JPH05254201A - Color printer for card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize the shape of a printer by using a drum-shaped rotating body as a card carrying device and setting the diameter of the outer peripheral side face of the drum-shaped rotating body to a dimension by which a plurality of cards can be mounted in line in the circumferential direction. CONSTITUTION:The title printer is provided with a rotating drum 1 carrying cards 5 and image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C and 2K arranged along the carrying path for the cards 5. The cards 5 are mounted on the outer peripheral side face 1a of the drum 1 and while the cards are carried by rotation of the drum l in the direction E, a full color image is formed by printing by superposing successively different colors on the surface of the card by means of a plurality of image forming units. In this case, the cards 5 are held on the outer peripheral side face 1a by means of a pair of nails 6a and 6b provided on the outer peripheral side face 1a of the drum 1. In addition, the outer diameter of the drum 1 is set to be a dimension by which a plurality of cards 5 can be arranged in line on the outer peripheral side face 1a in the circumferential direction. It is possible thereby to miniaturize the printer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card color printer for printing a color image on the surface of a plastic card such as an ID card, a telephone card or a cash card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, cards such as ID cards have been used in numerous places. This type of card is used as follows, for example. That is, it is a usage method in which various identification data are magnetically stored in the card and the stored contents are read out by a reading device at a necessary place. While such usage is important, in this type of card, the image printed on the surface of the card is also an important element.

Conventionally, as a color printer for printing an image on the surface of various cards, an apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-23768 is known. This color printer includes an annular conveyor belt having a straight traveling portion, and a yellow (Y) arranged to face the straight traveling portion of the conveyor belt.
Magenta (M), Cyan (C), and Black (B
It has four thermal heads for each color of K) and one ink film stretched through each thermal head. This one ink film is provided with respective color ink stages periodically in the order of BK, C, M and Y when viewed in the ink film feeding direction.

In this color printer, a card is placed on the straight traveling portion of the conveyor belt and conveyed,
During the transportation, each color is printed on the surface of one card by the thermal head of each color in an overlapping manner. A full-color image is formed on the card surface by the overlapping printing of each color.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned conventional color printer, since the linear conveying means for linearly traveling the card is constituted by the linear traveling portion of the annular conveyor belt, the annular conveyor belt itself becomes very large. Therefore, the size of the color printer has to be large.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems in the conventional color printer.
An object is to provide a small-sized color printer.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a color printer for a card according to the present invention is provided with a card conveying means for conveying a card and a card conveying means arranged side by side along a conveying path of the card. A plurality of image forming means for performing printing with different colors, and while the card is conveyed by the card conveying means, a plurality of image forming means sequentially prints different colors on the card surface to print the card. In the card color printer for forming a color image on the surface, the card conveying means has a drum-shaped rotating body and a card holding means for holding the card in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotating body. The outer peripheral side surface of the drum-shaped rotating body is a card mounting surface, and the diameter of the outer peripheral side surface is set to a size that allows a plurality of cards to be arranged side by side in the circumferential direction.

[0008]

The plurality of cards to be printed are sequentially mounted on the outer peripheral side surface of the drum-shaped rotating body so as to be lined up in the circumferential direction. The plurality of image forming means for performing the printing operation on the mounted card are arranged side by side on a circular locus along the outer peripheral side surface of the drum-shaped rotating body. Since the outer peripheral side surface of the rotating drum-shaped rotating body is used as the card transport path, the overall shape of the printer can be made smaller than in the conventional case where the straight transport path is used as the card transport path. Also, since the diameter of the outer peripheral side surface of the drum-shaped rotating body is set large so that a plurality of cards can be mounted side by side on the outer peripheral side surface, when mounting the card on the outer peripheral side surface, the card is curved so much. You don't have to let it. Therefore,
Not only thin cards, but also thick cards can be easily installed.

[0009]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a card printer according to the present invention. This printer includes a drum-shaped rotating body, that is, a rotating drum 1, and four image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, which are arranged around the rotating drum 1.
It has 2K and one overcoat device 3 which is also arranged around the rotary drum 1. Image forming unit 2Y is yellow (Y), image forming unit 2
M is magenta (M), the image forming unit 2C is cyan (C), and the image forming unit 2K is smear (K). Further, the overcoat device 3 transfers a transparent protective film for protecting the formed full-color image onto the card surface.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rotary drum 1 is connected to the output shaft 4a of the rotary drive motor 4 at its center. The outer peripheral side surface 1a of the rotary drum 1 is in the vertical direction,
That is, the card 5 which is a rectangular flat plastic plate as viewed from the direction of arrow A is mounted on the outer peripheral side surface 1a of the rotary drum 1 in a direction parallel to the rotation center axis L of the rotary drum 1 so as to be in close contact therewith. The rotary drum 1 is driven by the motor 4 and rotates counterclockwise about the central axis L as shown by an arrow E in FIG.

