JP4864517B2 - Card issuing machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for continuously issuing cards such as magnetic cards.

  As a card issuing machine, a plurality of card storage units for storing a plurality of cards, a card processing mechanism unit for performing information writing processing on the cards, etc., and receiving cards from the card storage unit toward a downstream mechanism unit And a card delivery mechanism for conveying the card. In a conventional card issuing machine, a card discharge actuator such as a motor is provided in each of the card storage units, and the card is discharged from each card storage unit by the card discharge actuator.

  In the above-mentioned card issuing machine, when a card storage unit that stores a card to be issued is selected when a card is issued, the card discharge actuator of the selected card storage unit is driven to discharge the internal card. It has become. Then, the card delivery mechanism unit receives the card discharged from the card storage unit and delivers it to the downstream mechanism unit.

  However, in the conventional card issuing machine, a card discharge actuator is provided corresponding to each of the card accommodating portions. For this reason, there exists a problem that a structure becomes complicated.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize card ejection from a plurality of card storage units with a relatively simple configuration.

A card issuing machine according to the present invention is configured to receive a plurality of cards in a stacked manner and a receiving main body having a discharge port capable of discharging the stacked cards and engage a side edge of the card. A first operating position having a mating protrusion, the engaging protrusion being disposed on the outer peripheral side of a plurality of cards accommodated in a stacked manner in the accommodating body, and the engaging protrusion being located in the accommodating body. And movably disposed between the second operation position disposed on one main surface side of the plurality of cards accommodated in a stack and moved from the first operation position to the second operation position. And a card picker that engages the engaging protrusion with one of a plurality of cards arranged in a stacked manner in the housing main body and moves the one card toward the discharge port. Urging means for urging the card picker toward the second operation position. Has a card discharge operable card ejection mechanism for discharging the card housed in layers in the housing body portion one by one, the card transfer mechanism, the first operating position the card picker A pusher for pushing toward the card , and a pusher driving means for causing the pusher to perform a pushing operation, and a card ejection driving mechanism for applying a driving force for causing the card ejection mechanism to perform a card ejection operation, In a normal state, the card picker is located at the second operation position, and the card picker is moved to the first operation position by pushing the pusher when the card ejection mechanism performs the ejection operation. When the pusher is retracted, the card picker is moved to the second operation position by the urging force of the urging means and the one card is directed to the discharge port. Those that moved.

In this case, a portion of the upper surface of the card picker on the engagement protrusion side may be formed on an inclined surface that is inclined upward toward the engagement protrusion side.

The card picker is movably disposed in the housing main body, and a relay pusher is attached to the card housing assembly so as to be movable along the pusher pushing direction. The pusher pushes the relay pusher. The card picker may be pushed through and moved.

In addition, a card housing portion sub-assembly is formed by connecting two or more of the plurality of card housing portions, and the card housing portion sub-assembly is set in the card housing portion assembly. It may be. Then, a shutter that closes the discharge ports of the two or more card storage portions in the card storage portion sub-assembly sets the card storage portion sub-assembly to the card storage portion assembly so that the discharge port is It is good to provide so that the said discharge port may be obstruct | occluded by making it open | release and removing the said card accommodating part subassembly from the said card accommodating part aggregate.

  According to the card issuing machine of the present invention, when issuing a card stored in a desired card storage unit, the card transfer mechanism unit is moved to a position corresponding to the desired card storage unit by driving the transport movement mechanism unit. In the moved state, the driving force from the card ejection drive mechanism is applied to the card ejection mechanism. Then, the card discharge mechanism performs a card discharge operation of discharging the cards stored in a stacked manner in the storage main body one by one. The card thus ejected is received by the card delivery mechanism, and is issued after being appropriately issued. For this reason, it is possible to apply a driving force that causes a plurality of card discharge mechanisms to perform a card discharge operation by one card discharge drive mechanism, and it is relatively easy to discharge cards from a plurality of card storage units. Can be realized with a simple configuration.

  Further, each of the card accommodating portions accommodates a plurality of cards in a stacked manner and a receiving main body portion having a discharge port through which the cards accommodated in the stacked shape can be discharged, and an engagement that can be engaged with a side edge portion of the cards. A first operating position having a mating protrusion, the engaging protrusion being disposed on the outer peripheral side of a plurality of cards accommodated in a stacked manner in the accommodating body, and the engaging protrusion being located in the accommodating body. And movably disposed between the second operation position disposed on one main surface side of the plurality of cards accommodated in a stack and moved from the first operation position to the second operation position. And a card picker that engages the engaging protrusion with one of a plurality of cards arranged in a stacked manner in the housing main body and moves the one card toward the discharge port. Biasing means for biasing the card picker toward the second operating position. If the card delivery mechanism has a pusher that pushes the card picker toward the first operation position, and a pusher driving means that causes the pusher to push the card picker, the following effects are obtained. be able to. That is, when issuing the card accommodated in the desired card accommodation part, the card delivery mechanism part is moved to a position corresponding to the desired card accommodation part by driving the transport movement mechanism part, and the card delivery mechanism The pusher is operated by driving the pusher driving means of the unit, and the card picker is pushed toward the first operation position. Thereafter, the card picker is moved from the first operation position to the second operation position by the urging force of the urging means, so that the engagement protrusions are disposed in a stacked manner in the housing main body. One of the plurality of cards is engaged, and the one card is moved toward the discharge port. Therefore, it is possible to apply a driving force that causes a plurality of card discharge mechanisms to perform a card discharge operation by a single card discharge drive mechanism, and to discharge the cards from a plurality of card storage portions. It can be realized with a configuration.

  In addition, a configuration in which two or more of the plurality of card accommodating portions are connected to form a card accommodating portion sub-aggregate, and the card accommodating portion sub-aggregate is set in the card accommodating portion aggregate. It may be.

  Thereby, a partition is shared between each card accommodation part, for example, the structure for locking each card accommodation part individually, the structure locked in the set state, etc. are shared on the card accommodation part aggregate side. From this point, the configuration can be simplified and made compact.

