JP4591174B2 - LAMINATE CARD MANUFACTURING METHOD, LAMINATING DEVICE, AND CARD PRINTING DEVICE - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a laminated card manufacturing method for manufacturing a laminated card in which a protective film is laminated on the surface of the card, a laminating apparatus for laminating a protective film on the card, and laminating on the surface of the card after printing. The present invention relates to a card printing apparatus that applies

  With the advent of the full-fledged card era, various types of cards have been used in daily life. For example, a card with specific information printed on its surface, a magnetic card such as a telephone card, or an IC card represented by a credit card incorporating an IC memory. In some applications, such as identification, an image such as a face photo is printed on the surface.

Such various cards are often laminated with a protective film on the surface in order to prevent the surface from being scratched or stained, or to prevent tampering with printed information.
Specifically, for example, a film-like transparent film having a thickness of about 10 μm to 30 μm and a printed card surface are thermocompression bonded, whereby the film is attached to the surface to form a protective film.

An example of a laminating apparatus that performs this laminating process is described in Patent Document 1.
The laminating apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is a protective body in which a resin layer serving as a protective layer is formed on a base material such as PET on the surface of a recording medium (card or the like) made of plastic or fine paper. The resin layer is laminated by thermocompression bonding of a laminate film) with a heating roller.

As this laminating method, there is also a method of sticking the laminate film base material itself to the surface of the card to form a protective film.
In this case, the laminate film is composed of a base material and an adhesive layer, and is subjected to half-cut processing at the boundary (usually the outer shape of the card) in the range to be pasted in advance.
And after laminating, it separates so that the part which is not stuck may be cut | disconnected by the half cut part.

As another laminate film, there is a roll-like laminate film in which pre-cut patches (transparent film) to be laminated on a carrier (mounting paper) are pasted at predetermined intervals.
A sensor mark for identifying the position of the patch is attached to the carrier of the laminate film.

A laminator that uses this film detects this sensor mark with a sensor prior to lamination, heats it with a heat roller while identifying the position of the precut patch, and presses it against the platen roller, pulling only the patch away from the carrier. It is a method of thermocompression bonding to the printed card surface.
In the case of such a roll-shaped laminate film, patch lamination can be continuously performed on the card surface by a card laminator device.

By the way, although the application position with respect to the carrier when applying patches on this film roll at regular intervals is almost constant, since it is an industrial product, misalignment between lots or the like occurs with variations.
It is empirically known that this variation is small in one film roll and large in each roll.

Such displacement of the patch application position will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing the positional deviation of the patch in the winding direction of the film roll, and FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the positional deviation of the patch in the direction orthogonal to the winding direction of the film roll.

In FIG. 12, patches 1203 are affixed at predetermined pitch intervals in the longitudinal direction on a carrier 1203C.
In addition, sensor marks 1201 corresponding to the respective patches 1203 are provided on the side end portions of the carrier 1203C.
In this figure, a patch affixed at a regular position is indicated by a broken line 1202. The distance from the sensor mark 1201 to the patch at the regular position in the roll direction of the carrier 1203C is indicated by an arrow 1204, and the amount of sticking position deviation is indicated by an arrow 1205.

In FIG. 13, the patches 1303 are attached at predetermined pitch intervals in the longitudinal direction on the carrier 1303C as in FIG.
Also, sensor marks 1301 corresponding to the patches 1303 are provided on the side end portions of the carrier 1303C.
In this figure, a patch affixed at a regular position is indicated by a broken line 1302. The distance from the sensor mark 1301 to the patch at the regular position in the direction orthogonal to the roll direction of the carrier 1303C is indicated by an arrow 1304, and the amount of sticking position deviation is indicated by an arrow 1305.
As described above, when the patch is laminated on the card surface while the patch application position is deviated from the normal position, the laminate position of the patch with respect to the card is deviated for each lot, for example.
JP 2001-105493 A

By the way, laminating is usually the final step in the card manufacturing process.
For example, if the previous process is a printing process on the card surface, in order to improve manufacturing efficiency, the printed card discharge port of the printing device and the card carry-in port of the laminating device are directly connected to shorten the time interval between the processes. The card is manufactured.
In the case of a card printing apparatus having a laminating function, the printing apparatus is connected to a printing mechanism and a laminating mechanism corresponding to the laminating apparatus, and is laminated immediately after printing.

As a printing method employed in such a printing apparatus, a printing method such as a thermal transfer method in which a card is heated is known.
For example, in the thermal transfer method, the card itself is heated to a temperature (40 ° C. to 50 ° C.) that is considerably higher than room temperature by heating with a thermal transfer roller.
In this case, the card tends to warp so that the printed surface side, that is, the surface side to be laminated is concave.
In a conventional laminating apparatus, it is necessary to have a transport structure that takes warpage into account so that a card warped in such a shape can be transported through the laminating apparatus without delay.
Specifically, the guide shaft for guiding the laminate film immediately before the pressure roller is inserted is provided at a position sufficiently separated from the card transport surface.

An example of the laminating apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
13 (a) and 13 (b) are schematic views showing the conveyance path and the laminating unit. FIG. 13 (a) is a state immediately before the card is inserted into the laminating unit, and FIG. 13 (b) is the card. The state during lamination is shown.

