JP2002254867A - Heat treatment mechanism for card and image forming apparatus for card provided with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat treatment mechanism for a card and a card provided with the heat treatment mechanism, which can suitably prevent direct thermal influence due to heat radiation to an information storage section of the card in a heat treatment by a light source. It is an object to provide an image forming apparatus for use. SOLUTION: A card C having an information storage section 74 on a part of the surface of a card body 72 is provided between the card C and the light source 51 in a card heat treatment mechanism 16 for performing heat treatment using the light source 51 as a heating source. And a light shielding plate 52 that shields the irradiation light to the information storage unit 74.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heat treatment mechanism for a card which heats a card having an information storage section on a part of the surface of a card body using a light source as a heating source, and an image forming apparatus for a card provided with the heat treatment mechanism. It concerns the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, magnetic cards and IC cards represented by cash cards and credit cards have been known as cards having an information storage section. This information storage unit corresponds to a tape-shaped magnetic stripe in the case of a magnetic card, and corresponds to an IC chip in the case of an IC card, and is built in a part of the surface of the card body. The information storage unit stores information such as a cardholder and performs an individual authentication function. Normally, the card is uniformly laminated on the surface of the card body in order to maintain the abrasion resistance of the information storage unit. When an image such as a background is desired to be expressed on a card, the image is printed by a printing technique except for the information storage unit, and a laminating process is performed on the image to protect the printing surface and the information storage unit. I have. The laminating process is performed by laminating a thermoplastic resin on the surface of the card body, melting the thermoplastic resin by a heating process, and then cooling and hardening the thermoplastic resin to form a resin film.

[0003]

By the way, the heat treatment in this case is performed by applying heat and pressure to the card using a pressure heat roller or the like.
Some of the melted thermoplastic resin adheres to the pressure heat roller, causing problems such as damage to the resin film. On the other hand, if this heating process is performed by a non-contact heater using a light source as a heating source, the following problems occur. That is, in the heat treatment by the light source, in the case of a magnetic card, in the case of a magnetic card, heat is concentrated on the magnetic stripe because the magnetic stripe of the dark color has good light absorption, and the magnetic stripe wrinkles and separates from the card body. And its performance and quality may be degraded. In the case of an IC card, the light irradiation of the light source may cause malfunction of the IC chip depending on the wavelength region of the light, and the IC chip may be broken if the card body is shrunk and deformed by the heat treatment. is there. Such a problem is not limited to a case in which a heat treatment is performed by a light source so that the card is appropriately laminated, and after the image is printed on the card, the card is heat-treated in order to dry the ink and fix the image. It is believed that this will also occur in some cases.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a heat treatment mechanism for a card and a card provided with the heat treatment mechanism, which can suitably prevent a direct thermal influence of heat radiation to an information storage section of the card in a heat treatment by a light source. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus.

[0005]

A heat treatment mechanism for a card according to the present invention is a heat treatment mechanism for a card which heats a card having an information storage section on a part of the surface of a card body using a light source as a heating source. A light-shielding plate is provided between the card and the light source and shields light emitted to the information storage unit.

According to this configuration, the irradiation light from the light source is
The surface other than the information storage section of the card is irradiated, and the heat radiation causes the card to be heated. This allows
The entire card can be heat-treated in a state in which the direct irradiation of light to the information storage unit and the concentration of heat associated therewith are avoided, and the thermal influence on the information storage unit is appropriately prevented. The information storage unit stores information such as the card owner, and exerts its effect as an individual authentication function of the card. A magnetic stripe is used for a magnetic card, and an IC card is used for an IC card.
The chips correspond respectively.

In this case, a light diffusion plate for diffusing light emitted from the light source is provided between the light source and the light shielding plate.
preferable.

According to this configuration, the irradiation light from the light source that passes through the light diffusion plate is radiated to the surface of the card as diffused light. As a result, a point (or linear) light source can be made to function as a planar light source for the card, and the card can be uniformly heat-treated in its plane.

Another heat treatment mechanism for a card according to the present invention is a card heat treatment mechanism for heating a card having an information storage section on a part of the surface of a card body using a light source as a heating source. A light-transmitting partition plate is provided between the card and the card, and the partition plate has a masked portion corresponding to the information storage portion, which has been subjected to a masking process to block light emitted to the information storage portion. It is characterized by the following.

According to this structure, the heat treatment of the card by the heat radiation of the light source is performed by irradiating the card with light transmitted through the partition, and at the same time, the mask portion formed on a part of the partition Thus, the direct irradiation of light to the information storage unit is interrupted. Thus, it is possible to avoid direct irradiation of light to the information storage unit and concentration of heat associated therewith, and to heat-treat the entire card in a state in which thermal influence on the information storage unit is appropriately prevented. Preferably, the partition plate has a high light transmittance, and the mask section has a high light reflectance and absorptivity. The information storage unit stores information on the card owner and the like in the same manner as described above, and exerts its effect as a card individual authentication function.

In this case, the mask portion is preferably a thin film formed by a surface treatment in a dry process.

According to this configuration, even if the partition plate is made of glass, for example, a durable mask portion that is hard to peel off can be formed easily and accurately.

In this case, the thin film is preferably formed by depositing a metallic substance by a physical vapor deposition method.

According to this structure, a film is formed by a PVD method such as vacuum deposition, sputtering, or ion plating. For this reason, the CVD method (chemical vapor deposition method)
It is possible to form a film at a lower temperature and in a shorter time, and to form a dense film having a uniform film thickness.

In these cases, it is preferable that the partition plate is constituted by a light diffusion plate for diffusing the irradiation light from the light source.

According to this configuration, the irradiation light from the light source that passes through the partition plate, which is a light diffusion plate, is radiated to the surface of the card as diffused light. Thus, the point (or linear) light source can function as a planar light source for the card, and the card can be uniformly heated in the plane.

In these cases, the light diffusing plate also serves as an optical filter that transmits only light in the infrared wavelength region of the light emitted from the light source, and is a flat heat-resistant glass disposed in parallel with the card. Preferably, it is configured.

According to this configuration, of the light emitted from the light source, light in a wavelength region other than infrared light is absorbed or reflected by the light diffusion plate. As a result, the card can be irradiated with long-wave infrared rays having a relatively small amount of energy, and the card can be uniformly heated in its thickness direction, and the thermal efficiency can be increased as compared with short-wavelength visible light or the like. be able to. Note that the heat-resistant glass is preferably made of a material having high light transmittance, heat diffusivity, and heat conductivity, and for example, neoceram is preferably used.

In these cases, it is preferable that the light source is constituted by a halogen lamp having far-infrared rays as a main wavelength region.

According to this configuration, since the heating source of the halogen lamp rises quickly, the heat treatment time can be reduced. In addition, the card can be irradiated with long-wavelength far-infrared rays having a relatively small amount of energy, so that the inside of the card can be uniformly heated and the thermal efficiency can be increased as compared with short-wavelength visible light. .

In these cases, an ink image receiving sheet on which an image is printed using a sublimable dye ink is laminated on the surface of the card body, and the image portion printed by the sublimable dye ink is heated by heat treatment. Preferably, it is thermally transferred to the surface of the card body.

According to this configuration, when the card is heated, the sublimable dye ink held on the ink receiving sheet develops a color on the surface of the card body, and the image is transferred. Thus, an image can be formed on the card while avoiding direct exposure to the information storage unit. Preferably, no image is printed on the portion of the ink image receiving sheet corresponding to the information storage section.

In this case, the ink receiving sheet is laminated on the surface of the card body except for the information storage section.
preferable.

According to this configuration, the ink receiving sheet is
It is partially laminated on the surface of the card body so that the information storage section escapes. The ink image-receiving sheet is preferably made of a material that exhibits easy peelability when heated so that it can be easily peeled off after the heat treatment.

An image forming apparatus for a card according to the present invention comprises a heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 9 or 10, and a printing mechanism for printing an image on the ink receiving sheet using a sublimable dye ink. It is characterized by having.

According to this configuration, printing on the ink receiving sheet of the card and heating of the card after printing can be continuously performed by a single device. Further, since the ink jet method is used, a higher quality transfer image can be created on the card. Note that the ink image receiving sheet may be preliminarily overlapped by being coated on the surface of the card main body, or may be configured as a so-called transfer sheet formed separately from the card main body.

[0027]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to the accompanying drawings, a heat treatment mechanism for a card according to an embodiment of the present invention and an image forming apparatus for a card having the same will be described below. The card image forming apparatus forms a desired image on a card having an information storage unit such as a cash card, a credit card, or the like. More specifically, this image forming apparatus prints images such as figures, photographs, and backgrounds by an ink-jet method using a sublimable dye ink while sending a card, and then heats the printed card with a light source. The ink is sublimated and diffused to transfer and form an image.

Here, first, the card and the image forming process will be described in detail for easy understanding. Figure 1
FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view and a plan view showing a laminated structure of a magnetic card, FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view and a plan view showing a laminated structure of an IC card, and FIG. 3 is an image formed on these cards. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing a moving process. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, two types of magnetic cards Ca or IC cards Cb are prepared: (a) a low-cost card, and (b) a high-grade card. The magnetic card Ca generally includes a magnetic full-face card and a magnetic stripe card, but here refers to a magnetic stripe card. In addition, the IC card Cb generally includes a contact type card and a non-contact type card. In the following description, when the card C is simply referred to, the magnetic card Ca and the IC card C
b.

Both of the cards C shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B both have a card body 72 to be a printed card C to be finally used, and ink receiving layers laminated on the front and back surfaces of the card body 72. And a sheet IS. The card body 72 includes a base material layer 70 and an ink fixing layer 71 laminated on the surface of the base material layer 70. The unit has an information storage unit 74 (see both figures (a)). That is, the card C has the information storage unit 74 and is configured so that both sides can be printed.

The information storage section 74 stores information such as cardholders and the like, and performs an individual authentication function. The information storage unit 74 corresponds to a magnetic stripe formed of a band-shaped magnetic recording medium in the case of the magnetic card Ca, and corresponds to a rectangular IC chip in the case of the IC card Cb. The magnetic stripe is formed on the upper surface of the front surface (back surface in the case of JIS1 type) of the card body 72 (see FIG. 1C). Further, the IC chip is formed at the center of the left side of the surface of the card body 72 (FIG. 2C).
reference). Note that the information storage unit 74 is preferably stacked on the surface of the card body 72 so as to be flush with the other surface of the card body 72.

In the card C shown in FIGS. 2B and 2B, a fluorine film layer 73 instead of a laminate film is further laminated on the surface of the ink fixing layer 71. Then, in the card C of both figures (a), on the surface of the ink fixing layer 71,
In the card C shown in FIGS. 2B and 2B, an ink receiving sheet IS with an adhesive is attached to the surface of the fluorine film layer 73.

The base layer 70 is made of a plastic film such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or PET (polyethylene terephthalate), synthetic paper, or the like.
Maintains overall rigidity. In addition, the base material layer 70 is generally mainly composed of a white color system. The ink fixing layer 71 is formed of a transparent PET film or the like, and is a layer through which the sublimable dye ink to be finally printed permeates. On the other hand, the ink image receiving sheet IS is configured to be able to temporarily hold the sublimable dye ink to be directly printed, and is formed of a hydrophilic resin material that exhibits easy peelability when heated. . That is, the adhesive force of the ink image receiving sheet IS is reduced in adhesive force after heating and becomes in a state where it can be easily peeled off.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ink receiving sheet IS
When an image is printed by an ink jet method in a state where is attached to the card body 72, ink droplets of the sublimable dye ink are impregnated and held in the ink receiving sheet IS. At this time, the ink droplets penetrate to the vicinity of the interface between the ink image receiving sheet IS and the ink fixing layer 71 located thereunder. When the card C is heated in this state, the ink droplets are transferred at the molecular level to the deep portion of the lower ink fixing layer 71. That is, the ink droplets held on the ink receiving sheet IS evaporate and diffuse in the ink fixing layer 71 by heating, and develop color. Thus, the image is fixed on the ink fixing layer 71 and formed. Thereafter, the ink receiving sheet IS is peeled off, and the ink fixing layer 71 is exposed to the outside, so that a card C in which an image is thermally transferred to the ink fixing layer 71 is created.

In this case, when printing is performed using the card C on which the fluorine film layer 73 of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2B is also laminated, ink droplets are similarly impregnated and held on the ink receiving sheet IS. When heat treatment is performed in this state, the ink droplets penetrate through the fluorine film layer 73 and diffuse into the ink fixing layer 71 to be fixed. Then, the ink receiving sheet IS
In the state of the card C from which is peeled, the transferred image is protected by the ink fixing layer 71 with the fluorine film layer 73 as the outermost layer. As a result, the card C after image formation has glossiness, further having weather resistance, light resistance, heat resistance, abrasion resistance, abrasion resistance and chemical resistance due to the characteristics of the fluorine film layer 73. It will be.

Although the ink receiving sheet IS with an adhesive is used, a card C in which the ink fixing layer 71 is preliminarily coated on the ink fixing layer 71 may be used. Further, it is preferable that the ink image receiving sheet IS is slightly larger than the card C in consideration of the peeling. According to this, a separation margin can be provided on the ink image receiving sheet IS, and printing can be appropriately performed on the card C up to the four peripheral edges (full-surface printing). Further, the image may not be printed on the portion of the ink receiving sheet IS corresponding to the information storage section 74. However, the ink receiving sheet IS is laminated on the surface of the card body 72 except for the information storage section 74. You may. Further, the base material layer 70
Since the ink can be fixed to the ink, the transparent ink fixing layer 71 can be omitted in consideration of cost reduction.

Next, the image forming apparatus 1 for forming an image on the card C will be described with reference to the sectional structural view of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the card image forming apparatus 1 includes a printing unit that performs printing on a card C on a left side of a center part in an apparatus body 3 having an outer shell formed by a box-shaped housing 2. 4 and a heater section 5 for heating the printed card C on the right side.
And a controller 9 for controlling the A card supply port 6 for introducing a card C is formed at an upper corner of the print unit 4 side of the housing 2, and a card C is provided at an intermediate side of the heater unit 5 side of the housing 2. A card outlet 7 for sending the card to the outside of the body 2 is formed. The device body 3
Is formed with a horizontally straight transfer path 8 for the card C so that the card supply port 6 and the card discharge port 7 communicate with each other.

The print unit 4 is supported by left and right print unit frames 10 and reciprocates the head unit 2.
0 and a printing device 11 that prints the card C one by one into the card supply port 6.
And a printing unit transport device 13 that transports the card C received from the supply device 12 along the transport path 8 so as to attract the card C and reach the printing device 11.
And a print-side controller 14 for controlling the devices 11, 12, and 13 as a whole.

