also possible to use it after correcting it. That is, since the longitudinal width S of the first optical cord corrected by the restoration rate is the width including the number of modules that can be restored by the error correction function, for example, a part of the first optical cord is an adjacent piece of paper. Even if it is printed on, it can be restored by the error correction function, and the first optical code can be read. Here, since the longitudinal width S of the first optical cord corrected by the restoration ratio is shorter than the original longitudinal width according to the restoration ratio, the printing interval T set by using the restoration ratio is set. It is possible to set it longer than the printing interval determined by the original width in the longitudinal direction.

According to the thermal paper of the present invention, a piece of paper used as a printing medium of a thermal printer and separated after printing a second optical code by the thermal printer is preferably used as a form piece whose authenticity can be determined by the first optical code. It can be used. Further, in the configuration of the present invention, since the concealing effect of the first optical cord can be improved by the presence of the visible second optical cord, it is not necessary to form a concealing layer to prevent counterfeiting as in the conventional configuration described above. There is no need to install equipment to form the concealing layer.

It is a perspective view which shows the thermal roll paper 1 of this Example. It is a top view of the thermal roll paper 1 which visually displays and shows the 1st optical code 21. It is explanatory drawing which shows the (A) plan view and (B) the positional relationship between the 1st optical code 21 and the 2nd optical code 31 of the paper piece part 12 on which the 2nd optical code 31 is printed. (A) is a partially enlarged view of the XX line cross section in FIG. 2, and (B) is a partially enlarged view of the YY line cross section in FIG. It is a partial cross-sectional view of the thermal printer 51 with the thermal roll paper 1 set.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the thermal roll paper 1 of this embodiment has a long strip shape and is wound around a cylindrical core material 9, and is printed by a thermal printer 51 (see FIG. 5) described later. It is used as a medium. As shown in FIG. 4, the thermal roll paper 1 is provided with a heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 on the surface of a long strip-shaped paper base material 3, and the heat-sensitive is generated through heat application by the thermal head 55 of the thermal printer 51. It is printed by heating and coloring the color-developing layer 4. In this embodiment, the thermal roll paper 1 is the thermal paper according to the present invention. Further, in this embodiment, the thermal roll paper 1 wound around the core material 9 is hereinafter referred to as a roll body 2.

As the paper base material 3 constituting the thermal roll paper 1, plain paper such as high-quality paper or medium-quality paper or opaque paper such as synthetic paper is used, and in this embodiment, white plain paper is used. .. Further, the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 has a transparent layer structure in which a color-developing agent, a color-developing agent, and the like are mixed, and an infrared absorber such as carbon that develops infrared color by applying heat is not added (or). The amount of infrared absorber added is extremely small). When the thermal roll paper 1 of the present embodiment is irradiated with visible light (light in the visible region) or infrared light (light in the infrared region), these lights pass through the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 and the paper base material 3 is used. The light is reflected by, and the reflectance of visible light and infrared light is 80% or more. Then, when the heat-sensitive color-developing layer is heated and colored by applying heat, the transmittance of visible light is lowered at the color-developing portion, so that the reflectance of the visible light is lowered, but the infrared color is not developed as described above. , The decrease in the transmittance of the infrared light is suppressed, and the decrease in the reflectance of the infrared light is suppressed. Specifically, in the color-developed portion where the color is developed by heating, the reflectance of visible light can be reduced to 30% or less, and the reflectance of infrared light can be maintained at 70% or more. As a result, the colored part by the thermal printer becomes apparent due to the large difference in the reflectance of the visible light from the non-colored part when irradiated with visible light, and can be clearly read while being infrared. When illuminated with light, the difference in reflectance of the infrared light from the non-colored portion is small, so that it is not manifested and cannot be read.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thermal roll paper 1 has a plurality of easy-cutting lines 11 formed at predetermined cutting intervals W in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of easy-cutting lines 11 are formed through the easy-cutting lines 11. The piece of paper 12 is continuous in the longitudinal direction. The easy-cut line 11 is composed of perforations, half-cut lines, and the like, and is formed so as to cross the thermal roll paper 1 in the width direction. The rectangular region between the adjacent easy-cutting lines 11 is the paper piece portion 12. Such a thermal roll paper 1 is used as a printing medium of a thermal printer as described above, and the paper piece portion 12 is cut off by being cut by an easy cutting line 11 after printing by the thermal printer. Then, the paper piece portion 12 separated from the thermal roll paper 1 can be used as a form piece such as a ticket.

