Transaction card

Trading card

<p>5. . . Trading card</p><p>20. . . IC chip</p><p>10. . . Frontal thin layer</p><p>34. . . Word</p><p>33. . . Copyright notice</p><p>40. . . Magnetic stripe</p><p>50. . . trademark</p><p>45. . . Signature column</p><p>30. . . Word</p><p>32. . . Word</p><p>25. . . Optical gradient</p><p>35. . . Embossed characters</p><p>15. . . Holographic aluminum foil</p><p>42. . . Magnetic stripe</p><p>12. . . Thin layer on the back</p>

To further fully understand the present invention, you can refer to the following specific implementation

Detailed description of the example, and the attached drawings. In the following diagrams, similar parameters

Test symbols or steps are used to identify the same or similar parts in similar schemes.

point.

Fig. 1 is a front view of an exemplary transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a rear view of an exemplary transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a flowchart of a transaction card manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a graph of the reflected and transmitted energy v. wavelength of an infrared film according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a graph of a typical infrared light emitting diode light source having a wavelength range of approximately 820-920 nanometers or 900-1000 nanometers in an automated teller machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a graph showing the spectral sensitivity of a typical photoelectric crystal having a wavelength range of about 400-1000 nanometers according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 7A-7F show embodiments of various layers of various transaction cards according to embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary photoreceptor mechanism in an automated teller machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a reflection and transmission monitor with various optical components for a vacuum evaporation in-line roll coating operation according to an embodiment of the present invention to monitor the infrared film;

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary system for chemical vapor deposition of polyethylene oxide terephthalic acid (PET) film according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of each layer related to the structure of a transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12A shows a diagram of the strength (pounds/inch) v. Film bonding strength of an exemplary film bonding situation in various different film bonding situations according to an embodiment of the present invention;

12B shows the strength (lb/inch) on the film interface in various different film interface situations according to an embodiment of the present invention v. A diagram of the film interface;

FIG. 13 shows an exemplary infrared ink formula according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the infrared ink formula is expressed in green;

FIG. 14 shows measurements related to these exemplified green transaction cards according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary automated teller machine test result for an exemplary green transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 shows a diagram of the transmission percentage v. wavelength transmission density of an exemplary green transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 17A-17I show graphs of the test results of the transmission percentage v. wavelength (nm) of various transaction card embodiments according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Field of invention

The present invention generally relates to a transaction card, and more specifically, relates to the manufacture and use of an optically recognizable transparent or translucent transaction card, where the transaction card may include: hologram, magnetic stripe , Or integrated circuit, and other transaction card components.

Background of the invention

In the United States in the early 1950s, transaction cards that allowed cardholders to pay by credit without having to pay cash began to proliferate. Early trading cards were usually restricted to restaurants and hotels, and they were often restricted to special classes. Since the introduction of plastic credit cards, the use of transaction cards has rapidly spread from the United States to Europe, and then to the rest of the world. The transaction card is not only a carrier of information, but also usually allows consumers to pay for goods and services without having to carry cash at all times, or if the consumer needs cash, the transaction card allows the withdrawal of deposits through an ATM. Transaction cards also reduce the risk of cash being exposed and coveted by night, and reduce the need to exchange currency when traveling abroad. Due to the advantages of transaction cards, millions of transaction cards are manufactured and issued every year. Therefore, companies need to distinguish their own transaction cards from those of competitors.

Initially, transaction cards usually included the issuers name, cardholders name, card number, and the expiration date printed on the transaction card in embossed embossing. Transaction cards usually also include a signature field on the back of the transaction card for the cardholder to sign to avoid forgery and tampering. Therefore, the early transaction card was only used as a device to provide information to the store, and the only security measure related to the transaction card was to compare the cardholders signature on the card with the cardholders signature on the receipt and embossed on the transaction card The name of the cardholder on. However, many shops often check the signature on the receipt with the signature on the transaction card.

Due to the prevalence of transaction cards, many companies, banks, airlines, asset exchange groups, sports teams, clubs, and other organizations have begun to develop their own transaction cards. In this regard, many companies not only provide more attractive financing rates and lower initiation fees, but also provide unique and fascinating features in transactions, and continue to experiment. Separate its own trading cards, and increase market share. In this regard, many transaction cards not only contain personal data and account information, but transaction cards also contain images, designs, photos, and security features. The most recent security feature is to add a diffraction grating or holographic image to the transaction card. This diffraction grating or holographic image looks three-dimensional and essentially restricts copying or modification in a counterfeit manner. Transaction cards, because the manufacture of holographic images requires extremely complex systems and devices. The holographic image is obtained by interfering two or more light beams (that is, an object beam and a reference beam) on the photoem ulsion, thereby recording the interference pattern generated by the interfering beam. produce. The object beam is the coherent beam (coherent beam) reflected by the object to be recorded or transmitted through the object to be recorded. beam), such as company logos, earth, characters, or animals. The reference beam is usually a coherent, collimated (collimated) beam with a spherical wave front. After recording the interference pattern, by reconstructing the image from the interference pattern, a reference beam of similar wavelength is used to generate a holographic image.

However, in a typical state, a similar laser beam cannot be used to reconstruct the image from the interference pattern on the transaction card. In this regard, the holographic image should be viewable with normal white light. Therefore, when the holographic image is recorded on the transaction card, the image to be recorded is placed close to the surface of the substrate to allow the resulting holographic image to be viewed with normal white light. Such holographic images are called reflective surface holographic images or rainbow holographic images. The reflective holographic image can be mass-produced on metal aluminum foil, and then affixed to the transaction card. Moreover, adding a holographic image to the transaction card provides a more reliable way to determine the authenticity of the transaction card under normal white light, that is, by checking whether the holographic image has a deep phantom and changing the color.

Administrative and security issues, such as asking prices, credit, store settlement, fraud, refunds, etc., have been relatively increased due to the increase in the use of transaction cards. Therefore, the transaction card industry has begun to develop more sophisticated transaction cards that allow electronic reading, transmission, and authorization of transaction card data for various industries. For example, magnetic stripe card (magnetic stripe card), optical card (optiCalcard), smart card, calling card (calling card), and super smart card (supersmart card) have been developed in response to expanded features, functions, and security market needs. develop. In addition to visual data, adding a magnetic stripe to the back of the transaction card allows digital data to be stored in a machine-readable format. In this regard, the magnetic stripe reader is used in conjunction with the magnetic stripe card to contact the shopping data received by the cash register device connected to the host computer, and to store the data in the magnetic stripe (such as account information and expiration date) ) Transmission.

Due to the damage caused by the magnetic susceptibility of the magnetic stripe, the lack of confidentiality of the data in the magnetic stripe, and the problem of data transmission to the host computer, integrated circuits were developed and added to the transaction card. Such integrated circuit cards, such as known smart cards, are very reliable in various industries due to their high security and adaptability to future applications.

Given that tape cards and smart cards have been developed, the market needs these international standards for transaction cards. The physical size, characteristics, and embossing area of these transaction cards have been standardized by ISO7810 and ISO7811 under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The identification of the issuer, the location of individual components, the required codes, and the recording technology have been standardized in ISO7812 and ISO7813, while the chip transaction card standard is established in ISO7813. For example, ISO7811 defines the standard for magnetic tape. This tape is a 0.5-inch strip located on the front or back surface of a transaction card, and is divided into three parallel tracks in the length direction. The first and second tracks contain 79 alphanumeric characters and read-only data with 40 numeric character spaces, respectively. Track 3 is reserved for economic transactions and contains the personal identification code, country code, currency unit of the user who is translated into a password, the total amount of authorization per cycle, auxiliary account numbers, and restrictions. More features and detailed descriptions of trading cards can be found in the following, for example by Jose Luis Zoreda and Jose Manuel in 1994 The smart card written by Oton; the smart card manual written by W. Rankl and W. Effing in 1997, and the relevant information available from ASNI (American National Standards Institute) at 11 West 42nd Street, New York City, New York, USA 10036 Various ISO standards for transaction cards, and the entire contents of these publications are attached here by reference.

