JP2864342B2 - Magnetic card reader - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic card reader, and more particularly, to a structure of a card transport path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a card transport path in a magnetic card reader includes a main drive roller which rotates by rotation of a motor serving as a drive source, a plurality of drive rollers arranged on the drive roller side, and these drive rollers. It consists of a plurality of driven rollers arranged so as to face the group, the belts are stretched so that the belts are in contact with the driving rollers and the driven rollers, respectively, and the card is sandwiched between the pair of belts. The magnetic data is read and written by a magnetic head disposed on a card transfer path.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional magnetic card reader, the card transport path is simply formed by the belts that are in contact with each other, so that a gap is formed between the belts. For this reason, dust enters the card transport path from this gap and adheres to the reading portion of the magnetic head and the surface of the card transport path, thereby causing a problem of poor reading of magnetic data.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic card reader in which a reading error is prevented.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, a magnetic card reader according to the present invention comprises a pair of card guide members facing each other with a gap corresponding to the thickness of the card, and both sides of the card guide members. A card transport path is formed by a pair of side plates that regulate the width direction of the card disposed on the surface, and a magnetic head that reads and writes magnetic data of the card in the card transport path; The guide member was constituted by a bottom portion forming the card transport surface and a side portion fitted to the side plate. Further, in the card reader according to the present invention, one of the card guide members is formed in a closed box shape, and a belt for conveying the card and a pinch roller for pressing the magnetic head are housed in the card guide member to form a unit. .

[0006]

According to the present invention, the card conveying path is sealed by the bottom and side surfaces of one card guide member. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to replace one of the card guide members.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a magnetic card reader according to the present invention,
2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lower guide unit of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper guide unit, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view, FIG. 6 shows the same magnetic head, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a sectional view taken along line VIb-VIb, FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line IIV-IIV in FIG. 5, and FIG.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion, FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 8, FIG.
9 is an enlarged view of a main part of a side plate viewed from the same side in FIG. 9, FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of a rear end side of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a side view of FIG. It is a figure showing an opening and closing state.

In these figures, a card reader denoted by reference numeral 1 is a lower guide unit 2 having a lower guide plate 10 and a card transport path 5 together with a lower guide plate 10.
And the upper unit 3 having the upper guide plate 55 forming
It is schematically constituted by a pair of side plates 4 for regulating the width direction of the card transport path 5. The lower guide plate 10 is inclined such that the front end portion, that is, the card insertion opening 8 side is located downward and the rear end portion is located upward, and both side surface portions 11 are attached to the both side plates 4 by screws 12. The lower guide unit 2 includes a belt 18 for conveying the card 6, a pair of magnetic heads 22 for reading and writing magnetic data written on the card 6, and a punch for punching a punch hole based on the content written on the card 6. The unit 25 is provided and unitized.

That is, below the elongated notch 14 formed in the lower guide plate 10 in the card conveying direction, four drive rollers 16a to 16d are rotatable along the longitudinal direction of the notch 14. The drive rollers 16 are pivotally supported.
A belt 18 is stretched over the a to 16d and the tension roller 17 so that an upper portion thereof faces the inside of the card transport path 5 from the notch 14. The drive roller 16a among the above-described drive rollers is driven to rotate in a normal or reverse direction via a belt or the like by using a motor (not shown) as a drive source. A pair of magnetic heads 22 has a reading portion 22a formed in a rectangular notch 15 formed in one side of the center of the lower guide plate 10.
Is attached to the side plate 4 via a bracket (not shown) so as to face the inside of the card transport path 5. As shown in FIG. 6, the magnetic head 22 is held on a holder 21 having a fitting hole 22a into which the magnetic head 22 is fitted and fixed, and is mounted on a printed circuit board 23. A reflective sensor 2 is provided at the center of a holder 21 entirely made of resin.
4 is provided, and a transparent window 21 corresponding to the reading position 22a of the magnetic head 22 is provided in the ceiling.
c is drilled. A notch 26 is provided at the tip of the lower guide plate 10.

