JPH07125271A - Thermal transfer type card printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify and reduce in size a heat transfer type card printer which can print a face photograph, etc., of a person. CONSTITUTION:An inlet conveying roller 21, a first capstan roller 23, a platen roller 24 and a second capstan roller 25 are sequentially linearly arranged in a conveying direction of a card as elements for constituting a conveying passage F of the card, and the roller 24 and the rollers 23, 25 disposed at front and rear of the roller 24 of the rollers are gathered as a unit U1 tiltable at an axis of the roller 25 as a center. On the other hand, a driving mechanism for inclining the unit U1 during a printing phase to approach the roller 24 to a first thermal head 52 fixed at its position is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer type card for recording image information such as a portrait of a person or characters on a flat card by using a transfer film having a heat sublimable or heat fusible ink. It concerns printers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a part of technology for manufacturing credit cards, ID cards, etc., a thermal sublimation transfer method has been used.
2. Description of the Related Art There is a printer for recording image information such as a face photograph of a person and character information on a flat plastic card, and the contents thereof are disclosed in JP-A-3-275362 and JP-A-3-275362.
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No.-278976.

FIG. 21 shows a recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-275362. This is a card supply unit 210 having a card feeding means, and a card C conveyed from the card supply unit 210 into the apparatus.
A print body unit 23 that prints predetermined information on the first transfer head 233 via the transfer paper 232.
0 and the second thermal head 2 through the transfer paper 242 on the card C printed by the print body unit 230.
43, an overcoat unit 240 for overcoating to protect the printing surface, and an encode recording unit for magnetically recording predetermined information on the card C.

The cassette 21 in the card supply unit
The card C is fed from the lower end of 2 by the feeding roller 213 to 1
The data is sent out one by one, predetermined information is magnetically recorded on the magnetic surface by an encode recording unit (not shown), and then the card C is sent to the print main unit 230.

In the print main unit 230,
A bed (card stage) 231 on which the card C is placed for printing is prepared. This bed 23
Both side portions of 1 are guided by guide rods 231a, 231a, and a screw screw 231b penetrates through the central portion. By rotating the screw screw 231b, the card C can be moved in a direction orthogonal to the conveying path. Has become.

At the time of printing on the card C, the first thermal line head 233 is slightly lowered and the transfer paper 232.
The card C on the bed 231 is pressed via the, and characters, photographs, etc. are thermally transferred based on a predetermined information signal supplied to the thermal line head 233. This transfer paper 232
Is a tape that is impregnated with yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk) sublimable inks in a plane-sequential manner at a predetermined pitch.
It is repeated a plurality of times in the order of M, C, and Bk, and the bed 231 is reciprocated in the direction orthogonal to the transport path each time,
A color print is obtained on card C.

The printed card C is sent to the overcoat unit 240, and the second thermal line head 243 is used to transfer the transfer paper 242 through the transfer roller 241.
The upper card C is pressed, and the resin film is overcoated on the card C by thermal transfer. The overcoated card C is conveyed to the operation side of the apparatus by the conveyor belt 244 and carried out of the apparatus.

The disclosure content of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-278976 is positioned as a specific configuration of the above publication.

That is, as shown in FIG. 22, a card 33
Bed 316 that is a stage (braten) on which 3 is placed
In the configuration, the substrate 336 having the flat rubber 335 attached thereto is provided on the upper surface of the holder member 337, and the pair of left and right guide members 338L and 338R are provided on the substrate 336 to provide the substrate 33.
6 and the holder member 337. The card 333 inserted through the card insertion slot is held on the flat rubber plate 335 with its left and right side edges fitted in the gaps between the guide members 338L and 338R and the flat rubber plate 335.

A feed mechanism 317 that reciprocates the bed 316 in a direction (X1, X2 direction) orthogonal to the card transport path.
21. Therefore, as in the case of FIG. 21, a guide rod (not shown) is inserted into the holder member 337 so as to be spaced apart in the front-rear direction and slidable in the left-right direction, and between these guide rods. The ball screw shaft 340 is screwed into the bed 316, and the ball screw shaft 340 is rotated to move right and left.
That is, the driven pulley 3 is provided at the right end of the ball screw shaft 340.
63 is fixed and connected to the output shaft of a drive motor (not shown) via a timing belt. Therefore, this feed mechanism 317 is driven by the drive motor to produce the ball screw shaft 3
40 is rotationally driven, and the bed 316 is reciprocated left and right (X1, X2).

Further, the thermal head 417 is attached to the bed 31.
6 and to configure a mechanism for adjusting the contact pressure of the thermal head 417, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the holder 411B that fixes both ends of the thermal head 417 moves its swing. It is swingably supported by support plates 409F and 409B about the moving shaft 410, and
An engagement shaft 418 is provided so as to be engageable with the pressing cam 412. Support plates 409F, 4 are provided at both ends of the engaging shaft 418.
A spring 419B is mounted between the thermal head 417 and 09B to constantly bias the thermal head 417 in a direction away from the transfer sheet 382.

The engaging shaft 418 of the holder 411B is pressed by the pressing cam 412 fixed to the pressing shaft 413 driven by the pressing mechanism 420, and the contact pressure between the thermal head 417 and the transfer paper 382 is adjusted. As shown in FIG. 23, the pressing shaft 413 of the thermal head 417 has one end penetrating the support plate 409B and the arm 42 at the end.
2, the connection member 4 in which the spring 423 is compressed
24, and is connected to a plunger 426 of an actuator 425 composed of a linear solenoid via a connecting member 427. The arm 422, the connecting members 424, 42 described above
7, the spring 423 and the actuator 425 constitute a pressurizing mechanism 420. The pressurizing mechanism 420 swings the thermal head 417 around the swing shaft 410 to bring the thermal head 417 closer to the bed 316.
Adjust the contact pressure of.

[0013]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional thermal transfer printer, the card C is placed on the bed serving as the platen, and the card C is brought relatively close to the thermal line head, and the card conveying path is provided. The desired printing is carried out by moving in a direction orthogonal to.

Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a bed having a complicated structure such as the bed 316 in addition to the constituent elements of the card transport path, and of course, the bed and the thermal line head are brought relatively close to each other at the time of printing. Means (pressurizing mechanism 420, pressing cam 412, engaging shaft 418, etc.)
And a system using a bed, such as a dedicated feeding means (feeding mechanism 317) that reciprocates the card in a direction orthogonal to the card transport path, control for determining a transfer position between the bed and the transport path, and the like. It requires an associated dedicated dedicated complex configuration. Further, in the bed system, the bed needs to be moved in a direction orthogonal to the transport path, so that the device size inevitably increases in that direction. Therefore, there is a limit to the construction of a card printer having a simple and small structure.

On the other hand, as an image forming apparatus which does not deal with the plastic cards as described above, but deals with recording sheets having good flexibility such as business card sheets, cards and postcards,
There is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-299153.

As shown in FIGS. 24 to 25, in this apparatus, the sheet feeding mechanism 502 to the receiving layer / image forming mechanism 5 are used.
Paper feed path 505 to the receiving layer 03 and the receiving layer / image forming mechanism 50
3 and the discharge path 506 from the protective layer forming mechanism 504,
In front of the receiving layer / image forming mechanism 503, they are arranged in such a manner that they obliquely intersect and merge. A pair of a grid roller 518 and a pinch roller 519 having a large number of irregularities on the peripheral surface is arranged in the confluent passage portion, and a switching gate 515 switches a sheet from the paper feeding path 505 to the paper discharging path 506. It is configured to be sent. Different paper feed paths 505 and paper discharge paths 506 depending on the switchback
When the sheet is conveyed to the sheet, the contact point between the pinch roller 519 and the grid roller 518 is displaced so as to follow the sheet conveying direction, whereby the sheet is conveyed without applying an excessive force to the sheet. It is supposed to be done smoothly. Further, in the receiving layer / image forming mechanism 503, a platen 529 is provided so as to be movable in pressure contact / separation with respect to the head 520. Then, at the time of printing, as shown in FIG. 25B, the platen 529 is moved to the head 52 via the recording paper conveyed by the conveying roller 518.
When the printing is not performed, the platen 529 is controlled so as to be separated from the head 520, as shown in FIG. 532 is a drive pulley 5
33 shows a belt wound around 33.

