JP2000200325A - Information recording / reproducing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To prevent a card restricting member that presses a short side of a card from being caught when a card is inserted. SOLUTION: On an abutment surface 82 at the back of a mounting table 53 and I
A regulating member 88 for suppressing the card from being displaced in the thickness direction is provided at about the center of the C module. IC
The lower surface of the regulating member 88 is formed at the same height as the abutting surface 82 so that the card is bent by the contact pressure of the head and does not affect optical recording / reproducing. It is inclined with respect to. When the card is conveyed to the mounting table 53 by the conveyance system and inserted into the back of the mounting table 53, the leading end of the card contacts the inclined surface of the regulating member 88. Even if the card is slightly warped, if the upper surface of the card is below the inclined surface of the regulating member 88, the card is guided downward without being caught by the regulating member 88.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information recording / reproducing apparatus capable of recording and / or reproducing information on a plurality of different information recording cards or multiple information recording card recording media.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, information recording media are in the form of tapes, disks, cards, and the like, and are used properly according to the purpose. Among them, cards have excellent storage and portability. Therefore, it is widely used mainly for applications such as cash cards. At present, most of the cards are mainly magnetic cards, but due to the progress of the information age, optical cards C having an optical recording layer C1 forming a plurality of information tracks as shown in FIG. IC chip C2 as shown
An information recording card such as an IC card C having embedded therein is attracting attention. These cards C are superior to existing magnetic cards in terms of recording capacity and security, and are expected to be widely used in the future.

Recently, the large capacity of the optical card C and the
Various types of hybrid cards HC that take advantage of the high-speed accessibility of the C card C have been proposed by combining recording media. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, an optical recording layer C1 is formed on the front surface, and the back surface is formed. Is known in which an IC chip C2 is embedded. In the information recording / reproducing apparatus corresponding to such a hybrid card HC, considering the compatibility with the optical card C, it is desirable to form the optical recording layer C1 and the IC chip C2 on different surfaces, as shown in FIG. If they are formed on the same surface, it is necessary to take measures against interference between the IC heads, damage to the optical recording layer C1 by the IC heads, and the like.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a hybrid card HC.
FIG. 11 shows a configuration diagram of the recording / reproducing apparatus of FIG.
The configuration of the recording / reproducing head for No. 2 is an external contact type, and FIG. 12 is a mounting table mounting type. In each of these apparatuses, a card insertion slot 2 is provided on one side surface of the apparatus main body 1, and a card C inserted from the card insertion slot 2 is mounted in the apparatus main body 1 to perform desired recording. A card mounting table 3 for moving the card HC with respect to the reproducing unit is provided. A rubber roller pair 4 for transporting the card HC to the card mounting table 3 is provided between the insertion slot 2 and the card mounting table 3, and the rubber roller pair 4 is driven by a motor (not shown). It has become.

[0005] The optical recording / reproducing system comprises a card mounting table 3 and an optical head 5 disposed above and facing the card mounting table 3.
A drive system including a belt 6 and a pulley 7 is connected to the card mounting table 3 so as to perform a linear reciprocating motion in the longitudinal direction of the hybrid card HC. Further, the apparatus main body 1 is provided with two optical detectors 8a and 8b, and the card mounting table 3 is provided between a light-shielding plate 9 attached to a lower portion thereof and two positions positioned by the detectors 8a and 8b. It reciprocates in a straight line.

On the other hand, the optical head 5 is equipped with an optical system for condensing the laser light on the hybrid card HC, and furthermore, the optical head 5 has a short side of the card HC orthogonal to the moving direction of the card mounting table 3. A drive system for moving the optical head 5 in the hand direction is provided. The relative movement between the card mounting table 3 and the optical head 5 causes the card H to move.
The recording and reproduction with respect to C and the movement of a desired information track are performed.

The configuration of the recording / reproducing head for the IC chip C2 is the same as that of the external contact type shown in FIG.
The head 10 is located at the back of the card mounting table 3 outside the rectilinear reciprocation range, and the card mounting table 3 has an IC chip C2.
The IC head 10 enters through the hole, and a plurality of electrical contacts 11 provided on the IC head 10 come into contact with the IC chip C2. An optical unit 12 for detecting the position of the card mounting table 3 is provided at the back of the apparatus.

