JP6201636B2 - Media processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium processing apparatus having an IC rewriting function and a rewrite printing function.

  In the conventional technology, for example, information stored in an IC chip of a medium such as an IC card is rewritten in the medium processing apparatus, or the existing print content on the rewrite surface included in the medium is erased and reprinted. In some cases, the medium is repeatedly used. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-242435 A

However, in the conventional medium processing apparatus, when the information stored in the IC chip of the medium is rewritten or the process such as reprinting on the rewrite surface is finished and the medium is transported to the medium insertion / ejection port, it is used by the user. There is a problem that the medium may not be smoothly conveyed due to warpage of the medium due to the state or the like, and dirt on the surface of the medium adheres to and slides on the roller that conveys the medium and the conveying force is reduced. is there.
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object thereof is to enable a medium to be smoothly conveyed.

Therefore, the present invention moves in the card-shaped medium processing apparatus having a conveying path for conveying a card-like medium, disposed on a portion of the transport path, in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the card media, A conveyance switching unit that conveys the card-like medium; and a control unit that detects clogging of the card-like medium in the conveyance path and controls the conveyance switching unit, and the control unit clogs the card-like medium. when detecting, moving the transport switching unit, then, in the same conveying direction as the previous movement in a state of moving the transport switching unit, characterized by transporting the card-like medium jam is detected .

  According to the present invention as described above, an effect that the medium can be smoothly conveyed is obtained.

The schematic side view which shows the structure of the IC card processing apparatus in 1st Example. Explanatory drawing of the IC card rewriting process in 1st Example Explanatory drawing of the 1st retry return conveyance in 1st Example Explanatory drawing of the first retry conveyance in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing of the second retry conveyance in the first embodiment The flowchart showing the flow of retry conveyance processing in the first embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the 2nd retry return conveyance in 2nd Example The flowchart showing the flow of the retry conveyance process in 2nd Example.

  Embodiments of a medium processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the IC card processing apparatus in the first embodiment.
In FIG. 1, an IC card processing device 2 as a medium processing device includes a card insertion / ejection port 2a, an inserter unit 21, a switching unit 22, a card reader unit 23, and an ICR / W (IC card read / write) unit. 24, a collection unit 25, a rewrite printing unit 26, a hopper unit 27, a picker roller 28, a forgetting take-in unit 30, a conveyance path 31 that connects the units and conveys the IC card 3, and a control unit 32. It is comprised by.

  The inserter portion 21 is a portion surrounded by a one-dot chain line in the figure, and draws a card inserted from the card insertion / discharge port 2a into the apparatus. The inserter unit 21 reads or writes information, and discharges the printed card from the card insertion / discharge port 2a. The inserter unit 21 includes a magnetic head for detecting the presence or absence of a magnetic stripe on the card and a sensor for determining whether the card is an IC card.

The switching unit 22 serving as a conveyance switching unit is arranged at a branching part as a part of the conveyance path 31 and has a rotation axis orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the IC card, and rotates about the rotation axis. Then, the IC card transported by the inserter unit 21 is switched and transported, and the IC card transport destination is transferred to the card reader unit 23, ICR / W unit 24, recovery unit 25, or forget-taking unit 30. And switch.
Note that the switching unit 22 rotates about the rotation axis to switch the IC card transport destination, but is not limited thereto, and is not limited to the direction (in the drawing) orthogonal to the IC card transport direction. The IC card may be transported by switching the transport destination of the IC card.

The card reader unit 23 reads information recorded on the magnetic stripe of the card or writes information on the magnetic stripe. A card that is determined to be a card having a magnetic stripe by the inserter unit 21 is conveyed to the card reader unit 23.
The ICR / W unit 24 reads or writes information with respect to an IC chip provided in the IC card. The IC card discriminated by the inserter unit 21 and the IC card fed from the hopper unit 27 are conveyed to the ICR / W unit 24, and information is read from or written to the IC chip of the IC card.
The collection unit 25 accommodates the old IC card that has been used, and accommodates the IC card that has been transported after the transport destination is switched by the switching unit 22.

The rewrite printing unit 26 includes a print head 26a and an erasing head 26b, and erases characters printed or printed on the rewrite surface formed on the surface of the IC card. The rewrite printing unit 26 carries the IC card determined by the inserter unit 21 or the IC card fed out from the hopper unit 27, prints on the rewrite surface of the IC card, and erases printed characters and the like. .
The hopper unit 27 is configured to be detachable from the IC card processing apparatus 2 and is a storage unit that stores a new IC card in advance. The hopper portion 27 is disposed at the back of the rewrite printing portion 26 so that the IC card accommodated from the opening formed at the bottom can be carried out to the transport path 31.

