JP2000251019A - Ic card reader/writer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably support a holder, on which a contactor is loaded, in proper state even when component accuracy is comparatively rough, to highly accurately determine the position of the holder at a read/write position and to stabilize the contact of the contactor to an external terminal. SOLUTION: A holder 20, which is pushed by an IC card K to be carried and is moved to the read/write position together with the IC card K, is supported at three points of left and right side frames 10 by two pins 21A and 22A provided on a left side face and one pin 23B provided on a right side face. The right side pin 23B is arranged on the IC side of the IC card K and this pin 23B is made most proximate to the IC and a contactor 31 among three pins.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card reader / writer for reading (reading) information recorded on an IC card and writing (writing) information on the IC card, and particularly to an external terminal of the IC. The present invention relates to a technique for stabilizing a contact action of a read / write device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional IC card reader / writer is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-271287. The configuration of a conventional IC card reader / writer is generally as follows. The IC card inserted into the device is transported in one direction along the transport path, and the engaging pieces of the holder at the standby position during the transport (the moving element and the contact piece in the above publication, respectively).
The holder is pushed by the IC card via the engaging piece and moves to the read / write position as the sheet is further conveyed. Light is made. As the holder moves to the read / write position after the engagement of the IC card with the engagement piece, the holder is guided by the guide groove and approaches the IC card. Read / write is enabled by contacting the terminal. When reading / writing is completed, the IC card is conveyed in the reverse direction and discharged out of the apparatus, and the holder follows the movement of the IC card by a spring, and returns to the standby position while leaving the conveyance path. The holder has a total of four pin-shaped members (in the above-mentioned publication, a roller is rotatably mounted on a support pin) provided on each of the right and left side surfaces, two in each of the front and rear sides, and provided in correspondence with these pin-shaped members. By being inserted into the guide groove, the guide is supported from the standby position to the read / write position while maintaining the horizontal state.

[0003]

The holder has a four-point support structure in which two pin-shaped members provided on the right and left side surfaces are inserted into the guide grooves. By the way, it is generally known that in order to hold a member in a fixed posture, a structure of supporting at three points spaced apart in a triangular shape is achieved with the fewest supporting points and is most stable. From this point of view, in the holder having the four-point support structure, one supporting portion hinders the horizontal posture and smooth movement of the holder, and the contact state of the contact with the external terminal of the IC is unstable. There was a risk of becoming. Although such a problem can be solved by increasing the precision of the parts, the cost is increased, and the yield and the mass productivity are deteriorated. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the component accuracy is relatively rough, the holder is stably supported in an appropriate state and the position of the holder when the read / write position is reached is determined with high accuracy, and the external terminal An object of the present invention is to provide an IC card reader / writer in which the contact action of the contact is stable.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An IC card reader / writer according to the present invention conveys an IC card containing an IC to a read / write position and moves the IC card biased to one side in the IC card conveyance direction. An IC card reader / writer for performing read / write, a transport path provided to guide an IC card substantially horizontally to a read / write position, a transport mechanism for transporting the IC card along the transport path, and a transport path A holder which has an engaging piece projecting in the transport path of the IC card to be transported, and which is moved together with the IC card from a standby position where the IC card is engaged with the engaging piece to a read / write position; and The holders are movably supported substantially along the transport path by engagement of the projections provided on both side surfaces of the holder with the projections. A guide for guiding to close the holder to the IC card as it moves in the site location direction, is mounted on the holder, the holder together with the IC card read /
A contact that contacts an external terminal of the IC of the IC card when the IC card reaches the write position; and a biasing member that returns the holder to the standby position. The protrusion is provided on one side surface of the holder and transports the IC card. 2 arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction
And one projection B provided on the other side surface of the holder and disposed between the projections A and A when viewed from the side. Further, this projection B has one side on which the IC is biased. It is characterized by being arranged in.

[0005] The basic operation of the IC card reader / writer of the present invention is as follows. The IC card is transported by the transport mechanism in the direction of the read / write position along the transport path, and comes into contact with and engages with the engaging piece of the holder at the standby position. Further I
As the C card is conveyed, the holder is guided to the guide via the protrusion while being pushed by the IC card via the engagement piece, and moves to the read / write position. At this read / write position, the contact contacts the external terminal of the IC,
Write becomes possible. After reading / writing, IC
The card is conveyed in the reverse direction and ejected out of the apparatus. By this discharging operation, the holder is moved by the urging member to the I position.
It follows the movement of the C card and returns to the standby position while leaving the transport path.

