US2356385A - Photoprinting device - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 22, 1944.

H. COQLEY PHOTO-PRINTING DEVICE Filed Aug. 3, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l HAL COOLEY INVENTOR.

jig a ATTORNEYS Aug. 22, 1944. H. COOLEY k 2,355,385

PHOTO-PRINTING DEVICE Filed Aug. 5, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 14 HAL COOLEY INVENTOR.

BY M

' ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 22, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,358,385 rnororam'rmc DEVICE Hal Cooley, Portland, Oreg.

Application August 3, 1942, Serial No. 453,476

4 Claims.

Thi invention relates in general to photoprinting in which a photograph is desired to cover only a portion of the finished. card or print and in which other matter is to be reproduced on the remaining portion of the same adjoining the photograph.

In particular, this invention relates to personal identification'cards, such as those now required for workers in various branches of defense industries, and to similar cards, in which a photograph of the card owner appears on the card together with descriptive information and other data. It is of course advisable that the photograph of the individual be actually printed on the identification card and not merel printed on a separate piece of paper and then attached to the card, since this latter method enables the original photograph to be subsequently removed and another substituted in its place for the purpose of fraud. When the photograph is printed on the card itself, however, the proper positioning of the photograph with respect to the other spacing on the card and to placing of other printed or written data thereon present certain difficulties, especially when a large number of such identification cards are to be made in the least possible time.

The object of this invention accordingly is to provide a photo-printing device or frame in which the entire card can be printed at once, requiring only a minimum amount of writing or stamping to be placed thereon after the card has been finished.

. Another object of this invention is to provid a simple device which will insure the proper positioning of the picture and the other data on the card without any special effort or delay.

A further object is to provide a photo-printin device which can be used with a projector for the purpose of producing a picture of predetermined size and location on a card with the least expenditure'of effort and time.

These and incidental objects I attain by means of the improved, simple, and easily manipulated photo-printing means for card holder herein brieflydescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my improved printing device shown in open or raised position preparatory to receiving thecard to be printed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the device in closed position after the card has been placed thereon;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the device illustrating the actual printing operation and the relation of the device to the photo p j ctor, the latter being shown in broken line;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the device with the hinged top or frame and cover .portion entirely removed;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation corresponding to the line 55 of Fig. 4, but with the top or cover portion hinged in place and in raised position;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional elevation corresponding to line 6-6 of Fig. 4 showing an adjustable stop or positioning pin for the card to be printed;

Fig. '7 is a sectional elevation of the floating card support or platform corresponding to. line 1-1 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section of the top or cover of the device.

My device includes a base upon which a sensitized card may be positioned and held in place for photo-printing, and a specially-arranged frame hinged to the base and so constructed as to permit printing of the photo on part of the card by a photo projector and the printing of other material or related data on the other part of the card simultaneously.

The base I, Figs. 1 and 4, may be made of any suitable material, such as plywood or plastic material. A portion of the base is cut out, as shown at II in Fig. 4, and a floatingtable or card support platform I2 is inserted therein. The floating platform I2 is supported on a plurality of springs l3 (Fig. 7) which are independently anchored to strips M secured to the lower surface of the base 10. The purpose of this mounting of the floating platform I2 is to insure that the sensitized card wil1 be properly held against the printing frame or top portion of the device and to compensate for any non-parallel relation between base and top portion.

The outline of the sensitized card to be printed is indicated by the broken line IS in Fig. 4. When the top hinged portion, designated in general by A, is in the raised position shown in Fig. l, the sensitized card is placed on the floating platform 12 and positioned against stops ll, l8 and 2| (Figs. 4 and l) the top edge iii of the card being placed against the stops I1 and I8 and the lefthand edge 20 being placed against the stop 2|. The stop 2| (Fig. 6) comprises a pin 33 slidably mounted in a flat metal support 34. The bottom end of the pin 33 is also attached to the metal support 34 by a spring 25 which holds the pin 33 normally in th raised position shown in Figs.

1 and 6, but permitting the pin to be depressed by engagement with the printing frame top A when this frame or top is closed down. The support 34 for the pin 33 is mounted on the base 50 by means of the screw 35, permitting the support 34 to be swung to left or right, as viewed in Fig. l, when the screw 35 is loosened, thus providing adjustment for cards of different lengths. A portion of the base is cut out at 33 to accommodate the pin 33 and spring 25. The stop 11 comprises a pin similar to that of stop 21 and similarly mounted in a plate I! to which it is attached by a spring (not shown) corresponding exactly to spring 25 of the stop 2|.

The stop 18 is of somewhat different construction and is formed into a locking pin slidably mounted in the plate 19, having a notch 31 (Fig. adapted to engage and grip the upper edge of the sensitized card. A spring 23 is mounted on the pin as shown in Fig. 5 so as to urge the same downwardly. A curved arm 22, secured to the upper hinged portion A of the device, is adapted to engage the lower end of the pin and to push it upwardly against the force of the spring 23 when the top A is in extreme raised position. When the pin is so raised the edge of the card can be inserted into the notch 31 and when the top A of the printing frame is lowered slightly to the position indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 5, the spring 23, drawing the pin downwardly, will cause the notch 31 to exert a slight clamping action on the edge of the card and prevent subsequent inadvertent displacing of the card. A recess 24 (Fig. 1) is provided in the hinged top A to accommodate the head of the stop or pin 18, since this stop, unlike the stops I1 and 21, is not intended to be engaged by the top when the top is lowered. The base I0 is also cut away at 38 to accommodate the curved arm 22.

