JPH04146177A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make possible to record highly reliable information a plurality of times by supplying heat to image information which is in solid state under normal temperature, taking out fused image information, and transferring image information which is in solid state under normal temperature to a medium from which the image information is taken out. CONSTITUTION:When a card arrives at a predetermined position on the variable display face of a card 6, a main control section outputs a print signal to a print control section which then heats a heating element 52 selectively by means of a thermal head 42. Thermally fused ink adheres to the variable display face and transferred onto the variable display face when the card 6 is carried and an ink ribbon 53 is peeled off thus forming an ink image 59.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a recording device for recording information on a medium such as a deductible card used in telephones, ticket vending machines, etc.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, recording devices that process deductible cards, so-called private cards, used in telephones, ticket vending machines, etc., do not allow for large amounts of money that cannot be limited to the number of times they can be used.
Even though there was a balance, the printing area ran out and it became unusable, causing confusion for users.

For example, a plastic ticket issuing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-39351 brings a transfer sheet, which has a transfer ink layer on a backing material, into close contact with a plastic card, and drives a thermal head to print an image. After recording the image, it is fixed by a fixing device to form an image on a plastic card. According to this recording method, since the image formed is solid at room temperature, highly reliable information can be recorded.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in cards processed by the above-mentioned plastic ticket issuing device, although it is possible to record information such as the remaining amount in a solid state, it is not possible to re-record information in the area where it has been recorded once. The problem was that it could not be done.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device that can record highly reliable information multiple times.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the recording device of the present invention records image information on a medium on which solid image information is recorded at room temperature. A heat supply means for supplying heat to solid image information at room temperature, a removal means for removing the image information to which heat is supplied by the heat supply means from the medium, and a medium from which the image information has been removed by the removal means. It is characterized by comprising a transfer means for transferring image information that becomes solid at room temperature.

(Function) The recording device of the present invention supplies heat to solid image information recorded on a medium at room temperature, removes the image information that is melted by the heat supply, and removes the image information. Image information that is solid at room temperature is transferred to a medium that has been stored.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows the internal structure of a card processing device incorporating the recording device of the present invention. This device uses an amount subtraction type card and prints usage history data such as date of use and remaining amount on the card each time it is used, and when there is no more space on the variable display layer, the recorded image is removed and new data is printed. This is a device that performs processing at the start of use. Medium (card) used in this device 6
Fig. 2 shows the cross-sectional configuration of. The card 6 has a pre-printing layer 8 on one side of a base material 7, and a magnetic recording layer 9 and a variable display layer 1o which is a recording layer on the other side. The base material 7 is made of plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, or paper. Here, polyvinyl chloride with a thickness of 188 μm was used. The variable display layer 10 is made of a resin such as polyethylene terephthalate or polyurethane, or a resin mixed with a pigment such as silicon dioxide or talc to make it opaque. These may be colored and used if necessary. Here, a 3 μm thick white layer made of polyurethane mixed with silicon dioxide fine particles was used.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pre-printing layer 8, that is, the front surface 6a of the card 6, has the available limit amount of the card 6, a pattern, etc. printed thereon. On the variable display layer 10 (within the broken line frame), which is a recording layer provided on the back surface 6b of the card 6, as shown in FIG. The image forming member supplied from the printer is received on its surface and printed.

The variable display layer may be provided on a part of the back surface 6b of the card 6 as shown in FIG. 4, or may be provided on the entire surface.

In the magnetic recording layer 9, the initial state and usage status (usage history) of the card 6, such as the usage limit, usage date, and remaining amount, are magnetically recorded. Reference numeral 20 indicates a card slot; 21 indicates a card transport path that is composed of known transport rollers (not shown), etc., and is capable of transporting cards in both left and right directions; and 22 indicates security-related data such as card authenticity and validity period. , a read head for reading out usage history data such as the remaining amount from the magnetic recording layer of the card 11; 23 a write head for updating and writing the magnetic information in the magnetic recording layer of the card 11; 24 a write head for writing the magnetic information in the magnetic recording layer of the card 11;
Thermal head thermal transfer removal means 25 is an ink image removal means for removing an already inked image by lift-off when there is no margin left on the variable display layer (not shown) 1, and 25 is a variable display layer of the card 11 that includes the date of use, remaining amount, etc. This is a thermal head thermal transfer recording means that is a printing means for printing usage history data. 26 is a read head that reads magnetic information from the magnetic recording layer of the card 11 in order to confirm written and updated data; 27 is a stopper that stops the card when there is any doubt about the authenticity of the card, the validity period, etc. , 28, 29, and 30 are sensors for detecting the position of the leading edge of the card in the transport direction, and 31 is a card ejection port. FIG. 5 schematically shows the control system of the card processing device shown in FIG. 40 is a main control unit that controls the entire apparatus; 41 is a print control unit that controls the driving of a thermal head 42 of a thermal head thermal transfer recording unit that is a printing unit; and 43 is an ink image removal unit that removes an ink image by lift-off. a lift-off control section that controls the heat of the thermal head 44; 45 a read control section that controls reading of magnetic information by the read head 22; 46 a read control section that controls reading of magnetic information by the read head 26;
47 is a write control unit that controls writing of magnetic information by the write head 25; 48 is a transport mechanism control unit that controls a motor 49 connected to a transport roller in a card transport path via a drive system; and 50 is a control unit that controls security-related data verification. This is a determination unit that determines whether or not a message can be printed on the card according to the validity of the card, the remaining amount, and the number of days remaining in the usage period. Each block is connected to the main control section 40 via a data bus 51. The main control unit 40 can also be connected to an external terminal (not shown) such as a display device or an input/output device to display and input/output necessary data, if necessary.

