Card media processing system including track assembly and cars for carrying cards, and related methods
First Claim
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1. A card media processing system for treating individual cards, comprising:
- a treatment assembly including a treatment device configured for sequentially treating individual cards,a car configured to hold an individual card and to move the card to the treatment device, the car including a card holding member and a vacuum chuck for holding the card in engagement with the card holding member using vacuum pressure,an endless loop track assembly configured to support the car, anda vacuum pressure source and a rotatable hub operatively associated with the vacuum pressure source, the rotatable hub configured to rotate as the car moves along the endless loop track assembly so as to enable the vacuum pressure source to provide vacuum pressure to the vacuum chuck at any location of the car along the endless loop track assembly,wherein the car includes a driven roller configured to engage the endless loop track assembly to move the car therealong, the driven roller being operatively connected with a drive for causing rotation of the driven roller.
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Abstract
A card media processing system for treating individual cards includes a treatment assembly including a treatment device configured for sequentially treating individual cards. A car is configured to hold an individual card and to move the card to the treatment device. An endless loop track assembly is configured to support the car. The car includes a driven roller configured to engage the endless loop track assembly to move the car therealong, and the driven roller is operatively connected with a motor for causing rotation of the driven roller.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A card media processing system for treating individual cards, comprising:
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a treatment assembly including a treatment device configured for sequentially treating individual cards, a car configured to hold an individual card and to move the card to the treatment device, the car including a card holding member and a vacuum chuck for holding the card in engagement with the card holding member using vacuum pressure, an endless loop track assembly configured to support the car, and a vacuum pressure source and a rotatable hub operatively associated with the vacuum pressure source, the rotatable hub configured to rotate as the car moves along the endless loop track assembly so as to enable the vacuum pressure source to provide vacuum pressure to the vacuum chuck at any location of the car along the endless loop track assembly, wherein the car includes a driven roller configured to engage the endless loop track assembly to move the car therealong, the driven roller being operatively connected with a drive for causing rotation of the driven roller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A card media processing system for treating individual cards, comprising:
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a treatment assembly including a plurality of treatment devices configured for sequentially treating individual cards, a plurality of cars, each car being configured to hold an individual card and to move the card to and between the plurality of treatment devices, each car including a card holding member and a vacuum chuck for holding the card in engagement with the card holding member using vacuum pressure, an endless loop track assembly configured to support the plurality of cars, a card loading and unloading assembly configured to deliver a card to a car of the plurality of cars and to remove a card from the car, and a vacuum pressure source and a rotatable hub operatively associated with the vacuum pressure source, the rotatable hub configured to rotate as the plurality of cars move along the endless loop track assembly so as to enable the vacuum pressure source to provide vacuum pressure to the vacuum chuck of each car at any location of the car along the endless loop track assembly, each car being configured to be controlled independently of the other cars and including a driven roller configured to engage the endless loop track assembly to move the car therealong, each driven roller being operatively connected with a drive for causing rotation of the driven roller. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of treating card media, comprising:
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delivering an individual card onto a car having a card holding member, holding the card in engagement with the card holding member using vacuum pressure, operating a drive to move the car along an endless loop track assembly toward a treatment device, providing vacuum pressure to the car with a vacuum source operatively associated with a rotatable hub, the rotatable hub configured to rotate as the car moves along the endless loop track assembly so as to enable the vacuum pressure source to provide the vacuum pressure to the car at any location of the car along the endless loop track assembly, performing a treatment on the card with the treatment device, operating the drive to move the car further along the endless loop track assembly away from the treatment device, and removing the card from the car. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification