JP2004130267A - Card-cleaning machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card-cleaning machine capable of not only removing stains, but also sterilizing the card. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning machine includes cleaning rollers 42, 44 rotating in contact with both surfaces of the card 18, a feeding means 30 for feeding the card 18 one by one, a cleaning-solution ejection means 48 for ejecting the cleaning solution toward cleaning rollers 42, 44 and/or the card 18 positioned near the rollers 42, 44. Squeegee means 44, 45, 56 for squeegeeing cleaning solution adhering on the card having passed through the rollers 42, 44. The cleaning machine includes further elastic rollers 58, sterilization mens 60, 62, and a let-off means 64. At least one each elastic roller 58 is provided on both sides of the card to pinch it on both sides of the card passed through the means 44, 45, 56. The elastic roller 58 deforms elastically and comes into contact with the surface to spread out the cleaning solution, etc. attached to the surface. The sterilization means 60, 62 sterilize the card 18 which has passed through the rollers 58. The let-off means 64 lets off the sterilized card 18 to store it in a stacker 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a card washing machine for washing a card such as an IC card.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, IC cards have become widely available. IC cards are superior in terms of security and the like as compared with conventional magnetic cards, but because they are expensive, cards that are no longer used are collected and reused.
When reusing, it is necessary to remove the dirt attached to the card, but a card washing machine for automatically washing the card without manual operation is conventionally known.
[0003]
An example of a conventional card washer will be briefly described.
A conventional card washing machine is provided with a hopper for storing a card to be washed above a container, and provided with a plurality of transport rollers and a plurality of washing rollers from the hopper to the card outlet (for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).
The cleaning roller is porous, and the cleaning liquid is transmitted from the cleaning container storing the cleaning liquid to the cleaning roller via a plurality of rollers. The card that has passed through the cleaning roller is cleaned by the cleaning liquid.
[0004]
Further, the conventional card washing machine is provided with a drying heat roller for drying the card that has passed through the washing roller.
A halogen lamp serving as a heat source is provided in the heat roller. The card that has passed through the heat roller is dried and stored in the card receiving section.
[0005]
On the other hand, the present inventor has proposed a card washer that solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional card washer, in which the card is nipped and washed by rollers for cleaning while the card is nipped and conveyed from below to upward. I thought.
This card washing machine includes a hopper for storing cards before washing, a feed roller for sending cards one by one from a hopper to a washing roller, a scraping means for scraping off a washing solution attached to the washed cards, and a washing solution. And a delivery roller for delivering the card scraped to the stacker for storing the card.
[0006]
This card washing machine is provided with a scraping means which is a rubber plate-like body, thereby scraping off a washing liquid or the like adhering to the card after washing. Is certain. In addition, the device can be simplified and downsized, which contributes to a reduction in the cost of the entire device.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the card washer is used for reusing an IC card or the like. Therefore, it is not enough to remove dirt, and it is necessary to sterilize the card.
However, the conventional card washer has only a function of removing dirt, and there is a problem that it is not possible to provide a card which has been cleaned and sterilized.
[0008]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a card washer capable of removing dirt and sterilizing the card.
[0009]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-136068 ((0010), FIGS. 3 and 4)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-10-85685 ((0011), (0012), FIG. 1)
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention has the following configuration to achieve the above object.
That is, according to the card washing machine of the present invention, a hopper capable of storing a plurality of cards to be cleaned and a stacker capable of storing a plurality of cards after cleaning, the hopper is located below and the stacker is located above. A card washing machine in which cards are transported upward from below, wherein at least one card is disposed on each side of the transported cards, and each of the cleaning devices rotates in contact with both sides of the card. Laura and
Feeding means for feeding cards in the hopper one by one to a position where the cleaning roller is provided; cleaning liquid jetting means for jetting a cleaning liquid toward the cleaning roller and / or a card located near the cleaning roller; A scraping means for scraping off a cleaning liquid or the like adhering to the card passing through the cleaning roller, and at least one each on both sides of the card so as to sandwich the card passing through the scraping means from both sides; An elastic roller that elastically deforms and comes into contact with the surface and pushes out the cleaning liquid and the like adhering to the card surface, sterilizing means for sterilizing the card that has passed through the elastic roller, and a card after sterilization are stored in the stacker. And a sending means for sending out as desired.
By adopting this configuration, both sides of the card are rotated while the rollers made of an elastic body are elastically deformed and in contact with each other, and the spreading of the cleaning liquid or the like adhering to the card surface is spread thinly to promote drying. Later, the card can be sterilized by sterilization means.
[0011]
Further, the sterilizing means is a blower that blows air heated to 100 ° C to 150 ° C.
According to this configuration, drying of the card can be reliably performed by the heated air, and sterilization can be performed at the same time. Further, since the heated air comes into contact with the card and drying of the card is promoted, the number of scraping means or the like for scraping the cleaning liquid or the like can be extremely reduced, and the passage of the card can be shortened. The size of the entire apparatus can be reduced.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a right side view of the entire card washer. First, the overall configuration of the card washer of the present embodiment will be described.
The card washer 20 includes a hopper 22, a stacker 24, a main body 21 on which the hopper 22 and the stacker 24 are mounted, and a base 25 provided at a lower portion of the main body 21.
In the main body 21, a brush roller for cleaning the card 18, which will be described later, is provided. The main body 21 is erected on a base 25 to which legs 26 are attached.
Note that a storage tank 40 for storing the cleaning liquid is provided in the base 25.
[0013]
At the lower part of the main body 21, a hopper 22 capable of storing the card 18 to be washed is provided.
The hopper 22 is formed so as to have a U-shaped cross section with an open top. The hopper 22 protrudes forward from the lower part of the main body 21, and is provided such that the tip end is slightly upward.
Since the hopper 22 is provided in an inclined manner in this manner, the card 18 accommodated in the hopper 22 is heavier on the side located on the main body 21 side. When the card is stored in the main body 21, the entire card naturally moves to the main body 21 side, and is stored in the main body 21 sequentially from the card 18 on the main body 21 side.
Although not shown in the drawing, if a roller for feeding the card 18 stored in the hopper 22 to the main body 21 is provided, the card 18 stored in the hopper 22 may be inclined. Thus, the card 18 can be satisfactorily fed into the main body 21.
[0014]
On the upper part of the main body 21, a stacker 24 for storing the card 18 after cleaning is provided.
Like the hopper 22, the stacker 24 is also formed so as to have a U-shaped cross section with an open top. The stacker 24 is provided so as to protrude forward from the main body 21, and is provided so that a front end portion thereof is slightly upward.
[0015]
Next, a more detailed structure in the main body will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a right side view of the card washer, and FIG. 3 is a left side view of the card washer.
A feed belt 30 for taking out the card 18 from the hopper 22 and feeding it upward is provided near the main body side end 22a of the hopper 22. The feed belt 30 is provided to be stretched over a plurality of pulleys 32a to 32c, 33. One of the plurality of pulleys is a driving pulley 33 that rotates by receiving a driving force of a motor 35 as a driving source and drives the feed belt 30.
The feed belt 30 is disposed so as to be driven in parallel with the surface of the card 18 stored in the hopper 22.
[0016]
Here, the specific shape of the feed belt is shown in FIG.
A plurality of teeth 37 for meshing with the respective pulleys 32a to 32c, 33 are provided on the back surface of the feed belt 30 facing the pulleys 32a to 32c, 33.
On the other hand, the surface of the feeding belt 30 (the surface facing the card 18 side of the hopper 22) is provided with a convex portion 36 for contacting the lower end of the feeding card 18 and feeding the card.
One or more protrusions 36 are provided on the feed belt 30. When a plurality of the convex portions 36 are provided in one feeding belt 30, the arrangement interval between the convex portions 36 is set at least up and down by at least one card so that two convex portions 36 do not abut on one card. It is necessary to take an interval larger than the size of the direction.
