Apparatus and method for manufacturing plastic cards

A method and equipment for manufacturing plastic cards, for example, credit cards and the like from a continuous layup including generally two plastic cover leaves and a printed insert. The plastic leaves to be heat sealed are fed through a plurality of press zones in which the lay-up is heated and subsequently cooled. The feed is performed by means of heat conducting, preferably metallic bands one of which carries pegs centrally disposed along its length which interengages with registration holes in the layup and a cooperating band to drive the bands and layup synchronously thorugh the press zones. Its use is in the mass production of plastic cards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The supply bobbins for the strips worked in the process are journaled in a 
frame 10. The bobbins 12 and 14 deliver respectively an upper and a lower 
printed insert strip 12' and 14'. From each of the bobbins 16 and 18 runs 
a strip of transparent film 16' and 18'. In the event it is necessary that 
the printed areas of the two strips 12' and 14' lay above one another in a 
registered fashion, the usual and therefore non-illustrated control 
apparatus for this can be used. 
All four strips 12', 14', 16', 18' run through an ionizing chamber 20 to 
make the strips free of any residual static electricity. 
It is assumed that the insert strips 12', 14' already are registered with 
one another as a result of the printing process; that in the exemplary 
embodiment two printed areas lie on the strips next to one another, and 
that in the intermediate region between them are the openings. The 
corresponding stamping or hole punching stations could however also be 
arranged in the present arrangement behind the supply bobbins. These 
openings between printed areas are sensed, and the transparent film strip 
18' extends through a corresponding controlled stamping or hole punching 
station 22, in which the strip is provided with holes in a registering 
manner. 
A corresponding stamping or hole punching station 24 is also provided for 
the upper transparent film strip 16'; and in this case a sealing station 
26 is also provided in which the outer surface of the strip 16' has sealed 
to it a magnetic trace which is removed from a support band 28 supplied 
from a bobbin 30. The respooling of the empty support band is not shown 
because of its simplicity. 
By means of guide rolls, which are shown in the drawing but which need not 
be described in detail, the four strips 12', 14', 16' with magnetic trace, 
and 18' are now driven together and form a layup or layered construction 
32 which enters into the nip 31 between metallic bands 34 and 36. 
The bands are endless and supported by input rolls 38 and 39 and output 
rolls 40 and 41. One of the bands, for example the lower band 34, is 
provided with pegs 35,35 as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4 and correspond to 
the registration holes 39,39 in the transparent film strips 16' and 18', 
and the other band--here the upper band 36--contains holes 37,37 which 
likewise align with the registration holes 39,39. Only one of the bands is 
driven in a stepwise manner and it takes with it the other band through 
the interengagement of the pegs 35,35 with the holes 39,39 of the layup 32 
and with the holes 37,37 of the other band 36 as explained below. 
The so-formed "strap" now runs through and between the upper and lower 
stamps of a number of presses, of which ten are provided in the 
illustrated apparatus and of which the first eight in the advancing 
direction, indicated at 42, are electrically heated, while the last two 
indicated at 44 are watercooled. The cooling water supply and removal 
takes place through the connections 46, 48. 
The separate presses are individually adjustable with respect to their 
temperature and the pressure exerted by them, whereby the heating and 
cooling process takes place considerably faster than with the previously 
described customary process, so that the throughput of the equipment 
reaches an economical high value. 
It will be understood that the presses open during the stepwise advancement 
of the "strap". Each heated press has adjacent its heated upper stamp--if 
necessary, the lower stamp is also heated--a lateral unheated holddown 
which holds the edges of the strap flat. This has the advantage that the 
actually used area of the layup 32 is stamped laterally from material 
which remains cold and which cannot flow. 
In one embodiment of the apparatus, a heated press member 42 as illustrated 
in FIG. 3, has a heated portion 49 where a plastic card is to be formed 
from the layup and includes a cooling holddown portion 51 surrounding the 
heating portion. The laterally adjacent material of the heated portion of 
the layup remains cold so as to form a barrier against lateral flow of 
softened plastic material. 
At the output end of the so far described equipment is the main drive motor 
50, which effects the advancement of the material and also drives the 
stamping or hole punches 22,24. Also the reciprocation of the presses 
42,44 can be drawn from it. 
