JP2018001583A - Automatic continuous image engraving apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic continuous image engraving apparatus capable of allowing accurate image engraving.SOLUTION: An automatic continuous image engraving apparatus comprises: a non-engraved medium storage part that stores a card-shaped non-engraved medium; an engraved medium storage part that stores a card-shaped engraved medium; a medium dispenser 7 that sucks the uppermost one among card-shaped non-engraved media piled-up from the upper part of the non-engraved medium storage part, and moves it to the upper outside of the non-engraved medium storage part, and which moves linearly in an adjacent direction between the non-engraved medium storage part and the engraved medium storage part; a medium positioning conveyance part that is arranged in a moving direction of the medium dispenser 7, and receives and moves the card-shaped engraved medium at a delivery position, and positions it at an engraving position; an image engraving part that performs image engraving on the card-shaped non-engraved medium at the engraving position; and a nozzle 92a that ejects air toward a side part of the card-shaped engraved medium, and separates a lower card stuck to the uppermost one among the card-shaped non-engraved media when the medium dispenser 7 sucks the uppermost one.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic continuous image engraving apparatus for image engraving on a card-shaped engraving medium.

  Conventionally, an apparatus for engraving an image on a magnetic card or synthetic paper has been proposed as Patent Documents 1-3. All of these devices have only a single function of engraving and could not perform continuous automatic image engraving.

  On the other hand, the applicant has proposed an automatic continuous image engraving apparatus of Patent Document 4.

  This automatic continuous image engraving device engraves an image on a card, such as a credit card, a card magazine, a card dispenser, a read / write unit, a card positioning unit, a card mounting table, a card transport unit, an image A sculpture unit, a card storage magazine, and a card transport robot are provided.

  The card magazine can store a plurality of rectangular cards capable of reading and writing data, and the card dispenser sequentially feeds the cards stored in the card magazine in the card longitudinal direction.

  The read / write unit accepts the card fed out from the card dispenser in the feeding direction, reads or writes data, and carries out the card in the longitudinal direction.

  The card positioning unit receives the card unloaded from the read / write unit in this unloading direction and performs positioning.

  The card mounting table is mounted by moving the card positioned in the card positioning section in the short direction of the card, and the card transport section is the card length between the mounting position and the image engraving position. Transport in the direction of the scale.

  The image engraving unit performs image engraving with the engraving needle on the card conveyed to the image engraving position by the card conveying unit according to the image signal from the control unit.

  The card storage magazine receives and stores the already engraved card, which has been transported back to the mounting position after image engraving by the image engraving unit, by moving in the short card direction.

  The card transport robot transfers the card linearly in the card short direction from the card positioning unit to the card mounting table and from the card mounting table to the card storage magazine.

  Therefore, image engraving on the card can be automatically performed continuously.

  However, the conventional automatic continuous image engraving device has a card dispenser for sequentially feeding out the cards stored in the card magazine in the longitudinal direction of the card and a card transport robot for transporting the cards. There was a problem to do.

  Here, the present inventors considered that the card stored in the card magazine is directly attracted and transported by the card transport robot.

  However, when directly attracted by the card transport robot, the lower layer card may be brought into close contact with the attracted card and transported at the same time, which hinders accurate image engraving.

JP-A-1-115676 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-24394 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-201762 Japanese Patent No. 4516669

  The problem to be solved is that an underlying card is brought into close contact with the adsorbed card and simultaneously conveyed, which hinders accurate image engraving.

  In order to enable accurate image engraving, the present invention arranges a plurality of rectangular unengraved card-shaped engraving media in a stacked manner in an up-and-down manner and a side-by-side arrangement in the unengraved medium-accommodating portion A pre-engraved medium engraving medium containing engraved pre-engraved card-shaped engraving medium, and an uppermost portion of the unengraved card-shaped engraving medium stacked from above the unengraved medium encasing section. A medium dispenser that moves to the outside of the medium container and moves linearly in a direction adjacent to the unengraved medium container and the already engraved medium container, and an adjacent direction of the unengraved medium container and the already engraved medium container A medium positioning transport unit which is arranged on the end side of the card and takes over the unengraved card-shaped engraving medium at the take-over position and moves it to the engraving position, and an image on the un-engraved card-like engraving medium arranged at the engraving position. An image engraving unit for engraving, and when the medium dispenser adsorbs the top of the unengraved card-shaped engraving medium in the unengraved medium storage unit, air is ejected toward the side of the card-shaped engraving medium And a nozzle for separating the lower layer card.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, the medium dispenser can also serve for taking out and transporting each of the unengraved card-shaped engraving media one by one, thereby enabling downsizing of the apparatus and accurate image engraving.

