DUAL-SIDED CLEANING SUBSTRATE FOR MEDIA TRANSPORT DEVICE

Abstract

This document describes cleaning cards for cleaning the interior of media transport devices, methods of manufacturing such cleaning cards, and methods of using such cleaning cards. The cards include a first layer of a substrate having a cleaning sublayer and a base sublayer, along with a second layer having a cleaning sublayer and a base sublayer. The base sublayers are positioned against each other at a plurality of contact areas. A plurality of pockets within which the base sublayers do not contact each other are positioned between the base sublayers so that each pocket forms a raised cleaning element in each of the cleaning sublayers. Each of the pockets is bounded by one or more of the contact areas.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This patent document claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/267,881, filed Feb. 11, 2022, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated into this document by reference.

BACKGROUND

Many machines have media transport mechanisms that receive printed media into the machine and move the media through one or more sections of the machine to perform various processes on the media. For example, a financial transaction terminal such as an automated teller machine may do any or all of the following steps: (i) receive printed currency notes, checks, receipts, coupons, tickets and other printed media; (ii) align the media to an internal reference; (iii) use a camera and/or other sensors to detect what the media is and/or what is printed on the media; (iv) apply additional printed markings to the media; and/or (v) move the media to an appropriate shuttle, bin or exit port. The terminal may perform some or all of these steps, and/or additional steps. Other machines that include media transport mechanisms include coupon printers, ticket printers, ticket-taking devices and other printed media handling systems.

Because transaction cards can be handled by human hands and can be exposed to various environmental conditions, the insertion of a card into a card reading device also introduces dirt, oil and/or other contaminants into the card reader slot. When such contaminants touch the reading device's contacts and other components of the reading head, it can impair the device's ability to collect data from the card. Over time, the contaminants can build up on the contacts and other components, and they may cause the reader to malfunction.

This document describes methods and systems directed to solving some of the issues described above, and/or other issues

SUMMARY

In various embodiments, a media transport system cleaning card includes a first layer of a substrate, wherein the first layer has a cleaning sublayer and a base sublayer. The cleaning card also includes a second layer of the substrate, wherein the second layer has a cleaning sublayer and a base sublayer. The base sublayers are positioned against each other at a plurality of contact areas. A plurality of pockets within which the base sublayers do not contact each other are positioned between the base sublayers so that each pocket forms a raised cleaning element in each of the cleaning sublayers. Each of the pockets is bounded by one or more of the contact areas.

In some embodiments, each pocket may be filled with air or another fluid.

In some embodiments, the first layer further comprises a first impermeable layer attached to the base sublayer of the first layer, and the second layer further comprises a second impermeable layer attached to the base sublayer of the second layer. Optionally, the first impermeable layer and the second impermeable layer form sidewalls of the plurality of pockets.

In some embodiments, each base sublayer is relatively more rigid than each cleaning sublayer.

In some embodiments, the raised cleaning elements are arranged in an array or a honeycomb pattern.

In some embodiments, each cleaning sublayer comprises an unbroken loop fabric or a flocked material. Optionally, each base layer comprises a fibrous aramid or meta-aramid material, a cellulosic material, a flexible polymeric material, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, or polyurethane foam.

This document also discloses a method of manufacturing a cleaning card, where the method comprises: (i) providing a first layer of a substrate, wherein the first layer has a first cleaning sublayer and a first base sublayer; (ii) providing a second layer of the substrate, wherein the second layer has a second cleaning sublayer and a second base sublayer; and (iii) positioning the first base sublayer and the second base sublayer against each other at a plurality of contact areas to form a plurality of raised cleaning elements in each of the cleaning areas, along with a plurality of pockets within which the base sublayers do not contact each other and which contain a fluid.

In some embodiments, the method includes, before positioning the first base sublayer and the second base sublayer against each other, connecting edges of the first layer and the second layer to each other while leaving a cavity between the first layer and the second layer;

In some embodiments, connecting the edges comprises leaving an opening to the cavity, and the method further comprises injecting a fluid into the cavity through the opening, and sealing the opening after injecting the fluid into the cavity. Optionally, injecting the fluid into the cavity comprises injecting air into the cavity.

In some embodiments, each of the raised cleaning elements is bounded by one or more of the contact areas.

In some embodiments, before positioning the first base sublayer and the second base sublayer against each other, the method also includes providing a first impermeable layer that is attached to the base sublayer of the first layer and providing a second impermeable layer attached to the base sublayer of the second layer. Optionally, the first impermeable layer and the second impermeable layer form sidewalls of the plurality of pockets.

In some embodiments, positioning the first base sublayer and the second base sublayer against each other comprises using a die to press the first layer and the second layer of the substrate against each other at the contact areas. Optionally, the die arranges the raised cleaning elements are arranged in an array or a honeycomb pattern.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B show two examples of a top or bottom view of a cleaning card for a media transport device.