The cards C sent one by one from the supply unit 12 are transferred to the printing unit transport unit 13, provided for printing while passing through the head unit 20, and sent to the heater unit 5. The card C passing under the head unit 20 is intermittently fed, and the head unit 20 reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction, whereby printing on the card C is performed. In other words, the reciprocating movement of the head unit 20 and the intermittent feeding of the card C become the main scanning and the sub-scanning in the printing technology, and the ink jet printing using the sublimable dye ink is performed.

The heater unit 5 includes left and right heater unit frames 1.
5, a heat treatment mechanism 16 for heating the printed card C sent from the printing unit 4 and a heat treatment mechanism 16 for conveying the card C received from the printing unit conveyance device 13 along the conveyance path 8. And a heater transporting device 17 which feeds the paper through the card outlet 7 and sends it out of the housing 2.
And a heater-side controller 18 for integrally controlling each of the devices 16 and 17. The card C sent from the print unit 4 is finally transferred with a printed image and sent out from the card outlet 7.

Meanwhile, a card transfer device 19 for appropriately transferring the card C from the printing unit transport unit 13 to the heater unit transport unit 17 is provided between the printing unit 4 and the heater unit 5 along the transport path 8. It is arranged facing. The card transfer device 19 is supported by the print unit frame 10 or the heater unit frame 15, and receives the card C once between the print unit transfer device 13 and the heater unit transfer device 17 having different transfer speeds. It is supposed to pass.

The print-side controller 14 and the heater-side controller 18 are constituted by an integrated controller 9, and a CPU for performing various controls and a ROM for storing a control program and control data for controlling the above-described apparatus.
And a RAM serving as various work areas for control processing, and a drive circuit for driving various devices. As described above, the controller 9 controls the printing unit 4 and the heater unit 5 individually and in association with each other, prints an image on the supplied card C, and heat-processes the printed card C to perform image processing. Is fixed and discharged from the card discharge port 7 to the outside of the housing 2.

Here, each component device of the printing section 4 will be described in detail. The printing device 11 includes the head unit 2
0, a carriage motor 21 serving as a driving source, and a reciprocating mechanism 22 for reciprocating the head unit 20 by receiving rotation of the carriage motor 21. The carriage motor 21 is connected to the print controller 14. The head unit 20 includes an inkjet head 27 having a plurality of nozzles formed on a lower surface, an ink cartridge 28 that supplies ink to the inkjet head 27,
Inkjet head 27 and ink cartridge 2
8 with a carriage 23 mounted thereon. The ink cartridge 28 is filled with sublimable dye inks of four colors of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). Note that these may be filled with inks of a total of six colors including two colors of light cyan (LC) and light magenta (LM).

The sublimable dye ink is an ink composed of a sublimable dye and exhibits sublimability by heat.
As described above, the sublimable dye ink is once impregnated and held in the ink image receiving sheet IS during printing, moves to the lower ink fixing layer 71 by the heat in the heat treatment, and evaporates and diffuses to form a color.

The reciprocating mechanism 22 has a carriage guide shaft 25 whose both ends are supported by left and right guide frames, and a timing belt (not shown) extending parallel to the carriage guide shaft 25. The carriage 23 is supported by the carriage guide shaft 25 so as to be able to reciprocate, and is partially fixed to the timing belt. The carriage 23 reciprocates while being guided by the carriage guide shaft 25 as the timing belt reciprocates through the pulleys by the carriage motor 21 via pulleys. Then, during this reciprocation, ink is appropriately ejected from the inkjet head 27, and printing on the card C is performed. When printing the surface having the information storage unit 74, control is performed so that the sublimable dye ink is not ejected to the area corresponding to the information storage unit 74.

The supply device 12 includes a supply motor 30 serving as a driving source and a supply roller 31 rotated by the supply motor 30.
And a card cassette 32 for stacking and stocking a plurality of cards C. The card cassette 32 is formed by protruding a part of the housing 2 to the side, and has an inner planar shape substantially the same as the planar shape of the card C. Further, the card cassette 32 has a predetermined depth that allows a plurality of cards to be stacked and set, and the upper part faces the card supply port 6, and the upper surface of the card C which is stacked and positioned at the highest position in the closed state. It is pushed down by the spring 34.

The supply roller 31 is disposed below the front part of the card cassette 32, and is configured to be rolled on the lower surface of the front part of the card C located at the lowest position. The supply motor 30 is connected to the print controller 14 and controls the rotation of the supply roller 31. The lower end of the front wall constituting the card cassette 32 extends downward to a position where only the lowest card C can pass, and the supply roller 31
To send the lowest card C, the upper card C
If you try to move at the same time, it will be blocked. This ensures that the cards C are sent out one by one.

The card C sent from the supply roller 31 so as to be flipped is positioned and set on the suction table 40 by a positioning means (not shown), and is sucked on the surface of the suction table 40 as it is.

