Fabric (woven – knitted – or nonwoven textile or cloth – etc.) – Scrim – Woven scrim
Patent
1998-12-14
2000-02-15
Morris, Terrel
Fabric (woven, knitted, or nonwoven textile or cloth, etc.)
Scrim
Woven scrim
442 6, 442 19, 442 52, 442 22, 442 37, 442 65, 442260, 442261, 442232, 257679, 283904, 400127, 428 75, 428465, 428548, 428607, 428615, B32B 1514
Patent
active
060252839
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to charge cards. For the avoidance of doubt the term charge card used herein embraces all possible kinds of card used in lieu of payment in cash or cheque. Examples of such cards include credit cards such as VISA (Trade Mark), AMERICAN EXPRESS (Trade Mark) and many cards for use in specific shops or debit cards such as SWITCH (Trade Mark).
It is conventional to make charge cards from flexible plastic material. The material has to undergo rigorous testing to meet the international regulations, especially those governing flexibility and extent of elastic deformability. Some types of charge card are very exclusive. It is quite common for such cards to have a gold or platinum coloured coating on the faces thereof. These so-called gold or platinum cards are very prestigious and are usually only given to persons with sufficient assets or income.
A noble metal card has been described in a Japanese patent application (publication no. 3266695). This card is protected by thermally bonding transparent resin films to both surfaces of the noble metal card. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use such cards as credit cards. Credit cards require a high degree of flexibility and elasticity if they are to meet the required standards and the noble metal card described in the Japanese application deforms relatively easily but does not possess the required flexibility to return it to its original position. Instead, the metal layer becomes permanently damaged as a result of the deformation. The present invention is directed, in part, to a solution to this problem.
According to the present invention there is provided a charge card made partly from a precious metal wherein the card includes one or more layers made of a precious metal and one or more layers made of other materials characterised in that the card comprises a layer of a rubber based material.
For the avoidance of doubt, a rubber based material includes: natural rubber and synthetic rubbers and material s containing a substantial part of either rubber. Examples of synthetic rubbers include neoprene, isoprene, butadiene and copolymers of these substances. A composite material having an internal fibre or fabric web can be used. One example is polychloropropene coated fibre fabric of plain weave construction. Such composite materials combine flexibility and added strength. Other rubber based composites fall within the scope of this invention.
The term precious metal used herein includes high value metals such as platinum, gold (at all carats) and silver.
Preferably, a three part laminate is formed comprising outer layers of precious metal and an inner layer of the rubber based material. The layers of precious metal are, preferably, banded to the inner rubber based layer by means of a suitable adhesive. Such adhesives are known to those skilled in the art.
The card may be coated with a suitable coating to give a durable, flexible and rugged finish. Advantageously, optional further components of the card such as a hologram, a signature pad, a magnetic strip, a photograph identification strip and a card company identifier can be affixed to the coated layer which may be of plastic material is more suitable than the surface of the precious metal itself.
A preferred embodiment is acrylic isocynate which is a clear plastic typically sprayed onto the card. This coating allows banding of a signature patch etc to it.
Advantageously, the provision of a rubber based layer adjacent to the thin layer(s) of metal sheet results in an unique feel to the card and gives the flexibility to the card necessary to mimic the feel of a credit card. In addition, in the three part laminate, the provision of the inner rubber based layer gives flexibility whilst retaining the appearance of a solid metal card. In particular, the card is sufficiently elastic to allow a surprisingly high degree of deformation. In addition, the rubber based layer gives enhanced slip properties to the product. Slip properties are crucial in preventing the creasing or folding of the acting
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patent: 5688738 (1997-11-01), Lu
patent: 5890743 (1999-04-01), Garrison et al.
patent: 5892661 (1999-04-01), Stafford et al.
Morris Terrel
Singh Arti
The Real Gold Card Company Limited
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