JP2001232996A - Hot stamp device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stamp a hot stamp foil nicely until the last foil is transferred by detecting the ending of a hot stamp foil tape. SOLUTION: A hot stamp device is provided with a moving member 2, a detecting means and an energizing means 7. The moving member 2 can be moved from an initial position to the final position by the tension of the hot stamp foil tape 4 wound around the moving member 2. The detecting means detects the movement of the moving member 2 and is installed at a position whereat the moving member 2 is moved further after being detected and the hot stamp foil tape 4 is pulled out by a length longer than that of one sheet of the hot stamp foil. The energizing means 7 positions the moving member 2 at the initial position of the same against the tension of the hot stamp foil tape 4 upon transferring the tape 4 and permits the hot stamp foil tape 4 to be moved to the final position of the same when the foil tape 4 is ended and the tension of the tape is increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot stamping device for stamping a hot stamp foil on a medium such as a ticket or a credit card. More specifically, the present invention relates to a hot stamping device capable of automatically detecting the end of a hot stamping foil tape.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 9 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional hot stamping apparatus (foil stamping machine). 2. Description of the Related Art A conventional hot stamping apparatus is installed on a production line for media (tickets, credit cards, etc.), and is a large-sized apparatus for transferring a hot stamping foil such as a hologram foil to a large number of media at once. In this hot stamping apparatus, a hot stamp foil tape 103 is sequentially fed out by an open reel-shaped take-out reel 101 and a take-up reel 102, and guided by guides 104 and 105 between a hot plate 107 heated by a heater 106 and a base 108. ing. A medium (not shown) is also guided between the hot plate 107 and the pedestal 108, and the hot stamp 107 is strongly pressed toward the pedestal 108 by the pressurizing device 109 in a state where the hot stamp foil is superimposed on the medium. Transcribed.

[0003] The unit lot (the number of media to be stamped at one time) of a production line in which the hot stamping device is used is a large number of hundreds to thousands or even tens of thousands of sheets. Hot stamping is performed on many media. In order to obtain high-quality hot stamps for all of a large number of media, a pressing device 10
9, it is necessary to generate a pressure in tons. For this reason, the hot stamping device was large, weighing several hundred kg to several tons. Further, since the heat capacity of the hot plate 107 is large, a heating wire type heater is used as the heater 106 for heating.

[0004]

However, in the above hot stamping apparatus, the hot stamping foil tape 10
When the last hot stamp foil of No. 3 is transferred to the medium, the hot stamp foil tape 103
In this state, the hot-stamp foil tape 103 cannot be pulled out anymore.
Cannot be successfully peeled off from the medium. That is, since only the medium slides while the hot stamp foil tape 103 is stopped and peels off, a portion of the hot stamp foil once transferred may peel off, resulting in a stamp failure. In particular, since the medium onto which the hot stamp foil has been transferred has a high added value, it is necessary to minimize such waste due to stamp failure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a hot stamping device capable of detecting the end of a hot stamping foil tape and satisfactorily stamping up to the last hot stamping foil.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems To achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is a hot stamping apparatus for thermally transferring a hot stamp foil attached to a hot stamp foil tape to a medium, wherein the hot stamp foil tape is The hot stamping foil tape can be moved from the initial position to the end position by the tension of the hot stamping foil tape, and the movement amount is set so that the hot stamping foil tape is drawn out longer than the length of one hot stamping foil. A moving member, a detecting means installed at a position for detecting the movement of the moving member before the drawn-out length of the hot stamp foil tape reaches one sheet of the hot stamp foil, and a hot means for transferring the hot stamp foil tape. The moving member is located at the initial position against the tension of the stamp foil tape and the hot stamp foil tape When tension ended becomes large so that and a biasing means for allowing the hot stamp foil tape is moved to the end position of the moving member.

Therefore, when the hot stamping foil tape is conveyed by the hot stamping device, the urging means urges the moving member to the initial position. At this time, since the urging force is greater than the tension of the hot stamp foil tape, the moving member remains at the initial position. For this reason, the detection means is not operated, and the conveyance of the hot stamp foil tape is continued to transfer the hot stamp foil to the medium.