The printing section transport device 13 has a rectangular suction table 40 for sucking and holding the card C, a pair of left and right guide rails 41, 41 extending along the transport path 8, and a guide rail 41 for guiding the suction. The printing unit transport belt mechanism 42 for moving the table 40 is configured.
Although not specifically shown, the suction table 40 has a large number of suction holes formed on the upper surface, and has a built-in suction fan 48 connected to the suction holes. Thus, the suction table 40 horizontally holds the card C by suction on the upper surface thereof. The two guide rails 41 are supported by the left and right print unit frames 10, respectively, and the suction table 4
0 is supported on the upper side, and its movement along the transport path 8 is stably guided.

The printing section conveying belt mechanism 42 includes a pair of table conveying pulleys 44, 44 disposed opposite to each other (base end and front end) with the printing apparatus 11 interposed therebetween. It is composed of a table transport belt 45 stretched between the rollers 44 and a table drive motor 46 for driving the table transport pulley 44 on the base end side.
The table transport belt 45 includes a pair of guide rails 41,
The suction table 40 is fixed to a part of the suction table 40 via a fixing piece 43.

The table drive motor 46 is connected to the print controller 14. The rotation of the table drive motor 46 causes the table transport pulley 4 on the base end to rotate.
The table transport belt 45 travels in the forward and reverse directions via 4. As a result, the suction table 40 can move the two guide rails 41,
The guide member 41 is supported and guided in a balanced manner on the left and right sides, and can reciprocate along the transport path 8.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the card C is horizontally mounted on the suction table 40 by suction, the card C moves to the printing apparatus 11 as the suction table 40 moves.
When the suction table 40 reaches the front of the printing apparatus 11, the leading end of the suction table 40 is detected by a table detection sensor 47 disposed above the conveyance path 8, and the print controller 14 controls the head unit 20 and the reciprocating mechanism. 2
2 is driven. Thus, the head unit 20 reciprocates, and the image is printed on the card C while the suction table 40 is intermittently fed. Then, when the printing on the card C is completed, the suction table 40 travels forward along the transport path 8 while holding the card C by suction, and makes the card C face the card transfer device 19.

Although not shown, the card transfer device 19 includes a catcher for receiving the card C, and a transfer mechanism for sending the card C to the catcher and sending it out. The transfer mechanism is connected to the print-side controller 14, and is configured to be capable of receiving the card C from the print unit transport device 13 and transferring the card C to the heater unit transport device 17.

Although the details will be described later, the supply roller 31
Of the card C (the information storage unit 74)
Is provided (not shown), and the detection result of this sensor is sent to the heater-side controller 18 of the heater unit 5.

Next, each component of the heater section 5 will be described in detail. The heat treatment mechanism 16 receives the sent card C
Irradiating unit 50 which comes in a non-contact state. The irradiation unit 50 faces the lower conveyance path 8 with a predetermined gap therebetween, and includes a halogen lamp 51 serving as a light source serving as a heating source, and a movable light shielding unit that shields a part of the irradiation light from the halogen lamp 51. It is composed of a plate 52 and a moving mechanism 53 for appropriately moving the light shielding plate 52. That is, the card C is heated by the heat emission of the halogen lamp 51 via the light shielding plate 52 as appropriate while keeping a certain gap from the halogen lamp 51 above and in a state where the feeding is stopped.

The halogen lamp 51 is a so-called linear heater extending in the width direction crossing the card C (the direction perpendicular to the transport direction), and both left and right ends are supported by the heater frame 15. The halogen lamp 51 is connected to the heater-side controller 18 so that its heating temperature is controlled. The halogen lamp 5
1 may be a point heater, not a linear heater, but a point heater.

For example, the light shielding plate 52 of the magnetic card Ca of FIG.
Is formed between the halogen lamp 51 and the transport path 8 (card C), and is formed in an elongated flat plate shape having a light shielding portion corresponding to the information storage section 74 (magnetic stripe) of the card C (FIG. 5). ), And arranged in parallel with the card C. The light-shielding plate 52 is made of a heat-resistant material.
In order to block one irradiation light, the information storage unit 74 faces the information storage unit 74 with a predetermined gap therebetween, and can be covered from above.

As shown in FIG. 5, the moving mechanism 53 has an X link 54 rotatably mounted on both outer ends of the light shielding plate 52.
And a solenoid 55 (actuator) for moving the light shielding plate 52 in parallel via the X link 54. X
Both base ends of the link 54 are slidably engaged with a parallel guide groove 57 parallel to the light shielding plate 52 via a slide piece 56. Similarly, the intersection of the X link 54 is slidably engaged with a rectangular guide groove 58 orthogonal to the light shielding plate 52 via a slide piece 56. In addition, X link 5
The plunger 59 of the solenoid 55 is connected to the slide piece 56 provided at the intersection of the four. Further, a tension spring 75 is connected to the slide piece 56 corresponding to the solenoid 55.

