JP2010202326A - Card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card reader capable of suppressing fluctuation of a speed of a conveyed card more than ever while enhancing conveying force of the card. <P>SOLUTION: The card reader formed with a card conveying passage 13 conveyed with the card at the inside is provided with: a pair of conveying rollers 6, 8 constituted by first drive rollers 16-18 and second drive rollers 19-21 rotated by drive force transmitted from a drive source and conveying the card 2 while clamping the card 2 between the first drive rollers 16-18 and the second drive rollers 19-21; a support member 60 for rotatably supporting the second drive rollers 20, 21 and capable of performing relative movement relative to the card conveying passage 13; and an urging member 62 for urging the support member 60 toward the card conveying passage 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a card reader that performs a predetermined process on a conveyed card.

  Conventionally, a card reader having a magnetic head for reproducing magnetic information recorded on a card and recording magnetic information on the card and a plurality of conveyance roller pairs for conveying the card in the card conveyance path is known. (For example, see Patent Document 1). In the card reader described in Patent Document 1, the transport roller pair is constituted by a main drive roller and a sub drive roller that are rotated by transmission of power from a drive motor, and includes a main drive roller and a sub drive roller. The card is transported with a card in between.

  The card reader described in Patent Document 1 includes three conveyance roller pairs, which are a first conveyance roller pair, a second conveyance roller pair, and a third conveyance roller pair, as a conveyance roller pair. The second transport roller pair and the third transport roller pair are arranged in this order in the card transport direction. In this card reader, the magnetic head is disposed so that the center of the second transport roller pair in the card transport direction and the center of the magnetic head substantially coincide.

  Further, in this card reader, the center distance between the main drive roller and the sub drive roller constituting the first transport roller pair, and the center distance between the main drive roller and the sub drive roller constituting the third transport roller pair. Is fixed. Further, the sub driving roller constituting the second conveying roller pair is urged toward the main driving roller constituting the second conveying roller pair by the pressing and moving means, and the main driving constituting the second conveying roller pair. The center-to-core distance between the roller and the sub drive roller is variable. In the card reader described in Patent Document 1, both the main drive roller and the sub drive roller are rubber rollers having a rubber layer on the outer peripheral surface.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-50494

  In recent years, a card reader capable of processing various deformed cards such as a bent card is required in the market. Here, in the card reader described in Patent Document 1, as described above, the transport roller pair is constituted by the main drive roller and the sub drive roller that are rotated by the power from the drive motor. The center distance between the main drive roller and the sub drive roller constituting the first transport roller pair and the center distance between the main drive roller and the sub drive roller constituting the third transport roller pair are fixed, and The secondary drive roller constituting the second transport roller pair is urged toward the main drive roller constituting the second transport roller pair by the pressing and moving means. Therefore, in this card reader, the card conveyance force by the conveyance roller pair is large. Therefore, with this card reader, it is possible to carry various deformed cards and process the deformed cards within the card reader.

  On the other hand, the center distance between the main drive roller and the sub drive roller constituting the first transport roller pair and the center distance between the main drive roller and the sub drive roller constituting the third transport roller pair are fixed. Therefore, when the card conveyed by the second conveyance roller pair enters between the main drive roller and the sub drive roller constituting the first conveyance roller pair, or the card constituting the third conveyance roller pair. There is a possibility that the inrush load when entering between the drive roller and the sub drive roller may become large, and the card transport speed may fluctuate due to the influence of the load at the time of entry.

  The fluctuation of the card conveyance speed itself due to the influence of the load at the time of entry does not affect the recording quality and reproduction quality of magnetic information by the magnetic head. However, when the card reader is required to further improve the recording quality and the reproduction quality for the card, there is a possibility that the fluctuation of the card conveyance speed due to the influence of the load at the time of entry may be hindered.

  Here, in the card reader described in Patent Document 1, the hardness of the rubber layer of the sub-driving roller constituting the first conveying roller pair and the hardness of the rubber layer of the sub-driving roller constituting the third conveying roller pair are reduced. When the card conveyed by the second conveying roller pair enters between the main driving roller and the sub driving roller constituting the first conveying roller pair, or the main driving roller constituting the third conveying roller pair, It is possible to reduce the rush load at the time of rushing between the sub drive roller and suppress the fluctuation of the card transport speed.

  However, if the hardness of the rubber layer of the auxiliary drive roller is lowered, the card conveying force by the conveying roller pair may be reduced. This decrease in the conveyance power itself does not hinder the processing of deformed cards that could be processed in the past. However, when processing of a deformed card with a larger deformation amount is required in the market, There is a possibility that a deformed card that cannot be transported due to the influence of the drop may occur.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a card reader capable of increasing the card conveying force and suppressing the speed fluctuation of the card being conveyed more than before.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a first reader roller and a second driver roller that are rotated by a driving force transmitted from a driving source in a card reader in which a card conveying path for conveying a card is formed. A plurality of conveying roller pairs that convey the card with the card sandwiched between the first driving roller and the second driving roller, and among the plurality of second driving rollers that constitute the plurality of conveying roller pairs A support member that can rotatably support at least two second drive rollers, and a biasing member that biases the support member toward the card transport path. And

  In the card reader of the present invention, a pair of conveying rollers is constituted by the first driving roller and the second driving roller that are rotated by the driving force transmitted from the driving source. A support member that rotatably supports at least two of the plurality of second drive rollers constituting the plurality of transport roller pairs is directed toward the card transport path by the biasing force of the biasing member. It is energized. Therefore, it is possible to increase the card conveying force.

