JP7245448B2 - card carrier - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a card conveying device that separates cards one by one from a card magazine that stores stacked cards such as IC cards and conveys them to a printing unit for the next process.

Generally, in the process of manufacturing cards such as credit cards, cash cards, IC cards, etc., it is necessary to separate the cards stacked and stored in a card magazine one by one and transport them to the printing section in the next process. Conventionally, the uppermost card stored in a stack in a card magazine is adsorbed by the adsorption part, and the adsorbed card is separated from the card one layer below by injecting air against the end face of the adsorbed card. After that, a technique has been developed in which only one sucked card is removed from the card magazine.

JP-A-2004-238171

However, in such a conventional technique, there is no wall that restricts the card from being taken out from the upper opening of the card magazine together with the cards that are sucked by the air jetting and the cards in the lower layer after being separated by the air jetting. It is also conceivable that the lower layer card is ejected to the outside. Therefore, in the prior art, it is necessary to provide a stopper for holding the stacked cards above the card magazine so that part of the cards remain inside the card magazine.
When a new card is loaded into an empty card magazine from above, the stopper becomes an obstacle. If used, similar measures must be taken for each card magazine, which is costly. There was also a failure of the retraction mechanism.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present disclosure is to provide a card conveying device capable of reliably sucking only the uppermost card of a card magazine and taking out and conveying the card without providing a stopper on the top of the card magazine.

The present disclosure includes a card magazine that has an upper opening and a side opening, stores a plurality of cards in a stacked manner, and an adsorption section that adsorbs the uppermost card among the cards stored in the card magazine, A sucking mechanism capable of moving vertically and horizontally, and an injection nozzle for blowing air onto the end surface of the card sucked by the sucking portion, the sucking mechanism passing through the upper opening and the side opening. entering into the card magazine, the injection nozzle injects air in the card magazine to separate the uppermost card and the card one layer below, and the card one layer below is separated from the card in the card magazine It is a card transport device that drops to

The present disclosure is a card conveying device in which the adsorption mechanism is vertically movable by an elevating mechanism.

The present disclosure is a card conveying device in which the lifting mechanism is horizontally movable by a driving device.

The present disclosure is a card conveying device in which the suction mechanism is connected to the lifting mechanism via an arm.

The present disclosure is a card conveying device, wherein the injection nozzle is attached to the arm.

The present disclosure is a card conveying device in which a side opening extending vertically through one side surface of the card magazine and through which the arm passes is formed.

The present disclosure is a card conveying device provided with a lifting mechanism for pushing up the card in the card magazine.

The present disclosure is the card conveying device, wherein a plurality of the injection nozzles are horizontally arranged in correspondence with the side openings.

The present disclosure is a card conveying device in which a plurality of side openings are formed in one side surface of the card magazine, and at least one ejection nozzle is arranged in a line corresponding to each side opening.

As described above, according to the present disclosure, only the uppermost card in the card magazine can be reliably adsorbed, taken out, and transported.

1 is a side view showing a card conveying device according to a first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the action of the card conveying device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a side view showing the action of the card conveying device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a side view showing the action of the card conveying device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a side view showing the action of the card conveying device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 6 is a side view showing the operation of the card conveying device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a card magazine; FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the entire card magazine transport device. FIG. 9A is a diagram showing the relationship between the injection nozzle and the card; FIG. 9B is a front view showing an injection nozzle; 9C is a side cross-sectional view of the injection nozzle of FIG. 9B; FIG. FIG. 9D is a front view showing an injection nozzle; Figure 9E is a side cross-sectional view of the injection nozzle of Figure 9D. FIG. 9F is a front view showing a modification of the injection nozzle; Figure 9G is a side cross-sectional view of the injection nozzle shown in Figure 9F. Figure 9H is a perspective view of the injection nozzle shown in Figure 9F. FIG. 10 is a side view showing a card conveying device according to a second embodiment; FIG. 11 is a side view showing the operation of the card conveying device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 12 is a side view showing the action of the card conveying device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 13 is a side view showing the operation of the card conveying device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 14 is a side view showing the action of the card conveying device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a card magazine; FIG. 16A is a diagram showing a modification of the card conveying device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 16B is a diagram showing another modification of the card conveying device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 16C is a diagram showing still another modification of the card conveying device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the entire card printer in which the card conveying device is incorporated;

<First embodiment>
A card conveying device according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the whole card printer in which the card conveying device is incorporated will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 17, the card printer 50 is a card conveying apparatus according to the present embodiment including a casing 50A and four card magazines 11 provided above the casing 50A for storing stacked cards 1 such as IC cards. 10, a rotator 80 that reverses the card 1 conveyed by the card conveying device 10 by 180 degrees, a Y printing unit 52 that is provided downstream of the rotator 80 and prints facial image information on the surface of the card 1; It has an M printing section 53 and a C printing section 54 . Of these, the Y printing section 52 prints the surface of the card 1 in yellow, the M printing section 53 prints the surface of the card 1 in magenta, and the C printing section 54 prints the surface of the card 1 in cyan. Face image information is printed by a Y printing section 52, an M printing section 53 and a C printing section .