In the case of the mounting table mounting type shown in FIG. 12, the IC head 10 is mounted on the card mounting table 3, and a plurality of IC heads 10 are provided on the upper surface of the card mounting table 3 at positions corresponding to the IC chips C2. Electrical contacts 11 are provided, and these electrical contacts 11 are connected to a control circuit (not shown) via a flexible cable.

When the hybrid card HC is inserted from the insertion slot 2 of the apparatus main body 1, the hybrid card HC is set on the card mounting table 3 by the rubber roller pair 4. The card mounting table 3 is a belt 6
The optical head 5 is moved in a direction orthogonal to the direction of movement of the card mounting table 3 by moving in the direction indicated by the arrow by the drive system of the pulley 7 and the pulley 7. Then, the laser light from the optical system of the optical head 5 is condensed on the card HC.
The recording and reproduction are performed on the optical recording layer C1 on the upper surface of the recording layer.

In the case of the external contact type shown in FIG. 11, recording / reproduction is performed when the hybrid card HC is in a stationary state, and the card mounting table 3 for optical recording / reproduction is also used as card transport means. That is, after the card mounting table 3 is moved to the detection position by the optical means 12 and stopped, the IC head 10 is lifted from below by a driving force (not shown) and comes into contact with the IC chip C2 embedded in the lower surface of the card HC. Then, a predetermined recording / reproducing process is performed. In addition,
The IC head 10 waits in a state separated from the card HC except during recording and reproduction.

In the case of the mounting table mounting type shown in FIG. 12, the electric contact 11 of the IC head 10 mounted on the card mounting table 3 comes into contact with the IC chip C2, and the recording / reproducing process is performed. In this case, the size of the apparatus main body 1 can be reduced, the access to the IC head 10 is possible even while the card C is moving, and simultaneous processing with optical recording / reproduction is also possible.

In the case of the mounting table mounting type, since the IC head 10 is mounted on the card mounting table 3, recording and reproduction on the IC chip C2 can be performed at an arbitrary position. If the warpage of the card HC during recording / reproduction is large, the recording surface is displaced in the optical axis direction and deviates from the autofocus operation range of the optical system, so that desired performance in the optical recording / reproduction system cannot be obtained.

For this purpose, the card mounting table 3 has a card H
A holding mechanism for correcting the warpage of C is provided,
This holding mechanism is configured to be in a released state when the card HC is mounted on the card mounting table 3 so as to reduce the load on the transport system.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the card mounting table 3.
Coil spring 1 from hybrid card HC information
The member 14 urged by 3 presses and holds the card HC, and when the card HC is inserted, the tapered surface 15 provided at the tip of the member 14 is guided upward by the shaft 16 and released upward. ing.

However, in the case of such a mounting table mounting type, an IC head is mounted on the mounting table, and the IC head is mounted at an arbitrary position.
Although it has the advantage of being able to record and reproduce data on and from the chip, it has several problems. For example, when the warpage of the card is large in the recording / reproduction of the hybrid card, the recording surface is displaced in the optical axis direction and thus deviates from the AF (autofocus) operation range of the optical system. No longer available. Further, the reflected light beam is deviated from the objective lens of the optical head, so that desired recording / reproducing performance cannot be obtained. Therefore, the mounting table is provided with a holding mechanism for correcting the warpage of the card. For example, FIG.
In the conventional example shown in FIG. 3, a member 14 urged by a coil spring 13 from above the card presses and holds the card.

On the other hand, a pressing factor of a contact point can be cited as a major factor influencing IC recording / reproducing performance. In consideration of insufficient contact of the contacts due to contamination of the IC surface, it is necessary to increase the pressing force to perform reliable contact. However, the optical recording layer C
1 and the IC chip C2 are formed on different surfaces,
The card is warped by pressing the contact against the C chip C2. In the case of the external contact type, there is no effect because the simultaneous processing with the optical recording / reproducing is not performed. Also, considering compatibility with an optical card, it is not possible to provide a reference surface for abutting the card on the other side of the IC head, that is, on the optical card recording area on the optical head side. Therefore, it is an object to realize a contact mechanism capable of maintaining an appropriate IC head pressing state.

