JP2006052059A - Card stacking device and card stacking method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card stacking device and a card stacking method capable of minimizing waste of cards and degradation of the working efficiency by determining in an early stage whether or not cards of the predetermined number can be stacked in a stacking container. <P>SOLUTION: The card stacking device comprises a stacking and filling mechanism 35 to stack cards by the predetermined set number, and fill them in a stacking container 3, and a control unit 77 to control each unit. The stacking and filling mechanism 35 has a position detection sensor 43 and a stacking detection sensor 50 to detect the stacking height of the cards to be filled in the stacking container 3. The control unit 77 estimates the stacking height of the cards when the cards of the set number are filled in the stacking container 3 based on the result detected by the sensors 43, 50, and controls the stacking and filling mechanism 35 to stop the stacking and filling operation in the stacking container 3 and lead out the stacking container 3 from the stacking and filling mechanism 35 when it is determined that the estimated stacking height of the cards exceeds the card filling height. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a card stacking apparatus and a card stacking method.

  Various cards such as a driver's license, a credit card, a prepaid card, and an ID card are generally shipped in a state where they are collected in a predetermined collection container. For this reason, for example, it is necessary to collect a predetermined number of cards created by a card manufacturing apparatus as a pre-processing device in a collecting container and then send it to the next process for shipment. A card stacking apparatus that stacks in a predetermined stacking container is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Since the collecting container is shipped as it is, the card collecting apparatus generally collects a predetermined number of cards in the collecting container and then seals the opening of the collecting container. is there.

  Here, the card is conventionally formed by means such as punching a sheet of a resin or other material such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) into a predetermined size and shape according to the purpose of use, and printing or the like is performed on both sides of the card. It is common. Such a card has a feature that there is little variation in the thickness of the card itself because the molding accuracy of the resin is high.

Furthermore, in recent years, a technique is known in which when such a card is molded, an IC chip such as a semiconductor memory or an antenna is sandwiched between resin plates and incorporated in the card body. In such a card, an AC magnetic field radiated from an external device can be detected by this antenna to transmit / receive data to / from the external device, various information can be stored in an IC chip, etc. The added value of the card can be increased.
JP-A-2-030596

  However, when a card is molded by sandwiching an IC chip, an antenna, or the like between resin plates in this way, the thickness of the card as a whole depends on the amount of adhesive applied between the resin plates, the rise of the IC chip, the antenna, etc. The variation of the is increased. Further, when a card is molded by bonding a resin plate, the card is likely to warp due to a difference in physical properties of the resin plate constituting the front surface and the back surface, an orientation characteristic at the time of manufacturing the resin plate itself, or the like.

  In this case, even if the same number of cards are stacked, the stacked heights differ depending on the thickness variation and warpage of the cards. That is, the stacking height is higher in the case where only the cards that are not warped are stacked and in the case where the cards that are warped are stacked. For this reason, when the card thickness is not uniform or warps, a predetermined set number of cards may not be stacked in the stacking container.

  In this case, when trying to stack a predetermined number of cards uniformly in the stacking container, the card cannot be fully stacked in the stacking container, and the card overflows from the stacking container on the way, and the card is scattered or placed in the card stacking device. It may cause a jam. As a result, there is a problem that if the accumulation operation is interrupted, the working efficiency is lowered.

  Further, in this case, if the card is forcibly stacked in the stacking container, the card is pushed and the IC chip or the like sandwiched between the card surface and the inside may be damaged, and an expensive card may be wasted. .

  In addition, when there is an accumulation container in which a predetermined number of cards could not be accumulated due to warpage of the card, etc., a distinction is made between such a defective accumulation container and an accumulation container in which the cards are normally accumulated. Otherwise, there is a possibility that a defective collection container is mistakenly mixed with a normal one and shipped. However, as described above, generally, since the opening of the collection container is sealed by the card collection apparatus after the cards are collected in the collection container, the defective collection container is searched afterwards and excluded from the shipment. There was a problem that it was difficult.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to waste a card by quickly determining and dealing with whether or not a predetermined number of cards cannot be stacked in a stacking container. Another object of the present invention is to provide a card stacking apparatus and a card stacking method capable of minimizing a decrease in work efficiency.

In order to solve such a problem, the invention described in claim 1 includes an accumulation filling mechanism for accumulating a predetermined set number of cards and filling the accumulation container, and a control unit for controlling each part,
The accumulation and filling mechanism includes detection means for detecting a stacked height of cards to be filled in the accumulation container, and the control unit loads a set number of cards into the accumulation container based on a result detected by the detection means. In addition to predicting the stacked height of the card when it is filled, when it is determined that the predicted stacked height of the card exceeds the height at which the card can be filled in the stacking container, the stacking and filling operation for the stacking container is performed. The accumulation and filling mechanism is controlled so as to stop and send out the accumulation container from the accumulation and filling mechanism.

  In the invention according to claim 1 having such a configuration, the number of cards filled in the stacking container and the stacked height are detected by the detecting means, and when a set number of cards are filled based on the detection result. When the control unit determines whether the stacked height of the cards is equal to or higher than a predetermined height of the stacking container, and when the control unit determines that the height of the cards exceeds the height of the stacking container, The accumulation and filling operation is stopped and the accumulation container is sent out from the accumulation and filling mechanism.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the card stacking apparatus according to the first aspect, the card stacking apparatus includes a sealing mechanism that seals the opening of the stacking container, and the control unit has a predetermined setting in the stacking container. The sealing mechanism is controlled so as to seal the opening of the stacking device only when the number of cards is filled.

  The invention according to claim 2 having such a configuration has a sealing mechanism that seals the opening of the stacking device only when the control unit is filled with a predetermined number of cards in the stacking container. It comes to control.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a stacking and filling step of stacking a predetermined number of cards by a stacking and filling mechanism and filling the stacking container and detecting a stacking height of the cards to be filled in the stacking container by a detecting means. A stacking detection step, and a stacking height prediction step of predicting a stacking height of cards when a set number of cards are filled in the stacking container based on a result detected by the detection means, by a control unit;
When the control unit determines that the stacked height of the cards when the set number of cards are filled is equal to or higher than the height at which the cards can be filled in the stacking container, the control unit performs stacking and filling work on the stacking container. And the accumulation and filling mechanism is controlled so as to send out the accumulation container from the accumulation and filling mechanism.

  In the invention according to claim 3 having such a configuration, the number of cards filled in the stacking container and the stacked height are detected by the detecting means, and when a set number of cards are filled based on the detection result. When the control unit determines whether the stacked height of the cards is equal to or higher than a predetermined height of the stacking container, and when the control unit determines that the height of the cards exceeds the height of the stacking container, The accumulation and filling operation is stopped and the accumulation container is sent out from the accumulation and filling mechanism.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the card stacking method according to the third aspect of the present invention, the card stacking method includes a sealing step of sealing the opening of the stacking container by a sealing mechanism, and the control unit includes the stacking container The sealing mechanism is controlled so as to seal the opening of the stacking device only when a predetermined set number of cards are filled.

  The invention according to claim 4 having such a configuration has a sealing mechanism that seals the opening of the stacking device only when the control unit is filled with a predetermined number of cards in the stacking container. It comes to control.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a card having an IC chip, an antenna, or the like, when the thickness of the entire card varies, or the difference in physical properties of the resin constituting the front surface and the back surface of the card or the production of the resin plate If the card is warped due to orientation characteristics, etc., and if a predetermined number of cards are stacked, it is predicted that the card will overflow from the stacking container. It is sent out to the next process promptly. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of jams due to the card overflowing from the collecting container and clogging the transport path, and various troubles due to the card being scattered on the transport path and others, and loss of expensive cards. It does not take much time to deal with various troubles caused by the overflow of the card from the collecting container. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the waste of the card and improve the productivity in the card stacking and filling operation.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the collection container is not filled with a predetermined set number of cards, the opening of the collection container is not sealed. Cards cannot be stacked, and defective products for which the stacking operation has been stopped can be easily distinguished from non-defective products. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the defective product from being mistakenly stored in the product box together with the non-defective product, thereby ensuring the product quality.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in a card having an IC chip, an antenna, etc., when the thickness of the entire card varies, or the difference in physical properties of the resin constituting the front and back surfaces of the card and the production of the resin plate If the card is warped due to orientation characteristics, etc., and if a predetermined number of cards are stacked, it is predicted that the card will overflow from the stacking container. It is sent out to the next process promptly. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of jams due to the card overflowing from the collecting container and clogging the transport path, and various troubles due to the card being scattered on the transport path and others, and loss of expensive cards. It does not take much time to deal with various troubles caused by the overflow of the card from the collecting container. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the waste of the card and improve the productivity in the card stacking and filling operation.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the opening of the accumulation container is not sealed when the accumulation container is not filled with a predetermined set number of cards, Cards cannot be stacked, and defective products for which the stacking operation has been stopped can be easily distinguished from non-defective products. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the defective product from being mistakenly stored in the product box together with the non-defective product, thereby ensuring the product quality.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a card stacking apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the card stacking apparatus 1 is manufactured by a card manufacturing apparatus (not shown) and stored in the card supply container 2 and sent to the stacking container 3 by a predetermined number of cards. An apparatus for stacking, which includes transport belts 4a, 4b, and 4c that transport cards one by one in a predetermined transport direction X, and a card supply unit 5 that supplies cards to the transport belts 4a, 4b, and 4c; A card stacking and filling unit 6 for stacking a predetermined number of cards to be transported and filling the stacking container 3 is provided.

  First, the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c are endless belts formed of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel, and the surfaces thereof are coated with a resin or the like so as not to damage the surface of the card. In addition, the material which forms the conveyance belts 4a, 4b, and 4c is not limited to this, For example, you may form with elastic bodies, such as a silicone resin. Of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c, the one located in the most upstream direction in the conveyance direction X of the card stacking apparatus 1 is the first conveyor belt 4a, and the second conveyor belt 4b, A third conveyor belt 4c is disposed downstream of the second conveyor belt 4b.

  Each of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c is, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, in which three belts having a width smaller than the width of the card to be conveyed are arranged substantially in parallel. By configuring the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c in such a configuration, the area of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c contacting the surface of the card can be reduced, and the card can be connected to the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of friction and damage. The configuration of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, 4c is not limited to this, and a plurality of belts having a smaller width may be arranged, or both ends of the card may be supported by two belts. Also good. Moreover, you may make it support by one conveyance belt 4a, 4b, 4c which has the width dimension same as the width dimension of a card | curd, or more.

  Each of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c is sent in a predetermined conveyance direction X by a belt drive source 9 (see FIG. 5), and the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c are sequentially conveyed while supporting a card. It is transported in the direction X.

  At the upstream end in the transport direction X of the first transport belt 4a and above the first transport belt 4a is a card supply unit 5 that supplies cards one by one to the first transport belt 4a. The card supply unit 5 includes a card supply container 2 that supplies cards from the card manufacturing apparatus to the card stacking apparatus 1. The card supply container 2 is a box-shaped member that is formed long in the vertical direction in FIG. 1, and has a horizontal section larger than the surface area of the card. The card supply container 2 can store a plurality of cards manufactured by the card manufacturing apparatus, and the card supply container 2 is manufactured by the container moving mechanism 10 (see FIG. 5) while holding the card inside. It moves from the device to the card stacking device 1.

  An opening 11 formed slightly larger than the surface area of the card is provided on the lower end surface of the card supply container 2. The opening 11 is provided with a pair of movable protrusions 12a and 12b that face each other so as to prevent the card accommodated therein from dropping. The movable protrusions 12a and 12b can be advanced and retracted by, for example, a cylinder or the like. When the movable protrusions 12a and 12b protrude inside the card supply container 2, the distal ends of the movable protrusions 12a and 12b are the card supply container 2. It is locked to the edge of the card stored inside. As a result, the card is held by the movable protrusions 12 a and 12 b in a state where the movable protrusions 12 a and 12 b protrude to the inside of the card supply container 2, and does not fall from the opening 11 of the card supply container 2. In this embodiment, the cylinder is used as a mechanism for operating the movable protrusions 12a and 12b. However, the mechanism for moving the movable protrusions 12a and 12b back and forth is not limited to the one shown here, and other mechanisms may be used. You may make it use.

  Next, the card supply unit 5 is provided with a card supply hopper 13 that receives a card carried by the card supply container 2. The card supply hopper 13 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical direction in FIG. 1, and the horizontal cross section is slightly larger than the surface area of the card, and slightly larger than the horizontal cross section of the card supply container 2. It is formed small.

  An upper surface opening portion 14 and a lower surface opening portion 15 each formed slightly larger than the surface area of the card are provided on both upper and lower end surfaces in FIG. 1 of the card supply hopper 13. Further, on each side wall of the card supply hopper 13, a notch (not shown) is formed from the upper end of each side wall in the vertical direction in FIG.

  A pair of drop-preventing protrusions 16 and 16 for preventing the card from falling are provided in the lower surface opening 15 of the card supply hopper 13 so as to face each other. By supporting the part, the card is prevented from falling by its own weight. The number of drop prevention protrusions 16 and 16 is not limited to a pair. Two pairs of drop prevention protrusions 16 and 16 that face the lower surface opening 15 are provided to support the card from four directions. Also good.

  A remaining amount detection sensor 17 for detecting the remaining amount of the card in the card supply hopper 13 is provided at a position slightly above the lower end of the card supply hopper 13 and corresponding to the notch. The remaining amount detection sensor 17 is an optical sensor including, for example, a light emitter 17a that includes a light emitting element that emits light such as infrared light, and a light receiver 17b that includes a light receiving element that senses light emitted from the light emitter 17a. The light emitter 17a is outside the notch on one side wall of the card supply hopper 13, the light receiver 17b is outside the notch on the other side wall, the light emitting surface (not shown) of the light emitter 17a and the light receiver 17b. Receiving surfaces (not shown) are provided so as to face each other.

  When the height of the card remaining in the card supply hopper 13 is above the position where the light emitter 17a and the light receiver 17b are provided, the light emitted from the light emitter 17a is blocked by the card and the light receiver 17b. If the height of the card remaining in the card supply hopper 13 becomes lower than the position where the light emitters 17a and 17b are provided, the light receiver 17b receives the light emitted from the light emitter 17a. Thereby, it can be detected whether or not the height of the card remaining in the card supply hopper 13 is lower than a predetermined position, and it can be determined whether or not the remaining amount of the card is equal to or less than a predetermined amount. It is like that. It should be noted that it may be possible to appropriately set how much the remaining amount of the card is equal to or less than the predetermined amount depending on the thickness or weight of the card. In this case, the position where the remaining amount detection sensor 17 is provided can be appropriately changed based on the set value. In addition, the configuration of the remaining amount detection sensor 17 is not limited to the one exemplified here, and other configurations may be used.

  In the vicinity of the opening 11 of the card supply container 2, a distance detection for detecting the distance from the opening 11 of the card supply container 2 to the upper surface of the card located at the top of the cards remaining in the card supply hopper 13. A sensor 18 is provided. The distance detection sensor 18 is, for example, light composed of a light irradiation unit 18a that irradiates a card with light such as laser light, and a detection unit 18b that detects light that has been irradiated from the light irradiation unit 18a and reflected on the surface of the card. The detection unit 18b is a sensor and detects light reflected by the card only when light is irradiated from the light irradiation unit 18a to the surface of the card at a predetermined incident angle.

  Here, although the weight of one card is about 1 to 6 g, for example, when it becomes a bundle of 500 cards, the weight is as much as 3 kg. When such a bundle of cards is dropped, a large impact is applied to the cards when dropped due to the weight of the cards themselves. Furthermore, when the drop distance is long, the acceleration applied to the drop is added, so that the impact applied to the card becomes larger. For this reason, if many cards are dropped from the card supply container 2 to the card supply hopper 13 at a distance from the card supply container 2, a large impact is applied to the cards when dropped. As a result, the drop prevention protrusions 16 and 16 cannot support the card, and there is a risk of causing a drop abnormality such as a plurality of cards falling together from the lower surface opening 15 of the card supply hopper 13. However, if the card supply hopper 13 is made strong enough to withstand such a large impact, the size of the device and the complexity of the device configuration will be increased, leading to an increase in equipment cost.

  Further, if such a large impact is applied when the card drops from the card supply container 2 to the card supply hopper 13, a large impact and damage is also applied to the card remaining in the card supply hopper 13 and the card dropped thereon. Pressure will be applied. For this reason, for example, when a foreign object is pinched between the cards, or when irregularities are formed on the card surface, there is a possibility that indentations may remain on the card surface by pressing the cards together. Further, for example, there is a possibility that a failure may occur in an IC chip or an antenna built in the card due to an impact at the time of dropping. Thus, if the card surface or IC chip is damaged, there is a problem that the quality of the card deteriorates.

  Furthermore, if the card is dropped from a position away from the upper surface of the card in the card supply hopper 13, there is a possibility that the card is reversed before the card is dropped. If the card is flipped in the middle of dropping, the card orientations are not aligned, and there is a problem that the commercial value of the card when it is finally stacked is lowered.

  For this reason, when the card is dropped from the card supply container 2 to the card supply hopper 13, the card is dropped after the card supply container 2 approaches the upper surface of the card remaining in the card supply hopper 13 to some extent. Is desirable. Therefore, the light irradiation unit 18a can cause the card to reverse during the fall or the impact of the drop even if the distance between the opening 11 of the card supply container 2 and the upper surface of the card remaining in the card supply hopper 13 drops. Thus, the light is adjusted so as to be radiated at an angle such that reflected light is detected by the detector 18b when the distance is less than a distance at which the card is not damaged.

  That is, when the distance between the opening 11 of the card supply container 2 and the upper surface of the card remaining in the card supply hopper 13 is longer than the width dimension of the card, the card may be reversed in the middle of dropping. The light irradiating unit 18a irradiates at an angle such that reflected light is detected by the detecting unit 18b when the distance is shorter than at least the width dimension of the card and does not cause a large impact to the card by dropping. It has become. For this reason, when light is detected by the detection unit 18b, it is determined that the card supply container 2 has approached the upper surface of the card in the card supply hopper 13 to a predetermined distance or less suitable for the card supply container 2 to drop the card. By supplying the card from the card supply container 2 at this position, the card can be always supplied from an appropriate position regardless of the amount of the card remaining in the card supply hopper 13. Yes. Thereby, deterioration of the quality of the card | curd by the card supply from the card supply container 2 to the card supply hopper 13 and the inversion of the card in the middle of dropping can be prevented, without complicating an apparatus structure. In addition, the structure of the distance detection sensor 18 is not limited to what was illustrated here, You may use the thing of another structure.

  The card supplied from the card supply hopper 13 is temporarily placed under the lower surface opening 15 of the card supply hopper 13 and above the first transfer belt 4a before being placed on the first transfer belt 4a. A card temporary table 19 is provided. The temporary card placement table 19 is a flat plate disposed so as to be substantially parallel to the transport surface of the first transport belt 4a. A card supplied from the card supply hopper 13 onto the temporary card placement table 19 along the conveyance direction X is located at one end of the temporary card placement table 19 and upstream of the first conveyance belt 4a in the conveyance direction X. An extruding mechanism 20 for extruding onto the first conveying belt 4a is provided. The pushing mechanism 20 is provided with, for example, a pressing member 22 that pushes the card against the tip of the rod 21 and pushes the card in a predetermined direction. The pushing mechanism 20 can move forward and backward along the transport direction X by a cylinder mechanism or the like. Yes.

  In order to increase the working efficiency of the card stacking apparatus 1, it is desirable that the speed of each of the transport belts 4a, 4b, 4c for transporting the cards is high. However, when the card directly falls on the transport belts 4a, 4b, and 4c transported at a high speed, the first transport belt 4a moves in the transport direction X, and therefore the speed between the card dropping from the vertical direction. The difference is large and a strong frictional resistance is applied to the card. For this reason, there exists a possibility of producing bruises, such as an abrasion, on a card | curd. In this case, when taking out the cards one by one from the card supply hopper 13 and placing them on the first transport belt 4a, it is conceivable to drop the card from a position as close to the first transport belt 4a as possible. However, even in this case, there is no change in the card falling from the vertical direction with respect to the first transport belt 4a moving in the transport direction X, and there is a risk that the card surface may be scratched by friction.

  In this case, as in the present embodiment, the card supplied from the card supply hopper 13 is temporarily placed on the temporary card placement table 19, and the first conveyance belt 4 a is moved along the conveyance direction X from the temporary card placement table 19. By sending it upward, the card lands on the first conveyor belt 4a while moving in the same direction as the conveyance direction X of the first conveyor belt 4a. For this reason, the speed difference between the card and the first conveyor belt 4a is reduced, the frictional resistance generated between them can be reduced, and the occurrence of scratches on the card surface can be suppressed. In this case, since the frictional resistance applied to the card can be reduced even when the conveying speed of the conveying belts 4a, 4b, 4c itself is kept high, the card quality is maintained without degrading the card conveying efficiency. It becomes possible to do.

  Between the lower surface opening 15 of the card supply hopper 13 and the card temporary placement table 19, a card takeout mechanism 23 for taking out the cards one by one from the card supply hopper 13 is provided. The card removal mechanism 23 has a main body frame 24 having a support shaft 25 at the center. The main body frame 24 is rotatable about the support shaft 25 as the support shaft 25 rotates. The main body frame 24 is provided with two suction mechanisms 28a and 28b including suction members 27a and 27b that suck cards. The adsorbing members 27a and 27b are formed of a flexible material such as a resin, for example. One end of each of the adsorbing members 27a and 27b is an adsorbing surface 26a and 26b that adsorbs the card, and the adsorbing surfaces 26a and 26b can be in close contact with the surface of the card. Each of the suction mechanisms 28a and 28b is configured such that when the suction surface 26a of the suction member 27a of one suction mechanism 28a is at a position facing the card supply hopper 13, the suction surface 26b of the other suction member 27b is The main body frame 24 is rotated by 180 degrees so that the suction surfaces 26a and 26b of the two suction members 27a and 27b are alternately opposed to the card supply hopper 13 or the card temporary placement table 19. It has become.