In FIG. 1, an outer peripheral side surface 1 of a rotary drum 1
On a, a pair of claws 6a and 6b serving as card holding means are provided at intervals corresponding to the width of the card 5. These claws 6a and 6b are 1 each at equal angular intervals.
Two are provided for each. That is, the pair of claws 6a and 6b
12 sets of holding mechanisms for the card 5 are provided.
The individual claws 6a, 6b are rotatably attached to the outer peripheral side surface 1a of the rotary drum 1 about a support shaft 7, and are elastically biased by a spring (not shown) so as to rotate counterclockwise in the figure. Has been done.

In FIG. 1, a card hopper 8 for accommodating a plurality of rectangular cards 5 in a stacked state as seen from the direction of arrow B is arranged at the right side of the rotary drum 1. The bottom table 9 of the card hopper 8 is provided with two conveying rollers 10 and 11, and these roller 1
One of the plurality of cards 5 stacked by 0 and 11 on the bottom surface side is sent out in the direction of the rotary drum 1 as indicated by arrow C. A pressing roller 12 that is elastically biased in the direction of arrow D by an elastic member such as a spring (not shown) is provided at a position slightly ahead of the card hopper 8 in the feeding direction C of the card 5. Further, on the opposite side of the pressing roller 12 with the outer peripheral side surface 1a of the rotating drum 1 interposed,
A pressing member 13 is provided for forcibly rotating the claws 6a and 6b counterclockwise against the elastic biasing force. The pressing member 13 is fixed to the rotating drum 1 independently of the position.

A card stacker 14 is arranged at the lower left position of the rotary drum 1. This card stacker 14
It has a side wall 15 protruding so that its upper end is close to the outer peripheral side surface 1 a of the rotary drum 1, and three feeding rollers 16 attached to the side wall 15. At the inner position of the rotary drum 1 slightly above the upper end of the side wall 15, the pressing member 1
7 is provided. The pressing member 17 has the same structure as the pressing member 13 provided corresponding to the card hopper 8.

Four image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2
The overcoat device 3 provided downstream of the image forming units with respect to the rotation directions of C, 2K and the rotary drum 1 is located between the card hopper 8 and the card stacker 14. Each image forming unit is a thermal head 1.
8, an L-shaped holder 19 and an ink film 20 that support the same. Each ink film 2
0 is unwound from the supply reel 21, passed through the heat generating portion at the tip of the thermal head 18, and wound onto the take-up reel 22. Each of the ink films 20 is a monochromatic ink film, but the ink film 20 of the first image forming unit 2Y when viewed from the rotation direction E of the rotary drum 1
Is yellow, the second image forming unit 2M
The ink film 20 of No. 1 is magenta, the ink film 20 of the third image forming unit 2C is cyan, and the ink film 20 of the fourth image forming unit 2K is sumi (black).

The thermal head 18 of the yellow unit 2Y is driven by the yellow image signal output from the host computer 23, and the magenta unit 2
The thermal head 18 of M is driven by the magenta image signal, the thermal head 18 of the cyan unit 2C is driven by the cyan image signal, and the sum unit 2
The K thermal head 18 is driven by the Sumi image signal to generate heat.

The overcoat device 3 includes a thermal head 2
4 and a protective film 25. The protective film 25 is sent out from the supply reel 26, passes through the tip heat generating portion of the thermal head 24, and is wound around the winding reel 27. The protective film 25 is usually a transparent plastic film and is attached to the card surface to prevent damage to the card surface.

The operation of the card printer having the above structure will be described below. One of the cards 5 stacked in the card hopper 8 is taken out by the rollers 10 and 11 while being driven by the motor 4 and the rotating drum 1 being rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 1 at a constant speed. And is supplied to the outer peripheral side surface 1a of the rotary drum 1. At this time, the claw 6a provided on the rotary drum 1 arrives at the pressing member 13 and is pressed by the pressing member 13 to move the claw member 6a outward in the radial direction.
A gap is formed with a. The one card 5 supplied from the card hopper 8 is pressed toward the rotary drum 1 by the pressing roller 12 while its tip is claw 6a.
And the outer peripheral side surface 1a of the rotary drum.