Therefore, when this image forming apparatus is applied to a card printer, the platen 529 is attached to the head 520.
Are moved in pressure contact / separation, and in synchronization with this, the pinch roller 5
The sheet 19 can be reciprocated in the same direction as the sheet conveying path only by switching the orbital displacement of 19 around the grid roller 518. This means that a sheet printer having a simpler and smaller structure can be configured as compared with the bed system in which the bed is moved in the direction orthogonal to the transport path.

However, as can be seen from FIG. 25, the platen 5 is attached to the head 520 during printing and during non-printing.
Since it is indispensable to move the pressure contact / separation of 29, the sheet must be curved by the distance. Therefore, it is effective as an image forming apparatus that handles flexible recording paper such as business card sheets, cards, and postcards, but is suitable for cards with relatively poor flexibility, that is, plastic cards that have a strong elasticity. It is not a simple structure.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to use the elements constituting the card conveying path as means for bringing the card into contact with the thermal head and means for moving the print a plurality of times. An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer card printer which can simplify the structure of the apparatus and downsize it, and can print even a rigid plastic card without bending.

[0020]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a card supply section (10) for sending out a card before printing processing, and a printing section (20) for printing a color image on the sent out card. A thermal transfer card printer having:
0), as elements constituting the card transport path (F), the inlet transport roller (21), the first transport roller (21) in the card transport direction,
Cap Stan roller (23), Platen roller (2
4) and the second cap stun roller (25) are linearly arranged in order, and the first cap stun roller (2)
3), the platen roller (24) and the second cap stun roller (25) are configured as a pass unit (U1) that can move toward and away from the fixed thermal head (52), During the printing phase, the drive unit (2) that moves the pass unit (U1) toward the thermal head (52) and presses the platen roller (24) against the thermal head (52).
8) is provided (Claim 1).

Another embodiment of the present invention is a thermal transfer card printer having a card supply section (10) for feeding out a card before printing processing and a printing section (20) for printing a color image on the fed card. In the above-mentioned printing section (20), as elements constituting the card transport path (F), there are an inlet transport roller (21) and a first cap stun roller (2) in the card transport direction.
3), the platen roller (24) and the second cap stun roller (25) are linearly arranged in order, of which the first cap stun roller (23) and the platen roller (24)
The second cap stun roller (25) is configured as a pass unit (U1) that can swing about the axis of the second or first cap stun roller (25 or 23), while the pass unit (U1) is provided during the printing phase. Driving mechanism (28) for tilting U1) to bring the platen roller (24) closer to the fixed thermal head (52).
Is provided (claim 2).

In the present invention, preferably, the distance (L1 + L2) between the entrance conveying roller (21) and the platen roller (24) is set longer than the length (L) of the card.
The entrance conveying roller (21) and the platen roller (24)
Between the first cap stun roller (2
3) to the distance (L2) from the platen roller (24)
Is provided at a position smaller than the distance (L1) from the entrance conveying roller (21) (claim 3).

The drive mechanism (28) includes a cam (45) for pressing the pass unit (U1) and a spring (47) for constantly engaging a part of the pass unit (U1) with the cam.
And a motor (M2) for rotating the cam, the cam (45) is provided with a high speed platen roller (24) until just before the platen roller (24) contacts the thermal head (52). ) Is brought close to the thermal head (52), and thereafter the speed is reduced until the platen roller (24) contacts the thermal head (52) (claim 4).

The unit entrance sensor and the unit exit sensor for detecting the presence of the card are integrally attached to the pass unit (claim 5).

A gap (Δ) can be formed between the first cap stun roller (23) or the second cap stun roller (25) and its pinch roller to alleviate the impact at the time of card entry ((Δ)). Claim 6).

Alternatively, the first cap stun roller (23)
The pinch roller (R) to the first pinch roller (R)
A spring (91) for pulling is provided on the cap stun roller (23) side, and the pulling force of the spring (91) is adjustable by a cam (92). The first cap stun roller (23) and the pinch roller (R) are provided. When the card is inserted into or removed from the roller pair (23, R), the pressing force of the pinch roller (R) is weakened, and the card is moved to the roller pair (2, R).
The pulling force of the spring (91) can be adjusted so as to return to the required pressing force after being completely nipped between R and R).

Alternatively, the opening / closing cam (93) is rotatably attached to the shaft of the first or second cap stun roller (23 or 25), and the opening / closing cam (93) is attached to the cap stun roller (23 or 25) by the card. ), The cam (93) is in a rotational position away from the axis of the pinch roller (R), and the card plunges between the cap stun roller (23 or 25) and the pinch roller (R). At this time, the cam (93) may be configured to move to a rotational position in which the shaft of the pinch roller (R) is lifted from below (claim 8).

When it is desired to form the image area (94) on one side of the card surface, the distance from the first cap stun roller (23) to the platen roller (24) (L
In contrast to 2), the distance (L3) from the platen roller (24) on the downstream side to the cap stun roller (25) becomes longer (L3> L2) or vice versa. L2) (Claim 9).

[0029]

The platen roller (2
4) the first cap stun roller (2) located upstream of
3) and the second cap stun roller (25) located on the downstream side are rollers for carrying the card, and are originally constituent elements of the card carrying path. However, these rollers act as a pass unit (U1) which can move towards or away from the fixed thermal head (52), or in the case of claim 2, the second or first cap. The pass unit (U1) is swingable about the axis of the stun roller (25 or 23), and also functions as means for pressing the platen roller (24) against the thermal head (52) during printing. To do.

Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare a complicated constituent element such as the bed (316) separately from the constituent elements of the card transport path as in the conventional case, and the platen roller (24) is attached to the thermal head (52). The means for pressing against is also very easily and finely adjustable.

Further, the entrance conveying roller (21), the first cap stun roller (23), the platen roller (24) and the second cap stun roller (25) are linearly arranged in the card conveying direction. Therefore, the first cap stun roller (23), the platen roller (24) and the second cap stun roller (2) of the pass unit (U1) are
5) is also arranged linearly, and as a result of these three units fluctuating as a unit, printing can be performed without the need for bending even for a plastic card having a strong rigidity.

The direction in which the card reciprocates during printing is not the direction orthogonal to the card transport path as in the conventional case, but the direction along the card transport path. For this reason, the card can be reciprocally moved at the time of printing by also using the drive means of the card transport system, the configuration is simplified, and it is not necessary to move the card in the direction orthogonal to the transport path. The device size in the direction becomes smaller.

Further, as a result of providing the cap stun roller (23) on the upstream side of the thermal head (52), it is possible to print over the entire area of the card.

That is, when the first cap stun roller (23) on the upstream side does not exist, the card has a second cap stun roller (2) on the downstream side of the thermal head (52).
Since it is returned by the nip of 5), the tip of the card cannot be returned upstream from this nip point. As a result,
The section area (L3) existing between the card tip and the thermal head (52) remains as an unprinted area.

However, if the first cap stun roller (23) is provided upstream of the thermal head (52),
The card can be transferred from the state where the second cap stun roller 25 is nipped to the state where the first cap stun roller 23 is nipped. That is, even if the tip of the card is separated from the second cap stun roller (25) to the upstream side, the card is already nipped by the first cap stun roller (23) at that time, and the card is left as it is. , The tip can be returned to the position just below the thermal head 52. Therefore,
It becomes possible to print over the entire area of the card by eliminating the unprintable area.

