JPH0999678A - Heat resistant card with magnetic stripe and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the step of a magnetic stripe by forming heat curable adhesive having thermoplastic resin having lower softening point than that of heat resistant plastic and heat curing agent, and forming the surface of the stripe of oversheet substantially smooth. SOLUTION: An IC card is obtained by laminating a transparent overcoat 2 made of heat resistant plastic transferred with a magnetic stripe 5 via a transparent adhesive layer 3 on a card core 4 made of heat resistant plastic. The transparent oversheet is similarly laminated on the rear surface side of the core 4 via the layer 3, and a print design is formed on the front surface of the core 4. If the core 4 is a single layer, it is formed of a core sheet made of heat resistant plastic. The layer 3 is formed of heat curable adhesive having thermoplastic resin having lower softening point than that of the heat resistant plastic and heat curing agent, and the front surface of the stripe is made substantially smooth.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plastic card such as an IC card, a cash card, a credit card, etc., which has a magnetic stripe and which can be used under relatively harsh environmental conditions and has a magnetic stripe.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a general plastic card is a transparent oversheet made of vinyl chloride resin in which a white vinyl chloride resin core sheet is used as a card core and desired printing is previously applied to the card core to form a magnetic stripe. Is laminated on the card core, the card core and the oversheet are laminated and adhered by fusion by a hot-pressing method, and the laminated sheet is punched into a predetermined size. For example, FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of an essential part of an example of an IC card with a magnetic stripe, in which a vinyl chloride resin in which the magnetic stripe 5 is transferred and formed on a core sheet 41 made of vinyl chloride resin as a card core. The above-described oversheet 21 is laminated and bonded by heat fusion with a hot flat press to form a card base material, and the IC module 6 is fixed and embedded therein with an adhesive 7. In the hot pressing, the core sheet 41 and the oversheet 21 are sufficiently softened and adhered to each other at the heat-sealing surface 8, and these sheets are sufficiently softened. Therefore, the magnetic stripe 5 is sufficiently contained in the card base material. As a result, a smooth surface having no step on the magnetic stripe surface is obtained.

[0003]

By the way, a plastic card having various information storage means such as a magnetic card and an IC card has appeared, and accordingly, the plastic card as a portable information storage medium has a wide range of applications. It is used for various purposes, and it is expected that the usage will expand further in the future. And there are applications that are subject to relatively harsh environmental conditions. For example, a system is being considered in which payment of tolls on toll roads is automatically made by communication and non-stop passing through toll gates is possible. As a plastic card as a portable information storage medium compatible with such a system, an IC card (contactless) capable of contactlessly communicating with a tollgate system is suitable. However, even if a conventional card using vinyl chloride resin has a high heat distortion temperature of about 80 ° C. even if it is high, the vinyl chloride resin is exposed to direct sunlight especially in the vehicle when used as an IC card for vehicle installation. When mounted on the windshield surface or on the dashboard or left unattended, it is exposed to a high temperature of 100 ° C or higher for a long time. As a result, the card base material contracts and deforms, and it does not satisfy the predetermined dimensional standard, and cannot be put to practical use.

In addition to in-vehicle use, there are applications requiring heat resistance. For example, an IC card for process control in a factory, an IC card for recording measurement data for work management at a construction site, and the like. In addition, heat resistance is required by providing a magnetic stripe on these IC cards including the non-contact type, or even a magnetic card having only a magnetic stripe, including cash cards and credit cards in which the magnetic stripe is essential. It is hoped that new applications will be expanded.

