Smart card color printing device

Abstract

The present invention belongs to the field of smart card processing and specifically discloses a smart card color printing device, comprising a frame, a main card conveying track, a card transfer and handling device, and multiple color printing modules; the main card conveying track is arranged horizontally, and the multiple color printing modules are divided into two vertically arranged columns, with the multiple color printing modules in each column distributed on the upper and lower sides of the main card conveying track; the card transfer and handling device is arranged between the two columns of color printing modules, and the card transfer and handling device comprises two groups, respectively, for transferring cards with the color printing modules on the upper and lower sides of the main card conveying track; each group of card transfer and handling devices includes a card temporary storage mechanism and a position switching drive mechanism; the card temporary storage mechanism includes a card temporary storage slot and a card conveying mechanism. The smart card color printing device of the present invention has the advantages of simple structure, high processing efficiency, and low processing cost.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of smart card processing, and in particular relates to a smart card color printing device. Background Art

[0002] During the smart card production process, data or information is written or printed onto the card using an information processing device, such as magnetic writing, core writing, flat printing, or color printing. To improve efficiency, some smart card devices are equipped with multiple information processing devices that can operate in parallel. These devices require a card interface to facilitate the transfer of cards between the card transport channel and the various information processing devices.

[0003] For example, the Chinese invention patent application with publication number CN117446548A discloses "a card processing device with efficient transmission and real-time card replacement functions". The card processing device is provided with multiple card information processing workstations, and a card transfer and handling device is provided to realize the handover of cards between the card conveying main track and each card information processing workstation; the card transfer and handling device includes a card feeding synchronous belt, a transfer drive mechanism for driving the card feeding synchronous belt to circulate, and a plurality of card clamping mechanisms for temporarily storing cards arranged on the card feeding synchronous belt; the plurality of card clamping mechanisms are evenly arranged and installed on the card feeding synchronous belt and move with the card feeding synchronous belt. The above-mentioned card transfer and handling device has the card clamping mechanisms evenly arranged on the card feeding synchronous belt at a distance that is equal to the distance at which each card information processing workstation is evenly arranged along the running direction of the card feeding synchronous belt, and is equal to the distance between the card walking surface of the card conveying main track and the card entry and exit ports of the card information processing workstations closest to the upper and lower sides. That is, when one of the card clamping mechanisms is located at the card handover position, the card entry and exit ports of each card information processing workstation are aligned with one of the card clamping mechanisms on the card feeding synchronous belt. While the card clamping mechanism is exchanging cards with the card conveying main track, the card information processing workstation can also synchronously exchange cards with the corresponding card clamping mechanism, thereby realizing multi-line simultaneous operation, improving the production efficiency of card exchange, and adopting a more flexible production mode as needed.

[0004] However, the above card processing device still has the following shortcomings:

[0005] 1. In the above-mentioned card processing device, the spacing between each card information processing workstation needs to be strictly controlled. In addition, since multiple sets of card clamping mechanisms are provided on the card feeding synchronous belt, and the spacing between two adjacent sets of card clamping mechanisms needs to be equal to the spacing between two adjacent sets of card information processing workstations, this seriously limits the flexibility of equipment installation and at the same time requires higher assembly accuracy of the equipment.

[0006] 2. Since the card feeding synchronous belt in the card transfer and handling device is provided with multiple sets of card clamping mechanisms, the load on the card feeding synchronous belt will increase. Therefore, a higher power drive module is required to drive the card feeding synchronous belt, resulting in higher operating energy consumption.

[0007] 3. Since the card feeding synchronous belt is used to drive the movement of multiple sets of card clamping mechanisms to realize the handover of cards between the card conveying main track and each card information processing workstation, but as the number of card information processing workstations increases, the distance between the newly added card information processing workstations and the card conveying main track also increases. Therefore, the moving stroke of the card feeding synchronous belt will also increase. Correspondingly, the conveying efficiency will also decrease, thereby affecting the production efficiency of the entire equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In order to overcome the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a smart card color printing device, which has the advantages of simple structure, high processing efficiency and low processing cost.

[0009] The technical solution of the present invention to solve the above technical problems is:

[0010] A smart card color printing device comprises a frame, a main card conveying track arranged on the frame, a card transfer and handling device, and multiple color printing modules, wherein the main card conveying track is arranged horizontally; the multiple color printing modules are divided into two vertically arranged columns, and the multiple color printing modules in each column are distributed on the upper and lower sides of the main card conveying track; the card transfer and handling device is arranged between the two columns of color printing modules, and the card transfer and handling device consists of two groups, one group is used to transfer cards with the color printing modules on the upper side of the main card conveying track, and the other group is used to transfer cards with the color printing modules on the lower side of the main card conveying track; each group of card transfer and handling devices includes a card temporary storage mechanism for temporarily storing cards and a position switching drive mechanism for driving the card temporary storage mechanism to move up and down so that it can dock with the main card conveying track and different color printing modules, wherein the card temporary storage mechanism includes a card temporary storage slot and a card conveying mechanism for driving cards to be transferred between the card temporary slot and the card conveying track and between the card temporary slot and the color printing module.

[0011] Preferably, the card conveying mechanism includes a conveying wheel group and a card feeding power mechanism for driving the conveying wheel group to work, wherein the conveying wheel group has conveying rollers located on the upper and lower sides of the card temporary storage slot.

[0012] Preferably, there are two card temporary storage slots, namely an upper card temporary storage slot and a lower card temporary storage slot arranged up and down; the conveying wheel group includes a power conveying roller located in the middle, an upper conveying roller located above the upper card temporary storage slot and a lower conveying roller located below the lower card temporary storage slot; the card feeding power mechanism is connected to the power conveying roller.

[0013] Preferably, the card feeding power mechanism includes a mounting seat provided on a support and a driving motor provided on the mounting seat, wherein a main shaft of the driving motor is connected to a rotating shaft of the power feeding roller via a transmission mechanism.

[0014] Preferably, the card transfer and handling device also includes a switching mechanism for driving the card feeding power mechanism and the power conveying roller to move up and down, so that the power conveying roller cooperates with the upper conveying roller or the lower conveying roller; the switching mechanism includes a lifting drive mechanism arranged on the support; the mounting seat is slidably connected to the support; the lifting drive mechanism is used to drive the mounting seat to rise and fall.

[0015] Preferably, the position switching drive mechanism includes a bracket arranged on the frame, a lifting seat arranged on the bracket, and a vertical drive mechanism for driving the lifting seat to move up and down, wherein the bracket is installed on the lifting seat; and a vertical guide mechanism for guiding the vertical movement of the lifting seat is arranged between the lifting seat and the bracket.

[0016] Preferably, the vertical drive mechanism includes a vertical motor and a belt transmission mechanism arranged at the bottom of the bracket, wherein the belt transmission mechanism includes a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a transmission belt wrapped around the driving wheel and the driven wheel; the driving wheel is connected to the main shaft of the vertical motor; the driven wheel is arranged at the top of the bracket; the transmission belt is connected to the lifting seat through a connecting piece.

[0017] Preferably, the position switching drive mechanisms in the two sets of card transfer and handling devices share a set of brackets.

[0018] Preferably, the lifting seat is provided with a plurality of groups of pulleys arranged vertically, and the wheel surface of each group of pulleys is in contact with the inner side surface of the transmission belt in another group of card transfer and handling devices.

[0019] Preferably, the card conveying main track is provided with a card handover station at a position corresponding to the card transfer and handling device; guide wheel groups are provided on both sides of the card handover station.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and beneficial effects:

[0021] 1. The smart card color printing device of the present invention uses two sets of card transfer and handling devices, which are respectively responsible for card handover with the color printing modules on the upper and lower sides of the card conveying main track; therefore, each set of card transfer and handling devices can work independently to transfer cards on the card conveying main track to the color printing modules within their respective working ranges, thereby greatly improving work efficiency and card processing efficiency.

