JP3135982B2 - Magnetic card reader / writer and data reading / writing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a magnetic card reader /
More particularly, the present invention relates to a magnetic card reader / writer and a magnetic card for reading data from and writing data to a magnetic card used in a controller for a rental TV in a hospital or a timer device for karaoke, for example. The present invention relates to a data read / write method in a reader / writer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional magnetic card reader / writer of this type, a magnetic card is moved on the same straight line in both an approach direction (first direction) and a discharge direction (second direction) to form one magnetic card. One recording track was formed for the head.

[0003]

In such a conventional magnetic card reader / writer, in order to increase the recording amount, a plurality of recording tracks may be formed. for that purpose,
There is a method of simply increasing the number of magnetic heads. However, a magnetic head for a magnetic card reader / writer is very expensive, and the number of ICs used in a signal system must be increased in proportion to the increase in the number of magnetic heads. For this reason, simply increasing the number of magnetic heads causes a significant increase in cost.

[0004] Some magnetic heads are provided with a plurality of magnetic gaps in one magnetic head, and therefore can cope with a plurality of tracks. However, such a magnetic head also has a problem that it is expensive. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic card reader / writer and a data reading / writing method in the magnetic card reader / writer which can increase the recording amount at a lower cost.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems The first aspect of the present invention is to mutually flatten each other.
A transport guide having two inner surfaces fixedly and a transport
A magnetic head fixed between the inner surfaces of the guide
Along the inner surface of the transport guide by the magnetic head
Data from a magnetic card transported
Magnetic card reader / writer that writes data to the card
The distance between the two inner surfaces is larger than the width of the magnetic card
Set tightly and further placed between two inner surfaces and inside
Has a transport direction inclined to the surface, and inserts a magnetic card
Sloping transport means for transporting in the
And a magnetic card reader / writer.

The second invention is larger than the width of the magnetic card.
Fixedly has two inner surfaces parallel to each other with a space
Fixed between the transfer guide and the inner surface of the transfer guide
Provided with a magnetic head, and transported by the magnetic head.
Data is transferred from a magnetic card transported along the inner surface of the guide.
Magnetic data to read data or write data to a magnetic card
Read / write method for card reader / writer
When transporting the magnetic card in the insertion direction,
One side is transported along one of the two inner surfaces,
When transporting the card in the ejection direction, the other end of the magnetic card
Along the other of the two inner surfaces, thereby
Multiple recording tracks can be formed on a magnetic card
A data reading / writing method.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the magnetic camera is provided by the oblique transport means.
When the card is transported in the insertion direction, the magnetic card
Conveys along one of the two inner surfaces of the transport guide
Is done. In addition, the magnetic card is ejected by the oblique transport means.
When transporting a magnetic card in the
It is transported along the other of the two inner surfaces of the transport guide. So
And make the distance between the two inner surfaces larger than the width of the magnetic card.
You have set. Therefore, carry the magnetic card in the insertion direction.
Two insides for transport and transport in the discharge direction
Depending on the difference between the surface spacing and the width of the magnetic card, the magnetic head
Pass through different locations on the magnetic card. Therefore,
If tracks are formed at different positions, magnetic card insertion
The magnetic head travels different tracks in the
I can race. Therefore, the magnetic head moves to one track.
Two for two-track heads and four for two-track heads.
The rack can be formed on a magnetic card. 2nd shot
Similarly, the insertion direction and ejection direction of the magnetic card
The position on the magnetic card where the magnetic head works with
Multiple tracks on a magnetic card
Can be formed.

[0008]

According to the present invention, since a plurality of tracks can be formed on a magnetic card even if a fixed magnetic head for one track is used, a case where a plurality of magnetic heads are used or a special magnetic head is used. The amount of recording can be increased more inexpensively than in the case of using. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[0009]

