JPH01149187A - Ic card reader/writer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a carrier roller unnecessary, to execute a relative oscillation under a contact state, and to make the contact state into a satisfactory one by using a linear motor. CONSTITUTION:When a carriage 5 is placed at an illustrated position, an IC card 11 is inserted into a casing 1. Thereafter, the tip of the IC card 11 makes a limit switch 16 operated, and a movable part 9 and a fixed part 10 of a clamp insert and hold the IC card 11. Next, linear motors 4a, 4b, and 6a are actuated and made to carry the carriage 5 to a card reading/writing position. Here, a solenoid 21 is excited, a contact unit 18 is tilted, and a contact 17 and a contact 13 are contacted. Thereupon, the coil currents of the linear motors 4a, 4b, and 6a are reversed, and the IC card 11 is carried too much because of its inertia and stopped while it is slightly oscillated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to an IC card reader/writer for reading or writing to a card containing an IC storage element.

<Prior art> Generally, the surface of an IC card tends to get dirty when carried, so dust etc. may adhere to the contacts of the IC card, or the contacts may become damaged if the IC card is left unused for a long period of time. There is a risk of contact failure during reuse due to oxidation of the surface and formation of an oxide film.

Furthermore, in conventional IC card readers/writers, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-167076, for example, the IC card is conveyed by being sandwiched between a pair of rollers driven by a motor. Since the IC card is easily contaminated by such rollers, there are similar problems such as poor contact.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the main purpose of the present invention is to prevent the contact points of the IC card from being contaminated or
(t, ffl This is an improved IC card reader/writer that can always maintain good contact with the contacts when reading or loading data into an IC card, even when the IC card is formed.) Our goal is to provide the following.

<Means for Solving the Problems> According to the present invention, the present invention provides a clamping means for selectively clamping an IC card, and a clamping means for selectively clamping an IC card at an IC card insertion position and an IC card read/write position. a linear motor that transports the carriage between the two positions, and a contact unit that contacts the contacts of the IC card at the IC card read/write position. and vibration generating means for vibrating the IC card and the contact unit relative to each other at the IC card read/write position. .

By using a linear motor in this way, the conveyance roller is not required, so the contacts of the IC card are not contaminated during conveyance, and the contacts of the IC card and the contact unit are not in contact with each other. By vibrating both of them relative to each other in a state where they are in contact with each other, it is possible to remove dirt and the like from the contacts of the IC card.

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

1 to 3 show an embodiment of an IC card reader/writer based on the present invention. The fixed casing 1 has a box shape that is flat and long in the axial direction, and has an open front end and a notch 2 at its bottom. Guide rails 3a and 3b each having a C-shaped cross section are fixed to the left and right inner surfaces of the casing 1 so as to face each other with their open ends facing inward. A stator 4a14b of a linear motor made of a permanent magnet or a coil is provided on the upper and lower inner surfaces of these guide rails 3a, 3b.

The carriage 5 is a generally square plate-like member having movers 5a, 5b of linear motors received in the guide rails 3a, 3b on its side edges. mover 6a,
6b is the stator 4a.

4b, it is made of a coil or a permanent magnet. Therefore, the carriage 5 is appropriately conveyed in the axial direction by the movable elements 6a, 6b and the stator 4a14b working together.

Further, a solenoid 7 is fixed to the carriage 5, and the clamp movable part 9, which is rotatably supported with respect to the sharpening ridge 5 by a pivot shaft 8, can be selectively sucked by the solenoid 7.

This clamp movable part 9 cooperates with a clamp fixing io fixed to the side of the carriage 5, and an IC is connected between these two parts.
The leading end of the card 11 can be selectively clamped.

At the center of the tip of this IC card 11, inside the card:
A9 Contacts 13 are provided for accessing the IC elements 11 which are cut out, and magnetic stripes 12 are provided along the front and rear directions as desired.

