JP2550655Y2 - Card processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card processing apparatus capable of continuously and simultaneously using two types of cards having different thicknesses, such as a magnetic card and an IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a card processing apparatus of this kind, there is an invention proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-245377. The present invention provides a card insertion / return port into which two types of cards having different thicknesses are inserted / returned, a first card processing / transport path linearly communicating with the card insertion / return port,
A second card processing transport path disposed in parallel with this transport path below the card processing transport path, and an inclined path portion connecting these two transport paths. The second card processing transport path is used as a data processing transport path for a flexible card having a small thickness, and the second card processing transport path is used for a data processing transport of a large card having a small thickness. The sheet is bent and guided to the second card processing transport path. By providing a dedicated data processing transport path for processing the data of each card corresponding to the two types of cards having different thicknesses, the reliability of the data processing is improved.

[0003]

However, in the above-described conventional card processing apparatus, when a card having a small thickness is guided to the second processing transport path, the card is transported by bending the inside of the inclined passage portion. The surface of the card is transferred in surface contact while strongly contacting the tip of the card sorting lever or the top or bottom fixed surface of the inclined passage, so the card surface is scratched by these fixed surfaces and the appearance of the card is improved. There was a problem of spoiling.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the thickness of the surface of a card in the inclined passage so that the tip of the card distribution lever is moved forward. Without directly contacting the fixed surface of the upper and lower surfaces of the inclined passage, the card is transferred by a moving member that moves along with the transfer of the card,
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a card processing apparatus which prevents the surface of the card from being damaged during transfer and does not impair the aesthetic appearance of the card.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, a card processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a card insertion / return port for inserting and returning two types of cards having different thicknesses, and one end having the card insertion / return port. A take-in path communicating with the return port to take the inserted card into the inside, and a first card processing transport path communicating with the other end of the take-in path in a substantially straight line and performing data processing of a card having a large thickness. A card return port provided at a predetermined distance below the card insertion / return port for returning a card having a small thickness, and one end communicating with the card return port and being substantially parallel to and below the intake passage. A return / standby path for a card having a small thickness provided in the above, the other end of the return / standby path communicates substantially linearly, and the other end of the path communicates with the other end of the take-in path. Include the inclined passage including the thickness A second card processing transport path for processing data of a small card, a first card sorting lever for selectively communicating the first card processing transport path and the inclined path with the take-in path, and the return A second distribution lever for selectively communicating the standby path and the inclined path with the second card processing transport path, and a roller rotatable at the tip of the first and second distribution levers And a roller rotatable on the upper and lower surfaces in the inclined passage or an upper and lower surface in the inclined passage, respectively.
The belt is movably stretched between the rollers .

[0006]

In the present invention, the contact of the surface of the card having a small thickness which is conveyed while being bent in the inclined passage is caused by the following reason.
It is not a fixed surface but a moving surface that accompanies the card.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG. 3, showing an embodiment of the card processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 3, and FIG. In these figures, a card processing apparatus generally designated by the reference numeral 1 has a box shape long in the front-rear direction by a pair of left and right side plates 2A, 2B, a front plate 3 and the like facing each other. Card 4
Card insertion / return port 5 for inserting / returning (4A, 4B)
And a card return port 6 provided at an appropriate distance below the card insertion / return port 5 for returning a thin card 4B.
A front end is provided inside the card insertion / return port 5.
And a substantially horizontal take-in path 7 for taking in the card 4 inserted into the return port 5 therein, and a data processing of the thick card 4A which communicates with the rear end of the take-in path 7 substantially linearly. And a substantially horizontal return / standby passage 9 whose front end communicates with the card return slot 6 and is formed below the take-in passage 7 and is longer than the take-in passage 7 to return or temporarily wait for a thin card 4B. Secondly, the data processing is performed on the thin card 4B which is formed substantially parallel to and below the first card processing transport path 8 by communicating with the rear end of the return / standby path 9 substantially linearly. Card processing transport path 10
The second card processing transport path 10 has an inclined passage 11 which is provided at the front end thereof so as to be inclined and communicates with the rear end of the intake passage 7.

Rollers 11a and 11b, which are one of the features of the present invention, are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the inclined passage 11 so as to protrude from the upper and lower surfaces of the inclined passage 11 in side view. , 4 pairs are arranged on the inner surface of 2B,
These rollers 11a and 11b are rotatably supported by both side plates 2A and 2B, respectively.

A card thickness detecting mechanism 12 for detecting the thickness of the card and judging its type, and a shutter mechanism 13 for controlling opening and closing of the rear end of the passage 7 are provided in the take-in passage 7. The card thickness detection mechanism 12 includes an upper roller 15 and a lower roller 16 that are vertically opposed to each other with the take-in passage 7 interposed therebetween, and a detection unit 14 that detects rotation of the upper roller 15. The upper roller 15 has a shaft 17
The holder 18 is rotatably mounted on a holder 18 rotatably disposed on the holder.
The space between the upper roller 15 and the lower roller 16 is given a predetermined distance, that is, smaller than the thickness of the thick card 4A and larger than the thickness of the thin card 4B by imparting the rotation behavior in the clockwise direction and being pressed against the stopper 20. The interval is set and held.

Therefore, when the thick card 4A is inserted, the surface of the card 4A contacts the lower surface of the upper roller 15, and the roller 15 is rotated by the frictional force. on the other hand,
Since the thin card 4B is thin and does not contact the upper roller 15, the roller 15 does not rotate. The distance between the upper roller 15 and the lower roller 16 is variably set to an optimum value by an adjusting screw 22. The shaft 23 of the upper roller 15 is extended to the outside of the right side plate 2B, and a number of slits (not shown) are attached at its tip to a circular plate 24 arranged in a circumferential direction. A photo interrupter 21 is provided on the side plate 2B, and these constitute the detection unit 14. The shaft 23 is slightly applied with a braking force by a frictional force to prevent the upper roller 15 from rotating by the bent thin card 4B or the like. Therefore, rotating the upper roller 15 requires a rotating force equal to or greater than the braking force.

The shutter mechanism 13 includes a shutter plate 25 and a shutter roller 26 which are arranged at the rear end of the intake passage 7 so as to face each other up and down with the passage 7 interposed therebetween, and a solenoid 30 for operating the shutter plate 25. ing. The shutter plate 25 is supported by a shaft 27 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and a spring 29 imparts a clockwise rotation behavior in FIG. The upper peripheral surface of the shutter roller 26 is pressed to close the intake passage 7.

The shutter roller 26 is rotatably supported by a shaft 31 of the lower roller 16 and has a free end of a roller bracket 32 provided with a rotating behavior in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 by a spring (not shown). It is arranged rotatably. A driven pulley 33 is disposed above the shutter roller 26 at one side of the shutter plate 25, and a driving pulley is disposed above the pulley 33 and the center of the first card processing transport path 8. A belt 35 for transporting the thick card 4A to the first card processing transport path 8 is stretched between the pulleys 34, and the thick card 4A is
Of the transfer means 36.

The shutter roller 26 includes a spring 2
9 is greater than the urging force of a spring (not shown) that is urging the roller bracket 32, and is normally separated from the belt 35 by being pushed down by the shutter plate 25. When the power is supplied to the solenoid 30, the shutter plate 25
When it is turned counterclockwise against this, it rises and is pressed against the drive pulley 33 via the belt 35.

At the rear end of the take-in passage 7, that is, at a branch portion between the first card processing / conveying passage 8 and the inclined passage 11, a first card sorting mechanism for selectively opening and closing these two passages 8, 11 is provided. 38 are provided. The first card sorting mechanism 38 is rotatably supported in the up and down direction by a shaft 39, closes the inclined passage 11 when taking in the thick card 4A, and closes the first card processing transport path 8 when taking in the thin card 4B. And a spring (not shown) rotatably supported by a shaft 41 and an upper selector 40 for closing the shaft.
The pin 42 provided at the front end of the drive pulley 34 is inserted and engaged with the window 43 provided at the upper selector 40, and a rotatable pinch roller 44 is provided at the rear end corresponding to the drive pulley 34. Link bracket 45,
It is constituted by a holding bracket 48 and the like which are rotated counterclockwise by a shaft 46. A roller 40 a is rotatably supported at the tip of the upper selector 40.

The holding bracket 48 integrally has a holding piece 50 corresponding to the pinch roller 44, and has the holding piece 50 integrally by a spring 49, and imparts clockwise rotation behavior by the spring 49. As a result, the pressing piece 50 is normally pressed against the pinch roller 44, and the pressing bracket 48 and the pinch roller 44 constitute a clutch mechanism 51 for the thick card 4A. In a state where the pressing piece 50 is pressed against the pinch roller 44, the link bracket 45 is rotated clockwise to be set and held in a state as shown in FIG.
The reference numeral 0 is rotated clockwise by the link bracket 45 and locked, thereby closing the first card processing conveyance path 8 and opening the inclined path 11.