The solenoid 55 is connected to the heater-side controller 1.
8 and de-energized, the tension spring 75
As a result, the light shielding plate 52 is moved in parallel to the light shielding position on the information storage unit 74 of the card C via the X link 54, and when excited, the light shielding plate 52 is It moves parallel to the retreat position (illustrated virtual line) from above C. Accordingly, when the printed card C has the information storage unit 74 on the upper side (front side), the card C is shielded from direct irradiation to the information storage unit 74 via the light shielding plate 52 moved to the light shielding position. On the other hand, when the information storage unit 74 is provided on the lower side (back side), the light shielding plate 52 moves to the retracted position, and the entire surface of the card C is uniformly irradiated and heated.

When the IC card Cb shown in FIG. 2 is introduced, the light-shielding plate 52 having a translucent (transparent) portion other than the rectangular portion corresponding to the information storage section 74 (IC chip) is replaced. To Alternatively, another set of a moving mechanism equipped with the light shielding plate 52 for the IC card Cb is provided so as to face the moving mechanism 53, and these two moving mechanisms are appropriately controlled by the heater-side controller 18. To

The heater transporting device 17 comprises a pair of transporting guides 60 comprising a plurality of guide rollers 68 disposed to face left and right along the transporting path 8 and a pair of transporting guides 60 for guiding the card C from behind. And a heater transport belt mechanism 61 for transporting the heater to push it forward. The guide roller 68 as a whole is mounted on the card transfer device 19.
From the vicinity of the downstream side to the vicinity of the card outlet 7. Each guide roller 68 has a drum-like shape with a narrowed center, and is rotatably supported by a holder (not shown) attached inside the heater frame 15. The card C is pinched at both left and right ends at the central portion of the guide roller 68 facing in parallel to the left and right, and is guided stably in the forward direction by multiplying by the free rotation of the guide roller 68.

The heater conveying belt mechanism 61 is connected to the conveying path 8.
Pair of driven pulleys 6 arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side of
2, 62 and a drive pulley 63 disposed below the transport path 8
And a heater drive motor 64 serving as a drive source of the drive pulley 63, and a heater transport belt 6 wrapped around the pair of driven pulleys 62 and 62 and the drive pulley 63.
5 is comprised. The pair of driven pulleys 62 and 62 and the driving pulley 63 are rotatably supported by pulley shafts, both ends of which are supported by the heater frame 15. The heater drive motor 64 is connected to the heater-side controller 18 and controls the rotation of the drive pulley 63. The heater portion conveyor belt 65 is configured to have a narrow width, and has a plurality of pushing claws (not shown) formed at equal intervals on the surface.

The pushing claw orbits with the movement of the conveyor belt 65. More specifically, the pushing claw contacts the tail end of the card C supported by the left and right transport guides 60 and moves around so as to push the card C.
Therefore, the card C is conveyed so as to be pushed forward by the movement of the pushing claw in a state where the card C is supported by the pair of conveyance guides 60 in the left-right direction and the horizontal posture is maintained. It is sent to Exit 7.

Further, a claw detection sensor 69 for detecting a pushing claw is provided in the heater section transfer device 17. The claw detection sensor 69 is connected to the heater-side controller 18 so that the pushing claw appropriately comes into contact with the tail end of the card C sent from the card transfer device 19 and presses the same. Determine its position. That is, the immediately preceding push claw preceding the push claw for sending the card C is stopped at a predetermined position, and functions as a stopper for the card C sent from the card transfer device 19.
As a result, the tail end of the card C is transferred forward of the base end of the heater section conveying belt 65, so that it is possible to prevent the pushing nail from being caught incorrectly.

The heater-side controller 18 controls the heat treatment mechanism 16 based on the detection result of the print-side controller 14.
And the heater section transfer device 17. More specifically, the heater-side controller 18 determines the attribute information of the card C detected by the print-side controller 14 (the presence or absence of the information storage unit 74, the lamination form, the material and thickness of the base layer 70, the overall thickness, and the like). Based on this, the heating temperature in the heater unit 5 is determined, and the position movement of the light shielding plate 52 and the feeding operation of the card C are controlled.

The transferred card C, which has been transferred, is sent forward by the heater-side controller 18 by the heater transporting device 17, the feeding operation is stopped at the position of the irradiation unit 50, and the card C is transferred to the irradiation unit 50. Face. Therefore, the heat treatment mechanism 16 is started up, and the light shielding plate 52 is made to face a predetermined position based on the presence or absence of the information storage unit 74 of the card C, and is driven to generate heat at a predetermined heating temperature based on the attribute information of the card C, Transfer the print image.

After the image transfer of the card C, the controller 9 starts the feeding operation of the card C again by the heater transporting device 17 and discharges the card C from the card discharge port 7. The driving of the mechanism 16 is stopped. The heating amount may be controlled by controlling the position movement and the heating temperature of the light shielding plate 52 and also controlling the feeding speed of the card C by the heater transporting device 17. That is, the card C may be heated while being sent.