  The suction mechanisms 28a, 28b are, for example, an internal gear fixed concentrically to the main shaft and rotatably provided, and a planetary gear provided rotatably about an eccentric shaft provided at the tip of the main shaft. (Both not shown), and the adsorbing members 27a and 27b are fixed on the planetary gear. The planetary gear rotates with changing the meshing teeth along the inner peripheral surface of the internal gear and meshes with the teeth formed on the inner peripheral surface of the internal gear, and revolves as the main shaft rotates. It has become. The rotation speed of rotation and revolution of the planetary gear is defined by the number of teeth formed on each gear, and the number of teeth of each gear is determined by the adsorbing members 27a and 27b attached to the planetary gear facing the card supply hopper 13. The suction surfaces 26a and 26b are substantially parallel to the lower surface opening 15 of the card supply hopper 13, and when the suction members 27a and 27b are at a position facing the temporary card holder 19, the suction surfaces 26a and 26b are Adjustment is made so as to be substantially parallel to the surface of the temporary table 19. When the planetary gears rotate and revolve in this manner, when the suction members 27a and 27b move to directly below the lower surface opening 15 of the card supply hopper 13, the suction surfaces 26a and 26b of the suction members 27a and 27b become the card supply hopper. The card accommodated in the card 13 can be approached so as to be substantially parallel to the card and can be securely sucked.

  A suction mechanism (not shown) such as a pump for sucking air in the suction members 27a and 27b is connected to the suction members 27a and 27b, and the suction surfaces 26a and 26b of the suction members 27a and 27b are connected to the card supply hopper. When moving to a position opposite to 13, the suction members 27a and 27b suck the air in the suction members 27a and 27b so that a vacuum state is created in the suction members 27a and 27b. As a result, the suction members 27a and 27b can suck and hold the card on the suction surfaces 26a and 26b. Further, when the main body frame 24 rotates and the suction surfaces 26a and 26b of the suction members 27a and 27b move to a position facing the temporary card placement table 19, the suction mechanism stops the suction operation, whereby the suction member The suction of the cards 27a and 27b and the card is released, and the card is dropped onto the temporary card placement table 19. As a result, the card is placed on the temporary card placement table 19 in a state where the front and back sides are reversed from when the card is stored in the card supply container 2.

  There are cases where the front surface and the back surface of the card have different susceptibility to damage due to external friction or the like. Moreover, even when the same wound is received, there is a case where there is a difference in how the wound is noticeable. For example, in a card composed of upper and lower two layers made of materials having different physical properties, one surface may be relatively resistant to scratches due to friction or the like, but the other surface may be easily scratched. Further, when different designs are applied to the front and back surfaces of the card, there may be a difference in the allowable level of scratches depending on the design. In such a case, if the surface that is easily damaged or the surface that is easily noticeable is in contact with the surface of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c, the card is damaged due to the frictional resistance generated between the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c. There is a problem of deterioration. Therefore, when the card is transported, the card is placed on the transport belt 4a, 4b, 4c with the surface that is easily damaged or a surface that is not allowed to generate slight scratches facing upward, If it is a flaw, it is desirable to convey it so that an acceptable surface is in contact with the conveyor belts 4a, 4b and 4c.

  However, the card is supplied from the card manufacturing device to the card stacking device 1 by the card supply container 2, but depending on the convenience of work in the process of creating the card, the surface of the card that is easily damaged or easily noticeable is damaged. It is sometimes stored in the card supply container 2 in such a state. In this case, if the card is dropped as it is, the surface that is easily damaged will come into contact with the surface of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, 4c, and the quality of the card may be deteriorated, for example, the card may be damaged. In this case, it may be possible to reverse the front and back after the card is once placed on the first conveyor belt 4a. However, in this case, scratches due to the frictional resistance applied when the card falls on the first conveyor belt 4a are generated. Cannot be prevented.

  In this case, in this embodiment, after the cards are taken out one by one by the card take-out mechanism 23, the suction members 27a and 27b holding the cards are rotated 180 degrees from the card supply hopper 13 to the first transport belt 4a. The card can be reversed before it is dropped. As a result, even if the card is stored in the card supply container 2 with the surface where the card is easily damaged or easily noticeable, the surface where the card is difficult to be damaged is formed on the surface of the transport belts 4a, 4b, 4c. The card can be placed in contact with the card, and the quality of the card is not deteriorated due to the card surface being damaged.

  Between the first conveyor belt 4a and the second conveyor belt 4b provided on the downstream side in the conveyance direction X, a pair of cleaning mechanisms 7 for removing foreign matters such as dust adhered to the front and back surfaces of the card. Cleaning rollers 30 and 30 are provided. The surfaces of the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 are covered with an adhesive material, and dust and the like attached to the surface of the card are removed. One of the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 is a driving roller driven by a roller driving source 31 (see FIG. 5), and the other cleaning rollers 30 and 30 are driven to rotate. Note that either of the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 may be a driving roller. Further, both the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 may be driving rollers.

  Adhesive rollers 32, 32 having substantially the same length as the cleaning rollers 30, 30 are provided on the side surfaces of the cleaning rollers 30, 30 so as to contact the peripheral surfaces of the cleaning rollers 30, 30. The adhesive rollers 32 and 32 are made of a material having higher adhesiveness than the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 so as to adsorb and remove dust attached to the cleaning rollers 30 and 30. Note that the number of the adhesive rollers 32 and 32 is not limited to one, and an adhesive roller formed of a material having higher adhesiveness may be provided so as to be in contact with the peripheral surfaces of the adhesive rollers 32 and 32. By providing a plurality of adhesive rollers 32 and 32 in this manner, dust and the like adsorbed and removed from the card and adsorbed on the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 can be removed more completely. It is possible to prevent reattachment.

  The card is lifted by pressing the card against the first conveyor belt 4a and the second conveyor belt 4b on the upstream and downstream sides of the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 and above the first conveyor belt 4a and the second conveyor belt 4b. Card presser belts 33a and 33b are provided to prevent warping and warping. The card presser belts 33a and 33b are endless belts formed of, for example, a metal such as stainless steel, like the first transport belt 4a and the second transport belt 4b, so that the surface of the card is not damaged. Is coated with resin or the like. The material for forming the card presser belts 33a and 33b is not limited to this, and may be formed of an elastic body such as silicon resin. Further, the card pressing belts 33a and 33b do not need to be formed of the same material as the first conveying belt 4a and the second conveying belt 4b. The card is transported with such a surface facing upward so that the surface that is easily scratched or conspicuous is not in contact with the transport belts 4a, 4b, and 4c. For this reason, it is desirable that the card presser belts 33a and 33b that press the card from the easily scratched surface are formed of a material that hardly causes frictional resistance with the card surface. Therefore, the card pressing belts 33a and 33b may be formed of a material having a lower hardness than the conveying belts 4a, 4b and 4c.

  The card presser belts 33a and 33b are transported by the presser belt drive source 29 at substantially the same speed in synchronization with the first transport belt 4a and the second transport belt 4b. Thereby, the frictional resistance between the first conveyor belt 4a and the second conveyor belt 4b and the card presser belts 33a and 33b is suppressed, and the first conveyor belt 4a and the second conveyor belt 4b and the card presser belts 33a and 33b It is possible to prevent the surface of the card conveyed between the cards from being damaged by the card pressing belts 33a and 33b.

  If foreign matter such as dust adheres to the surface of the card, if the card stacking operation is performed as it is, a large number of cards are stacked and the foreign matter attached to the card surface is sandwiched between the cards and pressed. May damage the surface of the card. Therefore, conventionally, foreign matters adhering to the card surface are removed during the card stacking process.

  As means for removing foreign matter, it is common to use cleaning rollers 30 and 30 having adhesive properties as shown in this embodiment. The cleaning rollers 30 and 30 have a certain degree of strong adhesive force because a sufficient dust removing effect cannot be obtained if the adhesive force is weak. However, when the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 have a strong adhesive force, the cleaning roller 30 The card is wound around the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 by the adhesive force of 30 and 30, and the card is brought into close contact with the surface of the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 and is lifted from a predetermined transport path on the first transport belt 4a and the second transport belt 4b. Sometimes. In such a case, after cleaning is completed, the card is not transported straight in the transport direction X, but becomes slanted and is out of the transport path, or causes a transport abnormality such as card reversal. Can occur.

  In this case, as a means for preventing the card from being reversed, generally, guides having a U-shaped cross section are provided on the left and right sides of the transport belts 4a, 4b, 4c to regulate the card transport angle and the like. It has been broken. However, in the place where the cleaning mechanism 7 is provided, a space is provided for arranging the cleaning rollers 30, 30 and the like, and the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, 4c are not continuous. For this reason, U-shaped guides cannot be provided on both sides of the card transport path at the location where the cleaning mechanism 7 is provided and at the upstream side and downstream side thereof, and are generated on the upstream side and downstream side of the cleaning mechanism 7. It was not possible to properly prevent abnormal card transport. In addition, when the guide is U-shaped, once the card is lifted or slanted with respect to the transport direction X, the card rides on the guide, etc. It becomes difficult to insert and recover on an appropriate transport path. In this case, if the stacking operation is continued as it is, it may cause a jam and an expensive card may be wasted. On the other hand, if the device is stopped each time the card causes a conveyance error, the work efficiency is also lowered.

  In this case, in this embodiment, instead of the U-shaped guide, the card presser belts 33a and 33b are arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side of the cleaning mechanism 7 so as to be conveyed to the cleaning rollers 30 and 30. It is possible to keep the transport angle of the horizontal direction substantially horizontal. Further, since the leading end of the card that has passed between the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 is pressed by the card pressing belts 33a and 33b, the card is appropriately transferred onto the transfer path without being lifted or reversed, and jammed or the like. It is possible to appropriately prevent the occurrence of conveyance abnormality.

  Defect detection as an inspection mechanism 8 for inspecting the surface of the card for scratches, printing defects, etc. above the card pressing belts 33a, 33b located on the downstream side in the conveying direction X of the cleaning rollers 30, 30 A sensor 34 is provided. The defect detection sensor 34 is, for example, a laser-type light that includes a light irradiation unit 34 a that irradiates a target with laser light and a detection unit 34 b that detects light reflected from the light irradiation unit 34 a and reflected by the target. By detecting light emitted from the light irradiation unit 34a to the surface of the card by the detection unit 34b, for example, whether there is a scratch on the surface of the card or defective printing applied to the card surface, It is possible to detect whether or not the sandwiched IC chip or the like can function normally. Note that the configuration of the defect detection sensor 34 is not limited to that illustrated here, and other types of sensors can be used as the defect detection sensor 34.

  In general, cards are often transported with some warping, so it was difficult to obtain accurate results even if precise inspection was performed to detect card surface defects. . For this reason, conventionally, inspections requiring high accuracy are not performed in the process of transporting and stacking cards, but are performed using a separate inspection device. However, the use of a separate device for the inspection reduces the work efficiency, and if the inspection is performed before being transported to the card stacking apparatus 1, scratches or IC chip defects that occur during the transport are removed. It cannot be detected. On the other hand, as described above, since the card is transported with its easily damaged surface facing upward, it is desirable that a belt, a roller or the like is not brought into contact with the upper surface of the card as much as possible.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, an inspection for detecting a defective card is performed at a place where the card pressing belts 33a and 33b are provided. Therefore, the card warp is corrected by the card presser belts 33a and 33b, and the inspection can be performed in a smooth state. Further, since the card presser belts 33a and 33b provided for preventing the card conveyance abnormality at the time of cleaning are used as a mechanism for correcting the card warp, it is necessary to separately provide a member for correcting the card warp. There is no. This minimizes the contact of the belt or the like with the upper surface of the card to prevent the card surface from being damaged, and obtains a more accurate and accurate test result without complicating the device configuration. be able to.

  A third transport belt 4c is disposed downstream of the second transport belt 4b in the transport direction X, and further, a card to be transported is disposed downstream of the third transport belt 4c in the transport direction X. A card stacking and filling unit 6 that performs a stacking and filling process of stacking and filling the stacking container 3 is provided.