  Hereinafter, the card issuing machine according to the embodiment will be described. Here, after describing the overall configuration of the card issuing machine, the configuration of each major part will be described.

<Overall configuration>
FIG. 1 is a side view showing the overall configuration of the card issuing machine, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a card to be processed. In FIG. 1 and the following drawings, for convenience of explanation, the front-rear direction of the card issuing machine is represented by the X-axis direction, the width direction thereof is represented by the Y-axis direction, and the vertical (vertical) direction thereof is represented by the Z-axis direction.

  This card issuing machine is an apparatus that issues a substantially square plate-like card and issues it as a card that can be used in a predetermined card system.

  Here, the target card will be described. In the present embodiment, the magnetic card 10 as shown in FIG. 2 is targeted.

  That is, the magnetic card 10 is formed of a substantially rectangular plastic plate. A magnetic stripe (magnetic recording medium) 12 a extending along the long side direction is attached to a portion in the vicinity of one long side on the one surface (front surface) side of the magnetic card 10. Further, a magnetic stripe 12b is also attached to the vicinity of the other long side on the one side (front side) of the magnetic card 10 along the long side direction.

  However, the target card is not limited to the magnetic card 10 but may be an IC card or a card such as a plastic card in which character information is written.

  The card issuing machine performs the following issuing process on the magnetic card 10 as described above. That is, the card issuing machine writes information to the magnetic stripes 12a and 12b on both sides of the magnetic card 10, and performs embossing, tipping, and double-sided printing. In the magnetic card 10 issued by this card issuing machine, information is written on the magnetic stripes 12a and 12b on both sides, colored embossed characters 12 are formed, and printed characters 14 are provided on both sides. Become. Of course, in the actual issuing process, a part of the above issuing process may be performed.

  In addition to the above issuance process, in addition to the above issuance process, information is written to the IC recording medium (when using an IC card), coating process, label sticking process, etc. Also good.

  The overall configuration of the card issuing machine will be described more specifically with reference to FIG.

  The card issuing machine includes a card storage unit aggregate (in-hopper) 20, a card delivery mechanism unit 40, a first card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 60, a card read / write unit 80, and a second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90. , A printing unit 100, an embossing unit 110, a tipping unit 115, and a card transport mechanism unit 120. When a command related to each issuing process for each magnetic card 10 is input to the control unit 140 via an input unit (not shown), the control unit 140 controls the above-described units in accordance with the command.

  The card accommodation unit aggregate 20 is configured to accommodate a plurality of magnetic cards 10, and the magnetic cards 10 are discharged from the card accommodation unit assembly 20 one by one.

  The magnetic card 10 ejected from the card accommodation unit aggregate 20 is delivered to the card delivery mechanism unit 40. The card delivery mechanism unit 40 delivers the received magnetic card 10 to the card transport mechanism unit 120 described below.

  The card accommodation unit aggregate 20 and the card delivery mechanism unit 40 will be described in detail later.

  The card transport mechanism 120 includes a grip 122 that grips the magnetic card 10 in a predetermined posture (for example, a vertical posture), and an XZ movement mechanism 124 that moves the grip 122 in the XZ direction within the apparatus. . The card transport mechanism 120 grips the magnetic card 10, and connects the card 10 between the card delivery mechanism 40, the first card delivery reversal mechanism 60, the embossing unit 110, and the tipping unit 115. Transport.

  The first card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 60 performs relay delivery of the magnetic card 10 among the card transport mechanism unit 120, the card read / write unit 80, and the second card delivery / reverse mechanism unit 90, and the card read / write unit. The magnetic card 10 returned from 80 is reversed left and right and sent to the card read / write unit 80 again.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the magnetic card 10 is delivered between the card transport mechanism 120 and the first card delivery reversal mechanism 60 will be described. However, the card transport mechanism 120 and the second card delivery reversal mechanism are described. The magnetic card 10 may be delivered to and from the unit 90.

  The card read / write unit 80 is configured to send the magnetic card 10 along the predetermined feeding direction in the forward direction and the opposite direction, and to write information to one of the magnetic stripes 12a or 12b of the magnetic card 10 sent. Has been.

  The first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 and the card read / write unit 80 will be described in detail later.

  The second card delivery / reversal mechanism 90 performs relay delivery of the magnetic card 10 between the first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 and the printing unit 100 and also reverses the magnetic card 10 returned from the printing unit 100 from the front to the back. Thus, it can be sent to the printing unit 100 again.

  The printing unit 100 is configured to be able to perform printing processing on one surface (for example, the upper surface) of the magnetic card 10. The printing may be printing using general ink, or printing by forming physical irregularities with a laser or the like. In short, as the printing unit 100, various well-known configurations that provide a visible display on the magnetic card 10 can be employed.

  The embossing unit 110 is configured to be able to write uneven characters on the magnetic card 10. Here, the embossing unit 110 performs embossing on the magnetic card 10 being transported by the card transport mechanism unit 120. As such an embossing part 110, a well-known embossing means that can apply a concave or convex shape following the character type to the plastic plate by pressing a character type or the like previously processed on the plastic plate is applied. can do.

  The tipping processing unit 115 is means for coloring the convex portions of the embossed characters. As such a tipping processing section 115, various well-known means such as a means for pressing and transferring an ink ribbon or the like to a convex portion of an embossed character in a heated state can be applied.

  A flow of card processing in the card issuing machine configured as described above will be described.

  That is, in the initial state, a plurality of magnetic cards 10 are stored in the card storage unit aggregate 20. When the issuing process is started, one magnetic card 10 is ejected from the card housing unit assembly 20 (see arrow A). The magnetic card 10 is received by the card delivery mechanism 40 and delivered to the card transport mechanism 120 (see arrow B).

  The magnetic card 10 is temporarily transferred from the card transport mechanism 120 to the first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 (see arrow C). Then, the magnetic card is transferred from the first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 to the card read / write unit 80, and information is written in the magnetic stripe 12 a on one side of the magnetic card 10 by the card read / write unit 80. 10 is returned to the 1st card delivery inversion mechanism part 60 (refer arrow D1). Then, the first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 reverses the magnetic card 10 left and right and sends it to the card read / write unit 80 again. Next, the card read / write unit 80 writes information in the other magnetic stripe 12b of the magnetic card 10 and returns it to the first card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 60 again (see arrow D2).

