JPH04246596A - Plastic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve a decorative property of a plastic card by a method wherein a plastic layer in which fluorescent coating for brightening an edge part by totally reflecting light cast into a transparent plastic raw material in the layer is dispersed, is provided. CONSTITUTION:For a plastic card, a reflection film 4 consisting of an aluminum vapour deposition film or the like is provided under a trans parent plastic layer (UV resin layer) 2 in which fluorescent coating is dispersed, which is adhered to a lining substrate 6 of polyvinyl chloride or the like with an adhesive 5. Then, light coming from outside is made to pass through the fluorescent coating in the UV resin layer 2 to be sent to the reflection film 4. It is reflected on the reflecting film 4 to be brought out again on the surface. Further, the light striking against the fluorescent coating is irregularly reflected. Its part is totally reflected on a boundary surface to outside of the UV resin layer 2, which is brought out from the edge part. Therefore, the edge part is seen brighter than other part. Thereby, a decorative property of the plastic card can be improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plastic card used for credit cards, cash cards, ID cards, etc., and more particularly to a plastic card that is highly decorative by adding aesthetic elements to the card.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventional plastic cards of this type are
These include laminated plastic substrates that are simply printed with various types of information, such as magnetic stripes, or embossed pieces of information in specific areas in the form of codes. In addition, some products have recently been transcribed with beautiful hologram designs to prevent counterfeiting and for decorative purposes.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Generally speaking, as a recent trend, even practical portable items have become highly decorative, and some types of cards have also become objects of collection by enthusiasts. Some plastic cards have holograms transferred to them, but there is plenty of room for further enhancement of their decorativeness.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a plastic card with enhanced decorativeness using a new optically devised method that has recently attracted particular attention. Another object of the present invention is to provide a plastic card with improved functionality using a new optical method.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the plastic card of the present invention has an ultraviolet curable resin (
The structure includes a plastic layer 2 in which a fluorescent dye is dispersed in a transparent plastic material such as UV resin (hereinafter referred to as UV resin), and the incident light is totally reflected within the layer so that the edges appear bright.

In addition, a plastic layer 2 is constructed in which a fluorescent dye is dispersed in a transparent plastic material and incident light is totally reflected within the layer so that the edges appear bright.
and a hologram layer 3 which is in contact with the surface of the plastic layer and reproduced with white light.

[0007] Furthermore, a dye-dispersed portion 12 in which a fluorescent dye is dispersed in a transparent plastic material and a non-dye portion 22 made of the same material are provided, and the dye-dispersed portion 12 is configured in an arbitrary shape, and the dye-dispersed portion 12 is formed in an arbitrary shape. The structure includes a plastic layer configured to completely reflect the light incident on the portion 12 so that the end portion of the arbitrary shape appears bright.

Furthermore, a dye-dispersed portion 12 in which a fluorescent dye is dispersed in a transparent plastic material and a dye-free portion 22 made of the raw material are provided, and the light incident on the dye-dispersed portion 12 is totally reflected within the layer. The dye-dispersed portion and the dye-free portion are arranged so that a bright portion at the edge of the card caused by the dye-dispersed portion and a relatively dark portion caused by the dye-free portion appearing at the card edge are mixed adjacent to at least one side of the card. The structure has a structure in which

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a modeled cross section of an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present invention disperses fluorescent dye in the transparent plastic layer that makes up the plastic card, and the edge of the card appears bright due to the total internal reflection that occurs within the layer. It is used for decorative purposes. This transparent plastic layer 2 is made by dispersing fluorescent dyes of various colors in UV resin. In the case of FIG. 1, the overall structure of the plastic card is such that a reflective film 4 made of an aluminum vapor-deposited film or the like is provided on the underside of a transparent plastic layer (UV resin layer) 2 in which fluorescent dye is dispersed, and a polychloride film 4 is provided with an adhesive 5. It is integrally bonded to a backing base material 6 such as vinyl.

Light entering from the outside (from above in the figure) passes through the fluorescent dye in the UV resin layer 2, reaches the reflective film 4, is reflected by the reflective film 4, and emerges from the surface again. Further, the light hitting the fluorescent dye is diffusely reflected, and a part of the light is repeatedly totally reflected at the interface with the outside of the UV resin layer 2 and exits from the end. For this reason, the edges appear brighter than other parts.

The above-mentioned UV resin uses a commercially available modified urethane acrylate, and in this example, a high-pressure mercury lamp with a nominal output of 80 W/cm is used for 200 m of curing.
Irradiation was performed at a dose of J/cm2. As the fluorescent dye, yellow kayasetFlarine FG (manufactured by Nippon Kayaku) was used here. The color of the dye may be arbitrary, but if an orange dye is used and a reflective film formed by vapor deposition of aluminum is provided on the back side, it will appear golden, making it easy to create a high-class image.

FIG. 2 shows a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG.
In order to protect the surface, a cover 1 made of a transparent base material is covered. FIG. 3 shows another modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, in which a hologram layer 3 is inserted between a UV resin layer 2 in which a fluorescent dye is dispersed in UV resin and a reflective film 4. The hologram layer 3 creates a three-dimensional virtual image that can be reproduced with white light, and can further enhance the decorativeness of the plastic card. FIG. 4 shows still another modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, in which the front side of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is covered with a cover made of a transparent base material.

The reflective film 4 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 may be one that completely blocks light, or may be made of an extremely thin aluminum vapor-deposited film so as to be semitransparent. By doing this, in addition to reflecting light from the front surface, light from the back surface can also be seen faintly, creating another effect. Also, Figure 1
- Characters, codes, designs, etc. can be printed on the surface of each layer constituting each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 4 to 4, if necessary. Furthermore, the cover 1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be laminated on one side.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a modeled cross section of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a plastic card consisting only of a UV resin layer 2 in which fluorescent dye is dispersed. In this embodiment, since there is no reflective film, both the front and back sides exhibit the same appearance when exposed to light.

