Multifunction, direct thermal recording material

• US 20050284930A1
• Filed: 06/28/2005
• Published: 12/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kazuhiro Fujita, Stephen P. Hefner
• Original Assignee: Kazuhiro Fujita, Stephen P. Hefner
• Inventors: Fujita, Kazuhiro, Hefner, Stephen P.
• Granted Patent: US 7,546,946 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 235/382
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/30 using chemical colour formers B41M5/34 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/42 Intermediate, backcoat, or covering layers B41M5/405 takes precedence; multilayer thermal transfer systems in general B41M5/38214
• CPC Class Codes: B41M 5/48 combined with other image registration layers or compositions; Special originals for reproduction by thermography
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/077 Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/083 Constructional details

Abstract

A multifunction, direct thermal recording material made up of a base support having opposing planar surfaces, at least one thermal layer formed on at least one such planar surface for displaying a digital photographic image, graphical, numerical or textual information, or combinations thereof, and at least one machine readable information storage system (e.g., magnetic stripes, bar codes, RFIDs) contained on or within the base support and/or the thermal recording layer, is provided. In one embodiment, the inventive multifunction, direct thermal recording material is a hotel or hospitality establishment guest card which serves as both an identification card as well as a room access “key card”, and in another embodiment, the inventive recording material is a “declining balance” gift card or credit voucher which serves as a debit card and displays (or is capable of displaying) the original and declining value of the card or voucher.

Claims

1. A multifunction, direct thermal recording material, which comprises:

a base support having opposing planar surfaces;

at least one thermal recording layer formed on at least one planar surface of the base support for displaying a digital photographic image, graphical, numerical or textual information, or combinations thereof; and

at least one machine readable information storage system contained on or within the base support and/or the thermal recording layer.

2. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 1, wherein the base support is a solid core base support comprising one base sheet prepared from a material selected from the group of paper, synthetic resin films, metal foils, woven fabrics, and non-woven fabrics.

3. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 2, wherein the base sheet of the solid core base support is prepared from a high dyne level synthetic resin film.

4. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 1, wherein the base support is a laminated structure comprising at least two laminated base sheets, wherein each base sheet is prepared from a material selected from the group of paper, synthetic resin films, metal foils, woven fabrics, and non-woven fabrics.

5. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 1, wherein the base support has a thickness ranging from about 100 to about 1000 microns, a basis weight ranging from about 50 to about 1500 grams per square meter, a surface smoothness of from about 10 to about 10,000 Bekk seconds, and a stiffness of at least about 0.3 millinewton per meter (TAPPI T489).

6. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 1, wherein the thermal recording layer is prepared from an aqueous coating formulation that comprises:

a colorless or pale-colored basic dye;

a color developer capable of inducing color formation in the basic dye when heated to a suitable temperature; and

a binder.

7. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 1, wherein the thermal recording layer is prepared from an aqueous coating formulation that comprises:

(1) from about 3 to about 40% by wt., based on the total weight of the coating formulation, of a basic dye selected from the group of 3-di(n-butyl)amino-6-methyl-7-anilinofluorane, 3-(N-ethyl-N-isoamylamino)-6-methyl-7-anilinofluorane, 3-di(n-pentyl)amino-6-methyl-7-anilinofluoran, 3-(N-ethyl-p-toluidino)-6-methyl-7-anilinofluoran, and combinations thereof;

(2) from about 3 to about 50% by wt., based on the total weight of the coating formulation, of a color developer selected from the group of bis(3-allyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfone, N-(p-toluenesulphonyl)-N′

-(3-p-toluenesulphonyloxyphenyl)urea, and combinations thereof; and

(3) from about 2 to about 60% by wt., based on the total weight of the coating formulation, of a binder selected from the group of polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl alcohol derivatives, starches, starch derivatives, styrene-butadiene copolymer emulsions, and combinations thereof.

8. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 7, wherein the aqueous coating formulation further comprises:

from about 1 to about 60% by wt., based on the total weight of the coating formulation, of a sensitizer selected from the group of 1,2-di(m-tolyloxy)ethane and 1,2-diphenoxyethane;

from about 0 to about 40% by wt., based on the total weight of the coating formulation, of an inorganic pigment selected from the group of aluminum hydroxide, calcium carbonate, clay, silica, and mixtures thereof; and

from about 0.01 to about 1.0% by wt., based on the total weight of the coating formulation, of a surface active agent selected from the group of sodium bis-tridecyl sulfosuccinate in a mixture of ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol and water, sodium bis-octyl sulfosuccinate in a mixture of ethyl alcohol and water, and combinations thereof.

9. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 1, wherein the at least one machine readable information storage system is selected from the group of magnetic stripes, bar-codes, text recognizable by an optical character recognition device, images recognizable by a video image recognition device, radio frequency identifiers, and combinations thereof.

10. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 9, wherein the at least one machine readable information storage system comprises one or more magnetic stripes containing magnetically encoded information.

11. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 9, wherein the at least one machine readable information storage system comprises one or more bar-codes.

12. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 9, wherein the at least one machine readable information storage system comprises one or more radio frequency identifiers.

13. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 12, wherein the one or more radio frequency identifiers comprise:

(a) memory circuitry for storing information and/or microprocessors for manipulating information stored in associated memory;

(b) contactless interfaces; and

, optionally, (c) internal power sources.

14. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 1, which further comprises a printable surface or layer on a planar surface of the base support opposite the planar surface containing the thermal recording layer.

15. The multifunction, direct thermal recording material of claim 1, which further comprises one or more outer protective layers.

16. A guest card which serves to identify a hotel guest and to provide that guest with room access, which comprises:

a base support having opposing planar surfaces;

at least one thermal recording layer formed on at least one planar surface of the base support for displaying a digital photographic image, graphical, numerical or textual information, or combinations thereof; and

at least one machine readable information storage system contained on or within the base support and/or the thermal recording layer.

17. The guest card of claim 16, wherein the at least one machine readable information storage system is selected from the group of magnetic stripes, bar-codes, text recognizable by an optical character recognition device, images recognizable by a video image recognition device, radio frequency identifiers, and combinations thereof.

18. A guest card which serves to identify a hotel guest and to provide that guest with room access, which comprises a base support having a printable front side or upper surface, which contains printed information about an issuing hotel or hospitality suite, and a thermal back side or lower surface, which contains an encodable magnetic stripe, a scannable bar code, a digital photographic image of the hotel guest, printed information about the guest, and instructions for use of the card.

19. The guest card of claim 18, wherein the base support contains one or more radio frequency identifiers.

20. A gift card or credit voucher which serves as a debit card and which displays or is capable of displaying original and current values of the card or voucher, which comprises:

a base support having opposing planar surfaces;

at least one thermal recording layer formed on at least one planar surface of the base support for displaying a digital photographic image, graphical, numerical or textual information, or combinations thereof; and

at least one machine readable information storage system contained on or within the base support and/or the thermal recording layer.