Laminate manufacturing equipment comprising transportation assistance guide

Abstract

To supply a single leaf sheet to single leaf sheet cutting mechanism, at an exact position in laminate manufacturing equipment comprising the single leaf sheet cutting mechanism.SOLUTION: Laminate manufacturing equipment 1 is provided, comprising at least: a first paper sheet supply portion (a) which supplies a single leaf sheet 3; a single leaf sheet transportation portion (b) which transports the single leaf sheet supplied by the first paper sheet supply portion, using a transportation belt 8 driven on a transportation table; a single leaf sheet cutting portion (c) which cuts the single leaf sheet transported from the single leaf sheet transportation portion and forms a belt-like sheet 3; a second paper sheet supply portion (e) which supplies a sheet base material which is the same as or different from the single leaf sheet; and an accumulation portion (d) on which sheet base materials are laminated. In the laminate manufacturing equipment, at least a pair of transportation assistance guides 2 for guiding the single leaf sheet which is to be supplied to the single leaf sheet cutting portion are arranged at both ends in a width direction, of the single leaf sheet.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a laminate manufacturing apparatus including a mechanism for cutting a single-sheet substrate, i.e., a single-sheet sheet, and then laminating it with another substrate. More specifically, the present invention relates to a laminate manufacturing apparatus provided with a conveyance auxiliary guide for supplying the single-sheet sheet to a single-sheet sheet cutting mechanism at an accurate position.

[0002] In daily life, various types of cards are used. For example, there are cards with specific information or the like printed on the surface of a plastic substrate, magnetic cards such as telephone cards, or IC cards typified by credit cards incorporating an IC chip, and passports using a data page with personal information or the like printed on a plastic substrate.

[0003] In addition, in order to improve forgery resistance, the layer structure of recent card substrates has become complicated in recent years, and often a plurality of types of substrates are used to form the layers. Since the substrates constituting the card are formed depending on the manufacturing method and the suitability of the material, the form of the substrate when supplied to a laminate manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the card substrate is not unified into a roll shape or a single-sheet shape. Among the laminates, there are also those formed by combining a single-sheet substrate and a roll-shaped substrate. Patent Document 1 discloses a manufacturing method thereof. Note that Patent Document 1 describes that a laminate is manufactured by laminating a single-sheet substrate and a roll-shaped substrate and performing information recording by an inkjet method or offset printing.

[0004] There is also a laminate manufacturing apparatus for laminating a roll-shaped substrate and a single-sheet substrate, which uses a multi-sided printed matter having a plurality of printed patterns as the single-sheet substrate and is provided with a cutting mechanism for cutting the multi-sided printed matter in one direction on the laminate manufacturing apparatus and then laminating it on the roll-shaped substrate.

[0005] According to a laminate manufacturing apparatus equipped with a cutting mechanism, a sheet-like substrate can be appropriately cut according to a roll-shaped substrate. Therefore, it becomes possible to input a pre-processed sheet-like substrate in a multi-panel state, such as printing or attaching an IC chip. Since the processing of the substrate by printing or attaching an IC chip, etc. is generally performed in a multi-panel from the viewpoint of manufacturing efficiency, by using a laminate manufacturing apparatus equipped with a cutting mechanism, patterns and anti-counterfeiting technologies can be freely applied to the laminate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] However, in a laminate manufacturing apparatus equipped with a cutting mechanism, there has been a problem that the substrate is inserted into the cutting mechanism in an oblique state due to the frictional resistance on the surface of the substrate in the conveying mechanism and the shearing force generated during cutting.

[0008] When inserted into the cutting mechanism in an oblique state, the conveyance of the sheet-like sheet stops or it is cut at a location that is not the normal position, which has been a problem in terms of both production efficiency and quality. Also, as a result of the IC sheet being cut at a location that is not the normal position, if the cutting blade contacts the IC chip during cutting, the cutting blade will be damaged, which has also been a problem in terms of work safety.

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a laminate manufacturing apparatus equipped with a mechanism for cutting a sheet-like sheet, the apparatus including a conveyance assist guide for supplying the sheet-like sheet to the cutting mechanism at an accurate position.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0010] The laminate manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes a first sheet feeding unit that feeds a single-sheet sheet, a single-sheet sheet conveying unit that conveys the single-sheet sheet fed by the first sheet feeding unit by a conveying belt that drives on a conveying table, a single-sheet sheet cutting unit that cuts the single-sheet sheet conveyed from the single-sheet sheet conveying unit to form a strip-shaped sheet, a second sheet feeding unit that feeds a sheet base material that is the same as or different from the single-sheet sheet, and an integrating unit that laminates the sheet base materials, and is a laminate manufacturing apparatus that includes at least, on the conveying table, at least one set of conveying auxiliary guides for preventing the skewing of the single-sheet sheet, which are arranged close to the single-sheet sheet cutting unit and at both ends in the width direction of the single-sheet sheet.

Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the laminate manufacturing apparatus provided with the conveying auxiliary guide of the present invention, since the single-sheet sheet can be supplied to the cutting mechanism at an accurate position, it is possible to safely manufacture a high-quality and efficient laminate.

Brief Description of the Drawings

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Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and includes various other embodiments as long as they are within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims.

[0014] An example of a laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) including a conveyance assist guide (2) of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1). As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) includes a first sheet feeding unit (a) that sequentially feeds single-sheet sheets (3) one by one from a sheet stack in which a plurality of single-sheet sheets (3) are stacked by a sheet feeding sucker (7), a single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b) that conveys the single-sheet sheet (3) fed from the first sheet feeding unit (a) by a conveying belt (8), a single-sheet sheet cutting unit (c) that receives the single-sheet sheet (3) from the single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b) and cuts the single-sheet sheet (3), a second sheet feeding unit (e) that feeds a sheet base material (4) that is the same as or different from the single-sheet sheet (3), and at least an integrating unit (d) that integrates the sheet base material (4) received from the second sheet feeding unit (e) and the single-sheet sheet (3) received from the single-sheet sheet cutting unit (c) one by one on an integrating table (10). Further, a conveyance assist guide (2) is provided in the single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b) of the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) of the present invention. Note that the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) of the present invention includes at least one known process (not shown) such as a thermocompression bonding process for bonding a plurality of laminated sheet base materials, a punching process for forming a laminate having a predetermined size, and an information imparting process for imparting information to the surface of the laminate by printing, laser drawing, or the like downstream of the integrating unit (d).

[0015] In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the sheet base material (4) fed in the second paper feeding unit (e) is a roll sheet (4). Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the first paper feeding unit (a) will be referred to as the "single-sheet paper feeding unit (a)", and the second paper feeding unit (e) will be referred to as the "roll sheet paper feeding unit (e)". In this embodiment, a configuration in which the single-sheet paper (3) is laminated on the roll sheet (4) will be described. However, a configuration in which the roll sheet (4) is laminated on the single-sheet paper (3) or a configuration in which the single-sheet paper (3) is laminated on the single-sheet paper (3) may also be used. That is, as long as the laminate includes at least the single-sheet paper (3) and the single-sheet paper (3) fed from the single-sheet paper feeding unit (a) is cut in the single-sheet paper cutting unit (c) and then supplied to the stacking unit (d), the form of the sheet base material (4) constituting the laminate is not limited. Further, the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) may further be provided with a third paper feeding unit (not shown) for supplying the sheet base material (4) to the stacking unit (d), and may be configured to manufacture a laminate formed by laminating the cut single-sheet paper (3) and two or more sheet base materials (4).

[0016] The single-sheet paper (3) in this embodiment is shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3(a) is a plan view showing the single-sheet paper (3) before being cut, and FIG. 3(b) is a plan view showing the strip-shaped sheets (3-1 to 3-5) after the single-sheet paper (3) is cut. The single-sheet paper (3) shown in FIG. 3(a) is cut in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction in the single-sheet paper cutting unit (c), so that strip-shaped sheets (3-1 to 3-5) are formed as shown in FIG. 3(b). For convenience of explanation, the conveying direction of the single-sheet paper conveying unit (b) will be described as the "first direction (S1)". Since the single-sheet paper (3) is formed in the order in which it reaches the single-sheet paper cutting unit (c), first, the strip-shaped sheet (3-1) is formed, then the strip-shaped sheet (3-2) is formed, and then the strip-shaped sheets (3-3) are sequentially formed, and finally the strip-shaped sheets (3-4) and (3-5) are formed. Hereinafter, in the present invention, the single-sheet-shaped base material existing upstream of the single-sheet paper cutting unit (c) is referred to as the single-sheet paper (3), and the single-sheet-shaped base material existing downstream of the single-sheet paper cutting unit (c) is referred to as the strip-shaped sheets (3-1 to 3-5).

[0017] The single-sheet sheet (3) is, for example, a known material such as paper, cardboard, a resin sheet such as polycarbonate, or an IC sheet in which an IC chip is embedded. On the other hand, the sheet base material (4) is, for example, a known material such as a film sheet made of polycarbonate or a laser coloring sheet that colors by laser drawing, which is laminated as a protective layer on the surface of the core material. In the case of the form of the roll sheet (4), a material having flexibility such that it can be wound in a roll shape is mentioned.