On the other hand, when the hot stamping foil tape is finished, the tape is no longer conveyed, but the tension is increased because the conveying force is applied. For this reason, the tension of the hot stamp foil tape is larger than the urging force of the urging means, and the moving member is moved toward the end position. Then, the detecting means is operated, and it is possible to detect that the hot stamp foil tape has been completed.

Here, after the detection means detects the end of the hot stamp foil tape, the moving member further moves, and the hot stamp foil tape is pulled out longer than the length of one hot stamp foil. Therefore, with respect to the hot stamp foil transferred just before the detection of the end of the hot stamp foil tape by the detecting means, the medium and the hot stamp foil tape are simultaneously conveyed, and the hot stamp foil tape is peeled off from the medium. Thereby, stamp failure of the last transferred hot stamp foil can be prevented. By raising the alarm at this point, the subsequent hot stamp request is not accepted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the hot stamping apparatus of the first aspect, the hot stamping foil tape is housed in a cassette, and the moving member is a vertically movable roller provided in the cassette. Like that.

Therefore, the hot stamp foil tape can be easily attached to and detached from the hot stamp apparatus, and the security of the hot stamp foil tape can be enhanced.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of the present invention will be described below in detail based on the best mode shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 7 show an embodiment of a hot stamping apparatus according to the present invention. This hot stamping device 1
Is for thermally transferring the hot stamp foil applied to the hot stamp foil tape 4 to a medium such as a ticket. The hot stamping device 1 includes a moving member 2 around which a hot stamp foil tape 4 is wound, a detecting means 6 for detecting the movement of the moving member 2, and an urging means 7 for urging the moving member 2 to an initial position. Is provided.

The moving member 2 includes a hot stamp foil tape 4
Initial position (shown by solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2)
To an end position (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2). Further, the moving amount of the moving member 2 is set to a length by which the hot stamp foil tape 4 is drawn out longer than the length of one hot stamp foil by the movement. The installation position of the detecting means 6 is a position at which the movement of the moving member 2 is detected before the drawn-out length of the hot stamp foil tape 4 reaches one hot stamp foil.

When the hot stamping foil tape 4 is conveyed, the urging means 7 positions the moving member 2 at the initial position against the tension of the hot stamping foil tape 4, and terminates the hot stamping foil tape 4. When the tension increases, the hot stamp foil tape 4 moves the moving member 2 to the end position. For this reason, when the hot stamp foil tape 4 ends, the tension increases, and the moving member 2 is moved toward the end position. Then, the detecting means 6 operates to detect the end of the hot stamp foil tape 4, and thereafter, the moving member 2 further moves to make the hot stamp foil tape 4 longer than the length of one hot stamp foil. Drawn out. Therefore, for the hot stamp foil transferred just before the detection of the end of the hot stamp foil tape 4 by the detecting means 6, the medium and the hot stamp foil tape 4 are simultaneously conveyed and the hot stamp foil tape 4 is transferred.
Can be prevented from being peeled off from the medium and resulting in a stamp failure. At this point, an alarm is issued to the host device so that subsequent hot stamp requests will not be accepted.

In this embodiment, the hot stamp foil tape 4 is housed in a cassette 27 (shown upside down in FIG. 3), and the moving member 2 is provided in the cassette 27, as shown in FIG. The roller can be raised and lowered. Therefore, the hot stamp foil tape 4 can be easily attached to and detached from the hot stamp device 1, and the security of the hot stamp foil tape 4 can be enhanced.

Both ends of the center support shaft 11 of the moving member 2
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and the like, it is slidably supported by the vertical groove 12 formed in the cassette 27. The position when the moving member 2 is at the bottom of the vertical groove 12 is defined as an initial position (shown by a solid line in the figure), and the position when the moving member 2 is at the top is defined as an end position (shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure). I have. On both sides of the upper part of the vertical groove 12 that supports the moving member 2, columns 13 that define the path of the hot stamp foil tape 4 are provided. Then, the hot stamp foil tape 4 is wound so as to pass through the upper portion of each support 13 and pass below the moving member 2.

As the urging means 7, the own weight F of the moving member 2 is used.
I use. That is, the moving member 2 is made heavy to a certain extent, and is positioned at the initial position during normal transport. The moving member 2 is lifted only when the tension is increased at the end of the hot stamping foil tape 4.

