JP3404668B2 - IC 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 contact unit of a contact unit withdrawing from the card insertion path when the card is not inserted, and the contact unit is moved by the inserted IC card. The present invention relates to an IC card reader that advances to, and contacts the electrodes of an IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, this type of IC card reader is
A contact unit that is provided with a contactor that contacts the electrode portion of the IC card and is retracted from the card insertion path when the card is not inserted, a guide member that movably supports the contact unit in the card insertion direction, and the inserted IC And a leaf spring for holding the card in the card insertion path. The contact unit is provided with an engaging portion that always faces the card insertion path and engages with the front end of the IC card, and the front end of the IC card inserted from the card insertion opening engages with this engaging portion, thereby making contact. The unit moves forward in the card insertion path.
When the IC card is completely inserted, the leaf spring comes into contact with the side end of the IC card, so that the IC card is pressed against the side wall of the card transport path by the urging force of the leaf spring and is elastically held in the card insertion path. It is held in the card insertion path. In this state, the contactor of the contact unit advances into the card insertion path, and the contactor contacts the electrode portion of the IC card, so that the data processing of the IC card is performed via the contactor and the electrode portion. Be seen.

[0003]

In the above-mentioned IC card reader, the contactor is formed by bending a thin piece of elastically deformable conductive material into a substantially doglegged shape, and is attached so as to project from the lower surface of the contact unit. Has been. When the contact unit is moved by the inserted IC card and the contactor is in contact with the electrode portion, a slight gap is generated between the upper surface of the IC card and the lower surface of the contact unit. Therefore, after inserting the IC card,
If a thin metal gauge or the like is mistakenly inserted between the upper surface of the IC card and the gap of the card insertion opening, the inserted metal gauge may be slightly separated between the upper surface of the IC card and the lower surface of the contact unit. It is engaged in the gap. At this time, a large load is applied to the contactor by the inserted metal gauge, and the contactor is forcibly bent. If this state continues, the elastic deformation of the contact continues to exceed the elastic limit, and residual strain occurs in the contact,
It will not return to its initial shape. For this reason, there has been a problem that contact resistance between the contactor and the electrode portion becomes large, resulting in poor contact.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an IC card reader in which poor contact with an electrode portion of an IC card is reduced.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, an IC card reader according to the present invention has a card insertion path communicating with a card insertion slot and a card insertion path that is retracted from the card insertion path when a card is not inserted. A contact unit in which a contact moves to the inside of the card insertion path by being moved by an IC card inserted in the path, and a stopper for the contact unit that determines the movement limit of the contact unit is formed in the card insertion path; The contact unit stopper is provided with a guide portion for separating the contact unit from the card insertion path in the thickness direction of the card when an external force exceeding the moving limit is applied to the contact unit. Therefore, tentatively, a metal measure or the like is inserted through the card insertion slot, the front end of the inserted metal measure is engaged in a slight gap between the upper surface of the IC card and the lower surface of the contact unit, and the contact unit is pushed forward. Even in this case, since the contact unit is guided by the guide portion of the unit stopper in the direction away from the card insertion path in the thickness direction of the card, continuous external force exceeding the elastic limit is prevented from being applied to the contact. .

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an IC card reader according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same with the lid removed, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.
(A) shows a state in which an IC card is inserted, and (b)
Indicates the state where the IC card is completely inserted. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 2, in which (a) shows a state in which an IC card is inserted, (b) shows a state in which the IC card is completely inserted, and FIG. FIG. 2A is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a portion, in which FIG.
(B) shows a state in which a metal ruler is inserted.

As shown in FIG.
The C card reader is provided with a base plate 2 formed of synthetic resin in a substantially flat plate shape, and a rectangular notch 2a is formed in the rear portion of the base plate 2. In addition, the lower surface of the base plate 2 is provided with a recess 3 that is continuous with the notch 2a.
The side walls 3a and 3b of the recess 3 are extended in the direction of arrow A-B so as to face each other with an interval slightly larger than the width of the IC card 21. A rear wall 3c orthogonal to the side walls 3a and 3b engages with a front end of the IC card 21 inserted into the recess 3 as described later, and the rear wall 3c defines an insertion end of the IC card 21. It functions as a stopper for deciding cards.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the base plate 2 has a pair of guide walls 4 extending substantially in the center thereof in the inserting / removing direction of the IC card 21, that is, in the direction of arrows A-B in the figure.
4 are erected so as to face each other. Each of the side walls of the pair of guide walls 4 and 4 has an opening 4b at the front end,
4b, which are arc-shaped guide grooves 4a, 4 in side view
a is formed so as to face each other, and a guide hole 5 extending to the front end portion (direction of arrow A) of the base plate 2 is formed between the pair of guide walls 4 and 4. There is.