As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of first optical cords 21 are printed in parallel on the surface of the thermal roll paper 1 at a predetermined printing interval T in the longitudinal direction. Here, the first optical code 21 of this embodiment is a QR code (registered trademark) that stores predetermined authenticity determination information, and is printed with a transparent infrared light absorbing ink. This infrared light absorbing ink is an ink having a property of absorbing infrared light, and contains a pigment that absorbs infrared light (for example, a triphenylmethane-based lake pigment, tin-doped indium oxide powder, etc.). Is. Since the first optical code 21 printed with such an infrared light absorbing ink transmits visible light and cannot transmit infrared light, the thermal code 21 is printed on the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4. In the roll paper 1, the reflectance of visible light is maintained at 70% or more and the reflectance of infrared light is reduced to 30% or less at the printed portion of the first optical code 21. Therefore, when the thermal roll paper 1 on which the first optical code 21 is printed is irradiated with visible light, there is almost no difference in reflectance between the printed portion and the non-printed portion of the first optical code 21. It cannot be read and cannot be visually recognized. On the other hand, when infrared light is irradiated, the difference in reflectance between the printed portion and the non-printed portion of the first optical code 21 is large, so that the first optical code is clearly read. Can be done.

The first optical code 21 is a substantially square QR code, and one side thereof is printed along the longitudinal direction of the thermal roll paper 1. The size of the first optical cord 21 is set and printed so that the longitudinal width S (width of one side) of the first optical cord 21 satisfies the following equation (1). As a specific example, the first optical cord 21 of this embodiment has its longitudinal width S set to a dimension of about 1/3 of the cutting interval W.
(1) W> 2S

Further, the printing interval T of the first optical cord 21 printed on the thermal roll paper 1 is set based on the cutting interval W of the easy cutting line 11 and the longitudinal width S of the first optical cord 21. In this embodiment, the print interval T is set to an interval that satisfies the following equation (2).
(2) T ≦ W-2S

By printing the first optical code 21 at this printing interval T, at least one first optical cord 21 is printed on the thermal roll paper 1 between adjacent easy-cutting lines 11 (paper piece portion 12) as shown in FIG. One optical code 21 is printed. This is because even if the lengthwise width 2S of the two first optical cords 21 is added to the printing interval T, the cutting interval is W or less, so that the length of the paper piece portion 12 indicated by the cutting interval W is long. Within the directional spacing, at least one print spacing T and at least one first optical cord 21 can be arranged. Further, in the printing process of printing the first optical code 21, at least one is printed on each piece of paper 12 without positioning the printing reference position on the thermal roll paper 1 for printing the first optical code 21 with high accuracy. The first optical code 21 can be printed. This is because the printing interval T is set as described above, and regardless of the printing reference position, at least one first optical cord is provided for each piece of paper 12 continuous with the long thermal roll paper 1. 21 can be printed reliably. Therefore, in the printing process of the first optical code 21, there is an excellent advantage that the burden of positioning the printing reference position of the thermal roll paper 1 can be reduced.

In this embodiment, since the longitudinal width S of the first optical cord 21 is about 1/3 of the cutting interval W, one print is performed between the adjacent easy cutting lines 11 (paper piece portion 12). In addition to the interval T and one first optical code 21, one print interval T or one first optical code 21 is further arranged. Therefore, for example, a piece of paper 12 including two first optical cords 21 on which the entire cord is printed may be generated. Further, the first optical code 21 is a QR code and has an error correction function. Therefore, even when the first optical code 21 is printed across the adjacent pieces of paper 12, 12, the first optical code 21 printed on one side can be restored by the error correction function. If so, the one piece of paper 12 includes both a recoverable first optical code 21 and a first optical code 21 on which the entire code is printed.

As described above, the thermal roll paper 1 of this embodiment is used as a print medium for the thermal printer 51, and predetermined information or the like is printed on the thermal head 55 of the thermal printer 51.

