JPH0678134B2 - Card transport mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] <Industrial field of application> The present invention relates to a mechanism for conveying a card, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a card transport mechanism for sandwiching and transporting a card between a belt and a facing pressing means that are provided between a pair of pulleys that are spaced apart from each other in the card transport direction.

<Prior Art> Conventionally, for example, in a card reader / writer for reading or writing a card having a magnetic stripe as a magnetic information storage unit, various types of mechanisms for carrying the card have been used. is there. For example, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-92060, filed by the same applicant, a card is sandwiched and conveyed between a belt stretched between a pair of pulleys and an opposing pressing means. There is one, and one example thereof is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a round belt is formed between both a drive pulley 32 that rotates around an axis orthogonal to the carrying surface of the card 31 along the paper surface and a driven pulley 33 that is axially supported at an angle with respect to the card carrying surface. 34
And a facing guide roller 35 facing each of the closest portion of the portion wound around the driven pulley 33 to the card transport surface and the intermediate portion between the pulleys 32 and 33 of the belt 34. 36 is provided, and the card 31 is sandwiched and conveyed between the belt 34 and the opposing guide rollers 35, 36.

According to the above mechanism, the card 31 is inserted from the right insertion slot to the left in the drawing, and the drive pulley 32 is driven in the direction of the arrow by the motor (not shown) to convey the card 31,
The magnetic head 39 reads / writes information from / to 31 magnetic stripes. After the transfer of information, the drive pulley 32 can be driven in the opposite direction to the above to drive the belt 34 in the opposite direction to eject the card 31. card
The belt sent from the drive pulley 32 when ejecting 31
Since the portion of 34, which is wound around the driven pulley 33, is displaced so as to bulge from the inner side to the outer side of the circumferential circuit, a side guide roller 37 for preventing the bulging is provided near the driven pulley 33. Since the belt 34 is guided toward the inside of the circuit by the side guide rollers 37,
A straightening roller is provided inside the peripheral circuit of the belt 34, and the portion of the belt 34 between the drive pulley 32 and the straightening guide roller 38 is straightened so as to have a linear portion along the card transport direction.

However, in the above-described transport mechanism, there are two bending portions formed by the rollers 37 and 38 in the path of the belt 34, and the load resistance due to the bending of the belt 34 deteriorates the driving efficiency and the current consumption of the motor as the driving source. The problem arises that Further, the continuous deformation of the belt 34 when passing through the two bending portions may increase the influence of jitter when reading / writing information.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In view of the problems of the prior art as described above, a main object of the present invention is to provide a belt in a mechanism for conveying a card by using a belt that is stretched between a pair of pulleys. It is an object of the present invention to provide a card transport mechanism that can reduce the load resistance due to the deformation of the card and can reduce the influence of jitter at the time of reading / writing information.

[Configuration of the Invention] <Means for Solving the Problems> According to the present invention, such an object is rotatable about an axis which is spaced from each other in the card transport direction and intersects the card transport surface. A pair of pulleys axially supported by the belt, a belt stretched between the pulleys, a means for driving the belt in the longitudinal direction, and a means for holding and conveying the card in cooperation with the belt. In a card transport mechanism having a facing guide means facing the belt, and a side guide member for suppressing the outward displacement of the belt from the inside of the peripheral circuit in the vicinity of one of the pulleys, The most projecting end of the pitch circle of the one pulley on the side of the side guide member and orthogonal to the line along the card transport direction passes through the corresponding most projecting end of the pitch circle of the other pulley. Card transportation method In a direction orthogonal to the line along the line, and in order to convey the card by a portion between the side guide member and the other pulley in the belt, the portion is moved in the card conveying direction. This is achieved by providing a card transport mechanism characterized in that the side guide members are arranged so as to extend along the same.

<Operation> With this configuration, when the belt is fed toward one of the pulleys, the side of the belt that prevents the pulley side from bulging from the inner side to the outer side of the circuit is formed. By providing only one guide member, the portion of the belt between the side guide member and the other pulley can be aligned in the conveying direction.

<Embodiment> Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a card reader / writer casing 1 to which a card carrying mechanism according to the present invention is applied, with a top plate 2 removed, and FIG. 2 is taken along line II-II in FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view as seen from FIG. 3, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. The casing 1 is flat and has a box shape that is long in the left-right direction in FIG.
An insertion port 4 for inserting the magnetic card 3, for example, is attached to the end wall on the right side in the figure of the casing 1 by screwing, and the rear end surface on the left side in the figure is opened.
Both side edges of the card 3 inserted from the insertion slot 4 are slidably received in the longitudinal direction of the casing 1 by a pair of left and right guide members 5 facing each other in the casing 1 and provided along the longitudinal direction. It

In the casing 1, for example, a drive pulley 6 and a driven pulley 7 having the same diameter are arranged at a distance from each other in the longitudinal card 3 conveyance direction. In the vicinity of the rear end of the casing 1, the drive pulley 6 is rotated by a pivot shaft fixed perpendicularly to the bottom wall 1a parallel to the conveying surface of the card 3 along the paper surface of FIG. It is rotatably supported. In the vicinity of the insertion port 4 in the casing 1, a pivot axis fixed to a bracket 8 inclined from the upper surface to the lower surface through an opening formed in the bottom wall 1a is orthogonal to the card transport direction. In addition, a driven pulley 7 is axially supported so as to be rotatable about an axis inclined with respect to the card transport surface. A belt 9 made of, for example, a rubber material having a circular cross section is stretched between the pulleys 6 and 7.

