JPH106590A - Card printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the positional shift from the end part of a moved card by sending a card to a card feed means on which a rubber sheet for a platen loaded with a right end, left end and width direction positioning mechanism is laid one by one and discharging the card after printing by the sheet feed means provided to.an apparatus base part. SOLUTION: A carriage 7 moves and a platen rubber sheet is stopped at the position entering under a suction roller 35 and, thereafter, a right end positioning mechanism 20 is pushed downwardly by the rotation of the suction roller 35 at the time of the insertion of a card C to feed the card C until the right end of the card is detached from the suction roller 35. At this time, the front and rear ends of the card C are regulated to a reference position by a front and rear end positioning plate. Next, when the platen rubber sheet moves the carriage 7 to a position not coming into contact with the suction roller 35, a left end positioning mechanism 70 moves the card C in the reverse direction to set the same at a predetermined position. After printing is executed, the platen rubber sheet is moved to discharge the card C by first and second discharge rollers 43, 47.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card printing apparatus, and more particularly to a card printing apparatus for printing with high accuracy over the entire printing surface of a card. The present invention relates to an apparatus for printing by thermal sublimation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a card printing apparatus, three-color subtraction is used.
The primary color Y. M. C. The ink ribbon R of each color (yellow, magenta, cyan) is selectively energized and heated from the film base side of the ribbon by a thermal line head based on an image signal, so that thermal transfer printing or thermal sublimation is performed on a printing surface of a plastic card. Devices adapted to print are known.

According to such an apparatus, in order to print at least the three primary colors (YMC), three card printing apparatuses are connected in series so as to be along the card conveying direction. A fourth card printing apparatus, which is fixed to a common base or prints using a black ink ribbon R in addition to the above three primary colors, is arranged in series along the card transport direction. An efficient card configured to be fixed on a table and dedicated to printing characters, for example, by using the above three primary color ink ribbons to exclusively print color portraits or patterns. A printing system has been partially implemented.

As described above, since the card printing apparatus is used by being fixed to the common base, it is an absolute condition to eliminate the printing deviation for each ink ribbon of each color.

That is, after a thermal head is provided on a base so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and a card is conveyed, a yellow ink ribbon is used to print the card on the card based on the distance from the left end of the card being moved. Subsequently, when printing is performed on the card using the magenta ink ribbon with the distance from the left end of the conveyance as a reference point, the yellow print image and the magenta print image can be completely printed without displacement. It is necessary.

Similarly, it is necessary to perform printing of each color so as to completely eliminate the positional deviation based on the front end and the rear end of the card along the card transport direction. Furthermore, since printing is performed in accordance with the movement of the card, if the moving speed of the card is not kept constant, image expansion occurs, so that the moving speed of the card must be kept constant.

[0007] If the contact force of the thermal head on the printing surface of the card is not uniform over the entire printing surface of the card, the printing will be shaded.

Therefore, when a plurality of card printing apparatuses are arranged in series so as to perform printing for each ink ribbon of each color while selectively energizing the thermal head in a fixed state as the card moves, The conditions for obtaining a high quality print image result on the card are as follows: Condition (a): The positional deviation from the edge of the conveyed card is completely eliminated. Condition (b), at least at the time of selective energization to the thermal head, the moving speed of the card is kept constant. Condition (c), the contact force with which the thermal head contacts the card surface is made uniform over the entire surface.

The other conditions (d) are as follows: the printed surface of the card has good smoothness, is white, has no foreign matter,
The reason is that the ink ribbon has good coloring properties, the ink ribbon feed is constant, and that the image data which is color-separated and which is the basis for selectively energizing the thermal head is excellent.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, a conventional configuration for realizing the conditions (a) and (c) among the above conditions will be described.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram (a) of a card transport mechanism for transporting a card to the thermal head 152 fixed to the base 200 side, and an operation explanatory diagram (b). In this drawing, a ball screw shaft 102 is rotatably supported on a base 101 of the card printing apparatus, and a motor (not shown) is connected to a timing pulley 103 fixed at one end through a timing belt 106. And the ball screw nut 108 meshes with the ball screw shaft 102, and the rotation of the screw shaft 102 reciprocates between the base 101. It is configured to convert to an operation.

A guide shaft 109 provided between the base portions 101 is supported so as to be able to reciprocate.
A mechanism for immovably mounting the card C on the upper surface and the carriage 10 provided with the illustrated platen rubber sheet 128
7, a ball screw nut 108 is directly fixed to a screw 115.

