JP2004362407A - Card slot mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a card from being inserted in a reverse direction without increasing the costs and size of a device. <P>SOLUTION: A card slot mechanism 1 for a card reader receives a card to be inserted into the card reader. A projected part 5 projected to the thickness direction of a card is formed on a part of a card slot 4. The projected part 5 is constituted of a taper part 6 having a taper surface 8 formed so that the card thickness direction size of the card slot 4 is continuously reduced from the card insertion side to the card inserting direction and a first parallel surface 9 oriented to the card inserting direction continuously to the taper surface 8 and parallel with the card inserting direction and a rectangular part 7 having a rectangular surface 10 formed rectangularly to the card inserting direction, a second parallel surface 11 oriented from the card thickness direction inside end of the rectangular surface 10 to the card inserting direction and parallel with the card inserting direction and a third parallel surface 12 oriented from the thickness direction outside end of the rectangular surface 10 to a card ejecting direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a card insertion mechanism of a card reader for reading and writing information of a card such as a magnetic card and an IC card. More specifically, the present invention relates to a card insertion slot mechanism for preventing a card from being inserted upside down.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a card reader of a magnetic card having a magnetic stripe, usually, a magnetic head is arranged so that magnetic information can be read and written when the magnetic stripe is inserted on the upper right side in the insertion direction. Magnetic cards are often embossed. For this reason, if the user mistakenly inserts the magnetic stripe with the upper surface on the left side in the insertion direction, the embossed stamp may interfere with the magnetic head and damage the magnetic head, or the card may be jammed inside.
[0003]
In order to prevent this, a mechanism has been developed in which a predetermined position of the inserted card is sandwiched from above and below, the thickness is detected, the presence or absence of emboss is determined, and the insertion direction of the card is determined based on this. If it is determined that the card has been inserted in the opposite direction, the shutter of the card insertion slot is kept closed, thereby preventing the emboss from damaging the magnetic head.
[0004]
Also, a card insertion mechanism has been developed in which a pre-head made of a magnetic head is provided outside the card insertion slot, and the shutter of the card insertion slot is opened only when magnetic information of a magnetic stripe is read by the pre-head.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, each of the above-described card insertion mechanism requires a separate member such as a card thickness detection mechanism and a pre-head, so that the cost is increased and the size of the apparatus is increased.
[0006]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a card insertion slot mechanism that can prevent a card from being inserted in the reverse direction without increasing costs and increasing the size of the device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that in a card insertion mechanism of a card reader provided on a card insertion side for receiving a card into the card reader, a card thickness is partially added to the card insertion slot. And a tapered surface formed such that the dimension of the card insertion slot in the card thickness direction decreases continuously from the card insertion side toward the card insertion direction. A tapered portion having a first parallel surface parallel to the card insertion direction which is continuous with the taper surface in the card insertion direction, a right angle surface provided at right angles to the card insertion direction, and a card thickness of the right angle surface A third parallel plane parallel to the card insertion direction from the card thickness direction outer end perpendicular to the second parallel plane parallel to the card insertion direction from the inner side end to the card insertion direction. It is to be composed of a right-angled portion with and.
[0008]
Therefore, when a card having some protrusion is inserted at a position corresponding to the right-angled portion, the protrusion comes into contact with the right-angled surface and cannot be inserted any more. Therefore, it is possible to protect the internal mechanism of the card reader arranged on the far side of the right angle portion without using a separate member.
[0009]
When a card having no protrusion is inserted at a position corresponding to the right-angled portion, the card is guided by the tapered portion and inserted without contacting the right-angled surface. Therefore, the same smooth insertion as the conventional card insertion slot can be realized.
[0010]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the card insertion slot mechanism according to the first aspect, the card is an embossed card with an embossed mark, and is perpendicular to the embossed area with the embossed face of the card inserted in the opposite direction. A part is formed. Therefore, when the card is inserted in the opposite direction, the emboss abuts on the right-angled surface to prevent the card from being inserted.
[0011]
Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the card slot mechanism according to the first or second aspect, the card is a magnetic card having a magnetic stripe, and the convex portion avoids a magnetic stripe region provided with the magnetic stripe. To be formed.
[0012]
Therefore, when the card is inserted in the correct direction, the magnetic stripe does not hit the convex portion, so that wear and damage of the magnetic stripe can be suppressed.
[0013]
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.
[0014]
1 and 2 show an example of an embodiment of a card insertion slot mechanism 1 according to the present invention. The card insertion slot mechanism 1 is provided on the card insertion side to receive the card 3 into the card reader 2. The card insertion slot mechanism 1 has a projection 5 projecting in the card thickness direction at a part of the card insertion slot 4. The convex portion 5 is constituted by a tapered portion 6 and a right angle portion 7.
[0015]
The tapered portion 6 has a tapered surface 8 formed such that the dimension of the card insertion slot 4 in the card thickness direction continuously decreases from the card insertion side toward the card insertion direction, and is continuous with the tapered surface 8. A first parallel surface 9 parallel to the card insertion direction toward the card insertion direction. The right-angled portion 7 includes a right-angled surface 10 provided at right angles to the card insertion direction, and a second parallel surface parallel to the card insertion direction from the card thickness direction inner end of the right-angled surface 10 to the card insertion direction. 11 and a third parallel surface 12 parallel to the card insertion direction from the card thickness direction outer end of the right-angled surface 10 to the card ejection direction.
[0016]
In the present embodiment, the card 3 is an embossed card with an embossed stamp. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the right-angled portion 7 is formed in the embossed area 13 where the emboss of the card 3 inserted in the opposite direction is imprinted. Further, the card 3 is a magnetic card 3 having a magnetic stripe 14. The protrusion 5 is formed so as to avoid the region of the magnetic stripe 14 where the magnetic stripe 14 is provided.
[0017]
The thickness H of the card insertion slot 4 in the convex portion 5 is set to be equal to or more than the card thickness and equal to or less than the height obtained by adding the card thickness and the emboss height. Thereby, the emboss of the card 3 inserted in the opposite direction comes into contact with the right-angled surface 10. Here, the thickness of the card 3 is, for example, 0.76 mm, the height of the emboss is 0.48 mm, and the thickness H of the card insertion slot 4 in the projection 5 is 1.1 mm. However, it is a matter of course that the values are not limited to these values.
[0018]
A guide surface 15 for guiding the card 3 to the card insertion slot 4 is formed before and after the card insertion slot 4. The card reader 2 provided with the card insertion slot mechanism 1 reads and writes magnetic information on the magnetic card 3. The card reader 2 has a magnetic head 16 at the back of the card insertion slot 4 as shown in FIG.
[0019]
The operation of the above-described card insertion slot mechanism 1 will be described below.
[0020]
When the magnetic card 3 is inserted into the card insertion slot 4 in a normal direction, that is, with the magnetic stripe 14 on the right upper surface, the leading end of the card 3 is moved from the guide surface 15 on the outside of the card insertion slot 4 to the tapered surface 8 of the projection 5. It is guided to the card insertion slot 4. For this reason, it can prevent that the front-end | tip of the card 3 abuts on the right-angled surface 10, and is caught. The card 3 is inserted as it is without the emboss of the card 3 hitting the right-angled surface 10 of the convex portion 5. At this time, since the magnetic stripe 14 does not hit the protrusion 5, wear and damage of the magnetic stripe 14 can be suppressed. Then, information is read from and written to the inserted card 3 by the magnetic head 16.
[0021]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, when the magnetic card 3 is inserted in the reverse direction, that is, when the magnetic stripe 14 is placed on the upper surface on the left side, the emboss of the card 3 may be inserted into contact with the right-angled surface 10 of the convex portion 5. Can not. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the emboss from interfering with the magnetic head 16 and damaging the magnetic head 16.
[0022]
Here, when the low emboss card 3 whose emboss has been reduced due to abrasion or the like is inserted in the reverse direction, the emboss may not be brought into contact with the right-angled surface 10 and may be taken into the inside of the card reader 2. In this case, since the magnetic head 16 cannot read and write magnetic information, it is determined that the card 3 is abnormal, and the card 3 is conveyed in the reverse direction and ejected from the card insertion slot 4. At this time, since the card 3 is guided to the card insertion slot 4 by the guide surface 15 inside the card insertion slot 4, the card 3 can be discharged smoothly.
[0023]
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 card 3 is a magnetic card 3 having a magnetic stripe 14, but is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a contact IC card 3. In this case, the right angle portion 7 is provided on the card reader 2 on the upstream side in the insertion direction of the contact spring, for example. As a result, for example, when the card 3 is cracked and turned up is located on the upstream side of the contact spring, when the card 3 is to be inserted, the turned up portion comes into contact with the right-angled portion 7 to prevent insertion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the contact spring from being damaged. That is, in order to prevent the card 3 which may damage the internal mechanism of the card reader 2 from being transported, the right-angled portion 7 is provided at the card insertion slot 4 upstream of the easily damaged portion. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the protruding portion of the card 3 from abutting on the easily damaged portion.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the card insertion slot mechanism of the first aspect, when a card having any protrusion at the position corresponding to the right-angled portion is inserted, the protrusion comes into contact with the right-angled surface and the card can be further inserted. Can not. Therefore, it is possible to protect the internal mechanism of the card reader arranged on the far side of the right angle portion without using a separate member. Since no separate member is used, the cost and the size of the apparatus can be minimized. In addition, when two cards are erroneously inserted one after another, the projections come into contact with each other to prevent insertion.
[0025]
When a card having no protrusion is inserted at a position corresponding to the right-angled portion, the card is guided by the tapered portion and inserted without contacting the right-angled surface. Therefore, the same smooth insertion as the conventional card insertion slot can be realized.
[0026]
Further, according to the card insertion mechanism of the second aspect, when the card is inserted in the reverse direction, the emboss abuts on the right-angled surface to prevent the card from being inserted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the emboss from damaging the internal mechanism of the card reader.
[0027]
Further, according to the card insertion slot mechanism of the third aspect, when the card is inserted in the correct direction, the magnetic stripe does not hit the convex portion, so that wear and damage of the magnetic stripe can be suppressed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1A and 1B are views showing a card insertion slot mechanism according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1A is a front view, FIG. 1B is a side view showing a state cut along line II of FIG. 1A, and FIG. It is a partially enlarged view of (B).
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a main part of a card reader provided with a card insertion slot mechanism.
[Explanation of symbols]
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 card insertion slot mechanism 2 card reader 3 card 4 card insertion slot 5 convex portion 8 tapered surface 9 first parallel surface 6 tapered portion 7 right angle portion 10 right angle surface 11 second parallel surface 12 third parallel surface 13 emboss area 14 Magnetic stripe

Claims (3)

In the card insertion slot mechanism of the card reader provided on the card insertion side for receiving the card into the card reader, a projection projecting in a card thickness direction is formed in a part of the card insertion slot, and the projection is And a taper surface formed so that the dimension of the card insertion slot in the card thickness direction is continuously reduced from the card insertion side toward the card insertion direction, and a card insertion that is continuous with the taper surface in the card insertion direction. A tapered portion having a first parallel surface parallel to the direction, a right-angled surface provided at right angles to the card insertion direction, and parallel to the card insertion direction from the card thickness direction inner end of the right-angled surface to the card insertion direction. A right angle portion having a second parallel surface and a third parallel surface parallel to the card insertion direction from the card thickness direction outer end of the right angle surface to the card ejection direction. Card insertion slot mechanism to butterflies. 2. The card according to claim 1, wherein the card is an embossed card with an embossed stamp, and the right-angled portion is formed in an embossed area of the card inserted in the opposite direction, on which the emboss is stamped. 3. Insertion mechanism. 3. The card insertion mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the card is a magnetic card having a magnetic stripe, and the protrusion is formed so as to avoid a magnetic stripe region provided with the magnetic stripe. .

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