JPH03219996A - Thermal recording medium and thermal recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the data transferred to an image receiving layer hard to release by friction by performing transfer to a recording medium having a porous image receiving layer, which is formed by applying emulsion containing fine particles of a solution of a polyurethane resin in a hydrophobic solvent and fine particles of the polyurethane resin, using a thermal transfer foil. CONSTITUTION:An image receiving layer 3 is provided on one surface of a base material 2 and a surface protective layer 4 is provided so as to cover the image receiving layer 3. The image receiving layer 3 has a porous structure and is formed by applying an emulsion containing fine particles of a solution of a polyurethane resin in a hydrophobic solvent and fine particles of the polyurethane resin to the base material and removing the solvent by drying. In applying thermal recording to the thermal recording medium 1 thus obtained, a thermal transfer foil 7 is used. The thermal transfer foil 7 is superposed on the thermal recording medium 1 so that the transfer layer 9 thereof is brought into contact with the surface of the image receiving layer 3 of the thermal recording medium 1 and heated on the side of the base material 8 of the transfer foil 7 by a thermal head 10. The transfer layer of the desired pattern corresponding to heating data is separated from the transfer layer 9 by this heating and transferred to the recording medium 1 to penetrate into the porous image receiving layer 3 and a transfer data layer 11 is transferred and formed to the image receiving layer 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a thermal recording medium and a thermal recording method.

[Conventional technology]

Thermal recording is widely used as a means of recording information in various fields, but in recent years, with the spread of automatic ticket gates at ticket gates of trains, etc., commuter passes for automatic ticket gates have become more difficult to use, and have different validity periods. It is also used as a means to print information such as.

Conventionally, recording media used for thermal recording have been formed with a cloak-shaped image receiving layer formed by containing powders such as silica and talc in a resin binder. The transfer layer of a heat-sensitive transfer foil, which has a transfer layer made by dispersing pigments etc. in wax, is placed on the surface of the image-receiving layer side of this heat-sensitive recording medium so that it is in contact with the transfer layer, and the transfer layer is heated. At least a portion of the layer was configured to migrate in response to heating information and penetrate into the image-receiving layer to record desired information.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with conventional thermal recording media, there is a problem with the fixation of the transfer information layer transferred from the transfer foil to the recording medium side to the image receiving layer.For example, when used as a commuter pass for an automatic ticket gate, When rubbed by a magnetic head or feed roller, the transferred information layer tends to separate from the image-receiving layer, and the transferred information layer released from the image-receiving layer may adhere to the area around the gate of an automatic ticket gate, causing contamination of the area around the gate. There was a problem. Furthermore, since the transferred information layer is easily separated from the image-receiving layer, the recording density of the transferred information layer decreases and the information pattern becomes disordered (smearing that looks like a trail is caused in the recorded character information, etc.). There were also other problems. According to experiments conducted by the present inventors, in commuter passes obtained by printing predetermined information on conventional thermal recording media, blurring or blurring of the transferred information becomes noticeable after passing through an automatic ticket gate more than 1,000 times. It turned out that.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal recording medium and a thermal recording method in which information transferred to an image-receiving layer is difficult to separate due to friction or the like.

[Means to solve the problem]

That is, the present invention has the following features: (1) Omurakami includes an image receiving layer for receiving a transfer information layer transferred from a heat-sensitive transfer foil in a predetermined pattern according to heating information, and a surface protection covering the surface of the image receiving layer. The image-receiving layer is formed by coating an emulsion containing fine particles of a hydrophobic organic solvent in which a polyurethane resin is dissolved and fine particles of a polyurethane resin. A thermal recording medium characterized by:

(2) The heat-sensitive recording medium according to claim 1, which has a (H gas layer) on the entire surface or a part of at least one side.

(3) The heat-sensitive recording medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the surface protective layer is formed by coating an emulsion or dispersion of a lubricant.