With the above arrangement, when the motor is energized, the ball screw shaft 102 is driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions, and when the carriage 107 is conveyed in the forward direction, the thermal head 152 is moved relative to the card C. Ink ribbon R
The carriage 107 is configured to be brought into contact with a predetermined printing pressure with the carriage 107 interposed therebetween, and thereafter, the carriage 107 is conveyed in the forward direction to perform the predetermined printing.

Next, a configuration for making the contact force of the thermal head contacting the card surface uniform over the entire surface under the above condition (c) will be described with reference to the cross sectional view of the carriage in FIG.

In this figure, guide plates 130 and 131, which are slightly wider than the width of the card C, are fixed to the front and rear side surfaces of the carriage 107 in order to regulate the positions of the front end C1 and the rear end C2 of the card C. ing.

The carriage 107 has a thickness of 5 mm.
The front and rear platen rubber sheets 128,
Rubber having a width smaller than the interval between 30 and 131 is laid so as to absorb a dimensional change due to thermal expansion. When it is brought into contact with the printing pressure, a reaction force is generated by an elastic force due to the deformation action of the rubber to obtain a predetermined printing pressure.

[0017]

However, FIG.
In the configuration described above, if there is no deflection in the ball screw shaft body 102 with which the ball screw nut 108 meshes, it is possible to prevent the ball screw shaft body 102 from being violent, and to suppress the occurrence of printing unevenness. For this reason, conventionally, although very expensive, a ball screw shaft having a small deflection which is cut for an ultra-precision mechanism has been used.

On the other hand, although a slight deflection is recognized in the ball screw shaft, a forged ball screw shaft is considerably inexpensive. In addition, since the pitch of the feed screw with which the ball nut meshes with the forged ball screw shaft has the same high precision as that of the cut product, the carriage mechanism that allows the deflection of the ball screw shaft is realized. Although an inexpensive device that can satisfy the condition (b) can be realized, it has not been put to practical use yet.

As described with reference to FIG. 12, according to the platen rubber sheet 128 having a width smaller than the interval between the guide plates 130 and 131 in order to satisfy the condition (c), the thermal line head 152 In a state in which the front end C1 and the rear end C2 (the area indicated by the broken line in the drawing) are excessively deformed in a state where the printing medium is brought into contact with the ink ribbon R at a predetermined printing pressure, the printing pressure generated by the deforming action is There is a problem in that these portions are reduced and fading occurs.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances and problems, and prints each color while transporting the card so that the moving speed of the card is kept constant with respect to the fixed thermal head. In a card printing apparatus configured to perform each printing operation, it is possible to eliminate positional displacement from the end of the moved card and to make the contact force abutting on the printing surface of the card uniform over the entire printing surface of the card. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a card printing apparatus capable of obtaining excellent printing results by maintaining the moving speed of the card constant at least at the time of selectively energizing the thermal head.

[0021]

Means for Solving the Problems The above-mentioned problems are solved,
In order to achieve the object, according to the present invention, a plurality of card printing apparatuses are arranged on a common base, and a black ink ribbon is added to the three primary colors or the three primary colors so that each of the heating units can be heated. A card printing apparatus that performs thermal transfer or thermal sublimation printing sequentially from a transport end while moving relatively to a thermal line head configured to transport the thermal line head in the longitudinal direction of the card. Card transport means provided with a platen rubber sheet for moving the card relative to the thermal line head and generating a predetermined pressure due to deformation due to the pressure of the thermal line head; and transporting the card The card conveying means for positioning and fixing the left end of the card as the leading edge of the time and the right end of the card as the rear end of the conveying in the card conveying means, respectively. The right end positioning mechanism and the left end positioning mechanism to be mounted, and the card transport means for positioning and fixing the card front end and the card rear end, which are both end portions of the card along the relative movement of the card, on the rubber sheet. And a card feeding means provided at the base of the apparatus for feeding the cards one by one to the card transport means and discharging the printed cards downstream. It is characterized by:

The card transport means includes a ball screw shaft rotatably supported by the device base and rotatably driven in the forward and reverse directions, and a screwed and screwed side surface of the ball screw shaft. A ball nut having a part and a detent part,
A carriage provided to be reciprocally movable for the relative movement with respect to the apparatus base; and connecting means for connecting the carriage and the side surface of the ball nut so as to make point contact with a predetermined pressure. It is characterized by doing.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the rubber sheet having a width dimension sufficiently larger than the width dimension of the card is laid on the carriage, and the width direction positioning mechanism is arranged on the rubber sheet.

