JPH09102145A - Optical card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an embedded optical card which is excellent in mass productivity and necessitates the lower cost of an apparatus for production. SOLUTION: This optical card is formed by embedding an optical recording member 1 laminated with an optical recording layer 5 covering the track patterns 4 formed on the rear side of a transparent protective layer 3 into a recessed part 7 formed on a card base material 2. This optical recording member 1 is embedded into the card base material 2 in the state of protruding from its front surface. Pressure may be applied always on the optical recording member 1 alone even if either of a flat press or roll press is used in fixing the optical recording member 1 to the recessed part 7. In addition, there are no requirements for limitation of the size of the press plate and the press roll to be used and position accuracy, etc., and, therefor, the yield of production is high, the mass productivity is excellent and the cost of the apparatus is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an optical card used for credit cards, cash cards, medical cards and the like.

[0002]

Conventionally, as a card type recording medium, an optical card having a storage capacity larger than that of a magnetic card or an IC card has been developed. There are a ROM type, a write-once type, and an erasable type as the recording system of this optical card, and a recording medium and a structure of each are being studied. Among such optical cards, one in which an optical recording member is embedded in a card base material in an island shape is known (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 22222/1990).

By the way, in the case of a non-embedded optical card, a surface-hardened layer is provided on the entire surface of the card, and the presence and absence of the optical recording portion are flush with each other. On the other hand, in the embedded optical card as described above, the optical recording member is embedded in the rectangular concave portion provided in the card base material via the adhesive layer, so that the surface of the optical recording member and the surface of the card base material are There will be a step between and. The level difference means that the step is within ± 5 μm, but since the optical card is composed of multiple layers, it may be necessary to carefully make each one, and the step may be within this range during mass production. Even if it is designed to fit in, it is very difficult to actually make it flush. Therefore, if the optical recording member is designed to be dented from the surface of the card base material, it is necessary to apply pressure only to the optical recording member to fix it in the concave portion of the card base material. Even with a roll press, it is difficult to apply pressure only to the optical recording member.
That is, make a mold that is the same as or slightly smaller than the optical recording member,
Although pressing through this mold is conceivable, it is extremely difficult to accurately control the position of the mold and the card base material during mass production.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an embedded type optical card which is excellent in mass productivity and requires a low manufacturing apparatus cost. To do.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the optical card of the present invention comprises an optical recording member in which an optical recording layer is laminated so as to cover a track pattern provided on the back side of a transparent protective layer. In an optical card embedded in a recess formed in a card base material, the optical recording member is embedded in a state of protruding from the surface of the card base material. In other words, in the present invention, the optical recording member and the surface of the card base material are not designed to be flush with each other, but the thickness of the optical recording member is made thicker than the depth of the recessed portion of the card base material from the beginning and embedded. At that time, the surface of the optical recording member is made higher than the surface of the card substrate.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an optical card as an example of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. It is a partially expanded sectional view in A.

As shown in FIG. 1, this optical card has an optical recording member 1 embedded in a card substrate 2 in an island shape. The optical recording member 1, as shown in FIG. 2, has a transparent protective layer 3 having a track pattern 4 on its lower surface,
The optical recording layer 5 is laminated so as to cover the track pattern 4, and the surface hardening layer 6 is provided on the surface of the transparent protective layer 3. The adhesive layer 8 is provided in the concave portion 7 formed in the card substrate 2. The optical recording member 1 is embedded and fixed via
Is embedded in such a state that the surface of the card is protruding from the surface of the card substrate 2.

The one shown in FIG. 2 has a small gap between the end face a of the optical recording member 1 and the concave side face b of the card substrate 2,
Although the adhesive layer 8 is provided only on the bottom surface of the concave portion 7, in order to fix the optical recording member 1 more firmly, as shown in FIG. 3, the end surface a of the optical recording member 1 and the concave portion of the card substrate 2 are formed. Side b
It is also possible to leave a gap to some extent and to provide the adhesive layer 8 in that gap as well. Further, in order to easily fit the optical recording member 1 into the concave portion 7 of the card substrate 2,
As shown in FIG. 4, a taper α may be provided on the end surface a of the optical recording member 1 and the concave side surface b of the card substrate 2, and such a taper α may be provided at least on each side in the longitudinal direction.

