Registers – Records
Patent
1997-04-04
1999-06-22
Pitts, Harold
Registers
Records
235493, G06K 1900
Patent
active
059144823
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns an apparatus for reading and identifying a data carrier in card form, which can have printing thereon, in particular a travel ticket or card, a ski pass or the like, which is provided at least one side with a heat-sensitive layer for the visually readable representation of data by a thermal effect, with atransport mechanism for moving the data carrier in a flat passage which determines the transport path, a device having a thermal print head for visually readably identifying the data carrier, and a backing roller disposed opposite the thermal print head. The invention also concerns a data carrier for use with such an apparatus.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A data carrier which includes an electrical module and which can be used over a prolonged period of time is to be found for example in WO-A-92/21105, wherein parts which are essential for the user, of the data contained in the electronic module can be represented in the heat-sensitive coating on the card body and can no longer be removed. Heat-reversible coatings and data carriers in card form which include same are known for example from EP-A-174 902 or EP-A-344 789. In that case the erasing temperature range is generally between 50.degree. and 100.degree. C. and the writing operation is effected at temperatures above 110.degree. C. Writing on the heat-sensitive coating can thus be erased and re-applied.
An apparatus of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification is known for example from EP-B-199 234. The thermal print head is rigidly arranged on the transport path and the oppositely disposed backing roller is resiliently movably suspended. For reversible processing of a thermal coating, above-mentioned EP-A-174 902 and EP-A-344 789 each diagrammatically show apparatuses in which the single thermal print head is heated to the respectively required writing or erasing temperature. In that respect the thermal print head was intended to perform two different functions: for erasing written characters, it is desirable if the entire surface to be processed is set to the erasing temperature, as uniformly as possible. In contrast, the writing operation is possible only by virtue of heating of the heat-sensitive coating being effected in an only locally delimited manner, namely within the contours of the characters to be reproduced.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention therefore, for the reversible processing of data carriers with a heat-sensitive coating, it is provided that the thermal print head has a writing head which is operative in the first temperature range for writing the heat-sensitive layer and an erasing head which is operative in the second temperature range for erasing existing characters.
The two heads are preferably arranged in side-by-side relationship on a common carrier in such a way that the data carrier passes firstly the erasing head and then the writing head. Thus old characters can be erased and new characters can be written in one processing operation, the writing times being reduced by virtue of the pre-heating effect in the erasing operation.
The erasing head can also be used only for simply pre-heating the heat-sensitive coating, without characters being erased.
In the printing operation using the effect of heat, the data carrier should be slightly curved at least in the printing region so that the thermal print head bears approximately tangentially against the print region. In order to reduce the susceptibility to trouble, the thermal print head should come into contact with the data carrier only when it is actually used. As data carriers which not only have a zone which can be printed upon by the effect of heat but additionally also include a magnetic strip and/or an electronic module are possibly of greater thickness and involve an increased level of flexural stiffness, in a further preferred embodiment of the apparatus the curvature of the data carrier is produced by virtue of the backing roller being arranged movably towards the thermal pri
REFERENCES:
patent: 4330350 (1982-05-01), Andrews
patent: 4692394 (1987-09-01), Drexler
patent: 4904853 (1990-02-01), Yokokawa
Patent Abstracts of Japan vol. 14 No. 478 (M-1036)JP2192999 Jul. 1990.
Pitts Harold
Skidata Computer GmbH
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