JP4931861B2 - Card printing device, IC card processing device, and roller - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a card printing apparatus that prints on a card, an IC card processing apparatus that issues an IC card provided with an IC chip, and a roller used in these.

  In recent years, due to the problem of illegal use of magnetic media such as cards and tickets, IC cards have been increasingly integrated, and IC cards have become widespread. Such an IC card is printed with an expiration date or the like on the surface because the data recorded on the IC chip cannot be seen with the naked eye.

  However, such printing on the surface can cause trouble. That is, for example, if printing of the date part of the expiration date is faint or missing, even if the card stores data in the magnetic stripe or IC chip, there is evidence that the user can visually see the expiration date. It will disappear. In such a case, even if the card has expired, there is a problem that if a complaint is received, it may be necessary to accept a refund.

  On the other hand, as a technique for preventing print fading and omission, a technique has been proposed in which the thickness of a printing ticket surface is detected and a gap with a print head is controlled (see Patent Document 1). Thereby, it is supposed that thickness can be measured correctly and print fading, print head pin breakage, etc. can be prevented.

In addition, a gap setting method of a printing apparatus that performs print setting by storing a head gap suitable for a print medium specification to be used in advance as information in a nonvolatile storage element has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).
JP-A 63-249673 JP 2007-38611 A

  However, none of the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above can appropriately deal with a printing object (card or paper) whose thickness is partially different depending on the IC chip. In other words, if printing is performed according to the thickness of the majority of the printing object, it becomes inappropriate for the thickness of the convex part, and there is a problem that the print head pin breaks, the ribbon is damaged, or paper jam or printing stains may occur. there were. On the other hand, if printing is performed according to the thickness of the convex parts such as IC chips, it becomes inappropriate for the majority of the thickness of the print object, resulting in faint printing, thinning of the printing result, and deterioration of printing quality. There was a problem of getting.

  The head gap that can be adjusted by the above-described techniques is for the entire conveyance width direction of the printing surface at the position where the convex portion is present. For this reason, there arises a problem that printing is lost with respect to the line shape of the convex portion in the conveyance width direction, particularly the periphery of the convex portion.

  In view of the above-described problems, the present invention can provide an appropriate printing pressing force evenly on the printing surface without controlling the head gap, and can appropriately print around the convex portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus, an IC card processing apparatus, and a roller used for them.

The present invention is a card printing apparatus comprising a conveying unit that conveys a card, a printing unit that performs printing on the card, and a roller that receives pressure from the printing unit, wherein the roller is a convex portion of the card. The concave portion of the roller is formed in a size that becomes a part of the roller in the width direction and a part of the circumferential direction, and the concave portion of the roller is formed on the convex portion of the card conveyed by the conveying means. Positioning means for corresponding to the convex portion position acquisition means for detecting the thickness of the card to acquire the position of the convex portion of the card, and the card acquired by the convex portion position acquisition means. By controlling the conveyance drive by the conveyance means with respect to the position of the convex portion in the conveyance direction, the convex position of the card conveyed by the conveyance means and the phase of the concave position of the rotating roller are synchronized. A conveyance control means for causing the concave portion of the roller to correspond to the convex portion of the card, and the roller disposed below the roller with respect to the conveyance width direction position of the convex portion of the card acquired by the convex position acquisition means. The support members that support the shaft portions at both ends of the first and second shafts are displaced in the transport width direction by a displacement belt stretched between two displacement rollers, thereby displacing the rollers in the transport width direction, thereby setting the position in the width direction of the recess. It is a card printing apparatus or an IC card processing apparatus constituted by width direction displacement means corresponding to the convex part .

  According to the present invention, a card printing apparatus and an IC card process capable of equally applying an appropriate printing pressing force to the printing surface even without controlling the head gap and appropriately printing around the convex portion. Devices and rollers used in them can be provided.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The present embodiment relates to a ticket vending machine that issues an automatic ticket issuing printer such as an IC card printer, an admission ticket in which an IC chip or the like is employed, which is employed in railway operations or the like.

FIG. 1 is a right side view showing an internal configuration of a ticket issuing printer 1 as a card printing apparatus and an IC card processing apparatus.
The ticket issuing printer 1 is installed in a station, facility, etc., accepts the operation of an attendant or customer, and performs a transaction using the card 2 as an IC card in which an IC chip 16 or the like is embedded. The ticket issuing printer 1 is connected to a host computer 15 via a control unit 14.

  The ticket issuing printer 1 includes a card insertion unit 3 as an insertion unit, a mark reader 4, a non-contact IC reader / writer 5 as a reader / writer unit, a thickness detection unit 6 as a convex position acquisition unit and a thickness detection unit, and a magnetic / contact unit. An IC card reader 7, a print erasing unit 8, a thermal head 9 as a printing unit, a card hopper unit 10, a card collection box 11, a card discharge unit 12 as a discharge unit, a display unit 13, and the like. In addition, the thickness detection part 6 functions also as a positioning means with the control part mentioned above.

  The card 2 is a medium in which the IC chip 16 or the like is embedded, and can store data. This card 2 is a non-contact IC card having an antenna for non-contact communication, a contact IC card having a contact terminal for contact and communication, a magnetic card having a magnetic stripe and storing magnetic data, or these It is possible to configure with an appropriate card such as a card having a plurality of functions.

The card insertion unit 3 has a function of taking in and transporting the card 2.
The mark reader 4 has a function of reading a black mark indicating the card type or orientation printed on the card 2.

  The non-contact IC reader / writer 5 reads and rewrites information with respect to the IC chip 16 incorporated in the non-contact type card 2 taken in from the card insertion unit 3 or newly issued from the card hopper unit 10. It has the function to do.

  The thickness detector 6 detects the thickness of the entire card 2 and detects the unevenness formed by embedding the IC chip 16 and the like. Therefore, the thickness detection unit 6 has a function of detecting at which position the unevenness is present with respect to the entire card 2.

  The magnetic / contact IC card reader 7 has a function of reading and rewriting the magnetic data of the card 2, and reading and rewriting information of the IC chip 16 built in the contact type card 2.

The print erasure unit 8 is a head having a function of performing print erasure for rewriting printing.
The thermal head 9 has a function of pressing the printed surface of the card 2 to cause current to flow through the element to generate heat, and transmitting the heat to the printed surface to cause the colored layer of the card 2 to develop color and perform printing.

The card hopper unit 10 has a function of setting and feeding a card 2 to be newly issued.
The card collection box 11 has a function of collecting and stacking cards 2 that are no longer needed due to reissue or expiration.

The card discharge unit 12 has a function of stacking one or a plurality of cards 2 and discharging them in a batch.
The display unit 13 has a function of displaying a transaction state, an error state, an execution command at the time of a test, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a configuration example of a thermal printing unit which is an embodiment of the present invention.
The IC chip 16 is a non-volatile element having a function of storing information.
The platen roller 17 as a roller is formed in a cylindrical shape. The platen roller 17 has a function in which the thermal head 9 is pressed against the circumferential surface, the card 2 is sandwiched between the platen roller 17 and the thermal head 9, and printing is performed on the printing surface while being conveyed.

  The platen roller 17 has a cylindrical axial length that is longer than the width of the card 2 in the transport width direction, and preferably has a length about twice the width of the card 2 in the transport width direction. Has been. Further, the circumferential length of the platen roller 17 is formed to be approximately the same as or longer than the length of the card 2 in the conveyance direction.

  Further, a concave portion 18 is provided on the circumferential surface of the platen roller 17 in the vicinity of the center of the cylindrical axial direction. The concave portion 18 has a size slightly larger than the convex portion such as the IC chip 16 built in the card 2 and a depth slightly deeper than the convex portion such as the IC chip 16. Or a hole. The concave portion 18 is formed in a quadrangular shape, more specifically, a quadrilateral formed by a straight line parallel to the transport width direction and a straight line parallel to the transport direction.

  The concave portion 18 allows the convex portion such as the IC chip 16 to escape when pressed by the thermal head 9 pressure contact. Thereby, it has the function to equalize the press by the thermal head 9 of a printing surface.