  In the present invention, the support member that rotatably supports at least two of the plurality of second drive rollers is configured to be able to move relative to the card transport path. The urging member is urged toward the card conveyance path. Therefore, for example, when the card is sandwiched and conveyed between the first drive roller and the second drive roller constituting a certain conveyance roller pair, the support member is moved relative to the card conveyance path, It is possible to form a gap between the first drive roller and the second drive roller that constitute another pair of conveying rollers. Therefore, it is possible to reduce a rush load when a card being transported by a certain transport roller pair enters between the first drive roller and the second drive roller constituting another transport roller pair. As a result, in the present invention, it is possible to increase the card conveying force, while suppressing the speed fluctuation of the card being conveyed more than before.

  In the present invention, the card reader includes a first transmission mechanism for transmitting a driving force to a plurality of first driving rollers constituting a plurality of conveying roller pairs, and a plurality of second driving rollers constituting a plurality of conveying roller pairs. A second transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force to the first transmission mechanism, a drive source coupled to the first transmission mechanism or the second transmission mechanism, a coupling mechanism coupling the first transmission mechanism and the second transmission mechanism, A first rotation shaft to which each of the first drive rollers is fixed; and a second rotation shaft to which each of the plurality of second drive rollers is fixed, and the coupling mechanism is one of the plurality of transport roller pairs. A first rotating shaft to which the first driving roller constituting the pair of conveying rollers is fixed and a second rotating shaft to which the second driving roller constituting the one conveying roller pair is fixed. preferable. In this case, the connection mechanism includes, for example, a first gear fixed to the first rotation shaft and a second gear fixed to the second rotation shaft and meshing with the first gear. If comprised in this way, even if the support member which supports the 2nd drive roller rotatably is enabled to move relative to a card conveyance way, the 1st transmission mechanism is used using the connecting mechanism arranged at one place. And the second transmission mechanism can be coupled.

  In the present invention, for example, the first transmission mechanism includes a first pulley fixed to each of the plurality of first rotating shafts, and a first belt spanned across the plurality of first pulleys, and the second transmission mechanism includes And a second pulley fixed to each of the plurality of second rotating shafts, and a second belt spanning the plurality of second pulleys. In this case, it is possible to suppress fluctuations in the conveyance speed of the card conveyed by the conveyance roller pair as compared with the case where the first transmission mechanism and the second transmission mechanism are configured by a gear train.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the support member rotates about the second rotation shaft connected by the connection mechanism as a fulcrum to perform relative movement with respect to the card transport path. If comprised in this way, it will become possible to keep constant the center distance of the 1st rotating shaft and 2nd rotating shaft which are connected by the connection mechanism. Therefore, for example, when the coupling mechanism is constituted by two gears meshing with each other, the two gears are reliably meshed, and the power is reliably transmitted between the first transmission mechanism and the second transmission mechanism. Can be transmitted.

  In the present invention, the card reader includes, for example, at least a first transport roller pair, a second transport roller pair, and a third transport roller pair as the transport roller pair, and is disposed in the vicinity of the second transport roller pair to the card. A magnetic head for recording the magnetic information and / or reproducing the magnetic information recorded on the card, and the first transport roller pair, the second transport roller pair, and the third transport roller pair are arranged in the card transport direction. The connection mechanism is arranged in this order from the insertion side, and the coupling mechanism has a first rotating shaft to which the first driving roller constituting the first conveying roller pair is fixed and a second driving roller constituting the first conveying roller pair fixed. And the support member rotates about the second rotation shaft to which the second drive roller that constitutes the first transport roller pair is fixed as a fulcrum. To move.

  In this case, when the card is sandwiched between the first driving roller and the second driving roller that constitute the second conveying roller pair, the first driving roller and the second that constitute the third conveying roller pair. A gap can be formed between the drive roller and the drive roller. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the rush load when the card being transported by the second transport roller pair enters between the first drive roller and the second drive roller constituting the third transport roller pair. .

  In this case, the distance between the second conveyance roller pair and the third conveyance roller pair in the conveyance direction is shorter than the distance between the first conveyance roller pair and the second conveyance roller pair in the conveyance direction. When the card is transported from the second transport roller pair toward the third transport roller pair, it is preferable to record magnetic information on the card. If comprised in this way, at the time of recording the magnetic information to a card | curd, it will become possible to lengthen the conveyance distance of the card | curd conveyed by two pairs of conveyance roller pairs, the 2nd conveyance roller pair and the 3rd conveyance roller pair. . Accordingly, the card transport speed is reduced by reducing the rush load when the card transported by the second transport roller pair enters between the first drive roller and the second drive roller constituting the third transport roller pair. The card can be accurately conveyed by the two pairs of conveying rollers while suppressing the fluctuation. As a result, magnetic information can be recorded on the card with high accuracy.