  Next, the 1st card delivery inversion mechanism part 60 delivers the magnetic card 10 to the 2nd card delivery inversion mechanism part 90 (refer arrow E). Then, the second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90 sends the magnetic card 10 to the printing unit 100. The printing unit 100 performs a predetermined printing process on one surface of the magnetic card 10, and then returns the magnetic card to the second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90 (see arrow F1). Then, the second card delivery / reversal mechanism 90 reverses the magnetic card 10 to the front and back, and then sends it to the printing unit 100 again. This time, the printing unit 100 performs a printing process on the other side of the magnetic card 10, and then returns the magnetic card 10 to the second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90 (see arrow F2).

  Next, the magnetic card 10 is transferred from the second card delivery / reversal mechanism 90 to the card transport mechanism 120 via the first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 (see arrow G) (see arrow H). Upon receiving the magnetic card 10, the card transport mechanism 120 transports the magnetic card 10 to a position where it can be processed by the embossing unit 110 (see arrow I), where embossing of the magnetic card 10 is performed. Thereafter, the card transport mechanism unit 120 transports the magnetic card 10 to the tipping processing unit 115 (see arrow J). As a result, the tipping processing unit 115 applies the tipping processing unit 115 to the magnetic card 10. Thereafter, the magnetic card 10 is discharged from the card outlet mechanism 130 to the outside via the first card delivery / reversing mechanism section 60 and the card read / write section 80 (see arrows K, L, and M). ).

  Thus, the magnetic card 10 subjected to various issuing processes is obtained.

<Card storage unit assembly and card delivery mechanism unit>
The card accommodation unit aggregate 20 and the card delivery mechanism unit 40 will be described more specifically. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the card accommodation unit assembly and the card delivery mechanism unit, FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the card accommodation unit assembly and the card delivery mechanism unit, and FIG. 5 is a hopper in the card accommodation unit assembly. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the cassette, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the hopper cassette.

  The card storage unit aggregate 20 has a plurality of card storage units 31. More specifically, the card storage unit aggregate 20 has a plurality of hopper cassettes (card storage unit sub-aggregates) 30 and a plurality of storage space portions 22h for storing the hopper cassettes 30 (upper and lower in this case). The assembly main body 22 is provided.

  The hopper cassette 30 is a member formed by bending a metal plate or the like as appropriate, and has a configuration in which a plurality (three in this case) of card accommodating portions 31 are continuously provided in the horizontal direction. The hopper cassette 30 is configured to be detachably set in the accommodation space portion 22h, and the magnetic cards 10 are accommodated in a stacked manner in the card accommodation portions 31 in a state of being removed from the accommodation space portion 22h.

  Thus, the following merit can be acquired by comprising the hopper cassette 30 by connecting the card accommodation part 31 of multiple (here three) in the horizontal direction.

  First, when each card accommodating part 31 is made into another structure, it is necessary to provide a pair of side walls for each card accommodating part 31. However, by providing a plurality of card accommodating portions 31 in the horizontal direction, the partition walls can be shared among the card accommodating portions 31, and the configuration can be simplified and made compact.

  In addition, it is not necessary to form an accommodation space for each card accommodation portion 31 on the card accommodation unit aggregate 20 side, and it is only necessary to form an accommodation space for each hopper cassette 30. From this point, the configuration is simple. And downsizing can be achieved.

  Further, usually, in the cassette issuing machine, a locking mechanism is incorporated in order to prevent the raw magnetic card 10 from being taken out without permission. In this case, according to the above configuration, it is not necessary to provide a locking mechanism for each card accommodating portion 31, and a locking mechanism (not shown in the present embodiment) may be provided for each hopper cassette 30. Therefore, from this point, the configuration can be simplified and made compact.

  Each card accommodating part 31 has the accommodating main-body part 32, the card picker 36, and the coil spring 38 (refer FIG.5 and FIG.6).

  The housing main body 32 has a housing space having a size in plan view larger than the size in plan view of the magnetic card 10, and the magnetic card 10 can be housed in a stacked state in the up-down direction in the housing space. It is said that. In addition, a discharge port 32h through which the magnetic card 10 can be discharged to the outside is formed on the upper portion of the card picker 36 on the card delivery mechanism 40 side of the housing body 32.

  The card picker 36 is a member formed of resin or the like, and has an engaging protrusion 36 a that can be engaged with a side edge of the magnetic card 10. More specifically, the card picker 36 is formed as a thick plate-like member having a substantially square shape in plan view, and the card delivery mechanism 40 side portion of the upper surface thereof is formed in a substantially horizontal plane 36d. An engaging protrusion 36a is formed on the edge of the upper surface opposite to the card delivery mechanism 40 side portion. Further, a portion between the flat surface 36d and the engaging protrusion 36a is formed on an inclined surface 36c that is inclined upward toward the engaging protrusion 36a. The engaging protrusion 36a protrudes from the edge of the inclined surface 36c through a step 36b directed toward the card delivery mechanism 40, and the protrusion dimension (that is, the height of the step 36b) is It is substantially the same as the thickness dimension of one magnetic card 10 or smaller. Thereby, the engaging protrusion 36a is configured to engage only one side edge of the stacked magnetic cards 10.

  The card picker 36 is movably disposed in the housing main body 32. More specifically, a pair of placement portions 33 are provided on both sides of the bottom of the housing main body 32, and a rod-like slide support portion 34 is provided along the X direction between the placement portions 33. The card picker 36 is movably disposed between the pair of placement portions 33 by inserting a slide support portion 34 slidably therein.

  The card picker 36 is movable between the first operation position and the second operation position. The first operation position is a position where the engaging protrusions 36a are arranged on the outer peripheral side of the plurality of magnetic cards 10 accommodated in a stacked shape (see FIG. 7B), and the card is more in position than the second operation position. It is set at a position away from the delivery mechanism 40 (see FIG. 7A). Further, the second operation position is a position where the engaging protrusions 36a are disposed on the one main surface (lower surface) side of the plurality of magnetic cards 10 accommodated in a stacked manner, and the card delivery mechanism is more than the first operation position. It is set at a position close to the portion 40.

