JP2002099953A - Card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent unauthorized removal of a card, in a state in which shutter is not closed. SOLUTION: This card reader comprises openable and closable shutters enabling the intake of the card 3; a card-carrying passage having a card insert port to carry the card 3; a cutter 5 capable of abutting on the card surface of the card 3; an energizing member 14 for energizing the cutter 5 in the advancing direction into the card carrying passage; a locking member 9 to be engaged with the cutter 5 to prevent the advance into the card-carrying passage; and a drive means 7 for driving the locking member 9. When an abnormal stoppage of the card 3 is detected in the closed position of the shutter, the locking member 9 is operated by the drive means 7, to make the cutter 5 abut against the card surface of the card 3 which has stopped abnormally stopped.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a card reader. More specifically, the present invention relates to a structure for preventing card fraud in a card reader.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional card reader 101, as shown in FIG. 6, a shutter 102 which is opened and closed by, for example, a solenoid is provided at a card insertion slot to prevent foreign substances other than the card 103 from being inserted and to prevent the card from being inserted. The security of the card reader 101 is ensured so that the card 103 jammed in the reader is not illegally removed and stolen. In this card reader 101, the card 1
03 is inserted from the card insertion slot 104, the shutter 102 retreats from the card passage, and the inserted card 1
03 is provided so as to be taken into the card reader 101. Further, when the card 103 enters the inside of the shutter 102, the shutter 102 closes to prevent the card 103 from being taken out by fraud.

[0003]

However, in the conventional card reader 101, as shown in FIG. 7, a fraudulent person performs some kind of work to intentionally jam the card 103 on the opening / closing position of the shutter 102. If cheating occurs, the shutter 102 cannot be completely closed and cannot function as a shutter. At this time, if the jammed position of the card 103 is a place where it is difficult to pick up the card 103 with a finger and the like, the user cannot take out the card 103. Sometimes. In this gap, a fraudulent person uses a tool or the like to
03 may be taken out and taken away.

[0004] As described above, even in the conventional card reader 101 having the shutter 102, the card 103 is taken out by a clever way of defrauding the card 103,
The problem of being taken away remains.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a card reader which can prevent unauthorized removal of a card even when the shutter is not closed.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a card reader according to the first aspect of the present invention has a card reader having a shutter which is openable and closable to allow a card to be taken in the card reader, and a card insertion slot. Transport path for transporting the card, a cutter capable of contacting the card surface of the card, an urging member for urging the cutter in a direction of entering the card transport path, and engaging the cutter with the card transport path. A locking member for stopping the entry; and a driving means for driving the locking member. When an abnormal stop of the card is detected when the shutter is at the open position, the locking member is actuated by the driving means and the cutter is abnormally stopped. The card comes into contact with the card surface of the card.

[0007] In a card reader handling a card, for example, when the card stays inside and it becomes impossible to discharge the card to the user side or take it inside the card reader, some work is performed to deceive the card. To prevent the card from being intentionally stopped at the open / close position of the shutter (hereinafter simply referred to as illegal act) and to prevent the card from being removed. Even if an action occurs, an abnormal stop is detected, and a blocking mechanism that prevents removal of the card operates to prevent the card from moving and forcibly stay inside the card reader.

In addition, the cutter is brought into contact with the card surface of the card with such a force as to contact the card surface, and the pressing force is not applied so as to damage the card, so that even if the driving means malfunctions, the card is greatly damaged. Feeding can be prevented. In addition, in this state, if a fraudulent person intentionally pulls out the card, the blocking mechanism makes the cutter bite into the card, making it impossible to pull out the card further, and furthermore, catastrophically destroys the card data This prevents unauthorized use of the card even if the card is pulled out.

In this card reader, it is preferable that the cutter is provided within a range of the length of the card from the card insertion slot. In this case, at the time of fraud, even if the card protrudes from the card insertion slot, the card can be forcibly retained so that a fraudulent person cannot pull out the card.

It is preferable that the card reader has a restricting portion for restricting the movement of the cutter when the cutter moves into the card transport path. According to this restricting portion, for example, it is possible to restrict the movement of the cutter so as to keep the cutter in contact with the card surface, and further to ensure the bite. Therefore, the forced stay of the card is more reliable.

Further, it is preferable that the card reader has a guide portion for guiding the movement of the cutter. When the guide unit guides the cutter, the blade of the cutter can be brought into contact with the card surface. After the blade of the cutter touches the card surface,
Only when the card is intentionally removed can the movement of the cutter be guided so that the forced retention function works mechanically.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a card reader comprising: a shutter which can be opened and closed to allow a card to be taken into the card reader; a card transport path having a card insertion slot for transporting the card; A cutter that can be contacted, an urging member that urges the cutter in a direction of entering the card transport path, a locking member that engages with the urging member and stops entry into the card transport path, and a locking member Driving means for driving the
An elastic member provided on the cutter and in contact with the card surface, when the abnormal stop of the card is detected when the shutter is in the open position, the locking member is actuated by the driving means and the cutter is stopped on the card surface of the card abnormally stopped. The elastic member is pressed against the card surface before contact.

This card reader detects an abnormal stop even if a fraud occurs when, for example, the card stays inside and it is impossible to eject the card to the user side or take it into the card reader, A blocking mechanism for preventing removal of the card operates to prevent the card from moving and forcibly stay inside the card reader. In addition, the cutter is brought into contact with the card surface of the card with just enough force to prevent it from damaging the card. If a fraudulent person intentionally pulls out the card, the blocking mechanism makes the cutter bite into the card and makes it impossible to pull out the card anymore, and furthermore, the card is temporarily pulled out by catastrophically destroying the card data Even if it does, unauthorized use of the card can be prevented.

Further, in this card reader, when the cutter slides, the elastic member can be brought into contact with the card surface together with the blade of the cutter. Therefore, when a fraudulent person pulls out the card in this state, the cutter can be reliably moved by friction between the elastic member and the card surface.

In this card reader, it is preferable that the cutter is provided within a range of the length of the card from the card insertion slot. In this case, at the time of fraud, even if the card protrudes from the card insertion slot, the card can be forcibly retained so that a fraudulent person cannot pull out the card.

It is preferable that the card reader has a restricting portion for restricting the movement of the cutter when the cutter moves into the card transport path. According to this restricting portion, for example, it is possible to restrict the movement of the cutter so as to keep the cutter in contact with the card surface, and further to ensure the bite. Therefore, the forced stay of the card is more reliable.

Further, it is preferable that the card reader has a guide portion for guiding the movement of the cutter. When the guide unit guides the cutter, the blade of the cutter can be brought into contact with the card surface. After the blade of the cutter touches the card surface,
Only when the card is intentionally removed can the movement of the cutter be guided so that the forced retention function works mechanically.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of the present invention will be described below in detail based on an example of an embodiment shown in the drawings. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the card reader of the present invention.

The card reader 1 has an openable and closable shutter 4 for allowing the card 3 to be taken into the card reader 1.
A card transport path 20 having a card insertion slot 2 for transporting the card 3, and a cutter 5 capable of contacting the card surface of the card 3
An urging member 15 for urging the cutter 5 in a direction of entering the card transport path 20, a locking member 9 engaging with the cutter 5 and stopping the card 5 from entering the card transport path 20, and a locking member 9 When the shutter 4 is in the open position and an abnormal stop of the card 3 is detected, the locking member 9 is actuated by the drive means 7 and the cutter 5 is abnormally stopped. Is to come into contact with the surface,
A blocking mechanism 6 including the cutter 5, the driving means 7, the locking member 9, the biasing member 15, and the like prevents the card 3 from being removed.

The cutter 5 has a cutting blade 5c as shown in FIG.
And a cutting blade support lever 5d that rotates in a horizontal plane while supporting the cutting blade 5c and moves the cutting blade 5c to the side of the card 3.
And is movable between a retracted position 5a indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a contact position 5b indicated by an imaginary line. As described above, in this embodiment, the cutting edge 5a of the cutter 5 is slid in the card width direction (the direction indicated by B in FIG. 1) to move the cutter 5 into the card transport path 20 and to cut the side card surface of the card 3 (That is, the side).

The cutter 5 moves the card 3 from the open / close position of the shutter 4 in the card transport direction indicated by an arrow A in FIG.
In other words, in a state where the shutter 4 cannot be closed because the card 3 has stopped at the opening / closing position of the shutter 4, the tip of the cutter 5 is located at a position facing the card 3. . The cutter 5 is attached to the frame 29 of the card reader 1 so as to be perpendicular to the card transport direction. Further, the cutter 5 is disposed so as to contact a place other than the magnetic stripe of the card 3. Thereby, damage to the magnetic stripe can be avoided and the magnetic data can be protected.

The card supporting lever 5d of the cutter 5 is
As shown in the figure, two guide holes 25 and 26 are provided.
Further, two guide pins 27 and 28 provided on a frame 29 forming the card transport path 20 are engaged with guide holes 25 and 26, respectively. In the card reader 1 of the present embodiment, a guide portion 33 that guides the movement of the cutter 5 is configured by the guide holes 25 and 26 and the guide pins 27 and 28. The guide pins 27, 28
Has a small flange as shown in FIG. 2, and slides the card support lever 5 d by lifting it from the upper surface of the frame 29.

In this embodiment, one guide hole 25 is a straight hole, while the other guide hole 26 is L-shaped as shown in FIG. Thereby, after the cutter 5 slides in parallel with the card width direction B,
Further, it can swing about the guide hole 25. here,
When the cutter 5 swings around the guide hole 25, FIG.
The cutting edge 5c moves on the arc and approaches the card 3 as shown in FIG. Then, the cutting blade 5c can be brought into contact with the side surface of the card 3 with the swing.

It is preferable that a part of the frame 29 is formed in such a shape as to assist the cutting blade 5c in contact with the card 3. For example, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a restricting portion 29a composed of an inclined portion is formed on the frame 29 to restrict the movement of the bent portion 5g of the cutting blade support lever 5d, and the card surface of the card 3 along the inclination. To push it out. According to the restricting portion 29a, for example, it is possible to restrict the movement of the cutter 5 so as to keep the cutter 5 in contact with the card surface, and furthermore, to surely bite the cutter. Therefore, the forced stay of the card 3 becomes more reliable.

As shown in FIG. 1, the card support lever 5d is constantly biased at one end (for example, a bent portion 5f provided at the end) by a biasing member 15. One end of the urging member 15 has a protrusion 29 b of the frame 29.
The card supporting lever 5d is urged in an oblique direction as shown in the drawing so that the cutter 5 can be translated and rotated by, for example, a tension coil spring.

Further, the card supporting lever 5d has a locked portion 30 which engages with the locking portion 14 of the locking member 9 to hold the cutter 5 at the retracted position 5a. In this embodiment, as shown in the figure, a long hole-shaped locked portion 30 is provided in a bent portion 5e formed by bending a part of the card support lever 5d upward.

The locking member 9 is an L-shaped lever as shown in FIG.
It is rotatably supported by the upper support shaft 10 and moves between a lock position 9a and a release position 9b shown in FIG. Locking member 9
The driving force of the driving means 7 is used for the movement. In the present embodiment, a solenoid (hereinafter, referred to as a solenoid 7) is used as the driving unit 7. Solenoid 7 is card reader 1
The plunger 8 is protruded by a biasing force of a compression coil spring 31 attached around the plunger 8 when the power is not supplied (off state), but is sucked and engaged by the on state. The stop 9 is linked.

The locking member 9 has a protruding locking portion 14 at one end, and is moved up and down to engage with the locked portion 30 on the card support lever 5d. The engagement hole 11 provided at the other end engages with the engagement pin 12 on the plunger 8, and swings the locking member 9 by the movement of the solenoid 7. Thereby, the locking member 9 is located at the lock position 9a when the solenoid 7 projects the plunger 8, and moves to the release position 9b when the solenoid 7 sucks the plunger 8. In the lock position 9a shown in FIG. 2, the locking portion 14 of the locking member 9 is engaged with the engagement pin 13 of the cutter 5, and the cutter 5 is moved to the retracted position 5a.
Lock with. On the other hand, at the release position 9b,
And the engagement pin 13 is disengaged, and the cutter 5 becomes movable.

The card reader 1 is provided with abnormal stop detecting means 21 for detecting abnormal stop (blockage) of the card 3. As the abnormal stop detecting means 21, for example, a plurality of card detection sensors 21 for detecting the presence of the card 3 in the card transport path 20 can be used. In the present embodiment, the first card detection sensor 21a is located at a position in front of the cutter 5, and the second card detection sensor 21b is located at the back of the first card detection sensor 21a in the card transport direction. The third card detection sensor 21c is arranged at a position farther than the length of the card 3 from the shutter 4 on the back side of the second card detection sensor 21b in the card transport direction within the range of.

When the card detection sensor 21 is arranged as described above, if it is normal, the card detection sensor 21a, 21b, 21c detects the card 3 sequentially as the card 3 is transported. However, the first card detection sensor 2
1a detects the card 3, but even if a predetermined time or more has passed after the detection, the card 3 cannot be detected by the second card detection sensor 21b, or the first and second card detection sensors 21a and 21b Although the card 3 is detected, if the card 3 cannot be detected by the third card detection sensor 21c even after a lapse of a predetermined time after the detection, it is considered that the card 3 has abnormally stopped. Therefore, the abnormal stop of the card 3 can be detected using the card detection sensors 21a, 21b, 21c. The number and positions of the card detection sensors 21 to be installed are not limited to those described above.

Further, a detection sensor 22 for detecting an open position of the shutter 4 is connected to the shutter 4. Even if the card detection sensor 21 detects the abnormal stop of the card 3, if the shutter 4 is in the closed state, an unauthorized person who intends to defraud the card 3 cannot take out the card 3. But,
If the shutter 4 is open, an unauthorized person can take out the card 3. Therefore, when the card detection sensor 21 detects the abnormal stop of the card 3 and when the detection sensor 22 detects that the shutter 4 is kept open, the shutter 4 has It is determined that the card 3 has abnormally stopped at the opening / closing position of, and the blocking mechanism 6 is operated to prevent unauthorized removal of the card 3.

According to the card reader 1 of the embodiment configured as described above, fraudulent fraud of the card 3 can be prevented as follows.

First, when the card 3 is inserted into the card insertion slot 2, the shutter 4 is opened, the transport roller 23 rotates, and the card 3 is taken into the card reader 1 as shown in FIG. Here, the card detection sensors 21a, 21b,
If 21c sequentially detects that the card 3 is present in the card transport path 20, it is determined that the transport operation is normal, and the blocking mechanism 6 does not operate. And card 3
Is taken into a predetermined position, the shutter 4 is closed,
A predetermined process is performed on the card 3.

On the other hand, if the card detection sensor 21 detects an abnormal stop of the card 3 and the detection sensor 22 detects that the shutter 4 is kept open (transport impossible state), a blocking mechanism is provided. 6 to prevent unauthorized removal of the card 3. In this case, if a storage box (not shown) on the back side in the card transport direction is provided, a means of collecting the card can be adopted. However, if the card cannot be transported, the solenoid 7 is turned on and the blocking mechanism 6 is turned on. It only has to be activated. At this point, the solenoid 8 may be turned on after the removal of the card 3 is detected by the card detection sensor 21 or an encoder of a motor (not shown).

When the solenoid 7 of the blocking mechanism 6 is energized, it is turned on, the plunger 8 is pulled, and the locking member 9 swings to move from the lock position 9a to the release position 9b. Thereby, the engagement between the locking portion 14 and the locked portion 30 is released.
As a result, the urging force stored by the urging member 15 is released, and the cutter 5 guided by the guide grooves 18 and 19 is slid from the retracted position 5a. At this time, cutter 5
The cutting blade 5c of this embodiment only comes into contact with the card surface (side surface) of the card 3 with such a force as to contact the card surface (side surface), but does not apply enough pressing force to cause damage. Therefore, even if the solenoid 7 malfunctions due to electric noise or the like, the card 3 is not seriously damaged.

However, if a fraudulent person intentionally pulls out the card 3 in this state, friction between the side surface of the card 3 and the cutting blade 5c causes the cutting blade support lever 5d to move around the guide pin 27 to the card insertion slot 2 side ( (In FIG. 2, the lower side).
Then, the cutting edge 5c of the cutter 5 approaches the card 3 side and is pushed out by the regulating portion 29a of the frame 29 and bites into the side of the card, thereby preventing the card 3 from moving. And Also,
If the data of the card 3 is partially or catastrophically destroyed by the cutting blade 5a that has cut into the card 3,
Even if an unauthorized person gets the card 3, it can be prevented from being used illegally.

In order to return the cutter 5 from the contact position 5b to the retracted position 5a, the cutter 5 is manually moved to the retracted position 5a against the spring force of the urging member 15. Then, the locking member 9 is moved to the locking position 9a, and the locking portion 14 is engaged with the locked portion 30. As a result, the cutter 5 is locked at the retracted position 5a in a state where the spring force of the urging member 15 is accumulated, and the cutter 5 enters a standby state shown in FIG.

The above embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in this embodiment, only the cutting edge 5c at the tip of the cutter 5 is brought into contact with the side surface of the card 3, and the cutter 5 is swung by friction between the two. Is also preferred. For example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, an elastic member 32 such as rubber may be attached to the lower side of the cutting blade support lever 5d via a bent portion 5h or directly. In this case, when the cutter 5 slides in the card width direction B, the elastic members 32 can be brought into contact with the side surface of the card simultaneously with the cutting blade 5c or earlier than the cutting blade 5c. Therefore, in this state, if a fraudulent person pulls out the card 3, the cutting blade support lever 5 d can be swung by the friction between the elastic member 32 and the card 3.

Further, in the present embodiment, the cutter 5 is brought into contact with the side surface of the card 3, but the cutter 5 is not limited to the side surface of the card 3 but may be the surface of the card (the surface on which the emboss, magnetic stripe, etc. are formed). You may.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the card reader according to the first aspect, the card stays inside, particularly in a state sandwiched by the shutter, and the card reader can discharge the card to the user side. If the card cannot be taken inside, even if a fraudulent act is performed to defraud the card, it detects an abnormal stop and activates the blocking mechanism to prevent the card from moving and forcibly force the card reader Can stay inside.

Furthermore, by causing the cutter to abut against the card surface of the card with such a force as to contact the card surface, it is possible to prevent the card from being seriously damaged even if the driving means malfunctions. In addition, in this state, if a fraudulent person intentionally pulls out the card, the blocking mechanism makes the cutter bite into the card, making it impossible to pull out the card further, and furthermore, catastrophically destroys the card data This prevents unauthorized use of the card even if the card is pulled out.

According to the card reader of the second aspect, since the cutter is provided within a range of the length of the card from the card insertion slot, even if the card protrudes from the card insertion slot at the time of fraud, it is illegal. Card can be forcibly retained so that a person cannot pull out the card.

According to the card reader of the third aspect, when the cutter moves in the card transport path, the card reader has a restricting portion for restricting the movement of the cutter, so that the contact state between the cutter and the card surface is maintained. Can regulate the movement to ensure that it will bite. Therefore, the forced stay of the card is more reliable.

Further, according to the card reader of the fourth aspect, since the guide portion for guiding the movement of the cutter is provided, the blade of the cutter can be brought into contact with the card surface by the guide portion guiding the cutter. . Further, after the blade of the cutter is brought into contact with the card surface, the movement of the cutter can be guided so that the forced retention function works mechanically only when the card is intentionally removed.