[0022] 2. Since each group of card transfer and transport devices in the smart card color printing device of the present invention can act independently, in the process of the position switching drive mechanism driving the card temporary storage mechanism to move, it is only necessary to ensure that the card temporary storage mechanism is docked with the corresponding card inlet and outlet port of the color printing module, and the card is transferred between the card temporary storage slot and the color printing module through the card conveying mechanism in the card temporary storage mechanism; therefore, it is not easily affected by the change in the spacing between two adjacent groups of color printing modules. Therefore, the spacing of the color printing modules can be flexibly set according to actual needs, and the moving stroke of the card transfer and transport device is controlled by the control system, so that it can adapt to work in color printing modules with different spacings. It not only has better adaptability, but also reduces the installation accuracy requirements of the equipment.

[0023] 3. The smart card color printing device of the present invention adopts two groups of card transfer and handling devices to be responsible for the card handover work with the color printing modules on the upper and lower sides of the card conveying main track respectively. Each card transfer and handling device only needs to perform the card handover work between the card conveying main track and the corresponding color printing module each time. During the card handover work, there is no need to consider other influencing factors (such as spacing changes, processing intervals between color printing modules, etc.), which is conducive to simplifying the control algorithm or control logic of the smart card color printing device of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of the smart card color printing device of the present invention from a first perspective.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of the smart card color printing device of the present invention from a second perspective.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic structural diagram of the smart card color printing device of the present invention from a third viewing angle.

[0027] Figure 4 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the position switching drive mechanism.

[0028] Figure 5 This is a partially enlarged view of the position switching drive mechanism from the first perspective.

[0029] Figure 6 This is a partially enlarged view of the position switching drive mechanism from a second perspective.

[0030] Figure 7 This is a partially enlarged view of the position switching drive mechanism from the third perspective.

[0031] Figure 8 This is a structural diagram of the card temporary storage mechanism from the first perspective.

[0032] Figure 9 This is a structural diagram of the card temporary storage mechanism from a second perspective.

[0033] Figure 10 This is a structural diagram of the card temporary storage mechanism from the third perspective.

[0034] Figure 11 This is a structural diagram of the card storage mechanism from the first perspective (part of the support is removed).

[0035] Figure 12 This is a structural diagram of the card temporary storage mechanism from a second perspective (part of the support is removed).

[0036] Figure 13 This is a partial enlarged view of the guide wheel group. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the embodiments and drawings, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0038] See also Figures 1-13 The smart card color printing device of the present invention includes a frame 16, a card conveying main track 17 arranged on the frame 16, a card transfer and handling device, and a plurality of color printing modules 19, wherein the card conveying main track 17 is horizontally arranged and the plurality of color printing modules 19 are divided into two vertically arranged columns, and the plurality of color printing modules 19 in each column are distributed on the upper and lower sides of the card conveying main track 17; the card transfer and handling device is arranged between the two columns of color printing modules 19, and the card transfer and handling device consists of two groups, one of which is used to transfer cards with the color printing module 19 on the upper side of the card conveying main track 17, and the other group is used to transfer cards with the color printing module 19 on the lower side of the card conveying main track 17. Card handover; each set of card transfer and handling devices includes a card temporary storage mechanism 20 for temporarily storing cards and a position switching drive mechanism 18 for driving the card temporary storage mechanism 20 to move up and down so that it can dock with the card conveying main track 17 and different color printing modules 19, wherein the card temporary storage mechanism 20 includes a card temporary storage slot and a card conveying mechanism for driving the card to transfer between the card temporary storage slot and the card conveying main track 17 and between the card temporary storage slot and the color printing module 19; the card conveying mechanism includes a conveying wheel group and a card feeding power mechanism for driving the conveying wheel group to work; the conveying wheel group has conveying rollers located on the upper and lower sides of the card temporary storage slot.

[0039] See also Figures 1-13 , there are two card temporary storage slots, namely an upper card temporary storage slot 4 and a lower card temporary storage slot 5 arranged up and down, one of which can be used to store cards that have completed color printing, and the other can be used to store cards to be color printed; the conveying wheel group includes a power conveying roller 7 located in the middle, an upper conveying roller 6 located above the upper card temporary storage slot 4, and a lower conveying roller 8 located below the lower card temporary storage slot 5; the card feeding power mechanism is connected to the power conveying roller 7, wherein the card feeding power mechanism includes a mounting seat 14 provided on the support 1 and a driving motor 2 provided on the mounting seat 14, wherein the main shaft of the driving motor 2 is connected to the rotating shaft of the power conveying roller 7 through a belt transmission mechanism 11; the power of the driving motor 2 is transmitted to the power conveying roller 7 through the belt transmission mechanism 11, thereby driving the power conveying roller 7 to rotate forward and reverse; and the power conveying roller 7 can cooperate with the upper conveying roller 6 or the lower conveying roller 8 to realize the conveying of cards located in the upper card temporary storage slot 4 or the lower card temporary slot 5.

[0040] In this embodiment, in order to ensure that the card is transported to the right position, the upper transport roller 6, the lower transport roller 8 and the power transport roller 7 are each provided in two groups; wherein, since the power transport roller 7 is provided in two groups, the belt transmission mechanism 11 includes a driving pulley provided on the drive motor 2, a driven pulley provided on the rotating shaft of the two groups of power transport rollers 7, and a synchronous belt wrapped around the driving pulley and the driven pulley; at the same time, in order to ensure that the synchronous belt is in a taut state, an adjustment block 12 is further provided on the mounting seat 14 to And a tensioning wheel 13 is arranged on the adjusting block 12, wherein the tensioning wheel 13 is rotatably connected to the adjusting block 12, and the upper end of the tensioning wheel 13 is pressed against the outer side of the synchronous belt; an oblong hole is provided on the adjusting block 12; a mounting hole matching the oblong hole is provided on the adjusting block 12, and a screw is passed through the oblong hole and then installed on the mounting hole, so that the adjusting block 12 is installed on the mounting seat 14; by adjusting the position of the adjusting block 12, the tension of the synchronous belt is adjusted.

[0041] See also Figures 1-13The card transfer and handling device also includes a switching mechanism for driving the card feeding power mechanism and the power conveying roller 7 to move up and down, so that the power conveying roller 7 cooperates with the upper conveying roller 6 or the lower conveying roller 8; the switching mechanism includes a lifting drive mechanism 9 arranged on the support 1; the mounting seat 14 is slidably connected to the support 1; the lifting drive mechanism 9 is used to drive the mounting seat 14 to move up and down; and since there are two card temporary storage slots, one of the card temporary storage slots can be used to store processed cards, and the other card temporary storage slot can store cards to be processed; therefore, by driving the mounting seat 14 to rise and fall, the two card temporary storage slots are successively connected to the inlet and outlet of the color printing module, and under the drive of the card feeding power mechanism, the cards that have been processed at the inlet and outlet of the color printing module can be transferred to one of the card temporary storage slots, and then the cards to be processed in the other card temporary slot are transferred to the inlet and outlet of the color printing module.

[0042] In this embodiment, the lifting drive mechanism 9 adopts a driving method combining a motor and a screw transmission mechanism; in addition, the support 1 is provided with a first avoidance groove at a position corresponding to the driving motor 2; the support 1 is provided with a second avoidance groove at a position corresponding to the rotating shaft of the power transmission roller 7; by providing the first avoidance groove and the second avoidance groove, interference between the driving motor 2 and the rotating shaft of the power transmission roller 7 and the support 1 can be avoided.

[0043] See also Figures 1-13 The lifting drive mechanism 9 also includes a position detection sensor 15 provided on the support 1 for detecting the position of the mounting seat 14; by providing the position detection sensor 15 to detect the height of the mounting seat 14, it is ensured that the power conveying roller 7 cooperates with the upper conveying roller 6 to convey the card located in the upper card temporary storage slot 4, or that the power conveying roller 7 cooperates with the lower conveying roller 8 to convey the card located in the lower card temporary storage slot 5.

[0044] See also Figures 1-13 The card temporary storage slot is provided with an optical fiber sensor 3 for detecting the position of the card in the card temporary storage slot; the support 1 is provided with an optical fiber sensor controller 10.