In order to obtain a plastic card suitable for applications requiring heat resistance as described above, it is conceivable to use a plastic having heat resistance higher than that of vinyl chloride resin. For example, when the heat distortion temperature is 100 ° C. or higher, polycarbonate, polyarylate, and polycarbonate and ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-) are used.
There are polymer alloys such as styrene copolymer), polycarbonate and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), or ABS and PET filled with glass fiber. And, among these materials, folding strength, impact strength, heat resistance, polycarbonate excellent in transparency,
It is a material with desirable properties for plastic cards that require heat resistance. However, when a card with a magnetic stripe is produced using a sheet made of heat-resistant plastic such as polycarbonate, when a hot flat press is performed at a lamination temperature of a conventional vinyl chloride resin sheet, for example, 150 ° C. In order to prevent the sheet from softening or deforming, the magnetic stripe formed in advance on the surface of the oversheet is not sufficiently embedded in the card substrate composed of the oversheet and the card core,
As shown in FIG. 5, a step h occurs in the magnetic stripe 5 portion. Also, if the hot flat press temperature is raised to a temperature (180 to 200 ° C.) at which the polycarbonate can be softened and fused,
Although it is possible to improve the level difference of the magnetic stripe, the existing device cannot be used as it is, and there is a problem in terms of quality such as discoloration of the ink of the pattern printed on the surface of the core sheet. In the state where there is a step due to the above magnetic stripe,
When writing or reading data with the encoder, read / write errors occur in the data, physical external force is applied, the magnetic stripe end surface is chipped, and wear is likely to occur due to continuous use. It has poor properties and cannot be put to practical use.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and provide a heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe in which the magnetic stripe has no steps even when a heat-resistant plastic such as polycarbonate is used.

[0007]

A heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe of the present invention is a plastic card in which an oversheet is laminated on both sides of a card core having a single-layer or multi-layer structure with an adhesive layer, A magnetic stripe is formed on the surface side of one of the oversheets, the card core and the oversheet are formed of a heat resistant plastic, and the adhesive layer is a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than that of the heat resistant plastic. It is formed of a thermosetting adhesive containing a resin and a thermosetting agent, and the surface of the magnetic stripe portion of the oversheet is substantially smooth.

In the heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe, a multi-layered card core comprises a core sheet made of two heat-resistant plastics, a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than that of the heat-resistant plastics, and thermosetting. It also has a structure in which an adhesive layer formed of a thermosetting adhesive having an agent is laminated. Further, in the heat resistant card with the magnetic stripe, the softening point of the thermoplastic resin is 110 to 150 ° C. In the heat resistant card with magnetic stripe, the thickness of the adhesive layer is 15 to 30 μm. Also,
In the above heat-resistant card with magnetic stripe, polycarbonate is used as the heat-resistant plastic. In the heat resistant card with magnetic stripe, the adhesive layer between the card core and the oversheet is transparent.

The method for producing a heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe of the present invention is a method for producing a plastic card in which an oversheet is laminated on both sides of a card core having a single-layer or multi-layer structure made of heat-resistant plastic with an adhesive. A heat-resistant plastic material is prepared for at least one of the two oversheets to which a magnetic stripe is transferred and a card core, and a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than that of the heat-resistant plastic and a heat-resistant plastic are used. It is laminated by a thermosetting adhesive having a curing agent.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of a heat resistant card with a magnetic stripe and a method of manufacturing the same according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an IC card 1 which is an example of a heat resistant card with a magnetic stripe of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view of a magnetic stripe portion and an IC module embedding portion taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. The IC card 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a transparent oversheet 2 made of heat-resistant plastic in which a magnetic stripe 5 is transferred and formed on a card core 4 made of heat-resistant plastic via a transparent adhesive layer 3. , Are stacked. Although not shown, a transparent oversheet made of heat-resistant plastic is also laminated on the back side of the card core 4 with the transparent adhesive layer 3 interposed therebetween, and a printed pattern is formed on the surface of the card core. There is. In the case of a single-layer structure, the card core 4 is composed of a core sheet made of heat-resistant plastic, and in the case of a multi-layer structure, two white core sheets made of heat-resistant plastic are interleaved with a white adhesive layer. Use those that are laminated. And each of the adhesive layers is
It is formed of a thermosetting adhesive having a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than that of each heat resistant plastic and a thermosetting agent.

The heat-resistant plastic used for the core sheet and oversheet in the present invention has, for example, a heat distortion temperature of 1
Polymeric alloys such as polycarbonate, polyarylate, polycarbonate and ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer), polycarbonate and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which are 00 ° C or higher, or glass fiber filled in ABS, PET, etc. The ones that have been made are listed. Among them, polycarbonate is one of the preferred materials because it is excellent in folding strength, impact strength, heat resistance and transparency. In the present invention, the core sheet and the oversheet may be made of different kinds of heat-resistant plastic, if necessary.

As the adhesive layer 3, a thermosetting adhesive having a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than that of the heat-resistant plastic used for the oversheet and the core sheet and a thermosetting agent is used. Examples of such thermoplastic resins include homopolymers or copolymers of polyester resins, epoxy resins, acrylic resins, vinyl acetate resins and the like. The softening point of the thermoplastic resin is 110 to 1
A range of 50 ° C. is preferred. If the temperature is lower than 110 ° C, the card may be left under relatively harsh conditions, and when some external force is applied, there is a risk that the adhesive surface may be displaced or peeled off. Within the hot flat press temperature condition range, the resin is not sufficiently softened and the curing reaction does not proceed, so that the adhesive force is not expressed, which is not preferable. As the thermosetting agent, an isocyanate compound, an epoxy resin, an amine compound such as polyamine, or a modified product thereof is properly used depending on the reactive group of the thermoplastic resin used. For example, a thermoplastic resin such as a polyester resin may be an epoxy resin thermosetting agent, a thermoplastic resin may be a copolyester resin, an isocyanate thermosetting agent, a thermoplastic resin epoxy resin may be an aromatic polyamine curing agent, and the like. .

As a form of application of the thermosetting adhesive using the specific thermoplastic resin and the thermosetting agent as described above, a solution obtained by dissolving them in a solvent or a film-shaped product is used. By using the thermosetting material of the thermosetting adhesive as the adhesive layer 3, the processing time is shortened, the initial adhesive strength is improved, and the adhesive strength at high temperature after completion of adhesion is excellent and peeling off. You get a difficult card. Incidentally, the meaning of the thermoplastic resin here is that the epoxy resin is also a thermosetting resin which is generally used together with a thermosetting agent as described above, but in the state where the thermosetting agent does not coexist ( Alternatively, it means a resin having thermoplasticity (in a state before being thermoset).

As the thickness of the adhesive layer 3, a peel adhesion strength (T-shaped peel) at room temperature of 4 kgf / cm or more can be secured, and there is an influence when embedding the IC module on the laminated card base material. The core sheet has a sufficient (total) thickness, and the shrinkage after thermosetting does not induce the deformation of the card and does not affect the surface condition, and it is sufficient to absorb the thickness of the magnetic stripe. 15-30 μm
Is preferred.

The core sheet is required to be white and opaque in order to ensure the concealing property which is a standard of the card, but the heat-resistant plastic used for the core sheet is sufficiently white and opaque. It is not necessary if it can be used, but if not, in the adhesive layer for laminating the core sheet in the card core having a multilayer structure, white and opaque adhesive with a pigment such as titanium oxide is used. By using it together with a core sheet made of an opaque plastic sheet, it becomes easy to secure the concealing property as a card core.

On the other hand, a transparent adhesive is used for the adhesive layer used for bonding the card core and the oversheet. When the printed pattern formed on the surface of the card core is viewed through the oversheet, it is preferable that the printed pattern has high transparency and does not affect the color tone of the printed pattern.

In order to manufacture a heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe having the structure shown in FIG. 2, heat-resistant plastic is used for the core sheets 4a and 4b and the oversheets 2a and 2b as shown in FIG. The magnetic stripe 5 is transferred and formed on one oversheet (2a in the drawing), and the core sheet and the oversheet are bonded with the above-mentioned specific thermosetting adhesive (3a, 3b,
3c) and the stainless mirror plates 49a and 4
It may be sandwiched by 9b, and hot-pressed by a hot-plate press using hot plates 48a and 48b to laminate and bond them. If the adhesive is in the form of a film, it is temporarily fixed to a sheet if necessary and then laminated and hot-pressed. The hot flat pressing conditions may be the same as the conventionally known production conditions for a plastic card with a magnetic stripe made of vinyl chloride resin. If the adhesive is liquid, for example, the core sheet on which a printed pattern has been formed is coated with the adhesive by a screen printing method or a known coating method, and the core sheet is overlapped with the oversheet and hot-pressed. . Alternatively, the coated surface may be the oversheet side. Thus, the coated surface is not particularly limited when the adhesive is a solution. Moreover, the coating order is not particularly limited.
In the case of an IC card as shown in the figure, the card base material 8 thus obtained is further cut into a recess for embedding the IC module, and then the IC module 6 is embedded in the recess. Fix with.