(4) An image receiving layer formed by coating Omurakami with an emulsion containing fine particles of a hydrophobic organic solvent in which a polyurethane resin is dissolved and fine particles of a polyurethane resin, and a surface protective layer covering the image receiving layer. A heat-sensitive recording medium having a heat-sensitive recording medium and a heat-sensitive transfer foil having a transfer layer mainly composed of a wax-based binder on the releasable surface of the base material are placed on the image-receiving layer side of the heat-sensitive recording medium and the transfer layer side of the heat-sensitive transfer foil. 1. A thermal recording method characterized in that the transfer foils are overlapped so that they are in contact with each other and heated, thereby transferring at least a portion of the transfer layer of the transfer foil to an image receiving layer of a recording medium.

(5) An image receiving layer formed by coating Omurakami with an emulsion containing fine particles of a hydrophobic organic solvent in which a polyurethane resin is dissolved and fine particles of a polyurethane resin, and a surface protective layer covering the image receiving layer. A thermal transfer foil having a transfer layer having a pattern forming layer mainly composed of a thermoplastic resin on the releasable surface of a base material is connected to the image-receiving layer side of the thermal recording medium and the thermal transfer foil. A thermal recording method characterized in that the transfer layer of the transfer foil is overlapped and heated so that the transfer layer sides of the transfer foil are in contact with each other, and at least a part of the transfer layer of the transfer foil is fused and integrally transferred to the image receiving layer of the recording medium.

The main points are as follows.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a thermal recording medium 1 of the present invention, in which reference numeral 2 denotes a base material, and an image receiving layer 3 is provided on one side of the base material 2, and the image receiving layer 3 is further covered with a surface protective layer. 4 are provided.

Further, a magnetic layer 5 and a magnetic protective layer 14 covering the magnetic layer 5 are provided on the back side of the base material 2. Note that 6 is a background pattern such as a mark of a railway company.

As the base material 2, synthetic resin films and sheets such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, polybutylene terephthalate, polymethyl acrylate, and polystyrene; paper, synthetic paper, metal foil, etc., and laminates thereof, etc. The material is not particularly limited and can be used as long as it is in the form of a film or a sheet. Further, the thickness of the base material 2 is not particularly limited, and it may be used by appropriately selecting a thickness depending on the purpose, but when used as a commuter pass etc., 0.15~
A thickness of about 0.25 mm is preferable.

The image receiving layer 3 has a porous structure, and is coated with an emulsion containing fine particles of a hydrophobic organic solvent in which a polyurethane resin is dissolved and fine particles of a polyurethane resin. It is formed by drying and removing. In the above emulsion, the fine particles of the hydrophobic organic solvent in which the polyurethane resin is dissolved have a particle size of 1 to 20.
It is dispersed as fine particles on the order of μm. Further, the fine particles of the polyurethane resin are dispersed as fine particles having a particle size of about 2 to 20 μm. The polyurethane resin dissolved in the organic solvent dispersed in the form of fine particles and the polyurethane resin dispersed in the form of fine particles may be the same or different. The ratio of the fine particles of the organic solvent in which the polyurethane resin is dissolved and the fine particles of the polyurethane resin in the emulsion is preferably about 1=1 to 1:20 by weight. The hydrophobic organic solvent may be any solvent as long as it dissolves the polyurethane resin and does not dissolve in water, such as a mixture of ketones such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, and methyl isobutyl ketone, and toluene, xylene, and the like. Furthermore, heat resistance can be improved by adding an isocyanate compound as needed.

Examples of methods for forming the image-receiving layer 3 include methods of applying the above emulsion using barcode coating, comma coating, three-line IJ hearth coating, and the like. The emulsion used to form the image-receiving layer 3 usually has an effective content (solid content of polyurethane resin) of about 15 to 40% by weight. The image receiving layer 3 is preferably formed to have a thickness of about 2 to 30 μm.

After applying the emulsion, the porous image receiving layer 3 is formed by drying and removing the solvent.

