FOLDING MACHINE FOR THE SAME

The present invention relates to a method and a folding machine for fan-folding and stacking a strip of seal-wrapped chip cards.

Chip cards, or smart cards, are electronic devices that typically comprise an electronic chip encased into a plastic card. This plastic card can be of several dimensions, depending of their projected use. For example, the chip cards used in mobile phone devices, colloquially known as "SIM cards", can exhibit three formats, 2FF, 3FF and 4FF, as defined by international standards.

Once manufactured, these chip cards are typically packaged one by one into a continuous strip of plastic, by means of techniques such as seal-wrapping. Said strip is then fan-folded into a stack, which is then adequately packaged (typically by over-wrapping or bundling) for the distribution of the chip cards. Most known automated folding machines have the disadvantage of being restricted to folding materials of a given format, thus requiring a distinct folding machine for every format of chip card.

The US patent 4,210,318 discloses a folding machine, used for fan-folding and stacking a continuous strip of paper sheets. Said folding machine comprises a pair of rotatable paddle wheels disposed side by side, whose paddles can selectively engage and disengage with the strip of paper sheets. The paddles can be adjusted lengthwise, so as to process paper sheets of many formats. However, this operation requires a complete shut-down of the folding machine, as well as the replacement and the adjustment of part of the mechanism of the folding machine. This operation is time-consuming and error-prone, and is not practical to implement in the context of an assembly line producing large quantities of chip cards with different formats. The aim of the present invention is to provide a process and a folding machine for fan-folding a strip of shrink-wrapped chip cards, that are compatible with several formats of chip cards and that require little or no set-up when switching from one format to another.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method of folding and stacking a strip of seal-wrapped chip card segments, said method comprising the following steps :

-a strip of seal-wrapped chip card segments is forwarded towards a folding machine comprising a first and a second paddle wheel meshing together;

-the chip card segments are one after another pinched between a paddle of the first paddle wheel and a paddle of the second paddle wheel;

-the chip card segments are released and pushed forward towards a stack support;

-the fan-folded strip of seal-wrapped chip card segments is stacked against the stack support.

In another embodiment of the invention, is included a step of adjusting the distance between the stack support and the two paddle wheels in function of the number of stacked chip card segments.

In another embodiment of the invention, the chip card segments are released by a paddle of the second fan and pushed forward by a paddle of the first fan towards a stack support.

In another embodiment of the invention, the chip card segments are configured to contain chip cards of a first format as well as chip cards of at least a second format.

In a further embodiment of the invention, one of the two formats of chip cards is 2FF and the other format is 3FF.

The invention also relates to a folding machine for folding a strip of seal-wrapped chip card segments, comprising a first paddle wheel and a second paddle wheel, with regularly spaced paddles wherein the paddle wheels are meshing together for pinching and folding the strip of seal-wrapped chip card segments.

In another embodiment of the invention, each paddle is of a flat and rectangular shape, the dimensions of each paddle matching the folding dimensions of the chip cards segments.

In a further embodiment of the invention, each paddle has its width comprised between 25mm and 40mm, and its length comprised between 25mm and 35mm.

In another embodiment of the invention, the opening angle between two consecutive paddles of a paddle wheel is greater than 90°.

In another embodiment of the invention, each paddle carries on its free end a rod extending along said edge on at least part of its length.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the rods are made of an elastomer material.

In another embodiment of the invention, the folding machine comprises a stack support, configured to collect the fan-folded strip of chip card segments after it exits the meshing paddle wheels.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the stack support is mobile and joined to a guiding system configured to move said stack support along a direction parallel to the displacement direction of the strip during the operation of the folding machine, the displacement distance of the stack support being adjustable as a function of the number of fan-folded chip card segments stacked on the stack support.

The advantage of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of several embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which : -Figure 1 is a schematic view of an embodiment of the folding machine and a strip of seal- wrapped chip cards;

-Figure 2a through 2d are schematic views of an embodiment of the folding machine and a strip of seal-wrapped chip cards, illustrating several steps during the operation of the folding machine;

-Figure 3 is a schematic upper and partial view of a strip of seal-wrapped chip cards, said chip cards being of a first format;

-Figure 4 is a schematic upper and partial view of a strip of seal-wrapped chip cards, said chip cards being of a second format;

-Figure 5 is a flow diagram representing steps comprised in the method.

The invention proposes a method and a machine for folding seal-wrapped chip card segments, using two meshing paddle wheels whose paddles are designed to match the size of at least two different sizes of chip cards.

The chip cards 26 can for example be those used in mobile phones or other mobile communication systems, and colloquially known as "SIM cards" (subscriber identity module cards). Such chip cards exist in different formats, as defined by international industry standards. Two such formats are 2FF (also called "mini-SIM" and defined by standard "ISO/IEC 7840") and 3FF (also called "micro-SIM" and defined by standard "ETSI TS 102 221"). 2FF- sized chip cards 26b have a flat, rectangular shape with a length of 25mm and a width of 15mm. 3FF-sized chip cards 26c have a flat, rectangular shape with a length of 15mm and a width of 12mm.

Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of the invention during operation. A folding machine 20 comprises a first 201 and a second paddle wheel 202, each carrying regularly spaced paddles 212. These paddle wheels 201, 202 are meshing together for pinching and folding a strip 22 of seal-wrapped chip card segments, each of said chip card segments 24 containing for example a chip card 26. The dimensions of the paddles 212 are defined so that they match the size of the chip card segments 24. For example, each paddle 212 is of a flat and rectangular shape, its width 214 comprised between 25mm and 40mm, and its length 216 is comprised between 25mm and 35mm.

The opening angle between two consecutive paddles 212 of the same paddle wheel is for example greater than 90°, and preferably comprised between 90° and 150°.

Each paddle 212 carries on its free end a rod 220 that extends along the edge of the blade on at least part of its length. These rods 220 are preferably made of an elastomer material, for example rubber. The presence of such rods 220 ensures that neither the chip cards 26 nor the chip card segments 24 are damaged during their handling by the paddles 212 of the folding machine 20.

The paddle wheels 201, 202 are rotatable in a direction parallel to the conveying direction of the strip 22. A rotational movement of said paddle wheels 201, 202 can for example be provided by a motor and a transmission system. The rotation speed of the paddle wheels 201, 202 is synchronized with the displacement speed of the strip 22.

The machine is thus configured to convey a strip 22 of seal-wrapped chip card segments 24 along its length, and to fan-fold and stack said strip.

The machine further comprises a stack support 30 configured to collect the folded strip as it exits the folding machine. This stack support 30 is joined to a guiding system 32, configured to move the stack support 30 along a direction parallel to the displacement direction of the strip 22 during the operation of the folding machine 20, the displacement distance of the stack support 30 being adjustable as a function of the number of fan-folded chip card segments stacked on the stack support 30. For example, this stack support 30 can be moved as the fan-folded chip card segments accumulate on the stack support, so as to maintain a constant distance between the meshing paddle wheels and the top of the stack of fan-folded chip card segments. The operation of the folding machine according to a mode of realisation of the invention is illustrated in figures 2a to 2d. These successive figures depict schematically the handling of a chip card 26c inside a chip card segment, and folding of a chip card segment of the strip 22 inserted in the folding machine 20. The arrows in figure 2a indicate the displacement direction of the various moving parts. Here, the chip 26c is pinched between the paddles 212 of the two meshing paddle wheels 201, 202 of the machine 20. It can for example be pinched between a paddle of the first paddle wheel 201 and a paddle of the second paddle wheel 202. As the wheels 201, 202 rotate, the chip card segment is released, for example by a paddle 212 of the second fan, then released, for example by a paddle of the first fan, and finally folded and forwarded towards the stack support 30. The whole strip 22 is thus fan-folded and stacked, by continuously repeating this operation for every chip card segment.

The disposition of the 2FF and 3FF chip cards in the strip 22 allows the folding machine to operate with either format of chip cards, by placing the cards in the chip cards segments so that the length 26 of card material orientated along the conveying direction matches the length of each paddle 216, regardless of the chip card format.

This placement of the chip cards in the respective chip cards segments is further illustrated in figures 3 and 4.

Figure 3 depicts an example of a strip 22a of seal-wrapped chip card segments 24a filled with 2FF-sized chip cards 26a. Typically, the chip card segments have their dimensions chosen as closer as possible to the wrapped object. For example, the chip card segments 24a have a width 241a of 40mm and a length 242a of 30mm. The 2FF-sized chip cards 26a are placed in each chip card segment 24a of the strip 22a, so that the width 261a of each 2FF-sized chip card is parallel to the conveying direction of the strip 22a (this direction is shown on the figure by an arrow). Figure 4 illustrates an example of a strip 22b of seal-wrapped chip card segments 24b filled with 3FF-sized chip cards 26b. For example, in that case, these chip card segments 24b have a width 241b of 30mm and a length 242b of 30mm. The 3FF-sized chip cards 26b are placed in each chip card segment 24b of the strip 22b so that their length 262b is parallel to the conveying direction of the strip 22b (this direction is shown on the figure by an arrow).

In both cases, the length of the chip card segment is the same, and matches the length 216 of the paddles 212.

Optionally, each chip card segment can enclose, in addition to a chip card, a piece of printed materials such as a booklet or a leaflet.

Figure 5 recapitulates steps included in the process. First, the strip 22 of seal-wrapped chip cards segments is forwarded 2 towards the folding machine 20. The chip cards segments are one after another pinched 4. The chip card segments 24 are then released 6 and pushed forward towards the stack support 30. Finally, the fan-folded strip of seal-wrapped chip card segments is stacked 8 against the stack support 30. Additionally, the distance between the stack support 30 and the two paddle wheels 201, 202 is adjusted 10 in function of the number of chip card segments 24 stacked against the stack support 30.