  At one end of the card stacking / filling unit 6 and adjacent to the third transport belt 4c, a stacking / filling mechanism 35 that stacks the cards and fills the stacking container 3 is provided. The accumulation and filling mechanism 35 includes a rotary table 37 supported by a rotary shaft 36. On the rotary table 37, two card support frames 38a and 38b for collecting the cards that have been conveyed are provided so as to be positioned diagonally along the conveyance path through which the cards are conveyed with the rotation shaft 36 in between. It has been. The rotary table 37 is rotatable about a rotary shaft 36 by a table drive source 39, and each of the card support frames 38a and 38b is a position where one of the cards transported is stacked on the card support frames 38a and 38b ( Hereinafter, when the card is in the “stacking position”), the other is positioned at a position (hereinafter referred to as “filling position”) in which the cards stacked in the card support frames 38a and 38b are filled into the stacking container 3. It has become.

  The third conveyor belt 4c that feeds the cards to the card support frames 38a and 38b located at the stacking position conveys the card at a conveyance speed faster than the conveyance speed of the first conveyance belt 4a and the second conveyance belt 4b. The card is fed to the card support frames 38a and 38b while being accelerated by the third conveyor belt 4c.

  When the speed of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c is high, the frictional resistance between the card and the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c when moving the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c increases, and the card surface is damaged. It becomes easy to stick. Further, from the viewpoint of ensuring a sufficient card inspection time by the inspection mechanism 8, it is preferable that the speed of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, 4c is low. However, when the card is sent out into the card support frames 38a and 38b of the stacking and filling mechanism 35, when the card pops out from the transport belts 4a, 4b and 4c, the card reaches the card support frames 38a and 38b. The card will fall with the tip of the card facing down. If the card falls in such a state, the card may become vertical in the card support frames 38a and 38b, which causes a stacking abnormality.

  In this case, in the present embodiment, the card is accelerated by providing the third transport belt 4c having a high transport speed on the upstream side in the transport direction X of the stacking and filling mechanism 35. As a result, the card is sent out to the card support frames 38a and 38b in an accelerated state, so that when the card reaches the card support frames 38a and 38b, the card does not become vertical and a smooth stacking operation is performed. Can be done.

  Elevator mechanisms 40a and 40b are respectively provided below the rotary table 37 and at positions corresponding to the installation positions of the card support frames 38a and 38b. The elevator mechanisms 40a and 40b include bases 41a and 41b that support cards stacked on the card support frames 38a and 38b from the bottom surface and rods 42a and 42b that support the bases 41a and 41b from below and move up and down. Yes. A communication hole (not shown) is formed at a position corresponding to each of the card support frames 38a and 38b of the turntable 37 so as to be larger than the surface area of the bases 41a and 41b and smaller than the surface area of the card and communicate with the elevator mechanisms 40a and 40b. Z). The bases 41a and 41b are communicated with the card support frames 38a and 38b through the communication holes by a linear motor (not shown) or the like, for example.

  Further, the card support frames 38a and 38b and the elevator mechanism 40a are provided with a position detection sensor 43 (see FIG. 5) that constitutes detection means for performing an accumulation detection process and detects the position of the base 41a of the elevator mechanism 40a. ing. The position detection sensor 43 is, for example, an encoder scale (not shown) disposed in the card support frames 38a and 38b along the moving direction of the base 41a and one side of the base 41a. And a reading unit (not shown) disposed at a position corresponding to the position of the base 41a. The reading unit reads the encoder scale to detect the position of the base 41a. In addition, the structure of the position detection sensor 43 is not limited to what was illustrated here, You may make it detect the position of the base 41a by another structure.

  Each of the card support frames 38a and 38b is a frame in which the horizontal cross section in FIG. 1 is formed slightly larger than the surface of the card, and the wall surfaces of the card support frames 38a and 38b are shown in FIGS. Notches 44, 44... Are formed in the vertical direction. Further, at the upper ends of the card support frames 38a, 38b, positioning convex portions 45, 45... Serving as a reference for aligning the positions of the card support frames 38a, 38b and the stacking container 3 are formed when the stacking container 3 is filled with cards. Has been. The upper ends of the card support frames 38a and 38b are positioned slightly lower than the third transport belt 4c when the card support frames 38a and 38b are positioned to face the third transport belt 4c. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, when the card support frames 38a and 38b are at positions corresponding to the third transport belt 4c, the third support belt 4c accelerates to a position above the card support frames 38a and 38b. An abutting member 46 that abuts the card sent in the transport direction X is provided. The card is accelerated by the third conveying belt 4c, sent out in the conveying direction X while maintaining the horizontal state, and then falls into the card support frames 38a and 38b by abutting against the abutting member 46.

  A support frame shutter plate 47 is provided at the lower end of the abutting member 46. The support frame shutter plate 47 is slidable in the horizontal direction shown in FIG. 2 along a groove (not shown) by a support frame shutter opening / closing mechanism 48 (see FIG. 5), whereby the support frame shutter plate 47 supports the card. The card is moved from a position where the upper surfaces of the frames 38a, 38b are blocked to a position where the card is not prevented from falling on the card support frames 38a, 38b. The support frame shutter plate 47 and the mechanism for opening and closing the support frame shutter plate 47 are not limited to those shown here. For example, the support frame shutter plate 47 is large enough to cover approximately half of the upper surface of the card support frames 38a and 38b on the left and right sides of the lower end of the abutting member 46, respectively. The shutter plate is formed on the upper surface of the card support frames 38a and 38b by rotating the shutter plate in the horizontal direction with the rotation shaft as a fulcrum. Two shutter plates may overlap in the vicinity of the center to prevent the card from falling.

  A reversal prevention plate 49 for preventing the reversal of the card sent from the third transport belt 4c is provided above the abutting member 46 and slightly higher than the transport surface of the third transport belt 4c. . After the card hits the abutting member 46, if the card soars upward, the card may be reversed until the card falls into the card support frames 38a and 38b, so that the front and back are reversed. In this case, by providing the inversion prevention plate 49, it is possible to prevent the card from rising upward.

  That is, since there is nothing that restricts the movement of the card until it falls into the card support frames 38a and 38b of the stacking and filling mechanism 35 after being fed out from the third transport belt 4c, the card may be reversed halfway. There is. If some cards are reversed, the cards are mixed together when they are finally stacked to form a card bundle, and the quality of the card as a product deteriorates. Therefore, conventionally, the card is prevented from being reversed by dropping the card from a position lower than the height at which the card can be reversed to reduce the drop distance. However, if the weight of the card is light, the surface area is large compared to the weight of the card, or the card pops out at a high speed, the card may rise upwards. It cannot be prevented. For this reason, in order to surely align the front and back of the cards, an image camera or the like that captures the cards conveyed to the stacking and filling mechanism 35 is installed to monitor whether the cards are reversed or the like. However, the provision of an image camera or the like for monitoring the card inversion has a problem in that the size of the device is increased and the cost of the device is increased.

  In this case, in this embodiment, it is possible to reliably prevent the card from being reversed by providing the anti-inversion plate 49 at a position higher than the conveyance surface of the third conveyance belt 4c. Thus, the front and back of the cards can be surely aligned with a simple configuration, and it is not necessary to provide a monitoring image camera or the like. Therefore, the apparatus can be reduced in size and the apparatus cost can be reduced.

  Further, a detecting means is configured in the vicinity of the upper ends of the card support frames 38a and 38b and corresponding to the notches 44, 44... To detect the card falling on the card support frames 38a and 38b. An accumulation detection sensor 50 for detecting the upper end of the card located at the uppermost end of the cards accumulated in the card support frames 38a and 38b is provided.

  The integrated detection sensor 50 is, for example, an optical sensor including a light emitter 50a that includes a light emitting element that emits light such as infrared light, and a light receiver 50b that includes a light receiving element that senses light emitted from the light emitter 50a. A light emitter 50a is provided outside the cutout portion 44 on one side wall of the card support frames 38a and 38b, and a light receiver 50b is provided outside the cutout portion 44 on the other side wall to receive the light emitting surface (not shown) of the light emitter 50a. The light receiving surfaces (not shown) of the container 50b are provided so as to face each other. The light receiver 50b is adapted to receive the light emitted from the light emitter 50a, but the light emitted from the light emitter 50a when the card falls into the card support frames 38a and 38b into the card support frames 38a and 38b. Is blocked by the card and detects that the card has been dropped. If the stacked height of the stacked cards is higher than the position where the light emitter 50a and the light receiver 50b are provided, the light emitted from the light emitter 50a is blocked by the card and is not received by the light receiver 50b. . Thereby, it is detected that the cards are stacked above a predetermined position. Note that the configuration of the accumulation detection sensor 50 is not limited to the one exemplified here, and the number of cards accumulated by another configuration and the upper end of the cards may be detected.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the card support frames 38a and 38b have positions corresponding to the notches 44, 44... On the side surfaces in the width direction and the length direction of the card. , Pressing mechanisms 51a and 51b are provided for aligning the side edges of the cards stacked in the card support frames 38a and 38b. The pressing mechanisms 51a and 51b are configured by pressing plates 52a and 52b that press the card from the side and rods 53a and 53b that support the pressing plates 52a and 52b. For example, the rods 53a and 53b are driven by a cylinder or the like. Thus, the pressing plates 52a and 52b are moved back and forth. By pressing the card from two different directions, the pressing mechanisms 51a and 51b align the side end portions of the card in both the width direction and the length direction of the card.

  The cards accumulated in the card support frames 38a and 38b are filled in the accumulation container 3, but if the side edges of the cards accumulated in the card support frames 38a and 38b are not aligned, the cards are collected in the accumulation container. When the card 3 is filled, the side end portion of the card abuts against the inner wall of the collecting container 3 and becomes a resistance, so that the filling operation cannot be performed smoothly. Therefore, it is necessary to align the side edges of the cards before filling the collection container 3. However, when a large number of cards are stacked, the stacked ones below are under pressure due to the weight of the cards, and it is necessary to use a large mechanism to move them. Also, if you try to force the cards to move and align under such a large pressure, the cards will rub against each other, resulting in scratches on the card surface or deformation of the card due to the application of a large force. It can also cause quality problems.

  In this case, in this embodiment, in the process of stacking the cards, the pressing mechanism 51a, 51b performs the pressing operation each time a small amount of cards such as 10 to 30 is stacked, so that the card can be stored without using a large mechanism. The side edges can be aligned. This makes it possible to realize a smooth filling operation that does not impair the quality of the card while keeping the device cost low.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a container holding arm 54 for holding the stacking container 3 for stacking cards is provided above the rotary table 37 of the stacking and filling mechanism 35 and at a position corresponding to the filling position. The container holding arm 54 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 55, and can be rotated with the support shaft 55 as a fulcrum by an arm drive source 56 (see FIG. 5). Further, the empty collection container 3 is sequentially transported to the container holding arm 54 by, for example, a container transport mechanism (not shown).

  The accumulation container 3 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape with a material such as resin, and can be filled with a predetermined set number of cards. An opening 58 for filling the card is provided at one end of the accumulation container 3, and a flange 59 is formed at the periphery of the opening 58. The stacking container 3 has a horizontal cross section in FIG. 1 that is slightly larger than the surface area of the card. When the card is filled, there is almost no gap between the card and the inner wall of the stacking container 3. It is like that.