An ink fixing section 55 for fixing the ink printed by the Y printing section 52, the M printing section 53 and the C printing section 54 on the surface of the card 1 is provided downstream of the C printing section 54. A surface printing unit 56 for printing surface information and ID information on the surface of the card 1 is provided on the downstream side of the card 55 . In this case, the Y printing section 52, the M printing section 53, the C printing section 54, the ink fixing section 55 and the surface printing section 56 constitute printer sections 52-56.

The card 1 that has passed through the surface printing section 56 is then sent to the first reader/writer 57 and sent from the drop section 68 to the transfer line 63 below the casing 50A.

Among these, the first reader/writer 57 writes surface information and ID information to the IC chip of the card 1 .

Further, along the transport line 63, a first protective sheet forming section for providing a first protective sheet (not shown) on the surface of the IC card 1 in order to protect the surface information and facial image information printed on the surface of the card 1. 59 is provided, and a second protective sheet forming section 60 is provided downstream of the first protective sheet forming section 59 to further provide a second protective sheet (not shown) on the first protective sheet.

Further, on the downstream side of the transport line 63, the card 1 having surface information, face image information, and ID information printed on the surface thereof and having the surface information and the ID information written in the IC chip is received. , the second stacking unit 65b or the rear surface print stacking unit 66.

Among these, the first stacking section 65a and the second stacking section 65b are for stacking the cards 1 that do not need to be printed on the back side based on the type of the cards 1. As shown in FIG. Further, the back surface print stacking unit 66 writes back surface information in the IC chip by a printer 70 with a back surface writing function on the downstream side, and stacks cards 1 for which back surface information needs to be printed on the back surface of the card 1. is.

After that, the card 1 sent to the back side print stacking unit 66 is sent to the printer with back side writing function 70 and the postscript information label issuing unit 58 in sequence.

The sorting/discharging section 67 has a function of reading the ID information written in the IC chip of the card 1, and based on the read ID information, the sorting/discharging section 67 determines whether there is back surface information to be printed on the card 1. judge whether or not

Then, only the cards 1 having the back side information to be printed are sent to the back side printing stacking section 66 by the sorting/discharging section 67, and the cards 1 not having the back side information to be printed are sent to the first stacking section 65a and the second stacking section 65b. be done.

The printer 70 with a back side writing function has a second reader/writer for writing necessary back side information in the IC chip of the card 1 and a back side printing section 72 for printing the necessary back side information on the back side of the card 1. there is Further, an entrance stacker 70 a is provided upstream of the second reader/writer 71 and the back surface printing section 72 , and an exit stacker 70 b is provided downstream of the second reader/writer 71 and the back surface printing section 72 .

Next, the card conveying device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. FIG. Here, FIGS. 1 to 9 are diagrams showing the card conveying device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, the card conveying device 10 has an upper opening 12, a card magazine 11 for storing a plurality of cards 1 in a stack, and the card 1 stored in the card magazine 11. An adsorption mechanism 20 having an adsorption part 20a for adsorbing the upper card 1a, the uppermost card 1a, and the uppermost card by injecting air between the uppermost card 1a and the card 1b one layer lower than the uppermost card 1a. It is provided with an injection mechanism 25 having an injection nozzle 25a for separating (separating) the card 1a and the card 1b one layer below.

Among them, the cards 1 stored in the card magazine 11 are composed of synthetic resin IC cards for making credit cards, cash cards, driver's licenses, etc. After being taken out of the card magazine 11, the cards 1 are transported horizontally. and printed in the next step.

The card magazine 11 has an upper flange 12a forming an upper opening 12, as shown in FIG. 7, and a side opening 13 extending downward from the upper opening 12 is formed on one of the four side surfaces 11a. ing. An arm 29, which will be described later, passes through the side opening 13 of the card magazine 11. As shown in FIG.

Further, the card magazine 11 has a bottom opening 15 and a lifting mechanism 16 passing through the bottom opening 15 is installed in the card magazine 11 . The lifting mechanism 16 sequentially lifts the cards 1 stored in the card magazine 11 upward.