  In the present invention, the distance between the first transport roller pair and the second transport roller pair in the transport direction is preferably wider than the width of the magnetic information recording area of the card in the transport direction. If comprised in this way, even if it is a case where the center distance of the 1st rotating shaft of a 1st conveying roller pair connected with a connection mechanism and a 2nd rotating shaft is kept constant, 2nd conveying roller pair The recording quality and the reproduction quality of the card are deteriorated due to the influence of the rush load when the card being transported at the time of rushing between the first drive roller and the second drive roller constituting the first transport roller pair. It becomes possible to prevent.

  As described above, in the card reader of the present invention, it is possible to increase the card conveying force, while suppressing the speed fluctuation of the card being conveyed more than before.

It is a figure for demonstrating schematic structure of the card reader concerning embodiment of this invention from one side. It is a figure for demonstrating schematic structure of the card reader shown in FIG. 1 from the other side surface. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining a configuration of a peripheral portion of a transmission mechanism shown in FIG. 1 and an upper drive roller shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the periphery of the transmission mechanism shown in FIG. 1 and the lower drive roller shown in FIG. 2. It is a top view for demonstrating the structure of the support part shown in FIG. FIGS. 5A and 5B are side views for explaining the support unit illustrated in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a state in which a card is not sandwiched between transport roller pairs, and FIG. 5B is a state in which a card is sandwiched between transport roller pairs. FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Schematic configuration of card reader)
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a card reader 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention from one side surface. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the card reader 1 shown in FIG. 1 from the other side. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the periphery of the transmission mechanism 24 shown in FIG. 1 and the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the periphery of the transmission mechanism 25 shown in FIG. 1 and the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 shown in FIG.

  The card reader 1 of this embodiment is a device for reproducing information recorded on the card 2 and / or recording information on the card 2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the card reader 1 prints on the surface of the card 2 and magnetic heads 3 and 4 that reproduce information recorded on the card 2 and / or record information on the card 2. And a scanner 5 for reading equal characters, symbols, figures and the like. Further, the card reader 1 includes three pairs of conveying rollers 6 to 8 for conveying the card 2 in the card reader 1, a motor 9 serving as a driving source for driving the conveying roller pairs 6 to 8, and a card. Pre-heads 11 and 12 are provided for determining whether or not the card 2 inserted into the reader 1 is a magnetic card. A card transport path 13 through which the card 2 is transported is formed inside the card reader 1.

  In the following description, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the three directions orthogonal to each other are defined as an X direction, a Y direction, and a Z direction. In the following description, the X1 direction side is the “front” side, the X2 direction side is the “back” side, the Y1 direction side is the “left” side, the Y2 direction side is the “right” side, and the Z1 direction side is “up”. The Z2 direction side is the “lower” side. In this embodiment, the card 2 is conveyed in the X direction. That is, the X direction is the card 2 conveyance direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the conveying roller pairs 6 to 8 are configured by upper driving rollers 16 to 18 and lower driving rollers 19 to 21 that are rotated by a driving force transmitted from the motor 9. The card reader 1 includes a transmission mechanism 24 for transmitting the driving force of the motor 9 to the upper driving rollers 16 to 18, and a transmission mechanism 25 for transmitting the driving force of the motor 9 to the lower driving rollers 19 to 21. The connecting mechanism 26 that connects the transmission mechanism 24 and the transmission mechanism 25 and the support portion 27 for rotatably supporting the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are provided.

  The card 2 is, for example, a rectangular vinyl chloride card having a thickness of about 0.7 to 0.8 mm. On the surface of the card 2, a magnetic stripe (not shown) on which magnetic information is recorded is formed in a thin strip shape with the transport direction of the card 2 as the longitudinal direction. An IC chip may be fixed on the surface of the card 2. In addition, the card 2 may have a communication antenna built therein, or a printing unit that performs printing by a thermal method may be formed on the surface of the card 2. Further, the card 2 may be a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) card having a thickness of about 0.18 to 0.36 mm, a paper card having a predetermined thickness, or the like.

  As described above, the transport roller pairs 6 to 8 are configured by the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 and the lower drive rollers 19 to 21. Specifically, the conveying roller pair 6 is constituted by an upper driving roller 16 and a lower driving roller 19, the conveying roller pair 7 is constituted by an upper driving roller 17 and a lower driving roller 20, and the conveying roller pair 8 is The upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21 are configured. In this embodiment, the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 are first drive rollers, and the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are second drive rollers.

  The upper drive rollers 16 to 18 are arranged on the upper side of the card transport path 13. Further, the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are disposed below the card transport path 13. The upper drive rollers 16 to 18 and the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 face each other in the vertical direction so that they can come into contact with each other, and the transport roller pairs 6 to 8 are driven downward with the upper drive rollers 16 to 18. The card 2 is transported with the card 2 sandwiched between the rollers 19-21.