Referring to FIG. 1, a magnetic card reader / writer 10 of this embodiment includes a transport guide 14 for guiding a magnetic card 12 and having a guide width wider than the width of the magnetic card 12. Cut-and-raised pieces 16a and 16b, 18a and 18b, and 20a and 20b are formed in the transport guide 14 at corresponding locations.
These bent portions 16A～20b, respectively, with respect to the long side direction of the magnetic card 12, is cut and bent to be inclined by an angle theta _1. A bearing 22 is attached to each of the cut-and-raised pieces 16a to 20b, and a shaft is attached to each of the bearings attached to the pair of cut-and-raised pieces. That is, the cut and raised piece 1
Shafts 24 are passed through bearings 22 attached to 6a and 16b, shafts 26 are passed through bearings 22 attached to cut and raised pieces 18a and 18b, respectively, and shafts 26 are passed through cut and raised pieces 20a and 20b. A shaft 28 is passed through the bearing 22 attached to each. And the shafts 24, 26
Rollers 30, 32 and 34
Are respectively fixed. A transport belt 36 is wound around these rollers 30, 32 and 34. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the transport belt 36 is disposed at a predetermined angle θ _{1 with} respect to the depth direction of the transport guide 14.

In this embodiment, since the shaft 28 functions as a drive shaft, drive means including a motor (not shown) is connected to the shaft 28. Preferably, the shaft 28 is connected to a DC motor (not shown) via, for example, a worm gear composed of a combination of a lead screw and a gear in order to suppress jitter, and the shaft 28 is rotated by rotating the DC motor. That is, the roller 34 is driven to rotate, and the transport belt 36 is rotated.
To move. One main surface of the magnetic card 12 comes into contact with the conveyor belt 36, and the magnetic card 12 is moved in accordance with the movement of the conveyor belt.
Moves in the transport guide 14. However, magnetic card 1
The tension rollers 38, 4 shown in FIG.
Since the magnetic cards 12 come into contact with each other, the magnetic card 12 is conveyed by being sandwiched between the tension rollers 38 to 42 and the conveyor belt 36.

The data written on the magnetic card 12 conveyed in this manner is stored at a predetermined position in the conveyance guide 14 (FIG. 1).
The data is read out by a magnetic head 44 fixed so as to be arranged in the magnetic card 12, and data is written to the magnetic card 12 by the magnetic head 44. At this time, the magnetic card 1
2 is sandwiched between the head roller 46 and the magnetic head 44 shown in FIG. In order to detect the position of the magnetic card being conveyed, three card position detection sensors 48, 50 and 52 each composed of, for example, a photo isolator are provided.
Each is fixedly arranged at a predetermined position in the transport guide 14.

One end of the magnetic card 12 is the transport guide 1
When the magnetic card 12 is inserted into the transport guide 14 in a state where the magnetic card 12 is in contact with one of the inner side surfaces, the magnetic card 12 first blocks the light from the card position detection sensor 48. As a result, the insertion of the magnetic card 12 is detected, and a D (not shown)
The C motor is urged to move the conveyor belt 36 to pull the magnetic card 12 inward. At this time, since the transport belt 36 is disposed at an angle θ _{1 with} respect to the insertion direction of the magnetic card 12 as described above, the magnetic card 12 is moved from A → B → C as shown in FIG. Move like. That C
, The other end of the magnetic card 12 comes into contact with the other inner surface of the transport guide 14. As a result, the magnetic card 12 is thereafter moved in parallel with the transport guide 14, such as C → D → E → F.

At this time, the light from the card position detection sensor 52 is blocked by the magnetic card 12 in the process of moving from D to E, and when the light reaches F, it is detected that the magnetic card 12 has passed the card position detection sensor 52. Is done. Therefore, at that timing, the DC motor is reversely rotated to move the transport belt 36 in the reverse direction. As a result, the magnetic card 12 further moves in the order of F → G → H, and one end of the magnetic card 12 comes into contact with one inner surface of the transport guide 14 again. Then, after that, the magnetic card 12 is
4 and is conveyed to the point where it passes through the magnetic head 44 and reaches I. At this time, the magnetic card 1
2 is detected to have passed through the card position detection sensor 48, the rotation of the DC motor is stopped, and the transport belt 36 is stopped.

As described above, by transporting the magnetic card 12 using the transport belt 36 arranged at an angle θ _{1 with} respect to the magnetic card insertion direction, as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. The card 12 follows the locus of the rhombus. Therefore, in the magnetic card reader / writer 10 of this embodiment, two recording tracks 54 and 56 can be formed by one magnetic head 44 as shown in FIG.

For example, if the distance between one inner surface and the other inner surface of the transport guide 14 is 58 mm and the width of the magnetic card 12 is 54 mm, the width of the transport guide 14 is 4 mm larger than the width of the magnetic card 12. There will be. Therefore, in FIG. 3, one end of the magnetic card 12 is connected to the transport guide 1.
4 is inserted in contact with one inner side surface of the magnetic card 12 in this case.
Are transported in the direction of X1 → X2, and the other side end contacts the other inner side surface of the transport guide 14, and thereafter X2 → X
The sheet is conveyed in parallel with the conveyance guide 14 as shown in FIG. However, the other end of the magnetic card 12 is
When the magnetic card 12 is inserted in contact with the other inner side surface, the magnetic card 12 goes straight from the beginning in the direction of Z1 → Z2 parallel to the transport guide 14. Further, when the side end of the magnetic card 12 is inserted in a state where it does not come into contact with either one of the inner surface and the other inner surface of the transport guide 14, the magnetic card 12
Is transported diagonally as Y1 → Y2, and then Y2 →
The sheet is conveyed in parallel with the conveyance guide 14 like Y3.

As described above, according to this embodiment, no matter how the magnetic card 12 is inserted, the distance d1 shown in FIG.
Is transported, the other end of the magnetic card 12 always comes into contact with the other inner surface of the transport guide 14 and moves parallel to the transport guide 14. Therefore, if the magnetic head 44 is arranged at a distance obtained by adding d2 to d1 in consideration of the variation of the mechanical components, that is, at a position where the magnetic card 12 is moved by the distance d3, the data from the recording track 54 shown in FIG. And writing data to the recording track 54 can be performed. When the magnetic card 12 is conveyed in the reverse direction, the reverse conveyance is started from a state in which the reverse start end of the magnetic card 12 is further away from the head gap position of the magnetic head 44 by the distance d3, as shown in FIG. The recording track 56 shown in FIG.

The amount of off-track at the time of reading and writing by the magnetic head 44 can be reduced if the parallelism and width tolerance between one inner surface and the other inner surface of the transport guide 14 are accurate. However, since the accuracy of the mechanical components generally varies, the magnetic head 44 has a
9 are used as shown in FIG. The magnetic head 44 shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 includes three head cores 58, 60 and 62, as can be clearly understood from FIGS. As shown in FIG. 9, head coils L1, L2 and L3 are wound around the respective head cores 58, 60 and 62, respectively. One end 64a of head coil L1
Is connected to the terminal 66a. The other end 64b of the head coil L1 and one end 68a of the head coil L2 are connected to the terminal 6
6b. Then, the other end 68 of the head coil L2
b and one end 70a of the head coil L3 are connected to the terminal 66c. Further, the other end 70b of the head coil L3 is connected to the terminal 66d. Head core 5 configured as above
The equivalent circuits of 8, 60 and 62 are shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the head cores 58, 60, and 62 around which the head coils L1, L2, and L3 are wound are covered with a plastic portion 72, and the outside thereof is covered with a metal case 74.

With the magnetic head 44, a recording current flows between the terminals 66a and 66b during recording, and the magnetic card 12 has a width x1 (for example, 3 mm) shown in FIG.
To record. Then, when reading the recorded magnetic pattern, a voltage generated between the terminals 66b and 66c,
That is, a magnetic field read with a width of x2 (for example, 2 mm) shown in FIG. 7 is used as a read data signal. Therefore,
When reading data from the magnetic card 12, as can be seen from Equation 1, the recording width has a margin of 0.5 mm above and below the reading width in FIG. The truck is ok.

[0019]

(X1−x2) /2=0.5 (mm) (where x1 = 3 (mm), x2 = 2 (mm)) As described above, the magnetic card 12 is transported and the magnetic head 44 is moved. The magnetic card reader / writer 10 can correspond to a magnetic card having two recording tracks as shown in FIG. The width of the recording tracks 54 and 56 is 3 mm
A 1 mm non-recording portion is provided between the recording tracks 54 and 56 so that the recording tracks are not overwritten. Therefore, in the magnetic card reader / writer 10, the cost performance is good because the magnetic head for one track can cope with twice the track length. Also, since the track pattern is different from the conventional one, it is strong in security. That is, data written by this embodiment cannot be read by another magnetic card reader, and a magnetic card written by another magnetic card writer cannot be read by this embodiment. Furthermore, a general magnetic card reader / writer is provided with a side pressure mechanism for pressing a magnetic card against a transport guide to travel in order to reduce off-track, but such a mechanism is unnecessary in this embodiment. It is.

