JP2004185511A - Manual card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manual card reader capable of enhancing magnetic readability when a card is inserted. <P>SOLUTION: In the manual card reader 1, a recessed part 4 for card insertion/retrieval of a shape withdrawn in a card insertion direction F is provided on a frame 3 forming a card insertion opening 2, and it is composed so that a card 5 is inserted from the recessed part 4 from the card insertion opening 2 to a card stopping position, and then the card 5 is drawn out. The manual card reader 1 is provided with guides 19 formed on both sides of the frame 3 to guide the card 5 when it is inserted, a detection sensor 12 arranged in a card drawing out direction B side of the recessed part 4 to detect the card 5, and an energizing member 20 attached to a guide 19 side opposite to a side wherein the detection sensor 12 is arranged to energize the card 5 against the guide 19 of a detection sensor 12 side. A card drawing out direction side end 20a of the energizing member 20 is arranged closer to a card insertion direction F side than the card insertion opening 2. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a manual card reader that reads and writes information from and to a card such as a magnetic card and an IC card. More specifically, the present invention relates to a card guide mechanism of a manual card reader.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIG. 6, this type of manual card reader has a card insertion / removal recess 102 having a shape inserted into a card insertion direction (arrow in the drawing) in a frame 101 forming a card insertion slot 100. I have. Then, the card is inserted from the recess 102 to the card stop position through the card insertion slot 100, and then the card is pulled out.
[0003]
Further, in order to enhance the readability of the card by the magnetic head 103, a shift lever 105 for pressing the card against the card reference surface 104 may be provided on the opposite side of the card reference surface 104 in some cases. The shift lever 105 is urged toward the card reference surface 104 by an urging spring 106. Further, one side of the card is guided only by the card reference surface 104, and the other side is guided only by the shift lever 105.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described manual card reader, one side of the card is guided only by the movable shifting lever 105, so that it is difficult to determine the orientation of the card in the left-right direction when the card is inserted, which causes a magnetic read error. There is a risk. For this reason, reading by the magnetic head 103 must be performed at the time of card withdrawal, not at the time of card insertion.
[0005]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a manual card reader that can enhance magnetic readability when a card is inserted.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a card insertion / removal recess having a shape inserted into a card insertion direction in a frame forming a card insertion slot, and the card is inserted from the card insertion slot through the recess. In a manual card reader that is configured to be inserted to the stop position and then to pull out the card, a guide formed on both sides of the frame to guide when inserting the card and a card that is arranged on the side of the recess in the card pulling direction and detects the card And a biasing member attached to the guide side opposite to the side on which the detection sensor is disposed and biasing the card toward the guide on the detection sensor side, and the biasing member is in the card pull-out direction. The end is on the card insertion direction side of the card insertion slot.
[0007]
Therefore, when inserting the card, the card is guided on both sides by the guide composed of the frame, so that it is easier to properly determine the card insertion direction than when the card is guided by the movable member at the time of insertion. Can be. That is, the inclination in the left-right direction when the card is inserted is suppressed.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the manual card reader according to the first aspect, the end of the biasing member in the card withdrawing direction is located between the card insertion slot and the detection sensor. Therefore, the detection speed is detected by the detection sensor after the card is inserted and comes into contact with the urging member, so that the moving speed of the card is constant at the time of detection by the detection sensor. Therefore, the magnetic readability while inserting the card can be improved.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail based on the best mode shown in the drawings. 1 to 5 show an example of an embodiment of a manual card reader 1 according to the present invention. This manual card reader 1 is provided with a card insertion / removal recess 4 having a shape inserted into the card insertion direction F in a frame 3 forming a card insertion slot 2, and a card 5 is inserted from the recess 4 through the card insertion slot 2. The card 5 is inserted to the stop position, and then the card 5 is pulled out. The manual card reader 1 includes guides 19 formed on both sides of the frame 3 for guiding the insertion of the card 5, a detection sensor 12 disposed on the side B of the recess 4 in the card withdrawing direction and detecting the card 5. And a biasing member 20 attached to the guide 19 on the side opposite to the side on which the detection sensor 12 is arranged to bias the card 5 against the guide 19 on the detection sensor 12 side. The end 20a of the biasing member 20 in the card withdrawing direction is closer to the card insertion direction F than the card insertion slot 2. For this reason, when the card 5 is inserted, the card 5 is guided on both sides by the guide 19 composed of the frame 3, so that the insertion direction of the card 5 can be easily and appropriately determined.
[0010]
The urging member 20 includes a lever 21 rotatably supported by the support shaft 14 near the card insertion completion position, and first urging means 9 for urging the lever 21 toward the card 5. The first urging means 9 comprises a tension coil spring as shown in FIG.
[0011]
The end 20 a of the urging member 20 in the card pulling-out direction is located between the card insertion slot 2 and the detection sensor 12. For this reason, since the detection is performed by the detection sensor 12 after the card 5 is inserted and abuts on the urging member 20, the moving speed of the card 5 becomes constant when the detection is performed by the detection sensor 12.
[0012]
Further, in the manual card reader 1, a shutter 6 for preventing foreign matter from being inserted into the card reader 1 from the recess 4, a first locking means 7 provided at one end of the shutter 6 so as to be able to contact and separate, and a shutter 6. And a second lock means 8 provided at the other end of the device so as to be capable of coming and going. For this reason, since the shutter 6 is provided, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering from outside. Further, since the two locking means 7 and 8 are provided, the locking force can be increased. Further, since the two lock means 7 and 8 are formed at both ends of the shutter 6, the lock cannot be released unless a card-shaped one is used, so that security can be improved.
[0013]
The first locking means 7 is formed on the lever 21 of the biasing member 20. Further, the manual card reader 1 is provided with a second urging means 10 for urging the second locking means 8 in the direction of locking by contacting the second locking means 8 with the shutter 6. The urging force of the first urging means 9 is set to be larger than the urging force of the second urging means 10. Therefore, when the card 5 is inserted between the two locking means 7 and 8, the card 5 is pressed by the first urging means 9 toward the second locking means 8. By setting the second lock means 8 side to the reference surface 11 in this manner, the card 5 can be always brought closer to the reference surface 11.
[0014]
Further, in the present embodiment, the detection sensor 12 is a pre-head composed of a magnetic head disposed outside the shutter 6. The first lock means 7 unlocks the card 5 after the card 5 is inserted and before the card 5 reaches the detection sensor 12, and the second lock means 8 controls the shutter after the card 5 has passed the detection sensor 12. It is assumed that the lock is released immediately before the vehicle reaches 6. For this reason, since the first locking means 7 having a large return force is operated before the card 5 passes through the detection sensor 12, the magnetic stripe reading performance of the detection sensor 12 can be improved. Further, since the second lock means 8 is operated immediately before the card 5 reaches the shutter 6, the insertion of foreign matter and the like can be prevented as much as possible.
[0015]
The shutter 6 is an overall shutter that completely blocks the card travel path. The shutter 6 is integrally formed with a rotation fulcrum shaft that engages with a bearing portion of the main body frame 3. Therefore, the number of components can be minimized. A shutter return spring 13 composed of a torsion coil spring is provided on the rotation fulcrum shaft. Each arm of the shutter return spring 13 is hooked on the shutter 6 and the main body frame 3. The shutter 6 is always biased to a closed state.
[0016]
Here, the axial lengths of the shutter 6 and the spring accommodating portion of the main body frame 3 are set slightly shorter than the length of the shutter return spring 13. For this reason, a biasing force is applied to the shutter 6 along the axial direction on the side opposite to the spring accommodating portion. Therefore, the shutter 6 is prevented from dropping from the main body frame 3. That is, the shutter return spring 13 also has a function of holding the position of the shutter 6.
[0017]
The first lock means 7 is provided with a sensor 15 for detecting the operation of the first lock means 7, as shown in FIG. For this reason, the insertion of the card 5 can be detected by the first locking means 7 provided with the sensor 15, so that the first locking means 7 can serve both as a shutter locking member and a card insertion detecting member. . Therefore, the number of components can be minimized, and the insertion of the card 5 can be detected even when the detection sensor 12 cannot detect the insertion of the card 5 when the card having no magnetic stripe is inserted. In the present embodiment, the sensor 15 is a photo interrupter, and the first lock means 7 is provided with a shield 16 for turning the sensor 15 on and off. Therefore, when the card 5 is inserted and the first lock means 7 rotates, the sensor 15 is switched on and off, and the inserted or uninserted state of the card 5 is detected.
[0018]
As shown in FIG. 5, the second locking means 8 is rotatably supported with the central axis 17 at the front side of the shutter 6 in the card insertion direction. The second urging means 10 is composed of a torsion coil spring. The lock engagement portion 18 of the second lock means 8 to the shutter 6 is provided so as to be shifted from the card running surface in the card thickness direction. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the lock engagement portion 18 from hindering the travel of the card 5.
[0019]
The operation of the above-described manual card reader 1 will be described below.
[0020]
When the card 5 is not inserted, the shutter 6 is closed and the locks 7 and 8 are urged by the urging means 9 and 10 to lock the shutter 6 in the closed state. I have. In this state, the shutter 6 is not opened even if the shutter 6 is pushed by a foreign object such as a coin or a wire.
[0021]
When the card 5 is inserted into the card insertion slot 2, the card 5 is guided by the frame 3 without tilting in the left-right direction. Further, the card 5 pushes out the lever 21 of the biasing member 20. As a result, the card 5 is pressed toward the reference surface 11 by the first urging means 9, so that the accuracy of the magnetic lead by the detection sensor 12 can be improved.
[0022]
Further, when the card 5 is inserted, the first lock means 7 is pushed by the card 5 and rotates until the shutter 6 is unlocked. When the card 5 is further inserted, the second locking means 8 is pushed by the card 5 and rotates until the shutter 6 is unlocked. At this time, since the lock of the shutter 6 is completely released, the shutter 6 can be opened. Therefore, when the card 5 reaches the shutter 6, the shutter 6 is pushed open by the card 5.
[0023]
On the other hand, when the inserted card 5 is pulled out, the shutter 6 is closed by the shutter return spring 13 when the card 5 comes out of the shutter 6. When the card 5 is further removed, the pressing of the second lock means 8 by the card 5 is stopped, and the second lock means 8 is urged by the second urging means 10 to lock the shutter 6. Further, when the card 5 is further removed, the pressing of the first lock means 7 by the card 5 is stopped, and the first lock means 7 is urged by the first urging means 9 to lock the shutter 6.
[0024]
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 spirit of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the urging member 20 includes the lever 21 and the first urging means 9, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and the urging member 20 may include a single leaf spring.
[0025]
Further, in the present embodiment, a shutter mechanism that is linked to the urging member 20 is provided.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the manual card reader according to the first aspect, when the card is inserted, the card is guided on both sides by the guide composed of the frame. In this case, the card insertion direction can be easily and appropriately determined as compared with the case where the card is inserted. That is, the inclination in the left-right direction when the card is inserted is suppressed. Therefore, the magnetic readability at the time of insertion can be improved.
[0027]
According to the manual card reader of the present invention, since the detection is performed by the detection sensor after the card is inserted and comes into contact with the urging member, the moving speed of the card is constant at the time of detection by the detection sensor. . That is, it is possible to prevent the card speed from changing due to the card contacting the urging member during the magnetic read. Therefore, the speed fluctuation of the card during the magnetic read can be suppressed, and the magnetic readability can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a state where a card is inserted into a manual card reader according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a card is inserted into a manual card reader.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where a card is removed from a manual card reader.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a first lock unit.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a second lock unit.
FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a conventional manual card reader.
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 manual card reader 2 card insertion slot 3 frame 4 recess 5 card 12 detection sensor 19 guide 20 biasing member

Claims (2)

A card insertion / removal recess having a shape inserted into the card insertion direction is provided in a frame forming a card insertion slot, a card is inserted from the recess to the card stop position from the card insertion slot, and then the card is pulled out. In the manual card reader having the above structure, a guide formed on both sides of the frame and guiding the insertion of the card, a detection sensor arranged on the side of the recess in the card pulling direction to detect the card, and a detection sensor for detecting the card And a biasing member attached to the guide side opposite to the side on which the card is disposed to bias the card toward the guide on the detection sensor side. A manual card reader characterized by being on the card insertion direction side of the mouth. 2. The manual card reader according to claim 1, wherein an end of the urging member on the side of the card withdrawing direction is located between the card insertion slot and the detection sensor. 3.

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