[0018] As described above, the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) in the present embodiment includes a single-sheet sheet feeding unit (a), a single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b), a single-sheet sheet cutting unit (c), a roll sheet feeding unit (e), and an integrating unit (d). However, the single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b) and the single-sheet sheet cutting unit (c), which are the features of the present invention, will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b) and the single-sheet sheet cutting unit (c), and FIG. 5 is a side view of the single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b) and the single-sheet sheet cutting unit (c). First, the single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b) will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the single-sheet sheet conveying unit (b) is composed of a conveying belt (8) and a conveying table (9). The single-sheet sheet (3) supplied from the single-sheet sheet feeding unit (a) is placed on the conveying belt (8) that drives on the conveying table (9), and is conveyed in the first direction (S1) to the cutting position in conjunction with the movement of the conveying belt (8).

[0020] Next, the single-sheet cutting section (c) will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the single-sheet cutting section (c) is composed of a cutting blade (5), a clamp (6), and a cutting table (11). After the clamp (6) descends to the cutting table (11) and holds the single-sheet (3) conveyed from the single-sheet conveying section (b), the cutting blade (5) also descends to the cutting table (11) to cut the single-sheet (3). After cutting the single-sheet (3), the clamp (6) and the cutting blade (5) rise. While the cutting blade (5) moves up and down once from the lowest position, a certain amount of the single-sheet (3) is conveyed, and by repeating this, strip-shaped sheets (3-1 to 3-5) are sequentially formed.

[0021] The width in the first direction (S1) of the strip-shaped sheets (3-1 to 3-5) cut from the single-sheet (3) (hereinafter referred to as "the width (W2) of the strip-shaped sheet") may be appropriately set according to the specifications of the laminate produced by the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1), but it is preferably substantially the same as the width in the first direction of the roll sheet (4) shown in FIG. 1 (hereinafter referred to as "the width (W3) of the roll sheet"). If the width (W2) of the strip-shaped sheet is extremely smaller than the width (W3) of the roll sheet, a laminate with a uniform thickness cannot be obtained. If the width (W2) of the strip-shaped sheet is extremely larger than the width (W3) of the roll sheet, when the strip-shaped sheets (3-1 to 3-5) protruding from the roll sheet (4) come into contact during conveyance in the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) in a process downstream of the stacking section (d), it is not preferable because problems occur in the conveyance performance.

[0022] (Conveying auxiliary guide) FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) of the present embodiment. The laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) according to the present invention corrects the bending that occurs during cutting of the single-sheet sheet (3) by providing a conveyance auxiliary guide (2) on the conveyance table (9). As shown in FIG. 6, at least one set of conveyance auxiliary guides (2) is arranged in parallel with the first direction (S1) at both ends in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as "width of the single-sheet sheet (W4)") orthogonal to the first direction (S1) of the single-sheet sheet (3) being conveyed on the conveyance table (9). By adopting such a configuration, both ends of the single-sheet sheet (3) in the width direction of the single-sheet sheet (W4) touch the side surfaces of the conveyance auxiliary guide (2), so that the bending generated in the single-sheet sheet (3) on the conveyance table (9) when the single-sheet sheet (3) is cut can be corrected. Therefore, it is preferable that the distance between a set of conveyance guides is the same as the width of the single-sheet sheet (W4).

[0023] (Position in the conveyance direction) The conveyance auxiliary guide (2) is arranged on the conveyance table (9) in the vicinity of the single-sheet sheet cutting section (c). In the present invention, "in the vicinity" means that the distance from the position (point A) of the cutting blade (5) when cutting the single-sheet sheet (3) shown in FIG. 5 to the end point (point B) on the single-sheet sheet cutting section (c) side of the conveyance auxiliary guide (2) is shorter than the width (W2) of the belt-like sheet after the single-sheet sheet (3) is cut. This is because when the distance from point A to point B is longer than the width (W2) of the belt-like sheet, when cutting to form the belt-like sheet (3-4), the conveyance auxiliary guide (2) cannot touch the single-sheet sheet (3) on the conveyance table (9), and the bending generated in the single-sheet sheet (3) cannot be corrected.

[0024] (Position in the vertical direction) Furthermore, the conveyance auxiliary guide (2) is installed in close contact with the conveyance table (9). This is because if there is a gap between the conveyance auxiliary guide (2) and the conveyance table (9), the single-sheet sheet (3) will enter the gap, and the conveyance direction of the single-sheet sheet (3) cannot be corrected.

[0025] (Material of the conveyance auxiliary guide) The material of the conveying auxiliary guide (2) can be fixed to the conveying table (9), and is not particularly limited as long as the surface in contact with the single-sheet (3) has excellent wear resistance, such as known metal materials, resin materials, etc. When using a transparent or translucent material, it is excellent in that it can quickly detect troubles such as oil leakage in the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1). Therefore, it is preferable to use a material such as a transparent acrylic plate.

