JP2002342751A - Card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a card reader by making a contact type scanner available. SOLUTION: This card reader ion which an IC card 4 is carried in a card carriage path 2 by a card carrying means driven by a driving motor is provided with a contact type scanner 5 for reading embossment formed on the IC card 4 which is being carried and a pressing mechanism 6 for closely pressing the contact type scanner 5 to the IC card 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a card reader. More specifically, the present invention relates to a card reader capable of acquiring image data by photographing the surface of a processed card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a card reader used in an ATM of a bank is provided with an image scanner for photographing embossed characters and the like of a processed card to obtain image data. Since some cards processed by a card reader are curved, a conventional card reader uses a reduced optical image scanner having a large depth of field as an image scanner.

[0003]

However, the reduced optical image scanner is large in size because it has a structure for securing the optical path length. For this reason, it has been difficult to reduce the size of the card reader using the reduced optical image scanner.

On the other hand, a contact type scanner is another type of image scanner different from the reduced optical image scanner. This contact type scanner is small in size and suitable for miniaturizing a card reader. However, the contact type scanner has a small depth of field, and when used in a card reader, it is necessary to reduce the height of the card transport path. For this reason, when the card to be processed is bent or the like, a jam may occur, and the contact type scanner cannot be used as it is.

An object of the present invention is to provide a card reader which can use a contact type scanner and can reduce the size of the card reader.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a card reader in which a card is transported in a card transport path by card transport means driven by a drive motor. It is provided with a contact type scanner for reading an emboss formed on a card in the inside, and a pressing mechanism for pressing the contact type scanner so as to be in close contact with the card.

Therefore, an image on the card surface is captured by the contact type scanner while the card is transported by the card transport means. The pressing mechanism presses a contact-type scanner with a small depth of field against the card surface. Therefore, even if the card is curved, the curvature of the card is corrected, and the surface of the card is scanned by the contact type scanner with the distance between the card and the contact type scanner being a predetermined length.

Further, the card reader according to the second aspect of the present invention has an opening / closing mechanism capable of moving the contact type scanner and the pressure mechanism in a direction approaching / separating from the card transport path. Therefore, the direction in which the pressing mechanism presses the contact type scanner is the same as the direction in which the opening / closing mechanism moves the contact type scanner and the pressing mechanism.

In this case, as in the card reader according to the third aspect, the opening / closing mechanism includes a swing frame that is swingably attached to the main body frame by a shaft, a holder fixed to the swing frame, It is preferable to provide a locking means for locking the holder to the fixed frame.

Further, as in the card reader according to the fourth aspect, the locking means preferably includes a knob, a shaft fixed to the knob, and a stop pin penetrating the shaft in the radial direction.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of the present invention will be described below in detail based on the best mode shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 6 show an example of an embodiment of a card reader to which the present invention is applied. In this card reader, an IC card 4 as a card is conveyed in a card conveying path 2 by a card conveying means 3 driven by a driving motor 1, and the card reader reads an emboss formed on the IC card 4 being conveyed. A type scanner 5 and a pressing mechanism 6 for pressing the contact type scanner 5 so as to be in close contact with the IC card 4 are provided. Further, the card reader has an opening / closing mechanism 7 which can move the contact type scanner 5 and the pressing mechanism 6 in a direction approaching / separating from the card transport path 2.

The contact-type scanner 5 is for reading embossed characters formed on the surface of the IC card 4, but is not limited to this. For reading patterns on the surface of a card such as the IC card 4. There may be.

The card reader comprises a contact type IC contact block 8 for reading and writing data by contacting an IC contact provided on the IC card 4 and a magnetic stripe provided on the IC card 4. It has a magnetic head 9 for reading and writing data. In the present embodiment, the contact type scanner 5 and the pressing mechanism 6 are provided in the image reading unit 1 on the back side of the magnetic processing / contact processing unit 11 of the card reader.
2 are arranged.

The opening / closing mechanism 7 includes a swing frame 15 attached to a body frame 13 of the card reader by a shaft 14 so as to swing, a holder 16 fixed to the swing frame 15, and the holder 16 to the fixed frame 17. It is provided with locking means 18 for locking. The contact type scanner 5 is fixed to the holder 16 by left and right pressing plates 19 and 20. The front and rear portions of the holder 16 before and after the contact type scanner 5 are walls 21 (hereinafter, referred to as upper walls of the transport path) 21 that define the upper side of the card transport path 2. Further, in this embodiment, the holder 16 is formed of resin, and the front and rear transport path upper side walls 21 are also formed of resin. Further, ribs 22 are provided on the front and rear transport path upper side walls 21 at positions avoiding the embossed characters formed on the IC card 4 to make the interval between the IC card 4 and the contact type scanner 5 a predetermined length.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, ribs 22 are formed at the left and right ends and the center of the front and rear transport path upper side walls 21.

