JPH096930A - Information storage card processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To speedily process an information storage card. CONSTITUTION: Plural information storage cards C are stacked and stored in a card storage part 2 provided in a main body case 1. At the bottom part of the card storage part 2, an endless sending-out chain 6 is provided and a claw 6a is fitted to the sending-out chain 6. The information storage card C at the bottom is sent out forward with the claw 6a. The sent-out information storage card C is clamped with lower sending belts 13a and 13b and upper sending belts 20a and 20b and further conveyed. During the conveyance, a sensor 15 detects the information of the information storage card C and a processor 23 decides whether the card is defective or not. A nondefective card is discharged from a discharge opening 25 after being passed above a downward distribution member 24. A defective card, on the other hand, is made to collide against an upward distribution member 24 and fallen on a return belt 29. Then it is discharged in front of the main body case 1 from a return opening 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information storage card processing device which decodes the information content of an information storage card storing predetermined information and determines whether the card is good or bad, and particularly in a pachinko parlor. The present invention relates to a device suitable for use in processing an information storage card used as a gift card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a pachinko parlor, the player counts the number of prize balls carried into a counter and
It is designed to issue a cash prize card corresponding to the number of prize balls, and a player who holds the prize card can redeem it by bringing the prize card to a cash exchange. A plurality of types of prize cards of this type are prepared in advance according to the amount of money, such as 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, 1,000 yen, 500 yen, and 100 yen, depending on the number of prize balls. The method of issuing to multiple players is adopted.

[0003]

By the way, it is customary for a player to bring a prize card to a cash place at a certain time zone. Therefore, the cash card must be processed promptly at the cash place. However, there is a problem in that there is no device for rapidly processing this, which makes the player wait for a long time.

Further, this type of device is required not only to be able to quickly process the gift card, but also to be able to distinguish a defective card such as a modified card from a good card, and the conventional device is also related to this point. There is a problem that satisfactory results cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an information storage card processing device capable of processing an information storage card quickly and without error and distinguishing a defective card from a good card. The purpose is to provide.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information storage card processing device which can easily handle a defective card.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an information storage card processing device capable of carrying out card processing without interrupting work and repairing even if a movable part fails.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an information storage card processing device capable of greatly improving the processing speed of a card and accurately decoding the information content.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a card accommodating portion in which thin plate-shaped information storage cards for storing predetermined information are stacked and accommodated.
A card feeding mechanism that is provided at the bottom of the card storage unit and feeds forward by locking the claw at the rear end of the lowest information storage card; the endless lower feed belt and the upper feed belt move up and down at narrow intervals. A card transport mechanism that is arranged to face each other and transports the information storage card delivered from the card delivery mechanism at a speed higher than that of the card delivery mechanism; and a sensor that is provided at an intermediate position of the card transport mechanism and detects the information storage card; Processing means for decoding the information content based on the detection signal from the card and determining whether the card is good or bad; provided on the output side of the card transport mechanism and sorting the good card and the bad card based on the signal from the processing means It is characterized in that a distribution mechanism and; are provided respectively.

The present invention is also characterized in that the sorting mechanism is provided with a defective card return mechanism for transporting the sorted defective card to a position near the card storage.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that two sets of a card accommodating portion, a card feeding mechanism, a card conveying mechanism, a sensor and a sorting mechanism are provided on both sides of a main body case, and each set can be selectively used. To do.

The present invention also stores the information in the information storage card,
Information is stored in an information storage unit provided in a card body made of a non-magnetic material, and this information storage unit is arranged in a storage region of a predetermined size at a predetermined position, size or array. And the sensor is a magnetic sensor.

Further, according to the present invention, the information of the information storage card is stored in an information storage section provided in a card body made of a non-magnetic material, and the information storage section is magnetically stored in a storage area of a predetermined size. It is characterized in that the material is arranged, and openings or notches are arranged in the magnetic material at predetermined positions, sizes or arrangements, and the sensor is composed of a magnetic sensor.

[0014]

In the present invention, when the information storage cards are stacked and accommodated in the card accommodating portion, the lowermost information storage card becomes
The card is sent out by the card sending mechanism. At this time, the information cards are sent out with the pawls locked at their rear ends, so that it is possible to reliably send out one by one.

The information storage card sent out forward by the card sending-out mechanism is carried while being held between the upper and lower feeding belts of the card carrying mechanism, during which the sensor detects information in the information storage card. At this time, since the information storage card is carried while being held by the upper and lower feed belts, the carrying state is stable and accurate information can be detected.
Further, since the transport speed of the card transport mechanism is set to be higher than the delivery speed of the card delivery mechanism, the information storage card can be delivered and received between the two mechanisms smoothly.

The processing means decodes the information content based on the detection signal from the sensor and determines whether the card is good or bad. The result of the determination is sent to the sorting mechanism on the output side of the card transport mechanism, and is passed by the sorting mechanism. Cards and defective cards are sorted. Therefore, the good card and the bad card can be separated, and the work such as re-inspection of the bad card is easy.

Further, in the present invention, the sorting mechanism is provided with a defective card returning mechanism for transporting the sorted defective card to a position near the card storage portion. Therefore, the operator can collect the defective card only by being in the vicinity of the card storage portion, can clearly know the occurrence of the defective card, and can easily process the defective card thereafter.

Further, in the present invention, two sets of the card housing portion, the card feeding mechanism, the card conveying mechanism, the sensor and the sorting mechanism are provided on both sides of the main body case, and can be selectively used. For this reason, even if the movable part breaks down during use, it is possible to continue the card processing without interrupting the work and repairing, and the player or the like does not have to wait for a long time.

In the present invention, the information of the information storage card is stored in the information storage unit provided in the card body made of a non-magnetic material, and the information storage unit is magnetic in a storage area of a predetermined size. The material is arranged in a predetermined position, size or array, or a magnetic material is arranged in a storage area of a predetermined size, and an opening or notch is formed in the magnetic material at a predetermined position, The sensors are magnetic sensors, while the sensors are magnetic sensors. Therefore, the information is decoded by detecting the pattern of the presence or absence of the magnetic material with the sensor, and the information can be easily and accurately decoded without being affected by dirt or damage on the card surface. In addition to the above, there is no possibility that a detection error will occur. Further, since it is impossible to tamper with the information content of the information storage card by an external operation, the occurrence of defective cards is small, and from this point also the processing can be speeded up.

Further, the pattern detection of the presence or absence of the magnetic material is detected by the rise or fall of the signal at the edge of the presence or absence of the magnetic material, but the rise or fall of the signal. When the card is detected while being conveyed at a high speed, it appears more clearly, and thus high-speed processing becomes possible.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show an example of an information storage card processing device according to the present invention. In the drawings, reference numeral 1 is a main body case, and predetermined information is provided on both front sides of the main body case 1. Recessed card accommodating portions 2 for accommodating a plurality of stored thin-plate information storage cards C are provided. Further, at the bottom of each of the card accommodating portions 2, there are provided card feeding mechanisms 3 for feeding the stacked information storage cards C forward one by one from the lowermost one.

As shown in FIG. 1, each card feeding mechanism 3 has a drive gear 4, a driven gear 5, and an endless feeding chain 6 mounted between these gears 4 and 5.
The delivery chain 6 is provided with a claw 6a that is brought into contact with and locked to the rear end of the lowermost information storage card C in the card storage portion 2. And this nail 6a
With the rotation of the delivery chain 6 driven by the drive gear 4, the lowermost information storage card C is pushed forward through the delivery port 7. The outlet 7 is
The vertical dimension thereof is set to about 1.5 times the thickness of the information storage card C, and it is considered that when the information storage card C is pushed out by the claw 6a, it can be reliably delivered one by one.