The detecting means 6 includes a photo interrupter 14 fixed to the main body of the hot stamping device 1, for example,
The hot stamping device 1 includes a light-shielding plate 15 that is slidably provided on the main body of the hot stamping device 1 and that slides with the sliding movement of the moving member 2 to change the shielding state of the photo-interrupter 14. When the moving member 2 is at the initial position, the photo interrupter 14 is blocked, but when the moving member 2 rises, the blocking is released and the movement of the moving member 2 is detected.

A locking projection 16 is formed on the upper part of the light shielding plate 15. Then, the center support shaft 11 of the moving member 2 exposed to the vertical groove 12 of the cassette 27 can be brought into contact from below. Thereby, when the moving member 2 rises, the light shielding plate 15 is pushed up.

On the other hand, the hot stamping apparatus 1 comprises a supply / discharge mechanism 3 for supplying and discharging a value-added medium printed thereon as shown in FIG. A hot stamp foil tape 4 with a ceramic heater and a stamp section 8 for applying pressure to the value-added medium and transferring the hot stamp foil to the value-added medium;
These are configured to be covered by a cover 10.

The value-added medium is, for example, a ticket. The supply / discharge mechanism 3 includes a transport roller driven by a transport / winding motor 5. That is, the transport / winding motor 5 is also a driving source of the transport roller 3 serving as a supply / discharge mechanism.

The hot stamp foil tape 4 is housed in a cassette 27 having a take-up reel 25 and a take-out reel 26, as shown in FIG. The cassette 27 includes a take-up reel 25 and a take-out reel 26 for the hot stamp foil tape 4 provided coaxially with a take-up shaft of the hot stamp device 1, a brake mechanism provided to the take-up reel 26, and a cassette 27. It is provided with guide rollers 31 and 32 provided at a fixed angle with respect to the ridge line. The hot stamp foil is, for example, a hologram foil. The take-up reel 25 and the unwind reel 26 are arranged coaxially. An end of the hot stamp foil tape 4 is fixed to the unwinding reel 26 and the take-up reel 25 by a tape.

The case of the cassette 27 may be opaque or transparent. When the case of the cassette 27 is made of opaque resin, it is possible to prevent the pattern of the hot stamp foil from being seen from the outside. As a result, a psychological forgery prevention effect works to prevent ticket forgery. When the case of the cassette 27 is made of a transparent resin, the remaining amount of the hot stamp foil tape 4 can be seen from the outside. This makes it possible to arrange the next cassette 27 before the hot stamp foil tape 4 is completely used up, and it is possible to prevent the operation stop loss of the hot stamp apparatus 1 due to the cut of the hot stamp foil tape 4. Even if the case of the cassette 27 is made of an opaque resin, the pattern of the hot stamp foil cannot be seen by providing the transparent window on the side surface of the unwinding reel 26. 4 can be confirmed.

The case of the cassette 27 contains the hot stamp foil tape 4 at the factory and is assembled as the cassette 27, and then sealed by heat welding. As a result, the hot stamp foil tape 4 in the cassette 27 is replaced with an incorrect one,
Can be prevented from being stolen.

The operation of the hot stamping device 1 will be described below.

First, in the standby state, the ceramic heater
For example, it is preheated to about 70 to 80 ° C. By preheating to a temperature in this range, it can be heated to a temperature that can be hot stamped, for example, about 100 ° C. in a few seconds, and hot stamping can be performed quickly. Preheating is not essential, and may be omitted if priority is given to prevention of power consumption.

In this state, when the medium is loaded into the loading / unloading port 63, the first medium position sensor 60 is turned on, and the transport / winding motor 5 is started. Thereby, the transport roller 3 rotates to transport the medium. Here, in order to prevent the take-up reel 25 from rotating when the medium is inserted,
When the transport / take-up motor 5 rotates in the direction of taking in the medium, the take-up reel 2
A clutch mechanism 9 for disconnecting up to five gear trains is provided.

When the medium is conveyed to a position where the second medium position sensor 61 is turned on, the second medium position sensor 61 is turned on and the conveyance / winding motor 5 is turned on.
Stops. Hot stamping is performed at this position. The stamping DC motor 17 is driven, and the hologram foil is transferred to the medium by hot stamping by heating and pressing of the ceramic heater. After the transfer, the ceramic heater is retracted from the hologram foil tape 4.