FIG. 2 is a side view of various elements of an example cleaning card.

FIG. 3 is a close-up side view showing various layers of an example cleaning card.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show side views of two example of layers of a substrate of a cleaning card, before raised cleaning elements are formed in the substrate.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate embodiment of a side view showing example layers of a substrate of a cleaning car, before raised cleaning elements are formed in the substrate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” Similarly, the term “comprises” means “includes, and is not limited to.” Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in this document have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art.

In this document, terms that are descriptive of relative position such as “upper” and “lower”, “top” and “bottom”, “horizontal” and “vertical” and the like are intended to indicate relative positions with respect to the components for which those terms are descriptive, and are not intended to be absolute and require that the component remain in that absolute position in all configurations.

Except where specifically stated otherwise, numeric descriptors such as “first”, “second”, etc. are not intended to designate a particular order, sequence or position in an overall process or schema, but instead are simply intended to distinguish various items from each other by describing them as a first item, a second item, etc.

The terms “substantially” and “approximately”, when used in reference to a value, means a range that is within +/−10% of the value. When used in reference to a feature of an object, such as a substantially planar surface, terms such as “substantially” and “approximately” mean that the primary portion of the object exhibits the feature, although other portions may deviate. For example, a cleaning card in the form of a card from which embossments extend is considered to be a substantially planar surface.

The terms “media transport system” and “media transport device” refer to a set of hardware components that are configured to receive printed media (i.e., a substrate onto which text and/or graphics have been printed) or digitally encoded media (such as a chip in a credit card) and move the printed media through one or more modules that perform various processing steps on the printed media, such as position adjustment, sensing, printing and/or delivery to a final destination. Thus, a card reading device as described in the Background section in this application is a type of media transport device. A “currency transport device” or “currency transport system” is a type of media transport device that is configured to process and convey printed financial instruments such as, currency notes, checks, money orders, bank notes and the like, and digital financial instruments such as credit cards. A “currency transport device” or “currency transport system” is a type of media transport device that is configured to process and convey printed financial instruments such as currency notes, checks, money orders, bank notes and the like, and digital financial instruments such as credit cards.

FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate two example embodiments of a cleaning card 101 for cleaning the media transport path of a media transport device. This document will use reference number 101 to generally refer to any embodiment of the cleaning card. The card includes a substrate 105 from which multiple raised cleaning elements 102 extend. The cleaning elements, when passed through a media transport device, will brush against and clean interior components of the media transport device such as belts, rollers, sensors, and/or other components.

The cleaning elements may be arranged in any pattern. For example, FIG. 1A shows a cleaning card 101a in which the cleaning elements 102 are arranged in an array, while FIG. 1B shows a cleaning card 101b in which the cleaning elements 102 are arranged in a honeycomb pattern. Other patterns are possible, so long as the cleaning elements 102 are densely packed as shown. The pattern of raised cleaning elements may fill substantially all of the substrate, or it may be positioned on only a portion of the substrate. In some embodiments, the edges of each cleaning element 102 may contact the edges of its neighboring elements. In other embodiments, a small space may exist between the edges of at least some of neighboring elements. If a space exists, in some embodiments its width may be not more than 50%, not more than 40%, not more than 30%, not more than 20%, not more than 10%, not more than 5%, or not more than another percentage of the width of the adjacent cleaning elements 102.

The cleaning elements 102 may be circular as shown, or they may be any other shape, such as diamond-shaped, parallelogram-shaped, triangular, pentagon-shaped, hexagonal, octagonal, decagonal, oval-shaped, or of another shape. The cleaning elements 102 all may exhibit the same shape and size as shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, or the cleaning elements 102 may exhibit varying shapes or sizes.

The cleaning card 101 is a two-sided card, with cleaning elements on each side. Therefore, the views shown in FIGS. 1A-1B may be either top views or bottom views. In each case, the opposite side of the card will include raised cleaning elements arranged in a similar pattern.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the cleaning card 101 from a side view perspective. The raised cleaning elements 102a . . . 102n extend from each side of the substrate 105. The raised cleaning elements are shown as dome-shaped, although other shapes such as those of a pyramid, upside-down cone, or ramp are possible.

The substrate 105 includes two layers, such that each raised cleaning element (generally referred to as 102) includes a first segment that is formed by the first layer and a second segment that is formed by the second layer. The two layers of the substrate 105 contact each other at various contact areas 103 that are formed by or near the edges of each raised cleaning element 102. This is illustrated in the close-up side view of FIG. 3, in which the substrate includes a first layer 305a and a second layer 305b. The two layers contact each other in contact areas 103, optionally secured to each other by a seal 307 that extends on some or all of the contact areas 103. The seal 307 may be formed of an adhesive in some embodiments. In addition or alternatively, the layers 305a and 305b may be pressed together by a combination of heat and pressure that causes the layers to slightly melt into each other in the contact areas 103, and/or by ultrasonic welding, thus forming the seal 307,

Returning to FIG. 2, the contact areas 103 define boundaries of the raised cleaning elements 102, and the two layers of the substrate 105 do not contact each other within the raised cleaning elements 102. Therefore, a pocket 106 (i.e., a gap area) is formed within each pair of cleaning elements 102 by the separation of the two layers of the substrate. Each of the pockets 106 is also surrounded by one or more of the contact areas 103. Each pocket 106 will have sidewalls surrounding a cavity that is filled with air or another gas, or with a liquid, gel, or other fluid sub stance.

In some embodiments, filling the cavity may be done by connecting the edges of the substrate's layers together as described above while leaving both (a) a cavity between the layers, and (b) a small opening through which air or another substance may be injected into the cavity via a nozzle. As the nozzle is withdrawn, the hole will be sealed. The injected substance will not entirely fill the pocket between the two layers 305a and 305b so that the layers may be pressed together in the contact area. The pressing may be done using a die or other tool to form the pattern of the raised areas 102 and contact areas 103 in the substrate 105.

In other embodiments, the cleaning card may simply be formed by connecting and sealing the substrate's layers together as described above while leaving a cavity with air or gel positioned within the cavity. In this way, the cavity will be sealed with air or a gel.

The pockets 106 within the raised elements 102 provide a compressible cleaning tool, so that when the card is placed within the media transport device, the cleaning elements are pliable enough to not damage the device but firm enough to apply force that will clean the device's interior components.

Each of the layers 305a and 305b may in turn be formed of individual sublayers. For example, FIGS. 4A and 4B show a card substrate 105 before the raised surface elements are formed in the substrate. As shown, first layer 305a of the substrate 105 may have two sublayers (i.e., two sides) that include a cleaning sublayer 411a and an opposing base sublayer 412a. The second layer 305b of the substrate 105 also includes a cleaning sublayer 411b and an opposing base sublayer 412b. The base sublayers 412a, 412b face each other and connect to each other, optionally via a seal 307, and are not visible to a user after the card is made. The cleaning sublayers 411a, 411b face away from each other and are visible to a user of the card. FIGS. 4A and 4B also show the cavity 420 that is formed between the two layers before the raised cleaning elements are created. The cavity 420 will convert into the pockets of the raised cleaning elements when the cleaning elements are formed.

Each base sublayer 412 may provide a supporting structure that is more rigid than the cleaning layers. For example, the base sublayers 412 may be made of a flexible, tear-resistant fibrous material such as a fibrous aramid or meta-aramid fabric material such as that marketed under the NOMEX® brand; a cellulosic material; or a flexible polymeric substrate provided with thin, non-woven layers made of absorbent material such as that marketed under the SONTARA® brand. Alternatively, each base sublayer 412 may be made of polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyurethane foam, or any similar material. The respective base sublayers 412a, 412b may be made of the same material or different materials.

Each cleaning sublayer 411 may be laminated onto or otherwise contacted to the base sublayer 411. Each cleaning sublayer 411 may be made of a soft fabric or other soft material such as unbroken loop (UBL) fabric. Other materials may include flocked material or other patterned or textured surfaces that provide a cleaning friction. The respective cleaning sublayers 411a, 411b may be made of the same material or different materials.

If either base sublayer is made of a porous material, then an impermeable membrane may be connected to a side of, or incorporated within, that base layer. FIG. 4A shows an embodiment in which a first impermeable layer 415a is positioned between first cleaning sublayer 411a and first base sublayer 412a, and a second impermeable layer 415b is positioned between second cleaning sublayer 411b and second base sublayer 412b. The impermeable layers (generally referred to as 415) will form the sidewalls of the pockets or be positioned outside of the sidewalls, and will keep the fluid within the pockets and prevent fluid from escaping through the cleaning sublayers 411. Each impermeable layer 415 may be formed of plastic or other material that does not pass fluid and thus contains the air or other material within the pocket. Each impermeable layer 415 may be positioned between a cleaning sublayer 411 and base sublayer 412, as shown in FIG. 4A, or it may be positioned on the side of each base sublayer 412 that is adjacent to the pocket and thus form the pocket, as shown in FIG. 4B.

