JPH04142970A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To repeatedly apply printing on the same printing surface by applying heat treatment to a medium having data printed thereon and removing the data to be printed melted by this heat treatment by a removing means and again printing data on the region from which the data is removed of the medium by a printing means. CONSTITUTION:In a heat roll heating means 24, when it is judged that there is no blank in the variable display region 10 of a card 11 on the basis of already read used history data, a lift-off control part 43 drives the heat roll heating means 24 to remove an ink image by lift-off. When there is a blank in the variable display region 10, the lift-off control part 43 is controlled so that the heat roll 44 of the heat roll heating means does not come into contact with the variable display region 10 and the card 11 is fed to the thermal head thermal transfer recording means of the next stage as it is. Herein, necessary data such as a use date is additionally recorded on the variable display region 10 of the card 11 as an ink image by the thermal head 42 driven by a printing control part 41. After printing, renewed data is confirmed by a reading head 26.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) This invention relates to a reduction-of-amount card used in telephones, ticket vending machines, etc., that is, a buribate card, a financial institution ID card, The present invention relates to a printing device for repeatedly used media such as identification cards such as employee ID cards or securities.

(Prior art) Conventionally, with a deductible card used in telephones, ticket vending machines, etc., in other words, a buribate card, if the amount is a large amount that cannot be limited to the number of times it can be used, even if there is a balance, it cannot be printed. Update records (printing) of balances, etc. are not adopted for reasons such as the area running out and making it unusable or because it is difficult to print small characters. Therefore, many devices are configured to roughly notify the remaining amount of use (or the number of usable power) by punching a hole or the like. Therefore, there was a problem in that it was not possible to know the usage history and accurate balance.

For example, as in a plastic ticket issuing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-39351, a transfer sheet with a transfer ink layer provided on a backing material is brought into close contact with a plastic card, and a thermal head is driven. After recording an image using a card, it is fixed by a fixing device to form the image on the card.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned plastic ticket issuing device, since the image is fixed, there is a problem that once the image is recorded on the entire surface of the card, it becomes impossible to write any more.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing device that can repeatedly print on the same printing surface.

[Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention removes printed information by applying heat treatment to a medium on which information is printed in a predetermined area. The present invention is characterized by comprising a removing means for removing information, and a printing means for printing information on a predetermined area on the medium removed by the removing means.

(Operation) The printing device of the present invention performs heat treatment on a medium on which information is printed, removes the printed information melted by the heat treatment by a removing means, and prints on the area of the medium from which the information has been removed. Print the information again.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the printing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the internal structure of a card processing device incorporating a printing device of the present invention. This device uses a deductible amount card and prints usage history data such as date of use and remaining amount on a variable display area of the card each time it is used, and when there is no more space in this variable display area, the previously recorded image is removed and a new one is created. is configured to print data. Card 1 inserted into this device
1 has a variable display layer (region), a magnetic recording layer (region), etc., and has a cross-sectional configuration shown in FIG. card 1
1 has a pre-printing layer 8 on one side of the base material 7 and a magnetic recording layer 9 on the other side.
and a variable display layer 10, which is a recording layer, are laminated.

The base material 7 is made of plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, or paper, and here, polyvinyl chloride with a thickness of 188 μm was used. The variable display area 10 is made of a resin such as polyethylene terephthalate or polyurethane, or a resin mixed with a pigment such as silicon dioxide or talc to make it opaque. These may be colored and used if necessary. Here, a 3 μm thick white layer made of polyurethane mixed with silicon dioxide fine particles was used. Pre-print layer 8
That is, on the front surface 11a of the card 11, as shown in FIG. 3, the usage limit and the design of the card 11 are printed. As shown in FIG. 4, on the back side 11b of the card 11, the usage status (usage history) of this card 11, such as the date of use and remaining amount, is displayed from the outside in a variable display area 10 (inside the broken line frame) that corresponds to the recording layer. The supplied image forming body is received on its surface and printed. The variable display area 10 may be provided on a part of the surface of the card 11 as shown in FIG. 4, or may be provided on the entire surface. In the magnetic recording area 9, the initial state and usage status (usage history) of the card 11, such as the usage limit, usage date, and remaining amount, are magnetically recorded. The printing device includes a card slot 20 into which a card is inserted;
The first
In the figure, a card transport path 21 that can transport cards in both directions to the right, security-related data such as card authenticity and validity period, and usage history data such as remaining amount are transferred to the card 11.
read head 2 for reading magnetic information from the magnetic recording area of
2. A write head 23 for updating and writing magnetic information in the magnetic recording area of the card 11; an ink image removal means for removing the displayed ink image by lift-off when there is no more blank space in the variable display area 10 of the card 11; a heat roll heating means 24, a thermal head thermal transfer recording means 25, a printing means for printing usage history data such as usage date and remaining amount on the variable display area 10 of the card 11; A reading head 26 reads magnetic information from the magnetic recording area 9 of the card] 1, a stopper 27 that stops the card when there is a doubt about the authenticity of the card, validity period, etc., and a stopper 27 that stops the card in the card transport direction. It is comprised of sensors 28, 29 and 30 for detection, a card ejection port 31 for ejecting cards, and the like.