The hologram foil tape 4 is a ceramic heater.
At a timing away from the medium, the transport / winding motor 5 rotates in the reverse direction, the transport roller 3 rotates, and transport for media discharge is started. When the transport / winding motor 5 rotates so that the medium is discharged, the gear train is connected by the clutch mechanism 9. Thereby, the winding shaft also starts rotating. That is, the take-up reel 25 is rotated from the transport roller 3 via a belt or a gear train to take up the hot stamp foil tape 4.

The hologram foil tape 4 immediately after the hot stamping is adhered to the medium in a lightly welded state. Immediately after the medium is conveyed, the hologram foil tape 4 is also pulled by the medium and conveyed integrally. The hologram foil tape 4 is pulled out by being pulled by this medium.

Thus, the hot stamp is completed, and the medium is returned to the loading / unloading port 63 and discharged.

When the hot stamp foil tape 4 is wound, the urging force F of the urging means 7 is larger than the tension of the hot stamp foil tape 4, so that the moving member 2 remains at the initial position. ing. For this reason,
The detection means 6 is not activated and the hot stamp foil tape 4
And the transfer of the hot stamp foil to the medium is performed one after another.

On the other hand, by repeating the hot stamping operation,
When all of the hot stamp foil tape 4 has been unwound, the unwind reel 26 cannot be rotated. When the take-up reel 25 is further rotated in this state, the tension of the hot stamp foil tape 4 increases, and the moving member 2 is lifted. Thereby, the light interrupting of the photo interrupter 14 is released and the photo interrupter 14 is in the transmitting state, and it is possible to detect that the hot stamp foil tape 4 has been completed.

The output of the photo interrupter 14 is connected to an I / O port of a CPU (not shown) mounted on the control board 18 and is detected by polling or interruption. Then, it is determined that the hot stamp foil tape 4 has ended due to a change in the I / O port, and the end of the hot stamp foil tape 4 is notified by displaying an alarm or notifying the host device. Then, a request for a hot stamp thereafter is not accepted.

After the detecting means 6 detects the end of the hot stamp foil tape 4, the moving member 2 is further raised.
Thereby, the hot stamp foil tape 4 is drawn out longer than the length of one hot stamp foil. Therefore, the hot stamp foil transferred just before the detection of the end of the hot stamp foil tape 4 by the detecting means 6 is:
The medium and the hot stamp foil tape 4 are simultaneously conveyed, and the hot stamp foil tape 4 is peeled off from the medium.
Thereby, stamp failure of the last transferred hot stamp foil can be prevented.

According to the hot stamping apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, since any medium to be stamped can be used as long as the medium is a flat plate such as paper or plastic, the security of various media can be improved.

Further, since the heat capacity of the ceramic heater is small and heating is performed only when necessary, a device that consumes less energy and is environmentally friendly can be provided.

Further, since the unwinding reel 26 and the take-up reel 25 are accommodated coaxially in one cassette 27, exchange at the store can be easily performed. Further, since the hot stamp foil tape 4 does not go out of the cassette 27 by itself, it is hard to misuse.

Further, by automatically detecting the end of the hot stamp foil tape 4, it is possible to prevent hot stamping without the hot stamp foil tape 4.

The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the photo interrupter 14 is shielded from light when the moving member 2 is at the initial position, and the light is released when the photo interrupter 14 moves. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The photointerrupter 14 may be in a transmissive state when the photointerrupter 2 is at the initial position, and may be in a light-shielding state when the photointerrupter 14 moves. Also in this case, the movement of the moving member 2 can be detected.

In this embodiment, the detecting means 6 is provided with the photo interrupter 14 and the light shielding plate 15. However, the detecting means 6 is not limited to this, but may be any sensor or switch capable of detecting the sliding of the moving member 2. For example, a mechanical switch may be used. Also in this case, the movement of the moving member 2 can be detected.

Further, in the present embodiment, the center support shaft 11 of the moving member 2 abuts below the locking projection 16 of the light shielding plate 15, but the present invention is not limited to this.
A concave portion may be formed on the end surface of the light shielding plate 15 so that the locking projection 16 of the light shielding plate 15 enters the concave portion. Also in this case, the moving member 2 and the light shielding plate 15 can move at the same time.

