JPH02297495A - Visible recording of card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow data to be recorded into land deleted from a synthetic resin card repeatedly by partly frosting a smooth layer at higher than a glass transition temperature and lower than a melting point temperature of synthetic resin to form a distorted frost image, or heating the smooth layer at a higher temperature than a frosting temperature. CONSTITUTION:A frosted image 2 such as specified character or symbol is formed in the smooth layer 1 of a card C which has the smooth layer 1 of synthetic resin on at least, part of the surface. The frosted image 2 is formed at higher than a glass transition temperature and less than a melting point temperature of the resin of the smooth layer 1, so that the image 2 has an internal distortion. For this reason, if the smooth layer is heated again, the image 2 disappears and the original smooth surface is restored. In this case, the distortion retained in the frosted image 2 is corrected by heating the card C at a higher temperature than a temperature for frosting, and the image 2 is deleted to restore the original smooth surface. Thus the card can be used repeatedly many times as the frosting and smoothing process is reversible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a method for marking and erasing visible records on cards that are used repeatedly, such as commuter passes, admission passes, and various prepaid cards.

(Prior art and its problems) Commuter passes for public transportation, admission permits for event venues and buildings, etc. are used repeatedly every day, or there is no means for checking unauthorized boarding or unauthorized entry due to management reasons.

In recent years, magnetic card checking methods have been adopted in some areas, but since the presence or absence of a check cannot be visually checked, there is a risk of a check being overlooked due to a problem with the equipment, which was inconvenient for both administrators and users. .

Also, various prepaid cards include magnetic cards and I/O cards.
Since it is not possible to directly visually check the contents of the handshake record that the C card is being used for, it is not possible to easily check the payment amount and remaining balance.
There was a problem in terms of guaranteeing the content to users.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention records visually visible records on cards that are used repeatedly, such as commuter passes, admission tickets, and various prepaid cards.
It also provides a method for erasing it.

That is, the present invention uses a card having a smooth layer of synthetic resin on the surface, and when recording on the card, a frost (rough surface) image that can be erased by heat is formed on the smooth surface, and when recording is erased, the frost (rough surface) image is formed on the smooth surface. It is a method of erasing images with heat,
It has the characteristic of being able to be repeatedly recorded and erased.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the outline of the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of a card on which a frost image is formed, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example of a card used in the method of the present invention, and FIG. Third
FIGS. 5 to 7 are cross-sectional views of different examples of the card, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a method of manufacturing the card.

First, the outline of the method of the present invention will be explained using an example of entrance/exit check with reference to FIG. 1. A card C to be used has a smooth layer 1 of synthetic resin on at least a part of its surface.

When entering using this card, smooth layer 1
Form crosses 1 to 2 (#2) of predetermined characters, symbols, etc.

This frost image 2 has an internal distortion because it is formed at a temperature above the glass transition temperature and below the melting point of the resin of the smooth layer 1, and therefore, when reheated, it disappears and returns to its original smooth surface. has.

Since the frosted image 2 is formed in the smooth layer 1 of the card that has been checked, the presence or absence of the check can be easily determined with the naked eye.

When the card C is heated to a higher temperature than the frosting temperature at the time of exit, the distortion held in the frost image 2 is released, the frost image 2 is erased, and the card returns to its original smooth surface.

This frosting-smoothing is reversible, so the card can be used over and over again.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in more detail chronologically.

As shown in FIG. 1, the card C used in the method of the present invention has a smooth layer 1 made of synthetic resin on its surface, and is usually laminated with a base material 3 such as paper or other synthetic resin sheet. ing.

Examples of the resin constituting the smooth layer 1 include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polymethyl (meth)acrylate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide, polycarbonate, polyacetal, and A.
Various thermoplastic resins such as BS resin or copolymer resins thereof can be used alone or in combination.

Among them, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polymethyl (
Non-grade resins such as meth)acrylate and polycarbonate are preferred because they are easy to handle.

Further, a crosslinkable acrylic resin, a crosslinkable urethane resin, or a resin obtained by crosslinking the various resins mentioned above to an extent that does not lose heat fluidity by using a crosslinking agent, electron beam, gamma ray, heat crosslinking, etc. can also be used.

The thickness of the smooth layer 1 is required to be 3 μm or more for frost image formation, and is usually in the range of 10 μm to 3 mm.The thickness of the entire card C is not particularly limited, but may be 0.1 to 3 m.
It is about m.