It is the whole perspective view which looked at an automatic continuation image engraving device from the front side. Example 1 It is the whole automatic perspective image engraving apparatus perspective view of a part of omission seen from the back side. Example 1 FIG. 4 is a partially omitted front view showing a relationship among a card cassette, a medium dispenser, a pre-positioning unit, a medium positioning conveyance unit, and an engraving unit. Example 1 FIG. 5 is a partially omitted plan view showing a relationship among a card cassette, a medium dispenser, a pre-positioning unit, a medium positioning conveyance unit, and an engraving unit. Example 1 FIG. 4 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a relationship among a card cassette, a medium dispenser, a pre-positioning unit, a medium positioning conveyance unit, and an engraving unit, as viewed from the back side. Example 1 It is the perspective view of the state seen from the back side which cut | disconnects and shows the relationship between a card cassette and a medium dispenser by XZ surface. Example 1 It is the perspective view of the state seen from the back side which cut | disconnects and shows the relationship between a card cassette and a medium dispenser in a different XZ surface. Example 1 FIG. 4 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a relationship between the card cassette and the medium dispenser as viewed from the upper rear side. Example 1 It is the perspective view of the state seen from the side surface upper side which cut | disconnects and shows the relationship between a card cassette and a medium dispenser in a different XZ surface. Example 1 FIG. 6 is a partially omitted perspective view of a state in which the relationship between the card cassette and the medium dispenser is viewed from the back side, cut along different XZ planes. Example 1 It is the perspective view of the state which cut | disconnected the lower part side of the card cassette by XY surface, and was seen from the back side. Example 1 It is the perspective view of the state which cut | disconnected the lower part side of the card cassette by XY surface, and was seen from the back lower side. Example 1 It is the perspective view of the state seen from the back upper side which cuts and shows the upper part side of a card cassette by a different XZ surface. Example 1 It is the perspective view seen from the back lower side which abbreviate | omits and shows a medium dispenser in relation to a card cassette. Example 1 It is the perspective view seen from the front upper side which abbreviate | omits and shows a medium dispenser in relation to a card cassette. Example 1 It is a partially transparent perspective view of a pre-positioning part. Example 1 It is a partial perspective top view of a pre-positioning part. Example 1 It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by XY plane of the pre-positioning part. Example 1 It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by XY plane from which a prior positioning part differs. Example 1 It is sectional drawing cut | disconnected by further different XY plane of the pre-positioning part. Example 1

  For the purpose of enabling downsizing of the installation space of the apparatus, a rectangular unengraved card-shaped engraving medium is stacked on top of each other, and the unengraved medium accommodating section is aligned with the unengraved medium accommodating section. A pre-engraved medium storage portion for storing the pre-engraved card-shaped engraving medium that is arranged and engraved, and an uppermost portion of the stacked non-engraved card-shaped engraving media from the upper part of the non-engraved medium storage portion A medium dispenser that moves out and above the engraving medium container and moves linearly in a direction adjacent to the unengraved medium container and the already engraved medium container, and adjacent to the unengraved medium container and the already engraved medium container A medium positioning transport unit arranged on the end side in the direction to take over and move the unengraved card-shaped engraving medium at the take-over position and position it at the engraving position; and the un-engraved card-like engraving arranged at the engraving position An image engraving unit that performs image engraving on the medium, and when the medium dispenser sucks the top of the unengraved card-shaped engraving medium in the unengraved medium storage unit, air is directed toward the side of the card-shaped engraving medium. This is achieved by providing a nozzle that separates the lower layer card that is in close contact.

  The air ejected from the nozzle may pulsate.

  The nozzle may be disposed on an upper portion of the unengraved medium storage unit.

[Automatic continuous image engraving device]
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic perspective view of an automatic continuous image engraving apparatus. FIG. 2 is an overall schematic perspective view of the automatic continuous image engraving apparatus, partly omitted, as viewed from the back side. In the following description, the Y direction is the horizontal direction in which the card moves linearly, and is the left and right direction when the device is viewed from the front. The X direction is a direction orthogonal to the Y direction and is a depth direction when the apparatus is viewed from the front. The Z direction is the vertical direction of the device orthogonal to the XY direction. Front and rear are front and rear in the Y direction. Left and right are the X direction and the left and right sides of the device.

  The automatic continuous image engraving apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 makes it possible to engrave images automatically and continuously on a card-like engraving medium. The automatic continuous image engraving apparatus 1 includes an unengraved medium container 3 and an already engraved medium container 5, a medium dispenser 7, a medium positioning and conveying unit 9, and an image engraving unit 11.

  The un-engraved medium container 3 and the already-engraved medium container 5 are formed in the same structure in this embodiment. However, the non-engraved medium accommodating portion 3 and the already engraved medium accommodating portion 5 can be formed with different structures.

  The unengraved medium accommodating unit 3 accommodates a plurality of rectangular unengraved card-shaped engraved media stacked one above the other. The already engraved medium storage unit 5 is for storing an already engraved card-shaped engraving medium. In this embodiment, two unengraved medium accommodating portions 3 and two already engraved medium accommodating portions 5 are provided, and the unengraved medium accommodating portions 3 are arranged in front of the Y direction in general with respect to the already engraved medium accommodating portion 5. It is arranged linearly.

