JP3445976B2 - Card holder that can insert multiple cards - 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 holder, and more particularly to a card holder that allows a plurality of cards to be inserted and used from a single insertion slot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A card medium such as an IC card has a connection between a card and a connector such as a contact type having a plurality of contact pads on the card surface and a non-contact type for transferring information by using electromagnetic waves. There are various card media, such as cards of different schemes, for example cards of different card thickness.

With the widespread use of various cards, a card reader / writer is required to have a form of use in which a plurality of card media are used at one time according to respective purposes and uses such as authentication and billing. ing. Therefore, it is required to process a plurality of cards with a single reader / writer.

The connectors corresponding to different card media are
A structure corresponding to the specifications of each card is required. Therefore, as a conventional technique, simply insert each card medium using each reader / writer,
In order to lead to each connector, it was necessary to have a plurality of separate insertion openings corresponding to the type of card to be inserted and used.

[0005]

However, when a plurality of different types of cards are used in such a method,
A plurality of insertion ports having different card connectors corresponding to different types of cards must be separately attached to a housing panel of an information device or the like. Therefore, there is a problem that the surface area of the panel to be mounted becomes large, the miniaturization of the information equipment and the like is limited, and further, a separate mounting step for mounting each connector on the panel surface is required. Moreover, the user of the card must select a predetermined card insertion port corresponding to the type of each card when using the card, which causes a problem of erroneously inserting the card.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and is suitable for further miniaturizing the information equipment and reducing the step of attaching the card holder at the time of assembling the information equipment. It is an object of the present invention to provide a card holder for use with a plurality of IC cards, which reduces the possibility of erroneous insertion of cards due to.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a card holder is provided with a plurality of card accommodating portions adapted to be connected to a card medium lead writer suitable for a plurality of types of cards by a contact or non-contact method. This card holder is provided with a single card insertion slot, and has a mechanism for sequentially guiding a plurality of types of cards inserted through the single insertion slot to a plurality of corresponding card storage sections. Each card exchanges information with the reader / writer of the information equipment that uses the electronic data stored in each card by the corresponding contact or non-contact type card connector means in the card storage portion.

With this mechanism, the user can insert the card into the reader / writer device without paying attention to the selection of the insertion slot corresponding to the type of the card. In the present invention, the means for automatically recognizing the type of the card is not used, but the cards are allotted to the corresponding card storage portions according to the predetermined insertion order of the cards.

That is, the present invention is a card holder into which a plurality of cards can be inserted, and one insertion port into which the plurality of cards are inserted and the plurality of inserted cards are sequentially placed in a target card storage portion. It is a card holder having a sorting mechanism.

Further, the distributing mechanism includes at least one flap which is constantly urged in a predetermined rotation direction by a rotating spring, and the flap guides the first inserted card to the first card storage portion. As described above, the card guide portion is formed, and when the first card is inserted, the card is urged by this card and the card to be inserted next is guided to the second card storage portion against the urging by the rotation spring. It is a card holder that changes the card guide portion as described above.

Further, the distributing mechanism includes at least two flaps, the at least two flaps are linked to each other, and each flap is biased in a predetermined direction by a rotary spring so that the card to be inserted first is A card guide is formed so as to be guided to the first card storage, and when the first card is inserted, at least one of the flaps is biased by this card and the at least two
This is a card holder in which the guide portion of the card is changed by moving the second flap so as to guide the card to be inserted next to the second card storage portion.

Further, the card holder includes a substrate having connector portions formed so as to be sequentially laminated, a base portion having side walls on its side, and a cover portion, and at least one of the flaps is A rotation shaft is a card holder that is rotatably attached to a bearing portion formed on the side wall of the base portion.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The following description is of one embodiment relating to the invention and is intended to illustrate the general principle of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the configurations specifically described in the section of this embodiment and the accompanying drawings.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 16, a card holder 1 used as a reader / writer for an IC card is, for example, non-contact with a first card storage section 3 having a contact type connector section 2. A second card storage portion 4 for storing another type of card. It should be noted that the use of such contact type and non-contact type cards is merely an example of the embodiment, and the type of the card and the method of contacting the card do not limit the present invention. That is, according to the present invention, a plurality of cards of an arbitrary type can be inserted and used from one insertion slot 5.

