JP2006031432A - Card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card reader that reads/writes a card irrespective of the insertion direction of the card. <P>SOLUTION: The card reader comprises: a card inversion mechanism 2 for holding a card 8 ejected from a card reader body 1 to turn it on either or both of the longitudinal and lateral axes; and detection sensors 6 disposed between the card reader body 1 and the card inversion mechanism 2 to detect the position of data on the inserted card 8 if other detection sensors 5 can not detect the position of data on the card 8. If the card 8 is inserted upside down or back to front, the inserted card 8 is fed into the card inversion mechanism 2, which inverts the card 8 on either or both of the longitudinal and lateral axes according to the detected orientation of the card 8 to correct it in a correct card orientation before feeding it back into the card reader body 1 for processing by a recording/reproducing means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides a card reader for reading information recorded or stored from a card-like recording medium (referred to as a card-like medium in this specification) having information recording means such as a magnetic stripe or an IC chip, or writing information to the information recording means. About. More specifically, the present invention relates to a card reader that can automatically correct the orientation of the card-like medium even when the card-like medium is not inserted in a predetermined orientation.

  A conventional card reader includes a reading / writing unit corresponding to an information recording unit mounted on a card-like medium. For example, in the case of a card reader corresponding to a card-like medium provided with magnetic recording means (magnetic stripe, IC chip, etc.), an IC chip is mounted with a magnetic head for reading / writing magnetic data at a position corresponding to the magnetic stripe. In the case of a card reader corresponding to a card-like medium, a contact mechanism for reading / writing data of the IC card is arranged at a position corresponding to the contact of the IC chip. In the case of a card reader corresponding to a card-like medium having both a magnetic stripe and an IC chip, a contact mechanism for the magnetic head and the IC chip is provided at a predetermined position.

  The configurations of these conventional card readers can handle the card-like medium only when the card-like medium is set in the normal direction, and the card-like medium is inserted when the card-like medium is inserted in the wrong direction. Communication is not possible and the card must be returned to the customer and reinserted in the correct direction.

  However, the operation of reinserting the card so that the card is oriented in a predetermined normal direction is troublesome, and when it is repeated many times, some people feel stress. For example, even in an automatic teller machine (ATM), which is a typical device incorporating a card reader, such a task is laborious for those who are unfamiliar with its handling or who have disabilities. For this reason, it is desirable to provide a card reader that can be easily handled by anyone.

  Therefore, when reading / writing magnetic information to / from the magnetic card or printing with a printer, the magnetic card was inserted into the card slot in the reverse direction, or inserted in the reverse direction. Even in such a case, the card orientation is corrected so as to have a predetermined orientation, and then sent to a card reader or a printer to accurately perform subsequent processes such as reading / writing magnetic information and printing on the card surface. There has been proposed a card processing apparatus that can perform without any trouble (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-222608).

  The card processing device includes a card reversing mechanism between the card insertion slot and the card reader, and determines the orientation of the inserted card when a card is inserted into the card reversing mechanism, and determines a predetermined direction. The card reversing mechanism is rotated in the left and right direction and / or in the front and back direction so that the card is sent to a card reader or printer, and the subsequent processes such as reading / writing magnetic information and printing on the card surface are accurately performed. In addition, it should be possible to perform without problems.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the card reversing mechanism has a card reversing unit 103 that has a card insertion slot and holds the inserted card so that it can pass through, and supports the card reversing unit 103 so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction of the card. It comprises a seat plate 102 and a fixed frame 101 that supports the seat plate 102 so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction of the card, and the card reversing unit 103 is rotated in the front-back reversing direction (the left-right direction of the card) by the front-back reversing motor 108 The card reversing unit 103 is rotated in the front-rear direction together with the seat plate 102 by the front-rear reversing motor 110. The card reversing unit 103 is provided with a card transport motor 106 and a pair of four magnetic track sensors (not shown) for detecting magnetic tracks on both the left and right sides and top and bottom of the magnetic card, and is inserted into the card reversing unit 103. By driving the front / back (left / right) reversing motor 108 and / or the front / reverse reversing motor 110 from the result of detecting the magnetic track of the magnetic card, the card reversing unit 103 is rotated left / right together with the card transport motor 106 to be mounted, or further By rotating the card reversing unit 103 in the front-rear direction of the card together with the seat plate 102 including the front and back reversing motors 108, the magnetic card is controlled to be in a predetermined direction. Reference numeral 103c is a gear integral with the rotation unit 103, 107 is a gear for transmitting the rotation of the reversing motor 108 to the gear 103c, 104 is a transport roller, 105 is an interlocking gear coaxial with the transport roller 104, and 106R is an interlocking gear 105. A drive pinion that transmits the rotation of the motor 106, 109 is a shaft that rotatably supports the seat plate 102 against the fixed frame 101, and 109 R and 110 R are gears that transmit the rotation of the motor 110 to the shaft 109.

JP 2000-222608 A

  However, according to the card processing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-222608, the front / back reversing motor 108 needs a torque for rotating not only the card but also the card conveying motor 106 and the like. As for 110, torque for rotating the card reversing unit 103, the front / back reversing motor 108, the seat plate 102 and the like together is required. In particular, the load on the reverse motor 110 is high, and a large motor with high output is required in actual operation. For this reason, it is difficult to say that it is suitable for agile operation, that is, continuous high-speed processing.

  In addition, since a card reversal block is connected as a pre-process of magnetic information processing such as card writing / reading, a card inserted in a normal direction must pass through the card reversal block 103 and receive a determination. Otherwise, the card writing / reading process cannot be performed, which is one of the obstacles to high-speed processing.