An adsorption pump 21 is connected to the adsorption portion 20 a of the adsorption mechanism 20 via an electromagnetic valve 23 , and an exhaust line 22 is connected to the adsorption pump 21 . The adsorption mechanism 20 is supported by an arm 29 as a whole.

An injection pump 26 is connected to the injection nozzle 25a of the injection mechanism 25 via an electromagnetic valve 28, and the injection pump 26 is provided with an intake line 27. As shown in FIG. The injection mechanism 25 is supported by an arm 29 as a whole. Furthermore, the exhaust line 22 of the adsorption mechanism 20 and the intake line 27 of the injection mechanism 25 both extend to the lifting mechanism 30 side.

The arm 29 extends horizontally so as to pass through the side opening 13 of the card magazine 11 and is connected to the lifting belt 33 of the lifting mechanism 30 . Here, the lifting mechanism 30 includes a lifting mechanism box 30a, a driving pulley 31 and a driven pulley 32 vertically arranged in the lifting mechanism box 30a, and a lifting belt 33 stretched between the driving pulley 31 and the driven pulley 32. and When the lifting belt 33 moves vertically, the arm 29 connected to the lifting belt 33 also moves vertically accordingly.

By the way, four card magazines 11 for storing the cards 1 described above are arranged in a horizontal direction. The elevating mechanism 30 is supported by a frame 40 and is movable in the horizontal direction along the arrangement direction of the four card magazines 11 arranged side by side.

Specifically, the frame 40 is provided with a guide rail 41 extending in the horizontal direction, and the lifting mechanism 30 is moved along the guide rail 41 of the frame 40 by a driving device (not shown) provided on the lifting mechanism 30 and the frame 40 . It is designed to move horizontally along the

Incidentally, the suction mechanism 20, the ejection mechanism 25, and the lifting mechanism 30 of the card conveying device 10 are driven and controlled by the controller 10a as a whole.

Next, the injection nozzle 25a according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9H.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the injection nozzle 25a is preferably positioned between the uppermost card 1a sucked by the sucking portion 20a and the card 1b one layer below.

As shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C, the injection nozzle 25a has a tapered nozzle body 25a1 with an injection port 25a3 at the tip, and a tube 25a2 connected to the nozzle body 25a1. .

Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 9D and 9E, the injection nozzle 25a may have a cylindrical nozzle body 25a1 with an injection port 25a3 at its tip.

Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 9F to 9H, the injection nozzle 25a may have a nozzle body 21a1 widening toward a flat injection port 25a3.

Next, the operation of this embodiment having such a configuration will be described.

First, a plurality of cards 1 are stored in the card magazine 11, and the suction mechanism 20 having the suction portion 20a and the ejection mechanism 25 having the ejection nozzle 25a stand by above the card magazine 11 (see FIG. 1). ).

Next, the arm 29 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 30 and enters the card magazine 11 through the side opening 13 of the card magazine 11 . Next, the uppermost card 1a is sucked by the sucking portion 20a of the sucking mechanism 20 (see FIG. 2). During this time, the entire card 1 is lifted by the lifting mechanism 16 , and the uppermost card 1 a is positioned below the upper opening 12 of the card magazine 11 .

Arm 29 is then raised slightly as shown in FIG. At this time, not only the card 1a on the uppermost layer but also the card 1b on the lower layer may be lifted at the same time while being attached to the card 1a due to static electricity or the like. This is because there is no gap between the card 1a on the uppermost layer and the card 1b on the next lower layer, and a vacuum state is formed between the cards 1a and 1b, resulting in adhesion between the cards 1a and 1b. At this time, the card 1a on the uppermost layer and the card 1b on the next lower layer are both positioned below the upper flange 12a of the card magazine 11, for example, 5 mm to 10 mm below the upper flange 12a of the card magazine 11. .

In this state, air is jetted from the jetting nozzle 25a of the jetting mechanism 25 to the end face of the uppermost card 1a. Air is jetted between the cards 1a and 1b by jetting air from the jet nozzle 25a, releasing the vacuum state between the cards 1a and 1b and separating the cards 1a and 1b from each other.