As the thermal printer 51, one having a generally used configuration can be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the thermal printer 51 has a roll holding portion 53 for holding the above-mentioned roll body 2 (the one in which the thermal roll paper 1 is wound) inside the main body case 52, and a printing unit. The printing unit 54 in which the various devices of the above are arranged is provided side by side in the front-rear direction. A thermal head 55 and a platen roller 56 are arranged near the roll holding portion 53 in the printing portion 54 provided on the rear side of the roll holding portion 53. The thermal head 55 and the platen roller 56 are arranged in parallel with each other in the width direction of the thermal roll paper 1 of the roll holding portion 53. Further, the printing unit 54 includes a drive motor (not shown) that rotates the platen roller 56, an energizing device (not shown) that energizes a plurality of minute heating elements constituting the thermal head 55, the drive motor, and energization. A control device (not shown) that drives and controls the device is also provided. Further, an information input device (for example, a personal computer or the like) to be input-operated by an operator is connected to the thermal printer 51 via a cable for data transmission (not shown), and the cable is connected to the control device. When the print data is input, the control device drives and controls the drive motor and the energizing device. Since the drive motor, energizing device, control device, and the like used in the conventional thermal printer can be applied, the details thereof will be omitted. Further, in the present embodiment, the front-rear direction of the thermal printer 51 is defined so that the left side of the figure is the front and the right side is the back, but this front-rear direction does not limit the present invention.

The roll holding portion 53 holds the roll body 2 (thermal roll paper 1), and the roll body 2 can be taken in and out by opening an opening / closing portion (not shown) provided in the main body case 52. At the same time, the roll body 2 is held in the main body case 52 by closing the closed state. The roll holding portion 53 includes a support roller 61 into which the cylindrical core material 9 of the roll body 2 is rotatably fitted, and is pulled out from the roll body 2 outerly fitted to the support roller 61. The thermal roll paper 1 is fed to the above-mentioned printing unit 54. Then, in the printing unit 54, the thermal roll paper 1 supplied from the roll holding unit 53 is passed between the thermal head 55 and the platen roller 56, and is printed by the thermal head 55. After that, the printed thermal roll paper 1 is discharged to the outside of the case from the discharge port 59 provided in the main body case 52. A cutting piece portion (not shown) used for cutting the thermal roll paper 1 is provided on the mouth edge of the discharge port 59, and the thermal roll paper 1 is cut by the easy cutting line 11. , The paper piece portion 12 can be separated from the thermal roll paper 1 respectively. Then, the separated paper piece portion 12 can be used as an individual form piece.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second optical code 31 is printed on each piece of paper 12 of the thermal roll paper 1 by such a thermal printer 51 according to the print data input from the above-mentioned information input device. The second optical code 31 is a QR code that stores predetermined necessary information, and is printed by heating and coloring the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 through the heat application of the thermal head 55. Here, the second optical code 31 is printed on each piece of paper 12 (between adjacent easy-cutting lines 11) of the thermal roll paper 1 so that the entire code overlaps with the printed first optical code 21. In the thermal printer 51, the printing position of the second optical code 31 is set so as to print the second optical code 31 so as to overlap with at least a part of the first optical code 21. In this embodiment, the thermal printer 51 sets the second optical cord 31 to a size larger than that of the first optical cord 21, and prints at a substantially central position in the longitudinal direction of the adjacent easy-cutting lines 11. do.

Next, an embodiment of the thermal roll paper 1 of the present embodiment described above will be described.
As a specific example, the thermal roll paper 1 is used for the purpose of separating each piece of paper 12 after printing with the thermal printer 51 described above, and using the separated piece of paper (form piece) 12 as a ticket for an admission ticket, a coupon ticket, or the like. It is something that can be done. Here, in the present embodiment, the second optical code 31 printed by the thermal printer 51 is information in which necessary information such as an expiration date and a usable place is encrypted according to a predetermined encryption rule (hereinafter,). , Encryption information) is stored, and information for decrypting the encrypted information (hereinafter, decryption information) is stored in the first optical code 21 printed on the thermal roll paper 1. .. Therefore, in order to obtain the necessary information, it is essential to accurately read both the first optical code 21 and the second optical code 31. In other words, the necessary information cannot be obtained by reading only one of the first optical code 21 and the second optical code 31. In this way, the relationship between the first optical cord 21 and the second optical cord 31 is set.

As described above, the thermal roll paper 1 has a plurality of first optical cords 21 printed in parallel with a cutting interval W in the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 2). In this embodiment, the cutting interval W = 30 mm, the longitudinal width S = 10 mm of the first optical code 21, and the printing interval T = 10 mm of the first optical code 21 are set. That is, the cutting interval W and the longitudinal width S of the first optical cord 21 satisfy the above-mentioned equation (1), and the printing interval T of the first optical cord 21 satisfies the above-mentioned equation (2). It is set to do. The thermal roll paper 1 on which the first optical cord 21 is printed includes at least one first optical cord 21 on which the entire cord is printed between adjacent easy-cutting lines 11 (paper piece portion 12). Therefore, as will be described later, it is possible to read the first optical code 21 by irradiating each separated piece of paper 12 with infrared light. Further, as described above, the first optical code 21 is printed on the surface of the thermal color-developing layer 4 of the thermal roll paper 1 by the transparent infrared light absorbing ink. Therefore, the first optical code 21 cannot be visually recognized and cannot be read even by irradiation with visible light.