  Furthermore, when the above-mentioned card reversing mechanism is to be attached to an existing card reader or the like incorporated in an ATM or the like, it is necessary to change the default insertion slot of the ATM or the like, and adjustment to match the insertion slot Parts need to be installed, leading to increased costs.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a card reader that is light in operating force and capable of high-speed processing. Another object of the present invention is to provide a card reader that can perform high-speed writing / reading processing of a card inserted in a normal direction. Furthermore, the present invention uses an existing card reader to automatically correct the card in a normal direction regardless of the direction in which the card is inserted, and to perform magnetic information processing such as writing / reading on the card-like medium. It is an object to make it possible to easily change to a card reader capable of executing

  To achieve this object, a card reader according to claim 1 is a card insertion slot into which a card-like medium is inserted, a first detection sensor for detecting the position of data on the card-like medium, and a card-like medium inserted into the card. Passes through a card transport path having a transport means for taking in from the mouth, a recording / playback means for recording / reproducing data on the card transport path, and a recording / playback means on the side opposite to the card insertion slot of the card transport path. A card reader main body for discharging the card-like medium from the card outlet when the first detection sensor cannot detect the position of the data of the inserted card-like medium; Hold the card-like medium ejected from the card reader body and rotate the card-like medium in the front-rear direction, left-right (front-back) direction, or both And a mechanism for detecting the position of the data on the card-like recording medium when the first detection sensor cannot detect the position of the data on the inserted card-like medium. 2 When a card-like medium is correctly inserted, information is processed by the recording / reproducing means and then discharged for return from the card insertion slot. When inserted in the reverse direction, the inserted card-like medium is fed into the card reversing mechanism, and the front and back and front and back directions of the card are detected, and the card is detected according to the detected orientation of the card-like medium. By reversing the reversing mechanism in the left-right direction, the front-rear direction, or both, the card-like medium is corrected to the correct card orientation and sent to the card reader for recording / re-recording. It is to be treated with means.

  Therefore, according to this card reader, when the position of the data on the card-like medium can be detected by the first detection sensor, it is determined that the card-like medium has been inserted in the correct orientation, and the information is processed by the recording / reproducing means. After going there, it is discharged from the card slot for return. Then, only when the position of the data on the card-like medium cannot be detected by the first detection sensor, the card reversing mechanism is determined from the outlet of the card reader main body in order to determine whether the card-like medium is oriented or whether it is a processing target. It is discharged to the side and detected by the second sensor. When the card-like medium is inserted in the reverse direction or the front-back direction from the data position of the card-like medium detected by the first detection sensor and the second detection sensor, the inserted card-like medium is reversed. The card is fed into the mechanism, and the card front / back and front / rear direction are detected, and the card reversing mechanism is reversed in the left / right direction, the front / rear direction, or both in accordance with the detected orientation of the card-like medium. The medium is corrected to the correct card orientation, sent to the card reader, and processed by the recording / reproducing means. Further, when it is determined that the inserted card-like medium is not a processing target in the card reader body, it is discharged from the card insertion slot for return.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the card reader according to the first aspect, wherein the card reversing mechanism holds the card-like medium so that it can pass and rotates in the front-rear direction of the card-like medium, and the card-like medium. Left and right rotation means for rotating the card-like medium in the left-right direction, and the card holding mechanism part for holding the card-like medium of each rotation means has no spatially intersecting part, only the card holding mechanism part Are driven independently of each other. In this case, the card-like medium discharged from the card discharge port of the card reader main body is a front-rear rotating means (reversing mechanism) and a left-right rotating means (reversing mechanism) according to the card orientation when discharged from the card discharge opening. By the cooperative operation of the two independent mechanisms, the original orientation is adjusted and then returned to the card reader body again. At this time, the direction of the card-like medium is changed by driving only the card holding mechanism portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the card reversing mechanism of the card reader according to the second aspect, the front / rear rotating means is disposed immediately after the card reader body, and the left / right rotating means is further disposed behind the front / rear rotating means. I am doing so. In this case, the card-like medium discharged from the card discharge port of the card reader body can be transferred to the left / right rotation means after changing the direction in the arbitrary direction by the front / rear rotation means, so The installation position of the rotating means can be set arbitrarily.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the card reversing mechanism of the card reader according to the third aspect is configured such that the front / rear rotating means is disposed immediately after the card reader main body, and the front / rear rotating means is rotated by 90 °. The left and right rotating means are arranged on an extension line in the medium passing direction so that the rotation axis of the front and rear rotating means and the rotation axis of the left and right rotating means are arranged in an orthogonal state. In this case, the card-like medium discharged from the card discharge port of the card reader body is changed in the direction rotated by 90 ° by the front / rear rotation means according to the card orientation when discharged from the card discharge port. To the left and right rotating means. The left and right direction of the card-like medium is changed by the rotation of the left and right rotation means, and the card-like medium is transferred again to the front and rear rotation means and then rotated again 90 degrees to rotate left and right, or 90 degrees forward rotation. As a result, the direction in the front-rear direction is also changed, so that the original direction is adjusted and then returned to the card reader body side.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the card reader according to the second or third aspect, the front / rear rotation means and the left / right rotation means are arranged in a line in the passing direction of the card-like medium. In this case, the card-like medium discharged from the card discharge port of the card reader body is reciprocated along a straight line, and the left and right rotating means rotate according to the card orientation when discharged from the card discharge port. The left and right directions are changed, and the front and rear direction is also changed by the rotation of the front and rear rotation means, so that the original direction is adjusted and then returned to the card reader body side.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the card reader according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the front / rear rotating means sandwiches the card-like medium and a conveyance path that holds the card-like medium in a passable manner. A pair of conveyance rollers that rotate in the front-rear direction of the card-like medium, a card conveyance motor that drives at least one of the conveyance rollers, and a motor that rotates the pair of conveyance rollers and the card-like medium in the front-rear direction. The left-right rotation means includes at least one of a conveyance path for carrying the card-like medium, a conveyance roller pair rotating in the left-right direction of the card-like medium while sandwiching the card-like medium, and a conveyance roller pair. A card transport motor for driving the roller, a pair of transport rollers and a motor for rotating the card-like medium in the left-right direction are provided. In this case, the card-like medium is held between the front and rear rotating means and the right and left rotating means and between the card reader main body with the card-like medium sandwiched between the conveyance roller pairs, and the card is used when rotating back and forth and when rotating left and right. Hold the medium.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the card reader according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the card reader body and the reversing mechanism both have independent drive sources and are independent units. It is configured. Therefore, the card reversing mechanism can independently carry out the card transport and reversing operation without depending on the power of the card reader body.