As described above, the user peels the ink image receiving sheet IS from the card C discharged from the card discharge port 7 by using an adhesive tape or the like, and the ink fixing layer 71 (or the fluorine film layer). By exposing 73) to the outside, the card C in which the print image is thermally transferred to the ink fixing layer 71 and formed as a transfer image can be created. However, when performing double-sided printing / transfer on the card C, the card C after single-sided printing may be ejected from the card ejection port 7, and the card C may be turned upside down and introduced into the supply device 12 again. . Alternatively, a reversing mechanism for reversing the card C may be incorporated in the apparatus main body 3, for example, the card transfer device 19.

According to the above-described image forming apparatus 1, in a series of operations of the housing 2, an image can be printed on the card C by the printing device 11, and the heat treatment by the heat treatment mechanism 16 The print image can be transferred by directly blocking light irradiation to the information storage unit 74. For this reason, the entire card C can be heat-treated in a state in which the irradiation of light to the information storage unit 74 and the accompanying heat concentration are avoided, and the thermal influence on the information storage unit 74 is appropriately prevented. it can.

Next, other embodiments of the heat treatment mechanism 16 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 shows the heat treatment mechanism 16 according to the second embodiment, and corresponds to an enlarged front view of the heat treatment mechanism 16 when FIG. 4 (FIG. 5) is viewed from the transport direction. In this embodiment, a light diffusion plate 90 is fixedly interposed between the light shielding plate 52 of the irradiation unit 50 and the halogen lamp 51, and diffuses the irradiation light of the halogen lamp 51 to heat the card C. I do. The light diffusing plate 90 has a predetermined heating area and is made of flat heat-resistant glass that faces in parallel with the card C. The light diffusing plate 90 is slightly larger than the card C so as to cover the surface of the card C up to the four peripheral edges. Is formed. Thus, the light emitted from the halogen lamp 51, which is a linear light source, is diffused, and the light diffusion plate 90 functions as a planar light source for the card C.

As a result, the card C is evenly irradiated in the front and rear end regions in the transport direction, similarly to the central region where the halogen lamp 51 is located. Therefore, the heat is radiated uniformly in the plane of the card C, so that the amount of heat received by the ink receiving sheet IS, which is the surface, is leveled in the plane direction. Then, the card C receives the uniform surface light emission, and a transfer image without color unevenness is formed. Note that the heat-resistant glass is preferably made of a material having high light transmittance, heat diffusivity, and heat conductivity, and it is preferable to use neoceram.

In this case, the light diffusion plate 90 may function as an optical filter. That is,
The light diffusion plate 90 may transmit only light of a specific wavelength and absorb or reflect light of another wavelength. As a result, the irradiation light having a wide wavelength range is shielded from the card C, and the card C emits heat only with the irradiation light having a certain wavelength.
Does not need to be varied. That is, it is possible to prevent the change in the diffusion depth of the sublimable dye ink based on the difference in the energy amount of the wavelength of the irradiation light, and to uniformly heat the card C in the thickness direction (stacking direction).

More specifically, the light diffusing plate 90 is configured to transmit only long-wavelength far-infrared light, so that the irradiation light to the card C is far-infrared, and the ink image receiving sheet I
Short-wavelength visible light or the like having a large energy amount such as burning S can be shielded. Thereby, the card C can be uniformly heated to the inside thereof (the base material layer 70), and the thermal efficiency can be improved as compared with visible light or the like.

However, an optical filter configured as a single unit may be incorporated in the irradiation unit 50 separately from the light diffusion plate 90. In this case, the optical filter may be arranged on one of the halogen lamp 51 side and the card C side of the light diffusion plate 90. When the halogen lamp 51 is configured to be capable of uniformly irradiating light in a planar direction, only the optical filter made of heat-resistant glass or the like may be provided instead of the light diffusion plate 90. .

It is preferable to select a halogen lamp 51 having a main wavelength in the far infrared wavelength region. Thereby, heat radiation to the card C can be performed by far-infrared rays, heat can be uniformly transferred to the inside of the card C in the thickness direction, and further, in combination with the above-described optical filter function, Thermal efficiency can be further improved.

FIG. 7 shows a heat treatment mechanism 1 according to the third embodiment.
In this embodiment, a light-transmitting partition 91 is used in place of the above-described light-shielding plate 52, and a part of the surface of the partition 91 is subjected to mask processing corresponding to the information storage unit 74. The masked area blocks direct irradiation to the information storage unit 74. The partition plate 91 has a predetermined heating area, and is made of a flat heat-resistant material having a uniform light transmissivity as a whole. It is formed to be slightly larger than the card C so as to cover even the peripheral portion.

Further, a mask portion 92 which has been subjected to the above-described mask processing is formed on a part of the surface of the partition plate 91. The mask portion 92 is a metal thin film deposited on the card C side of the partition 91 by various physical vapor deposition methods such as ion plating, and is formed corresponding to the area of the information storage portion 74 of the card C ( FIG. 7A). The mask section 92 reflects or absorbs the irradiation light between the halogen lamp 51 and the card C and does not transmit the irradiation light. As shown in FIG. 7B, a mask portion 92 may be formed on the partition plate 91 on the side of the halogen lamp 51, and the partition plate 91 may be brought as close as possible to the surface of the card C.

