JPH02278513A - Magnetic card - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an improvement in a magnetic card having a magnetic layer on one side of a card-shaped base, and in particular, by adding an optical recording section, it improves the security of the card. Concerning technology that enhances design quality.

(Prior Art) In recent years, various cards such as magnetic cards, IC cards, and optical cards have appeared. Among these, magnetic cards have a high penetration rate. Although this magnetic card is inferior to other cards in terms of the amount of information recorded, it is relatively inexpensive and has the characteristics of being able to be repeatedly written and read.

One known type of magnetic card is one in which a magnetic layer is formed in stripes or over the entire surface on one side of a card base, and on the opposite side, characters, designs, etc. are formed mainly by printing.

Prepaid cards are a typical example, and the cards themselves are
For example, the card is thin at 300 μm or less, making it convenient to carry, and the various designs give the card a beautiful appearance.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In order to take advantage of these characteristics of magnetic cards, the present inventors focused on further improving the security and design of the cards.

In order to improve security, we considered recording information for determining the authenticity of a card using a recording means other than magnetic. It is already known that different recording sections, such as a magnetic recording section and an optical recording section, are provided on two card substrates. For example, patent application publication 58-50046
Publication No. 2 shows such a technique.

However, simply providing a combination of different recording sections on the card base 2 may destroy the original characteristics of the card. An object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can enhance both the security and design of the card while making the most of the original characteristics of the magnetic card.

(Summary of the Invention) In the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 corresponding to the embodiment, a first surface 11a and a second surface 11t that are parallel to each other.
), an optical recording section 30 is formed on the second surface 11b side of a card-shaped substrate 11, and the substrate 1 includes the optical recording section 30.
The magnetic layer 12 is placed on the second surface 111) of the magnetic layer 1 through the protective layer 50.
Laminate. In the optical recording section 30, security information for determining the authenticity of the card, such as information such as the place of issue, date, issuer, or value of the card, is recorded in a pattern. It is very preferable for the optical recording section 30 to be inside the card in order to prevent card forgery.

The recording pattern 31 for optical reading is, for example, several tens of μm.
The size is such that it is difficult to see with the naked eye.

For example, if a 50 μm square represents 1 bit of information, a 1 mm square represents 40 bits, and a 1 cm square represents 400 bits of information. The amount of information of several hundred bits is sufficient for security information.

Moreover, a recording pattern of that size (for example,
The shape 31 can be formed at low cost by precise printing or relatively rough etching technology.

In addition, since the recording pattern 31 for optical reading is formed of a light-reflecting material such as aluminum, it can be used to form the entire design together with the pattern etc. in the design area 13, which occupies the majority of the recording pattern. The design of the card can be improved. In particular, the design area 13 is
Since it can be placed on both the first and second surfaces of
It can also give a three-dimensional feel to the design.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a plan view of a magnetic card 10 showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the optical recording section 3 of the card shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional structural diagram showing an enlarged portion of 0;

A transparent card-shaped base 11 provides the magnetic card 10 with rigidity as a card and a wide design area 13. As this card-shaped base 11, a general card base material with a thickness of 188 μm or 250 μm can be used, but in particular, it has high physical strength.
It is preferable to use a material that has excellent transparency and surface smoothness, is less deformed or expanded by heat, and has excellent etching resistance. Suitable materials include polycarbonate or polyethylene terephthalate.

Such a base 11 has first surfaces 1 parallel to each other on its front and back sides.
1a and a second surface 11b, and has a small optical recording section 30 of, for example, about 1 cm square on the second surface 11t) side located inside the magnetic card 10.

As shown in the cross-sectional structure of FIG. 2, in the optical recording section 30, security information for ensuring the security of the card 10 is recorded by a light-reflective recording pattern 31 made of aluminum or the like. In this case, each recording pattern 3
The size of 1 is larger than that of the optical card,
For example, it is about 50 μm. In order to form the recording pattern 31 at a low cost, it is preferable that its size be large enough to be difficult to see visually. On the second surface 11b side where the recording pattern 31 is located, an anchor layer 15 with a thickness of about 1 μm is undercoated, and on the opposite surface on the first surface 11a side, a hard coat layer with a thickness of about 1 to 5 μm is coated. 16 are formed. The security information of the optical recording section 30 is read by emitting reading light from the first surface 11g side and receiving the reflected light. Usually, L is used as the reading light.
Light in the near-infrared region, such as ED, is used. The near-infrared light is
Shows high light transmittance to colored inks. Therefore, there is no problem in printing on the first surface 11a and the second surface 11t of the substrate 11. In the magnetic card 10, the first side 1
1a and the second surface 11b become the design area 13.