  Furthermore, the invention described in claim 8 is the card reader according to claim 3, wherein a card-like medium recovery box is provided below the left-right rotating means. In this case, when it is determined that the card-like medium discharged from the card discharge port of the card reader main body should be collected without being returned like an unauthorized card, the card-like medium is held by the front-rear rotating means. The card-like medium can be collected in the collection box by rotating the right-and-left rotation means slightly, tilting the card-like medium toward the collection box, and conveying the card-like medium toward the left-right rotation means in this state.

  As described above, according to the card reader of the first aspect, the card inserted in the normal direction can immediately start processing without passing through the card reversing mechanism, and the orientation of the card-like medium is determined in advance. Since the card orientation is determined and corrected only when the card orientation is not the target or the card-like medium to be processed, the processing speed can be improved. Moreover, even if the card is inserted in any direction, the card can be automatically corrected in the normal direction. For example, in the case of an ATM or the like in which the card reader is incorporated, it can be handled by a disabled person. In addition to being easy for everyone, it is possible to perform high-speed processing when it is inserted in the correct orientation, so that it is less likely to feel stress. Further, since the card reversing mechanism is arranged at the rear position of the card reader main body, the card reversing mechanism can be easily added to the existing card reader to constitute the card reader of the present invention, so that the existing card reader is used. Thus, the present invention can be realized at a low cost, and the convenience of an existing card reader can be improved.

  Further, according to the card reader of claim 2, since only the card holding mechanism portion needs to be driven when changing the orientation of the card-like medium, the load of the reversing motor as the driving source of each rotating means is low, A large motor with high output is not required, and continuous high-speed processing is possible. Further, since only the card holding mechanism portion is rotated, the mechanism is simple and maintenance is easy. Therefore, equipment cost and maintenance cost can be reduced.

  According to the card reader of the third aspect, the card-like medium discharged from the card discharge port of the card reader main body can be transferred to the left-right rotation means after the direction is changed in the arbitrary direction by the front-rear rotation means. Therefore, there is a degree of freedom in arrangement that the installation position of the left and right rotation means can be arbitrarily set according to the restriction of the installation space. For example, even when installing in a space with various installation restrictions such as inside an ATM, the card reversing mechanism should be arranged in any direction such as front-rear arrangement, vertical arrangement, or diagonal arrangement according to the empty space. Can do.

  According to the card reader of claim 4, since the front and rear rotating means and the left and right rotating means can be arranged vertically, the installation space in the depth direction can be shortened. For example, when the card reader is incorporated in an ATM, the dimension in the depth direction is reduced. Can be shortened.

  According to the card reader of claim 5, since the card-like medium moves back and forth on a straight line and is returned to the card reader main body side after being arranged in a normal direction, it is possible to perform a quick process. .

  According to the card reader of the sixth aspect, the card reversing mechanism has its own drive source, and it is not necessary to divert the power of the card reader body. In addition, the card conveyance and reversing functions have independent power sources, and as a completely independent unit, it does not depend on the power of existing equipment, so the settings when installing the card reversing mechanism are simplified and maintenance is easy. is there. In addition, the card-like medium is held between the front and rear rotation means and the right-and-left rotation means and between the card reader body and the card-like medium during front-and-rear rotation and right-and-left rotation with the pair of conveying rollers sandwiching the card-like medium. As a result, the card-like medium is not displaced or dropped out, and the card orientation can be reliably corrected.

  According to the card reader of the seventh aspect, since the card reader according to the present invention can be configured by simply adding the card reversing mechanism to the existing card reader, the cost can be reduced using the existing card reader. Thus, the present invention can be realized and the convenience of an existing card reader can be improved. In addition, both card transport and reversing functions have independent power sources, and as a completely independent unit, it does not depend on the power of existing equipment, so the settings when installing the card reversing mechanism are simplified and maintenance is easy. is there.

  According to the card reader of claim 8, since the card-like medium can be collected in the collection box by transporting the card-like medium to the left-right rotation means side after slightly rotating the front-rear rotating means, A separate drive mechanism for collecting the card-like medium is not required, so that the equipment cost and the maintenance cost can be reduced, and the space under the left and right rotating means can be effectively used to make it compact.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail based on the best mode shown in the drawings.

  1 to 11 show an example of an embodiment of the card reader of the present invention. This card reader is broadly divided into a card when a card-like recording medium (referred to as a card-like medium in this specification) 8 having a card reader main body 1 and an information recording unit 9 is not inserted in a predetermined direction. And a card reversing mechanism 2 that changes the direction of the medium 8. In the present embodiment, as the information recording unit 9, a JIS-standard magnetic stripe of one track is magnetized on the right side of the card-like medium 8 (right when viewed from the card in the card conveying direction), and the right side. There is an example in which a card-like medium in which a three-track ISO standard magnetic stripe is magnetized is provided below (the back side of the card).

  Here, the card reader body 1 performs predetermined magnetic processing on the card-like medium 8. In the case of this embodiment, the card reader body 1 and the card-like medium 8 on the card-like medium 8 are inserted. A first detection sensor 5 for detecting the position of data (magnetic stripe 9), a card transport path 11 for taking the card-like medium 8 into the card insertion slot 10 from the inside, and the magnetic strip data 9 on the card transport path 11 A recording / reproducing means (magnetic head) 7 for performing recording / reproducing, and a card outlet 12 for discharging the card-like medium 8 that has passed through the recording / reproducing means 7 on the opposite side of the card insertion port 10 of the card transport path 11; When the position of the data 9 of the inserted card-like medium 8 cannot be detected by the first detection sensor 5, the card-like medium 8 is provided to be discharged from the card discharge port 12.