The picker roller 28 is disposed so as to come into contact with the IC card accommodated in the hopper portion 27 through an opening formed in the bottom portion of the hopper portion 27, and is rotated by driving from a motor as driving means. The IC card accommodated in the hopper unit 27 can be fed out to the transport path 31.
The forgetting / taking-in section 30 is for drawing in and storing a card that has been ejected from the card insertion / ejection slot 2a when the card has not been received after a predetermined time.
The control unit 32 includes a CPU and the like, and controls the operation of the entire IC card processing device 2 based on a control program (software) stored in a storage unit such as a memory.

The control unit 32 detects the clogging of the IC card in the conveyance path 31 and controls the switching unit 22 when the switching unit 22 conveys the IC card to a conveyance destination such as the inserter unit 21. When the card jam is detected, the switching unit 22 is rotated.
In this case, the control unit 32 sets the direction in which the switching unit 22 is rotated to the top or bottom direction of the IC card as shown in FIG. 4 (a) or FIG. 5 (a) described later, and slightly in each direction. It is rotated to change the angle with respect to the transport path 31 of the transport destination.
The rotation of the switching unit 22 performed by the control unit 32 will be described later.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the IC card rewriting process in the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the IC card 3 is inserted from the card insertion / extraction port 2 a of the inserter unit 21 and is determined to be the IC card 3 by the inserter unit 21, the IC card processing device 2 Information is read from the IC chip of the IC card 3. Thereafter, information is rewritten on the IC chip of the IC card 3, and when printing is required, the IC card 3 is conveyed to the rewrite printing unit 26, and the contents printed on the rewrite surface of the IC card by the erasing head 26b. The print head 26a prints new print contents on the rewrite surface of the IC card 3. The IC card 3 on which the new print content is printed is conveyed to the inserter unit 21 and discharged from the card insertion / discharge port 2a.

  Further, when the IC card processing device 2 issues a new IC card 3, the IC card 3 is fed out from the hopper unit 27 in which the IC card 3 is stored in advance by the picker roller 28 to the ICR / W unit 24. Then, the ICR / W unit 24 writes information. When printing is necessary, the IC card 3 is conveyed to the rewrite printing unit 26, and new print contents are printed on the rewrite surface of the IC card 3 by the print head 26a. The IC card 3 on which the new print content is printed is conveyed to the inserter unit 21 and discharged from the card insertion / discharge port 2a.

Next, the configuration of the inserter unit 21 and the switching unit 22 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the first retry return conveyance in the first embodiment.
In FIG. 3, the inserter unit 21 and the switching unit 22 include a detection sensor that determines whether or not an object inserted from the card insertion / ejection port 2 a is an IC card 3 and a pair of conveyance rollers that convey the IC card 3. It is configured. The inserter unit 21 further includes a magnetic head that detects the presence or absence of the magnetic stripe of the IC card 3.

The inserter unit 21 is directed from the detection sensor 214 toward the downstream side in the discharge direction indicated by arrow B in the figure, the detection sensor 213, the conveyance roller pair 216, the detection sensor 212, the magnetic heads 217 and 218, the conveyance roller pair 215, the detection sensor. They are arranged along the conveyance path 31 in the order of 211.
The switching unit 22 moves along the conveyance path 31 in the order of the conveyance roller pair 225, the detection sensor 222, the conveyance roller pair 224, and the detection sensor 221 from the detection sensor 223 toward the downstream side in the discharge direction indicated by the arrow B in the drawing. Has been placed.

When the IC card 3 which has been subjected to processing such as rewriting of information stored in the IC chip or reprinting on the rewrite surface is discharged to the card insertion / discharge port 2a, the switching unit 22 is at a position indicated by a dotted line in the figure. When the IC card 3 is jammed and the control unit 32 determines that the jam (clogging) monitoring time has been exceeded, the first retry return conveyance is performed according to the instruction of the control unit 32, and the IC card 3 is placed at the position indicated by the solid line in the figure. After reverse conveyance, retry conveyance is performed.
The jam monitoring time is a reference time for determining whether or not the IC card 3 is jammed. In this case, a timer (not shown) starts measuring when the detection sensor 221 detects the IC card 3. To do.

Further, the state that “the conveyance roller pair 224 cannot convey the IC card 3 to the conveyance roller pair 216 of the inserter unit 21” is a state in which the conveyance force of the conveyance roller pair 224 is smaller than the load of the conveyance roller pair 216. .
This may be because, for example, the IC card 3 is warped so that the transport roller pair 216 cannot hold the IC card 3 or the IC card 3 is dirty, so the transport roller pair 224 slips and the transport force decreases. It is possible that this is the case.

