Magnetic card manufacturing arrangement

Abstract: A highly efficient manufacture of magnetic cards can be achieved by the arrangement of the present invention in simple and compact structure. The manufacturing apparatus including laminating and cutting devices can automatize every step required for manufacture, e.g., supply, transfer and positioning of material or discharge of a finished card. In other words, the manufacturing arrangement performs the total process automatically from pre-treatment to post-treatment with high efficiency.

Description: The present invention generally relates to an arrangement adapted to manufacture various kinds of magnetic cards such as cash cards, credit cards, membership cards or time cards, and more particularly to a laminating device for manufacturing a magnetic card having a double-layered core composed of a front and a rear core materials. A magnetic card 24 having a double-layered core is, as is seen from a perspective view of Fig. 1 and from an exploded perspective view of Fig. 2, comprised of a core (base plate) 25 formed of a printed double-layered plastic plate, overlays 26 and 27 overlapped respectively on front and rear surfaces of the core 25 and a magnetic tape 28 of a small width bonded to an outer front surface of the overlay 26. The overlays 26 and 27 are made of a transparent plastic film. The magnetic card 24 in the above-mentioned structure has conventionally been manufactured in the following manner. 1) Many units of cores are printed in alignment on a large rectangular raw material. An overlay in the same rectangular shape is positioned and overlapped on each of the front and rear surfaces of the raw material. A magnetic tape is so positioned on an outer surface of the overlay at the front side of the card as to be aligned with the row of units of magnetic cards, which is then bonded to be a composite. 2) The obtained composite and a stainless plate having a mirror finished surface are overlapped, and fed to a multistage press for thermal press, whereby the overlays and the raw material sandwiched therebetween are integrally laminated. 3) Each laminated composite is then supplied to a cutting machine to punch out every unit of core. A magnetic card of a predetermined size is hence obtained. Every process in the above-described conventional manufacturing arrangement is executed for each one rectangular raw material. Moreover, the material is transferred, supplied and discharged to or from each processing unit manually. Therefore, it is difficult according to the conventional manufacturing method to obtain magnetic cards effectively with high positioning accuracy and with high productivity. Although it is devised to automatize the transfer, supply or discharge of raw materials among the processing units, it cannot be avoided that the transfer means, positioning and supplying means, discharging means, etc. required are complicated in structure because many rectangular sheets of materials are handled every one sheet. Furthermore, processing speed should be matched or synchronized among the processing units by some means. As a result, the arrangement structure as a whole becomes complicated, expensive and bulky in size. A laminating device according to the preamble of claim 1 is disclosed in EP-A-0 134 820. In this device the cards adhere at the belts, and cooling pressers are provided to release the cards from the belts. Furthermore, the belts are driven by pins mounted on one belt and engaging holes in the other belt. In such a construction there is a defect that air introduces between the belts and the card material, resulting in a change of the pressure bonding condition in melting, deteriorating the accuracy in productivity. Furthermore, no means are provided to ensure uniform pressure. EP-A-0 249 526 discloses a card manufacturing apparatus having pressure plates constituted by two metallic plates wherein a foil or sheet of rubber or other materials is interposed such that the temperature distribution on the pressure plates is equalized. It is an object of the invention to provide a laminating device for use in manufacturing magnetic cards, wherein a metallic belt or pressure plate can be assembled with ease and low cost, while retaining a uniform pressure force for a long term use, and wherein introduction of air can be avoided or at least decreased. This object is achieved by a laminating device as defined in claim 1; claim 2 refers to a further development of the invention. In the laminating device for obtaining ID cards according to the present invention, there are provided a belt conveyor which has a pair of endless metallic belts wound confronting each other so as to clip and transfer a card material from front and rear, pressuring plates arranged in parallel to a moving direction of the metallic belts and within inner peripheral surfaces of the pair of metallic belts, and hydraulic cylinders interlocked with the pressuring plates. Moreover, a press mechanism is provided which can adjust