According to the present invention, the holder is supported at three points by two projections A, A provided on one side surface and one projection B provided on the other side surface. When the projections B are disposed between the projections A, A viewed from the side, the support points of the projections are arranged in a triangular shape, whereby the holder is stably supported and moves smoothly. Further, in the present invention, one protrusion B is disposed on the IC side which is biased to one side in the transport direction of the IC card, so that the protrusion B is more integrated with the IC and the contact than the other protrusions A, A. Close to. For this reason, the accuracy of guiding the holder by the projection B is increased, and the accuracy of the contact action of the contact is also increased. Therefore, it is not necessary to set all (three) projections with high accuracy, and it is sufficient to set one projection B with high accuracy. As a result, the cost can be reduced in conjunction with the reduction in the number of projections. Yield and mass productivity are improved.

The accuracy of the two projections A provided on one side surface of the holder may be relatively rough for the above-mentioned reason. However, if the fixing position can be adjusted along the side surface of the holder, The posture of the holder can be held more appropriately, and the accuracy of the contact action of the contact can be improved. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the protrusions A and A have a fixed position that is adjustable along the side surface of the holder. As a specific configuration example, a fixing means for screwing the projection to the holder with a screw passed through the projection is employed, and the screw through hole of the projection is made sufficiently larger than the diameter of the screw so that the projection moves around the screw. Constitute.
The relative positional relationship between the holder and the guide is adjusted by the position of the projection, and the accuracy of the contact action of the contact with the external terminal can be further improved. Means for fixing the protrusion by screwing is difficult to determine the position of the protrusion with high accuracy, but if the position of the protrusion is adjustable as in the present invention, there is also an advantage that the defect of screwing is corrected. Prepare.

Further, if the protrusion B is closer to the IC and the contact of the IC card, the accuracy with which the protrusion B guides the holder becomes higher. In order to realize this, according to the present invention, in a state where the IC card is engaged with the holder via the engagement piece and both move, the projection B is arranged at a position corresponding to substantially the center of the IC when viewed from the side. This is a preferred mode.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a right side view of an IC card reader / writer according to an embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view taken along line II-III of FIG. 1. In these figures, the left side is the front side of the apparatus and the right side is the rear side. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper side is the left side of the apparatus and the lower side is the right side. In the following description, the expression of directions such as front, rear, left and right is based on the direction of such a device itself. FIG.
(B) is a left side view of the present apparatus, and FIG. 4 is a view (partial cross section) taken in the direction of arrow IV in FIG.

The basic operation of the present apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 1 (a). Referring to FIG.
When an IC card (hereinafter, abbreviated as a card) K is inserted into the holder 2, the card K is transported to a read / write position at the rear end, and the holder 2 which has been waiting at the standby position is accompanied by this transport.
0 comes close to the card K from above, and the contact 31 provided on the holder 20 contacts the external terminal 3 of the card K to perform read / write. After reading / writing, the card K is conveyed forward and ejected from the front insertion slot 12. Holder 20
Returns to the standby position with the ejection operation of the card K.

The card K is a card with external terminals defined by "JIS X 6303". As shown in FIG. 5, an IC 2 having an element 2a is built in a rectangular resin substrate 1 at a predetermined position. On the surface thereof, a total of eight external terminals 3 arranged in four rows and two columns before and after are exposed. The IC 2 is disposed at one end side in the longitudinal direction of the substrate 1 and slightly closer to one side than the center in the width direction. Card K
Is inserted into the front insertion slot 12 with the IC 2 facing the rear of the device and the external terminal 3 facing up. In this inserted state, the IC
Reference numeral 2 is located slightly to the right of the center of the substrate 1 in the width direction.