According to claim 2, the first cap stun roller (23) and the second cap stun roller (25).
Are grouped together with the platen roller (24) as a path unit (U1) that can swing about the axis of the second or first cap stun roller (25 or 23), so the path unit (U1) is tilted. Only mechanism,
The platen roller (24) can be pressed against the film on the thermal head (52) with an appropriate pressing force.

In the third aspect, the distance (L1) between the entrance conveying roller (21) and the platen roller (24).
+ L2) is determined to be longer than the length (L) of the card. Therefore, when the front end of the card comes directly under the thermal head (52), the rear end of the card must be the entrance transport roller (21).
It becomes a relationship apart from. Therefore, it is ensured that the rear end of the card does not come into contact with the entrance conveyance roller (21) again when the card is reciprocated a plurality of times during printing. If the card that moves back during printing comes into contact with the entrance conveyance roller (21), the image is disturbed by the shock at the time of contact, and this becomes more noticeable at higher speeds, so images with satisfactory color image quality are printed at high speed. It becomes impossible to do.

The position of the first cap stan roller (23) between the entrance conveying roller (21) and the platen roller (24) is such that the distance (L2) from the platen roller (24) is the entrance conveying roller (21). ) From (L
Position smaller than 1), that is, platen roller (2
4) Since it is provided close to the pass unit (U1), the pass unit (U1) can be made compact.

In the present invention, the following points are considered. That is, when a card facing the thermal head (52) is pressed against the thermal head, a mechanism that simply attaches and detaches using a solenoid or the like causes a large impact at the time of pressing when the speed is increased, and the card is a hard medium made of plastic. In that case, the thermal head was damaged or the printing position was misaligned. However, the drive mechanism (28) according to claim 4 is such that the cam (45),
Since the operation speed is reduced immediately before the pressure contact by using the drive mechanism including the spring (47) and the motor (M2), quick and safe operation can be ensured.

According to the present invention, since the unit entrance sensor and the unit exit sensor of the card are integrally attached to the pass unit, the positional relationship between them is always kept constant irrespective of the tilt of the pass unit. Detection and accuracy are possible.

According to the sixth to eighth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to avoid the influence of the impact when the card plunges between the first cap stun roller (23) or the second cap stun roller (25) and its pinch roller. As described in claim 5, a gap (Δ) may be formed between the roller pair to reduce the impact at the time of card entry, or as in claim 6, the roller pair (23, The pressing force of the pinch roller (R) may be weakened when the card enters or leaves the R), or
According to claim 7, the card is a roller pair (23 or 25,
R) When entering, the pinch roller (R) may be lifted by the cam (93).

According to the ninth aspect, when it is known that it is desired to form the image area (94) at a position near the one side within the card surface, the platen roller (24) to the first cap stun roller (23). By making the distance (L2) different from the distance (L3) from the platen roller (24) to the cap stun roller (25), the scar generated due to the impact at the time of plunging may occur in a place other than the desired image area. Can be determined to occur.

[0043]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Printer unit 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Is a part of a card manufacturing device such as a credit card or an ID card, and the entire card manufacturing device is
As shown in FIG. 4, the printer unit 1 comprises a magnetic encode recording unit 2 and a stocker unit 3 which are sequentially connected in series.

As shown in FIG. 3, the printer unit 1
Heats the card supply section 10 for sending out the flat plastic card C before printing processing, and the card C sent out by the card supply section 10 for heating a color image with intermediate gradation such as a facial photograph of a person. A first printing section 20 for printing by sublimation transfer method, and a second printing for printing a black-and-white binary image of characters etc. on this card by thermal fusion transfer method and also overcoating a protective layer on the printing surface. And section 30. In addition,
The flat card is one having a waist strength that can be supported in a cantilever manner.

As suggested in FIG. 3, the card supply section 10 sends out an untreated card stocker 11 for storing cards before printing in the form of a laminate C1 and one card at a time from the bottom of the stocker 11. And means 12.

In the first printing section 20, as elements constituting the card transport path F, the inlet transport roller 21, the guide plate 22 (FIG. 6), the cap stun roller 23, and the platen roller 24 are sequentially arranged in the card transport direction. , A cap stun roller 25 and a relay conveyance roller 29 are provided, and the cap stun roller 23, the platen roller 24, and the cap stun roller 25 among them are an inverted L that can swing about a shaft 26 of the cap stun roller 25. The path unit U1 is attached to the character-shaped support plate 27, and the platen roller 24 located in the center of the plate-like support plate 27 can be brought close to a position-fixed first thermal head 52 described later.

The second printing section 30 also has the same structure as the first printing section 20, and is an element constituting the card transporting path F, which is an inlet transporting roller 31 and a guide plate 32 (FIG. 7) sequentially in the card transporting direction. , Cap stun roller 33, platen roller 34, cap stun roller 35
And a relay conveyance roller 39, of which the cap stun roller 33, the platen roller 34, and the cap stun roller 35 are attached to an inverted L-shaped support plate 37 that is swingable about a shaft 36, and The rollers 34 are grouped as a pass unit U2 that can approach the second thermal head 62. Reverse L
Since the character plate 27 is configured to be swingable independently of left and right, it is not necessary to adjust the lateral position of the platen roller 24 with respect to the thermal head 52 in the pressing direction. In addition,
Each capstan roller in each printing section may have a function of loading and unloading a card with respect to the thermal head.

In FIG. 1, 4 is an opening / closing cover of the card supply section 10, 5 is an opening / closing cover of the first printing section 20, 6 is an opening / closing cover of the second printing section 30, and 7 is a cover.
Is a front cover having the operation panel 8, and 9 is a card outlet. FIG. 2 shows a state in which these opening / closing covers 4, 5, 6, 7 are opened.

2 and 3, side walls 51, 51 are erected on the back surface of the opening / closing cover 5 of the first printing section 20 along the card advancing direction, and the first thermal head is provided between the side walls 51, 51. 52 is attached in an upright direction with respect to the back surface of the cover. Also, the side walls 51, 51
The lower end portion of the device is located between the device frames 101 and 102 provided along the card advancing direction and is rotatably attached to the device frames 101 and 102 by the opening / closing shaft 53, thereby enabling the above-mentioned opening and closing. . Further, in order to hold the opened open / close cover 5 in an upright state, one end of the support lever 54 is provided on one of the side walls 51, 51 with a shaft 55.
It is pivotally attached to the pin 56, and its tip can be hooked on the pin 56.

The rear surface of the opening / closing cover 6 of the second printing section 30 has the same structure as that of the opening / closing cover 5, and side walls 61, 61 are erected along the card advancing direction, and both side walls 61,
A second thermal head 62 is attached between 61 so as to stand upright with respect to the back surface of the cover. Reference numeral 63 denotes an opening / closing shaft of the opening / closing cover 6.

A cocoon-shaped YMC film cassette 57 has a YMC film 58 in which yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) sublimable ink layers are formed in a frame-sequential manner at a predetermined pitch. Each of which is wound in the form of a supply roll 58a and a winding roll 58b from both end sides is stored. Reference numeral 67 is a wax black protective layer film cassette, and inside thereof, a wax black (WBk) protective layer film 68 in which a heat-melting wax black layer and a transparent overcoat layer are sequentially formed at a predetermined pitch is provided at both ends. The material is wound in the form of a supply roll 68a and a winding roll 68b from the side.

As already mentioned, the first printing section 2
The thermal head 52 of No. 0 and the thermal head 62 of the second printing section 30 are fixed to the back surfaces of the open / close covers 5 and 6, respectively, so that their positions do not change during use. Therefore, when the opening / closing covers 5 and 6 are closed, as shown in FIG.
Like YMC film 58 and WBk protective layer film 6
The position for pressing 8 is constant, and the pressing force depends on the force from the platen rollers 24, 34.

(1) Card Supply Section FIG. 6, FIG. 9, FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show the details of the card supply section 10.