In FIG. 13A, the laminating apparatus 101 includes a first transport roller portion R1 composed of a set of a press shaft 81a and a card transport roller 81b, and a second transport composed of a combination of the press shaft 83a and a card transport roller 83b. A roller portion R2 and a third transport roller portion R3 comprising a set of a press shaft 87a and a card transport roller 87b are provided.
Here, the press shaft 87a of the third transport roller portion R3 has a remarkably larger diameter than other shafts and rollers for the reason described later.

Between the second transport roller portion R2 and the third transport roller portion R3, a laminate portion L made of a set of a heat roller 86a and a platen roller 86b is disposed.
The laminating portion L is configured such that the heat roller 86a moves in the direction of the arrow in the drawing and the laminate film 2 and the card 1 are thermocompression bonded to the platen roller 86b.
The laminate film 2 is stretched between the supply reel 110 and the take-up reel 115 while being guided by the guide shafts 84 and 85 so as to pass between the heat roller 86a and the platen roller 86b.

On the other hand, a card guide 82 that supports the card 1 to be transported is disposed between the first transport roller portion R1 and the second transport roller portion R2.
In this configuration, the card 1 is sandwiched between the press shafts of the transport roller portions R1 to R3 and the card transport roller and transported in the direction of the arrow Td (discharge side) in the figure.
Between the first and second conveying rollers, the card guide 82 conveys the surface 1b opposite to the printing surface 1a of the card 1 while supporting it.

When the card 1 is heated in the previous process such as printing as described above, the card 1 is conveyed with a warp with the printing surface 1a side being concave as shown exaggeratedly in this figure.
As the warped card 1 is transported and passes through the second transport roller portion R2, the front end portion 1t of the card 1 is located downstream of the second transport roller portion R2 so as to warp upward in the figure. It is carried out (D part).
Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the guide shaft 84 so that the distance Ht2 from the transport surface Ts is sufficiently large so that the tip 1t of the card 1 does not hit the guide shaft 84.

At that time, the distances Ht2 from the transport surface Ts to the respective guide shafts 84 and 85 are different, and the guide shaft 84 on the supply side of the card 1 is located farther (higher) from the transport surface Ts and is crimped. If the laminated film 2 is not parallel to the transport surface TS, the laminated film 2 that comes into contact with the heated heat roller 86a is heated for a longer time on the supply side than on the discharge side. Since it contacts the roller 86a, it is heated for a long time.
Therefore, the characteristics of the material may change or the film itself may be deformed, which is not preferable.
Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the two guide shafts 84 and 85 so that the distance Ht2 from the transport surface Ts is equal so that the laminate film 2 and the transport surface Ts are parallel to each other.

However, as shown in FIG. 13B, when the guide shaft 85 is aligned with the guide shaft 84 so as to increase the distance Ht2 from the transport surface TS, the card 1 that has passed through the laminate portion L is laminated film. By pulling to 2, the card itself has a warp, so that the leading end 1t thereof is lifted to the guide shaft 85 side with respect to the transport surface Ts (E portion).
If the conveyance continues in this posture, if the press shaft 86a has the same diameter as the other press shaft 83a and the like in FIG. 13B, the tip 1t of the card 1 abuts against the press shaft 86a, and the conveyance is poor. turn into.

Therefore, in order to prevent this contact, it is necessary to sufficiently increase the diameter of the press shaft 86a as shown in the drawing.
Further, in order to accommodate the shaft having a large diameter, it is necessary to move the position of the third conveying roller portion R3 away from the laminating portion L to the discharge side, which causes a problem that the laminating apparatus is increased in size.

On the other hand, an unnecessary laminate film is peeled off from the card 1 at the position of the guide shaft 85. At this time, the angle (peeling angle) C1 formed between the surface 1a of the card 1 and the laminate film 2 is determined by the front end 1t of the card 1. Since the card 1 is lifted, the angle is considerably smaller than the peeling angle C when the card 1 is not warped or when the position of the guide shaft 85 is close to the transport surface TS.
For this reason, there is a problem that the laminate film 2 cannot easily be peeled off and malfunctions, or even if it can be peeled off, it cannot be completely peeled off and a part of the film remains on the card, so that a so-called peeling residue is likely to occur. It was.
In addition, a method of forming the card 1 itself from a material that has heat resistance and is difficult to warp is also considered, but it can be realized without increasing the cost of the card and without impairing the versatility of the laminating apparatus. difficult.

Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a laminated card that does not cause an operation failure or a peeling failure due to peeling of the laminate material.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a laminating apparatus and a card printing apparatus that can be downsized without any operation failure or peeling failure associated with peeling of the laminate material.

In order to solve the above problems, the present onset Ming has the following steps as a means.
[1] A first surface of the card, and a laminated film that will be supplied from the film supply means has a protective film forming material to thermocompression bonding by thermocompression bonding part overlapping, said protective film forming material on said one surface met method for producing a laminated card of producing a bonded are laminated card comprising,
A supply step of conveying the card in a predetermined conveyance direction and supplying the card to the thermocompression bonding section;
Said supplying step overlapping said laminate film supplied from said film supply means on one side of the card supplied by passed through the heat crimping portion has a thermocompression bonding step of performing the thermocompression bonding,
In the supplying step, the card has a procedure of inclining with respect to the transport direction so that a rear side in the transport direction approaches the laminate film.

