JP2001034711A - Card selecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card selecting device which selects and collects an illegal card and an invalid card and is inexpensive and small-sized. SOLUTION: A card carrying mechanism consists of a card holding part 21 composed of a pair of side plates press-contacting with the left and right side faces of the card and a driving mechanism moving the part 21 to three linear positions being a card mounting position, a card reading position and a card collecting position, pulls one side plate apart from the other side plate while the part 21 is carried from the reading position to the collecting position, by cam mechanisms 5 provided in the one side plate of the part 21 and the frame 1 of this device, releases the holding of the card and collects the card into the device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for selecting data based on data recorded on a card, and more particularly, to a card sensor for detecting the loading of a card, and a card loaded by sensing the card sensor. Card
A card transport mechanism that transports the card from the loading position to a predetermined reading position, a data reading mechanism that reads data recorded on the card at the reading position, and a recovery of the card into the apparatus by discriminating the data read by the reading mechanism. Card sorting device to drop or return to loading position

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional card sorting apparatus of this type has a structure for releasing the holding of a card at a reading position, apart from a moving mechanism for reciprocating the loaded and held card between two positions, a loading position and a reading position. Was. In this release structure,
A power source for opening the card was provided against the force for holding the card. In other words, this kind of conventional device
Two power sources, a power source for reciprocating the card to two positions and a power source for releasing the holding of the card, were required. For this reason, not only must the two power sources be controlled, but also their electrical wiring becomes complicated and the control system becomes complicated. In particular, since this type of card sorting device is often used to collect fraudulent cards, invalid cards, etc., high reliability is required, and it is necessary to minimize the complexity of the control system that makes it difficult to increase the reliability. Must. On the other hand, card reading devices that do not collect cards are attached to various devices such as prepaid cards such as pachinko machines and public telephones, but at present the illegal use of cards is constant. In order to solve this problem, it is desired to replace the above-described card sorting device with a conventional card reading device. However, the conventional technology requires a plurality of power sources, and thus the device becomes large and cannot be replaced.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of such circumstances, the present invention makes it possible to collect a card only by a power source for moving the card, thereby improving the reliability of the control system and improving the reliability of the control system. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to easily add a card collection function to a conventional device with a card reading device so that the size does not change.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a card sorting apparatus, comprising: a card transfer mechanism including a pair of side plates which press against right and left side surfaces of a card; And a drive structure for moving the card to three linear positions of a card loading position, a reading position, and a collection position, and a cam structure provided on one side plate of the card holding portion and a frame of the present apparatus. In this configuration, one of the side plates is separated from the other side plate during the period from the step S to the collection position, and the card is released from the holding and the card is collected in the apparatus.

[0005] By doing so, the card can be returned or collected by controlling the movement of the card by the card transfer mechanism. Therefore, there is no need to provide a separate power source for collecting the card, and the control system and the electric wiring can be simplified, which are not so different from those of the conventional reader. Further, the size of the image reader can be made as compact as that of the conventional reader.

In the card sorting apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the driving structure includes a motor, a rotating body which is rotated by the driving thereof, and rotation of the rotating body, the loading position, the reading position, and the collecting position. A conversion mechanism for converting the movement into a linear movement parallel to the three positions, wherein the card holding portion is moved to the three positions by forward / reverse rotation and rotation speed of the motor. Adopted.

[0007] In this manner, the card can be read, collected, and returned only by controlling the forward / reverse rotation of one motor and the number of rotations thereof, so that an extremely simple control system can be provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the card sorting apparatus according to the second aspect, the rotating body is a screw shaft, and the linear motion conversion mechanism includes a nut screwed to the screw shaft and the motor fixed to the nut. A structure characterized by being fixed non-rotatably to a card holding portion or a frame that is not carried out.

[0009] The use of commonly used members such as a combination of a screw shaft and a nut has made it possible to easily procure parts even in its maintenance, as a matter of course.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the card sorting apparatus according to the second aspect, the linear motion conversion mechanism is engaged with a gear fixed to the motor and fixed to a card holding portion or frame to which the motor is not fixed. The configuration is characterized by the fact that the rack is used.

According to the present invention, the moving length of the rack for each rotation of the motor is determined by the combination of the rack and the gear.
Can be much larger than the screws. As a result, the moving speed of the card holding portion is increased,
Card reading and sorting can be performed at high speed.