Therefore, the area of the design area 13 is sufficiently large. Moreover, since the design area 13 is on the front and back sides of the base 11,
The thickness of the base 11 can also be used to give a three-dimensional effect to the design.

In the example shown in the figure, a design 2 is printed in color on each side of the front first surface 11a and the back second surface 11b of the base 11.
0 is applied. It goes without saying that the design 20 generally includes letters, patterns, etc., but here, for convenience of explanation, it includes the letters ``kp'' 21 and a quadrangular pattern 22a that extends over several layers.

22b. The characters 21 and one pattern 22a indicated by a solid line are on the first surface 11a side, and the other pattern 22t) indicated by a broken line is on the second surface 11t) side. Characters 21 are characters that characterize this magnetic card 10. The characters 21 are printed with colored ink containing dye or atomized pigment, and are very conspicuous because they are against the background of the metal color of the optical recording section 30, especially the metal color of the inside of the card. The colored ink used here is one that absorbs little light in the near-infrared region. For example, colored inks containing acid dyes or organic pigments such as phthalocyanine are suitable.

Further, the second surface 11b of the base 11 on which the optical recording section 30 is located is
A protective layer 50 with a thickness of about 5 μm is covered, and the magnetic layer 12 is laminated on the protective layer 50. The magnetic layer 12 is a magnetic recording part, and has a thickness of about 12 μm, and is covered with an ink layer 14 of about 2 μm thick. The ink layer 14 is made of =7-, for example, a silver ink layer, and hides the brown color of the magnetic layer 12. Although not shown, a cautionary statement may be written in black ink on top of it.

When manufacturing the magnetic card 10 as described above, the magnetic layer 1
2 side to the base 11 side, or the method of transferring the 2 side to the base 11 side.
Various methods can be applied, such as a method of directly forming the magnetic layer 12 on the side. However, the former transfer method is preferable from the viewpoints that the optical recording section 30 and further the substrate 11 with the design 20 can be stocked, and the magnetic layer 12 side can be made into a transfer tape.

In the transfer method, as shown in FIG. 3, a base 11 on which an optical recording section 30 and the like are formed, and a transfer tape 4 on which a magnetic layer 12 is supported on a thin base film 40 with a thickness of about 10 to 20 μm.
2 and then transfer the magnetic layer 12 onto the base 11 using a conventional method. Note that the transfer tape 42 includes the magnetic layer 1
Adhesive layers 44a and 44b are provided on the front and back sides of 2, and
It goes without saying that the base film 40 has been subjected to a release treatment.

Further, in the magnetic card 10, there are two similar patterns in the design area 13, and the optical recording section 30 is located at the center of one of the patterns. Therefore, in order to unify the design, a pattern 17 similar in appearance to the optical recording section 30 is left in the center of the other pattern using a light-reflecting material that constitutes the recording pattern 31. The recording pattern 31 of the optical recording section 30 is of the ROM type, and the means for making it is usually
Use etching technology. According to the etching technique, the optical recording section 30 and the pattern 17 can be easily formed using the same process.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, since the security information of the card is additionally provided by the optical recording means, the security of the card can be increased without the card user knowing. Since the optical recording section 30 has light reflective properties, it can be actively used as part of the card design, and the design of the cart can also be improved.

Further, in this invention, since the optical recording section 30 is arranged inside the card, it is possible to give the design a three-dimensional effect, and it provides a magnetic card which is very preferable in terms of preventing card forgery. can do.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the magnetic card according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional structural diagram showing an enlarged part of the card in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an example of a manufacturing method. 10... Magnetic card, 11... Cart-shaped base,
12... Magnetic layer, 13... Design area, 20...
- Design, 21... Characters, 22a, 22b... Design, 30... Optical recording section, 31... Recording pattern, 5
0...Protective layer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A card-shaped substrate having a first surface and a second surface parallel to each other, an optical recording section partially formed on the second surface of the substrate, and the first surface of the substrate. and a design area on the second surface including at least a portion surrounding the optical recording section, and a magnetic layer laminated via a protective layer on the second surface of the base including the optical recording section, The information for determining the authenticity of the magnetic card is recorded in a size that cannot be grasped by the naked eye, and furthermore, the design area is formed with characters, patterns, etc. that can be grasped by the naked eye. It has a magnetic card. 2. The magnetic card according to claim 1, wherein the optical recording portion includes a light-reflective recording pattern, and together with characters, patterns, etc. in the design area constitutes the entire design.