Further, in order to solve the above problems, the present onset Ming has the following configuration as a unit.
[2] months and one side of the over-de, heat bonding the said protective film forming material on the one surface by thermocompression bonding superposed, and the laminate film that will be supplied from the film supply means has a protective film forming material A laminating apparatus having a crimping part,
A transporting means for feeding the card to the thermocompression bonding section and transporting the card in a predetermined transporting direction to pass the thermocompression bonding section;
Inclining means for inclining the card with respect to the conveying direction so that the rear side in the conveying direction approaches the laminated film supplied from the film supplying means when supplying the card to the thermocompression bonding section, It was configured to include.
[3] a printing unit for printing on at least one surface of the card,
And printed the one side, and the thermocompression bonded portions of the laminate film that will be supplied from the film supply means has a protective film forming material, and thermocompression bonding repeatedly stuck the protective layer forming material to said first surface A card printing device comprising :
A transporting means for feeding the card to the thermocompression bonding section and transporting the card in a predetermined transporting direction to pass the thermocompression bonding section;
Inclining means for inclining the card with respect to the conveying direction so that the rear side in the conveying direction approaches the laminated film supplied from the film supplying means when supplying the card to the thermocompression bonding section, It was configured to include.

According to the present invention, in the production of a laminated card, there is an effect that an operation failure and a peeling failure do not occur in the peeling of the laminate material.
Further, the laminate material can be peeled well, and there is an effect that the laminating apparatus and the card printing apparatus can be miniaturized without causing poor peeling.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is an internal configuration diagram illustrating a structure in an embodiment of a laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a drive system in the embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a main part in the embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view for explaining an embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a timing chart in the embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining the structure in the embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view for explaining the structure in the embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view for explaining the structure in the embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is another exploded perspective view for explaining the structure in the embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention.

An embodiment of the laminating apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The laminating apparatus 100 is an apparatus that performs laminating on the card surface on which information is recorded.
Specifically, a laminate film is attached to the surface 1a of the card 1 inserted from the card insertion port 101, and then the card 1 is discharged from the discharge port 119.
Moreover, although the card | curd illustrated in this Example is a product made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), for example, it is not limited to this.
Hereinafter, this apparatus will be specifically described along the conveyance path of the card 1.

The apparatus 100 includes, as a card carry-in path, a first carry-in roller portion R1, a laminate position sensor 104, and a press shaft 105a, each of which includes a card insertion slot 101, a card insertion detection sensor 102, a press shaft 103a, and a card carrying roller 103b. And a second carry-in roller portion R2 composed of a set of card transport rollers 105b.
Lamination is performed on the surface 1a of the card 1 conveyed on the carry-in route.
The laminating process is performed by a laminating roller unit LR including a set of a heat roller 106a and a heat press shaft 106b.

  Thereafter, the card 1 is transported through the carry-out route and discharged. As the card carry-out path, a first carry-out roller portion L1, which is a set of the press shaft 107a and the card carry roller 107b, a card discharge sensor 108, a second carry-out portion L2 which is a set of the press shaft 109a and the card carry-out roller 109b, and A discharge port 119 is provided.

The press shafts 107a and 109a and the card carry-out rollers 107b and 109b of the first and second carry-out portions L1 and L2 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the first carry-out roller portion L1 as viewed from the upper side of FIG. Since the second carry-out roller portion is also the same as this drawing, the first carry-out roller portion will be described as a representative.
The width W1 of the maximum outer diameter portion of the press shaft 107 and the width W2 of the maximum outer diameter portion of the card carry-out roller 107b are set to be substantially the same or larger than the width Wc of the card 1. Yes.

Accordingly, the end E of each of the rollers 107a and 107b does not come into contact with the card 1 conveyed in the carry-out direction (the arrow direction in the figure), so the entire surface of the card 1 on which the protective film (laminate piece) 2a is laminated. Is uniformly pressed, and the bias of the internal stress remaining in the card 1 is eliminated. That is, it is made uniform with low stress.
Therefore, the surface laminated by each roller is not damaged, and the soft protective film is still distorted due to the high temperature, and no wrinkles are formed.
Moreover, since it is pressed uniformly and there is no unevenness in the sticking of the card and the protective film, it does not peel off over time.

Returning to FIG. 1, the laminate film 2 used for lamination passes between the heat roller 106 a and the heat press shaft 106 b and is stretched between the supply side reel 110 and the take-up side reel 115.
Further, an end mark sensor 111 and a film mark sensor 112 for detecting a mark (details will be described later) attached to the laminate film 2 and guide shafts 113 and 114 are arranged on the stretching path.
Further, a heat cam 116, a heat cam pressing position sensor 117, and a heat cam standby position sensor 118 are provided. Details of the heat cam and the like will be described later.
A card guide 120 is disposed between the first transport roller portion R1 and the second transport roller portion R2 (indicated by a broken line in the figure). Details of the card guide 120 will be described later.

Here, the suspension structure of the laminate film 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.
The laminating apparatus according to the embodiment includes a cassette 1100 in which a supply reel 110, a guide shaft 113, a guide shaft 114, a take-up reel 115, and the like are attached to a base 1004 and integrated to facilitate replacement of the laminate film 2. It has a structure.