There are two methods for obtaining the optical recording member 1 and the card substrate 2 as described above.
Broadly speaking, the first method is a cutting method, and the second method is a molding method. Hereinafter, each method will be described in detail.

In order to prepare the optical recording member 1 by the first method, first, the surface hardening layer 6 is formed on one surface of the transparent protective layer 3 and the layer having the track pattern 4 on the other surface and the optical recording. A multiple-sided optical recording member sheet formed by forming the layer 5 is prepared. After cutting this individually, the end face a is cut to form the optical recording member 1. At this time, a desired taper is provided on the end face a, if necessary. In order to prevent the optical recording layer 5 from being damaged during this cutting, a protective layer is usually provided on the surface of the optical recording layer 5.
As the protective layer, an acrylic type, vinyl chloride-based type, polyester type or the like that does not affect the optical recording layer 5 is used. If a protective film is used, it is not necessary to provide this protective layer.

The material used for the transparent protective layer 3 must have a small birefringence. Specifically, polycarbonate (PC), polymethylmethacrylate (PMM
A), acrylonitrile-styrene copolymer (AS),
Cellulose propionate (CP), cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB), polyvinyl chloride (PV
C), polyester and the like can be used, and among them, polycarbonate (PC) having a thickness of about 400 μm is suitable.

As the surface hardened layer 6 formed on one surface of the transparent protective layer 3, an acrylic UV curable hard coat agent is suitable. In addition, a melamine-based or silicon-based hard coating agent may be used, but one having excellent temperature and humidity suitability and having high hardness and not causing cracks even when bent is preferably used. The layer having the track pattern 4 formed on the other surface of the transparent protective layer 3 is formed by a generally known 2P method, injection method, casting method, or the like. At this time, when a pattern is formed by the 2P method, a UV-curable resin is used, and by the injection method or the casting method, the same transparent protective layer 3 is used. As the optical recording layer 5, in addition to the commonly used metal-based optical recording materials such as tellurium-based and bismuth-based materials, dye-based optical recording materials such as phthalocyanine-based materials and naphthoquinone-based materials can be used. Further, not only the write-once type but also the ROM type may be used.

To prepare the optical recording member 1 by the second method, first, a transparent protective layer 3 with a track pattern is prepared by a generally known injection method or casting method using a resin such as polycarbonate or acrylic. . At this time, the end surface a is formed to have a taper if necessary. Then, the surface hardened layer 6 is formed on the opposite side of the track pattern 4, and the optical recording layer 5 is formed on the track pattern surface to prepare the optical recording member 1. As the optical recording layer 5 and the surface hardened layer 6, the same ones as described above are used.

To make the card substrate 2 by the first method, the concave portion 7 in which the optical recording member 1 is embedded is formed by cutting (counterboring). At this time, the optical recording member 1
When the concave portion 7 is formed shallower than the thickness of the optical recording member 1 and the end surface a of the optical recording member 1 is tapered, the concave side surface b of the card substrate 2 becomes the same as the taper of the end surface a of the optical recording member 1. To cut. The remaining thickness of the lower side of the recess 7 is at least 2 in order to maintain the resistance as a card.
About 00 μm is necessary. Further, it is necessary to obtain parallelism between the concave portion 7 and the longitudinal edge of the card, but for this purpose, it is advisable to perform the cutting processing of the concave portion 7 and the edge of the card base material 2 coaxially.

