Patent Grant
11919286
The present inventions relate generally to transaction cards and, more particularly, to transaction and proximity cards having an improved construction and systems for utilizing such cards.
Transaction cards have been currently adapted for a wide variety of uses, most commonly as a method of payment in commercial transactions. For example, a user may purchase a fare for transportation at a kiosk.
The growing popularity of near field communication (NFC) technologies such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags has resulted in its implementation in proximity cards as well. The kiosk may dispense a NFC-containing card with the number of uses stored within. The user may quickly pay for the transportation by simply scanning the card upon entering the vehicle. Ideally, these cards should be cheaply produced, such that when the card expires it may simply be disposed of.
Proximity cards incorporating NFC technologies have been limited in design due to structural constraints. The proximity cards must be built with sufficient durability such that the RFID tags contained within do not become destroyed and nonfunctional with normal wear and tear. These cards have been required to be of higher thickness due to the multiple layers needed to accommodate its use as a NFC device.
Thus, there remains a need for new and improved transaction and proximity cards and systems which includes a card having only one top ply and only one bottom ply and a layer of high elongation adhesive between each of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply which reduces the cost to produce the cards while, at the same time, provides a level of appearance, strength and durability comparable or greater than conventional multilayer stacked cards.
The present inventions are directed to transaction and proximity cards having an improved construction and systems for utilizing such cards. The card system includes a card having only one top ply and only one bottom ply and a layer of high elongation adhesive between each of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply wherein the layer is applied at between about 110×10−6 pounds per in2 and 170×10−6 pounds per in2. Preferably, the layer is uniformly applied at greater than about 25% coverage. In one proximity card embodiment, the card further includes at least one inlay between the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply and a layer of high elongation adhesive between each of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply and the at least one inlay. In addition, the transaction card system includes card dispensers adapted to dispense the cards.
In one embodiment, the high elongation adhesive is a reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive. Also, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive may be polymerized in the presence of moisture.
In one embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has a glass transition temperature Tg less than about 32 degrees F. (0 degrees C.) as tested according to ASTM E1356-08(2014). In another embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has a glass transition temperature Tg less than about 15 degrees F. (−10 degrees C.) as tested according to ASTM E1356-08(2014). In still another embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has a glass transition temperature Tg of about 5 degrees F. (−15 degrees C.) as tested according to ASTM E1356-08(2014).
In one embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has a tensile strength greater than about 1500 psi (10 MPa) as tested according to ASTM D638-10. In another embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has a tensile strength greater than about 2500 psi (17 MPa) as tested according to ASTM D638-10. In still another embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has a tensile strength of about 3000 psi (20 MPa) as tested according to ASTM D638-10.
In one embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has an elongation greater than about 500% as tested according to ASTM D638-10. In another embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has an elongation of about 600% as tested according to ASTM D638-10.
Each of the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive layers may be about one mil in thickness per layer.
In one embodiment, the at least one inlay is an RFID tag. The RFID tag may be a near field tag. The at least one inlay may be about 2½ mils in thickness.
In one embodiment, the total thickness of the card is between about 5 and 35 mils. In another embodiment, the total thickness of the card is about 30 mils.
The card also may be a die cut card.
In one embodiment, the card dispenser is a magazine fed card dispenser. The magazine fed card dispenser may include a feed magazine, at least one feed roll, and a metering gate. In another embodiment, the card dispenser is a roll stock card dispenser.
The card system may further includes a card initialization module. The card initialization module may include a cut card on roll mechanism, feed rollers, printer and delivery chute.
The card may be formed of paper, plastic and combinations thereof. In one embodiment, the plastic is a thermoplastic. The thermoplastic may be selected from the group consisting of polyester, polypropylene, PVC and mixtures thereof.
In one embodiment, the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply are between about 1½ mils and about 20 mils in thickness per ply.
The card may further include a coating for providing scratch resistance during normal use of the card, wherein the coating is applied to at least one outer surface of one of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply.
The card may further include a coating for providing sticking resistance between adjacent cards when the card is dispensed, wherein the coating is applied to at least one outer surface of one of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply.