A core bobbin 1001 around which the laminate film 2 is wound is inserted into the supply-side reel 110.
The core bobbin 1001 includes a hollow shaft 1001a having a through hole 1001d and a plurality of grooves 1001c extending in the axial direction on the inner surface thereof, and a disk portion 1001b fixed to one end of the hollow shaft 1001a. ing.
A bobbin holder 1002 is fitted on the disk portion side of the core bobbin 1001.
The bobbin holder 1002 includes a hollow shaft 1002a having a plurality of teeth 1002c on the outer peripheral surface, and a disk portion 1002b fixed to one end of the hollow shaft 1002a.
The disk portion 1002b is provided with a positioning pin 1002b1 that fits with a spacer 1003 (details will be described later) protruding from the same side as the hollow shaft 1002a.

The hollow shaft 1002a of the bobbin holder 1002 is fitted into the through hole 1001d of the hollow shaft 1001a in the core bobbin 1001, and the groove 1001c of the core bobbin 1001 and the teeth 1002c of the bobbin holder 1002 are engaged with each other.
The bobbin holder 1002 is also fitted with a drive unit (not shown) of the supply side motor to give a predetermined back tension to the laminate film 2.

  With this configuration, the laminating apparatus can be attached and detached together with the cassette 1100 with the laminating film 2 set on the supply-side reel 110. Therefore, the laminating apparatus 2 can be easily replaced without stopping or disassembling the laminator apparatus. It has a possible structure.

Further, when the laminate film 2 is set on the supply reel 110, a disc-shaped spacer 1003 having a predetermined thickness is sandwiched between the core bobbin 1001 and the bobbin holder 1002.
This predetermined thickness is set according to the positional deviation of the patch in the direction orthogonal to the roll direction of the film roll 1303c shown in FIG.
If at least a predetermined number of spacers 1003 having a predetermined thickness are mounted so as to be the reference patch position, the laminate film in the axial direction of the supply reel 110 can be increased or decreased by increasing or decreasing the number of mounted spacers 1003. 2, that is, the position of the patch in that direction can be adjusted in a direction away from or closer to the base 1004.
The thickness of the spacer 1003 can be adjusted with various adjustment amounts by preparing spacers having a plurality of thicknesses or sandwiching a plurality of spacers.

A specific example of this will be shown below.
In this example, the width of the carrier which is the mount of the laminate film 2 is 90 mm, and the width of the patch attached to the mount is 82 mm.
And the shift | offset | difference of the sticking position of the direction orthogonal to the roll direction which is the width direction of a patch generate | occur | produces in the range of ± 1 mm or less.
With respect to this laminate film, the position of the patch is set to be the reference position in a state where the spacer 1003 having a thickness of 1.0 mm is mounted, and the spacer is further overlapped with the spacer to have a thickness of 0.5 mm or 1.0 mm. By mounting the spacer, corrections of +0.5 mm and +1.0 mm can be made, respectively.
On the other hand, if the 1.0 mm spacer 1003 serving as the reference position is removed, a correction of -1.0 mm is obtained, and if a 0.5 mm spacer is attached instead, a correction of -0.5 mm is possible.
This is an example, and of course, the thickness of the spacer is not limited to this. Depending on the amount of variation in the patch position on the laminate film side, spacers of various thicknesses can be used and combined at any pitch. Can be corrected.
As the material of the spacer, a resin such as ABS or nylon can be used.
A metal may be used, but when this is formed by pressing, post-processing may be required so that no edge flash occurs.

In the embodiment described above, the spacer 1003 is positioned on the disk part 1001a of the core bobbin 1001 and the disk part 1002a of the bobbin holder 1002, and the positioning pin 1002b1 is provided on the disk part 1002b side so as not to fall off. It may be provided on the side. Further, it may be claw-shaped instead of pin-shaped.
With the configuration using the spacer 1003, a certain amount of correction can be reliably performed with respect to the positional deviation of the patch in the direction orthogonal to the roll winding direction of the laminate film 2.
The spacer 1003 is provided with a hole (not shown) that fits with the positioning pin 1002b1 of the bobbin holder 1002, and rotates together with the bobbin holder 1002. The take-up reel 115 has the same configuration as that of the supply reel 110.

  Next, the drive system will be described with reference to FIG. The arrangement of each member in FIG. 2 generally corresponds to that in FIG. 1, and members described in common with FIG. 1 are the card transport rollers 103 b, 105 b, 107 b, 109 b, the heat cam 116, and the take-up reel 115. is there.

The apparatus 100 includes a card transport motor 201, a heat cam motor 206, and a film take-up motor 209 as drive sources.
The power of the card transport motor 201 is transmitted through the first to third power transmission paths.
That is, the first power transmission path is transmitted to the idle gear 203 via the belt 202, and further transmitted to the card transport roller 105b of the second carry-in roller portion R2 that meshes with the idle gear 203.
As a second transmission path, it is also transmitted to the card conveyance roller 103b of the first carry-in roller portion R1 via the belt 204 wound around the card carry-in roller 105b.
As a third transmission path, it is transmitted to the card conveyance roller 107b of the first carry-out roller portion L1 meshing with the idle gear 203, and is also transmitted to the card conveyance roller 109b of the second carry-out roller portion L2 via the belt 205. Is done.