  In addition, a pair of holding members 60a and 60b that sandwich the flange 59 of the stacking container 3 are provided at the tip of the container holding arm 54. The stacking container 3 has the opening 58 downward by the holding members 60a and 60b. To be held. The holding members 60 a and 60 b can be moved from a position where the accumulation container 3 is sandwiched to a position where the accumulation container 3 is not contacted by a holding member moving mechanism 57 including a cylinder or the like. Note that the mechanism for holding the accumulation container 3 is not limited to the mechanism shown here. For example, another mechanism may be used, such as providing a claw that can move forward and backward and holding the accumulation container 3 at the tip of the claw. Also good.

  Positioning projections 45, 45 are located on one surface of the container holding arm 54 and at positions corresponding to the positioning projections 45, 45 ... of the card support frames 38a, 38b when the card support frames 38a, 38b are in the filling position. .. Are formed to align the positions of the card support frames 38a, 38b and the stacking container 3 with each other. The positioning convex portions 45, 45... Are fitted with the positioning concave portions 61, 61... So that the stacking container 3 can be accurately positioned above the card support frames 38a, 38b.

  When the inner size of the accumulation container 3 is large, the card can be smoothly filled into the accumulation container 3 even if the positions of the card support frames 38a and 38b and the accumulation container 3 are slightly shifted. However, if the inner size of the stacking container 3 is large, the space in which the cards can move is increased inside the stacking container 3, so that the cards may be rubbed due to vibrations such as when the stacking container 3 is transported after filling the cards. There is a problem that quality deteriorates. Therefore, it is desirable that the inner dimensions of the accumulation container 3 be as close as possible to the card dimensions. However, if the inner dimension of the collecting container 3 is reduced, it becomes difficult to smoothly fill the card due to the side edge of the card being caught by the opening of the collecting container 3 when the collecting container 3 is filled with the card. There is a problem that decreases.

  Therefore, it is conceivable that the accumulation container 3 determines an appropriate position corresponding to the card support frames 38a and 38b in advance and conveys the accumulation container 3 to the proper position by the container conveyance mechanism. In this case, it is necessary to accurately position the stacking container 3 with respect to the card support frames 38a and 38b and set the transport position. However, the accumulation container 3 is often made by resin molding, and the dimensions of such a molded product may change depending on the weather conditions at the time of molding. In addition, when there are a plurality of molds for molding the accumulation container 3, individual differences due to the molds also occur. For this reason, even if the positioning is accurately performed in one stacking container 3, the position of another stacking container 3 may not be matched.

  In this case, as in this embodiment, if the positioning protrusions 45, 45... Of the card support frames 38a, 38b and the positioning recesses 61, 61. When the accumulation container 3 is transported by the container transport mechanism, it is sufficient to align the approximate position, so that accurate positioning can be performed easily and quickly.

  The container holding arm 54 is provided with a vibration generator 62 for applying vibration to the accumulation container 3 held by the holding members 60a and 60b. For example, the vibration generator 62 has a motor shaft (not shown) mounted at a position slightly deviated from the center point of the disk, and the disk and the motor are housed in a housing. The motor rotates. As a result, the disk rotates eccentrically to generate vibration. The vibration generator 62 is fixed to the holding members 60a and 60b of the container holding arm 54 via a vibration isolating mechanism 63 that absorbs vibration, and one end of the vibration generator 62 is held by the holding members 60a and 60b. It contacts the accumulation container 3. The mechanism for generating the vibration of the vibration generator 62 is not limited to the one shown here. Further, the position where the vibration generator 62 is fixed is not limited to the holding members 60 a and 60 b, but may be any position on the container holding arm 54 where one end thereof can contact the accumulation container 3.

  Some cards have partial variations in surface thickness, and in the case of a card incorporating an IC chip or the like, the portion incorporating the IC chip is raised more than other parts. Yes. When a large number of such cards are stacked, the uppermost end of the stacked cards may be inclined without being horizontal. In such a case, even if an attempt is made to fill the collecting container 3 straightly, there is a possibility that the card slips and collapses in the middle. If the card begins to collapse during filling into the accumulation container 3, the end of the card comes into contact with the inner wall of the accumulation container 3, and the card may not be filled smoothly due to frictional resistance. Further, if the card is forcibly filled in such a state, the end of the card may rub against the inner wall of the stacking container 3 to cause damage or distortion of the card, thereby deteriorating the card quality.

  In this case, in this embodiment, even when the end of the card contacts the inner wall of the stacking container 3 by applying vibration to the stacking container 3 when the stacking container 3 is filled with the card by the vibration generator 62. The card is played from the inner wall by vibration. For this reason, even when the card starts to collapse during the stacking, the card is not filled while rubbing the inner wall, and it is possible to prevent the card quality from being deteriorated due to friction. In the present embodiment, since the vibration generating device 62 is fixed to the holding members 60a and 60b via the vibration isolating mechanism 63, the container holding arm 54 itself vibrates due to the vibration generated by the vibration generating device 62. There is no. For this reason, it is possible to vibrate only the collecting container 3 without hindering the positioning of the collecting container 3.

  An arm shutter plate 64 is provided at one end of the holding members 60a and 60b. The arm shutter plate 64 can be reciprocated in the horizontal direction shown in FIG. 3 by an arm shutter opening / closing mechanism 65 (see FIG. 5), and the arm shutter plate 64 is held by the holding members 60a and 60b. It is possible to move from a position that does not cover the opening 58 to a position that closes the opening 58. The arm shutter plate 64 and the arm shutter opening / closing mechanism 65 for opening and closing the arm shutter plate 64 are not limited to those shown here. For example, approximately half of the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3 is provided at one end of each holding member 60a, 60b. An opening 58 of the stacking container 3 is provided by providing a shutter plate that is sized to cover, providing a rotation shaft that rotatably supports each shutter plate, and rotating each shutter plate in the horizontal direction with the rotation shaft as a fulcrum. Two shutter plates may overlap in the vicinity of the center of the card to prevent the card from falling.

  In addition, on the moving path of the card support frames 38a and 38b that move from the stacking position to the filling position, a weight mounting mechanism 66 that mounts a weight 81 on the cards stacked in the card support frames 38a and 38b. (See FIG. 5). The weight mounting mechanism 66 is, for example, an arm-shaped mechanism that holds a plurality of weights 81. When the card support frames 38a and 38b are sent in a state where the cards are stacked, the weight support mechanisms 66a and 38b are stacked on the card support frames 38a and 38b. One weight 81 is placed on the card. The weight 81 placed on the accumulated card is located at the bottom of the accumulation container 3 when the card is filled in the accumulation container 3. As described above, when the weight 81 is arranged at the bottom of the collection container 3, the card can be naturally dropped by using the weight of the weight 81 by setting the collection container 3 so that the opening is on the bottom. . This makes it possible to easily and smoothly take out the card filled in the long stacking container 3 up to the last one, which is convenient for users who purchase and use the stacking container 3 to process and issue cards. It is.

  When the container holding arm 54 rotates around the support shaft 55 as a fulcrum, a seal that seals the accumulation container 3 filled with the card at a position corresponding to the accumulation container 3 held by the holding members 60a and 60b. A sealing mechanism 67 for performing the process is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, the sealing mechanism 67 includes a container conveyance belt 68 that conveys the accumulation container 3 in a predetermined conveyance direction X while holding the accumulation container 3. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the container transport belt 68 is arranged in parallel so that the two belts are slightly larger than the outer diameter of the stacking container 3 and smaller than the diameter of the flange 59 of the stacking container 3. The flange 59 of the accumulation container 3 received from the holding members 60a and 60b is supported between the two belts. The container transport belt 68 is driven by a transport belt drive source 82 (see FIG. 5), and transports the accumulation container 3 to a predetermined sealing position where the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3 is sealed. It has become.

  A seal supply roller on which a sealing material formed in a long sheet shape is wound in the vicinity of a sealing position on the transport path of the container transport belt 68 and sealing the opening 58 of the stacking container 3 69 is provided. Further, on the downstream side of the seal supply roller 69 in the seal material supply direction, a conveyance roller 70 for guiding the seal material fed from the seal supply roller 69 to the sealing position is provided. The seal supply roller 69 and the transport roller 70 are rotatably driven by a roller drive source 71, and a position where the seal material faces the opening 58 of the stacking container 3 when the stacking container 3 is transported to the sealing position. To supply up to.

  Further, on the downstream side in the transport direction X from the transport roller 70 and before the position facing the stacking container 3, the sealing material is sealed along the flange 59 of the stacking container 3 after the stacking of the stacking container 3. A cutter 72 for cutting from a long sheet is provided. The cutter 72 is a shearing cutter in which, for example, an upper blade and a lower blade are arranged so as to sandwich the sealing material from both sides, and the sealing material can be cut by the upper blade being lowered and the lower blade being raised by the cutter driving mechanism 82. It has become. The structure of the cutter 72 is not limited to this. For example, a disk-shaped rotary cutter provided with a fixed blade fixed on one side of the sealing material and movable on the other side of the sealing material by a drive mechanism is provided. You may make it prepare.

  Above the sealing position, a heating head 74 having a heater 73 (see FIG. 5) inside and heating the sealing material is provided. The heating head 74 can be moved up and down by a head drive source 75 (see FIG. 5), and when the accumulation container 3 is sealed with a sealing material, the heating head 74 is lowered to a position in contact with the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3. It has become. The sealing material is formed of, for example, a thermoplastic resin sheet or the like, melted by being heated by the heating head 74, and fused to the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3 so as to seal the opening 58. It has become.

  Next, the control configuration of the card stacking apparatus 1 in the present embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the card stacking apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 77 that includes a storage unit 76 and controls each unit of the apparatus. The card stacking apparatus 1 also has an input unit 78 that allows the user to set and input the card type, size, required inspection items, the number of cards to be stacked in the stacking container 3, and the like. Information input from 78 is sent to the control unit 77. The input unit 78 is, for example, a keyboard or an operation panel, and the user can easily select a card type or the like by operating the keys or the panel.

  The controller 77 controls the belt drive source 9 of the transport mechanism to transport the first transport belt 4a, the second transport belt 4b, and the third transport belt 4c in a predetermined transport direction X, respectively. . The control unit 77 is configured to convey the third conveyance belt 4c located in the immediate vicinity of the stacking and filling mechanism 35 among the conveyance belts 4a, 4b, and 4c at a conveyance speed faster than the others. After the cards are sufficiently accelerated by the three conveying belts 4c, the cards are sent out to the stacking and filling mechanism 35. Further, the control unit 77 is configured to convey the conveyance belts 4a and 4b other than the third conveyance belt 4c at substantially the same speed, and when the card moves the respective conveyance belts 4a and 4b, the speed difference is caused. It is designed not to be hurt.

  Further, the control unit 77 controls the container moving mechanism 10 of the card supply unit 5 to move the card supply container 2 containing the card manufactured by the card manufacturing apparatus to the card supply unit 5. When supplying the card to the card supply hopper 13, the controller 77 controls the container moving mechanism 10 so that the card supply container 2 covers the card supply hopper 13 from above the card supply hopper 13. It is designed to be lowered. In addition, the control unit 77 controls the movable protrusions 12a and 12b of the card supply container 2, thereby causing the movable protrusions 12a and 12b to protrude while the card is being conveyed so that the card in the card supply container 2 is movable. When the card is supplied to the card supply hopper 13, the movable projections 12 a and 12 b are moved backward to a position that does not reach the edge of the card.

  Further, the controller 77 is sent with a detection result as to whether or not the light receiver 17b of the remaining amount detection sensor 17 provided in the card supply hopper 13 has received the light emitted from the light emitter 17a. Thus, the control unit 77 determines whether or not the remaining amount of the card in the card supply hopper 13 is equal to or less than a predetermined amount from the detection result sent from the remaining amount detection sensor 17.

