JPH0361262B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a card reading device, and particularly to a card reading device that uses a head to read and write information on a card inserted through an insertion slot and ejected from an ejection slot.

In recent years, systems that record or reproduce information by writing information onto cards, such as magnetic cards, have been widely used. There are so-called hard magnetic cards in which a magnetic information writing section is formed on a film, and so-called flexible magnetic cards in which a magnetic information writing section is formed in a thin and flexible film such as polyester film. If the above-mentioned hard magnetic card is deformed due to mechanical or thermal factors, the contact with the magnetic head becomes poor, making it difficult to write or read magnetic information. Also, since the cards are thick, they have the disadvantage that they require a lot of space to file if they are large in quantity.

On the other hand, flexible magnetic cards are resistant to deformation to some extent due to their characteristics, and their flexibility allows for good contact with the magnetic head, and their thinner thickness requires less space for files. It has the advantage of being easy to use.

From this point of view, magnetic card reading devices using flexible magnetic cards have recently come into widespread use.

Such a magnetic card reading device is illustrated in FIG. 1 (top view), FIG. 2 (right side view), and FIG. 3 (left side view), and in each figure, side plates 2 and 3 are shown.
A card running guide 1 is provided which is held from both sides by screws and curved into a substantially U-shape. Card running guides 4 and 5, which are similarly held by side plates 2 and 3, are provided inside the running guide 1, and these guides form a card running path on which a flexible magnetic card 19 runs. be done.

Further, inside the card running guide 1, there is provided a shaft 6 which penetrates the side plates 2 and 3 and is rotatably supported, and around this shaft 6 is a feed roller 8 having an elastic member 7 such as rubber wrapped around the outer circumference. is fixed, and a drive gear 9 is fixed to the other end of this shaft 6 as shown in FIG. This driving gear 9 is rotated by the motor 12 by meshing with a motor gear 10 fixed to a shaft 11 of the motor 12.

On the other hand, counter rollers 13 and 14 rotatably supported on shafts 15 and 16, respectively, are arranged opposite to the feed roller 8, and these rollers 13 and 14 press against the feed roller 8 to prevent the magnetic card 19 from running. is ensured. Also, a magnetic head 1 that reads and writes magnetic information.
7 is attached to the side of the card running path near the outlet B via a head mount 18 fixed to the card running guide 1. A pinch roller 20 for pressing the magnetic card 19 against the magnetic head 17 is arranged opposite to the magnetic head 17. The pinch roller 20 is fixed on a shaft 21 that is supported on the card guide 4, and is biased toward the magnetic head 17 by a pressure spring 22 to ensure that the magnetic card 19 is pressed against the magnetic head 17. I'm making it into something. Further, detectors 23, 24, 25 such as micro switches are arranged on the card running path, and the detector 23 is arranged near the insertion slot A of the card running path to insert the magnetic card 19. is detected and the motor 12 is driven to drive the feed roller 8. Further, the detector 24 is a detector that generates a write protect signal to prevent writing, and prevents new information from being erroneously written on top of previously written information. Further, the detector 25 is for generating a so-called read/write signal, which is a signal for determining whether to read or write information.

In such a configuration, the magnetic card 19 is
After being inserted through the insertion slot A and detected by the detector 23, the card is bent into a U-shape and conveyed along the card running path by the feed roller 8, and information is written or read by the magnetic head 17. It is discharged from rear discharge port B.

However, in the conventional magnetic card reader described above, the insertion slot and the ejection slot are formed in different places, so there is a risk of accidentally inserting the magnetic card from the ejection slot. There was a risk of damage or damage to the main body of the device.

Therefore, the present invention solves these conventional drawbacks, and makes it possible to insert a card reliably without causing incorrect insertion, and to read and write information reliably without the risk of damaging the card. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a card reading device that can read cards.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention makes the card conveyance path at least half a turn along the circumference, thereby arranging the insertion opening for card insertion and the discharge opening for card ejection in the same area. , in a card reading device that reads information from a card inserted from the insertion port and ejected from the ejection port, the insertion port and the ejection port are combined into a common conveyance path; A guide member including a movable wall facing the insertion port and the other side facing the ejection port, and a biasing member that biases the guide member to close the ejection port, and the card is inserted and A configuration is adopted in which either the insertion port or the discharge port is opened in response to ejection.

The present invention will be described in detail below based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

Note that the following description will be made using an example of a magnetic card for convenience.

In FIG. 4, the magnetic card reading device is formed with a card running guide 50 held from both sides by side plates (not shown), and this guide 50 has an approximately circular inner surface. They come together at an opening C that also serves as an insertion and ejection port for a magnetic card. Therefore, a substantially circular card running path is formed. A card guide 51 similarly held by a side plate is provided near the opening C. A feed roller 53 is fixedly disposed approximately at the center of the card running path on a shaft 52 which penetrates the side plate and is rotatably supported. As shown, the position of the feed roller 53 relative to the card running guide 50 is concentric with the substantially circular card running path, and the radial distance from the inner surface of the card running guide 50 to the shaft 52 is approximately constant. . Also, the shaft 52 supporting the feed roller 53
A drive gear (not shown) is fixed to the other end, and this drive gear is rotated by a motor (not shown) to rotate the feed roller 53.

