JP3341140B2 - IC card processing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an IC card processing device for receiving an IC card having a memory circuit and the like provided therein and reading and writing the IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Unlike a magnetic recording card, an IC card electrically stores various kinds of information in a memory IC and communicates with an external device connected via a terminal provided on an outer surface. It is formed so that information may be transmitted and received by the user.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the IC card 1. A plurality of external terminals 2, 2,..., 2 are provided at a predetermined position near the front end on one surface 1a side of the resin card 1. Each external terminal is connected to a memory IC or the like built in the vicinity of the terminal.

[0004] Unless predetermined information is electrically exchanged via an external terminal, such an IC card cannot know the unique information and the amount information of the card owner. It has the advantage that it is hard to be used illegally and that the contents are not changed by external magnetism, and it has been used instead of a magnetic card.

The external dimensions of the IC card 1 are almost the same as those of a magnetic card such as a conventional telephone card, but the thickness is larger than that of the magnetic card, and the IC card processing for reading and writing the IC card is performed. The height of the card insertion slot of the device is large corresponding to the thickness of the IC card. For this reason, there is a high risk that foreign matter other than a regular IC card, such as a coin or a piece of paper, is accidentally or intentionally inserted, and there is a very high possibility that the device cannot be used due to such foreign matter insertion.

In order to cope with such foreign object insertion, in a conventional card processing apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, a shutter member is provided at a rear portion of a card insertion slot 10a of the card processing apparatus 10. 12 are provided.

[0007] The shutter member 12 includes arms 13, 1.
4 and the shutter plate 15 are integrally formed, and the rear ends 13a and 14a of the arms 13 and 14
0 is pivotally supported by the inner walls 11a and 11b of the frame 11, and the front end 14b of one arm 14 is inserted into the card insertion slot 10a.
Of the card 1 inserted into the card insertion slot 10a, and moves upward while contacting the leading end of the card 1.

The shirt member 12 is provided with a spring 16
The front end 14b of the arm 14 is always urged in a direction to enter the card passage behind the card insertion slot 10a.

The shutter plate 1 is connected to the front portions of the arms 13 and 14 and extends along the width of the card insertion slot 10a.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a card passage that follows the card insertion slot 10a, prevents entry of foreign matter that has been inserted without passing under the front end portion 14b of the arm 14, and allows the card 1 having a regular width to be inserted. When the front end 14b of the base 14 rises by the thickness of the card, it rises together with the arms 13 and 14 to make the card enter the back.

In the card processing apparatus using such a shutter mechanism, foreign matter entering from the card insertion slot 10a without passing under the front end of one arm 14, that is, foreign matter narrower than the regular card, can be inserted. Can be blocked.

[0011]

However, as described above, in the shutter mechanism in which the shutter portion rotates integrally with the tip of the arm, if the shutter portion passes through the tip of the arm thinner than the regular card, the shutter portion is also required. Since the card insertion opening is opened by the thickness of the insert, even if such a shutter mechanism is used in an IC card processing device, it prevents entry of a thin magnetic card or a card-like foreign matter having the same width as the IC card. I can't do anything at all.

In particular, when an IC card processing device is provided in parallel with a device such as a public telephone having a magnetic card processing device for reading and writing a magnetic card thinner than an IC card, a user inserts the magnetic card into the IC card processing device. There is a risk of being wrong.

If a person who has never used an IC card makes such an erroneous insertion, the operation for ejecting the card is not understood and the user is inconvenienced.

In order to solve this problem, a mechanism is employed in which the thickness of the insert is detected by an optical sensor, a microswitch, or the like, and a plunger or the like is energized and driven by the detection signal to retract the shutter plate from the card insertion slot. However, when electric components such as a sensor and a plunger are used as described above, the cost of the entire card processing apparatus is increased and the power consumption is increased. Is difficult to adopt. Further, if one of the sensor and the plunger breaks down, it becomes impossible to accept a regular card or prevent entry of foreign matter, so that the maintenance must be performed frequently.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problem and to provide an IC card processing apparatus which can prevent a card thinner than an IC card and a card-like foreign matter from entering by using an inexpensive configuration without using electric components. I have.