Next, the configuration of an IC card reader / writer according to one embodiment will be described in detail. In FIG. 1 to FIG.
It is a pair of left and right side frames. A groove-like transport path 11 for transporting the card K in a horizontal direction in one direction from the front to the rear or in the opposite direction (rear to front) in the opposite direction is provided on the opposing surfaces of the side frames 10. Each is provided. The card K is conveyed with the side edges fitted in these left and right conveyance paths 11. At the front end and the rear end between the side frames 10, a front insertion slot 12 and a rear insertion slot 13 for inserting the card K into the transport path 11 from outside the apparatus are provided, respectively. A plurality of card sensors (not shown) for detecting the position of the card K and controlling a transport mechanism described later are provided at predetermined positions of the side frame 10.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a pair of front conveying rollers 14A and a pair of rear conveying rollers 14B are arranged between the side frames 10 as a conveying mechanism of the card K. These transport roller pairs 14A, 14B are composed of a lower drive roller 15 and an upper driven roller 16, sandwich the card K between these rollers 15, 16, and transport the card K in accordance with the rotation direction of the drive roller 15. , From the front to the rear or from the rear to the front. Each drive roller 15
Is rotated by the transport motor 17 supported by the side frame 10 at the front end of the apparatus. Transport motor 1
7, the driving force of the intermediate gear group 18 supported by the right side frame 10 as shown in FIGS.
a, 18b, 18c to the drive roller shaft 15a of the front-side transport roller pair 14A.
The drive roller shaft 15b of the rear conveying roller pair 14B via the
To communicate. The distance between the front and rear transport roller pairs 14A and 14B is set to a distance at which both ends of the card K are bridged so that transport can be delivered. Further, the distance between the front insertion slot 12 and the front conveyance roller pair 14A and the distance between the rear insertion slot 13 and the rear conveyance roller pair 14B are set to distances at which the card K can be taken.

A holder 20 is provided on the transport path 11 at the rear end of the apparatus. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two pins (projections A) 21A and 22A protrude from the left side surface of the holder 20, and one pin 23B (projection B) protrudes from the right side surface. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, the two pins 21A and 22A on the left side are arranged at predetermined intervals in front and rear, and the pin 23B on the right side is between the two pins 21A and 22A on the left side when viewed from the side. Thus, they are arranged immediately after the left and front pins 21A. The left pins 21A and 22A are fitted into guide holes 21a and 22a provided inside the left side frame 10, respectively, and the right pin 23B is fitted into a guide hole 23b provided inside the right side frame 10. ing. Thus, the holder 20 is supported at three points on the side frame 10 via the pins 21A, 22A and 23B and the guide holes 21a, 22a and 23b. Guide holes 21a,
22a and 23b have the same shape as each other, extend substantially in the front-rear direction, and incline downward from the front end toward the rear, and incline upward after passing through the lowermost portion. As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the holder 20 is guided by the guide holes 21a, 22a, and 23b via the pins 21A, 22A, and 23B while being kept in a horizontal posture, and can move back and forth. During the movement, the guide holes 21a, 2
It moves up and down following the height of 2a and 23b. Pin 21A,
When the holders 22A and 23B are at the front ends of the guide holes 21a, 22a and 23b, the holder 20 is in the standby position (the state shown in FIG. 6A), and when the holder 20 is at the lowermost position, the read / write position (FIG.
The state shown in FIG. 6B) is the highest retreat position (state shown in FIG. 6C) when it is at the rear end.

The pin 23B on the right side of the holder 20 is integrally protruded from the holder 20 and cannot be moved, but the fixed position of the two pins 21A and 22A on the left side is along the side of the holder. The direction can be adjusted.
As shown in FIG. 8, these left pins 21A and 22A pass a screw 61 through a screw hole 60 provided in the center, and the screw 61 is screwed into a screw hole 62 formed in the holder 20.
Is fixed to the holder 20 by tightening. The screw through hole 60 has a size in which the screw 61 is loosely fitted.
Before tightening the holder 2
It can be moved along the 0 side. Thereby, the fixing positions of the pins 21A and 22A with respect to the holder 20 can be adjusted, and the relative positional relationship between the left portion of the holder 20 and the guide holes 21a and 22a can be adjusted.

Guide hole 2 into which right pin 23B is inserted.
As shown in FIG. 2, 3b has a rear end opening upward, and the pin 23B is fitted into the guide hole 23b from this opening. Incidentally, the holder 20 is
In order to set the pin 23B between the guide holes 2A and 2B, the pins 23A and 22A on the left side are not mounted, and the pin 23B is moved from the opening to the guide hole 2A.
3b, the holder 20 is inserted between the side frames 10, and a pin (not shown) communicating with the guide holes 21a and 22a formed in the left side frame 10 is used to pin the holder 20 on the left side surface. 21A and 22A are screwed.

