JP2010181931A - Information recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information recording medium for performing information reading of every information recording medium in a micro-state, and for simultaneously reading the information of a plurality of information recording media by using black ink having different transparency and absorbing properties in a near-infrared region. <P>SOLUTION: In the information recording medium, a dot code layer configured of a dot code configured of black dots is formed on a near-infrared reflective substrate, and the dot code layer is provided with a background section and a two-dimensional code section configured of the aggregate of dot codes, and the infrared ray absorbing properties of dots configuring the background section and dots configuring the two-dimensional code section are made different. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information printed material that can be read by infrared rays, and more particularly, to a new information reading method based on multiple recording of information printed materials.

  Conventionally, there are a magnetic recording system, a recording system using an IC chip, an OCR system, a bar code system, and the like as information recording media of a machine reading system, which are used as appropriate according to the application.

  In the magnetic recording system, a magnetic material is provided on the entire surface or a part of a medium, and magnetic information is read by an MR sensor (Magnetic Read Sensor). In this case, the magnetic information is not visually recognized and the confidentiality is protected. However, since the magnetic recording method reads the information by contacting the MR sensor, there is a possibility of causing deterioration of the MR sensor and reading failure due to dust. In order to read, it is necessary to move the MR sensor itself or the medium at a constant speed.

  Among the recording methods using an IC chip, the recording method using an RF-ID IC chip that can be read wirelessly is advantageous in that it does not need to be in contact with the R / W and the confidentiality of information is protected. This is not suitable for an application that requires an inexpensive information recording medium.

  The OCR method is a method of recognizing and reading character information, particularly numeric information, and is non-contact-readable and inexpensive. However, since the information is represented by numbers, there is a problem that there is no secrecy.

  The bar code method is a method of recognizing and reading the thickness of a bar, the interval between bars, etc., is non-contact readable and inexpensive, and has a certain level of secrecy regarding information. The problem is that it can be easily copied by a third party.

  Therefore, various methods for making the barcode or two-dimensional code invisible have been studied. For example, there is a method in which the code itself is difficult to see in the visible light range but is absorbed in the near infrared range and the code can be read by a camera capable of reading infrared rays. In the case of this method, since it is strong against copying by a copying machine and the confidentiality is protected, it is expected to be used for applications such as trading card games.

  However, since infrared absorbing ink is expensive, it is difficult to use it for an inexpensive trading card game. This makes it possible to form a two-dimensional code with dots as small as halftone dots for color printing using black ink of process color, which is inexpensive, non-contact reading, and highly confidential information recording media. Provision is possible.

  However, the above method is suitable for reading each information recording medium, but is not suitable for reading a plurality of information recording media. As a method of solving this, a method of using a plurality of cameras is conceivable, but there is a problem that the cost in terms of hardware is high.

JP 2006-338690 A

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems. When black information having different transmission and absorption characteristics in the near-infrared region is used, information reading for each information recording medium is performed microscopically. At the same time, an information recording medium capable of simultaneously reading information from a plurality of information recording media in a macro manner is provided.

  As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a dot code layer composed of a dot code composed of black dots is formed on an infrared reflective substrate, and the dot code layer An information recording medium having a two-dimensional code portion composed of a background portion and a set of dot codes, wherein the dots constituting the background portion and the dots constituting the two-dimensional code portion have different infrared absorption characteristics is there.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the information recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising a pattern layer between the infrared reflective base material and the dot code layer.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the pattern layer is formed using black ink, and the absorption rate of the black dots in the infrared region is higher than the absorption rate of the black ink. An information recording medium according to claim 1 or claim 2.

  The information recording medium of the present invention includes information when the dot code forming the dot pattern is viewed microscopically and information when the two-dimensional code composed of the dot code is viewed macroscopically These two types of information are recorded on one information recording medium. When viewed microscopically, it can be read with a simple reader, and when viewed macroscopically, a plurality of types of information are recorded. An information recording medium can be read at a time.