  The conveyance roller pairs 6 to 8 are arranged in this order from the near side to the far side. That is, in the card 2 transport direction, the transport roller pairs 6 to 8 are arranged in this order from the card 2 insertion side. In this embodiment, the transport roller pair 6 is a first transport roller pair, the transport roller pair 7 is a second transport roller pair, and the transport roller pair 8 is a third transport roller pair.

  The distance between the transport roller pair 6 and the transport roller pair 7 in the transport direction of the card 2 is slightly shorter than the width in the longitudinal direction of the card 2 (length in the transport direction). The distance between the pair of transport rollers 6 and 7 in the transport direction of the card 2 is the width in the X direction of the magnetic information recording area of the magnetic stripe formed on the card 2 (that is, in the transport direction of the card 2). It is wider than the length of the magnetic stripe recording area. Further, the distance between the transport roller pair 7 and the transport roller pair 8 in the transport direction of the card 2 is shorter than the distance between the transport roller pair 6 and the transport roller pair 7.

  The upper drive rollers 16 to 18 and the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are rubber rollers having a rubber layer on the outer peripheral surface. In this embodiment, the hardness of the rubber layer of the upper drive rollers 17 and 18, the hardness of the rubber layer of the lower drive rollers 20 and 21, and the hardness of one rubber layer of the upper drive roller 16 or the lower drive roller 19 are substantially equal. It has become. Further, the hardness of the other rubber layer of the upper drive roller 16 or the lower drive roller 19 is lower than the hardness of the rubber layers of the upper drive rollers 17 and 18 and the like.

  As illustrated in FIG. 3, the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 are disposed at a substantially central position of the card transport path 13 in the left-right direction. Further, the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 are fixed to the upper rotation shafts 29 to 31. Specifically, the upper drive rollers 16 and 18 are fixed at substantially the center position in the axial direction of the upper rotary shafts 29 and 31, and the upper drive roller 17 is fixed at the right end of the upper rotary shaft 30. The left and right ends of the upper rotary shafts 29 and 31 are rotatably supported by a left side plate 32 and a right side plate 33 that constitute a part of the main body frame of the card reader 1. Further, the left end side of the upper rotary shaft 30 is rotatably supported by the left side plate 32. The upper rotating shafts 29 to 31 in this embodiment are first rotating shafts.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are disposed at substantially the center position of the card transport path 13 in the left-right direction. Further, the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are fixed to the lower rotation shafts 34 to 36. Specifically, the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are fixed to the right ends of the lower rotation shafts 34 to 36. The lower rotating shaft 34 is rotatably supported by a later-described fixing member 61 that constitutes the support portion 27. Further, the lower rotary shafts 35 and 36 are rotatably supported by a support member 60 described later that constitutes the support portion 27. The lower rotation shafts 34 to 36 in this embodiment are second rotation shafts.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the transmission mechanism 24 is fixed in parallel to the driven pulleys 39 to 41 fixed to the left end side of the upper rotary shafts 29 to 31 and the driven pulley 40 on the left end side of the upper rotary shaft 30. The driven large pulley 42, the belt 43 stretched over the driven pulleys 39 to 41, and a plurality of tension pulleys 44 for adjusting the tension of the belt 43 are provided. The driven pulleys 39 to 41 of this embodiment are first pulleys, and the belt 43 is a first belt. Further, the transmission mechanism 24 of this embodiment is a first transmission mechanism.

  A drive pulley 45 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 9. A belt 46 is stretched between the drive pulley 45 and the driven large pulley 42. That is, in this embodiment, the motor 9 is connected to the transmission mechanism 24. The motor 9 is disposed below the card transport path 13.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the transmission mechanism 25 includes driven pulleys 47 to 49 that are fixed to the left end side of the lower rotary shafts 34 to 36, a belt 50 that spans the driven pulleys 47 to 49, and a belt 50. And a plurality of tension pulleys 51 for adjusting the tension. The driven pulleys 47 to 49 in this embodiment are second pulleys, and the belt 50 is a second belt. Further, the transmission mechanism 25 of the present embodiment is a second transmission mechanism.

  In addition, the driven pulleys 39 to 41, the driven large pulley 42, and the driving pulley 45 of this embodiment are toothed pulleys (timing pulleys), and the belts 43 and 46 are toothed belts (timing belts). Further, the driven pulleys 47 to 49 are flat pulleys in which teeth are not formed on the outer peripheral surface, and the belt 50 is a flat belt.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the coupling mechanism 26 is fixed to the left end side of the two upper gears 54 fixed to the left end side of the upper rotation shaft 29 and the lower rotation shaft 34, and meshes with the upper gear 54. Two lower gears 55 are provided. That is, the coupling mechanism 26 of the present embodiment includes an upper rotating shaft 29 to which the upper drive roller 16 that constitutes the conveyance roller pair 6 that is the first conveyance roller pair is fixed, and a lower drive roller 19 that constitutes the conveyance roller pair 6. A fixed lower rotating shaft 34 is connected. In this embodiment, the upper gear 54 is a first gear, and the lower gear 55 is a second gear. A knob 56 for manually rotating the lower rotary shaft 34 is fixed to the left end of the lower rotary shaft 34.