Next, the card processing operation in this device will be explained. A user inserts the card 6 into the card slot 20. The inserted card 6 is conveyed along a conveyance path 21 by a conveyance roller or the like, and a reading head 22 reads security-related data such as the card's authenticity and validity period, and usage history data such as the remaining amount. The read data is sent to the main control unit 40
The information is processed by the determination unit 50 via. If there is a problem with the card, the stopper 27 is operated to stop the card, the motor operation for driving the transport roller is reversed under the control of the transport mechanism control section 48, and the card 6 is ejected to a tray (not shown). If the card 6 is valid, the use history data of the magnetic recording layer 9 is updated by the next write head 23.
written. In the thermal head thermal transfer removal means 24, when it is determined that there is no margin in the variable display layer 10 of the card 6 based on the usage history data that has already been read, the lift-off control section 43 drives the thermal head 44 to remove the ink image. Remove by lift-off.

If there is a margin in the variable display layer 10, the thermal head is not driven and the card is directly conveyed to the next thermal head thermal transfer recording means 25. Here, necessary information such as the date and time of use is additionally recorded as an ink image on the variable display layer 10 of the card 6 by the thermal head 42 driven by the print control section 41. Sensors 28 and 29 provided upstream of each means detect the leading edge of the card and output a reference signal for lift-off or print positioning to the main control section.

After printing, the updated data is read from the magnetic recording layer 9 by the reading head 26, and the updated data is confirmed. After this, the card 6 is ejected to the ejection port 31 and returned to the user.

Next, the printing operation in the thermal head thermal transfer recording means will be explained using FIG. 42 is a thermal head and 4
Forty-eight heating elements 52 are arranged at a density of 8 elements/mm. Reference numeral 53 denotes an ink ribbon, and a heat-melting black ink 55 that is solid at room temperature is coated on a base film 54.

Ink varies in color, density, fastness, and
Colorants and binders are selected and used to adjust ink properties such as weather resistance, magnetism, fluorescence, and light absorption properties.

Here, a mixed binder of carbon pigment, polyester resin, and wax was used. 56 is a platen roller, which is separated from the ink ribbon 53 by a distance less than the thickness of the card 6, but when printing, the card 6 is moved between the ink ribbon 5
3. energize the heating element 52; When the card 6 is transported and passes a sensor 29 consisting of a light emitting element 58 and a light receiving element 58, the leading edge of the card 6 is detected. A detection signal from the light receiving element 58 is output to the main control section 40 and serves as a reference for printing timing. When the card reaches a predetermined position on the variable display surface 10 of the card 6, the main control section 40 outputs a print signal. The print control unit 41 selectively causes the heating element 52 to generate heat based on the print signal.

The heated ink melts and adheres to the variable display surface, and is transferred from the card 5 to the ink ribbon 53 as the card 6 is conveyed.
By peeling off the ink, the ink is transferred to the variable display surface,
An ink image 59 is formed. In this way, the necessary information is printed and displayed on the variable display surface.

The ink image lift-off operation in the thermal head thermal transfer removing means will be explained with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 44 denotes a thermal head which is a heat supply means, and the heat generation of a heating element 60 of the thermal head is controlled by a lift-off control section 43 as necessary. Further, a vertical drive mechanism (not shown) enables vertical movement related to the contact and separation of the card 6 and the transfer medium 61.

When card processing is not being performed, the thermal head is in an up state, and the bias against the platen roller is released. 61 is a 12 μm thick polyester film which is a transfer medium. Denoted at 62 is a peeling means consisting of a pair of rollers, which defines a peeling angle between the card 6 and the transfer medium 61.