The top hinged portion A or printing frame proper includes a main frame member 26 which is attached to the base In by hinges 21. A large rectangular section 28 (Fig. 1) is cut out of the member 26 and the major portion of this cutout section is surmounted by an arched enclosure consisting of an arched wall 29 and two side walls 39. A light bulb 30 (see Fig. 8) is mounted within the arched enclosure, having suitable socket connections (not shown) and adapted to be connected by a suitable wire cord to any convenient electrical outlet. The energizing of the light bulb may be controlled in any suitable manner. For example, I have found it convenient to use two switches in combination, namely, a snap-on switch 43 (Fig. 1) and a push button switch 31, so arranged that the bulb 33 will be lighted only when the snap-on switch 43 is turned on and the push button switch 31 is pressed. The snap-on switch 43 could of course be omitted, but it serves to prevent any inadvertent lighting of the bulb due to accidental pressing of the button prematurely.

Two diffusing glass plates 3! and 32 mounted in the member 26, constitute the base of the arched enclosure, the lower plate 32 preferably being flush with the lower face of the frame member 26. These two glass plates 3| and 32 cause the light from the bulb 30 to be diffused with equal intensity over that portion of the card positioned under the arched enclosure when the top A is in lowered or printed position, and the bulb 30 is lighted. The negative or film 43, for that portion of the card which is not to contain the picture of the individual, is mounted against the bottom face of the lower glass plate 32, as shown in Fig. 1, and this may be conveniently done by means of border strips of adhesive tape, indicated at H.

The remaining space 42 of the rectangular cut-out section 28 of the printing frame, located to the left of the arched enclosure as viewed in Fig. 2, corresponds to the space on the card to be occupied by the photograph of the individual. The printing of the photograph itself is done by means of a projector 44 positioned as shown in Fig. 3. The projector and printing device should of course be set in their proper relative positions before the sensitized card is placed in the printing device. The outer surface of the arched wall 28 is preferably painted a dull black to avoid any reflection of light from the projector, or given any other finish suitable for this purpose.

The operation of my device is very simple. Assuming that the negative 40, containing any arrangement of data, information, blanks, etc., desired for that portion of the card, has been attached as shown in Figure 1, and assuming that the photo projector has been properly adjusted with respect to the printing device the negative for the photograph is placed in the projector and the sensitized card to be printed is placed in the printing device. The stops I1, is and 21 enable the card to be quickly and easily positioned even in the dark. With the card thus in position, the top A is lowered onto the card. The negative 40 will bear evenly against the sensitized card surface due to the spring mounting of the floating platform I2 on which the major portion of the card is supported. Assuming that the switch 43 has been turned on in the meantime, all that remains now to be done is to turn on the light in the projector and to press the push button switch 31, which will cause the two printing operations for the two sections of the card to be performed.

The light in the projector and the bulb 30 in the printing device, could, if desired, be connected to a single switch, for example, to a switch controlled by the foot of the operator which would enable both printing lights to be flashed on simul taneously. Further modifications could also be made without departing from the principles of this invention.

I claim:

1. In an identification card printing device, a base, a frame hinged to said base, said frame enclosing an area corresponding to the space on the identification card to be printed, a housing supported on said frame extending over a portion of said area within said frame, a light located within said housing, the remaining portion of said area within said frame adjacent said housing left uncovered, whereby a photo projector may be used for printing in said uncovered area while a negative attached below said housing can be used for printing the remaining area.

2. In a photo-printing device of the character described, a base, a frame hinged to said base, said frame enclosing an area corresponding to the space to be printed, an arched enclosure supported on said frame surmounting a portion of said area within said frame, a light located within said arched enclosure, a diffusing glass plate in the base of said arched enclosure, the remaining portion of said area within said frame adjacent said arched enclosure left uncovered, whereby a photo projector may be used for printing in said uncovered area while a negative attached to said glass plate can be used for printing the remaining area.

3. In a photo-printing device of the character described, a base, a cutout portion in said base, a floating platform in said cutout portion, a

frame attached to said base, said frame enclosing an area corresponding to the space to be printed, a housing supported on said frame extending over a portion of said area within said frame, a light located within said housing, the remaining portion of said area within said frame adjacent said housing left uncovered, whereby a photo projector may be used for printing in said uncovered area while a negative attached below' ing stop in said base for another edge of the identification card, said second stop including a slidable member substantially perpendicular to said base, a spring normally holding said member in lowered position, a notch in said'member adapted to engage the adjacent edge of said card and to exert a mild clamping action thereon when said member is lowered after the card edge is inserted in said slot, an arm attached to said 0 frame engaging the lower end of said member,

whereby when said frame is raised said member will be pushed upward and when said frame is lowered said member will be permitted to be drawn down by said spring to clamp the card edge, said frame enclosing an area corresponding to the space on the identification card to be printed, a housing supported on said frame extending over a portion of said area within said frame, a light located within said housing,

0 the remaining portion of said area within said frame adjacent said housing left uncovered,

whereby a photo projector may be used for printing in said uncovered area while a negative attached below said housing can be used for printing the remaining area.

HAL COOLEY.

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