APPARATUS FOR PRINTING ON PLASTIC CARDS

Abstract: A printer apparatus for printing on plastic cards (48) including a resistive printer apparatus (20). The resistive printer apparatus (20) being capable of being used with magnetic encoder units (34) and embosser units (32).

Description: APPARATUS FOR PRINTING ON PLASTIC CARDS Background of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for printing on plastic cards. More par- ticularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for printing on plastic cards including a resistive printer apparatus and method. Plastic cards such as credit cards, bank cards, identification cards, etc. are in widespread use. There is usually a need to provide a fixed image on a plastic card such as a bank name and logo. In addition, there is a need to print alphanumeric characters on a plastic card which have different character fonts and/or to print bar codes on the plastic card for use in a machine readable environment. Typically, card issuers purchasing generic card stock will use a hot stamp machine to add their proprietary logo. Use of a hot stamp machine is a very noisy and cumbersome process. Cards are placed in a machine which stamps a hot metal plate onto a piece of topping foil stretched across the surface of the card. The plates have to be changed whenever there is a change in the logo being applied. Such a hot stamp machine has a very limited throughput and as mentioned is very noisy. Moreover, the process for using the hot stamping machine involves withdrawing cards and plates from a secured location where they are stored, hot stamping the plastic card, checking the hot stamp quality, remaking certain cards, counting the finished cards, and returning the plastic card, stock and plates to the secured location. The present invention will solve these problems and others associated with current apparatus and methods for affixing images on a plastic card. Summarv of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for printing on plastic cards including a resistive printer means for printing on the plastic cards as the plastic cards are moved past the resistive printer means. Control means is provided for controlling operation of the resistive printer means and movement of the cards past the resistive printer means. The present invention provides customers with a flexible graphics printing capability for plastic cards that is not presently available. The present invention will make it possible to change character fonts or other printed image without making mechanical changes in the image affixing device. The printer apparatus and method of the present invention is soft¬ ware or firmware controlled such that new character fonts can be added by changing software or firmware. In addition, the present invention enables end user, indi¬ vidualized information to be printed or affixed to the plastic cards under software or firmware control. In addition, the present invention enables bar codes to be affixed onto the plastic cards such that the plastic cards " are useable in a machine readable environment. The present invention will allow users to save money by purchasing large quantities of generic card stock rather than small quantities of proprietary card stock. For users that are already purchasing generic card stock and then adding a proprietary logo with a hot stamp machine, it will permit them to eliminate their hot stamping operation. In addition, the present invention relates to a plastic card processing system integrating the resistive printer operation, in line with embossing and magnetic and coding modules of plastic card embossing devices. These and various other advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and objects obtained by its use, reference should be had to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention. Brief Description of the Drawings In the drawings, in which like reference numerals and letter indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an embodi¬ ment of a printer apparatus in accordance with the prin¬ ciples of the present invention; FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of an embossing and encoding device including the embodiment of the printer apparatus shown in Figure 1, portions of the embossing and encoding device being broken away so as to show general location of the printing apparatus; FIGURE 3 is a diagrammatic view of a head por- tion of the printer apparatus shown in Figure 1 and illustrating individual print elements; FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating general arrangement of the print head, resistive foil, and plastic card during a printing process; FIGURE 5 is a block diagram illustrating various elements' of an embodiment of a plastic card pro¬ cessing system in accordance with the principles of the present invention including resistive printing, magnetic encoding, and embossing functions; FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating relative layers of an embodiment of the resistive foil of the present invention; FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of an embodiment of a printer module in accordance with the principles of the present invention; FIGURE 8 is a right side elevational view of the embodiment shown in Figure 7; FIGURE 9 is generally a bottom plan view of the embodiment shown in Figure 7; FIGURE 10 is a left side elevational view ' of the embodiment shown in Figure 7; FIGURE 11 is an enlarged perspective view of a plastic card guide arrangement for guiding the plastic cards past the printer module; and FIGURE 12 is an enlarged fragmentary perspec¬ tive view of a latch mechanism for latching a first por¬ tion of the printer module housing in a raised position. Detailed Description of a Preferred Embodiment • Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated a printer apparatus and method in accordance with the present invention utilizing a resistive printer module generally referred to by the reference numeral 20 to print on plastic cards. As illustrated in Figure 2, the resistive printer module 20 of the present invention is readily integrated into existing encoding and embossing devices 22 for in-line use therewith. Accordingly, images can be affixed to plastic cards while also embossing and magnetically encoding the plastic cards. Operation of the overall printing, embossing, and encoding functions are controlled by a programmed computer system 24 including a keyboard 26 and display 28 and storage media 30 including the information to be affixed to the plastic cards. The programmed computer system 24 is interconnected to the resistive printer units 20 as well as embosser units 32 and magnetic encoder units 34. A feed hopper 36 will hold a supply of plastic cards to be fed past various units. Suitable guide means (not shown) will guide the plastic cards past the various units while appropriately placed sensors 38 will sense and monitor movement of the plastic cards so as to the computer system 24 with card positioned information such that the computer system 24 will know when a particular card is adjacent a given encoder, embosser, and/or resistive printer unit. A collection hopper 40 will be utilized to collect the plastic cards after they have been embossed, encoded, and printed on. The resistive printer apparatus 20 of the pre- sent invention includes a print head 40 which includes electrically conductive elements 42 disposed therein. In the embodiment of the printer apparatus 20 shown, tungsten is utilized for the electrically conductive elements 42. One embodiment of the print head 40 is made by an electro discharge machine (EDM) process wherein a tungsten sheet is EDM machined and is encap¬ sulated in a non-conductive plastic material 44 which forms the bulk of the print head 40. The non-conductive plastic material retains the machined tungsten in the correct pitch spacing as it was manufactured. The plastic body 44 also enables the print head 40 to be mounted in the printer module 20 and mechanically sup¬ ports the individual electrically conductive elements 42. As illustrated in Figure 3 and 4, the individual electrically conductive elements 42 or print wires are perpendicular to a resistive foil 46 disposed between the print head 40 and a plastic card 48. A face portion 50 of the print head 40 is substantially flat and per¬ pendicular to the print wires 42. A lead in chamfer of 5 to 10 degrees is provided to allow the resistive foil 46 and plastic card 48 to pass the print head 40. The face 50 of the print head is polished such that the softer plastic material 44 is removed exposing the harder tungsten print wires 42 just above the plastic surface. This is disproportionately illustrated in Figure 4 for purposes of illustration. The print wires 42 are arranged in a straight line and are positioned in two rows. The spacing between rows is equivalent to the pitch of the print head 40. The rows of print wires 42 are staggered at one-half of the pitch spacing. The actual wire pitch spacing is a function of the applica¬ tion of the print head 40. A second embodiment of the print head 40 is made by a chemically or electrically etched tungsten sheet, physically attached to an electrically non- conductive backing foil. This foil is then connected to a plastic housing similar to the first version. The resistive foil 46 of the embodiment shown has two major components. One component is an electri¬ cally conductive plastic carrier foil 52 and a pigment or coloration layer 54 as generally illustrated in Figure 6. Positioned intermediate of the conductive layer 52 and the pigment layer 54 is a release layer 56 which allows separation of the pigment and conductive layers when the electrically conductive layer 52 is heated. A heat activated adhesive layer 58 is provided so as to cause the pigment to adhere to the plastic card surface. The adhesive of the adhesive layer 58 is for- mulated to be compatible with the polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic cards 48. The electrically conductive foil 52 is primarily a carbon filled polycarbonate. The electrically conductive layer 52 allows the resistive foil 56 to conduct electrical current from the print wires 42 into the resistive foil 46 and cause resistive heating. The polycarbonate is a tougri polymer that can mechanically withstand the print head 40 and limited tension at high temperature. The resistive printer apparatus 20 of the pre¬ sent invention creates an image on the plastic cards 48 which is durable and legible. The driving force which enables this to happen is the heat that is developed by electricity flowing from a power source (not shown) through selective ones of the print wires 42 under control of a controller device