  The conveying means includes three sets of conveying rollers 13 arranged along the conveying path 11 and a belt 14 stretched around the conveying rollers 13. One of the three sets of conveying rollers 13 is connected to the drive motor 15 by a toothed belt. By being connected through 16, it is driven to rotate. The card-shaped medium 8 is sandwiched between three sets of transport rollers 13 and can move along the transport path 11. In the figure, reference numeral 53 is a driven roller, and 54 is a driving gear arranged coaxially with one of the conveying rollers 13.

  Further, a pair of magnetic heads 7 serving as recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing on the magnetic stripe (data) 9 of the card-like medium 8 are installed in the middle of the conveyance path 11. The magnetic head 7 is for recording / reproducing with respect to a JIS standard magnetic stripe having one track on the upper side, and recording / reproducing with respect to a ISO standard magnetic stripe having three tracks on the lower side.

  A shutter 17 that prevents the card-like medium 8 from being taken in is disposed between the card insertion slot 10 and the transport path 11. The shutter 17 normally closes the transport path 11 and is temporarily opened by driving a solenoid 18. The solenoid 18 is driven by a control command from a controller (CPU) (not shown) when the card-shaped medium 8 having a specified width is detected by the card width detection sensor 19, and opens the shutter 17 to form a card-like shape. The medium 8 can be inserted into the card reader.

  Further, when detecting the card-like medium 8 having a specified width, the motor 15 of the conveying means is driven at the same time, and when the card-like medium 8 is inserted into the card-like medium 8, the tip of the card-like medium 8 is moved to the pair of conveying rollers 13, 53. And the card-like medium 8 is drawn into the card reader main body 1 by driving a motor.

  In the vicinity of the entrance of the card gate forming the card insertion slot 11, a card width detection sensor 19 for detecting the width of the card-like medium 8 and the right of the card-like medium 8 (the right of the card-like medium 8 when viewed from above the card) And the first detection sensor 5 for reading the magnetic stripe 9 at the same position. The first detection sensor 5 reads the magnetic stripe 9 on the right side of the card-like medium 8 and is installed above and below the same position. The upper first sensor 5 reads a 1-track JIS standard magnetic stripe, and the lower first sensor 5 reads a 3-track ISO standard magnetic stripe.

  A sensor that detects the position of the magnetic stripe 9 that cannot be detected by the first detection sensor 5 of the card reader body 1, that is, the left side of the card-like medium 8, is located outside the card discharge port 12 near the end of the conveyance path of the card reader body 1. The second detection sensors 6 for reading the magnetic stripe 9 located on the left (when viewed from above the card in the card conveying direction) are arranged above and below the same position. The second detection sensor 9 is attached to the front end portion of the frame 21 of the card reversing mechanism 2, and the card-like medium 8 ejected from the card reader main body 1 between the reversing mechanism 2 and the card reader main body 1 substantially. Reads the magnetic stripe 9 on the left side of the card-like medium 8 while moving to the reversing mechanism (front / rear rotation means and left / right rotation means) 2, and detects the first detection sensor 5, that is, the detection sensor installed in the existing card reader. It is used as information for complementing the function and determining the card orientation. The second detection sensor 6 uses a pre-head similar to the first detection sensor 5.

  Behind the card reader body 1 is provided a card reversing mechanism 2 for holding the card-like medium 8 discharged from the card reader body 1 and rotating it in either the front-rear direction or the left-right direction or both. The card reversing mechanism 2 has a unique drive source and is configured as a unit independent of the card reader body 1. Therefore, the card reversing mechanism 2 can independently carry out the card conveyance and reversing operation without depending on the power of the card reader main body 1, and only connects the frame portions 20 and 21 to the card reader main body 1. The card reversing mechanism 2 can be attached to the card reader body 1.

  Here, the card reversing mechanism 2 holds the card-like medium 8 so that it can pass and rotates it in the front-rear direction of the card-like medium 8, and the left-right direction of the card-like medium 8 while holding the card-like medium 8 therebetween. Left and right rotating means 4 and the card holding mechanisms 22 and 23 for holding the card-like medium 8 of each of the rotating means 3 and 4 have no portion where they intersect spatially, and the card holding mechanisms 22 and 23 Only are driven independently of each other. For example, the front and back of the L-shaped frame 21 connected to the frame 20 of the card reader main body 1 project vertically from the side wall surface 21s parallel to the card conveyance direction (so as to cross the card conveyance direction). The rotating shaft of the reversing mechanism 3 is arranged, and the rotating shaft of the left / right reversing mechanism 4 is so projected as to protrude perpendicularly from the wall surface 21b to the abutting wall surface 21b orthogonal to the card conveying direction (so as to project in the card conveying direction). The card holding mechanisms 22 and 23 for holding the card-like medium 8 of each of the rotating means 3 and 4 are sufficiently separated from each other so that they do not interfere with each other when rotating with the card-like medium 8 held. Has been. In the case of the present embodiment, the front / rear rotating means 3 is disposed immediately after the card reader main body 1 and the left / right rotating means 4 is further disposed behind the front / rear rotating means 3. Are arranged in a line in the passing direction of the medium 8.