[0026] (Shape of the conveying auxiliary guide) A perspective view of the conveying auxiliary guide (2) of the present embodiment is shown in FIG. 7. The thickness (D1) of the conveying auxiliary guide (2) shown in FIG. 7 needs to be thicker than the thickness of the single-sheet (3). This is because when the thickness (D1) of the conveying auxiliary guide (2) is thinner than the thickness of the single-sheet (3), the single-sheet (3) rides on the conveying auxiliary guide (2) when being conveyed, causing conveyance failure. Also, the width (W1) and length (L1) of the conveying auxiliary guide (2) are not particularly limited as long as they can assist the single-sheet (3) to be conveyed in the first direction (S1).

[0027] When two or more sets of conveying auxiliary guides (2) are arranged at both ends in the width (W4) direction of the single-sheet, for one side of the conveyance path, two or more conveying auxiliary guides (2) are arranged in series with respect to the first direction (S1). Therefore, it is necessary to consider so that the conveyed single-sheet (3) does not enter the space between the conveying auxiliary guides (2) arranged in series.

[0028] In the above description of the embodiment, an example in which the conveying auxiliary guide (2) shown in FIG. 7 is a rectangular parallelepiped has been used for explanation, but the shape of the conveying auxiliary guide (2) is not limited to this example. Other shape examples will be described below.

[0029] The configuration in which a part of the conveyance assisting guide (2) is chamfered is shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a configuration in which the entrance-side end portion is chamfered toward the first direction (S1) of the conveyance assisting guide (2). As shown in FIG. 8, by performing the chamfering process, when the single-sheet (3) passes through the conveyance path, it is possible to prevent the conveyance assisting guide (2) and the single-sheet (3) from coming into contact with each other and inhibiting the conveyance of the single-sheet (3) or damaging the single-sheet (3).

[0030] The configuration in which the conveyance assisting guide (2) has a shape other than a rectangular parallelepiped is shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9(a) is a plan view showing a configuration in which the conveyance assisting guide (2) is trapezoidal when viewed from above, and FIG. 9(b) is a plan view showing a configuration in which the conveyance assisting guide (2) is triangular when viewed from above. As shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b), the shape of the conveyance assisting guide (2) is not limited as long as the parallel surfaces of a pair of conveyance assisting guides (2) arranged at both ends in the width (W4) direction of the single-sheet face each other when viewed from above.

[0031] (Method of installing the conveyance assisting guide) The conveyance assisting guide (2) is fixed on the conveyance table (9). Regarding the fixing method, as long as the conveyance assisting guide (2) can be fixed on the conveyance table (9), there is no particular limitation such as adhesion, welding, fixing using a fixture, etc., but fixing using screws is preferable so that it can be easily removed when cleaning or repairing. When fixing the conveyance assisting guide (2) using screws, screw holes are provided so as to penetrate in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance assisting guide (2), and screw holes for fixing the conveyance assisting guide (2) are also provided in the conveyance table (9), so that the conveyance assisting guide (2) can be fixed to the screw holes with screws.

[0032] As described above, by the laminate manufacturing apparatus (1) provided with the conveyance assisting guide (2), it has become possible to supply the single-sheet (3) to the single-sheet cutting section (c) at an accurate position.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0033] 1 Laminate manufacturing apparatus 2 Conveying Assistance Guide 3 - leaf Sheet 3 - 1 Strip Sheet 3 - 2 Strip Sheet 3 - 3 Strip Sheet 3 - 4 Strip Sheet 3 - 5 Strip Sheet 4 Sheet Substrate, Roll Sheet 5 Cutting Blade 6 Clamp 7 Sheet Feeder 8 Conveyor Belt 9 Conveyor Table 10 Stacking Table 11 Cutting Table a First Sheet Feeding Section, Single - leaf Sheet Feeding Section b Single - leaf Sheet Conveying Section c Single - leaf Sheet Cutting Section d Stacking Section e Second Sheet Feeding Section, Roll Sheet Feeding Section S1 First Direction W2 Width of the Strip Sheet W3 Width of the Roll Sheet W4 Width of the Single - leaf Sheet W1 Width of the Conveying Assistance Guide D1 Height of the Conveying Assistance Guide L1 Length of the Conveying Assistance Guide

Claims

【Claim 1】 a first sheet feeding unit that feeds a single-sheet; a single-sheet conveying unit that conveys the single-sheet fed by the first sheet feeding unit by a conveying belt that drives on a conveying table; a single-sheet cutting unit that cuts the single-sheet conveyed from the single-sheet conveying unit to form a strip-shaped sheet; a second sheet feeding unit that feeds a sheet base material that is the same as or different from the single-sheet; a laminate manufacturing apparatus comprising at least an integrating unit that laminates the strip-shaped sheet and the sheet base material, a laminate manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that at least one set of conveying auxiliary guides for preventing skewing of the single-sheet is disposed on the conveying table close to the single-sheet cutting unit and at both ends in the width direction of the single-sheet.

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