JPH046664A - Structure for pressing card onto magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily ensure matching of a roller onto a magnetic head and to reduce the manufacture cost by devising the roller of a counter pressing means to be freely rocked with respsect to the magnetic head. CONSTITUTION:A support plate 20, that is, a counter pressing roller 17 is freely rocked around a pin 21 in a direction in crossing with a card carrying direction with respect to a magnetic head 16. Thus, even when an upper frame 4 is fitted to a lower frame 5, that is, the magnetic head 16 with a tilt due to an assembling error, the counter pressing roller 17 is easily matched with the magnetic head 16. Thus, a rolling face 17b of the counter pressing roller 17 is abutted on the upper face of a card 2 over the entire broadwise direction, the elastic energizing force by the support 20 acts a uniform load with respect to the card 2 thereby making a magnetic stripe 2a in close contact onto the magnetic head 16 properly. Thus, sure contact state of the card onto the magnetic head is easily ensured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a pressing structure for bringing a magnetic information recording section of a card into close contact with a magnetic head.

<Prior art> Information is accessed (read/written) by transporting a card having, for example, a magnetic stripe as a magnetic information recording section at a constant speed, and bringing the magnetic stripe into sliding contact with a magnetic head. There are various types and types of card readers/writers. In the above-mentioned card reader/writer, for example, a magnetic head is provided on the bottom wall, and a pressure roller that is resiliently biased toward the magnetic head is provided on the top plate at a position opposite to the magnetic head to suppress the card against the magnetic head. There is a device that accesses information by moving it while being held elastically between rollers.

According to the above structure, if there is a large error in mounting the suppression roller to the top plate, the rolling surface of the pressure roller may come into partial contact with the card surface, and the entire width of the head surface of the magnetic head may be covered. Since the cards are no longer brought into close contact with each other with sufficient pressing force, the pressing roller must be assembled with high precision, resulting in an increase in manufacturing costs.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In view of the problems of the prior art, the main purpose of the present invention is to improve the precision of the pressing structure for bringing the magnetic information recording section of the card into close contact with the magnetic head. It is an object of the present invention to provide a structure for pressing a card against a magnetic head, which can easily ensure that the card is in close contact with the magnetic head without causing any damage.

[Structure of the Invention (Means for Solving the Problem)] According to the present invention, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for accessing information to a magnetic information recording section of a card conveyed in a predetermined direction. a fixed magnetic head; and opposing suppressing means for pressing the card toward the fixed magnetic head in order to bring the magnetic information recording section into close contact with the fixed magnetic head, and the opposing suppressing means is configured to press the card toward the fixed magnetic head. a roller facing the magnetic head; a support supporting the roller rotatably along the transport direction; and a support supporting the roller so as to be swingable in a direction intersecting the transport direction. a support means provided between the support body and the fixed part to support the magnetic head with play, and a biasing means for resiliently biasing the roller toward the fixed magnetic head. This is achieved by providing a characteristic card pressing structure for the magnetic head.

<Operation> In this way, even if the support that pivots the roller has poor alignment with the magnetic head, the roller can swing freely relative to the magnetic head, so the roller can easily move relative to the magnetic head. As a result, the rollers are completely in close contact with the surface of the card held between them over the entire width of the transfer surface, and the assembly of the rollers to the magnetic head is not affected by errors. The card can always be brought into close contact with the magnetic head.

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the main parts by cutting away the top surface of a casing 1 of a card reader/writer to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken along the line ■--■ in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line ■--■ in FIG. The casing 1 has an upper frame 4 and a lower frame 5,
It is flat and has a box shape that is long in the left and right axial directions in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the left and right front and rear end surfaces in the figures are open.

Both frames 4.5 have a U-shaped cross section so as to face each other and overlap each other, and are rotatably connected to each other by connecting pins 19 near the rear ends of their respective side walls. , as shown by imaginary lines in FIG. 2, can be opened and closed with respect to the lower frame 5. Note that when the upper frame 4 is closed for use as a card reader/writer, a portion of the elastic locking piece (not shown) attached near the front end of the lower frame 5 engages the corresponding locking piece (not shown) of the upper frame 4. The frames 4.5 are elastically engaged with the stop holes, and both frames 4.5 are connected to each other. For example, when performing maintenance or the like, the upper frame 4 is flipped up and the upper surface of the lower frame 5 is released by releasing the engaged state of the elastic locking piece against the elastic engagement force. I can do it.