FIG. 6 shows a transparent adhesive 15 in the embodiment of FIG.
The decorative effect is almost the same as that shown in FIG. 5, but the more the transparent base material 16 is, the stronger it is, and less deformation due to external force.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which a cover 1 made of a transparent base material is provided to protect the surface of the embodiment shown in FIG. In this case, the cover 1 and the transparent base material 16 may be of the same quality. FIG. 8 shows a hologram layer 3 provided on the back side of the fluorescent dye-dispersed UV resin layer of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 shows the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 covered with a cover 1. In FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a model of still another embodiment in a plan view. The part of the UV resin visible from the surface is divided into a dye-dispersed part 12 in which fluorescent dye is dispersed and a dye-free part 22 in which no fluorescent dye is mixed, and the dye-dispersed part 12 is displayed and decorated in the form of letters, codes, designs, etc. It also serves as a.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an end face cut along line XX in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 11, the end 2a of the dye dispersion section 12 is oblique and the surface (
When viewed from above (in the figure), the end portion 2a has a constant width and is clearly visible. Therefore, the vicinity of the boundary between the dye-dispersed portion 12 and the non-dye portion 22 appears brighter than other portions, and the beauty of the dye-dispersed portion 12 can be further enhanced. Note that 4 is a reflective film, 5 is an adhesive, and 6 is a backing base material.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of a modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. In the case of Figure 12, there is no reflective film,
Printing is performed on the surface of the backing base material 6, and a transparent plastic layer consisting of a dye-dispersed part 12 and a dye-free part 22 is adhered to the backing base material 6 using a transparent adhesive 15. By making the pattern 17 printed on the backing base material 6 harmonious with the shape of the dye-dispersed portion 12, the decorative effect can be further enhanced. In the case of FIG. 12, printing is performed on the backing substrate, but printing may also be performed on the upper surface of the transparent adhesive 15.

In FIGS. 5 to 11 as well, characters, codes, designs, etc. can be printed on the surface of each layer constituting the plastic card, if necessary. Also, Figure 1
In 2, instead of printing on the surface of the backing substrate 6, a hologram layer may be provided on the back side of the UV resin layer.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the UV resin layer appearing at the end of one side of the plastic card is made so that a dye-dispersed portion 12 and a non-dye portion 22 coexist.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of FIG. 13 with the cover 1 removed. In FIG. 14, the dye dispersion parts 12, 12, 12, 12 form an optical path through which light from the upper right direction of FIG. (end of section)
This produces a light and dark pattern at the edges. Therefore, by arranging light-receiving elements side by side in the portion facing this end and detecting the brightness, this plastic card can be given the function of recording information such as a barcode.

The optical paths formed by the dye dispersion section 12 are arranged parallel to each other, and the light intensity is detected by the optical receiver while moving the optical paths in a perpendicular direction between a pair of light sources (not shown) and the optical receiver. You can also read the information by Further, 5 in FIGS. 13 and 14 is an adhesive, and 6 is a backing base material. Note that various types of printing can be freely performed on the front and back sides of this plastic card.

[0024]

Effects of the Invention As explained in detail above, the present invention provides a plastic card in which a plastic card is constructed by combining a plastic layer in which a fluorescent dye is dispersed in a transparent plastic material, or other reflective films, hologram layers, etc.
The edges of the plastic layer in which fluorescent dye is dispersed look bright and beautiful due to total internal reflection within the layer, which has the effect of enhancing the decorativeness of the card.

[0025] In addition, by dividing the transparent plastic material into a part with fluorescent dye dispersed in it and a part with the same material as it is, and creating various shapes with the parts in which the fluorescent dye is dispersed,
It has the effect of displaying the meaning of the shape and at the same time brightening the periphery of the shape to make it more beautiful.

Furthermore, by forming the edge of one side of the card into a bright part and a relatively dark part using the same method as described above, information can be recorded in that part like a bar code using this bright and dark arrangement. This has the effect that the card can be used for various purposes.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram (plan view) of still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the XX cross section of the embodiment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a cross section of a modified example of the embodiment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the embodiment of FIG. 13 (
(perspective view).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Cover 2 Transparent plastic layer (UV resin layer) 3 Hologram layer 4 Reflective film 5 Adhesive 6 Backing base material 12 Dye dispersion section 22 Dye-free section

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plastic card comprising a transparent plastic material having a plastic layer in which fluorescent dye is dispersed to completely reflect the light incident on the material within the layer and brighten the edges. 2. A plastic layer in which fluorescent dye is dispersed to totally reflect the light incident on the transparent plastic material within the layer and brighten the edges, and a plastic layer that is in contact with the surface of the plastic layer and reproduces with white light. A plastic card characterized by having a hologram layer. 3. A dye-dispersed part in which a fluorescent dye is dispersed in a transparent plastic material and a non-dye part in which the material is left as is are provided, and the dye-dispersed part becomes bright due to total reflection within the layer of incident light. A plastic card characterized in that it has a plastic layer whose visible edge is made into an arbitrary shape. 4. By providing a dye-dispersed part in which a fluorescent dye is dispersed in a transparent plastic material and a non-dye part in which the material is left as is, the light incident on the dye-dispersed part is totally reflected within the layer. The dye-dispersed portion and the dye-free portion are arranged so that the resulting bright portion at the card edge and the relatively dark portion resulting from the appearance of the dye-free portion at the card edge coexist adjacent to at least one side of the card. A plastic card that features: