JPH09118078A - Processing method for card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance the reliability of the steps of reading and rewriting a magnetic recording part by sequentially processing the erasing of a display part, reading of a record, rewriting of a recorded part and writing of the display part in the case of processing a card having the magnetic recording part, and a rewritable display part using a reversible thermal recording material. SOLUTION: A card having a magnetic recording part and a rewritable display part using reversible thermal recording material is conducted by four processing steps of reading (a) of a record, rewriting (b) of a recorded part, erasing (c) of the display part and writing (d) of the display part, and processed by the order of the steps of (a) to (c) to (b) to (d), (a) to (c) to (d) to (b), (c) to (a) to (b) to (d) or (c) to (a) to (d) to (b). If a magnetic head is passed through the card surface before the resin is softened, the softened resin is relatively easily deformed, the thickness of the resin layer of the surface is instantaneously reduced to shorten the distance between the head and the magnetic recording layer, and hence the processing speed of the card is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card processing method, and more particularly to a so-called "card" having a magnetic recording unit in many things such as prepaid cards and credit cards.
The present invention relates to a card processing method that enables rewritable display repeatedly by providing a reversible heat-sensitive recording display unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wide variety of "cards" such as prepaid cards and credit cards have appeared on the market, and have permeated society in many fields. Most of the rewritable display parts of these cards rely on the use of magnetic recording. These cards did not have a function of displaying the balance etc. at the beginning of their appearance, but recently, cards having a write-once type display section using a thermal recording material have been developed. . Nowadays, it is further desired to introduce cards having a rewritable display unit.

By the way, a display method using a reversible thermosensitive recording material is known as the most effective means for rewriting the display section. As the reversible heat-sensitive recording material, one having a heat-sensitive layer in which an organic low molecular weight substance such as higher alcohol and higher fatty acid is dispersed in a resin such as polyester on a support is disclosed in JP-A-55-154198. JP-A-62-108087 discloses a heat-sensitive layer (recording layer) in which two or more kinds of polymers having different ratios are mixed. Recording by this type of reversible thermosensitive recording material, that is, image formation and erasing is based on the change in transparency depending on the temperature of the thermosensitive layer, and an image formed by a thermal head or a hot stamp as in the conventional irreversible thermosensitive recording material. It can be formed, and in addition, it can be erased.

Therefore, "cards" (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "card") in which the above-mentioned magnetic recording material and reversible thermosensitive recording material are used in combination have been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 1). -181766). When a card in which the reversible thermosensitive recording material is used for the display unit and the magnetic recording material is used for the recording unit, (a) reading of the recording (b) rewriting of the recording unit (c) erasing of the display unit ( d) There are four processing means of writing to the display unit. In a card processing device having a magnetic recording unit and a write-once display unit, which are generally used for automatic ticket gates, the steps (a) and (b)
The writing process (d) to the display unit is performed after the magnetic reading and writing process (the process (a) is added again for verification in some cases), and the card having the rewritable display unit is used. Regarding the processing apparatus, the idea is to simply add the step (c) before the step (d) (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-10394). That is, (a)
The process sequence of → (b) → (c) → (d) was considered.

However, in general, the thermal recording method is
Compared to other recording methods such as magnetic recording, (i) writing takes longer, (ii) erasing takes even longer for reversible heat-sensitive recording material, (iii) therefore naturally required for the entire card processing device. There is an inconvenience that it takes longer time. It is natural that the shorter the required time is, the better for the card user. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to use the card for an application requiring a high processing speed such as an automatic ticket gate of a railway. Recently, in order to effectively use the entire surface of the card, many cards have recently been overlaid with a printing or heat-sensitive display layer on the magnetic recording layer. However, in such a card, the magnetic recording layer and the magnetic head are combined. Since the distance between them increases, there arises a problem that the reliability in the reading / rewriting process of the magnetic recording portion is reduced.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides reading and writing (rewriting) to a card having a magnetic recording portion (rewritable invisible information recording portion) and a rewritable display portion using a reversible thermosensitive recording material. ), Erasing can be performed in a short time, and a card processing method is provided which has improved reliability particularly in the reading / rewriting process of the magnetic recording portion.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a card having a magnetic recording portion and a rewritable display portion using a reversible thermosensitive recording material is provided with (a) record reading and (b) recording portion rewriting. , (C) erasing the display section, and (d) writing into the display section, in a card processing method, the step (b) is performed after the step (a) and the step (c) are performed. And step (d) are performed. Specifically, (a) → (c) → (b) → (d)
Or (a) → (c) → (d) → (b), or (c) → (a) → (b) → (d), or (c) →
The process is performed in the order of (a) → (d) → (b). Further, among the above four kinds of orders, the step (a) or the step (b) is performed immediately after the step (c), that is, (c) → (a) →
(B)-> (d) or (c)->(a)->(d)->
It is characterized in that the processing is performed in the order of the steps in (b).

As a result of careful consideration for solving the above-mentioned problems, the inventors have confirmed that this can be done by devising the order of the card processing means (processing process) as described above.
The present invention has been accomplished.

[0009]

The method of the present invention will be described in more detail below.

First, there is a method of preventing a decrease in reliability in the reading and writing processes of the magnetic recording portion. This is because the recording portion is made of a magnetic recording material (similarly in other processing means) and heat sensitive. This can be solved by executing the reading or writing process of the magnetic recording unit immediately after the erasing process of the display unit. When the card is heated during the erasing process of the heat-sensitive display portion, the heat momentarily softens the resin on the surface of the card, increasing elasticity and plasticity. If the magnetic head passes over the card surface while the resin is softening, the softened resin on the card surface is relatively easily deformed by the pressure of the magnetic head, and the thickness of the resin layer on the surface is thin, although only slightly. Therefore, the distance between the head and the magnetic recording layer becomes shorter. As a result, the reliability of the reading process of the magnetic recording section is improved as compared with the case where the temperature of the card surface is low. Then, considering the order of the steps in which the reading step of the magnetic recording can be executed immediately after the erasing step of the heat-sensitive display portion in this way, (c), (a), (b), (d) or (c) ),
(A), (d), and (b).

Next, a method of improving the card processing speed is realized by performing step (c) in the processing steps and other procedures (described later) in parallel in the card processing device. it can. Rewriting of magnetic information (step (b)) and writing to the display section (step (d)) in the processing step of the card require information obtained by reading magnetic information (step (a)). Therefore, between the step (a) and the steps (b) and (d), more or less time is required to process the information read in the step (a).
The time for this information processing varies depending on the field of use of the card, and ranges from the order of microseconds for displaying the read information as it is to the order of several seconds or tens of seconds for inquiring personal information to the host computer. If this information processing time is long, it is a wasteful time for the mechanical section of the card processing device to do nothing. On the other hand, the erasing of the display portion (step (c)) can be performed in any order (before the writing of the display portion) and at any timing regardless of the read information. Therefore,
In the field of use of a card having a long information processing time, by performing the process (c) between the process (a) and the processes (b) and (d), the information processing and the process (c) are performed in parallel. The processing time can be minimized. That is, (a) → (c) → (b) → (d) or (a) →
The order of (c) → (d) → (b) is good.

On the other hand, it is meaningless to perform the process (c) and the information processing in parallel in the field of use of the card where the information processing time is short. In this case, it is preferable to perform the step (c) in parallel during the loss time generated when the card is transferred between the person and the card processing device. When the card user inserts the card into the device, it takes some time for the card user to recognize that the card has been inserted. By performing the step (c) in parallel with this time, the card processing time can be shortened. That is, here also (c) → (a) → (b) →
The order of (d) or (c) → (a) → (d) → (b) is good. In particular, it is effective that at least a part of the card is kept out of the apparatus during the step (c) because the owner of the card can be easily distinguished.
For the same reason, in the order of (c) → (a) → (b) → (d), it is advisable to remove a part of the card during the process (d). In any case, the processing speed of the card can be improved by changing the step (c) before the order in the known example (after the step (b)).
That is, as described above, it is preferable to perform the steps (b) and (d) after the steps (a) and (c) are finished.