The stocker 11 is on a card mounting table 11a which is a bottom plate of the stocker and a card guide table, and accommodates a large number of rectangular cards in a stacked state with their longitudinal directions aligned with the feeding direction. It is composed of a storage frame 11b. The card storage frame 11b opened above is
In order to facilitate the loading and unloading of the card bundle, the rear side portion in the card feeding direction is cut out in an L-shape to form a low card enclosure frame 11c. Further, in order to make it easy to insert and remove the card from the card surrounding frame 11c, the central portion of the rear end guide edge of the card surrounding frame 11c is also cut out to the card mounting table 11a by the cutout 11d.

Card mounting table (stocker bottom plate) 11a
Is provided with an opening 111 for mounting a card feeding means 12 to be described later and an opening 112 for mounting a lever type card empty sensor S0.

The card feeding means 12 of the card feeding section 10 is fixed to the lower surface of the card feeding slider 14 provided in the opening 11 of the card placing table 11a and provided so as to be reciprocally movable in the card feeding direction. The rack 15, the pinion gear 16 that meshes with the rack 15, and the shaft of the pinion gear 16 as the gear 1
A slider drive motor M for driving the card feeding slider 14 in the card feeding direction by driving through 7 and 18.
It is composed of 1 and 1.

The lower portion of the card feeding slider 14 is guided and supported by the guide rod 13 below the card mounting base 11a, and the upper surface of the card feeding slider 14 is positioned below the card mounting base 11a. A kick claw 14a protruding and extending along the rear edge is formed at the rear end of the upper surface of the card feeding slider 14, and the height of the kick claw 14a is slightly higher than the upper surface of the card mounting table 11a. . Specifically, the card thickness is 0.76 mm
On the other hand, the height of the kick claw 14a is set to be 0.5 mm.

In the above structure, when the motor M1 rotates, the slider 14 is moved through the gears 18, 17, 16 and 15.
Is driven to the left from the position of FIG. 6 along the guide rod 13. The lowest card C located on the card mounting table 11a of the stocker 11 is moved to the left by being kicked by the kick claw 14a, which is the stepped portion of the slider 14, to move to the left of the double feed prevention member 19 provided at the card exit. It passes through the gap 19a and is sent to the next first printing section 20. The double feed prevention member 19 prevents the double feed of the cards C by the gaps 19a, and makes both sides of the gaps 19a parallel to each other so that variations in the horizontal direction when the cards C are manipulated. Are also regulated.

With respect to the movement of the slider 14, the standby position (FIG. 6 and FIG. 12) at which the slider 14 comes to the outermost side and the most extended position (working position) are detected, so that the rear and front portions of the side wall of the slider 14 are detected. Sensing plate 4
1 and 42 are provided, and corresponding thereto, a slider position detection sensor (photosensor) S1 for detecting the rear side sensing plate 41 at the standby position and a slider position for detecting the front side sensing plate 42 at the operating position. A detection sensor (photo sensor) S2 is provided. In addition, a lever-type card sensor S3 is provided near the card exit (gap 19a) in order to detect that the card has been drawn out, including the case of a transparent card. Note that S0 is a lever type card empty sensor that detects that there are no unprocessed cards in the stocker 11, including transparent cards. The lever passes through the opening 112 as shown in FIG. So as to project above the card mounting table 11a.

(2) First Printing Section FIGS. 5 and 6 show the details of the first printing section 20, and FIGS. 8 and 9 show the drive system thereof.

As already mentioned, the first printing section 2
0 is an element constituting the card transport path F, and is sequentially provided in the card transport direction with the inlet transport roller 21 and the guide plate 2.
2, cap stun roller 23, platen roller 24,
A cap stun roller 25 and a relay conveyance roller 29 are provided. Among these, the cap stun roller 23, the platen roller 24, and the cap stun roller 25 can swing independently left and right about a shaft 26 of the cap stun roller 25. The pass unit U1 is attached to the inverted L-shaped support plate 27, and brings the platen roller 24 located in the center of the plate closer to the first thermal head 52.

In FIG. 6, the entrance conveying roller 21 and the cap stun roller 2 of the above-mentioned first printing section 20.
The pinch rollers R are arranged respectively on the relay rollers 3, 25 and the relay conveyance roller 29 so as to face them.

Then, when viewed in the card transport direction, at the position immediately after the entrance transport roller 21 and its pinch roller R,
Card detection sensor S including light emitter 43 and light receiver 44
4 is provided. Immediately before the cap stun roller 23 and its pinch roller R, a card detection sensor (unit entrance sensor) S5 including a photo interrupter is provided.
Immediately after the capstan roller 25 and its pinch roller R, a card cue sensor (unit exit sensor) S6 composed of a photointerrupter is attached to the inverted L-shaped support plate 37. There is. As a result, the plate 37 and the sensors S5 and S6 for detecting the card are integrally displaced, so that an error in the card detection position does not occur. Further, a card detection sensor S7 including a light emitter 43 and a light receiver 44 is provided immediately after the relay conveyance roller 29 and its pinch roller R. Note that S10 is a film detection sensor including a light emitter 43 and a light receiver 44, and the light emitter 43 is provided on the opening / closing cover 5 side.

In FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, the support plate 27 of the pass unit U1 includes not only the cap stun roller 23, the platen roller 24 and the cap stun roller 25, which have already been described, but also the unit entrance of the above sensor. A sensor S5 and a unit outlet sensor S6 are also attached, and are tilted while maintaining the relative positional relationship with respect to the transport path.

Reference numeral 28 denotes a drive mechanism for tilting the path unit U1, which includes a cam 45 fixed to a cam shaft 45a extending in a direction orthogonal to the conveying path, and a lower end portion of the inverted L-shaped leg portion of the support plate 27. A cam follower 46 that is provided on the cam 45 and is operated by the cam 45; and a spring 47 that urges the cam follower 46 in a direction to constantly contact the circumferential surface of the cam 45.
It has a lifting motor M2 (FIG. 9) for driving the cam shaft 45a via gears 48a and 48b. Further, since the drive mechanism 28 can grasp the current position of the cam 45,
Sensing plate 4 with two notches in the circumferential direction
9 and cam position detection sensors S8 and S9 corresponding thereto are provided so that the ascending position and the descending position of the pass unit U1 can be detected.

8 and 9, the entrance conveying roller 2
1, in order to drive the cap stun rollers 23, 24, 25 and the relay conveyance roller 29, first, the pulley 73 is provided on the shaft 26 of the cap stun roller 25, that is, the shaft 26 which is the swing center shaft of the path unit U1. To be Then, the timing belt 72 is wound around the pulley 73 and the pulley 71 provided on the output shaft of the transport drive motor M3. Further, the pulleys 73a, 7 which are integral with the pulley 73
3b, the entrance conveyance roller 21, and the shaft 2 of the relay conveyance roller 29
The timing belts 74 and 76 are wound around the pulleys 21b and 29b provided on the la and la, respectively.
Further, other pulleys 26a and 26b provided on the shaft 26, the capstan roller 23, and the shaft 23 of the platen roller 24
Timing belts 75a and 75b are wound around pulleys 23b and 24b provided on a and 24a, respectively.

The motor M4 (FIG. 9) is used for the YMC film 5
8, pulley 77, timing belt 78, pulley 7
9, a film take-up motor driven through a gear 80 coaxial with the pulley, a gear 81 provided on the shaft of the take-up roll 58b, and a gear 82 provided on the shaft of a film drive roller 84 (FIG. 5). In order to detect the rotation speed of the film winding motor M4, an encoder plate is provided on the motor shaft and a rotation speed sensor S1 for detecting the encoder plate.
Two are provided.