Such a thermal roll paper 1 is used as a printing medium of a thermal printer 51 installed at a site where a piece of paper 12 is sold as a ticket. As described above, the thermal roll paper 1 is held in the roll holding portion 53 of the thermal printer 51 in the state of the roll body 2, and the thermal roll paper 1 drawn out from the roll body 2 is transferred to the thermal head 55 of the printing unit 54. It is set so as to pass between the platen roller 56 and the platen roller 56 and reach the discharge port 59 (see FIG. 5). An information input device such as a personal computer described above is connected to the thermal printer 51, and the information input device encrypts necessary information (information such as a ticket expiration date and a usable place) input by an operator or the like. The QR code print data that stores the encrypted information is generated. Then, the thermal printer 51 prints the second optical code 31 on the paper piece portion 12 of the thermal roll paper 1 according to the print data transmitted from the information input device (see FIG. 3). More specifically, the thermal printer 51 pulls out the thermal roll paper 1 from the roll body 2 by rotating the platen roller 56, and arranges the paper piece portion 12 at a position facing the thermal head 55. Then, when the print data is received from the information input device as described above, the platen roller 56 is rotationally controlled and the thermal head 55 is driven and controlled so that the thermal roll paper 1 is placed at a predetermined position on the paper piece portion 12 of the thermal roll paper 1. Heat is applied by the head 55 to heat and color the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 at a predetermined position of the paper piece portion 12. As a result, the second optical code 31 is printed at the above-mentioned printing position on the piece of paper 12 that overlaps with at least a part of the first optical code 21. Here, since the second optical code 31 printed by the thermal head 55 is printed by the heating color of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4, it is under the first optical code 21 printed on the surface of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4. It will be printed on the side. As described above, the second optical code 31 is printed by the heating color of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4, so that it can be visually recognized and read by irradiation with visible light.

When the second optical code 31 is printed by the thermal head 55 in this way, the platen roller 56 rotates so that the paper piece portion 12 on which the second optical code 31 is printed is moved to the outside from the discharge port 59 of the thermal printer 51. It is discharged. The paper piece portion 12 is cut and separated by the easy cutting line 11 to be used as a ticket (form piece). As shown in FIG. 3, the paper piece portion 12 separated in this way includes a first optical code 21 on which the entire code is printed, and a second optical code 31 on which the entire code is printed. The size of the second optical code 31 printed by the thermal printer 51 is set so as to be within the above-mentioned cutting interval W. In this embodiment, the second optical cord 31 is set to have a substantially square shape with a longitudinal width of about 12 mm.

In each piece of paper 12 separated in this way, the first optical code 21 printed on the surface of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 by the transparent infrared light-absorbing ink transmits visible light, so that the heat-sensitive color is developed. The second optical code 31 heat-printed on the layer 4 is visible. More specifically, when the piece of paper 12 is irradiated with visible light, the visible light is similarly incident on the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 regardless of the printed portion and the non-printed portion of the first optical code 21. Then, in the color-developing portion of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 on which the second optical code 31 is printed, the transmittance of visible light is significantly lowered as compared with the non-color-developing portion. Therefore, the second optical code 31 can be read by irradiation with visible light, and the second optical code can be visually recognized. As described above, even if printing is performed on the surface of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 with a transparent infrared light absorbing ink, when the paper piece portion 12 is irradiated with visible light, the printed portion and the non-printed portion are formed. This is because there is almost no difference in the reflectance of the visible light, and there is a large difference in the reflectance of the visible light between the color-developing portion and the non-color-developing portion of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4. On the other hand, since the transmittance of infrared light in the printed portion of the first optical code 21 is significantly lower than that in the non-printed portion, when the paper piece portion 12 is irradiated with infrared light, the transmittance is significantly lower than that in the non-printed portion. It becomes apparent. Then, there is almost no difference in the transmittance of infrared light between the color-developing portion and the non-color-developing portion of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4 on which the second optical code 31 is printed. Therefore, the first optical code 21 can be read by irradiating the piece of paper 12 with infrared light. As described above, when the piece of paper 12 is irradiated with infrared light, the reflectance of the infrared light is adjusted between the printed portion and the non-printed portion printed with the transparent infrared light absorbing ink. This is due to the fact that a large difference occurs and that there is almost no difference in the reflectance of the infrared light between the color-developing portion and the non-color-developing portion of the heat-sensitive color-developing layer 4.