If a two-track head is used as the magnetic head in the magnetic card reader / writer 10 of this embodiment, the number of executed tracks is four. When a three-track head is used, the number of execution tracks is six. For example, when a two-track head is used, the positional relationship between four recording tracks that can be handled by two head cores is divided into two types depending on the structure of the head.

One of them corresponds to a magnetic card in which a one-channel head core and a two-channel head core are brought close to each other and two pairs of parallel recording tracks are arranged, as shown in FIG. In this case, the structure of the head core of one channel and the head core of two channels can be made close to each other, so that the magnetic head can be downsized. However, since the moving width of the magnetic card must be increased, the distance of the oblique movement of the magnetic card becomes long. That is, the depth of the transport guide must be increased accordingly. In this case, the recording track width and the track pitch of a pair of recording tracks are set to 1/2.
With the width, a conveyance guide having the same depth as that of the magnetic card reader / writer 10 can be used. However, the magnetic pattern area on the recording track is reduced to １ ／, the read output signal level of the magnetic head is reduced, and the S / N ratio is deteriorated.

The other is to widen the space between the one-channel head core and the two-channel head core as shown in FIG. 12 so as to provide a space for one track, and to have two pairs of recording tracks alternately arranged. It corresponds to a card. In this case, the magnetic head becomes large, but since the moving width of the magnetic card can be reduced, the depth of the transport guide can be shorter than in the case of FIG.

Referring now to FIG. 13, a magnetic card reader / writer 80 of another embodiment also guides the magnetic card 82 and sets a guide width wider than the width of the magnetic card 82, similarly to FIG. Is used. In the transport guide 84, a transport roller 86 for transporting the magnetic card 82 is fixedly disposed at a predetermined position. Transport roller 8
6 is a predetermined angle θ _{2 with} respect to the depth direction of the conveyance guide 84.
It is arranged only tilted. The magnetic card 82 inserted into the transport guide 84 with one end thereof in contact with one inner surface of the transport guide 84 by such a transport roller 86 causes the transport roller 86 to move from the point where the magnetic card 82 contacts the transport roller 86. The sheet is conveyed in parallel with the rotation direction, and is conveyed in parallel with the inside surface of the conveyance guide 84 from a point where the other end contacts the other inside surface of the conveyance guide 84. Magnetic card 8
After the transport roller 2 has been transported to a certain depth, the transport roller 86 is rotated in the reverse direction while still in contact with the magnetic card 82. As a result, the magnetic card 82 is transported in parallel with the reverse rotation direction of the transport roller 86, and moves in the discharge direction from the point where it contacts one inner surface of the transport guide 84 in parallel with the inner surface of the transport guide 84.

A magnetic head 88 fixed at a predetermined position between the transport roller 86 and one inner surface of the transport guide 84 reads and writes the magnetic card 82 transported in the transport guide 84 as described above. Do. in this case,
The magnetic head 88 performs reading and writing on a recording track indicated by a dotted line in FIG. In the recording track shown in FIG. 14, the effective data area when moving in the forward (first) direction has a length indicated by P, and the effective data area when moving in the backward (second) direction has the length indicated by Q. The effective data areas P and Q shown in FIG. 14 are effective data areas when the magnetic card 82 is inserted into the transport guide 84 in a state of FIG. As described in the previous embodiment, one end of the magnetic card 82 is not always in contact with one inner surface of the transport guide 84 and is inserted. However, in the case of FIG. 14, the formation track becomes the longest obliquely,
The range in which reading and writing can be performed accurately is narrower than in other cases. Therefore, the valid data areas P and Q shown in FIG. 14 are the maximum valid data areas in all cases.

The magnetic card reader / writer 8 of this embodiment
0 is the magnetic card reader / writer 1 of the previous embodiment of FIG.
It can not be said that the storage capacity can be increased significantly as zero, since a special recording track pattern, similarly high security effect can Ru obtained.

