JPH03258592A - Card and card identification - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure that the manufacture of the same cards is made difficult, manufacturing cost is reduced and highly reliable detection is made possible by providing a concealing layer which enables transmission of the wavelengths of exciting beam and fluorescence and absorbs part of a visible light, on the surface of a card substrate with a fluorescent ink layer. CONSTITUTION:A fluorescent ink layer containing a fluorescent material, the wavelengths of exciting beam and fluorescence of which are limited to an infrared range, is provided on the surface of a card substrate 2. At the same time, a concealing layer 4 which enables said wavelengths to pass through and absorbs part of a visible light is provided on the surface of the card substrate 2. Under this constitution, it is impossible to manufacture the card 1, unless a fluorescent wavelength is recognized from the card 1 as a result of the excitation of the fluorescent material prepared on the card 1 due to the exciting beam proper to the fluorescent material. In addition, it is possible to do concealed printing so as to make the fluorescent material invisible and thus minimizing a printing process. It is also possible to detect an identification mark regardless of the presence of a stain on the surface of the card 1, as the card counts on the infrared range optically.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a card such as a tally card or a prepaid card provided with anti-counterfeiting means, and a method for identifying this card.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, various methods have been proposed to apply counterfeit prevention measures to cards such as credit cards and prepaid cards, which are often used as payment methods in place of cash, and to identify whether or not these cards are counterfeit. .

For example, a method for preventing counterfeiting or forgery prevention by providing a card such as a magnetic card with a mark or barcode for preventing counterfeiting or identifying it that is optically readable in the visible light range, and then optically reading this to identify whether or not it is counterfeit. In order to further increase the effectiveness of the card, marks and barcodes are printed using ink that absorbs infrared light in the infrared region, and the top surface is covered with ink that absorbs infrared rays to make them invisible to the naked eye. A method has been proposed in which the barcode is optically read in the infrared region to identify whether or not it is a forgery.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

According to the latter technique mentioned above, even if it is not visible to the naked eye,
By scanning a card using an existing infrared reflective photocoupler, marks and barcodes for counterfeit prevention or identification can be easily found. Infrared absorbing materials not only can be easily reproduced using carbon-based materials, but also infrared-reflecting photocouplers and carbon-based materials are easily available, so they have the problem of being easily counterfeited.

In addition, when manufacturing this type of card, in order to hide marks or barcodes that can be read by infrared light with concealing ink to make them invisible, the infrared absorbing ink itself has low brightness, so it is necessary to use concealing ink. It is necessary to print with a thicker ink layer, which not only increases the number of printing steps, but also increases the thickness of the ink layer, making it easier to locate marks or barcodes. Another problem arises, such as recognition.

Furthermore, since the concealing ink itself has some infrared absorption function, it is not possible to increase the thickness of the ink layer in order to improve the contrast of optical reflection and ensure reliable detection. This contradicts the original purpose of concealment, and there is also the problem that reliable detection cannot be performed unless a material with good infrared reflection is used as the base of the mark or barcode.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to make it extremely difficult to manufacture cards identical to regular cards, reduce the number of printing steps, and improve reliability. The aim is to provide a novel configuration of the card that allows for high detection.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to make it possible to identify marks, etc. on cards only after satisfying multi-stage reading requirements, thereby making it difficult to read the marks, which in turn makes it extremely difficult to counterfeit cards. The purpose of this invention is to provide a new card identification method.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention applies ink containing a phosphor whose excitation light wavelength and fluorescence wavelength are both in the infrared region to the surface of a card base material, or to the entire surface of at least one surface thereof. or provide at least one island-like mark, or a pattern formed by arranging a plurality of island-like marks in parallel, and allow both of the above-mentioned wavelengths to pass through the card base material surface, The card is constructed by providing a concealing layer that partially absorbs visible light.

In addition, the present invention provides an ink containing a phosphor whose excitation light wavelength and fluorescence wavelength are both in the infrared region, and the card base material surface transmits both of the above-mentioned wavelengths. A card with a concealing layer that partially absorbs visible light is irradiated with light having a wavelength that excites a phosphor, and the fluorescent wavelength is received, and the presence or absence of the received light output or the received light output pattern is Only cards that can be confirmed to match the standard pattern are identified as genuine cards.

