WO2010025141A1

WO2010025141A1 - Irregular card substrate holder for a card processing device

Info

Publication number: WO2010025141A1
Application number: PCT/US2009/054919
Authority: WO
Inventors: Philip G. Umberger
Original assignee: Fargo Electronics, Inc.
Priority date: 2008-08-28
Filing date: 2009-08-25
Publication date: 2010-03-04
Also published as: WO2010025141A8

Abstract

A card processing device (100) includes a card input (113), a card feed path (114), a card processing mechanism (104), a card transport mechanism (102) and a card holder (101). The card processing mechanism is in the card feed path. The card processing mechanism includes a print head (116), a laminating roller (124) or a data reader/writer (128). The card transport mechanism includes a card feed roller (140). The card feed roller is configured to feed individual cards along the card feed path in a feed direction (160). The card holder is configured to support a stack (108) of card substrates (110) and provide the card feed roller access to a top card (110T) in the stack. The card holder includes a pivot member (152) positioned below the card feed roller and configured to pivotally support a bottom card (110B) of the stack of card substrates.

Description

IRREGULAR CARD SUBSTRATE HOLDER FOR A CARD PROCESSING DEVICE

BACKGROUTO Embodiments of the invention are generally directed to a card holder that operates to present card substrates to an input feed roller of a device in a manner that reduces the likelihood of miss feeds even when the card substrates include irregularities that cause their top and/or bottom surfaces to be non-planar.

Card processing devices include, for example, card printing devices, card laminators and contact and contactless card readers and writers. Such card processing devices generally feed individual card substrates from a stack for processing by the print head, laminating roller, data writer, or other card processor of the device.

The card substrates may have top and/or bottom surfaces that contain irregularities, which cause them to be non-planar and non-parallel with each other. Such irregularities can cause substrate miss feeds from the card stack and interruptions to the processing of the card substrates.

SUMMARY Embodiments of the invention are directed to a card processing device and a card holder for use in a card processing device to support a stack of card substrates. One embodiment of the card processing device includes a card input, a card feed path, a card processing mechanism, a card transport mechanism and a card holder. The card processing mechanism is in the card feed path. The card processing mechanism includes a print head, a laminating roller or a data reader/writer. The card transport mechanism includes a card feed roller. The card feed roller is configured to feed individual cards along the card feed path in a feed direction. The card holder is configured to support a stack of card substrates and provide the card feed roller access to a top card in the stack. The card holder includes a pivot member positioned below the card feed roller and configured to pivotally support a bottom card of the stack of card substrates.

One embodiment of the card holder comprises a base member having a top surface and a pivot member. The pivot member extends above the top surface of the base member. The pivot member is configured to pivotally support a bottom card of the stack of card substrates relative to the base member. The base member limits an amount the bottom cad can pivot about the pivot member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary card processing device 100 in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of an exemplary card processing device in accordance with embodiments of the invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the card processing device of FIG. 2 taken generally along 3-3.

FIGS. 4A and 4B respectively show side cross-sectional and top plan views of an exemplary card substrate having non-planar and non-parallel top and bottom surfaces. FIG. 5 is simplified end view of a card holder in accordance with the prior art.

FIG. 8 A is a perspective view of a card holder in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 8B and 8C are cross-sectional views of the card holder of FIG. 8A taken generally along lines 8B-8B and 8C-8C, respectively.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a card holder in accordance with embodiments of the invention.

FIGS. 9B and 9C are cross-sectional views of the card holder of FIG. 9A taken generally along lines 9B-9B and 9C-9C, respectively. FIGS. 10-13 are perspective views of card holders in accordance with various embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 14A is a perspective view of a card holder in accordance with embodiments of the invention. FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of the card holder of FIG. HA taken generally along lines 14B-14B.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the invention are directed to providing compensation for top and/or bottom surface irregularities of card substrates to prevent miss feeds of the card substrates into a card processing device.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary card processing device 100 in accordance with embodiments of the invention. The device generally comprises a card holder 101, a card transport 102, one or more card processors 104 and a controller 106. The card holder 101 is configured to support a stack 108 of individual card substrates 110 and may be in the form of a cartridge, The card transport 102 generally comprises feed rollers 112, such as feed roller pairs, that are motor driven to feed a card 110 from the stack 108 through an input 113 and along a card path 114 for processing by the card processor 104.