and through the electri¬ cally conductive layer 52 of the resistive foil. The plastic card 48 is moved into printing position by a guide arrangement including a plurality of rollers 62 and a grooved track 64. The print head is made to move forward by an actuator mechanism (not shown) toward the plastic card 48 such that the resistive foil 46 is pressed against the plastic card 48. Movement of the print head 40 allows the plastic card 48 to move into place without tearing the resistive foil 46. The force necessary to produce printing is approximately two pounds for a CR 80 card. This force is necessary to press the resistive foil 46 tightly against the PVC card. Any air gap between the foil and the card causes poor printing. Once the print head 40 is in proper position, the appropriate print wires 42 can be energized to heat the resistive foil 46 and cause the pigment layer 54 to be transfer onto the plastic card surface. Three variables which affect the print process are time, temperature and pressure. The ultimate heat energy is limited by the amount of power supplied to the print head 40. Power is measured in current and voltage from the power supply. The preferred embodiment uses a constant current approach to limit the print tem- perature. At a lower power, the actual print time must be increased. At a higher power, the actual print time must be correspondingly decreased. After the plastic card 48 is printed, the resistive foil 46 is separated from the PVC plastic card surface and is discarded. In order to provide a complete electrical cir¬ cuit, a grounding roller 66 is interconnected to ground so as to electrically ground the resistive foil 46 as diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 4. For the printing process to work well, four basic parameters must be met. First, the electrically conductive material should be a polyvinylchloride. Secondly, the plastic cards 48 must be substantially flat within 200 micro inches. Thirdly, the plastic card finish must have a four RMS reading. And fourthly, the plastic cards must be clean and free from dirt or any foreign material. The printer apparatus 20 of the present inven¬ tion can be broken down into three basic functions. The first function is resistive foil manipulation. The second function is plastic card manipulation. The third function is print head manipulation. The foil manipulation function includes a supply reel 70 and a take up reel 72 mounted on a first housing portion 74 which is pivotal about a horizontal access at 76 toward and away a second housing portion wherein the print head 40 is located. A latch mechanism 77 is provided for retaining the first housing portion . 74 in an upright position. This allows the resistive foil 46 to be mounted on a pivotal base portion that allows access to- the print head 40 and the remainder of the resistive foil path. In addition, this allows the foil path to be positioned in largely two planes so as to reduce the amount of space occupied by the resistive foil path in any given plane. In addition, the supply and take up reels 70,72 are positioned above the plastic card printing plane. A plurality of vertically oriented idler rollers 80 are positioned at strategic locations about the foil path. In addition, a plurality of diago- nal idler rollers 82 enable the resistive foil path to move from one plane to another of the printer housing. In addition, a spring-biased dancer roller 84 and ten¬ sion arm 85 is used to maintain tension on the resistive foil 46. The position of the dancer roller, as the ten- sion increases, causes a motor drive to feed resistive foil. If the tension is too low, the converse occurs wherein the motor drive slows or stops to cause the ten¬ sion to increase. The dancer roller 84 also functions as a broken resistive foil sensor. The take up reel 72 is driven by a motor that constantly turns through a slip drive mounted on the take up reel base. The rate that the resistive foil is used or moves past the print head, as the plastic card passes the print head, is regulated by an elastomeric coded capstan roller assembly 86. The roller 86 meters the correct amount of resistive foil for each card and is driven by a separate motor. The plastic card drive rollers 62 are driven by another separate motor. It is very important that these two motors are synchronized by the controlling microprocessor. The synchronization keeps the resistive foil from tearing if the resistive foil and the plastic card are moving at different speeds. The grounding roller 66 previously discussed is part of the resistive foil manipulation function. The resistive foil manipulation function is also responsible for stripping the spent resistive foil from the printed plastic card. A vertically compliant member 88 at the input of the printer apparatus is used to bias the plastic card against a lower member 64a of the card track 64. This serves to mechanically register the plastic card 48 to this referenced surface. The card manipulation func¬ tion of the printer apparatus 20 transports the card through the printer and causes the proper spacing to occur between the individual print cycles. There is an extra roller 90 proximate the top of the plastic card both before and after the print head 40. The purpose of the rollers 90 is to assist in straightening the plastic card 48 during printing. The print head 40 is mounted just downstream of a print roller 92. This allows for a more compliant interface between the plastic card and the resistive foil. The print roller 92 and all six drive rollers 62 are driven by the same motor drive. This design requires that the resistive foil capstan roller 86 and the card drive rollers be synchronized very carefully. Sensors 94 are positioned along the overall plastic card path as it passes the print appara¬ tus 20 so as to determine the location of the plastic card 48 as it approaches the printer apparatus 20-. In addition, sensors are used to communicate with the system controller to start the printing process so that the information will be placed in the correct position on the card. The card manipulation function is also used to assist in the resistive foil stripping process by maintaining a linear plastic card motion as the foil is stripped from the plastic card 48. Further sensors are used to communicate with the printer controller that the plastic card 48 has successfully left the printer. In the preferred embodiment, the upper card track 64 at the output from the printer head pivots upwardly to allow manual card removal if a jam occurs. The print head manipulation function is accomplished by an actuator which moves the print head 40 to press against the plastic card 48. This allows the plastic card 48 to be moved into position without tearing the resistive foil 46 or jamming against the print head 40. This action also allows for easier resistive foil replacement when the need arises. It is to be understood, however., that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the invention have been set forth in the foregoing descrip¬ tion, together with details of the structure and func¬ tion of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of the parts within the principle of the invention, to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. An apparatus for printing on plastic cards, comprising: (a) resistive printer means for printing on the plastic cards; (b) plastic card guide means for guiding the plastic cards past the resistive printer means; and (c) control means for controlling operation of the resistive printer means and the plastic card guide means. 2. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further including embossing means for embossing the plastic cards. 3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1, further including magnetic encoder means for magneti¬ cally encoding the plastic cards. 4. An apparatus for printing on plastic cards, comprising: (a) a housing; (b) resistive foil means including a pigment layer and an electrically conductive layer; (c) supply reel means for supplying the resistive foil means and take up reel means for taking up the resistive foil means; (d) idler roller means for guiding movement of the resistive foil means between the supply reel means and the take up reel means; (e) print head means including a plurality of spaced apart electrically conductive elements disposed in an electrically non-conductive substrate; (f) ground means in contact with the electri¬ cally δOnductive layer of the resistive foil means for grounding the electrically conductive layer; (g) first drive means for moving the resistive foil means past the print head means; (h) second drive means for moving the plastic cards past the print head means; (i) plastic card guide means for guiding the plastic cards past the print head means whereby the resistive foil means is disposed between the plastic cards and the print head means; (j) actuator means for moving the print head means away and toward the plastic cards; and (k) control means for controlling operation of the printer apparatus including means for selectively interconnecting the electrically conductive elements of the print head means to a source of power, whereby selected images can be affixed to the plastic cards. 5. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein the supply reel means and the take up reel means are mounted on a first portion of the housing pivotal about a horizontal axis away and toward a second portion of the housing wherein the print head means is mounted, whereby the print head means can be exposed for ease of access by pivoting the first housing portion away. from the second housing portion. 6. An apparatus in accordance with claim 5, wherein the housing further includes latch means for releasably latching the first housing portin in and upright position. 7. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein the actuator means moves the print head perpen¬ dicularly relative to a plane wherein the resistive foil lies. 8. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein the control means includes means for sensing location of the plastic cards relative to the print head means. 9. An apparatus in accordance with claim 4, wherein the resistive foil means has a path of travel from the supply reel means to the take up reel means disposed along at least two spaced apart overlying pla¬ nes, the idler roller means including diagonal idler roller means for guiding the resistive foil means from one plane to another.

Inventors: NUBSON RICHARD C, WETZEL RICHARD M, NUBSON, RICHARD, C., WETZEL, RICHARD, M.
Applicants: DATA CARD CORP, DATA CARD CORPORATION
Application year: 1987
Main classification: B41J3
IPC codes: B41J2, B41J3, B41J13, G06K1