[0012] In a card sorting apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the cam structure includes a cam having an inclined guide surface and a follower guided in contact with the guide surface. One is fixed to one side plate of the card holding portion, and the other is fixed to a frame of the present apparatus, and the cam and the follower come into contact with each other while the card holding portion moves from the reading position to the collecting position. Then, an inclined guide surface is formed so as to guide the follower so that the side plate is separated from the other side plate.

By doing so, the cam structure is in an open state except for the case of recovery, so that the load of the cam structure is not applied during reciprocation between the loading position and the reading position in the normal use state. It can be operated with low energy consumption, similar to conventional non-recovered readers.

A card sorting apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the cam structure includes a pair of side plates for holding the card at the front end of the card holding portion moving from the reading position to the collection position. A configuration characterized by being constituted by a wedge-shaped cam having a tip pierced therebetween.

By doing so, it is not necessary to dispose the cam structures on the left and right side plates of the card holding portion, so that the thickness of the device can be reduced accordingly.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Several embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the drawing, when the outline of the card holding portion is a thin line with a dashed-dotted line, it is at the reading position, and when it is a double-dashed line, it is at the collection position.

[0017]

Embodiment 1 This embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. FIG. The card sorting apparatus of the present embodiment includes a box-shaped frame (1), a card transfer mechanism (2), a card reading control box (3), and a cam structure (5). The structure in the reading control box (3) is the same as that of the conventional card reading device, and the description is omitted. The frame (1) includes left and right side walls (11) and (12) and a front wall (1).
3), a bottom plate (14) and a corner wall (15) which are integrally connected to each other in a box shape, and the card transfer mechanism (2) is provided inside the upper half thereof. The lower half is the card collection department (1
6), the card dropped from the card transfer mechanism (2) is stored. In addition, this collection part (1
A card outlet (17) is provided at the back of 6).
The front wall (13) is provided with a card insertion slot (18) and guide ribs (19) (19) for regulating the vertical position thereof.

The card transfer mechanism (2) comprises a card holding section (21) and a drive structure (40). The card holding portion (21) includes fixed side plates (22) and (23).
The movable side plate (24) is arranged between the two fixed plates (2).
3) between the movable side plate (24) and the coil spring (2).
5) The movable side plate (2) with (26) and (27) interposed
4) is pressed against the other fixed side plate (22). In this manner, the card (CD) is sandwiched and held between the fixed side plate (22) and the movable side plate (24). (28), (29) and (30) are connecting plates for connecting the left and right fixed side plates (22) and (23), and the connecting plate (28) at the upper end has left and right protruding outward. The protruding portions (31) and (32) are placed on the upper edges of the left and right side walls (11) and (12) of the frame (1), and the upper edges are used as rails to replace the card holding portion (2).
1) is inserted into the frame (1) so as to be movable back and forth. The three screws (33), (34), (35) hold the coil springs (25), (26), (27) and guide the movable side plate (24), so that both fixed side plates (22) ( 23). The drive mechanism (40) includes a step motor (41), a screw shaft (42) fixed to a rotation shaft of the step motor (41), and a nut (43) for screwing the screw shaft (42). I have. The nut (43) is connected to the upper end connecting plate (2).
It is fixed to 8). Thus, the forward rotation of the step motor (41) causes the card holding portion (21) to rotate.
Are sequentially moved to a card loading position (A), a reading position (B), and a collection position (C).

A cam structure (5) comprises a cam (51) fixed to the side wall (12) of the frame (1) and a follower (52) attached to the movable side plate. The fixed side plate (23) is formed in an inverted L shape so that the movement of the card holding portion (21) is not hindered by the presence of the cam (51) and the follower (52). The follower (52) includes a movable side plate (2).
This is a roller-like member held on a central shaft (55) that is supported by ribs (53) and (54) fixed to 4). The follower (52) contacts the inclined guide surface (56) formed on the cam (51) while the card holding portion (21) is moving from the reading position (B) to the collecting position (C),
With the guidance of the guide surface (56), the coil spring (25)
(26) The movable side plate (2)
4) is separated from the fixed side plate (22). The card sensor (60) is provided at the card holding portion (2).
When 1) is at the loading position (A), it senses that a card (CD) is loaded, and various means such as light shielding and proximity can be adopted.