Further, one of the rollers 62 is connected to a drive system such as a motor, and applies tension to the transfer medium 61. 63 is a platen roller. 28 is a sensor consisting of a light emitting element 64 and a light receiving element 65. When it is determined that there is no margin for additional writing on the variable display section of the inserted card, the ink image is removed leaving at least the latest displayed image. The vertical drive mechanism of the thermal head is driven by the output from the determination section 40, and the thermal head 44 is pressed against the platen roller 63 via the transfer medium 61. The timing of energization of the thermal head 44 is controlled based on the card tip detection output of the sensor 28 and the position of the ink image 66 to be removed. Electricity is supplied to the heating element 60 corresponding to the leading position of the ink image 66 to be removed, and the ink image 66 is heated. The ink image 66 adheres and solidifies to the transfer medium 61, and the transfer medium 61 is transferred to the card 6.
As the ink image 66 is peeled off from the transfer medium 61
and is removed from the card 6. The transfer medium 61 carrying the removed ink is a take-up reel (not shown).
is wound up. The separation angle between the transfer medium 61 and the card 6 must be smaller than that in the thermal head thermal transfer recording means shown in FIG. 6, and is preferably 30 degrees or less.

In order to obtain sufficient adhesion between the ink image to be removed and the transfer medium, the transfer medium and the cart may be separated from each other after the ink is cooled after heating by the thermal head. Alternatively, the transfer medium may be endless and a means for removing lifted-off ink from the transfer medium may be provided so that the transfer medium can be used repeatedly.

This ink removing means selects and drives a heating element at an arbitrary position of a plurality of heating elements provided in a line corresponding to the width of the card in the transverse direction with respect to the card conveyance direction. You can also remove individual characters. The variable display layer 10 from which the ink image has been removed can be printed again by ink image transfer.

In this way, it was possible to repeatedly print and display on the variable display surface of the card 6 ten times or more.

Further, the printed ink image did not suffer from chipping or staining of the base even after card processing operations (such as transportation) were repeated 100 times or more. There were no problems such as staining of the magnetic head due to ink images. Further, in reading/writing magnetic information recorded in the magnetic recording layer, there were no problems such as the output of the read head changing depending on the presence or absence of an ink image or the need to change the manual force of the write head.

As described above, according to the recording device of the present invention, the printed display on the card can be rewritten, and since the image forming body is solid at room temperature, highly reliable display can be obtained. In particular, this device can remove characters one by one or selectively remove any area of an already printed ink image. Furthermore, since the image forming material (ink) supplied from the outside can be set according to the function, it has become possible to create a rewritable display with excellent visibility due to density contrast, color differences, etc. Furthermore, unlike conventional image forming bodies, there is no deterioration due to fatigue caused by repeated use of the same image forming body, making it possible to extend the life of the display section.

Since the display section can be set at any position, there is a high degree of freedom in setting the display surface (also, the position of the display section can be easily changed without changing the card. The characteristics that meet the requirements for can be designed almost independently without mutual interference.Display specifications can be changed without changing the card body or device by simply changing the characteristics of the image forming body supplied from the outside. In addition, by arranging printing means that form ink images of different colors, it is possible to change the color of the ink image according to the displayed information without changing the card body, and it is possible to change the color of the ink image according to the displayed information without changing the card itself. It is possible to display a large amount of information.The surface quality of the display layer is an important characteristic of the display area, and since it is possible to use an image forming material with a high density per degree, even thin ink images can be displayed. Sufficient image density was obtained, making it possible to form an extremely thin display area.Furthermore, even if a display layer was provided by laminating it on top of the magnetic layer, it would not pose any problem in reading/writing magnetic information. We were also able to create a rewritable card that does not damage the magnetic head.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, the recording device of the present invention can record highly reliable information multiple times.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The following drawings are for explaining one embodiment of the recording device of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a card processing device incorporating the recording device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram of the recording device of the present invention. FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining the specifications of the medium, FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the control system of the card processing device, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the printing operation by the thermal head thermal transfer recording means of the recording apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the lift-off operation of the ink image in the thermal head thermal transfer removing means of the recording apparatus of the present invention. 6... Card, 10... Variable display layer, 24... Thermal head thermal transfer removal means, 25... Thermal head thermal transfer recording means, 61... Transfer medium, 62... Peeling means

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a recording device for recording image information on a medium on which image information is recorded that is solid at room temperature and melts when heat is supplied, heat is supplied to the image information that is solid at room temperature. heat supply means; a removal means for removing the image information, which is melted by heat supplied by the heat supply means, from the medium; 1. A recording device comprising a transfer means for transferring image information.