  The card-shaped engraving medium is formed in a planar rectangular shape using plastic, synthetic paper, special synthetic paper, or the like. The card-shaped engraving medium is provided with an engraving layer on the surface, and an image such as a watermark engraving display can be formed by engraving. Examples of the card-shaped engraving medium include a personal authentication card and a credit card. The card-shaped engraving medium can also be applied to various card-shaped media as long as there is a necessity and possibility of image engraving. Hereinafter, the card-shaped engraving medium is simply referred to as “card”.

  The medium dispenser 7 adsorbs the uppermost position of the stacked unengraved cards from the upper part of the unengraved medium storage unit 3 and moves it to the outside of the unengraved medium storage unit. The card is moved in the Y direction by linearly moving in the Y direction, which is the adjacent direction of the accommodating portion 5.

  The medium positioning / conveying section 9 is arranged on the end side in the Y direction, which is the linear movement direction of the medium dispenser 7, and takes over an unengraved card at the takeover position TOP and moves it to the engraving position EGP.

  The image engraving unit 11 is arranged at the engraving position EGP and performs image engraving on an unengraved card.

  Then, the medium dispenser 7 opens and takes over the unengraved card at the takeover position TOP, and the medium positioning transport unit 9 returns the already engraved card after image engraving from the engraving position EGP to the takeover position TOP. No. 7, the already engraved card at the takeover position TOP is sucked and moved upward, and moved onto the already engraved medium storage unit 5 to open and drop the already engraved card.

  In the present embodiment, a pre-positioning unit 13 that positions an unengraved card in advance between the unengraved medium storage unit 3 and the already-engraved medium storage unit 5 and the medium positioning transport unit 9 is provided.

  The medium dispenser 7 positions the unengraved card at the pre-positioning unit 13 and then transfers it to the medium positioning / conveying unit 9 at the take-over position TOP. When the un-engraved card is positioned at the pre-positioning unit 13, the take-out position TOP The already engraved card is moved onto the already engraved medium storage unit 5.

  Here, the structure of each part will be described more specifically.

[Unengraved media storage and existing engraving media storage]
FIG. 3 is a partially omitted front view showing the relationship among the card cassette, the medium dispenser, the pre-positioning unit, the medium positioning transport unit, and the engraving unit. FIG. 4 is a partially omitted plan view showing the relationship among the card cassette, the medium dispenser, the pre-positioning unit, the medium positioning transport unit, and the engraving unit. FIG. 5 is a partially omitted perspective view showing the relationship among the card cassette, the medium dispenser, the pre-positioning unit, the medium positioning and conveying unit, and the engraving unit, as viewed from the back side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the relationship between the card cassette and the medium dispenser as seen from the back side, cut along the XZ plane. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the relationship between the card cassette and the medium dispenser as seen from the back side, showing the XZ plane cut away. FIG. 8 is a partially omitted perspective view of the relationship between the card cassette and the medium dispenser as seen from the upper rear side. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a state where the relationship between the card cassette and the medium dispenser is seen from the upper side of the side surface, cut along different XZ planes. FIG. 10 is a partially omitted perspective view of the relationship between the card cassette and the medium dispenser as seen from the back side, cut along different XZ planes. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a state where the lower side of the card cassette is cut along the XY plane and viewed from the back side. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a state in which the lower side of the card cassette is cut along the XY plane and viewed from the lower rear side. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a state in which the upper side of the card cassette is viewed from the upper side of the back side, cut along different XZ planes.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 13, the unengraved medium container 3 and the already engraved medium container 5 are formed in the same structure in this embodiment as described above.

  The apparatus frame 15 is provided with partitioning side plates 17, 19, 21, 23, 25. The side plates 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 are formed with the same width and spaced apart from each other, and a total of four cassette housing portions 27, 29, 31, 33 are linearly adjacent in the Y direction. . The arrangement width of the side plates 21 and 23 in the Y direction, such as the upper surface plate, is set to be slightly wider than the other side plates 17, 19, and 25 in order to attach a sensor to be described later.

  That is, the side plates 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25 are integrally provided with a front plate on the front side of the apparatus and a top plate on the upper side of the apparatus, and the widths of the front and top plates of the side plates 21 and 23 in the Y direction are attached to the sensor. It corresponds to the space width for.

  The unengraved medium storage unit 3 includes card cassettes 35 and 37 detachably attached to the cassette storage units 27 and 29 with one touch. The already engraved medium storage unit 5 includes card cassettes 39 and 41 detachably attached to the cassette storage units 31 and 33 with one touch.

  The card cassettes 35, 37, 39, and 41 have basically the same structure. The card cassette 35 will be described, and the description of the card cassettes 37, 39, and 41 will be omitted.

  The card cassette 35 is obtained by attaching cassette side plates 45 a and 45 b to a cassette base 43. A handle 47 is attached to the front surface of the cassette base 43. The upper end of the card cassette 35 is opened so that cards can be inserted and removed. A card receiving portion 49 is provided at the lower inner end of the cassette side plates 45a and 45b. Engagement protrusions 51a and 51b are provided on the outer surface upper side of the cassette side plates 45a and 45b so as to protrude to the outer surface side of the cassette side plates 45a and 45b.

