Data Carrier Production Method and Processing Device

Abstract

A data-carrier manufacturing method, and to a processing apparatus for punching data carriers out of a data-carrier sheet involves an application of color effected by means of a color applying device to a circumferential edge of the data carrier in a female punching unit of a punching device.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A data-carrier manufacturing method, having the following steps: forming a data-carrier sheet, with the dimensions of the data-carrier sheet being greater in one dimension than a data carrier to be manufactured, punching the data carrier out of the data-carrier sheet by means of a punching device having a male punching unit and a female punching unit, wherein the female punching unit bears a color applying device which interacts with the male punching unit such that upon punching out the data carrier and/or upon discharging the data carrier from the female punching unit an application of color to a data-carrier edge of the punched data carrier is effected.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the applying of the color is effected by means of one or more nozzles, impregnated brushes, j et nozzles and/or sponges.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the application of color is effected along the data-carrier edge in the circumferential direction in sections, wherein a different application of color can be effected in every section.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the color applying device is arranged in the female punching unit.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein forming the data-carrier sheet is effected by laminating a multiplicity of data-carrier foils.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein the data-carrier sheet is dimensioned such that a multiplicity of data carriers can be punched out thereof.

19. A processing apparatus for punching data carriers out of a data-carrier sheet, having: a male punching unit and a female punching unit, with the male punching unit and the female punching unit being configured for punching a data carrier out of a data-carrier sheet, wherein the female punching unit bears a color applying device for applying color to an edge, in a circumferential edge, of a data carrier.

20. The processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the color applying device is arranged in the female punching unit such that the punched-out data carrier is furnished with color by means of the color applying device upon discharging the data carrier from the processing apparatus upon discharging from the female punching unit.

21. The processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the color is applicable by the color applying device by means of at least one nozzle, impregnated brushes, jet nozzles and/or sponges.

22. The processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the color applying device is configured for applying the color along the data-carrier edge in the circumferential direction in sections, wherein a different application of color can be effected in every section.

23. The processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the color applying device bears a color changing device.

24. The processing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the processing apparatus bears a data-carrier cleaning device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG. 1 shows a processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention;

[0025] FIG. 2 shows a processing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention;

[0026] FIG. 3 shows a data carrier manufactured according to the data-carrier manufacturing method of the invention;

[0027] FIG. 4 shows a flowchart representing the sequence of a method according to the invention; and

[0028] FIG. 5 shows a prior art processing apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Hereinafter the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 on the basis of embodiments intended purely by way of example.

[0030] FIG. 5 first shows a processing apparatus 10 according to the prior art. The processing apparatus 10 has a punching device 1, 3 with which a data-carrier sheet 2 can be punched. The processing apparatus 10 has a male punching unit 1 (swage) and a female punching unit 3 (die). The female punching unit 3 has cutting edges 8 which define the outer edges of a data carrier 4. The data-carrier sheet 2 is introduced into the processing apparatus 10. The data-carrier sheet 2 is preferably configured as a previously laminated foil stack. The data-carrier sheet has in at least one dimension a greater dimension than the data carrier 4 to be punched out.

[0031] Upon punching the data carrier 4 out of the data-carrier sheet 2 the male punching unit 1 is moved in the direction of the female punching unit 3, the data carrier 4 is punched out and ejected from the female punching unit 3. Alternatively, the male 1 and female 3 punching units can be moved toward each other, or the female punching unit 3 can be moved in the direction of the male punching unit 1.

[0032] When an application of color to the edge 12 of the data carrier 4 is to be effected, the data carrier 4 is introduced in the prior art into a downstream station in which an individual data carrier 4 and/or a multiplicity of stacked data carriers 4 are coated with a color.