[0016]

In order to solve the above problems, an IC card processing device according to the present invention comprises a card insertion slot for receiving an IC card, and an IC card inserted from the card insertion slot at a predetermined position. A card receiving portion that receives the card insertion slot, and is rotatably supported behind the card insertion slot. In front of the fulcrum of rotation, the card enters the card path between the card insertion slot and the card storage portion and is inserted into the card passage. A detector is provided for slidingly contacting the insert inserted from the insertion port, and a pressing portion is extended behind the pivot for rotation, and an angular rotation corresponding to the thickness of the insert passing through the detector is provided. A movable detection lever and a shutter portion rotatably supported behind the card insertion slot and provided in front of the pivot point for entering the card passage behind a detection portion of the detection lever are provided. , After the shutter On the side, there is provided a contact portion that is close to the pressing portion of the detection lever with a gap, and when the detection lever rotates by a predetermined angle or more, the contact portion is pressed by the pressing portion of the detection lever. And a shutter lever that rotates in a direction to cause the shutter section to retreat from the card path.

With this configuration, in the IC card processing apparatus of the present invention, when the IC card having a normal thickness is inserted from the card insertion slot as an insert and the tip of the IC card passes through the detection portion of the detection lever, the detection lever is turned at a predetermined angle. The shutter rotates as described above, and the pressing portion pushes the contact portion of the shutter lever to cause the shutter portion of the shutter lever to retreat from the card path behind the detecting portion, and to allow the IC card to enter the card receiving portion. Further, when a thin insert is inserted, the rotation angle of the detection lever is smaller than a predetermined angle, the pressing portion of the detection lever does not contact the contact portion of the shutter lever, and the shutter portion is the card behind the detection portion. It is in the passage and prevents the insert from entering the card compartment.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 show the external appearance and internal structure of an IC card processing device 20 according to one embodiment.
This IC card processing device 20 is mounted on a housing 18 of a public telephone as shown in FIG. 1 together with a magnetic card processing device (not shown), and is manually inserted by a user.
Accept the card to the position where it can be pulled out, and
The information (for example, frequency information and the like) recorded on the card is rewritten.

The IC card processing device 20 receives an I
A card slot 22 fixed to project from the housing 18 to receive the C card;
2 and a housing 30 fixed to the rear part.

The card slot 22 is formed in the shape of a hollow box having an open back side, and has a bulged portion 23 which protrudes greatly in a rectangular shape on the front side, and has a small amount of protruding forward from the bulged portion 23. The formed insertion / removal operation section 24 is provided so as to be continuous horizontally. On the front surface 23a of the bulging portion 23 and the front surface 24a of the insertion / removal operation portion 24, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, a low step portion 25a formed one step lower than the lower surface of the card insertion slot 25 on the side of the bulging portion 23 slightly below the entrance of the card insertion slot 25 is formed. It is provided along the width direction.

Flanges 26, 26 are provided on both sides of the card slot 22.
6 and 26 are screwed to the inner surface side of the housing 18, and the entire processing apparatus is supported by the housing 18.

The housing 30 forms a main body of the IC card processing device 20 and is formed in a rectangular box shape by an upper cover 31 and a frame 33, and a front end portion thereof has an opening edge on the back side of the card slot 22. It is inserted and fixed so as to be inscribed in it. The upper cover 31 is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, and is fixed so as to close the upper surface of the frame 33. The lower surface of the rear portion restricts the upward movement of a slide member 65 described later, as shown in FIG. For this purpose, a restricting portion 32 is protruded.

The frame 33 includes a substantially rectangular substrate 34 and side plates 3 erected on both sides of the substrate 34 so as to face each other.
A rear plate 37 connecting the rear ends of the side plates 35, 36 with the rear plates 5, 36
As a result, the external shape as viewed from above is substantially rectangular, and the shape as viewed from the card slot 22 side is substantially H-shaped.