  The engagement protrusions 51a and 51b are detachably locked by a locking arm body 53 including a pair of arms. The locking arm body 53 has an intermediate shaft 53 a rotatably attached between the side plates 17 and 19. A return spring 55 is attached between the locking arm body 53 and the side plates 17 and 19 to urge the locking arm body 53 to rotate in the locking direction. A release solenoid 57 is attached to the side plate 19 side and is coupled to the locking arm body 53. Accordingly, when the locking arm body 53 is rotated against the return spring 55 by the release solenoid 57, the locking lock of the engaging protrusions 51a and 51b by the locking arm body 53 is released, and the side plate 19 side An interlock 59 is attached to lock the back of one side of the card cassette 35 in a detachable manner.

  Therefore, when the card cassette 35 is inserted into the cassette housing portion 27 between the side plates 17 and 19 from the front side of the apparatus, the engaging projections 51a and 51b abut against the tip of the locking arm body 53, and the locking arm is further pushed. The body 53 rotates about the shaft 53a, and the engaging protrusions 51a and 51b get over the tip of the locking arm body 53 against the urging force and are locked and locked as they are. The lower side of the card cassette 35 is coupled by an interlock 59. The card cassette 35 can be mounted in the cassette housing portion 27 by these locking and coupling. By being coupled to the interlock 59, an operation of a stepping motor or the like for raising and lowering a table to be described later is permitted.

  When the release solenoid 57 is driven by a button operation or the like, the lock of the engagement protrusions 51a and 51b is released by the rotation of the lock arm body 53.

  A carriage 61 is disposed below the cassette housing portion 27. The carriage 61 supports a table 63, and the table 63 faces the lower end of the card cassette 35. The table 63 can raise the inside of the card cassette 35 from the lower end of the card cassette 35 and raise the cards stacked and accommodated in the card receiving portion 49. By raising the card, the card at the upper end of the stack can be arranged at the upper removal position in the card cassette 35.

  A linear bush 65 and a ball socket 66 are fixedly attached to the carriage 61. The linear bush 65 is fitted to the cassette shaft 67 so that it can be guided up and down, and the ball socket 66 is engaged with a ball screw 69.

  The lower end portion of the cassette shaft 67 is fixedly attached to the motor mounting plate 71, and the lower end portion of the ball screw 69 is rotatably supported on the motor mounting plate 71 by a thrust needle roller bearing 73. The upper end portion of the cassette shaft 67 is fixedly attached to the upper plate 75, and the upper end portion of the ball screw 69 is rotatably supported by the upper plate 75 via a bearing 77.

  The motor mounting plate 71 is fixed to the side plate 19. A stepping motor 79 is attached to the motor attachment plate 71. Timing gears 81 and 83 are attached to the output shaft of the stepping motor 79 and the lower end of the ball screw 69, and a timing belt 85 is wound around the timing gears 81 and 83.

  The ball socket 66 is driven up and down by driving the ball screw 69, and the carriage 61 is guided up and down along the cassette shaft 67.

  An air block 87 is swingably supported on the upper plate 75 by a nozzle shaft 89. A tension spring 91 is interposed between the rear end of the air block 87 in the X direction and the side plate 19. The tension spring 91 urges the air block 87 so that the front end of the air block 87 in the X direction is slightly upward. A pair of nozzles 92 a and 92 b are fixed to the front end of the air block 87. Air is ejected from the nozzles 92a and 92b, and the medium dispenser 7 can take out cards one by one. A vacuum pump 94 is connected to the nozzles 92a and 92b, and pulsating air is ejected from the nozzles 92a and 92b. The card in the lower layer that is in close contact is separated by the ejection of air.

  That is, the medium dispenser 7 is configured to include the nozzles 92a and 92b for separating the lower-layer card that blows out air toward the side of the card when the top of the unengraved card is sucked. In addition, the nozzles 92 a and 92 b are arranged on the upper portion of the unengraved medium storage unit 3. The nozzles 92a and 92b do not necessarily have to be arranged on the upper part of the unengraved medium accommodating portion 3, and may be arranged on the apparatus frame 15 side or the like as long as the lower card can be separated by blowing out air. Is also possible.

  Note that the arrangement of the unengraved medium accommodating unit 3 and the already engraved medium accommodating unit 5 can be reversed in the Y direction. It is also possible to configure the unengraved medium accommodating portion and the already engraved medium accommodating portion so that the unengraved card cassette and the already engraved card cassette are alternately arranged.

[Medium dispenser]
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the medium dispenser as seen from the lower rear side, with a portion omitted in relation to the card cassette. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the medium dispenser as seen from the upper front side with a part omitted in relation to the card cassette.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 10, 14, and 15, the medium dispenser 7 is disposed on the upper portion of the card cassette 35 at the position shown in the figure, and is supported on the guide rail 93 so as to be able to run. The medium dispenser 7 is guided to reciprocate in the Y direction along the guide rail 93. The guide rail 93 is attached to the device frame 15 along the Y direction.