The sensor 19 and the encoder 20 have a function of detecting the rotational phase of the platen roller 17.
The platen roller 17 described above is supported at the shaft portions at both ends by a support member 31 disposed below. The support member 31 is displaced in the conveyance width direction by a displacement belt 33 stretched around the displacement rollers 32 and 32. That is, the displacement roller 32 is rotationally driven by the displacement motor 34, whereby the displacement belt 33 rotates, and the support member 3 fixed to the displacement belt 33 is displaced. Accordingly, when the support member 31 is displaced in the conveyance width direction, the platen roller 17, the sensor 19, and the encoder 20 are integrally displaced in the conveyance width direction. Thereby, the position of the recess 18 in the transport width direction can be adjusted to the position of the convex portion of the IC chip 16 in the transport width direction. The support member 31, the displacement roller 32, the displacement belt 33, and the displacement motor 34 function as a width direction displacement unit.

  The transport roller 21 is driven by the control of the transport motor 22 and has a function of controlling the transport of the card 2. The transport roller 21 and the transport motor 22 function as a transport unit.

The platen drive motor 23 is an actuator for controlling and driving the platen roller 17.
The ticket issuing printer 1 is provided with a control unit (not shown) that also functions as a conveyance control unit. The control unit includes a card insertion unit 3, a mark reader 4, a non-contact IC reader / writer 5, and a thickness detection unit. 6. Control operations of the magnetic / contact IC card reader 7, the print erasing unit 8, the thermal head 9, the card hopper unit 10, the card collection box 11, the card discharge unit 12, and the display unit 13. In addition, you may make it the structure which controls operation | movement by the control part 14 of high-order apparatuses, such as a ticket vending machine, without providing such a control part.

An outline of the operation of the ticket issuing printer 1 configured as described above will be described.
The card 2 taken in from the card insertion unit 3 is conveyed by a conveyance roller 21 that is rotated by driving of the conveyance motor 22. The conveyed card 2 is read by the mark reader 4 (see FIG. 1) for information such as the card type and orientation.

  Thereafter, the card 2 passes through the thickness detector 6. At this time, the thickness detector 6 detects where the irregularities formed by embedding the IC chip 16 and the like are on the card printing surface. Thereafter, reading of information to the card 2 is executed by the non-contact IC reader / writer 5 and the magnetic / contact IC card reader 7.

  The card 2 newly issued from the card hopper unit 10 is also transported by the transport roller 21 that is rotated by driving the transport motor 22. Then, the card 2 passes through the thickness detector 6, and the thickness detector 6 detects where the irregularities formed by embedding the IC chip 16 and the like are on the card printing surface.

  Next, in order to execute printing or rewriting printing, the card 2 is transported to a printing unit constituted by the thermal head 9 and the platen roller 17. Here, the information read by the thickness detecting unit 6 is fed back to the card conveyance control and the rotation phase of the concave portion of the platen roller 17 and the position control in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. As a result, the platen roller 17 can be conveyed so that the concave portion 18 matches the position of the convex portion formed by embedding the IC chip 16 and the like. By performing the printing operation in such a position, the thermal print head 9 is uniformly pressed on the entire card printing surface except for the convex portion formed by embedding the IC chip 16 and the like. Can be prevented.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the ticket issuing printer 1 relating to printing.
The ticket issuing printer 1 drives the conveyance motor 22 (step S1), and conveys the card 2 taken from the card insertion unit 3 or the card 2 issued from the card hopper unit 10 (step S2).

  The ticket issuing printer 1 starts the thickness detection of the card 2 by the thickness detector 6 (step S3), and detects the tip of the ticket piece (step S4). At the same time, the ticket-issuing printer 1 executes the alignment and driving of the platen roller 17 in the conveyance direction (step S5) and the alignment of the platen roller 17 in the conveyance width direction (step S6).

  Information on the position of the IC chip 16 (convex portion) read by the thickness detector 6 is fed back to the conveyance control of the card 2. This synchronizes. The position information of the convex portion is also fed back to the position control of the platen roller. As a result, the position of the concave portion 18 of the platen roller 17 is synchronized at a position perpendicular to the card conveying direction.