  Then, in a state where the card picker 36 is disposed at the second operation position, a plurality of magnetic cards 10 are disposed on the card picker 36 in a stacked manner. In this state, the magnetic cards 10 are stacked in an inclined posture with the engagement protrusion 36a side portion slightly lifted. In this state, the card picker 36 is moved to the first operation position. At this time, the card picker 36 is moved with the magnetic card 10 remaining in the initial position by a stopper (not shown) provided on the housing main body 32 side, and the engaging protrusion 36 a is moved to the magnetic card 10. It is arrange | positioned at the outer peripheral side. Subsequently, when the card picker 36 is moved from the first operation position to the second operation position, the engagement protrusion 36 a is engaged with the side edge of the lowermost magnetic card 10 in the middle thereof. When the card picker 36 is further moved toward the second operation position, the magnetic card 10 is moved toward the discharge port 32h so as to be pushed by the engaging protrusion 36a. At this time, the magnetic card 10 higher than the second one from the bottom remains restricted at the original position by being restricted from moving by the stopper 310 provided on the side of the housing portion main body 32.

  The coil spring 38 is a biasing unit that biases the card picker 36 toward the second operation position. More specifically, the coil spring 38 is interposed between the card picker 36 and the wall portion of the card accommodating portion 31 that is on the opposite side of the card delivery mechanism portion 40. When the card picker 36 moves toward the first operation position, the coil spring 38 is compressed, and the card picker 36 is biased toward the second operation position by its elastic restoring force.

  That is, the card picker 36 and the coil spring 38 function as a card discharge mechanism capable of card discharge operation for discharging one of the magnetic cards 10 stored in the storage main body 32.

  In the present embodiment, the hopper cassette 30 is provided with a shutter 39a and a card detection pin 39b.

  The shutter 39a is disposed so as to be movable between a position where the discharge port 32h is closed and a position where it is opened (see FIG. 6). The shutter 39a opens the discharge port 32h by setting the hopper cassette 30 to the assembly body 22 by a known link mechanism or the like, and opens the discharge port 32h by removing the hopper cassette 30 from the assembly body 22. It is supposed to block. As a result, the magnetic card 10 is prevented from dropping from the discharge port 32h with the hopper cassette 30 removed.

  The card detection pin 39b is provided on one side of the pair of placement portions 33 and on the card delivery mechanism portion 40 side. The card detection pin 39b is slidable and biased in the protruding direction by a biasing means such as a spring. The urging force of the urging means is adjusted by a weight (not shown) or the like so that the card detection pin 39b can be retracted by placing one magnetic card 10. That is, when the magnetic card 10 remains in the card accommodating portion 31, the card detection pin 39b is retracted, and the card detection pin 39b protrudes when the magnetic card 10 is removed. In this embodiment, since the three card accommodating parts 31 are arranged in parallel in the hopper cassette 30, each card detection pin 39b is provided in the position shifted in the X direction. Then, the appearance state of each card detection pin 39b is detected by a transmissive or reflective optical sensor 39c provided on the side of the assembly main body 22. This detection signal is given to the control unit 140 so that the control unit 140 can monitor the presence / absence of the magnetic card 10 in each card accommodating portion 31.

  The accommodating body 32 is provided with a pair of delivery rollers 24a and 24b for delivering the magnetic card 10 ejected as described above to the outside in correspondence with each card accommodating portion 31. (See FIG. 6).

  In addition, the roller support shaft portion 25 is rotatably supported on the rear side member 22a and above the discharge port 32h of each stage. The delivery roller 24a on the other side (upper side) is fixed to a position corresponding to each discharge port 32h in the roller support shaft portion 25 (see FIGS. 3, 4, and 6).

  The roller support shaft portion 25 at each stage is rotationally driven by the following configuration. That is, one end portion of each roller support shaft portion 25 protrudes from one end portion of the assembly body portion 22, and a roller pulley 26a is attached to the one end portion. An annular belt 26b is wound around the roller pulleys 26a adjacent in the vertical direction. A roller motor 26m is provided on one side of the assembly body 22 as a roller actuator that rotationally drives the feed roller 24a. An annular belt 26d is wound around a pulley 26c attached to the rotating shaft of the roller motor 26m and a lowermost roller pulley 26a. The rotational driving force of the roller motor 26m is transmitted to each feed roller 24a via the pulley 26c, the annular belt 26d, the roller pulley 26a, the annular belt 26b, the roller support shaft portion 25, and the like. Accordingly, all the feed rollers 24a are driven to rotate by driving the single roller motor 26m.

  Further, a support bracket 22b is attached to the back side member 22a of the assembly main body 22 and below the discharge port 32h of each card storage portion 31. Then, a feed roller 24b on one side (lower side) is rotatably attached to the support bracket 22b.

  The ejected magnetic card 10 is sent outward by the pair of delivery rollers 24a and 24b as follows. That is, when the magnetic card 10 is discharged from the discharge port 32h, the magnetic card 10 is sandwiched between the pair of delivery rollers 24a and 24b. The magnetic card 10 is sent outward while the lower delivery roller 24b is driven to rotate by the rotational drive of the delivery roller 24a.

  A relay pusher 22c is attached to the support bracket 22b so as to be movable along the X-axis direction. The pusher 43 described later pushes the card picker 36 along the X-axis direction via the relay pusher 22c. It is supposed to be.

  The card delivery mechanism unit 40 is configured to be able to receive the magnetic card 10 ejected from one of the card accommodation units 31. Further, the card delivery mechanism section 40 includes a pusher 43 and a pusher drive section 44 as a card discharge drive mechanism section that applies a driving force for causing the card discharge mechanism section (card picker 36 and coil spring 38) to perform a card discharge operation. (See FIGS. 3, 4 and 7).