A large-diameter gear 11 is coaxially fixed to the bottom wall 1a side of the drive pulley 6, and a small-diameter drive gear 14 of a flat motor 13 as a drive source meshes with the large-diameter gear 11. . The flat motor 13 is fixed to a plate-like support bracket 12 provided below the bottom wall 1a, and a drive gear 14 fixed to the output shaft of the flat motor 13 faces above the bottom wall 1a. Has been done. Therefore, the drive pulley 6 is driven and the driven pulley 7 is driven via the belt 9 by rotating the motor 13 in the forward and reverse directions by a control circuit (not shown).

The driven pulley is located between the closest portion of the driven pulley on the top plate 2 side of the belt 9 and the corresponding end of the drive pulley 6, and outside the belt 9 circuit near the driven pulley 7. The lateral guide roller 15 for preventing the belt 9 from bulging outward from the inner side of the peripheral circuit at the portion closest to the top plate 2 on the side of the top plate 2 is rotatable about the axis orthogonal to the bottom wall 1a. It is pivotally supported. That is, the most protruding end of the driven pulley 7 in the direction orthogonal to the line along the card conveying direction on the side of the pitch circle 7a of the driven pulley 7 passes through the corresponding most protruding end of the pitch circle 6a of the drive pulley 6. It is biased in a direction orthogonal to the line along the direction. The closest portion of the driven pulley 7 on the top plate 2 side, that is, the closest portion to the card carrying surface is a predetermined amount in the direction orthogonal to the line along the card carrying surface and the card carrying direction with respect to the drive pulley 6 (first A) in the figure
Both pulleys 6 and 7 are arranged so as to be biased. Due to the above-mentioned positional relationship between the pulleys 6 and 7, only one side guide roller 15 is provided, and the side guide roller of the belt 9 is provided.
A straight line portion 9a between the drive pulley 6 and the drive pulley 6 can be arranged along the card transport direction.

The top plate 2 has a support plate composed of a plate spring having a fixed base end portion.
Pressing roller 21 rotatably supported by the free end of 22
Is provided so as to face the closest portion of the driven pulley 7 on the top plate 2 side. The card 3 can be conveyed by holding the card 3 between the pressing roller 21 and the belt 9 and driving the belt 9.

A bracket 16 having a U-shaped cross section is fixedly mounted on the bottom wall 1a in the vicinity of the drive pulley 6 of the linear portion 9a of the belt 9 described above, and a push-out guide roller is provided between both protruding free ends of the bracket 16. 17 is rotatably supported, and the top plate 2 has a pressing roller 18 facing the pushing guide roller 17.
However, similarly to the above, the base end portion is rotatably supported by the free end portion of the support plate 19 formed of a leaf spring fixed to the top plate 2 and is elastically urged toward the belt 9. A straight portion 9a of the belt 9 is lifted upward by a predetermined amount with respect to the bottom wall 1a by the push-out guide roller 17, as well shown in FIG. 2, and is pressed against the belt 9 lifted by the push-out guide roller 17. The card 3 can be conveyed by holding the card between the roller 18 and driving the belt 9 in the same manner as described above.

A guard guide member 23 is fixed to the bottom wall 1a, for example, by screwing in the vicinity of the side guide roller 15 opposite to the insertion port 4. This guard guide member 23
Is made of a thin plate material and extends from the bottom wall 1a so as to stand upright toward the top plate 2, and then, at a position substantially at the same level as the projecting end of the lateral guide roller 15 and opposite to the insertion port 4 side. It is bent diagonally downward. Therefore, when ejecting the card 3 inserted to the rear end side of the casing 1, the card 3
The end of the card 3 is guided by the slope of the card guide member 23, so that the end of the card 3 can be caught by the protruding end of the side guide roller 15 even when the card 3 is curved. Can be preferably prevented.

In order to read / write information from / to a magnetic stripe (not shown) provided on the back surface of the card 3 in FIG. 1 on the side of the push-out guide roller 17, as shown in FIG. The magnetic head 24 is supported and arranged upward. A portion of the top plate 2 facing the magnetic head 24 is supported by, for example, a leaf spring 29 and is attached to the magnetic head 24.
A pressing roller 25 that is elastically urged toward is provided. A punch unit 26 is provided between the magnetic head 24 and the insertion slot 4, and a hole can be formed in the prepaid card as a guide according to the frequency of use.

A first card length detecting sensor 27a and a motor starting sensor 27b are arranged in this order in the card inserting direction near the insertion port 4 of the casing 1, and a side guide roller 15 is provided. A second card length detecting sensor 27c is arranged between the pushing guide roller 17 and the punch unit 26.
Punch position detection sensor near the rear end of casing 1
27d is provided.

In the card transport mechanism configured in this way,
When the card 3 is inserted into the casing 1 through the insertion port 4, the motor starting sensor 27b operates to rotate the motor 13, and the drive pulley 6 is driven in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The tip of the card 3 is elastically sandwiched between the counter plate pressing roller 21 and the closest portion of the belt 9 wound around the driven pulley 7 on the top plate 2 side, and the card 3 is directed rearward of the casing 1. Can be transported. When the tip portion of the card 3 is elastically held between the linear portion 9a of the belt 9 and the pressing roller 21 and conveyed, the card 3 is attached to the magnetic bed 24 by the pressing roller 25. The magnetic head 24 is urged to read / write information from / to the magnetic stripe of the card 3.

After reading / writing information, the motor 13 is rotated in the opposite direction to drive the drive pulley 6 in the direction indicated by the broken arrow B in FIG.
Since the card 3 is returned toward the insertion slot 4 side, the card 3
Can be discharged.

As described above, the closest portion of the driven pulley 7 on the top plate 2 side is biased laterally with respect to the line passing through the belt winding portion of the drive pulley 6 and extending between the two pulleys of the belt 9. Since a part can be along the card transport direction, only one side guide roller 15 is provided, and only one bent portion is provided in the path between the pulleys 6 and 7 of the belt 9. You can Therefore, the load resistance due to the deformation in the bent portion of the belt 9 can be reduced, and the load resistance due to the bearing portion can be reduced because the number of guide rollers to be mounted is minimized.
The drive efficiency of the motor 13 can be improved. Further, the influence of the jitter during reading / writing by the magnetic head 24 during the transportation of the card 3 is reduced.

In this embodiment, the pulleys 6 and 7 having the same diameter are used, but the pulleys 6 and 7 are not limited to the same diameter, and the axes of the pulleys 6 and 7 are arranged so as to follow the line along the card transport direction. In this case, the same effect can be obtained by, for example, making the driven pulley 7 have a larger diameter.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, only one side guide member for preventing the bulge of the belt suspended between the pair of pulleys is provided, and only a part of the belt between the pulleys is provided. Can be arranged along the card transport direction, the number of bends in the path of the belt can be minimized, and the deformation of the belt and the load resistance due to the guide member can be reduced to improve drive efficiency and reduce power consumption. In addition to being able to do so, it is possible to reduce the influence of the jitter at the time of reading or writing during the transportation of the card.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a card reader / writer casing to which a card carrying mechanism according to the present invention is applied, with a top plate removed. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts as seen from the line IV of FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing a conventional card transport mechanism. 1 ... Casing, 1a ... Bottom wall 2 ... Top plate, 3 ... Card 4 ... Insertion slot, 5 ... Guide member 6 ... Drive pulley, 6a ... Pitch circle 7 ... Driven pulley, 7a ... … Pitch circle 8 …… Bracket, 9 …… Belt 9a …… Linear part, 11 …… Large diameter gear 12 …… Support bracket, 14 …… Drive gear 15 …… Side guide roller 16 …… Bracket, 17 …… Push-out guide roller 18 …… Pressing roller, 19 …… Support plate 21 …… Pressing roller, 22 …… Support plate 23 …… Card guide member 24 …… Magnetic head, 25 …… Pressing roller 27a …… First card length Detection sensor 27b …… Motor start detection sensor 27c …… Second card length detection sensor 27d …… Punch position detection sensor 29 …… Plate spring, 31 …… Card 32 …… Drive pulley, 33 …… Following Pulley 34 …… Belt 35, 36 …… Opposed guide roller 37 …… Side guide roller 38 ... correction roller, 39 ...... magnetic head

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of pulleys, which are spaced from each other in the card transport direction and are rotatably supported about an axis intersecting the card transport surface, and a belt stretched between the pulleys. A means for driving the belt in the longitudinal direction,
Opposing guide means facing the belt in order to hold and convey the card in cooperation with the belt, and suppressing outward displacement of the belt from the inside of the peripheral circuit in the vicinity of one of the pulleys In a card transport mechanism having a side guide member for carrying out, a most protruding end of the pitch circle of the one pulley on the side of the side guide member and in a direction orthogonal to a line along the card transport direction is provided. , The side guide member of the belt and the other pulley while being biased in a direction orthogonal to a line along the card transport direction passing through the corresponding most protruding end of the pitch circle of the other pulley. In order to convey the card by the portion between them, the side guide member is arranged so as to extend the portion along the card conveying direction.