In this embodiment, the light-shielding plate 15 is attached to the main body of the hot stamping apparatus 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the light blocking state of the photo interrupter 14 may be directly changed by the center support shaft 11 of the moving member 2 without providing the light blocking plate 15. In any case, the sliding state of the moving member 2 changes the light blocking state of the photointerrupter 14, so that the movement can be detected.

Further, in the above embodiment, the urging means 7
Although the self-weight F of the moving member 2 is used, the present invention is not limited to this, and an urging member such as a coil spring may be used. In this case, the urging direction of the urging means 7 is not limited to the direction of gravity. For example, since the moving member 2 can be moved downward by the tension of the hot stamp foil tape 4, the degree of freedom of installation of the urging means 7 is improved. Can be increased. Further, in the present embodiment, the insertion / ejection of the medium is automatically performed by driving the motor, but the invention is not limited to this, and the medium may be manually inserted / ejected by the user.

In the above description, a ticket has been described as an example of a value-added medium (media). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a credit card may be used.
That is, the hologram foil may be hot-stamped on the card and issued to the customer in the final step of the credit card issuing device.

As shown in FIG. 8, as a unit of the automatic ticket / coupon issuing device in the self-service terminal, it is installed in the next process section of the ticket / coupon printing device (printer unit) 69, and printing is completed. The hologram foil may be attached to the medium, and the medium may be ejected from the outlet 64 to the user.
That is, in a self-service terminal 70 having an automatic ticket / coupon issuing function, a supply / discharge mechanism 3 for a printed medium, a winding motor 5 for winding a hot stamp foil tape 4, and a hot stamp foil for a medium. The self-service terminal 70 may be configured to include the stamp unit 8 for transferring.

The above-described hot stamping device 1 may be incorporated in a card issuing device. In other words, card supply
In a card issuing device including an ejection mechanism 3, a data read / write unit (magnetic head, IC head, etc.) for a card, an embosser for imprinting embossed characters on a card, and a communication unit with a host, data is written. Supply / discharge mechanism 3 for cards with embossed characters
A card issuing device may be provided with a winding motor 5 for winding the hot stamp foil tape 4 and a stamp unit 8 for transferring the hot stamp foil to a card.

[0049]

As described above, according to the hot stamping device according to the first aspect, the hot stamping foil transferred just before the detection of the end of the hot stamping foil tape by the detecting means is the medium and the hot stamping foil tape. Are simultaneously conveyed and the hot stamp foil tape is peeled off from the medium, so that the stamp defect of the last transferred hot stamp foil can be prevented. As a result, the yield of high value added media can be improved.

According to the hot stamping device of the second aspect, the hot stamping foil tape can be easily attached to and detached from the hot stamping device, and the security of the hot stamping foil tape can be enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a right side view showing an example of an embodiment of a hot stamping device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view showing a main part of the hot stamping device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a cassette of the hot stamping device.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a hot stamping device.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a main part of the hot stamping device.

FIG. 6 is a left side view showing the hot stamping device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a hot stamping device.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing one row of an embodiment of a self-service terminal to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional hot stamping device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot stamp apparatus 2 Moving member 4 Hot stamp foil tape 6 Detecting means 7 Urging means 27 Cassette

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A hot stamping apparatus for thermally transferring a hot stamping foil applied to a hot stamping foil tape to a medium, wherein the hot stamping foil tape is wound around from an initial position to an end position by the tension of the hot stamping foil tape. A moving member that is movable and is set to a moving amount by which the hot stamping foil tape is drawn out longer than the length of one hot stamping foil by this moving; and moving the moving member by the hot stamping foil. Detecting means installed at a position for detecting before the tape withdrawal length reaches one sheet of the hot stamp foil;
When the hot stamp foil tape is transported, the moving member is positioned at the initial position against the tension of the hot stamp foil tape, and when the hot stamp foil tape ends and the tension increases, the hot stamp foil tape is And a biasing means for allowing the moving member to move to the end position. 2. The hot stamping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said hot stamping foil tape is stored in a cassette, and said moving member is a vertically movable roller provided in said cassette.