An insertion opening 3 for inserting a magnetic card 2, for example, is provided at the right front end of the casing 1. The card 2 inserted through the insertion slot 3 moves along the front-rear direction between the upper and lower opposing inner surfaces of the casing 1, that is, the top plate 4a of the upper frame 4 and the bottom wall 5a of the lower frame 5. Inside the casing 1 there is a card 2.
A pair of guide members 6 are provided to receive and guide the both side edges of the guide member.

Inside the casing 1, drive pulleys 7 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the card 2 conveyance direction, which is the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2.
and a driven pulley 8 are provided. The drive pulley 7 is
The driven pulley 8 is rotatably supported on the bottom wall 5 so as to be rotatable about an axis that is perpendicular to the conveying direction. A large-diameter gear 7a is provided coaxially and integrally with the lower part of the drive pulley 7. This large-diameter gear 7a and a flat type motor fixed to a base plate 9 extending below the bottom wall 5. The small diameter gear 10a of the output shaft of IO is in mesh with each other. Incidentally, this base plate 9 also serves as a printed wiring board of this card reader/writer.

A rubber belt 11 having, for example, a circular cross section is passed between both pulleys 7 and 8, and the drive pulley 7 and the corresponding drive pulley 7 and the belt 11 brought closer to the top plate 4 by the driven pulley 8 A straight line portion 11a connecting the two lines is arranged along the conveyance direction.

Further, the drive pulley 7 side of the straight portion 11a is pushed up by a push-up guide roller 12 provided on the bottom wall 5 so that the straight portion 11a comes into frictional contact with the lower surface of the card 2 being conveyed.

Above the boundary part of the straight part 11a wound around the driven pulley 8 and above the part of the straight part 11a pushed up by the push-up guide roller 12, there are first and second opposing pressing pads made of, for example, rubber. The rollers 13 and 14 are respectively connected to the top plate 4.
It is arranged so as to face the straight portion 11a through an opening provided in a. These opposing pressings are performed by the roller 13.
14 is a leaf spring 15a whose base end is fixed to the top plate 4a;
It is pivotally supported by the free end of the belt 15b and is rotatable along the conveyance direction, and can elastically clamp the card 2 in cooperation with the straight portion 11a of the belt 11. Therefore, the card 2 can be conveyed by driving the belt 11.

On the side of the push-up guide roller 12 inside the casing 1, information access (reading/
As shown in FIG. 4, a magnetic head 16 serving as an information access head for performing (writing) is supported on the bottom wall 5 via a bracket. At a position on the top plate 4a facing the magnetic head 16, a counter pressing means made of a plate spring material is provided so that the head surface 16a of the magnetic head 16 slides into contact with the magnetic stripe portion 2a to access information. A pressure roller 17 is provided with both ends of a roller shaft 17a pivotally supported by a support plate 20.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, both ends of the support plate 20 that pivotally supports the opposing suppressing roller 17 are erected at a portion of the top plate 4a facing downward in the figure. Pair pin 21
Supported by Before assembling the support plate 20 to this pin 21, the enlarged head 21a of the pin 21 is attached to the lower part of the neck 2.
It is formed to have the same diameter as 1b. Sometimes the assembly is done using support plate 2.
The support holes 20a formed at the center in the width direction of both ends of the pin 21 are passed through the neck lower part 21b, the protruding end of the pin 21 is crushed to form an enlarged head 21a, and the support plate is removed from the pin 21. 20 is stopped from being removed. Further, the inner diameter of the support hole 20a is enlarged to an extent equal to the outer diameter of the neck lower part 21a,
The support plate 20, that is, the opposing pressure roller 17 is swingable,
When the upper frame 4 is closed, the opposing pressure roller 17 is elastically urged toward the magnetic head 16 due to the elastic deformation of the support plate 20 . Therefore, the card 2 has the magnetic head 1
6 and the suppression roller while being held elastically.

In the card reader/writer configured in this manner, when the card 2 is inserted into the casing 1 from the insertion slot 3, a sensor (not shown) is activated, the flat motor 10 is rotated, and the drive boot 97 is activated. rotates in the direction of the solid arrow in FIG. Then, the leading end of the card 2 is elastically clamped between the linear portion 11a and the first opposing pressing roller 13, and the card 2 is conveyed toward the rear of the casing 1. Then, the first opposing pressing from the rear end of the card 2 pushes the card 2 into the straight portion 11a before the roller 13 comes off.
The card 2 is held between the roller 14 and the second opposing press, and the card 2 continues to be conveyed. In this second opposing pressing, information is accessed by the magnetic head 16 while being conveyed by the rollers 14.