According to the card reader of the fifth aspect, when the card stays inside, especially in a state of being sandwiched by the shutter, and it is impossible to discharge the card to the user side or take it into the card reader. In addition, even if a fraudulent act is performed to defraud the card, an abnormal stop can be detected, the prevention mechanism can be operated, and the movement of the card can be prevented and the card can be forced to stay inside the card reader.

Moreover, by causing the cutter to abut against the card surface of the card with such a force as to make contact with the card surface, it is possible to prevent the card from being seriously damaged even if the driving means malfunctions. In addition, in this state, if a fraudulent person intentionally pulls out the card, the blocking mechanism makes the cutter bite into the card, making it impossible to pull out the card further, and furthermore, catastrophically destroys the card data This prevents unauthorized use of the card even if the card is pulled out.

In addition, according to this card reader, when the cutter slides, the elastic member can be brought into contact with the card surface together with the blade of the cutter. Therefore, when a fraudulent person pulls out the card in this state, the cutter can be reliably moved by friction between the elastic member and the card surface.

According to the card reader of the present invention, the cutter is provided within the range of the length of the card from the card insertion slot. Card can be forcibly retained so that a person cannot pull out the card.

According to the card reader of the present invention, when the cutter moves into the card transport path, the card reader has a restricting portion for restricting the movement of the cutter, so that the contact state between the cutter and the card surface is maintained. Can regulate the movement to ensure that it will bite. Therefore, the forced stay of the card is more reliable.

Further, according to the card reader of the present invention, since the guide portion has a guide portion for guiding the movement of the cutter, the blade of the cutter can be brought into contact with the card surface by the guide portion guiding the cutter. . Further, after the blade of the cutter is brought into contact with the card surface, the movement of the cutter can be guided so that the forced retention function works mechanically only when the card is intentionally removed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial plan view showing an example of an embodiment of a card reader to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the card reader.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a card reader.

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing a card reader in which an elastic member abutting on a card surface is provided on a cutter.

FIG. 5 is a partial front view showing a card reader in which an elastic member abutting on a card surface is provided on a cutter.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a conventional card reader.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a state in which a card abnormally stops at a shutter opening / closing position in a conventional card reader.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card reader 2 Card insertion slot 3 Card 4 Shutter 5 Cutter 7 Solenoid (drive means) 9 Locking member 15 Energizing member 20 Card transport path 29a (on frame) regulating part 32 Elastic member 33 Guide part

Claims (8)

[Claims] An opening / closing shutter for allowing a card to be taken into a card reader; a card conveyance path having a card insertion slot for conveying the card; a cutter capable of contacting a card surface of the card; An urging member that urges the cutter in a direction of entering the card transport path, a locking member that engages with the cutter to stop entry into the card transport path, and a drive that drives the locking member Means for detecting the abnormal stop of the card when the shutter is in the open position, wherein the driving member activates the locking member and the cutter comes into contact with the card surface of the abnormally stopped card. And a card reader. 2. The card reader according to claim 1, wherein the cutter is provided within a range of the length of the card from the card insertion slot. 3. The card reader according to claim 1, further comprising a restricting portion that restricts the movement of the cutter when the cutter moves into the card transport path. 4. The card reader according to claim 1, further comprising a guide portion for guiding the movement of the cutter. 5. An openable and closable shutter for allowing a card to be taken into a card reader, a card transport path having a card insertion slot for transporting the card, a cutter capable of contacting a card surface of the card, An urging member for urging the cutter in a direction to enter the card transport path, a locking member for engaging with the urging member to stop the card transport path, and driving the locking member And a resilient member provided on the cutter and abutting on the card surface. When an abnormal stop of the card is detected when the shutter is in the open position, the locking member is actuated by the drive unit. A card reader, wherein the elastic member is pressed against the card surface before the cutter comes into contact with the card surface of the abnormally stopped card. 6. The card reader according to claim 5, wherein the cutter is provided within a range of a length of the card from the card insertion slot. 7. The card reader according to claim 5, further comprising a restricting portion for restricting the movement of the cutter when the cutter moves into the card transport path. 8. The card reader according to claim 5, further comprising a guide portion for guiding the movement of the cutter.