As this smooth layer 1, a film formed by extrusion molding or the like,
A sheet may be used, or it may be formed by coating.

Next, the method of recording on a card will be described. The smooth layer 1 of the card C is partially frosted, and the frosted image 2 of characters, figures, symbols, etc. is caused to appear by diffuse reflection of light rays by the frosted surface.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2A, characters and the like are formed on the frosted surface 21, or as already shown in FIG. 2, the background is the frosted surface 21 and characters and the like are formed on the smooth surface.

This frost treatment is performed at a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the resin of the smooth layer 1 and at a melting point (Tm) in order to retain distortion.
This is done below.

At temperatures lower than Tg, frosting produces only distortions, or the distortions produced are rapidly released without heating.

Further, at a temperature higher than Tm, it is not possible to form a frost, but the formed frost does not retain distortion and cannot be erased even by reheating, making it impossible to achieve the object of the present invention.

In the case of non-grade resins, they often do not show a clear Tm, but in that case, the flow start temperature is taken as the melting point, and in the case of crosslinked resins that generally do not show a Tm, the flow start temperature (or decomposition start temperature) is taken as the melting point. ) It is okay to frost it with the following steps. In addition, when a mixed resin or a copolymer resin exhibits two or more Tg's, it is better to use the higher Tg as a reference.

Since the formed frost image 2 disappears when heated above the frosting temperature, the frosting should preferably be carried out at a temperature of 60° C. or above and within the above range in terms of image stability.

An example of a method for carrying out the frosting process is a method in which the smooth layer 1 is pressure-bonded by a stamp on the printed surface or the frosted surface.

In this case, the markings may be heated, or the smooth layer 1 may be heated.

As for the condition of the frost, it is preferable that the surface roughness of the frost surface 21 of the frost image 2 is in the range of 1 to 10 μm in terms of the 10-point average roughness (Rz) of JIS-B-0601. 1μm
If it is less than 10, even if a frost image is formed during recording, the difference from the smooth surface is small and it is difficult to determine the presence or absence of the image.
If it exceeds .mu.m, the frost may not be completely erased when erasing records, causing problems when reusing them.

Another method for frosting is an impact dot printer with a heating mechanism (no ink ribbon required).
There is a method using In this case, either the condition of the frosted surface becomes complicated and the surface roughness cannot be defined, or a clear image can be obtained if the dot size is about 256 to 2304 dots/mm''.

When a dot printer is used, the frost image is formed by a collection of minute dots, pressure is applied locally to each dot, and the deformation area is small, so there are no press marks on the back of the card.

Furthermore, the boundaries are clearer, the image is clearer, and the resolution is greater than when pressure is applied by engraving.

Also, when using a dot printer, a predetermined image (#
Not only that, but it is also possible to record images of arbitrary characters and sizes as required, and furthermore, it is possible to display the images on a CRT display, i.e., etc., and then record the images after checking them, which is preferable.

In the case of a commuter pass, admission pass, etc., the image 2 includes, in addition to an indication that the person has entered, the place of entry, date and time, etc. Additionally, if it is a prepaid card, you can display the usage amount, remaining amount, etc.

When erasing the image on the card, the frost image 2 on the card C is heated to a higher temperature than the frosting temperature to erase the frost image.

Since the frost image 2 has distortion as described above, when it is heated at a higher temperature than the distortion imparting temperature, the distortion is released and the frost surface 21 returns to its original smooth surface. Heating can be performed by blowing hot air, irradiating with laser light, etc.

This recorded image can be erased at an appropriate time depending on the use of the card. For example, in the case of a card used for entry and exit such as a commuter pass, the image is formed either when entering or exiting, On the other hand, it is conceivable to erase it. Furthermore, if it is a prepaid card used for shopping, etc., the amount spent, remaining amount, etc. can be recorded when the card is used, and the information can be erased and a new record can be made the next time the card is used.

Next, we will discuss the third example of the structure of the card used in the method of the present invention.
This will be explained based on Figures 7 to 7.

The card shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 has windows 31 on both sides of the smooth layer 1.
The base materials 3 provided with the above are bonded together, and the smooth layer 1 is partially exposed. The smooth layer 1 is made of a transparent material without being frosted, and the base material 3 is made of a strong material such as a stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet or paper.

Printing may also be applied to one or both of the substrates to display any necessary explanations or decorative designs.

If you form a frost image on the transparent part of the card from the front to the back like this card, you can see the difference between the frosted surface and the smooth surface by holding the card under light with the frost image formed. Frost images can be clearly seen not only by differences in light reflection, but also by differences in transparency.