As the card substrate 2 used in the first method, polyvinyl chloride, ABS resin or the like is used. In the case of polyvinyl chloride, 0.10 / 0.28 / 0.28 /
0.10 mm, 0.05 / 0.37 / 0.37 / 0.0
Four layers, such as 5 mm, are suitable. In addition, 0.10
mm and 0.05 mm are transparent polyvinyl chloride, 0.28 mm and 0.37 mm are opalescent polyvinyl chloride, printed on one side of opalescent polyvinyl chloride to increase abrasion resistance of printing. Is applied.

To prepare the card substrate 2 by the second method, a resin such as ABS resin or polyvinyl chloride is used and the card substrate 2 is prepared by the injection method or the casting method. At this time, the concave portion 7 in which the optical recording member 1 is embedded is formed, but the depth thereof is designed to be smaller than the thickness of the optical recording member 1. Further, when the end surface a of the optical recording member 1 is provided with a taper, the concave side surface b of the card base material 2 is shaped so as to be the same as the taper of the end surface a of the optical recording member 1. It is preferable that the recess 7 formed at this time also has a residual thickness of at least about 200 μm for the same reason as described above. In addition, the concave portion 7 of the card substrate 2
And so that the parallelism of the longitudinal edge is obtained. The painting is performed by in-mold molding.

The optical recording member 1 prepared as described above is embedded in the concave portion 7 of the card substrate 2 and fixed by the adhesive layer 8. As the adhesive, conventionally known adhesives such as urethane-based, epoxy-based, acrylic-based, vinyl-based, and amide-based adhesives can be used. However, since the adhesive layer 8 directly contacts the optical recording layer 5,
It is preferable that the recording sensitivity is good and the temperature and humidity are excellent. As a bonding method, a UV curable adhesive is dropped on the concave portion 7 of the card substrate 2, the optical recording member 1 is fitted therein, and the flat recording press corresponding to the size of the optical recording member 1 is pressed to irradiate ultraviolet rays. And then adhere, or the optical recording member 1
There is a method in which a hot-melt adhesive is applied to the above with a T-die and then hot-pressed with a flat press or a roll press for adhesion. In any case, the press condition is set so that the adhesive agent spreads between the end surface a of the optical recording member 1 and the concave side surface b of the card substrate 2. At the time of this pressing, since the optical recording member 1 is projected from the surface of the card base material 2, pressure is always applied to the optical recording member 1 regardless of whether the flat press or the roll press is used, and the press plate or the press to be used. The optical recording member 1 can be fixed to the concave portion 7 of the card substrate 2 without any restriction conditions such as roll size and positional accuracy. Therefore, not only the mass productivity is high, but also the cost of the device is low. When a pressure-sensitive adhesive is used for the adhesive layer 8 that fixes the optical recording member 1 in the recess 7 of the card substrate 2, a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet may be used.

When the optical recording member 1 is produced by the first method, the following adhesion method may be adopted. That is, an optical recording member sheet is prepared in which the surface hardened layer 6 is formed on one surface of the transparent protective layer 3 and the layer having the track pattern 4 and the optical recording layer 5 are formed on the other surface thereof, and the optical recording member sheet is prepared. The layer 5 is coated with a plastic hot melt adhesive, and the optical recording member sheet laminated up to the adhesive layer 8 is cut into individual optical recording members 1 and then the same cutting process as described above is performed. After that, the optical recording member 1 is fitted into the concave portion 7 of the card base material 2 and heat-pressed with a flat press or a roll press to bond them. In this case, the pressing conditions are set so that the adhesive melts and spreads between the end surface of the optical recording member and the side surface of the concave portion of the card substrate.

The optical card as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 is manufactured as described above. In order to further increase the parallelism between the track pattern 4 of the optical recording member 1 and the card edge,
The following method should be adopted. That is, the recess 7 has a size slightly larger than the card shape by cutting or molding.
The card base material 2 with the above is prepared, the optical recording member 1 is embedded in the recessed portion 7, and then the card shape is punched based on the track pattern 4.

