CREDIT CARD CLEANING SYSTEM

• US 3,800,349 A
• Filed: 04/28/1972
• Issued: 04/02/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Parrish O. Green
• Original Assignee: Parrish O. Green
• Inventors: Green, Parrish O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Machlin, Leon G.
• Application Number:
  US05/248,599
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• Field of Search: 15/4,102,77,104.92,100
• US Class Current: 15/4
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 21/08 Apparatus or tools for correcting punching or slotting errors and regeneration of record carriers

Abstract

The disclosed machine has a housing with a washing component and a drying compartment. The housing has a credit card receiving slot which opens into the washing compartment. The washing compartment is filled with a cleaning solution to just below the level of the receiving slot. A receiving platform is provided which is inclined downwardly below the surface of the cleaning solution where a pair of feed rollers pass the card through a pair of scrubbing rollers and onto a pair of squeegee rollers and a pair of drying rollers. The scrubbing rollers are below the level of the cleaning solution and so rotate as to wipe the card surfaces in a direction opposite its direction of travel. The squeegee rollers and drying rollers are in the drying compartment separated from the reservoir of cleaning solution and the drying rollers have heating elements which maintain them at a predetermined temperature.

Claims

1. A credit card cleaning device comprising:

a frame;

means defining a path of travel for a credit card, said means being disposed in said frame and having a card receiving end and a card discharge end;

a scrubbing chamber mounted in said frame and having a reservoir operatively associated with said path of travel defining means disposed to contain a cleaning solution to a level sufficient to cover a portion of said path of travel defining means adjacent the card receiving end thereof;

a drying chamber mounted in said frame and separated from said scrubbing chamber, said drying chamber being operatively associated with said path of travel defining means and disposed adjacent the card discharge end thereof;

propelling means operatively associated with said path of travel defining means and disposed to engage and propel a credit card therealong;

card delivery means operatively associated with said frame and disposed adjacent the card receiving end of said path of travel defining means, said card delivery means being operable to receive a credit card outside said cleaning solution contained in said scrubbing chamber reservoir and deliver said card into said reservoir cleaning solution and the receiving end of said path of travel defining means; and

drive means drivingly interconnected with said propelling means, scrubber and dryer.

2. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 1 in which:

said scrubbing chamber includes scrubbing means operatively associated with said path of travel defining means, said scrubbing means being disposed to engage and scrub surfaces of a credit card propelled along said path of travel.

3. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 1 in which:

said drying chamber includes drying means operatively associated with said path of travel defining means, said drying means being disposed to engage and dry surfaces of a credit card propelled along said path of travel.

4. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 2 in which:

said drying chamber includes a pair of rollers having their shafts disposed parallel and their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed on said path of travel, each of said rollers having a moisture absorbent outer surface and an internal heating element.

5. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 3 in which:

said scrubbing means includes a pair of scrubbing rollers having their shafts disposed parallel and their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed on said path of travel, each of said rollers having a moisture retaining outer surface, said rollers being in liquid communication with said reservoir of cleaning fluid and disposed to engage surfaces of a credit card propelled along said path of travel and scrubb said surfaces in a direction opposite the direction of travel of said card.

6. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 1 in which:

said scrubbing chamber includes a pair of scrubbing rollers having their shafts disposed parallel and their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed on said path of travel, each of said rollers having a moisture retaining outer surface, said rollers being in liquid communication with said reservoir of cleaning fluid and disposed to engage surfaces of a credit card propelled along said path of travel and scrub said surfaces in a direction opposite the direction of travel of said card;

said drying chamber includes a pair of rollers having their shafts disposed parallel and their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed on said path of travel, each of said rollers having a moisture absorbent outer surface and an internal heating element;

said propelling means includes a pair of feed rollers disposed ahead of said scrubbing rollers along said path of travel, said feed rollers having parallel shafts and tangentially juxtaposed peripheries disposed to engage a credit card therebetween and propel it along said path of travel and between said scrubbing rollers, and further includes a pair of squeegee rollers disposed after said scrubbing rollers and before said drying rollers along said path of travel, said squeegee rollers having parallel shafts and tangentially juxtaposed peripheries disposed to engage a credit card therebetween and propel it along said path of travel, and said squeegee rollers being separated from liquid communication with said reservoir of cleaning solution and having surfaces which squeegee said cleaning solution from the surfaces of said credit card; and

said drive means are drivingly interconnected with said scrubbing rollers, drying rollers, feed rollers and squeegee rollers and includes a motor and drive gears.

7. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 1 in which:

said path of travel is linear and inclined upwardly in a rearward direction.

8. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 7 in which:

said card delivery means incudes a chute pivotally mounted at its inner end adjacent the card receiving end of said path of travel defining means and in said cleaning solution of said reservoir, and extending upwardly and forwardly therefrom with its outermost end disposed above the level of said cleaning solution in said reservoir.

9. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 7 in which:

said card delivery means includes a chute pivotally mounted at its inner end adjacent the card receiving end of said path of travel defining means and in said cleaning solution of said reservoir, and extending upwardly and forwardly therefrom with its outermost end disposed above the level of said cleaning solution in said reservoir, said chute having a float disposed in said cleaning solution and bouyed up thereby to normally maintain said chute in its upper position, and being pivotal downward against the bouyancy into alignment with said path of travel when a credit card disposed in said chute is urged into alignment with said path of travel by engagement of its leading edge with said propelling means.

10. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 7 in which:

said scrubbing chamber includes scrubbing means operatively associated with said path of travel defining means, said scrubbing means being disposed to engage and scrub surfaces of a credit card propelled along said path of travel.

11. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 7, in which:

said drying chamber includes drying means operatively associated with said path of travel defining means, said drying means being disposed to engage and drY surfaces of a credit card propelled along said path of travel.

12. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 7 in which:

said card delivery means includes a chute pivotally mounted at its inner end adjacent the card receiving end of said path of travel defining means and in said cleaning solution of said reservoir, and extending upwardly and forwardly therefrom with its outermost end disposed above the level of said cleaning solution in said reservoir;

said scrubbing chamber includes a pair of scrubbing rollers having their shafts disposed parallel and their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed on said path of travel, each of said rollers having a moisture retaining outer surface, said rollers being in liquid communication with said reservoir of cleaning fluid and disposed to engage surfaces of a credit card propelled along said path of travel and scrub said surfaces in a direction opposite the direction of travel of said card;

said drying chamber includes a pair of rollers having their shafts disposed parallel and their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed on said path of travel, each of said rollers having a moisture absorbent outer surface and an internal heating element;

said propelling means includes a pair of feed rollers disposed ahead of said scrubbing rollers along said path of travel, said feed rollers having parallel shafts and tangentially juxtaposed peripheries disposed to engage a credit card therebetween and propel it along said path of travel and between said scrubbing rollers, and further includes a pair of squeegee rollers disposed after said scrubbing rollers and before said drying rollers along said path of travel, said squeegee rollers having parallel shafts and tangentially juxtaposed peripheries disposed to engage a credit card therebetween and propel it along said path of travel, and said squeegee rollers being separated from liquid communication with said reservoir of cleaning solution and having surfaces which squeegee said cleaning solution from the surfaces of said credit card; and

said drive means are drivingly interconnected with said scrubbing rollers, drying rollers, feed rollers and squeegee rollers and includes a motor and drive gears.

13. A credit card cleaning device comprising:

an elongated housing having a forward end and a rearward end;

a substantially vertical partition mounted in said housing and disposed to divide said housing into a scrubbing compartment adjacent said forward end and a drying compartment adjacent said rearward end;

a card receiving slot in the forward end of said housing opening through said housing wall and into said scrubbing chamber;

a reservoir in said scrubbing compartment containing cleaning liquid to a level below that of said card receiving slot;

a pair of feed rollers mounted in said scrubbing compartment on parallel shafts disposed normal to said card receiving slot, said rollers having their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed in a plane inclined upwardly in a rearwardly direction and positioned below the level of the cleaning liquid in said reservoir;

a pair of scrubbing rollers mounted in said scrubbing compartrearward of said feed rollers a distance less than the length of said card on parallel shafts disposed parallel to said feed roller shafts, said rollers having their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed in said inclined plane with said line of juxtaposition below the level of the cleaning liquid in said reservoir;

a pair of squeegee rollers mounted in said drying compartment adjacent said scrubbing compartment and rearward of said scrubbing rollers a distance less than the length of said credit card on parallel shafts disposed parallel to said feed roller shafts, said rollers having their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed in said inclined plane with said line of juxtaposition above the level of the cleaning liquid in said reservoir;

a pair of drying rollers mounted in said drying compartment rearward of said sQueegee rollers a distance less than the length of said credit card on parallel shafts disposed parallel to said feed roller shafts, said rollers having their peripheries tangentially juxtaposed in said inclined plane, and having heating means operatively associated therewith;

a card discharge member mounted in said housing rearward of said drying rollers a distance less than the length of said credit card and adjacent said inclined plane, said card discharge member being disposed to receive and retain a credit card passed through said drying rollers;

a card delivery chute in said scrubbing chamber with its rearward end pivotally mounted adjacent said feed rollers and its forward end extending upwardly and forwardly into alignment with said card receiving slot, said chute having its forward end normally supported adjacent said slot by a float disposed in said cleaning liquid in said reservoir, and being pivotally movable downward into alignment with said inclined plane by forced alignment of a credit card disposed in said slot upon engagement of its leading edge with said feed rollers; and

a drive motor mounted in said housing;

drive interconnection means drivingly interconnecting said drive motor with at least one roller of each of said pairs of rollers, said drive interconnection means being disposed to rotate said pair of scrubbing rollers in an opposite direction to the direction of rotation of said other pairs of rollers.

14. A credit card cleaning device as described in claim 13 in which:

said scrubbing rollers each have liquid retaining surface;

said drying rollers each have a liquid absorbent surface and internal heating elements; and

said drive interconnection means is disposed to drive said scrubbing rollers at a greater peripheral speed than said other rollers.