The card (C) is detected by the card sensor (60).
When the loading of D) is detected, the control mechanism in the reading control box (3) causes the stepping motor (4) to operate.
1) is driven forward. This drive is the number of rotations until the card holding section (21) reaches the reading position (B). Next, the data recorded on the card (CD) is read by the read control box (3). If the read data does not include a predetermined encryption code, if the expiration date has expired, or if the remaining data cannot be used (the balance is zero), the step motor (41) is driven forward again to The card holding portion (21) is moved to the collection position (C), and then continuously reversed and rotated to return to the loading position (A). During this time, the follower (52) contacts and guides the cam (51), pulls the movable side plate (24) away from the fixed side plate (22),
The card (CD) is released from being held, and the collection unit (1) is released.
6) Drop the card (CD). If none of the above cases apply, the stepping motor (41) is driven in reverse to return the card holding portion (21) to the loading position (A).

[0021]

Embodiment 2 This embodiment is shown in FIG. This embodiment shows another example of the driving mechanism (40) in the first embodiment. Rack (72) fixed to the upper end connecting plate (28)
And a step motor (71) fixed to the frame (1)
And a gear (73) fixed to the drive shaft. The gear (73) meshes with the rack (72), and controls the rotation direction and rotation angle of the step motor (72) to move the card holding portion (21) from the loading position (A) to the reading position (B). ) And collection position (C)
Can be moved. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, and therefore, the same reference numerals as in the first embodiment are used in the drawings, and description thereof is omitted.

In this way, the power of the step motor (71) must be higher than that of the first embodiment, but there is an advantage that the movement of the card holding portion (21) can be performed at a high speed. In addition, since the rotation is not a long one such as a screw shaft but a small gear, the starting load and the moment of inertia on the step motor (71) can be reduced, and in this regard, high-speed movement can be more easily performed. It became a structure. In addition, since the step motor (71) could be housed in the frame (1), the external dimensions could be made smaller, and the dimensional restrictions on replacement with a conventional reader could be reduced.

[0023]

Embodiment 3 This embodiment is shown in FIGS. This embodiment shows another example of the drive mechanism (40) in the second embodiment. A step motor (71) is fixed to the upper end connecting plate (28), and a rack (74) meshing with a gear (73) fixed to the step motor (71) is fixed to a side wall (12) of the frame (1). It is. By doing so, it is not necessary to provide a space for mounting the step motor (71) on the frame (1), so that the size of the frame (1) can be reduced by that amount, and the overall configuration can be made compact. did it.

[0024]

Embodiment 4 This embodiment is shown in FIGS. This embodiment shows another example of the cam structure (5) in the third embodiment. In this embodiment, the cam (81) is inserted between the fixed side plate (22) and the movable side plate (24) of the card holding portion (21). Specifically, a wedge-shaped cam (81) is fixed to the back wall (101) of the frame (1), and the cam (81) is mounted on the back of the movable side plate (24).
There is provided an inclined surface (82) for guiding the tip of the. Thus, the card holding portion (21) is moved to the reading position (B).
From the cam (8) during the movement toward the collection position (C).
The tip of 1) is the inclined surface (8) of the movable side plate (24).
In 2), the movable side plate (24) moves away from the fixed side plate (22) against the holding force. At the same time, the cam (81) protrudes between the two plates (22) and (24), and its inclined guide surface (83) is connected to the movable side plate (2).
4), and the two plates (22) (2)
The distance of 4) is further increased, and the card (CD) is dropped downward. The other points are the same as those of the second embodiment, and therefore, the same reference numerals are given in the drawings, and the description thereof will be omitted. By doing so, the fixed side plate (2
No need to process 3) for the cam structure (5).

[0025]

[Other Embodiments] The fourth embodiment has been described based on the third embodiment. However, the fourth embodiment can be similarly applied to the first or second embodiment. The structure of the frame (1) is the same as that of the first embodiment.
The structure is not limited to the structure in which the wall plates are connected and fixed as shown in FIG. 1, but may be a structure in which a rod or L-shaped steel is assembled into a frame shape so as to have appropriate rigidity, and the wall is attached thereto. Also, if there is a suitable wall in the apparatus to which the present apparatus is mounted, it can be used and the wall body of that part can be omitted.