The optical card of the type shown in FIG. 1 is one in which the optical recording member 1 is embedded in an island shape. However, as shown in FIG. 5, both ends of the optical recording member 1 are cut off to form a card substrate. It may be embedded in 2. When embedding in such a form, the card base material 2 is formed by counterboring.
When the concave portion 7 is formed on the substrate, even if the concave portion 7 is wide, it can be processed in one pass, so that the cost can be reduced. When TeOx or the like is used for the optical recording layer 4, the optical recording layer 4 at both end portions 1a of the optical recording member 1 is preferably omitted because the edge portions at both ends may be oxidized.
In this way, it looks like an island-shaped one.

In order to diversify the use of the optical card of the present invention, a magnetic stripe is provided on the same surface as the optical recording member, on the opposite surface or on both surfaces, or on the same surface as the optical recording member or on the opposite surface. You may make it provide an IC module. Furthermore, depending on the application, card information such as personal name and registration number can be formed as embossed characters in areas other than the optical recording member, or sublimation transfer type or melt transfer type image information, character information, bar code. Etc. may be printed, or a hologram may be transferred or attached.
For example, the one shown in FIG. 6 has the magnetic stripe 9 provided on the same surface as the optical recording member 1, and the one shown in FIG. 7 has the magnetic stripe 9 and the IC module 10 provided on the same surface as the optical recording member 1. Further, a facial photograph 11 is provided by a sublimation transfer method. Further, the one shown in FIG. 8 has two magnetic stripes 9 and an IC module 10 on the same surface as the optical recording member 1.
Is formed, and embossing is used to form embossed characters.

When the optical card is provided with the above-mentioned additional functions, various devices for providing them are generally accompanied by conveyance. Therefore, if the optical recording member 1 projects too much from the surface of the card substrate 2. , Poor transportation may occur in the device. As an apparatus for giving an additional function, there are an embosser for embossing a card, a printer for printing sublimation transfer type or melt transfer type image information and character information, a device for transferring or attaching a hologram, and the like. On the other hand, a magnetic reader / writer in an ATM device or the like,
Even in a C reader / writer or the like, since a conveyance system is incorporated, if the optical recording member 1 projects too much from the surface of the card substrate 2, there is a possibility that a conveyance failure may occur when the card is used. Therefore, the amount of protrusion of the optical recording member 1 from the surface of the card substrate 2 needs to be designed so as not to induce conveyance failure in these devices. Specifically, the protruding portion of the optical recording member 1 is preferably 200 μm from the surface of the card substrate 2.

Further, the respective conveying devices may be designed so that the protruding portion of the optical recording member 1 does not hit the conveying rollers. On the contrary, the optical card may be designed so that the optical recording member 1 is provided in a portion of the conveying device which is not hit by the roller.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, even if the roller of the conveying device is hit, the conveyance is successful.
The end of the protruding portion may be tapered or R (rounded). When using the optical recording member 1 having the end surface a reversely tapered as shown in FIG. 11, a corresponding taper is also formed on the concave side surface b of the card base material 2. It is preferable to fit the optical recording member 1 into the recess 7 while bending 2. The optical recording member 1 having the reverse taper on the end face a is difficult to embed, but is effective in preventing the optical recording member 1 from protruding due to bending. Also, in the case of the optical card as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the adhesive layer may or may not be provided on the end surface of the optical recording member 1. However, when the adhesive layer is provided, the optical recording member 1 is integrated with the card base material, and stronger bending suitability can be obtained. Note that the taper R only on the protruding portion as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 may be formed before embedding the optical recording member 1 or may be formed by chamfering after embedding.

