Device and method for personalizing documents

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12187029-B2
Application number	US-202017605980-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 23, 2020
Priority date	Apr 24, 2019
Publication date	Jan 7, 2025
Grant date	Jan 7, 2025

Abstract

A device is provided for personalizing documents, which includes a personalization device for applying personalization information to a document to be personalized. In addition, the device has a conveying device which includes at least two movable document carrier devices, each of which is configured: to receive a document to be personalized at a transfer position of the device that is the same for all document carrier devices; to move the document received, into the operating region of the personalization device, for the purpose of being personalized; and to move the document received, after its personalization, back to the transfer position and to discharge it there. The conveying device is configured, during its operation, to convey each of the document carrier devices along a respective associated path curve in the shape of a closed loop between the transfer position, the operating region and, in turn, the transfer position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A device for personalizing documents, wherein the device comprises:
a personalization device for applying personalization information to a document to be personalized, the document being located in an operating region of the personalization device, the personalization information being associated with the document to be personalized;
a conveying device which comprises at least two movable document carrier devices, each of which is configured:
to receive the document to be personalized at a transfer position of the device that is the same for each of the at least two movable document carrier devices;
to move the document received, into the operating region of the personalization device for the purpose of being personalized; and
to move the document received, after personalization, back to the transfer position and to discharge it there;

wherein the conveying device, during operation, conveys each of the at least two movable document carrier devices along a respective associated path curve in the shape of a closed loop, wherein a conveying movement of each of the at least two movable document carrier devices along the respective associated path curve is carried out in a temporally staggered manner with respect to the respective conveying movement of others of the at least two movable document carrier devices in the same direction in such a way that the at least two movable document carrier devices do not collide with each other during their respective conveying movements along the respective associated path curve,
wherein the device for personalizing documents further comprises:
a control device for controlling the device; and
a sensor device which is configured to detect, at one or more particular points along the respective associated path curves, one or more current movement parameters of the at least two movable document carrier devices and to communicate the one or more current movement parameters to the control device;
wherein the control device is configured to control the device as a function of the one or more current movement parameters,
wherein the conveying device is arranged to vary the respective associated path curve of at least one of the at least two movable document carrier devices as a function of a corresponding control, by the control device, on a basis of the one or more current movement parameters, and
wherein each respective associated path curve is defined by a movement path of finite length of one of the at least two movable document carrier devices, such that varying of the respective associated path curve changes a movement length or a movement curvature along the movement path of the at least one of the at least two movable document carrier devices.

2. The device in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising:
a transport device which is arranged to feed the document to be personalized to the transfer position along a transport path, for receiving the same by one of the document carrier devices, and to convey, away from the transfer position, the document which has already been personalized by the personalization device and which has been discharged at the transfer position by one of the document carrier devices.

3. The device in accordance with claim 2 , wherein the conveying device comprises respective conveying units on both sides of the transport path for conveying at least one of the document carrier devices along their respective path curve.

4. The device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured to carry out the respective conveying movements of the document carrier devices along their respective path curves in such a way that an intermediate stop takes place at least at the transfer position.

5. The device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein a time offset of the movements of the document carrier devices along their respective path curve is determined in such a way that, at a point in time at which one of the document carrier devices is located at the transfer position, another of the document carrier devices is at the same time located in the operating region of the personalization device.

6. The device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured:
when one of the document carrier devices is located at the transfer position, to discharge the document which is currently carried by the one of the document carrier devices and which has already previously been personalized by the personalization device, and, in its place, to pick up, into the one of the document carrier devices a further document yet to be personalized by the personalization device before the one of the document carrier devices continues movement for a new traversal of its path curve.

7. The device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the path curve of at least one of the document carrier devices is determined in such a way that, during operation of the device, the path curve has a curve portion between the transfer position and a first intermediate position, the curve portion being traversed twice per traversal of the path curve, wherein the curve portion is traversed, on one hand, in a course of an away movement of the document carrier device from the transfer position to the first intermediate position and, on another hand, offset in time with respect thereto and in an opposite direction in a course of a toward movement of the document carrier device from the first intermediate position to the transfer position, during the traversal, in the same direction, of the path curve in the shape of a loop by the document carrier device.

8. The device in accordance with claim 7 , wherein:
the path curve of the at least one document carrier device further comprises a second intermediate position which is located between the operating region and the first intermediate position; and
the device is further configured to carry out a movement of a first one of the document carrier devices, which movement takes place in a course of the away movement from the transfer position along the curve portion, with a time offset before a movement of a directly following second one of the document carrier devices in the course of the toward movement from the second intermediate position via the first intermediate position to the transfer position, in such a way that the second document carrier device cannot reach the first intermediate position until the first document carrier device has already left the first intermediate position again.

9. The device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured to carry out the conveying movements of the document carrier devices in a clocked manner in accordance with a common system clock, wherein each path curve is subdivided into at least three path portions and one or two successive path portions are traversed per individual clock cycle of the system clock.

10. The device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured to carry out the conveying movements of the document carrier devices along their respective path curve in a periodical manner, so that the conveying movements of the document carrier devices, which conveying movements are offset in time, are out of phase with each other.

11. The device in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the device is further configured in such a way that the path curves of at least two of the document carrier devices coincide in the operating region, so that the personalization of documents carried by these document carrier devices takes place at the same location or in the same local area within the operating region of the personalization device.

12. The device in accordance with claim 11 , wherein the de

Assignees

• Muehlbauer Gmbh & Co Kg
• Muhlbauer Gmbh & Co Kg

Inventors

• Dabrowski Hubert
• Kleindienst Uwe

Classifications

• B41J13/0063

  Handling thick cut sheets, e.g. greeting cards or postcards, larger than credit cards, e.g. using means for enabling or facilitating the conveyance of thick sheets (B41J11/20, B41J13/12 take precedence) · CPC title

• B41J13/0009

  control of the transport of the copy material · CPC title

• B41J13/26

  Registering devices · CPC title

• B41J2/01

  Ink jet · CPC title

• B41J3/28

  for printing downwardly on flat surfaces, e.g. of books, drawings, boxes {, envelopes, e.g. flat-bed ink-jet printers} · CPC title