A thermal printer in which a plurality of card printing apparatuses are arranged on a common base, and three primary colors or a black ink ribbon is added to the three primary colors and transported to the heat generating parts respectively. A card printing apparatus for performing thermal transfer or thermal sublimation printing sequentially from a transport end while moving relative to a line head in a longitudinal direction of a card, wherein the card printing apparatus is disposed at an apparatus base and the apparatus base, A ball screw shaft that is rotatably supported on the device base and is driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions to relatively move with respect to the line head; A ball nut having a portion and a detent portion, a carriage provided to be reciprocally movable for the relative movement with respect to the device base, and the side portion of the carriage and the ball nut. And a connecting means for connecting the points so as to make point contact with each other at a predetermined pressure, and a rubber sheet for a platen that generates a predetermined pressure with deformation due to the pressing of the thermal line head, wherein the width dimension of the card is A card conveying means in which the rubber sheet having a sufficiently large width is laid on the carriage, and a card left end which is a leading end at the time of conveying the card and a card right end which is a rear end at the time of conveying the card, respectively. A right end positioning mechanism and a left end positioning mechanism mounted on the card transport means for positioning and fixing in the means,
A width direction positioning mechanism disposed on the rubber sheet for positioning and fixing a card front end and a card rear end, which are card both end portions along the relative movement of the card, on the rubber sheet; And a card feeding means disposed at the base of the apparatus for feeding the cards one by one and discharging the printed cards downstream.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Prior to the description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of card printing apparatuses are arranged in series and the above three primary colors or black ink ribbons R are used. The operation principle of the printing system will be described based on the operation explanatory diagram of FIG.

In the figure, three card printing apparatuses 1 are provided.
Are fixed on the base 100, and a broken line is provided on the base 100 in order to eliminate a printing shift for each of the ink ribbons R (yellow, magenta, and cyan, which are indicated by dashed lines in the figure). The illustrated thermal heads 52 are provided movably in the vertical direction for each card printing apparatus 1, respectively.
Move the card C with the arrow D based on the distance L2 from the rear end C2.
As the paper is conveyed in the direction, the printing is performed on the card C with the yellow Y ink ribbon R based on the distance L1 from the left end C4 of the card being conveyed.

Subsequently, the card is conveyed downstream and printed on the card C with the ink ribbon R of magenta M using the distance L1 from the left end C4 of the conveyance as a reference point to print the printed yellow color. An image and a printed image of magenta color can be completely printed without any displacement.

Similarly, the printing of cyan C is performed using the distances L1, L2 from the front end C4 and the rear end C2 of the card along the card transport direction.
And printing of each color is performed such that the positional deviation of each color is completely eliminated.

At this time, since the printing is performed in accordance with the card conveyance, if the card conveyance speed is not maintained at a constant value, image expansion occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the card conveyance speed constant. Further, if the contact force with which the thermal head 52 contacts the surface of the card C is not uniform over the entire surface of the card, the print density will be high and low.

Therefore, when a plurality of card printing devices are arranged in series so as to perform printing for each ink ribbon of each color while selectively energizing the thermal head in a fixed state in accordance with the transport of the card, the The above conditions (a) for obtaining a high quality printed image on the upper side:
Completely “0” misalignment from the edge of the card being conveyed
To Condition (b): at least at the time of selective energization to the thermal head, the card transport speed is kept constant. Condition (c): a point that the contact force of the thermal head on the card surface is made uniform over the entire surface.

Other conditions (d) are that the card surface has good smoothness, that it is white, that no foreign matter is on it, that the ink ribbon has good color development, that the ink ribbon feed is constant, that the color Although the decomposed image data is excellent, etc., these conditions (d) are not considered in the card printing apparatus 1 if the above conditions (a) to (c) are not satisfied. Even if it is improved, a high-quality print result cannot be obtained, so that a so-called mechanical improvement is required.

A configuration satisfying the above-mentioned conditions (a) to (c) will be described with reference to a schematic front view of FIG. 2 showing one of the card printing apparatuses 1.

