Flow-through linear transfer system for making a laminate from synthetic resinous sheets

In combination, a laminating machine having first and second daylight openings for producing a laminate of plural cards, each carrying data on at least one core sheet of flexible core stock of uniformly thick thermobondable synthetic resinous material less than about 1.25 mm (50 mils) thick, having an upper and a lower surface to each of which is thermally and/or adhesively bonded an overlay of uniformly thin thermobondable synthetic resinous material less than about 0.25 mm (10 mils) thick, and having lengthwise and widthwise dimensions essentially the same as those of said core sheet, with a carrier for use in presenting an assembly of laminar sheets to a platen press comprising,

• a platen heating press, to heat and essentially concurrently press, a laminar assembly or `set` in a book having an upper and a lower cover plate;
• a platen cooling press, to cool and essentially concurrently press said book, said cooling press being proximately disposed behind said heating press so as to provide a linear processing path in a longitudinal x-axis direction along which said book travels;
• said heating press and said cooling press each having vertically reciprocable upper heating and cooling platens, respectively, and, a substantially unitary bottom platen, or "hybrid" platen", fixedly mounted in a support framework to provide a substantially continuous support surface in the lateral plane, said heating press and cooling press being effective to heat, then cool said book at a pressure which is the same in each press, or different;
• said hybrid platen having adjacent heating and cooling sections separated by an insulating section;
• said heating press having an upper heating platen mounted directly above said heating section;
• said cooling press having an upper cooling platen mounted directly above said cooling section;
• means for operating said heating and cooling presses concurrently, to compress each said set in said book in each said press, each at a predetermined temperature and pressure, essentially simultaneously, at predetermined intervals;
• an entrance station disposed in front of said book-loading conveyor means for transferring successive books, one at a time, by feeding them to said first heating press;
• laterally spaced apart endless loop edge-conveyor means for transferring each book from said entrance station in a unidirectional processing path along said longitudinal x-axis direction only, while opposed lateral edges of said book are engaged by opposed parallel members of said edge-conveyor means transversely spaced apart along the y-axis, orthogonal to said x-axis, said members of said edge-conveyor means lying in substantially said same lateral plane as said hybrid platen;
• means for operating said edge-conveyor means simultaneously to convey, a book from said entrance station to a location directly beneath said upper heating platen, a heated and compressed book to a location directly beneath said upper cooling platen, and, a cooled and compressed book onto a discharge station;
• means for stopping said edge-conveyor means so as simultaneously, to index each book directly vertically beneath each of said upper heating and cooling platens, and, to discharge a book onto said discharge station;
• said carrier comprising:
• a base plate;
• a cover plate with a first and second hinge means connecting said base plate to said cover plate;
• and a spring means operatively connected between said first and second hinge means.