The carriage 5 is further provided with a limit switch 16 for detecting that the card 11 has been inserted, and a magnetic stripe 12 is provided at a suitable location on the casing 1.
A magnetic head 14 is fixed for accessing. The cutout 15 provided in the carriage 5 is for avoiding interference between the carriage 5 and the magnetic head 14.

A contact unit 18 having a contact 17 is tiltably supported by a pivot 19 near the end of the casing 1 opposite to the end into which the IC card is inserted. An iron piece 20 is fixed to the end of the contactor unit 18 on the side opposite to the contactor 17, and is selectively attracted by a solenoid 21 fixed to the casing 1 side. , the contactor unit 18 tilts, and as described later, I
The contacts 17 can be brought into selective contact with the contacts 13 of the C card 11. A limit switch 22 fixed to a portion of the casing near the contactor unit 18 is for detecting that the IC card 11 has reached the card read/write position, as will also be described later.

In the linear motor in this embodiment, the movers 6a and 6b provided on the side edges of the carriage 5 are made of, for example, four permanent magnets, and the main parts of the mover 6a and the stator 4b are As schematically shown in FIG. 4, they are arranged in series so that the direction of magnetic flux alternates along the conveying direction. still,
Stator 4a and movable element 6 on the side facing the stator 4a
a is arranged in the same way, and the same is true for the movable element 6b side which is placed on the other side edge of the carriage 5.Furthermore, the fixed parts provided on the upper and lower inner surfaces of the guide rails 3a and 3b Each of the coils 4a and 4b has a plurality of coils arranged in series along the conveying direction.
, are arranged with a slightly larger pitch than the pitch of the magnetic poles of the movers 6a and 6b.

As clearly shown in FIG. 5, each coil 1 to L is as follows:
Transistor T,a whose emitter is connected to a constant voltage power supply
It is connected to the collectors of transistors Tb1 to Tbn whose emitters are grounded, as well as to the collectors of transistors Tb1 to Tbn whose emitters are grounded.

Therefore, when transistor Ta1.1-1 and transistor Tb are turned on, coil 'm-1 to coil L
Current flows towards both coils L and Lm
m-i
m is excited as shown in FIG. 6a, and the carriage 5 is driven in the direction of the arrow in the figure by the magnetic action between it and the mover 6a provided on the carriage 5.

Next, transistor Tam-1 is turned off and transistor T
By turning on am, 1, a current flows from coil LIIl+1 to coil LIIl, so coil '
-m+i and the coil LIll are excited as shown in FIG. 6b, and the carriage 5 is driven in the direction of the arrow in the figure by the same magnetic action.

Then, by turning off the transistor Tbll1 and turning on the transistor Tbll1-1, the coil Lm+
Since current flows from coil 1 to coil 'm-1, coil 'm+1 and coil m-1 are excited as shown in Figure 6c, and carriage 5 is driven in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Become.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 6d and 6e, each coil is made to flow in the opposite direction to that shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b, respectively, through each coil 1-m-1 to Lm+1. The coils Lm-1 to 'm+1 become excited as shown in FIGS. 6d and 6e, respectively, and the carriage 5 is driven in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

Next, the coil Lm+2, which is connected in the direction of movement of the carriage 5, is energized and the transistor Ta is turned on. Turn on 2 and transceive! By turning off Ta111, a current flows from coil Ll1142 to coil LIll, so that coil 'n++2 and coil L
As shown in the figure, the magnet is excited and the carriage 5 is driven in the direction of the arrow in the figure.

In this way, by sequentially combining and energizing each coil 1 to Lo, the carriage 5 is moved from the IC card insertion position to the IC card read/write position shown by the imaginary line in FIG. transport. Incidentally, when driving the carriage 5 in the reverse direction to take out the IC card 11, it can be done by energizing each of the coils L1 to Ln in the reverse order to that described above, that is, in the order of FIGS. 6f to 6a. can. .