[0017]
Among the plurality of pulleys, the pulleys 32a and 32b are provided so that a straight line connecting the pulleys is oriented in the vertical direction. It is provided to move to.
At this position, the feed belt 30 feeds the card 18 located at the main body side end 22a in the hopper 22 upward.
[0018]
Above the position where the feed belt 30 is arranged vertically upward, a set of transport rollers 38 is provided on each of the front and back sides of the card 18 so as to face each other with the card therebetween. The transport rollers 38 are made of rubber and transport the card upward while sandwiching the card from both sides.
Above the transport roller 38, a brush roller 42 as an example of a cleaning roller is disposed. The brush rollers 42 are also provided one by one on the front and back surfaces of the card 18 so as to face each other with the card 18 interposed therebetween, so that two brush rollers 42 constitute one set.
The brush roller 42 has a brush formed in a roller shape, and removes dirt on the card surface by rotating the brush roller.
[0019]
Above the brush roller 42, a plate-like body 44 serving as a scraping means for scraping off the cleaning liquid or the like on the card surface is provided in a pair at a position opposed to each other across the card. The plate-like body 44 is disposed with its tip facing obliquely upward. Therefore, even when the card 18 is transported upward, the transport can be performed smoothly.
The plate-like body 44 is a rubber member having a substantially triangular cross section and being formed so as to become gradually thinner toward the front end portion in contact with the card 18. It has a cross section similar to that of a wiper blade used in an automobile.
In addition, since the plate-like body 44 is provided immediately above the brush roller 42, the plate-like body 44 also has a function of shutting off the cleaning liquid so that the cleaning liquid splashed or flying by the brush roller 42 does not adhere to the cleaned card 18 again. .
[0020]
Further, above the plate-like body 44, a set of transport rollers 39, a set of brush rollers 43, and a set of plate-like bodies 45 are arranged in this order from the bottom.
Since the specific configuration and operation of these roller groups are the same as those described above, detailed description will be omitted.
As described above, since two sets of the three types of the transport roller, the brush roller, and the plate-like body are provided along the transport direction, the above-described cleaning process can be performed in two stages, and the cleaning can be performed more clearly. Can be done.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 3, an ejection nozzle 48 for ejecting a cleaning liquid is provided at a position slightly above the brush roller 43 positioned above the two brush rollers 42 and 43 at a position opposed to the card 18 with the card 18 interposed therebetween. Are provided.
The injection nozzles 48 are connected to a pump 50, and are injected by driving the pump 50. The pump 50 is connected to the storage tank 40 via the supply pipe 51, and sucks up the cleaning liquid stored in the storage tank 40 to the cleaning nozzles 48,48.
[0022]
When the spray nozzles 48 are provided at this position and the cleaning liquid is sprayed toward the card 18, the cleaning liquid flows down the card 18 and flows down, reaches the brush roller 43, and the brush roller 43 can contain the cleaning liquid. .
In this case, the spray nozzle 48 may spray the cleaning liquid not only to the card 18 but also to the brush roller 43, or may be sprayed only to the brush roller 43 without being sprayed to the card 18. Good.
In addition, the injection does not necessarily have to be performed in a vigorous manner.
[0023]
Above the second set of plate-like bodies 45 along the transfer direction, one set of transfer rollers 55 and two sets of plate-like bodies 56 are arranged. Since cleaning is not performed above this, the cleaning liquid or the like adhering to the card 18 is surely scraped off by the plate-like body 56.
In order to finally remove moisture remaining on the surface of the card 18, one on each side is disposed above the two plate-like bodies 56, 56 in order to eliminate moisture remaining on the surface of the card 18. One set of elastic rollers 58 is provided. The elastic roller 58 is made of soft rubber, and rotates while being elastically deformed on the surface of the card 18 itself. For this reason, even a small amount of water that could not be scraped off by the plate-like body 56 can be spread out like a thin layer to make it easier to dry.
[0024]
Note that a blower 60 that can blow heated air toward the position where the elastic roller 58 is provided is provided in the main body 21. This blower 60 is a sterilizing means referred to in the claims.