As mentioned above, the bands 34 and 36 adhere to the layup or layered 
construction when they are heated and then they lose such adhesion again 
when running through the cooling press 44, and the now sealed layup 32 
exits from the output nip 33 between the bands in a self-supporting 
manner. 
Turning now to FIG. 4, the peg and hole drive system of the invention is 
explained in further detail. For purposes of explanation, it is assumed 
that the input roll 38 is the drive roll and is connected to a driving 
motor not shown in FIG. 4. The drive roll 38 rotates in a direction 
indicated by the arrow 52 about a rotation axis shown generally 54. The 
lower endless band 34 is driven by means of radial pins 56,56 extending 
radially from each of the circumferential marginal areas at the sides of 
the drive roll 38. The spacing between the pins 56,56 is equal to the 
spacing between holes 58,58 located along the lateral marginal areas of 
the band 34. The pins 56,56 interengage with the holes 58,58 to drive the 
band 34 in the direction 60. 
The belt 34 also includes a number of pegs 35,35 located along a line 
substantially midway between the lateral margins of the band 34. The pegs 
35,35 are spaced apart from one another in an amount equal to the spacing 
between the registration holes 39,39 in the layup comprising in FIG. 4, 
the sheets 16' and 18'. It is understood that inserts, or additional 
sheets comprising the layup also have registration holes 39,39 so that as 
the leaves of the layup and the insert are advanced to be fed into the nip 
of the apparatus, the pegs 35,35 fit in the registration holes 39,39 to 
align and maintain the leaves and insert comprising the layup in 
registration as the layup advances through the presses. 
In addition to maintaining registration of the layup, the pegs 35 engage 
with registration holes 37,37 in the upper band 36 so that tractoring 
forces engage substantially symmetrically to drive the band in the 
direction 60. The upper roll 39 also includes pins 66,66 extending 
radially from each of the circumferential marginal areas at the sides of 
the roll. The pins 66,66 interengage with holes 68,68 located along the 
lateral marginal areas of the band 36 and causes the input roll 39 to 
rotate about its rotation axis 62 in a direction 64 when the drive roll 38 
is driven. The driven wheel 39 also includes a centrally disposed groove 
around the circumference and substantially in line with the registration 
holes 37,37 to accommodate the tips of the pegs 35,35 carried on the band 
34 as they pass in the vicinity of the roll 39. 
The layup 32 is carried between the overlying surface areas of the bands 
34,36 in the region formed between the lateral marginal areas carrying the 
drive holes of the bands in order to prevent pulling or stretching of the 
layup during the card producing process. The symmetrical tractoring 
synchronizes the two bands to prevent fluctuating motions in the lateral 
direction to maintain dimensional stability and accuracy of the layup and 
to insure registration of the leaves and printed inserts forming a desired 
plastic card. In addition, since the layup 32 is not carried by the pins 
and holes of the respective rolls and bands, any misalignment of the rolls 
38,39 along their respective axes 54,62 does not affect synchronism of the 
bands which could otherwise translate into dimensional errors in the 
produced plastic card. 
A further equipment group is associated with the equipment group described 
so far. The layup is now stable enough to be capable of being pulled 
without stretching; therefore, a feeding unit is provided which for 
example enters into the still available registration holes with pin 
sprockets. The feeding unit is superimposed on a station in which an 
embossed strip from an embossing press is applied. Behind the feeding unit 
is a stamping station in which the individual cards are stamped from the 
layup 32, and in a following grate removal station, the cards are 
separated from the waste-stamped grate while the finished cards are for 
example collected by means of a belt conveyor. 
It is not compelling that four strips be heat sealed with one another; in 
the extreme case there are two strips lying back to back without covering 
films, or one middle strip printed on both sides with upper and lower 
covering layers. It is further not compelling that the films to be 
heat-sealed all be worked up from rolls. If, for example, a data storage 
member or an integrated circuit is to be inset, it may be practical to 
supply only one carrier strip from a roll and to lay up the insert and the 
further films by hand or automatically. 
Although the above embodiments have been described using two endless 
metallic bands, an arrangment of endless chains could also be used to 
provide the desired results. Therefore, the invention has been described 
by way of illustration rather than limitation.