  A guide block 95 is attached to the guide rail 93, and the guide block 93 is guided along the guide rail 93.

  A Y-axis base 97 is attached to the guide block 95, and a Y-axis motor base 99 is attached to the Y-axis base 97. A stepping motor 101 is attached to the Y-axis motor base 99, and a Y-axis cover 103 and a Y-axis lifting guide 105 are supported.

  A slide shaft 107 and a ball screw 109 are supported between the Y-axis motor base 99 and the Y-axis lifting guide 105.

  An elevating block 111 is disposed on the lower side of the Y-axis motor base 99, and the elevating block 111 is coupled to the slide shaft 107 through a linear bush so that it can be guided up and down, and can be driven up and down through the ball screw 109 through a ball socket. Are combined.

  Timing gears 100 and 102 are mounted on the output shaft of the stepping motor 101 and the ball screw 109 on the Y-axis motor base 99, and a timing belt 104 is wound around the timing gears 100 and 102.

  Therefore, the ball screw 109 can be interlocked by driving the stepping motor 101 and the lifting block 111 can be driven up and down.

  A pad nozzle 113 is supported on the elevating block 111 and faces downward from the upper side of the card cassette 35. The pad nozzle 113 is covered with a coil spring, and the tip of the pad nozzle 113 can be elastically contacted with the card on the card cassette 35.

  A vacuum pump 115 is connected to the pad nozzle 113 so that the pad nozzle 113 can suck the upper card of the card cassette 35 or open the sucked card.

  A harness slide plate 117 is attached to the guide block 95, and a timing belt bracket 119 is attached to the harness slide plate 117. The timing belt bracket 119 is coupled to the timing belt 121. The timing belt 121 is wound around the timing gears 123 and 125. The timing gear 123 is attached to the output shaft of the stepping motor 127, and the timing gear 125 is supported on the end of the device frame 15. The stepping motor 127 is fixed to the device frame 15 side.

  Therefore, the timing belt 121 is driven along the guide rail 93 by the driving of the stepping motor 127, and the guide block 95 moves along the guide rail 93 via the timing belt fitting 119. When the guide block 95 moves, the medium dispenser 7 moves in the Y direction via the Y-axis base 97. Through such movement, the medium dispenser 7 can be reciprocated along the guide rail 93 and can be stopped halfway. Such movement and stop control is performed by a program installed in advance. The medium dispenser 7 can be manually moved by a manual button operation or the like.

  One end of the cable 129 is supported by the harness slide plate 117, and the other end of the cable 129 is supported by a cable guide 131 attached to the apparatus frame 15 side. When the medium dispenser 7 reciprocates, the cable 129 is folded on the cable guide 131 or deployed from the cable guide 131. The cable 129 is for supplying power to various parts such as a motor.

[sensor]
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, a sonic sensor 133 is disposed between the cassette housing portions 29 and 31 using a space. One of the sonic sensors 133 is fixed to the device frame 15, and the other is attached to the upper surface plate of the side plate 21. A hole for the sonic sensor 133 is formed in the upper surface plate of the side plate 21.

  The sonic sensor 133 is used for detecting whether or not the card sucked and conveyed by the medium dispenser 7 is a single sheet. When a plurality of cards are conveyed simultaneously, the pre-positioning unit 13 performs a discharge process. .

  A color sensor 135 is disposed between the cassette storage units 31 and 33 using a space. The color sensor 135 is attached to the upper surface plate of the side plate 23. A hole for the color sensor 135 is formed in the upper surface plate of the side plate 23.

  The color sensor 135 is used for detecting whether the card sucked and conveyed by the medium dispenser 7 is correct or not. If the front and back of the card sucked and conveyed by the medium dispenser 7 is incorrect, the medium positioning and conveying unit 9 performs the discharge process. Made.

[Pre-positioning part]
FIG. 16 is a partially transparent perspective view of the pre-positioning unit. FIG. 17 is a partially transparent plan view of the pre-positioning unit. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along the XY plane of the pre-positioning portion. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along different XY planes of the pre-positioning portion. FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along different XY planes of the pre-positioning portion.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 5, and 16 to 20, the pre-positioning unit 13 is disposed adjacent to the side plate 25 of the already engraved medium housing unit 5.

  The pre-positioning unit 13 is configured to mainly include a stopper plate 139 and belts 141a and 141b on a case-like alignment traveling base 137 having an upper opening.

  The stopper plate 139 is formed in an L-shaped cross section and is arranged with the positioning surface facing in the X direction. An alignment block 141 is attached to the lower surface of the stopper plate 139 and is fitted to a pair of sliding shafts 143a and 143b to be guided by sliding. The slide shafts 143a and 143b are fixedly supported by the alignment base 145. The alignment base 145 is fixed to the alignment travel base 137.

  A ball screw 147 is rotatably supported on the alignment base 145. A ball socket 149 is fitted into the ball screw 147, and the ball socket 149 is fixed to the alignment block 141.

  Accordingly, the alignment block 141 is moved in the X direction by the rotational drive of the ball screw 147, and the alignment position by the stopper plate 139 can be determined. The card is positioned in the X direction at a predetermined alignment position of the stopper plate 139.

  A timing gear 151 is attached to the ball screw 147 outside the alignment travel base 137. A timing gear 155 is attached to the output shaft of the stepping motor 153. A timing belt 157 is wound around the timing gears 151 and 155.

  Therefore, the ball screw 147 can be driven to rotate forward and backward via the timing belt 157 by driving the stepping motor 153.

  On the alignment traveling base 137, aligner drive shafts 159a and 159b are attached to the front side in the X direction in the Y direction. A pair of timing gears 161a and 161b are attached to the aligner drive shafts 159a and 159b, respectively. A stepping motor 163 is attached to the bottom side of the alignment traveling base 137, and a timing gear 165 is attached to the output shaft of the motor on the belt 141a side. The belt 141a is wound around the timing gears 161a, 161b and 165, and the belt 141b is wound around the timing gears 161a and 161b.

  On one side of the alignment traveling base 137, a discharge tray 167 is provided on the discharge side that is the X direction front side of the belts 141a and 141b.

  Accordingly, when the card C conveyed by the medium dispenser 7 is transferred onto the belts 141a and 141b, the belt 141a is driven to travel in the direction of the stopper plate 139 which is the back side in the X direction by the driving of the stepping motor 163. The belt 141b is synchronously driven in the same direction via the aligner drive shafts 159a and 159b. By this driving, the card C is abutted against the stopper plate 139 and positioned in the X direction. Positioning of the card C in the Y direction is a position attracted by the medium dispenser 7.

  If two cards C conveyed by the medium dispenser 7 are stacked or there is an error in the front and back, the stepping motor 163 is driven in the reverse direction when the cards C are transferred onto the belts 141a and 141b. By this drive, the belts 141a and 141b are driven to travel in the discharge direction, and the card C is discharged to the discharge tray 167, so that erroneous and wasteful image engraving in the image engraving unit 11 can be prevented.

[Media positioning and transport unit and image engraving unit]
As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5, the medium positioning and conveying unit 9 and the image engraving unit 11 are disposed adjacent to the pre-positioning unit 13.

  The medium positioning / conveying unit 9 includes a paper setting table 175. The paper set base 175 is supported by a shaft via a slider of a Y-axis drive mechanism, and is configured to reciprocate in the Y direction. At the time of engraving, the card C is sucked and supported by the suction portion 177 of the paper set base 175. The paper set table 175 reciprocates in a small range in the Y direction at the engraving position EGP at the time of engraving, and performs image engraving programmed in the card C together with the engraving operation in the X and Z directions by the engraving needle 171a.

  Further, the sheet setting table 175 can be reciprocated between the engraving position EGP and the takeover position TOP by control.

  The suction part 177 is a mechanism for performing suction from the micropores of the porous planar member, and a vacuum pump is connected to the porous planar member side via an electromagnetic valve. The vacuum pump is operated to suck from the fine holes of the porous planar member, and the card is adsorbed and fixed to the porous planar member with good adhesion.

  At this time, the pressure state that enables engraving by detecting the pressure of the pressure switch, for example, 50 KPa or more, detects the state in which the medium to be engraved is not swollen or displaced, and is in a close contact state at an engraving accurate position Can know. With this pressure detection, the engraving head 173 and the like can be automatically operated. The value of the pressure state of 50 KPa or more is experimentally determined as being capable of detecting that the medium to be engraved is free from swelling and displacement.

  The image engraving unit 11 includes a mechanism base 169 supported on the apparatus frame 15 side. An engraving head 173 that supports a vibration generator 171 is disposed on the mechanism base 169.

  The engraving head 173 is linked to the X-axis drive mechanism and the Z-axis drive mechanism, and is reciprocally driven in the X and Z directions.

  The vibration generating portion 171 of the engraving head 173 is floatingly supported on the electromagnet side by a spring with respect to the permanent magnet side, and the electromagnet side is slightly oscillated and vibrated by the action between the permanent magnet side and the electromagnet side and the action of the spring.

  By switching the energization to the coil based on the engraving signal by such minute vibration, the engraving needle 171a is vibrated based on the signal obtained by converting the image data into the electric signal, and the X direction and the Z direction are used. The engraving head 173 is moved to move the paper setting table 175 in the Y direction, and fine engraving is performed on the surface of the card C.

[Operation of automatic continuous image engraving machine]
The card cassettes 35 and 37 accommodate an unengraved card in advance.

  The drive of each part is automatically controlled by the program of the control part, and operates by turning on the start switch.

