HK1159287B - Card with digital display - Google Patents

Description

Card with digital display

The present application is a divisional application filed on 2008/3/4, with application number 200880008879.7 entitled "card with digital display".

Technical Field

The present invention relates to cards containing electronic displays. The electronic display is typically associated with electronic data processing circuitry, and in some variations, the electronic display is associated with switches or sensors that enable a user to activate particular functions. For example, the electronic display may display variable codes and other data to increase the security of a bank card or secure access card (secure access card). Integrating an electronic display in a card poses certain manufacturing limitations if the card must be transparent over the display. According to the invention, the electronic display module is located inside the card. Thereby, the display module is covered by at least one additional outer protective layer.

Background

According to an advantageous method of manufacturing a card containing various electronic components, the electronic components are coated or embedded in a resin, wherein the resin forms the core (core) or the intermediate layer of the card. European patent No.0570784 discloses a manufacturing process of this type in general. In order to obtain a core with a flat, uniform surface, it is preferred to coat all the electronic components contained in the card and thus cover the electronic display with a resin coating. In carrying out this latter embodiment, the resin must be transparent at least in the display area. The transparency of the resin poses a problem for obtaining high quality prints, especially on the top surface of the card where the display is present. Thus, two problems arise. Generally, printing a graphic on a transparent layer results in a reduction in both color intensity and contrast, such that the color has a translucent appearance. Second, the presence of various electronic components in the transparent core can cause variations in the light reflected by the core, which can result in darker areas on the surface of the core. Thus, the support on which the printed pattern is present is optically non-uniform, which typically results in variations in contrast and color intensity on the top surface side of the finished card.

In order to overcome the above problems, in the cards made in the prior art, a light-coloured (preferably white) ink or varnish (varnish) is preferably deposited under the printed figures by means of a screen-printing technique, so that a thin layer of ink or varnish has a specific thickness. Two variants of cards manufactured according to this technique are shown in figures 1 and 2.

The card 2 of fig. 1 is formed by a core 4, which core 4 contains an electronic unit 8 and an electronic display 10. These electronic components 8 and 10 are embedded in a transparent resin 6 forming the core 4, wherein the core 4 is manufactured in a first step of a manufacturing method for such a card. The core 4 is formed by techniques known to those skilled in the art, in particular by pressing or by injecting a resin into a mould. Next, a transparent film 12 is provided on the top surface side of the core, and a graphic 14 is printed on the inner surface of the transparent film 12. In order to obtain high quality printing, i.e. high resolution, the printed pattern 14 is preferably obtained by offset printing (offset printing) techniques. Then, according to this prior art method, a layer of ink or varnish 16 is printed on the pattern 14. This layer 16 is preferably white and extends over the entire bottom surface of transparent film 12 except for the display area located above electronic display 10. Thus, layer 16 defines a window through which electronic display 10 can be viewed.

Also, a transparent film 18 is provided on the bottom surface side of the card 2, and a graphic 20 is printed on the top surface of the transparent film 18. The graphic 20 is covered by an ink or varnish layer 22. Layer 22 is also preferably deposited by screen printing. It should be noted, however, that the bottom layers 16 and 22 may be deposited by various techniques.

The card 22 according to the variant shown in fig. 2 comprises a core 24 formed by a resin or any material 26. Core 24 differs from core 4 in fig. 1 in that electronic display 10 at the top surface of core 24 is flush with the top surface of core 24. In contrast to the previous variant, the material 26 does not have to be transparent here. For the core 4 of fig. 1, the material 26 in liquid form may be added at the time of press or injection molding installation. In another method of manufacturing core 24, electronic display 10 may be inserted in a shell (shell) having preformed grooves (housing) or in holes in the layers forming core 24, the layers used to form core 24 being formed from one or more layers assembled by lamination or press bonding. To obtain a flat, uniform support for the printed pattern 14, a transparent film 30 is provided on the top surface of the core 24. A layer of ink or varnish 16 is deposited on the top surface of the film 30 and leaves a window for the electronic display 10. The graphic 14 is printed on the bottom layer 16 by offset printing techniques. The transparent outer film 12 is then assembled to the printed film 30. A fine (fine) layer of adhesive or resin is provided between the printed film 30 and the outer film 12 to increase the adhesion between the two transparent layers. On the bottom surface side of the card 22, an opaque layer 32 is provided by pressing a core, and the pattern 20 is printed on the bottom surface of the opaque layer 32. The graphic 20 is then covered by the transparent outer film 18 by a thin layer 36 of adhesive or resin.

In addition to the problems associated with the thickness of the card 22, when developing the present invention, it was observed that embodiments of cards 2 and 22 do not effectively address the problems described above, namely, the reduction in contrast and the low color intensity due to the presence of a transparent layer or film behind the printed graphic 14. The embodiment described with reference to figures 1 and 2 has two main problems.