The top view which shows one Example of the information recording medium of this invention. Sectional drawing in the XX line of the information recording medium of FIG. The top view which showed the arrangement | sequence of a dot code and a two-dimensional code. Schematic which showed the structure of the dot code. Schematic which showed the structure of the two-dimensional code. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram when the dot code of the information recording medium in FIG. 1 is viewed. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram when viewing the two-dimensional code of the information recording medium of FIG. 1. Schematic when viewing a two-dimensional code of a plurality of information recording media. The graph which shows the spectral characteristics of black ink. Relationship diagram between spectral characteristics of black ink and reading wavelength of reading device

The information recording medium of the present invention is provided with a two-dimensional code composed of black dots on a part or all of the information recording medium, the dot code can be read as information for each block of a certain size, and Since the information is repeatedly provided for each block, dot code information can be obtained by capturing an arbitrary point on the information recording medium with a camera. The dot code on the information recording medium is partly provided with black ink that absorbs the entire near infrared region, and the other is black ink having a property of transmitting at a longer wavelength than the near infrared region. And the dot code provided with black ink that absorbs the entire near infrared region forms another two-dimensional code with a set of dots. In the reverse pattern, the dot code is formed of black ink having a property of transmitting at a wavelength of the certain near infrared region or more. As a result, when the entire information recording medium of the present invention is viewed with a CCD camera through a filter that cuts a wavelength below a certain near infrared region, a two-dimensional code different from a dot code can be read.

The same reading is possible when the information recording medium contains a pattern. In this case, the dot code is used in a wavelength region that does not affect the near-infrared region in the three process colors of yellow, cyan, and magenta constituting the pattern. Need to read.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the information recording medium of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of the information recording medium of FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the dot code and the two-dimensional code provided in the information recording medium, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the dot code, and FIG. 5 is the configuration of the two-dimensional code. It is the shown schematic. Further, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram when the dot code of the information recording medium of FIG. 1 is viewed, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram when the two-dimensional code of the information recording medium of FIG. 1 is viewed. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram when viewing a two-dimensional code of a plurality of information recording media. FIG. 9 is a graph showing the spectral characteristics of black ink used in an information recording medium, and FIG. 10 is the relationship between the spectral characteristics of black ink and the reading wavelength of the reading apparatus when reading a dot code and a two-dimensional code, respectively. FIG.

  FIG. 1 shows how an information recording medium 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention looks in a visual state, and corresponds to claim 2. In the information recording medium 1, the dot code 13 and the dot code 14 that form the pattern 12 and the two-dimensional code are visually visible, and the dot code 13 and the dot code 14 that form the two-dimensional code cannot be distinguished visually. Further, since the dot code 13 and the dot code 14 are provided on the entire surface of the information recording medium 1 with a halftone dot configuration equal to or slightly coarser than the number of printing halftone dots of the pattern 12, only the pattern 12 can be visually observed. It becomes a form.

  FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of the information recording medium 1 of FIG. 1. A pattern 12 is printed on the infrared reflective base material 11, and further a dot code 13 and dots are printed thereon. The code 14 is printed. The pattern 12, the dot code 13, and the dot code 14 may have a reverse layer configuration.

  FIG. 3 shows an image of the information recording medium 1 shown in FIG. 1 when viewed at a certain wavelength in the near-infrared region. Since the pattern 12 composed of the three process colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan cannot be seen above about 750 nm in the near infrared region, only the dot code 13 and the dot code 14 can be seen.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the dot code 13 and the dot code 14. The dot code uses halftone dots that are commonly used in color printing, and regular printing halftone dots have regular arrangements of dots in the vertical and horizontal directions. By making it into a shape, a function as data is given. The single dot code 15 is an example of a dot code arrangement, but the single dot code 15 has an irregular arrangement with respect to a regular halftone dot with a regular arrangement. Using this single dot code 15 as one data, the repetition of this arrangement is arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions to form a composite dot code 16. As a result, even if the dot code of a portion that is a print stain or the like cannot be read, the dot code of another portion can be supplemented to read the data.

