JPH0720749B2 - Card processing system - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a card processing system, and more particularly to a card processing system for performing processing such as embossing and printing on a card.

[Prior Art] An individual device such as a card embossing device or a card printing device has been conventionally known. However, before a card that can be actually used is created, for example, since humans intervene between the processes such as printing and embossing, the processing speedup is limited and the number of processed cards Since the management of cards is distributed in each process, it was difficult to manage them comprehensively. In addition, there are more and more kinds of cards nowadays, and there are cards with the same surface as the embossed surface and the printed surface or with the opposite surface.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In view of the above points, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 54-108622 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-8318.
No. 7, JP-A-62-226467, etc. have been proposed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 54-108622 discloses a card processing device provided with a magnetic head for encoding on a straight line and a printing head for printing, and in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-83187, there is a straight line with a home station in between. Encoder station that encodes on the top, embossing station that embosses,
Provide a taping station for taping,
An automatic embossing system is disclosed which executes each process in series centering on a home station.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-226467, a magnetic stripe reading / writing unit for linearly encoding, an IC card reader / writer, a printer unit, and a card reversing mechanism unit at the end of the unit are provided. Discloses a card reading device capable of processing both sides by the processing unit.

However, in these conventional examples, since a plurality of processes are performed while the card is conveyed linearly, the system tends to be unnecessarily increased in size. That is, there is no problem as long as it is a combination of processes in which the respective processing units can be arranged on one side of the conveyed card, but for example, considering a combination of printing on a card and embossing and taping, printing is performed on the back side. Since many printers are placed on the back side of the card, embossing is performed from the back side and taping is performed on the front side, most of the embosser and tipper devices are placed on the front side of the card, and pulling in both directions is possible in a straight transport path. It will be possible, and it will lead to an increase in size as a whole. It is also conceivable to provide a card reversing mechanism between the processing units, but this also lengthens the transport path, resulting in an increase in size.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional example and sets the card transport path so that the processing units can be arranged in a substantially straight line, thereby realizing a system miniaturization. Provide a card processing system. Furthermore, a card processing system is provided that allows the card processing surface to be flexible.

[Means for Solving the Problem] In order to solve the problem, the card processing system of the present invention includes a first main plane and a second main plane that are sent out one by one from an input hopper accommodating a plurality of cards. A card processing system for processing a card having: a printing means including a printer located on the first main plane side of a conveyed card and performing printing on at least the first main plane of the card; Embossing means, which is located on the side of the second main plane of the card on which the portion is conveyed, and which includes an embosser for embossing the card from the side of the first main plane, and a tipper for tipping the protrusion on the side of the second main plane. In the middle of the printing means and the embossing means, after storing the card printed by the printing means, the printer, the embosser, and the tipper may be arranged in a substantially straight line. The intermediate hopper for moving the card from the second main plane to the first main plane in a direction substantially perpendicular to the card surface by a predetermined distance and sending the card to the embossing means, and the card of the input hopper, From the means via the intermediate hopper,
Corresponding to the card carrying means for carrying to the embossing means, the card carrying status by the card carrying means, and the processing status of the printing means and embossing means, the processing of the printing means and embossing means and the card carrying means Card processing control means for controlling the conveyance of the card.

Encoding means for recording data on the magnetic stripe on the card is further provided, the card carrying means carries the card to the encoding means, and the card processing control means further controls the encoding means. The card carrying means is located between the printing means and the embossing means,
At least one card reversing means for reversing the direction of the card, and selection means for selecting whether the reversal by the card reversing means is correct, and a printing surface and an embossing surface are provided between the printing means and the embossing means. Change freely.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the card processing system of this embodiment. 10 is an input hopper for loading an input card, 11 is a printer for printing characters or symbols on a desired surface of the input card, and 12 is an embosser for performing embossing on the desired surface of the input card for embossing. Embossing section 12a and taping section 1 that colors the embossed section
It consists of 2b and. 13 is an output hopper for accumulating processed cards, and 14 is a card processing system controller for controlling each processing unit of this card processing system, which includes a CPU 14a for arithmetic / processing, a ROM 14b for storing processing programs, and an auxiliary memory. Composed of RAM14c.

Reference numeral 15 is a card transport controller that controls the transport of cards between the processing units in this card processing system, 16 is a display unit that displays the system status, and 17 is an input unit such as a keyboard, a magnetic tape device, and a floppy device. Furthermore, this card processing system uses a communication line 19 by the host computer 18.
Control via is also possible.

