MXPA99010693A - Injection-moulded card with decorative layer - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing injection-moulded cards with at least one decorative layer (2, 6), said decorative layer being applied to a film (1, 7) or an inlet before injection moulding takes place. According to the invention, the decorative layer (2, 6) is covered with a protective layer (3, 5) before the film or inlet with the decorative layer (1, 7) is inserted into the injection mould, in order to protect the colours used for decoration from the effects of heat and/or excessive pressures and/or high mechanical strains during the injection moulding process.

Description

MOLDED CARD BY INJECTION, DECORATIVE LAYER DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a method for producing an injection-molded card with a decorative layer, in particular a credit card, a verification card, a bank card, ID card, telephone card and the like, in accordance with the preamble of claim 1, and with, an injection molded card produced by such a method. Many methods are known for providing an injection molded card with a decorative layer. An especially simple method is to apply the decorative layer by printing technology to a card preform produced by injection molding. However, a disadvantage of this procedure is that the cards alone are printed, which is relatively elaborate and expensive. In addition, it is very difficult to produce a high quality, i.e., for example a high brightness, on the surface of the card with this technique. A further disadvantage is that the decorative layer is applied as the outermost layer and therefore relatively easy to damage. This can be avoided, for example, by covering the card with a transparent can, but returns to the even more expensive method.

The method known from EP 0 350 179 Bl largely eliminates the disadvantages established, according to this method, the decorative layer is applied to the body of the card in the form of printed labels. In this method, the card can be provided with a decorative layer on both sides by inserting two labels in a mold so that the labels are against the inner sides of the mold, the printed sides of the labels are oriented inwards. Subsequently, a reaction-moldable plastic material is injected between the labels. After the plastic material hardens one can remove the finished card that presents the labels on its two main faces from the mold. However, the method described in EP 0 350 179 Bl can only be used together with reaction-moldable plastic material, whereby the pressures and temperatures at which it is produced are considerably lower than the values of the reaction methods. conventional injection molding. This means that the spectrum of usable materials is restricted to some moldable plastics by injection by reaction. If known card labels are used from EP 0 350 179 Bl with conventional injection molding technology, the decoration applied by printing technology can be damaged during the injection molding process as a result of the high temperatures and pressures that are applied. present Therefore, this invention is based on the problem of establishing a method for producing an injection-molded card with a high-quality decorative layer and consequently an injection-molded card produced in this way. This problem is solved by the characterizing features of claims 1 and 10. Advantageous developments of the invention are presented in the dependent claims. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one carrier layer that is provided with a decorative layer is introduced into an injection mold. To protect the printed image from damage by the injection molded material that is injected, the printed image is covered with a protective layer which prevents direct contact between the printed image and the injection molded material. For this purpose, the carrier layer is inserted into the mold by injection in such a way that the protective layer does not bear against the mold wall by injection, ie the injection molding material is injected against the printed side of the layer carrier This makes it possible to produce high quality labels in a simple way, for example, by sheet printing, and providing them with a protective layer and subsequently processing them into high quality cards using conventional injection molding. Therefore, the method of the invention has the advantage of using efficient and effective techniques in terms of costs and at the same time produces a product of very high quality. The method of the invention makes it possible to provide the card with a high-quality decoration on one or both sides without a large additional expense and without having to accept a restricted choice of choice-moldable, injection-molded plastics, decoration inks. The protective layer also makes it possible to incorporate photos, holograms, etc., as a decorative layer. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the protective layer is made of a material which increases the adhesion of the label to the injection molded body. This generates a further improvement in the durability of the card. In addition, the protective layer can also be provided with pigments or dyes in order to provide a uniform colored background for the printed image, for example. This also makes it possible to produce inscription properties, such as laser graphics or graphic designs for the protective layer itself, for example by producing matte effects, logos, writing or the like by blind engravings. Finally, it is also possible to incorporate characteristic substances in the protective layer which can be used in connection with proofs of authenticity of the card. The security features incorporated into the card in this way are comparatively difficult to counterfeit since they are not placed directly on the surface. In particular with chip cards or other similar cards, it is advantageous to provide the coated sheet with a gap into which an insert having the shape of the IC module incorporated later is inserted during injection molding. A further advantageous development of the method of the invention provides a carrier layer consisting of a transparent sheet. This sheet is placed with the uncoated main face against the wall of the injection mold. The decoration and the protective layer in this way are directed inwards, inside the injection mold. The protective layer prevents deterioration which may damage the injection molding process. If a transparent injection molding material is used, the decoration can also be printed on one or both sides of an inner layer of the card. The printed incrustation in this case is also provided with a protective layer which protects the decoration from high temperatures and pressures and high mechanical stresses during injection molding.