Further, FIG. 5 schematically shows a control system for controlling the card processing device shown in FIG. 1. This control system includes a main control section 40 that controls the entire apparatus, a print control section 41 that controls the driving of a thermal head 42 of a thermal head thermal transfer recording means 25 that is a printing means, and an ink image removal means that removes an ink image by lift-off. a lift-off control section 43 that controls the heat roll 44 of the heat roll heating means 24, a read control section 45 that controls the reading of magnetic information by the read head 22, a read control section 46 that controls the reading of magnetic information by the read head 26, A write control unit 47 that controls magnetic information writing by the write head 2B, a transport mechanism control unit 48 that controls a motor (not shown) connected to a transport roller in the card transport path via a drive system, and a collation of security-related data. It is comprised of a determination unit 50 and the like that determines whether a message can be printed on the card according to the validity of the card, the remaining amount, and the number of days remaining in the usage period. Each block is connected to the main control section 40 via a data bus 51. Further, the main control unit 40 is configured to be connected to an external terminal (not shown) as necessary so that necessary data can be displayed and input/output.

Next, the card processing operation in this device will be explained. A user inserts a card 11 into a card slot 20.

The inserted card 11 is conveyed along a conveyance path 21 by a conveyance roller (not shown), and a reading head 22 reads security-related data such as authenticity of the card, validity period, and usage history data such as remaining amount. The read data is processed by the determination unit 50 via the main control unit 40.

If there is a problem with the card, operate the stopper 27,
The conveyance of the card 11 is stopped, the motor operation for driving the conveyance roller is reversed under the control of the conveyance mechanism control unit 48, and the card 11 is discharged to a separate tray (not shown). If the card is valid, the write head 23 at the next stage updates and writes the usage history tab in the magnetic recording layer. In the heat roll heating means 24, when it is determined that there is no blank space in the variable display area 10 of the card 11 based on the usage history data that has already been read, the foot-off control section 43 drives the heat roll heating means 24. , the ink image is removed by lift-off. If there is a margin in the variable display area 10, the lift-off control unit 43 is controlled so that the heat roll 44 of the heat roll heating means 24 does not come into contact with the variable display area 10, and the card 11 is directly transferred to the next thermal head for thermal transfer recording. It is conveyed to the means 25. Here, the thermal head 25 is driven by the print control section 41.
Necessary information such as the date and time of use is additionally recorded in the variable display area 10 of the card 11 as an ink image. After printing,
The updated data is read from the magnetic recording area 9 by the read head 26, and the updated data is confirmed. Sensors 28, 29 and 30 provided upstream of each of these means detect the leading edge of the card and output a reference signal for lift-off or print positioning to the main control section. Finally, the card is ejected to the ejection port 31 and returned to the user.

Next, using FIG. 6, the thermal head thermal transfer recording means 2
The printing operation in step 5 will be explained. The thermal head 42 has 448 heating elements 52 arranged at a density of 8 elements/mm. Reference numeral 53 denotes an ink ribbon, and a heat-melting black ink 55 that is solid at room temperature is coated on a base film 54. The color, density, and ink of the ink vary depending on how the card is used.
Colorants and binders are selected and used to adjust ink properties such as fastness, weather resistance, magnetism, fluorescence, and light absorption properties. Here, a mixed binder of carbon pigment, polyester resin, and wax was used. Platen roller 56
is spaced apart from the ink ribbon 53 by a distance less than the thickness of the card 11, and is configured to urge the card 11 against the ink ribbon 53 and the heating element 52 during printing. When the card 11 is conveyed and passes a sensor 29 consisting of a light emitting element 57 and a light receiving element 58, the leading edge of the card 11 is detected. When the leading edge of the card 11 is detected, a detection signal from the light receiving element 58 is output to the main control section 40, and this output is used as a reference for printing timing. card 1
When the first variable display area 10 comes to a predetermined position, the main control section 40 outputs a print signal. The print control unit 41 selectively causes the heating element 52 to generate heat based on the print signal. The ink 55 heated by the heating element 52 melts and adheres to the variable display area 10, and by peeling the ink ribbon 53 from the card 11 as the card 11 is conveyed, the ink 55 is transferred to the variable display area 10 and becomes the ink. Image 59
form. In this way, necessary information can be printed and displayed in the variable display area 10.

Further, the ink image lift-off operation in the heat roll heating means 24 will be explained with reference to FIG. A heat roll 44 is a heat supply means, and is composed of a hollow metal roller 61 having a latex coating layer 60 on its surface and a heat lamp 62.

