Assa Abloy Ab

Fargo Electronics, Inc.

Hid Global Corporation

John P Skoglund

Ted M Hoffman

Tanya Jergeris Snyder

Brent D Lien

James R Meier

Darren W Haas

Tanya Jegeris Snyder

Michael Jon Woizeschke

Jeffrey Lee Stangler

Dale James Ziebarth

Thomas G Gale, Jr

Thomas J Reynolds-Kotz

Mark Mizen

Ruben Rosario

Gary M Klinefelter

Matthew K Dunham

James Rieck

Robert E Francis

Anthony L Lokken

Evan Pastor

Andrew William Slotto

Gary B Fulmer

Andy A Vander Woude

Tony Nauth

Phillip Umberger

Jeffrey L Stangler

Techniques for handling and reducing ink overspray of an ink jet printer are provided. In an example, an ink overspray collector for an ink jet printer can include a first opening defining a first print area of the ink jet printer, and a frame about the first opening. The frame is configured to receive overspray from operation of the ink jet printer and can be formed of a woven material. In some examples, a controller of the ink jet printer can reduce an amount of ink ejected near the edges of the print media to reduce overspray.

Ink jet printer overspray techniques

A card substrate laminating device including a transfer roller configured to heat a portion of a transfer layer of a transfer ribbon and transfer the portion of the transfer layer from a carrier layer of the transfer ribbon to a surface of a card substrate. The transfer roller includes a diameter of less than 0.537 inches and a compliant exterior surface layer or coating. The compliant exterior surface layer or coating can include silicon rubber. The compliant exterior surface layer or coating can be approximately 0.020 inches thick. An internal heating element is configured to heat the transfer roller from an ambient temperature to a laminating temperature, at which laminating operations are performed, within 40 seconds.

Card substrate laminating device

A card encoding system comprises a belt to receive an encodable card on a first surface of the belt; a contactless encoding module including an encoding antenna, wherein the encoding antenna is positioned opposite a second surface of the belt; and a belt drive controller configured to rotate a drive roller to move the belt to position the encodable card for encoding using the encoding antenna.

E-card encoder module

A card flipper includes a frame, a receptacle, and a motor. The receptacle is supported by the frame for a rotation about a flipping axis. The receptacle is configured to support a card in a support plane and receive and discharge cards along a card feed axis. The motor is configured to drive rotation of the receptacle, the support plane and the card feed axis about the flipping axis. The flipping axis is oblique to the card feed axis and is displaced from the support plane.

Card flipper

The disclosure describes a method for aligning a card on a printer belt. A printer includes the belt, a print unit having a head, and a card feeder having an alignment bracket. The card feeder deposits a card onto the belt along a processing axis in a first orientation. The belt moves the card away from the card feeder in a first direction. The card feeder is positioned in a second orientation where the alignment bracket aligns with the belt. The alignment bracket has a rear wall and a guide extending therefrom that align the card within the alignment bracket. The belt is overdriven in a second direction and the card moves into the alignment bracket for alignment. The belt then moves in the first direction and the card clears the alignment bracket. The card feeder is then positioned in a third orientation to allow printing with the head.

Card printer alignment bracket

An ink jet card printer includes a card transport and a print unit. The card transport includes a first belt, a first motor configured to drive the first belt to feed a card along a processing axis, a second belt, and a second motor configured to drive the second belt to feed a card along the processing axis. The print unit includes an ink jet print head and a gantry. The ink jet print head is configured to perform a print operation simultaneously on a card supported in a print position on the first belt and on a card supported in a print position on the second belt. The gantry is configured to move the ink jet print head along a fast scan axis that is parallel to the processing axis and a slow scan axis that is perpendicular to the processing axis.

Ink jet card printer having a dual belt card transport

A patch lamination device includes a laminate feed roller, a laminating roller, and a laminate spreader. The laminate feed roller is configured to feed a patch laminate ribbon along a laminate path. The laminating roller is configured to laminate individual patch laminates of the ribbon to a surface of a card substrate. The laminate spreader is positioned between the laminate feed roller and the laminating roller. The laminate spreader is configured to reduce the formation of trough wrinkles in a patch laminate that is tensioned between the laminate feed roller and the laminating roller during lamination of the patch laminate to a card substrate using the laminating roller.