Next, the operation procedure of this embodiment will be explained. First, when the carriage 5 is in the position shown, the IC card 11 is inserted into the casing 1 from the left end in FIGS. 1 and 2. When the tip of the IC card 11 activates the limit switch 16, the solenoid 7 is energized and the I
The tip of the C card 11 is a clamp movable part 9 and a fixed part 10
is held between. Next, linear motors 4a, 4b16
a and 5b are activated to transport the carriage 5 to the card reading/writing position shown by phantom lines in FIG. Incidentally, when the IC card 11 is transported together with the carriage 5 in this manner, the magnetic head 14 touches the magnetic stripe 1.
Read or write to 2.

When the limit switch 22 detects that the IC card 11 has reached the card read/write position, the solenoid 21 is energized and the contact units 1 to 18 are tilted, causing the contact 17 to move onto the IC card 11. Contact 13
, and perform the required reading or writing.

At this time, in this embodiment, when the limit switch 22 detects that the IC card 11 has reached the read/write position, the coils L, - arranged at the read/write position of the IC card 11, - 1 and coil. The direction of the exciting current is determined as shown in FIG. 7, and this state is maintained. However, since an inertial force is acting on the IC card 11 due to transportation, it goes a little too far in the direction of the arrow in the figure, but because the linear motor tries to maintain the equilibrium state shown in Figure 7, it is returned, and this time , it will return too far due to the inertial force in the opposite direction to the arrow.

Then, the carriage 5 stops after repeating such vibrations.

In this way, the IC card 11 vibrates minutely until it stops, so even if the contacts are contaminated or an oxide film is formed on the contacts 13, the contacts 13 of the IC card 11 Since the contactor 17 and the contactor 17 rub against each other relative to each other and dirt etc. are removed, the contact between the two becomes good.

Incidentally, a stopper against which the carriage 5 can hit may be provided on the casing 1 at the stop position of the carriage 5, and in this case, the carriage 5 can be mechanically vibrated when stopped.

When access to contact 13 is completed, solenoid 2
1 is demagnetized and the contact 17 is separated from the contact 13. Then, by driving the linear motor, the carriage 5 and the I
By transporting the C card 11 to the card insertion position again, the IC card 11 can be taken out.

In the linear motor in this embodiment, the stator 4a
, 4b as permanent magnets, and the mover 6a.

Although 6b is a coil, the present invention is not limited to this, and the opposite combination may be used. Furthermore, electromagnets can be used instead of permanent magnets.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, even if the contacts of the IC card are contaminated or an oxide film is formed on the contacts, good contact between the contacts and the contacts can be maintained. Since the two can be brought into contact with each other in a reliable state, and read/write access to the IC card is ensured, the practical effect is extremely high. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the top surface of the casing cut away.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line ■--■ in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line ■--■ in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a linear motor based on the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit diagram of the coils constituting the linear motor.

6a to 6f are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the linear motor.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the stopped state of the linear motor.

1...Casing 2...Notches 3a, 3b・
...Guide rails 4a, 4b...Linear motor stator 5...Carriage 6a, 6b...Linear motor mover 7...Solenoid 8...Pivot 9...Clamp movable part 10... Clamp fixing part 11・-IC card 12...Magnetic stripe 13...Contact
14...Magnetic head 15...Notch part
16...Limit switch 17...Contactor
18...Contact unit 19...Pivot 2
0... Iron piece 21... Solenoid 22... Limit switch Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6a Fig. 6b Fig. 6C Fig. 10゛ Fig. 6d Fig. 36e Port Fig. 6f

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Clamping means for selectively clamping the IC card, and clamping means for clamping the IC card at the IC card insertion position and at the IC card insertion position.
a carriage supported so as to be displaceable between card reading/writing positions; a linear motor transporting the carriage between the two positions; and a contact point of the IC card at the IC card reading/writing position. An IC card reader/writer comprising: a contact unit that makes contact; and vibration generating means that vibrates the IC card and the contact unit relative to each other at the IC card read/write position. (2) The IC card reader/writer according to claim 1, wherein the vibration generating means is the linear motor.