The air heated from about 100 ° C. to about 150 ° C. is blown from the blower 60. Since the air heated to such a temperature comes into contact with the card 18 from which the moisture has been squeezed out by the elastic roller 58, the drying of the card 18 can be further ensured and the sterilization of the card 18 can be performed. Do it.
[0025]
Further, in this embodiment, the blower 62 (that is, the sterilizing unit) that applies the heated air to a position above the position where the elastic roller 58 is provided, that is, immediately before the card 18 is stored in the stacker 24. Is provided. The blower 62 is also capable of blowing air heated to about 100 ° C. to 150 ° C.
By this blower 62, it is possible to achieve reliable drying before storage in the stacker 24, and sterilization can be performed.
However, one of the two fans 60 and 62 may be provided, or another fan may be provided. Further, the heating temperature of the air is not limited to 100 ° C to 150 ° C.
[0026]
Above the elastic roller 58, there is provided a delivery roller 64 for delivering the cleaned card 18 to be stored in the stacker 24.
The specific shape of the delivery roller 64 is shown in FIG.
The delivery roller 64 has jagged irregularities on the surface in contact with the card 18. As described above, since the rollers to be finally accommodated in the stacker 24 are provided with irregularities, the ends of the card 18 ride on the irregularities, so that the cards 18 can be reliably lifted and accommodated in the stacker 24.
[0027]
The transport rollers 38, 39, 55, the brush rollers 42, 43, and the elastic roller 58 described above are driven to rotate by using the motor 35 as a drive source.
A drive belt 34 is stretched over the motor 35, and the drive belt 34 is stretched over a plurality of transport rollers, brush rollers, and elastic rollers via a plurality of pulleys 37.
[0028]
The storage tank 40 that stores the cleaning liquid will be described.
The upper surface of the storage tank 40 is provided with an opening 66 at a position where the brush rollers 42 and 43 are provided and cleaning is performed, and the cleaning liquid after the cleaning can be dropped into the storage tank 40. The cleaning liquid after the cleaning falls along the card 18, the respective transport rollers, the brush rollers, and the like.
A filter (not shown) for collecting adhering matter is attached to the opening 66 of the cleaning liquid tank 40 so that dust and the like after cleaning do not enter the cleaning liquid tank 40.
As described above, by dropping and storing the cleaning liquid after cleaning, the cleaning liquid is not wastefully discarded, which can contribute to cost reduction.
[0029]
In the embodiment described above, the shape of the delivery roller is such that the surface in contact with the card is formed with jagged irregularities.
However, the shape of the delivery roller is not limited to such a form, and may be another shape.
In addition, the surface of the rubber roller may be cut without using the uneven shape (not shown).
[0030]
Although the brush rollers 42 and 43 of the above-described embodiment have only two sets, only one set may be provided, or three or more sets may be provided. The cleaning roller is not limited to a brush roller, and other types of cleaning roller may be used.
In addition, the number of transport rollers, the number of plate-like members, and the like are not limited to this embodiment.
[0031]
In the present embodiment, the configuration is such that both the feeding belt 30 as the feeding means and the feeding roller 64 as the feeding means are provided, but a configuration having only one of them may be used.
Further, the feeding means may have another configuration instead of the feeding belt 30, and the feeding means may be other than the feeding roller 64.
[0032]
In addition, although not shown, a water-absorbing brush made of molding fibers may be arranged so as to be in contact with the elastic roller 58.
Since the water-absorbing brush is provided in contact with the elastic roller 58 in this way, the water-absorbing brush wipes out the water adhering to the elastic roller 58 due to the capillary-shaped phenomenon in which the fibers in the molding form absorb the water. For this reason, the elastic roller 58 can be kept in a dry state at all times, and even if moisture adheres to the elastic roller 58, the moisture is not returned to the card, thereby promoting the drying of the card.
[0033]
In addition, the water-absorbing brush using the molding fiber is preferably provided not only in contact with the elastic roller 58 but also in direct contact with the card 18.