The card may further include a coating for reducing the coefficient of friction between adjacent cards when the card is dispensed, wherein the coating is applied to at least one outer surface of one of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply.
The card may further include indicia applied to at least one outer surface of one of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply. The indicia may include identification, customer name, disclaimers on back, customer logo, dollar amount, signature panel, time period for use, and combinations thereof.
Accordingly, one aspect of the present inventions is to provide a transaction card system, the card includes (a) only one top ply; (b) only one bottom ply; and (c) a layer of high elongation adhesive between the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply wherein the layer is applied at between about 110×10−6 pounds per in2 and 170×10−6 pounds per in2.
Another aspect of the present inventions is to provide a proximity card, the card includes (a) only one top ply; (b) only one bottom ply; (c) at least one inlay between the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply; and (d) a layer of high elongation adhesive between each of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply and the at least one inlay wherein the layer is applied at between about 110×10−6 pounds per in2 and 170×10−6 pounds per in2.
Still another aspect of the present invention is to provide a transaction card system, the card system includes (a) a card having (i) only one top ply, (ii) only one bottom ply; (iii) at least one inlay between the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply; and (iv) a layer of high elongation adhesive between each of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply and the at least one inlay wherein the layer is applied at between about 110×10−6 pounds per in2 and 170×10−6 pounds per in2; and (b) a card dispenser adapted to dispense the card.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art after a reading of the following description of the embodiments when considered with the drawings.
In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views. Also in the following description, it is to be understood that such terms as “forward,” “rearward,” “left,” “right,” “upwardly,” “downwardly,” and the like are words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting terms.
Referring now to the drawings in general and
The card 10 includes a top ply 12, a bottom ply 14, an inlay 16 sandwiched between the top ply 12 and bottom ply 14, a layer of adhesive 20′ applied between top ply 12 and one face of the inlay 14, and another layer of adhesive 20″ applied between bottom ply 14 and the opposing face of the inlay 16. The card 10 may be formed of paper, plastic and combinations thereof. The plastic may be a thermoplastic such as polyester, polypropylene, PVC and mixtures and combinations thereof. Each ply may further include a coating 30 on its outer surface to provide scratch resistance 30′, sticking resistance 30″, to reduce the coefficient of friction between adjacent cards when the card is dispensed 30′″, and any combination of coatings thereof. The card 10 may be die cut.
As shown in
One embodiment of the card 10 is a proximity card that includes a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag as an inlay 16. The RFID tag may be a near field tag that can utilize either high frequencies (HF) or ultra high frequencies (UHF). Cards containing RFID tags may be used for a variety of purposes, such as wireless payments for commercial transactions, transportation fares, or security clearance.
The implementation of RFID tags within cards have traditionally required thick cards to prevent damage to the RFID tag during normal handling. However, the use of a high elongation adhesive enables the production of cards with a lower thickness. Turning to
A variety of dispensers may be utilized to label and distribute cards with the improved properties as disclosed herein.
The adhesive 20 applied in the present inventions is a high elongation adhesive. One example of a high elongation adhesive is a reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive that may be polymerized in the presence of moisture. The reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has a glass transition temperature (Tg) less than about 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius) as tested according to ASTM E1356-08 (2014). In one embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive has a Tg less than about 15 degrees Fahrenheit (−10 degrees Celsius). In another embodiment, the reactive hot melt polyurethane adhesive as a Tg less than about 5 degrees Fahrenheit (−15 degrees Celsius).
The high elongation adhesive has a tensile strength greater than about 1500 psi (10 MPa) as tested according to ASTM D638-10. In one embodiment, the adhesive has a tensile strength greater than about 2500 psi (˜17 MPa). In another embodiment, the adhesive has a tensile strength greater than about 3000 psi (˜20 MPa). In one embodiment, the adhesive has an elongation greater than about 500% as tested according to ASTDM D638-10. In another embodiment, the adhesive has an elongation of about 600%.
One example of a reactive hot melt polyurethane (PUR) adhesive is Jowatherm Reactant 630.00, available for purchase from Jowat Adhesives. A useful test for measuring the tensile properties of an adhesive is the dog bone shape test as outlined in ASTM D-638-10. Turning first to Table 1, deformation tests were conducted on samples containing the 630.00 adhesive at 0.6 millimeters thick with a 50 mm/min test speed.