The holding piece 50 is formed of a material having a large coefficient of friction, and is separated from the pinch roller 44 when the holding bracket 48 is rotated counterclockwise against the spring 49 by driving the solenoid 47. . Then, since the link bracket 45 is released from the holding piece 50,
The pinch roller 44 is pressed against the drive pulley 34 via the belt 35 by being rotated counterclockwise by the spring force, and the upper selector 40 is rotated and lowered in the same direction. The communication state and the non-communication state of the first card processing transport path 8 are switched.
Behind the upper selector 40, an upper magnetic head 54
, And a rotatable touch roller 55 is disposed with the first card processing transport path 8 interposed therebetween. Upper magnetic head 5
4 is attached to the rotating lever 56 and the touch roller 55
Is pressed against.

An IC card contact mechanism 58 and a pulse motor 59 as a drive motor for rotating the drive pulley 34 in the forward and reverse directions are provided at the rear end of the first card processing and conveying path 8. The IC card contact mechanism 58 includes a rotating lever 61 having an upper end pivotally supported by a shaft 60 and having a clockwise return behavior, and a slide member 62 connected to a lower end of the rotating lever 61. The contact 6 for detecting an IC card provided on the lower surface of the slide member 62
3 and a slope 62 a provided on the upper surface of the slide member 62.
Is constituted by a rotatable guide roller 64 etc.
The leading end of the thick card 4 </ b> A conveyed by the conveying means 36 including the belt 35 is the slide member 62.
Abuts on the lower end 62b of the sliding member 61, the rotating lever 61 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction.
2 is lowered, and the contact 63 is pressed against the thick card 4A. When the thick card 4A reaches a predetermined position, the pulse motor 59 stops and stops at that position.

The return / standby passage 9 and the inclined passage 1
A second card sorting mechanism 65 for selectively communicating these two paths 9 and 11 with the second card processing transport path 10 is provided at the branching point from the first card processing mechanism. The second card sorting mechanism 65 has a lower selector 66 rotatably supported by a shaft 67, and a roller 66a rotatably supported at the end of the selector 66. . The selector 66 is connected to the upper selector 40 by a link member 68 via pins 66b and 40b. Normally, as shown in FIG. 1, the roller 66a is located at the lower side, whereby the inclined passage 11 and the second The return / standby path 9 is closed by communicating with the card processing transport path 10. The selector 66 is connected to the solenoid 47
, The communication between the inclined passage 11 and the second card processing conveyance path 10, the communication between the inclined passage 11 and the return / standby passage 9, Communication is switched.

Reference numeral 70 denotes a card transporting means for transporting the thin card 4B, which is disposed so as to extend over both the return / standby path 9 and the second card processing transporting path 10. 70 is a pair of upper and lower belts 71 and 72
And a plurality of pulleys 73A to 73G on which these 71 and 72 are respectively stretched, and a discharge pulley 74 and the like arranged corresponding to the pulley 73G. Is configured to be transmitted. Then, the second card processing transport path 10
A touch roller 76 and a lower magnetic head 77 are arranged opposite to each other with the conveyance path 10 interposed therebetween. The touch roller 76 is a lever 7 which is rotatable and urged in a counterclockwise direction.
8 is pressed against the magnetic head 77.

Hereinafter, the operation of the card processing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. When the card 4 is inserted from the card insertion / return port 5 into the take-in passage 7, the card 4 becomes thinner card 4B.
If the card thickness detection mechanism 12 determines that the card is thin, the solenoid 30 is driven by the discrimination signal, and the shutter plate 25 rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. I do. The upper selector 40 is not operated because the solenoid 47 is maintained in the driven state, and is in a state shown in FIG. 4, that is, a state in which the intake passage 7 and the inclined passage 11 are communicated with each other, and the first card processing transport path 8 is closed. To hold. Further, the lower selector 66 connected by the link member 68 has the roller 66a positioned below, and connects the inclined passage 11 and the second card processing conveyance path 10 as shown in FIG. Passage 9
To close.

In this state, the thin card 4B is guided by the roller 40a and the roller 11a while being bent and guided to the inclined passage 11. At this time, since the roller 40a and the roller 11a rotate with the movement of the thin card 4B, the surface of the card 4B is
Although pressed by 1a, it is not damaged and does not impair the aesthetic appearance. When the card 4B is taken into the inclined passage 11, the power supply to the solenoid 30 is immediately stopped, and the shutter plate 25 is returned to the original state as shown in FIG.

The thin card 4B taken into the inclined passage 11 is taken into the second card processing / conveying path 10, and data is read and written by the magnetic head 77. When the data processing is completed, the solenoid 47 is driven, whereby the link bracket 45 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
The upper selector 40 rotates counterclockwise while rotating in the counterclockwise direction. In this operation, the lower selector 66 is rotated counterclockwise via the link member 68 to connect the return / standby path 9 with the second card processing / conveying path 10 so that the processed thin card 4B is completed. Is returned to the return / standby passage 9 and returned from the card return slot 6.