As shown in FIG. 1A, a contact board 30 is accommodated in a lower portion of the holder 20 so as to be vertically movable and urged downward by an urging member (not shown). ing. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the lower surface of the contact board 30 contacts the external terminals 3 of the card K and
A plurality (eight) of contacts 31, which are electrical contacts for performing read / write with respect to 2, are arranged corresponding to the external terminals 3.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
On the left side of the rear end portion, an engaging piece 41 is pivotally supported via a horizontal rotating shaft 40 orthogonal to the card conveying direction. One end of a return spring (biasing member) 42, which is a tension spring, is hung on an upper portion 41a of the engagement piece 41 above the rotation shaft 40. The return spring 42 extends forward, and its front end is hung on a pin 43 projecting from the left side frame 10. This return spring 42 allows the engagement piece 41
The upper portion 41a is urged to an engagement position where the upper portion 41a contacts the rear surface of the holder 20, and the holder 20 is urged to return to the standby position together with the engagement piece 41. Normally, the holder 20 is shown in FIG.
7A, the lower portion 41b of the engagement piece 41 below the rotation shaft 40 projects into the transport path 11 from above, and the card K transported from the front is engaged. It is possible. When the holder 20 is in the retracted position, as shown in FIG.
The lower part 41 b of the first unit 1 is retracted above the transport path 11.

In the engagement piece 41 urged to the engagement position by the return spring 42, the rotation in the direction of arrow P (shown in FIG. 6A) in which the lower portion 41b rotates rearward is The upper portion 41a is restricted because it contacts the holder 20. On the other hand, the lower portion 41b is rotatable in the arrow Q direction in which the lower portion 41b is rotated forward from the engagement position.
2 to rotate in the P direction and return to the engagement position where the holder 20 comes into contact with the holder 20.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the rear surface of the lower portion 41b of the engagement piece 41 is formed as an inclined surface 44 which is inclined forward toward the lower end, which is the rotation end. A roller 45 is rotatably mounted on the lower end of the roller 45 via a shaft parallel to the rotation shaft 20.

The card K is inserted from the front insertion slot 12,
When the paper is continuously transported backward along the transport path 11, FIG.
As shown in (a), the leading end of the card K contacts and engages with the lower portion 41b of the engaging piece 41 of the holder 20 at the standby position. As the card K is further conveyed, the holder 20 becomes While being pushed by the card K via the engagement piece 41, it is guided by the guide holes 21a, 22a, and 23b, approaches the card K, and reaches the read / write position together with the card K as shown in FIG. In this read / write position, the contact 31 comes into contact with the external terminal 3 of the IC 2 of the card K, so that reading / writing is possible. Also, the rear insertion slot 1
When the card K is inserted from the position 3, as shown in FIG. 7A, the card K comes into contact with the engagement piece 41, and when the engagement piece 41 receives a further insertion operation, as shown in FIG. As described above, the engagement piece 41 rotates in the direction of the arrow Q by being pushed by the card K while the holder 20 is at the standby position, and retreats upward from the transport path 11. With this retreat operation, the card K is allowed to pass through the engagement piece 41 and be transported forward.

A receiving member 50 is disposed below the holder 20 so as to sandwich the transport path 11 with the holder 20. As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 6A, the receiving member 50 includes a receiving plate 51 supported by the left and right side frames 10, and two roller shafts 52 and 53 mounted on the receiving plate 51. Roller 52 rotatably mounted via
A, 53A. The rollers 52A and 53A are
A pair of right and left rollers is provided on each of the roller shafts 52 and 53. These rollers 52A and 53A ensure that the contacts 31 contact the external terminals 3 with an appropriate pressure when the holder 20 and the card K reach the read / write position.
The card K is supported by receiving the back surface of the IC2 portion. The receiving plate 51 has an engaging piece 41 that moves with the holder 20.
A concave portion 51a is formed to avoid interference between the two.