  In the alignment in the conveyance direction, the position in the conveyance direction of the IC chip 16 detected by the thickness detection unit 6 is grasped by the number of rotations (number of pulses) of the conveyance motor 22 that rotates the conveyance roller 21. It is good to execute by confirming the position (rotation phase) of the recess 18 in 17 and adjusting the rotation start time. As a result, when the IC chip 16 of the card 2 proceeding in the transport direction reaches the position of the platen roller 17, the concave portion 18 of the platen roller 17 rotating in accordance with the transport speed of the card 2 is positioned at the position facing the IC chip 16. To position.

  Further, the alignment in the conveyance width direction is performed by rotating the displacement motor 34 by the corresponding number of rotations (number of pulses) based on the position in the conveyance width direction of the IC chip 16 detected by the thickness detector 6 and by the displacement belt 33. The support member 31 is displaced, and the displacement of the concave portion 18 of the platen roller 17 is displaced to a position corresponding to the position of the IC chip 16 in the conveyance width direction, and the displacement is stopped. Thereby, the conveyance width direction position of the IC chip 16 of the card | curd 2 and the conveyance width direction position of the recessed part 18 correspond.

  The ticket issuing printer 1 turns on the thermal head 9 (step S7) and starts printing (step S8). During this printing, the recess 18 of the platen roller 17 and the IC chip 16 of the card 2 are synchronized in the transport direction and the transport width direction by the above-described alignment (step S6). That is, when the IC chip 16 portion of the card 2 is conveyed to a position where it contacts the platen roller 17, the IC chip 16 portion fits into the recess 18. Thereby, the thickness difference due to the IC chip 16 is absorbed, and an unintended printing defect is prevented. That is, on the surface of the card 2, the thermal head 9 surely performs clean printing on portions other than the facing portion of the recess 18.

The ticket issuing printer 1 turns off the thermal head 9 (step S9) and ends printing (step S10).
The ticket issuing printer 1 conveys the card 2 (step S11), sends it to the next step, and completes the printing process.

With the above-described configuration and operation, it is possible to print on the card 2 in which the IC chip 16 is built in and has some unevenness while avoiding the unevenness, and unintended printing around the IC chip 16. It is possible to provide the ticket issuing printer 1 that does not cause fading or omission.
Also, printing can be performed around the convex portion by the IC chip 16, and the printing quality can be improved.

  Since the recess 18 is provided on a part of the surface of the platen roller 17 in the circumferential direction (part of the transport direction), printing can be performed also before and after the IC chip 16 in the transport direction of the card 2. That is, printing can be performed on the card 2 until the IC chip 16 is positioned between the thermal head 9 and the platen roller 17. The IC chip 16 portion is not printed by the concave portion 18, and the IC chip 16 portion is not printed. When it passes, printing can be performed again. Thereby, the range which cannot be printed can be made as narrow as possible, and the range which can be printed appropriately can be made wide.

  Further, since the concave portion 18 of the platen roller 17 is provided in a part of the surface of the platen roller 17 in the axial direction (part of the conveyance width direction), the remaining part in the conveyance width direction is conveyed to the card 2. It is possible to print without gaps on the entire surface in the direction. Thereby, the range which cannot be printed can be made as narrow as possible, and the range which can be printed appropriately can be made wide.

  In addition, since the position of the IC chip 16 in the card 2 is different in the transport direction by the alignment in the transport direction (step S5), it is possible to correspond to various types of cards 2.

  In addition, since the position of the IC chip 16 in the card 2 is different in the transport width direction by the alignment in the transport width direction (step S6), it is possible to cope with various types of cards 2.

Further, by performing both the positioning of such a conveying direction and the conveying width direction (step S5, S6), even if the IC chip 16 is present at the position of the card 2 throat can handle, correspond to a wide variety of card 2 And versatility can be improved.

Further, since the adjustment of the gap between the thermal head 9 and the platen roller 17 can be made unnecessary, the adjustment work can be saved.
In addition, the mechanism can be simplified because the pressure of the thermal head 9 may be kept constant.