First, the deposition of layer 16 by printing techniques does not provide a completely opaque background. Various experiments have demonstrated that it is particularly necessary to deposit several layers by screen printing in order to obtain an opaque background that can provide a satisfactory visual perception of a high-quality card. Furthermore, the ink or varnish that can create the opaque background 16 is of a type having two components. Such inks or varnishes have a relatively long drying time, which leads to several manufacturing problems. Thus, the time required to print or deposit several layers of varnish or ink for an opaque background is rather long. This creates storage problems for each print or drying period of ink or varnish deposition. This results in a relatively expensive manufacturing process requiring a large storage capacity. This storage is also not easy because the printed film must not touch during drying.

The second main problem is the problem of adhesion of the transparent outer layer 12 in the finished cards 2 and 22. The graphic 14 produced by the offset printing technique adheres relatively poorly to the transparent plastic film 12. To increase the adhesion of this outer layer, the printed pattern 14 is typically covered with a thin layer of adhesive or resin that adheres well to the transparent plastic film used. If the two bottom layers 32 and 18 of the card 22 are laminated relative to one another with the printed graphic 20 and the fine layer 36 of adhesive between the two bottom layers 32 and 18, adhesion between the layers 32 and 18 is sufficient. This is observed because the adhesive 34 slightly penetrates the printed graphic and creates a large number of anchor points (anchors) with the layer or film on which the graphic 20 is printed. In other words, the printed graphic 20 may be sufficiently permeable to the adhesive that the latter serves to form a true adhesive interface between two plastic films or layers. The same effect is observed in the case of a card similar to that of figure 1, where only printed graphics 14 and 20 are provided. By selecting a resin 6 that adheres well to the transparent layers 12 and 18, these layers have sufficient adhesion to the core 4 because the resin 6 penetrates slightly the printed patterns 14 and 20 during the lamination assembly operation of the card. It has thus been observed that the presence of the bottom layer forms a barrier to the adhesive or to the resin, so that they are no longer able to guarantee a suitable adhesion of layer 12 in cards 2 and 22 and layer 18 in card 2, respectively.

Disclosure of Invention

Having highlighted the various aforementioned problems in the envisaged prior art solution shown in figures 1 and 2, it is an object of the present invention to propose a solution to the above problems and to provide a card with an integrated electronic display therein, which card has a very high quality printed graphic on its top surface.

The invention therefore relates to a card comprising an electronic display arranged in a core of the card and a plastic layer above the core, the greater part of the plastic layer being formed of an opaque material and the plastic layer being formed of a transparent material in a display portion located above the electronic display.

In a main variant, the plastic layer forms a printing support or substrate for at least one printed graphic on the opaque portion of the plastic layer. Preferably, the opaque material is white.

In a preferred variant, the plastic layer is formed by a sheet (sheet) of the opaque material, wherein holes have been made in the display area. A transparent plate (plate) is disposed in the aperture. The thickness of the plate is preferably approximately equal to the thickness of the opaque sheet.

Drawings

The invention will be described in more detail in the following description, given by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figures 1 and 2 show two cross-sectional views, respectively, of a card manufactured according to a method preceding the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a card according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of a card according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a perforated opaque sheet involved in forming the card of FIGS. 3 and 4;

figure 6 schematically shows a first variant of a printed opaque sheet having a window filled with a transparent material; and

fig. 7 illustrates how a portion of the card shown in fig. 3 may be formed according to a particular manufacturing method.

Detailed Description

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of a card according to the invention. The card 38 has a core 4 similar to the core of the card 2 of fig. 1, in which core 4 the electronic unit 8 and the electronic display 10 are embedded. The core 4 is formed by the transparent resin 6, the transparent resin 6 also covering the electronic display 10. Thereby, the electronic components are coated or embedded in the resin 6, which defines a compact core (compact) having two approximately flat surfaces. It should be noted that in other variants of the core, the electronic component may be covered only by the resin and not entirely coated by the resin.

On core 4, above electronic display 10, a layer 40 is provided, which layer 40 is formed in part by an opaque material 42 and by a transparent material 44, so that the display is visible from the outside of card 38. The larger portion 42 of layer 40 is formed of an opaque material, preferably white. Only one hole 46 is filled by the transparent portion 44, the hole 46 being defined by the opaque portion 42 in the display area above the electronic display 10. The aperture 46 defines a window sized to only allow a portion of the display unit 10 to be visible for displaying characters, numbers or other graphics. The thickness of transparent portion 44 is approximately equal to the thickness of opaque layer 42. Thus, outside of window 46, layer 40 defines a fully opaque light colored background for printing graphic 14 on the top surface of layer 40. The graphic 14 is preferably printed by offset printing techniques. A transparent outer layer 12 is provided over the printed layer 40, with a thin layer of adhesive 34 used to ensure that the outer layer 12 adheres properly to the intermediate layer 40. As explained earlier, the thin layer of adhesive actually defines the adhesion interface between layers 40 and 12 if only graphics need to be printed, particularly in flexographic installations. The problems described above in connection with prior art cards 2 and 22 are thus solved by the card 38 of the present invention.

In order to obtain a symmetrical card also having a high quality print on the bottom surface of the card, an opaque layer 32 is added, on the bottom surface of which opaque layer 32 the graphic 20 is printed. Next, a transparent exterior layer 18 is added by pressing the printed sheet 32, the transparent exterior layer 18 being coated with a thin layer of adhesive 36. The entire assembly is laminated by pressing or using laminating rollers to ensure its assembly. A card is thus obtained having an integrated electronic display inside the card, which can be seen through the transparent layer or film, while outside the display area there is a printing on a relatively thick opaque layer, which allows very good contrast and good color intensity. It should be noted that it is contemplated to have the electronic display on the bottom surface of the card or on both sides of the card.

The card 48 shown in the cross-sectional view of fig. 4 is a variation made from a core 24 similar to the core of the card 22 shown in fig. 2. On the top surface of the core 24 there is a layer 40 of plastic material, the greater part 42 of the layer 40 being formed of opaque material. In the display area located above the display unit 10, the layer 40 has a portion 44 formed of a transparent material. A printed graphic 14 is disposed on opaque portion 42. The printed layer 40 is covered by the transparent film 12. In this variant, there is no thin layer of adhesive between layer 40 and membrane 12. However, in another variant, a film is provided as an adhesive interface between the layer 40 and the outer film 12. It should be noted that a thin layer of resin or adhesive may also be disposed between plastic layer 40 and core 24 to ensure that plastic portion 40 adheres well to electronic display 10. This fine layer of adhesive is advantageously applied on the bottom surface of layer 40 before assembly to core 24. Alternatively, a thin adhesive layer may be deposited in advance on the top surface of core 24, or added in the form of a sheet disposed between layer 40 and core 24. These various alternatives and variations may also be applied to the provision of a fine layer of adhesive or resin between layer 40 and outer layer 12.

In a variation, the graphic 14 may be printed on the bottom surface of the transparent film 12. The transparent film is then positioned such that the printed graphic 14 is opposite the opaque portion 42.

On the bottom surface side of the core 24, an opaque layer 32 and a transparent outer film 18 are provided with the printed pattern 20 therebetween.

It should be noted that a clear lacquer (lacquer), for example, or any other transparent material that can protect the printed graphics 14 and 20, may be substituted for the transparent exterior films 12 and 18.

Fig. 5 shows a perforated plastic sheet 50 used to form layer 40 for a plurality of batch-manufactured cards. The outline 58 of the card obtained after cutting the finished card from the batch (batch) is indicated by a dashed line. The sheet 50 has an aperture 46 for each card. The largest portion 42 is formed by the opaque material of the sheet 50 (specifically, PVC). The graphic 14 may be printed on the sheet before the hole 46 is formed or after this operation. The preliminary printing may provide a printed pattern that completely surrounds the aperture provided for each card.

Figure 6 shows an intermediate product 52 according to a first embodiment of the card manufacturing method according to the invention.

An intermediate product 52 is formed from the sheet 50 shown in fig. 5, wherein the sheet 50 defines a plurality of opaque portions 42 for a corresponding plurality of cards. In the aperture 46 of the sheet 50 there is a transparent portion 44, the transparent portion 44 having approximately the same thickness as the portion 42, thereby forming an intermediate product 52 defining a planar structure. A plurality of graphics 14 are printed on the top surface of the sheet 50. The transparent part 44 is preferably formed by a plate cut from a transparent sheet, and the transparent part 44 is inserted into the hole 46. The plate 44 may be formed by other means known to those skilled in the art.

Those skilled in the art may use various assembly techniques to ensure that the plate 44 remains in place until the step of laminating it to the core of the manufactured card. For example, a simple heated tool tip may be used to form a small number of welds applied to the edge of the hole 46. The plastic material locally melts, which creates a weld and thereby transfers the plate 44 to the sheet 50. These solder points are preferably made on the bottom surface of the sheet 50, i.e. on the side opposite to the printing surface. However, it is also possible to carefully manufacture these solder joints on the side of the printing surface, in particular when printing is subsequently carried out. An adhesive fixation plate 44 may also be used. This bonding step of holding the transparent plates in place may be combined with the deposition of a thin layer of adhesive on the bottom and/or top surface of the intermediate product 52. Transparent plate 44 may also be assembled to perforated sheet 50 in a lamination step. It should be noted that this lamination is provided in addition to the point fitting described above. It is assumed that the heat may at least partially weld the sides of the plate to the walls of the corresponding holes 46 and provide a flat, uniform layer. This layer is then used in a method of forming a card at a relatively low temperature.