As a solution to such a problem, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 8-272914 has been proposed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, the card mounting table is roughly composed of a shuttle base 20, a tray 30, and an upper metal 40.
Consists of three parts. The shuttle base 20 is a base of the mounting table, and one side edge portion thereof is a guide shaft 21.
, And can be linearly moved along the guide shaft 21 by a linear driving force of driving means constituted by a known means such as a voice coil motor. The upper metal 40 is fixed to the shuttle base 20, and the tray 30 is disposed in the middle thereof by being urged toward the upper metal by the leaf spring 22. The hybrid card HC is sandwiched and held between the upper metal 40 and the tray 30.

An IC chip connector 23 is provided on the shuttle base 20. The IC chip connector 23 is supported by an upright shaft 24, and is pushed by a spring 25 when it comes into contact with the IC chip C2 of the card HC. We are trying to ensure pressure.

However, in order to place the card HC on the tray 30 on the shuttle base 20 in such a configuration, first, a member (not shown) is brought into contact with the inclined surface of the locking portion 32 at the tip and guided downward. Then, the tray 30 is slightly rotated about the pin 26 of the shuttle base 20 and the engaging portion of the engaging portion 31 as a center to widen the interval between the upper metal 40 and the card insertion opening as shown in FIG. I do.

From this state, the hybrid card HC is inserted between the tray 30 and the upper metal 40 from the card insertion slot so that the optical recording layer C1 is on the upper side. Then, the tray 30 is rotated in the opposite direction to the above, and the card HC is sandwiched between the tray 30 and the upper metal 40.

The upper metal 40 disposed above the tray 30 has a holding portion 41 for holding both longitudinal edges of the card HC other than the optical recording layer C1 of the hybrid card HC, and an embedding position of the IC chip C2. A pressing portion 42 for pressing the end portion in the near width direction is integrally formed, and the card HC is held between these pressing portions 41 and 42.

Therefore, according to such a conventional example, as shown in FIG. 14, the end of the hybrid card HC in the width direction closer to the embedded position of the IC chip C2 is sandwiched by the pressing portion 42 of the upper metal 40. Since the reinforcement at the portion is performed, the IC chip connector 23
Contact force due to contact with the IC chip C2,
The bending of the hybrid card HC can be prevented, so that the IC chip connector 23 and the IC chip C
2 and a stable contact with the card H
Variations in the focusing direction in the optical recording layer C1 due to the curvature of C can be prevented, and stable reading of information can be realized.

[0023]

However, in the above-described conventional example, when the card is inserted, if the card has an upwardly convex shape in the short direction, the end of the card is closed as shown in FIG. There is a case where a normal settling state cannot be realized by being caught on the short side regulating portion 42 of 40.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide an information recording / reproducing apparatus in which a card restricting member for pressing a short side of a card is not caught when a card is inserted.

[0025]

According to the present invention, there is provided an information recording / reproducing apparatus for recording and / or reproducing information on / from a card provided with an optical recording medium and / or an electric recording element. Optical means and electrical means for performing reproduction, a mounting table for mounting and holding the card, a plurality of contact pairs attached to the mounting table to constitute the electric means, and a vicinity of the contact pair And a position regulating member having an inclined surface with respect to the card insertion direction and regulating the position of the short side of the card in the thickness direction.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a side of the apparatus when a card is inserted in the first embodiment corresponding to a hybrid card, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mounting table, FIG. 3 is a partial side cross-sectional view of a rear part of the mounting table, and FIG. FIG. 3 shows a side cross-sectional view after insertion is completed.

On the left side of the apparatus body 51, a card insertion slot 52 through which the card C can be inserted and removed in the long side direction is provided. A mounting table 53 on which the card C is mounted is provided in the apparatus main body 51, supported on a guide shaft (not shown) so as to be movable in the card longitudinal direction, and connected to a belt 56 on the lower surface. Motor driven. The apparatus base is provided with two optical detectors 58 and 59, and the mounting table 53 is positioned by the light-shielding plate 60 attached to its lower part and the detectors 58 and 59.
Make a straight round trip between the locations. On the other hand, an optical head 55 on which an AT (auto tracking) / AF actuator and optical components are mounted is disposed above the card C. While moving the optical head 55 and the card mounting table 53 in the direction perpendicular to each other, the laser light is focused on the card recording layer to record information by forming a spot of several μm and reflectivity by the spot. The information is reproduced by identifying the change of the information.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
Is mounted with an IC head and accesses an IC chip. Eight slots 70 are provided on the upper surface 53a of the mounting table 53 at positions corresponding to the IC chip terminals.
Each slot 70 has an elongated slot shape extending in the X direction. On the other hand, the slider member 71 has electric conductivity 8
Two coil springs 72 are mounted, and each of these coil springs 72 has four shafts
3 and inserted.