Although the above-mentioned motors M1, M2 and M4 are DC motors, the drive motor M3 of the card carrying system is a stepping motor. This is because it enables precise feeding of the card transport system and precise grasp of the feeding amount. The feed amount of the YMC film 58 is grasped by an encoder 83 including an encode disk 83a and a photo interrupter 83b which rotate in synchronization with the pulley 79, that is, in synchronization with the winding roll 58b.

Shaft of gear 80 (winding bobbin shaft), gear 82
Axis (axis of film drive roller 84) and supply roll 5
On the axis of 8a, torque limiters Ta, Tb,
Tc is arranged. The magnitude relation of each is Tb> (T
a = Tc), and the change in the winding force depending on the film winding amount and the remaining amount is minimized. Also,
An encoder is provided on the axis of M4 to keep the take-up speed constant, thereby eliminating the influence of the take-up speed on the slack of the film, the excess of the supply roll, and the peeling of the film and the card.

(3) Second Printing Section FIG. 7 shows the details of the second printing section 30, and FIG. 10 shows the drive system thereof.

The second printing section 30 has the same structure as the first printing section 20, and is an element constituting the card transporting path F, and is an inlet transporting roller 31, a guide plate 32, and a cap stun roller sequentially in the card transporting direction. 33, a platen roller 34, a cap stun roller 35, and a relay conveyance roller 39 are provided. Of these, the cap stun roller 33, the platen roller 34, and the cap stun roller 35 are swingable about a shaft 36. The platen roller 3 is attached to the character support plate 37.
4 can be put together as a pass unit U2 that can approach the second thermal head 62.

Further, a pinch roller R is arranged facing the entrance conveying roller 31, the cap stun rollers 33 and 35, and the relay conveying roller 39, respectively.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a drive mechanism for tilting the pass unit U2, which also has the same structure as the drive mechanism 28. The drive mechanism of the card transport system is also the same as that of the first printing section 20. Therefore, the same reference numerals are used for the components having the same operation, and the description thereof will be omitted.

However, the sensor corresponding to the card detection sensor S4 is the card detection sensor S of the first printing section 20.
7 has been substituted and is omitted here. Other S5-S
The sensors up to 10 are the same as in the first printing section 20.

(4) Operation The only difference between the second printing section 30 and the first printing section 20 is the type of film used and the control method and conditions associated therewith. Therefore, the operation of the first printing section 20 will be replaced with the operation of the second printing section 30 unless otherwise necessary.

From the lower end of the card stocker 11 of the card supply section 10, the card feeding means 12 feeds the cards C one by one to the first printing section 20 in the next step.

In the first printing section 20, the YMC film 58 is already applied to the first thermal head 52 with a predetermined tension. Further, during the non-printing phase, as shown in FIG. 13, the cam 45 is stationary at a position (acting position) where the peripheral surface having a large eccentric amount contacts the cam follower 46 of the pass unit U1. . As a result, the roller pair 23, R, 2 of the path unit U1
The paths formed by 5, R are other roller pairs 21, R, 2
It is maintained at a position that is linearly aligned with the conveyance path formed by 9, R, etc., and at this position, the platen roller 24 is in the first position.
From the thermal head 52 of YMC film 5
It is at a lower position apart from 8 by a slight gap d.

The card C enters the pass unit U1 after passing between the entrance conveying roller 21 and the pinch roller R, and is nipped between the cap stun roller 23 and the pinch roller R. Further, when the card C is fed and the front end of the card C comes directly below the first thermal head 52, the rear end of the card C is separated from the space between the cap stun roller 23 and the pinch roller R.

That is, the length of the card C is L, the distance between the entrance conveying roller 21 and the cap stun roller 23 is L1,
Assuming that the distance between the platen roller 24 (thermal head 52) and the cap stun roller 23 is L2, the relationship is L <(L1 + L2).

The above relationship is set to ensure that the rear end of the card does not come into contact with the entrance conveyance roller 21 again when the card is reciprocated a plurality of times during printing. If the card that moves backward during printing contacts the rollers 21 and 23, the image will be disturbed due to the shock at the time of contact, and this will become more noticeable at higher speeds. Therefore, print images with satisfactory color image quality at high speed. Becomes impossible. Incidentally, the nip pressure in this embodiment is the same as that of the entrance conveyance roller 21.
1.2 kg between the pinch roller R and the pinch roller R, 1 kg between the cap stan roller 23 and the pinch roller R, 3 kg between the cap stan roller 25 and the pinch roller R, and 0. 6 kg
The same applies to the second printing section 30 except that the distance between the entrance conveying roller 31 and its pinch roller R is 0.6 kg.

Next, the cap stun roller 23 and its pinch roller R are provided upstream of the thermal head 52 for the following reason.

In the configuration in which only the cap stun roller 25 and its pinch roller R are provided on the downstream side of the thermal head 52 (FIG. 15), the card is nipped by either the entrance conveying roller 21 or the cap stun roller 25. Therefore, the length L of the card C that can be handled is determined by the entrance conveyance roller 21 and the cap stun roller 25.
There is a constraint that it must be longer than the interval L0 between and. That is, a card having a length shorter than this (L <L0) cannot be handled.

On the other hand, when printing is performed over the entire area of the length C of the card C, (A) and (B) of FIG.
Although it is necessary to reciprocate in the order of (C), the card rear end is located at the position of the thermal head 52 from FIG.
When the card front end returns to the position of the thermal head 52 in FIG. 15A after the position (C), the card rear end must project between the entrance conveyance roller 21 and the pinch roller R. This results in scratches on the surface of the card, which has a significant negative effect on the quality of the image printed on it.

However, in order to avoid this, FIG.
As shown in (D), the position for returning the card C is set to the entrance conveyance roller 21.
If it is stopped by just before, the area of the distance L30 (at least the area of the distance L3 between the rollers 24 and 25) becomes
The first step, yellow (Y) printing, can be performed, but the subsequent steps, magenta (M) and cyan (C) printing, cannot be performed.

However, as in the present embodiment (FIG. 13), the cap stun roller 2 is also provided on the upstream side of the thermal head 52.
When 3 and its pinch roller R are provided, the maximum roller interval that is sequentially nipped is the distance L1 (L1 <L0) between the cap stun roller 23 and the inlet conveyance roller 21.
If only this condition is considered, the length L of the card that can be carried is a card having a length of L1 or more (L1 ≦ L),
The lower limit is shorter than L0. However, it is necessary to take into consideration another condition, that is, the condition that the trailing edge of the card does not hit the entrance conveyance roller 21. That is, when the card leading edge is returned to immediately below the thermal head 52 for the purpose of printing the entire area of the card, the condition that the card trailing edge does not hit the entrance transport roller 21 is L <(L1 + L2), and L0 ( = L1 + L2 + L3).

In short, in the case of the configuration of the present embodiment, the length L of the cards that can be handled is shorter than that in the case of FIG. 15 and L1 ≦ L <(L1 + L2), and all cards of such length are in the entire area of the card. Can be printed on.

The conveyance of the card C operated from the card supply section 10 is controlled by the stepping motor M3. In the normal transportation, the speed is determined by the transportation amount of the card C as follows. (A) When the carry amount is less than 17 mm, the stepping motor M3 is driven by itself at about 600 pps. (B) When the carry amount is 17 mm or more, the stepping motor M3 is driven at an average carry speed of about 150 mm / s by slew-up and slew-down control.

At the time of printing, all of Y, M, and C carry the resolution corresponding to the resolution of the thermal head. The return of the card at the time of printing is the same as in the normal conveyance.

A) Yellow (Y) printing phase When the card cue sensor (unit exit sensor) S6 is turned on, the card C advances when the print position is upstream of the thermal head 52, and the thermal head 5
When it is on the downstream side of 2, it is sent back. This is because the closest fixed point is used as the starting point for grasping the current position of the card, and thereby the accumulated error and the like are minimized.