The addition of machine-readable components to the transaction card can simplify transactions by automatically reading and/or writing to the transaction card, thereby facilitating the expansion of the device. These devices include, for example, computer bar code scanners, tape reading devices, point of sale (POS), automated teller machines, and card-key devices. Regarding ATMs, the total number of all ATM devices shipped in 1999 was 179,249 (according to the information reported by Nielsen), including the ATMs shipped by the largest ATM manufacturer, namely NCR (United States 11413 Laurelton, New York, 138-18 231st Street), Diebold (NorthCanton, Mayfair 5995, Ohio 44720-8077, USA), Fujitsu (11085 N. Torrey Pines Road, LaJolla, California, USA 92037), Omron (Japan) , OKI (Japan), and Triton.

Many transaction card receiving devices require the transaction card to be inserted into the device so that the device can properly calibrate its reader head and related components of the transaction card. More specifically, many automated teller machines need to insert the transaction card into the card slot of the automated teller machine. After the transaction card is inserted into the card slot, the automatic teller machine may have an additional mechanical device to further store the transaction card into the card slot of the automatic teller machine. In order to activate the ATM, the ATM typically includes a photoreceptor, such as a phototransistor and a light emitting diode (LED). The light emitting diode emits light to the surface of the transaction card, and the phototransistor receives the light from the light. The light of the diode. The transaction card blocks the infrared radiation received by the photoelectric crystal, thus allowing the transaction card to be detected. A typical light-emitting diode in an ATM is an infrared light-emitting diode (IRED) light source. This infrared light-emitting diode has a wavelength of approximately 820-920 nanometers (nm) or 900-1000 nanometers wavelength range (please refer to Figure 5), this wavelength does not appear under the ambient light required by the photoelectric crystal photoreceptor. Spectral sensitivity curve of a typical photoelectric crystal (Spectralsensitivity curve) is between approximately 400 nanometers to 1100 nanometers (please refer to Figure 6). However, the visible spectrum is approximately between 400 nm and 700 nm, and the spectral sensitivity of the photoelectric crystal is approximately 60% at 950 nm and approximately 90% at 840 nm. Therefore, visible light does not belong to the analog-to-digital algorithm. Moreover, ISO7810, clause 8.10 requires that all machine-readable transaction cards must have greater than 1.3% (less than 5% transmission) from 450 nm to 950 nm, and greater than 1.1 from 950 nm to 1000 nm. % (Less than 7.9% transmission) optical transmission density.

In order for the transaction card to be detected by the ATM, the glazing is typically blocked by the body of the transaction card. Moreover, the amount of light that needs to be blocked by the transaction card is related to the voltage data received from the analog to digital conversion. The voltage range used by the photoreceptor is typically approximately in the range of 1.5V to 4.5V. When the transaction card is inserted into the photoreceptor, the voltage drops to less than 1.5V, indicating that the transaction card appears in this transmission system. After the transaction card is detected by the photoelectric crystal, the magnetic stripe reading device scans the magnetic stripe and obtains the data recorded in the magnetic stripe. Manufacturers of light-emitting diode photoreceptor devices in ATMs, for example, Omronand Sankyo-Seiki, Japan, Room 201, 4800, Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, California 95054, USA.

As mentioned above, transaction cards and readers typically comply with various ISO standards, which specifically specify the location of transaction card data and compounds. However, because many companies produce different versions of ATMs, the position of the photoreceptor in the ATM is not subject to standardization requirements. In the past, the different positions of the photoreceptor in the ATM did not affect the ability of the ATM to sense the transaction card, because the transaction card contains a substantially opaque surface, so any part of the opaque transaction card can be blocked The emission of infrared light-emitting diodes and the activation of inlaid photoelectric crystals. However, in recent years, in order to provide unique images and meet the needs of consumers, companies have tried to develop transparent or translucent transaction cards. The use of a transparent transaction card will often fail to activate the mounted photoelectric crystal, because the transparent surface will not be able to reflect the radiation of the infrared light emitting diode enough, so the radiation will easily pass through the transaction card and be detected by the photoelectric crystal . Therefore, the machine will not be able to detect the existence of the transaction card and will often cause the device to get stuck.

In an attempt to solve this problem, many companies have printed an opaque area on the transaction card in an effort to provide an opaque area to activate the input sensor in the ATM. However, just like the positional differences of the photoreceptors in many ATMs mentioned above, the use of a limited opaque area on the transaction card cannot enable the transaction card to be able to activate a sufficient number of photoreceptors of the ATM. Or, many companies try to add a lens to the transaction card in an effort to change the direction of the light from the LED. However, in the process of manufacturing transaction cards, substantial pressure and heat are often involved, so the mirror surface will be broken or destroyed. In this regard, what is needed for a transparent or semi-transparent transaction card is something capable of activating an input photoreceptor, which can provide an interface for the transaction card in various locations.

Furthermore, in the manufacturing process of transaction cards, the transaction cards must be tested on the assembly line to correctly calculate the number of transaction cards produced within a predetermined time. In order to count the number of transaction cards, a typical transaction card manufacturing assembly line contains a counter with a light-emitting diode photoreceptor (similar to the photoreceptor of an automated teller machine). This counter is based on the light-emitting diode beam reflected on the surface of the opaque transaction card Count the number of transaction cards. The production of transparent transaction cards suffers from similar restrictions as automated teller machine devices, because the light-emitting diode beam cannot be reflected from the transparent surface or be sufficiently absorbed by the transparent surface. Therefore, there is a need for a transparent transaction card that can be produced on an existing assembly line. When the transaction card is punched out of its final size, there are similar problems.

Although existing systems can provide object identification and detection, most of them contain some shortcomings. For example, the identification characteristics based on ultraviolet (UV) and visible light detection are sometimes difficult to inspect, often require certain lighting requirements, and are usually tied to the distance between the object and the detection device. In addition, the use of certain types of plastic, paper, or other materials containing identification marks may be restricted by individual identification devices. For example, opaque materials typically deactivate photoelectric crystals in ATMs by blocking both the visible (near infrared) and far infrared light ranges. Moreover, the addition of testing or certification features to transaction card products requires separate materials or processing steps to be added to the transaction card manufacturing process. The addition of new materials or processing steps usually requires expensive modifications to existing equipment or new equipment and extends the time to manufacture transaction card products.

Summary of the invention

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a transparent or semi-transparent transaction card. The transaction card has one or more characteristics, such as holographic aluminum foil, integrated circuit chip, silver magnetic strip with text on the magnetic strip, and opaque optics. Gradient, the structure of the transaction card includes optically recognizable ink or film, and a semi-transparent signature column, so that the signature on the back of the transaction card can be viewed on the front of the transaction card, and there is an "validity period" date on the front of the transaction card. Because the invisible or transparent infrared ink or film is distributed on the surface of the transaction card, the transaction card of the present invention is optically recognizable, so that the transaction card can block (absorb, refract, scatter and/or reflect) infrared light , While transmitting all other light. Specifically, when the transaction card is inserted into the automatic teller machine device, the light beam from the infrared light emitting diode is blocked by the infrared ink or film, so the photoelectric crystal cannot be activated. Moreover, during the manufacture of transaction cards, optically recognizable transaction cards allow infrared light-emitting diode beams from anthropomorphic devices, inspection units, or counter devices to count the number of transaction cards produced on the assembly line.

Schematic description

To further fully understand the present invention, you can refer to the following specific implementation

Detailed description of the example, and the attached drawings. In the following diagrams, similar parameters

Test symbols or steps are used to identify the same or similar parts in similar schemes.

point.