The dots of dot code 13 and dot code 14 are suitably 750 to 120 lines, which is the same as the number of halftone dots used for color display by normal offset printing (the number of lines is the halftone dot per inch). In many cases, 175 lines are used in general. The dot size is preferably larger in consideration of the readability of a two-dimensional code, which will be described later. However, if the dot shape is too large, the pattern 12 becomes dark, so that the area ratio is 10% to 35%.
% Is desirable.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a two-dimensional code in the information recording medium of the present invention. A two-dimensional code 18 is formed by an aggregate of dot codes 13. FIG. 5 shows how the information recording medium 1 in FIG. 1 is seen at a certain wavelength in the near infrared region, and shows an image taken by the CCD camera viewed through the screen of the monitor 2. When the yellow, magenta, and cyan process inks and the black ink forming the dot code 14 are viewed at about 850 nm or more in the near-infrared region where the wavelength is invisible, only the two-dimensional code 18 is visible.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram when the dot code of the information recording medium 1 of FIG. 1 is viewed. The dot code 13 and the dot code 14 provided on the pattern 12 are connected to the information recording medium 1 by using the touch reader 17. Read by touching. The touch-type reader 17 is provided with a CCD camera, a lens, and an infrared LED that emits light in the near-infrared region for viewing a dot code. The touch-type reader 17 is focused when the touch-type reader 17 is brought into contact with the information recording medium 1. It is designed to fit and enlarges the dot code. The dot code 13 and the dot code 14 captured by the touch-type reading device 17 can be enlarged and projected through the monitor 2, for example, can be projected like a composite dot code 16 on the screen of the monitor 2. Actually, it is not necessary to display the image of the dot code 13 and the dot code 14 on the monitor 2, and the dot code array may be read and converted into data. The dot code system in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a commonly used dot code.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram when the two-dimensional code of the information recording medium 1 of FIG. 1 is viewed. The dot code 13 forming the two-dimensional code provided on the picture 12 includes a CCD camera 20, an infrared LED 21, and a visible code. It is formed from a reading device composed of light and a filter 22. The dot code 13 forming the two-dimensional code captured by the reading device can be displayed through the monitor 2 and is displayed on the screen of the monitor 2 as a two-dimensional code 18, for example. Actually, it is not necessary to project the image of the two-dimensional code 18 on the monitor 2, and the array of the two-dimensional code may be read and converted into data as described above. The two-dimensional code system in the present invention is not particularly problematic as long as it is a two-dimensional code that is generally used, but a matrix type two-dimensional code is desirable in order to read a set of dots as one cell.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram when a plurality of information recording media 1 are read together. In order to read a plurality of information recording media 1 at the same time, the plurality of information recording media 1 are collected together by an aggregate 23 of infrared LEDs. The image is captured by the CCD camera 20 through the visible light and the filter 22 and a plurality of two-dimensional codes are read. Although a plurality of two-dimensional codes are displayed on the monitor 2 in FIG. 8, in practice, the two-dimensional codes may be read as data and the positional relationship between the respective information recording media 1 as data.

  FIG. 9 is a graph showing the spectral characteristics of black ink. The spectral characteristics of black ink (process color smear ink) 31, black ink (special sumi ink) 32, and black ink (mixed color smear ink) 33 are displayed. Here, the black ink (process color smear ink) 31 refers to a process color black ink which is usually used for color printing. Since carbon black is the main component, black ink (process color smear ink) 31 has a wide range from visible light to the near infrared region. There is light absorption. The black ink (mixed color sumi ink) 33 is a black ink prepared by mixing yellow, magenta, and cyan, which are commonly used color printing process colors, and is printed using three process colors of so-called yellow, magenta, and cyan. This is the same state as when the pattern 12 represents black. The black ink (special sumi ink) 32 is one of inks having a high transmittance in the near infrared region, and has a transmittance from a wavelength longer than the wavelength at which the black ink (mixed color sumi ink) 33 begins to transmit in the near infrared region. It has the characteristic to stand up. By utilizing this difference, the dot code 14 can be provided on the pattern print.

  FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the spectral characteristics of black ink and the reading wavelength of the reading device. As described above, the transmittance of black ink (mixed color sumi ink) 33 and black ink (special sumi ink) 32 in the near infrared region. This shows that there is a big difference. The dot code on the pattern is used for the pattern using the irradiation wavelength 34 of the infrared LED in the wavelength region where the difference in transmittance between the black ink (special Sumi ink) and the black ink (mixed color Sumi ink) is relatively large in the near infrared and infrared regions. It can be read without interruption. The two-dimensional code 18 irradiates the irradiation wavelength 35 of the infrared LED in the wavelength region in which the difference in transmittance between the black ink (special sumi ink) and the black ink (mixed color sumi ink) in FIG. 10 is relatively small in the near infrared and infrared regions. By doing so, the two-dimensional code of the information recording medium 1 can be read.

  The present invention will be described in detail with reference to specific examples.

White coated cardboard is used as the infrared reflective base material, and a pattern is printed on this with only three process colors of yellow, cyan and magenta by the offset printing method, and a two-dimensional code is formed as an aggregate on it. Print the dot code with process color sumi ink so that it can be printed, and then print the dot code with the following special sumi ink so that a reverse version of the two-dimensional code is formed, cut it to a predetermined size, and record information A medium was made.
[Composition of special Sumi ink]
Sumiink Pigment BS100 (manufactured by Sumitomo Osaka Cement) 10 parts Sumiink Pigment BS200 (manufactured by Sumitomo Osaka Cement) 10 parts Offset Media Ink FD OLP Multicolor OP Varnish TS-1RO (manufactured by Toyo Ink Manufacturing Co., Ltd.) 80 parts

  When an image was taken on the information recording medium using an LED having a sharp light emission characteristic near 810 nm, a close-up lens and a touch-type reading device with a CCD camera, a dot code was seen, and the dot code was decoded through a decoder. Information was obtained. In addition, when four information recording media are arranged, an LED having a sharp light emission characteristic around 940 nm is irradiated, and an image is taken using a CCD camera through a long pass filter that cuts a wavelength of 800 nm or less, a two-dimensional code is obtained. It was seen that when this two-dimensional code was decoded through a decoder, information and position information of each information recording medium were obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Information recording medium 2 Monitor 3 Collection of information recording media 4 Spectral graph 11 Infrared reflective base material 12 Picture 13 Dot code 14 forming two-dimensional code Dot code 15 Single dot code 16 Complex dot code 17 Touch type reading Device 18 Two-dimensional code 20 CCD camera 21 Infrared LED
22 Visible Light and Filter 23 Infrared LED Assembly 31 Black Ink (Process Color Sumi Ink)
32 Black ink (special Sumi ink)
33 Black ink (mixed color sumi ink)
34 Irradiation wavelength of an infrared LED in a wavelength region where the difference in transmittance between black ink (special sumi ink) and black ink (mixed color sumi ink) is relatively large in the near infrared and infrared region 35 black ink (special sumi ink) and black ink (color mixture) Irradiation wavelength of infrared LEDs in the wavelength region where the difference in transmittance of Sumiink is relatively small in the near infrared and infrared regions

Claims (3)

  A dot code layer composed of a dot code composed of black dots is formed on an infrared reflective substrate, and the dot code layer has a two-dimensional code portion composed of a background portion and an aggregate of dot codes, An information recording medium characterized in that the dots constituting the background portion and the dots constituting the two-dimensional code portion have different infrared absorption characteristics.   The information recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising a pattern layer between the infrared reflective substrate and the dot code layer.   3. The information recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the pattern layer is formed using black ink, and an absorption rate of the black dots in an infrared region is higher than an absorption rate of the black ink. .