The heating lamp 62 is connected to the lift-off control section 43 via a power supply means (not shown), and the heating temperature is controlled. Further, the heat roll 44 is controlled by a vertical drive mechanism (not shown) so that it comes into contact with the card 11 during the lift-off operation, and so that it does not come into contact with the card 11 when the lift-off operation is not performed. Further, an ink recovery means 63 is provided around the heat roll 44 and is composed of a blade 64 and an ink storage container 65. When it is determined by the reading head 22 etc. that there is no margin in the variable display area 10 of the card 11, the lift-off control unit 43 sets the temperature slightly higher than the melting temperature of the ink 55 based on the card tip position detection signal from the sensor 28. The heat roll 44 is heated and brought into contact with the card 11. At this time, the heat roll 44 rotates as the card 11 is transported.

The ink image 59 that has come into contact with the heat roll 44 melts and becomes sticky, and adheres to the latex coating layer 60.
As the card 11 is transported, it is lifted off. The lifted-off ink is removed from the latex coating layer 60 by the play drawer 4 and collected into the ink storage container 65. The variable display area 10 from which the ink image 59 has been removed can be printed again by ink image transfer. By configuring as described above, it was possible to repeatedly print and display on the variable display area 10 of the card 11 ten times or more. Furthermore, the printed ink image did not suffer from chipping or staining of the base even after card processing operations were repeated over 100 times. Further, the magnetic head was not contaminated by the ink image. Furthermore, when reading or writing magnetic information in the magnetic recording area, there is no need to take measures such as changing the output of the read head or changing the input of the write head due to adhesion of an ink image.

The printing apparatus of the present invention does not repeatedly use the image forming material (ink) printed on cards to be issued, but performs printing by updating the image forming material each time printing is performed. Further, the display is not limited to a specific area of the card (medium) to be printed, but can be displayed at any position by setting.

In addition, since the image forming body is supplied from outside the card (medium), the characteristics of the image forming body (color, density, fastness, weather resistance, magnetism, fluorescence, light absorption characteristics, etc.) can be freely set. becomes possible. Further, since an image forming body using a pigment having excellent base hiding power as a coloring material can be used, a display with high density contrast can be performed without being limited by the thickness of the display layer.

As described above, according to the printing device of the present invention, it is possible to rewrite printed characters.

In particular, this apparatus can remove characters one by one or selectively remove any area of an already printed ink image. Image forming body (ink) supplied from outside
Since the display can be set according to the function and purpose, it is now possible to rewrite the display with excellent visibility due to differences in density contrast, color, etc. Furthermore, since the image forming body is made of a material that is solid at room temperature, highly reliable display can be obtained. Furthermore, unlike conventional image forming bodies, there is no deterioration due to fatigue caused by repeated use of the same image forming body, and the life of the display unit can be extended. Further, since the display section can be set at any position, there is a high degree of freedom in setting the display surface, and the position of the display section can be easily changed without changing the card. It also satisfies the requirements for image forming bodies, such as repeatability and anti-scratch properties, and the properties can be designed almost independently without interference with each other. Further, it is also possible to change the display specifications without changing the card body or device by simply changing the characteristics of the image forming body supplied from the outside. In addition, by arranging a printing means that forms ink images of different colors, it is possible to change the color of the ink image according to the displayed information without changing the card itself, and more information can be obtained by combining characters and symbols. can be displayed. An important characteristic of the display area is the surface properties of the display layer, and since an image forming material with a high unit density can be used, sufficient image density can be obtained even with a thin ink image, and the thickness can be reduced. It has become possible to form an extremely thin display section. Therefore, even if a display layer is laminated on top of a magnetic layer, it is possible to realize a medium such as a card that can display a rewritable display without causing any trouble in reading/writing magnetic information and without damaging the magnetic head. We were able to.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the printing apparatus of the present invention, printing can be repeatedly performed on the same printing surface.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings are for explaining one embodiment of the printing device of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a card processing device incorporating the printing device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an embodiment of the present invention. A cross-sectional configuration diagram of a card used in a card printing device,
Figures 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the specifications of the card shown in Figure 2, Figure 5 is a block diagram of the control system of the card processing device shown in Figure 1, and Figure 6 is a diagram for explaining the specifications of the card shown in Figure 2. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the printing operation by the thermal head thermal transfer recording means of the card printing apparatus which is an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a lift-off operation. 11... Card, 10... Variable display layer, 24...
Heat roll heating means, 25... Thermal head thermal transfer recording means, 53...
ink ribbon

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A removal means for removing printed information by applying heat treatment to a medium on which information is printed in a predetermined area; and printing information on the predetermined area on the medium that has been removed by the removal means. What is claimed is: 1. A printing device comprising: printing means for printing. (2) a removing means for removing the printed information by applying heat treatment to the medium on which information is printed in a predetermined area; and a removing means for heating the transfer medium to be transferred by thermal melting. 1. A printing device comprising: printing means for printing information on a predetermined area on the removed medium.