Virtual multihopper card feeder
US6446832B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 27, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 10, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 27, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06K13/14
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An improved card feeding apparatus and associated method for feeding plastic cards to a printer. The apparatus can be used in any system where plastic cards are fed into a printer, but has particular use in a self-service, automated card issuance kiosk. The apparatus includes a support structure, and a card cassette is mounted on the support structure for holding a plurality of cards. The card cassette is moveable relative to the support structure, with the card cassette defining a discrete position for each card. A card picker is mounted on the support structure, with the card picker being capable of picking any one of the plurality of cards from the card cassette. Since each card has a discrete position within the card cassette, the card cassette can be moved past the card picker and any one of the cards within the card cassette can be picked by the card picker, and subsequently fed to a printer to personalize the card.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.