The card shown in FIG. 5 is a card in which a base material 3 is bonded to both sides of a smooth layer 1 and a magnetic recording layer 4 is provided on the back side, that is, a magnetic card.

Magnetic cards and IC cards can be easily processed by devices, and can also record various information such as usage details.

Therefore, if the method of the present invention is applied to these cards, the above-mentioned characteristics can be utilized to display the main pieces of recorded information in a visible manner. For example, the amount of money used each time and the remaining amount of a prepaid card may be displayed visually as an image for confirmation.

In order to make the frost image of the card used in the method of the present invention more visible, it is preferable to color the smooth layer 1 in a dark color.

In other words, the brightness (V) specified in JIS-Z8721
When coloring is performed so that the number is 5 or less, the frost image 2 becomes easier to see.

Further, as another method for making the image easier to see, it is also possible to form a background layer 5 under the smooth layer, as in the card shown in FIG. As the background layer 5, the following two are effective.

1) Brightness (V) specified in J I 5-Z8721
Colored layer of 5 or less.

The material is not particularly limited and may be paper, synthetic resin, etc.

2) Metallic specular layer Here, the metallic specular layer refers to a metal plate or metal foil, or a metal vapor deposited layer having a 10-point average roughness (Rz) defined by JIS-BO601 of 0°1 μm or less.

When providing the background layer 5, a transparent, unfrosted smooth layer 1 is used.

When these background layers 5 are provided, the frosted image 2 stands out in the dark field or in the metal reflective layer, making it easier to see the image. A metallic mirror layer is particularly effective.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a card on which a metallic mirror layer is formed, in which metal vapor deposition is performed on one side of the base material 3 to form the background layer 5. In this case, it is preferable to print 6 on the top surface to provide necessary indications and to prevent the metal vapor deposited layer from being seen through from above.

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing a card used in the method of the present invention will be explained.

In FIG. 8, numeral 3.3 is a stretched PET sheet that is most preferable as a base material, and numeral 1 is a sheet that will become a smooth layer of polyvinyl chloride or the like. An adhesive 32 is applied to one side of the PET sheet 3. Then, a window 31 is punched out on one or both of the PET sheets 3 using a punching blade 7, and the sheet is bonded to the smooth layer 1 by heating and pressing with a roll 8.

In this example, the PET sheet 3 is bonded to both sides of the smooth layer 1, but it may be bonded to only one side.

The thickness of the PET sheet 3 is preferably about 100 μm to 1 mm, the thickness of the smooth layer 1 is about 10 to 100 μm, and the thickness ratio of the smooth layer to the PET sheet 1 is preferably 0.2 to 1.

Moreover, as the adhesive 32, rather than a normal solvent-based adhesive,
Hot melt adhesives such as polyester, polyurethane, and polyolefin are preferred. When using hot melt adhesive, the adhesive does not seep out, and PE
Even if the adhesive 32 is applied to the T-sheet 3 in advance, it will not block, so the PET sheet 3 can be easily fed out.

Also, when punching out the window 32, punching becomes easier than when using a solvent-based adhesive.

The laminated sheet thus obtained is printed or coated with a magnetic film, if necessary, and cut into a predetermined shape to obtain a card.

(Effects of the Invention) By forming a heat-erasable visible frost image on the card, the method of the present invention makes it easy to visually check the presence or absence of entrance/exit checks, the amount used on a prepaid card, the remaining amount, etc. , and can immediately know if there are any omissions or erroneous records due to problems with the equipment, which is convenient for not only the administrator but also the users, and provides a sense of security to the users. .

Furthermore, since the card can perform recording, erasing, and rewriting many times with the same performance, it can be used repeatedly and has high reliability.

(Example) (Example 1) In the card having the structure shown in FIG.
A card was prepared using paper (thickness: 200 μm) as the base material 3.

Next, the smooth layer 1 was stamped with a diameter of 10 mm under the following conditions.
Form the frosted surface @2 shown in FIG. 2a on top.

1o point average roughness of the frosted surface of the stamp Rz) 20μm Temperature of the stamp 80'C Stamp conditions 40kg/cm2.0.5 seconds As a result, frost image 2 with Rz 8μm is obtained on the smooth layer, and this image is 1 It won't disappear even after the month has passed.

Apply hot air at 120'C to this card for 2 seconds.
The frost image will completely disappear.

The same performance was obtained even after repeating Manako's frost image formation and erasure 100 times.