For example, if a water-absorbing brush is arranged above the elastic roller 58 so as to be in direct contact with the card 18, the following effects can be obtained.
That is, since the elastic roller 58 is made of soft rubber and rotates while contacting the surface of the card 18 by elastically deforming itself, the elastic roller 58 thinly removes a small amount of water that could not be scraped off even by the plate-like body 56. However, if the water becomes spherical water droplets due to the use of a cleaning solution or the like having a large amount of the surfactant, the water droplets cannot be spread thinly even by the elastic roller 58, but simply spread on the end of the card. It just pushes out water drops.
Therefore, the water-absorbing brush wipes off water droplets which are not pushed and spread even by being sandwiched between the elastic rollers 58 and are not dried, so that the card 18 can be completely dried. It is preferable that the water-absorbing brush 72 is disposed so as to be in contact with the end of the card 18 so as to be able to wipe off water droplets collected at the end of the card 18.
[0034]
The direction of the heated air from the blowers 60 and 62 is directed to the position where the elastic roller 58 and the water absorbing brush are provided and the position where the water absorbing brush provided above the elastic roller 58 is provided. It is good to This ensures that the card 18 is dried and that each water-absorbing brush itself is also dried, so that the water adhering to the water-absorbing brush is dried without adhering to the card 18 sent next.
[0035]
The sterilizing means is not limited to a blower for blowing heated air, but may be another means, for example, a means for injecting a sterilizing agent.
[0036]
Although various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and it is a matter of course that many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. .
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
According to the card washing machine of the present invention, the card can be sterilized by the sterilizing means. In addition, if the sterilizing means is a blower that blows air heated to 100 ° C. to 150 ° C., the heated air can surely dry the card and can also perform sterilization at the same time. . Further, since the heated air comes into contact with the card and the drying of the card is promoted, the number of scraping means for scraping the cleaning liquid or the like can be extremely reduced, and the passage for passing the card can be shortened. The size of the entire apparatus can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a right side view showing the entire card washer according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a right side view for explaining the card washer shown in FIG. 1 in further detail.
FIG. 3 is a left side view for explaining the card washer shown in FIG. 1 in further detail.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of a feeding belt.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged explanatory view of a delivery roller.
[Explanation of symbols]
20 Card Washer 21 Main Body 22 Hopper 24 Stacker 25 Base 26 Leg 30 Feeding Belt 32, 37 Pulley 33 Driving Pulley 34 Drive Belt 35 Motor 37 Teeth 38, 39, 55 Transport Roller 40 Storage Tanks 42, 44 Brush Rollers 44, 45 , 56 Plates (screwing means)
48 injection nozzle 50 pump 51 supply pipe 58 elastic rollers 60 and 62 blower (sterilizing means)
64 Delivery roller 66 Opening

Claims (2)

A hopper capable of storing a plurality of cards to be cleaned and a stacker capable of storing a plurality of cards after cleaning are arranged such that the hopper is located below and the stacker is located upward, and the cards are directed upward from below. A card washing machine to be conveyed,
A cleaning roller that is disposed at least one each on both sides of the card to be conveyed and rotates in contact with both sides of the card,
Feeding means for feeding cards in the hopper one by one to a position where the cleaning roller is provided;
Cleaning liquid jetting means for jetting a cleaning liquid toward the cleaning roller and / or a card located near the cleaning roller;
A scraping means for scraping off a cleaning liquid or the like adhering to the card that has passed through the cleaning roller,
An elastic roller which is disposed at least one each on both sides of the card so as to sandwich the card which has passed through the scraping means from both sides, and which elastically deforms and comes into contact with the surface of the card to spread out a cleaning liquid or the like adhering to the surface of the card. When,
Sterilizing means for sterilizing the card that has passed through the elastic roller,
A card washing machine comprising: a sending means for sending a sterilized card to be stored in the stacker. The card washer according to claim 1, wherein the sterilizing unit is a blower that blows air heated to 100C to 150C.

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