When the area to be printed on the card C enters under the thermal head 52, the thermal head 52 is energized,
The printing phase is started with the first yellow (Y) ink that has been cueed by the film detection sensor S10.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Rotate 80 degrees, sensor S8 is ON, sensor S9 is OF
Stop at the place of F. This is just the turning position where the eccentric amount of the cam 45 is the smallest. In other words, the cam 45 changes from the position with the largest eccentricity amount to the position with the smallest eccentricity amount, which is detected by the cam position detection sensors S8, S9.

In the middle of this change, the unit U1 tilts upward as a center around the shaft 26 of the cap stun roller 25 as shown in FIG.
4 approaches the thermal head 52, and the surface of the card C to be printed is the YMC film 58 under the thermal head 52.
Pressed up. Thereafter, the cam 45 further rotates and separates from the cam follower 46 as shown in FIG.
It rotates to the standby position shown in 4 and stops.

That is, the card C on the platen roller 24
Comes into contact with the YMC film 58 on the thermal head 52 before the cam 45 finishes rotating 180 degrees, and its movement is
It works as if the card was quickly placed on the thermal head 52. This is because the cam 45 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 13 and the amount of eccentricity decreases, but the shape of the cam 45 is (1) until the card is pressed against the thermal head 52, the decrease rate is It is relatively large, (2) the speed is reduced only in the section from the point where the card is pressed against the thermal head 52, and (3) after the card is pressed against the thermal head 52, the tension spring 47 shrinks. This is because the pressure contact force is maintained only by the force of returning to the original state.

While a predetermined information signal is supplied to the thermal head 52, the card is sent in synchronization with the feeding of the yellow (Y) ink film, and the desired face photograph is printed in yellow (Y).

Since the cam 45 and the cam follower 46 are not in contact with each other during printing, the tension spring 47 applies the pressure of the platen roller 24 and the thermal head 52. Therefore, even if there are variations in the assembly of the left and right side plates, variations in the diameter of the platen roller, and errors in mounting the thermal head, constant pressure contact is performed.

B) Magenta (M) printing phase When yellow (Y) printing is completed, the cam 45 returns from the standby position to the operating position, the platen roller 24 separates from the thermal head 52, and in this state, stepping of the card transport system is performed. The motor M3 is returned by a predetermined amount in the reverse rotation direction, whereby the card is returned to the position where the starting end of the printing area corresponds to the thermal head 52. Further, the magenta (M) ink area of the YMC film 58 is cued by the motor M4 and the encoder 83. Since the length of the ink area of each color (YMC) is known in advance, the length of the yellow (Y) ink area (the driving pulse of the stepping motor M3 during printing) is used for the cueing of the magenta (M) ink area. When the generated pulse and the remaining unprinted pulse of the encoder 83) are counted up, this is performed as the start position of the magenta (M) ink area.

The cam 45 is again moved from the operating position to the standby position by 1
By rotating 80 degrees, the unit U1 tilts about the shaft 26, so that the surface of the card C to be printed is pressed by the spring 47 onto the YMC film 58 under the thermal head 52.

A predetermined information signal is supplied to the thermal head 52, and at the same time, the card is sent in synchronization with the feeding of the magenta (M) film, and the magenta (M) of the desired face photograph is sent.
Printing is performed.

C) Cyan (C) printing phase When the magenta (M) printing is completed, the cam 45 returns from the standby position to the operating position, the platen roller 24 separates from the thermal head 52, and in this state, the stepping motor M
3 is rotated by a predetermined amount in the reverse direction, whereby the card is returned to the position where the starting end of the printing area corresponds to the thermal head 52. In addition, the motor M4 and the encoder 83 allow the YM
The cyan (C) ink area of the C film 58 is cued.

The cam 45 again rotates from the operating position to the standby position, and the unit U1 tilts about the shaft 26,
Therefore, the surface of the card C to be printed is pressed by the spring 47 onto the YMC film 58 under the thermal head 52.

A predetermined information signal is supplied to the thermal head 52, and at the same time, the card is sent in synchronism with the feeding of the cyan (C) film, and cyan (C) printing of a desired face photograph is performed.

Thus, a complete color photograph, such as the desired facial photograph, was printed on a given area of the card.

When the cyan (C) printing, which is the last step, is completed, the cam 45 returns from the standby position to the working position,
The platen roller 24 is at a lower position separated from the thermal head 52. In this state, the stepping motor M3 of the card carrying system rotates in the forward direction, and the card is sent out from the path of the path unit U1 to the carrying path F.

D) Wax Black (WBk) Printing Phase In the second printing section 30 of FIG. 7, the area where the binary information such as characters on the card C should be printed is the thermal head 6
When the temperature is lower than 2, the thermal head 62 is energized with character information and the like, and printing is performed using the heat-melting wax black (WBk) that has been cueed by the film detection sensor S10.

In this case as well, the first printing section 20 has already been
As described above, the cam 45 changes from the operating position to the standby position, and in the middle of this change, the unit U
2 tilts upwards about the shaft 36, so that the platen roller 34 approaches the thermal head 62 and the surface of the card C to be printed is on the wax black (WBk) film 68 under the thermal head 62. It is pressed only by the spring 47.

While a predetermined information signal is supplied to the thermal head 62, the card is sent in synchronism with the feeding of the wax black (WBk) film to print a predetermined character or the like.

In the case of a sublimation type dye, it can be used only in the visible light range, and therefore it cannot be recognized by the infrared light of a bar code reader, and since gradation can be expressed, the edges are blurred. In the case of heat-meltable wax black, it has less bleeding than sublimation dyes, and therefore has the advantage that clear characters can be drawn, and it has the advantage that it can be recognized by light other than visible light.

E) Overcoat printing phase When the wax black (WBk) printing phase ends, the cam 45 returns from the standby position to the operating position, the platen roller 34 separates from the thermal head 62, and in this state, stepping of the card transport system is performed. The motor M3 is returned in the reverse rotation direction by a predetermined amount, and thereby the card is returned to the position where the starting end of the printing area corresponds to the thermal head 62. Further, the film 68 is sent by the motor M4 and the encoder 83 (FIG. 10) to perform the cueing of the overcoat area. Since the length of each wax black and the overcoat area is known in advance, the cue of this overcoat area is determined as the start position of this overcoat area when the pulse for the length of the wax black area is counted up. Deciding.

The cam 45 is again rotated from the operating position to the standby position, and the unit U2 is tilted about the shaft 36, so that the surface of the card C to be printed has the thermal head 6 thereon.
2 is pressed by the spring 47 on the film 58 below.

The thermal head 62 is energized, and at the same time,
The card is fed in synchronism with the feeding of the overcoat film, and the printed area on the card is overcoated with the resin film by thermal transfer. This overcoat prevents the card from being discolored or damaged from the outside in the photo printing area or the like.

F) Magnetic recording The overcoated card C is transferred to the relay conveyance roller 39.
The card is discharged from the card discharge port 9 to the outside of the printer unit 1. Then, predetermined information is magnetically recorded on the magnetic surface by the magnetic encode recording unit 2 shown in FIG. 4, and the magnetically recorded card C is sent to the stocker unit 3 and stacked.

(5) Modified Embodiment In the above embodiment, the card reciprocates between the state where the front end of the card is located under the thermal head 52 and the state where the rear end of the card is located under the thermal head 52. That is, the card
At the time of the forward movement, from the state in which the intermediate portion is cantilevered between the rollers 23 and R, the card tip protrudes between the roller pair 25 and R, and two points of the roller pair 23 and R and the roller pair 25 and R are provided. Then, the rear end of the card exits the roller pair 23, R and is cantilevered by the roller pair 25, R.

At the time of the backward movement, the intermediate portion is the roller 25,
From the state of being supported in a cantilever between R, the card front end protrudes between the roller pair 23, R, and is supported at two points of the roller pair 25, R and the roller pair 23, R, and thereafter,
The trailing edge of the card slips out of the roller pair 25, R, and the roller pair 2
3, shift to cantilevered support by R.