  The magnetic heads 3 and 4 are disposed in the vicinity of the conveyance roller pair 7. Specifically, the magnetic heads 3 and 4 are arranged so that the center of the transport roller pair 7 and the center of the magnetic heads 3 and 4 substantially coincide in the transport direction of the card 2, and the transport roller pair 7 in the left-right direction. Are arranged on the right side. In this embodiment, the magnetic head 3 is disposed on the upper side of the card transport path 13 and the magnetic head 4 is disposed on the lower side of the card transport path 13. Further, the magnetic heads 3 and 4 are arranged so that the respective gaps face each other in the vertical direction.

  The scanner 5 is disposed between the transport roller pair 7 and the transport roller pair 8 in the transport direction of the card 2. Further, the scanner 5 is disposed on the upper side of the card transport path 13. The pre-heads 11 and 12 are arranged at the insertion slot of the card 2. In this embodiment, the pre-head 11 is arranged above the insertion slot of the card 2 and the pre-head 12 is arranged below the insertion slot of the card 2.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the support portion 27 is disposed on the left end side of the card reader 1. The support portion 27 is disposed below the card transport path 13. The configuration of the support portion 27 will be described later.

  In the card reader 1 configured as described above, when the card 2 is transported from the near side to the far side, the magnetic information is recorded on the card 2 by the magnetic heads 3 and 4 and is recorded on the card 2. The magnetic information is reproduced. Further, in the card reader 1, when the card 2 is transported from the back side toward the front side, magnetic information is reproduced by the magnetic heads 3 and 4.

(Configuration of support part)
FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the configuration of the support portion 27 shown in FIG. 4. 6A and 6B are side views for explaining the support portion 27 shown in FIG. 4, in which FIG. 6A shows a state where the card 2 is not sandwiched between the conveying roller pair 7, and FIG. 6B shows the conveying roller pair 7. It is a figure which shows the state in which the card | curd 2 is pinched | interposed into.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the support unit 27 includes a support member 60 that rotatably supports the lower drive rollers 20 and 21, a fixing member 61 that is fixed to the main body frame of the card reader 1, and a support member 60. And a compression coil spring 62 as an urging member for urging the card toward the card conveying path 13.

  The support member 60 includes two side plates 63 and 64 arranged in a state substantially parallel to the ZX plane formed from the Z direction and the X direction and spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction, and the two side plates 63. And a plurality of connecting shafts 65 that connect 64. The fixing member 61 includes two side plates 66 and 67 that are substantially parallel to the ZX plane, and is formed in a substantially rectangular groove shape with an upper surface opened. The support member 60 is disposed between the side plates 66 and 67. ing.

  The left and right ends of the lower rotating shaft 34 are rotatably supported by side plates 66 and 67, respectively. That is, in this embodiment, the upper rotating shaft 29 is rotatably supported by the left side plate 32 and the right side plate 33 that constitute a part of the main body frame of the card reader 1, and the lower rotating shaft 34 is the main body frame of the card reader 1. Are supported by the side plates 66 and 67 of the fixing member 61 fixed to the upper member, and the center distance between the upper driving roller 16 and the lower driving roller 19 is fixed. In this embodiment, the distance between the centers of the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19 is the distance at which the lower end of the upper drive roller 16 and the upper end of the lower drive roller 19 abut or the lower end of the upper drive roller 16. The distance is set such that a slight gap is formed between the lower drive roller 19 and the upper end. The lower rotating shaft 34 may be rotatably supported by the left side plate 32.

  On the other hand, the left and right ends of the lower rotary shafts 35 and 36 are rotatably supported by the side plates 63 and 64, respectively. Further, a lower rotating shaft 34 is inserted on the front end side of the support member 60, and the support member 60 is rotatable with the lower rotating shaft 34 as a fulcrum. That is, in this embodiment, the center distance between the upper drive roller 17 and the lower drive roller 20 and the center distance between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21 are changed according to the rotation amount of the support member 60. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a fixed shaft 68 that rotatably supports the tension pulley 51 is also fixed to the side plate 64. The left side plate 32 is formed with an insertion hole through which the lower rotation shafts 34 to 36 are inserted. The insertion holes through which the lower rotation shafts 35 and 36 are inserted are formed so that the lower rotation shafts 35 and 36 and the left side plate 32 do not come into contact with each other even if the support member 60 rotates.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the compression coil spring 62 is disposed below the lower rotary shaft 35 and biases the support member 60 upward. That is, the compression coil spring 62 urges the support member 60 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 6 about the lower rotation shaft 34. That is, the compression coil spring 62 urges the lower drive rollers 20 and 21 toward the upper drive rollers 17 and 18.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the card 2 is not being conveyed in the card conveying path 13, the upper drive roller 17 and the lower drive roller 20 come into contact with each other by the urging force of the compression coil spring 62, and the upper drive The roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21 are in contact with each other.

