De-bowing personalized cards

• US 7,784,700 B2
• Filed: 11/08/2006
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Entrust Corp.
• Original Assignee: Datacard Corp. (Entrust Corp.)
• Inventors: Galles, Donald, Johnson, Peter Edward
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, THIEN MINH
• Application Number:
  US11/557,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20070102518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,392 Days
• Field of Search: 235/475, 235/449, 235/477, 235/439, 235/441, 235/451, 235/492, 235/493, 235/486, 235/453
• US Class Current: 235/492
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 53/18 of plates or sheets
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2017/00 Carriers for sound or information
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/1914 Cards, e.g. telephone, credit and identity cards
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 29/70 Article bending or stiffening arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 13/06 Guiding cards; Checking correct operation of card-conveying mechanisms

Abstract

An apparatus and method for de-bowing personalized cards which includes a first contact member. The first contact member can be positioned for contacting a personalized card received by the apparatus and for displacing the personalized card against a bow occurring therein. The first contact member contacts and displaces a portion of the personalized card on one side of the personalized card and at an area that is generally centered horizontally and vertically. A second contact member can be supported by the frame for contacting the personalized card on a side opposite the first contact member. The second contact member being arranged and configured to contact an opposite side of the personalized card at a plurality of positions proximate the perimeter of the personalized card. In this manner, the first and second contact members cooperate to bend substantially the entire surface area of the personalized card against the occurring bow.

Claims

1. An apparatus for de-bowing a personalized document, the apparatus comprising:

a first contact member configured to contact the personalized document at a position that generally corresponds with a center of one side of the personalized document;

a second contact member configured to contact the personalized document at a plurality of locations that are not generally horizontally and vertically centered on the personalized document,

at least one of the first contact member or the second contact member is movable towards the other of the first contact member or the second contact member,

the first contact member and the second contact member cooperate to displace the personalized document, where displacement occurs over substantially an entire surface area of the personalized document in both a generally vertical and horizontal direction to remove a bow occurring in the personalized document.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first contact member comprises a single pad that is movable between a contact position and a non-contact position.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a backing pad positioned generally opposite the first contact member on the opposite side of the personalized document.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first contact member is configured to be movable toward the personalized document to initiate contact with and displacement of the personalized document at a generally horizontal and vertical center area of the personalized document.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first contact member is configured to initiate contact with and displacement of the personalized document at a single horizontal and vertical center point of the document.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second contact member is configured to contact the personalized document at a plurality of positions proximate the perimeter of the personalized document.

7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second contact member is positioned outside of a path of the movable first contact member.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second contact member is generally configured to contact four corner positions of the personalized document.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second contact member comprises four contact members configured to contact the personalized document generally at four corner positions of the personalized document.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second contact member is pivotable toward the first contact member when the first contact member moves toward the second contact member.

11. A system for processing personalized documents, the system comprising:

an apparatus for de-bowing substantially the entire surface areas of personalized documents along both a horizontal and a vertical axis comprising;

a first contact member configured to contact a personalized document at a position that generally corresponds with a center of one side of the personalized document;

a second contact member configured to contact the personalized document at a plurality of locations that are not generally horizontally and vertically centered on the personalized document,

at least one of the first contact member or the second contact member is movable towards the other of the first contact member or the second contact member,

the first contact member and the second contact members cooperate to displace the personalized document, where displacement occurs over substantially an entire surface area of the personalized document in both a generally vertical and horizontal direction to remove a bow occurring in the personalized document.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the first contact member of the apparatus for de-bowing comprises a single pad that is movable between a contact position and a non-contact position.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the first contact member of the apparatus for de-bowing is configured to be movable toward the personalized document to initiate contact with and displacement of the personalized document at a generally horizontal and vertical center area of the personalized document.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the second contact member is configured to contact the personalized document at a plurality of positions proximate the perimeter of the personalized document.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the second contact member of the apparatus for de-bowing is positioned outside of the path of the movable first contact member.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein the second contact member comprise four second contact members configured to contact the personalized document generally at four corner positions of the personalized document.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the second contact member is pivotable toward the first contact member when the first contact member moves toward the second contact member.

18. A method for de-bowing substantially the entire surface areas of personalized documents, the method comprising:

providing a de-bowing apparatus having a frame supporting a first contact member and a second contact member;

configuring the first contact member such that the first contact member is movable towards a personalized document and contacts one side of the personalized document at a generally horizontally and vertically centered area;

configuring the second contact member to contact a portion of the personalized document at an area that is not generally horizontally and vertically centered and on an opposite side of the personalized document than the side which the first contact member contacts;

displacing the generally horizontally and vertically centered area portion of the personalized document against a bow occurring therein as the first contact member initiates contact with the one side of the personalized document while the second contact members initiates contact with the opposite side of the personalized document.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising de-bowing the entire surface area of the personalized document along both a vertical and horizontal axis of the personalized document.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising configuring four second contact members of the plurality of second contact members to initiate contact at generally four corner positions of the opposite side of the personalized document.