At the front end of the guide hole 5, a stopper 6 having a substantially inverted U-shaped cross section is erected so as to straddle the guide hole 5, and the lower surface of the upper portion of the stopper 6 is a stopper surface 6a. Is formed. Further, a rib 7 as a contact unit stopper, which extends slightly rearward of the stopper 6, is provided upright on one side of the front end of the guide hole 5, and the upper surface of the rear end of the rib 7 is Chamfered, guide section 7
a is formed. Further, a substantially L-shaped storage portion 9 is provided in a recess on one front side of the base plate 2 in a plan view,
A window (not shown) communicating with the recess 3 is bored in one side wall of the storage portion 9, and the bent portion 1 is formed in the recess 3 from the window.
The leaf spring 10 is housed in the housing 9 so that 0a faces. Bosses 11 are provided upright at four corners of the base plate 2, and an enclosing wall 12 having a U-shape in plan view is integrally formed on the base plate 2 so as to surround the base plate 2 on the end faces in three directions. The rear side (arrow B direction) is open.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the lower surface of the base plate 2,
A bottom plate 14 facing the base plate 2 is fixed at a distance slightly larger than the thickness of the IC card 21. A notch (not shown) having substantially the same outer shape is formed on the bottom plate 14 corresponding to the notch 2a of the base plate 2 described above, and the recess 3 of the base plate 2 is covered with the bottom plate 14, The recess 3 forms a card insertion path. A hook portion 14a is projected downward at approximately the center of the bottom plate 14, and as shown in FIG. 1, card mounting portions 14b and 14c are provided on the rear side so as to face the notch 3 so as to face each other. There is. These card mounting portions 14b and 14c and the above-mentioned enclosure wall 12
Card 21 inserted between both side walls 3a, 3b of the
Is inserted into the recess 3 from the card insertion / discharge port 16 communicating with the recess 3 serving as a card insertion path.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a mover as a contact unit formed in a rectangular parallelepiped having a small thickness. A pair of dowels 17a, 17a are formed on both rear sides so as to project, and a flaky conductive material is formed on the lower surface. The contactor 18 which is bent and formed in a V shape is attached. On both sides of the lower surface of the front end portion of the mover 17, the engaging portion 1 slightly inclined upward toward the front.
7c is formed, and a spring hooking portion 17d having a width narrower than the width of the moving element 17 is formed on the front side so as to be sandwiched by the engaging portion 17c, and on the rear side of the engaging portion 17c, The slit-shaped engagement groove 17e is extended in the width direction.

The mover 17 engages the dowel 17a into the guide groove 4a from the opening of the guide groove 4a of the guide wall 4 described above, and the tension spring is attached to the hook portion 14a and the spring hooking portion 17d of the bottom plate 14 described above. 19 by hanging the guide wall 4 so that the engaging groove 17e always faces the recess 3.
Supported by. The mover 17 supported by the guide wall 4 is
The guide groove 4a movably guides from diagonally upper rear to diagonally lower front, and by the tension spring 19,
The mover 17 is always biased to the rear side. Reference numeral 20 denotes a plate-shaped lid, which is fixed to the boss 8 of the base plate 2 by screws. On the upper surface of the IC card 21,
An electrode part (not shown) with which the contact 18 of the mover 17 contacts is formed.

In such a structure, as shown in FIG. 1, the IC card 21 is mounted on the card mounting portion 14b of the bottom plate 14,
14c and the side walls 3a and 3b of the recess 3 are inserted,
The card is also inserted into the recess 3 from the card insertion / ejection port 16. As shown in FIG. 4A, the front end of the inserted IC card 21 engages with the engaging groove 17e of the moving element 17, and moves the moving element 17 against the spring force of the tension spring 19 in the direction of arrow A. Press on. The pressed moving element 17 descends while moving in the direction of arrow A by the guide groove 4a of the guide wall 4,
The front end of the card 21 is engaged with the back wall 3c to restrict the movement in the arrow A direction. At this time, in FIG. 2, one side end of the IC card 21 engages with the bent portion 10a of the leaf spring 10 and elastically deforms the leaf spring 10.
Since the IC card 21 is elastically held by the leaf spring 10 and the side wall 3a, the mover 17 is also held in the recess 3. At the same time, the contact 18 of the mover 17 contacts the electrode portion of the IC card 21, so that the data of the IC card 21 is processed via the contact 18.