  Further, when the detection unit 18b detects light emitted from the light irradiation unit 18a of the distance detection sensor 18 provided in the opening 11 of the card supply container 2, a signal to that effect is sent to the control unit 77. When this signal is received, the control unit 77 determines that the distance between the opening 11 of the card supply container 2 and the upper surface of the card located at the top of the cards remaining in the card supply hopper 13 is predetermined. Thus, the lowering operation of the card supply container 2 is stopped, and the movable protrusions 12a and 12b are operated to supply the card to the card supply hopper 13.

  The control unit 77 controls the push-out mechanism 20 to move the pressing member 22 forward and backward. When the card is placed on the temporary card placement table 19, the card is conveyed by the pressing member 22. Extrude in direction X.

  Further, the control unit 77 controls the card take-out mechanism 23 to rotate the support shaft 25 in a predetermined direction, and operates the suction mechanism to move the cards positioned at the lower end of the card supply hopper 13 one by one. Adsorb to 27b. Further, by rotating the support shaft 25 by 180 degrees in a predetermined direction, the card is taken out from the lower surface opening 15 of the card supply hopper 13, and the front and back of the card are reversed and placed on the temporary card placement table 19. It has become. At this time, if the control unit 77 determines from the detection result sent from the remaining amount detection sensor 17 of the card supply hopper 13 that the remaining amount of card in the card supply hopper 13 is less than a predetermined amount, the card removal mechanism 23 is controlled to slow down the rotational speed of the support shaft 25.

  When the card is sucked and taken out from the card supply hopper 13, the card is pressed upward by the suction members 27a and 27b. If the remaining amount of the card in the card supply hopper 13 is large, the card is stacked on top. The card is pressed by the card being pressed and the upward pressing is suppressed. However, when the remaining amount of the card in the card supply hopper 13 decreases, the card is pushed up when it is pressed upward by the suction members 27a and 27b, and the card becomes vertical or diagonally in the card supply hopper 13. May be. Such disturbance of the card due to the pressing of the suction members 27a and 27b is particularly noticeable when the card suction / removal operation is performed at high speed, and the card is sucked even if the suction members 27a and 27b approach the lower opening 15. There is a risk of poor card adsorption that cannot be performed.

  In order to prevent such suction failure, it is necessary to slow down the suction operation and relieve the force of pressing the card. However, if the suction operation is slowed, the speed at which the card is taken out also slows down, and there is a problem that work efficiency is lowered.

  In this case, in this embodiment, the suction operation is delayed only when the remaining amount of the card in the card supply hopper 13 becomes a predetermined amount or less. For this reason, even when the remaining amount of the card in the card supply hopper 13 is reduced, it is possible to continuously perform the card removal operation without waiting for the card supply hopper 13 to supply the card.

  Further, the control unit 77 controls the roller driving source 31 so as to rotate the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 so as to feed the card at substantially the same speed in the same conveying direction X as the first conveying belt 4a and the second conveying belt 4b. It has become. Further, the control unit 77 is configured to convey the card presser belts 33a and 33b by the presser belt drive source 29 at substantially the same speed in the same transport direction X as the first transport belt 4a and the second transport belt 4b.

  Furthermore, the result detected by the defect detection sensor 34 is sent to the controller 77, and the presence or absence of scratches on the card surface or the quality of printing applied to the card surface from the sent detection result, It is determined whether or not the IC chip or the like sandwiched in the card is in a state where it can function normally. Note that, as a result of the inspection, a card that is found to be defective is then sorted by a sorting mechanism (not shown) and removed from the transport path. In addition, you may make it attach a seal | sticker, a paint, etc. about the card | curd made into bad. By doing so, the distinction between a defective card and a non-defective product is clarified, and it is possible to prevent a defective card from being erroneously mixed in the non-defective product during the transport process.

  Further, the control unit 77 controls the table driving source 39 to rotate the rotary table 37 of the stacking and filling mechanism 35 by 180 degrees as appropriate so that the card support frames 38a and 38b provided on the rotary table 37 are moved from the stacking position. It is moved alternately to the filling position.

  Further, the control unit 77 controls the elevator mechanisms 40a and 40b so that the bases 41a and 41b supported by the rods are moved up and down from the vicinity of the upper ends of the card support frames 38a and 38b to the lower ends of the card support frames 38a and 38b. It has become.

  In the control unit 77, the position information of the base 41a of the elevator mechanism 40a detected by the position detection sensor 43 and the upper end position information of the cards stacked on the card support frames 38a and 38b detected by the stacking detection sensor 50 are displayed. The control unit 77 lowers the position of the base 41a of the elevator mechanism 40a by an amount corresponding to the rise of the upper end of the card so that the accumulation detection sensor 50 can always detect the upper end of the card. It is like that.

  Further, the number of cards dropped into the card support frames 38 a and 38 b is detected by the accumulation detection sensor 50, and the detection result is sent to the control unit 77. For example, the thickness of one card is stored in advance in the storage unit 76 of the control unit 77 for each type of card, and the control unit 77 determines the card thickness and the card corresponding to the type of card being accumulated. A stacked height prediction step is performed in which a product with the number of cards is calculated to calculate an estimated stacked height of the cards for each fixed number of cards. Then, if the position of the base 41a when a certain number of cards are stacked is lower than the stacking height of the cards corresponding to the certain number of cards, a predetermined set number of cards are placed in the card support frames 38a and 38b. When stacked, the cards overflow from the card support frames 38a and 38b. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 77 determines that a set number of cards cannot be stacked on the card support frames 38a and 38b, and stops stacking the cards.

  That is, for example, the control unit 77 accumulates an expected amount according to the position of the base 41a and the type of the card at each time point when 100 cards are accumulated in the card support frames 38a and 38b and when 200 cards are accumulated. Contrast with height. As a result of the comparison, if the position of the base 41a at each stage is within a predetermined range corresponding to the estimated stacking height, the control unit 77 continues the card stacking operation until it reaches the predetermined set number as it is. It is like that. For example, when 400 cards each having a thickness of 0.5 mm are stacked on the card support frames 38a and 38b, the original stacked height when stacking 400 cards, which is the set number, is 20 cm. . On the other hand, when the stacking height at the time of stacking 100 sheets is 5 cm, it is expected that the stacking height will be 20 cm when stacking 400 sheets as it is. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 77 continues the card stacking operation until the predetermined set number is reached.

  On the other hand, if the position of the base 41a at each stage is below a predetermined range corresponding to the estimated stacking height, if the stacking operation is continued, the card supports the card before stacking the specified stack number. It can be expected that the frames 38a and 38b overflow. Accordingly, the control unit 77 determines to stop the card stacking operation on the card support frames 38a and 38b when the position of the base 41a falls below a predetermined range corresponding to the estimated stacked height. It has become. For example, in the case of stacking in the stacking container 3 that can stack 400 cards, when the stacking detection sensor 50 detects that 100 cards have been stacked, the control unit 77, for example, The original stacking height when stacking 400 cards as the set number is 20 cm. On the other hand, if the stacking height is 6 cm when 100 sheets are stacked, it is expected that the stacking height will be 24 cm when 400 sheets are stacked as it is. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 77 stops the card stacking operation.

  The control unit 77 may determine that the set number of cards cannot always be stacked when the base 41a is lowered by the product of the thickness of one card and the number of stacked cards, When there is a space in the stacking container 3 when a set number of cards are stacked, even if the base 41a is lowered by more than the product of the thickness of one card and the number of stacked cards, this space is taken into consideration. The stacking operation may be continued, and the position of the base 41a may be further detected when 200 cards are stacked. Then, when it is determined that the card eventually overflows from the card support frames 38a and 38b even if the allowance is taken into account, the control unit 77 stops the subsequent card stacking in the stacking container 3. It may be. Even when there is no room in the stacking container 3, the positions of the bases 41a and 41b are detected at the two points of time when 100 cards are stacked and when 200 cards are stacked. It may be determined whether or not the frames 38a and 38b overflow. At the time when 100 cards are stacked, for example, when cards with warpage are stacked, even if the base 41a is lowered more than the product of the thickness of one card and the number of stacked cards, there is no subsequent warping. When a set number of cards are finally stacked by stacking the cards, the cards may fall within a range that does not overflow from the stacking container 3. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine whether or not a set number of cards can be stacked by detecting the position of the base 41a at a plurality of times.

  When the card is manufactured by bonding resin plates, the card may be warped on one surface due to a difference in physical properties between the front surface and the back surface. When such cards are stacked, depending on the degree of warping of the cards, the stacked height is higher than when cards with no warping are stacked. That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, when only cards with no warpage are stacked (FIG. 6A), when cards with warpage in the same direction are stacked (FIG. 6B). )) Or, in the case of stacking cards whose warping directions are not aligned (FIG. 6C), the stacking height is higher in the case of cards that are warping. Further, even when warping occurs, the stacked height varies depending on whether the directions of warping are aligned.

  As described above, depending on the state of the card, the height of the stacked cards may exceed the original height, so that a predetermined set number of cards may not be stacked in the container. In this case, when trying to stack a predetermined number of cards on the card support frames 38a and 38b uniformly, the cards cannot be stacked in the card support frames 38a and 38b, and the cards overflow from the container in the middle and the cards are scattered. Or a jam occurs in the card stacking apparatus 1. As a result, there is a problem that if the accumulation operation is interrupted, the working efficiency is lowered.

  In this case, when the stacking height of the cards is detected by appropriately detecting the position of the base 41a during the stacking of the cards, and it is determined that the set number of cards cannot be stacked in the card support frames 38a and 38b. By promptly stopping the card stacking operation on the card support frames 38a and 38b, it is possible to prevent the card from overflowing from the card support frames 38a and 38b in advance.

  Further, the control unit 77 operates the support frame shutter opening / closing mechanism 48 to prevent the card from dropping onto the card support frames 38a, 38b from the position where the support frame shutter plate 47 is closed from the upper surface of the card support frames 38a, 38b. It is designed to move to a position that does not exist. The control unit 77 supports when a set number of cards are stacked on the card support frames 38a and 38b, or when the control unit 77 determines to stop stacking cards on the card support frames 38a and 38b. The frame shutter plate 47 is moved to a position that closes the upper surfaces of the card support frames 38a and 38b.

  Further, the control unit 77 controls the pressing mechanisms 51a and 51b to move the pressing plates 52a and 52b supported by the rods 53a and 53b back and forth so that the side edges of the cards integrated in the card support frames 38a and 38b. The parts are arranged. As described above, when a large number of cards are stacked, the lower one of the stacked cards is pressured by the weight of the card and requires a large force to move. In the process of stacking cards, the pressing mechanism 51a, 51b performs a pressing operation each time a small number of cards, such as 10-30, are stacked. Note that the number of times the pressing plates 52a and 52b are moved may be one or more times, and the number of times of pressing, the strength of pressing, and the like may be appropriately changed depending on the type of card.

  Further, the control unit 77 controls the arm drive source 56 to rotate the container holding arm 54 with the support shaft 55 as a fulcrum. Further, the control unit 77 controls the holding member moving mechanism 57 to move the holding members 60 a and 60 b from a position where the accumulation container 3 is sandwiched to a retreat position where the accumulation container 3 is not contacted.