Therefore, the roller pair 23, R and the roller pair 2
In 5 and R, a transfer shock occurs when a card is transferred from one roller pair to the other roller pair,
The image is distorted.

16 to 18 show concrete examples for avoiding this.

FIG. 16 shows an embodiment in which a gap Δ is provided between the cap stun roller 23 and the pinch roller R and / or between the cap stun roller 25 and the pinch roller R to reduce the transfer shock. is there.

In FIG. 17, a spring 91 for pulling the pinch roller R toward the cap stun roller 23 is provided on the pinch roller R of the cap stun roller 23, and the pulling force of the spring 91 can be adjusted by a cam 92. Here is an example. In this embodiment, the pressing force of the pinch roller R is weakened when the card is inserted into or removed from the roller pair 23 and R, and the pressing force required after the card is completely nipped by the roller pair 23 or after the card is removed. The pulling force of the spring 91 is adjusted so as to return it. By controlling in this way, it is possible to reduce the impact of a card that enters or leaves the nip portion during the printing phase, thereby eliminating uneven feeding and obtaining a higher quality print. .

The pinch roller R of the cap stun roller 25 may be provided with a pressing force adjusting mechanism having the same structure, and similarly, the spring pressure may be changed in synchronization with the card conveyance.

In FIG. 18, an opening / closing cam 93 is rotatably attached to the shaft of the cap stun roller 23.
When the card is located on the downstream side (left side in the drawing) of the cap stun roller 23, the cam 9 is moved as shown in FIG.
3 is at a position away from the axis of the pinch roller R, and when the card plunges between the cap stun roller 23 and the pinch roller R, the cam 93 moves down the axis of the pinch roller R as shown in FIG. 18 (b). It is configured to move to a position where it is lifted from. This opening / closing mechanism can also be provided for the cap stun roller 25 and its pinch roller R.

By opening and closing the nip of the roller pair 23, R in synchronization with the movement of the card in this way, the transfer shock due to the card transfer can be reduced, and therefore the image disturbance can be prevented.

Next, as shown in FIG. 20B, when the image area 94 such as a face photograph is formed only in a partial area of the card C, the image area 94 is printed during printing. It can be configured so that the roller pair does not enter or leave.

That is, as shown in FIG. 19A, under the above-described embodiment, the distance L2 from the cap stun roller 23 to the platen roller 24 (thermal head 52),
The distance L3 from the platen roller 24 to the cap stun roller 25 was made substantially the same. Under such a structure, as described above, as shown in FIG. 20A, the scars 95a and 95b of the bite shock are formed at positions equidistant from both sides of the card.

Therefore, when it is desired to form the image area 94 at a position closer to one side of the card, the platen on the downstream side with respect to the distance L2 from the cap stun roller 23 to the platen roller 24 as shown in FIG. 19B. The distance L3 from the roller 24 to the cap stun roller 25 is longer (L3> L2) or vice versa.
L2). In this way, the scars 95a, 9
It is possible to avoid the position where 5b appears in the image area 94.

The image layout of the actual card is shown in FIG.
In many cases, a facial photograph is placed near the left side of the card and a character is placed on the right side, as illustrated in FIG. Therefore,
In the embodiment of FIG. 19B in which the relationship of L3> L2 is set, in the card having such a general image arrangement, the shock 95b when biting into the capstan does not appear in the image area 94 at all. It has the effect of being able to create a state.

In the above embodiment, the pass unit U1 (or U2) is replaced with the second cap stun roller 25 (or 35).
Although it is attached so as to be able to swing about the axis of the above, it may be attached so as to be able to swing about the axis of the first cap stun roller 23 (or 33).

In the above embodiment, the pass unit U1
Although the platen roller 24 is moved toward or away from the thermal head 52 by tilting (or U2), the platen roller 24 can be vertically moved coaxially with the thermal head 52.

[0128]

In summary, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

1) According to claim 1 or 2, the first cap stun roller (23) and the second cap stun roller (25), which are originally constituent elements of the card transport path, together with the platen roller, the thermal head ( 52) is integrated as a path unit (U1) that can move toward or away from the platen roller (24).
Since it is configured so as to function also as a means for pressing the thermal head (52) against the thermal head (52), it is necessary to prepare a complicated constituent element such as the bed 316 in addition to the card conveying path constituent element as in the conventional case. Not only is it eliminated, but the means for pressing the platen roller (24) against the thermal head (52) also has a very simple structure.

Further, the first cap stun roller (23), the platen roller (24) and the second cap stun roller (25) of the pass unit (U1) fluctuate integrally while maintaining a linear arrangement relationship, resulting Even strong plastic cards can be printed without the need for bending.

The direction in which the card reciprocates during printing is not the direction orthogonal to the card transport path as in the conventional case, but the direction along the card transport path. For this reason, the card can be reciprocally moved at the time of printing by also using the drive means of the card transport system, the configuration is simplified, and it is not necessary to move the card in the direction orthogonal to the transport path. The device size in the direction becomes smaller. Therefore, it is possible to provide a card printer having a simple and small configuration.

2) According to claim 2, the pass unit (U
1) The platen roller (24) with a simple tilting mechanism.
Can be pressed against the film on the thermal head (52) with an appropriate pressing force.

3) According to claim 3, since the distance (L1 + L2) between the entrance conveying roller and the platen roller is set longer than the length (L) of the card, the card is reciprocated at high speed a plurality of times during printing. Even when the card is moved, it is ensured that the card rear end does not contact the entrance transport roller. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image from being disturbed due to a shock at the time of contact. Further, since the first cap stun roller is provided near the platen roller, the pass unit can be downsized.

4) According to claim 4, a drive mechanism including a cam (45), a spring (47) and a motor (M2) is used,
Since the operation speed is reduced immediately before the pressure contact, quick and safe operation can be secured.

5) According to the fifth aspect, since the unit entrance sensor and the unit exit sensor of the card are integrated with the pass unit, the positional relationship between them is always constant regardless of the tilt of the pass unit. Good detection and accuracy is possible.

6) According to claims 6 to 8, the influence of the impact when the card plunges between the first cap stun roller (23) or the second cap stun roller (25) and its pinch roller. It can be avoided.

7) According to the ninth aspect, when it is desired to form the image area (94) at a position near one side in the card surface, the scar generated due to the impact at the time of entry is not the desired image area. Can be set to occur locally.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a thermal transfer card printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the thermal transfer card printer of FIG. 1 with its opening / closing cover open.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a thermal transfer type card printer incorporated in a card manufacturing system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing units cascade-connected to a thermal transfer card printer in the card manufacturing system.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a pass unit portion of the thermal transfer card printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a card supply section and a first printing section of a thermal transfer card printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a second printing section portion of the thermal transfer card printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a drive system of a portion of the first printing section of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a drive system of the card supply section and the first printing section of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a drive system of a second printing section portion of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a card supply section.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a card supply section.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state of the printing section portion of the present invention during non-printing.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a state of the printing section portion of the present invention during printing.

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining the operation when there is no first cap stun roller on the upstream side of the thermal head.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a modified example of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram exemplifying an image area on a card.

FIG. 21 is a schematic view of a conventional thermal transfer card printer.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a conventional thermal transfer card printer.

23 is a perspective view showing the upper portion of the thermal transfer card printer shown in FIG. 22. FIG.

FIG. 24 is a schematic diagram of a conventional thermal transfer type business card sheet printer.