The intermediate product 52 is particularly advantageous for the method of printing the graphic 14 after the opaque sheet has been fitted to the transparent plate, since the printing may then also partially cover the transparent plate.

In another method of manufacturing a card according to the invention, the transparent portion 44 may be obtained by injecting a transparent material through the window 46.

Figure 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a further intermediate product 54 obtained in a second embodiment of the card manufacturing method according to the invention. To obtain the intermediate product 54, the opaque sheet 50 is first printed, thereby obtaining a plurality of graphics 14. Then, the transparent film 12 covered with the adhesive layer 34 is pressed against the sheet 50 on the printed pattern 14 side. The printed sheet 50 is then assembled to the transparent film 12 and the groove formed by the hole 46 having the adhesive layer 34 at the bottom thereof is obtained. The transparent plate 44 is then inserted into the aperture 46 and the transparent plate 44 is secured to the film 12 by, for example, a layer of adhesive that is locally heated. An intermediate product 54 is thus obtained which can then be fitted to the core 4 or 24 to provide a card according to the invention. It should be noted that it is also possible to obtain an intermediate product without an adhesive layer. In this latter case, the temporary assembly is achieved by welding the plate to the transparent film 12 via a weld on one or the other side on the edge of the hole or at the centre. Preferably, the assembly thus obtained is laminated to obtain a multilayer structure with a suitable ground plane, without cracks and without any marking caused by the temporary assembly of transparent plates.

In a process in which the core is not manufactured in a previous step, but is formed at the same time as the entire card, the intermediate product 54 is then used as a top multilayer structure, which is set in a lamination mounting (flat press or roller) on a viscous liquid resin used to form the central core containing the electronic components. Typically, in a laminate installation, a bottom sheet or multilayer structure is disposed beneath the added resin. As shown in fig. 3 or 4, the pre-assembled layers 18 and 32 form the bottom multi-layer structure. Typically, the top and bottom multilayer structures are laminated at relatively high temperatures, while the entire card is ultimately manufactured at low or ambient temperatures to prevent damage to the electronic components.

Finally, it should be noted that the transparent portion 44 of the plastic layer 40 may have various optical functions (in particular, polarizing or filtering functions) and have been subjected to various treatments (in particular, antireflection treatments). In an advantageous variant, the transparent portion defines a Fresnel (Fresnel) lens giving a magnifying effect. These functions or optical treatments are used first or initially to increase the reading comfort of the electronic display. However, it can also be used to give a particular visual and aesthetic appearance.

Claims (10)

1. An intermediate product (52; 54) in the batch manufacturing of cards, each card comprising an electronic display (10) arranged in a core (4; 24) of the card, characterized in that the intermediate product is formed by an opaque plastic sheet (50), said opaque plastic sheet (50) having a plurality of holes (46), said plurality of holes (46) defining windows for a respective plurality of corresponding electronic displays, and in that a plurality of transparent portions (44) are respectively arranged in said plurality of holes and fitted to said opaque plastic sheet, wherein said transparent portions have approximately the same thickness as the opaque portions of said opaque plastic sheet, thereby forming an intermediate product defining a planar structure.

2. The intermediate product of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of transparent portions is formed by a transparent plate disposed in a corresponding one of the plurality of apertures.

3. Intermediate product (54) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of printed graphics on a face of said opaque plastic sheet and a transparent film fitted to the sheet on the side of said plurality of printed graphics.

4. Intermediate product (54) according to claim 2, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of printed graphics on a face of said opaque plastic sheet and a transparent film fitted to the sheet on the side of said plurality of printed graphics.

5. Intermediate product according to claim 3, characterized in that a thin adhesive layer is provided between the transparent film and the opaque plastic sheet having the transparent portion.

6. Intermediate product according to claim 4, characterized in that a thin adhesive layer is provided between the transparent film and the opaque plastic sheet with the transparent plate.

7. A method of manufacturing an intermediate product according to claim 2, characterized in that each transparent plate is constructed in a preliminary step and is then introduced into the corresponding hole, the transparent plates being held in the hole by welding or by using an adhesive or by a laminating step, wherein the sides of each transparent plate are at least partially welded to the walls of the corresponding hole.

8. The manufacturing method according to claim 7, wherein a transparent film covered with an adhesive layer is pressed against a face of the opaque plastic sheet and fitted thereto.

9. The manufacturing method according to claim 8, wherein the face of the opaque plastic sheet is printed to obtain a plurality of patterns before pressing the transparent film against the face.

10. A method of manufacturing an intermediate product according to claim 6, characterized in that an assembly formed by the opaque plastic sheet, the transparent film and the transparent plate is laminated together to obtain a planar multilayer structure.