As described above, in the card processing device, the card is removed from the user's hand and returned to the original state (a) (b).
There are four strokes, (c) and (d). Although there are some rules regarding the order, such as "the reading process of the record comes before the rewriting process of the recording section", there are many possible combinations of the orders. Of these many combinations, the one that minimizes the time required for the card to enter the machine is the one that takes into consideration the prevention of deterioration in the reliability of the reading process of the magnetic recording unit. It means that the combination is defined by the invention. In some cases, a rewriting process of confirming the rewriting contents (rewriting confirmation process) is also performed after the rewriting process of the recording unit, but in the present invention, this is also included in the rewriting process. Further, in the case of a card having a rewritable display unit as well as a write-once display unit, it is desirable that the writing process is performed at the same time as, immediately before, or immediately after the process (d).

An apparatus for implementing the present invention is such that (a) reading of a record, (b) rewriting of a recording section, (c) erasing of a display section, and ( d) A device capable of performing four processing steps of writing on the display unit, and the arrangement of the respective processing means is not particularly specified in the present invention. Such devices can be roughly classified into two types. One is a type in which a card is inserted into the device from one opening and the card is sent out from the other opening, which is mainly used for gates of automatic ticket gates. The other is a type that inserts and sends out a card with the same mouth, and is mainly used for vending machines. The former has a high degree of freedom in arranging the processing means and can easily increase the speed, but has a disadvantage that the device tends to be large. Although the latter can be downsized, it is difficult to increase the speed and the arrangement of processing means is small. In the embodiments, the former device is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this.

In the card according to the present invention, a recording layer made of a magnetic recording material is provided on a support, and a light reflecting layer or a coloring layer is provided thereon or on the opposite surface of the support, and a reversible thermosensitive recording material is provided thereon. And a protective layer is preferably provided on the display layer (display section). In a card having no display layer on the magnetic recording layer, a silver hiding layer or a printing layer is provided on the recording layer. In addition, a display portion made of an irreversible heat-sensitive recording material may be partially provided on the card. Further, according to the gist of the present invention, the magnetic recording portion can be applied as it is as a recording portion using another recording method. For example, it can be applied to a recording section of an IC card or a laser card as well as a barcode, a Carla code, an OCR, and the like.

The reversible thermosensitive recording material in the present invention means
It is a material that reversibly causes visible changes due to temperature changes. The visible change can be divided into a change in color tone and a change in shape, but in the present invention, a material that causes a change in color tone is mainly used. Changes in color tone include changes in transmittance, reflectance, absorption wavelength, scattering degree, and the like, and in actual reversible thermosensitive recording materials, a combination of these changes is displayed. More specifically, at present, it can be classified into the following two types of systems (a) and (b). (A) A material in which the transparent state and the cloudy state reversibly change. (B) A material whose color such as dye changes reversibly.

As a typical example of (a), as described in the prior art, a resin base material such as polyester provided with a heat sensitive layer in which an organic low molecular weight substance such as higher alcohol or higher fatty acid is dispersed is provided. Typical examples of (B) include those having enhanced reversibility of conventional leuco thermal recording materials (for example, described in JP-A-1-88293 and JP-A-1-88294). . It is particularly effective to use the card of (a) in the method of the present invention.

As a method of writing on such a reversible heat-sensitive recording material (heat-sensitive display portion), the same method as the conventional irreversible heat-sensitive recording material can be used. Specifically (1)
An electrically heated writing element such as a thermal head or a hot stamp is brought into contact with the reversible thermosensitive recording material,
(2) A strong light such as a laser beam is applied to the heat-sensitive recording material to heat it, (3) A strong light is applied to the original, and the original having a high temperature in the dark part is supported or protected by the reversible thermosensitive recording material. There are writing methods such as contacting a layer to transfer heat.