Under the control of the card processing system controller 14, the card loaded on the input / hopper 10 is transferred from the printer 11 to the embossing section by the card transport controller 15.
It is conveyed from 12a to the taping section 12b, processed, and accumulated in the output hopper 13. The operator
While monitoring the display unit 16, a predetermined processing data, for example, print data, emboss data, format, etc. is input from the input unit 17. Alternatively, the control may be automatically performed from the host computer 18 without the intervention of the operator.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the card processing system.
In this perspective view, the cover is removed. Each reference number corresponds to the reference number in FIG. Each controller and the like are stored inside the table.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the outline of the processing procedure of the card processing system.

In this embodiment, the processing of the card 41 shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) will be described as an example. The print is a barcode 42 and a type letter 43, and the emboss is a three-line emboss with a registration number 44, name 45, date of birth and gender 46.

The card processing data is input to the system by the data stored in the keyboard, the previously prepared mug tape or floppy disk, or the data from the host computer 18. In this example, there are three data: the embossed format data shown in FIG. 8 (a), the embossed data shown in FIG. 8 (b), and the print formatted data shown in FIG. 8 (c). It should be noted that these data may not be formatted as shown in this figure.

First, in step S31, the embossed line location data shown in FIG. 8A is sent to the embossed portion 12a and set. Then, in step S32, the print format data shown in FIG. 8 (c) is sent to the printer 11 for setting.

Here, the format data will be described in more detail by associating the data shown in FIGS. 8A to 8D with the processed cards shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The data 81 in FIG. 8 (a) indicates that the code "08" indicating the position of the first emboss and the distance is 401 inches. Data 82
Indicates the code "10" indicating the first embossed line and the distance is 843 inches. Hereinafter, the data 83 indicates the distance, and the data 84 indicates the distance.

FIG. 8 (b) shows the embossed data, the data 85 is the embossed data of the line 44, and the following data 86 is the line 45,
Data 87 is the embossed data on line 46.

The data 88 in FIG. 8 (c) is the key code "DC2" indicating the print format and the distance, and the distance is 300 inches and 4
It indicates that it is 68 inches, the code "7" indicating a bar code print and a 12 digit print, and defines the line 42 print format. Similarly, data 89 defines the print format for line 43.

FIG. 8 (d) is based on the embossed data of FIG. 8 (b).
The data printed according to the format shown in FIG. 8 (c) shows that the code "DC2" of the data 90 is printed by the bar code, and the code "DC1" of the data 91 is this data. It indicates that it is a print.

At step S33, the first card loaded on the input hopper 10 is unloaded. At step S34, the card is carried out normally, and the card carrying controller 15 checks whether the card has come to the print position of the printer 11. If it is at the print position, the process proceeds to step S35, the print data (see FIG. 8 (d)) is sent to the printer 11, and the printer 11 prints this data. In step S36, the printer 11 waits for a signal indicating that the printing has been normally completed, and then in step S37, the printed card is transferred from the printer 11 to the intermediate printer 51 in the embosser 12.
Be transported to.

At step S38, the transfer controller 15 checks whether or not the card is normally stored in the intermediate hopper 51. If the card is normal, the emboss data (see FIG. 8 (b)) is sent to the embosser 12 for embossing and taping. Processing is performed. The embossing and taping process control is a well-known technique, and will not be described in further detail in this embodiment.

In step S40, check the normal end of embossing with the signal from the embosser 12, and if normal, check in step S41 if the desired number of cards have been processed, and if not, return to step S33 again to return to the next card. Steps S33 to S41 are repeated.

If it is not normal in steps S34, S36, S38, S40, step S
Proceeding to 42, an error is displayed on the display unit 16. It is checked again whether the processing was completed normally in step S43,
If it has ended normally, it is judged as an error in the error determination and the process proceeds to step S46, and returns to step S33 as in the case of normal end. On the other hand, if an error occurs, proceed to step S44,
The card is removed from the entire card transport unit, the transport unit is initialized, the printer 11 is set to the format again in step S45, the process returns to step S33, and the process is performed again.

In this embodiment, one card is processed in a sequence, but parallel processing of printing and embossing or embossing and taping can be easily performed by changing the determination part of the flow chart to an interrupt process from each part. It is possible by changing the control.

FIG. 5 shows an enlarged view from the input hopper 10 to the intermediate hopper 51. Here, 11a is a print head, and 11b is a print module, and the printing method or the like does not matter. By the way, in the above embodiment, the printed surface and the embossed surface were always different. Even if the print module 11b is placed in front, the print side and the embossing side will always be the same. However, at present, the number of types of cards has dramatically increased, and there is a demand for a card processing system capable of processing both the same card having different printed surfaces and embossed surfaces.