Embodiments of the card processor 104 include devices for performing processes on the top or bottom surface of a card 110. One embodiment of the card processor 104 includes a print head 116 for printing an image to a surface 118 of the card 110. The print head 116 can be used to either directly print the image to a surface of the card 110, such as the bottom surface 118 (as shown) and/or the top surface 119, or print an image to an image transfer film, from which the printed image is transferred to the top or bottom surface 1 18 of the card 110 using a laminating roller, in accordance with conventional techniques. The print head 116 generally utilizes a print consumable, such as ink 120 or a print ribbon 122. Other conventional print mechanisms can also be used by the device 100.

Another embodiment of the card processor 104 comprises a laminating roller 124. The laminating roller 124 is generally configured to laminate an overlaminate film 126 to the surface 118 of the card UO, in accordance with conventional lamination techniques.

In accordance with another embodiment, the card processor 104 includes a data reader/writer 128 (i.e., data encoder) that is configured to read data from and/or write data to the card 110. In one embodiment, the data writer is configured to read data from and/or write data to a memory chip embedded in the card 110, to read data from and/or write data to a magnetic stripe of the card 110, or other device configured to read data from and/or write data to the card 110.

The controller 106 and is generally configured to control the operations of the device 100 including the motors driving the feed rollers 112 of the transport mechanism 102 and the card processor 104 to process individual card substrates 110 fed from the stack 108 responsive to a card processing job. The card processing job generally comprises instructions generated by a card processing application, which is typically executed on a computer, for example. One embodiment of the controller 106 comprises one or more processors and memory, which execute the instructions of the card processing job through the control of the components of the device 100.

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of an exemplary card processing device 100 in accordance with embodiments of the invention. FIG. 3 is a cross- sectional view of the card processing device 100 of FIG. 2 taken generally along line 3-3 illustrating a stack 108 of card substrates 110 being supported by the card holder 101. The exemplary device 100 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 is in the form of a card printer, such as an identification card printer, and will be used to illustrate embodiments of the card holder 101. The exemplary device 100 of FIG, 2 includes the print head H 6 and a print ribbon cartridge 142 that contains a print ribbon 122. The print ribbon cartridge 142 is shown exploded from a cartridge receiver 144, which is configured to receive the cartridge 142. The device 100 also includes a housing 146 and a front cover 148 to cover the components of the device 100.

The individual card substrates 1 10 in the stack may not be depicted in order to simplify the illustrations. Embodiments of the card substrate 110 include substrates used to form credit cards, identification cards, contact and contactless cards, badges, as well as other types of irregular stackable substrates, such as those used to form passports. FIGS. 4A-B respectively show side cross- sectional and top plan views of an exemplary card substrate 110 having bottom and top surfaces 118 and 1 19. The substrate 110 includes an irregularity 130 rendering the top surface 119 non-planar and, possibly, non-parallel to the bottom surface 118, as illustrated in FIG. 2A. The irregularity 130 can be fonned in numerous ways. Exemplary irregularities 130 include irregularities caused by the waiping of the card substrate 110, engravings (e.g., laser engravings), embossings, circuitry (e.g., RFID circuits or tags, proximity circuits, etc.) in or on the card substrate 110, magnetic tape used to form magnetic stripes on the card substrate 110, and other card features or card defects that can produce the irregularity 130 and may cause the bottom and/or top surfaces 118 and 119 to become non-planar.

FIG. 5 is a simplified end view of a card holder 132 in accordance with the prior art, such as that described in U.S. Patent Nos. 7,344,325 and 7,018,117, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The card holder 132 includes a base member 134 having a support surface 136 that generally lies parallel to the axis of rotation 138 of a card feed roller 140, which may be located adjacent the card input 113 of the card processing device, as shown in FIG. 1. When the individual cards 110 in the stack 108 are planar and have parallel bottom and top surfaces 118 and 119, the top card 11OT is presented to the card feed roller 140 such that it lies substantially parallel to the axis of rotation 138 resulting in infrequent miss feeds. However, when the cards 110 are non-planar, such as due to an irregularity 130, the top card 11 OT is not presented to the card feed roller 140 in a manner that allows the top card HOT to be reliably fed along the card path 114. When the irregularities 130 of each of the card substrates 110 are stacked upon each other, the irregularities 130 cause the card substrates 110, particularly the top card 11OT to become misaligned (i.e., non-parallel) with the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140, as shown in FIG. 5. The larger the stack 108 of the substrates 110, the greater the potential for misalignment between the top card 11OT and the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140 and the greater the likelihood of card miss feeds, when conventional card holders 132 having flat base members 134 are used to support the stack 108.