Fig. 1 is a front view of an exemplary transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a rear view of an exemplary transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a flowchart of a transaction card manufacturing process according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a graph of the reflected and transmitted energy v. wavelength of an infrared film according to an embodiment of the present invention;

5 is a graph of a typical infrared light emitting diode light source having a wavelength range of approximately 820-920 nanometers or 900-1000 nanometers in an automated teller machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a graph showing the spectral sensitivity of a typical photoelectric crystal having a wavelength range of about 400-1000 nanometers according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 7A-7F show embodiments of various layers of various transaction cards according to embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary photoreceptor mechanism in an automated teller machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

9 is a reflection and transmission monitor with various optical components for a vacuum evaporation in-line roll coating operation according to an embodiment of the present invention to monitor the infrared film;

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary system for chemical vapor deposition of polyethylene oxide terephthalic acid (PET) film according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of each layer related to the structure of a transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 12A shows a diagram of the strength (pounds/inch) v. Film bonding strength of an exemplary film bonding situation in various different film bonding situations according to an embodiment of the present invention;

12B shows the strength (lb/inch) on the film interface in various different film interface situations according to an embodiment of the present invention v. A diagram of the film interface;

FIG. 13 shows an exemplary infrared ink formula according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the infrared ink formula is expressed in green;

FIG. 14 shows measurements related to these exemplified green transaction cards according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 shows an exemplary automated teller machine test result for an exemplary green transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 shows a diagram of the transmission percentage v. wavelength transmission density of an exemplary green transaction card according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 17A-17I show graphs of the test results of the transmission percentage v. wavelength (nm) of various transaction card embodiments according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed description of specific embodiments

Generally speaking, the present invention can provide identification and detection of various items, where the items include materials with machine-recognizable compounds. This item includes: for example, transaction cards, documents, paper and/or the like. This material includes, for example, coating, film, thread, plastic, ink, fiber, paper, planchet, and/or the like.

In an exemplary embodiment, the machine identifiable compound is an optically identifiable compound containing an infrared blocking (absorption, refraction, scattering, reflection, or other blocking) formula. Optically identifiable compounds may be visible, invisible, or colored to produce the desired effect, and/or they may contain other detectable compounds, such as ultraviolet phosphors or infrared phosphors. The optical compound preferably has good stability, resistance properties, durability, and other physical properties, such as good appearance, elasticity, hardness, solvent resistance, water resistance, corrosion resistance and external stability. Moreover, the use of these compounds typically does not interfere with the ultraviolet compounds that may appear on many substrates. Those skilled in the art should be able to understand that optically identifiable compounds are any chemicals, solutions, dyes, ink substrates, materials, and/or the like that can be identified by the photoreceptor. In a specific embodiment, the optically recognizable ink is an infrared ink. The infrared ink can block, absorb or reflect most of the infrared light, but transmit most of the light of other wavelengths.

In a specific embodiment, the optically identifiable compound is added to the film, plastic, fiber, ink, concentrate, thermoplastic or thermosetting filler (matrix), thread, metal plate, and/or other medium, which contains about 0.001 to 4° .0 weight (%) range of compounds obtained from organic or inorganic materials. Infrared ink can be applied to the transaction card 5 (please refer to Figure 1) by, for example, a screen printing process or any other printing or coating method, such as lithography, gravure Gravure, flexo, calender coating, curtain coating, roller coating and/or the like. An exemplary screen printing process utilizes a screen printer equipped with a drying device (curable ultraviolet or convective heat) and a screen with a specific mesh size of approximately 80 rows/cm. By using a screen printer, infrared ink is printed on any part of the plastic surface of the entire transaction card, as described below.

Because the general people's vision sensitivity for a specific lighting level is about 400-770 nanometers, infrared inks exceeding 770 nanometers are better because they cannot be seen by human eyesight under normal white light. In this regard, the invisible infrared material will not substantially darken the transparent surface of the transaction card 5. In addition, the exemplified ink can make transaction card products withstand temperatures of about 200 to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and under normal credit transaction card usage, there is a "light fasten period" (light fasten period) of about three years. Under any light (especially ultraviolet light), the ink resists the period of fading or degrading quality). Moreover, the exemplified ink can block, absorb or reflect the spectral output of infrared light emitting diodes (for example, Sankyo Seiki light emitting diodes, which are about 800-1000 nanometers). The exemplified ink also restricts the light reaching the photoelectric crystal, so a transparent transaction card with ink can be detected by a transaction tool (such as a card grabbing ATM).

The exemplified composition of the machine identifiable compound of the present invention includes a mixture of a wide variety of compounds. These available compounds are derived from inorganic, organometallic, mineral organic layer materials, or rare earth compounds, many generally rare earth oxides, oxysulfide, or oxyhalide. These compounds are quite inert, so the impact on the performance of the final product is minimized. This infrared compound contains dyes, layered materials, pigments and/or encapsulated pigments, which are dispersed in a special medium, which can be added to many final products that can be used. The particle size of the infrared compound allows this material (plastic, thread, ink, etc.) to be ideally dispersed or dissolved, and to be evenly present in the articles to which it is added.

A conventional infrared material including a layered dielectric and a metal material or a doped rare earth metal material can be effectively used in the compound according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention as a pigment. In this context, the pigment or dye absorbs energy at a specific wavelength, and may change from one energy wavelength to another energy wavelength. This change or absorption of energy may exceed or fall below any stimulation in the electromagnetic spectrum. The compound may absorb light of a specific wavelength, or may change from one color to another, or the compound may change from invisible to visible, and/or other similar. Therefore, the infrared compound of the present invention is added to a system that reversibly changes one energy wavelength to another, thereby producing a "fingerprint" pattern with detectable characteristics in the article.

Moreover, the prepared film or material can be mixed with a binder to form an infrared compound for use in threads, fibers, coatings, and the like. The adhesive that can be added to the present invention includes conventional additives, such as wax, thermoplastic resin, thermosetting resin, rubber, natural resin or synthetic resin. Examples of these adhesives are: polypropylene (polypropylene), nylon (nylon), polyester (polyester), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer), polyvinyl acetate (polyvinyl acetate), poly Ethylene (polyethylene), chlorinated rubber, acrylic, epoxy, butadiene nitrite, shellac, zein, cellulose (cellulose), polyurethane (polyurethane), polyvinylbutyrate, vinylchloride, silicone, polyvinylalcohol, polyvinyl methyl ether (polyvinyl methyl ether) ether), nitrocellulose, polyamide, bismaleimide, polyimide, epoxypolyester mixtures and/or the like. Films that can be used include polyester, polyvinylchloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylic, polycarbonate, and/or the like. As described below, any film can be laminated or adhered to a general transaction card using heat, adhesive or a combination of both.

If the content of the compound is too low, the proper blocking function may not be achieved, and the photoelectric crystal may not be able to transmit proper signals to the grabbing device, which means that the transaction card cannot be detected. Therefore, infrared compounds are usually present in a content of one part per million (1PPM) to eighty percent (80.0%) of the total weight, and preferably about 0.25% to 25.0% by weight. Moreover, the present invention may also consider adding other materials, such as ultraviolet absorbers, reflectors, antioxidants, and/or optical brighteners, to achieve better resistance characteristics, artistry, or longevity of the materials.

In particular, other materials can be added to allow the color to be converted from one color to another after excitation. Commonly used materials such as dyes, pigments, fluorescent dyes, lighting pigments, and/or the like can be used to promote the reversible color transition from one color state to another. These materials can be added directly to the infrared compound during the start of the procedure, or can be added after the infrared compound has been processed. These materials, such as solvents, water, glycol, and/or the like can be used to adjust the rehelogical properties of the materials. At the same time, surfactants, defoamers, release agents, adhesion promoters, leveling agents, and/or the like can be added to the formula to Improve processing performance. Optically bright materials can also be added to ensure that it appears white in a colorless state and to maintain low contrast between the many substrates where the infrared compound is located.

Fibers of various materials are used in a continuous manner, or individual fibers can be added to various materials. The present invention can also be considered for use, such as natural fibers, synthetic fibers, copolymer fibers, chemical fibers, metal fibers, and/or the like. Examples of these fibers may be: nylon, polyester, cotton, wool, silk mesh, casein fiber, protein fiber, Acetalyated staple, ethyl cellulose ( ethylcellulose, polyvinylidene chloride, polyurethane, acetate, polyvinyl alcohol, triacetate, glass, wood, rock wool, carbon, inorganic Fiber, and/or similar. These fibers can be added or mixed with other types of materials, such as paper pulp, plastic label stock, plastic materials, and the like. These materials can be used individually in a continuous manner, or can be used in other materials as mono- or dual-filaments.