The locking means 18 comprises a knob 23, a shaft 24 fixed to the knob 23, and a stop pin 25 penetrating the shaft 24 in the radial direction. Shaft 24 is holder 1
6 is prevented from dropping through a hole 26 provided in 6 and being stopped by a locking pin 25. As shown in FIG. 5, a locking pin 25 is provided on the lower surface of a portion around the hole 26 of the holder 16.
Is provided.

FIG. 6 shows the fixed frame 17. The fixed frame 17 is fixed to the main body frame 13 of the card reader, and forms a wall that defines the upper side of the card transport path 2.
At a position facing the locking means 18 of the fixed frame 17,
As shown in FIG. 2, a hole 28 is provided. A locking plate 29 is attached to the upper surface of the fixed frame 17 so as to cover the hole 28, and the tip of the shaft 24 and the stop pin 25 pass through the locking plate 29 at a position facing the hole 28. A slit 30 of a possible shape is provided. Therefore, by rotating the shaft 24 and adjusting the position of the stopper pin 25 to the shape of the slit 30, the tip of the shaft 24 can be inserted into the hole 28 or pulled out from the hole 28. Further, by rotating the shaft 24 and shifting the position of the stopper pin 25 from the slit 30, the tip of the shaft 24 inserted into the hole 28 can be prevented from falling out of the hole 28.

The pressing mechanism 6 includes, for example, the shaft 2 of the locking means 18.
4 is a coil spring disposed around the coil spring 4. The pressurizing mechanism 6 is provided in a compressed state between the knob 23 and the holder 16, and directs the holder 16 toward the card transport path 2.
That is, the opening and closing mechanism 7 is pressed in the opening and closing direction.

When the pre-head 33 detects the IC card 4 inserted into the card insertion slot 32 of the card reader, the drive motor 1 rotates to drive the card transport means 3. The card conveying means 3 includes, for example, four conveying roller pairs 3
4 to 37 are provided. The rotation of the drive motor 1 is controlled by a gear 38.
, And further transmitted to the conveying roller pair 34. The rotation of the transport roller pair 34 is performed by rotating the two transport roller pairs 35 and 36.
The rotation of the transport roller pair 35 is further transmitted to the transport roller pair 37.

When the IC card 4 taken into the card reader by the card conveying means 3 is conveyed to the image reading section 12 and passes below the contact type scanner 5, the image on the surface of the IC card 4 is converted by the contact type scanner 5. Is read.

Since the contact type scanner 5 attached to the holder 16 is pressed toward the card transport path 2 by the pressing mechanism 6, the ribs 22 come into contact with the surface of the IC card 4 and come into close contact with the IC card 4. The distance from the mold scanner 5 is kept constant. Even if the IC card 4 is curved, even if the bending of the IC card 4 is corrected by the pressing force of the pressing mechanism 6 or the bending cannot be completely corrected, the coil spring as the pressing mechanism 6 As the contact type scanner 5 retreats in accordance with the curvature of the IC card 4 due to the contraction, the distance between the IC card 4 and the contact type scanner 5 is always kept constant. Further, since the contact type scanner 5 retreats in accordance with the curvature of the IC card 4, no jam occurs during conveyance even if the IC card 4 is curved.

When the contact type scanner 5 is to be maintained, the locking means 18 may be removed from the fixed frame 17 and the opening / closing mechanism 7 may be opened. The tip of the shaft 24 can be pulled out from the hole 28 of the fixed frame 17 by rotating the knob 23 of the locking means 18 to adjust the position of the locking pin 25 to the shape of the slit 30 of the locking plate 29. Axis 24
The opening and closing mechanism 7 is opened by pulling out the front end of the holder 16 and raising the swing frame 15 around the shaft 14, and the reading surface of the contact type scanner 5 can be turned upward to facilitate maintenance. When the tip of the shaft 24 is pulled out from the hole 28 of the fixed frame 17, the pressing force of the pressing mechanism 6 tries to pull out the shaft 24 from the hole 26.
To prevent the stopper pin 25 from entering and catching in the recess 27 provided in the shaft 27, and the shaft 24 from falling off.

After the maintenance of the contact type scanner 5, the opening / closing mechanism 7 is closed. The holder 16 and the swing frame 15 are lowered around the shaft 14, and are locked to the fixed frame 17 by locking means 18. Locking pin 2 of locking means 18
By adjusting the position of 5 to the shape of the slit 30, the shaft 24
Can be inserted into the hole 28 of the fixed frame 17. By rotating the knob 23 to shift the position of the stopper pin 25 from the slit 30, the tip of the shaft 24 does not fall out of the hole 28 of the fixed frame 17, and the holder 16 and the swing frame 15 are fixed by the locking means 18. Locked to the frame 17.

In this card reader, since the holder 16 of the opening / closing mechanism 7 is pressed by the pressing mechanism 6, the distance between the IC card 4 and the contact type scanner 5 can be kept constant, and the depth of field can be maintained. This makes it possible to use the contact type scanner 5 having a small depth. The contact type scanner 5 is smaller than the reduced optical image scanner, and can reduce the size of the card reader.