[0018]

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

Example In order to obtain an IC card with a magnetic stripe as shown in FIG. 2, a card base material was produced by a laminating process as shown in FIG. That is, first, two core sheets 4a and 4b made of a polycarbonate resin having a thickness of 0.31 mm, which were made white and opaque by adding titanium oxide, were prepared by printing the respective patterns. A thermosetting adhesive (3a, 3b) comprising a transparent adhesive sheet having a thickness of 30 μm, which contains a transparent saturated polyester resin having a melting point of 114 ° C. as a thermoplastic resin and an epoxy resin as a thermosetting agent component. , White and opaque similar adhesive (3
c), an oversheet 2a made of a transparent polycarbonate resin having a thickness of 50 μm, to which a magnetic stripe having a coercive force of 650 oersted is transferred, and an oversheet 2b similar to that shown in FIG. , Adhesive 3b, core sheet 4b, adhesive 3
c, core sheet 4a, adhesive 3a, oversheet 2a
Are stacked in this order, and these are sandwiched between two mirror-finished stainless steel flat plates, and the mixture is heated at 150 ° C. for 10 minutes by an electric heat press machine.
Each adhesive was thermally cured by applying a heat pressure of 100 kg / cm ² , laminated, cooled, and punched into a prescribed card size to obtain a card base material having a thickness of 0.80 mm. Further, the recess for embedding the IC module in the card base material is cut by an engraving machine, and the IC module 6 is thermocompression-bonded to the core sheet 4a via the sheet-shaped adhesive 7 to provide a magnetic stripe. An IC card was produced.

With respect to the IC card with a magnetic stripe thus produced, the surface irregularity of the magnetic stripe portion was measured by a stylus type shape measuring device in the direction perpendicular to the stripe, and as a result, there was a step as shown in FIG. It was confirmed that there was no smoothness. Further, when a cross-section sample in the vicinity of the magnetic stripe obtained by vertically cutting the card was prepared and observed with an optical microscope, as shown in FIG. 2, the surface adjacent to the card core of the oversheet in the portion where the magnetic stripe was transferred was It was submerged inside the adhesive layer 3. In addition, as a result of inspecting the magnetic characteristics, there was no problem in writing and reading with the encoder, and in the durability test, the magnetic stripe showed no defects such as abrasion and chipping even after 1000 consecutive reading and writing tests, and the magnetic output decreased. Was not recognized.

Further, as a heat resistance test, after the card was stored in a hot air circulation type oven at 120 ° C. for 1 hour, changes in external dimensions and thickness were measured and found to be 0.07% and 0.13%, respectively. The value was far smaller than that of a card made of vinyl chloride resin, and the card base material was not deformed such as warped or corrugated, and no peeling between layers of the card base material was observed. Furthermore, JIS X-630
According to the standard of No. 1, even when immersed in liquid paraffin heated to 150 ° C. for 5 minutes, no gap was formed between the layers of the card base material, and there was no problem in the laminating adhesiveness. Also,
As an adhesion test, the tensile strength was evaluated by a tensile tester at room temperature. In the peel test between the oversheet and the core sheet, it was confirmed that the oversheet was torn and had a sufficient adhesive force.

<Comparative Example> A card core made of polycarbonate is overlaid with an oversheet having a magnetic stripe (without an adhesive), and the temperature is 150 ° C. for 10 minutes.
When laminated by applying a heat pressure of 100 kg / cm ² , as shown in FIG. 4, the step h on the surface of the magnetic stripe 5 portion is h.
Was 15 μm, and when the above-mentioned durability test with an encoder was conducted in the same manner, chipping occurred on the tape end face, magnetic output was reduced, and jitter was disturbed.