Moreover, the infrared materials added to the plastic can use a wide variety of materials, such as nylon, acrylic, epoxy, bismaleimide, polyamide, and styrene. styrene, silicone, vinyl, acrylic <img file="TW504647B_D0001.tif" /> -Butadiene-styrene (ABS), polycarbonate, nitrile, and/or the like. In this regard, compounds added to fibers, plastics, films, and/or the like can be directly processed into appropriate forms in a single or multiple processing program applications. These compounds can be added to the formulation in the form of individual ingredients or in the form of a master-batch, which is then processed in a manner similar to normal compound processing operations. The treatment procedures of these compounds include the use of continuous mixers, two-roller or three-roller mills, extrusion, and/or other melt-compounding dispersion methods. In an exemplary implementation, the thread can be woven or non-woven. The infrared material can be directly extruded into the thermoplastic filler, and the shape of the thread can be directly drawn. The thread can be used in a continuous manner. Or are segmented into the shape of fibers or plastic films.

The exemplified infrared compounds are deposited on various films and can be used in most transaction card applications. Moreover, the infrared formula according to the present invention can be used alone or mixed with other materials in the range of 0.001 to 50.0 weight ratio, but the best one is from 1.0 to 15.0 weight ratio.

Please refer to the following examples, comparative examples, test examples, and usage examples to further obtain a detailed description of the present invention. As disclosed in the examples, test results, and figures here, the ink produced is sufficient to block infrared radiation without being detected by the photoelectric crystal. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to this. For example, those skilled in the art should be able to understand that the ink may contain other materials for different optical effects or authentication purposes.

Example 1

This example contains about 2% Epolin VII-164 dye and about 98% Tech Mark Mixing Clear, which is manufactured by Sericol. 980.0 grams of Tech Mark solvent evaporative screen ink is mixed in a high-speed disperser. When mixed, 20.0 grams of Epolight VII-164 dye was completely dissolved. The resulting ink has a viscosity of approximately 3.2 Pa.S at 25 degrees Celsius and is printed using a screen process. This screen program consists of 305 polymer screens on both sides of a transparent polyvinyl chloride (PVC) 13.0 mil film.

Example 2

The following inks were produced by adding about 15.0 pounds of Epolight VII-164 and about 20.0 pounds of Epolight VI-30 to about 965 pounds of TM Mixing Clear. The mixture was stirred for about 40 minutes. By using a polymer screen of 80 rows/cm, the resulting mixture is coated on a polyvinyl chloride core plastic. The resulting coating has a high absorbency from 780 nm to 1070 nm, while having low visible absorption. The transaction card core, magnetic strip, and sheet are assembled, and all of them are assembled by the Burckle Stack Lamination Unit at a temperature of about 280 degrees Fahrenheit.

Example 3

About 30.0 grams of concentrated Epolight VII-172 is mixed with about 700.0 grams of polyvinyl chloride plastic. The resulting mixture is extruded at approximately 260 degrees Fahrenheit, air-cooled, and pelletized. Approximately 1.0 pounds of the produced particles are compounded with approximately 99.0 pounds of polyvinyl chloride. Klockner Pentaplast provides approximately 0.013 inch wheel pressed sheets. The transaction card is manufactured using the aforementioned sheet. These transaction cards are shown to be sufficient to absorb infrared rays ranging from 800 nanometers to 1000 nanometers. These transaction cards were detected by Sankyo ATM grabbing devices.

Example 4

Multi-layer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with sufficient optical properties is added to the structure of the transaction card. This polyethylene oxide terephthalic acid plastic is manufactured by 3M Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA). The generated transaction card exhibits sufficient optical performance so that the automated teller machine device can detect the transaction card.

Additional examples

The planning of the infrared ink of the additional embodiment is disclosed in FIG. 13. The infrared ink embodiment in Figure 13 shows a visible green light. Moreover, Figure 14 shows exemplary transaction card measurements with respect to certain wavelength ranges, transmittance, ATM readability, and ISO compatibility. FIG. 15 shows an example test result for an example green transaction card, in which a sample transaction card is inserted into ATMs of various manufacturers. The result of the test represents an example that the transaction card is indeed detected by the ATM. Furthermore, FIG. 16 shows the exemplified transmittance of the exemplified green transaction card as a diagram of the transmission percentage V. wavelength (this diagram also indicates the ISO specification of the transaction card).

17A to 17I are graphs of transmission percentage V. wavelength (nm), showing exemplary test results of various transaction card embodiments. For example, with regard to FIG. 17A, the quality assurance of the infrared ink with no text on the polyvinyl chloride is tested, and a curve represents one of the four corners of the illustrated transaction card. The following curve represents a sample of another transaction card, which is selected after a period of time when the transaction card is produced, for example, after about 50 transaction cards are produced. FIG. 17B shows the transmission percentage of light of different wavelengths passing through the transaction card with different ink formulations, where each curve represents a transaction card with different ink formulations.

Figures 17C to 17I show the spectra of various films, coatings, transaction cards, etc., which show the ability of materials used in the structure of the transaction card to block a sufficient amount of infrared radiation and transmit visible light to produce the transaction described in the embodiment Card. This blocking mechanism may be absorption, reflection, scattering, spreading, or other methods of blocking radiation in the electromagnetic spectrum.

In addition to infrared inks, optically recognizable compounds can be replaced by films or hot mirrors, which can also block (absorb or reflect) infrared light, but transmit light of all other wavelengths. In an exemplary embodiment, the film is disposed between the front thin layer 10 and the back thin layer 12. Fig. 4 is a graph of the reflected and transmitted energy V. wavelength of the infrared film according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 shows that when visible light is transmitted through the film, infrared light is blocked because of its higher wavelength, and substantially all of the infrared light is reflected.

Optically identifiable compounds can be added to plastic products, films, documents, or other items that can prevent detection by photoelectric crystals, charge coupled devices (CCD), and/or the like. The material can be made into a liquid, paste or other form of medium by rolling or using spreading or deposition methods, and the material can be added to the transaction card in the form of film, plastic, printing ink, coating or other application medium. In order to minimize environmental damage to the ink, for example, the ink is scratched, it is better to coat the ink directly on the plastic thin layer under the laminate (as described in step 170 below). Moreover, infrared ink can be coated on the inner or outer surface of the plastic thin layer.

In an exemplary embodiment, adding an optically identifiable compound to an article may not require a separate printing unit, modification of existing printing equipment, or additional operating steps. In particular, the manufacturing process of an article (such as a transaction card) can use existing equipment for adding colorants, so the application of optically identifiable compounds to existing colorants does not add additional equipment or processing steps.

In a further embodiment, the optically identifiable compound blocks light detected by the machine. More specifically, the machine can detect the existence of a transaction card through an infrared interface of one or several wavelengths. In an exemplary embodiment, when a material is inspected by invisible infrared radiation from an appropriate instrument, the inspection of the material may include the generation of visual effects, and when such radiation comes into contact with infrared materials, visual effects, such as colored Light. Alternatively, the material can be detected by a remotely controlled detector, which will indicate the presence of the material. The detection or authentication of the material occurs above and below the stimulation wavelength of the reading device. In this regard, once the optically identifiable material has been detected, the detection device may then provide the user with a positive identification signal, which is preferably located on or near the detection device.

In an exemplary embodiment, the detection of infrared materials triggers a photoreceptor in an automated teller machine. In particular, with regard to Figure 8, the present invention allows a greater percentage of visible light (from about 400 nanometers to 700 nanometers) to pass through. The visible light can make the transaction card appear translucent but can block some light (from about 400 nanometers to 700 nanometers). Approximately 700 nanometers and above) to allow the photoelectric crystal in the ATM to detect that the transaction card has been inserted into the card slot of the machine. As described above, the illustrated photosensitive device of the ATM includes an infrared light emitting diode, a filter, and a photoelectric crystal.