A reversible thermosensitive recording material (heat sensitive display portion)
As for the erasing method, erasing with a thermal head or a hot stamp is possible as in writing. This method is excellent in that it is possible to erase only an arbitrary area in the heat-sensitive display section. Among them, the erasing by the thermal head is particularly excellent because it is possible to combine writing and erasing with one thermal head. If the entire display surface is erased, there is also a method of erasing by heating with a large-area constant temperature heating element such as a heat roller or a hot plate. This method is extremely excellent in that erasing can be performed at high speed. Other erasing methods include heating with electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays and heating with a constant temperature fluid such as warm air. These erase methods are
This is especially effective when the displays of multiple cards are erased at the same time.

However, in the present invention, uniform heating is required in the erasing process of the heat-sensitive display portion, so that a large area heating device such as a heat roller or a hot plate is most suitable. When erasing with a thermal head, do not erase only at arbitrary places, but set so that the entire surface is erased at least in the place where it overlaps with the magnetic recording part.
In addition, it is necessary to devise the pulse application method so that heating is not performed in dot units. Otherwise, the magnetic layer will be uneven, and the reliability of magnetic reading and writing will be reduced.

Further, in the reversible thermosensitive recording material of the present invention, "a material composed of a resin base material and an organic low molecular weight substance dispersed in the resin base material, which reversibly changes the state of transparency and cloudiness by heating. The difference between the transparent state and the cloudy and opaque state seen in "is presumed as follows.

That is, in the case of (I) transparent, the particles of the organic low molecular weight substance dispersed in the resin base material are composed of large particles of the organic low molecular weight substance, and the light incident from one side is scattered. It appears to be transparent because it penetrates to the opposite side without any effect.In addition, in the case of (II) white turbidity, the particles of the organic low molecular weight substance are composed of polycrystals of fine crystals of the organic low molecular weight substance. Since the crystal axes of are oriented in various directions, the light incident from one side is repeatedly refracted and scattered at the interface of the crystals of the organic low molecular weight substance particles, and appears white.
And so on.

In FIG. 1 (which shows the change in transparency due to heat), the resin base material and the heat-sensitive layer mainly composed of the organic low molecular weight substance dispersed in the resin base material are, for example, at room temperature of T ₀ or lower. Then it is cloudy and opaque. When it is heated to a temperature T ₂ , it becomes transparent, and even if it is returned to room temperature below T _{0 in} this state, it remains transparent. It is considered that this is because the organic low-molecular-weight substance undergoes a semi-molten state from the temperature T ₂ to T ₀ or lower and the crystal grows from a polycrystal to a single crystal. Upon further heating to T ₃ or more temperature becomes translucent state intermediate between the maximum transparency and the maximum opacity. Next, when the temperature is lowered, the state returns to the original cloudy and opaque state without taking the transparent state again. This after low-molecular organic material is melted at a temperature T ₃ or more,
It is considered that polycrystals are precipitated by cooling. It should be noted that when this opaque state is heated to a temperature between T _{1 and} T ₂ and then cooled to room temperature, that is, a temperature of T ₀ or lower, an intermediate state between transparent and opaque can be obtained.
In addition, even if the material becomes transparent at room temperature, it is returned to the cloudy opaque state again when heated to a temperature of T ₃ or higher and then returned to room temperature.
That is, both opaque and transparent forms at room temperature and intermediate states thereof can be taken. Therefore, the heat-sensitive display layer can be selectively heated by selectively applying heat to form a cloudy image on a transparent background or a transparent image on a cloudy background, and the change can be repeated many times. is there.

To form a display layer of the reversible thermosensitive recording material according to the present invention, generally, (1) a solution in which two components of a resin base material and an organic low molecular weight substance are dissolved, or (2) a solution of the resin base material
(A solvent that does not dissolve at least one of the organic low molecular weight substances is used) to prepare a dispersion liquid in which the organic low molecular weight substance is dispersed in the form of fine particles, and this is directly or desirably on the magnetic recording layer, for example. The heat sensitive layer may be formed by coating and drying on the light reflecting layer.