In this figure, a plurality of card printing apparatus bases 1 aligned with each other as described with reference to FIG. 1 are fixed on a base 100 indicated by hatching in the figure. The base 1 has upright portions 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, and 1f formed so as to be upright. The card C conveyed from the direction of arrow D1 in the upright portion 1a.
Is fixed, and the card is guided between the suction drive roller 35 and the right end positioning mechanism 20, which will be described later, between the entrance guide 17 and the entrance guide 17.

The upright portion 1b, the upright portion 1c, and the upright portion 1
A bearing for rotatably supporting the ball screw shaft 2 is fixed to d, and meshes with a timing pulley 3 fixed to the ball screw shaft 2 between the upright portions 1d and 1c. The rotation of the timing pulley 4 fixed to the drive shaft 5a of the stepping motor 5 fixed to the base 1 is transmitted via the timing belt 6 to rotate the ball screw shaft 2 in the forward and reverse directions. This prevents the radial load of the ball screw shaft body 2 generated by stretching the thyme belt 6 from acting on the ball screw shaft body 2 to prevent the ball screw shaft body 2 from bending.

On the other hand, the ball screw nut 8 meshes with the ball screw shaft 2, and converts the rotation operation of the ball screw shaft 2 due to the driving of the stepping motor 5 into a reciprocating operation. And a mechanism for mounting the card C on the upper surface in an immovable state and a carriage 7 provided with a platen rubber sheet 28 to be described later are reciprocally driven. Have been.

As the ball screw shaft 2, a forged or inexpensive ball screw shaft having a certain degree of bending is used. Therefore, in order to absorb the deflection, when the ball screw nut 8 moves the carriage 7 in the direction of the arrow D2 by the rotation of the ball screw shaft 2 to move the card C in the downstream direction, The shape member 11 is in contact with the side surface portion of the ball screw nut 8 so that the influence of the swing motion of the ball screw nut 8 does not affect the carriage.

A spring member 14 is always in contact with the flange portion of the ball screw nut 8, and is fixed to the carriage by a pin bracket 13 which also serves as a detent for the ball screw nut 8. 8.

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of the ball screw shaft 2, the ball screw nut 8, and the carriage 7. The same reference numerals are given to the already described components, and description thereof will be omitted. To be more specific, a pair of left and right convex members 11 is fixed to the convex bracket 10, and the ball screw shaft 2 is straddled. 7a and fixed by screwing.

Further, left and right holes 8b are formed in the flange portion of the ball screw nut 8, and a pair of pins 12 fixed to the pin bracket 13 are respectively inserted into these holes 8b so that the ball is screwed. The screw nut 8 is prevented from rotating, and the carriage 15 is fastened together with the hole 13a of the pin bracket 13 so that the screw 15 is inserted into the hole 14a of the spring member 14 which is deformed to press the flange. 7.

With the above configuration, as shown in the operation explanatory diagram of FIG. 4, the ball screw shaft 2 is driven to rotate by energizing the motor, whereby the carriage 7 moves forward in the direction of arrow D2. When the ball head 8 is moved in the direction of the arrow when the thermal head 52 is brought into contact with the card C at a predetermined printing pressure with the ink ribbon R interposed therebetween at a predetermined printing pressure, As shown in FIG. 4A, the carriage is moved such that the contact surface of the convex member 11 contacts the side surface 8a.

With the above configuration, the swinging motion of the ball screw nut 8 is controlled by the ball screw shaft body 2 having the deflection as shown in FIG.
(B), even if it occurs as shown by a solid line and a broken line,
Since the spherical portion of the convex member 11 abuts on the center line CL, the influence can be prevented from affecting the carriage. In addition, since the spring member 14 is always in contact with the contact surface 8c of the flange portion of the ball screw nut 8, it is possible to prevent rattling when the ball screw nut 8 moves in the opposite direction.

As described above, although a slight deflection is recognized in the ball screw shaft, a considerably inexpensive forged ball screw shaft can be used.

Referring again to FIG. 2, immediately downstream of the entrance guide 17, a suction drive rotatably and clockwise driven by a bracket 36 rotatably held by a rotatable drive shaft 38. While the rollers 35 are provided so as to obtain a power source from the drive motor 37,
By adjusting the adjustment screw 39, the amount of contact of the suction drive roller 35 with the right end positioning mechanism 20 can be adjusted.
It is biased to move to the 0 side.

On the other hand, on the downstream side of the carriage, the first
Discharge drive roller 43 and second discharge drive roller 4
7 are provided on the bracket 44 and the drive motor 4
The respective rollers are driven through the rotation / drive shaft 46 which also serves as the rotation shaft of the bracket 44 by the energization of 5.