the heating temperature of each pressuring plate and the pressure of each hydraulic cylinder independently, and heat-proof resin sheets are intervened between the pressuring plates and metallic belts for making the adding pressure uniform. It is preferable for the resin sheet to be formed in a continuous band-shape extending all over the entire range of the pressuring plates. Moreover, in adjusting the pressure of the hydraulic cylinder, it is preferable to reduce the pressure such that a face-to-face contact between the metallic belts and the front and rear surfaces of the card material is retained during a constant move of the belt conveyor. Therefore, according to the laminating device in the above-described structure, when the card material is pressed by each pressuring plate through the metallic belts, since errors in thickness of the metallic belts, and planeness and parallelism of the pressuring plates can be absorbed by the resin sheets, the card material can be added with a uniform pressure. When the metallic belts are moved, the inner peripheral surfaces of the metallic belts are brought in sliding contact with the resin sheets. Accordingly, if the card material is kept to be added with the pressure by the hydraulic cylinder which is reduced so much as to maintain the face-to-face contact between the metallic belts and the front and rear surfaces of the card material, it is prevented that the air steals into between the metallic belts and the front and rear surfaces of the card material. Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an outer appearance of a finished magnetic card; Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the composition of the magnetic card; Figs. 3-33 show a system for manufacturing magnetic cards in which is incorporated a magnetic card manufacturing arrangement according to the present invention; Fig. 3 is a plane view schematically showing the whole of the manufacturing system; Fig. 4 is a front elevational view schematically showing the manufacturing system; Fig. 5 is a front elevational view showing the whole of a laminating device, partially removed; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of Fig. 5, partially abbreviated; Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential portion of Fig. 5, partially removed; Fig. 8(A) is a cross sectional view of a belt driving section; Fig. 8(B) is a similar view to Fig. 8(A), showing a modification of the belt driving section; Fig. 9 is a cross sectional view of a press mechanism; Fig. 10(a) is a cross sectional view where the press mechanism operates; Fig. 10(b) is an enlarged view of a portion P in Fig. 10(a); and Fig. 11 is a graph showing the change of a heating temperature and the change of a temperature of a card material. Before the description of the present invention proceeds, it is to be noted here that like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the accompanying drawings. A preferred embodiment of the magnetic card manufacturing arrangement according to the present invention will be described in detail hereinbelow. As described earlier with reference to Figs. 1 and 2, the magnetic card 24 having a double-layered core is comprised of a core (base plate) 25 which is formed of two printed plastic plates, overlays 26 and 27 overlapped onto the front and rear surfaces of the core 25 respectively, and a magnetic tape 28 in a small width bonded to an outer surface of the overlay 26 which becomes a front surface of the magnetic card. Fig. 3 is a plane view schematically showing the whole of a magnetic card manufacturing system incorporated with a magnetic card manufacturing arrangement of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a schematic front elevational view of Fig. 3. In the magnetic card manufacturing system shown in Figs. 3 and 4, there is provided an overlay transfer line 1 as a base line of the system which runs linearly from the right to left in the drawing. Moreover, the magnetic card manufacturing system includes a magnetic tape feed mechanism 2, a core material feed mechanism 3, an overlay overlapping mechanism 4, a laminating mechanism 5 and a card cutting mechanism 6, from the upper to the lower course of the line 1. A pair of upper and lower stainless steel belts 114 and 115 are wound around a belt conveyor 116 of the laminating mechanism 5. The stainless steel belts 114 and 115 have mirror finished outer surfaces. A continuous card material 113 is grasped and transferred between the belts 114 and 115. A plurality of pressers 117 which can be independently operated by a hydraulic cylinder are arranged in parallel along the linear transfer route of the belt conveyor 116, so that the magnetic card material 113 sandwiched between the belts 114 and 115 is integrally pressed by the pressers 117. Since each presser is equipped with a function of heat treatment, the material 113 is heated more at its rear portion in the transfer direction. However, the material 113 is cooled at the terminal of the transfer