After that, as shown in FIG. 4, the uppermost card 1a remains on the side of the adsorption section 20a, and the card 1b one layer below drops into the card magazine 11. Then, as shown in FIG. The four sides of the falling card 1b are in the card magazine and land along the inner wall of the card magazine 11 on the stacked cards below. In the above embodiment, the arm 29 is raised slightly, but preferably about 14 mm or less with respect to the card short side length of 54 mm. By determining the lifting distance of the arm 29 in this way, even if the card 1 leans against the inner wall of the card magazine 11, the card 1 can be returned horizontally by its own weight.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when both the uppermost card 1a and the card 1b one lower layer are in the card magazine 11, the uppermost card 1a and the card 1b one lower layer are separated from each other. The air injected from the injection nozzle 25a is blown in between. Since the air ejected from the ejection nozzle 25a has a relatively large ejection force, it is conceivable that the air from the ejection nozzle 25a may blow away the card 1b, which is one layer below the uppermost card 1a.

According to the present embodiment, the air from the injection nozzle 25a is blown between the cards 1a and 1b while the uppermost card 1a and the card 1b one lower layer are both inside the card magazine 11. The card 1b in the lower layer separated from the card 1a in the upper layer stays in the card magazine 11, so that the card 1b does not jump out of the card magazine 11.例文帳に追加

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the arm 29 is lifted by the elevating mechanism 30 and separated upward from the side opening 13 of the card magazine 11 .

After that, the elevating mechanism 30 moves horizontally along the guide rails 41 of the frame 40, and the card 1a sucked by the sucking portion 20a is sent to the next process, and the card 1a is printed.

After that, the lifting mechanism 30 returns to the card magazine 11 side along the guide rails 41 of the frame 40 . During this time, the card 1 in the card magazine 11 is lifted by the thickness of one card by the lifting mechanism 16 in the card magazine 11, and the suction mechanism 20 and the ejection mechanism 25 stand by above the card magazine 11 (Fig. 6).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, only the uppermost card 1a of the cards 1 in the card magazine 11 can be reliably taken out and transported. Also, the card 1b in the lower layer can be reliably dropped into the card magazine 11 and returned.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a card conveying device 10 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. FIG.

In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 to 15, the card magazine 11 has a structure without a lifting mechanism 16. Instead, a side opening extending in the entire vertical direction is provided on one side surface 11a of the card magazine 11. 13a (see FIG. 15).

Other configurations are substantially the same as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS.

In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 to 15, the same parts as those in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, operation of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 to 15 will be described.

First, a plurality of cards 1 are stored in the card magazine 11, and the suction mechanism 20 having the suction portion 20a and the ejection mechanism 25 having the ejection nozzle 25a stand by above the card magazine 11 (see FIG. 10). .

Next, the arm 29 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 30 and enters the card magazine 11 through the side opening 13 of the card magazine 11 . The arm 29 is further lowered, and the uppermost card 1a is sucked by the sucking portion 20a of the sucking mechanism 20 (see FIG. 11). During this time, the lifting mechanism 16 does not lift the entire card 1 .

Arm 29 is then raised slightly as shown in FIG. At this time, not only the card 1a on the uppermost layer but also the card 1b on the lower layer due to static electricity or the like is simultaneously lifted while still adhering to the card 1a. This is because there is no gap between the card 1a on the uppermost layer and the card 1b on the next lower layer, and a vacuum state is formed between the cards 1a and 1b, resulting in adhesion between the cards 1a and 1b. At this time, both the card 1a on the uppermost layer and the card 1b on the next lower layer are positioned inside the card magazine 11. FIG.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 12, air is jetted from the jetting nozzle 25a of the jetting mechanism 25 to the end surface of the uppermost card 1a. Air is jetted between the cards 1a and 1b by jetting air from the jet nozzle 25a, releasing the vacuum state between the cards 1a and 1b and separating the cards 1a and 1b from each other.

After that, as shown in FIG. 13, the uppermost card 1a remains on the adsorption portion 20a side, and the card 1b one layer below falls into the card magazine 11. As shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the uppermost card 1a and the card 1b one lower layer are both in the card magazine 11, the uppermost card 1a and the card 1b one lower layer are separated from each other. Air is blown from the injection nozzle 25a in between. Since the air ejected from the ejection nozzle 25a has a relatively large ejection force, it is conceivable that the air from the ejection nozzle 25a may blow away the card 1b, which is one layer below the uppermost card 1a.

According to the present embodiment, the air from the injection nozzle 25a is blown between the cards 1a and 1b while the uppermost card 1a and the card 1b one lower layer are both inside the card magazine 11. The card 1b in the lower layer separated from the card 1a in the upper layer stays in the card magazine 11, so that the card 1b does not jump out of the card magazine 11.例文帳に追加

Next, as shown in FIG. 14, the arm 29 is lifted by the elevating mechanism 30 and separated from the side opening 13 of the card magazine 11 .