Reference numerals 27 and 28 denote dowels slightly projecting into the card transport path 5 from the surface of the lower guide plate 10.
As shown in FIG. 7, a cylindrical portion 27a is integrally formed on the lower surfaces of the dowels 27 and 28, and a light emitting diode 29 is housed in a stepped hollow portion 27b in the cylindrical portion 27a. In this embodiment, the lower guide plate 10 is formed of a transparent resin, and the light emitted from the light emitting diode 29 passes through the dowel 27 of the lower guide plate 10 and is projected into the card transport path 5. At the front side of the notch 26, a front guide 30 is attached to both side plates 4 by screws 31 so that the front guide 30 has substantially the same inclination as the lower guide plate 10. Numeral 32 is a magnetic head for detecting a pseudo card which is attached to the through hole of the front guide 30 so that the tip protrudes into the card take-in passage 7 and detects whether magnetic data is written on the inserted card. .

The side plate 4 has a substantially triangular shape when viewed from the side. The inclined end surface 34 is folded to form a folded portion 35. The front end of the inclined end surface has a notch 3 extending over the folded portion 35.
6 are provided. In the center portion 2 of the folded portion 35, a pair of flat plate-shaped receiving portions 37 having holes 38 are formed so as to protrude outward. As shown in FIG. 10, the hole 38 has a fan-shaped small-diameter circular arc portion 38a having an opening angle of approximately 90 ° facing each other.
A large-diameter fan-shaped arc portion 38b having an opening angle of about 90 ° adjacent to the small-diameter arc portion 38a, and a rectangular portion 38 interposed between the arc portions 38a and 38b.
c. The line connecting the centers of the pair of holes 38 is
It is coincident with the reading position 22a of the magnetic head 22.

At the rear end side of the inclined end face 34, a through hole 40a is formed.
Is provided, and a screw 12 is provided.
A conical convex portion 43 provided at the tip of a leaf spring 42 attached to the side plate 4 by the side plate 41 is connected to the side plate 4 through the through hole 40a.
Is facing inside. An inclined end surface on the rear side of the protruding portion 40 forms an engaging portion 44, and the shaft 4 is provided between the engaging portions 44.
5 is hung by a screw 45a. 46 is screw 4
An engagement piece attached to the side plate 4 by 5a and having a tip protruding rearward of the side plate 4. A recess 47 is provided at the rear end of the engagement portion 44. Reference numeral 48 denotes a solenoid fixed to the side plate 4 via a bracket 49, and a plunger 48a has a shutter 5 provided in the notch 26.
0 protruding end 50a. Shutter 50
Usually, the intake passage 7 is shut off as shown by a solid line in FIG. 1, and when the solenoid 48 is operated, the intake passage 7 is swingably supported so as to open the intake passage 7 as shown by a two-dot chain line.

The upper guide plate 55 constituting the upper guide unit 3 is provided with both side portions 56, has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and has an opening side covered by a cover 57 to form a box which is entirely closed. . The upper guide unit 3 includes a belt 6 that contacts the belt 18 described above.
2, a pinch roller 63 in contact with the magnetic head 22, a light receiving diode 67 in contact with the light emitting diode 29, and a pinch roller 69 in contact with the magnetic head 31 for detecting a pseudo card.

That is, below the elongated notch 59 formed in the upper guide plate 55 in the card conveying direction,
Four driven rollers 60a along the longitudinal direction of the notch 59
To 60d are rotatably supported by these driven rollers 6
A belt 62 is stretched between 0a to 60d and the tension roller 61 so that the upper portion faces the inside of the card transport path 5 from the notch 59. The notch 63 and the cutout 68 formed in the upper guide plate 55
And 68 are rotatably supported so as to face the card transport path 5. Rectangular small holes 65 and 66 formed in the upper guide plate 55 are provided corresponding to the dowels 27 and 28 of the lower guide plate 10, and below these small holes 65 and 66, As shown in FIG.
Is formed, and the light receiving diode 67 is housed in the hollow portion 65b. Reference numeral 70 denotes a concave portion into which the punch unit 25 is fitted, and reference numeral 71 denotes a front end portion which forms the intake passage 7 together with the front guide 30.

Reference numeral 72 denotes a flat plate-like mounting portion which is formed to protrude outward from a substantially central lower end of the side surface portion 56 in correspondence with the receiving portion 37, and has a hole 73 formed therein. As shown in FIG. 8, a shaft portion 74a of a knob 74 is fitted into the hole 73, and the pin 73 is fixed perpendicularly to the tip of the shaft portion 74a so as to be prevented from coming out of the hole 73. , Are urged in a direction away from the mounting portion 72 by a spring 76 fitted between the mounting portions 72. 72a
Is provided on the lower surface of the mounting portion 72 at the edge of the hole 73 and the receiving portion 3.
7 are a pair of guide pieces formed in an arc shape facing each other and protruding at a position corresponding to the large-diameter arc portion 38a at a height substantially equal to the thickness of the receiving portion 37.

Reference numeral 78 denotes a notch 3 of the lower guide plate 10.
The protrusions 79 protruding from the side surface portion 56 corresponding to 6 are arc-shaped concave portions formed on the side surface portion 56 corresponding to the protrusions 43, and click holes 79a and 79b are provided at both ends. It is arranged. Reference numeral 80 denotes a bearing unit integrally formed at the rear end of the upper guide plate 55, and a U-shaped groove 81 extending in the width direction of the card transport path 5 having an opening 81a is formed.
Reference numerals 82 denote a pair of engaging members protruding outwardly on both sides of the lower end of the rear end of the upper guide plate 55. A pair of engaging members 82a having a horizontal surface and a disengaging member 82b having an inclined surface are formed. Have been.

Next, a method of assembling the upper guide unit in the magnetic card reader thus configured will be described. First, the screw 45a is loosened and the engagement piece 46 is removed from the side plate 4. In this state, as shown in FIG. 12D, the upper unit 3 is moved in the direction of arrow A, that is, the opening angle α between the upper unit 3 and the lower unit 2.
Is set to about 180 °, the U-shaped groove 81 is fitted into the shaft 45 from the opening 81a, and the upper unit 3 is rotatably supported on the shaft 45. At this time, since the engagement release portion 82b of the engagement member 82 is opposed to the engagement portion 44 of the side plate 4, the engagement member 82 does not engage with the engagement portion 44, and
The groove 81 can be fitted into the shaft 45.

When the upper unit 3 is rotated around the shaft 45 so as to reduce the opening angle α and the upper unit 3 is fitted between the side plates 4, as shown in FIG. The mounting portion 72, the convex portion 78, and the engaging portion 82a of the engaging member 82 contact the receiving portion 37, the notch 36, and the engaging portion 44 of the side plate 4, respectively. By this contact, the upper guide plate 55 of the upper unit 3 is moved to the lower guide plate 10 of the lower unit 2.
In this case, an interval corresponding to the thickness of the card 6 is provided, and the card transport path 5 is formed. The card transport path 5 thus formed is substantially sealed by the upper unit 3 being fitted between the side plates 4 and the side surface portion 56 of the upper unit 3 being fitted to the side plate 4. In this state, dust is prevented from entering, and dust does not adhere to the card transport path 5 and the magnetic head 22. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a reading failure of the magnetic head 22. At this time, the click hole 79 of the concave portion 79 of the upper guide plate 55 is formed.
The convex portion 43 of the leaf spring 42 is fitted to b.

Next, when the knob 74 is pressed down against the spring 76 as shown in FIG. 8 and the knob 74 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG.
When the user slides on the guide piece 72a so as to ride on 2a and further rotates the knob 74, the pin 75 engages with the edge of the small-diameter arc portion 38a of the receiving portion 37, and FIG.
As shown in the figure, the mounting portion 72 is attached to the receiving portion 37 in close contact with the spring 76 and the pin 75. Since the mounting portion 72 thus mounted is disposed at a position coinciding with the reading position 22a of the magnetic head 22, even if the housing is bent or deformed, the pinch roller 64 is always pressed, and the magnetic head 2 due to insufficient contact pressure of the card 6 to the magnetic head 22
2 can be prevented from being read poorly. Finally, the engagement piece 46 is attached to the side plate 4 with the screw 45a.