The bracket 44 is provided with an adjusting screw 48 and a tension spring 49 to urge the first discharge drive roller 43 downward and to adjust the amount of contact with the card C. An idle roller 50 is provided so as to face the second discharge drive roller 47.

The gap between the rubber sheet and the rubber sheet is stopped at about 0.1 mm (card thickness or less) by the roller height adjusting screw.
Even if it rotates, it does not contact the rubber sheet and does not damage the rubber. The suction roller 1 includes a suction motor,
The gears are connected by gears, and the suction roller 1 can be rotated in the F direction by the operation of the suction motor. The first discharge roller 43 has a structure in which a pressure of several hundred g is applied, and is stopped by a roller height adjusting screw 48 at a position where the gap with the surface of the platen rubber sheet 28 becomes about 0.1 mm (card thickness or less). Even if the first discharge roller 43 is rotationally driven in a state where the sheet 28 enters the lower side of the roller, the first discharge roller 43 does not come into contact with the sheet 28 to prevent damage.

The first discharge roller 47 is attached to a drive shaft 46 which can rotate and is supplied with pressure by an idle roller. Note that the sheet 28 is installed at a position where the sheet 28 cannot enter the first discharge roller 47, and the carriage 7 does not interfere.

The first and second discharge rollers 43 and 4
7 is connected to the motor 45 by a gear,
By the operation described above, the first discharge roller and the first roller can be simultaneously rotated. There are two rollers on the ejection side to prevent the card from flapping up and down during ejection.

Next, a thermal line head 52 is provided on the base 100 so as to be vertically movable. To this end, an intermediate portion of a lever 53 whose one end is supported by a rotation fulcrum 54 of the base 100 is connected to the thermal line head 52, and the lever 53 is moved upward by driving a solenoid 55 provided on the lever 53. Spring 56 which urges to move
The ribbon R is moved over the card C and is brought into contact with the card C by moving the thermal line head 52 downward against the tension of the card.

The ribbon R is supplied at a maximum diameter on a ribbon supply reel 57, and the used ribbon R is wound up on a ribbon take-up reel 58. As shown in FIG. Since the maximum diameter changes, the distance between the axes of the reels 58 and 57 can be reduced.

The ribbon supply reel 57 is provided with a brake or a friction clutch for generating back tension, while the ribbon take-up reel 58 is provided with a drive motor via a friction clutch.

In order to guide the ribbon R as shown in the figure, a ribbon guide roller 59, a ribbon drive roller 60, an idle roller 61 abutting on the ribbon drive roller 60, a ribbon guide roller 62 and a ribbon guide roller 63 and a ribbon guide roller 64 are provided. With the above configuration, the ribbon feed accompanying the card movement is performed by driving the ribbon drive roller 60 at a constant speed.

Next, the condition (c) for making the contact force of the thermal head in contact with the card surface uniform over the entire surface will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5A is a plan view of the carriage 7, FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG.
Is a front view.

In this figure, the same components as those already described are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. Only the characteristic portions will be described below.
Right end positioning mechanism 20 and left end positioning mechanism 70 described later
(Not shown) is provided.

In order to make the contact force of the thermal line head 52 on the card surface uniform over the entire surface,
A platen rubber sheet 28 having a width larger than the width of the card and having a thickness of about 2.5 mm is adhered to the platen plate 18 by a double-sided adhesive sheet.

The platen rubber sheet 28 is an NBR rubber having a rubber hardness of about 70 degrees, and is coated with Teflon in order to reduce friction during transport of the cart. The platen rubber sheet 28 has a projection 2
8a is integrally formed at a position parallel to the right end positioning mechanism 20, and the suction drive roller 35 is configured to be conveyed in such a manner as to come into contact with the projection 28a via a card similarly to the right end positioning mechanism 20. ing.

On the other hand, on the platen rubber sheet 28 having a sufficient width as shown by a broken line in the figure, a space slightly larger than the width of the card C is required to regulate the positions of the front end and the rear end of the card C. A rear end positioning plate 29 and a front end positioning plate 30 are provided to make the distance H smaller.

The edge 29a of the rear end positioning plate 29 is finished so that the card can slide smoothly.
While the reference position from the rear end C2 described in the above is set, the front end positioning plate 30 moves in the direction of the arrow in the drawing such that the flanged pins 31 respectively enter the pair of left and right guide holes 30b. The leaf spring 32 is configured to be freely movable and to be constantly biased so as to move toward the rear end positioning plate 29 with the leaf spring 32 abutting against the protrusion 30c. A bracket 33 is fixed to the carriage for fixing the spring plate 32.