In the case described above, that is, when the switching unit 22 transports the IC card 3 to the inserter unit 21, when the clogging of the IC card 3 in the transport path 31 is detected, the control unit 32 rotates the switching unit 22. Before the transfer, the IC card 3 transported up to the front of the transport roller pair 216 is returned in the insertion direction indicated by the arrow A in the figure and reversely transported, and the IC card 3 is switched as shown by the solid line in the figure. The IC card 3 is returned to the switching unit 22 (first retry return transfer).
The switching unit 22 has a rotation shaft 22a and is rotated by a driving unit (not shown) such as a motor in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 32.

Next, a description will be given of retry conveyance based on the rotation of the switching unit 22 with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the first retry conveyance in the first embodiment.
FIG. 4A shows a state in which the switching unit 22 performs the first retry conveyance, and FIG. 4B conveys the first retry conveyance of the switching unit 22 shown in FIG. The example of the shape of the possible IC card 3 is shown.

4A, after the first retry return conveyance shown in FIG. 3 is performed, the switching unit 22 rotates in the medium upper surface direction indicated by an arrow C in the drawing.
Then, the conveyance path 31 in the switching unit 22 is at a predetermined angle with respect to the conveyance path 31 in the inserter unit 21.
In this state, the pair of transport rollers 224 of the switching unit 22 transports the IC card 3 in the discharge direction indicated by arrow B in the drawing (first retry transport).

By transporting the IC card 3 in this way, the warped IC card 3 is easily held between the transport roller pair 216 as shown in FIG. 4B, so that the IC card 3 can be transported smoothly. it can.
Further, even when dirt on the surface of the IC card 3 adheres to and slides on the pair of transport rollers 224 and the transport force for transporting the IC card 3 is reduced, the IC pressed against the upper surface of the transport path 31 in the inserter unit 21. Since the contact state of the transport roller pair 224 with respect to the card 3 changes, the reduction of the transport force of the transport roller pair 224 is suppressed, so that the IC card 3 can be transported smoothly.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the second retry conveyance in the first embodiment.
FIG. 5A shows a state in which the switching unit 22 performs the second retry conveyance, and FIG. 5B conveys the second retry conveyance of the switching unit 22 shown in FIG. 5A. The example of the shape of the possible IC card 3 is shown.
5A, after the first retry conveyance shown in FIG. 4A is performed, the switching unit 22 rotates in the medium lower surface direction indicated by an arrow D in the drawing.
Then, the conveyance path 31 in the switching unit 22 is at a predetermined angle with respect to the conveyance path 31 in the inserter unit 21.

In this state, the pair of transport rollers 224 of the switching unit 22 transports the IC card 3 in the discharge direction indicated by arrow B in the figure (second retry transport).
In the second retry conveyance, the warped IC card 3 is easily held between the conveyance roller pair 216 as shown in FIG. 5B, as in the first retry conveyance. Even when the transport force for transporting the roller is reduced, the contact force of the transport roller pair 224 with the IC card 3 pressed against the lower surface of the transport path 31 in the inserter unit 21 changes, so that the transport force of the transport roller pair 224 is changed. Therefore, the IC card 3 can be transported smoothly.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
The retry conveyance process will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 in accordance with the step indicated by S in the flowchart showing the flow of the retry conveyance process in the first embodiment of FIG.
S101: The control unit 32 determines that the IC card 3 has not been transported from the switching unit 22 to the inserter unit 21, and the detection sensor 221 has detected the IC card 3, and the jam monitoring time has passed. To detect.
S102: The control unit 32 instructs the switching unit 22 to perform the first retry return conveyance.

S103: The control unit 32 instructs the switching unit 22 to perform the first retry conveyance.
S104: The control unit 32 determines whether or not the discharge is normally performed by each detection sensor. If it is determined that the discharge is not normally performed, the process proceeds to S105, and if it is determined that the discharge is normally performed, the process proceeds to S109.
S105: The control unit 32 instructs the switching unit 22 to perform the first retry return conveyance again.
S106: The control unit 32 instructs the switching unit 22 to perform the second retry conveyance.