On the other hand, the power of the heat cam motor 206 is transmitted to the heat cam 116 via a worm wheel 207 and an idle gear 208 meshing with the worm wheel 207.
The heat cam 116 includes a cam portion 116a having a predetermined shape (see also FIG. 1).
The lever 121 is urged against and in contact with the cam portion 116a from the lower side of FIG. 1, and when the heat cam 116 rotates, it slides on the outer peripheral surface of the cam portion 116a and extends in the vertical direction of FIG. Move back and forth.
Since the lever 121 is connected to the heat roller 106 a, the heat roller 106 a moves up and down as the heat cam 116 rotates as a result.

The rotational position of the heat cam 116 is detected by a heat cam pressing position sensor 117 and a heat cam standby position sensor 118.
Specifically, the heat cam 116 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1, and the heat cam pressing position sensor 117 detects that the heat roller 106a starts to be pressed against the heat press shaft 106b.

The heat cam standby position sensor 118 detects that the heat roller 106a starts to be separated from the heat press shaft 106b.
On the other hand, the power of the film take-up motor 209 is transmitted to the take-up reel 115 via the worm wheel 210 and the idle gear 211 that meshes therewith.

Next, the structure of the laminating apparatus 100 is demonstrated using FIG. 3 which is a schematic block diagram.
The laminating apparatus 100 includes a CPU 304 as control means.
Sensor output information from the card insertion detection sensor 102, the laminate position sensor 104, the card ejection sensor 108, the end mark sensor 111, the film mark sensor 112, the heat cam pressing position sensor 117, and the heat cam standby position sensor 118 is input to the CPU 304. The
The CPU 304 is connected to servo circuits 301, 302, and 303 connected to the card transport motor 201, the heat cam motor 206, and the film take-up motor 209, respectively.

  With this configuration, the CPU 304 controls the motors 201, 206, and 209 via the servo circuits 301, 302, and 303 based on the input sensor output information.

Next, the card guide 120 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The card guide 120 is disposed between the first and second transport roller portions R1 and R2, and supports the surface 1b side opposite to the surface 1a to be laminated of the card 1 transported between the card guide 120 and the transport path. Guide along.
Here, FIG. 4A is a perspective view for explaining the card guide 120, and FIG. 4B is a front view for explaining a state in which the card guide 120 guides the card 1.

The card guide 120 supports the card 1 along the conveyance path while the card 1 is conveyed from the insertion port 101 to the laminating roller unit LR.
More specifically, the card guide 120 is composed of a main body portion 125 having a H-shaped cross section including a base portion 125a and a pair of side portions 125b suspended from both ends thereof. A pair of bump portions (projections) 121a and 121b having inclined surfaces 121ak and 121bk inclined in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction so as to fill the inner corner are provided at a part of the inner corner where the side portion 125b intersects. It is what.
In addition, the bump portions 121a and 121b are provided with guide inclined surfaces 121a1 and 121b1 that are inclined in the transport direction so as to be invited when the card 1 abuts.
Hereinafter, the pair of bump portions may be collectively referred to as a bump portion 121. Further, the pair of inclined surfaces may be collectively referred to as 121k.

An opening 125e is formed at substantially the center of the base portion 125a of the main body 125, and the guide conveyance roller 103b of the first carry-in roller portion R1 is accommodated in the opening 125e.
A second carry-in roller portion R2 is disposed on one end side of the main body 125 (on the left front side in FIG. 4). In the drawing, only the guide conveying roller 105b is shown.

  When the card is conveyed to the card guide 120 having such a configuration from the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4A, as shown in FIG. 4B, the ridge line 1d formed by the bottom surface 1b and the side surface 1c of the card 1 is formed. The inclined surface 121k of the bump part 121 comes into contact with the card 1, and the card 1 is supported by the guide surface Tb. The guide surface Tb is set to be higher than the transport surface Ts by a distance Ht1, that is, to be positioned closer to the guide shaft 113 than the transport surface Ts.

Next, the laminating operation in the laminating apparatus 100 of the embodiment will be described.
In this laminating apparatus 100, the CPU 304 determines the feed speed (laminate speed) V <b> 2 of the card 1 and the laminate film 2 when laminating the card 1 as the material and thickness of the card 1 or the material and thickness of the laminate film 2. Control in multiple stages so that it can be optimized according to differences.
Specifically, the laminating speed V2 can be set at a pitch of 0.5 mm / s between 4.0 mm / s and 9.0 mm / s.
In the following description of the operation, it is assumed that control is performed with V2 = 4.0 mm / s constant among these stages.

The laminate film 2 includes a type called a “patch film” in which a laminate film piece 2a having approximately the same size as that of the card 1 is continuously pasted on the mount 2b, and a belt-like mount tape. There is a type called an “overlay film” in which a belt-like laminate film of the same width is attached.
In this overlay film type, the outer shape of the portion to be attached is subjected to a half cut process, and separation after lamination is easy.

In the following description of the operation, a case where a patch film type laminate film is used will be described.
In order to facilitate understanding, the laminating operation will be described in time series divided into first to sixth periods.