route. A laminating device 5' which is a modified example of the laminating mechanism 5 is, as indicated in a partially-removed front elevational view, a partially-abbreviated perspective view and a partial enlarged sectional view of Figs. 5-7, provided with a belt conveyor 227 having a pair of endless stainless steel belts 225 and 226 wound in such manner that the respective mirror-finished outer surfaces of the belts are opposed to each other, and six couples of press mechanisms 228 approximately in tight contact with each other in parallel to the transfer direction of the linear route of the belts 225 and 226. A continuous band-shaped card material 229 which has a material plate 221A sandwiched between upper and lower overlays 224 and 207 is grasped and intermittently transferred between the belts 225 and 226, when the card material 229 is integrally pressed every unit of one sheet of the material plate 221A between the belts 225 and 226 by heat of the press mechanisms 228. The stainless belts 225 and 226 constituting the belt conveyor 227 are stretched and extended between a driving pulley 230 in the rear of the transfer route and a tension pulley 232 in the front thereof, and between a driving pulley 231 and a tension pulley 233, respectively. An upper frame 235 and a lower frame 236 coupled by right and left stays 234 have the driving pulleys 230 and 231 held through a pair of right and left bearings 237 and 238 in the rear ends thereof, and the tension pulleys 232 and 233 supported through a pair of right and left bearing brackets 239 and 240 in the front ends. The bearing bracket 239 or 240 which is slidable back and forth is interlocked to a pneumatic cylinder or an oil pressure cylinder 241 or 242. Because of the pneumatic cylinder, a predetermined pressure is added to the bearing bracket 239 or 240 to displace in a direction away from the driving pulley 230 or 231. Accordingly, an elongation of the metallic belts 225 and 226 during use is absorbed, so that the belts 225 and 226 are stretched with a predetermined tension at all times. As shown in a side sectional view of Fig. 8, a main shaft 243 of the lower driving pulley 231 is, through a gear reduction mechanism 244, interlocked with an AC servo motor 245, and at the same time, the main shaft 243 is interlocked with a main shaft 246 of the upper driving pulley 230 through two pairs of upper and lower bevel gear transmission mechanisms 247 and 248 and a longitudinal shaft 249, as shown in Fig. 8(A). The driving pulleys 230 and 231 are thus driven in a synchronous manner in an opposite direction. Fig. 8(B) shows a modification of Fig. 8(A), wherein there provide a schmidt coupling and a gear box transmission mechanism 247a, and 248a in place of the mechanism 247 and 248. In order to prevent that the metallic belt 225 or 226 hangs down, carrier rollers 250 or 251 are provided at the side where the belt 225 or 226 is not pressed. A rotary encoder 253 rotated through a rubber roller 252 in touch with an inner surface of the metallic belt 226 is provided at the not-pressed side of the lower belt 226 to measure the actual moving amount of the belt thereby to control the rotating amount of the AC servo motor 247. A covering plate 254 is mounted in the upper frame 235 so as to cover above the transfer route at the not-pressed side of the upper belt 225. Moreover, protective casings 255 and 256 provided at front and rear ends of the belt conveyor 227 cover around an outer periphery of the tension pulleys 232 and 233 and driving pulleys 230 and 231. Therefore, even when the metallic belt 225 or 226 is unexpectedly cut, it is prevented that the belt 225 or 226 jumps out of the device because of its own elasticity, assuring safety in operation of the device. As indicated in a sectional view of Fig. 7 and a side sectional view of Fig. 9, the press mechanism 228 is comprised of a lower pressuring plate 258, an upper pressuring plate 260, a pair of front and rear pressuring blocks 261 and 261, and a pair of front and rear hydraulic cylinders 262 and 262 for pressing the pressuring blocks downwards. The lower pressuring plate 258 has a heater 257 embedded thereinside and is provided in an inner periphery of the lower metallic belt 226, while the upper pressuring plate 260 has a heater 259 buried thereinside and is provided in an inner periphery of the upper metallic belt 225. The lower pressuring plate 258 is mounted on a roof panel 236a of the lower frame 236 through a heat insulating plate 263. There is also provided a heat insulating plate 264 between the upper pressuring plate 260 and the pressuring block 261. The heating temperature can be stably maintained by restricting the radiation of heat from the pressuring plates 260 and 258. The hydraulic cylinder 262 is mounted on a bottom plate 235a of the upper frame 235, with a piston rod 262a thereof screwed with the pressuring block 261. A pair of front and rear cooling water passages 266 are formed in each pressuring block 261, which is communicated each