The lower inner wall surfaces 35a, 36 of the side plates 35, 36
In order to receive the IC card inserted from the card insertion slot 25 almost linearly while restricting the lateral movement thereof, a is parallel and opposed to each other at a distance equal to the width of the card insertion slot 25. The frame 33 is inserted into the card slot 25.
The IC card inserted from the lower surface 34a of the substrate 34,
It is fixed at a position where it enters into a card accommodating portion 38 surrounded by lower inner wall surfaces 35a, 36a of the side plates 35, 36.

As shown in FIG. 7, shaft holes 39 and 40 are provided at the front ends of both side plates 35 and 36 so as to be arranged in front and rear, and a shutter mechanism is provided in these shaft holes 39 and 40. A detection lever 41 and a shutter lever 48 to be formed are rotatably supported.

As shown in FIG. 7, the base 42 of the detection lever 41 is inverted by a band-shaped upper plate 42a and substantially L-shaped side plates 42b and 42c vertically extending from both ends of the upper plate 42a. Rotating shafts 43 and 44 project from outer walls of both side plates 42b and 42c. Both rotating shafts 43,
44 are shaft holes 39, 3 of the side plates 35, 36 of the frame 33;
9 is inserted.

One side plate 4 of the base 42 of the detection lever 41
At the lower front end of the lower portion 2b, a detecting piece 45 as a detecting portion of this embodiment extends forward, and at the rear end of the upper plate 42a, a rectangular pressing piece 46 extends rearward as a pressing portion of this embodiment. Have been.

An inclined portion 45a is provided at the lower end of the tip end of the detecting piece 45 so that the distance from the lower end increases toward the card insertion slot 25 side. Detection lever 4
When the detection piece 45 enters the lower part 25a of the card insertion slot 25 in front of the card insertion slot 25, and the tip of the card inserted into the card insertion slot 25 enters the back side while sliding on the inclined portion 45a, the rotation is performed. The pivot piece 43 is rotated about the moving shafts 43 and 44 by an angle corresponding to the thickness of the card, and the pressing piece 4 on the rear end side is rotated.
6 is lowered.

The detection lever 41 is constantly pushed forward from the rear end of the upper plate 42a of the base 42 by a leaf spring 47 whose lower end is supported by the front end of the upper surface 34b of the substrate 34, and the detection piece 45 is moved. It is always urged in a direction to enter a card passage between the card insertion slot 25 and the card accommodating portion 38.

On the other hand, the base 49 of the shutter lever 48
The detection lever 41 is formed in a rectangular flat plate having a width slightly smaller than the interval between the two side plates 42b and 42c of the base 42 of the detection lever 41. Rotation shafts 50 and 51 are provided on both sides of the rear end. The rotating shafts 50 and 51 are inserted into shaft holes 40 and 40 of the side plates 35 and 36 of the frame 33. The shutter lever 48 is
The base 49 is the side plate 42 of the base 42 of the detection lever 41.
b, 42c.

At the front end of the base 49 of the shutter lever 48, a horizontally long rectangular shutter piece 52 is vertically provided as a shutter, and is provided at the rear end of the base 48 as an abutment portion, which is one step higher than the base 49. A piece 53 extends rearward. The shutter lever 48 is biased by its own weight such that the lower end of the shutter piece 52 on the front end side enters the low step portion 25 a on the back side of the card insertion slot 25.

Here, the rotating shaft 4 of the detection lever 41
The distance from 3, 44 to the detecting piece 45 is determined by the rotation axis 4
The detection lever 4 when the card is set to be shorter than the distance from 3, 44 to the rear part of the pressing piece 46 and is thinner than the normal thickness, for example, a magnetic card is inserted until the card passes the detecting piece 45.
The turning angle of 1 is such that the descending distance of the rear part of the pressing piece 46 is slightly smaller than the gap between the rear part of the pressing piece 46 when no card is inserted and the rear part of the contact piece 53 of the shutter lever 48 ( Or equal), and the descending distance of the pressing piece 46 when a card of a regular thickness passes through the detecting piece is the pressing distance when the card is not inserted.
And the contact piece 53 is larger than the gap.