The configuration of the IC card reader / writer according to one embodiment has been described above. Next, the operation of the present apparatus will be described in terms of front insertion when the card K is inserted from the front insertion slot 12 and transported rearward, and rear insertion. The description will be made separately for rear insertion when the card K is inserted from the insertion slot 13 and transported forward.

(A) Front Insertion-FIGS. 6A to 6C When the card K is inserted from the front insertion slot 12, the card sensor detects this and the transport motor 17 is driven, and the front and rear transport roller pairs 14A , 14B rotate in the backward transport direction. Next, the card K is transferred to the transport roller pair 1.
4A and 14B, the sheet is conveyed backward along the conveyance path 11 and abuts on the lower portion 41b of the engagement piece 41 of the holder 20 at the standby position, as shown in FIG. 6A. Engaging piece 4
1 indicates that the card K is restricted because the rotation in the direction of arrow P is restricted.
As the card K is further conveyed, the holder 20 is guided by the guide holes 21a, 22a, and 23b while being pushed by the card K via the engagement piece 41, and approaches the card K. As shown in FIG. 6B, the read / write position is reached. When the holder 20 and the card K reach the read / write position, the transport motor 17 stops. In the read / write position, the roller 52 of the receiving member 50
A, the holder 2 is attached to the external terminal 3 of the card K on the 53A.
The read / write becomes possible by contact of the 0 contact 31. When reading / writing is completed, the transport motor 17 rotates in the reverse direction, and the card K is transported forward, and is discharged to the front insertion slot 12. By this discharging operation, the holder 20 follows the movement of the card K by the return spring 42, and returns to the standby position while separating from the transport path 11.

In the present embodiment, the ejection of the card K to the rear insertion slot 13 is also possible. In this case, the card K is further conveyed from the read / write position. Holder 20
Are pressed by the card K while the guide holes 21a, 22a, 2
It is guided by 3b, moves backward, rises, and reaches the evacuation position. Then, as shown in FIG.
The card 1 is removed from the card K, and the card K is further conveyed backward and discharged to the rear insertion slot 13. When the engagement piece 41 is disengaged from the card K, the return spring 42 receives the force of returning the engagement piece 41 together with the holder 20 to the front standby position. However, since the engagement piece 41 is in contact with the card K, it moves forward. Movement is regulated. In this state, the engaging piece 41 presses the card K because the holder 20 is going to the lowermost part of the guide holes 21a, 22a, and 23b. The discharge to the rear is performed smoothly. Further, there is no possibility that the surface of the card K is damaged by the engagement piece 41.

(B) Rear Insertion--FIGS. 7A and 7B When the card K is inserted from the rear insertion slot 13, the card sensor detects this and the transport motor 17 is driven, and the front and rear transport rollers Each drive roller 15 of the pair 14A, 14B rotates in the forward transport direction. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the card K abuts on the engagement piece 41, from which the further card K
7 is pressed by the card K while the holder 20 is at the standby position, the engagement piece 41 having received the insertion operation of FIG.
(B) is rotated in the direction of arrow Q, and as shown in FIG.
Evacuate from Thereby, the card K passes through the engagement piece 41 while rolling the roller 45 that comes into contact with the surface. Next, the card K is sandwiched between the pair of rear transport rollers 14B and transported forward, and when the card K completely passes through the engagement piece 41, the engagement piece 41 is returned to the original engagement position by the return spring 42. Subsequently, the card K is transported forward, delivered to the front transport roller pair 14A, and discharged to the front insertion slot 12.

In the IC card reader / writer of the present embodiment, the holder 20 on which the contactor 31 is mounted has two pins 21A, 22A provided on the left side and one pin provided on the right side.
It is supported at three points on the side frame 10 via three pins 23B. Since the right pin 23B is disposed between the left pins 21A and 22A when viewed from the side, the support points of the pins 21A, 22A and 23B are disposed in a triangular shape. It is supported stably and moves smoothly. Also, the pin 23B
Is the right side of the holder 20, that is, I
Since it is arranged on the C side, the pin 23B is closer to the IC 2 and the contact 31 than the pins 21A and 22A on the left side. Therefore, the accuracy of guiding the holder 20 by the pins 23B is improved, and the accuracy of the contact action of the contact 31 is also improved. Therefore, it is not necessary to set all the three pins 21A, 22A, and 23B with high precision, and it is sufficient to set one pin 23B with high precision. As a result, the number of pins is reduced from four conventionally. As a result, the cost is reduced, and the yield and mass productivity are improved.