By the way, as mentioned above, since the upper frame 4 can be opened and closed, it is easy to assemble and handle during maintenance. Due to dimensional errors in the stopper mechanism, etc., the accuracy of assembling the upper frame 4 to the lower frame 5 is low. For example, in the conventional structure in which the base end of the support plate that pivots the opposing pressure roller is fixed, if the assembly between both frames is not accurate, the upper frame may tilt left and right with respect to the head surface of the magnetic head. It may be assembled by If the transfer surface of the opposing pressure roller that contacts the card is tilted with respect to the head surface, it becomes impossible to press the card uniformly over the entire width of the magnetic head.

However, according to the present invention, the support plate 20 or the opposing pressure roller 17 is connected to the magnetic head 16 as shown in FIG.
The upper frame 4 is tilted with respect to the lower frame 5, that is, the magnetic head 16, due to an error in the assembly as described above. Even if the opposing pressure roller 17
can be easily aligned with the magnetic head 16. Therefore, the rolling surface 17b of the opposing pressure roller 17 comes into contact with the upper surface of the card 2 over the entire width direction, and the elastic biasing force by the support plate 20 acts on the card 2 as a uniformly distributed load, and the magnetic stripe 2a can be suitably brought into close contact with the magnetic head 16.

In this embodiment, the upper frame 4 can be opened and closed,
The ease of assembly and maintenance is improved, and the opposing suppression roller 17 can be easily aligned with the magnetic head 16 without significantly increasing the assembly accuracy, which is equivalent to the close state of the card 2 with respect to the magnetic head 16. No inconvenience will occur. Note that rollers 13 and 14 work together with the belt 11 to press the card 2 in both directions to clamp and convey it.
The leaf springs 15a and 15b supporting the opposing pressing rollers 13.14 are pivotally supported by a pair of extended free end portions, and the opposing pressing rollers 13.14 are swingable with respect to the card conveying surface. It is. Therefore, the above-mentioned opposing suppression roller 1
7, even if there is an error in the assembly between the two frames 4.5, the rollers 13, 14 are not affected by the error, and the rollers 13, 14 are pressed across the entire width of their transfer surfaces. In addition to being able to reliably come into close contact with the card 2, for example, even if the card 2 is deformed, the roller can follow the change due to the deformation.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, since the roller of the opposing pressing means is swingable with respect to the magnetic head, there is no error in assembly between the magnetic head and the roller support. Also, the alignment of the roller with the magnetic head can be easily ensured, and there is no need to increase assembly precision, so manufacturing costs can be reduced.

Furthermore, since there is no need to consider the reassembly accuracy between the two during maintenance, etc., the effects are extremely large, such as improving workability during maintenance and the like.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part of a card reader/writer based on the present invention, with the top surface of the casing cut away. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a view taken from the line ■-■ in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of essential parts taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the main parts as seen from the line ■-■ in FIG. 1...Casing 2...Card 2a...Magnetic stripe 3...Insertion slot 4...Upper frame
4a...Top plate 5...Lower frame 5 5a...Bottom wall 6...Kite member 7...Drive pulley 7a.
...Large diameter gear 8...Followed pulley 9...Base plate 10...Flat type motor 10a...Small diameter gear 11...Belt 11a...Straight line portion 12
... Push-up guide roller 13 ... First opposing pressure is roller 14 ... Second opposing pressure is rollers 15 a, 15 b ... Leaf spring 16 ... Magnetic head 16 a ... Head surface 17・
...Press roller 17a...Roller shaft 17b...
Rolling surface 18...Stopper 19...Connecting pin 20a...Support hole 21a...Enlarged head

Claims (1)

[Claims] A fixed magnetic head for accessing information to a magnetic information recording section of a card conveyed in a predetermined direction, and a fixed magnetic head for bringing the magnetic information recording section into close contact with the fixed magnetic head. a counter-pressing means for pressing the card toward the fixed magnetic head, and the counter-pressing means includes a roller facing the fixed magnetic head and a roller that is rotatable along the transport direction. a support provided between the support and a fixed portion to support the support with play so that the roller can swing freely in a direction intersecting the conveyance direction; and urging means for elastically urging the roller toward the fixed magnetic head.