The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 25, 2003
Filed:
Sep. 28, 2001
James R. Meier, St. Paul, MN (US);
Steven J. Brandt, Savage, MN (US);
Brent D. Lien, Minneapolis, MN (US);
Spencer L. Tapp, Richfield, MN (US);
Martin A. Pribula, Eden Prairie, MN (US);
Fargo Electronics, Inc., Eden Prairie, MN (US);
Abstract
A card hopper includes a control gate that reliably allows cards of varying thicknesses to be fed individually through an outlet opening without adjustment. The hopper is configured to hold a stack of plastic cards or similar, fairly rigid, substrates. The control gate is positioned at the outlet opening and includes a flexible blade that reduces a height of the outlet opening to less than a thickness of an end card of the stack, whereby the flexible blade flexes in response to the end card when driven through the outlet opening. Also disclosed is a card feeder assembly that includes the above-described hopper.