[0023]

The heat resistant card with a magnetic stripe of the present invention is a card having excellent heat resistance and dimensional stability at high temperature due to the excellent heat resistance of the sheet material and the heat resistance of the adhesive layer formed by the thermosetting adhesive. In addition, it is possible to obtain a card that does not have a feeling of discomfort in appearance from a card made of a conventional vinyl chloride resin. Then, it can be used as an IC card for in-vehicle use under a relatively harsh environment of 100 ° C. or higher, for example. In particular, since heat-resistant plastic sheets are laminated with an adhesive layer made of a specific adhesive, the heat resistance is excellent, and since there is no step on the surface portion of the magnetic stripe, the reliability of magnetic data is also good.

Further, according to the method for producing a heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe of the present invention, even though a sheet which is hard to be softened / fused with a heat-resistant plastic such as polycarbonate is used as an oversheet or a card core, By laminating a stripe-formed oversheet and a card core with each other, by using a thermosetting adhesive having a thermoplastic resin having a specific softening point and a thermosetting agent at a specific thickness, the Since the steps of the magnetic stripe on the sheet surface are absorbed by the adhesive layer, the magnetic stripe portion on the card surface can be made smooth as before, and special equipment for laminating the overseat and card core. A card with the same lamination equipment and manufacturing conditions that are used for the manufacture of ordinary plastic cards made of vinyl chloride resin, which does not require It can manufacture, moreover excellent heat resistance,
A plastic card with magnetic data reliability can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an IC card which is an embodiment of a heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the IC card of FIG. 1 taken along the line AA.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe of the present invention (laminating step).

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a step generated in a magnetic stripe portion when a heat resistant plastic sheet is used in a conventional manufacturing method.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional IC card with a magnetic stripe using a vinyl chloride resin sheet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Heat-resistant card with magnetic stripe, IC card 2 Transparent oversheet (heat-resistant plastic) 3 Adhesive layer 4 White card core (heat-resistant plastic) 5 Magnetic stripe 6 IC module 7 Adhesive 8 Heat-sealed surface 9 Card base Material 21 Transparent oversheet (vinyl chloride resin) 41 White card core (vinyl chloride resin) 48a, 48b Heat plate 49a, 49b Stainless specular plate h Magnetic stripe step

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A plastic card in which an oversheet is laminated on both sides of a card core having a single-layer or multi-layer structure with an adhesive layer interposed therebetween, and a magnetic stripe is formed on the surface side of at least one of the oversheets. The card core and the oversheet are made of heat-resistant plastic, and the adhesive layer has a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than that of the heat-resistant plastic and a thermosetting adhesive having a thermosetting agent. A heat resistant card with a magnetic stripe, characterized in that the surface of the magnetic stripe portion of the oversheet is substantially smooth. 2. A thermosetting adhesive having a multi-layered card core, a core sheet made of two heat-resistant plastics, a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than that of the heat-resistant plastics, and a thermosetting agent. The heat resistant card with a magnetic stripe according to claim 1, wherein the heat resistant card is laminated by interposing an adhesive layer formed of the agent. 3. The softening point of the thermoplastic resin is 110-1.
The heat resistant card with a magnetic stripe according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the temperature is 50 ° C. 4. The heat resistant card with a magnetic stripe according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer has a thickness of 15 to 30 μm. 5. The heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe according to claim 1, wherein the heat-resistant plastic is polycarbonate. 6. The heat resistant card with a magnetic stripe according to claim 1, wherein the adhesive layer between the card core and the oversheet is transparent. 7. A method of manufacturing a plastic card, in which an oversheet is laminated on both sides of a card core having a single-layer or multi-layer structure made of heat-resistant plastic with an adhesive, and a magnetic stripe is transferred onto at least one sheet. Was done 2
A material comprising a heat-resistant plastic is prepared for one oversheet and a card core, and laminated by a thermosetting adhesive having a thermoplastic resin having a softening point lower than that of the heat-resistant plastic and a thermosetting agent. And a method for manufacturing a heat-resistant card with a magnetic stripe.