  On the other hand, when the card 2 is transported in the card transport path 13 and the card 2 is sandwiched between the upper drive roller 17 and the lower drive roller 20, the urging force of the compression coil spring 62 is shown in FIG. Against this, the support member 60 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 6 with the lower rotation shaft 34 as a fulcrum. That is, the support member 60 rotates about the lower rotation shaft 34 as a fulcrum, and relatively moves with respect to the card transport path 13 in a direction in which the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21 are separated. When the support member 60 rotates about the lower rotation shaft 34 as a fulcrum, a gap more than the thickness of the card 2 is formed between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21 as shown in FIG. It is formed.

  In FIG. 6B, for convenience of explanation, a large gap is formed between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21, but actually between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21. The gap formed is not as large as shown in FIG.

(Main effects of this form)
As described above, in this embodiment, the transport roller pairs 6 to 8 for transporting the card 2 are driven by the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 and the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 that are rotated by the driving force transmitted from the motor 9. It is configured. Further, the center distance between the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19 is fixed, and the lower drive rollers 20 and 21 are urged toward the upper drive rollers 17 and 18 by the urging force of the compression coil spring 62. . Therefore, in this embodiment, the conveyance force of the card 2 can be increased.

  Further, in this embodiment, the support member 60 that rotatably supports the lower drive rollers 20 and 21 is configured to be able to rotate about the lower rotation shaft 34 as a fulcrum. It is urged clockwise. Therefore, as described above, when the card 2 is sandwiched between the upper drive roller 17 and the lower drive roller 20, a gap larger than the thickness of the card 2 is provided between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21. Is formed. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce a rush load when the card 2 being conveyed toward the back side of the card reader 1 by the conveyance roller pair 7 enters between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21.

  As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to increase the transport force of the card 2 while suppressing the speed fluctuation of the transported card 2 more than before. That is, the card reader 1 of this embodiment can carry various deformed cards and can improve the recording quality of magnetic information on the card 2 and the reproduction quality of magnetic information recorded on the card 2. Become.

  In this embodiment, the transmission mechanism 24 and the transmission mechanism 25 are connected by the upper gear 54 fixed to the upper rotation shaft 29 and the lower gear 55 fixed to the lower rotation shaft 34. Therefore, even if the support member 60 that supports the lower drive rollers 20 and 21 is configured to be able to rotate about the lower rotation shaft 34, the upper gear 54 and the lower gear 55 that are disposed at one place. And the transmission mechanism 24 and the transmission mechanism 25 can be coupled.

  In this embodiment, the power of the motor 9 is transmitted by the driven pulleys 39 to 41, the belt 43, etc., and the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 rotate. Further, the power of the motor 9 is transmitted by the driven pulleys 47 to 49, the belt 50, etc., and the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are rotated. Therefore, the power of the motor 9 is transmitted by the gear train, and the card 2 conveyed by the conveyance roller pairs 6 to 8 is transported as compared with the case where the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 and the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 rotate. It becomes possible to suppress fluctuations in speed.

  In this embodiment, the support member 60 is configured to rotate about the lower rotation shaft 34 as a fulcrum. Therefore, even when the support member 60 rotates, the center distance between the upper rotary shaft 29 to which the upper gear 54 constituting the coupling mechanism 26 is fixed and the lower rotary shaft 34 to which the lower gear 55 is fixed is set. Can be kept constant. Therefore, even when the support member 60 rotates, the upper gear 54 and the lower gear 55 can be reliably meshed with each other so that power can be reliably transmitted between the transmission mechanism 24 and the transmission mechanism 25. .

  In this embodiment, the support member 60 is configured to rotate about the lower rotation shaft 34 as a fulcrum. The lower rotary shaft 34 is rotatably supported by side plates 66 and 67 substantially parallel to the ZX plane, and the lower rotary shafts 35 and 36 are rotatably supported by side plates 63 and 64 substantially parallel to the ZX plane. Yes. Therefore, even when the support member 60 rotates, it is possible to prevent three-dimensional torsion of the belt 50 spanned by the driven pulleys 47 to 49 fixed to the lower rotating shafts 34 to 36. .

  In this embodiment, the distance between the transport roller pair 6 and the transport roller pair 7 in the transport direction of the card 2 is slightly shorter than the width of the card 2 in the longitudinal direction. In this embodiment, the distance between the conveyance roller pair 7 and the conveyance roller pair 8 in the conveyance direction of the card 2 is shorter than the distance between the conveyance roller pair 6 and the conveyance roller pair 7. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the card 2 is transported from the front side to the back side, magnetic information is recorded on the card 2 by the magnetic heads 3 and 4. Therefore, at the time of recording magnetic information on the card 2, the transport distance of the card 2 transported by the two transport roller pairs 7 and 8 of the transport roller pair 7 and the transport roller pair 8 can be increased. Therefore, in this embodiment, the card 2 being transported by the pair of transport rollers 7 reduces the inrush load when the card 2 enters between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21 to suppress fluctuations in the transport speed of the card 2. However, the card 2 can be accurately conveyed by the two pairs of conveying rollers 7 and 8. As a result, magnetic information can be recorded on the card 2 with high accuracy.