Embodiments of the card holder 101 of the present invention operate to compensate for the above-described misalignment problems and operate to present the top card HOT to the card feed roller 140 such that it lies substantially parallel to the axis of rotation 138. As a result, embodiments of the card holder 101 allow for more reliable feeding of irregular card substrates 110. Embodiments of the card holder 101 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8A-C, 9A-C₅ 10-13 and 14A-B. FIGS. 6 and 7 are simplified end views of the card holder 101 illustrating its operation with a stack 108 of irregular card substrates HO. FIG. 8 A is a perspective view of a card holder 101 in accordance with embodiments of the invention, FIGS. 8B and 8C are cross- sectional views of the card holder of FIG. 8 A taken generally along lines 8B-8B and 8C-8C, respectively. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of a card holder 101 in accordance with embodiments of the invention. FIGS. 9B and 9C are cross- sectional views of the card holder of FIG. 9 A taken generally along lines 9B-9B and 9C-9C, respectively. FIGS. 10-13 are perspective views of card holders 101 in accordance with various embodiments of the invention. FIG. 14 A is a perspective view of a card holder 101 in accordance with embodiments of the invention. FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of the card holder of FIG. 14A taken generally along lines 14B-14B. Similar elements will be identified using the same or similar reference numbers.

Embodiments of the card holder 101 include a base member 150 and- a pivot member 152. The card stack 108 is allowed to pivot on the pivot member 152 to compensate for misalignment between the top surface 119 of the top card HOT to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140. Accordingly, the pivot member 152 pivotally supports the bottom card HOB of the stack 108 such that the top surface 119 of the bottom substrate HOB is non-planar to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7. The pivoting of the bottom card substrate 11 OB about the pivot member 152 compensates for the irregularities 130 of the substrates 110 in the stack 108 and allows the top card 11OT to be presented to the card feed roller 140 with its top surface 119 substantially parallel to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7. As a result, miss feeds caused by the misalignment of the top card substrate HOT to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140 can be avoided.

In one embodiment, the pivot member 152 is supported on a top surface 154 of the base member 150. In one embodiment, the pivot member 152 is integrally formed with the base member 150. In another embodiment, the pivot member is attached to the top surface 154 using an adhesive or through another suitable technique.

In one embodiment, the base member 150 is a planar member. In one embodiment, the base member 150 includes a front end 156 and a rear end 158. The front end 156 is positioned in a feed direction 160 from the rear end 158. The feed direction 160 corresponds to the direction in which the card substrates 110 are fed by the card feed roller 140 through the card input 113 and along the card feed path 114, as shown in FIG. 1. The card feed direction 160 is perpendicular to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140. In one embodiment, the top surface 154 of the base member 150 is generally parallel to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140.

In one embodiment, the pivot member 152 is positioned below the card feed roller 140, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 6 and 7. In one embodiment, the pivot member 152 is positioned between a pair of side walls 162 and 164, as shown in FIG. 2. The side walls 162 and 164 operate to maintain a desired widthwise orientation of the cards 110 relative to the card feed roller 140. The card holder 110 may also comprise a front wall 166, which may include an opening defining the card input 113 (FIG. 1). The front wall 166 limits a forward position of the card stack 108. The card holder 110 may also comprise a rear wall 168, which limits a rearward position of the stack 108, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In one embodiment, the rear wall 168 is formed by a cover 170. The base member 150 may be attached to or separated from one or more of the walls 162, 164, 166 and 168. In one embodiment, the walls 162, 164, 166 and 168 are integral or attached to the device 100, or are components of a removable card cartridge.

In one embodiment, the pivot member 152 comprises a raised surface 172 that extends above the top surface 154 of the base member 150 and toward the roller 140, as best shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 6, 7, 8B₅ 8C, 9B, 9C, 10 and 11. In one embodiment, the raised surface 172 forms a fulcrum, about which the bottom card substrate HOB supported by the card holder 101 pivots. In one embodiment, the pivot member is in the form of a bump 173, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Here, the bottom card substrates HOB can pivot in practically all directions about the bump 173.

In accordance with other embodiments, the raised surface 172 forms a fulcrum that generally defines a pivot axis 174 (FIG. 8 A, 9 A, 10 and 11), about which the bottom card substrate 11OB supported by the card holder 101 pivots, as shown in FIGS. 3, 6 and 7. In one embodiment, the pivot axis 174 is selected based on the one or more irregularities BO of the card substrates 110. In general, the location of the pivot axis 174 is selected such that it is not aligned with the thickest portions of the substrates 110. In one embodiment, the pivot axis 174 is parallel to the feed direction 160 and, thus, transverse to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140, as shown in FIGS. 8A-C₅9A-C and 10-13. The pivot axis 174 may also be oriented in a variety of other orientations, such as transverse to the feed direction 160, for example.