The accuracy of the two pins 21A and 22A provided on the right side of the holder 20 may be relatively rough for the above-mentioned reason. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the pins 21A and 22A on the left side. Can be adjusted along the side surface of the holder 20, so that the posture of the holder 20 can be held more appropriately, and the accuracy of the contact action of the contact 31 with the external terminal 3 is improved. It is difficult to determine the positions of the pins 21A and 22A with high precision by simply fixing the pins 21A and 22A. However, if the positions of the pins 21A and 22A can be adjusted as in the present embodiment, the screws can be fixed. The shortcomings are corrected.

In the above embodiment, the right pin 23B is
The contact 31 is located immediately after the pin 21 </ b> A on the left side and the front side when viewed from the side. Therefore, when the contact 31 contacts the external terminal 3, the contact 31 is located forward of the contact 31 and the IC 2. Here, if the right pin 23B is closer to the contact 31 and the IC 2, the accuracy of guiding the holder 20 by the pin 23B is higher. for that purpose,
In a state where the card K is engaged with the holder 20 via the engagement piece 41 and both of them move together, it is preferable that the pin 23B is arranged at a position substantially corresponding to the center of the IC 2 when viewed from the side.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A holder for moving the contact to the read / write position and bringing the contact into contact with the external terminal of the IC card as the IC card is transported,
A three-point support structure, and one point support part on one side
Since the two protrusions are arranged on the IC side, the holder can be stably supported in an appropriate state, and the position of the holder when the read / write position is reached is determined with high accuracy.
As a result, the contact action of the contact with the external terminal can be stabilized. In addition, since the accuracy of the position and the size of the two projections on the two-point support side can be set relatively roughly, the cost can be reduced in conjunction with the reduction in the number of pins which has been four conventionally, and the yield can be reduced. And mass productivity is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a right side view and FIG. 1B is a left side view of an IC card reader / writer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1 (a).

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line III-III in FIG. 1 (a).

FIG. 4 is a view (partial cross section) taken along arrow IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the IC card.

FIG. 6 shows a read / read for the IC card inserted in the front side.
It is a side view which shows a write operation in order of (a)-(c).

FIGS. 7A and 7B are side views showing the operation when the IC card is inserted rearward, in the order of FIGS.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure for fixing two pins provided on the left side surface of the holder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 IC 3 External terminal 11 Transport path 14A Front transport roller pair (transport mechanism) 14B Rear transport roller pair (transport mechanism) 20 Holder 21A, 22A Pin (projection A) 23B Pin (projection) B) 21a, 22a, 23b: Guide hole 31: Contact 41: Engagement piece 42: Return spring (biasing member) K: IC card

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An IC card reader / writer which transports an IC card containing an IC to a read / write position and reads / writes the IC which is arranged on one side in a direction of transport of the IC card. A transport path provided to guide the IC card substantially horizontally to the read / write position; a transport mechanism for transporting the IC card along the transport path; and a transport path of the IC card transported along the transport path. A holder which is moved together with the IC card from a standby position where the IC card is engaged with the engagement piece to the read / write position, and projections provided on both side surfaces of the holder. By engaging these projections, the holder is movably supported substantially along the transport path, and the holder is moved from the standby position to the read / write position. A guide for guiding to close the holder to the IC card as it moves, is mounted on the holder, IC of the IC card when the holder reaches the read / write position with the IC card
And a biasing member for returning the holder to the standby position.
In the C card reader / writer, the protrusions are provided on one side surface of the holder and are provided on the other side surface of the holder, and two protrusions A and A arranged at a predetermined interval in a transport direction of the IC card. An IC card reader / writer comprising: one projection B disposed between the projections A, A when viewed from the side; and the projection B is disposed on one side where the IC is biased. . 2. The IC card reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein the protrusions A, A are provided such that fixed positions thereof are adjustable along side surfaces of the holder. 3. The projection B is disposed at a position corresponding to substantially the center of the IC when viewed from the side in a state where the IC card is engaged with the holder via the engagement piece and both are moved. The IC card reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein