Registers – Coded record sensors – Feed mechanisms
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-17
2002-03-05
Lee, Michael G. (Department: 2876)
Registers
Coded record sensors
Feed mechanisms
C235S479000, C235S477000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06352206
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to embossing systems for embossing items, such as cards, and more particularly to embossing systems for embossing credit cards.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Credit card embossing systems perform a number of well-known operations to emboss a credit card
10
having front and rear surfaces as illustrated respectively in
FIGS. 1A and 1B
.
FIG. 1A
illustrates a front surface of a typical embossed credit card and
FIG. 1B
illustrates the back surface of a typical embossed credit card which optionally may be a so-called “smart” card containing an integrated circuit which stores information about the cardholder. During use, the stored information is read to determine if the card is valid and also to determine information about the cardholder. The front surface of the credit card
10
includes an embossed account number field
12
and a plurality of additional cardholder information fields
14
,
16
and
18
which may vary in number from the three lines of embossing as illustrated. The account number and cardholder information is embossed with an embossing device. The backside of the credit card illustrated in
FIG. 1B
contains a magnetic stripe
20
on which is typically written three separate tracks of magnetic information used by various industries for point of sale processing. Additionally, the account number or other information may be indent imprinted in an indent imprint field
22
. If the card
10
is a smart card, it will contain an integrated circuit and connecting wiring (not illustrated) storing credit information, debit information or other information, which is accessed when the card is positioned such that an electrical contact is made with the smart card contacts
24
of a contact field
25
to an electrical device which reads the stored information.
Embossed characters contained in the account number field
12
and characters contained in the fields
14
,
16
and
18
are highlighted by a heated colored foil which is forced into contact with the tops of the embossed characters. A heated platen drives colored foil into contact with the tops of the embossed characters to fuse the heated foil to the tops of the credit cards. Indent imprinting uses a male die of an embosser to force an ink conveying ribbon into the depression caused by the indent imprinting produced by the male die.
The throughput embossing rate of a credit card embosser has a substantial effect on its size. High volume units, which are capable of processing over a thousand cards an hour, have been developed by the Assignee and other companies which utilize a straightline transport system which conveys a credit card through a number of processing stations including embossing, magnetic stripe encoding, smart card processing and tipping, which is exemplified by the Assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,991. These systems are physically large and have a transport path extending several feet along which the credit cards are conveyed to stations for performing the aforementioned processing operations. Such systems are incapable of utilization in small spatial environments, such as on a desktop, or in proximity to where other business related services are performed.
Smaller embossing systems have been developed which have lower throughput rates which also have a linear transport path. These systems perform the same processes as the larger higher throughput embosser systems and are exemplified by the Assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,406,422 and 5,506,422. While embossing systems with slower throughput rates are physically smaller than the aforementioned high throughput embossing systems, they are still sufficiently large that the linear transport path is several feet long and, therefore, are also not capable of being positioned conveniently in small spaces or on a desk which is used for other purposes.
Many users of credit card embossers, such as banks and other financial institutions, have the need to issue credit cards on the spot without having an embosser with a high throughput rate. Furthermore, it is highly desirable from a spatial utilization viewpoint that lower throughput embossers be usable in a small volume such as a “tower” computer chassis. The linear transport paths which characterize the Assignee's aforementioned embossing systems, as disclosed in the aforementioned patents, do not permit such an implementation in a space such as that occupied by a tower computer chassis.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an embossing system, an embosser for embossing items and a method of operation thereof. The embossed items hereinafter, without limitation in describing the preferred embodiments of the invention are referred to as “cards” or “credit cards”. An embossing system in accordance with the invention has a reduced physical size, in comparison to the prior art. While reduced in physical size, an embossing system in accordance with the invention includes an embossing station for both embossing and indent imprinting a card, a magnetic encoding station for recording multiple tracks of magnetic information on a magnetic media located on the card, a smart card processing station for recording programming or other information within an integrated circuit memory and associated circuitry located within the card, and a tipping station for applying highlighting to raised embossed characters produced by the embosser within a housing having a size approximately of a tower computer chassis. The embossing system of reduced physical size in accordance with the present invention may be easily placed on a desktop in association with other common business systems which are present in banks and other commercial institutions having a need to issue credit cards without a high throughput capability to permit the complete processing of credit card blanks into finished credit cards, including embossing, magnetic encoding, smart card encoding and tipping, which heretofore has not been possible with most prior art systems because of their larger physical size.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention locates the various stations at which card processing operations are processed, including an embossing station on a plurality of transport paths. A carriage holds the card to be processed as it is conveyed along the transport paths and is positioned by a carriage transport at the various stations where card processing operations are preformed including embossing. The carriage transport is programmable to move the carriage to locations defined by an X,Y coordinate system and moves the carriage to positions along the plurality of transport paths which comprise horizontal and vertical transport path segments. The transport path segments compress the physical length of the transport path by permitting a close spacing of the stations which permits the complete transport path to be located longitudinally along a tower computer chassis.
In a preferred application, the complete transport path comprises a plurality of horizontal transport paths on which the plurality of processing stations are located and at least one vertical transport path connecting the plurality of horizontal transport paths. Each vertical transport path joins at least one horizontal transport path at a position between stations. In a preferred application, all of the plurality of stations are located on the horizontal transport paths and each vertical transport path joins one horizontal transport path at a location between only two stations which reduces the physical length of the horizontal transport paths to a minimum because only one open section along the joined horizontal transport path is necessary to provide clearance for all vertical movements.
The embossing station performs both embossing operations and indent operations in a compact spatial volume which contributes to the reduction in size of the overall embossing system in accordance with the invention. The embossing station includes a pair of rotatably mounted wheels which are fixed circumferentially relative to each other. Each
Ashley Keith R.
Giegerich David K.
Pankiw Igor
Roth Philip M.
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Card Technology Corporation
Lee Diane I.
Lee Michael G.
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