JPH11348124A - Lamination apparatus for producing card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent that material sheets are unstably shrunk and deformed and a warp or twist is generated when the material sheets are pressed by a pair of heating press plates. SOLUTION: In this card producing lamination apparatus, the fixing frames 12, 13 fixing the outer edge part of a material sheet 9 are provided at positions surrounding a pair of heating press plates 5, 6 and the material sheet 9 is thermally pressed in the state fixed by the fixing frames 12, 13 and the heating press plates 5, 6 are slightly separated from the material sheet 9 and cooling air is blown into the gaps thus formed from cooling nozzles 18, 19 to cool the material sheet 9 of which the outer edge part is fixed. By this constitution, shrink deformation at a time of lamination is prevented and a lamination speed is increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a bonding apparatus used for manufacturing plastic cards such as cash cards, credit cards, ID cards, and prepaid cards.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a plurality of plastic material sheets are laminated and integrated, and then punched into a predetermined size to manufacture a card. Since high flatness is required for the card, a plate-type heating press device and a cooling press device are usually used for laminating the material sheets, and first, between a pair of hot plates of the heating press device. An operation was performed in which a material sheet was sandwiched therebetween, and then the material sheet was transferred to a cooling press device, cooled between a pair of cooling plates, and solidified.

[0003]

However, recently, as a card material, a material sheet stretched at the time of manufacturing, such as PET resin, has come to be used. Has arisen. In other words, since the stretched material sheet shrinks and deforms due to heating, and its shrinkage rate and direction are not uniform, the material sheet shrinks and deforms in any direction when it is bonded by sandwiching it between hot plates of a heating press. try to. On the other hand, since hot-melt adhesive is used for joining this kind of material sheet, the sandwiched adhesive melts and the frictional force between the material sheets is reduced. For this reason, even if the resin sheet to be bonded is strongly sandwiched between the pair of hot plates, a large frictional force that can reliably prevent the material sheet from contracting and deforming is not generated, and the material sheet is irregularly contracting and deforming. The problem arose. In addition, the material sheet shrinks greatly at the moment when the pair of hot plates is opened in order to transfer the material sheet bonded by the pair of hot plates to the cooling press device, and the shrinkage and deformation is further increased.

In order to prevent shrinkage during transfer to a cooling press device, a material sheet is pressed by a pair of hot plates of a heating press device, and then the hot plate is pressed while the material sheet is pressed by the hot plate. It may be cooled, and the material sheet may be cooled and solidified. However, the method of cooling the hot plate itself has a problem that energy loss is large and production speed is reduced. Further, as described above, even when the material sheet is pressed by the pair of hot plates, the material sheet cannot be reliably prevented from being thermally shrunk, so that deformation occurs. The deformation that occurs at the time of bonding the material sheets causes a deformation, such as warping or twisting, of the product card, which is a major problem in production.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem. Even when a card is made by bonding a material sheet stretched at the time of manufacturing such as a PET resin, a warp caused by shrinkage deformation of the material sheet is produced. It is an object of the present invention to provide a bonding apparatus that prevents the occurrence of twisting deformation and the like and enables good card production.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, in order to prevent the material sheets from shrinking and deforming when the material sheets are bonded together by a pair of heating press plates, the material sheet is heated by a pressing press. A sheet fixing means for fixing an area (hereinafter referred to as an outer edge) surrounding an area to be bonded by a plate is provided, and an air flow for sending a cooling air flow between the material sheet held by the sheet fixing means and each heating press plate is provided. Equipment is provided. According to this configuration, in a state where the outer edge of the material sheet is fixed by the sheet fixing means, the material sheet is hot-pressed and bonded by the pair of heating press plates, and then the heating press plate is separated from the material sheet, A cooling air flow is sent to both sides of the material sheet by an airflow generating device, whereby the material sheet can be cooled and solidified quickly. Therefore, the material sheets can be satisfactorily bonded without causing any undesired deformation. Then, by punching out the bonded area of the material sheet in a later step to form a card, a high-quality card with extremely little warpage or twist deformation can be manufactured.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A bonding apparatus for manufacturing a card according to the present invention comprises a pair of heating press plates having a press surface having a larger area than a card to be manufactured, and a driving device for opening and closing the pair of heating press plates. And a sheet fixing means disposed at a position surrounding the pair of heating press plates, for fixing a region of the material sheet surrounding an area to be bonded by the heating press plate, and a material sheet held by the sheet fixing means. It is characterized by having an airflow generating device for sending a cooling airflow between both sides and the heating press plate. With this configuration, the material sheet is heated by a pair of heating materials while the outer edge of the material sheet is fixed by the sheet fixing means. After hot-pressing with a press plate, and then separating a pair of heated press plates from the material sheet, a cooling air flow is sent to the material sheet by an airflow generator to quickly cool and solidify. Rukoto can, can be attached to the sheet of material to quickly without causing undesirable thermal shrinkage.

Here, the airflow generating device may be provided with a nozzle for blowing a cooling airflow between the material sheet held by the sheet fixing means and the heating press plate. The cooling air can be blown onto the chiller to rapidly cool it.

Further, the sheet fixing means includes a pair of fixing frames for holding the material sheet by being clamped, and a plurality of through holes parallel to the held material sheet are formed on two opposite sides of each fixing frame. The cooling airflow may be sent through a through hole on one side. With this configuration, the cooling airflow is sent from one side of the fixed frame to the material sheet in parallel, flows linearly and flows to the outside from opposite sides of the fixed frame, and the flow of the cooling airflow is stabilized, There is an advantage that the cooling can be performed uniformly without applying an excessive force to the substrate.

As a card to be manufactured by the bonding apparatus of the present invention, any plastic card such as a cash card, a credit card, an ID card, and a prepaid card can be used. The number of material sheets constituting the card is arbitrary as long as it is two or more. Further, this card is not limited to one composed of only a plurality of material sheets.
(Chips, wires, etc.) may be embedded. The method of embedding the solid material may be a form in which a part (terminals or the like) is exposed on the surface of the card, or a form in which no part is exposed on the surface of the card. When embedding the solid, the fixed material may be simply arranged between the material sheets, or a hole may be formed in the material sheet and the fixed material may be arranged in the hole. Although the material of the material sheet is not particularly limited, a material that has been subjected to a stretching process such as a PET resin and is liable to cause unstable deformation when pressed,
This is preferable because the effect of the present invention is large. The bonding of a plurality of material sheets may be performed by utilizing the adhesiveness of the material sheets themselves, or by applying an appropriate adhesive, for example, a hot melt adhesive to the material sheets, and using the adhesive. It may be bonded.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a bonding apparatus for manufacturing a card according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a main part illustrating a bonding operation by the bonding apparatus. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a lower frame, 2 denotes an upper frame attached to the lower frame via a column 3, 4 denotes a movable plate movably attached to the column 3, and 5 denotes a movable plate. 4 is an upper heating press plate which is attached downward, 6 is a lower heating press plate which is arranged opposite to the upper heating press plate 5, 7 is attached to the upper frame 2, and an upper heating press plate is provided via a moving plate 4. A drive device such as a hydraulic cylinder for reciprocating 5 up and down, a drive device 8 such as a hydraulic cylinder for reciprocating the lower heating press plate 6 mounted on the lower frame 1 and 9 for attaching A plurality of material sheets in a stacked state,
An adhesive that is melted by heat is applied to the bonding surface in advance. If necessary, an appropriate position of the material sheet may be temporarily bonded in a spot manner. Further, the material sheet 9 is not limited to a sheet cut to a predetermined size as shown in the figure, but may be a long strip.

The upper heating press plate 5 and the lower heating press plate 6 have flat pressing surfaces 5a and 6a facing each other, and as shown in FIG. 2C, the material sheets 9 are formed on the pressing surfaces 5a and 6a. The material sheets 9 can be bonded together by pressing. The press surfaces 5a, 6a are sized so that one or a plurality of cards to be manufactured can be arranged thereon.
One or a plurality of cards of a desired size can be manufactured by punching out a region bonded by the press surfaces 5a and 6a in a later step. The driving devices 7 and 8 respectively press the upper heating press plate 5 and the lower heating press plate 6 from the open position as shown in FIG. 2A to each other as shown in FIG. 9 is moved to a closed position for pressing. As shown in FIG. 2C, the lower heating press plate 5 and the lower heating press plate 6 press the material sheet 9 so that the position of the material sheet 9 does not fluctuate up and down. The heating press plate 6 is configured to be regulated by appropriate means so that the position when lifted by the driving device 8 becomes a predetermined upper limit position, and the driving force of the driving device 8 is higher than that of the driving device 7. It is set large.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, reference numeral 11 denotes a region which is disposed at a position surrounding the pair of heating press plates 5 and 6 and surrounds a region (outer edge) of the material sheet 9 surrounding the region to be bonded by the heating press plates 5 and 6. Section) is a sheet fixing means for fixing the section. The seat fixing means of this embodiment includes a pair of fixed frames arranged vertically, that is, an upper fixed frame 12 and a lower fixed frame 1.
The upper fixed frame 12 is attached to the moving plate 4 via a driving device 14 such as an air cylinder, and the lower fixed frame 13 is fixed to the lower frame 1. The upper surface position of the lower fixed frame 13 is set to a height that matches the upper surface of the lower heating press plate 6 raised to the upper limit position.

A cooling airflow generator 17 has an upper cooling nozzle 18 and a lower cooling nozzle 19. The upper cooling nozzle 18 and the lower cooling nozzle 19 are fixed to one side of the upper fixed frame 12 and the lower fixed frame 13, and the material sheet 9 held by the upper and lower fixed frames 12 and 13 and each heating press plate 5 are fixed. , 6 so as to supply a cooling airflow. Although not shown, the cooling air flow generation device 17 includes a compressed air source, a temperature control device, a flow control valve, and the like, and cools the cooling air flow adjusted to a desired temperature to a cooling nozzle at a desired flow rate. 18 and 19 are supplied.

Next, a description will be given of a bonding operation using the bonding apparatus having the above configuration. As shown in FIG.
Upper and lower heating press plates 5, 6 and upper and lower fixed frames 12, 13
Is opened, a plurality of material sheets 9 that are stacked for lamination are placed on the lower fixed frame 13.
At this time, the hot press plates 5 and 6 are both heated to a predetermined temperature required for hot press. Next, the upper fixed frame 12
The drive device 14 (see FIG. 1) that holds the upper fixed frame 12 is actuated to lower the upper fixed frame 12, and the outer edge of the material sheet 9 is pressed against the lower fixed frame 13 as shown in FIG. Fix it.

Next, the driving devices 7, 8 connected to the upper and lower heating press plates 5, 6 are operated to close the heating press plates 5, 6, and as shown in FIG.
Is hot pressed to melt the adhesive on the joint surface. At this time,
The material sheet 9 tends to shrink simultaneously with the heating, but does not shrink because the outer edges are fixed by the fixing frames 12 and 13. The two heating press plates 5 and 6 are the material sheets 9
After a time set to such a degree that the material is compressed to a predetermined thickness and the adhesive is melted, as shown in FIG. A cooling air passage is formed between both surfaces of the heating press plate 9 and the heating press plates 5 and 6. At this time, the material sheet 9 is released from the heating press plates 5 and 6, but does not shrink again because the outer edges are fixed by the fixing frames 12 and 13. Since a large tension is generated by the force, the material sheet 9 is mechanically kept flat.
Surface smoothness also increases. Immediately after the heating press plates 5 and 6 are opened, the cooling nozzles 18 and 19 blow cooling air between the material sheet 9 and the heating press plates 5 and 6. Thereby, the cooling air flows on both surfaces of the material sheet 9 to rapidly cool the material sheet 9 and solidify the melted adhesive. After blowing the cooling air flow for several seconds, the heating press plates 5 and 6 are further added.
And the fixing frames 12 and 13 are released, and the material sheet 9 is taken out. At this time, since the material sheet 9 is appropriately cooled, it does not shrink even if it is removed from the fixed frames 12 and 13. Although the surfaces of the heating press plates 5 and 6 are also cooled by the airflow by blowing the cooling airflow, the heating press plates 5 and 6 are cooled as compared with the thin material sheet 9 cooled from both sides.
Since has a much higher heat capacity, its surface temperature does not drop so much and there is no practical problem.

As described above, in the apparatus of the present embodiment, the material sheets 9 can be satisfactorily and promptly bonded without causing undesired shrinkage and deformation, and thus without deformation such as warpage and distortion. Can be.
Then, by punching the bonded portion of the material sheet 9 into a card in a later process, a high-quality card without warpage or distortion can be manufactured.

In the above embodiment, the upper cooling nozzle 18 and the lower cooling nozzle 19 of the cooling airflow generating device are manufactured as separate parts from the upper and lower fixed frames 12 and 13, and the fixed frame 1
Although it is configured to be attached to the cooling nozzles 2 and 13, instead of this, it is also possible to provide a large number of through holes in the fixing frames 12 and 13 themselves to form a cooling nozzle. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view similar to FIG. 2 showing an embodiment in that case. In this example,
Opposite 2 of upper fixed frame 12A and lower fixed frame 13A
On the sides, a large number of through holes 21 and 22 parallel to the material sheet 9 held by the fixed frames 12A and 13A are formed, and the through holes 21 formed on one side are connected to the cooling air flow supply pipe ( (Not shown) to function as a cooling nozzle. Other configurations are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIGS.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the bonding of the material sheets 9 is performed in the same procedure as in the previous embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, first, the material sheet 9 is placed on the lower fixed frame 13A, and as shown in FIG. 3B, the outer edge of the material sheet 9 is placed on the lower fixed frame 12A. 13A, the material sheet 9 is hot-pressed by upper and lower heating press plates 5 and 6 as shown in FIG. 3 (c), and thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3 (d). Is slightly opened to form a passage for cooling air between both surfaces of the material sheet 9 and the through hole 2.
A cooling air flow is blown from 1 to cool the material sheet 9.
After cooling, the heated press plates 5 and 6 and the fixed frames 12 and 1
By releasing the material sheet 3 and taking out the material sheet 9, the material sheet 9 can be satisfactorily and promptly bonded without causing undesired shrinkage deformation. In the embodiment shown in FIG.
3 through-hole 2 for feeding and discharging the cooling airflow to itself
By forming the cooling air streams 1 and 22, it is possible to narrow the interval between the heating press plates 5 and 6 and the material sheet 9 when flowing the cooling air flow, and to improve the cooling efficiency by increasing the flow velocity of the cooling air flow. In addition, an effect is obtained that the temperature distribution is prevented from being biased due to the jet cooling airflow directly hitting the surface of the material sheet 9.

In the above-described embodiment, the surfaces of the heat press plates 5 and 6 used for bonding the material sheets 9 are usually made of a hard material having good heat conductivity such as metal and having a smooth surface. It is used, but if necessary, a material having good adhesion such as a rubber sheet may be attached to the surface of the heated press plate. With this configuration, the heat transfer in the initial stage of pressing is improved, the temperature distribution of the material sheet becomes uniform, the flatness of the product is further improved, or the IC chip is damaged when the IC chip or the like is embedded in the material sheet. The advantage that there is no such thing is obtained.

In the above embodiment, the heating press plates 5, 6
And the fixed frames 12, 13 and 12A, 13A have a rectangular planar shape, but these shapes are not limited to a rectangular shape.
It can be changed as appropriate and may be, for example, circular.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a material sheet is hot-pressed and bonded by a pair of hot press plates, the outer edge of the material sheet is fixed by a sheet fixing means, and after the hot pressing, The structure is such that only the heating press plate is separated from the material sheet and the cooling air flow is sent to cool the material sheet, so that it is stretched at the time of manufacturing like a PET resin film, so unstable shrinkage deformation when heated Even when bonding the resulting material sheets,
Lamination is performed without shrinking the material sheet, and even when the heating press plate is released for cooling, tension is generated in the material sheet due to the heat shrinkage force, thereby maintaining the flatness of the material sheet. , It can be cooled in that state, thus preventing warpage and twisting,
The material sheets can be quickly bonded together, and as a result, a high quality card can be manufactured with high productivity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a bonding apparatus for manufacturing a card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, and 2D are schematic cross-sectional views of main parts illustrating a bonding operation of material sheets in the embodiment of FIG.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D are schematic cross-sectional views of main parts illustrating a bonding operation of material sheets according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower frame 2 Upper frame 3 Prop 4 Moving plate 5 Upper heating press plate 6 Lower heating press plate 7, 8 Driving device 9 Material sheet 11 Sheet fixing means 12, 12A Upper fixing frame 13, 13A Lower fixing frame 14 Drive Apparatus 17 Cooling airflow generator 18 Upper cooling nozzle 18 19 Lower cooling nozzle 19 21, 22 Through hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pair of heating press plates having a press surface having an area larger than that of a card to be manufactured, a driving device for opening and closing the pair of heating press plates, and a position surrounding the pair of heating press plates. Sheet fixing means for fixing an area of the material sheet surrounding the area to be bonded by the heating press plate, and cooling for sending a cooling air flow between the material sheet held by the sheet fixing means and each heating press plate. A bonding apparatus for manufacturing a card having an airflow generator. 2. The cooling airflow generating device according to claim 1, further comprising a nozzle for blowing a cooling airflow between the material sheet held by the sheet fixing means and each of the heating press plates. Bonding equipment for card manufacturing. 3. The sheet fixing means includes a pair of fixing frames for holding the material sheet by clamping, and a plurality of through holes parallel to the held material sheet are formed on two opposite sides of each fixing frame. The bonding apparatus for card production according to claim 1, wherein the cooling airflow generating device is configured to send the cooling airflow through a through hole on one side of the fixed frame.