Next, reading and writing operations of the magnetic head of the card in the magnetic card reader thus assembled will be described. When the card 6 is inserted from the card insertion slot 8 formed by the front guide 30 and the front end 71 of the upper guide plate 55, the pseudo-card detecting magnetic head 31 is used to read a regular card or an IC card on which magnetic data is written. Judge whether it is a pseudo card. If the card is a regular card, the judgment signal is sent to the solenoid 48,
As the solenoid 48 operates and the shutter 50 rotates to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line as shown in FIG. 1 to open the take-in passage 7, the card 6 can be inserted into the card transport path 5. The judgment signal of the magnetic head 31 is also sent to a motor (not shown), and the motor operates, so that the driving roller 16a starts to rotate, and the belt 18 and the belt 62 run along with this, so that the card 6 It is sandwiched between and taken into the card transport path 5.

On the other hand, if the magnetic head 31 determines that the card is a pseudo card, the solenoid 48 does not operate, so that the shutter 50 keeps the state in which the take-in passage 7 is shut off, and the pseudo card such as an IC card is used. Is prevented from entering the intake passage 7. Nevertheless,
When the IC card is forcibly pushed, the card is detected by the optical detecting means provided in the dowel 28, a detection signal is sent to the motor, and the motor rotates in the reverse direction to insert a pseudo card such as an IC card into the card insertion slot 8. Return from At this time, even if the pseudo card is an IC card thicker than a magnetic card, the lower guide plate 10 and the upper guide plate 55 forming the card transport path 5 are connected by the knob 74 at a substantially intermediate portion of the card transport path 5. Since the upper guide plate 55 is slightly separated from the lower guide plate 10 at the card insertion slot 8 separated from the knob 74, the IC card may be jammed. And is smoothly returned from the card slot 8.

When the front end of the magnetic card 6 loaded into the card transport path 5 as a regular card is located in the transmission window 21c, the magnetic card 6 is detected by the sensor 24, reading by the magnetic head 22 is started, and the rear end is detected by the sensor 24. , The reading by the magnetic head 22 ends. in this way,
Since the start and end of reading by the magnetic head 22 are performed by the sensor 24 integrated with the magnetic head 22 at a position corresponding to the reading position 22a of the magnetic head 22, assembling and manufacturing errors are removed and high-precision detection is performed. Can be performed. In addition, since the sensor 24 is integrated, the sensor 24
No space is required, the size of the device can be reduced, and sensors cannot be arranged near the magnetic head 22 as in the prior art, so that two sensors are required before and after the magnetic head. Thus, the number of parts can be reduced.

When the motor rotates in the reverse direction and the card 5 runs in the reverse direction and the rear end is detected by the sensor 24, writing is started by the magnetic head 22, and when the front end is detected by the sensor 24, the writing ends. . In this manner, the card 5 that reciprocates around the magnetic head 22 has the knobs 74 for pressing the belts 18 and 62 at positions corresponding to the magnetic head 22, so that the card 5 moves forward and backward with the magnetic head 22 interposed therebetween. The speed and the return speed are constant, and therefore, reading defects of the magnetic head 22 are reduced.

Card 6 Written by Magnetic Head 22
Is detected by a sensor provided in the dowel 27, a detection signal is sent to the punch unit 25, and a punch hole is formed in the card 6 in accordance with the content of writing. After the punch hole is confirmed by the sensor provided in the dowel 28, when the rear end of the card 6 projects from the card insertion slot 8 and the front end of the card 6 is detected by the sensor 2, the rotation of the motor is stopped. During the travel of the card 6 in the card transport path 5, the front end or the rear end (during reverse running) of the card 6 comes into contact with the dowels 27 and 28, and the dowel 2 is moved by the front end or the rear end of the card 6.
Dirt adhering to the surfaces of 7 and 28 is removed and self-cleaning is performed, so that the transmission performance of the lower guide plate 10 is not reduced.

Next, a method of removing the upper guide unit from the side plate will be described. First, when the knob 74 is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 8B to fit the pin 75 from the edge of the small-diameter arc portion 38a to the rectangular portion 38c, the pin 7
5 and the receiving portion 37 are disengaged, and the upper guide unit 3 becomes rotatable about the shaft 45. Then, when the upper guide unit 3 is rotated about the shaft 45 by about 90 ° from the state shown in FIG. 12A, immediately before the engagement member 82 is engaged with the engagement piece 46, As shown, the click hole 79a is fitted into the convex portion 43 of the leaf spring 42, and a click feeling is obtained. When the click hole 79a is further rotated, as shown in FIG. , The upper guide unit 3 maintains the opening angle α shown in the figure.

In this state, the opening 81a of the bearing 80
When the shaft 45 is to be pulled out of the shaft member 45, the engaging portion 82a of the engaging member 82 and the engaging portion 44 of the side plate 4 are engaged, so that the bearing portion 80 is prevented from coming off from the shaft 45. Therefore, when performing maintenance and inspection for cleaning the inside of the card transport path 5 or the magnetic head 22 and the like, the maintenance can be performed at this opening angle. Further, when it is necessary to replace the upper guide unit 3, the engagement piece 46 is removed from the side plate 4, and the upper guide unit 3 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. In this state, the engagement between the engagement portion 82a of the engagement member 82 and the engagement portion 44 of the side plate 4 is released, and the engagement release portion 82b and the concave portion 47 are opposed to each other. In the direction B, that is, the opening 81 a of the bearing 80 is
The upper guide unit 3 can be removed from the side plate 4 by moving the upper guide unit 3 from the side plate 4.

As described above, since the upper guide unit 3 is made openable and closable with the lower guide unit 2 and the upper guide unit 3 is attached to the lower guide unit 2 until the upper guide unit 3 is engaged with the engagement piece 46, maintenance is required. The upper guide unit 3 is not accidentally dropped and damaged during inspection. In addition, since the unit can be detached by rotating it to a certain opening angle, the unit can be easily replaced, and the maintenance work can be performed in a short time without requiring any skill.

[0028]

As described above, according to the present invention, a pair of card guide members opposing each other with a gap corresponding to the thickness of the card and the width of the cards arranged on both side surfaces of the card guide members are provided. A card transport path is formed by a pair of side plates that regulate the direction, and a magnetic head that reads and writes magnetic data of a card is provided in the card transport path, and one card guide member is a bottom surface that forms a card transport surface. And a side portion fitted to the side plate, and the card conveyance path is sealed by the bottom surface and the side surface of one of the card guide members, so that dust can enter the card conveyance path. It is possible to prevent the card from being conveyed and to perform good card transport, and also to prevent a reading failure by the magnetic head.

Further, according to the present invention, one of the card guide members is formed in a sealed box shape, and a belt for conveying the card and a pinch roller for pressing the magnetic head are housed in the card guide member to form a unit. As a result, unit replacement becomes easy, and maintenance work is simplified without requiring skill.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a magnetic card reader according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lower guide unit of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an upper guide unit of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a lower guide unit of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention.

6A and 6B show a magnetic head of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 6A is a perspective view, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along the line VIb-VIb.

7 is a sectional view taken along line IIV-IIV of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion VIII in FIG.

9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a main part of a side plate as viewed from the same side as FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged plan view of the rear part of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention.

12 is a side view of FIG. 11, showing the open / closed state of the upper guide unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. Magnetic card reader 2. Lower guide unit 3.
... upper guide unit, 4 ... side plate, 5 ... card transport path, 6 ... card, 7 ... card take-in path, 8 ... card insertion slot, 10 ... lower guide plate, 18 ... belt, 21c
... Transmissive window, 22 ... Magnetic head, 24 ... Reflective sensor, 2
5 punch unit, 27, 28 dowel, 29 light emitting diode, 37 receiving part, 38 hole, 44 engaging part, 45
... shaft, 46 ... engaging piece, 48 ... solenoid, 50 ...
Shutter, 55: Lower guide plate, 62: Belt, 6
4 pinch roller, 67 light receiving diode, 72 mounting part, 74 knob, 75 pin, 78 convex part, 80 bearing part, 81a opening part, 82 engaging member, 82a engaging part, 82b: disengagement section.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A card is conveyed between a pair of card guide members facing each other with a gap corresponding to the thickness of the card and a pair of side plates provided on both side surfaces of the card guide members for regulating a width direction of the card. Forming a path, a magnetic head for reading and writing magnetic data of the card in the card transport path, a magnetic head for writing the one card guide member, a bottom portion forming a card transport surface, and a side portion fitted to the side plate; A magnetic card reader comprising: 2. The magnetic card reader according to claim 1, wherein said one card guide member is formed in a sealed box shape, and a belt for conveying a card and a pinch roller for pressing a magnetic head in the card guide member. A magnetic card reader characterized by being housed and unitized.