In addition to triggering the photoreceptor in the ATM, the translucent transaction card 5 can also be used with any magnetic stripe or smart card reading device. The reader system can include a transaction card reader/writer, a point-of-sale terminal, an automated teller machine, or any other receiving device. In an exemplary embodiment, the transaction card 5 is used in conjunction with a reading device. When the transaction card is inserted into the reading device, the reading device can not only detect the existence of the transaction card, but also illuminate the transparent part of the transaction card 5 . The lighting source can be an incandescent light source or a solid-state light source (infrared light-emitting diode or laser). In operation, when the transaction card is inserted into the receiving device, the edge of the transaction card presses the lighting accessories (or activates the switch, interrupts the light beam, etc.). Depending on the specific application of the transaction card, the lighting source can be controlled by the receiving device or additional software. Therefore, if controlled by an additional software program, the lighting source will flicker or display a special color. In addition, depending on the structure of the transaction card, the lighting source can be used to activate an embedded design useful for security or product additional functions.

As mentioned above, the optically recognizable compound can be added to any type of article. The exemplified item is a transaction card, and the transaction card itself may contain a large number of various features. In an exemplary embodiment, generally speaking, the present invention includes a transaction card 5, the transaction card 5 is a front side layer 10 and a back side layer 12 with an opaque, transparent or translucent substrate, and is attached to the transaction card 5 It is composed of a variety of characteristics, such as text 30, 32, 34, trademark 50, embossed characters 35, magnetic stripe 42, signature column 45, holographic aluminum foil 15, IC chip 20, and opacity gradient 25 (Figure 1 and Figure 2).

The transaction card 5 also contains the above-mentioned optically recognizable compound to allow the transparent or translucent transaction card 5 to be recognized by a transaction card reader (such as an automated teller machine), and/or to allow the transparent transaction card 5 to be used during the manufacturing of the transaction card Can be identified and counted. The optically identifiable compound on the transparent transaction card 5 is a substantially invisible or semi-transparent infrared ink, mirror or film, which can block (absorb or reflect) infrared, but transmit light of all other wavelengths (please refer to Figure 4). The transaction card 5 can be used for credit payment, charging, pre-borrowing, access, identification, data storage, e-commerce and/or other functions.

3, in order to manufacture a transaction card 5 having a front surface and a rear surface according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a front surface layer 10 and a back surface layer 12 composed of a plastic substrate (such as a clean core polyvinyl chloride) (Figure 1 and 2) are manufactured (step 100). Those skilled in the art will understand that the front side layer 10 and the back side layer 12 of the transaction card 5 can be any suitable transparent, translucent and/or opaque material, such as plastic, glass, acrylic and/or any of these materials. combination. Each of the front sheet 10 and the back sheet 12 is substantially the same, and preferably is about 3 inches × 4 inches (622 mm × 548 mm), and the thickness is about 0.005 to 0.350 inches or better. 0.01 to 0.15 inches or 13.5 mils.

Regarding Figure 7A, the manufacture of each transaction card involves direct layout of the film (9 layers) or the use of sub-assembly (5 layers). The exemplified subassembly is composed of 5 layers of films, which are applied on thermosetting and thermoplastic adhesives with room temperature adhesive (tack adhesive). The completed transaction card (from the front of the transaction card to the back of the transaction card) contains: 2.0 mil external laminate (polyvinyl chloride) with holographic aluminum foil, embossed surface, chips, and others on the laminate surface Instructions; 9.0 mil printed PVC core, which has an outward printed side (the front of the transaction card); 2.0 mil PVC adhesive; 1.7 mil PETGS (extrusion-coated polyoxyethylene terephthalate) Diacid-adhesive/imprintable), which was developed by D&amp;K (Elk Grove Village, Moose Grove, Illinois, 60007, USA) Village) Crossen (Crossen) No. 525); 2.0 mil polyoxyethylene terephthalic acid infrared blocking film; 1.7 mil polyoxyethylene terephthalic acid-adhesive/imprintable; 2.0 mil Polyoxyethylene terephthalic acid adhesive; 9.0 mil printed polyvinyl chloride core, which has an outwardly printed side (the back of the transaction card); and 2.0 mil external back laminate, which has a signature panel, applied The magnetic stripe and other instructions. Ideally, the polyethylene terephthalic acid infrared blocking film is arranged in the center of each layer to balance the transaction card and minimize the deformation of the transaction card product. Figures 7B to 7F show relevant layers of other exemplary embodiments. Moreover, Figure 11 shows a detailed example embodiment of each layer/page of the transaction card structure, including: each layer number, material, thickness of each layer (in mils), source/manufacturer of the material, comments on bonding strength data , And the total thickness (in mils). In addition, regarding FIG. 12A, the film bonding strength for various film bonding is shown in the graph of strength (lbs/inch) V. film bonding. Regarding Figure 12B, the bonding strength of various film interfaces on the film interface is shown in the strength (pounds/inch) V. Film bonding graph.

After the final bonding of the thin layers (step 160), it is better to adhere the front thin layer 10 to the top of the back thin layer 12. The total thickness of the transaction card is about 0.032 inches (32 mils). Within the ISO thickness standard of the smart transaction card. Since the IC chip 20 is finally embedded in the surface of the substrate (step 195), and the surface of the IC chip 20 is as flat as the outer surface of the front surface layer 10, the IC chip 20 will not affect the thickness of the transaction card 5 at all. Moreover, the thin layer of about 3 inches X 4 inches has a mark, and the mark defines the boundary position of each transaction card 5 cut from the thin layer. Each example thin layer produces more than 50 transaction cards (usually 56 transaction cards), and each transaction card 5 is within the ISO transaction card size standard, that is, about 2 inches X 3.5 inches.

Generally speaking, the exemplary processing procedure of the structure of the transaction card 5 with infrared film includes chemical vapor deposition of polyethylene terephthalic acid (PET) film, so that the film has the best visible and infrared characteristics ( Step 105). The chemical deposition is performed by the Magnetron Machine (Magnetron Machine) manufactured by Magnetron. Regarding Figure 10, this procedure combines three coating areas and a roller chemical vapor deposition sputtering system. The magnetron roller vapor deposition machine uses chemical vapor deposition to deposit batches containing silver, gold, and indium oxide on optical grade polyethylene terephthalic acid. Each silver/gold/indium layer is about 100 angstroms, and depending on the lower wavelength reflection, there are about 3 to 5 layers. A more detailed description of vacuum coating, solar coating, and magnetron sputtering can be found in Rolf Hummel and Karl H. Guenther, "Optical Characteristics Handbook, Volume One" , About Optically Coated Films", found in CRC Publishing Company, 1995, here is the entire content of it for reference.

Next, plasma or flame treatment (flame treatment) is applied to the polyethylene oxide terephthalic acid film to reduce the surface tension of the film (step 110). During the deposition and assembly of each layer, the infrared film is monitored to optimize the infrared blocking spectrum. In this way, the film is then tested by using a spectrophotometer and a standard to test the visible and infrared properties of the polyethylene oxide terephthalic acid film. Regarding Figure 9, a reflection and transmission monitor with various optical components for vacuum in-line roller coating operations is used to monitor the infrared film. The monitoring of the linear spectrophotometer is part of the vapor deposition process. During the entire test, the transmission of various different wavelengths was monitored. The adhesive is applied on the polyethylene terephthalic acid (-adhesive/imprintable) layer (step 120), and the pressure laminate is applied on the indium of the polyethylene terephthalic acid infrared blocking film Oxide on the metal surface (step 125). Next, the adhesive is applied to the polyethylene oxide terephthalic acid side of the infrared blocking film (step 130), and a pressure laminate is applied to the polyethylene oxide terephthalic acid (-adhesive/imprintable Sexual) layer (step 135). Exemplary lamination conditions include 22 minutes at 280 degrees Fahrenheit and 600 psi, followed by cooling under pressure for 18 minutes. Heat-sealing adhesive is applied on both outer sides of polyethylene terephthalic acid (-adhesive/imprintable), or PVC adhesive is applied on polyethylene terephthalic acid (-adhesive (Step 140).