The invention will be explained below with reference to the modalities shown in the figures in which: Figure 1 shows an injection molded card «with labels placed on both sides, figure 2 shows an injection molded card with placed labels on both sides and an IC module, Figure 3 shows an injection molded card with a printed inlay. Figure 1 shows an injection molded card consisting of a body, 4 of injection molded card surrounded on both sides by labels 1, 2, 3 and 5, 6, 7, respectively. The labels consist of a transparent sheet 1, 7, a decoration 2, 6, preferably applied to the sheet by printing technology and a protective layer 3, 5. During the production of such a card, labels are first produced in a known manner. For this purpose, a decorative layer is applied to the transparent sheet in an external production stage. For protection of the decorative layer, the latter is covered with a protective layer. The protective layer has the function of protecting the decorative layer from excessive pressures or excessive thermal or mechanical loads in the subsequent injection molding process so as to avoid any restriction in the use of decorative inks, for example heat-stable inks or inks. the use of injection molding material to moldable plastics by injection by reaction. Printed labels are preferably obtained by perforating large sheets. The labels produced in this way are each inserted into the injection mold in such a way that the unprinted side of the transparent sheet 1, 7 rests against the injection mold. The decoration 2, 6 printed on the sheet and covered by the protective layer 3, 5 consequently is located on the inner side. After the injection mold is closed, the injection molding material is subsequently injected against the protective layer, whereby the protective layer prevents damage to the decoration. The material used for the protective layer is executed, for example, in the form of a sheet or layer of lacquer. A suitable lacquer layer is in particular a one-component or multi-component screen printing lacquer or a UV-curable offset lacquer. The protective layer can perform additional functions in addition to protecting the decoration. For example, the material can be selected so as to also increase the adhesion of the label to the injection molded body. In addition, the protective layer may contain pigments or dyes which serve as a background color for decoration, or characteristic substances may be incorporated within the protective layer which are used for authentication tests.

The injection molded card shown in Figure 1, without restricting its universality, shows labels placed on both sides of the injection molded layer. In the same way, it is conceivable to place labels on only one side or only a part of the surface. Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the invention which contains a chip module. This embodiment corresponds substantially to that of Figure 1 and contains a first transparent sheet 1 printed with decoration 2 covered by the protective layer 3. The second transparent sheet 7 printed with decoration 6 is likewise placed on the opposite side of the injection molded body 4, this decoration is also covered by the protective layer 5. In addition, in the embodiment of Figure 2, the chip module 8 is incorporated in the card, and is secured to the transparent sheet 1 by an adhesion promoter 9. To make a card according to Figure 2, a first label 1, 2, 3 is provided with an opening having, for example, a dimension smaller than the chip module 8. In this case, a die is printed in the form of the chip module 8 that is to be incorporated in a first stage after injection of the injection molding compound., for example, and subsequently the module 8 is introduced into the cavity produced in this way. The promoter 9, preferably a layer of heat-melting adhesive material which is activated by residual heat from the body 4 or from the sheet 9 of the injection-molded card, connects the module 8 with the sheet i. The opening in the first label 1, 2, 3 is selected to be large enough to reliably prevent the label from being torn when the die is printed or the module is inserted. Alternatively, the opening in the label can also be selected to be large enough to correspond to the outer dimensions of the chip module so that labeling does not occur when the die is printed or the module is inserted. In this case, the chip module is applied directly to the injection molding compound so that a suitable adhesion promoter 9 can also be used. Likewise, it is conceivable to introduce the module in advance in the mold during injection molding so that additional work steps are not required to incorporate the chip module in the card. Figure 3 shows by way of example an injection molded card in which an inlay 13 is provided on both sides, with decoration 12, 14 made, for example, of paper or sheet and covered on both sides with a layer 11, 15 protective which is surrounded by a compound 10, 16 injection molded. A chip module 17 is placed in the area of the top injection molded layer 10.