  Further, the control unit 77 operates the vibration generator 62 provided on the container holding arm 54 to generate vibration, and applies vibration to the accumulation container 3 that is in contact with the vibration generator 62.

  In addition, the control unit 77 controls the arm shutter opening / closing mechanism 65 so that the arm shutter plate 64 provided at one end of the holding members 60a and 60b is blocked from the position where the opening 58 of the stacking container 3 is not covered. It is supposed to move up to.

  Further, the control unit 77 operates the weight loading mechanism 66 so that a set number of cards are accumulated in the card support frames 38a and 38b, and then one weight 81 is placed on the card located at the upper end. It is supposed to be placed. Note that the control unit 77 determines that a set number of cards cannot be stacked in the card support frames 38a and 38b, and the card support frames 38a and 38b that have stopped the subsequent stacking operation are counted without being counted. At that time, the control unit 77 controls the weight mounting mechanism 66 so that the weight 81 is not mounted.

  In addition, the control unit 77 controls the transport belt drive source 82 to transport the container transport belt 68 that transports the accumulation container 3 in a predetermined transport direction X.

  Further, the control unit 77 operates the roller drive source 71 to rotate the seal supply roller 69 and the transport roller 70 so that when the accumulation container 3 is transported to the sealing position, a predetermined amount of the seal material is supplied. It is conveyed to a position facing the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3. In addition, the control unit 77 operates the heater 73 to heat the heating head 74, and the accumulation container 3 is conveyed to a predetermined sealing position and the sealing material is conveyed to a position covering the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3. The heating head 74 is lowered to a position in contact with the opening of the accumulation container 3 by the head driving source 75, and the heating head 74 is pressed against the opening of the accumulation container 3 so that the sealing material is fused. It has become.

  Furthermore, when the opening 58 of the collection container 3 is sealed, the control unit 77 operates the cutter 72 to cut the sealing material along the flange 59 of the collection container 3. Yes.

  Note that the control unit 77 causes the container transport belt 68 to transport the stacking container 3 in which the set number of cards are not stored and the weight 81 is not placed without sealing with a sealing material. ing.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  When the user sets the type, size, required inspection items, number of cards to be stacked in the stacking container 3 and the like and inputs from the input unit 78, the input information is sent to the control unit 77. The distance suitable for supplying the card from the card supply container 2 to the card supply hopper 13 and the number of cards finally accumulated in the accumulation container 3 are controlled from the thickness of the card according to the type of card. Set by the unit 77. Note that these settings may also be input from the input unit 78 by the user.

  When the start of the accumulation operation is instructed, the belt driving source 9 starts the conveyance of the first conveyance belt 4a, the second conveyance belt 4b, and the third conveyance belt 4c and is manufactured by the card manufacturing apparatus. The card supply container 2 containing the card is moved to the card supply unit 5 by the container moving mechanism 10.

  When the card supply container 2 reaches above the card supply hopper 13, light is irradiated from the light irradiation part 18a of the distance detection sensor 18 provided in the opening of the card supply container 2, and the card supply container 2 is connected to the card supply hopper. 13, the irradiated light descends to a position where it can be detected by the detector 18b. At that time, the remaining amount detection sensor 17 provided in the card supply hopper 13 detects the remaining amount of the card in the card supply hopper 13 as needed, and the number of cards supplied from the card supply container 2 is determined based on the detected result. . When the card supply container 2 is lowered to a predetermined position, the determined number of cards drop into the card supply hopper 13 by moving back to a position where the movable protrusions 12a and 12b do not reach the edge of the card.

  Cards in the card supply hopper 13 are sucked by the suction members 27a and 27b one by one from the card located at the lower end of the card supply hopper 13 by the control unit 77 operating the suction mechanism of the card removal mechanism 23. It is taken out. At this time, when the remaining amount of the card in the card supply hopper 13 is detected by the remaining amount detection sensor 17 of the card supply hopper 13 and it is determined from the detection result that the remaining amount of card is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, the control unit 77. Removes the card while slowing the rotational speed of the spindle of the card removal mechanism 23 to reduce the pressing force applied to the card.

  When the adsorbing members 27a and 27b adsorb the card, the card take-out mechanism 23 rotates by 180 degrees, so that the card is reversed while being adsorbed and held by the adsorbing members 27a and 27b. When the suction members 27a and 27b holding the card move to a position facing the temporary card placement table 19, the control unit 77 operates the suction mechanism to stop the suction operation. As a result, the adsorbing members 27a and 27b lose the adsorbing force and fall onto the temporary card placing table 19 with the card being easily scratched. When the card falls on the temporary card placement table 19, the card is pushed out in the transport direction X by the pressing member 22 and placed on the first transport belt 4a.

  The card is transported to the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 by the first transport belt 4a. The card is drawn between the cleaning rollers 30 and 30 while being held between the first conveying belt 4a and the card pressing belt 33a in front of the cleaning rollers 30 and 30, and dust and the like adhering to both surfaces of the card are removed. The leading end of the card that has passed the cleaning rollers 30 is drawn between the second transport belt 4b and the card presser belt 33b. When the card is drawn between the second conveyor belt 4b and the card presser belt 33b, the defect detection sensor 34 functions normally for printing defects or scratches on the surface of the card, and for IC chips sandwiched in the card. Various inspections such as whether or not it is possible are performed. If a defect is found as a result of the inspection, the card is then removed from the transport path.

  As a result of the inspection, the card in which no defect is found is conveyed as it is by the second conveying belt 4b and further sent to the third conveying belt 4c. The card is accelerated by the third conveyor belt 4c and sent to the card support frame 38a. The card sent to the card support frame 38a hits the abutting member 46, is further regulated by the anti-inversion plate 49 so as not to rise upward, and falls into the card support frame 38a as it is.

  The base 41a of the elevator mechanism 40a has risen to the vicinity of the upper end of the card support frame 38a, and the card that has fallen into the card support frame 38a lands on the base 41a. When the card falls on the card support frame 38a, it is detected by the accumulation detection sensor 50, and the detection result is sent to the control unit 77. The control unit 77 determines the number of cards accumulated in the card support frame 38a from the sent information. Count. Further, when the card located at the upper end of the card support frame 38a is detected by the stacking detection sensor 50, and the upper end of the card is above the position of the stacking detection sensor 50, the elevator mechanism 40a operates, whereby the stacking detection sensor 50 is The base 41a is lowered to a position where the upper end can be detected.

  When the number of cards stacked in the card support frame 38a reaches 100, the control unit 77 determines whether or not the position of the base 41a detected by the position detection sensor 43 is within a predetermined range. . If the position of the base 41a is within a predetermined range, the card stacking operation is continued until the specified number of stacks is reached. On the other hand, if the position of the base 41a is below the predetermined range, if the stacking operation is continued as it is, it can be predicted that the card overflows from the card support frame 38a before stacking the predetermined set number of sheets. In this case, the control unit 77 determines to stop the card stacking operation on the card support frame 38a. When the position of the base 41a is detected when 100 cards are stacked and when 200 cards are stacked, the position of the base 41a at each stage is lower than a predetermined range. Then, the control unit 77 predicts that the card overflows from the card support frame 38a when a predetermined set number of sheets is accumulated, and decides to stop the card accumulation operation on the card support frame 38a.

  The pressing mechanisms 51a and 51b operate each time a predetermined number of 10 to 30 cards are stacked on the card supporting frame 38a, and the card supporting frame 38a is supported by the pressing plates 52a and 52b supported by the rods 53a and 53b. The side end portions of the cards accumulated in the card are pressed to align the side end portions of the cards.

  When a predetermined set number of cards are stacked on the card support frame 38a, or when the control unit 77 determines to stop the card stacking operation, the support frame shutter plate 47 blocks the upper surface of the card support frame 38a. The card is moved to the position, and thereafter the card is prevented from being stacked on the card support frame 38a. During this time, the cards are sequentially sent from the third conveyor belt 4c toward the card support frame 38a, and the sent cards are sequentially stacked on the support frame shutter plate 47.

  When the support frame shutter plate 47 closes the upper surface of the card support frame 38 a, the base 41 a is lowered to below the rotary table 37 by operating the elevator mechanism 40 a. Further, the position of the two card support frames 38a and 38b provided on the rotation table 37 is switched by rotating the rotation table 37 by 180 degrees, and the empty card support frame 38b is positioned at a position corresponding to the third transport belt 4c. Moving. When the empty card support frame 38b reaches a predetermined position, the support frame shutter plate 47 is retracted to a position where it does not hang on the upper surface of the card support frame 38b, and accordingly, it is loaded on the support frame shutter plate 47. The card falls into the card support frame 38b. Further, the cards sent from the third transport belt 4c are sequentially dropped onto the dropped cards and are collected in the card support frame 38b.

  On the other hand, the card support frame 38a on which the cards are stacked moves to the filling position as the rotary table 37 rotates. During the movement of the card support frame 38a, the weight mounting mechanism 66 operates to place one weight 81 on the card located at the upper end in the card support frame 38a. Note that when the control unit 77 determines that a predetermined set number of cards cannot be stacked in the card support frame 38a and stops the subsequent stacking operation, the weight 81 is not placed on the card support frame 38a. The weight mounting mechanism 66 is controlled.

  When the card support frame 38a moves to a predetermined position, the container holding arm 54 holding the accumulation container 3 is lowered onto the card support frame 38a, and positioning concave portions 61, 61. The positioning protrusions 45, 45... Provided on the support frame 38a are fitted so that the upper surface of the card support frame 38a and the position of the opening 58 of the stacking container 3 are not displaced.

  The base 41b of the elevator mechanism 40b is located below the rotary table 37. When the container holding arm 54 and the card support frame 38a are positioned, the base 41b is raised by the operation of the elevator mechanism 40b. . The card in the card support frame 38 a is pushed up by the base 41 b and filled in the accumulation container 3. At this time, the vibration generating device 62 provided in the container holding arm 54 is operated to generate vibration, whereby the card is filled while applying vibration to the accumulation container 3.

  When all the cards accumulated in the card support frame 38a are filled into the accumulation container 3, the control unit 77 operates the arm shutter opening / closing mechanism 65 to move the arm shutter plate 64 to the opening of the accumulation container 3. The position 58 is moved to a position where it is closed.

  When the arm shutter plate 64 closes the opening 58 of the stacking container 3, the base 41b of the elevator mechanism 40b descends below the rotary table 37, and the card support frame 38a is in a state where cards can be stacked again. .

  When the opening 58 of the stacking container 3 is closed by the arm shutter plate 64, the container holding arm 54 rotates about the support shaft 55, and the stacking container 3 held by the holding members 60a and 60b has the container transport belt. 68. When the accumulation container 3 is placed on the container conveyance belt 68, the holding members 60 a and 60 b are moved to a retreat position where they do not contact the accumulation container 3 by the holding member moving mechanism 57. When the holding members 60a and 60b are retracted to a position where they do not contact the accumulation container 3, the accumulation container 3 is conveyed to a predetermined sealing position where the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3 is sealed by the container conveyance belt 68. The

  When the collection container 3 filled with a predetermined set number of cards is conveyed to below the sealing mechanism 67, a seal supply roller 69 wound with a sealing material and conveying rollers 70 and 70 for conveying the sealing material are provided. It rotates and conveys a predetermined amount of sealing material to a position facing the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3. Further, when the heating head 74 is heated by the heater 73 and the sealing material is transported to a position covering the flange 59 portion of the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3, the heating head 74 is opened by the head driving source 75. It descends to a position in contact with 58. Then, by pressing the heating head 74 against the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3, the sealing material is fused to the flange 59 portion of the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3, and the accumulation container 3 is sealed.