In order to acquire the necessary information stored in the second optical code 31 from the separated piece of paper 12, for example, an infrared light reader (not shown) that irradiates infrared light and reads the QR code. A visible light reader (not shown) that irradiates visible light to read the QR code and an information acquisition device (not shown) that decodes the encrypted information and acquires necessary information are used. As the work of reading the paper piece portion 12 by each of these devices, the visible light reading device irradiates the paper piece portion 12 with visible light, reads the second optical code 31, and encrypts the second optical code 31. Get information. Then, the infrared light reader irradiates the piece of paper 12 with infrared light, reads the first optical code 21, and acquires the decoding information indicated by the first optical code 21. Further, the encrypted information read by the visible light reader and the decrypted information read by the infrared light reader are output to the information acquisition device, and the information acquisition device converts the encrypted information into the decrypted information. Decrypt and get the required information. Here, as described above, the piece of paper 12 may include two first optical cords 21. When such a piece of paper 12 is read by the infrared light reading device, processing is performed so that only the decoding information read from one of the first optical codes 21 is valid. That is, in the infrared light reading device, when the two first optical codes 21 are read and the same decoding information is acquired from both, only one of them is regarded as valid and output to the information acquisition device. Although the information acquisition device has been described as a device separate from the visible light reading device and the infrared light reading device, the information acquisition device may be a device integrated with the visible light reading device or the infrared light reading device. That is, one of the visible light reader and the infrared light reader may be configured to include a process of inputting the information read by the other and acquiring the necessary information.

On the other hand, when the separated piece of paper 12 is illegally copied by a copier or the like, a general copier irradiates visible light. Therefore, the second optical code 31 is used for the copy. Is copied, and the first optical code 21 is not copied. When the reading operation is performed on this illegal copy with the above optical code reading device, the second optical code 31 can be read and the encrypted information can be obtained, but the first optical code 21 cannot be read, so that the decryption information can be obtained. Cannot be obtained. Therefore, the necessary information cannot be obtained from the illegal copy, and the first optical code 21 cannot be read, so that it can be easily and surely determined as a fake.

In a general copier, an infrared absorber such as carbon may be added to the toner, so that when the copy is irradiated with infrared light, the second optical code 31 is read. It is possible. Even in this case, since the decoding information of the first optical code 21 cannot be acquired, the necessary information cannot be acquired, and the same information as that of the irradiation of visible light is read by the irradiation of infrared light, so that it is a fake. It can be judged. Further, for example, it is conceivable that a person who intends to commit fraud illegally obtains the thermal roll paper 1 of the present embodiment and copies the second optical code 31 on the thermal roll paper 1 by a copier. In this case, since both the first optical code 21 and the second optical code 31 copied as described above are read by irradiating infrared light, the same information as visible light (second optical code) is read. By reading the encrypted information of 31) with infrared light, it is possible to determine that it is a fake.

As described above, in the thermal roll paper 1 of the present embodiment, at least one first optical code 21 is printed on each continuous piece of paper 12 with a transparent infrared light absorbing ink, and the printing medium of the thermal printer 51 is printed. It is used as. Then, the piece of paper 12 can be cut off after the second optical code 31 is heat-printed by the thermal printer 51 and used for a desired purpose (for example, a ticket such as an admission ticket or a coupon ticket). Further, since the separated piece of paper 12 can read the first optical code 21 and the second optical code 31 by irradiation with infrared light and visible light as described above, the respective optical codes 21 and 31 can be read respectively. The information stored in the image can be acquired, and even if the copy is illegally copied by a copier or the like, the copy can be easily determined as a fake. In particular, in this embodiment, the encryption information is stored in the second optical code 31, and the decryption information for decoding the encryption information is stored in the first optical code 21 that can be read by infrared light. Therefore, even if the second optical code 31 is read by visible light, the encrypted information cannot be decrypted and the encrypted necessary information cannot be acquired. Therefore, the effect of preventing unauthorized acquisition of the necessary information is high. Further, since each piece of paper 12 of the thermal roll paper 1 is designed to print the second optical code 31 so as to overlap a part of the first optical code 21 by the thermal printer 51, it is visually observed after being separated. The effect of concealing the first optical code 21 by the possible second optical code 31 is high, and the anti-counterfeiting effect can be further improved.