other by an outer piping 265 in U-shape. The pressuring block 261 can be accordingly cooled by the cooling water flowing in the passage 266, thereby restricting the change in an internal pressure resulting from an expansion of the operating oil in the hydraulic cylinder 262, with preventing the deterioration of packings for the operating oil and hydraulic cylinder. In the transfer route of the belt conveyor 227 shown in Fig. 7, there are intervened heat-proof resin sheets 267 and 268 each made of fluoric resin such as Teflon (trademark registered by Du Pont) or the like between the lower pressuring plate 258 and the lower metallic belt 226, and between the upper pressuring plate 260 and the upper metallic belt 225, whereby a uniform pressuring force is added to the material plate 221A from the upper and lower pressuring plates 258 and 260. The pressure uniforming resin sheet 267 or 268 is, as is best understood from a cross sectional view of Fig. 10, a continuous band extending all over the pressing range of the pressuring plates 258 and 260, having a larger width than the metallic belts 225 and 226. The front and rear ends of the resin sheets are fixed to the roof panel 236a of the lower frame 236 and the pressuring block 261 through coupling metal fittings 269 and 270, respectively. In the construction as above, the resin sheets 267 and 268 can be easily detached if the pressuring plates 260 are raised. In the laminating device 5' having the above-described construction, the card material 229 is sequentially pressed every unit of the material plate 221A by the six heating presser mechanisms in accordance with the transfer thereof by the belt conveyor 227 at a constant pitch, so that the front and rear overlays 207 and 224 and the material plate 221A are perfectly united. The heating temperature is set individually for each pressuring plate 258 or 260. For example, as indicated in a graph of Fig. 11, the pressuring plates 258 and 260 at a first stage preheat (indicated by 1), and the pressuring plates at a second stage heat with the highest temperature (indicated by 2), and the plates at a third stage heat with a lower temperature than at the second stage (indicated by 3). The pressuring plates 258 and 260 at a fourth stage heat with a lower temperature than at the third stage (indicated by 4). However, the heating temperature by the plates at the fourth stage is set higher than the preheating temperature of the plates at the first stage. Further, the heating temperature is rendered lower sequentially from a fifth stage to a sixth stage (indicated respectively by 5 and 6). The heating temperature at the fifth and sixth stages is lower than the preheating temperature at the first stage, but higher than the normal temperature, whereby the card material is cooled. The heating temperature is controlled such that the temperature T of the card material 229 is changed in a parabolic pattern as a whole. Accordingly, the heating condition can be obtained as desired in correspondence to the characteristic or quality of the material of the card material 229. Besides the heating temperature, the pressuring force of the hydraulic cylinder 262 for each press mechanism 228 is also individually controllable. Therefore, by adjusting the pressuring force together with the heating temperature, the change of the temperature T of the card material 229 can be controlled more suitable. During the constant feed of the belt conveyor 227, the hydraulic pressure of each cylinder 262 is so reduced as to maintain the metallic belts 225 and 226 in face-to-face contact with the opposite surfaces of the card material 229, thereby to prevent the air from entering between the belts 225 and 226, and the card material 229. Moreover, the resin sheets 267 and 268 can reduce the sliding resistance from the metallic belts 225 and 226 which can accordingly move smoothly. After the card material 229 is integrally formed by the heating press in the foregoing manner, the material 229 is sent into the card cutting mechanism 6. As the card material 229 is sequentially transferred a pitch of a core unit by an intermittent screw mechanism 271, it is punched every two, right and left, sheets by the action of punching press mechanism 272 using a hydraulic cylinder. As a result, the magnetic card A is obtained. In the above-described embodiment, the resin sheets 267 and 268 are formed in a continuous band-like shape all over the length of the pressuring plates 258 and 260, without a boundary at a sliding portion with the metallic belts 225 and 226. Therefore, the metallic belts 225 and 226 can be more smoothly moved. At the same time, exchange of the resin sheets 267 and 268 can easily be performed. It may be possible to attach the resin sheets 267 and 268 to each pressuring surface of the pressuring plates 258 and 260. Although it may be considered that the resin sheets 267 and 268 are bonded by an adhesive to the whole inner surface of the metallic belts 225 and 226, in this case, it is impossible