In an exemplary embodiment, certain compounds are printed on the surface of the front sheet 10 and the back sheet 12. Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the printing of characters 30, 32, 34, trademark 50, optically recognizable ink, and optical gradient 25 can be applied to any surface of the transaction card 5, such as the surface of the front sheet 10 and the back sheet 12 The surface, the inner and outer surfaces of each surface, the surface between the two layers of the basic material, and/or a combination of these. Moreover, any suitable printing, scoring, embossing, marking or similar methods are within the scope of the present invention.

The optical gradient 25 and optically recognizable ink are printed on the thin layer by a screen printing process (step 150). Regarding the optical gradient 25, the exemplified gradient includes a silver pearl ink gradation. The silver pearl ink gradation has an ink stippling, which has a higher density on the top of the transaction card 5, and when As it approaches the bottom of the transaction card 5, the density gradually decreases or becomes lighter. Those skilled in the art will understand that the optical gradient 25 can have any density throughout the optical gradient 25, and the optical gradient 25 can traverse any direction on the surface of the transaction card 5. The optical gradient 25 can be formed by any material that can provide a similar optical gradient 25 on the transaction card 5. Moreover, by using known printing inks (such as Pantone pigments) to be appropriately formulated for printing on plastic, the exemplary ink optical gradient 25 of each transaction card 5 is printed. In an exemplary embodiment, the ink used for scribing the optical gradient 25 is a silver pearl ink and is applied to the outer surface of each plastic layer. By using a screen printing process that provides opaque, thicker ink coverage, or an offset printing process that provides a finer halftone image, the ink optical gradient 25 is printed on the surface of each thin layer. The word "American Express" was printed with Pantone 8482 through the use of a screen-like process.

More specifically, regarding screen printing, the artwork with the desired optical gradient 25 is copied many times to match the number of individual transaction cards 5 produced from the thin layer. Then by any known photolithographic process (photolithographic process), the copied image is appropriately applied to the screen, and the screen is then developed (deVelop). The screen is placed on the thin layer, and the ink is properly brushed across the surface of the screen. The portion not covered by the screen allows the ink to pass through the screen and leaves an image pattern on the thin layer. If you want multiple colors, you can repeat this procedure for each color. Moreover, other security features are selectively silk printed on the transaction card 5, such as an invisible, ultraviolet (ultraviolet) payment card logo (visible under black light), by using offset printing or Silk screen printing, and Pantone 307 and 297 of the same color shade two-color overprint (duotone) printing.

The characters 30, 32, 34, and the trademark 50 are printed on the outer surface of each layer by known printing techniques, such as an offset printing process (step 155). The offset printing process provides a thinner ink coverage, but the text is more clear. More specifically, with regard to offset printing, the image is coated on a metal plate, and the metal plate is located on an offset printing machine, which can print four colors in a single cycle. The text printed by offset printing includes: company name 30, copyright notice 33, batch number 34, "expiration date" information 32, contact phone number, legal statement (not shown), and/or similar. The exemplified offset text is printed with opaque white ink 4DBC, or the composition of the special Pantone Cool Gray 11, called UV AMX Gray.

Because the generated transaction card 5 may be transparent, the text can be seen from the front and back sides of the transaction card 5. In this regard, if the text is only printed on a thin layer, when the text is read from the other side of the transaction card 5 (that is, the text is read through the plastic substrate), the text may be blurred and difficult to understand. In order to reduce the incomprehensibility of the text, the front sheet 10 is printed with standard layout text on its outer surface, and the back sheet 12 is printed with the same text on its outer surface, but the text is "opposite" ( reverse). The text on the back sheet 12 is aligned with the text on the front sheet 10, and the text alignment is completed by the outline mark on the entire sheet. Some text or design may be hidden by the compound of the transaction card 5 (magnetic stripe 40, IC chip 20, etc.) and can be printed on only a thin layer. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the company's logo 50 is printed on only one thin layer and is located behind the IC chip 20, so it is covered when viewed from the front thin layer 10, and is covered when viewed from the back thin layer 12. At least a part of the IC chip 20. Those skilled in the art will understand that any offset printing process can be performed on the outer surface or the inner surface of the thin layer surface.

The laminate applied on the back layer 12 of the transaction card 5 (step 170) is preferably a magnetic stripe 40 comprising a plurality of rows, wherein each magnetic stripe 40 corresponds to another transaction card 5. The magnetic strip 40 extends along the length of the transaction card 5 and is applied to the surface and upper half of the back layer 12 of the transaction card 5, and the size and configuration of the magnetic strip 40 conform to the ISO standard. However, the magnetic strip 40 may have any width, length, shape, and any position on the transaction card 5. The two-track magnetic strip 40, including the recorded data, can be obtained from, for example, Dai Nippon of Tokyo 03-3266-2111, Shinjuku-ku, Ichigaya Kagacho 1-chome, 1-1, Tokyo, Japan 162-8001. In an exemplary embodiment, the magnetic stripe is applied to the outer laminate by using a tape layer machine, which uses a rolling hot die and is applied under appropriate pressure. Next, the cold peel magnetic stripe (Cold peelm agneticstripe) and the external laminate roll (laminate roll) are combined together. Then, before the layers of the transaction card are assembled, the laminate roll is cut into pages at the output of the tape laying machine, and during the lamination process, the magnetic stripe is welded to the transaction card.

Although the magnetic strip 40 of the conventional technology currently used is black, in a particular exemplary embodiment, the magnetic strip 40 of the present invention is a silver magnetic strip 40. The exemplified silver magnetic stripe 40 is 2750 oersted and conforms to the ISO standard. Furthermore, this silver magnetic stripe 40 includes printing on the magnetic stripe 40. The printing on the magnetic strip 40 may include any appropriate text, trademark 50, holographic aluminum foil 15, and/or the like; however, in an exemplary embodiment, the printing includes text indicating the address of an Internet website. Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (more information about Dai Nippon can be obtained at www.dnp.co.jp) using, for example, the Dai Nippon CPX10000 card printer (card printer), which uses a surface that is not compatible with transaction cards The dye sublimation retransfer technology of the contacting thermal head (thermal head) technology), and print a holographic image or text on the magnetic stripe. The card printer uses dual transfer technology to print an image on a clean film using a thermal head, and then transfer the printed image onto the actual transaction card medium with a hot roller. The printing of the data on the surface of the magnetic strip 40 is done by American Banknote Holographics at 399 Executive Boulevard (Executive Blvd.), Elmsford, New York State 10523, USA, telephone (914) 592-2355. The information printed on the surface of the magnetic stripe 40 can be obtained in the US Patent No. 4,684,795 issued to the United States Banknote Company of New York, USA on August 4, 1987, and the entire content is attached here by reference.

After the desired printing has been completed and the magnetic stripe has been laid, the front thin layer 10 and the back thin layer 12 are placed together (step 160), and the thin layer preferably uses any adhesion procedure, such as using a suitable adhesive. Agent while sticking together. Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that the single-sided plastic transaction card 5 can be used to replace the process of printing on two sheets and combining the two sheets, where the transaction card 5 is printed on one side first, and then the same transaction The card 5 is then passed back to the printing press for printing on the other side. In the present invention, after the two thin layers are pasted together, a plastic thin layer of approximately the same size, that is, 3 inches×4 inches, is applied on the front thin layer 10 and the back thin layer 12 of the transaction card 5. After the thin layer has been applied to the combined plastic thin layer of the front thin layer 10 and the back thin layer 12 (step 170), the layers of the transaction card 5 are appropriately compressed with a suitable pressure, and the thickness is 90-700 pounds. / Heat at about 300°C for an appropriate period of time under the pressure of equal inches to create a single transaction card 5 device. The aforementioned transaction card can be manufactured by, for example, Oberthur Card Systems, No. 15 James Hance Court, Exton, Pennsylvania, USA.

