Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Layer or component removable to expose adhesive
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-05
2003-02-11
Ahmad, Nasser (Department: 1772)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Layer or component removable to expose adhesive
C040S630000, C040S633000, C283S075000, C283S109000, C428S041700, C428S041800, C428S041900, C428S042100, C428S042200, C428S042300, C428S043000, C428S914000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06517921
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the field of laminated cards and, in particular, to assemblies for making laminated identification cards.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Modern society has found innumerable uses for laminated cards. Perhaps billions of such cards have been made for use as conference name tags, personal identification cards, gift tags, parking passes, playing cards, and so on. Other types of laminated cards include adhesive index tabs and hanging file folder tabs. Indeed, nearly everyone has a laminated card of some sort.
In the not so distant past, simple laminated cards such as club membership cards were made by hand. A secretary would typically insert a card into a typewriter and would type in relevant information such as the member's name and date of admission. After the member had signed the card, the secretary would place the card on a sheet of transparent plastic for forming the lamination assembly. The secretary would then fold the lamination over the card, press the lamination down to seal the card within the lamination, and cut the lamination about the card to remove any excess.
In the 1980's, dot matrix printers came into widespread use. Laminated card assemblies were developed for dot matrix printers to simplify the process of making a laminated card. A typical dot matrix laminated card assembly had tractor feed holes running along either side of the assembly so that it could be fed through the dot matrix printer. A lamination sheet was attached to a card on one side and had a thin backing on the other side. The dot matrix printer would print information on the back of the card, after which the secretary would remove the card from the printer, remove the backing from the lamination, and fold the lamination over the card. The secretary would then cut off the tractor feed holes with scissors, or tear off the strip of holes if perforation lines were provided for that purpose.
FIG. 1
shows a prior art assembly
20
for printing cards in a dot matrix or other type of printer equipped with a tractor feed mechanism. Prior art assembly
20
includes tractor feed strips
22
having tractor feed apertures
24
. Tractor feed strips
22
are removable from assembly
20
at lines of perforation
26
. The front of the assembly
20
has a layer of lamination
28
which is coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive
30
.
FIG. 2
illustrates the back side of the prior art assembly
20
of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 2
shows a piece of lining material
32
being removed from adhesively backed lamination layer
28
. The right hand side of the assembly of
FIG. 2
is a card
34
having a printable surface
36
. Generally speaking, the assembly is fed through a tractor feed printer, which prints indicia
38
onto printing surface
36
. This indicia
38
may include personalized information such as a country club member's name, membership number, and so on. After the assembly has passed through the printer, the user may then sign the card
34
, remove liner
32
from lamination layer
28
, remove tractor feed strips
22
, and fold lamination
28
over at line
40
to cover and adhere to card
34
. The user then has a laminated membership card that she or he may carry with him.
In the 1990's, laser printers and ink jet printers replaced dot matrix printers as the printers of choice. Such printers are capable of printing high resolution text and graphics at a high speed with very little noise. Unfortunately, the old tractor feed laminated card assemblies did not work well in laser printers and ink jet printers and photocopiers. There are a number of problems with using the prior art assembly of
FIGS. 1 and 2
in a modern day laser printer, ink jet printer, or photocopier. The left hand side
29
of assembly
20
has a thickness that is less than that of right hand side
31
. Consequently, there is a sudden thickness change at line
40
. This inconsistent thickness will tend to cause jamming in a laser printer, ink jet printer, or photocopier. The friction feed of these types of printers has difficulty grasping hold of such a varying thickness assembly. Additionally, tractor feed apertures
24
will both interfere with the friction feed of these printers as well as provide an opportunity for assembly
20
to become snagged in the interior of the printer. Consequently, the prior art assembly of
FIGS. 1 and 2
is inappropriate for use in the types of printers that are most common in offices today.
Thus, there has been a very substantial need to develop an assembly for conveniently printing laminated cards in a laser printer, ink jet printer, photocopier or other printer requiring a substantially flat printing surface.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an assembly for making laminated cards using a laser printer, ink jet printer or photocopier. It is also an object to provide an assembly having substantially constant thickness and flat upper and lower surfaces so that the assembly will not jam in the complex paper path of laser or ink jet printers, or photographic copiers. It is a further object of the invention to provide an assembly which can yield laminated identification cards.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to a longitudinally extending assembly for creating a display card and a laminated identification card which are suitable for printing on with a laser or ink jet printer, or photocopier. The assembly includes a display card-forming section extending along part of the length of the assembly and an identification card-forming section attached to the display card-forming section and extending along part of the length of the assembly. The identification card-forming section includes a first backing sheet which includes opposed first and second sides and contains an identification card backing region separable from the first backing sheet defined by opposite top and bottom edges joined by opposite side edges within the first backing sheet where the second side is suitable for being printed on. The identification card-forming section further includes a first adhesive layer, a first release layer joined to the first side of the first backing sheet and to the first adhesive layer except at the identification card backing region where there is an opening in the first release layer, and a transparent lamination sheet. The transparent lamination sheet has a first side, joined to the first adhesive layer. The transparent lamination sheet includes an identification card back covering portion aligned with the opening and an identification card front covering portion adjacent to and substantially similar in size to the identification card back covering portion. The identification card front and back covering portions are separable from the transparent lamination sheet and joined at a location substantially aligned with a side edge of the identification card backing region. The laminated identification card is formed by separating the identification card backing region and the identification card front and back covering portions from the assembly, folding the identification card front covering portion over the second side of the identification card backing region, and joining the identification card front covering portion to the identification card backing region with the adhesive layer.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a longitudinally extending assembly having a width and a length for creating laminated cards for printing by a laser printer, ink jet printer, or photocopier. The assembly includes a display card-forming section extending along part of the length of the assembly and an identification card-forming section attached to the display card-forming section and extending along part of the length of the assembly. The identification card-forming section includes a longitudinally extending backing sheet which has a first side and a second side suitable for receiving printing. The backing sheet may also be die cut to provide at least one opening with a card having an extent which com
Attia Omar
Becker William
Jackson Blaine
Saint Andre
Ulrich Brett
Ahmad Nasser
Avery Dennison Corporation
LandOfFree
Laminated card assembly does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Laminated card assembly, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Laminated card assembly will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3124303