JP2757343B2 - IC card reader / writer - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an IC card reader / writer.

[Prior Art] An example of a conventional IC card reader / writer will be described with reference to FIG. This reader / writer is (a) card insertion slot 1A
And (b) a card transport path 2 provided in the casing 1 for transporting the IC card K between the card insertion slot 1A and a read / write position P set in the casing 1. (D) having an engaging piece 3 protruding in the transport path of the IC card K transported on the transport path 2,
IC transported from card insertion slot 1A to read / write position P
When the card K is engaged with the engagement piece 3, the holder 4 is pushed by the IC card K and moves together with the card K;
(D) The holder 4 is disposed along the transport path 2 to slidably support the holder 4, and the holder 4 is inserted into the card insertion slot 1A.
Holder 4 as it moves from the side to the read / write position P side.
Guide rod 5 that guides the user to approach the surface of card K
(E) a contact 6 mounted on the holder 4 and contacting a contact point on the surface of the card K when the holder 4 moves to the read / write position P and approaches the surface of the card K; And a return spring 7 for urging the card to an initial position on the card insertion slot 1A side. A card reader / writer of this type is known in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 64-21591.

In this card reader / writer, when the card K is inserted from the insertion slot 1A, the drive roller 8 on the transport path 2 rotates, and the card K is transported into the casing 1. As the card K is conveyed, the front end of the card K hits the engagement piece 3 provided on the holder 4, and the holder 4 is pushed by the card K and moves together with the card K toward the read / write position P in the casing 1. I do. At that time, guide rod 5
Guides the operation of the holder 4, and the holder 4
Approaching the surface. Then, when the card K reaches the read / write position P, the contact 6 provided on the holder 4 comes into contact with the contact on the card surface. In this state, a read (write) process or a write (read) process is performed.

When the processing is completed, the drive roller 8 is rotated in the reverse direction, the card K is conveyed in the opposite direction, and is ejected from the insertion slot 1A. Then, the holder 4 returns to the initial position on the card insertion slot 1A side by the action of the return spring 7.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-described card reader / writer, the card is conveyed in the reverse direction after reading / writing and is ejected from the insertion slot 1A. Sometimes you want to capture it. However, in the conventional card reader / writer of this type, even if an illegal card is found, it cannot be taken inside because the card and the holder are engaged.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a card reader / writer of this type that can take a card in the back.

[Means for Solving the Problems] An IC card reader / writer of the present invention comprises (a) a casing having a card insertion slot, and (b) provided in the casing, and set in the card insertion slot and the casing. A card transport path for transporting the IC card to and from the read / write position, and (c) an engagement piece projecting into the transport trajectory of the IC card transported on the transport path; A holder that is pushed by the IC card and moves together with the card when the IC card conveyed to the IC card engages with the engagement piece; and (d) the holder that is disposed along the conveyance path and slides the holder. A guide rod for supporting the holder so as to approach the card surface as the holder moves from the card insertion port side to the read / write position side; and (e) mounted on the holder, A type comprising: a contact that contacts a contact point on the card surface when moved to the write position and approaches the card surface; and (f) a return spring that biases the holder to an initial position on the card insertion port side. Is characterized in that it is configured as follows.

That is, the card transport path is extended beyond the read / write position. In addition, the guide rod is extended forward from the read / write position, and the extended portion of the guide rod is formed so as to be further away from the card transport trajectory as going forward, and the holder moves the extended portion toward the forward side. In this case, the engaging piece is made to come out of the card conveyance locus in the middle of the operation.

[Action] Normally, after reading / writing at the read / write position,
The card is transported in the direction of the insertion slot and ejected from the insertion slot.

On the other hand, when a request to take the card deeper than the read / write position occurs, such as when an illegal card is found, the transport to the back is resumed as it is after the read / write. Then, since the engaging piece provided on the holder remains engaged with the card for a while, the holder also moves forward with the card, but when the holder gradually moves away from the card by the action of the guide rod, finally, The engagement piece and the card are disengaged. Then, the card is conveyed as it is without being restrained by the holder, while the holder is no longer restrained by the card and returns to the initial position by the action of the return spring.

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

1 and 2 show the overall configuration of an IC card reader / writer of the embodiment. Reference numeral 11 denotes a resin casing having a card insertion slot 11A on the front and an unauthorized card ejection slot 11D on the rear, and inside the casing 11, the card K inserted from the insertion slot 11A is kept in a horizontal state. With casing 1
A transport path 12 for transporting the sheet to the back is formed.

The transport path 12 extends beyond the read / write position P, and the entire length is set to be about twice the length from the insertion port 11A to the read / write position P. Rollers 13a and 13b are respectively disposed at the front and rear portions of the transport path 12 so as to be offset from the side edges of the transport path 12, and a belt 14 is wound around both rollers 13a and 13b. . And
By driving the motor 15 and rotating the rollers 13a and 13b and the belt 14, the card K placed on the transport path 12 is
It can be transported from the insertion opening 11A to the back or from the back in the direction of the insertion opening 11A. The front drive roller 13a is connected to the shaft 16, and a worm gear mechanism 17 for transmitting rotation of the motor 15 to the shaft 16 is provided between the shaft 16 and the motor 15.

Further, inside the casing 11, a pair of mutually parallel guide rods 18, 18 are arranged along the transport path 12 in a horizontal direction. These guide rods 18, 18 are gently curved downward and convex in a plane perpendicular to the card K, and are configured as a part of an arc. Then, the center lowermost point is positioned so as to substantially coincide with the read / write position P,
Both ends are fixed to fixed shelves 11B and 11C formed in the casing 11. Therefore, the guide rods 18 move closer to the card K on the transport path 12 from the card insertion slot 11A to the read / write position P, and from the read / write position P to the card K on the transport path 12 as they move further. Separate from.

The guide rods 18 are slidably supported by a holder 20 having a contact 19 on the bottom surface for contacting the contact point of the IC card K. That is, on the side surface of the holder 20 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, concave grooves 21 matching the curvature of the guide rod 18 are formed, and the guide rod 18 is slidably inserted into these concave grooves 21, whereby the holder 20 is horizontal. It is supported so as to be guided and moved by the guide rods 18 while maintaining the posture.

The holder 20 slidably supported by the guide rod 18 is urged by the return spring 22 toward an initial position (a position corresponding to the fixed shelf 11B) on the card insertion slot 11A side. Also, the card insertion slot 11A of the holder 20
An engagement piece 23 protruding into the transport trajectory of the card K is provided on the lower surface of the side opposite to the side. The engagement piece 23 engages with the front end of the card K conveyed from the insertion slot 11A toward the read / write position P, and moves the holder 20 from the read / write position P toward the end point further therefrom. On the way to the outside of the transport trajectory of the card K.

Also, the holder 20 is pushed by the card K and moves with the card K when the front end of the card K conveyed from the insertion slot 11A toward the read / write position P hits the engagement piece 23. The guide rods 18 approach the surface of the card K by the action of the guide rods 18. When the card K reaches the read / write position P, the contact
19 contacts the contacts on the surface of the card K.

As a configuration other than the above, as shown in FIG. 1, a sensor 41 for detecting that the card K has been inserted is provided immediately after the card insertion slot 11A, and the card K is located near the read / write position P. A sensor 42 for detecting that the read / write position P has been reached is provided, and a sensor 43 for detecting that an unauthorized card has been ejected is provided at the end of the transport path 12. Also, near the end of the guide rods 18, 18, a stopper is provided to prevent the holder 20 from going too far by inertia.
44 are provided. Although not shown, the casing
A collection box and the like are provided at the outlet 11D for unauthorized cards on the rear side of 11.

 Next, the operation will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7A, when the card K is inserted from the insertion slot 11A, the insertion detection sensor 41 detects the insertion of the card K, the motor 15 rotates, and the card K is moved from the insertion slot 11A side to the read / write position. Transport toward P. When the card K is transported, the front end of the card K hits the engagement piece 23 of the holder 20, and the holder 20 moves together with the card K.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2B, the holder 20 is guided by the guide rods 18 and 18 to move the holder 20 to the read / write position P.
, The contact gradually approaches the surface of the card K, and when the card K reaches the read / write position P, the contact 19 on the lower surface of the holder 20 contacts the contact on the surface of the card K. When the card K reaches the read / write position,
This is detected by the sensor 42, and the transport operation stops.

Normally, after reading and writing in this state, the motor is reversed to transport the card K in the direction of the insertion slot 11A, and
Discharge from 1A.

However, if it is determined that the card is a fraudulent card as a result of the reading, the motor is rotated again in the same direction from that state, and the card K is transported further from the read / write position P. Then, since the engaging piece 23 remains engaged with the front end of the card K for a while, the holder 20 also moves forward together with the card K, but as shown in FIG.
When the guide rod 18 gradually moves the card 20 away from the card K, the engagement piece 23 and the card K are finally disengaged. Then, the card K is no longer restrained by the holder 20, is conveyed to the back as it is, and is ejected from the ejection port 11D and collected. On the other hand, the holder 20 slides on the card K and waits for the card K to pass therethrough. As shown in ()), it returns to the initial position by the action of the return spring 22.

As described above, when the card K is to be collected, the card 20 is automatically disengaged from the holder 20 by transporting the card K further from the read / write position, so that both the card K and the holder 20 can be freely released. Become. Then, the card K is collected, and the holder 20 returns to a state of receiving the next card K.

The present invention can be widely used when there is a request to convey a card to the back other than when an unauthorized card is found.

[Effect of the Invention] As described above, in the IC card reader / writer of the present invention, the engagement between the holder and the card is automatically released only by transporting the card before the read / write position. Therefore, the card can be sent to the destination without being restricted by the holder. Further, the holder can automatically return to the initial position without being restrained by the card.
Therefore, if a fraudulent card is found, it can be easily loaded into the device without ejecting it from the slot.
You can immediately get ready to receive the next card.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an IC card reader / writer according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (d) are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the reader / writer, FIG. FIG. 1 is a side view of a conventional IC card reader / writer. 11 ... casing, 11A ... card insertion slot, 11D ... unauthorized card ejection port, 12 ... transport path, 18 ... guide rod, 19
… Contact, 20… Holder, 22… Return spring, 23… Engagement piece, K… IC card, P… Read / write position.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] (A) a casing having a card insertion port; and (b) a read / write position provided in the casing between the card insertion port and the casing.
A card transport path for transporting the IC card, and (c) an IC card having an engagement piece projecting in a transport locus of the IC card transported on the transport path, and being transported from the card insertion slot to the read / write position. A holder that is pushed by the IC card and moves together with the card by engaging with the engagement piece; and (d) the holder is slidably supported along the transport path and slidably supports the holder. A guide rod for guiding the holder to approach the card surface as it moves from the card insertion port side to the read / write position side; and (e) mounted on the holder, the holder moves to the read / write position and approaches the card surface. And (f) a return spring for urging the holder to an initial position on the card insertion slot side. g) Extending the transport path further forward than the read / write position; (h) Extending the guide rod further forward than the read / write position, and moving the extended portion of the guide rod further forward toward the card. An IC card reader / writer formed so as to be separated from the trajectory, wherein the engaging piece comes out of the card transport trajectory in the middle of the movement of the holder toward the front side of the extension.