S107: The control unit 32 determines whether or not the discharge is normally performed by each detection sensor. If it is determined that the discharge is not normally performed, the process proceeds to S108, and if it is determined that the discharge is normally performed, the process proceeds to S109.
S108: The control unit 32 reports the jam of the IC card 3 to the staff as a discharge retry over error with a warning light or the like, and ends this processing.
S109: The control unit 32 causes the inserter unit 21 to eject the IC card 3 to the card insertion / ejection port 2a, waits for the user to receive the IC card 3, and ends this processing.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the control unit that detects the jam of the IC card returns the IC card to the switching unit and transports it, and then switches to a predetermined angle with respect to the transport path of the transport destination. By rotating the conveyance path of the unit, it is possible to cope with the warp of the IC card and to suppress the reduction of the conveyance force due to the contamination of the conveyance roller of the switching unit, so that the medium can be conveyed smoothly. The effect that it can be obtained.
In the first embodiment, the case where the IC card is transported from the switching unit to the inserter unit and discharged to the card insertion / extraction port is described as an example. The present invention can also be applied to the case where the inserted IC card is transported from the inserter section or the like to the switching section.

  The inserter unit 21 in this embodiment performs the second retry return conveyance. When the IC card 3 is warped or dirt on the surface of the IC card 3 adheres to the conveyance roller pair 216 and slides, the IC card 3 is conveyed. Even when the transport force to be reduced is reduced, the IC card 3 can be transported to the card insertion / discharge port 2a without performing the first retry return transport of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of second retry return conveyance in the second embodiment.
In addition, since the structure of the inserter part 21 and the switching part 22 is the same as that of the 1st Example mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.
In FIG. 7, when the inserter unit 21 discharges the IC card 3 subjected to processing such as rewriting of information stored in the IC chip or reprinting on the rewrite surface to the card insertion / discharge port 2a, a dotted line in the figure. When the IC card 3 is clogged at the indicated position and the control unit 32 determines that the jam monitoring time has been exceeded, the second retry return conveyance is performed.

In this case, a timer (not shown) starts measuring from when the detection sensor 212 detects the IC card 3, and the control unit 32 determines whether or not the jam monitoring time has been exceeded.
In addition, as a factor that the IC card 3 is clogged at the position indicated by the dotted line in the figure, for example, when the transport roller pair 224 is slipped by dirt on the IC card 3 when transported to the transport roller pair 216, it takes time. It is conceivable that the jam monitoring time has been exceeded when the roller pair 216 starts conveying the IC card 3.

In the case described above, that is, when the switching unit 22 detects the clogging of the IC card 3 in the transport path 31 when transporting the IC card 3 to the transport destination, the transport destination receives the IC card 3 The control unit 32 is indicated by an arrow A in the figure while maintaining the state in which the IC card 3 indicated by the dotted line in the drawing is sandwiched and received by the inserter unit 21 before the magnetic heads 217 and 218. Reverse transport in the insertion direction and return (second retry return transport).
By carrying the IC card 3 in this way, the first retry return conveyance of the first embodiment is performed, the IC card 3 is returned to the switching unit 22, and the conveyance roller pair 216 is not sandwiched again. Since the pair 216 carries the IC card 3 from the sandwiched state and the probability of exceeding the jam monitoring time again decreases, the IC card 3 can be carried smoothly.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
The retry conveyance process will be described with reference to FIG. 7 in accordance with the step indicated by S in the flowchart showing the flow of the retry conveyance process in the second embodiment of FIG.
The retry process performed by the switching unit 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 according to the step indicated by S in the flowchart showing the flow of the retry transport process in the first embodiment of FIG.
S201: Since it is the same process as S101 in FIG. 6, description is abbreviate | omitted.

S202: The control unit 32 determines whether or not the detection sensor 213 arranged on the upstream side in the discharge direction of the carry-out roller pair 216 detects the IC card 3, and detects that (detection sensor ON). If it determines, it will transfer a process to S203, and if it determines with not detecting (detection sensor OFF), a process will transfer to S209.
S203: The control unit 32 determines whether or not the detection sensor 212 arranged on the downstream side in the discharge direction of the carry-out roller pair 216 detects the IC card 3, and detects that (detection sensor ON). If it determines, it will transfer a process to S204, and if it determines with not detecting (detection sensor OFF), a process will transfer to S209.

S204: The controller 32 instructs the transport roller pair 216 to perform the second retry return transport.
S205: The control unit 32 determines whether or not the IC card 3 is normally discharged by each detection sensor. If it is determined that the IC card 3 is not normally discharged, the process proceeds to S207. If it is determined that the IC card 3 is normally discharged, the process proceeds to S206. Transition.
S206: The control unit 32 determined to have normally ejected instructs the inserter unit 21 to eject the IC card 3 to the card insertion / extraction port 2a, waits for the user to receive the IC card 3, and ends this processing. .