<First period: Card loading operation>
When the card 1 is inserted from the card insertion slot 101 by a manual operation or a carry-in device (not shown), the card insertion detection sensor 102 detects the insertion.
The card insertion detection sensor 102 sends an insertion detection signal (Lo) to the CPU 304. Based on the insertion detection signal, the CPU 304 instructs the servo circuit 301 to rotate the card transport motor 201 in the direction in which the card 1 is transported in the exit direction.
As a result, the card 1 is sandwiched between the press shaft 103a and the card transport roller 103b of the first carry-in roller unit R1, and then the press shaft 105a and the card transport roller 105b of the second carry-in roller unit R2. It is conveyed toward.
In the conveyance so far, the card 1 is supported on the lower side of the figure by the card guide 120.

Details will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows a point in time when the leading end 1t of the card 1 passes through the second carry-in roller portion R2 and reaches the vicinity (D portion) of the guide shaft 113, and FIG. 5B shows the leading end. It shows the time when 1t has reached the vicinity (E portion) of the guide shaft 114.
First, when the card 1 reaches the second carry-in roller portion R2, the guide surface Tb in the bump portion 121 of the card guide 120 is at a higher position (side closer to the laminate film 2) than the transport surface Ts. The card 1 is supported by the bump part 121 and is higher than the conveying surface Ts, but the diameter of the press shaft 105a is set so that the leading end 1t is naturally drawn into the second carry-in roller part R2. Has been.

At the same time as the card 1 is sandwiched between the second carry-in roller portion R2, the rear end side of the card 1 is released from the first carry-in roller portion R1. Then, the rear end side 1s of the card 1 is lifted in the direction of the arrow D1 in the figure by the bump portion 121.
That is, the card 1 is inclined so that the rear end side 1 s approaches the laminate film 2.
In this state, the leading portion 1t of the card 1 that has passed through the second carry-in roller portion R2 is substantially lower than the case where there is no card guide 120, and the second carry-in roller portion has a position substantially equivalent to the transport surface Ts. Since it is carried out from R2, even if the arrangement position of the guide shaft 113 of the laminate film 2 is close to the conveying surface Ts, it is guided to the lower side of the guide shaft 113 without any trouble.

Therefore, even if the side on which the card 1 is laminated is warped with a concave side, the guide shaft 113 can be disposed closer to the transport surface Ts.
Since the laminate film 2 and the transport surface Ts should be set as parallel as possible in order to obtain good adhesion characteristics, the guide shaft 114 is also arranged at a position close to the similar transport surface Ts in accordance with the guide shaft 113. Is done.

Here, as described above, the bump portion 121 guides to contact the ridgeline 1d instead of the surface of the card 1 and lift it.
For this reason, even when an abnormal load that is crushed by an unexpected disturbance or the like is applied to the card 1, the card 1 can be bent and absorb the load, and the conveyance is continued without any trouble. Reliability is extremely high.
Further, scratches or the like are not generated on the front and back surfaces of the card 1 so that the quality is not lowered.

In the carry-in operation in the first period, when the detection signal from the card insertion detection sensor 102 is not sent with the movement of the card 1 (Lo → High), the CPU 304 performs a preset conveyance via the servo circuit 301. After conveying the card 1 by the distance, the motor 201 is stopped.
This stop instruction is the end point of the next second period in FIG. The stop instruction may be sent according to the output of the laminate position sensor 104.
Since the card conveying speed V1 so far does not directly affect the laminating process, the card conveying speed V1 can be set at a high speed that does not hinder the conveyance.

<Second period: Laminate position setting operation>
The card transport motor 201 is continuously driven from the first period, whereby the card 1 is transported in the exit direction. Here, when the card detection signal from the laminate position sensor 104 is not output (Lo → High), the CPU 304 stops the card transport motor 201.
Here, when the laminate film 2 (1203c) to which the patch 1203 as shown in FIG. 11 is used is used, with respect to the application deviation 1205 of the patch 1203 in the roll winding direction of the laminate film 2 (1203c), A sensor mark 1201 indicating the patch position on the laminate film 2 (1203c) is detected, the card 1 is moved by a preset offset, and then stopped.
Thus, the amount of deviation of the patch 1203 with respect to the sensor mark 1201 can be corrected at the stop position when the card 1 is laminated.

<Third period: Heat roller pressing operation>
In response to the output signal of the laminate position sensor 104 becoming high, the CPU 304 instructs the servo circuit 302 to drive the heater cam motor 206 to rotate the heat cam 116.
Then, the heat cam motor 206 is stopped after confirming that the heat roller 106a has come to a position to be pressed by an output signal from the heat roller pressing position sensor 117.

<4th period: Lamination operation>
The CPU 304 operates the card transport motor 201 via the servo circuit 301 so that the card 1 is transported at the laminating speed V2 in the exit direction. The distance transported at this speed V2 is the maximum distance in the transport direction in the laminating range on the cart 1 at least.
At the same time, the film winding motor 209 is instructed to the servo circuit 309 to rotate in the direction of winding the laminated film 2 in synchronization with the laminating speed V2.

<5th period: Heat roller separation and film peeling operation>
The CPU 304 operates the heat cam motor 206 via the servo circuit 302 and stops it when the cam portion 116a detection signal from the heat roller standby position sensor 118 comes in. On the other hand, the card transport motor 201 is operated to transport the card 1 by a predetermined distance and then stop.

  When the card 1 and the laminate film 2 are conveyed integrally and the leading end portion 1t of the card 1 reaches the guide shaft 114, the mount 2b of the laminate film 2 is separated from the card 1 on the downstream side (see FIG. 1). Is pulled in the direction of arrow B). Therefore, the mount 2b other than the portion (laminated piece) 2a attached to the card 1 is separated and wound around the take-up reel.