As shown in FIG. 1, at the front position of each of the card delivery mechanisms 3, there is provided a card transport mechanism 8 having a lower transport section 8a and an upper transport section 8b which are vertically opposed to each other at a narrow interval. The information storage cards C which are respectively arranged and sent out from the card sending-out mechanism 3 are carried by these respective card carrying mechanisms 8 at a constant speed at a speed higher than the card sending-out mechanism 3.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the lower conveying section 8a has a pair of drive pulleys 10a, 10a mounted on the drive shaft 9 at intervals smaller than the width dimension of the information storage card C.
b, and a pair of driven pulleys 12a, 12b mounted on the driven shaft 11 at the same intervals as the drive pulleys 10a, 10b. Both pulleys 10a, 12a and 1 on each side are provided.
An endless lower feed belt 13a, 1 is provided between 0b and 12b.
3b is attached to each of these lower feed belts 13
The a and 13b are slidably supported by the receiving plates 14a and 14b from the lower surface side. Two sensors 15 are arranged side by side in the width direction between the two receiving plates 14a and 14b.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the upper conveying section 8b is attached to a drive shaft 16 and is a pair of drive pulleys 17 facing the drive pulleys 10a and 10b.
a, 17b and a pair of driven pulleys 19 mounted on the driven shaft 18 and facing the driven pulleys 12a, 12b.
a, 19b, and both pulleys 17a, 1 on each side
Endless upper feed belts 20a and 20b are mounted between 9a and 17b and 19b, respectively, and intermediate portions of these upper feed belts 20a and 20b are provided with receiving rollers 21a and 21b on both sides in the conveyance direction of the sensor 15. And 22a, 22b are supported from the upper surface side.

The upper transport section 8b having the above-mentioned structure is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the drive shaft 16 can be swung upward as a fulcrum. Due to this swing, when the information storage card C is jammed in the card transport mechanism 8 or each belt 13a, Work such as when 13b, 20a, 20b is broken can be easily performed.

Each of the sensors 15 includes an upper and a lower transport section 8a,
The information of the information storage card C held between 8b and conveyed at a constant speed is detected during the conveyance by the card conveyance mechanism 8.
The magnetic sensor, bar code reader, magnetic head or the like is adapted to the above structure. Then, the detection signal from each sensor 15 is sent to the processing device 23 as shown in FIG. 1, and in this processing device 23, the decoding of the information content, the totalization of the information content, the pass / fail judgment of the card, etc. are performed. Has become.

Unlike the other mechanisms, only one processing unit 23 is provided in the main body case 1, and when the right card accommodation section 2 in FIG. 2 is used, the sensor 15 corresponding thereto is used. From the sensor 15, and when the left side card accommodating portion 2 is used, the detection signal from the sensor 15 corresponding thereto is input.

At the exit side position of each card transport mechanism 8,
As shown in FIG. 1, a roughly V-shaped distributing member 24 that swings up and down between a downward position and an upward position is provided, and the distributing member 24 is normally shown by a solid line in FIG. At the downward position, the information storage card C discharged from the card transport mechanism 8 is discharged from the discharge port 25 to the back side of the main body case 1. If the processing device 23 determines that the card is defective, the information storage card C discharged from the card transport mechanism 8 at the upward position shown by the chain line in FIG.
It is designed to collide with 4 and drop downward.

In the lower position of the distributing member 24, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, a defective card return mechanism 26 that conveys the defective cards sorted by the sorting member 24 to the front side of the main body case 1 is provided.
A distribution mechanism is configured by the distribution member 24 and the distribution member 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, the defective card return mechanism 26 includes a drive roller 27, a driven roller 28, and an endless return belt 29 mounted between the rollers 27 and 28, and the distribution is performed. The defective card sorted by the member 24 drops onto the return belt 29. Then, the defective card is driven by the drive roller 27.
By the rotation of the return belt 29 accompanying the driving of the main body case 1, the main body case 1 is conveyed to the front side of the main body case 1, and the main body case 1
It is designed to be discharged to the front of.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 31 denotes two drive motors installed in the main body case 1. Each of these drive motors 31 has a card feeding mechanism 3, a card conveying mechanism 8, Further, each defective card returning mechanism 26 is driven.