In each of the above embodiments, the card holding portion (21)
In order to guide the forward and backward movement of the frame (1), a structure is used in which protruding portions (31) and (32) protruding left and right of the upper end connecting plate (28) are mounted on the upper edges of the left and right side walls (11) and (12) of the frame (1). However, a configuration as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 may be used instead. Left and right side walls (11) of frame (1)
Long guide grooves (91) and (92) are formed in front and rear in (12), and rollers (93), (94), (95) and (9) are fitted in these guide grooves.
6) is rotatably fixed to left and right fixed side plates (22) and (23) constituting the card holding portion (21).
This makes it possible to reliably and stably guide the card holding portion (21).

In this embodiment, a card (CD) refers to an electronic data recording card such as a magnetic card, an IC card, and the like.
Bank gas cards, credit cards, and the like.

[0028]

As is clear from the above embodiments, according to the present invention, the card moving mechanism is modified so that the card can be collected depending on the position of the card holding portion. A separate power source for releasing was eliminated. Therefore, it is easy to control and the size can be made almost the same as that of the reader having no collection function.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing an AA section in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a main part of the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a fourth embodiment.

8 is an enlarged plan view of a main part surrounded by a dashed-dotted line circle in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a main part of another embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) Frame (2) Card transfer mechanism (3) Card reading control box (5) Cam mechanism (11) Left side wall (12) Right side wall (13) Front wall (14) Bottom plate (15) Corner wall (16) Card Collection part (17) Card take-out opening (18) Card insertion opening (19) Rib (21) Card holding part (22) Fixed side plate (23) Fixed side plate (24) Movable side plate (25) Coil spring (26) Coil spring (27) Coil spring (28) Upper end connecting plate (29) Connecting plate (30) Connecting plate (31) Projecting portion (32) Projecting portion (33) Screw (34) Screw (35) Screw (40) Drive mechanism (41) Step motor ( 42) Screw shaft (43) Nut (51) Cam (52) Follower (53) Rib (54) Rib (55) Center shaft (56) Inclined guide plate ( 60) Card sensor (71) Step motor (72) Rack (73) Gear (74) Rack (81) Cam (82) Inclined surface (83) Inclined guide surface (91) Guide groove (92) Guide groove (93) Roller (94) Roller (95) Roller (96) Roller (101) Back wall (A) Loading position (B) Reading position (C) Collection position (CD) Card

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A card sensor for detecting loading of a card,
A card transport mechanism for transporting a card loaded by the sensing of the card sensor from the loading position to a predetermined reading position, a data reading mechanism for reading data recorded on the card at the reading position, and reading by the reading mechanism In the card sorting apparatus for collecting the card into the apparatus or returning the card to the loading position by discriminating the data, the card transfer mechanism includes a card holding portion composed of a pair of side plates that are pressed against the left and right side surfaces of the card; A driving structure for moving the holding portion to three linear positions of a card loading position, a reading position, and a collection position, and a cam structure provided on one side plate of the card holding portion and the frame of the present apparatus, While moving from the reading position to the collection position, pull one side plate away from the other side plate to release the card Card sorting apparatus characterized by comprising so as to recover the card into the apparatus and 2. The card sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving structure includes a motor, a rotating body that is rotated by the driving, and a rotation of the rotating body, the loading position, the reading position, and the collection. A conversion mechanism for converting the movement into a linear movement parallel to the three positions, wherein the card holding portion is moved to the three positions by forward / reverse rotation and rotation speed of the motor. apparatus 3. The card sorting device according to claim 2, wherein the rotating body is a screw shaft, and the linear motion conversion mechanism includes a nut screwed to the screw shaft, and the nut fixed to the motor. Characterized in that it is non-rotatably fixed to a card holding portion or frame that is not inserted 4. The card sorting device according to claim 2, wherein the linear motion converting mechanism is engaged with a gear fixed to the motor and fixed to a card holding portion or frame to which the motor is not fixed. Card sorting device characterized by using a rack 5. The card sorting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cam structure comprises a cam having an inclined guide surface and a follower guided in contact with the guide surface. One is fixed to one side plate of the card holding portion, the other is fixed to the frame of the present apparatus, and the cam and the follower contact while the card holding portion reaches from the reading position to the collection position, A card sorting device characterized in that an inclined guide surface is formed so as to guide the follower so as to separate the side plate from the other side plate. 6. The card sorting device according to claim 1, wherein the cam structure is provided at a front end of a card holding portion that moves from a reading position to a collecting position.
A card sorting apparatus comprising a wedge-shaped cam having a tip pierced between both side plates for holding a card.