In the above configuration, the front end positioning plate 30
When the card is conveyed from the state where the distance H is separated by the edge 30a of the rear end positioning plate 29 and the edge 29a of the rear end positioning plate 29, the card C moves to the rear end positioning plate 29 side. The front end positioning plate 30 is moved so that the reference position can be set.

As described above, by using the platen rubber sheet 28 which is sufficiently wider than the width of the card, the thermal head 52 is brought into contact with the card C at a predetermined printing pressure with the ink ribbon R interposed therebetween. At this time, the predetermined printing pressure generated by the rubber deformation can be made uniform.

Next, a right end positioning mechanism 20 for positioning the right end C3 of the card C on the platen rubber sheet 28 as shown in FIG. 5C will be described with reference to a sectional view of a main part of FIG.

The structure of the right end positioning mechanism 20 includes a rotating member 21 rotatably held by a rotating shaft 22 supported by a bearing member 23 provided on the carriage 7 and a rotating member 21. The compression spring 24 is always urged to move upward, and the projection 21b of the rotation member 21 sneaks into the recess 18a of the platen plate 18, whereby further rotation is restricted.

In the above configuration, when the card C is conveyed and is fed with a conveying force between the suction drive roller 35 and the upper surface of the rotating member 21, the thickness of the card sinks downward. Thereafter, when further transported further downstream, the rotating member 21 moves upward by the action of the compression spring 24,
The protrusion 21 b of the rotating member 21 is the concave portion 1 of the platen plate 18.
8a, and enters the state (shown in FIG. 6B). The right end C3 of the card C conveyed in the opposite direction by the operation of the left end positioning mechanism 70 described later.
1a comes into contact, and the right end is positioned.

More specifically, the rotating member 21 has several g to several tens g.
0.4 from the upper surface of the platen rubber sheet 28 so as to project less than the card thickness.
0.5 mm is protruded.

Next, the left end positioning mechanism 70 shown in FIG.
According to the external perspective view of FIG.
As described with reference to FIG. 1, while the card C is brought into contact with the left end C4 of the card C conveyed one by one to regulate the position of the card C at the printing position on the platen rubber 28, the printed card can be conveyed downstream. The configuration will be described below.

In this figure, the left end positioning mechanism 70
A horizontal rotation bracket 73 pivotally supported by a first shaft 74 shown by a broken line so as to rotate in a direction indicated by an arrow S in a portion extending from a part of the carriage 7; A pair of bearing portions 73c continuously formed from the bent portions 73a of the above are rotatably supported by the second shaft body 76 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow V in the drawing, and to rotate horizontally. A vertically rotating bracket 7 whose upward movement is restricted further by the action of the compressive force of a built-in compression coil spring 80 by a bent portion 77a of a first stopper 77 fixed to the moving bracket 73 with a screw.
And 5.

On the other hand, a spring hook 73b is formed on the horizontal rotation bracket 73.
By pushing the entire left end positioning mechanism 70 counterclockwise by the tension of a tension coil spring 81 stretched between b and a locking pin 82 fixed to the rear surface of the carriage 7, the card is moved. By moving in the opposite direction, it can be brought into contact with the right end positioning mechanism 20 described above.

Also, by incorporating the compression coil spring 80, a repulsive force of several g to several tens g in the direction of the arrow V is provided.
8 at a height of 2 to 3 mm from the upper surface of the end portion 7a of the shape portion 75a.
5b stops in a state where it is located. When pressed down in this state, it is pushed down below the platen rubber. Further, the tension spring generates a force of several tens to several hundreds of g, and in a state where the edge 73 f abuts against the second stopper 78, the end 75 b of the shape portion 75 a and the left end of the card The gap with C4 becomes zero and the pressure acting on the left end positioning mechanism 70 becomes zero.

7 (a) and 7 (b) and FIGS. 8 (a)
(B) and FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b) and FIGS. 10 (a) and (b)
First, as shown in FIG. 9A, the carriage 7 is moved rightward, and then stopped at a position where the platen rubber sheet 28 enters below the suction roller 35.

Thereafter, when the suction roller 35 is rotated together with the insertion of the card C, the card sandwiched between the suction roller 35 and the platen rubber sheet 28 has a Teflon coat on the surface of the platen rubber sheet 28. The right end positioning mechanism 20 is driven by the force of the suction roller 35.
Is pressed down, and the right end C3 of the card is
It is transported until it comes off.

At this time, since the distance between the suction roller 35 and the end portion 75b of the shape portion 75a of the left end positioning mechanism 70 is shorter than the card length, the left end positioning mechanism 70 is shown in FIG.
Excess extrusion is performed as shown in FIG. At this time, the front end C1 and the rear end C2 of the card are regulated to the reference position by the action of the rear end positioning plate 29 and the front end positioning plate 30. Although not shown, a card board for preventing card floating is provided above the rear end positioning plate 29 and the front end positioning plate 30, and the rear end positioning plate 29 and the front end positioning plate 30 are provided.
The card does not come off.

Next, when the carriage is moved to a position where the platen rubber sheet 28 does not contact the suction roller 35 as shown in FIG. 9B, the pressure of the suction roller 35 acting on the card is eliminated. In FIG. 7B, the left end positioning mechanism 70 moves the card in the reverse direction by the tensile force of the tension coil spring 81, holds the card with the right end positioning mechanism 20, and sets the card at a predetermined position. Subsequently, FIG. 10A and FIG.
In (a), the carriage is moved to the printing position, and the thermal head 52 is pressed by energizing the solenoid 55.

When printing from the front end of the card, the head 5
2 comes in contact with the left end positioning mechanism 70, but the left end positioning mechanism 70 is flush with the card by the rotating member 75 being pressed down against the force of the compression spring 80 by abutment. Printing from C4 becomes possible. At this time, the repulsive force of the compression spring 80 is so small as to be negligible with respect to the thermal head pressure, so that it is not affected by printing.

When printing is completed, the height of the right end positioning mechanism 20 at the right end C3 of the card is lower than that of the card, so that printing can be performed up to the last marginal portion. In addition, since the front end positioning plate 30 and the rear end positioning plate 29 are naturally smaller than the card thickness, they do not interfere with the head.

In FIG. 10B, after printing is completed, when the carriage is moved to move the platen rubber sheet 28 to a position below the first discharge roller 43, the card is sandwiched between the first discharge roller 43 and the platen rubber sheet 28. It will be in a state where it was lost. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8B, the left end positioning mechanism 70 makes contact with the release shaft 71 fixed to the upright portion 1f (FIG. 2) of the base 1 and the inclined surface 75c of the rotating member 75. Pressing down the platen rubber sheet 28 below the height, the card is held in the card ejection direction, and the left end C4 is released. In this state, the card is discharged by rotating the first discharge roller 43 and the second discharge roller 47.

With the above configuration, the card can be continuously transported so that printing of each color is performed for each color while the moving speed of the card C is kept constant with respect to the fixed thermal head 52. In addition to eliminating misalignment from the edge of the card being moved, the card can be printed from the edge of the card, and the contact force of the thermal line head can be made uniform over the entire printing surface of the card. Print results can be obtained. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied not only to a normal plastic card but also to a so-called IC card having a memory chip embedded therein.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In a card printing apparatus configured to perform printing of each color for each color while transporting the card so that the moving speed of the card is kept constant with respect to the fixed thermal head, the position of the moved card from the end. In addition to eliminating misalignment, the contact force that abuts on the print surface of the card can be made uniform over the entire print surface of the card, and at least at the time of selective energization to the thermal head, the moving speed of the card is kept constant By doing so, it is possible to provide a card printing apparatus that can obtain excellent printing results.

[0079]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an operation principle of a system in which a plurality of card printing apparatuses are arranged in series and printing is performed using an ink ribbon R of three primary colors or black.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of the card printing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of the ball screw shaft 2, the ball screw nut 8, and the carriage 7.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are an explanatory diagram of an operation of carriage conveyance and an explanatory diagram of an operation of swinging motion of a ball screw nut 8. FIGS.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the carriage, and FIG.
It is arrow sectional drawing, front view (c) of a carriage.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram of the right end positioning mechanism 20.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of the left end positioning mechanism 70.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram of the left end positioning mechanism 70.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an operation from card inhalation to card ejection.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation from card inhalation to card ejection.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view of a conventional carriage mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a main part of a conventional carriage mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 base 2 ball screw shaft 3 timing pulley 4 timing pulley 5 drive motor 6 timing belt 7 carriage 8 ball nut 9 guide 10 convex bracket 11 convex member 12 pin 13 pin bracket 14 spring member 15 screw 16 entrance guide 17 entrance guide REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 18 platen plate 20 right end positioning mechanism 21 rotating member 22 rotating shaft 23 bearing member 24 compression spring 28 platen rubber sheet 29 rear end positioning plate 30 front end positioning plate 31 guide pin 32 leaf spring 33 bracket 35 suction drive roller 36 bracket 37 Driving motor 38 Rotary / shared drive shaft 39 Adjusting screw 40 Tension spring 43 First discharge drive roller 44 Bracket 45 Drive motor 46 Rotary / shared drive shaft 47 Second discharge drive roller 48 Adjustment J 49 Tension spring 50 Idling roller 52 Thermal line head 53 Lever 54 Rotating fulcrum 55 Solenoid 56 Tension spring 57 Ribbon take-up reel 58 Ribbon supply reel 59 Ribbon guide roller 60 Ribbon drive roller 62 Ribbon guide roller 63 Ribbon guide roller 64 Ribbon guide Roller 70 Left end positioning mechanism 71 Fixed rod body 72 Fixed rod body bracket 73 Horizontal rotation bracket 74 First shaft body 75 Vertical rotation bracket 76 Second shaft body 77 First stopper 78 Second stopper 80 Compression coil spring 81 Tension coil spring 82 Lock pin C Card R Ink ribbon

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A thermal printer in which a plurality of card printing apparatuses are arranged on a common base, and three primary colors or a black ink ribbon is added to the three primary colors and transported to the heat generating parts. A card printing apparatus for sequentially performing thermal transfer or thermal sublimation printing from a transport end while moving relatively to a line head in a longitudinal direction of a card, comprising: an apparatus base; Along with moving relative to the line head, a card conveying means laying a rubber sheet for a platen that generates a predetermined pressure due to deformation due to the pressing of the thermal line head, and a card left end which is a leading end during the conveyance of the card. Right edge positioning mounted on the card transport means for positioning and fixing the right edge of the card, which is the rear end during transport, in the card transport means, respectively. A mechanism and a left end positioning mechanism; and a width direction positioning mechanism mounted on the card transport means for positioning and fixing a card front end and a card rear end which are card both end portions along the relative movement of the card on the rubber sheet. And a card feeder disposed at the base of the apparatus for feeding the cards one by one to the card transporter and discharging the printed card downstream. Card printing device. 2. The card transporting means comprises: a ball screw shaft rotatably supported by the apparatus base and rotatably driven in forward and reverse directions; A ball nut having a portion and a detent portion; a carriage provided to be reciprocally movable for the relative movement with respect to the device base; and a point between the carriage and the side portion of the ball nut at a predetermined pressure. 2. The card printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising connection means for connecting so as to be in contact with each other. 3. A rubber sheet having a width dimension sufficiently larger than a width dimension of the card is laid on the carriage, and the width direction positioning mechanism is arranged on the rubber sheet. Item 3. The card printing device according to Item 2. 4. A thermal printer in which a plurality of card printing apparatuses are arranged on a common base, and three primary colors or a black ink ribbon is added to the three primary colors and transported to the heat generating parts. A card printing apparatus for sequentially performing thermal transfer or thermal sublimation printing from a transport end while moving relatively to a line head in a longitudinal direction of a card, comprising: an apparatus base; A ball screw shaft that is rotatably supported on the device base and is driven to rotate in the forward and reverse directions to relatively move with respect to the line head; And a ball nut having a detent portion, a carriage provided reciprocally for relative movement with respect to the apparatus base, and a space between the carriage and the side portion of the ball nut. And a connecting means for making a point contact at a constant pressure, and a rubber sheet for a platen that generates a predetermined pressure due to deformation due to the pressing of the thermal line head, which is sufficiently larger than the width dimension of the card. A card conveying means in which the rubber sheet having a large width dimension is laid on the carriage, and a card left end which is a leading end at the time of conveying the card and a card right end which is a rear end at the time of conveying the card. A right-end positioning mechanism and a left-end positioning mechanism mounted on the card transporting means for positioning and fixing; and a card front end and a card rear end, which are card both end portions along the relative movement of the card, are positioned and fixed on the rubber sheet. A width direction positioning mechanism disposed on the rubber sheet to With feeding said card one by one relative unit, card printing apparatus characterized by comprising a card feed device disposed in the device base in order to discharge the card after printing downstream.