The solvent for forming the heat-sensitive layer or for preparing the heat-sensitive recording material can be variously selected depending on the type of the resin base material and the organic low molecular weight substance, and examples thereof include tetrahydrofuran, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, ethanol, Examples include toluene and benzene. In addition, not only when a dispersion is used, but also when a solution is used, in a heat-sensitive layer obtained, organic low-molecular substances are precipitated as fine particles and exist in a dispersed state.

The resin base material used for the heat-sensitive layer (display portion) is a material that forms a layer in which an organic low molecular weight substance is uniformly dispersed and held, and has an effect on the transparency at maximum transparency. For this reason, the resin base material is preferably a resin having good transparency, mechanical stability, and good film formability.

Examples of such a resin include polyvinyl chloride; vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-vinyl alcohol copolymer, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate-maleic acid copolymer, vinyl chloride- Vinyl chloride-based copolymers such as acrylate copolymers; polyvinylidene chloride, vinylidene chloride-vinyl chloride copolymers, vinylidene chloride-based copolymers such as vinylidene chloride-acrylonitrile copolymers; polyesters; polyamides; polyacrylates or polyacrylates Methacrylate or acrylate-methacrylate copolymer; silicone resin and the like can be mentioned. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

On the other hand, the organic low molecular weight substance may be any substance that changes from polycrystal to single crystal due to heat in the recording layer, and generally has a melting point of 30 to 200 ° C., preferably 50 to 150 ° C. . Such organic low molecular weight substances include alkanol; alkane diol; halogen alkanol or halogen alkane diol; alkylamine; alkane; alkene; alkyne; halogen alkane; halogen alkene; halogen alkyne; cycloalkane; cycloalkene; cycloalkyne; Unsaturated mono- or dicarboxylic acids or their esters, amides or ammonium salts; saturated or unsaturated halogen fatty acids or their esters, amides or ammonium salts; allylcarboxylic acids or their esters, amides or ammonium salts; Esters, amides or ammonium salts thereof; thioalcohols; thiocarboxylic acids or their esters, amines or ammonium salts; Carboxylic acid esters, and the like. These may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The carbon number of these compounds is 10 to 60, preferably 10 to 38, particularly preferably 10 to 30. The alcohol group in the ester may be saturated or unsaturated, and may be halogen-substituted. In any case, the organic low molecular weight substance is at least one of oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur and halogen in the molecule, for example, -OH, -COOH, -CONH-, -COO.
_{R, -NH -, - NH 2} , -S -, - SS -, - O-, is preferably a compound containing a halogen and the like.

More specifically, these compounds include lauric acid, dodecanoic acid, myristic acid, pentadecanoic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, behenic acid, nonadecanoic acid, alginic acid, oleic acid and other higher fatty acids; methyl stearate. Ester of higher fatty acid such as tetradecyl stearate, octadecyl stearate, octadecyl laurate, tetradecyl palmitate and dodecyl behenate; C ₁₆ H ₃₃ -O-C ₁₆ H ₃₃ , C ₁₆ H ₃₃ -S-.
_{C 16 H 33, C 18 H} 37 -S-C 18 H 37, C 12 H 25 -
_{S-C 12 H 25, C} 19 H 39 -S-C 19 H 39, C 12 H
_{25 -S-S-C 12 H} 25, And ether or thioether. Among them, in the present invention, higher fatty acids, especially palmitic acid, stearic acid,
Higher fatty acids having 16 or more carbon atoms such as behenic acid and lignoceric acid are preferable, and higher fatty acids having 16 to 24 carbon atoms are more preferable.

In order to widen the range of temperatures at which the material can be made transparent, the organic low molecular weight substances described in this specification may be appropriately combined, or such organic low molecular weight substances may be combined with other materials having different melting points. . These are, for example, JP-A-63-3
9378, JP 63-130380 and other publications, and Japanese Patent Application 63-14
Although disclosed in the specifications such as Japanese Patent Application No. 754 and Japanese Patent Application No. 1-140109, the invention is not limited to these. The weight ratio of the organic low molecular weight substance to the resin base material in the heat sensitive layer is preferably about 2: 1 to 1:16, more preferably about 1: 1 to 1: 3. When the ratio of the resin base material is less than this, it becomes difficult to form a film in which the organic low-molecular substance is held in the resin base material, and when the ratio is higher, the amount of the organic low-molecular substance is small, so that the opacity is increased. Becomes difficult.

In addition to the above components, additives such as a surfactant and a high boiling point solvent may be added to the heat-sensitive layer in order to facilitate the formation of a transparent image. Specific examples of these additives are as follows.

Examples of high boiling point solvents: tributyl phosphate, tri-2-ethylhexyl phosphate, triphenyl phosphate, tricresyl phosphate, butyl oleate, dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, diheptyl phthalate, Di-n-octyl phthalate, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, diisononyl phthalate, dioctyldecyl phthalate, diisodecyl phthalate, butylbenzyl phthalate, dibutyl adipate, di-n-hexyl adipate, di-adipate 2-ethylhexyl, azelaic acid di-
2-ethylhexyl, dibutyl sebacate, di sebacate
-2-ethylhexyl, diethylene glycol dibenzoate, triethylene glycol di-2-ethylbutyrate, methyl acetylricinoleate, butyl acetylricinoleate, butylphthalylbutyl glycolate, tributyl acetylcitrate.

Examples of surfactants and other additives; polyhydric alcohol higher fatty acid ester; polyhydric alcohol higher alkyl ether; polyhydric alcohol higher fatty acid ester, higher alcohol, higher alkylphenol, higher fatty acid higher alkylamine, higher fatty acid amide , Lower olefin oxide adduct of fats and oils or polypropylene glycol; acetylene glycol; Na, Ca, Ba or Mg salt of higher alkylbenzene sulfonic acid; higher fatty acid, aromatic carboxylic acid, higher fatty acid sulfonic acid, aromatic sulfonic acid, sulfuric acid monoester Or phosphoric acid mono- or di-ester Ca,
Ba or Mg salt; low-sulfated oil; poly long-chain alkyl acrylate; acrylic oligomer; poly long-chain alkyl methacrylate; long-chain alkyl methacrylate-amine-containing monomer copolymer; styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer;
Olefin-maleic anhydride copolymer.

When the image of this heat-sensitive recording material is used as a reflection image, if a layer for reflecting light (light reflecting layer) is provided on the back surface of the recording layer, the contrast is improved even if the recording layer is thin. Can be raised. Specifically, Al, N
Examples thereof include vapor deposition of i, Sn and the like (described in JP-A-64-14079).

A protective layer may be provided on the heat-sensitive layer (reversible heat-sensitive recording layer) to protect the heat-sensitive layer. As a material for the protective layer (thickness of 0.1 to 5 μm) to be laminated on the heat-sensitive layer, silicone rubber or silicone resin (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
3-221087), polysiloxane graft polymer (described in Japanese Patent Application No. 62-152550), UV curable resin or electron beam curable resin (described in Japanese Patent Application No. 63-310600), etc. . In any case, a solvent is used at the time of coating, and it is preferable that the solvent does not easily dissolve the resin of the thermosensitive layer and the organic low-molecular substance. Examples of the solvent that hardly dissolves the resin and the organic low molecular weight substance in the heat-sensitive layer include n-hexane, methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, and the like, and the alcohol solvent is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of cost.

Furthermore, an intermediate layer can be provided between the protective layer and the heat-sensitive layer in order to protect the heat-sensitive layer from the solvent and monomer components of the protective layer-forming liquid (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-133781). Description). As the material of the intermediate layer, in addition to the materials listed as the resin base material in the heat-sensitive layer, the following thermosetting resin,
Thermoplastic resins can be used. That is, polyethylene,
Examples thereof include polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl butyral, polyurethane, saturated polyester, unsaturated polyester, epoxy resin, phenol resin, polycarbonate and polyamide. The thickness of the intermediate layer is preferably about 0.1 to 2 μm.