  In the medium dispenser 7, the pad nozzle 113 is lowered by the driving of the stepping motor 101, and the pad nozzle 113 sucks the uppermost card in the card cassette 35. As the driving of the stepping motor 101 returns, the pad nozzle 113 moves up to the specified position while adsorbing the card C.

  When the pad nozzle 113 rises while adsorbing the card C, air is ejected from the nozzles 92a and 92b so as to pulsate, and the air hits the card. Even if the card in the lower layer is pulled up together with the card C attracted by the pad nozzle 113 due to this air contact, the card in the lower layer is separated and dropped, and the card C attracted by the pad nozzle 113 is united. It can be made into a sheet.

  Accordingly, it is possible to accurately take out the cards one by one by the medium dispenser 7 and to smoothly perform continuous engraving.

  Next, the timing belt 121 is driven along the guide rail 93 by the driving of the stepping motor 127, and the medium dispenser 7 moves to the pre-positioning unit 13 in the Y direction.

  On the other hand, when the card C is taken out from the card cassette 35, the stepping motor 101 is driven based on the detection of the sensor, the table 63 rises through the carriage 61, and the uppermost card stands by at the take-out position.

  During the movement of the medium dispenser 7 to the pre-positioning unit 13, the control unit determines whether the card C to be sucked and conveyed by the medium dispenser 7 is detected by the sonic sensor 133, and is detected by the color sensor 135. The controller determines whether the front and back of the card C that the medium dispenser 7 sucks and conveys is correct.

  When the medium dispenser 7 moves to the pre-positioning unit 13 in the Y direction, it stops on the belts 141a and 141b.

  The medium dispenser 7 lowers the pad nozzle 113 on the belts 141 a and 141 b of the pre-positioning unit 13 and releases the suction of the card C by the pad nozzle 113, so that the card C is handed over the pre-positioning unit 13.

  The card C taken over and transferred onto the pre-positioning unit 13 is placed so as to cross over the belts 141a and 141b.

  If the determination result of whether or not the card C is a single sheet and the correct / incorrect determination result are correct, the belts 141a and 141b travel in the direction of the stopper plate 139 by driving the stepping motor 163, and one side of the card C is the stopper plate. It hits 139 and positioning in the X direction is performed.

  Therefore, the image engraving in the image engraving unit 11 can be performed at the correct position of the card.

  The positioning of the card C in the Y direction is the position attracted by the medium dispenser 7, but when positioning metal fittings are arranged around the adsorption part 177 of the paper setting table 175 and the card C is arranged on the adsorption part 177. It is also possible to position the card C by slightly moving the medium dispenser 7 in the Y direction and bringing the card into contact with the metal fitting. At the time of positioning, the card C can be brought into contact with the metal fitting by utilizing the bending of the pad nozzle 113.

  If the determination of whether or not the card C is a single sheet and the correct / incorrect determination result of the front and back sides are not correct, the belts 141a and 141b travel in the direction of the stopper plate 139 by the reverse drive of the stepping motor 163, and the card C moves to the discharge tray 167. Discharged.

  Therefore, the card can be correctly engraved in a continuous engraving operation.

  When the positioning in the X direction is performed on the pre-positioning unit 13, the medium dispenser 7 waiting on the upper side lowers the pad nozzle 113 and sucks the positioned card C.

  The medium dispenser 7 that has sucked the card C moves in the Y direction by driving of the stepping motor 127 and stops on the paper setting table 175 that stands by on the takeover position TOP.

  At the takeover position TOP, the medium dispenser 7 lowers the pad nozzle 113 and releases the suction of the card C by the pad nozzle 113 so that the card C is handed over to the paper setting table 175 of the medium positioning and conveying unit 9.

  The card C taken over on the paper set table 175 is fixed to the paper set table 175 by suction by the suction unit 177.

  The paper set table 175 that has taken over the card C moves to the engraving position EGP, and the card C is engraved with the engraving needle 171a in accordance with the image signal from the control unit.

  Next, the medium dispenser 7 returns to the card cassette 35 in the Y direction, sucks the uppermost card and transfers it to the pre-positioning unit 13 in the same manner as described above, and positions the unengraved card on the pre-positioning unit 13. .

  At this time, the previously engraved card C engraved at the engraving position EGP is returned to the takeover position TOP by the movement of the paper set base 175.

  The medium dispenser 7 waiting on the pre-positioning unit 13 moves to the takeover position TOP, sucks the already engraved card C at the takeover position TOP, and returns to the card cassette 39 of the already engraved medium storage unit 5 in the Y direction.

  On the card cassette 39, the medium dispenser 7 cancels the suction of the engraved card C by the pad nozzle 113 and transfers it onto the table of the card cassette 39. The transfer of the card cassette 39 onto the table is detected by a sensor, the stepping motor is driven so that the next engraved card can be transferred, and the table is lowered via the carriage.