Therefore, the shutter lever 48 does not receive a force from the detection lever 41 in response to the insertion of the thin card.
The lower end of the shutter piece 52 is maintained in a state of being inserted into the low step portion 25a, and when a regular IC card is inserted, the shutter lever 48 receives the turning power from the detection lever 41 and moves the shutter piece 52 upward. To rotate.

Further, a rotating shaft 50 of the shutter lever 48,
The distance from 51 to the shutter piece 52 is
It is set longer than the distance from 0, 51 to the rear part of the contact piece 53. For this reason, when a proper IC card is inserted, the shutter piece 52 of the shutter lever 48 is longer than the descending distance of the contact piece 53, that is, the lower end of the shutter piece 52 enters the low step portion 25. Open the card passage by ascending more than the length plus the thickness of the regular card.

The detection lever 41 and the shutter lever 4
The shutter mechanism 8 is so close that its bases overlap each other, and the position of the rotation axis is set so that the rotation direction at the time of card insertion is the same, so that the entire shutter mechanism can be reduced in size. The movable area can be reduced, and the movable area can be easily provided on the upper surface side of the card passage.

On the other hand, a terminal plate mounting hole 56 is formed through substantially the center of the substrate 34. This terminal plate mounting hole 56
Is fixed to a terminal plate 57. On the lower surface side of the terminal plate 57, contact terminals 58 for contacting each external terminal of the IC card are provided in two rows of four. Each contact terminal 58 is formed in a substantially V-shape by a conductive member having a spring property (for example, phosphor bronze or the like), one end of which is fixed to the terminal plate 57, and the other end of which is provided on the terminal plate 57. The lower end is inserted into each terminal hole 57a,
a, it moves upward while elastically deforming when pressed from below, and opposes pressing force from below with its elastic return force.

At the front of the lower surface 34a of the substrate 34 of the frame 33, the card inserted from the card insertion slot 25 is separated from the lower surface of the substrate 34 so that each contact terminal 58 is not deformed by the tip of the card. Inclined guide 59 to guide
Is protruding.

Grooves 60 are provided on both sides of the terminal plate mounting hole 56, and spring hooks 61 are formed at the front end of each groove 60. Each groove 60 has a hole 6 vertically penetrating both rear corners of the frame.
2, 62 are continuous.

Behind the terminal plate mounting hole 56, a slide base 63 formed one step higher than the upper surface 34b of the substrate 34 extends to a rear portion of the frame with a predetermined width.

A slide member 65 is placed on the slide table 63. As shown in FIG. 8, the slide member 65 includes a substantially rectangular upper plate 65a and the upper plate 65a.
Side plates 65b, 65 extending downward from both sides of the
b, the lower surface of the upper plate 65a is brought into contact with the upper surface of the slide base 63, and both side plates 65b,
The slide base 63 is sandwiched by 65b, and is supported so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction.

At both ends of the front portion of the upper plate 65a, slide tables 6 are provided.
Card holders 66, 66 extending vertically up and down through the holes 62, 62 on both sides of the card holder 3 and extending to the card accommodating portion 38 are provided vertically. The card receiver 66 comes into contact with the leading end of a card inserted into the card accommodating portion 38 and slides the slide member 65 backward.

Spring hooks 67, 67 are provided in the middle of the card receivers 66, 66, respectively.
Each spring hook 67, 67 and groove 60, 6 of substrate 34
The springs 68, 68 for returning the slide member 65 to the position where the card receiver 66 abuts on the substrate 34 when the card is pulled out are hooked between the spring hooks 61, 61 in the inside. ing.

Further, both side plates 65b of the slide member 65,
When the slide member 65 slides rearward, cam portions 69 and 69 having an arcuate outer periphery for rotating the card press member 72 when the slide member 65 slides rearward are formed. Have been.

On the lower surface of the slide base 63, two bearings 70, 70 are provided so as to protrude along the width direction of the slide base 63. A shaft 71 is inserted through the bearings 70, 70, and a card pressing member 72 is rotatably supported on the shaft 71.

As shown in FIG. 8, the card pressing member 72 is formed in a substantially T-shaped plate shape, and has two bearings 73, 73 protruding from an upper portion on one surface 72a side and a lower portion from the lower portion. An elastic material 74 such as rubber or sponge is fixed. The card pressing member 72 includes the two bearings 73,
The slide 71 is rotatably supported by the lower surface of the slide base 63 so that one surface 72a thereof is directed toward the terminal plate 57 by a shaft 71 communicating the 73.

On both sides of the upper part of the card pressing member 72, contact surfaces 75, 75 face each other so as to face each other.
Each is protruded in the lateral direction. The outer periphery of each contact piece 75 has a shape in which an inclined portion 75a inclined with respect to one surface 72a and a parallel portion 75b parallel to the one surface 72a are continuous, and an inclined portion is formed on the outer periphery of the cam portion 69 of the slide member 65. 75
When the slide member 65 slides rearward in the state where the contact is in contact with the card 34, the lower part of the card pressing member 72
Rotate so as to approach the lower surface of. When the rear end of the slide member 75 is pushed to a position where it comes into contact with the rear plate 37 of the frame 33, the parallel portion 75b comes into contact with the cam portion 69, and the card pressing member 72 becomes substantially horizontal.

A microswitch 81 is supported by a circuit board (not shown) in one hole 62 at the rear corner of the board 34. The microswitch 81 is a sensor for detecting that the card has been inserted to the back. When the slide member 65 is pushed to the rearmost position, the microswitch 81 is pushed by the rear part of one of the spring hooks 67 and turned on. Mounted in position.

The contact terminals 58 and the microswitch 81 are connected to a control unit (not shown) of the public telephone via a circuit board. This control unit controls the insertion and removal of the card by the micro switch 81 in addition to the normal call control.
From the on / off state of the card, and reads / writes information from / to the inserted card through the contact terminals 58.

Next, the operation of the card processing device 20 will be described. When the IC card 1 having a regular thickness is inserted from the card insertion slot 25 on the side of the bulging portion 23 of the card slot 22, as shown in FIG.
Touches the inclined portion 45a of the detecting piece 45 of the detecting lever 41, and when the card is further pressed, the detecting piece 45 is pushed upward while sliding the inclined portion 45a on the leading end of the card, and passes through the card 1. Let it.

As shown in FIG. 9B, when the leading edge 1b of the card has completely passed through the inclined portion 45a of the detection piece 45, the detection lever 41 is brought into contact with the pressing piece 46 and the shutter lever 48. The shutter lever 48 is rotated by a predetermined angle or more corresponding to the gap of the shutter lever 53 so that the contact piece 5 of the shutter lever 48
Press 3 down. For this reason, the shutter piece 52 of the shutter lever 48 rises greatly and retreats from the card path, and the card 1 enters the card accommodating section 38.

Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 9C, a card 3 thinner than a regular card such as a magnetic card
When the card 3 (or card-like foreign matter) is inserted into the card insertion slot 25, even if the tip 3a of the card 3 passes through the inclined portion 45a of the detection piece 45 of the detection lever 41, the detection lever 4
The rear part of the pressing piece 46 is a contact piece 5 of the shutter lever 48.
It does not reach the position where 3 is pressed. Therefore, the leading end of the card 3 abuts against the front surface of the shutter piece 52 of the shutter lever 48 whose lower end has entered the groove 25a, and cannot move toward the card accommodating portion 38.

