JPH0911673A - Plastic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a plastic card which is protected from tampering without damaging its outward appearance. CONSTITUTION: A photographic character image 2 is formed on the surface of a card 1 by a thermotransfer printing method using a thermally sublimable ink, and then a partially spheric recessed part 3 consisting of a continuously curved surface with a maximum depth (h) of 8-15μm and a surface diameter (D) of about 20mm, is formed on he card 1 by a press in such a manner that the recessed part 3 is superimposed over the face of the photographic character image 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention tamperes with a plastic card, such as an ID card, a driver's license, or a cash card, on which a facial photograph of a person or character information is transferred by a thermal head printer without impairing the appearance. The present invention relates to a plastic card designed to prevent

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a card in which a sublimation ink is used to thermally transfer a face photograph or character information onto a card substrate made of a plastic such as vinyl chloride by a thermal head printer. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 4-232783 describes a card in which a color facial photograph is transferred onto a card substrate by using three color sublimation dyes. In such a card, it is indispensable to improve the security because the printing portion is polished, the ink layer is scraped off, and new printing is performed to easily forge.

As a card for the purpose of preventing forgery, there is known a card described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-81300. This plastic card has irregularities formed so as to overlap with the photographic image to prevent tampering.

[0004]

However, in the case of the plastic card described in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 50-81300 described above, it is difficult to re-attach the photograph and the forgery can be effectively prevented, while the photograph Since the concavo-convex process is applied to a considerably large area of the image, not only is the aesthetic appearance impaired, but it is difficult to accurately visually recognize the photographic image. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plastic card that has an excellent aesthetic appearance and that allows a photographic image to be easily and accurately viewed.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a plastic card in which a photographic image and character information are transferred by a thermal head printer.
A concave portion having a continuous curved surface was formed on at least a part of the transferred image portion.

The plastic card of the present invention can be configured in such a manner that the maximum depth of the recess is 8 μm or more and 15 μm or less (claim 2).

[0007]

According to the plastic card of the present invention, since the recess is formed so as to overlap the transfer portion, it is possible to effectively prevent falsification. That is, even if the transferred ink is scraped off by polishing or the like and a new print of a photographic image or character information is tried, the inside of the recess does not come into contact with the thermal head,
Not transcribed. Further, since the concave portion is formed of a continuous curved surface, there is no step at the boundary portion, making it difficult to visually recognize the concave portion,
The aesthetic appearance of the transferred image is not impaired, and the transferred image can be visually recognized easily and accurately.

Further, the plastic card of the present invention is
The concave portion can be easily formed by forming the concave portion into a partial spherical shape, and the maximum depth of the concave portion is 8 μm or more and 15 μm or more.
By the following, it is possible to reliably prevent tampering while maintaining a good aesthetic appearance and obtain high commercial value. That is, if the maximum depth of the concave portion is 8 μm or less, the ink in the concave portion can be scraped off and retransferred, and if it is 15 μm or more, the presence of the concave portion can be visually recognized and the appearance of the transferred image is spoiled. .

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1a, 1b, 1c show a plastic card according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a is a plan view, b is a sectional view,
It is a top view when c is falsified.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a card, which is made of a single-layer or multi-layer plastic such as polyvinyl chloride or polyethylene terephthalate. For example, the card 1 is configured by bonding an over film to the front and back of a card base formed by joining a plurality of core sheets and the like, and a magnetic recording layer in which predetermined data is magnetically recorded is provided on a part of the over film. . This card 1 has a portrait on the front (photo print section)
2 is transferred and formed by a thermal dot printer using a heat-sublimable ink, character information is transferred by a heat-melting black ink, and a heat-melting transparent binder is transferred from above as a protective layer.

Further, in this card 1, magnetic data is recorded in a magnetic recording portion, and thereafter, a concave portion 3 is formed on the surface of the card 1 so as to overlap with a face portion of a portrait 2 by a press machine or the like. Here, the card 1 has the concave portion 3 formed on the portrait image 2, but since the concave portion 3 has a continuous curved surface and the depth h thereof is as shallow as 15 μm, the portrait image 2 can be easily and reliably viewed. It can be done without any loss of aesthetics. In addition, the recessed portion 3 may be formed so as to overlap with the character information, and may be provided not only in one place but also in a plurality of places.

The recess 3 has a partially spherical shape whose wall surface is a continuous curved surface, and its peripheral edge also forms a smooth curved surface. This recess 3 is a card of a normal size (54 mm x 85 mm
The surface diameter D is preferably about 20 mm, and the maximum depth d is preferably about 8 to 15 μm.

And, such a plastic card 1
When tampering with, the person photograph 2 may be deleted by polishing or the like, and a new person photograph may be formed in this portion by a thermal dot printer. However, portrait photo 2
Since the concave portion 3 is formed in the face, as shown in FIG. 1c, even if a new portrait is printed, the face cannot be printed, and tampering is prevented. That is, when the photograph 2 is formed by the thermal dot printer, it is essential that the thermal head is closely attached to the surface of the card 1.
When tampering with the thermal head, the thermal head cannot be in close contact with the recessed portion 3, so that the recessed portion 3 cannot be printed and tampering is prevented.

[0014]

As described above, according to the plastic card of the present invention, since the concave portion formed by the continuous curved surface is formed so as to overlap the photographic printing portion, the appearance of the photograph is not impaired and the visibility of the photograph is impaired. It is possible to obtain an effect that tampering can be surely prevented without any trouble. In particular, in the plastic card of the present invention, by making the maximum depth of the recesses 8 μm to 15 μm, it is easy to prevent both falsification and loss of appearance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a plastic card according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a is a plan view, b is a schematic cross-sectional view, and c is a plan view in a tampered state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Card 2 Portrait photograph (photo print part) 3 Recess D Surface diameter of recess d Maximum depth of recess

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Seima Ito 4-14-12 Koishikawa, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo Kyodo Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plastic card in which a photographic image or character information is transferred by a thermal head printer, wherein a recess having a continuous curved surface is formed in at least a part of the transferred image part. 2. The maximum depth of the recess is 8 μm or more and 15 μm.
The plastic card according to claim 1, which is not more than m.