[0026]

[0027]

[0028]

[0029]

[0030]

[0031]

[0032]

[0033]

In general, since magnetic cards are carried around on a daily basis, they are often bent during storage, and because they are directly touched by the user's hands, dirt and oil may adhere. Therefore, they often cause slippage during reading and errors in reading and writing. As a countermeasure, data is written at a recording density of a coarse density of 120 BPI (Bit Per Inch) to 240 BPI so that reading and writing can be performed stably with respect to jitter and spacing loss. The track width is also as wide as 6 mm to 3 mm to reduce the influence on off-track. In addition, the card contact pressure of the head is set to a high pressure of 100 to 150 g, so that spacing loss is hardly caused.

As described above, even if various measures are taken, the data error rate of a hard disk or a floppy disk is one.
In contrast to the value of 0 ^-12 or less, the magnetic card generally has a value of 10 ^-3 , and even a good magnetic card has an error rate of 10 ^{-4 which} is completely incomparable. As described above, in a magnetic card reader / writer corresponding to a magnetic card, it is more important to devise a structure and a principle of a countermeasure against a card slip and a foreign substance than to increase the accuracy of a single component. These contrivances are closely related to the deterioration of the magnetic head and the rotating part, and various know-hows are required for the material and shape in order to secure the life of the magnetic head and the life of the card transport mechanism. For this reason, it is important that a simpler design be made.

From this, it is most preferable to use a magnetic head having a plurality of tracks in order to cope with a magnetic card having a plurality of tracks. However, a magnetic head having a plurality of tracks is very expensive. In contrast, in the above-described embodiment,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 11, it is simplest and preferable in terms of structure that a magnetic card is run in a rhombic shape to correspond to a plurality of tracks.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an illustrative side view of the magnetic card reader / writer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an illustrative view showing a change in a position of a magnetic card in the transport guide shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an illustrative view showing a moving state of a magnetic card in the transport guide shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an illustrative view showing a magnetic card which can be supported by the magnetic card reader / writer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an illustrative view showing a difference in movement in the transport guide due to a difference in an insertion position of a magnetic card inserted in the transport guide shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the magnetic head shown in FIG. 1;

8 is an illustrative sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 7, including a connection state between each coil and each terminal of the magnetic head shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an illustrative view showing an equivalent circuit of each head coil shown in FIG. 9;

11 is an illustrative view showing one example of a track position of a magnetic card which can be handled when the magnetic head shown in FIG. 1 is a two-track head;

12 is an illustrative view showing one example of a track position of a magnetic card which can be handled when the magnetic head shown in FIG. 1 is a two-track head;

FIG. 13 is an illustrative view showing another embodiment of the present invention;

[Figure 14] is a magnetic card reader / writer shown in FIG. 13 Ru illustrative view showing a magnetic card that can correspond.

[Description of Signs] 10, 80 : Magnetic card reader / writer 12, 82 : Magnetic card 14, 84 ... Transport guide 30, 32, 34 ... Roller 36 : Transport belt 44, 88 ... Magnetic head 48, 50, 52: Card position detection sensor 86 ... transport low-La

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G11B 5/02 G11B 17/00 G11B 17/34

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. Fixedly having two inner surfaces parallel to each other
Between the transfer guide and the inner surface of the transfer guide.
And a magnetic head provided.
The magnetic material conveyed along the inner surface of the conveyance guide.
Read data from the magnetic card or
In a magnetic card reader / writer for writing data, a distance between the two inner surfaces is larger than a width of the magnetic card.
And further disposed between the two inner surfaces and
The conveying direction is inclined with respect to the inner side surface, and the magnetic
Oblique transport means for transporting the card in the insertion or ejection direction
Magnetic card reader / writer characterized by having
Ta. 2. The card transport means includes a transport belt.
The magnetic card reader / writer according to claim 1. 3. The card conveying means includes a conveying roller.
The magnetic card reader / writer according to claim 1. 4. A magnetic card having an interval larger than the width of the magnetic card.
Transport guide fixedly having two parallel inside surfaces
And a magnetic fixedly provided between inner surfaces of the transport guide.
A magnetic head, and the magnetic head
From a magnetic card conveyed along the inside surface of the guide
Read data or write data to the magnetic card
Reading / writing method in magnetic card reader / writer
A is, the magnetic Kerr When transporting the magnetic card in the insertion direction
Transported along one side of the two inner surfaces
When transporting the magnetic card in the ejection direction,
With the other end of the card along the other of the two inner surfaces
Conveyed, and thereby a plurality of recording tracks on the magnetic card.
Data characterized by the ability to form data
Read / write method.