The surface protective layer 4 covering the image-receiving layer 3 is formed by applying a lubricant added to a resin binder, or by applying an emulsion or dispersion of a lubricant. When formed by coating, it is preferable because the surface slipperiness and the ability to prevent transferred information from separating from the image receiving layer 3 are further improved. Examples of the lubricant include fatty acid amide, paraffin wax, natural wax, fluororesin, etc. alone or a mixture of two or more thereof. More specifically, the fatty acid amide includes stearic acid amide, erucic acid amide, and the like. Examples of paraffin wax include polyethylene wax and microcrystalline wax.
Examples of natural wanx include candelilla wanx, carnaha wanx, wood wax, and beeswax. Examples of the fluororesin include Teflon and fluorocarbon. When forming the surface protection layer 4 by applying a resin binder containing these lubricants, examples of the resin binder include polyester, polyamide, acrylic, nitrocellulose, and the like. The thickness of the surface protective layer 4 covering the image-receiving layer 3 satisfies the conditions of protecting the image-receiving layer 3 and not interfering with the migration of the transfer layer from the transfer foil to the image-receiving layer 3 during thermal transfer. 0.1 to 3.0μ violet is preferable.

Examples of the magnetic material used for the magnetic layer 5 include magnetic metals such as iron, cobalt, and nickel, and oxides of these metals, and the magnetic layer 5 is formed by applying the above-mentioned magnetic material to a resin binder. I can do it. The magnetic layer 5 may be provided not only on the back side, but also on the front side, or on both the front and back sides. Furthermore, the magnetic layer 5 is not limited to the case where it is provided on the entire surface, but may be provided on a part of the front and back surfaces, for example, in the form of a band or pattern.

The thickness of the magnetic layer 5 is preferably 10 to 15 μm. magnetic layer 5
Preferably, a magnetic protective layer 14 is provided on the surface of the magnetic layer 5 to protect the magnetic layer 5, as shown in FIG. The magnetic protective layer 14 is made of polyester, cellulose resin, or the like. The thickness of the magnetic protective layer 14 is preferably 0.5 to 5 μm.

The surface protective layer 4, magnetic layer 5, and magnetic protective layer 14 can be formed by a method such as three-layer reverse coating or gravure reverse coating.

The ground pattern 6 can be formed by printing with printing ink using a normal printing method. Although the tint pattern 6 can be provided on the surface side of the surface protection layer 4, the tint pattern 6 can be provided on the surface side of the surface protection layer 4.
If provided, the portion of the tint block 6 becomes convex, which is likely to be contaminated by dirt, so it is preferable to provide it between the image receiving layer 3 and the surface protection layer 4 as shown in FIG.

To perform thermal recording on the thermal recording medium 1 of the present invention, a thermal transfer foil 7 as shown in FIG. 2 is used. This heat-sensitive transfer foil 7 is constructed by providing a transfer layer 9 for pattern formation on one side of a base material 8 (this transfer foil is referred to as a wax-based transfer foil). The base material 8 in the heat-sensitive transfer foil 7 may be any material that is used as a base material for ordinary transfer sheets. For example, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polycarbonate,
Polyimide, polyacrylate, polyether ether ketone, cellulose acetate, and other resin films that do not easily change dimensions due to heat or stress are preferred, especially because they have excellent heat resistance and solvent resistance, and are highly versatile. Polyethylene terephthalate is preferred. The thickness of the base material 8 is usually 3.5
~100n, preferably 6-38μl.

The transfer layer 9 is formed by adding dyes, pigments, etc. to a wax-based binder to appropriately color the material and applying it by a known printing method or coating method. The wax-based binder used for the transfer layer 9 includes wax, Karnahawanx,
Examples include paraffin wax and polyethylene wax.