One arm of the coil spring 72 is connected to a flexible electric cable, and the other arm extends with its tip bent. Slider member 71
Is mounted so as to be movable in the X direction, and is urged in the direction of the insertion opening by a coil spring 74. The arms of the coil spring 72 are inserted into the slots 70, respectively. When the slider member 71 moves in the X direction, a part of the coil spring 72 abuts the edge of the slot 70, the arm bends, and the tip ends on the mounting table 53.
Is configured to sink below the upper surface 53a. The slider member 71 has an L-shape with the tip directed downward, and the contact can be released by coming into contact with a contact portion 75 provided on the device base.

In such an information recording / reproducing apparatus, in order to perform accurate optical recording / reproducing, the card C is provided with an optical head 55.
It is necessary to be accurately positioned with respect to and to be held in a state where warpage is corrected. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the mounting table 53 has a contact surface 8 for positioning the card reference long side.
1 and an abutment surface 82 for positioning the reference short side of the card C.
Is pressed against the abutting surface 81. Reference plates 83 and 84 for holding the card C in a plane are arranged at positions corresponding to both long sides of the card C.

Below the reference plates 83 and 84 of the mounting table 53, a plurality of pressing members 85 for pressing and holding the card C are provided. The pressing member 85 is attached so as to be rotatable about a shaft 86, and a reference plate 8 serving as a reference surface from below the card C by a coil spring (not shown).
3, 84 are urged against the lower surface. When the mounting table 53 is at the insertion standby position, each end of the pressing member 85 comes into contact with a projection 87 provided on the apparatus base, and rotates about a shaft 86 to release the urging. Further, a regulating member 88 for suppressing the card C from being displaced in the thickness direction on the abutment surface 82 at the back of the mounting table 53 and at about the center of the IC module.
Is provided. Card C by contact pressure of IC head
Of the regulating member 8 so as not to affect the optical recording / reproduction.
The lower surface of 8 is formed at the same height as the abutting surface 82, and the surface of the regulating member 88 that contacts the card C is inclined with respect to the insertion direction.

FIGS. 1 and 4 show a state in which the card C is inserted in a time-series manner, and FIG. 1 shows a standby state before the card C is inserted. The mounting table 53 is positioned at a position detected by the optical detector 58 and the edge of the light-shielding plate 60 on the inner side of the mounting table 53. In this position, the pressing member 85 is in contact with the projection 87 and the biased state is released. Further, the slider member 71 of the 1C head is in contact with the protrusion 75, and the contact spring 72 is disengaged from the slot 70 and sinks into the mounting table 53.

When the card C is inserted from the insertion slot 52,
The card C is transported to the mounting table 5 by the transport system including the roller pair 54.
3. When the card C is inserted into the back of the mounting table 53, the leading end of the card C comes into contact with the inclined surface of the regulating member 88.

Even if the card C is slightly warped, if the upper surface of the card C is below the inclined surface of the regulating member 88, the card C is guided downward without being caught as in the conventional example. Is done. However, it is necessary to make the inclined surface at least 45 ° or less, and to increase the component force for guiding the leading end of the card C downward by the regulating member 88. Also, the regulating member 88
Is located outside the range in which the laser light of the optical head 55 operates, and does not affect optical recording / reproduction.