Further, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 32 is a power switch, reference numeral 33 is an operation panel having a changeover switch 34 and an activation switch 35 for selectively switching the use of each card accommodating portion 2, reference numeral 36 is an amount display portion, Reference numeral 37 is an upper cover, and reference numeral 38 is a side cover.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example of the information storage card C. The information storage card C is made of a non-magnetic material such as plastic and is formed into a thin plate having a size of about a business card. 41 and a lid 42,
An information storage unit 43 for storing predetermined information is provided at the center of one end of the card body 41 in the longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the information storage section 43 has a frame-shaped storage area 44 formed in the card body 41, a light-shielding sheet 45 laid in the storage area 44, and Information member 4 arranged on the light shielding sheet 45
6 is provided.

The information member 46, as shown in FIG.
A support bar 46a at the central portion and an arbitrary number of money amount information bars 46b provided at arbitrary intervals on one side of the support bar 46a.
And a number of store number information bars 46c provided at arbitrary intervals on the other side of the support bar 46a. These bars 46a, 46b, 46c are integrally formed by punching a thin metal plate. Is formed. And the amount information is the number of the amount information bar 46b,
The bar number, position, or interval can be changed, and the store number information can be changed by changing the number of store number information bars 46c, the bar thickness, position, or interval. There is. In addition,
When this information storage card c is used, a magnetic sensor is used as the sensor 15.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
When processing the information storage card C, first, the plurality of information storage cards C brought into a cash exchange or the like are put into the main body case 1
The cards are accommodated in one of the left and right card accommodating portions 2 in a stacked manner. Then, the changeover switch 34 of the operation panel 33 is changed over to the card storage section 2 side in which the information storage card C is stored, and the activation switch 35 is turned on. Then, the drive motor 31 is activated to drive each of the mechanisms 3, 8 and 25, and the information storage card C at the lowermost end is sent out forward by the card sending-out mechanism 3.

When the tip of the information storage card C has been sent out from the delivery port 7 to some extent, the tip of the card 7 is conveyed by the card transport mechanism 8.
The card is carried between the upper and lower carrying parts 8a and 8b, and the card carrying is succeeded by the card sending mechanism 3 to the card carrying mechanism 8. Then, during the transportation by the card transportation mechanism 8, the information of the information storage card C is detected by the sensor 15,
Based on this detection signal, the processing device 23 decodes the information content, totalizes the information, and determines whether the card is good or bad. A specific example will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the detection signal of the sensor 15 when the money amount information bar 46b shown in FIG. 7 has passed the position of the sensor 15, and the magnetic material is applied only to the three money amount information bars 46b. Since it exists, the output waveform corresponds to it. With respect to this output waveform, a threshold value S is set at a predetermined position.
L is set, and the number of reference pulses of each dimension P ₁ , P ₂ , P ₃ , P ₄ , P ₅ is counted.

Here, for example, the number of regular reference pulses of the dimensions P ₁ , P ₂ , and P ₃ is 40, the number of regular reference pulses of the dimension P ₄ is 200, and the number of regular reference pulses of the dimension P ₅ is 160. Then, in the processing device 23, when each of the reference pulse numbers is in the range of 40 ± 2, 200 ± 10, 160 ± 8, it is determined as a good card, and when it is out of the range, it is determined as a defective card. To be done. In the case of a good card, it is used as data for counting.

When the processing device 23 determines that the card is a defective card, this determination signal is sent to the distribution member 24 as a drive signal, and the downward distribution member 24 is in the upward state. As a result, the information storage card C discharged from the card transport mechanism 8 collides with the sorting member 24 and drops onto the return belt 29 without being discharged from the discharge port 25. Then, it is sent forward by the return belt 29,
It is discharged from the return port 30 to the front of the main body case 1.