In comparison, Table 2 provides tensile test results for an unacceptable adhesive (Jowatherm Reactant 605.50) that possesses higher initial tensile strength and a lower elongation range less suitable for use in the present inventions. As shown in
A “pass-fail” bending test was used for screening the elongation and tensile strength properties of cards constructed according to the present inventions. Specifically, bending tests were conducted for cards produced with a high elongation adhesive and possessing thicknesses of either 15, 27 or 76 mils to determine whether the NFC cards remained functional and could be read. The bending tests were performed on 50 cards for 15 and 27 mils each, while bending tests were performed on 10 cards that were 76 mils thick. Each card was bent over and around rods of decreasing diameters. While all the 15 mil cards were capable of bending around rods with a diameter less than 1 inch and remained functional, neither the 27 mil nor the 76 mil cards were capable of bending around rods with a diameter less than 1 inch and remain functional and no data could be collected for those points.
Turning to Table 3, it shows the number of NFC cards (out of the total number performed) that remained functional after being bent around a rod with a specified diameter. While all 27 mil and 15 mil cards constructed according to the present inventions remained functional after each bend test of bending around rods with a diameter down to 1 inch, one of 76 mil cards became nonfunctional after wrapping around a 1-inch diameter rod. Only the 15 mil cards constructed according to the present inventions remained functional after being bent around rods with a diameter of less than 1 inch and remain functional. Accordingly, the results show that a card constructed according to the present inventions and about 30 mil in thickness is capable of withstanding moderate deformation and remaining functional despite the deformation and a card constructed according to the present inventions and about 15 mil in thickness is capable of withstanding extreme deformation and remaining functional despite the deformation.
Accordingly, the expected characteristics of various adhesives, such as hot melt PUR adhesives, were plotted and zones on the response surface were ranked from 1 to 5 with 1 being the poorest performing proximity cards and 5 being the best performing proximity cards in terms of durability of an embedding RFID tag and the resistance of the card to separation of layers.
As can be seen, adhesives having both sufficiently high tensile strength to resist peeling and sufficiently high elongation to prevent damage to the embedded RFID tag were the best performing, while adhesives having lower tensile strength and/or lower percent elongation were less desirable since either peeling or damage to the embedded RFID tag occurred.
The boundary conditions in
As can be seen in
In practice, other issues do occur in manufacturing. First, reactive PUR adhesives expand significantly when cured. If applied thickness is 5½ mils at press run, thickness after expansion due to curing is about an additional 5 to 7 mils. Also, the adhesive thickness after expansion due to curing is very dependent on the applied thickness as will be discussed in more detail below with respect to
During manufacturing, after the PUR adhesive is applied, the product goes through a pair of marriage rollers before subsequently being cured over about a 3 day period of time. Marriage rollers are low-pressure rollers that do not compress the PUR adhesive further. The marriage rollers only act to ensure that the top ply and bottom ply have been adhered to one another and do not exert sufficient pressure to spread the PUR adhesive. Further, reducing uniform coverage (%) using stripes or dots/embossed rollers also will not reduce thickness as the adhesive is cured and may instead introduce voids or streaks or inadequate peel strength between plys. So, neither of these approaches would be helpful in controlling the effects of adhesive expansion on final product dimensions.
Furthermore, thickness changes may also occur when the PUR adhesive is cured on a specific material. For example, on paper the PUR adhesive will expand only about 2 mils while on PET, the PUR adhesive will expand about 3 mils. This variation is not very much difference and is small enough to stay within specifications for various materials. Accordingly, changes to the substrate material itself does not appear to provide a way to control excessive PUR expansion with curing.
These relationships may be better understood by turning to
In one example illustrated in
For Example One, 5½ mils as applied at press run results in a thickness after expansion due to curing of about an additional 5 to 7 mils. Thus, the final thickness after curing of Example One is between at least 10½ to 12½ mils. However, laying down 4 mils PUR thickness as applied at press run in Example Two results in a thickness after expansion due to curing of only about an additional 2 to 3 mils. Thus, the final thickness after curing of Example Two is only between about 6 to 7 mils due to significantly less expansion at the slightly lower thickness as applied at press run.