  In this embodiment, the distance between the conveyance roller pair 6 and the conveyance roller pair 7 in the conveyance direction of the card 2 is wider than the width in the X direction of the magnetic information recording area of the magnetic stripe formed on the card 2. Therefore, even when the center distance between the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19 is kept constant, the card 2 being conveyed by the conveyance roller pair 7 is transferred to the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19. It is possible to prevent the reproduction quality of the magnetic information recorded on the card 2 from being deteriorated due to the influence of the rush load when rushing between the two.

  In this embodiment, the hardness of the other rubber layer of the upper drive roller 16 or the lower drive roller 19 is lower than the hardness of one rubber layer of the upper drive roller 16 or the lower drive roller 19. Therefore, even when the center distance between the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19 is kept constant, the card 2 being conveyed by the conveyance roller pair 7 is transferred to the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19. , The surface of the upper drive roller 16 or the lower drive roller 19 on which a low hardness rubber layer is formed is deformed, and the card 2 is interposed between the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19. Is sandwiched. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the rush load when the card 2 being conveyed by the conveying roller pair 7 rushes between the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19 and to suppress fluctuations in the conveyance speed of the card 2. Is possible.

(Other embodiments)
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.

  In the embodiment described above, the support member 60 is configured to rotate about the lower rotation shaft 34 as a fulcrum. In addition, for example, the support member 60 may be configured to rotate about the lower rotation shaft 36 as a fulcrum. Further, the support member 60 may be configured to rotate about a fulcrum shaft that is arranged with the direction parallel to the transport direction of the card 2 as an axial direction. Further, the support member 60 may be configured to translate in the vertical direction. That is, when the card 2 is being conveyed by the conveying roller pair 7, a gap is formed between the upper drive roller 16 and the lower drive roller 19 and / or between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21. As described above, the support member 60 only needs to be configured to be relatively movable with respect to the card transport path 13.

  In the embodiment described above, the upper drive rollers 17 and 18 are rotatably supported by the left side plate 32 and the right side plate 33. Further, the lower drive rollers 20 and 21 are rotatably supported by the support member 60, and the support member 60 is rotatable about the lower rotation shaft 34 as a fulcrum. In addition, for example, the lower drive rollers 20 and 21 are rotatably supported by the left side plate 32 and the right side plate 33, and the upper drive rollers 17 and 18 are rotatably supported by the support member. The rotary shaft 29 may be rotatable about the fulcrum. In this case, the support member that supports the upper drive rollers 17 and 18 is urged counterclockwise in FIG. 6 about the upper rotation shaft 29 by an urging member such as a compression coil spring.

  In this case, the lower drive rollers 19 to 21 are first drive rollers, and the upper drive rollers 16 to 18 are second drive rollers. Further, the lower rotation shafts 34 to 36 are the first rotation shafts, and the upper rotation shafts 29 to 31 are the second rotation shafts. Further, the transmission mechanism 25 becomes the first transmission mechanism, the transmission mechanism 24 becomes the second transmission mechanism, the lower gear 55 becomes the first gear, and the upper gear 54 becomes the second gear.

  In the embodiment described above, the support member 60 is urged clockwise by the compression coil spring 62 in FIG. In addition, for example, the support member 60 may be urged in the clockwise direction of FIG. 6 by another spring member such as a tension coil spring, a torsion coil spring, or a leaf spring, and the support member 60 may be elastic such as rubber. The member may be urged clockwise in FIG.

  In the embodiment described above, the distance between the transport roller pair 7 and the transport roller pair 8 in the transport direction of the card 2 is shorter than the distance between the transport roller pair 6 and the transport roller pair 7. In addition, for example, the distance between the conveyance roller pair 7 and the conveyance roller pair 8 in the conveyance direction of the card 2 may be longer than the distance between the conveyance roller pair 6 and the conveyance roller pair 7, or the card 2. The distance between the conveying roller pair 7 and the conveying roller pair 8 in the conveying direction may be the same as the distance between the conveying roller pair 6 and the conveying roller pair 7.

  When the distance between the conveyance roller pair 7 and the conveyance roller pair 8 in the conveyance direction of the card 2 is longer than the distance between the conveyance roller pair 6 and the conveyance roller pair 7, the support member 60 is The card reader 1 is configured to rotate about the rotation shaft 36. When the card 2 is transported from the back side toward the front side, the magnetic information on the card 2 by the magnetic heads 3 and 4 is transferred. Recording is preferably performed.

  In the form described above, the card reader 1 includes the magnetic heads 3 and 4 and the scanner 5 as information recording / reproducing means for reproducing information recorded on the card 2 and / or recording information on the card 2. The card reader 1 may not include the magnetic heads 3 and 4. Even in this case, the rush load when the card 2 conveyed toward the inner side of the card reader 1 by the conveying roller pair 7 enters between the upper drive roller 18 and the lower drive roller 21 is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to improve the accuracy of image reading by the scanner 5. Further, the card reader 1 serves as an information recording / reproducing means in addition to the magnetic heads 3 and 4 and the scanner 5 or in place of the magnetic heads 3 and 4 and the scanner 5 and prints on the card 2 which is printed by a thermal method. A thermal head that prints characters, barcodes, or the like on the part may be provided.