FIG. 6 shows a reversing mechanism for solving this requirement. In this example, the reversing mechanism 60 is connected to the printer 11 and the embosser.
It is placed between the 12 and the face and can be reversed between the print and the embons.

The central portion 61 of the reversing mechanism 60 is extracted and shown on the right side of FIG.
The central portion 61 is composed of a rotating body 62 which is rotated about a shaft 63 by a motor 64 by 180 ° and rollers 65a and 56b for holding a card during the rotation. The reversing mechanism 60 is controlled by the card transport controller 15. Whether to invert or not may be determined by providing the bit in the data shown in FIGS. 8 (a) to 8 (c). By providing such a reversing mechanism 60, the print surface and the embossed surface can be freely changed.

FIG. 7 shows a card processing system further including an encoder 30 for recording data on a card having a magnetic stripe. This encoder 30 has CPU 24a, ROM 24b and RAM 24c
The card transfer controller 25 controls the transfer of cards from the printer 11 to the encoder 30 or the transfer of cards from the encoder 30 to the embosser 12. The same reference numbers as in FIG. 1 perform the same operations.

In the present embodiment, printer → embosser, printer →
The encoder-embosser and the system in which the card is carried are shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. Further, the installation position of the reversing mechanism is not limited to this example, nor is it limited to one. By using a plurality of reversing mechanisms, double-sided printing can be performed, and a card processing system that does not require any human hands can be realized.

[Advantages of the Invention] According to the present invention, a card processing system can be provided in which the system is miniaturized by setting the card transport path so that the processing units can be arranged in a substantially straight line. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a card processing system in which the processing surface of the card has flexibility. In the present invention, by using the intermediate hopper for changing the card transport path, the intermediate hopper can also be used as an input hopper for embossing only.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the card processing system of this embodiment, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the card processing system of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a processing flow chart of the card processing system of this embodiment. (A) and (b) are views showing a card that has been processed by the card processing system of this embodiment, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the print section of the card processing system of this embodiment, and FIG. 6 is this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the reversing mechanism of the card processing system of FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the card processing system of another embodiment including an encoder, and FIGS. 8A to 8D are the card processing system of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data format used. In the figure, 10 ... Imprinter, 11 ... Printer, 11
a ... Print head, 11b ... Print module, 12 ... Embosser, 12a ... Embossing part, 12b ... Taping part, 13 ... Output hopper, 14, 24 ...
… Card processing system controller, 14a, 24a …… CP
U, 14b, 24b …… ROM, 14c, 24c …… RAM, 15,25 …… Card transport controller, 16 …… Display section, 17 …… Input section, 18…
… Host computer, 19… Communication line, 51… Intermediate hopper, 60… Reversing mechanism, 61… Reversing central part, 62… Rotating body, 63… Axis, 64… Motor, 65a, 65b… ... Laura.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A card processing system for processing a card having a first main plane and a second main plane which are sent out one by one from an input hopper accommodating a plurality of cards, wherein a first card to be conveyed. A printing means including a printer for printing on at least a first main plane of the card, which is located on the main plane side; and a second main plane side of the card on which most of the apparatus is conveyed, An embosser including an embosser for embossing from the first main plane side and a tipper for tipping a protrusion on the second main plane side; and an embossing unit intermediate between the printing unit and the embossing unit, printed by the printing unit. After storing the card, the printer, the embosser, and the tipper can be arranged in a substantially straight line from the second main plane to the first main plane substantially perpendicular to the card surface by a predetermined distance. An intermediate hopper for moving the card to the embossing means, and a card conveying means for conveying the card of the input hopper from the printing means to the embossing means via the intermediate hopper, and the card conveying means. A card processing control means for controlling the processing of the printing means and the embossing means and the transportation of the card transportation means in correspondence with the transportation status of the card by the means and the processing status of the printing means and the embossing means. Card processing system characterized by. 2. An encoding means for recording data on a magnetic stripe on the card, the card conveying means conveys the card to the encoding means, and the card processing control means further controls the encoding means. The card processing system according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The card conveying means is located between the printing means and the embossing means, at least one card reversing means for reversing the direction of the card, and a selection for selecting whether the reversal by the card reversing means is correct or not. 2. The card processing system according to claim 1, further comprising means, wherein the printing surface and the embossing surface are freely changed between the printing means and the embossing means.