The card holder 1 has one card insertion slot 5
Based on the insertion order of the cards 6 and 7, these cards are guided to the card storage units 3 and 4 and sorted. The card holder 1 has two flaps 8 and 9 as means for guiding and distributing the cards to the card storages 3 and 4 in order.
Have. In order to achieve this distribution, each of the two flaps is provided with a rotation spring to urge the flaps 8 and 9 in a predetermined rotation direction. It should be noted that instead of using two flaps, it is possible to guide and distribute the cards only by the rotating action of one flap.
The use of two flaps makes the sorting more reliable.

In the operation method according to this embodiment, first, when no card is inserted, the flaps 8 and 9 are rotated obliquely downward by the rotating spring 10, and the card insertion slot 5 is located at the upper first position. The contact type IC card 6 is opened so as to be guided to the card storage portion 3 of FIG.
reference). Therefore, the contact type contact type IC is first
When the card 6 is inserted, this contact type IC card 6
Is guided to the upper first card storage 3 provided with the contact type IC card connector 2. The terms such as top, bottom, left, and right used in this specification are used for convenience of description with reference to the accompanying drawings, and do not limit the actual configuration of the card holder. For example, a structure in which the illustrated card holder is turned upside down is also possible.

When the contact type IC card 6 is completely inserted, the flaps 8 and 9 are rotated to a position where they are guided to the non-contact type side, that is, the second card storage section 4 below (see FIG. 12 or 16). ). Therefore, when the non-contact type IC card 7 is inserted, the non-contact type IC card 7 is guided to the second card storing section 4 which is a non-contact type storing section. After that, the next non-contact I
When the C cards are inserted, they are all guided so as to be accommodated in the second card accommodating section 4 which is a contact type accommodating section.

1 and 2 show the appearance of a card holder 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a view of the upper side surface of the card holder 1 seen obliquely from above.
Shows a view of the lower surface of the card holder 1 shown in FIG.

1 and 2, the card holder 1
Has a structure in which a substrate 12, a base portion 13, and a cover portion 14 are sequentially stacked and combined. Cover part 14
The hooks 15 provided on the side surfaces of the base 15 fix the base portion 13 and the cover portion 14 combined in a predetermined arrangement, and the hooks 16 formed on the surface of the base portion 13 are combined in a predetermined arrangement on the substrate 12 And the base portion 13 are fixed.

Then, the base portion 13 of the card holder 1
Has a space for accommodating the card connector portion 2, and the card holder 1 has a space for accommodating the contact type IC card 6 above the base portion 13, that is, a first card accommodating portion 3 and a space below the base portion 13. It has a space for accommodating the contact type IC card 7, that is, a second card accommodating portion 4. 1 and 2 show a state in which the contact type IC card 6 and the non-contact type IC card 7 are inserted.

As shown in FIG. 2, a card holding portion 17 formed by a plurality of elongated spring members is formed in the center of the cover portion 14, and the inserted non-contact type IC card 7 is inserted from below. It is configured to support (from the upper side in FIG. 2).

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the card holder 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is disassembled into its constituent parts, and the card holder 1
7 shows cards 6 and 7 inserted in the card. Card holder 1
The main components are, for example, the substrate 12, the base portion 13, and the cover portion 14 which form the main body, and the flap 8 which determines the insertion direction of the cards 6 and 7.
9 and torsion springs 10 and 11 and the like.

As the board 12, an ordinary printed circuit board having a predetermined electric wiring formed on the surface or inside thereof is used. The contact type IC card 6 is inserted into the inner surface 18 of the substrate 12, and the connector portion 2 having a plurality of contact pieces (not shown) contacting the contact pads (not shown) formed on the surface thereof is attached. There is. The connector portion 2 has a card insertion opening 19 which is wide open outward so that the contact type IC card 6 can be easily inserted. The plurality of contact pieces are soldered to the electric wiring of the substrate 12 via the leads 20. It should be noted that a coil component or the like (not shown) can be mounted on the substrate 12 in order to transfer information between the non-contact type IC card 7 and the read / write.

