Heat-Sensitive Recording Material with Barrier Coating

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing heat-sensitive recording materials with security features are vulnerable to counterfeiting and have high investment costs and poor flexibility in production.

Innovation Solution

A heat-sensitive recording material with a paper substrate and a heat-sensitive recording layer on the front side, featuring a tincture with an organic solvent applied to the back side for authentication, and a barrier coating to prevent solvent penetration, allowing for a secure, flexible, and economically viable authentication method.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a tincture with organic solvent is applied to the back side of the substrate for authentication, then the authentication feature becomes more reliable and difficult to counterfeit, but the organic solvent may penetrate into the heat-sensitive recording layer and cause unwanted color-forming reactions

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveauthentication reliabilityVSAvoidsolvent penetration and color-forming reactions

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

A barrier coating is applied to the front side of the substrate between the heat-sensitive recording layer and the substrate surface. This barrier coating acts as an intermediary that prevents organic solvent from penetrating the heat-sensitive recording layer when a tincture containing organic solvent is applied to the back side of the substrate for authentication purposes, thereby eliminating unwanted color-forming reactions while maintaining authentication reliability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of manufacture

If watermark-based security features are used for authentication, then the authentication method is simple to implement, but the security features can be easily counterfeited and require high investment costs for production

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveproduction simplicityVSAvoidcounterfeiting resistance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies a barrier coating specifically to the front side of the substrate where the heat-sensitive recording layer is located. This localized application of special coating material creates a selective protective function that prevents solvent penetration without requiring complex production equipment or high investment costs, while providing reliable counterfeiting resistance through the combination of barrier coating and organic solvent-based authentication mark

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the barrier coating is made more effective to prevent solvent penetration, then the protection of the heat-sensitive recording layer is improved, but the barrier coating may interfere with the heat-sensitive recording function

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesolvent penetration preventionVSAvoidheat-sensitive recording function

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The barrier coating is designed with specific parameter ranges: it has a basis weight of 0.1 to 5.0 g/m² and contains 80 to 99.9% by weight of polyvinyl alcohol. These optimized parameters ensure the coating is sufficiently thin and permeable to allow heat and dye precursor diffusion for proper heat-sensitive recording function, while simultaneously providing adequate barrier protection against organic solvent penetration from the substrate back side

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution provides a reliable and difficult-to-counterfeit authentication feature, ensuring the authenticity of the recording material, particularly suitable for individual tickets, by maintaining the integrity of the heat-sensitive recording layer and preventing unwanted color-forming reactions.

Implementation Method 1

a barrier coating is arranged between paper substrate and heat-sensitive recording layer and is suitable to protect the heat-sensitive recording layer against penetration of the tincture into the heat-sensitive recording layer from the back side

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectBarrier coating protection:

Implementation Method 2

at least one dye precursor or color former and at least one color acceptor which react with one another under the action of heat to form color

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeat-induced color formation reaction:

Data Source

PatentUS8859460B2Heat-sensitive recording material having authenticity feature

Publication Date: 2014.10.14 MITSUBISHI HITEC PAPER EURO

AI summary

A heat-sensitive recording material includes at least a paper substrate, a heat-sensitive recording layer arranged on the front side of the substrate and which has at least one dye precursor and at least one color acceptor, wherein dye precursor and color acceptor react with one another under the action of heat to form color, and an authenticating security feature. The authenticating security feature is a mark which is applied to the back side of the paper substrate and which is made of a tincture having at least one organic solvent. A barrier coating is arranged between the substrate and heat-sensitive recording layer and is suitable to protect the heat-sensitive recording layer against penetration of the tincture into the heat-sensitive recording layer from the back side.