On the other hand, when the processing device 23 determines that the card is a good card, the sorting member 24 is maintained in the downward state. Therefore, the information storage card C discharged from the card carry-out mechanism 8 passes through the upper surface side of the sorting member 24 and is discharged from the discharge port 25 to the back surface of the main body case 1. Then, the total result of the good cards is displayed in the amount display section 36.
Is displayed in.

If, for some reason, the set on the card accommodating portion 2 side currently in use cannot be used, the changeover switch 34 of the operation panel 33 is switched to the unused card accommodating portion 2 side. And continue working.

By the way, when accommodating the information storage cards C in the card accommodating portion 2 in a stacked manner, there is a method of predetermining the direction of the information storage cards C only in a certain direction, but in this case, the handling is very difficult. Be troublesome.

On the other hand, if the direction of the information storage card C is not determined, there are four possible directions depending on whether the front and back of the information storage card C are reversed or the front and back are reversed.
Therefore, the amount information bar 46b may pass over the upper sensor 15 in FIG. 3, the amount information bar 46b may pass over the lower sensor 15, and the amount information bar 46b may pass through the sensor 15. Even when only the output waveform at the time of detection is considered, it may be a waveform as shown in FIG. 8 or an output waveform with its left and right reversed, and the same applies to the store number information bar 46c. .

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the processing device 23 discriminates a good card or a bad card based on the detection signals from the respective sensors 15 shown in FIG. In advance, four patterns are prepared corresponding to, and when one sensor 15 detects the regular amount information and the other sensor 15 detects the regular store number information, it is determined as a good card, In other cases, this is determined as a defective card.

Then, the good card by the processing device 23,
When the defective card is discriminated, the count number of the reference pulse has a certain margin, so that even if the feeding speed of the card feeding mechanism 8 is changed to some extent due to a change in the power supply voltage to the drive motor 31 or the like. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection and improve the detection accuracy.

FIG. 9 shows a modification of the information storage card C, in which the information member 56 is used instead of the information member 56.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the information member 56 is provided with an information plate 56a made of a magnetic material such as metal, which is mounted in the storage area 44 (see FIG. 5).
At both ends in the width direction of the information plate 56a, an amount information section 56b and a store number information section 5 formed by openings or notches.
6c are provided in arbitrary arrangement patterns.

However, in the case of this information member 56,
Since the absence of the magnetic material is detected instead of detecting the presence of the magnetic material like the information member 46, the output waveform is upside down from the case of FIG. Similarly to, the contents of the amount information and the store number information can be specified.

In the above embodiment, a magnetic sensor is used as the sensor 15 in order to detect the presence or absence of a magnetic material. However, an information storage card C with a bar code or a magnetic tape is provided. When the information storage card C or the like is used, the same processing can be performed by using a bar code reader, a magnetic head or the like as the sensor 15.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case of processing the premium card in the pachinko parlor was explained, but it can be applied to the processing of the information storage card of any purpose.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention, the card feeding mechanism is provided at the bottom of the card storing portion in which the information storing cards are stacked and accommodated, and the claw is locked from the lowermost information storing card to the rear end thereof. Since it is designed to send it forward, it is possible to reliably send it out one by one.

Further, the information storage card sent out from the card sending mechanism is carried by the upper and lower feed belts of the card carrying mechanism in a state of being sandwiched vertically.
The transport state can be stabilized. Further, since the card transport mechanism is configured to transport the information storage card at a speed higher than that of the card delivery mechanism, the information storage card can be smoothly transferred between the two mechanisms.

Further, since the sensor for detecting the information of the information storage card is provided at an intermediate position of the card transport mechanism, the stable transport state enables accurate information detection.

Further, the detection signal from the sensor is sent to the processing means, the information content is decoded and the quality of the card is determined, and the sorting mechanism sorts the good card and the defective card based on the determination result. Thus, the work such as re-inspection of a defective card is easy.