[0037]

Next, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. Parts here are by weight.

Example 1 A card provided with a magnetic recording part and a rewritable display part using a reversible thermosensitive recording material was prepared and tested by a self-made card processing machine (testing machine).

1. Preparation of card On white PET having a thickness of about 188 μm, 10 parts of γ-Fe ₂ O ₃ vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate / vinyl alcohol copolymer 10 parts (UCGH VAGH) isocyanate 2 parts (Japan Polyurethane) Coronate L, 50 wt% toluene solution manufactured by Mfg. Co., Ltd.) Methyl ethyl ketone 40 parts Toluene 40 parts is applied with a wire bar and dried by heating to about 1
A magnetic recording layer having a thickness of 0 μm was provided. Aluminum was vacuum-deposited on the magnetic recording layer so as to have a thickness of about 400 Å to form a light reflecting layer. Then, on the light reflecting layer, behenic acid 70 parts, eicosane diacid 30 parts, diisodecyl phthalate 2 parts, vinyl chloride / vinyl acetate / phosphate ester copolymer 25 parts (Denka vinyl # 1000P manufactured by Denki Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd.) THF 150 parts A liquid consisting of 15 parts of toluene was applied and dried by heating to provide a display part made of a reversible thermosensitive recording material having a thickness of about 5 μm. This was molded into a card.

2. Card processing test A card processing test apparatus as shown in FIG. 2 was assembled, and a test was conducted using the created card. In the figure, 11 is a heat roller for erasing the display unit, 12 is a thermal head for writing the display unit, 21 is a magnetic reading head, 22 is a magnetic rewriting head, and 31, 32, 33 and 34.
Is a roller, 41 is a conveyor belt, 51 is a card carry-in guide plate, and 61 is a card carry-out guide plate. First, writing on the display unit by the thermal head 12 and the heat roller 1
The erasure by 1 was tried and the shortest time required for it was obtained.
Writing could be done with the pulse width as short as possible,
When the pulse width was shorter than 1 ms, minute holes were opened on the surface of the card, so the pulse width was determined to be 1 ms and the line period was 2 ms. Since the number of lines was 160, the required time was about 0.3 seconds. When the feeding speed of the heat roller 11 exceeds 150 mm / s, erasing unevenness occurs, so 1
It was fixed at 20 mm / s. Since the length of the card was 85 mm and 60 mm of that was erased, the time required was about 0.5 seconds. The speed of magnetic reading and rewriting was adjusted so that the required time could be measured, and the required time was set to 0.1 seconds. Next, only the erasing heat roller 11 of the thermal recording unit, the reading magnetic head 21 and the magnetic rewriting head 22 of the magnetic recording unit were prepared, and a magnetic recording reading test was conducted. The heat roller 1 is placed just before the magnetic head 21.
When 1 was installed and the card was heated by the heat roller 11, the reading error rate was 0.1%, and the reliability was improved compared to the error rate of 2% without heating. Further, the same experiment was conducted by rewriting the magnetic recording portion, and the reading error rate was reduced from 2% to 0.3% by heating for erasing.
Furthermore, all rollers and heads (11, 12, 21, 2)
2) was prepared and an experiment was conducted to measure the processing speed of the entire card processing machine. It should be noted that in this processing machine, the tip of the card is devised so that one of the rollers or the head is contacted. At this time, the order of the card processing steps is as follows: the erasing step of the thermosensitive display section, then the reading step of magnetic recording, the rewriting step of the magnetic recording section, and finally the writing step to the thermosensitive display section (c → It was made to progress to a → b → d). The time required for each processing step was about 0.1 seconds for the steps (a) and (b), about 0.5 seconds for the step (c), and about 0.3 seconds for the step (d). In addition, about 0.1 seconds was required for each feeding during the processing process. Furthermore, a time of about 0.5 seconds is set as information processing time between the step (a) and the steps (b) and (d). The above required time was common to all the following Examples and Comparative Examples. Further, the erasing thermal head and the writing thermal head of the display section were arranged at the ends of the device so that the card could be seen out of the device during the course of each process. The total time of all the strokes (the elapsed time of the strokes) was about 1.7 seconds. Although the total travel time of this example (Example 1) and the following Example 2 was exactly the same, in Example 1,
The time the card was hidden in the machine was only during the read / write process of the magnetic recording unit, and could be reduced to about 0.9 seconds. In Example 2 described later, the time was similarly shortened, but about 1.2 seconds was the time for hiding in the machine.