If the return / standby passage 9 is blocked and cannot be returned from the card return port 6, this abnormality is detected and the drive of the solenoid 47 is stopped, and the lower selector 66 is set to the state shown in FIG. The thin passage 4B is guided to the inclined passage 11 by making the inclined passage 11 communicate with the second card processing transfer passage 10, and is returned from the card insertion / return port 5. At this time, the thin card 4B taken into the inclined passage 11 is pressed by the roller 11b while being bent in the inclined passage 11, but the roller 11b rotates with the movement of the thin card 4B, so that the surface of the card 4B is rotated. Is the roller 11
Although pressed by b, it is not damaged and does not impair the aesthetic appearance.

On the other hand, when the card 4 inserted from the card insertion / return port 5 is a thick card 4A, the card thickness detecting mechanism 12 determines that the card is a thick card 4A. , 40
Are driven together. By driving the solenoids 30, 40, as shown in FIG. 5, the shutter plate 25 pivots upward to open the intake passage 7, and the upper selector 40 pivots counterclockwise to move the intake passage 7 The one card processing conveyance path 8 communicates, and the inclined path 11 is closed. The thick card 4A is taken into the first card processing transport path 8,
Data read / write processing by the upper magnetic head 54 and the contact 63 is performed. When the processing is completed, the data is sent backward, guided again to the card take-in path 7, and returned from the card insertion / return port 5.

At this time, the lower selector 66 is interlocked with the upper selector 40 via the link member 68 and rotates counterclockwise to close the inclined passage 11 from the second card processing conveyance path 10. Holding. For this reason, temporarily
Even when the thin card 4B is present in the second card processing transport path 10, it is not erroneously guided to the intake path 7 via the inclined path 11, and the thick card 4A and the intake path are not mixed. There is no trouble such as card jam.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a main part of a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, two pairs of rollers 80 are rotatably supported on the upper and lower surfaces of the inclined passage 11, and a belt 81 projects from the upper and lower surfaces of the inclined passage 11 between the respective rollers 80 in side view. It is stretched loosely. Therefore, when the thin card 4B is taken into the inclined passage 11, the thin card 4B is transferred by pressing the belt 81 while bending.
1 moves along with the movement of the card 4B due to the frictional force with the thin card 4B. For this reason, even though the thin card 4B is pressed against the belt 81, it does not slide and does not damage the surface of the card 4B.
Does not impair the aesthetics of the surface.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first card distribution lever for selectively communicating the first card processing transport path and the inclined path with the take-in path, the return / standby path, A rotatable roller is disposed at the tip of a second sorting lever for selectively communicating the inclined path with the second card processing transport path, and a rotatable roller is provided on the upper and lower surfaces in the inclined path. Or each of the upper and lower surfaces in the inclined passage
Since the belt movably stretched between the arranged rollers is disposed, the thin card taken in while being bent in the inclined passage presses the roller or the belt to transfer the roller or the belt. The card is rotated or moved in conjunction with the card, so that there is no substantial damage to the surface of the card, which has a substantial effect that the appearance of the card is not impaired.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along line II of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the card processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part of the card processing device according to the present invention;
It is operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of taking in a thin card.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a main part of the card processing device according to the present invention;
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an operation when a thick card is taken in.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a main part of a second embodiment of the card processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card processing apparatus 4A Thick card 4B Thin card 5 Card insertion / return port 6 Card return port 7 Card take-in path 8 First card processing transport path 9 Return / standby path 10 Second card processing transport path 11 Inclined path 11a Roller 11b Roller 40 Upper selector 40a Roller 66 Lower selector 66a Roller 68 Link member 80 Roller 81 Belt

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A card insertion / return port for inserting and returning two types of cards having different thicknesses, and one end of the card insertion / return port.
A take-in passage communicating with the return opening to take the inserted card into the inside, a first card processing transport passage communicating substantially linearly with the other end of the take-in passage and performing data processing of the card having a large thickness; A card return port provided at a predetermined distance below the card insertion / return port for returning a card having a small thickness, and one end communicating with the card return port and being substantially parallel to and below the take-in passage. A return / standby path for a card having a small thickness provided is communicated with the other end of the return / standby path substantially linearly, and the other end of the path is communicated with the other end of the take-in path. A second card processing transport path for performing data processing of a card having a small thickness including an inclined path, and a first card for selectively communicating the first card processing transport path and the inclined path with the intake path; The sorting lever and the return A second distribution lever for selectively communicating the standby path and the inclined path with the second card processing transport path, and a roller rotatable at the tip of the first and second distribution levers And a rotatable roller or an inclined roller on the upper and lower surfaces in the inclined passage.
Move between the rollers arranged on each of the upper and lower surfaces in the passage.
A card processing device, wherein a belt stretched over is provided .