ID CARD PRINTER WITH MANUAL CARD SLOT

• US 20110247509A1
• Filed: 10/08/2010
• Published: 10/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tit Eng Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Tit Eng Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: CHOI, Byeong-Hyeon
• Application Number:
  US12/901,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20110247509A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 101/250
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/12 specially adapted for small cards, envelopes, or the like , e.g. credit cards, cut visiting cards

Abstract

An ID card printer with a manual card slot in which supplying of the cards to be printed into a printing unit is classified into an automatically supplying mode in which the cards to be printed are sequentially in an automatic way supplied from the conventional card hopper and a manually supplying mode in which the cards to be printed are manually supplied from a manual card slot one by one; the cards to be printed are selectively inserted into the printing unit based on the user'"'"'s selections between the two modes depending on the priority of the printing event in question or current printing speed; and, the printed cards in the automatically supplying mode and the printed cards in the manually supplying mode are not mixed with each other but are collected back in a discrete manner, whereby improving efficiency of card printing operations.

Claims

1. An ID card printer comprising:

a card hopper in which a plurality of cards to be printed are loaded;

a manual card slot through which a card to be printed is manually inserted one by one;

a card conveying unit conveying the cards loaded in the card hopper or the card inserted through the manual card slot;

a printing unit printing various information data onto the conveyed card through the card conveying unit;

a card stacker collecting back and stacking the printed card which is supplied from the card hopper and then is printed by the printing unit; and

a card conveying channel selecting unit selecting between first and second card conveying channels, the first card conveying channel being formed between the card conveying unit and the printing unit and being a card conveying channel of the card supplied from the card hopper, and the second card conveying channel being formed between the manual card slot and the printing unit and being a card conveying channel of the card supplied from the manual card slot,

wherein when the card conveying cannel selecting unit selects the first card conveying channel, the second card conveying channel becomes closed and, at the same time, a card conveying channel from the printing unit to the card stacker becomes open so that the printed cards are collected back and stacked in the card stacker, whereas when the card conveying cannel selecting unit selects the second card conveying channel, the card conveying channel from the printing unit to the card stacker becomes closed, and, at the same time, the first card conveying channel becomes open, and, then, the printed card is discharged back from the printing unit to the manual card slot.

2. The ID card printer of claim 1, wherein the card conveying unit includes an automatically conveying roller at a lower end of a printing unit side wall of the card hopper, and includes a manually conveying roller between the manual card slot and the card conveying cannel selecting unit;

and

wherein when the card is supplied from the card hopper, only the automatically conveying roller rotates so that the card loaded in the card hopper is conveyed to the printing unit, whereas when the card is supplied from the manual card slot, only the manually conveying roller rotates so that the card into the manual card slot is conveyed to the printing unit, and, then, the printed card by the printing unit is discharged back from the printing unit to the manual card slot.