Method of producing collectible cards

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10406563-B2
Application number	US-201815860370-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 2, 2018
Priority date	Feb 27, 2015
Publication date	Sep 10, 2019
Grant date	Sep 10, 2019

Abstract

Methods and apparatus of producing collectible cards are disclosed. An example method includes producing a first stack of cards including a first card type and a second card type from a single substrate sheet, separating the first stack of cards into a first sub-stack and a second sub-stack. The first sub-stack includes the first card type and the second sub-stack includes the second card type. The example method includes comparing a first top card of the first sub-stack to a first reference card and, based on the first top card being substantially similar to the first reference card, automatically transferring the first sub-stack to a first tray designated to receive the first card type.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of loading cards into first, second, and third trays, comprising:
operating a pack stacker to stack a plurality of cards into a stack;
operating a pack separator to separate the stack into a first sub-stack and a second sub-stack, and, if the first tray cannot accommodate the first sub-stack, further separate the first sub-stack into a third sub-stack and a fourth sub-stack such that the third sub-stack includes a quantity of cards that substantially fills any remaining space in the first tray; and
operating a pack loader to transfer: (1) the first sub-stack to the first tray and the second sub-stack to the second tray if the first tray can accommodate the first sub-stack, and (2) the third sub-stack to the first tray, the second sub-stack to the second tray, and the fourth sub-stack to the third tray if the first tray cannot accommodate the first sub-stack.

2. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of printing a sheet of cards including a first card type and a second card type.

3. The method of claim 2 , further including the step of cutting the sheet of cards to produce the plurality of cards.

4. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of determining whether a first top card of the first sub-stack meets a first predetermined verification criterion and a second top card of the second sub-stack meets a second predetermined verification criterion.

5. The method of claim 4 , further including the step of transporting the second sub-stack away from the second tray if the second top card does not meet the second predetermined verification criterion.

6. The method of claim 5 , further including the step of determining if a third top card of the third sub-stack meets a third predetermined verification criterion.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first predetermined verification criterion includes one or more of being printed with a predetermined image, free of printing defects, and free of physical defects.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein operating the pack loader includes determining a quantity of cards in the first tray.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cards includes a first plurality of cards and the stack includes a first stack, further comprising the step of stacking a second plurality of cards into a second stack.

10. The method of claim 9 , including the further steps of separating the second stack into a fourth sub-stack and a fifth sub-stack, comparing a top card of the fourth sub-stack to an image of a reference card, and transferring the fourth sub-stack to the first tray if the top card matches an image of a reference card and the first tray can accommodate the fourth sub-stack.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the top card comprises a first top card, the image comprises a first image and the reference card comprises a first reference card, further including the steps of comparing a second top card of the fifth sub-stack, and transferring the fifth sub-stack to the third tray if the second top card matches a second image of a second reference card.

12. The method of claim 1 , further including the step of generating an alert if the first tray is full.

Assignees

• Donnelley & Sons Co

Inventors

• Eastwood David
• Benson Harold Aldridge
• Cholewinski Joe

Classifications

• B65H2701/18265

  Ordered set of batches of articles · CPC title

• B65H43/04

  detecting, or responding to, presence of faulty articles (B65H43/08 takes precedence; diverting faulty articles from main streams B65H29/62) · CPC title

• B65H39/00

  Associating, collating, or gathering articles or webs (combinations of piling and depiling operations, of interest apart from the single operation of piling or depiling B65H83/00; machines for both collating or gathering and permanently attaching together sheets or signatures B42C1/00) · CPC title

• B65H2701/1914

  Cards, e.g. telephone, credit and identity cards · CPC title

• B65H2301/431

  Features with regard to the collection, nature, sequence and/or the making thereof · CPC title