As discussed briefly above and as seen in
In Example Two, for PUR adhesive thickness at 4 mils thickness as applied at press run, burst strength was about 18.5 pounds average with a 14 to 25 pound range. After a 3 day curing time, the burst strength was about 20.5 pounds with a 14 to 27 pound range. This was only about a 2 pound increase in burst strength after curing.
In Example One, for PUR adhesive thickness at 5½ mils thickness as applied at press run, burst strength was about 20 pounds average with a 15 to 25 pound range. After a 3 day curing time, the burst strength was 26 pounds average with a 14 to 38 pound range. This was about a 6 pound average increase in burst strength after a 3 day curing time.
However, as can be seen in
Turning now to
It can be seen that there are other manufacturing issues. Specifically, the lower portion of
Reducing the % coverage area less than about 25% by laying down the PUR adhesive stripes or dots/embossed rollers also may cause air bubbles, streaks or voids in the as applied adhesive coverage. Also, reducing the % coverage area less than about 25% by laying down the PUR adhesive stripes or dots/embossed rollers also causes air bubbles, streaks or void in the as cured adhesive coverage. This is because the PUR adhesive as it cures will not reduce these coverage defects; once the coverage defects are laid down, the defects are there to stay in the as cured adhesive.
Accordingly, the PUR adhesive curing expansion problem is substantially independent of the problem caused by too low % coverage although somewhat related in that the lower % coverage may be lower weight per in2 as applied but not a lower thickness as applied depending on the type of roller being used. For 100% uniform coverage rollers, weight per in2 and thickness as applied at press run are directly related. Turning to the upper portion of
The response surface provides a visual illustration of the effects of PUR adhesive weight per in2 applied at press run via a two-dimensional surface plot of a three-dimensional surface.
In practice, weight per in2 as applied at press run is a more meaningful measurement than thickness as applied since weight per in2 is averaged over an entire run of product rather than at individual thickness measurement points. However, thickness after curing is measured directly over several samples.
Accordingly, the expected characteristics of various weights per in2 of the PUR adhesive were plotted and the zones on the response surface were ranked from 1 to 5 with 1 being the poorest performing proximity cards and 5 being the best performing proximity cards in terms of durability of an embedding RFID tag and the resistance of the card to separation of layers.
As discussed above in
The calculations are that at 400,000 tickets per drum, it will be 130×10−6 lbs. per in2 and at 300,000 tickets per drum, it will be 175×10−6 lbs. per in2. However,
Accordingly, the Example Two produces 25% more tickets without voids or streaks or inadequate peel strength between plys. Specifically, the 25% reduction in applied weight per in2 is also a 25% reduction in as applied adhesive thickness at press run. In addition, as long as greater than about 25% up to 100% of uniform coverage is maintained, the product has acceptable burst strength.
Accordingly, the improved product has a layer of high elongation polyurethane adhesive between each of the only one top ply and the only one bottom ply and the at least one inlay, the layer is applied at between about 110×10−6 pounds per in2 and 170×10−6 pounds per in2. In another embodiment, the layer is applied at between about 125×10−6 pounds per in2 and 155×10−6 pounds per in2. In still another embodiment, the layer is applied at between about 130×10−6 pounds per in2.
Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the foregoing description. By way of example, while the present inventions refer to “proximity cards,” it should be understood that the present inventions may also be adapted for cards of any other type of purpose. Further, while the specification discloses two types of dispensers, the card constructed according to the present inventions may be used in conjunction with other compatible dispensers. It should be understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability but are properly within the scope of the following claims.
This application is a national stage application of International Application No. PCT/US2020/053198, having an International filing date of Sep. 29, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/908,179, filed Sep. 30, 2019. The entire disclosures of the aforesaid applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2020/053198 | 9/29/2020 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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| WO2021/067222 | 4/8/2021 | WO | A |
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| 20220339908 A1 | Oct 2022 | US |
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| 62908179 | Sep 2019 | US |