[Effect]

Fluorescent ink containing a phosphor whose excitation light wavelength and fluorescence wavelength are both in the infrared region is provided on the surface of the card base material, or on the entire surface of at least one surface, or at least one surface is coated with fluorescent ink. At least one island-like mark is provided on the surface, or a pattern formed by arranging a plurality of island-like marks in parallel is provided, and both excitation wavelength and fluorescence wavelength can be transmitted, and visible light can be transmitted. A card provided with a partially absorbing obscuring layer is irradiated with phosphor excitation light, thereby generating a fluorescing wavelength.

In addition, the card is irradiated with light having a wavelength that excites the phosphor, and the generated fluorescence wavelength is received, and the presence or absence of the received light output, or the presence or absence of a match between the received light output pattern and the reference pattern, is identified. It is determined whether the card is a legitimate card or not.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the card and card identification method of the present invention will be sequentially described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the card of the present invention, in which one surface of the card base material 2 has an excitation wavelength of 800 nm.
m, the fluorescent wavelength is 980 nm, both wavelengths are in the infrared region, and as shown in Figure 3, the reflectance is approximately 107% at the wavelength of 980 nm when the reflectance of the white background of the original plate is 100%. Li (Ndo, q
Using a fluorescent ink containing a fluorescent material consisting of Ybo, +)P40+□, a barcode 3.3 for preventing forgery or for identification is formed (Fig. 1).And,
800 nm as shown in FIG.
It has spectral characteristics that allow it to transmit both the excitation wavelength of A concealing layer 4 is provided using a concealing ink (FIG. 2), thereby forming the card 1.

Incidentally, it is also possible to provide the fluorescent ink having the above-mentioned function on the entire surface or both sides of one side of the card base material, or to provide at least one island-shaped mark, or to provide a plurality of these in parallel. It is also possible to form an arbitrary pattern.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an apparatus for carrying out the card identification method of the present invention, and as shown in the spectral characteristic diagram of FIG. Alternatively, a light emitting element 5 such as a laser diode is arranged so that the irradiation angle to the card 1 is 90 degrees or more or less with respect to the surface of the card 1, and the fluorescent light wavelength is 980 degrees as shown in FIG.
A light-receiving element 6 such as a photodiode or a phototransistor having a spectral sensitivity of nm is arranged so as to take a light-receiving angle position of 90 degrees with respect to the surface of the card 1.

In order to prevent the light-emitting element 5 and the light-receiving element 6 from optically interfering with each other, a filter is provided on the light-receiving element 6 side that cuts off the excitation wavelength of the fluorescent ink but transmits the fluorescent wavelength. Alternatively, by providing a filter on the light emitting element 5 side that allows the excitation wavelength of the fluorescent ink to pass through but cuts the fluorescent wavelength, it is possible to provide high reliability in detection accuracy, and this implementation In the example, although not shown, it is suitable to provide a filter made of InP (indium phosphide) having the former characteristic as the filter provided on the light receiving element 6 side.

Next, the card identification method according to the above embodiment will be explained.
When the card 1 is transported in the direction of the arrow 9 by a transport device (not shown) and irradiated with the 800 nm excitation light 7 emitted from the light emitting element 5, the card 1 is transported in the direction of the arrow 9 and becomes fluorescent. The barcodes 3.3... composed of ink are sequentially scanned by the excitation light 7, which causes the barcodes 3.3... to emit 980 nm fluorescent light 8.
are generated one after another, detected by the light receiving element 6 which receives only the fluorescent light of this wavelength, and converted into an electrical pulse signal as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a comparison is made with a reference pattern, and it is determined whether the card is a regular card based on the presence or absence of -I&(7).