Example 2 By changing the arrangement of heat rollers and the like in the card processing test apparatus shown in FIG. 2, the order of the card processing steps is as follows: first, the erasing step of the heat-sensitive display section, and then the magnetic recording reading step.
Then, the test was conducted so that the writing process to the thermosensitive display part and finally the rewriting process of the magnetic recording part (c → a → d → b) were performed. However, a cooling device was provided immediately after the writing process of the thermosensitive display unit in order to prevent the writing process of the magnetic recording unit from being affected by uneven heating due to the writing of the thermosensitive display unit.

Embodiment 3 The order of the steps of the card processing is as follows: the reading step of magnetic recording, the erasing step of the thermosensitive display section, the rewriting step of the magnetic recording section, and finally the writing step to the thermosensitive display section. (A
The test was conducted in exactly the same manner as in Example 1 except that the process was proceeded to → c → b → d). The total time of the whole process was shortened to about 1.2 seconds by the overlap of information processing and process (c), and the time the card was hidden in the machine was about 0.9 seconds. It was

Embodiment 4 The order of the card processing steps is as follows: first, a magnetic recording reading step, then a heat sensitive display section erasing step, then a heat sensitive display section writing step, and finally a magnetic recording section writing step. The test was conducted in exactly the same manner as in Example 1 except that the process was carried out in the order (a → c → d → b). The total time of the entire process was about 1.2 seconds as in Example 3, and the time the card was hidden in the machine was 1.2 seconds.

Comparative Example 1 The order of the steps of the card processing is as follows: the reading step of magnetic recording, the rewriting step of the magnetic recording section, the erasing step of the thermosensitive display section, and finally the writing step to the thermosensitive display section. (A
The test was performed in exactly the same manner as in Example 1 except that the process was proceeded to → b → c → d). As a result, the total time of the entire process was about 1.7 seconds, and the time the card was hidden in the machine was about 1.7 seconds.

[0045]

As is apparent from the description of the embodiments, according to the method of the present invention, the processing speed of a card having a magnetic recording layer as a recording portion and a rewritable display portion made of a reversible thermosensitive recording material is provided. It becomes possible to improve.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a change in transparency of a reversible thermosensitive recording material due to heat.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an example of an apparatus useful in practicing the method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Display Section Erasing Heat Roller 12 Display Section Writing Thermal Head 21 Magnetic Reading Head 22 Magnetic Rewriting Head 31, 32, 33, 34 Roller 41 Conveyor Belt 51 Card Carry-in Guide Board 61 Card Carry-out Guide Board

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Makoto Kawaguchi 1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock company Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Yukio Konagaya 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Shares In Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Nogichi Dori 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh (72) Inventor Nobuo Yamada 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock Company Ricoh

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A card having a magnetic recording section and a rewritable display section using a reversible thermosensitive recording material, wherein (a) reading of recording, (b) rewriting of recording section, and (c) erasing of display section. , And (d) writing to the display unit, in a card processing method, the process is performed in the order of process (c), process (a), process (b), and process (d). Characterized card processing method. 2. A card having a magnetic recording section and a rewritable display section using a reversible thermosensitive recording material, wherein (a) reading of the recording, (b) rewriting of the recording section, and (c) erasing of the display section. , And (d) writing to the display unit, in a card processing method, the processes are performed in the order of process (c), process (a), process (d), and process (b). Characterized card processing method. 3. The reversible recording material is a material composed of a resin base material and an organic low-molecular substance dispersed in the resin base material, and reversibly changing the state of transparency and cloudiness by heating. The card processing method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that.