Since the contact type scanner 5 captures an image while correcting the curvature of the IC card 4 by the pressing mechanism 6, the reading performance is improved.

Further, even if the curvature of the IC card 4 cannot be completely corrected, the contact type scanner 5 retreats due to the contraction of the coil spring serving as the pressing mechanism 6,
The height of the card transport path 2 changes according to the curvature of the IC card 4, so that the transport load can be reduced and card jams can be prevented.

Further, since the contact type scanner 5 is opened / closed by the opening / closing mechanism 7, maintenance properties such as cleaning of dust and the like adhering to the light emitting / receiving surface (glass) of the contact type scanner 5 are improved.

Further, since the holder 16 of the opening / closing mechanism 7 is pressed by the pressing mechanism 6 and the opening / closing direction of the opening / closing mechanism 7 and the pressing direction of the pressing mechanism 6 are matched, so to speak, Since the opening / closing mechanism 7 is also used, an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed, and the production cost can be reduced.

The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above description, the opening / closing mechanism 7 has a structure in which the opening / closing mechanism 7 swings about the shaft 14 to open and close in the vertical direction, and the holder 16 is pressed downward by the pressing mechanism 6, but this structure is not necessarily required. It is not limited to. For example, the holder 16 is moved up and down along a guide or the like (not shown) to enable maintenance, and the pressing mechanism 6
Alternatively, the holder 16 may be pressed downward. Further, the holder 16 may be removable.

In the above description, a compression coil spring is used as the pressurizing mechanism 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this. You may.

Further, in the above description, a card reader provided with a contact type IC contact block 8 is taken as an example, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this type of card reader. Further, the present invention may be applied to a card reader without the magnetic head 9 or a card reader without the IC contact block 8.

[0032]

As described above, in the card reader according to the first aspect, a contact-type scanner for reading an emboss formed on a card being conveyed, and a pressurizing device for pressing the contact-type scanner so as to be in close contact with the card. With the mechanism, a contact type scanner having a small depth of field can be used, and the size of the card reader can be reduced. Further, since the image can be taken in by the close contact type scanner while correcting the curvature of the card by the pressing mechanism, the reading performance is improved. Further, even when the curvature of the card cannot be completely corrected, the contact type scanner can be escaped by the pressurizing mechanism, so that the transport load of the card can be reduced and the card jam can be prevented.

In the card reader according to the second aspect,
Since the contact type scanner and the pressurizing mechanism have an opening and closing mechanism that can move in the direction of approaching and separating from the card transport path, maintenance of the contact type scanner becomes easy. In addition, the pressing direction of the pressing mechanism and the moving direction of the contact type scanner and the pressing mechanism by the opening / closing mechanism become the same, so that the parts of the pressing mechanism and the opening / closing mechanism can be shared, thereby suppressing an increase in the number of parts. As a result, manufacturing costs can be reduced.

In this case, like the card reader according to the third aspect, the opening / closing mechanism includes a swing frame that is swingably attached to the main body frame by a shaft, a holder fixed to the swing frame, It is preferable to provide a locking means for locking the holder to the fixed frame.

Further, like the card reader according to the fourth aspect, the locking means includes a knob, a shaft fixed to the knob,
It is preferable to provide a stop pin which penetrates this shaft in the radial direction.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of an embodiment of a card reader to which the present invention is applied, viewed from a side thereof.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an image reading unit of the card reader in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an image reading unit of the card reader.

FIG. 4 is a view showing ribs provided on a holder of the card reader.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a holder of the card reader.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a fixed frame of the card reader.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 drive motor 2 card transfer path 3 card transfer means 4 IC card 5 close-contact scanner 6 pressurizing mechanism 7 opening and closing mechanism 13 main body frame 14 shaft 15 swing frame 16 holder 17 fixed frame 18 locking means 23 knob 24 fixed to knob Shaft 25 Stop pin

Continued on front page F-term (reference) 3E040 AA03 BA07 DA04 FG03 FG14 FG15 5B047 AA30 BA01 BB02 BC00 CA00 5B072 AA02 AA03 BB00 CC02 CC26 DD02 DD21 JJ01 JJ06 JJ08

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A card reader in which a card is conveyed in a card conveyance path by card conveyance means driven by a drive motor, wherein the card reader reads an emboss formed on the card being conveyed, and a card reader which reads the emboss. A card reader comprising: a pressure mechanism configured to press the card so as to be in close contact with the card. 2. The card reader according to claim 1, further comprising an opening / closing mechanism capable of moving the contact type scanner and the pressing mechanism in a direction approaching / separating from the card transport path. 3. The swing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing mechanism includes a swing frame attached to the body frame so as to be swingable by a shaft, a holder fixed to the swing frame, and locking means for locking the holder to the fixed frame. The card reader according to claim 2, comprising: 4. The card reader according to claim 3, wherein the locking means includes a knob, a shaft fixed to the knob, and a stop pin penetrating the shaft in the radial direction.