S207: The control unit 32 determines whether or not the jam monitoring time has been exceeded. If it is determined that the jam monitoring time has been exceeded, the process proceeds to S208 as a retry over, and if it is determined that the jam monitoring time has not been exceeded, the processing proceeds to S204. Migrate to
S208: The control unit 32 reports the jam of the IC card 3 to the staff as a discharge retry over error with a warning light or the like, and ends this processing.
S209 to S216: The processing is the same as S102 to S109 in FIG.

As described above, in the second embodiment, since the pair of transport rollers of the inserter transports again from the state where the IC card is sandwiched, the probability of exceeding the jam monitoring time is reduced, so that the medium is transported smoothly. The effect that it can do is acquired.
In the second embodiment, the conveyance roller pair of the inserter unit is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to the conveyance roller pair of the rewrite printing unit.

2 IC Card Processing Device 2a Card Insertion / Ejection Port 3 IC Card 21 Inserter Unit 22 Switching Unit 22a Rotating Shaft 23 Card Reader Unit 24 ICR / W Unit 25 Collection Unit 26 Rewrite Printing Unit 27 Hopper Unit 28 Picker Roller 30 Forgetting Portion 31 Transport path 211-214, 221-223 Detection sensor 215, 216, 224, 225 Transport roller pair 217, 218 Magnetic head

Claims (9)

In the card- like medium processing apparatus having a conveyance path for conveying the card-like medium ,
Said disposed on a portion of the transport path, the transport switching unit which moves in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the card media to transport the card media,
A controller that detects clogging of the card-like medium in the conveyance path and controls the conveyance switching unit ;
Wherein the control unit, upon detecting a blockage of the card-like medium, moving the conveyance path switching unit, then, in the same conveying direction as the previous movement in a state of moving the transport switching unit, clogging is detected A card- like medium processing apparatus for conveying a card-like medium. The card-like medium processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The card-type medium processing apparatus, wherein the transport switching unit is arranged at a branching portion of the transport path. The card-like medium processing device according to claim 2,
The card-type medium processing apparatus, wherein the conveyance switching unit has a rotation axis that is orthogonal to a conveyance direction of the card-like medium, and rotates about the rotation axis to switch a conveyance destination. . In the card-like medium processing device according to claim 3,
The control unit is configured such that when the transport switching unit transports the card-like medium to the transport destination, or when a transport source transports the card-like medium to the transport switching unit , the card in the transport path when detecting clogging of Jo media, card-shaped medium processing apparatus characterized by rotating the transport switching unit. The card-like medium processing device according to claim 4,
The control unit sets the rotation direction of the conveyance switching unit as an upper surface direction or a lower surface direction of the card-like medium, and determines an angle of the conveyance destination with respect to the conveyance path or an angle of the conveyance switching unit with respect to the conveyance path. is changed,
When the clogging of the card-like medium in the conveyance path is detected, the conveyance switching unit is rotated in one direction of the upper surface direction or the lower surface direction to carry out retry conveyance, and the card-like medium is normal by this retry conveyance. The card-like medium processing apparatus further performs retry conveyance by rotating the conveyance switching unit in a direction opposite to the one direction when the medium is not conveyed . In the card-like medium processing device according to claim 4 or 5,
When the conveyance switching unit detects the clogging of the card-like medium in the conveyance path when the conveyance switching unit conveys the card-like medium to the conveyance destination, before rotating the conveyance switching unit , wherein by reversely conveying the card media, the card-like medium treatment apparatus characterized by returning the card-like medium to the conveying switch portion. In the card-like medium processing device according to claim 4 or 5,
The control unit detects a clogging of the card-like medium in the conveyance path when the conveyance switching unit conveys the card-like medium to the conveyance destination, and the conveyance destination is the card-like medium. A card-like medium processing apparatus, wherein the card-like medium is conveyed after being reversely conveyed in the conveyance destination while maintaining the state where the card-like medium is received. In the card-like medium processing device according to claim 4 or 5,
The control unit detects the clogging of the card-like medium in the conveyance path when the conveyance source conveys the card-like medium to the conveyance switching unit, and before rotating the conveyance switching unit , wherein by reversely conveying the card media, card-shaped medium processing device characterized by returning the card-like medium to the transfer origin. In the card-like medium processing device according to claim 4 or 5,
Wherein, when said conveying source transports the card media into the transport switching unit, there is when it detects clogging of the card-like medium of the conveying path, the conveying switch portion shape the card An apparatus for processing a card-like medium, wherein when the medium is received, the card-like medium is conveyed after being reversely conveyed in the conveyance destination while maintaining the state of receiving the card-like medium.

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