JP2000025971A - Card printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To attain a more compact structure by retreating from a conveyance passage, a card storage part between a specific card storage part and a card delivering position when a card is conveyed from the specific card storage part. SOLUTION: In taking out a card C stored in the first card storage part 12a, the first card feeder 20 is positioned in a conveyance passage through which a taking-out member 26d passes, and the second card feeder 21 is retreated from the conveyance passage. To retreat the second card feeder 21 from the conveyance passage through which the taking-out member 26d passes, an eccentric cam 29e of a drive part drives the follower part 28d of the second supporting part 28 upwards. The detection of the rotational position of a pulsar gear by a sensor can detect that the second supporting part 28 has moved upward, so that a controller stops a motor. At the same time, the second card feeder 21 and the second card storage part 12b move upward together.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a card printer for forming an image by thermal transfer from an ink ribbon to a card or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art By heating an ink ribbon with a thermal head in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line, ink separated sublimationally from the ink ribbon is transferred to a card or the like and fixed thereon to form an image. A sublimation thermal printer is known as a card printer that forms the image. According to such a sublimation thermal printer, an image such as a photograph can be printed clearly, so that it is widely used for printing cards such as membership cards.

By the way, taking a membership card as an example, in order to differentiate the card between the Gold member and the general member, the card held by the Gold member is made to have a gold ground color, and the card held by the general member is used. May want to have a blue ground color. When creating such a card, first, a plain card having a gold ground color and a plain card having a blue ground color are created in advance, and a member is subscribed on each card using a sublimation thermal printer. The image such as the face and the name is printed.

In such a case, a plain card having a gold ground color and a plain card having a blue ground color are:
Each card is stored in a separate card storage unit, taken out of each card storage unit to a card ejection unit according to the type of member, and further transferred to a print processing stage.

[0005]

FIG. 4 is a top view of a sublimation thermal printer 10 according to the prior art. A control device group 11 that controls various devices including a card removal device is disposed behind the printer 10 (above in FIG. 4). On the right side of the printer 10, card storage units 12a and 12b capable of storing a large number of cards are arranged in parallel. The card C is removed from the card storage units 12a and 12b by a removal device (not shown),
Is pulled out to the right end (card ejection portion 13a) of the transfer device 13 disposed in front of the transfer device 13.

The transfer device 13 conveys the card C taken out to the first to fifth processing stages 14 to 18 and thereafter transfers it to the completion position 19. First to fifth
In processing stages 14-18, for example, green, red,
Different ink ribbons such as blue and black are arranged, and ink is transferred corresponding to an image, so that multicolor printing is performed.

By the way, in the conventional sublimation thermal printer 10, the card storage units 12a, 12b
Are arranged in parallel, there is a problem that the total length L of the printer 10 becomes long. In particular, when the printer has versatility, it is necessary to prepare a large number of card storage units, and in such a case, the total length L becomes longer. On the other hand, if the card storage units 12a and 12b are arranged in series, for example,
Is shortened, but a problem arises in how to set a transport route from the card storage unit to the card ejection unit at the rear.

Further, an independent transport path and an unloading device (not shown) are provided between each of the card storage units 12a and 12b and the card ejection unit 13a. Since relatively high accuracy is required, it is expensive. Therefore, in the printer according to the prior art, by providing independent transport paths and take-out devices by the number of card storage units,
There is also a problem that the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the related art, and has as its object to provide a card printer that can make printing more compact while keeping costs low.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a card printer comprises a plurality of card storage units, and a card transporter which is connected to a single transport path connecting the card storage units and a card discharge position. When a card is conveyed from a specific card storage unit and a specific card storage unit, the card storage unit between the specific card storage unit and the card ejection position is moved away from the conveyance path. And a device.

[0011]

According to the card printer of the present invention, a card transport device for transporting a card along a plurality of card storage sections and a single transport path connecting the card storage section and a card discharge position is provided. When a card is conveyed from the card storage unit, a moving device for retreating the card storage unit between the specific card storage unit and the card ejection position from the conveyance path is provided. The storage units can be arranged relatively freely, for example in series, so that the cost of the card printer can be reduced and a more compact configuration can be achieved.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments. FIG. 1 is a top view of a sublimation thermal printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Only different points from the above-described conventional sublimation thermal printer 10 will be described, and description of common points will be omitted. In the sublimation thermal printer 100 according to the present embodiment, the arrangement of the second card storage unit 12b is different from that of the conventional sublimation thermal printer 10 shown in FIG. Because,
The difference is that the overall length is shorter.

That is, the rear of the first card storage unit 12a (upper part in FIG. 1) is an empty space because the control device group 11 adjacent to the first card storage unit 12a has a depth. Therefore, in order to effectively utilize the space, the second card storage unit 12b is installed in the space.

On the other hand, behind the first card storage unit 12a,
If the second card storage unit 12b is simply installed, the second
A problem arises in how to set a transport path from the card storage unit 12b to the card ejection unit 13a. That is, when the card C is transported from the second card storage unit 12b at the shortest distance, the first card storage unit 12a becomes an obstacle, and this handling is a problem.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a special transfer device is provided to transfer a card from the second card storage unit 12b provided behind the first card storage unit 12a in the shortest distance. . Such a transport device will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a view of the configuration of FIG. 1 cut along the line II-II and viewed in the direction of the arrow, showing the card storage unit together with the transport device. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of FIG.
It is the figure cut | disconnected by the I-III line and seen in the arrow direction. First
The card storage units 12a and 12b each have a shape in which flanges 12c and 12d are joined to the outer periphery of a square tubular main body, and store a large number of cards C. The cards C stored in the first card storage units 12a and 12b may be the same, but in the present embodiment, it is assumed that the images printed in advance are different from each other.

The first card storage section 12a is received and supported by a receiving section 20e provided on the outer periphery of the rectangular tubular first card supply section 20, while the second card storage section 12b is supported.
Is also received and supported by a receiving portion 21e provided on the outer periphery of the second card supply portion 21 having a rectangular tubular shape. The cards C inserted from above the first card storage units 12a and 12b are stored on the bottom walls 20c and 21c of the first card supply unit 20 and the second card supply unit 21, respectively. At the center of the bottom walls 20c, 21c, notches 20d, 21d extending in the left-right direction in FIG. 2 are formed (see FIG. 3).

The first card supply section 20 and the second card supply section 21 are provided with slits 20 opening leftward in FIG.
a and 21a are provided near the lower end, respectively. Card separation gates 20b and 21b are provided above the slits 20a and 21a, respectively.
By limiting the heights of a and 21a, only one card C is taken out at a time.

Slit 2 in first card supply section 20
A guide portion 22 is formed below Oa. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the guide portion 22 includes a guide bottom wall 22a having a cutout portion 22b at the center, a pair of pressing members 22c facing the guide bottom wall 22a from above, and a bottom of the first card supply portion 20. A spring member 22d is provided between the wall 20c and the pressing member 22c and biases the pressing member 22c against the guide bottom wall 22a. The left and right ends in FIG. 2 of the pressing member 22c are bent slightly upward to have a shape like the tip of a ski, and the pressing member 22c
When the card C intrudes between the card C and the guide bottom wall 22a, the card C smoothly enters. In addition, the guide members 23 and 24 having the same configuration are connected to the guide portion 2 in FIG.
2 are arranged on the left and right.

A guide member 23 disposed to the left of the guide portion 22 in FIG. 2 is connected to a card discharge portion 25. The card discharge portion 25 is formed at a position one step lower than the guide member 23. ing. An optical sensor 25 a is disposed at the left end of the card ejection unit 25 in FIG. 2 so that it can detect that the card C has been conveyed to the card ejection unit 25. Further, a conveyor device 26 is arranged below the first card supply unit 20 and the second card supply unit 21.

The conveyor device 26 includes a pair of gears 26a,
26b, a cog belt 26c stretched over the gears 26a and 26b, and a take-out member 26d attached to the upper cog belt 26c. Take-out member 26
d is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped block, and a slightly protruding projection 26e is formed on the upper surface thereof so that only one card C can be pushed out. The right side of the protrusion 26e in FIG. 2 is an inclined surface, so that when the take-out member 26d returns to the start position, it does not catch on the stored card C. The width of the take-out member 26d is determined by the notches 20d and 21d of the card supply units 20 and 21.
And it is smaller than the notch 22b of the guide part 22.

As shown in FIG. 3, the take-out member 26d
Is connected to the cog belt 26 via the rigid support member 26f.
c, and the support member 26f moves along a pair of guide shafts 26g.
A stable movement is ensured irrespective of the swing of c. An optical sensor 26h is provided near the gear 26a.
Are arranged to detect that the take-out member 26d is at the start position. On the other hand, below the card ejection section 25, an optical sensor 26i is arranged to detect that the take-out member 26d is at the end position.

The first card supply section 20 and the second card supply section 21 are supported by a first support section 27 and a second support section 28, respectively. The first and second support portions 27 and 28
Four legs 27a, 28a each having an upper end in contact with the receiving portion 20e, 21e, bottom walls 27b, 28b connected to lower ends of the legs 27a, 28a, and bottom walls 27b, 28b.
2, a rectangular opening 2 formed in the center of the lower surface of
And a follower section 27c having 28d.

A drive section is provided adjacent to the first support section 27 and the second support section 28, respectively. Since the configuration of the drive unit is the same, only the drive unit 29 adjacent to the first support unit 27 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 3, the drive unit 29 includes a motor 29a, a pulsar gear 29c which is mounted in the middle of the rotation shaft 29b of the motor 29a and rotates integrally, and a pair of a pulsar gear 29c for detecting the rotation position of the pulsar gear. It comprises a sensor 29d and a disc-shaped eccentric cam 29e attached near the tip of the rotating shaft 29b. The eccentric cam 29e is disposed in the openings 27d and 28d of the support portions 27 and 28.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In FIG. 2, first, the card removal member 26d
Is at the start position shown in FIG. Here, when the card C stored in the first card storage unit 12a is taken out, the first card supply unit 20 is positioned in the transport path through which the takeout member 26d passes, and
It is necessary to retract the second card supply unit 21 from such a transport path.

The second card supply unit 21 is
In order to evacuate the conveyance path through which 6d passes, the driving unit 2
9 performs the following operation. In response to a signal from a control device (not shown), the motor 29a of the drive section 29 rotates, and the eccentric cam 29e drives the follower section 28d of the second support section 28 upward. The rotation of the pulsar gear 29c is detected by the sensor 29d, so that the upward movement of the second support portion 28 can be detected. In response thereto, a control device (not shown) stops the motor 29a. I have.

When the second support 28 moves upward, the second
The card supply unit 21 and the second card storage unit 12b also move upward integrally. Accordingly, the cards C stored in the second card supply unit 21 are retracted above the position where the protrusion 26e of the removal member 26d passes, so that the card C is stored in the card supply unit 21 regardless of the movement of the removal member 26d. Is to stay.

On the other hand, in order to insert the first card supply section 20 into the transport path through which the take-out member 26d passes, the drive section 29 performs the following operation. In response to a signal from a control device (not shown), the motor 29a of the drive section 29 rotates, and the eccentric cam 29e drives the follower section 27d of the first support section 27 downward. The sensor 29d detects the rotational position of the pulsar gear 29c, thereby detecting that the first support portion 27 has moved downward. In response to this, a control device (not shown) stops the motor 29a. I have.

When the first support portion 27 moves downward, the first
The card supply unit 20 and the first card storage unit 12a also move downward integrally. In such a case, the first
The lowermost card C stored in the card supply unit 20 is
It is located exactly at the position where the protrusion 26e of the take-out member 26d passes.

In this state, when a pulse motor (not shown) is driven to drive the gear 26b, the take-out member 26
d moves from right to left in the horizontal direction in FIG. At this time, when passing through the cutout portion 20d of the first card supply unit 20, the protrusion 26e of the takeout member 26d abuts on the rear end of the lowermost card C, and goes to the card ejection unit 25 through the slit 20a. And push it out. The card C conveyed to the card ejection unit 25 is transferred to the processing stages 14 to 18 by the transfer device 13 in FIG.

When the take-out member 26d reaches the end position, the optical sensor 26i detects this and stops the pulse motor (not shown).
Is reversed to return to the start position. When the take-out member 26d reaches the start position, the optical sensor 26h detects this, and the pulse motor (not shown) stops. The take-out member 26d always reciprocates between the start position and the end position irrespective of the card storage unit from which the card is taken out, thereby keeping the take-out cycle constant.

Next, when taking out the card C stored in the second card storage unit 12b, the first card supply unit 2
It is necessary to make the second card supply unit 21 be inserted into the transport path while the second card supply unit 21 is retracted from the transport path through which the take-out member 26d passes.

In such a case, the first card supply unit 20 is evacuated from the transport path through which the take-out member 26d passes by driving the drive unit 29 in the opposite direction to that described above, and the second card supply unit 21 is moved. It can be inserted into the transport path. However, a problem here is that the transport of the card C by the take-out member 26d must be performed below the first card supply unit 20.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the card C taken out of the second card ejection section by the take-out member 26d is first guided by the guide member 24, and
It is guided by a guide section 22 provided below the card supply section 20, and further guided by a guide member 23 to reach a card ejection section 25. Furthermore, each guide part (material)
When the card C passes through 22, 23 and 24, the card C is sandwiched between the bottom wall 22a and the pressing member 22c based on the urging force of the spring member 22d and the like, and is conveyed in a stable state. I have.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the card can be transported by providing a single transport unit for a plurality of card storage units, and the configuration of the printer can be made compact and Cost can be reduced.

As described above, the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above embodiments, and it is needless to say that modifications / improvements can be made as appropriate. is there. For example, the number of card storage units is not limited to two, and three or more card storage units may be provided.

[0038]

According to the card printer of the present invention, there are provided a card transport device for transporting cards along a plurality of card storage sections and a single transport path connecting the card storage section and a card discharge position. When a card is conveyed from a specific card storage unit, a moving device for retreating the card storage unit between the specific card storage unit and the card ejection position from the conveyance path is provided. Can be arranged relatively freely, for example in series,
As a result, the cost of the card printer can be suppressed and a more compact configuration can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view of a sublimation thermal printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view of the configuration of FIG. 1 cut along a line II-II and viewed in a direction of an arrow, showing a card storage unit together with a transport device.

FIG. 3 is a view of the configuration of FIG. 2 cut along a line III-III and viewed in a direction indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a sublimation thermal printer 10 according to the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 printer 11 control group 12a first card storage unit 12b second card storage unit 13 transfer device 14-18 processing stage 20 first card supply unit 21 second card supply unit 25 card discharge unit 26 conveyor device 27 first support unit 28 2nd support part 29 drive part C card

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A card transport device for transporting cards along a single transport path connecting a plurality of card storage units, the card storage unit and a card ejection position, and a card from a specific card storage unit. A card printer, comprising: a moving device that, when transported, retracts a card storage section between the specific card storage section and the card ejection position from the transport path. 2. The card printer according to claim 1, wherein the card storage unit has a guide unit for guiding a card to be conveyed when the card is evacuated from the conveyance path by the moving device. . 3. The card printer according to claim 1, wherein the moving device is configured to retract the card storage unit from the transport path by rotating an eccentric cam.