To produce a card according to Figure 3, an inlay 13 is first produced by known methods. The incrustation produced in this way is provided with the decorative layer. In this case, any restriction with respect to the inks to be used also exists only with respect to the material used for the inlay 13. Then the protective layer 11, 15 is applied to the decorative layer 12, 14. The inlay with decorative and protective layers is preferably produced in sheets from which the individual inlays are perforated. The inlay with the decorative and protective layers is inserted in the middle part of the mold by injection. Subsequently, the injection molding compound 10, 16 is injected into the mold on both sides. For insertion of the incrustation in the injection mold, the embedding is preferably provided with dimensions which are larger than the dimensions of the finished card so that before insertion into the mold, an edge is left on which the incrustation. In the embodiment according to Figure 3, an injection molding material is used which is transparent at least in the cold and cured state. Both in the embodiment according to Figure 2 and in the embodiment according to Figure 3, the injection mold can have a plurality of mold cavities so that a plurality of injection molded cards can be produced simultaneously. The sheet 1, 7 or the inlay 13 can be present as a band or sheet, and can be inserted into a plurality of mold cavities simultaneously. In this case, the cards alone are extracted by drilling at the moment in which, or after being removed from the mold. Similarly, it is possible to insert a sheet 1, 7 into an inlay 13 in each mold cavity.

Claims (12)

1. A method for producing injection molded cards with at least one decorative layer, the decorative layer is applied to a carrier layer, characterized in that: the decorative layer is covered by a protective layer, the carrier layer coated in this way is inserted inside. of the injection mold in such a way that the protective layer is not placed against the wall of the injection mold, the injection mold is closed and an injection molding compound is injected into the injection mold, and - the injection-molded card is Remove from the injection mold.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that the protective layer consists of a material which increases the adhesion of the injection molding material to the carrier layer.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the protective layer contains pigments or dyes.

4. The method as described in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that characteristic substances for authenticity tests are incorporated into the protective layer.

5. The method as described in any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least one layer of lacquer is applied to the decorative layer as a protective layer.

6. The method as described in any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a sheet is applied to the decorative layer, as a protective layer.

7. The method as described in any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the carrier layer consists of a transparent sheet which is inserted inside an injection mold in such a way that the uncoated side of the transparent sheet rests against the Injection mold wall.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that the coated sheet has a gap in which a chip module is inserted.

9. The method as described in any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: the carrier layer is formed as a card inlay, - the decorative layer is covered with a transparent protective layer, and the card inlay coated thereon. it is inserted into the injection mold in such a way that at least one main face of the card inlay does not rest against the wall of the injection mold.

10. An injection molded card consisting of an injection molded body and at least one carrier layer to which a decorative layer is applied, characterized in that the decorative layer is covered with a protective layer, and the carrier layer is placed on the body injection molding such that the protective layer is directly adjacent to the injection molded body.

11. An injection molded card as described in claim 10 characterized in that the carrier layer consists of a transparent material which is placed on one or both main faces of the injection molded body.

12. An injection molded card as described in claim 10 characterized in that the carrier layer is formed as a card inlay which is provided on one or both sides with a decorative layer and wherein the injection molded body is transparent.