  More specifically, the card delivery mechanism unit 40 is moved along the YZ direction on the back side of the assembly body 22 by the transport movement mechanism unit 50 and moved to a position corresponding to each card storage unit 31. The

  The card delivery mechanism 40 includes a placement stage 42 and receiving rollers 46 a and 46 b provided on the upper and lower portions of the placement stage 42. The mounting stage 42 is a substantially rectangular plate-shaped member having a size that allows the magnetic card 10 to be mounted, and the portion on the assembly body 22 side is inclined downward and discharged from the discharge port 32h. The magnetic card 10 is smoothly guided onto the mounting stage 42. The receiving rollers 46a and 46b are rotatably supported above and below the substantially central portion of the mounting stage 42.

  When the magnetic card 10 is sent out onto the mounting stage 42 in a state where the card delivery mechanism 40 is disposed at a position corresponding to the one discharge port 32h, the magnetic card 10 moves over the mounting stage 42. It slides and is sandwiched between the receiving rollers 46a and 46b. When the magnetic card 10 is further fed, the magnetic card 10 is placed and supported at a predetermined position on the placement stage 42 while the receiving rollers 46 a and 46 b are driven to rotate on the upper and lower surfaces of the magnetic card 10.

  A card discharge detection unit 45a is provided on the mounting stage 42 in the middle of the feeding path of the magnetic card 10, so that the card card can be raised and lowered, and the magnetic card 10 is being mounted on the mounting stage 42. The magnetic card 10 inverts the card discharge detection unit 45a. The fall of the card discharge detection unit 45a is detected by a sensor using a limit switch or the like, and the detection signal is given to the control unit 140. Thereby, the control unit confirms the ejection of the magnetic card 10 and performs various controls.

  The card delivery mechanism 40 is provided with a pusher 43 and a pusher drive unit 44. The pusher 43 is disposed at a position where the mounting stage 42 receives the magnetic card 10 so as to be freely retractable along an extension line of the relay pusher 22c. When the pusher 43 advances, the card picker 36 is pushed toward the first operation position via the relay pusher 22c. The relay pusher 22c may be omitted, and the pusher 43 may directly push the card picker 36. The pusher drive unit 44 is a pusher drive unit that causes the pusher 43 to perform a pushing operation. The pusher drive unit 44 is a pusher motor 44a as an actuator that moves the pusher 43 in and out. The first connecting rod 44c and the second connecting rod 44d are provided. One end portion of the second connecting rod 44 d is rotatably connected to the card delivery mechanism portion 40, and the other end portion is rotatably connected to the base end portion of the pusher 43. One end of the first connecting rod 44c is rotatably connected to the eccentric shaft portion of the crank portion 44b, and the other end is rotatably connected to a substantially middle portion of the second connecting rod 44d.

  Then, the rotational motion of the pusher motor 44a is converted into a reciprocating linear motion in the X-axis direction and transmitted to the pusher 43 via the crank portion 44b, the first connecting rod 44c and the second connecting rod 44d. Yes.

  The transport movement mechanism unit 50 includes a first movement mechanism unit 51 that moves the card delivery mechanism unit 40 along the Y-axis direction, and a second movement mechanism unit 55 that moves the card delivery mechanism unit 40 along the Z-axis direction. have.

  The first moving mechanism 51 includes a carrier member 52 extending along the Y-axis direction, a slide support rod 53 disposed so as to extend along the Y-axis, and the card delivery mechanism 40 along the Y-axis. And a first reciprocating unit 54 that reciprocates.

  The carrier member 52 is formed in a shape in which side wall portions are formed on both sides of a bottom surface portion that is substantially rectangular in plan view, and a slide support rod 53 is supported therein so as to extend along the Y-axis direction. . The slide support rod 53 is slidably inserted into the card delivery mechanism unit 40, so that the card delivery mechanism unit 40 is supported movably along the Y-axis direction.

  The first reciprocating unit 54 includes a pair of horizontally moving pulleys 54a and 54b provided at both ends of the carrier member 52, a horizontally moving belt 54c wound around the pair of horizontally moving pulleys 54a and 54b, A horizontal movement motor 54d as an actuator for rotating the horizontal movement pulley 54a.

  The card delivery mechanism 40 is fixed to a horizontal movement belt 54c between a pair of horizontal movement pulleys 54a and 54b. The rotational driving force of the horizontal movement motor 54d is transmitted to the horizontal movement pulley 54a on one side via a power transmission mechanism such as a gear mechanism.

  Then, when the horizontal movement motor 54d rotates in the forward or reverse direction, the horizontal movement belt 54c is rotationally driven in the forward or reverse direction. The card delivery mechanism 40 is reciprocated along the Y-axis direction in accordance with the rotational movement of the horizontal movement belt 54c in the forward or reverse direction.

  The second moving mechanism section 55 includes a pair of vertical rod sections 56 and a second reciprocating moving section 57 that moves the card delivery mechanism section 40 along with the first moving mechanism section 51 along the Z-axis direction.

  The pair of vertical rod portions 56 are supported so as to extend along the Z-axis direction at both side portions on the back side of the assembly main body portion 22. The pair of vertical rod portions 56 are slidably inserted into both end portions of the carrier member 52, so that the carrier member 52 is supported movably along the Z-axis direction.

  The second reciprocating unit 57 includes a pair of vertical moving pulleys 57a and 57b provided on the upper and lower parts of one side of the assembly main body 22, and a vertical moving belt wound around the pair of vertical moving pulleys 57a and 57b. 57c and a vertical movement motor 57d as an actuator for rotating the vertical movement pulley 57a on one side.

  One end of the carrier member 52 is fixed to the vertical moving belt 57c between the pair of vertical moving pulleys 57a and 57b. Further, a vertical movement belt 57f is wound around a pulley 57e fixed to the rotating shaft of the vertical movement motor 57d and a vertical movement pulley 57a on one side. Then, the rotation of the vertical movement motor 57d in the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction is transmitted to the vertical movement belt 57c via the pulley 57e, the vertical movement belt 57f, and the vertical movement pulley 57a. Rotate in the direction of rotation or reverse direction. The card delivery mechanism 40 is reciprocated in the Z-axis direction together with the carrier member 52 in accordance with the rotation of the vertical movement belt 57c in the forward direction or the reverse direction.

  The discharge / delivery operation of the magnetic card 10 from the card housing unit assembly 20 to the card delivery mechanism 40 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the initial state, the magnetic cards 10 are accommodated in the respective card accommodating portions 31 in a stacked manner. Normally, different types of magnetic cards 10 are accommodated in the respective card accommodating portions 31. In each figure, only one magnetic card 10 to be ejected is shown, but in reality, a plurality of magnetic cards 10 are accommodated in a stacked manner above this. Then, the card transfer mechanism unit 40 is moved by the transport movement mechanism unit 50 to a position corresponding to the card storage unit 31 that stores the magnetic card 10 to be issued.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 7A, each feed roller 24a is rotationally driven by the driving of the roller motor 26m.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7B, the pusher 43 moves forward by driving the pusher drive unit 44. Then, the pusher 43 pushes the card picker 36 from the second operation position toward the first operation position via the relay pusher 22c. Then, the engaging protrusion 36 a of the card picker 36 is disposed at the outer peripheral side position of the magnetic card 10 and can be engaged with the outer peripheral side position of the magnetic card 10. At this time, one end portion of the magnetic card 10 is disposed at a higher position by adding the height of the inclined surface 36c to the height of the engaging protrusion 36a, that is, the magnetic card 10 is engaged. The inclined posture is slightly higher on the protrusion 36a side. By tilting the magnetic card 10 while supporting the magnetic card 10 at both ends in the longitudinal direction in this way, even when the magnetic card 10 is slightly curved, the engagement protrusion 36a is formed on the single magnetic card 10. It can be discharged by engaging.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7C, the pusher 43 is retracted by driving the pusher drive unit 44. Then, the card picker 36 moves from the first operation position toward the second operation position by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring 38. At this time, since the engaging protrusion 36a engages with the outer peripheral portion of the lowest magnetic card 10, the magnetic card is moved toward the card delivery mechanism 40 side. As a result, the magnetic card 10 is discharged to the outside through the discharge port 32h, and the front end portion in the moving direction is sandwiched between the pair of feed rollers 24a and 24b.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (d), the magnetic card 10 is further fed toward the outer stage 42 by the rotational drive of the feeding roller 24a. In this state, the magnetic card 10 is discharged to a position where it is removed from between the pair of delivery rollers 24a and 24b.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7E, the card transfer mechanism 40 is moved to a height position corresponding to the rotation axis of the upper delivery roller 24a by the transport movement mechanism 50. In the middle of the movement, the magnetic card 10 comes into contact with the delivery roller 24 a, so that the magnetic card 10 is further delivered toward the back of the mounting stage 42. At this time, the lift of the magnetic card 10 is prevented by the receiving rollers 46a and 46b. Eventually, the end of the magnetic card 10 placed on the card delivery mechanism unit 40 on the side of the card accommodation unit aggregate 20 of the magnetic card 10 is the card of the upper delivery roller 24a. It is sent out to a position where it is in contact with the part on the delivery mechanism 40 side.

  The lower delivery roller 24b, which is the driven rotation side, has a smaller diameter than the upper delivery roller 24a, which is the rotational drive side. Thereby, when the magnetic card 10 sent out as described above is moved in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction by driving the transport movement mechanism unit 50, it does not interfere with the lower roller 24a. Yes.

  Thereafter, the card transfer mechanism unit 40 is moved to the side of the card accommodating unit aggregate 20 by the transfer movement mechanism unit 50 and transfers the magnetic card 10 to the card transfer mechanism unit 120.

  In the case of issuing the magnetic card 10 accommodated in the desired card accommodating part 31, according to the card issuing machine provided with the card accommodating part aggregate 20, the card delivery mechanism part 40, and the transport movement mechanism part 50 configured as described above. In the state where the card transfer mechanism unit 40 is moved to a position corresponding to the desired card storage unit 31 by driving the transport movement mechanism unit 50, the driving force from the card discharge drive mechanism unit is applied to the card discharge mechanism unit. Give. Then, the card ejection mechanism performs a card ejection operation for ejecting one of the magnetic cards 10 accommodated in a stacked form. That is, the pusher drive unit 44 of the card delivery mechanism unit 40 is driven to advance the pusher 43 and push the card picker 36 toward the first operation position. After that, by moving the card picker 36 from the first operation position to the second operation position by the urging force of the coil spring 38, the engagement protrusions 36a among the plurality of magnetic cards 10 accommodated in a stack are formed. And the magnetic card 10 is moved toward the discharge port 32h. The magnetic card 10 thus ejected is transported by the card delivery mechanism unit 40 toward other card issuing processing means such as the card read / write unit 80, and is issued after being issued.

  For this reason, the card discharge operation can be performed by a plurality of card discharge mechanisms (card picker 36 and coil spring 38) by one card discharge drive mechanism (the pusher 43 and the pusher drive 44). Accordingly, the magnetic card 10 can be discharged from the plurality of card accommodating portions 31 with a relatively simple configuration.

<First Card Delivery Reversing Mechanism Unit and Card Read / Write Unit>
The first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 and the card read / write unit 80, which are card issuing processing units, will be described more specifically.

  FIG. 8 is a side view showing the first card delivery reversing mechanism part and the card read / write part, and FIG. 9 is a front view showing the first card delivery reversing mechanism part and the card read / write part.

  The card read / write unit 80 is a device for writing information to the magnetic stripes 12a and 12b of the magnetic card 10, and has a card feeding mechanism unit 82 and a magnetic reading unit 84 as an issue processing unit.

  The card feed mechanism unit 82 is means for feeding the magnetic card 10 along a predetermined feed line P (a line along the X axis), and a plurality of sets of upper and lower roller units 82a are provided along the feed line P. (Only one set is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9). The card feed mechanism 82 has a feed motor 83 that rotationally drives at least one of these roller portions 82a. The roller 82a is driven to rotate in the forward direction or the reverse direction by driving the feed motor 83, so that the magnetic card 10 is fed in both directions along the feed line P.