[0025]

【Example】

Example 1 First, a hard coat agent (manufactured by Toray, UH-00 manufactured by Toray Co., Ltd.) was spin-coated on one surface of a sheet-molded polycarbonate (transparent protective layer) having a thickness of 0.4 mm.
1) was applied to form a surface-hardened layer. Next, a track pattern is formed on the surface opposite to the surface hardened layer by the 2P method,
TeOx was sputtered thereon to form an optical recording layer. Then, on the optical recording layer, 50 μm of an adhesive (PPET-2101 manufactured by Toagosei) was used using a T-die.
m. Then, it is cut so that the longitudinal direction is 60 mm, the short side direction is 15 mm, the four corners are 2 mmR, and the end face is tapered by 10 °, and the longitudinal direction is parallel to the track pattern. An optical recording member was created. The thickness of this optical recording member including the adhesive was 470 μm.

On the other hand, two core sheets made of milky vinyl chloride of 0.37 mm each are printed on one side with silk offset, and the non-printed sides of these two core sheets are combined to form an oversheet of 0.05 mm. It was sandwiched by two sheets and heat-fused to prepare a four-layer card base material. A magnetic tape of 650 Oersted was formed on one surface of one oversheet, and a magnetic tape of 290 Oersted was formed on one surface of the other oversheet. Then, a recess having a depth of 420 μm in which the optical recording member is embedded is formed in the card base material by cutting. Further, cutting was performed so that the side surface of the concave portion had a taper angle of 10 ° outward with respect to the vertical direction from the bottom surface of the card.

[0027] fit the optical recording member into the recess of the card substrate created above, using a flat press that matches the size of the optical recording member, 120 ° C., under the conditions of 6 kg / cm ² 15
Heat pressing was performed on the optical recording member for a second. At this time, since the optical recording member was protruding from the surface of the card substrate, it was possible to apply heat only to the optical recording member. As a result, the adhesive was melted, and the optical recording member could be adhered while covering the bottom surface and the end surface. Further, since vinyl chloride hitting the bottom surface of the optical recording member conducts heat from the top surface of the transparent protective layer (polycarbonate), there is no sagging due to the heat. Then, a card shape is punched based on the track pattern of the embedded optical recording member, and the outer dimension is 16 mm.
An optical card of × 84 mm was produced. In the optical card thus produced, the surface of the optical recording member was 30 μm higher than the surface of the card substrate.

Optical card R / W for the above sample
When data of 100 tracks was written with (3B3H-DJ-01 made by OMRON), the error rate was 1 × 1.
It was within 0 ^-4 . Furthermore, even if the card base material of the above sample was embossed, data could be written and read by the optical card R / W. Further, the above sample was subjected to a bending test in accordance with the ISO bending test standard, but there was no problem.

Example 2 A polymethylmethacrylate (transparent protective layer) with a track pattern having a thickness of 0.4 mm was prepared by the casting method. At this time, it is designed so that the longitudinal direction is 83 mm, the short side direction is 18 mm, the quadrangle is 1 mmR, the end face is tapered by 10 °, and the longitudinal direction is parallel to the track pattern. I saved it. Next, a hard coating agent (UH-001, manufactured by Toray) is applied to the side opposite to the pattern surface by a spin coating method to form a surface hardened layer, and then TeOx is sputtered on the pattern surface to form an optical recording layer. Thus, an optical recording member was created.

On the other hand, a card size of 0.80 mm thick was obtained by injection method using ABS resin.
A card base material having a recess for embedding the optical recording member was prepared. The recess has a depth of 0.38 mm, the side surfaces are 50 μm larger than the size of the optical recording member, and the side surfaces have a taper angle of 10 ° outward with respect to the vertical direction from the bottom surface of the card. Size 16
It was molded to have a size of mm × 84 mm. In this case, the pattern was formed by in-mold molding.

Next, a UV curable adhesive (863 made by Kyoritsu Kagaku Sangyo Co., Ltd.) was dropped into the concave portion of the card base material, an optical recording member was fitted into the concave portion, and the whole was pressed by a flat press, The adhesive was cured by irradiating with ultraviolet rays. At this time, since the optical recording member was protruding from the surface of the card substrate, it was possible to apply pressure only to the optical recording member. The pressing conditions were set so that the adhesive spreads even on the end surface of the optical recording member. In the optical card thus manufactured, the surface of the optical recording member is 80
It was μm higher.