The thermal transfer foil 7 is stacked so that the transfer layer 9 side is in contact with the surface of the image receiving layer 3 side of the thermal recording medium 1, and heated by the thermal head 10 from the base material 8 side of the transfer foil 7. By this heating, as shown in FIG. 3, the transfer layer with a desired pattern according to the heating information is separated from the transfer layer 9, transferred to the recording medium 1, and penetrates into the porous image-receiving layer 3, thereby receiving the image. Layer 3: Transfer information layer 11 is also formed by transfer.

Furthermore, in the present invention, a thermal transfer foil 7 as shown in FIG.
You can also use This heat-sensitive transfer foil 7 has a structure in which a release layer 12 is provided on the surface of a base material 8, and then a transfer layer 9 is provided on the side of this release layer 12 (this transfer foil is replaced with a resin-based transfer foil). ). Mold release [12 is the same wax, fatty acid amide,
It can be made of resin such as silicone, thermosetting resin, and ionizing radiation curing resin.

The transfer layer 9 is constructed by using a thermoplastic resin as a binder, adding dyes, pigments, etc. to suitably color the resin, and applying it by a known printing method or coating method. Transfer layer 9
Examples of the thermoplastic resin binder constituting the material include polyester, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, and the like.

When using a resin transfer foil, the transfer foil 7 is stacked in the same manner as above so that the transfer layer 9 side is in contact with the surface of the image receiving layer 3 side of the thermal recording medium 1, and the base material 8 side of the transfer foil 7 is Heat with throat 10 to make it more heat sensitive. By this heating, the transferred information layer 11 is transferred to the image receiving layer 3 of the recording medium 1 in a desired pattern according to the heating information as shown in FIG. It is considered that because of the structure, the transfer information layer 11 digs into the image receiving layer 3 due to an anchoring effect, thereby improving the fixing properties of the transfer information layer 11.

The present invention will be explained in more detail by giving specific examples below.

Example 1 Polyethylene terephthalate with a thickness of 188 nm was used as a base material, and on one side of the base material, 100 parts by weight of Heimlen (manufactured by Dainichiseika Chemical Co., Ltd.), water: MEK': 1 was applied as an ink for forming an image receiving layer.
- Luene - Using 90 parts by weight of a mixture in a ratio of 10:2:1, this ink was applied by a bar code method and dried to form an image receiving layer with a thickness of 15 cm. Next, a ground pattern is printed on the surface of the image-receiving layer using a urethane-based gravure ink using a gravure printing method, and then Karnaha Wanks emulsion is applied thereon using a barcode method to a thickness of 1.
A surface protective layer of 0μ tungsten was formed. Further, on the other side of the base material, γ-iron oxide magnetic ink was applied to the entire surface using the bar code method to a thickness of 12 mm. A thermosensitive recording medium was prepared by forming a magnetic layer on the magnetic layer, and further covering the surface of this magnetic layer with a surface protective layer having a thickness of 2.0 μl.

On the other hand, using polyethylene terephthalate with a thickness of 12 nm as a base material, a black pigment added to a mixture of paraffin wax and carnauba wax was coated on one side of the base material using a gravure coating method, and a transfer with a thickness of 2°0 μm was made. A layer was formed to obtain a heat-sensitive transfer foil (wax-based transfer foil).

Lay them together so that the transfer layer of the heat-sensitive transfer foil is in contact with the image-receiving layer side of the recording medium, and apply energy of 1.1 mJ per dot using a commuter pass issuing machine for a valid period of time. I got a commuter pass by printing out information such as the section. When the obtained commuter pass was tested to pass through an automatic ticket gate, even after passing through the automatic ticket gate 3,000 times, there was little blurring or blurring of the printed information. In addition, there was little dirt on the automatic ticket gates, which was at a level that would not cause any practical problems.

Example 2 Thickness 12. Using Onun's polyethylene terephthalate as a base material, paraffin wax is applied to the corona discharge treated surface of the base material to form a release layer, and then polyester resin ink is applied thickly on the release layer using a gravure coating method. A surface protective layer is formed by applying the resin to a thickness of 1.0 μm, and then a polyester resin colored with a black pigment is applied on top of this surface protective layer using a roll coating method to form a pattern forming layer of 2.0 μm in thickness. This was used as a thermal transfer foil (resin-based transfer foil).