FIG. 5 shows an alternate embodiment of a card substrate 501 before the raised surface elements are formed in the substrate. As shown, first layer 505a of the substrate 501 may have two sublayers (i.e., two sides) that include a cleaning sublayer 511a and an opposing base sublayer 512a. The second layer 505b of the substrate 501 also includes a cleaning sublayer 511b and an opposing base sublayer 512b. The base sublayers 512a, 512b face each other and connect to each other, optionally via an adhesive, and are not visible to a user after the card is made. The cleaning sublayers 511a, 511b face away from each other and are visible to a user of the card. Thus, the card of FIG. 5 is similar to that of FIGS. 4A and 4B except that it also includes a separation layer 507 of impermeable material between the base sublayers 512a, 512b. The separation layer 507 separates the cavity that is formed between the two layers before the raised cleaning elements are created into to cavity subsections 520a and 520b. The cavity subsections 520a, 520b will convert into the pockets of the raised cleaning elements when the cleaning elements are formed.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the layers and sublayers of the cleaning card may have the same compressibility, or they may have varying compressibility. In addition, the cleaning card may have layers and sublayers having the same melting temperature or varying melting temperatures. The melting temperature is the temperature at which a layer begins to melt.

The cleaning tool of this disclosure can be manufactured in one of several possible ways. Initially, the two layers of the substrate will be formed, each with at least a base sublayer and a cleaning sublayer using materials such as those described above. If the material of the base is permeable, an impermeable layer will be attached to the base, either between the base and the cleaning sublayer, or on the base opposite the cleaning sublayer. The two layers of the substrate will be placed so that the base sublayers face each other and the cleaning sublayers face away from each other. The edges of the substrate's layers may be connected together as described above while leaving both a cavity and a small opening through which air or another substance may be injected into the cavity via a nozzle. As the nozzle is withdrawn, the opening will be sealed. The injected substance will not entirely fill the pocket between the two so that the layers may be pressed together. The pressing may be done using a die or other tool to form the pattern of the raised cleaning elements and contact areas as described above.

The methods and systems described above can help ensure that cleaning occurs in small and/or hard-to-reach segments within the media transport device. It also provides a card that is firm enough to clean interior components, yet soft enough that it will not damage the components.

The features and functions described above, as well as alternatives, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements may be made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.

Claims

1. A media transport system cleaning card, comprising:

a first layer of a substrate, wherein the first layer has a cleaning sublayer and a base sublayer;

a second layer of the substrate, wherein the second layer has a cleaning sublayer and a base sublayer;

wherein: the base sublayers are positioned against each other at a plurality of contact areas, a plurality of pockets within which the base sublayers do not contact each other are positioned between the base sublayers so that each pocket forms a raised cleaning element in each of the cleaning sublayers, and each of the pockets is bounded by one or more of the contact areas.

2. The cleaning card of claim 1, wherein each pocket is filled with air.

3. The cleaning card of claim 1, wherein each pocket is filled with a fluid.

4. The cleaning card of claim 1, wherein:

the first layer further comprises a first impermeable layer attached to the base sublayer of the first layer; and

the second layer further comprises a second impermeable layer attached to the base sublayer of the second layer.

5. The cleaning card of claim 4, wherein the first impermeable layer and the second impermeable layer form sidewalls of the plurality of pockets.

6. The cleaning card of claim 1, wherein each base sublayer is relatively more rigid than each cleaning sublayer.

7. The cleaning card of claim 1, wherein the raised cleaning elements are arranged in an array or a honeycomb pattern.

8. The cleaning card of claim 1, wherein each cleaning sublayer comprises an unbroken loop fabric or a flocked material.

9. The cleaning card of claim 8, wherein each base layer comprises a fibrous aramid or meta-aramid material, a cellulosic material, a flexible polymeric material, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, or polyurethane foam.

10. A method of manufacturing a cleaning card, the method comprising:

providing a first layer of a substrate, wherein the first layer has a first cleaning sublayer and a first base sublayer;

providing a second layer of the substrate, wherein the second layer has a second cleaning sublayer and a second base sublayer;

positioning the first base sublayer and the second base sublayer against each other at a plurality of contact areas to form: a plurality of raised cleaning elements, and a plurality of pockets within which the base sublayers do not contact each other, and which contain a fluid.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising, before positioning the first base sublayer and the second base sublayer against each other, connecting edges of the first layer and the second layer to each other while leaving a cavity between the first layer and the second layer.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein connecting the edges comprises leaving an opening to the cavity, and the method further comprises:

injecting a fluid into the cavity through the opening; and

sealing the opening after injecting the fluid into the cavity.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein injecting the fluid into the cavity comprises injecting air into the cavity.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein each of the raised cleaning elements is bounded by one or more of the contact areas.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising, before positioning the first base sublayer and the second base sublayer against each other:

providing a first impermeable layer that is attached to the base sublayer of the first layer; and

providing a second impermeable layer attached to the base sublayer of the second layer.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first impermeable layer and the second impermeable layer form sidewalls of the plurality of pockets.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein positioning the first base sublayer and the second base sublayer against each other comprises using a die to press the first layer and the second layer of the substrate against each other at the contact areas.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the die arranges the raised cleaning elements are arranged in an array or a honeycomb pattern.