Patent · US Expired

Card transport mechanism and method of operation

US5920055A · kind A · utility

13Cited by
31References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 18, 1998
Grant dateJul 6, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 18, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06K17/00
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The present invention is a card transport mechanism for transporting cards (114) along a transport path (108) and method of operation thereof. A card transport mechanism (180) in accordance with the invention includes a pair of spaced apart channels (186, 188), each channel engaging a different one of a pair of opposed edges of the cards; a carriage (196) for holding the cards at a fixed position relative to the carriage during motion along the transport path, the carriage having first (198) and second (120) card contacting elements spaced apart at different positions along the transport path and projecting into the transport path for contacting and holding a card in the fixed position during motion along the transport path, the first card contacting element being compliant to move orthogonally from within the transport path to permit movement of the card along the channels while the carriage is stationary prior to contact of the card by the second card contacting element and the second card contacting element being compliant along the transport path in response to contact with the card to produce contact and holding of the opposed edges of the card with the first and second card c…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.