Thereafter, the elevating mechanism 30 moves horizontally along the guide rails 41 of the frame 40, and the card 1a sucked by the sucking portion 20a is sent to the next process, and the card 1a is printed.

After that, the lifting mechanism 30 returns to the card magazine 11 side along the guide rails 41 of the frame 40 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, only the uppermost card 1a of the cards 1 in the card magazine 11 can be reliably taken out and transported. Also, the card 1b in the lower layer can be reliably dropped into the card magazine 11 and returned.

Next, a modification of the card conveying device 10 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 16A and 16B. As shown in FIG. 16A, the card conveying device 10 has a card magazine 11 having two side openings 13a formed on one side 11a. At least one injection nozzle 25a is provided corresponding to each side opening 13a, and in the case of this modification, two injection nozzles 25a are provided in parallel in the horizontal direction.

The card magazine 11 has an upper flange 12a forming an upper opening 12, and a vertical plate 11b extending vertically between the side openings 13a is formed on one side surface 11a of the card magazine 11. A card 1 in the card magazine 11 can be locked.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 16B, the card conveying device 10 has a card magazine 11 having a large side opening 13a formed on one side 11a. extending throughout the area. Three injection nozzles 25a are provided in parallel in the horizontal direction corresponding to one side opening 13a.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the uppermost card 1a and the card 1b, which is one layer below it, are attached is shown. Normally, it is only the uppermost card 1a. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the strength of the air from the injection nozzle 25a so that the air is injected from the injection nozzle 25a only to the end surface of the uppermost card 1a and the sucked uppermost card 1a is not blown away.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the side opening 13 extending downward from the upper opening 12 is formed in the one side surface 11a of the card magazine 11 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. As shown, side openings 13 extending downward from an upper opening 12 may be formed in four side surfaces 11a of the card magazine 11 so that four corners of the card 1 are held by the card magazine 11. FIG.

1 card 1a uppermost card 1b one lower card 10 card conveying device 11 card magazine 11a one side 12 upper opening 12a upper flange 13 side opening 15 bottom opening 16 lifting mechanism 20 adsorption mechanism 20a adsorption section 25 ejection mechanism 25a ejection Nozzle 29 Arm 30 Lifting mechanism 40 Frame 41 Guide rail 50 Card printer 50A Casings 52 to 56 Printer section

Claims (6)

a card magazine that has an upper opening and stores a plurality of cards in a stacked manner;
a suction mechanism that has a suction unit that suctions the uppermost card among the cards stored in the card magazine and that can move vertically and horizontally;
a jetting nozzle for jetting air onto the end surface of the card sucked by the sucking unit, the sucking mechanism entering the card magazine through the upper opening,
the ejection nozzle ejects air in the card magazine to separate the uppermost card and the card one layer below it, and drop the card one layer below into the card magazine ;
The adsorption mechanism is connected to an elevating mechanism via an arm and is vertically movable by the elevating mechanism,
The injection nozzle is attached to the arm, and a side opening extending vertically is formed in one side surface of the card magazine and through which the arm passes, whereby the suction unit and the injection nozzle pass through the side opening. A card conveying device that moves vertically together with the arm in accordance with the vertical movement of the arm. 2. The card conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said elevating mechanism is horizontally movable by a driving device. 3. The card conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a lifting mechanism for pushing up said card is provided in said card magazine. 4. The card conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of said injection nozzles are arranged in a horizontal direction corresponding to said side opening. 4. The card conveying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of side openings are formed in one side surface of said card magazine, and at least one injection nozzle is arranged side by side corresponding to each side opening. In a card printer equipped with a card transport mechanism,
The card transport mechanism is
a card magazine that has an upper opening and stores a plurality of cards in a stacked manner;
a suction mechanism that has a suction unit that suctions the uppermost card among the cards stored in the card magazine and that can move vertically and horizontally;
a jetting nozzle for jetting air onto the end surface of the card sucked by the sucking unit, the sucking mechanism entering the card magazine through the upper opening,
the ejection nozzle ejects air in the card magazine to separate the uppermost card and the card one layer below it, and drop the card one layer below into the card magazine ;
The adsorption mechanism is connected to an elevating mechanism via an arm, and the adsorption mechanism is vertically movable by the elevating mechanism,
The injection nozzle is attached to the arm, and a side opening extending vertically is formed in one side surface of the card magazine and through which the arm passes, whereby the suction unit and the injection nozzle pass through the side opening. A card printer that moves vertically together with the arm in accordance with the vertical movement of the arm .

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