This state is shown in FIG. As described above, the distance Ht2 between the guide shafts 113 and 114 and the transport surface Ts is set to be considerably small. For this reason, the distance by which the leading end portion 1t of the card 1 is lifted from the transport surface Ts by being pulled by the laminate film 2 is also small.
Therefore, the peeling angle C2 formed between the tangent at the position where the laminated film of the card 1 peels and the surface of the laminated film 2 to be wound is sufficiently large, and the peeling (separation) of the laminated film 2 from the card 1 becomes easy. No peeling residue occurs.
Further, since the distance at which the tip 1t of the card 1 is lifted from the transport surface Ts is small, as shown in FIG. 5B, the diameter of the press shaft 107a that can prevent the card 1 from abutting is considerably larger than the conventional one. Can be made smaller.
Therefore, the arrangement position of the press shaft 107 a is also very close to the guide shaft 114.
With this configuration, the laminating apparatus of this embodiment is extremely miniaturized.

On the mount 2b of the laminate film 2, a film mark (not shown) corresponding to a predetermined application pitch of the laminate film piece 2a attached on the mount is attached. When the film mark is detected by the laminate end mark sensor 111, the film winding motor 209 is stopped.
On the other hand, in the case of an overlay film type, the film take-up motor 209 is stopped when the card transport motor 201 is stopped.

<Sixth period: Card discharge operation>
The CPU 304 instructs the servo circuit 301 to drive the card transport motor 201 to operate the card transport rollers 107b and 109b in the direction of transporting the card 1 in the exit direction. Then, the card transport motor 201 is stopped after the time when the card ejection sensor 108 no longer detects the card. Thus, the laminated card 1 is discharged to the outside from the card discharge port 119.
Lamination is performed by performing the operations in the first to sixth periods described in detail above.

Next, as another embodiment, a card printing apparatus 50 equipped with both a card printing function and a laminating function for laminating a printed card surface will be described with reference to FIG.
The embodiment as the card printing apparatus 50 includes a printing unit 50P and a laminating unit 50L, and the basic configuration of the laminating unit 50L is the same as that of the laminating apparatus 100 described above.

In FIG. 7, the printing unit 50P is configured such that a card 1 inserted manually by a card insertion slot 51 or an insertion means (not shown) is connected to an internal print head unit by a first transport roller unit T1 including a pair of rollers 52a and 52b. It is conveyed to H.
The print head portion H includes a thermal head 54 loaded with printing ink, and a platen roller 55 that urges the card 1 from below in FIG. 7 in order to cause the thermal head 54 to press the printing surface 1a of the card 1. Yes.
The thermal head 54 heats the mounted ink and prints predetermined characters and images on the printing surface 1a according to an instruction from a print control unit (not shown).

Thereafter, the card 1 is conveyed to the laminating unit 50L disposed adjacent to the printing unit 50P by the second conveying roller unit T2 including the pair of rollers 53a and 53b.
The laminating unit 50L conveys the printed card 1 conveyed from the printing unit 50P to the laminating roller unit LR by a third conveying roller unit T3 including a pair of rollers 54a and 54b.
In this conveyance, a card guide 120 is disposed between the second and third conveyance roller portions T2 and T3, and the configuration and operation of the card guide 120, the laminating roller portion LR, and the downstream side thereof are described above. The same as the laminating apparatus.
The card 1 laminated on the printing surface 1a is finally carried out from the carry-out port 56 to the outside.

Thus, the laminating apparatus 100 and the card printing apparatus 50 of the embodiment support and guide the card 1 at a position higher than the conveying surface Ts immediately before the laminating roller portion LR in the conveying path of the card 1. When the card 1 conveyed to the laminating roller portion LR is inserted by the card guide 120, the rear side in the conveying direction Td of the card 1 is lifted by the card guide 120, and the laminate film 2 It is inclined with respect to the conveying direction so as to approach the sheet, and is put into the laminating roller portion LR in the inclined state. Even if the card 1 before laminating due to heating by printing etc. becomes high temperature and warps the printing surface 1a as a concave, it will not cause poor conveyance and easy peeling of unnecessary laminating material after laminating will be easy In addition, the peeling can be performed very well.
Further, even if the card material is an inexpensive material not having high heat resistance, it can be laminated and is extremely excellent in versatility.

  In addition, the laminating apparatus and the card printing apparatus of the embodiment are laminated from a card that has warped the laminating process while being conveyed on the same conveying surface without providing an inclination to the card conveying path itself immediately before and after the laminating unit. The material can be easily and satisfactorily peeled off, and the structure is simple, the number of parts is small, and the manufacture is easy and inexpensive compared to the case where the conveyance path is inclined.

  Further, in the laminating apparatus and the card printing apparatus of the embodiment, a spacer 1003 having a thickness set according to the correction amount is provided between the core bobbin 1001 around which the film roll is wound and the bobbin holder 1002 fitted to the core bobbin 1001. Since it has a structure that can correct the patch position deviation in the direction perpendicular to the winding of the film roll, sandwiching the required number of sheets, without making unstable and uncertain correction relying on experience, A stable and fixed amount of correction can be performed.

