Inlet sheet for a book-like electronic identification document

Abstract

An inlay sheet for a book-like identification document. The inlet sheet may include a first hinge layer comprising polycarbonate and a second hinge layer comprising a flexible material different to polycarbonate, e.g. PET, polyurethane, fabric, mesh. The second hinge layer is attached to the first hinge layer. A first datapage layer and a second datapage layer are attached to the first hinge layer and the second hinge layer, respectively, such that the first and second hinge layers are positioned between the first and second datapage layers for forming a datapage section having a datapage thickness. The first and second datapage layers form a common datapage inner front edge and the first and second hinge layers extend beyond the common datapage inner front edge such that a hinge section is formed having a hinge thickness smaller than the datapage thickness.

Claims

1. An inlay sheet configured to be used in a book-like identification document, the inlay sheet comprising: a first hinge layer comprising polycarbonate; a second hinge layer comprising polyurethane, the second hinge layer being attached to the first hinge layer; all components of an RFID embedded in the second hinge layer; a first datapage layer; and a second datapage layer; wherein the first datapage layer and the second datapage layer are attached to the first hinge layer and the second hinge layer, such that the first and second hinge layers are positioned between the first and second datapage layers forming a datapage section having a datapage thickness (tdp), the first and second datapage layers forming a datapage inner front edge; wherein the first and second hinge layers extend beyond the datapage inner front edge such that a hinge section is formed having a hinge thickness (th) smaller than the datapage thickness (tdp).

2. The inlay sheet of claim 1, further comprising a third hinge layer comprising polycarbonate, the second hinge layer being positioned between and attached to the first and third hinge layers.

3. The inlay sheet of claim 2, further comprising a common front edge for the hinge layers formed by at least one of a polycarbonate strip or a strip formed during lamination of the hinge layers made of polycarbonate by at least one of pressing or squeezing.

4. The inlay sheet of claim 2, wherein at least one of: the hinge thickness (th) is at least 30% smaller than the datapage thickness (tdp); or a hinge layer thickness (thl) of at least one of the first or third hinge layers is at least 80% smaller than a datapage layer thickness (tdp1) of at least one of the first or second datapage layers.

5. The inlay sheet of claim 2, wherein at least one of: the datapage thickness (tdp) is smaller than 600 μm; the hinge thickness (th) is smaller than 300 μm; respective datapage thicknesses (tdp1, tdp2) of the first and second datapage layers are smaller than 300 μm; or respective hinge layer thicknesses (thl) of the first and third hinge layers are smaller than 100 μm.

6. The inlay sheet of claim 1, wherein at least a component of the RFID extends at least in part in the datapage section.

7. The inlay sheet of claim 1, wherein at least one printed or laser engraved pattern is provided in the hinge section.

8. The inlay sheet of claim 1, wherein the second hinge layer consists essentially of polyurethane.

9. The inlay sheet of claim 8, wherein at least one printed or laser engraved pattern is provided in the hinge section.

10. The inlay sheet of claim 8, further comprising a third hinge layer comprising polycarbonate, the second hinge layer being positioned between and attached to the first and third hinge layers.

11. A method for manufacturing an inlay sheet, the method comprising: providing a first hinge layer comprising polycarbonate; providing a second hinge layer comprising polyurethane, the second hinge layer having all components of an RFID embedded therein; providing a first datapage layer forming a part of a datapage section; providing a second datapage layer forming another part of the datapage section; and bonding together the first and second hinge layers and the first and second datapage layers such that the first and second hinge layers are positioned between the first and second datapage layers and the first and second hinge layers extend beyond an inner front edge of the datapage section, forming a hinge section having a hinge section thickness (th) smaller than a datapage section thickness (tdp).

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: providing a third hinge layer comprising polycarbonate; positioning the second hinge layer between the first and third hinge layers; and bonding the first, second, and third hinge layers to each other.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising laminating the hinge layers made of polycarbonate to form a closed front edge for the hinge layers.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of: the hinge section thickness (th) is at least 30% smaller than the datapage section thickness (tdp); or a hinge layer thickness (thl) of at least one of the first or third hinge layers is at least 80% smaller than a datapage layer thickness (tdp1) of at least one of the first or second datapage layers.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of: the datapage section thickness (tdp) is smaller than 600 μm, the hinge section thickness (th) is smaller than 300 μm; respective datapage thicknesses (tdp1, tdp2) of the first and second datapage layers are smaller than 300 μm; or respective hinge layer thicknesses (thl) of the first and third hinge layers are smaller than 100 μm.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein at least a component of the RFID is embedded such that it extends at least partly in the datapage section.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising at least one of printing or laser engraving a pattern in the hinge section.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the second hinge layer consists essentially of polyurethane.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: providing a third hinge layer comprising polycarbonate; positioning the second hinge layer between the first and third hinge layers; and bonding the first, second, and third hinge layers to each other.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a first exemplary embodiment of an inlay sheet according to the present disclosure:

(2) FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a second exemplary embodiment of an inlay sheet according to the present disclosure;

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a third exemplary embodiment of an inlay sheet according to the present disclosure:

(4) FIG. 4a is a schematic sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, but modified at the hinge section:

(5) FIG. 4b is a schematic sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, but modified at the hinge section:

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the fourth exemplary embodiment similar to that shown in FIG. 3, but modified at the hinge section:

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 5, but further modified in the datapage section:

(8) FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of a fifth embodiment of an inlay sheet according to the present disclosure:

(9) FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view of an electronic document comprising at least one inlay sheet according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(10) The following is a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary embodiments described herein are intended to teach the principles of the present disclosure, enabling those of ordinary skill in the art to implement and use the present disclosure in many different environments and for many different applications. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments are not intended to be, and should not be considered as, a limiting description of the scope of protection. Rather, the scope of protection shall be defined by the appended claims.

(11) The present disclosure is based at least in part on the realization that, at present, all hinge layers of the multilayer hinge section extend into and through the whole datapage section and, accordingly, is a complete layer running through the datapage section. The hinge section is provided as a multi-layer structure that may provide additional durability and flexibility at the hinge and provides, for example, a supporting external layer on one side, both sides, or as a supporting internal layer in the hinge. By adding a flexible hinge layer to the polycarbonate hinge layer, the hinge section may retain the advantages of the polycarbonate such as suitability for printing, laser engraving and lamination stability, while also taking on the properties of the flexible hinge layer such as flexibility, tear resistance, durability, crack prevention, and strength.

(12) According to an exemplary embodiment of an inlay sheet, at least the first and second hinge layers may form a front edge closed by a polycarbonate strip. The polycarbonate strip may be formed during lamination or a similar process of the multilayer hinge composition. Particularly, the open edge shall be preferably closed to avoid that any humidity can enter into the multilayer structure.

(13) According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the individual layers may be bonded together by either lamination, welding, adhesives, or another process well known in the art.

(14) In accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one of the first and second datapage layers may include a defined surface pattern formed, for example, by a plurality of voids and/or cavities. Accordingly, voids and/or cavities may be introduced in the polycarbonate layers. Then, by using a flexible hinge material like thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that is more viscous than polycarbonate during lamination, it would flow and fill in the voids or cavities in the polycarbonate. This might have multiple benefits like increasing adhesion to the polycarbonate and enhancing the flexibility of the multilayer hinge. Furthermore, continuous patterns like text, maps, symbols or other outlined shapes and/or with the voids or cavities in both the protruding hinge section and in the datapage section could function as a security feature by visually revealing proof of tampering.

(15) Another exemplary embodiment of an inlay sheet is such that the content of polycarbonate in the flexible hinge section can be varied depending on product requirements. Further treatments of the hinge section could enable much higher polycarbonate content in the hinge section with further benefits.

(16) Typical compositions that may work without any additional treatments could be provided by a hinge inner layer made from a material different to polycarbonate with an inner hinge layer thickness of 240 to 250 μm at maximum and a flexible polycarbonate hinge layer with a layer thickness of 30 μm of polycarbonate on both sides. Alternatively, a hinge inner layer made from a material different to polycarbonate with a hinge inner layer thickness of 250 μm at maximum may be provided with a flexible polycarbonate hinge layer with a layer thickness of 50 μm of polycarbonate on one side only. Accordingly, a multilayer hinge section with a nominal thickness of less than 300 μm after lamination would be created. In general, the overall thickness of the multilayer hinge after lamination may be kept to a minimum in order to minimize the impact of the hinge on the opening and closing of, for example, a passport booklet.

(17) The inlet sheet may be structured that the total datapage thickness is smaller than 600 μm and/or the hinge thickness is smaller than 300 μm. Alternatively or additionally, the respective datapage thickness of the first and second datapage layers may be smaller than 300 μm and/or the respective hinge layer thickness of the first and third hinge layers is smaller than 100 μm, particularly smaller than 40 μm.

(18) According to the present disclosure, a multilayer hinge layer as disclosed could also provide some of the datapage functionality and benefits normally provided by the material in the datapage section itself, for example, opacity, laser reflection, laser engraving, security printing, clear window. Various grades of polycarbonate could be used for the datapage layers, such as laserable, superlaserable, clear or white, all offering different visual and performance benefits. This would contribute to achieving all the functionality expected from a passport datapage in a thinner construction with less layers.