  Moreover, since the recessed part 18 is a substantially quadrangle formed with the straight line parallel to the conveyance width direction and the straight line parallel to the conveyance direction, it exhibits a stable function compared with the case where it is formed in a circle or other shapes. Can do. That is, for example, in the case of a circle, when the correspondence between the position of the IC chip 16 of the card 2 to be conveyed and the position of the concave portion 18 of the platen roller 17 is shifted in both the conveyance direction and the conveyance width direction, There is a possibility that it will not fit in. On the other hand, by making the recess 18 square as in the present embodiment, a predetermined amount of error can be allowed between the deviation in the conveyance width direction and the deviation in the conveyance direction, and both in the conveyance direction and the conveyance width direction. Even if they are misaligned, they can be printed without any problem if each misalignment is within an allowable range.

  In the above-described embodiment, the card 2 includes the IC chip 16, but a card including a μ chip instead of the IC chip 16 may be used. Further, not only the convex portion on the front surface by such IC chip 16 or μ chip, but also the concave portion on the back surface of the card 2 is detected by the thickness detector 6 in consideration of the back surface printing, and the concave portion 18 of the platen roller 17 is detected in this concave portion. You may make it correspond. Also in this case, good printing can be performed on most of the card 2 except for the concave portion.

The card 2 is not limited to the card 2 having the IC chip 16 built therein, and can be used for various media such as an admission ticket having a printing surface, a ticket, and a price tag.
Further, the ticket issuing printer 1 is provided with storage means such as a non-volatile memory, stores the mark of the card 2 and the position of the IC chip 16 in association with each other, and determines the position of the IC chip 16 by the mark reader 4. Also good. In this case, the mark read by the mark reader 4 is collated with the data in the storage means, and the position of the IC chip 6 in the collated card type is read from the data in the storage means. Thereby, while being able to acquire the effect similar to the Example mentioned above, the thickness detection part 6 can be abbreviate | omitted.
The present invention is not limited only to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and many embodiments can be obtained.

  The present invention can be used in business forms for issuing cards, such as various cards for passenger business, point cards of various types of business, facility use cards, prepaid cards, etc.

The right view which shows the internal structure of a ticket issuing printer. The perspective view which shows the structural example of a thermal printing part. The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the ticket issue printer regarding printing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ticket issuing printer, 2 ... Card, 3 ... Card insertion part, 5 ... Non-contact IC reader / writer, 6 ... Thickness detection part, 9 ... Thermal head, 12 ... Card discharge part, 16 ... IC chip, 17 ... Platen roller , 18 ... concave portion, 21 ... transport roller, 22 ... transport motor, 31 ... support member, 32 ... displacement roller, 33 ... displacement belt, 34 ... displacement motor

Claims (3)

Conveying means for conveying the card;
Printing means for printing on the card;
A card printing apparatus comprising a roller that receives pressure from the printing means,
The roller is formed in such a size that a concave portion that can avoid the convex portion of the card is a part in the width direction of the roller and a part in the circumferential direction ,
A positioning means for associating the concave portion of the roller with the convex portion of the card conveyed by the conveying means ;
The positioning means;
A convex position acquisition means for detecting the thickness of the card and acquiring the position of the convex portion of the card;
With respect to the conveyance direction position of the convex part of the card acquired by the convex part position acquisition unit, the conveyance drive by the conveyance unit is controlled and the convex part position of the card conveyed by the conveyance unit and the roller rotating A conveyance control means for making the concave portion of the roller correspond to the convex portion of the card by synchronizing with the phase of the concave portion position;
A support member that is arranged below the roller and supports the shafts at both ends of the roller is stretched between two displacement rollers with respect to the conveyance width direction position of the convex portion of the card acquired by the convex portion acquisition means. The card printing is constituted by a width direction displacement means for displacing the roller in the transport width direction by displacing the roller in the transport width direction by the displaced belt, and causing the width direction position of the concave portion to correspond to the convex portion. apparatus. A card printing device according to claim 1;
An insertion section for taking in an IC card having an IC chip as the card;
Reader / writer means for reading and writing information stored in the IC chip;
An IC card processing apparatus comprising: a discharging unit that discharges the IC card. A roller mounted on the card printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The roller which formed the recessed part of the magnitude | size which becomes a part of the width direction of the said roller, and a part of the circumferential direction on the roller surface.

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