After that, when the counterclockwise rotation of the rotary drum 1 continues, the engagement between the claw 6a and the pressing member 13 is released,
The claw 6a is moved back inward in the radial direction of the rotary drum 1 by the elastic force of a spring or the like, whereby the tip of the card 5 is sandwiched and held by the claw 4. After that, the card 5 is pulled out to the outer peripheral side surface 1a of the rotary drum 1 in accordance with the rotation of the rotary drum 1, and the rear end of the card 5 is sandwiched and held by the other claw 6b. Thus, one card 5 is fixedly held in close contact with the outer peripheral surface 1a of the rotary drum. The above operation is repeatedly executed for the claws 6a and 6b sequentially reaching the card discharge port of the card hopper 8, and as a result,
The cards 5 are mounted one after another on the outer peripheral surface 1a of the rotary drum in a close contact state. The mounted individual cards 5 are conveyed in accordance with the counterclockwise rotation of the rotary drum 1 and are sequentially sent to the four image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C and 2K.

While the card 5 is being conveyed, each of the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C and 2K presses the built-in thermal head 18 onto the card 5 to print on the card 5. In this case, the first image forming unit 2Y prints a yellow image, the second image forming unit 2M prints a magenta image on it, the third image forming unit 2C further prints a cyan image on it, and 4th image forming unit 2K
Also prints a smear image on it. When the printing of the smear image is completed, a target full-color image is obtained on the surface of the card 5. Each card 5 is connected to each image forming unit 2Y,
When carrying between 2M, 2C, and 2K, the carrying is performed in a state where the thermal head 18 in each unit is released from pressure bonding.

Card 5 that has come to carry a full-color image
Is then carried to the overcoat device 3 by the rotation of the rotary drum 1. When the card 5 is carried, the overcoat device 3 presses the thermal head 24 onto the card 5 and transfers the protective film 25 onto the surface of the card 5. This transfer protects the full-color image formed on the card 5 from damage. When the transfer is completed, the claw 6a holding the card 5 reaches the pressing member 17, the holding state is released, and the card 5 is peeled off from the outer peripheral surface 1a of the rotary drum by the upper end of the side wall 15 of the card stacker 14. The peeled card 5 is carried by the feeding roller 16 and stored in the card stacker 14.

The above-described operation is repeated in sequence to continuously print full-color images on the plurality of cards 5.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment, the present invention is not limited to that embodiment. For example, the shape of the rotary drum 1 can be arbitrarily selected as long as it has a drum-shaped outer peripheral side surface on which a plurality of cards can be continuously mounted in the circumferential direction.

The card holding means for holding the card 5 in close contact with the outer peripheral side surface 1a of the rotary drum 1 is not limited to the illustrated claws 6a and 6b, and any other means can be adopted.

Further, two lines of printing blocks can be provided on the outer circumference of the rotary drum 1 to perform double print processing with one rotation of the rotary drum 1. Further, in a device provided with such a two-system printing block, if the card is inverted halfway, printing processing can be performed on both the front and back sides of the card.

[0025]

According to the card printer of the first aspect of the present invention, since the drum-shaped rotating member is used as the card conveying means, compared with the case where the annular conveying belt having the straight traveling section is used as the conveying means. , The size of the printer could be reduced. Further, since the diameter of the outer peripheral side surface of the drum-shaped rotary member is set to a size that allows a plurality of cards to be arranged side by side in the circumferential direction, it is not necessary to bend each card so much. Therefore, a full-color image can be printed not only on a thin card such as a telephone card but also on a thick card such as a credit card.

According to the card printer of the second aspect, since the ink film used is a single color, Y,
The manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared to a printer using a multicolor ink film formed by periodically arranging multicolor inks of M, C, and K on one film.

[0027]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a card printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Rotating Drum 1a Outer Side of Rotating Drum 2Y Yellow Image Forming Unit 2M Magenta Image Forming Unit 2C Cyan Image Forming Unit 2K Sumi Image Forming Unit 5 Card 6a Card Holding Claw 6b Card Holding Claw 8 Card Hopper 14 Card Stacker 18 Thermal Head 20 monochromatic ink film

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location H04N 1/23 102 C 9186-5C (72) Inventor Kunio Omura 1-5 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo No. 1 Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A card transporting means, comprising: a card transporting means for transporting a card; and a plurality of image forming means arranged side by side along a transporting path of the card for printing in different colors on the card. In the color printer for a card, which forms a color image on the card surface by sequentially printing different colors on the card surface by a plurality of image forming means while conveying the card by the means, the card conveying means has an outer peripheral side surface. The drum-shaped rotating body has a drum-shaped rotating body that serves as a card mounting surface, and card holding means that is provided on the rotating body and holds a card in close contact with the outer peripheral side surface of the rotating body. A color printer for cards, characterized in that it has a diameter that allows a plurality of cards to be arranged side by side in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface thereof. 2. The image forming means has a plurality of thermal heads arranged side by side along a card transport path, and a single color ink film provided for each thermal head. Ink film
The color printer for a card according to claim 1, wherein the respective thermal heads have different colors.