  When the accumulation container 3 is sealed, the upper blade of the cutter 72 arranged so as to sandwich the sealing material from both sides is lowered and the lower blade is raised, so that the sealing material is moved along the flange 59 of the accumulation container 3. Disconnect.

  On the other hand, when the accumulation container 3 in which a predetermined number of cards or less are accumulated has been conveyed, the sealing mechanism 67 does not seal the accumulation container 3 and conveys it as it is by the container conveyance belt 68. The accumulation container 3 conveyed by the container conveying belt 68 is then checked by the user whether or not it is visually sealed, and if it is sealed, it is stored in a product box as a good product, When it is not sealed, it is stored as a defective product in a separate box from the product box, but it can be easily identified whether the transported collection container 3 is a good product or a defective product by sealing with a sealing material. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a defective product from being stored in the product box by mistake.

  The detection of whether or not the accumulation container 3 is sealed is not limited to visual inspection by the user. For example, it is detected whether or not the opening 58 of the accumulation container 3 is sealed with a sealing material. A robot arm provided with a sensor is provided, and the collection container 3 in which the opening 58 is sealed is sorted and stored in a product box, and the unsealed collection container 3 is sorted and stored in a defective product box. You may do it. Further, a sensor for detecting whether or not the opening 58 of the collection container 3 is sealed with a sealing material on the transport path is provided, and the transport path is branched downstream in the transport direction X from the installation position of the sensor. When it is sealed, it may be transported to a product box, and when it is not sealed, it may be transported to a defective product box.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in a card having an IC chip, an antenna, or the like, when the thickness of the entire card varies, or the difference in physical properties of the resin constituting the front surface and the back surface of the card or the production of the resin plate If the card is warped due to the orientation characteristics at the time, and it is predicted that the card will overflow from the stacking container 3 when a predetermined number of cards are stacked, the stacking operation for the card support frames 38a and 38b is performed thereafter. Is stopped and sent to the next process as soon as possible. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a jam due to the card overflowing from the stacking container 3 and clogging the transport path, and the occurrence of various troubles due to the card being scattered in the transport path and the like, and the expensive card is lost. In addition, it does not take much time to deal with various troubles caused by the overflow of the card from the collecting container 3. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the waste of the card and improve the productivity in the card stacking and filling operation.

  In the present embodiment, the card supply container 2 is provided with a pair of movable protrusions 12a and 12b. However, the number of the movable protrusions 12a and 12b is not limited to a pair, and 2 which face the opening 11 respectively. A pair of movable protrusions 12a and 12b may be provided to hold the card from four directions. Further, the position where the movable projections 12a and 12b are provided is not limited to the opening 11, and one or a plurality of movable projections 12a and 12b are provided in the middle of the card supply container 2 so that the card stored in the card can be stored. You may make it hold | maintain divided into several blocks. In this way, when the card is divided into a plurality of blocks, the card can be sequentially supplied in a plurality of stages, and the impact caused by dropping can be reduced compared to dropping a large number of cards at once. It becomes.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a flat plate is provided as the temporary card holder 19 between the card supply hopper 13 and the first transport belt 4a, and the card is pushed onto the first transport belt 4a by the pushing mechanism 20. Although the temporary card placement table 19 is configured so as not to drop the card supplied from the card supply hopper 13 directly onto the first transport belt 4a, other configuration may be used. . For example, as a temporary card placement table 19 between the card supply hopper 13 and the first conveyor belt 4a, the temporary card holder 19 is transported in the same direction as the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, 4c at a lower speed than the first conveyor belt 4a. A belt mechanism may be provided, and the card may be gently dropped onto the first conveyor belt 4a by the conveyance of the belt mechanism.

  Note that the mechanism for adsorbing and taking out the card from the card supply hopper 13 is not limited to that illustrated in the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the card is sucked and taken out from below. For example, a mechanism for taking out the card is provided above the stacked card so that the card is sucked from above and placed on the transport path. Good.

  Further, as means for bringing the suction surfaces 26a, 26b of the suction members 27a, 27b closer to the lower surface opening 15 of the card supply hopper 13, for example, a configuration using a cam can be used.

  In the present embodiment, the defect detection sensor 34 is disposed only above the card pressing belts 33a and 33b located on the downstream side in the transport direction X of the cleaning rollers 30 and 30, but the defect detection sensor 34 is provided. The cleaning rollers 30 and 30 may be provided above the card pressing belts 33a and 33b located on the upstream side in the transport direction X. Further, it may be provided on both the upstream side and the downstream side of the cleaning rollers 30 and 30. By providing sensors at multiple locations in this way, it is possible to perform various tests, and to perform complex tests that require judgment based on the results detected by two or more sensors. Is also possible.

  Here, an optical sensor using a laser beam is used as the defect detection sensor 34, but the defect detection sensor 34 may be any sensor that can inspect the surface of the card. It is also possible to apply. Further, the sensor provided at the place where the card presser belts 33a and 33b are provided is not limited to the defect detection sensor 34 for detecting a card defect. For example, a serial number attached to each card may be read by a sensor, or a precise inspection using an image recognition camera or the like may be performed. Where the card presser belts 33a and 33b are provided, the card presser belts 33a and 33b do not warp the card, so that it is possible to accurately read the serial number, etc., or shoot with an image camera. Become.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the inspection mechanism 8 inspects for the presence or absence of scratches on the card surface, the presence or absence of printing defects, etc., but the inspection performed in the inspection mechanism 8 is not limited to this. For example, the inspection mechanism 8 It is possible to perform various inspections at this position, for example, by providing a transmission / reception mechanism and inspecting whether or not the antenna in the card functions properly.

  In this embodiment, the card is accelerated by making only the conveyance speed of the third conveyance belt 4c faster than the conveyance speeds of the other conveyance belts 4a, 4b, 4c. For example, the card is accelerated. Therefore, a plurality of conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c having different conveyance speeds may be provided in stages to gradually increase the card conveyance speed. When the difference in the conveyance speed between the adjacent conveyance belts 4a, 4b, and 4c is large, the card surface may be damaged when the card is transferred to the conveyance belts 4a, 4b, and 4c having a high conveyance speed. In this case, it is possible to prevent the card from being damaged by accelerating the card stepwise by using a plurality of conveyor belts 4a, 4b, 4c in order to accelerate the card.

  In this embodiment, the anti-inversion plate 49 is provided to prevent the card from being inverted, but air may be ejected from the anti-inversion plate 49. This makes it possible to prevent the card from being reversed effectively and reliably. Further, the mechanism for preventing the card from being reversed is not limited to the reversal prevention plate 49, and other mechanisms such as a roller and a ball may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the bases 41a and 41b of the elevator mechanisms 40a and 40b are sequentially lowered in accordance with the rise of the upper ends of the cards stacked on the card support frames 38a and 38b. The timing of lowering 41b is not limited to this, and it may be lowered by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the accumulated cards every time a certain number of cards are accumulated.

  In this embodiment, whether or not a predetermined number of cards can be stacked is determined at each stage of stacking 100 cards on the card support frames 38a and 38b and stacking 200 cards. However, the determination of whether or not a predetermined number of cards can be stacked may be performed once when a predetermined number of cards are stacked, or may be performed in three or more stages. . Further, instead of determining each time a predetermined number of sheets are accumulated, it may be determined as needed.

  In this embodiment, the positioning concave portions 61, 61... And the positioning convex portions 45, 45... Provided in the card support frames 38a, 38b are fitted into a part of the holding members 60a, 60b that hold the accumulation container 3. However, positioning protrusions 45, 45... May be provided on a part of the holding members 60a, 60b, and positioning recesses 61, 61 .. may be provided on the card support frames 38a, 38b. Further, the positions where the positioning convex portions 45, 45... And the positioning concave portions 61, 61... Are not limited to those shown here, and for example, the positioning convex portions 45, 45. Recesses 61, 61 ... may be provided.

  In the present embodiment, a long sealing material is used as a sealing material for sealing the collection container 3, and the sealing material is appropriately cut with a cutter. However, the shape of the sealing material is not limited to this, For example, a sheet-shaped sealing material formed in advance to cover the opening of the accumulation container 3 and the flange 59 is used, and each time the accumulation container 3 is transported, the sealing material is supplied from the sealing material supply unit. They may be supplied one by one.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the configuration in which only one line is provided for each of the conveyor belts 4a, 4b, and 4c has been described. Then, a plurality of rotary tables 37 and the like may be provided so that cards are stacked in a plurality of stacking containers 3 at the same time.

1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of a card stacking apparatus 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 2A is a top view of the stacking and filling mechanism of the card stacking apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 2B is a side view of the stacking and filling mechanism of the card stacking apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of a card support frame and a container holding arm of the card stacking apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4A is a side view of the sealing mechanism of the card stacking apparatus 1 shown in FIG. FIG. 4B is a top view of the sealing mechanism of the card integrated device 1 shown in FIG. It is the principal part block diagram which showed the control structure of the card | curd stacking apparatus 1 which concerns on this invention. FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a state in which cards without warping are stacked. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing a state where cards having warpage in the same direction are stacked. FIG. 6C is a diagram showing a state in which cards having the same warping direction are stacked.

Explanation of symbols

1 Card stacker 1
2 Card supply container 3 Accumulation container 4 Conveying belt 5 Card supply unit 7 Cleaning mechanism 8 Inspection mechanism 17 Remaining amount detection sensor 18 Distance detection sensor 19 Card temporary storage table 23 Card removal mechanism 34 Defect detection sensor 35 Accumulation filling mechanism 38 Card support frame 40 Elevator mechanism 43 Position detection sensor 50 Integrated detection sensor 67 Sealing mechanism

Claims (4)

A stacking and filling mechanism for stacking a predetermined set number of cards and filling the stacking container, and a control unit for controlling each unit;
The accumulation and filling mechanism includes detection means for detecting a stacked height of cards to be filled in the accumulation container, and the control unit loads a set number of cards into the accumulation container based on a result detected by the detection means. In addition to predicting the stacked height of the card when it is filled, when it is determined that the predicted stacked height of the card exceeds the height at which the card can be filled in the stacking container, the stacking and filling operation for the stacking container is performed. A card stacking device that controls the stacking and filling mechanism to stop and send out the stacking container from the stacking and filling mechanism.   A sealing mechanism for sealing the opening of the stacking container is provided, and the control unit seals the opening of the stacking apparatus only when a predetermined number of cards are filled in the stacking container. The card stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sealing mechanism is controlled to do so. A stacking and filling step of stacking a predetermined number of cards by the stacking and filling mechanism and filling the stacking container, a stacking detection step of detecting the stacked height of the cards to be loaded into the stacking container by the detecting unit, and a detection unit that detects the stacking height. A stacking height prediction step of predicting the stacking height of the cards when the set number of cards are filled in the stacking container based on the result of the control,
When the control unit determines that the stacked height of the cards when the set number of cards are filled is equal to or higher than the height at which the cards can be filled in the stacking container, the control unit performs stacking and filling work on the stacking container. The card stacking method is characterized in that the stacking and filling mechanism is controlled such that the stacking container is sent out from the stacking and filling mechanism.   A sealing step of sealing the opening of the stacking container by a sealing mechanism, and the control unit opens the opening of the stacking apparatus only when a predetermined set number of cards are filled in the stacking container. 4. The card stacking method according to claim 3, wherein the sealing mechanism is controlled so as to seal the portion.

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