The image forming layer of the heat-sensitive transfer foil was placed on top of the image-receiving layer side of the same heat-sensitive recording medium as in Example 1, and used under the same conditions as in Example 1 for an effective period. I got a commuter pass by printing out information such as the section. When the obtained commuter passes were tested to pass through automatic ticket gates, there were very few cases where the printed information was blurred or blurred even after passing through the automatic ticket gates 3,000 times. In addition, there was little dirt on the automatic ticket gate, and there was no problem in practical use.

[Effects of the Invention] The thermal recording medium of the present invention has a porous image-receiving layer formed by coating an emulsion containing fine particles of a hydrophobic organic solvent in which a polyurethane resin is dissolved and fine particles of a polyurethane resin. Furthermore, the transfer method of the present invention adopts a method of transferring to this recording medium using a heat-sensitive transfer foil, and when a wax-based transfer foil is used, the transfer information layer permeates into the image-receiving layer. When a resin-based transfer foil is used, the anchoring effect of the transfer information layer to the image-receiving layer results in higher fixation of the transfer information layer to the image-receiving layer than in conventional recording media of this type. There is no risk of it being easily released from the layer. Therefore, when the recording medium of the present invention is used as a commuter pass for an automatic ticket gate, etc. by printing information such as the validity period, usage section, etc. by the method of the present invention, the transferred information has excellent fixability to the image-receiving layer. Disadvantages of conventional methods, such as there is no risk that the characters in the transcription information will blur or become blurred and difficult to see even if the automatic ticket gate is passed through the machine many times, and there is no risk of contaminating the gate of the automatic ticket gate. This is an excellent solution.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the thermal recording medium of the present invention, and FIGS. FIGS. 3 and 5 are longitudinal sectional views showing different aspects of transfer recording, respectively, and FIGS. 3 and 5 are longitudinal sectional views showing different aspects of the state after recording transfer information on a thermal recording medium.

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) An image receiving layer for receiving the transfer information layer transferred from the thermal transfer foil in a predetermined pattern according to heating information and a surface protective layer covering the surface of the image receiving layer are provided on the base material. A thermosensitive recording medium, characterized in that the image receiving layer is formed by coating an emulsion containing fine particles of a hydrophobic organic solvent in which a polyurethane resin is dissolved and fine particles of a polyurethane resin. A thermal recording medium. (2) The thermal recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising a magnetic layer on the entire surface or a portion of at least one side. (3) The heat-sensitive recording medium according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the surface protective layer is formed by coating an emulsion or dispersion of a lubricant. (4) An image-receiving layer formed by coating a base material with an emulsion containing fine particles of a hydrophobic organic solvent in which a polyurethane resin is dissolved and fine particles of a polyurethane resin, and a surface protective layer covering the image-receiving layer. and a heat-sensitive transfer foil having a transfer layer mainly made of a wax-based binder on the releasable surface of the base material. 1. A thermal recording method, which comprises heating the transfer foil so that they are in contact with each other and transferring at least a portion of the transfer layer of the transfer foil to an image receiving layer of a recording medium. (5) An image-receiving layer formed by coating a base material with an emulsion containing fine particles of a hydrophobic organic solvent in which a polyurethane resin is dissolved and fine particles of a polyurethane resin, and a surface protective layer covering the image-receiving layer. A thermal transfer foil having a transfer layer having a pattern forming layer mainly made of a thermoplastic resin on the releasable surface of the base material is connected to the image receiving layer side of the thermal recording medium and the thermal transfer foil. A thermal recording method characterized by stacking the foils so that the transfer layer sides of the foils are in contact with each other and heating the foils so that at least a portion of the transfer layer of the transfer foil is fused and integrally transferred to the image receiving layer of a recording medium.