Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture – Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor – With cutting – punching – piercing – severing – or tearing
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-25
2001-09-04
Gray, Linda (Department: 1734)
Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture
Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor
With cutting, punching, piercing, severing, or tearing
C156S351000, C156S364000, C156S563000, C156S583100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283188
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The instant invention relates to apparatus used in the production of identification cards, and more particularly relates to apparatus for applying a protective, transparent laminate sheet to the surface of a plastic card substrate to protect identification information printed on the surface of the plastic card and to further provide resistance to tampering of the information.
It is well known that laminated cards are widely used for identification cards, licenses, etc. In the past, identification cards were typically formed by printing identifying information on a paper based substrate and bonding the paper based substrate between two thick transparent protective sheets. The transparent sheets protected the printed information from the wear and tear of handling, as well as from tampering. More recently, significant use has been made of durable, polymer based materials for card substrates wherein the printed information is printed directly onto the card substrate. From a security and durability standpoint it is necessary to protect the printed information with a transparent overlay or laminate much like the earlier paper based identification cards. However, the new security laminates are much thinner because the plastic card substrates provides all of the necessary rigidity. As with their paper ancestors, the transparent laminate sheets can be provided with watermarks or security features to insure the security and authenticity of the card.
Apparatus for applying a laminate sheet to the surface of a card substrate has heretofore been known in the art. In this regard, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,024 to Forkert represents the closest prior art to the subject invention of which the applicant is aware. Forkert discloses a single-sided laminating apparatus effective for applying a sheet of laminate film onto a single side of a card substrate. The apparatus comprises a lamina supply roll capable of holding a supply of lamina from which successive sheets of lamina can be cut with a cutting device. A cut sheet of laminate is aligned with the card and passed under a heated roller to bond the laminate sheet the card substrate. While the Forkert apparatus is effective for its intended purpose, it has several shortcomings which make its practical implementation and use difficult. The first shortcoming is that the apparatus is effective only for a single-sided lamination during each pass of the substrate through the apparatus. While this does immediately appear to be a shortcoming, there are several mechanical, chemical and practical issues to consider. A first issue is that cards are often printed on both sides, and therefore it is desirable to place a protective laminate film on both sides of the card. This can only be achieved in the Forkert apparatus by running the card through the apparatus two separate times. In high volume applications, such as the issuance of driver's licenses, where time is an issue, the need to laminate the card twice is an obvious time constraint to the quick and efficient production of the cards. A second issue is that the laminate film tends to shrink upon the application of heat, thus causing the card to curl upwardly on the side with the laminate film overlay. The amount of curl is dependent upon the physical properties of the laminate which can vary from roll to roll even within the same batch of material. Forkert took this factor into consideration and provided a mechanical card straightener to provide a reverse bend in the card. However, the card straightener adds to the complexity of the device. Furthermore, because of variations in the laminate sheet, the amount of curl is not always the same, and thus the straightener is not always effective for applying the correct amount of reverse bend. Another shortcoming of the Forkert device is the nature of the lamina film transfer mechanisms. The lamina used to laminate the subject cards is very thin and difficult to handle in sheet form. Forkert utilizes sets of nip rollers to successively push the cut laminate sheets toward the convergence zone. Wire guides maintain the laminate on a lamina supply path. In practice, it is difficult to push this type of laminate beyond a set of nip rollers when there is any type of guide since the laminate material naturally tends to adhere to the guide members.
The instant invention provides an improved card laminating apparatus which is effective for simultaneously applying laminate sheets to both upper and lower sides of a card substrate and for bonding the laminate sheets to the card substrate using a pair of symmetrically aligned heated rollers. Symmetric heating of both sides of the card reduces lamination to a single step, reduces substrate curling due to uneven heating, and eliminates the need for a mechanical card straightener. The improved apparatus further provides a unique drive assembly for pulling the laminate through the apparatus to insure proper laminate registration and tracking and a unique transfer assembly for applying the laminate sheets to both sides of the card.
More specifically, the apparatus includes two identical laminating assemblies that are symmetrically mounted in mirror image relation on opposing sides of a substrate supply path along which the card substrate travels. Individual sheets of laminate are cut from webs of lamina and transferred onto the card substrate at a convergence zone where the sheets of laminate are brought together in overlying registration with the substrate. Each of the laminating assemblies includes a web of lamina mounted in a cassette, a cutter capable of cutting sheets of laminate from the web, and nip rollers disposed between the web and the cutter. The idle roller of the pair of nip rollers is formed as part of the cassette to ease loading of the web of lamina into the apparatus. When the cassette is mounted on the frame, the idle roller engages with the drive roller to form the nip. The nip advances the web of lamina in an upstream direction through the cutter. Each laminating assembly further includes a transfer roller and laminate guide disposed between the cutter and the convergence zone. As the lamina is advanced through the cutter, the leading edge of the web is captured between the outer surface of the transfer roller and a laminate guide. The laminate guide member and the outer surface of the transfer roller cooperate to form an arcuate laminate supply path with the transfer roller pulling the leading edge of the web of lamina in an upstream direction from the cutter to the convergence zone. A transfer member disposed in the convergence zone strips the leading edge of the sheet of laminate from the outer surface of the transfer roller and transfers the sheet of laminate into overlying registration with the substrate as the substrate passes through the convergence zone. A heater is disposed downstream of the convergence zone.
Each of the laminating assemblies further includes a lamina sensor for sensing the leading edge of the web of lamina and a unique drive assembly operative for integrated rotation of the nip rollers and the transfer roller. The drive assembly comprises a drive motor, and a gear train interconnecting the drive motor with the transfer roller and the drive roller of the nip rollers. The gear train is constructed and arranged to rotate the outer surface of the transfer roller at a greater speed than the outer surface of the drive roller of the nip rollers such that the transfer roller pulls the web along the lamina supply path faster than the drive roller pushes the web. The drive roller of the nip rollers includes a one-way clutch which allows free rotation of the drive roller only in the downstream direction. This arrangement prevents the nip rollers from advancing the web too quickly, allows the transfer roller to pull the web through the lamina supply path rather than pushing the lamina, and also provides a gap between the trailing edge of the cut sheet of laminate and the leading edge of the web. The gap allows the lamina sensors to more accurately
Maynard Raymond
Rothwell Christian S.
Atlantek , Inc.
Barlow Josephs & Holmes, Ltd.
Gray Linda
LandOfFree
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