4 and 5 show the appearance of the base portion 13 in this embodiment. FIG. 4 shows a view of the upper side surface of the base portion 13 seen obliquely from above, and FIG. 5 shows a view of the lower side surface seen from diagonally with the base portion 13 of FIG. 4 turned upside down. The side wall 22 on both sides thereof has a bearing portion 2 which is combined with a rotary shaft 23 formed on both side portions of the flap 8 in the lateral direction.
4 is formed and rotatably supports the flap 8. A space 25 is formed in the rear portion of the base portion 13 (on the left side in FIG. 4), and the connector portion 2 coupled to the substrate 12 is formed.
To house. A hook 16 formed on the upper surface of the hook fixes the substrate 12 placed on the base portion 13. Also,
The hook 50 (see FIG. 5) formed on the back surface is the cover 14
To fix.

6 and 7 show the outer appearance of the cover portion 14 in this embodiment. The cover portion 14 is located below the base portion 13 and has a spring portion 17 that also serves as a downward guide and a stopper for the non-contact type IC card 7. The cover portion 14 also serves to position the first flap 8 below the rotary shaft 23.

FIG. 6 shows a view of the upper side surface of the cover portion 14 seen obliquely from above, while FIG. 7 shows a view of the lower side surface seen obliquely from above with the cover portion 14 of FIG. 6 turned upside down. A large-area hole 28 is formed in the center of the cover portion 14.
A plurality of elongated card holding spring portions 17 extend in the inside 8. The spring portion 17 supports the inserted non-contact type IC card 7 from the lower side.

8 and 9 show the outer appearance of the first flap 8. The first flap 8 cooperates with the base portion 13 and the cover portion 14 and has a function of guiding and distributing the inserted cards 6 and 7. FIG. 8 shows a view of the upper side surface of the first flap 8 seen obliquely from above, and FIG. 9 shows a view of the first flap 8 turned upside down and seen from below. The first flap 8 includes a first member 29 formed of a flat portion having a wide width as a whole, in which a rotary shaft 23 of the flap 8 itself is formed in the vicinity of one end 31 thereof, and the rotary shaft 2
It has a narrow second member extending in a direction oblique to the first member 29 from the portion 3. Rotating shafts 33 and 34 that rotatably support the second flap 9 are formed at the other end 32 of the first member 29.

10 and 11 show the second flap 9
Shows the appearance of. The second flap 9 is attached to shafts 33 and 34 formed on the left and right end portions 39 of the first flap 8, and guides and distributes the cards 6 and 7 inserted together with the first flap 8. Have an effect. FIG. 10 shows a view of the upper side surface of the second flap 9 seen obliquely from above, and FIG.
1 shows the figure seen from the lower side with the second flap 9 turned upside down. The second flap 9 has bearing holes 35, 36.
And is rotatably combined with the rotation shafts 33 and 34 of the first flap 8. As shown in FIG. 3, two second flaps 9 having a symmetrical structure are arranged on both left and right sides of the first flap 8, and those shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 are the left ones.

FIG. 12 shows a sectional view of the card holder 1 of FIG. Contact type IC card 6 and non-contact type I
It is a figure of the state where the C card 7 was inserted. FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the flaps 8 and 9 in FIG. The first flap 8 is always biased counterclockwise by a torsion spring 10 attached to the shaft 23, as shown in FIG. 13A. For this reason, the first flap 8 is always the first
The left part of the member 29 is biased to rotate downward. On the other hand, the second flap 9 is the first flap 8
The torsion spring 11 attached to the shaft 34 always urges it clockwise as shown in FIG. 13B. However, the first flap 8 and the second flap 9 are respectively provided with end faces 38 and 39 that act as rotation stoppers, so that the first flap 8 and the second flap 9 cannot rotate right more than a certain amount. For example, in FIG. 13, since the end faces 38 and 39 are in contact with each other, the second flap 9 cannot rotate any further in the clockwise direction.

Next, the outline of the operation of the card holder 1 will be described mainly based on FIGS. 14 to 16. As shown in FIG. 14, in the initial state where the contact type IC card 6 is not yet inserted in the card holder 1, the first flap 8 is biased by the first torsion spring 10 and the base portion 13 It is pressed downward, that is, on the cover portion 14 side. On the other hand, the second flap 9 inserted into the shaft 33 at the tip of the first flap 8 is urged by the second torsion spring 11 to have a rotational force in the upward direction. A predetermined angle C is maintained by the detent structures 38 and 39 provided on the second flap 9.

In this state, since the second flap 9 is accommodated in the flap accommodating portion 40 of the cover portion 14, the contact type IC card 6 inserted from the card insertion slot 5 is located in the upper first card accommodating portion 3. Guided by a non-contact type IC
It is not guided to the second card storage portion 4 below where the cards are stored.

Next, when the contact type IC card 6 is further inserted, the tip portion 4 of the contact type IC card 6 is inserted.
1 pushes the end portion 42 of the first flap 8 to the right, so that the first flap 8 reverses against the counterclockwise rotational force biased by the first torsion spring 10 about the shaft 23. Rotate in the direction, that is, clockwise.

Second link linked to the tip of the first flap 8
The flap 9 is also moved by the rotation of the first flap 8, but when the tip of the second flap 9 comes into contact with the surface 43 of the card, the second flap 9 is rotated by the second torsion spring 11 about the shaft 34. It rotates in the opposite direction, that is, in the counterclockwise direction against the biased clockwise rotation force, and continues to contact the surface 43 of the contact type IC card 6 as shown in FIG.

When the contact type IC card 6 is completely inserted into the connector 2, the front end 44 of the second flap 9 is separated from the rear end portion 45 of the contact type IC card 6, so that the second torsion spring 11 is used. The second flap 9 tip end portion 44 is rotated by the biased clockwise rotation force.
Contacts the upper side 46 of the base portion 13. At this time, the base portion 13 has a space 47 for accommodating the front end portion 44 of the second flap 9 and the second flap 9 front end 44.
Fits in place above.

As shown in FIG. 16, this contact type IC
When the non-contact type IC card 7 is next inserted from the insertion slot 5 with the card 6 completely inserted, the non-contact type I card is moved by the first flap 9 and the second flap 8.
The C card 7 is guided and guided to the second storage part 4 for the non-contact type IC card 7. The second accommodating portion 4 for the non-contact type IC card 7 has a space for accommodating a plurality of cards, and a plurality of subsequent cards are all inserted into the second card accommodating portion 4.

Further, in order to prevent the non-contact type IC card 7 from coming off from the card holder 1, the spring portion 17 is formed on the cover portion 14 as described above.

The base portion 13 and the cover portion 14 can be provided with finger escapes 48 when the cards 6 and 7 are pulled out.
It is also possible to pull out a plurality of non-contact cards 6 and 7 at the same time.

Further, by arranging the position of the stopper 49 (see FIG. 12) of the non-contact type IC card 7 further forward (left side in FIG. 12), the non-contact type IC card 7 is first It is also possible to pull out the cards in the order of the contact type IC card 6.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, the embodiments of the present invention described here are merely examples, and various embodiments are possible without departing from the technical scope of the present invention. Obviously, modifications are possible.

The invention of the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified at the stage of implementation without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all constituent elements shown in the embodiment, at least one of the problems described in the section of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and it is described in the section of the effect of the invention. If at least one of the effects is obtained, the effect in which this constituent element is deleted can be extracted as the invention.

[0041]

As described above, according to the present invention, as compared with the conventional use of a plurality of card holders, downsizing of the information equipment can be facilitated, and further, the card holder can be attached at the time of assembling the information equipment. It is possible to reduce the number of steps. Further, according to the present invention, the user can insert the card into the reader / writer device without being aware of the selection of the card insertion port corresponding to each type of the card. The possibility of erroneous insertion can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an upper side and a side surface of a card holder according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen obliquely from above.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the lower side surface of the card holder, which is turned upside down and is obliquely viewed.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the card holder shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is disassembled into its components, and a card inserted into the card holder.

FIG. 4 shows an appearance of a base portion according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view of the base portion which is turned upside down and the lower side surface thereof is viewed obliquely.

FIG. 6 is an external view of a cover portion according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view of the cover portion, which is turned upside down and is viewed obliquely from a lower side surface thereof.

FIG. 8 shows an appearance of a first flap according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view of the lower side surface of the first flap, which is turned upside down and is obliquely viewed.

FIG. 10 shows an appearance of a second flap according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows a view of the lower side surface of the second flap, which is turned upside down and is obliquely viewed.

FIG. 12 shows a cross-sectional view of the card holder of FIG.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of portions of the first and second flaps with respect to FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a change of the card holder accompanying the insertion of the card for explaining the outline of the operation of the card holder of the present invention (at the start of insertion of the contact type IC card 6).

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a change of the card holder accompanying the insertion of the card for explaining the outline of the operation of the card holder of the present invention (the contact type IC card 6 is being inserted).

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a change of the card holder accompanying the insertion of the card, for explaining the outline of the operation of the card holder of the present invention. (When cards 6 and 7 have been inserted)

[Explanation of symbols]

1… Card holder 2 ... Contact type connector 3, 4 ... Card storage 5… Card insertion slot 6 ... Contact type IC card 7 ... Non-contact type IC card 8, 9 ... flaps 10, 11 ... Rotating spring (torsion spring) 12 ... Substrate 13 ... Base part 14 ... Cover 15, 16 ... Hook 17 ... Spring part 18 ... Inside 19… Insertion slot 20 ... Lead 21 ... Soldering connection 22 ... Side wall 23 ... Rotation axis 24 ... Bearing 25 ... Space 26 ... Edge 28 ... hole 29 ... First member 30 ... Second member 31, 32 ... Edge 33, 34 ... Rotating shaft 35, 36 ... Bearing holes 37 ... Tip 38, 39 ... Rotation stop end face 40 ... flap storage 41 ... Card tip 42 ... Edge 43… Card surface 44 ... Tip of the second flap 45 ... rear end of card 46 ... Upper side 47 ... Space 48 ... Finger escape 49 ... Stopper 50 ... Hook

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Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A card slot in which a plurality of cards can be inserted.
It is a ruder, and one insertion slot where multiple cards are inserted, and the inserted multiple cards are distributed to the target card storage section.
The distribution mechanism includes at least one flap that is constantly urged in a predetermined rotation direction by a rotation spring, and the flap has a first card inserted in the first card storage portion. Form the guide part of the card to be guided,
When the first card is inserted, the card is urged by this card, and the guide portion of the card is changed so that the card to be inserted next is guided to the second card storage portion against the urging force of the rotary spring. It features and to Luke Dohoruda that. 2. A card slot in which a plurality of cards can be inserted.
It is a ruder, and one insertion slot where multiple cards are inserted, and the inserted multiple cards are distributed to the target card storage section.
And at least two flaps, the at least two flaps are linked to each other, and each flap is biased in a predetermined direction by a rotating spring and is first inserted. Forming a guiding part for the card so that the card is guided into the first card receiving part, and when the first card is inserted, at least one of the flaps is urged by this card and the at least two flaps are features and to Luke Dohoruda that the guide portion of the card is changed by moving the card to be inserted to guide the second card storage portion. 3. The card holder includes a substrate having a connector portion formed so as to be sequentially laminated, a base portion having a side wall on a side portion thereof, and a cover portion, and at least one of the flaps is provided with the base portion. The card holder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rotating shaft is rotatably attached to a bearing portion formed on the side wall of the base portion.