Further, as described above, in the thermal roll paper 1, the first optical cord 21 whose longitudinal width S is set to about 1/3 (W> 2S) of the cutting interval W has a printing interval T in the longitudinal direction. Since a plurality of sheets are printed in parallel and the printing interval T is set to 1/3 (T ≦ W-2S) of the cutting interval W, each piece of paper 12 (adjacent easy cutting lines) At least one first optical code 21 is printed in the space (11). Then, by setting the printing interval T so as to satisfy the above equation (2), the printing reference position of the long thermal roll paper 1 is set with high accuracy in the printing process of the first optical code 21. Even if it is not necessary, at least one first optical code 21 can be reliably printed on a plurality of continuous pieces of paper 12, so that there is an advantage that the work load required for setting the printing reference position can be reduced. As described above, in the thermal roll paper 1, since the first optical code 21 is printed on each continuous piece of paper 12, the paper piece 12 is separated after printing the second optical code 31 with the thermal printer 51. It is possible to generate a form piece (paper piece portion 12) that can exert the above-mentioned action and effect.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and configurations other than the above-mentioned embodiments can be appropriately modified and implemented within the scope of the gist of the present invention.
In the above-described embodiment, the longitudinal width S = 10 mm, the cutting interval W = 30 mm, and the printing interval T = 10 mm of the first optical cord 21 are set so as to satisfy the above equations (1) and (2). However, the longitudinal width S, the cutting interval W, and the printing interval T can be set to other values as long as the equations (1) and (2) are satisfied, and the above-described implementation can be performed. It can have the same effect as the example. Further, even if the size of the second optical cord 31 is large, it can be appropriately set as long as it can be printed within the cutting interval W, not limited to the above-described embodiment.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first optical code 21 is printed with a transparent infrared light-absorbing ink, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the first optical code 21 is printed with a light-colored infrared light-absorbing ink that cannot be read by visible light. The first optical code 21 may be printed. Also in this case, since it cannot be read by visible light (it is extremely difficult to visually recognize) and cannot be copied by a copier, the same effect as that of the present embodiment described above can be obtained.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the first optical code 21 stores the decryption information for decoding the encryption information stored in the second optical code 31, but the first optical code 21. The information stored in the second optical code 31 and the second optical code 31 is not limited to this, and can be appropriately set.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the thermal roll paper 1 wound in a roll shape has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a thermal paper folded in a bellows shape, a rectangular thermal paper, or the like may be used. .. Even with these thermal papers, as in the above-described embodiment, it is possible to easily determine a fake product that has been illegally copied by a copier or the like. Furthermore, the thermal paper according to the present invention (including the thermal roll paper of the present embodiment) may be a paper base material coated with an adhesive, a pseudo-adhesive, or the like on the back surface. In this configuration, the separated piece of paper can be attached to the object.

1 Thermal roll paper (thermal paper)
3 Paper substrate 4 Heat-sensitive color-developing layer 12 Paper piece 21 First optical cord 31 Second optical cord 51 Thermal printer W Cutting interval T Printing interval S Longitudinal method width of the first optical cord

Claims (2)

The surface of the paper substrate is provided with a heat-sensitive color-developing layer that is printed by heating with a thermal printer, and a plurality of paper pieces to be separated after printing by the thermal printer are continuously provided in the longitudinal direction at predetermined cutting intervals. In the thermal paper wound around
The reflectance of infrared light is 70% or more and the reflectance of visible light is 30% or less at the color-developing portion where the heat-sensitive color-developing layer is heated and colored by the thermal printer.
On the surface of each piece of paper, at least one optically readable first optical code for authenticity determination is printed within adjacent cutting intervals by a light-colored infrared light-absorbing ink that is unreadable with transparent or visible light. As described above, the longitudinal width S of the first optical cord satisfies the following equation (1) with respect to the cutting interval W, and the printing interval T of the first optical cord is the cutting interval W and the longitudinal width S. On the other hand, the position is set so as to satisfy the following equation (2), and multiple prints are made.
An optically readable second optical code different from the first optical code is duplicated printed on the surface of a piece of paper by the thermal printer so as to overlap at least a part of the first optical code. Thermal paper featuring.
(1) W> 2S
(2) T ≦ W-2S The second optical code, which is separated from the thermal paper according to claim 1, and which is optically readable different from the first optical code for authenticity determination, is formed on the surface of the piece of paper before the separation. A form piece using thermal paper, which is characterized by being duplicated printed by a thermal printer so as to overlap at least a part of an optical code.

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