[0045] See also Figures 1-13The position switching drive mechanism 18 includes a bracket 21 provided on the frame 16, a lifting seat 22 provided on the bracket 21, and a vertical driving mechanism for driving the lifting seat 22 to move up and down, wherein the bracket is installed on the lifting seat 22; a vertical guide mechanism for guiding the vertical movement of the lifting seat 22 is provided between the lifting seat 22 and the support 1; the vertical guide mechanism includes a slide rail provided on the bracket 21 and a slider provided on the lifting seat 22, wherein the slide rail is vertically installed on the bracket 21, and the slider is installed on the slide rail; the vertical driving mechanism includes a vertical guide provided at the bottom of the bracket 21 The vertical motor 26 and the belt transmission mechanism include a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a transmission belt 23 wrapped around the driving wheel and the driven wheel; the driving wheel is connected to the main shaft of the vertical motor 26; the driven wheel is arranged on the top of the bracket 21; the transmission belt 23 is connected to the lifting seat 22 through a connecting piece 25; the vertical motor 26 drives the driving wheel to rotate, thereby driving the transmission belt 23 to circulate, thereby driving the lifting seat 22 and the card temporary storage mechanism 20 installed on the lifting seat 22 to rise and fall; in this embodiment, the main shaft of the vertical motor 26 and the driving wheel are connected by a belt transmission mechanism.

[0046] See also Figures 1-13 The position switching drive mechanisms 18 in the two sets of card transfer and transport devices share a set of brackets 21, that is, the position switching drive mechanisms 18 in the two sets of card transfer and transport devices are installed on the same bracket 21, so that a set of vertical guide mechanisms can be shared, thereby greatly saving space and manufacturing costs; in order to ensure that the transmission belt 23 in one set of position switching drive mechanisms 18 does not interfere with the lifting seat 22 in the other set of position switching drive mechanisms 18, a plurality of sets of vertically arranged pulleys 24 are provided on the lifting seat 22, and the wheel surface of the pulley 24 is in contact with the inner side surface of the transmission belt 23 in the other set of card transfer and transport devices.

[0047] See also Figures 1-13 The card conveying main track 17 is provided with a card handover station at a position corresponding to the card transfer and handling device; guide wheel groups 27 are provided on both sides of the card handover station, one group of guide wheel groups 27 is used to guide the cards in the card conveying main track 17 to smoothly enter the card temporary storage mechanism 20 located at the card handover station; and the other group of guide wheel groups 27 is used to guide the cards in the card temporary storage mechanism 20 located at the card handover station to smoothly enter the card conveying main track 17.

[0048] See also Figures 1-13 The working principle of the smart card color printing device of the present invention is as follows:

[0049] During operation, the position switching drive mechanism 18 first drives the card temporary storage mechanism 20 to move to the card handover station. The card conveying main track 17 conveys the card to the card handover station and transfers it to the card temporary storage mechanism 20. Subsequently, the position switching drive mechanism 18 drives the card temporary storage mechanism 20 to move to the corresponding color printing module 19 to remove the printed cards and feed the unprinted cards into the color printing module 19. Specifically:

[0050] When it is necessary to convey the cards in the upper card temporary slot 4, for example, to feed the upper card temporary slot 4 into the color printing module 19 or to feed the cards fed out of the color printing module 19 into the upper card temporary slot 4, the lifting drive mechanism 9 drives the mounting seat 14 to move upward, thereby driving the powered conveying roller 7 to move upward, thereby clamping the cards in the upper card temporary slot 4 between the upper conveying roller 6 and the powered conveying roller 7. Then, the drive motor 2 drives the powered conveying roller 7 to rotate, thereby realizing the conveying of the cards in the upper card temporary slot 4. When it is necessary to convey the card in the lower card temporary slot 5, for example, to feed the lower card temporary slot 5 into the color printing module 19 or to feed the color printing module 19 out of the lower card temporary slot 5, the lifting drive mechanism 9 drives the mounting seat 14 to move downward, thereby driving the powered conveying roller 7 to move downward, thereby clamping the card in the lower card temporary slot 5 between the lower conveying roller 8 and the powered conveying roller 7, and then, the drive motor 2 drives the powered conveying roller 7 to rotate, thereby realizing the conveying of the card in the lower card temporary slot 5.