to exchange the resin sheets 267 and 268 solely. If the resin sheets are broken, not only the sheets but the metallic belts 225 and 226 should be exchanged. This is not practical. The press mechanism 228 is not restricted to that discussed in the above embodiment, but may be any so long as it consists of a plurality of pressers. In the laminating device for manufacturing ID cards as is described hereinabove, because the unevenness of thickness of metallic belts, errors in the planeness and parallelism of each pressuring plate can be absorbed by the resin sheets, an accuracy in processing and assembling the metallic belts and pressuring plates is not particularly required so high. Therefore, the processing and assembling cost of the mechanism can be reduced, thereby to provide the device at a reasonable price. Since the metallic belts are not brought in direct sliding contact with the pressuring plates, an abrasion of the belts and plates is suppressed, with improving the durability and simplifying the maintenance thereof. Moreover, the generation of abrasion is limited only in the resin sheets, and accordingly it is not necessary to exchange the metallic belts or press mechanism. Because an exchange of the resin sheets only is relatively simple, it does not interrupt the manufacture of ID cards for so long time, without lowering the productivity.

Claims: A laminating device ( 5, 5') for use in laminating a continuous ID card material (113) by heating and pressing, the card material being formed of a material plate including a plurality of core units each corresponding to an ID card and sandwiched between a continuous band-shaped heat sealable front overlay which is to form a front surface of an ID card and a continuous band-shaped heat sealable rear overlay which is to form a rear surface of an ID card, said laminating device comprising: a belt conveyor (116, 227) having a pair of endless stainless steel belts (114, 115; 225, 226), each running in a path having a straight portion opposed to the corresponding straight portion of the other belt for transferring the card material by grasping the card material from front and back; at least two pulleys (230-233) around which each corresponding belt runs, one at each end of the straight path portion of the belt, and bearing means (237-240) in which the respective pulleys are mounted; drive means (245) for intermittently driving the belts at a distance corresponding to the pitch of the ID card units along the card material in the direction of movement of the belts along said straight path portions; a press mechanism (228) provided in parallel to the direction of movement of each of said belts along said straight path portions of said belts and each having a plurality of pressure plates (258, 260) along an inner peripheral surface of each of said belts and a pressure applying means (262) connected to each of said pressure plates for urging the corresponding pressure plate toward the corresponding belt for urging the straight path portions of said belt toward the other belt, and having the pressure thereof adjustable independently of the other pressure applying means for adjusting the pressure on the card material between the straight path portions of the belts, and heating (257, 259) means in each of said pressure plates adjustable independently of the heating means in the other pressure plates for adjusting the temperature on the card material between the straight portions of the belts; characterized by a belt tensioning fluid pressure piston-cylinder means (241, 242) connected between bearing means for pulleys at the ends of each straight path portion for urging said pulleys away from each other for maintaining the tension of said endless belts; a rotary encoder (253) positioned along one of said belts for sensing the distance of movement of the belts and connected to said drive means for controlling said drive means for keeping the amount of movement of said belts equal to the pitch of the ID card units along the card material; and a heat proof resin sheet means (267, 268) of a lubricating-type resin between said pressure plates and the inner surfaces of said belts for making the pressure applied to the card material uniform; wherein the outer surfaces of the steel belts are mirror-finished, said pressure applying means (262) is a fluid pressure piston cylinder means, and wherein said resin sheet means (268) is a continuous band between a belt and all of the pressure plates (258) corresponding to the belt. A laminating means as claimed in claim 1 further comprising means for controlling the pressure of said pressure applying means (262) for reducing the pressure on said pressure plates when said belts are being driven only to an amount which will maintain said belts in contact with the front and rear surfaces of said card material.

Inventors: YAMAMOTO RYOICHI, YAMAMOTO, RYOICHI
Applicants: NATEC INC, NATEC INCORPORATED
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B42D15
IPC codes: B42D15, G06K19