Optical card R / W for the above sample
When data of 100 tracks was written with (3B3H-DJ-01 made by OMRON), the error rate was 1 × 1.
It was within 0 ^-4 . Further, the above sample was subjected to a bending test in accordance with the ISO bending test standard, but there was no problem.

(Comparative Example) The concave portion of the card substrate is 500 μm
An optical card was produced in the same manner as in Example 1 except that the optical card was formed with the depth of. In this sample, the surface of the optical recording member is set lower than the surface of the card substrate, so it is difficult to apply heat pressure only to the optical recording member. If the alignment was not correct, the hot plate marks would remain on the card, making it unattractive.

[0034]

As described above, the optical card of the present invention is constructed by embedding the surface of the optical recording member in a state of protruding from the surface of the card base material. When fixing it in the concave part, it is possible to apply pressure only to the optical recording member by using either flat press or roll press, and the limiting conditions such as the size and positional accuracy of the press plate or press roll to be used. Therefore, the manufacturing yield is high, the mass productivity is excellent, and the cost of the manufacturing apparatus is low. Further, it is possible to eliminate a bad-looking finish due to the positional deviation that occurs when a heating plate having the same size as the optical recording member is used.

Further, since the optical recording member is embedded in a part of the card base material, the remaining area of the card base material is utilized to form an optical card in a form that could not be manufactured until now, for example, a magnetic stripe. Optical cards with both sides, embossed optical cards, optical cards that do not have the optical recording part and IC module on the same side, CP-processable optical cards on both sides, hologram transferable optical cards on both sides, etc. It will be possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an optical card according to an embodiment of the present invention. .

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing an optical card according to another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing an optical card as still another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an example of an optical card in which both ends of an optical recording member are cut out and embedded in a card base material.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of an optical card provided with an additional function.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another example of an optical card provided with an additional function.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing still another example of an optical card provided with an additional function.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an optical card in which an end portion of a protruding portion of an optical recording member is provided with a taper.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an optical card in which a protruding portion of an optical recording member has a rounded end.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of an optical card in which the end portion of the protruding portion of the optical recording member is provided with a taper.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Optical Recording Member 2 Card Base Material 3 Transparent Protective Layer 4 Track Pattern 5 Optical Recording Layer 6 Surface Hardening Layer 7 Recesses 8 Adhesive Layer 9 Magnetic Stripe 10 IC Module 11 Face Photo

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An optical recording member in which an optical recording layer is laminated so as to cover a track pattern provided on the back side of a transparent protective layer,
An optical card embedded in a recess formed in a card substrate, wherein the surface of the optical recording member is embedded in a state of protruding from the surface of the card substrate. 2. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein a taper is provided at an end portion of a protruding portion of the optical recording member that protrudes from the surface of the card base material. 3. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein an end portion of a protruding portion of the optical recording member protruding from the surface of the card substrate is provided with a rounded portion. 4. An optical recording member obtained by processing an end surface of a multi-sided optical recording member sheet by cutting.
The optical card according to any one of 3 above. 5. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein the optical recording member comprises an optical recording layer provided on a transparent protective layer having a track pattern, which is formed by an injection method or a casting method. 6. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein a card base material is used in which a recess is formed by cutting and an edge is cut. 7. The optical card according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a card base material having a recess formed by an injection method or a casting method is used. 8. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein a magnetic stripe is provided on the same surface, the opposite surface, or both surfaces of the optical recording member. 9. The optical recording member is provided with I on the same surface or the opposite surface.
The optical card according to claim 1, wherein a C module is embedded. 10. The optical card according to claim 1, wherein an area other than the optical recording member is embossed.