Moreover, although the example which controls a motor via a servo circuit was shown in the Example, you may make it the structure which controls a motor directly from CPU using a stepping motor etc. without using a servo circuit.
As information recorded on the card surface, there are images including characters and holograms including numbers and symbols. As a recording method, printing is a typical example, but it goes without saying that there are various other methods.
In the embodiment, the mode in which the card 1 is inserted from the insertion slot 101 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a card bundle in which a plurality of cards 1 are stacked is stored in a holder, and the holder is loaded into a supply means inside the apparatus. You may comprise.
It is only necessary that the apparatus includes a supply unit having a card supply function like the insertion slot or the holder.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the configuration and procedure described above, and it goes without saying that modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is an internal block diagram explaining the structure in the Example of the laminating apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining the drive system in the Example of the laminating apparatus of this invention. It is a block block diagram in the Example of the laminating apparatus of this invention. It is a timing chart in the Example of the laminating apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the principal part in the Example of the laminating apparatus of this invention. It is a top view explaining the structure in the Example of the laminating apparatus of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining the structure in the Example of the card printing apparatus of this invention. It is the schematic explaining the structure in the Example of the laminating apparatus of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view explaining the structure in the Example of the laminating apparatus of this invention. It is another exploded perspective view explaining the structure in the Example of the lamination apparatus of this invention. It is a figure explaining the example of the patch sticking position shift of a laminate film. It is a figure explaining the other example of the patch sticking position shift of a laminate film. It is the schematic explaining the conventional laminating apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Card 1a Printing surface 1b (opposite side) surface 1c Side surface 1d Ridge line 2 Laminating film 2a Laminating piece (protective film)
2b Mount 2c Film mark 50 Card printing device 50L Laminating unit 50P Printing unit 51 Card insertion port 52a, 52b, 53a, 53b, 54a, 54b Roller 100 Laminating device 101 Card insertion port 102 Card insertion detection sensor 103a Press shaft 103b Card conveyance roller 104 Laminate Position Sensor 105a Press Shaft 105b Card Conveying Roller 106a Heat Roller 106b Heat Press Shaft 107a Press Shaft 107b Card Conveying Roller 108 Card Discharge Sensor 109a Press Shaft 109b Unloading Roller 110 Supply Side Reel 111 End Mark Sensor 112 Film Mark Sensor 113, 114 Guide shaft 115 Take-up reel 116 Heat cam 116a Cam portion 117 Heat cam push Sensor 118 Heat cam standby position sensor 119 Discharge port 120 Card guide 121 (121a, 121b) Bump part 121k (121ak, 121bk) Inclined surface 125 (Card guide) main body 125a Base part 125b Side part 125e Opening part 201 Card transport motor 202, 204, 205 Belt 203, 208, 211 Idle gear 206 Heat cam motor 207, 210 Worm wheel 209 Film winding motor 301, 302, 303 Servo circuit 304 CPU
1001 Core bobbin 1001a Hollow shaft 1001b Disk part 1001c Groove 1001d Through hole 1002 Bobbin holder 1002a Hollow shaft 1002b Disk part 1002b1 Positioning pin 1002c Teeth 1003 Spacer 1004 Base 1100 Cassette H Print head part Ht1, Ht2 Distance L1, L2 First and second unloading rollers Part LR Laminating roller part R1, R2 First and second carry-in roller parts T1, T2 First and second conveying roller part Tb Guide surface Td Conveying direction Ts Conveying surface V1 Conveying speed V2 Laminating speed

Claims (3)

And one surface of the card, and the laminate film that will be supplied from the film supply means has a protective film forming material, and thermo-compression bonding by thermocompression bonding part overlapping the made the protected film forming material is adhered to said first surface A laminate card manufacturing method for manufacturing a laminate card,
A supply step of conveying the card in a predetermined conveyance direction and supplying the card to the thermocompression bonding section;
Said supplying step overlapping said laminate film supplied from said film supply means on one side of the card supplied by passed through the heat crimping portion has a thermocompression bonding step of performing the thermocompression bonding,
In the supplying step, the card is inclined with respect to the transport direction so that a rear side in the transport direction approaches the laminate film. With one side and the card, and the laminate film that will be supplied from the film supply means has a protective film forming material, a thermocompression bonding part thermocompression bonding to affixing the protective layer forming material to said one surface overlapping the Laminating equipment,
A transporting means for feeding the card to the thermocompression bonding section and transporting the card in a predetermined transporting direction to pass the thermocompression bonding section;
Inclining means for inclining the card with respect to the conveying direction so that the rear side in the conveying direction approaches the laminated film supplied from the film supplying means when supplying the card to the thermocompression bonding section, A laminating apparatus comprising: A printing section for printing on at least one side of the card;
And printed the one side, and the thermocompression bonded portions of the laminate film that will be supplied from the film supply means has a protective film forming material, and thermocompression bonding repeatedly stuck the protective layer forming material to said first surface A card printing device comprising:
A transporting means for feeding the card to the thermocompression bonding section and transporting the card in a predetermined transporting direction to pass the thermocompression bonding section;
Inclining means for inclining the card with respect to the conveying direction so that the rear side in the conveying direction approaches the laminated film supplied from the film supplying means when supplying the card to the thermocompression bonding section, A card printer characterized by comprising:

Images