On the other hand, the card guide 51 has a sharp portion toward the opening C, and is a substantially triangular block with surfaces 51a and 51b forming a running path with the same thickness as the running path formed at the feed roller 53. The surface 51a is inclined downward with respect to the horizontal line so that when the magnetic card 59 is inserted, it runs approximately horizontally in the figure.

On the other hand, a shaft 55, facing the feed roller 53,
Counter rollers 57, 54 attached to 56
are arranged to face each other in the radial direction to ensure the movement of the magnetic card 59. Also, a magnetic head 58 for reading and writing magnetic information.
The card running guide 5 near the end of the running path
0, and a pinch roller that faces the magnetic head 58 and presses the magnetic card 59 against the magnetic head 58 is fixed on the shaft 61.
The pinch roller 60 is biased toward the magnetic head 58 by a spring (not shown), and ensures reliable contact between the magnetic card 59 and the magnetic head 58.

Also, on the card running path, there is a detector 62 that detects the insertion of the magnetic card 59 and rotates the feed roller 53, and also generates a write protect signal to prevent new information from being written on top of already recorded information. A detector 63 for generating a signal and a detector 64 for generating a read/write signal for determining whether information is written or read are arranged.

In such a configuration, when the magnetic card 59 is inserted through the opening C which also serves as an insertion port and an ejection port, the magnetic card 59 is inserted almost horizontally in the drawing along the surface 51a of the card guide 51, and the detector 62 is turned on. The motor rotates. As a result, the feed roller 53 starts rotating counterclockwise. Furthermore, when the magnetic card 59 is inserted forward, the magnetic card is automatically conveyed along the circular card running path by the rotating feed roller 53 and counter roller 54. Then the detector 64
When the card is turned on, a read/write signal is generated, and based on the read/write signal, the magnetic head 58 reads or writes information to the magnetic card 59, and then the card is guided to the lower part of the card guide 51 and inserted into the opening C. is discharged.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG.
Although the shape of the magnetic card 59 is formed to move the magnetic card 59 upward, there is a risk that the magnetic card may be inserted in the F direction along the surface 51b. The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 prevents this problem, and in this figure, the same or similar parts as in FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the card guide 51' disposed near the opening C is provided with a shaft 65 rotatably supported on the side plate, and the card guide 51' is fixed to this shaft 65. . Further, a spring 66 is fixed to the other end of the card guide 51,
A certain end of the spring 66 is fixed to the card running guide 50. As a result, the card guide 51'
The spring 66 imparts a clockwise rotational tendency with a weak force in the figure, so that the card guide 51' comes into contact with the card running guide 50 and closes the card running path on the discharge side.

With this configuration, even if the card 59 is inserted in the F direction by mistake, the card guide 51' will prevent the card from being inserted, and if the card is inserted correctly,
When the magnetic card 59 is ejected along the traveling path along the surface 51b, the magnetic card 59 lifts the card guide 51' against the biasing force of the spring 66, so that the magnetic card 59 can be easily ejected into the opening C.

In this way, by providing a simple spring and giving a moving habit to the card guide, a magnetic card can be inserted reliably, and a reading device with good operability can be obtained.

In the embodiment described above, the detector 62,
Although 63 and 64 are configured using micro switches, the same effect can be obtained by using an optical switch such as a photo coupler instead of such a mechanical switch.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, by making the card conveyance path at least half a turn along the circumference, the insertion port for card insertion and the discharge port for card ejection are located in the same area. In a card reading device that reads information from a card inserted from the insertion port and ejected from the ejection port, there is provided a common transport path where the insertion port and the ejection port join, and one side near the transport path. a guide member having a movable wall with one side facing the insertion port and the other side facing the ejection port, and a biasing member that biases the guide member to close the ejection port, Since either the insertion port or the ejection port is opened in response to insertion and ejection,
It has a simple structure that requires fewer parts to guide the card, so it is highly reliable, inexpensive, small and lightweight, and there is no need to worry about inserting the card in the wrong position. It has excellent advantages such as preventing damage and improving operability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 are a plan view, a right side view, and a left side view showing the structure of a conventional magnetic card reading device, respectively, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a magnetic card reading device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. 50... Card running guide, 51, 51'...
Card guide, 53...Feed roller, 54,
57...Counter roller, 58...Magnetic head,
59...magnetic card, 60...pinch roller, 6
2, 63, 64...detector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. By making the card conveyance path at least half a turn along the circumference, an insertion port for card insertion and a discharge port for card ejection are located in the same area, and the card can be inserted from the insertion port. A card reading device that reads information from a card ejected from the ejection port, the card reader comprising: a common transport path where the insertion port and the ejection port merge; one side near the transport path faces the insertion port;
a guide member having a movable wall whose other side faces the ejection port; and a biasing member that biases the guide member to close the ejection port, and the guide member includes a movable wall whose other side faces the ejection port, and a biasing member that biases the guide member to close the ejection port, and A card reading device characterized in that either the insertion port or the ejection port is opened.