  The magnetic reading unit 84 is a means for performing issuance processing by writing and reading information on the magnetic stripe 12a or the magnetic stripe 12b which is one part of the magnetic card 10 sent along the feed line P. The magnetic reading unit 84 has a pair of magnetic heads in contact with both sides of one part of the magnetic card 10, more specifically, one long side part in a plan view shape. With the magnetic stripes 12a and 12b provided on one side, information can be read and written on either the upper surface side or the lower surface side. Therefore, even when there is a magnetic stripe on the other side surface (back surface) of the magnetic card 10, information read / write processing can be performed for this.

  The first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 is provided on an extension of a predetermined feed line P, reverses the magnetic card 10 sent from the card feed mechanism 82 and sends it back to the card feed mechanism 82. It is configured as follows.

  More specifically, the first card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 60 includes a card feeding unit 62 that sends the magnetic card 10 and a rotation mechanism unit 70 that rotates the card feeding unit 62.

  The rotation mechanism unit 70 is provided on a bracket 68 fixed to the casing of the apparatus, and rotates the rotation support frame 78. More specifically, the rotation mechanism unit 70 includes a rotation motor 72, a rotation shaft unit 74, and a plurality of gears 75 that transmit the rotation driving force of the rotation motor 72 to the rotation shaft unit 74. . The bracket 68 has a substantially U-shaped portion that opens to the side. A rotating motor 72 is attached to the lower piece of the bracket 68 and a gear 75 is rotatably attached. A pair of rotating shaft portions 74 are rotatably supported on the upper side and the lower piece of the substantially U-shaped portion of the bracket, and a rotation support frame 78 is attached to the distal end portion of each rotating shaft portion 74. Then, the rotational driving force of the rotation motor 72 is transmitted to the lower rotation shaft portion 74 via the gear 75, so that the rotation support frame 78 and the card feed portion 62 attached thereto rotate. . As a result, the magnetic card 10 held by the card feeding portion 62 can be rotated around the rotation shaft portion 74 (Z axis) in the horizontal plane.

  The card feed unit 62 is attached to the rotation support frame 78, and the card feed unit 62 is also rotated when the rotation support frame 78 is rotated.

  The card feeding unit 62 includes a pair of driven rollers 64b, a pair of drive rollers 64a, a roller rotation motor 66 for rotating the drive roller 64b, and a rotation driving force of the roller rotation motor 66. And a feed stage 76 for receiving the magnetic card 10.

  The pair of driven rollers 64b and the pair of drive rollers 64a are rotatably disposed on the rotation support frame 78 at positions facing each other with the line on the extension of the feed line P vertically sandwiched therebetween. The feed stage 76 is provided at a position on a substantially horizontal plane between the pair of driven rollers 64b and the pair of drive rollers 64a.

  A roller rotation motor 66 is attached to the rotation support frame 78. A gear 67 is rotatably attached to the rotation support frame 78 in such a manner that the rotational driving force of the roller rotating motor 66 is transmitted to the pair of driving rollers 64a.

  The magnetic card 10 between the driven roller 64b and the driving roller 64a is sent to the card read / write unit 80, and the magnetic card 10 sent from the card read / write unit 80 is connected between the driven roller 64b and the driving roller 64a. It is held in a state of being sandwiched between them.

  An information writing operation to the magnetic card 10 by the first card delivery / reversing mechanism 60 and the card read / write unit 80 configured as described above will be described.

  That is, the magnetic card 10 conveyed from the card conveyance mechanism unit 120 is transferred to the card sending unit 62. Then, the magnetic card 10 is sent toward the card read / write unit 80 by the rotational drive of the drive roller 64a, and the card read / write unit 80 performs information writing or information reading check on one magnetic stripe 12a of the magnetic card 10. Made. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10A, the card read / write unit 80 returns the magnetic card 10 to the first card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 60. When the magnetic card 10 is returned to the card feeding unit 62, the magnetic card 10 is rotated 180 degrees together with the rotation support frame 78 and the card feeding unit 62 by the rotation driving of the rotation motor 72. Then, as shown in FIG. 10B, the card sending unit 62 sends the magnetic card 10 again toward the card read / write unit 80. At this time, since the magnetic card 10 is rotated 180 degrees with respect to the previous time, the opposite magnetic stripe 12b is sent so as to pass through the magnetic reading unit 84. As a result, information is written to the magnetic stripe 12b, information is read, etc. Thereafter, the card read / write unit 80 returns the magnetic card 10 to the first card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 60 again. Thereby, the magnetic card 10 in which the issuing process is performed on both the magnetic stripes 12a and 12b is obtained. Thereafter, the first card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 60 sends it to the next second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90.

  According to the card issuing device including the first card delivery / reversal mechanism 60 and the card read / write unit 80 configured as described above, the magnetic stripe 12a which is one part of the magnetic card 10 sent by the card feeding mechanism 82 is magnetically applied. After the information is written by the reading unit 84 and the card issuance process is performed, the magnetic card 10 is reversed by the first card delivery reversing mechanism unit 60 and sent to the card feeding mechanism unit 82 again. Information can also be written in the magnetic stripe 12b which is the other side portion of the card 10 for card issuing processing. Therefore, the magnetic stripes 12a and 12b, which are both side portions of the magnetic card 10, can be issued by the single magnetic reading unit 84, and the configuration can be simplified.

  Here, the example has been described in which information is written in the two magnetic stripes 12a and 12b of the magnetic card 10. However, when issuing processing is performed on one surface (front surface) and the other surface (back surface) of the magnetic card 10. Similarly, one issue processing unit can handle this. That is, as a mode of performing the issuing process on one part of the magnetic card 10, not only the issuing process on one side part (a part near one long side) and the other side part (a part near the other long side) of the magnetic card 10 is performed. In addition, a case where the issuing process is performed on the front and back surfaces (one surface and the other surface) of the magnetic card 10 is also included.