Therefore, the IC card processing device 20
Are installed side by side with the magnetic card processing device, the magnetic card is not erroneously or intentionally inserted into the IC card processing device 20.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10A, the regular IC card 1 that has entered the card
While being slightly pushed downward by the inclined guide portion 59 provided on the lower surface of the fourth member 4, the distal end thereof passes below the contact terminal 58 and abuts on the card receiver 66 of the slide member 65.

When the card is further pushed in, the slide member 65 is pushed by the card and slides backward, and the inclined portion 7 of each contact piece 75 is moved against each cam portion 69 of the slide member 65.
The card pressing member 72 circumscribing 5a rotates so that one surface side approaches the terminal plate 57 side. When the slide member 65 slides to a position where it comes into contact with the rear plate 37 of the frame 33 as shown in FIG. 10B, the card pressing member 72 rotates to a substantially horizontal state,
The card 1 is pushed up from the lower surface by the elastic member 74, and each external terminal of the card is brought into contact with each contact terminal 58.

At this time, a part of the rear part of the IC card 1
It is exposed from the insertion / removal operation section 24 of the card slot 22. The middle part of the card is the inclined guide part 59 of the substrate 34.
And the external terminal portion is pushed upward by the card pressing member 72.
The force that tries to bend the card acts on the contact part with 9,
This force is weak, and does not render the card unusable because no integrated circuits are built into this part.

The return force of the spring 68 is set to be weaker than the frictional force generated between the substrate 34 and the card due to slight bending of the card, and the cam 69 of the slide member 65 Contact piece 7
5 is in contact with the parallel portion 75b, and the card holding member 7
The moment 2 is only received in the upward direction. Therefore,
Even if you release the card in this state, the card will not return.

In this state, the microswitch 81
Is turned on by being pushed by the card receiver 66 of the slide member 65.

When the ON of the micro switch 81 is detected, a process of reading and writing information from / to a memory in the IC card is performed through each contact terminal 58. Then, when the call or the like is completed and the card is drawn, the slide member 65 is returned by the spring 68, the micro switch 81 is turned off, and the card pressing member 72 is rotated by its own weight. When the card is completely removed from the card insertion slot 25, the shutter piece 5 of the shutter lever 48 is released.
2 and the detection piece 45 of the detection lever 41 descend to return to the original state (the state in FIG. 6).

When a card-like foreign object 4 having a thickness close to that of a regular IC card and shorter than the distance from the card insertion slot 25 of the card slot 22 to the card receiver 66 is inserted. As shown in FIG. 10A, the card-like foreign matter 4 enters the card accommodating portion 38 in the same manner as a regular card, but the rear end of the card-like foreign matter 4 is Since the card enters the card receiving portion 38 before the leading end reaches the card receiver 66 of the card receiving portion 66, the card receiving portion 38 is ejected downward from the largely opened lower surface.

The card insertion slot 2 on the side of the insertion / removal operation section 24
If a card-like foreign substance longer than the distance from the card holder 5 to the card receiver 66 and shorter than the regular card is inserted, the card-like foreign substance cannot push the slide member 65 to the rearmost part, so that the force in the direction of returning the card is small. Spring 68
The card-like foreign matter is pushed out toward the card insertion slot 25 when the hand is released.

As described above, the IC card processing device 2
At 0, the shutter does not open even if an attempt is made to insert a magnetic card or card-like foreign matter that is thinner than a regular IC card, and even if a card-like foreign matter that is approximately the same thickness as the regular card and shorter than the regular card is inserted, Since the foreign matter is discharged or easily pulled out, even if it is juxtaposed with the magnetic card processing device,
Card misplacement can be prevented beforehand, and card jam due to mischief can be prevented.

[0063]

In another embodiment, the shutter lever is always biased downward to close the card slot by its own weight,
The card slot is opened by raising the shutter piece on the front end side, but the card slot is opened by the shutter piece being lowered like the shutter mechanism shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. May be.