[0051] The position switching drive mechanism 18 drives the card temporary storage mechanism 20 to move to the card handover station of the card conveying main track 17 to complete the card handover work, that is, transfer the printed cards to the downstream of the card conveying main track 17, and then transfer the cards conveyed from the upstream of the card conveying main track 17 to one of the card temporary storage slots in the card temporary storage mechanism 20; repeat the above steps to complete the batch automatic color printing of the cards.

Claims

1. A smart card color printing device, characterized in that: The card conveying device comprises a frame, a main card conveying track arranged on the frame, a card transfer and handling device, and multiple color printing modules, wherein the main card conveying track is arranged horizontally; the multiple color printing modules are divided into two vertically arranged columns, and the multiple color printing modules in each column are distributed on the upper and lower sides of the main card conveying track; the card transfer and handling device is arranged between the two columns of color printing modules, and the card transfer and handling device consists of two groups, one group of which is used to transfer cards with the color printing modules on the upper side of the main card conveying track, and the other group of which is used to transfer cards with the color printing modules on the lower side of the main card conveying track; each group of card transfer and handling devices comprises a card temporary storage mechanism for temporarily storing cards and a position switching drive mechanism for driving the card temporary mechanism to move up and down so that it can dock with the main card conveying track and different color printing modules, wherein the card temporary storage mechanism comprises a card temporary storage slot and a card conveying mechanism for driving cards to be transferred between the card temporary slot and the card conveying main track and between the card temporary slot and the color printing module.

2. The smart card color printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The card conveying mechanism includes a conveying wheel group and a card conveying power mechanism for driving the conveying wheel group to work, wherein the conveying wheel group has conveying rollers located on the upper and lower sides of the card temporary storage slot.

3. The smart card color printing device according to claim 2, characterized in that: There are two card temporary storage slots, namely an upper card temporary storage slot and a lower card temporary storage slot arranged up and down; the conveying wheel group includes a power conveying roller located in the middle, an upper conveying roller located above the upper card temporary storage slot, and a lower conveying roller located below the lower card temporary storage slot; the card feeding power mechanism is connected to the power conveying roller.

4. The smart card color printing device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The card feeding power mechanism includes a mounting seat provided on a support and a driving motor provided on the mounting seat, wherein a main shaft of the driving motor is connected to a rotating shaft of the power feeding roller via a transmission mechanism.

5. The smart card color printing device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The card transfer and handling device further includes a switching mechanism for driving the card feeding power mechanism and the power conveying roller to move up and down, so that the power conveying roller cooperates with the upper conveying roller or the lower conveying roller; the switching mechanism includes a lifting drive mechanism provided on the support; The mounting seat is slidably connected to the support; the lifting drive mechanism is used to drive the mounting seat to move up and down.

6. The smart card color printing device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The position switching drive mechanism includes a bracket arranged on a frame, a lifting seat arranged on the bracket, and a vertical driving mechanism for driving the lifting seat to move up and down, wherein the bracket is installed on the lifting seat; a vertical guiding mechanism for guiding the vertical movement of the lifting seat is arranged between the lifting seat and the bracket.

7. The smart card color printing device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The vertical drive mechanism includes a vertical motor and a belt transmission mechanism arranged at the bottom of the bracket, wherein the belt transmission mechanism includes a driving wheel, a driven wheel and a transmission belt wrapped around the driving wheel and the driven wheel; the driving wheel is connected to the main shaft of the vertical motor; the driven wheel is arranged at the top of the bracket; the transmission belt is connected to the lifting seat through a connecting piece.

8. The smart card color printing device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The position switching drive mechanisms in the two sets of card transfer and handling devices share a set of brackets.

9. The smart card color printing device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The lifting seat is provided with a plurality of groups of pulleys arranged vertically, and the wheel surface of each group of pulleys is in contact with the inner side surface of the transmission belt in another group of card transfer and handling devices.

10. The smart card color printing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The card conveying main track is provided with a card handover station at a position corresponding to the card transfer and handling device; guide wheel groups are provided on both sides of the card handover station.

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