(19) In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment of an inlay sheet according to the present disclosure, at least parts of an RFID electronic might be provided in an inner end or outer hinge layer or datapage layer in the datapage section of the inlay sheet disclosed therein.

First Exemplary Embodiment

(20) Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-section of a first exemplary embodiment of an inlay sheet 5 according to the present disclosure. Here, the inlay sheet 5 may comprise a first hinge layer 21 and a second hinge layer 22. The first hinge layer 21 may be made of polycarbonate. The second hinge layer 22 bonded to the first hinge layer 21 may consist of a flexible material different to polycarbonate. This material may comprise, for example, PET, polyurethane, fabric or mesh or a combination of these materials.

(21) A first datapage layer 11 and a second datapage layer 12 enclose the first and second hinge layers 21, 22. The first datapage layer 11 and the second datapage layer 12 may be made of any suitable materials known in the art, for example, polycarbonate.

(22) The two outer datapage layers 11, 12 form a front edge 24. The hinge layers 21, 22 extend beyond the front edge 24 and form a hinge section 20. These parts of the hinge layers 21, 22 not extending beyond the front edge 24 may be part of a datapage section 10 of the inlay sheet 5.

(23) As can be seen from FIG. 1, the datapage section 10 has a thickness tdp larger than the thickness th of the hinge section 20. The hinge section 20 has a hinge thickness th formed by the two hinge layers thickness thl1 and thl2. Accordingly, the flexibility of the hinge section might be increased, but the flexibility and durability of the hinge section might be improved.

Second Exemplary Embodiment

(24) Referring now to FIG. 2, a second exemplary embodiment of an inlet sheet according to the present disclosure is described. FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of an inlay sheet 5 corresponding to the inlet sheet shown in FIG. 1, but comprising three hinge layers 21, 22, 23 instead of two hinge layers 21, 22. Here, the inlay sheet 5 may comprise a first hinge layer 21, a second hinge layer 22 and a third hinge layer 23. The inner or second hinge layer 22 may consist of polycarbonate. The first and third hinge layers 21, 23 both bonded to the first hinge layer 21 may consist of a flexible material different to polycarbonate, for example, PET, polyurethane, fabric or mesh. A first datapage layer 11 and a second datapage layer 12 enclose the first, second and third hinge layers 21, 22, 23 and being bonded to the first and third layers 21, 23, respectively. As in the first embodiment, the first datapage layer 11 and the second datapage layer 12 may be made of polycarbonate.

(25) Again, the two outer datapage layers 11, 12 form a common front edge 24. The hinge layers 21, 22, 23 extend beyond the common front edge 24 and form a hinge section 20. These parts of the hinge layers 21, 22, 23 not extending beyond the front edge 24 may be part of a datapage section 10 of the inlay sheet 5.

(26) Here, as can be seen from the schematic sectional view of the inlet sheet 5 shown in FIG. 2, the datapage section 10 has a thickness tdp larger than the thickness th of the hinge section 20. The outer hinge layers 21, 23 may have a layer thickness thl1, thl3 both being smaller than the layer thickness thl2 of the hinge inner layer 22. Accordingly, the flexibility of the hinge section might be increased, but the flexibility and durability of the hinge section might be improved.

Third Exemplary Embodiment

(27) Referring now to FIG. 3, a third exemplary embodiment of an inlet sheet according to the present disclosure is described. FIG. 3 shows a similar schematic sectional view of an inlay sheet 5 as FIG. 2, but the materials of the three hinge layers 21, 22, 23 are different to the embodiment of FIG. 2. Here, the inlay sheet 5 may comprise a first hinge layer 21′, a second hinge layer 22′ and a third hinge layer 23′. The inner or second hinge layer 22′ may be made of a flexible material different to polycarbonate, for example, PET, polyurethane, fabric or mesh. The first and third hinge layers 221, 23 both bonded to the first hinge layer 21 may consist of polycarbonate. Again, first datapage layer 11 and second datapage layer 12 enclose the first, second and third hinge layers 21′, 22′, 23′ and being bonded to the first and third layers 21′, 23′, respectively. As in the first and second embodiments, the first datapage layer 11 and the second datapage layer 12 may be made of or comprise polycarbonate.

(28) Again, the two outer datapage layers 11, 12 form a common front edge 24. The hinge layers 21′, 22′, 23′ extend beyond the common front edge 24 and form a hinge section 20. These parts of the hinge layers 21′, 22′, 23′ not extending beyond the front edge 24 may be part of a datapage section 10 of the inlay sheet 5. The datapage section 10 has a thickness tdp larger than the thickness th of the hinge section 20. The outer hinge layers 21′, 23′ may have a layer thickness thl1, thl3 both being smaller than the layer thickness thl2 of the hinge inner layer 22′. Accordingly, the flexibility of the hinge section might be increased, but the flexibility and durability of the hinge section might be improved.

Modified Third Exemplary Embodiment

(29) Referring now to FIG. 4a, a modified third exemplary embodiment of an inlet sheet according to the present disclosure is described. FIG. 4a shows a similar schematic sectional view of an inlay sheet 5 as FIG. 3, but a polycarbonate strip 50 is provided sealing the front edge of the hinge section 20. The strip 50 may be bonded to the front edge.

(30) Alternatively, the strip 50 may be formed during the lamination process of the layers 21′, 23′ as shown in FIG. 4b at 50′. Here, the hinge layers 21′, 23′ made of polycarbonate are pressed or squeezed together during lamination to seal in the material of the inner hinge layer 22′, for example, polyurethane.

Fourth Exemplary Embodiment

(31) Referring now to FIG. 5, a fourth exemplary embodiment of an inlet sheet 5 according to the present disclosure is described. FIG. 5 shows a similar schematic sectional view of an inlay sheet 5 as FIG. 3, but patterns comprising voids and/or cavities 26, 27 are provided in the hinge section 20 on the outer hinge layers 21′ and 23′ within the polycarbonate material. Of course, a polycarbonate strip 50, 50′ as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b may also be provided in the embodiment of FIG. 5.

Modified Fourth Exemplary Embodiment

(32) Referring now to FIG. 6, a modified fourth exemplary embodiment of an inlet sheet 5 according to the present disclosure is described. FIG. 6 shows a similar schematic sectional view of an inlay sheet 5 as FIG. 5, but the patterns comprising voids and/or cavities 26, 27 are provided not only in the hinge section 20 but extend into the datapage section 10. Of course, a polycarbonate strip 50, 50′ as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b may also be provided in the embodiment of FIG. 6.

Fifth Exemplary Embodiment

(33) Referring now to FIG. 7, a fifth exemplary embodiment of an inlet sheet 5 according to the present disclosure is described. FIG. 7 shows a similar schematic sectional view of an inlay sheet 5 as FIG. 3, but at least parts 40, 41 of an RFID are embedded in at least the inner hinge layer 22′ in the area being part of the datapage section 20. Of course, a polycarbonate strip 50, 50′ as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b may also be provided in the embodiment of FIG. 7.

(34) Finally, FIG. 8 shows an electronic document 100 comprising a cover 101, 102 enclosing a plurality of inlet sheets 5. All inlet sheets 5 are stitched at 103 within the hinge area 20 into the cover 101, 102 forming a booklet. It has to be noted that the inlet sheets 5 may not comprise one datapage section 10 and one hinge section 20 only, but an inlet sheet 5 may be formed such that the hinge layers 21, 22 or 21′, 22′, 23′ may extend such that two datapage sections 10 are formed with one common hinge section 20 between the two datapage sections 10 provided on opposite sides of the hinge section 20 (seen in a sectional view).

(35) According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure a method for manufacturing an inlay sheet may comprise the steps of providing a first hinge layer 21; 21′ consisting of polycarbonate and providing a second hinge layer 22; 22′ consisting of a flexible material different to polycarbonate, e.g. PET, polyurethane, fabric, mesh. Furthermore, a first datapage layer 11 and a second datapage layer 12 are being provided. Additionally, the first and second hinge layers 21, 22; 21′, 22′ and the first and second datapage layers 10, 11 are being bonded together such that the first and second hinge layers 21, 22; 21′, 22′ are positioned between the first and second datapage layers 11, 12 and the first and second hinge layers 21, 22, 21′, 22′ extend beyond a datapage inner front edge 24. As already mentioned, typical polycarbonate lamination process temperatures are, for example, 160°-200° C. Parameters such as pressure and time can vary greatly depending on the specific product and laminator. Accordingly, a hinge section 20 having a hinge section thickness th smaller than a datapage section thickness tdp is formed.

(36) It will be appreciated that the foregoing description provides examples of the disclosed systems and methods. However, it is contemplated that other implementations of the disclosure may differ in detail from the foregoing examples. All references to the disclosure or examples thereof are intended to reference the particular example being discussed at that point and are not intended to imply any limitation as to the general disclosure.

(37) Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method for referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All method steps described herein can be performed in any suitable order, unless otherwise indicated or clearly contradicted by the context.

(38) Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein, improvements and modifications may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the following claims.