  The front / rear rotation means 3 includes a pair of transport rollers 24 that sandwich and transport the card-like medium 8 and holds the card-like medium 8 with the pair of transport rollers 24 and rotates in the front-rear direction of the card-like medium 8. The holding mechanism 3, a card conveyance motor 25 that drives at least one of the conveyance rollers 24, and a motor 26 that rotates the card holding mechanism 22 in the front-rear direction. The card holding mechanism 22 is used to reverse a roller holder 29 including a card receiving plate 27 that forms part of the card transport path and supports one of the transport rollers 24 and a roller receiver 28 that supports the other of the transport rollers 24. It is attached to the side surface of the gear 30 and is rotated in the longitudinal direction of the card without breaking the mutual positional relationship between the pair of upper and lower conveying rollers 24 that sandwich the card-like medium 8 with the rotation of the forward / reverse reversing gear 30. Is provided. Further, the roller holder 29 is provided with a card detection sensor 31 used for control for detecting the edge of the passing card-like medium 8 and stopping the card-like medium 8 at a predetermined position. The transport roller pair 24 is driven by rotating one of them as a drive roller via a drive shaft 34 connected via a toothed belt 33 and a card transport drive gear 32 arranged outside the frame side wall 21s. Is done. The drive shaft 34 is rotatably mounted between the frame side wall 21s and the shaft mounting chassis 35 so as to protrude from the frame side wall 21s. The drive shaft 34 passes through the rotational center of the front / reverse reversing gear 30 and is disposed at the center of the line connecting the rotational centers of the transport roller pair 24. One of the gears of the transport roller pair 24 is illustrated via a gear (not shown). It is provided to be engaged with a gear that does not drive. The front / reverse reversing gear 30 is rotatably supported with respect to the frame side wall 21s, and is connected to the front / rear reversing driving motor 26 installed on the side wall 21s via a toothed belt 37. The reversing drive motor 26 is provided so as to rotate by a predetermined angle. Therefore, if the front / reverse reversing gear 30 is rotated with the card-like medium 8 held between the conveying roller pair 24, only the card holding mechanism 22 attached to the side surface of the front / rear reversing gear 30 holds the card-like medium 8. It is rotated in the front-rear direction while being held. The card transport drive gear 32 is connected to a card transport drive gear 38 projecting out of the frame side wall 21 s via a toothed belt 39.

  The left-right rotating means 4 includes a pair of transport rollers 40 that sandwich and transport the card-like medium 8, and rotates in the left-right direction of the card-like medium 8 while sandwiching the card-like medium 8 by the pair of transport rollers 40. It has a card holding mechanism 23, a card carrying motor 25 that drives at least one of the carrying rollers 40, and a motor 41 that rotates the card holding mechanism 24 in the left-right direction. The card holding mechanism 23 is used to reverse a roller holder 44 that is a part of a card transport path and includes a card receiving plate 42 that supports one of the transport rollers 40 and a roller receiver 43 that supports the other of the transport rollers 40. It is attached to the side surface of the gear 45, and is rotated in the left-right direction of the card without breaking the mutual positional relationship between the pair of upper and lower transport rollers 40 sandwiching the card-like medium 8 with the rotation of the left-right reversing gear 45. Is provided. Further, the roller holder 44 is provided with a card detection sensor 46 which is used for controlling the edge of the card-like medium 8 passing through and the like to stop the card-like medium 8 at a predetermined position. The pair of transport rollers 40 is driven by rotating one of them as a drive roller via a rotation shaft 47 of a card transport drive gear 32 installed on the frame side wall 21s. The rotation shaft 47 is rotatably mounted so as to protrude from the frame side wall 21s between the frame side wall 21s and the bearing 48 installed on the side wall 21s. The gear 57 provided at the tip of the rotating shaft 47 is arranged at a position that does not interfere with the card holding mechanism 23 (roller holder 44) that rotates in the left-right direction and at the center on the line connecting the respective rotation centers of the pair of card transport rollers 40. Then, one of the gears 56 installed at the shaft ends of the respective rotation shafts of the respective transport rollers 40 is engaged with both of the left and right reversal stroke ends (card front position and back position), and one of the pair of transport rollers 40 is engaged. It is provided to drive. The left / right reversing gear 45 is rotatably supported with respect to the frame bottom wall 21b, and a drive gear 50 and a toothed belt 51 of a left / right reversing driving motor 41 installed on the bottom wall 21b via a bracket 49. And is provided so as to rotate by a predetermined angle by the rotation of the left-right reversing drive motor 41. Therefore, if the left-right reversing gear 45 is rotated in a state where the card-like medium 8 is sandwiched between the pair of conveying rollers 40, only the card holding mechanism 23 attached to the side surface of the left-right reversing gear 45 is used. Rotate left and right while holding A collection box 52 for the card-like medium 8 is provided below the left / right rotating means 4.

  The operation of the card reader described above will be described below.

  First, when the card-like medium 8 is inserted into the card insertion slot 10 of the card gate, the card width detection sensor 19 detects the width of the card-like medium 8 and determines whether or not the card-like medium has a specified width. . When the card-like medium 8 having a specified width is detected, the shutter 17 is opened, and the card-like medium 8 can be inserted into the card reader body 1. Therefore, when the card-like medium 8 is further inserted, the leading end of the card-like medium 8 is sandwiched between the pair of transport rollers 13 and is drawn into the card reader body 1 by driving the motor.

  The drawn card-like medium 8 is transported toward the magnetic head 7 by a pair of transport rollers 13, 13, 13. In the meantime, the first detection sensor (pre-head) 5 detects the magnetic stripe 9 on the right side of the card-like medium 8 and outputs the position information of the magnetic stripe 9 to a CPU (not shown). Then, it is determined whether or not there is a magnetic stripe on either the upper right or the lower right of the card-like medium 8 (step 1).

  Here, as the card-like medium 8 to be processed, as shown in the figure, in the case of a card-like medium such as a cash card or a credit card having a magnetic stripe 9 in the card longitudinal direction (transport direction), the card-like medium One track of JIS standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the upper surface of the right side of FIG. 8 (right side when viewed from above in the card insertion direction), and three tracks of ISO standard magnetic stripe 9 are magnetized on the lower surface of the right side. For example, a card-like medium used for a cash card or a credit card is taken as an example.

  Therefore, when the magnetic stripe 9 is in the same direction as the corresponding magnetic head 7, the card-like medium 8 is determined to be a predetermined normal direction, and the magnetic head 7 performs a predetermined process as it is to perform the card-like medium 8. Is returned from the card insertion slot 10 to the user.

  If the magnetic stripe 9 and the magnetic head 7 do not face each other, it is determined that the card-like medium 8 is not in a predetermined normal direction, and the card-like medium 8 is sent out from the card discharge port 12 to the card reversing mechanism 2. . That is, a state other than the case where one track of the JIS standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the right side of the card-like medium 8, for example, the case where the three-track ISO standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized, or the right side If one track of the JIS standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized, or if the magnetic stripe 9 cannot be detected, it is sent to the card reversing mechanism 2 (see FIG. 6).

  Then, the second detection sensor 6 detects the magnetic stripe 9 on the left side of the card-like medium 8, and the position information of the magnetic stripe 9 is output to a CPU (not shown). Here, the orientation of the card-like medium 8 inserted or the presence or absence of the magnetic stripe 9 is detected by the second detection sensor 6 (step 2). That is, when a JIS standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the left side of the card-like medium 8 (or a three-track ISO standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the lower left side of the card-like medium 8. If the card-like medium 8 is in the opposite direction, it is determined that the card-like medium 8 is reversed left and right and reverse (that is, in a state where the card-like medium 8 is rotated 180 ° around an axis perpendicular to the card surface). When one track of JIS standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the lower right side (or when three tracks of ISO standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the upper right side of the card-like medium), It is determined that the direction of the card-like medium 8 is reversed in the front-rear direction (that is, a state where the card-like medium 8 is rotated by 180 ° around an axis in the short side direction of the card parallel to the card surface). When a JIS standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the lower left side of the card-like medium 8 (or a three-track ISO standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the left side of the card-like medium 8. The card-like medium 8 is determined to be in the opposite direction (that is, in a state where the card-like medium 8 is rotated 180 ° around the card longitudinal axis parallel to the card surface). Furthermore, in the case of a card in which the magnetic stripe 9 cannot be detected, it is determined that the card-like medium 8 is not a card-type medium to be processed by the card reader.

  Therefore, the card-like medium 8 determined to be not in the normal direction is sent to the front-rear reversing mechanism 3 or the left-right reversing mechanism 4 of the card reversing mechanism 2 according to the direction of the card-like medium 8, and corrected to the normal direction. Then, it is returned to the card reader body 1 again. And after performing a predetermined | prescribed process with the magnetic head 7, the card-like medium 8 is returned to the user from the card insertion slot 10. FIG.

  The orientation of the card-like medium 8 is corrected using, for example, a state in which the card-like medium 8 is stored in the left-right reversing mechanism 4 via the front-rear reversing mechanism 3. First, when one-track JIS standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the left side of the card-like medium 8 (or three-track ISO standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized on the lower left side of the card-like medium 8. If the card-like medium 8 is in the opposite direction, it is determined that the card-like medium 8 is reversed left and right and reverse (that is, in a state where the card-like medium 8 is rotated 180 ° around an axis perpendicular to the card surface). In this case, the card-like medium is first conveyed to the left-right reversing mechanism 4 via the front-reverse reversing mechanism 3 in order to reverse the card-like medium 8 left and right (step 3: see FIG. 7). The card-like medium 8 is stopped at a predetermined position by the card detection sensor 46 of the left / right reversing mechanism 4. Then, the card holding mechanism 23 (roller holder 44) attached to the gear 45 is rotated by rotating the left / right reversing gear 45 by 180 ° in a state where the card-like medium 8 is sandwiched between the pair of conveying rollers 40 based on a command from the CPU. ) Each card-like medium 8 is rotated in the left-right direction to reverse the card-like medium 8 in the left-right direction (step 4: see FIG. 8). Next, the card-like medium 8 is conveyed to the front / reverse reversing mechanism 3 in order to reverse the front and rear (step 5: see FIG. 9). The card-like medium 8 is stopped at a predetermined position by the card detection sensor 31 of the front / rear reversing mechanism 3. Then, the card holding mechanism 22 (roller holder 29) attached to the gear 30 is rotated by rotating the front / reverse reversing gear 30 by 180 ° in a state where the card-like medium 8 is sandwiched between the pair of transport rollers 24 based on a command from the CPU. ) Each card-like medium 8 is rotated in the front-rear direction to reverse the card-like medium 8 in the front-rear direction (step 6: see FIG. 10). Thereafter, the card-like medium 8 is returned to the card reader main body 1, and the card-like medium 8 is read / written in the normal direction (step 7).

  If one track of the JIS standard magnetic stripe 9 is magnetized in the lower right, the card-like medium 8 transported to the left-right reversing mechanism 4 once via the front-rear reversing mechanism 3 in step 3 is Then, the card-like medium 8 is conveyed to the front-reverse reversing mechanism 3 as it is (when ejected from the card reader body 1) without reversing the card-like medium 8 on the basis of a command from the CPU (step 5). Then, the card holding mechanism 22 (roller holder 29) attached to the gear 30 is rotated by rotating the front / reverse reversing gear 30 by 180 ° in a state where the card-like medium 8 is sandwiched between the pair of transport rollers 24 based on a command from the CPU. ) Each card-like medium 8 is rotated in the front-rear direction to invert the card-like medium 8 in the front-rear direction (step 6). Thereafter, the card-like medium 8 is returned to the card reader main body 1, and the card-like medium 8 is read / written in the normal direction (step 7).

  Further, when a JIS-standard magnetic stripe 9 of 1 track is magnetized at the lower left of the card-like medium 8, the card-like medium 8 sent to the left-right reversing mechanism 4 in step 3 is transferred based on a command from the CPU. The left and right reversing gear 45 is rotated by 180 °, and the card-like medium 8 attached to the gear 45 is rotated in the left-right direction for each card holding mechanism 23 (roller holder 44) to reverse the card-like medium 8 in the left-right direction. (Step 4). Next, based on the instruction of the CPU, the card-like medium 8 in which the front and back sides are reversed is returned to the card reader body 1 through the front-reverse reversing mechanism 3 as it is, and the card-like medium 8 is read / written in the normal direction. Implement (Step 7).

  In the present embodiment, the card-like medium 8 ejected from the card reader body 1 is once transported to the left / right reversing mechanism 4 via the front / rear reversing mechanism 3 (step 3), and thereafter in response to a command from the CPU. Return to the card reader main body 1 side through the front / rear reversing mechanism 3 and return it, or turn left and right and return to the card reader main body 1 side via the front / rear reversing mechanism 3, or After returning to the reversing mechanism 3 and further rotating back and forth, it is returned to the card reader body 1 side. However, in some cases, with the card-like medium 8 held by the front-reverse reversing mechanism 3 as a reference, it can be returned to the card reader main body 1 as it is and returned to the card reversing mechanism 4 in response to a subsequent CPU command. The medium 8 is moved and reversed left and right and then returned to the card reader body 1 side via the front and rear reversing mechanism 3, or moved to the left and right reversing mechanism 4 and reversed left and right and then returned to the front and rear reversing mechanism 3 and further rotated forward and backward. Then, it may be returned to the card reader body 1 side.

  When it is determined that the card-like medium discharged from the card discharge port 12 of the card reader body 1 should be collected without being returned like an unauthorized card, the card-like medium 8 is held by the front / rear rotating means 3. In this state, the front-rear rotating means 3 is slightly rotated so that the end on the left-right rotating means 4 side is lowered (in this embodiment, less than 45 °, preferably 10-30 ° in the counterclockwise direction in the state of FIG. The card-like medium 8 can be collected in the collection box 52 by tilting the card-like medium 8 toward the collection box 52 and transporting the card-like medium 8 to the left-right rotating means 4 in this state. .

  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 scope of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, the card back-and-forth rotation means 3 and the card left-right rotation means 4 constituting the card reversing mechanism 2 are arranged in a line in the passing direction of the card-like medium 8 in this order. Instead, the card left / right rotating means 4 may be arranged after the card reader body 1 and the card front / rear rotating means 3 may be arranged in a line in the passing direction of the card-like medium 8, or the left / right rotating means 4 behind the front / rear rotating means 3. Is arranged so that the card-like medium 8 discharged from the card discharge port 12 of the card reader body 1 is changed in the arbitrary direction by the front-rear rotation means 3 and then the left-right rotation means 4. Since it can be delivered, the installation position of the left-right rotation means 4 can be arbitrarily set according to the installation space. When the arrangement relationship between the front / rear rotation means 3 and the left / right rotation means 4 is not fixed on a straight line, there is a degree of freedom in arrangement that the installation position of the left / right rotation means 4 can be arbitrarily set according to the restrictions of the installation space. . For example, even when installed in a space with various installation restrictions such as inside an ATM, the card reversing mechanism 2 is located in a range that does not interfere with peripheral devices, such as front and rear, vertical, or diagonal arrangement according to the empty space. Can be placed in any orientation.

  Although not shown in the figure, the front / rear rotating means 3 is disposed immediately after the card reader main body 1 and the front / rear rotating means 3 is rotated 90 ° clockwise (above the front / rear rotating means 3) or 90 ° counterclockwise. If the left / right rotation means 4 is arranged on the extended line in the passing direction of the card-like medium 8 at the position rotated in the rotation direction (below the front / rear rotation means 3), the space for installing the card reader can be shortened in the depth direction. . In this case, when the card-like medium 8 is transferred from the front / rear rotating means 3 to the left / right rotating means 4, and conversely, the original of the front / rear rotating means 3 after being transferred from the left / right rotating means 4 to the front / rear rotating means 3. Although the rotation operation for returning the position takes more than in the case of being arranged in a straight line, it is preferable when the installation space in the depth direction is limited. The card orientation correction operation of the card-like medium 8 at this time is, for example, rotated left and right after changing the direction to 90 ° forward rotation by the front / rear rotating means 3 according to the card orientation when ejected from the card ejection port 12. After passing to the means 4, the left and right rotating means 4 changes the left and right direction of the card-like medium 8, and then it is received by the front and rear rotating means 3 again. Then, the card reader main body after the card orientation is adjusted to the normal direction after the card is rotated 90 degrees in the reverse direction and the card is rotated in the right-and-left direction. Returned to 1 side. Of course, when the card can be corrected to the normal card direction only by the forward / backward rotation, the card is rotated by 180 ° without being transferred to the left / right rotation means 4 and then returned to the card reader body 1 side.

  In the present embodiment, the drive unit 25, 26, 41, which is different from the card reader body 1, and the support frame 21 are configured as independent units that can be freely connected to or disconnected from the card reader body 1. However, in some cases, the power 25, 26, 41 and the support frame 21 may be configured to depend on the card reader body 1. In this case, the advantage of being able to easily connect the card reversing mechanism 2 to an existing card reader to configure the card reader of the present invention is lost, but if the card reversing mechanism 2 is installed from the beginning of manufacture, the card reader It not only can be easily assembled while sharing the drive source with the main body 1, but also has the advantage that the number of parts can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the card-like medium 8 is mainly described on the assumption that a plastic card such as a cash card or a credit card is mainly used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be used as a reversing device for a processing device that enables reading or writing of information from various magnetic media such as plastic cards other than cards and paper magnetic tickets, or IC chip mounting media. For example, it is also possible to install this card reversing mechanism at the rear of a conventional scanner machine for applications such as when it is desired to take images on both sides of a card with a scanner machine. In this case, it is not necessary to change the structure on the scanner machine side such as arranging the scanner on both sides.

  The detection sensors 5 and 6 of the embodiment are magnetic heads that detect the magnetic stripe of the magnetic card, but can also be applied as metal sensors that detect the IC contact of the contact IC card.

  The number of magnetic heads (magnetic sensors for detection) disposed in the card reader insertion slot 10 of the embodiment is two so as to correspond to the magnetic stripes on the front and back surfaces of the card. It is also possible to apply a magnetic head disposed only on the back surface (lower side in the figure). In this case, a magnetic head may be provided as a second detection sensor at a position where a magnetic stripe formed on the card surface facing the magnetic head can be detected. That is, in the present embodiment, the first sensor 5 that detects the position of data on the right side of the card-like medium 8 and the second sensor 6 that detects the position of data on the left side of the card-like medium 8 are respectively paired up and down. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In some cases, the first sensor 5 is installed only on one of the upper and lower sides (for example, only the upper side in the case of JIS correspondence only). It is also possible to apply. In this case, in addition to the upper and lower second sensors 6 that detect the position of data on the left side of the card-like medium 8 outside the discharge port 12 of the card reader body 1, the first sensor 5 is complemented to provide a card-like medium. 8 may be provided with a second detection sensor for detecting the lower right magnetic stripe (herein, the second sensor means a sensor provided outside the discharge port of the card reader body) 55. good.

It is a top view which shows an example of embodiment of the card reader of this invention, and shows the state which has a card-like medium in the front-back rotation means. It is a side view which shows schematic structure of the card reader of the state of FIG. It is a top view which shows the state which the card-shaped medium of the card reader moved to the left-right rotation means. It is a side view which shows schematic structure of the card reader of the state of FIG. It is a perspective view of the card reader of FIG. It is a perspective view in the state where the card-like medium discharged from the card reader body was conveyed to the front and rear rotating means. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the card-like medium in a state where the card-like medium is transferred from the front / rear rotation means to the left / right rotation means. It is a perspective view in the state where the card-like medium was reversed right and left. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the card-like medium of the state reversed right and left was moved to the front-back rotation means. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the card-like medium of the state reversed right and left rotated back and forth, and was correct | amended to the regular card direction. It is a flowchart explaining an example of card | curd direction correction operation | movement. It is a perspective view which shows the conventional card inversion mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card reader main body 2 Card inversion mechanism 3 Front-back direction rotation means 4 Left-right direction rotation means 5 1st detection sensor 6 2nd detection sensor 7 Magnetic head (reading / writing means)
8 Card-like medium 9 Magnetic stripe (information recording part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Card insertion port 11 Conveyance path 12 Card discharge port 13 Conveyance roller 21 Frame of card reversing mechanism 22 Card holding mechanism of front / rear rotation means 23 Card holding mechanism of left / right rotation means 24 Conveyance roller of front / rear rotation means 25 Conveyor roller driving motor 26 Drive motor for forward / backward rotation means 30 Gear for forward / backward rotation 40 Transport roller for left / right rotation means 41 Drive motor for left / right rotation means

Claims (8)

A card insertion slot for inserting a card-like medium; a first detection sensor for detecting a position of data on the card-like medium; and a card conveyance path provided with conveyance means for taking the card-like medium into the card insertion slot from the inside. A recording / reproducing means for recording / reproducing data on the data on the card conveying path, and the card-like medium passing through the recording / reproducing means on the opposite side of the card conveying path to the card insertion slot. A card reader body for discharging the card-like medium from the card outlet when the position of the data of the inserted card-like medium cannot be detected by the first detection sensor; A card substrate that holds the card-like medium ejected from the reader body and rotates it in the front-rear direction or the left-right direction or both. And when the position of the data of the inserted card-like medium cannot be detected by the first detection sensor, which is disposed between the mechanism, the card reader main body, and the card reversing mechanism. A second detection sensor for detecting the position of the data, and when the card-like medium is correctly inserted, the information is processed by the recording / reproducing means and then discharged from the card insertion slot for return. When the card-like medium is inserted in the reverse direction or the reverse direction, the inserted card-like medium is fed into the card reversing mechanism, and the card is detected by detecting the front and back and the front-rear direction of the card. By reversing the card reversing mechanism in the front / back direction, the front / rear direction, or both according to the orientation of the card-shaped medium, Card reader which is adapted to process at feeding said recording / reproducing means to said card reader from the modified de direction. The card reversing mechanism includes a front / rear rotation means for holding the card-like medium so as to pass therethrough and rotating the card-like medium in the front-rear direction, and a left-right direction for holding the card-like medium and rotating the card-like medium in the left-right direction. The card holding mechanism portion for holding the card-like medium of each of the rotating means does not have a portion that spatially intersects with each other, and only the card holding mechanism portion is driven independently of each other. Item 2. A card reader according to item 1. The card reader according to claim 2, wherein the card reversing mechanism is configured such that the front-rear rotating unit is disposed immediately after the card reader main body, and the left-right rotating unit is disposed behind the front-rear rotating unit. The card reversing mechanism arranges the front / rear rotation means immediately after the card reader body, and arranges the left / right rotation means on an extension line in the passing direction of the card-like medium at a position where the front / rear rotation means is rotated by 90 °. 4. The card reader according to claim 3, wherein a rotation axis of the front-rear rotation means and a rotation axis of the left-right rotation means are arranged in an orthogonal state. The card reader according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the front-rear rotating means and the left-right rotating means are arranged in a line in the passing direction of the card-like medium. The front / rear rotating means includes a pair of transport rollers for sandwiching and transporting the card-like medium and holding the card-like medium so that the card-like medium can pass through the pair of transport rollers and rotating in the front-rear direction of the card-like medium. And a card transport motor that drives at least one of the transport rollers of the pair of transport rollers, and a motor that rotates the card holding mechanism in the front-rear direction, the left-right rotating means sandwiching the card-like medium A card holding mechanism that rotates in the left-right direction of the card-like medium while holding the card-like medium between the pair of conveyance rollers, and at least one of the conveyance roller pairs. 6. The card transport motor for driving the card and a motor for rotating the card holding mechanism in the left-right direction. Card reader. The card reader according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the card reader main body and the reversing mechanism both have independent drive sources and are configured as units independent of each other. 4. The card reader according to claim 3, further comprising a card-like medium collection box under the left-right rotating means.