Further, according to the present invention, the sorting mechanism is provided with the defective card returning mechanism so that the sorted defective card is conveyed to the position near the card storage portion, so that the operator only needs to be near the card storage portion. The defective card can be collected, the occurrence of the defective card can be clearly known, and the subsequent processing of the defective card is easy.

Further, according to the present invention, two sets of the card housing portion, the card delivery mechanism, the card transport mechanism, the sensor and the sorting mechanism are provided on both sides of the main body case, and each of these sets can be selectively used. Even if the movable portion breaks down during use, the card processing can be continued without interrupting the work and repairing, and there is no inconvenience that the card carry-on person such as a player waits for a long time.

The present invention also stores the information in the information storage card,
Since the pattern is composed of the presence or absence of magnetic material, and this is detected by a magnetic sensor, information can be easily and accurately decoded without being affected by dirt or damage on the card surface. In addition, there is no risk of detection error. Further, since it is impossible to tamper with the information content of the information storage card by an external operation, the occurrence of defective cards is small, and from this point also the processing can be speeded up.

Further, the pattern detection of the presence or absence of the magnetic material is detected by the rise or fall of the signal at the edge of the presence or absence of the magnetic material, but the rise or fall of the signal. When the card is detected while being conveyed at a high speed, it appears more clearly, and thus high-speed processing becomes possible.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an information storage card processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external configuration diagram of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a lower transport unit of a card transport mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of an upper transport unit of a card transport mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an internal configuration diagram showing an example of an information storage card.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing details of the information member of FIG. 5;

8 is a graph showing an example of an output waveform of a sensor when an amount information bar of the information member of FIG. 7 passes through a sensor position.

9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 7, showing a modification of the information member of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 main body case 2 card storage unit 3 card feeding mechanism 6 feeding chain 6a claw 7 outlet 7 card transport mechanism 8a lower transport unit 8b upper transport unit 13a, 13b lower feed belt 15 sensor 20a, 20b upper feed belt 23 processing device 24 distribution Member 25 Ejection port 26 Bad card return mechanism 29 Return belt 30 Return port 31 Drive motor 34 Changeover switch 36 Amount display section 41 Card body 42 Lid body 43 Information storage section 44 Storage area 46, 56 Information member 46b Amount information bar 46c Store number information Bar 56b Amount information section 56c Store number information section C Information storage card

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A card storage portion in which thin information storage cards storing predetermined information are stacked and stored; and a rear end of a lowermost information storage card provided at the bottom of the card storage portion. A card feeding mechanism that locks the claw on the card and feeds the card forward; an endless lower feed belt and an upper feed belt are vertically opposed to each other at a narrow interval, and the card feeds the information storage card sent from the card feed mechanism. A card transport mechanism for transporting at a speed higher than the mechanism; a sensor provided at an intermediate position of the card transport mechanism for detecting information on the information storage card;
A processing unit for decoding the information content and determining whether the card is good or bad; and a distribution mechanism provided on the output side of the card transport mechanism for distributing a good card and a defective card based on a signal from the processing unit. An information storage card processing device characterized by the above. 2. The information storage card processing device according to claim 1, wherein the distribution mechanism has a defective card return mechanism for transporting the distributed defective card to a position near the card storage unit. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two sets of a card storage unit, a card feeding mechanism, a card transport mechanism, a sensor and a sorting mechanism are provided on both sides of the main body case. Or the information storage card processing device according to 2. 4. The information of the information storage card is stored in an information storage section provided in a card body made of a non-magnetic material, and the information storage section stores a magnetic material in a storage area of a predetermined size in advance. Are arranged in different positions, sizes or arrays,
4. The information storage card processing device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a magnetic sensor. 5. The information of the information storage card is stored in an information storage section provided in a card body made of a non-magnetic material, and the information storage section arranges the magnetic material in a storage area of a predetermined size. 4. The magnetic material according to claim 1, wherein openings or notches are arranged at predetermined positions, sizes or arrangements, and the sensor is a magnetic sensor. 3. The information storage card processing device according to 3.