Patch lamination device and method

A card stacker includes a stack support that supports a stack of card substrates, a card lift mechanism, a card feed mechanism, and a retraction mechanism. The card lift mechanism is configured to support the card substrate in a lift position below the stack support, and drive the card substrate to a raised position, in which the card substrate is supported on the stack support at the bottom of the stack. The card feed mechanism includes a first transport roller having a feed position, in which the first transport roller engages a top surface of the card substrate in the lift position, and a retracted position when the card substrate is in the raised position, in which the first transport roller is on the bottom side of the stack support. The retraction mechanism is configured to move the first transport roller between the feed and retracted positions.

Card stacker

An ink jet card printer includes an ink jet print head, a gantry, and a card feeder. The ink jet print head is configured to perform a print operation on a card supported in a print position along a processing axis. The gantry is configured to move the print head through a print zone. The card feeder includes a feeder frame, a first pinch roller pair, and a lift mechanism. The first pinch roller pair is supported by the feeder frame and is configured to feed individual cards along a card feed axis. The lift mechanism is configured to move the feeder frame and the first pinch roller pair between a lowered position, in which the card feeder is displaced from the print zone, and a raised position, in which at least a portion of the card feeder extends into the print zone.

Ink jet card printer having a pivotable card feeder

A card substrate laminating device includes a transfer ribbon and a transfer roller. The transfer ribbon includes a carrier layer and a transfer layer attached to the carrier layer. The transfer roller is configured to heat and transfer a portion of the transfer layer from the carrier layer to a surface of a card substrate. The transfer roller has a circumference that is less than one-half of a length of the card substrate.

Some embodiments of a card rotator include a card receptacle, a feed roller, and a motor. The card receptacle is configured to rotate about a pivot access that is approximately perpendicular to a plane of a card substrate supported by the card receptacle. The feed roller is configured to discharge a card substrate from the card receptacle. The feed roller has an axis of rotation that is approximately perpendicular to the pivot axis. The motor is configured to drive rotation of the card receptacle about the pivot axis relative to the axis of rotation of the feed roller.

Credential production device card substrate rotator

A transfer lamination method uses a transfer lamination device including a transfer ribbon comprising a transfer film on a carrier web, a print unit comprising a print head, and a transfer unit configured to transfer a film section of the transfer film to a substrate. In the method, the transfer ribbon is fed in a feed direction past the print unit and the transfer unit. Tension is generated in the transfer ribbon using the print head while processing the transfer ribbon using the transfer unit.

Transfer film tensioning in a transfer lamination device

A credential printing device is provided. The credential printing device includes a credential substrate transport, a transfer ribbon and a transfer roller. The credential substrate transport is configured to feed a credential substrate along a processing path. The transfer ribbon is adjacent to the processing path. The transfer roller is positioned below the processing path and is configured to transfer an image from the transfer ribbon to a bottom surface of the credential substrate in the processing path.

Inverted reverse-image transfer printing

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to credential processing devices and methods of feeding credential substrates in a credential processing device. One exemplary embodiment of the credential processing device includes a processing path, a print head, a transport mechanism, a first motor, a substrate input and an input feed mechanism. The print head is configured to print to a surface of a credential substrate that is fed along the processing path. The transport mechanism comprises one or more transport feed rollers that are configured to feed individual credential substrates along the processing path. The first motor is configured to drive the one or more transport feed rollers. The substrate input comprises an input feed roller configured to feed individual substrates from a supply to the transport mechanism. The input feed mechanism has an activated state, in which the input feed roller is mechanically coupled to the motor, and a deactivated state, in which the input feed roller is mechanically decoupled from the motor.

Growing community of inventors

Minneapolis, MN, United States of America

John P Skoglund