When the stack 108 of the irregular card substrates 110 are supported on the card holder 101, the bottom card 11 OB is pivoted about the pivot axis 174 such that the bottom card 11 OB is not oriented parallel to the top surface 154 of the base member 150 or parallel to the plane of the card feed path 114. When the pivot axis 174 is generally oriented in the feed direction 160, the pivoted bottom card 11OB is non-parallel to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140. In one embodiment, the top surface 154 of the base member 150 limits an amount that the bottom card HOB can pivot about the pivot member 152, as shown in FIG. 6. The pivoting of the bottom card HOB about the pivot member 151 compensates for the irregularities 130 (e.g., thicker or thinner portions) of the card substrates 110 and allows the top card 11OT to be aligned substantially parallel to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 7. This alignment of the top card HOT with the card feed roller 140 allows for the proper feeding of the top card HOT through the card input 109 and along the card feed path 114 for processing by the device 100.

The top card 11OT may be misaligned with the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140 before the top card HOT engages the card feed roller 140 due to the pivoting of the bottom card HOB, as illustrated in FIG. 6. In one embodiment, a biasing mechanism 180 applies a force to the base member 150 or other suitable component, that presses the top card HOT in the stack 108 against the card feed roller 140. In one embodiment, the biasing mechanism 180 moves the base member 150 toward the card feed roller 140. This is illustrated in FIG. 7 where the base member 150 is initially in a lower position (shown in phantom) with the cards resting on the base member 150 and the pivot member 152 as in FIG. 6, then base member 150 is raised to press the top card HOT against the card feed roller 140. The compression of the card stack 108 between the card feed roller 140 and the pivot member 152 by the biasing mechanism 180 causes the bottom card HOB to pivot about the raised surface 172 of the pivot member 152 and the top card 11OT to conform to the card feed roller 140 and become substantially parallel to the axis of rotation 138, as shown in FIG. 7. The bottom card HOB may pivot such that it no longer engages the top surface 154 of the base member 150, as illustrated in FIG. 7. As a result, the top card HOT is positioned to fully engage the card feed roller 140 for proper feeding along the print path 114. This allows the card holder 101 to be utilized with regular planar card substrates as well as irregular card substrates. The biasing mechanism 180 can take on many different forms. In one embodiment, the card holder 101 includes a frame 200 (FIGS. 3, 8A, 9A and 14A). The frame 200 supports the base member 150, which can be integrally formed therewith, and the pivot member 152. In one embodiment, the frame 200 includes an arm 202 that supports the base member 150 and the pivot member 152. In one embodiment, the arm 202 includes a cylindrical portion 206 or a pair of apertures, through which a rod 208 extends. The cylindrical portion 206 is configured to slide along the rod 208 to allow the frame 200 and the supported base member 150 and pivot member 152 to move up and down relative to the card feed roller 140. One embodiment of the biasing mechanism 180 applies an upwardly directed force to the frame 200, which in turn applies the force to the card stack 108 and directs the top card HOT of the stack 108 against the card feed roller 140. In one embodiment, the biasing mechanism 180 comprises a spring 210, shown in FIG. 3. In one embodiment, a front end 212 of the pivot member 152 is displaced rearward from the front end 156 of the base member 150, as shown in FIGS. 8 A and 8C. In one embodiment, the front end 212 of the pivot member is positioned such that it lies rearward of a plane 213 that extends through the axis of rotation 138 of the feed roller 140 and is perpendicular to the feed direction 160, as shown in FIG. 1. The rearward position of the front end 212 is preferably selected such that the pivot member 152 does not contact the feed roller 140 when the card holder 101 is driven to its highest vertical position to feed the bottom card substrate 11OB. As a result, in one embodiment, the front end 212 of the pivot member 152 is displaced in the rearward direction, which is opposite the feed direction 160, from a plane that is parallel to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140 and perpendicular to the card feed path 114, such that the pivot member 152 does not contact the feed roller 140 when the card holder 101 is empty of card substrates 110. In one embodiment, a stop feature, such as stop 214 (FIGS 8A and 9A), contacts a portion of the card processing device 100 and prevents the base member 150 and the pivot member 152 from contacting the feed roller 140. Thus, in some embodiments, neither the base member 150 nor the pivot member 152 contact the feed roller 140 when the card holder 101 is empty of card substrates 110 even though the pivot member 152 may be positioned directly beneath the card feed roller 140, as shown in FIG. 1.

In one embodiment, the pivot member 152 comprises a first portion 216 having a longitudinal axis, which is generally aligned with the pivot axis 174 (FIGS. 8 A and 9A) the feed direction 160. In one embodiment, the first portion 216 includes the raised portion 172. In one embodiment the first portion 216 has a convex shape, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

In one embodiment, the pivot member 152 comprises a second portion 220 having a longitudinal axis 221 that extends transverse to the feed direction 160, as shown in FIG. 9A. ϊn one embodiment, the second portion 220 includes the raised surface 172. In one embodiment, the second portion 220 has a convex shape, as shown in FIG. 9B.

In one embodiment, the pivot member 152 comprises both the first and second portions 216 and 220, as shown in FIG. 9A. In one embodiment, the first and second portions 216 and 220 are joined together. In one embodiment, both the first portion 216 and the second portion 220 include raised surfaces 172 that extend above the top surface 154 of the base member 150.

In one embodiment of the card holder 101, the base member 150 is in the form of a planar member 222, such as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. Embodiments include the attachment of the pivot member 152 to the top surface 154 of the planar member 222. In one embodiment, the planar member 222 is formed of a regular card substrate, such as those configured for use with the device 100. The pivot member 152, which is attached to the planar member 222, can be formed in accordance with any of the embodiments described above, including those described with reference to FIGS. 8 A and 9 A, as respectively shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

In one embodiment, the card holder 101 of FIGS. 10 and 11 is removably receivable within conventional card holders, such as card holder 132 (FIG. 5) utilizing flat base members 134 to support the card stack 108. Such conventional card holders are suitable for feeding non-irregular card substrates. However, when it is desired to process a series of card substrates 110 that are irregular, the operator can install the planar member 222 with the attached pivot member 152, such as that depicted in FIGS. 10 or 11, onto the base 134 of the conventional card holder 132 and place the irregular card stack 108 on the pivot member 152 to provide the necessary compensation to reliably feed irregular card substrates 110.

The embodiments of the card holder 101 illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13 generally comprise a frame 230 and a pivot member 232. The pivot member 232 includes a card support member 234 having a top surface 236 that is configured to support a stack of card substrates 110 for feeding through the card input 113. The pivot member 232 also includes a pivotal connection 238 between the card support member 234 and the frame 230. The pivotal connection 238 defines at least one pivot axis 174 about which the card support member 234 pivots relative to the frame 230. In accordance with one embodiment, the pivot axis 174 is transverse to the axis of rotation of the card feed roller 140, which is perpendicular to the card feed direction 160, as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13. Alternatively, the pivot axis 174 can be configured to be parallel to the axis of rotation 138 of the card feed roller 140 and, thus, transverse to the feed direction 160. In one embodiment, the pivotal connection 238 comprises opposing couplings 240 that allow the card support member 234 to pivot relative to the frame 230, as shown in FIG. 12. In one embodiment, the pivotal connection 238 comprises a hinge, as illustrated in FIG. 13. The pivotal connection 238 can also be formed by coupling the card support member 234 to an axle supported by the frame 230 or through another suitable arrangement. FIGS. 14A-B illustrate a card holder 101 in accordance with another embodiment of the invention similar to that described above with regard to FIGS. 12 and 13, in which the pivotal connection 238 comprises a ball and socket coupling 242. The ball and socket coupling 242 includes a ball portion 244 and a socket portion 246, as illustrated in FIG. 14B. In one embodiment, the ball portion 244 extends from a frame 230 of the card holder 101 and is received within the socket portion 246 of the card support member 234. Alternatively, the ball portion 244 and the socket portion 246 can be respectively coupled to the card support member 234 and the frame 230. This embodiment allows the card support member to pivot in practically all directions relative to the frame 230 and the card feed path 114 of the device 100. Thus, the card support member 134 and the pivotal connection 238 of FIGS. 14A-B operates similarly to the bottom card 11OB on the bump 173 shown in FIG.2.