FIG. 25 shows the operation of the thermal transfer type business card sheet printer shown in FIG. 24, (a) showing a non-printing state and (b)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state at the time of printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer Unit 2 Magnetic Encoding Recording Unit 3 Stocker Unit 4 Card Supply Section Opening / Closing Cover 5 First Printing Section Opening / Closing Cover 6 Second Printing Section Opening / Closing Cover 7 Front Cover 8 Operation Panel 9 Card Ejection Port 10 Card Supply Section 11 Not Available Processing card stocker 11a Card placing table (bottom plate of stocker) 11b Card storage frame 11c Card enclosing frame 11d Notch 12 Card feeding means 13 Guide rod 14 Card feeding slider 14a Kicking claw 15 Rack 16 Pinion gear 17, 18 Gear 19 Double feeding prevention member 19a Gap 20 First Printing Section 21 Inlet Conveying Roller 21a Shaft 22 Guide Plate 23 Cap Stan Roller 23a Shaft 23b Pulley 24 Platen Roller 24a Shaft 24b Pulley 5 Cap Stan Roller 26 Shaft (Rotating Central Shaft) 26a, 26b Pulley 27 Reverse L-Shaped Support Plate 28 Drive Mechanism 29 Relay Conveying Roller 29a Shaft 30 Second Printing Section 31 Inlet Conveying Roller 32 Guide Plate 33 Cap Stan Roller 34 Platen Roller 35 Cap Stan Roller 36 Shaft (Rotating Center Shaft) 37 Support Plate 38 Drive Mechanism 39 Relay Conveying Rollers 41, 42 Sensing Plate 43 Light Emitting Device 44 Light Receiver 45 Cam 45a Cam Shaft 46 Cam Follower 47 Spring 48a, 48b Gear 49 Sensing Plate 51 Side Wall 52 First Thermal Head 53 Opening / Closing Shaft 54 Support Lever 55 Shaft 56 Pin 57 YMC Film Cassette 58 YMC Film 58a Supply Roll 58b Winding Roll 61 Side Wall 62 Second Thermal Head Do 63 Open / close shaft 67 Wax black protective layer film cassette 68 Wax black (WBk) protective layer film 68a Supply roll 68b Winding roll 71 Pulley 72 Timing belt 73, 73a, 73b Pulley 74 Timing belt 75, 75a, 75b Timing belt 76 Timing Belt 77 Pulley 78 Timing belt 79 Pulley 80, 81 Gear 82 Gear 83 Encoder 91 Spring 92 Cam 93 Cam 94 Image area 95a, 95b such as color facial photograph 95a, 95b Scar of bite shock 101, 102 Device frame 111, 112 Open C card C1 Laminate U1, U2 Path unit M1 Slider drive motor M2 Lifting motor M3 Card drive system drive motor M4 Winding motor R Pinch roller S0 lever Card empty sensor S1 Slider position detection sensor S2 Slider position detection sensor S3 Lever type card sensor S4 Card sensor S5 Card sensor (Unit entrance sensor) S6 Card cue sensor (Unit exit sensor) S7 Card detection sensor S8, S9 Cam position detection Sensor S10 Film detection sensor S12 Rotational speed sensor 210 Card supply unit 212 Cassette 213 Feed roller 230 Print body unit 231 Bed (card stage) 231a Guide rod 231b Screw screw 232 Transfer paper 233 First thermal head 240 Overcoat unit 241 Feed roller 242 Transfer paper 243 Second thermal head 244 Conveyor belt 316 Bed 317 Feed mechanism 333 Card 335 Flat board Mum 336 Base plate 337 Holder member 338L, 338R Guide member 340 Ball screw shaft 363 Driven pulley 382 Transfer paper 409F, 409B Support plate 410 Swing shaft 411B Holder 412 Pressing cam 413 Pressing shaft 417 Thermal head 418 Engaging shaft 419B Spring mechanism 420 422 arm 423 spring 424 connecting member 425 actuator 426 plunger 427 connecting member 502 paper feeding mechanism 503 receiving layer / image forming mechanism 504 protective layer forming mechanism 505 paper feeding path 506 paper discharging path 515 switching gate 518 grid roller 519 pinch roller 520 head 529 Platen 532 Belt 533 Drive pulley

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A thermal transfer card printer having a card supply section (10) for feeding out a card before printing processing, and a printing section (20) for printing a color image on the fed card. In the card conveying path (F), there are an entrance conveying roller (21) and a first cap stun roller (2) in the card conveying direction.
3), the platen roller (24) and the second cap stun roller (25) are linearly arranged in order, of which the first cap stun roller (23) and the platen roller (24)
The second cap stun roller (25) is configured as a pass unit (U1) capable of moving toward and away from the fixed thermal head (52), while the pass unit (U1) is moved during the printing phase. ) Toward the thermal head (52) so that the platen roller (2
A thermal transfer type card printer, characterized in that a drive mechanism (28) for pressing 4) against the thermal head (52) is provided. 2. A thermal transfer card printer having a card supply section (10) for feeding out a card before printing and a printing section (20) for printing a color image on the fed card. In the card conveying path (F), there are an entrance conveying roller (21) and a first cap stun roller (2) in the card conveying direction.
3), the platen roller (24) and the second cap stun roller (25) are linearly arranged in order, of which the first cap stun roller (23), the platen roller (24) and the second cap stun roller (25) )
Is the second or first cap stun roller (25 or 2
Pass unit (U1) that can swing around the axis of 3)
On the other hand, a drive mechanism (28) for tilting the pass unit (U1) to bring the platen roller (24) closer to the positionally fixed thermal head (52) is provided during the printing phase. A thermal transfer card printer. 3. The distance (L1 + L2) between the entrance conveying roller (21) and the platen roller (24) is set longer than the length (L) of the card, and the entrance conveying roller (21) is provided.
Between the platen roller (24) and the platen roller (24).
The thermal transfer card printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the distance (L2) from (4) is smaller than the distance (L1) from the entrance conveying roller (21). 4. The drive mechanism (28) comprises a cam (45) for pressing the pass unit (U1) and a spring (47) for constantly engaging a part of the pass unit (U1) with the cam.
And a motor (M2) for rotating the cam, the cam (45) is provided with a high speed platen roller (24) until just before the platen roller (24) contacts the thermal head (52). ) Is brought close to the thermal head (52), and then the platen roller (24) is moved to the thermal head (5).
The thermal transfer card printer according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the shape and dimensions are such that the speed decreases until it comes into contact with (2). 5. The thermal transfer type card printer according to claim 1, wherein a unit entrance sensor and a unit exit sensor for detecting the presence of a card are integrally attached to the pass unit. 6. The first cap stun roller (23)
3. A thermal transfer card printer according to claim 1, wherein a gap (Δ) is formed between the second cap stun roller (25) and its pinch roller to reduce the impact when the card is inserted. . 7. A spring (9) for pulling the pinch roller (R) of the first cap stun roller (23) toward the first cap stun roller (23).
1) is provided, and the pulling force of the spring (91) can be adjusted by the cam (92), so that the tension between the roller pair (23, R) of the first cap stun roller (23) and the pinch roller (R) can be adjusted. When the card is inserted or removed, the pressing force of the pinch roller (R) is weakened so that the card can be returned to the required pressing force after the card is completely nipped between the roller pairs (23, R) or after the card is removed. 3. The thermal transfer card printer according to claim 1, wherein the pulling force of 91 is adjusted. 8. A first or second cap stun roller (2)
3 or 25), an opening / closing cam (93) is rotatably attached, and when the card is located downstream of the cap stun roller (23 or 25), the opening / closing cam (93) is When the card is in a rotational position away from the axis of the pinch roller (R) and the card plunges between the cap stun roller (23 or 25) and the pinch roller (R), the cam (93) moves the pinch roller (R). The thermal transfer card printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shaft of the printer is moved to a rotational position where the shaft is lifted from below. 9. When it is desired to form an image area (94) on one side of the card surface, the image area (94) is downstream from the distance (L2) from the first cap stun roller (23) to the platen roller (24). That the distance (L3) from the platen roller (24) on the side to the cap stun roller (25) is longer (L3> L2) or vice versa (L3 <L2). Claim 1 characterized by
Alternatively, the thermal transfer card printer described in 2.