As a result, the card C is stored in the information storage section 74
In a state where the irradiation light is shielded by the mask section 92, the other area except the information storage section 74 is heated by the heat radiation. Note that the partition plate 91 may be configured as a light diffusing plate 90 similar to that of the second embodiment, and the card C may have a function as a planar light-emitting body, and may also have an optical filter function. Is also good. In this case, it is preferable that the partition plate 91 is formed to be large and the moving mechanism 53 as in the first embodiment is provided, so that the partition plate 91 is moved in parallel so that the mask portion 92 is retracted to the retracted position. . In such a case, even when the card C does not have the information storage unit 74 on the surface, the surface light can be emitted by the partition 91.

In the case of the heat treatment mechanism 16 described in all the embodiments, the card C is laminated in the form in which the card body 72 and the ink receiving sheet IS are laminated in advance as described above. It is not limited. That is, the ink receiving sheet IS, which is a so-called transfer sheet, is prepared separately from the card body 72, and the ink receiving sheet IS on which an image is printed by the printing device 11 is provided.
May be stacked so as to face the surface of the heat treatment mechanism 16. Further, the moving mechanism 53 may have a structure in which the light shielding plate 52 or the partition plate 91 is moved between the light shielding position and the retreat position by circular motion.

[0079]

As described above, according to the heat treatment mechanism for a card of the present invention and the image forming apparatus for a card provided with the same, the irradiation light from the light source is irradiated except for the information storage section of the card. Therefore, it is possible to heat-treat the entire card in a state in which the direct irradiation of light to the information storage unit and the concentration of heat associated therewith are suitably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1A is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of a laminated structure, and FIG.

2A is a schematic cross-sectional view of an IC card, FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of a multilayer structure, and FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which an image is being formed on a card.

FIG. 4 is a sectional structural view showing an internal structure of the image forming apparatus for a card.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of a moving mechanism for moving a light shielding plate.

FIG. 6 is a front view schematically showing a heat treatment mechanism according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view schematically showing a heat treatment mechanism according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 image forming apparatus 2 housing 3 apparatus main body 4 printing section 5 heater section 6 card supply port 7 card ejection port 8 transport path 9 controller 11 printing apparatus 12 supply apparatus 13 printing section transport apparatus 14 print side controller 16 heat treatment mechanism 17 heater section Transport device 18 Heater-side controller 19 Card transfer device 20 Head unit 50 Irradiation unit 51 Halogen lamp 52 Light shield plate 53 Moving mechanism 54 X link 55 Solenoid 70 Base layer 71 Ink fixing layer 72 Card body 73 Fluorine film layer 74 Information storage section Reference Signs List 90 light diffusion plate 91 partition plate 92 mask section C card IS ink receiving sheet

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06K 19/07 G06K 19/00 J F-term (Reference) 2C005 HB01 HB09 JA02 JA26 JB11 KA45 LA20 LA22 LA27 LA30 LB03 LB06 2H113 AA04 BB32 FA29 FA44 FA48 5B035 AA07 AA08 BB02 BB09

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A card heat treatment mechanism for heating a card having an information storage section on a part of the surface of a card body using a light source as a heating source, wherein the heat treatment mechanism is provided between the card and the light source. A heat treatment mechanism for a card, comprising: a light-shielding plate for shielding light emitted to a storage unit. 2. The heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 1, wherein a light diffusion plate for diffusing irradiation light from the light source is provided between the light source and the light shielding plate. . 3. A heat treatment mechanism for a card which heats a card having an information storage portion on a part of the surface of the card body using a light source as a heating source, wherein a light-transmitting gap is provided between the light source and the card. A card, characterized in that the partition plate is provided with a masked mask portion corresponding to the information storage portion, the mask portion being configured to block irradiation light to the information storage portion. Heat treatment mechanism. 4. The heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 3, wherein the mask portion is a thin film formed by a surface treatment of a dry process. 5. The heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 4, wherein the thin film is formed by depositing a metallic substance by a physical vapor deposition method. 6. The heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 3, wherein the partition plate is constituted by a light diffusion plate for diffusing irradiation light from the light source. 7. The heat-resistant glass plate, wherein the light diffusion plate also serves as an optical filter that transmits only light in an infrared wavelength region of light emitted from the light source, and is disposed in parallel with the card. 7. The heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 2, wherein the heat treatment mechanism comprises: 8. The heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 1, wherein the light source comprises a halogen lamp having a main wavelength region of far infrared rays. 9. An ink receiving sheet on which an image has been printed using a sublimable dye ink is laminated on the surface of the card body, and the image portion printed with the sublimable dye ink is subjected to the heat treatment. The heat treatment mechanism for a card according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the heat transfer is performed on the surface of the card body. 10. The heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 9, wherein the ink image receiving sheet is laminated on a surface of the card body except for the information storage section. 11. A card processing apparatus, comprising: the heat treatment mechanism for a card according to claim 9 or 10; and a printing mechanism for printing an image on the ink receiving sheet using a sublimable dye ink. Image forming apparatus.