(Example 2) When a Pvc sheet colored green with a brightness (V) of 2 was used in place of the PvC sheet of Example 1, the frost image could be seen more clearly than in Example 1.

(Example 3) A colorless and transparent polystyrene sheet (thickness: 100 μm, TglOO°C, Tm: 240°C) was used as the smooth layer 1, and a paper base material 3 with windows 31 punched out was laminated on both sides of the sheet. A card with the configuration shown in the figure was created.

Next, a frost image shown in FIG. 2 was formed by stamping with a diameter of 10 mm under the following conditions.

Rz of the frosted surface of the stamp: 10 μm Temperature of the stamp: 130'C Stamp conditions: 40 kg/cm2.0.5 seconds As a result, a frosted image with an Rz of 3 μm was obtained on the smooth layer.

This image is a little difficult to see when viewed directly, but when you shine a light through it, you can see a very clear image.

When this card was exposed to hot air at 150'C for 2 seconds, the frost image was completely erased. The same performance was obtained even after repeating this frost image formation and erasing process 1000 times.

(Example 4) Colorless and transparent PVc sheet (thickness: 50 Jim, 7 g, 70°C
, Tm 202° C.) and a PvC sheet (thickness 2 mm) colored black with a lightness of 2 were bonded together to form a card having the structure shown in FIG.

When a frost image was formed on this in the same manner as in Example 1, the black PVC sheet became the background surface, and Example 1
A clearer and more visible image was obtained.

(Example 5) A part of the paper base material is cut out, and a transparent polystyrene sheet (thickness 1° Oum, Tgl
OO'C1Tm240'C), and a tin plate (thickness 100 μm) with Rz of o and oi μm was inserted as the metallic mirror background layer 5 to prepare a card as shown in FIG.

When a frost image was formed under the same conditions as in Example 3, the image was clearly visible.

(Example 6) Aluminum was vapor-deposited on one side of PET sheet 3 (thickness 50 μm) to make Rz 0.1 μm, and colorless and transparent P was deposited on the vapor-deposited surface.
VC film 1 (thickness 30 μ, Tg 70°C, Tm 202
°C) and white printing on the top of the PVC film 6
A card having the structure shown in FIG. 7 was prepared by applying the following steps.

Next, when a frost image was formed under the same conditions as in Example 1, a much clearer image than in Example 1 was obtained.

(Example 7) Using the same card as in Example 6, recording was performed with an impact dot printer.

First, "Enter" was displayed on the CRT display, and it was recorded on the card using a 24-dot (letter size: 5 mm square) dot printer (without ink ribbon, heated to 80° C.). The obtained frost image had a clear outline and was easily visible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the outline of the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of a card on which a frost image is formed, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example of a card used in the method of the present invention, and FIG. Third
5 to 7 are cross-sectional views of different examples of the card, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing an example of the method of manufacturing the card. C...Card 1...Smooth layer 2...Frost image 3...Base material-2〇 - Procedural amendment written spontaneously) 2. Visible recording method of invention title card 3. Relationship with the person making the amendment and the case Patent Applicant Name (617) Mitsubishi Plastics Co., Ltd. 4 Agent Address 2-5-2-5 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Column [Detailed Description of the Invention J] of the specification to be amended. 6. Contents of amendment 1) “It is sufficient to indicate” in the first line of page 12 of the specification.j
Insert the following sentence after . "The location of the magnetic recording layer 4 can be changed to an appropriate location, such as providing it inside the card, depending on the type of device used." 2) Circular page 12, bottom line 1 Metal Refers to a vapor deposited layer. Insert the following sentence after J. "In particular, a layer with a 60 degree specular gloss of 100% or more as specified in JI 5-Z-8741 is preferable. To achieve this, metal materials such as aluminum, chromium, nickel, tin, and copper should be treated with oxidation and impurities. It can be used in a state where there is no reduction in gloss due to.
The specular gloss of the tin plate was 130%. ” is inserted. 4) After “Created.” on page 19, line 12 of the same book,
Insert "The specular gloss of the aluminum vapor deposited layer was 180%."that's all

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A card is used in which at least a portion of the surface is made of a smooth layer of synthetic resin, and when recording on the card, the smooth layer is partially removed at a temperature above the glass transition temperature and below the melting point of the synthetic resin. A frosting process is performed to form a frosted image having distortion, and when erasing records, the frosted image is heated to a higher temperature than the temperature of the frosting process to erase the frosted image. Recording method.