Note that Li(Ndo, 9 Ybo, +)Pt, which was explained in the above example, is used as a fluorescent material contained in the ink.
Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the O+Z fluorescent material, and may be any fluorescent material having different spectral characteristics of excitation light wavelength and fluorescence wavelength.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, an ink containing a phosphor whose excitation light wavelength and fluorescence wavelength are both in the infrared region is applied to the surface of the card base material or at least one of the card base materials. It can be provided on the entire surface of the card, or at least one island-like mark can be provided on this surface, or a pattern can be formed by arranging a plurality of island-like marks, and both of the wavelengths mentioned above can be transmitted through the card base material surface. The card is equipped with a concealing layer that partially absorbs visible light, and is excited by the excitation light of the phosphor to generate a fluorescent wavelength, so the card is provided with a phosphor. Unless one of the following is recognized: that this phosphor is excited by the excitation light of the phosphor, or that it receives the fluorescence wavelength from the card, it will not be possible to manufacture cards. This not only makes it extremely difficult to counterfeit genuine cards, but the fluorescent material that forms the fluorescent ink is difficult to reproduce and obtain compared to carbon-based materials, making it even more difficult to counterfeit cards. Also, some fluorescent materials have a high brightness, unlike infrared absorbing inks, so it is possible to make the concealing print thinner to make it invisible to the naked eye, which reduces the printing process. Therefore, manufacturing costs can be reduced. Furthermore, since it is possible to detect without being affected by the underlying material, detection sensitivity is increased, and reliability can be greatly improved.
Marks etc. can also be provided on the magnetic layer of the card, making it possible to provide marks etc. at arbitrary positions without being subject to spatial restrictions.

Further, according to the present invention, a fluorescent ink containing a phosphor whose excitation light wavelength and fluorescence wavelength are both in the infrared region is provided on the surface of the card base material, and the above wavelength is injected onto the card base material surface. A card that is made transparent and has a concealing layer that partially absorbs visible light is irradiated with light having a wavelength that excites a phosphor, and then the fluorophore wavelength is received, and the presence or absence of the received light output is determined. The configuration is such that only cards for which the match between the output pattern and the reference pattern has been confirmed are identified as genuine cards, so both the fact that the card is equipped with a phosphor and the excitation light of the wavelength that the phosphor has The excited point and
It is possible to provide an identification method that makes it impossible to read marks, etc. on a card unless all requirements are met, including receiving the fluorescent wavelength from the card. Moreover, unless these points are solved and the product is manufactured, it is not possible to read out the marks etc. of genuine cards. Therefore, it is possible to further ensure the prevention of counterfeiting of genuine cards. This makes it possible to further improve safety. In addition, since it uses optics in the infrared region, regardless of the dirt on the surface of the card,
Signal detection can be performed with a high degree of reliability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view of an embodiment of the card of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a sectional view taken from section line A-A in Figure 1;
The figure is a spectral characteristic diagram showing the reflectance of the fluorescent ink applied to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a spectral characteristic diagram of the cart concealing ink applied to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. A configuration diagram of an apparatus for implementing the card identification method, FIG. 6 is a diagram of electrical pulse waveforms detected by a light receiving element of the apparatus for implementing the method of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is an apparatus for implementing the method of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a spectral characteristic diagram showing the relative radiation intensity of the light emitting element of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is a spectral characteristic diagram showing the radiation sensitivity of the light receiving element of the apparatus implementing the method of the present invention. 1. Card, 2. Card base material, 3. Barcode formed with fluorescent ink, 4. Hiding layer, 5. Light emitting element that emits excitation light, 6. Receives fluorescent light wavelength. 7. Excitation light, 8. Fluorescence,

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) Fluorescent ink containing a phosphor whose excitation light wavelength and fluorescence wavelength are both in the infrared region is provided on the surface of the card base material, and the surface of the card base material is capable of transmitting both of the above wavelengths. , a card characterized by having a concealing layer that partially absorbs visible light. (2) The card according to claim 1, wherein the fluorescent ink is provided on the entire surface of at least one surface of the card base material. (3) The card according to claim 1, wherein the fluorescent ink is provided as at least one island-shaped mark on at least one surface of the card base material. (4) The card according to claim (3), further comprising a pattern in which a plurality of the island-shaped marks are arranged side by side. (5) A fluorescent ink containing a phosphor whose excitation light wavelength and fluorescence wavelength are both in the infrared region is provided on the surface of the card base material, and the surface of the card base material is capable of transmitting both of the wavelengths; A card provided with a concealing layer that partially absorbs visible light is irradiated with light having a wavelength that excites the phosphor, receives the fluorescence wavelength from the phosphor, and determines the presence or absence of the received light output or the received light output pattern. A card identification method characterized in that only cards that are confirmed to match a standard pattern are regarded as genuine cards.