[0033] In the data-carrier manufacturing method according to the invention or the processing apparatus according to the invention, the coating of the data carrier 4 is effected in the female punching unit 3, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. For this purpose, an application of color to a circumferential edge 12 of the data carrier 4 is effected by means of a color applying device 5 immediately after punching the data-carrier sheet 2. The color applying device 5 is arranged immediately on a cutting edge 9 of the female punching unit 3. The applied color is in particular a lacquer. The method is advantageous in that the defined feed of the male punching unit 1 can be utilized for guiding the data carrier 4 freshly punched out of the data-carrier sheet 2 past the color applying device 5 at a predetermined feed speed. In this manner a uniform and totally covering application of color to the circumferential edge 12 of the data carrier is effectuated. The method is suited for all flat data carriers having a side edge produced by punching regardless of their construction form. Thus, contactless and/or contact-type data carriers 4 can be manufactured equally well. The data carriers 4 can be employed e.g. as bank cards, credit cards, identification cards, passports, advantage cards and/or admission tickets.

[0034] The application of color in the color applying device 5 can be effected by means of one or a multiplicity of nozzles, impregnated brushes, jet nozzles and/or sponges. Downstream of the color applying device 5 there may be a color drying device 14 and/or a UV curing device 14 for curing the color. FIG. 1 shows a combined color drying device and UV curing device 14.

[0035] According to one embodiment, the application of color can be effected with the color applying device 6 in the circumferential direction along the data-carrier edge 12 in sections. The individual sections can respectively have a different color.

[0036] FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the processing apparatus 10 according to the invention. In contrast to FIG. 1, the color applying device 6 is arranged in FIG. 2 further away from the cutting edge of the female cutting unit 3. The application of color is effected analogously as with the color applying device 5 in FIG. 1. To guarantee a defined feed of the data carrier through the female punching unit 3, it can be provided that the male punching unit 1 penetrates deeper into the female punching unit 3 in comparison to the embodiment example shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, additional means, such as a data-carrier discharging apparatus, can be provided in the female punching unit which enable reliable discharging of the punched data carrier 4 from the female punching unit 3 at a defined feed speed.

[0037] The color applying device 5, 6 can be so designed that it is capable of applying different colors to the edge 12 of the data carrier 4 in the circumferential direction. In this manner the data carrier can be furnished with different colors in the circumferential direction according to the wishes of the orderer/customer.

[0038] The color applying device 5, 6 can further bear a color changing device which enables a quick change of the colors. In this manner it is already possible at the lot size of one upon manufacture of data carriers 4 to carry out quick color changes between two consecutive data carriers 4.

[0039] Additionally or alternatively to the color changing device, there can be provided a data-carrier cleaning device which is arranged in the processing apparatus 10 and/or behind the processing apparatus 10. The data-carrier cleaning apparatus can be integrated e.g. into the color drying device 14. With the data-carrier cleaning device any excess color occurring on the two large surfaces of the data carrier 4 can be removed.

[0040] FIG. 4 shows the sequence of a data-carrier manufacturing method according to the invention. In the first step S1 a data-carrier sheet 2 is formed, e.g. by laminating a plurality of foils. The data-carrier sheet 2 has dimensions that are greater in at least one dimension than the dimensions of the data carrier 4 to be formed. Preferably, a data-carrier sheet 2 has the dimension of a multiplicity of data carriers 4 in the longitudinal direction and transverse direction.

[0041] In the subsequent step S2 the data carrier 4 is punched out of the data-carrier sheet 2 by means of a punching device 1, 3 having a male punching unit 1 and a female punching unit 3. While the data carrier 4 is being urged through the female punching unit 3 due to the feed of the male punching unit 1, color is applied to a circumferential edge 12 of the data carrier 4 with a color applying device 5, 6 in a next step S3. The color applying device 5, 6 is part of the female punching unit 3. Due to the punched data carrier 4 being pushed through the female punching unit 3 at a defined feed speed, it is possible to guarantee a uniform application of color with the color applying device 5, 6 to the data carrier 4.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0042] 1 Male punching unit

[0043] 2 Data-carrier sheet

[0044] 3 Female punching unit

[0045] 4 Data carrier

[0046] 5, 6 Color applying device

[0047] 8 Cutting edge of female punching unit

[0048] 9 Cutting edge of male punching unit

[0049] 10 Processing apparatus

[0050] 12 Data-carrier edge

[0051] 14 Color drying device, UV curing device

[0052] S1-S3 Method steps