  In other words, the second card delivery / reversal mechanism 90 and the printing unit 100 will be described as examples. The second card delivery / reversal mechanism 90 is configured so that the magnetic card 10 can be reversed and sent to the printing unit 100. ing. In addition, the printing unit 100 includes a print head 102 that can perform print processing on an upper surface that is one surface of the magnetic card 10.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 11A, the second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90 sends the magnetic card 10 to the printing unit 100 with the surface of the magnetic card 10 facing upward. Then, the printing unit 100 returns the magnetic card 10 to the second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90 after performing a printing process on the upper surface of the magnetic card 10. When the magnetic card 10 is returned, as shown in FIG. 11B, the second card delivery / reversal mechanism 90 rotates the magnetic card 10 about the horizontal axis so that the back surface faces upward. Note that the rotation axis of the magnetic card 10 at this time is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 11B, and may be rotated around the diagonal line in the initial state and the central axis of the pair of long sides. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11 (c), the second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90 sends the magnetic card 10 to the printing unit 100 again. Then, the printing unit 100 returns the magnetic card 10 to the second card delivery / reversal mechanism unit 90 after performing the printing process on the back surface that is the upward surface. Thereby, the magnetic card 10 in which the printing process is performed as the issuing process on both the front and back sides is obtained.

<Modification>
In the above embodiment, the magnetic card 10 is targeted. However, as described above, the present invention can also be applied to an IC card or the like. As described above, the card issuing process can also be applied to various issuing processes depending on the target card.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, as a mechanism which moves each part linearly, although the moving object adheres to the belt wound around the pulley and the structure moved by rotating a pulley is employ | adopted, it is not necessarily required. . For example, a linear motor, a self-propelled moving mechanism using a motor, a fluid cylinder, or the like may be used. Also, as a mechanism for rotating each part, there are various mechanisms such as a mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the motor with a gear, a belt, etc., a mechanism for directly transmitting the motor and a mechanism for converting the fluid cylinder into a rotational motion and transmitting it. This mechanism can be adopted.

It is a side view showing the whole card issuing machine composition concerning an embodiment. It is a top view which shows the card | curd used as a process target. It is a side view which shows a card accommodating part aggregate | assembly and a card delivery mechanism part. It is a rear view which shows a card accommodating part aggregate | assembly and a card delivery mechanism part. It is a top view which shows the hopper cassette in a card accommodating part assembly. It is a cross-sectional view which shows a hopper cassette same as the above. FIG. 7A to FIG. 7E are explanatory views showing the magnetic card ejection / delivery operation from the card housing unit assembly to the card delivery mechanism unit. It is a side view which shows a 1st card delivery inversion mechanism part and a card read / write part. It is a front view which shows a 1st card delivery inversion mechanism part and a card read / write part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the information writing operation | movement to the magnetic card | curd by the 1st card delivery inversion mechanism part and a card read / write part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing process operation | movement in a 2nd card delivery inversion mechanism part and a printing part.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Magnetic card 20 Card accommodating part aggregate | assembly 22 Aggregate main part 22c Relay pusher 24a, 24b Delivery roller 31 Card accommodating part 32 Accommodating main part 32h Outlet 36 Card picker 36a Engagement protrusion 38 Coil spring 40 Card delivery mechanism part 43 Pusher 44 Pusher drive unit 44a Pusher motor 50 Transporting movement mechanism unit 60 First card delivery reversing mechanism unit 62 Card feeding unit 70 Rotating mechanism unit 80 Card read / write unit 82 Card feeding mechanism unit 84 Magnetic reading unit 90 Second card delivery reversal Mechanism part 100 Printing part P Feed line

Claims (4)

A card storage unit assembly having a plurality of card storage units;
A card delivery mechanism for receiving a card ejected from one of the card accommodation units;
A transport movement mechanism for moving the card delivery mechanism to a position corresponding to each card storage;
With
Each of the card accommodating portions is
An accommodating body having a discharge port capable of accommodating a plurality of cards in a stacked manner and discharging the cards accommodated in the stacked shape ; and
A first operating position having an engaging protrusion engageable with a side edge of the card, the engaging protrusion being disposed on an outer peripheral side of a plurality of cards accommodated in a stacked manner in the accommodating main body; The engaging protrusion is movably disposed between a second operating position disposed on one main surface side of the plurality of cards accommodated in a stacked manner in the accommodating main body, and the first Due to the movement from the operating position to the second operating position, the engaging protrusion is engaged with one of a plurality of cards arranged in a stacked manner in the housing body, and the single card is moved. A card picker that moves toward the discharge port, and a biasing means that biases the card picker toward the second operation position, and one card stored in a stack in the receiving main body. A card ejection mechanism that can eject cards one by one,
Have
The card delivery mechanism is
A pusher that pushes the card picker toward the first operation position; and a pusher driving unit that causes the pusher to perform a pushing operation, and applies a driving force that causes the card ejection mechanism to perform a card ejection operation. A card discharge drive mechanism,
In a normal state, the card picker is located at the second operation position, and the card picker is moved to the first operation position by pushing the pusher when the card ejection mechanism performs the ejection operation. When the pusher is retracted, the card picker moves to the second operation position by the urging force of the urging means and moves the one card toward the discharge port . The card issuing machine according to claim 1,
The card issuing machine , wherein a portion of the upper surface of the card picker on the side of the engaging protrusion is formed on an inclined surface that is inclined upward toward the engaging protrusion . The card issuing machine according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The card picker is disposed so as to be movable within the housing body,
A card issuing machine , wherein a relay pusher is attached to the card housing assembly so as to be movable along the pusher pushing direction, and the pusher pushes and moves the card picker via the relay pusher . The card issuing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Wherein the plurality of the card receiving portion 2 or more of the card accommodating portion subassembly by being continuously provided is formed, the card accommodation portion subassemblies are set in the card accommodating section assembly, the card housing A shutter that closes the discharge ports of the two or more card storage portions in the card sub-assembly to open the discharge port by setting the card storage portion sub-assembly to the card storage unit assembly; A card issuing machine provided to close the discharge port by detaching a storage unit sub-assembly from the card storage unit assembly .

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