In an exemplary embodiment, the layers of the transaction card are welded to each other during the lamination process using heat and pressure. During the hot pressing stage, the press is heated to about 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pressure is raised to about 1000 psig and maintained for about 90 seconds. The pressure then drops to about 350 pounds per square inch over a period of about 30 seconds and is maintained at the same temperature (that is, 300 degrees Fahrenheit) for about 16 minutes. The transaction card is then transported to a cooling press, which is approximately 57 degrees Fahrenheit. When cold water at 57 degrees Fahrenheit circulates in the metal plate, the pressure increases to about 400 pounds per square inch and is maintained for about 16 minutes. Next, this cooled punch exits the transaction card.

Regarding Figures 1 and 2, after the laminate has been laid, the signature column is applied on the back sheet 12 of the transaction card 5 (step 175), and the holographic aluminum foil 15 is applied on the front sheet 10 of the transaction card 5 Go up (step 190). Regarding the signature column 45, although the conventional signature column is formed by pasting a paper-like tape to the back sheet 12 of the transaction card 5, in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the signature column 45 is a size of about 2 The semi-transparent frame of inch X3/8 inch is applied on the transaction card by hot embossing process. The issuer of the transaction card 5 usually requires the store to check the signature on the signature column 45 to avoid fraudulent use of the transaction card 5 and cause financial liability. In this regard, the translucent signature column 45 on the transparent transaction card 5 not only allows the clerk to view at least a part of the signature column 45 from the front of the transaction card 5, but also encourages the clerk to turn the transaction card to the back and place it on the receipt. Check the authenticity of the signature.

After the thin layer of the transaction card has been laminated, the thin layer is cut into individual transaction cards 5 by a known embossing process (step 180). This embossing process includes any required curing and burrowing ), clean, and/or edge-sealed. Individual transaction cards are approximately 3 inches x 4 inches, and conform to ISO standards for the shape and size of transaction cards 5. In an exemplary embodiment, the laminated sheet with 56 transaction cards is suitably cut in half on a gilloutine device, resulting in two 1/2 sheets of 28 transaction cards. The 12 thin layer is loaded on a cardpunch machine, which uses a predetermined alignment mark to align the thin layer with the die (X and Y axis). This alignment mark is optically visible from the machine of. This 12 thin layer is then fed under the press in 7 steps. In particular, a fixed-distance feeder follows another optical sensor to search to stop the feeder at the pre-printed calibration mark, and then the machine punches a row of 4 transaction cards at a time. After die cutting and processing according to the standard processing procedure, and before applying the holographic aluminum foil 15, the infrared reflection performance is checked in-line (step 185).

Regarding the illustrated application procedure of the holographic aluminum foil, the holographic aluminum foil 15 is pasted to the transaction card 5 by any appropriate method (step 190). In an exemplary embodiment, a substantially square steel die (approximately 1 1/4 inches X 1 and 14 inches, with rounded corners and a 0.0007 inch convex surface across the contact surface) will be Individual holographic aluminum foil 15 is punched out of the entire thin layer with holographic aluminum foil 15. This die is a part of the hotstamp machine, so the die passes through the entire thin layer of the holographic aluminum foil 15, and cuts the holographic aluminum foil 15 into a specific image. After the transaction card is pressed, it is immediately heated The holographic aluminum foil 15 is applied on the front thin layer 10 of the transaction card 5. The temperature of the die is approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit plus or minus 10 degrees. The residence time is about 1/2 seconds, and the application speed depends on the individual thermal printer; however, the above temperature and residence time are based on the speed of 100 transaction cards per minute. Stephen P. McGrew's US Patent Nos. 4,206,965; 4421,380; 4,589,686; and 4717221 provide more detailed information on the thermal printing process of holographic images, and the entire contents are attached here by reference.

Regarding the holographic aluminum foil 15, the holographic aluminum foil 15 can be any color, including any holographic image, can be applied to any position of the transaction card 5, and can be cut into any size, shape, and thickness. In an exemplary embodiment, the holographic aluminum foil 15 preferably includes: a gray adhesive on the bottom; and a blue lens-like three-dimensional holographic surface on the top, which contains many holographic images , Each image is about 1 and 1/4 inches X1 and 14 inches. The illustrated holographic image has 360-degree visibility and diffracts the colors of the rainbow under white light. The full-color holographic image is manufactured by, for example, American Banknote HolographicS.

The corners of the individual holographic aluminum foil 15 are preferably rounded to minimize the possibility of the holographic aluminum foil 15 peeling off the surface of the transaction card 5. Moreover, when applied to the transaction card, the blue holographic surface faces away from the transaction card 5, and the gray adhesive is applied to the surface of the transaction card 5. The upper surface of the holographic aluminum foil 15 may be created by any suitable method, such as reflective holographic, transmissive holographic, chemical cleaning, the addition of lens formula, and/or any combination of these methods. The holographic aluminum foil 15 can be manufactured by American Banknote Holographics, Inc., 1448 County Line Road, Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, USA, for example.

The illustrated holographic aluminum foil 15 includes various layers. Those skilled in the art will be able to understand that any order, combination, and/or formulation of these layers that provide an approximate holographic effect is within the scope of the present invention. In an exemplary embodiment, the holographic transfer aluminum foil structure includes the following layers: 90 gauge (gauge) polyester carrier, release coating, imprintable resin, vacuum deposited aluminum, bonding coating, and paint coating . During the transfer process, the layers of imprintable resin, vacuum deposited aluminum, bond coating, and paint coating are deposited on a substrate.

In an exemplary embodiment, the thin layer of the holographic aluminum foil 15 is a transmission holographic image, suitably by interfering with two or more concentrated light from a 20-watt argon laser with a wavelength of 457.9 nm (that is, an object beam). And a reference beam) to the positive photosensitive emulsion (using shiply photosensitive centrifugal coating sheet), and was created. This system uses developer 303A, for example, and records the interference pattern generated by the interference beam of light. The object beam is a coherent beam reflected by the object to be recorded or transmitted through the object to be recorded, and the object is preferably a three-dimensional lens. The reference beam is preferably a coherent, collimated beam with a surface wave front.

The addition of the holographic aluminum foil 15 to the transaction card provides a more reliable method to determine the authentication problem of the transaction card 5 under normal white light, that is, by observing whether the holographic image has a depth change and a color change. Therefore, in order to allow the holographic image to be viewed with normal white light, when the holographic image is recorded on the transaction card 5, the image to be recorded is placed close to the surface of the substrate. Moreover, the holographic image is embossed on a metal carrier, such as holographic aluminum foil, or the holographic image may be directly projected onto a transparent plastic material. When formed on a transparent plastic material, the holographic image can be inspected by depositing a visible substrate (such as metal or ink) on the imprinted holographic image. More detailed information about the generation of the holographic image on the transaction card 5, or the generation of the holographic aluminum foil 15, can be obtained in, for example, US Patent No. 4,684,795 issued to the United States Banknote Company in New York, USA in 1987, or from American Banknote Holographics, website www.abnh.com is available, and here are the entire contents of the two for reference.

In an exemplary embodiment, the holographic aluminum foil applied to the vinyl credit card is achieved by using metal credit card aluminum foil. The aluminum foil is a non-size, metallic, embossable, corrosion-resistant, and chemical-resistant hot-embossed aluminum foil on a 1.0 mil (92 gauge) polyester carrier. All the illustrated materials are colored with the color code #563 (blue) of the material supplier. Aluminum foil is vacuum metalized with aluminum and has an optical density range of about 1.060 to 2.00. The ideal aluminum foil has no visual defects and particulate matter. According to the release testing unit (release testing unit), the aluminum foil has a release characteristic of about 0 to 7 grams. This release testing unit has a 300 degree Fahrenheit, 80 pounds per square inch, and a residence time of 1 second when the carrier is removed at a 45 degree angle. , A die face with a delay of 0.1 seconds. The exemplified base material is capable of accepting a fixed, fixed, imprinted hard nickel die with a pressure of about 1600 pounds per linear inch at a die temperature of about 100 pounds of air pressure and a die temperature of about 200 to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. High-accuracy (based on 100% embossing die, at least 70% diffraction effect) holographic image surface printing. When testing the compression capability of the base material, this test includes a first and a second image to ensure that the imprinted coating is capable of producing an ideal second image.