In accordance with one embodiment, a biasing mechanism 248 is attached between the card support member 234 and the frame. In one embodiment, the biasing mechanism 248 biases the front end 250 of the card support member 234 upward toward the card feed roller 140, which is in the direction indicated by arrow 252, as shown in FIG. 14. This ensures that the lead end of the top card 11 OT is pressed against the card feed roller 140, which is desired for proper feeding of the top card 11OT through the card input 113 and along the card feed path 114. In one embodiment, the biasing mechanism 248 comprises a spring coupled between the base member 232 and the frame 230, as illustrated in FIG. 14B. ϊt is understood that the biasing mechanism 180 (FIG. 1) may also operate to drive the frame 230 (FIGS. 12, 13, 14A) toward the card feed roller 140, as discussed above, Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the pivot axis may be oriented as desired to accommodate the particular irregularity of the card substrates to be supported by the card holder. Additionally, the base member can take on many different forms while providing the necessary support for the pivot member in various aspects of the invention.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A card processing device comprising: a card input (113); a card feed path (114); a card processing mechanism (104) in the card feed path selected from the group consisting of a print head (1 16), a laminating roller (124) and a data reader/writer (128); a card transport mechanism (102) comprising a card feed roller (140), the card feed roller configured to feed individual cards along the card feed path in a feed direction (160); and a card holder (101) configured to support a stack (108) of card substrates (110) and provide the card feed roller access to a top card (110T) in the stack, the card holder comprising a pivot member (152, 232) positioned below the card feed roller and configured to pivotally support a bottom card (11 OB) of the stack of card substrates.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein: the card holder comprises a base member (150) having a top surface

(154) and a pair of sidewalls (164, 166); the pivot member extends above the top surface and between the side walls; and the base member limits an amount the bottom card can pivot about the pivot member.

3. The device of claim 2, further comprising a biasing mechanism (180) configured to drive the base member toward the card feed roller.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein: the card holder comprises a frame; and the base member is removably supported on the frame.

5. The device of claim 2, wherein the pivot member comprises a first portion (216) having a pivot surface (172) defining a pivot axis (174), about which the bottom card pivots.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the pivot axis is aligned with the feed direction.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the pivot member comprises a second portion (220) attached to the first portion and extending approximately perpendicularly to the pivot axis of the first portion.

8. The device of claim 5, wherein the first portion includes a front end that is displaced in a rearward direction, which is opposite the feed direction, from a plane that extends through an axis of rotation of the card feed roller and is perpendicular to the feed direction.

9. The device of claim 1 , wherein: the card holder comprises a frame (230); and the pivot member comprises: a card support member (234) having a top surface (236) configured to support the stack of card substrates; and a pivotal connection (238) between the card support member and the frame, the pivotal connection defining at least one pivot axis (174) about which the card support member pivots relative to the frame.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the pivotal connection comprises a hinge.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the pivotal connection comprises a ball and socket coupling (242).

12. The device of claim 9, further comprising a biasing mechanism (248) coupled to the frame and the card support member, wherein the biasing mechanism applies a force to a portion of the card support.

13. A card holder (101) configured to support a stack (108) of card substrates (1 10) for feeding into a card processing device (100), the card holder comprising: a base member (150) having a top surface (154); and a pivot member (152) extending above the top surface and configured to pivotally support a bottom card (HOB) of the stack of card substrates relative to the base member; wherein the base member limits an amount the bottom card can pivot about the pivot member.

14. The card holder of claim 13, wherein the pivot member is attached to the top surface of the base member.

15. The card holder of claim 14 , wherein: the card holder comprises a frame (134, 200); and the base member is removably supported on the frame.

16. The card holder of claim 13, wherein the pivot member comprises a first portion (216) having a pivot surface (172) defining a pivot axis (174), about which the bottom card pivots, that is approximately aligned with a feed direction (160) in which individual card substrates are fed into the card processing device from the card holder.

17. The card holder of claim 16, wherein the pivot member comprises a second portion (220) extending approximately perpendicular to the pivot axis of the first portion.

18. A card holder (101) configured to support a stack (108) of card substrates (110) for feeding individual card substrates through a card input (113) of a card processing device (100), the card holder comprising: side walls (164, 166) spaced from each other to accommodate the stack of card substrates; and a frame (230); a pivot member (232) comprising: a card support member (234) having a top surface (236) configured to support the stack of card substrates between the side walls; and a pivotal connection (238) between the card support member and the frame, the pivotal connection defining at least one pivot axis (174) about which the card support member pivots relative to the frame.

19. The card holder of claim 19, wherein the pivotal connection comprises a hinge.

20. The card holder of claim 19, wherein the pivotal connection comprises a ball and socket coupling (242).