  In the embodiment described above, the coupling mechanism 26 is constituted by the upper gear 54 and the lower gear 55. However, the coupling mechanism 26 includes a pulley fixed to the upper rotating shaft 29 and a pulley fixed to the lower rotating shaft 34. And a belt spanning these pulleys. Further, the transmission mechanism 24 and the transmission mechanism 25 may be configured by a gear train.

  In the embodiment described above, the card reader 1 includes three pairs of conveyance rollers 6 to 8, but the number of the conveyance roller pairs included in the card reader 1 may be two, or four or more. There may be. When the number of transport roller pairs provided in the card reader 1 is four or more, lower drive rollers constituting at least two transport roller pairs are rotatably supported by the support member 60.

1 Card Reader 2 Card 3, 4 Magnetic Head 6 Conveying Roller Pair (First Conveying Roller Pair)
7 Transport roller pair (second transport roller pair)
8 Conveying roller pair (3rd conveying roller pair)
9 Motor (drive source)
13 Card transport path 16-18 Upper drive roller (first drive roller)
19-21 Lower drive roller (second drive roller)
24 Transmission mechanism (first transmission mechanism)
25 Transmission mechanism (second transmission mechanism)
26 Connection mechanism 29 to 31 Upper rotation shaft (first rotation shaft)
34-36 Lower rotation axis (second rotation axis)
39 to 41 driven pulley (first pulley)
43 Belt (first belt)
47-49 driven pulley (second pulley)
50 belt (second belt)
54 Upper gear (first gear)
55 Lower gear (second gear)
60 support member 62 compression coil spring (biasing member)
X Transport direction

Claims (8)

In a card reader in which a card conveyance path through which a card is conveyed is formed,
Conveyed by a first driving roller and a second driving roller that are rotated by a driving force transmitted from a driving source, and conveys the card with the card sandwiched between the first driving roller and the second driving roller. With multiple roller pairs,
A support member that rotatably supports at least two of the plurality of second drive rollers that constitute the plurality of transport roller pairs and is capable of relative movement with respect to the card transport path; and A card reader, comprising: an urging member that urges the support member toward the card conveyance path. A first transmission mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the plurality of first driving rollers constituting the plurality of conveying roller pairs, and a driving force applied to the plurality of second driving rollers constituting the plurality of conveying roller pairs. A second transmission mechanism for transmitting, the first transmission mechanism or the drive source coupled to the second transmission mechanism, a coupling mechanism coupling the first transmission mechanism and the second transmission mechanism, and a plurality of A first rotation shaft to which each of the first drive rollers is fixed, and a second rotation shaft to which each of the plurality of second drive rollers is fixed,
The coupling mechanism constitutes the one rotation roller and the one conveyance roller pair to which the first drive roller constituting the one conveyance roller pair of the plurality of conveyance roller pairs is fixed. The card reader according to claim 1, wherein the card reader is connected to the second rotating shaft to which the second drive roller is fixed.   3. The card according to claim 2, wherein the coupling mechanism includes a first gear fixed to the first rotation shaft and a second gear fixed to the second rotation shaft and meshing with the first gear. leader. The first transmission mechanism includes a first pulley fixed to each of the plurality of first rotation shafts, and a first belt spanned across the plurality of first pulleys,
The said 2nd transmission mechanism is provided with the 2nd pulley fixed to each of the said some 2nd rotating shaft, and the 2nd belt spanned by the said some 2nd pulley, The 2nd characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The card reader according to 3.   5. The support member according to claim 2, wherein the support member rotates about the second rotation shaft connected by the connection mechanism as a fulcrum to perform relative movement with respect to the card transport path. Card reader. As the transport roller pair, at least a first transport roller pair, a second transport roller pair, and a third transport roller pair,
A magnetic head that is disposed in the vicinity of the second conveying roller pair and that records magnetic information on the card and / or reproduces magnetic information recorded on the card;
The first transport roller pair, the second transport roller pair, and the third transport roller pair are arranged in this order from the card insertion side in the card transport direction,
The coupling mechanism includes the first rotating shaft to which the first driving roller constituting the first conveying roller pair is fixed and the second driving roller constituting the first conveying roller pair to the second. Connect the rotating shaft,
The support member rotates about the second rotation shaft fixed to the second drive roller constituting the first transport roller pair as a fulcrum to perform relative movement with respect to the card transport path. The card reader according to claim 5. An interval between the second conveyance roller pair and the third conveyance roller pair in the conveyance direction is shorter than an interval between the first conveyance roller pair and the second conveyance roller pair in the conveyance direction,
7. The card according to claim 6, wherein the magnetic head records magnetic information on the card when the card is transported from the second transport roller pair toward the third transport roller pair. leader.   8. The card according to claim 7, wherein a distance between the first transport roller pair and the second transport roller pair in the transport direction is wider than a width of a magnetic information recording area of the card in the transport direction. leader.

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