When the IC card 21 is completely inserted, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), a slight gap indicated by a gap δ is formed between the front end of the moving element 17 and the rear end of the rib 7. While being formed, the engagement portion 17c faces the guide portion 7a of the rib 7. In addition, the spring hook portion 1 of the mover 17
7d is fitted under the stopper 6, and the spring hooking portion 17d
A space L is formed between the upper surface of the stopper 6 and the stopper surface 6a of the stopper 6. When the data of the IC card 21 is processed, the rear end portion of the IC card 21 which is exposed from the card insertion / exit opening 16 and positioned in the notch 2a of the base plate 2 is gripped to resist the spring force of the leaf spring 10. By pulling the IC card 21 in the direction of arrow B by means of the IC card 21, the IC card 21 can be pulled out from the card insertion / discharge port 16. When the IC card 21 is pulled out from the card insertion / ejecting port 16, the mover 17 moves the recess 3 in the direction of arrow B by the urging force of the tension spring 19, and the contact 18 retreats from the recess 3.

Next, a case where a metal scale or the like is inserted after the IC card 21 is inserted will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure (a), when the IC card 21 is completely inserted into the recessed portion 3, a slight gap of the interval δ is formed between the rear end of the rib 7 and the front end of the mover 17, as described above. There is. In this state, as shown in FIG. 3B, the thin metal gauge 22 is inserted into the recess 3 from the card insertion / discharge port 16.
When inserted between the IC card 21 inside and the mover 17, the front end of the metal scale 22 comes into contact with the engaging groove 17e of the mover 17. Further, when the metal scale 22 is inserted in the direction of the arrow A and the mover 17 moves by the distance δ, the engaging portion 17c of the mover 17 is moved.
Is in contact with the guide portion 7a of the rib 7, the engaging portion 17c is guided by the guide portion 7a, and the mover 17 moves diagonally upward in the direction of arrow c, that is, away from the recess 3 in the thickness direction of the IC card 21. .

As the mover 17 moves diagonally upward in this manner, the distance between the upper surface of the metal scale 22 and the lower surface of the mover 17 increases, so that an external force exceeding the elastic limit is continuously applied to the contact piece 18. Therefore, the contact 18 forcibly bent by the metal rule 22 elastically returns to the initial shape. Therefore, after the metal scale 22 is removed,
The contact resistance between the contact 18 and the electrode portion of the IC card 21 does not increase, and the contact failure with the electrode portion of the IC card 21 is reduced. The upper end of the spring hooking portion 17d of the moving element 17 that has moved in the direction of the arrow c engages with the stopper surface 6a of the stopper 6, so that the movement of the moving element 17 is restricted, and therefore the dowel 17a is guided by the guide wall 4a. Groove 4a
The opening 4b is restricted from falling off. Further, when the IC card 21 is completely inserted, a gap of a distance δ is provided between the front end of the moving element 17 and the rear end of the rib 7. Therefore, during the processing of the data, the engaging portion 17c of the mover 17 engages with the guide portion 7a of the rib 7 to move the mover 1
Since 7 does not move in the direction of arrow c, the contact state between the contactor 18 and the electrode portion of the IC card 21 is maintained, which prevents data processing failure.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, I
The contact failure with the electrode portion of the C card is reduced.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, processing defects during data processing can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall appearance of an IC card reader according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where an IC card reader according to the present invention is removed.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, where (a) shows a state in which an IC card is inserted, and (b) shows a state in which the IC card is completely inserted.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.
The state where the C card is inserted is shown, and the state (b) shows the state where the IC card is completely inserted.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged main part of FIG.
Shows a state in which the IC card is completely inserted, and (b) shows a state in which a metal ruler is inserted.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... IC card reader, 3 ... recess, 3c ... rear wall, 4 ...
Guide wall, 6 ... Stopper, 7 ... Rib, 7a ... Guide part, 1
6 ... Card insertion and discharge port, 17 ... Mover, 17c ... Engagement part, 18 ... Contactor, 21 ... IC card, 22 ... Gold scale.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06K 17/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A card insertion path communicating with the card insertion slot, and a contact which is retracted from the card insertion path when the card is not inserted and is moved by an IC card inserted in the card insertion path so that the contact advances into the card insertion path. And a contact unit stopper for determining the moving end of the contact unit is formed in the card insertion path, and an external force exceeding the moving end of the contact unit is applied to the contact unit stopper. An IC card reader characterized in that a guide portion is provided for separating the unit from the card insertion path in the thickness direction of the card. 2. The IC card reader according to claim 1, wherein a guide wall for supporting and guiding the contact unit is provided near the card insertion path, and the contact unit is provided on the card insertion opening side. A urging means for urging is provided, and a card stopper for determining the advance limit of the card is provided in the card insertion path, and the contact unit stopper is slightly positioned in the card insertion direction with respect to the card stopper. IC card reader.