  The medium dispenser 7 having released the engraved card C moves to the pre-positioning unit 13, sucks the unengraved card waiting on the pre-positioning unit 13 in the same manner as described above, and waits at the takeover position TOP. The card C already engraved is transferred to

  Next, the medium dispenser 7 returns to the card cassette 35 in the Y direction and sucks the uppermost card, and is transferred to the pre-positioning unit 13 to position the unengraved card C as described above.

  By repeating this operation, the unengraved cards in the card cassette 35 of the unengraved medium storage unit 3 are sequentially engraved and sequentially stored in the card cassette 39 of the already engraved medium storage unit 5.

  Thus, the medium dispenser 7 can also serve as a transport robot by accurately taking out and transporting the cards between positions, and the apparatus can be compactly formed.

  In addition, the ejection of air from the nozzles 92a and 92b prevents adhesion of the underlying card, allows one card to be taken out and transported, and accurate engraving at the image engraving unit 11 can be performed.

  By pulsating the air ejected from the nozzles 92a and 92b, it is possible to more reliably prevent adhesion of the lower layer card.

  When engraving of the card in the card cassette 35 is completed, engraving is performed by taking out the unengraved card in the card cassette 37 of the unengraved medium storage unit 3 as described above, and the card cassette 41 of the already engraved medium storage unit 5 is engraved. Housed sequentially.

  Such a continuous operation can be terminated by engraving by taking out the card in the card cassette 35, and engraving can be performed by taking out the card in the card cassette 37 without using the card cassette 35.

  The card cassettes 39 and 41 of the already engraved medium storage unit 5 can also store already engraved cards using only one of them.

  By reciprocating the medium dispenser 7 in the Y direction, the unengraved card can be taken out, positioned, supported on the paper set base 175, and the already engraved card can be accommodated. Can be performed.

  The guide rail 93 and the timing belt 121 can also be arranged linearly, and the structure can be simplified.

  The unengraved medium accommodating unit 3, the already engraved medium accommodating unit 5, the pre-positioning unit 13, the medium positioning and conveying unit 9 and the image engraving unit 11 can be linearly arranged in the Y direction, so that the apparatus is formed compactly as a whole. be able to. Therefore, the installation space of the apparatus can be reduced.

  The cards can be stacked up and down with respect to the unengraved medium accommodating part 3 and the already engraved medium accommodating part 5, and the increase in size of the apparatus can be suppressed.

  Unengraved cards stacked one above the other can be made to stand by at the take-out position by driving the table up and down, and the suction and take-out by the medium dispenser 7 can be performed smoothly.

  The engraved card can be accommodated in the already engraved medium accommodating portion 5 by taking up and accommodating the card at an appropriate vertical position by driving the table up and down, and a smooth accommodating operation can be performed.

  Since the pre-positioning unit 13 is provided between the un-engraved medium storage unit 3 and the already-engraved medium storage unit 5 and the medium positioning transport unit 9, the pre-positioning unit 13 positions the un-engraved card C at the pre-positioning unit 13 and then at the takeover position TOP When the non-engraved card C is transferred to the paper set stand 175 of the medium positioning / conveying section 9 and the pre-positioning section 13 is positioned, the engraved card C at the transfer position TOP is moved onto the already engraved medium storage section 5. Can be made.

  Therefore, the standby for the next engraving of the unengraved card C and the removal of the already engraved card C can be performed in an overlapping manner on the conveyance path, and the work efficiency can be improved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic continuous image engraving apparatus 3 Unengraved medium accommodating part 5 Existing engraved medium accommodating part 7 Medium dispenser 9 Medium positioning conveyance part 11 Image engraving part 92a, 92b Nozzle TOP Takeover position EGP Engraving position C Card (card-shaped engraving medium)

Claims (3)

An unengraved medium storage unit for storing a plurality of unengraved card-shaped engraving media stacked one above the other;
An already engraved medium accommodating portion for accommodating engraved card-shaped engraved media arranged side by side in the unengraved medium accommodating portion;
The uppermost portion of the stacked unengraved card-shaped engraving medium is adsorbed from the upper part of the unengraved medium accommodating portion and moved to the outside of the unengraved medium accommodating portion, and the unengraved medium accommodating portion and the already engraved medium accommodated A medium dispenser that moves linearly in the adjacent direction of the section;
A medium positioning and conveying unit that is arranged in the moving direction of the medium dispenser and moves the unengraved card-shaped engraving medium at the takeover position to move and position it at the engraving position;
An image engraving unit that is arranged at the engraving position and performs image engraving on an unengraved card-shaped engraving medium at the engraving position;
With
The medium dispenser includes a nozzle that separates a lower layer card that blows out air toward the side of the card-shaped engraving medium when adsorbing the top of the unengraved card-shaped engraving medium,
An automatic continuous image engraving device. The automatic continuous image engraving apparatus according to claim 1,
The air ejected from the nozzle pulsates,
An automatic continuous image engraving device. The automatic continuous image engraving device according to claim 1 or 2,
The nozzle is disposed at an upper part of the unengraved medium storage unit,
An automatic continuous image engraving device.

Images