That is, the side plates 35 ', 3 of the frame 33'
Cutouts 85, 85 are provided at the upper end of the front end of 6 ', detection pieces 89, 89 are provided at both ends of the front end of the detection lever 88, and pressing pieces 90, 90 are respectively extended from both ends of the rear side. The two rotating shafts 91 and 9 of the detection lever 88
1 is inserted into the shaft holes 39, 39 of the side plates 35 ', 36', respectively. The pressing pieces 90, 90 are side plates 35 ', 3
It projects outside of each side plate through the cutouts 85 of the 6 '.

On the other hand, the shutter lever 92 is formed in a substantially U-shape when viewed from above by a convex shutter piece 93 and arms 94 and 94 extending rearward from both ends of the shutter piece 93 so as to face each other. The rotating shafts 95, 95 formed on the rear end inner walls of the arms 94, 94 are attached to the side plates 35 ', 3
It is rotatably supported by being inserted into 6 'shaft holes 40', 40 '. At the intermediate portion between the arms 94, 94, contact pieces 96, 96 are extended upward so as to approach the lower surfaces of the pressing pieces 90, 90 of the detection lever 88. The shutter lever 92 is urged by a spring (not shown) in a direction to always raise the shutter piece 93 side.

The shutter piece 93 of the shutter lever 92 is
As shown in FIG. 12A, the card protrudes from the lower side with respect to the path of the card continuing from the card insertion slot 25 to the card accommodating section 38.

Here, when the card 1 having a regular thickness is inserted and its leading end passes under the detecting lever 88 as shown in FIG. 12B, the detecting lever 88 rotates by a predetermined angle or more, and its pressing piece 90 90, the contact pieces 96, 96 of the shutter lever 92 are pushed downward, and the shutter lever 92 pivots largely downward so that the shutter piece 93 retreats from the card passage, and the card 1 is inserted into the card accommodating portion 38. To the side.

As shown in FIG. 12C, when a card 3 (or a card-like foreign matter) thinner than the normal thickness is inserted, the detection lever 88 rotates by the thickness of the inserted object. However, this angle is smaller than the angle corresponding to the gap between the pressing piece 90 and the contact piece 96, and the pressing pieces 90 and 90 are
6, 96 cannot be pushed, and the shutter piece 93 of the shutter lever 92 does not retreat from the card passage. For this reason, the leading end of the card 3 contacts the front surface of the shutter piece 93 and cannot enter the back.

In the above-described embodiment, almost the entire width of the card insertion slot is opened and closed by the shutter plate. However, only a part of the width of the card insertion slot in the width direction may be opened and closed by the shutter plate. Good.

In the above embodiment, the detection lever and the shutter lever are supported on the frame side. However, the detection lever and the shutter lever may be supported on the inner wall of the card slot.

In the above embodiment, the distance from the rotation axis of the detection lever to the pressing portion is set to be larger than the distance from the rotation axis to the detection portion, and the distance from the rotation axis of the shutter lever to the shutter portion. Is set to be larger than the distance from the rotation axis to the contact portion, so that the gap between the pressing portion and the contact portion is increased, and the moving distance of the shutter portion with respect to the moving distance of the contact portion. However, only one lever is the same as in the above-described embodiment, and the distance from the rotation axis of the other lever to the front end and the rear end is equal, or the length relationship is opposite to that of the above-described embodiment. You may make it become.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the entry of a thin card or a card-like foreign matter is prevented by one set of the detection lever and the shutter lever. For example, the width of the detection lever and the shutter lever of the above-described embodiment is reduced. If the two sets of detection levers and shutter levers, which rotate independently, are arranged side by side along the width direction of the card insertion slot, the thickness is close to that of an IC card and the width is smaller than that of an IC card. When a small amount of card-like foreign matter is inserted, the foreign matter cannot pass under the detection piece of at least one of the detection levers, so that one of the shutter levers does not rotate, and the insertion of the foreign matter can be prevented.

Further, the shapes and arrangements of the detection lever and the shutter lever are not limited to those in the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

In the above-described embodiment, substantially the entire lower surface side of the card accommodating portion is opened, and when a regular card enters, the card holding member is rotated from below to support the card from the lower surface side. But this is
The present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can be similarly applied to a card processing apparatus in which a bottom plate is provided on the rear side of the card accommodating portion and the front end of a regular-length card is guided between the substrate and the bottom plate.

In the above embodiment, the IC card inserted from the card insertion slot is guided into the card accommodating portion so as to be slightly lowered, but this is not a limitation of the present invention. Instead of providing the inclined guide portion for the substrate, a mechanism (cam mechanism, link mechanism, etc.) for lowering each contact terminal or the terminal plate supporting them in conjunction with the sliding of the slide member is provided and inserted. The lower surface of the card may be pressed upward by a card pressing member, and the contact terminals may be lowered so that the contact terminals and the external terminals are brought into contact with each other. In this way, no bending force needs to be applied to the insertion card.

In the above embodiment, the card slot having the card insertion slot and the frame are formed separately. However, both may be formed integrally. Alternatively, the card slot may be formed in a concave shape. The center of the rear end of the card may be exposed from the card insertion slot, or the front surface of the card slot may be made flat so that the entire rear portion of the card is exposed from the card insertion slot.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to an IC card processing apparatus for manually inserting and extracting a card, but the card is inserted between the card insertion slot and the card accommodating portion. The present invention also relates to an IC card processing device which has a mechanism for transporting a card, draws a card inserted from a card insertion slot into a card storage portion, and discharges a card after read / write processing is completed from the card insertion slot or the card ejection slot. Can be applied.

[0078]

As described above, according to the IC card processing apparatus of the present invention, the detection lever which rotates by an angle corresponding to the thickness of the inserted object inserted from the card insertion slot, and the detection lever is turned by a predetermined angle or more. The shutter lever, which rotates in a direction in which the shutter portion comes out of the card passage by contacting the pressing portion when moved, prevents insertion of an insert thinner than the IC card.

For this reason, erroneous insertion of the magnetic card can be prevented even if the magnetic card processing device is installed side by side in the public telephone.

Further, since the structure includes only mechanical components such as an optical sensor and a plunger, which do not use electric components, the apparatus can be constructed at low cost without worrying about power consumption and maintenance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view of one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the embodiment in which a cover and a circuit board are omitted.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view of a main part for explaining the operation of the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view for explaining the operation of the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view for explaining the operation of another embodiment.

FIG. 13 shows an IC card.

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing the structure of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 IC card processing device 25 Card insertion slot 38 Card storage part 41 Detection lever 45 Detection piece 46 Pressing piece 48 Shutter lever 52 Shutter piece 53 Contact piece

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tatsujiro Kawakita Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, 1-6-1, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (56) References JP-A-9-16833 (JP, A) (58) ) Surveyed field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06K 17/00 G06K 13/06 G07F 7/08

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A card insertion slot for receiving an IC card, a card accommodating portion for receiving an IC card inserted from the card insertion slot to a predetermined position, and rotatably supported behind the card insertion slot, At the front side of the fulcrum of rotation, there is provided a detection unit which enters a card passage between the card insertion slot and the card accommodating portion and slides on an insert inserted from the card insertion slot, A pressing portion extends behind the fulcrum, and a detection lever that rotates at an angle corresponding to the thickness of the insert passing through the detection portion, and is rotatably supported behind the card insertion slot, A shutter is provided on the front side of the fulcrum of rotation to enter the card path behind the detection unit of the detection lever, and on the rear side of the shutter, there is a gap in the pressing portion of the detection lever. Close contact parts are provided An IC having a shutter lever that rotates in a direction in which the contact portion is pressed by a pressing portion of the detection lever when the detection lever rotates by a predetermined angle or more, and the shutter portion moves out of the card path. Card processing device.