In this manner, the card C is inserted to the inside of the mounting table 53, and the card C comes into contact with the reference abutment surface 82 and is settled normally. Thereafter, the mounting table 53 starts to move to the reverse position detected by the optical detector 58 on the entrance side and the reflection edge of the light shielding plate 60. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the pressing member 85 is separated from the protrusion 87, and the card C is pressed and held upward. Further, when the slider member 71 is separated from the abutting portion 75, the coil spring 72 of the IC head comes into contact with the IC chip. When the mounting table 53 moves to the reversing position and stops, the laser light is emitted from the optical head 55, and the autofocus is drawn into the optical recording surface of the card C. In this state, access to both the IC chip and the optical recording layer becomes possible.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the mounting table according to the second embodiment, and this device corresponds to the hybrid card HC shown in FIG. The main configuration of the apparatus is the same as that of the first embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the card C is accurately positioned and, as shown in FIG. An abutment surface 81 for positioning the reference long side of the card C and an abutment surface 82 for positioning the reference short side of the card C are formed on the mounting table 53, and the card C is pressed against the abutment surface 81 by an urging member (not shown). . Reference plates 90a for holding the card C in a plane are arranged at positions corresponding to both long sides of the card C. Reference plate 90a and regulating member 9 on both long sides of card C
0b is formed as a connected regulating member 90. The ridge line R of the regulating member 90b corresponding to the short side has an arc shape bulging upward with respect to the insertion direction of the card C.
The regulating member 90b is the regulating member 88 of the first embodiment.
Is formed. A plurality of pressing members for pressing and holding the card C are provided on the mounting table 53 below the regulating member 90 in the same configuration as in the first embodiment, and the card C is pressed from below to a reference surface. Energize.

When the mounting table 53 is at the insertion standby position,
Each end of the pressing member comes into contact with a projection provided on the device base, and rotates around the axis to release the bias. Further, on the short side of the card C at the back of the mounting table 53, a regulating member 90b for suppressing the card C from being displaced in the thickness direction is provided.

Card C having warpage convex in the short side direction
Is inserted, the card C is gradually guided downward along the arc by the reference plate 90a and the regulating member 90b from both ends in the width direction of the card C, so that the card C is not caught as in the conventional example.

In the second embodiment, the regulating member 90b has a circular arc shape. However, the same effect can be obtained by a linearly bulging V-shape as in the third embodiment shown in FIG. can get. In the second and third embodiments, the tip of each bulging portion is located slightly deeper than the card abutting surface, so that it is parallel to the abutting surface 82 where the card may be hooked as in the conventional example. There is no ridgeline.

[0040]

As described above, the information recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention has a problem that the card end is hooked on the card regulating member by the regulating member having the inclined surface on the card contact surface side with respect to the card insertion direction. Thus, a normal settling state can be realized, and stable contact of the IC head and prevention of card bending can be realized in order to obtain stable IC recording / reproducing and optical recording / reproducing.

The same effect can be realized by forming the regulating member so as to bulge away from the card surface.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a device when a card is inserted in a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a mounting table.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a rear portion of the mounting table.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view after completion of card insertion.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a mounting table according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a mounting table according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the optical card.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the IC card.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the first hybrid card.

FIG. 10 is a front view of the second hybrid card.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a first conventional example.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a second conventional example.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a mounting table in a conventional example.

FIG. 14 is an exploded view of a mounting table in a third conventional example.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view of a mounting table in a third conventional example.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a card loading failure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 52 Card insertion slot 53 Mounting table 55 Optical head 81, 82 Abutment surface 83, 84, 90 Reference plate 88, 90 Restriction member 70 Slot 71 Slider member 72 Coil spring HC Hybrid card C1 Optical recording section C2 IC chip

Claims (5)

[Claims] An optical means and an electrical means for performing recording and / or reproduction on a card provided with an optical recording medium and / or an electric recording element, and mounting and holding the card A mounting table, a plurality of contact pairs attached to the mounting table to constitute the electric means, and a slanted surface provided in the vicinity of the contact pair with respect to a card insertion direction, the short side of the card being in a thickness direction. An information recording / reproducing apparatus comprising: a position regulating member for regulating a position of the information recording / reproducing apparatus. 2. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inclined surface of the position regulating portion is provided on a contact surface side of the card. 3. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an edge of the position regulating member viewed from a normal direction of the card has an inclination angle with respect to an insertion direction. 4. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the edge has a bulged shape in an arc shape with respect to the insertion direction. 5. The information recording / reproducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the edge portion has a V-shaped bulging shape in the insertion direction.