Regarding the mechanical and chemical durability of the holographic aluminum cycle, this aluminum foil is abrasion resistant. In this regard, after pasting and embossing aluminum foil on a vinyl credit card, the transferred holographic image before the critical signal can withstand 100 cycles using CS-10 wheels and a Taber Abrader with a load of about 500 grams. The aluminum foil is resistant to abrasion, so that the aluminum can withstand 6 cycles on the Taber Abrader under the same conditions, without substantial visually visible marks, scratches, or blurs. When embossing on a DC50000 encoder or equivalent system, this holographic aluminum foil can also resist any substantial vinyl cracks in the holographic area. Moreover, the non-dimensioned aluminum foil imprinted on the polyester carrier is capable of elongation by 15% without breaking the substrate coating. Moreover, the illustrated vinyl transaction card with the illustrated hologram can withstand 15 minutes in the oven at 110 degrees Celsius, and the image is still clearly visible after the test. In addition, the illustrated holographic image does not show any visual effects after 5 cycles of 8 hours at 0 degrees Celsius and 16 hours at 60 degrees Celsius.

The hologram illustrated on the vinyl trading card is also resistant to plasticizers, alkalis, acids, and solvents. In particular, a transaction card with a holographic image can be immersed in a warm liquid plasticizer (typically dioctylphthalate) until the point of severe bulge of the transaction card. After the image on the transaction card is in contact with the plasticized vinyl at 60 degrees Celsius for a period of 5 days, there is no substantial effect. Regarding alkali, the hologram on the transaction card can withstand being immersed in 10% ammonium hydroxide at room temperature for about 1 hour without deterioration. Moreover, the hologram was immersed in artificial alkali-containing sweat (10% sodium chloride, 1% phosphate, 4% am monium carbonate, and pH 8.0) at room temperature for 50 hours, and No indication of substantial deterioration. Regarding acid, the illustrated hologram on the transaction card can substantially withstand immersion in 10% acetic acid for about 1 hour at room temperature without substantial deterioration. Moreover, the illustrated hologram can substantially withstand being immersed in artificial acid sweat (10% sodium chloride, 1% phosphate, 1% lactic acid, and pH 3.5) at room temperature for 50 hours without any substance. The deterioration.

Regarding solvents, the illustrated hologram on the transaction card can essentially withstand the following: immersed in ethylene glycol (100% and 50% in water) at room temperature for 4 hours without substantial effect; at room temperature After immersing in ethanol (100% and 50% in water) for 4 hours, there is no substantial effect; after immersing in methyl ethyl ketone at room temperature for 1 minute, there is no substantial effect; immersing in toluene ( toluene) until the severe swelling of the trading card (30 minutes at room temperature) without substantial effect; after immersing in water at 60 degrees Celsius for 16 hours, there is no substantial effect; and immersing in concentrated laundry at room temperature After 20 hours of treatment, there is no substantial effect.

Moreover, the illustrated hologram on the vinyl transaction card, placed in a trouser pocket under a fixed pressure setting, was washed and dried with a commercial washing machine and stripper, and showed no substantial effect.

The debit card substrate is composed of a vinyl base or other equivalent types of materials, which are suitably capable of accepting the hot embossing process of the holographic image without substantially damaging the existing holographic image or coating composition. When pasting the hologram to the vinyl trading card, the coating shows a consistent red color and is uniform in color and viscosity, and can avoid contamination. The adhesive used to attach the holographic image to the transaction card is also strong enough so that when the Scotch610 applied to the holographic image is removed at a 45-degree angle, there will be no noteworthy aluminum foil being removed from the substrate.

Regarding the brightness of the image, a minimum of 2 microwatts (microwatt) of light diffraction can be read on the registration area. Moreover, regarding the image quality, the image is substantially free of defects such as large stains, scratches, wrinkles, mottle, blur, and/or any other substantial distortion of the image.

The final example product is cut into strips with a width of 1 and 53/64 inches plus/minus 1/64 inches, and a length of 10,000 images per roll. The registration block is located no more than 564 inches from the edge of the strip of material. All the finished long rolls are wound by metal, the side faces the 3.0-inch diameter core, each finished reel allows a maximum of 3 joints, and the registration area is 0.125 inches X 0.125 inches square.

After the individual transaction card 5 is stamped out and the holographic aluminum foil is applied, the IC chip 20 is applied to the transaction card 5 by any method, such as glue, heat, tape, slot and/or the like ( Step 195). More specifically, a small part of the front side layer 10 of the transaction card 5 is processed by a machine, such as a milling machine. This milling step removes about 0.02 mil of plastic from the surface of the front thin layer 10, so that the dug hole penetrates the two core layers of the plastic, but does not pass through the outer laminate of the last plastic, thus forming a 5235HST pit . The IC chip 20 is a 5235 palladium pressed with silver instead of the standard pressed gold. The IC chip 20 is applied to the transaction card using a known "potting" process. Any suitable adhesive, such as non-conductive adhesive, is arranged in the processing hole, and the IC chip 20 is substantially as high as the front surface layer 10 of the transaction card 5. Appropriate pressure and heat are applied to the IC chip 20 to ensure that the IC chip 20 has sufficient adhesion to the transaction card 5. The IC chip 20 is any suitable integrated circuit located anywhere on the transaction card 5. In an exemplary embodiment, the structure, design, function, and arrangement of the IC chip 20 comply with the ISO standards of the IC chip 20 and the transaction card 5. The IC chip 20 can be obtained from, for example, Siemens in Germany.

After applying the holographic aluminum foil 15 and the IC chip 20 to the transaction card 5, certain information, such as the account number 35 and the "validity period" date (not shown), is preferably imprinted into the transaction by a known imprinting method Card 5 (step 200). This imprinting can be done by, for example, the Oberthur Card System. Although any data can be pressed into any position of the transaction card 5, in a specific embodiment, the account number 35 is pressed through the holographic aluminum foil 15 to reduce the transfer of the holographic aluminum foil 15 to forgery The transaction card 5 is used for the possibility of fraud. In addition, although the conventional transaction card 5 includes the start and end valid dates, the transaction card 5 of the present invention only includes the valid date, that is, the date on which the transaction card expires.

The above-mentioned exemplary embodiment of the manufacturing of the transaction card 5 is disclosed. Those skilled in the art will understand that any text 30, 32, 34, trademark 50, account number 35, magnetic stripe 42, signature column 45, holographic aluminum foil 15, IC Appropriate methods for the wafer 20 and the transparent optical gradient 25 (please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2) onto the substrate are all within the scope of the present invention. In particular, holographic aluminum foil 15, IC chip 20, trademark 50, magnetic stripe 42, signature box 45 or any formula can be obtained by appropriate means, such as heat, pressure, glue, slotting and/or other methods mentioned above The combination of is added to any part of trading card 5.

Although the present creation is disclosed as above in a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the steps that can be excluded, and will not affect the utility of the present invention. Moreover, other types of transaction card procedures, numbering and printing methods can be used, such as the dye sublimation retransfer technology and/or double transfer technology of Dai Nippon Company in Japan. These changes and modifications are within the scope of the present invention, and the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to those defined by the attached patent application scope.

Symbol description of main components

5. . . Trading card

20. . . IC chip

10. . . Frontal thin layer

34. . . Word

33. . . Copyright notice

40. . . Magnetic stripe

50. . . trademark

45. . . Signature column

30. . . Word

32. . . Word

25. . . Optical gradient

35. . . Embossed characters

15. . . Holographic aluminum foil

42. . . Magnetic stripe

12. . . Thin layer on the back