JPH08293008A - Loading and unloading device for card type medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a device which loads and unloads an IC card into and out of a connector contained in a read/write device by the electric power. CONSTITUTION: A card 12 is inserted with its front edge pushing a rubber roller 44, and a start lever 24 turns by the movement of the roller 44. Then a switch 36 is actuated to start a motor 16. The card 12 which is moved by the revolution of the roller 44 pushes a card leg 62, so that a rack 56 fixed to a card holder 48 meshed into a pinion 58. The holder 48 holds the card 12 and is driven by the pinion 58 to engage a hook part 84b of a pressure arm 72b with the rear edge 12b of the card 12. Then the holder 48 pushes the card 12 at its rear part to insert the card into a contact pin 22 of a connector 20.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for attaching / detaching a card-shaped medium or an IC card (hereinafter simply referred to as a card) in a read / write device such as a personal computer, and more specifically to a connector in the read / write device. The present invention relates to a device for attaching / detaching a card by electric driving force.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a personal computer or the like, loading and unloading of cards are generally performed manually. When mounting the card on the connector, the user directly pushes the card 41 into the connector 42 with a fingertip to connect the card 41, as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the ejection is performed by pushing the ejection lever 43. That is, when the ejection lever 43 is pushed in the direction of the arrow, the tip portion 4 of the ejection lever 43 is
4 pushes one end 46 of the discharge arm 45, and the discharge arm 45 rotates clockwise about a shaft 47 as shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure. This allows the discharge arm 4
The protrusion 49 provided on the other end 48 of the card 5 abuts on the edge 50 on the insertion side of the card 41, and the card 41 is inserted into the connector 42.
Remove it and push it out.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional manual card attaching / detaching mechanism, anyone can
Since the card can be operated at any time, even a card in which confidential data is recorded can be freely removed, which poses a security problem. In addition, while the card and the computer are being accessed, the card may be accidentally removed, and there is a fear of losing data on the card and the computer side. Further, since the insertion stroke of the card is large and the insertion force into the connector is required to be considerably large, the feeling is bad, and uncertainties occur and an unfavorable unexpected situation due to the deviation of the force is caused. . An object of the present invention is to provide a device for electrically and securely performing a card attaching / detaching operation.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the structure of the present invention comprises a pushing arm which is rotatably arranged near a moving path of a card and is engageable with the card.
A carrier roller which is rotatably driven in contact with the side surface of the card is supported, is rotatably supported by a shaft of a drive rotation means of the roller, and is elastically arranged to press the roller against the side surface of the card. A starting lever is provided which is energized and interlocks with the switch.

Further, a gear train for transmitting an electric driving force to the rotating means, a card support leg slidable in the moving direction of the card and abutting the inserted card, and a rack meshing with the gear train are provided. In addition, a card holder provided with a cam means that engages with an extended portion of the rotation shaft of the transport roller, and an elastic means for urging the card holder in the ejection direction are provided, and the pushing arm and the card holder are provided. The push-in arm is interlocked according to the movement of the card holder.

Further, at least the pushing arm, the carrying roller and the driving force transmitting gear train are collectively provided only on one side of the center line of the moving path of the card, and the pinion for meshing with the carrying roller and the rack of the gear train. It is preferable that the rotation directions of the above are the same, and the peripheral speed of rotation of the conveying roller is higher than that of the pinion.

[0007]

According to the present invention, with the above structure, the pushing arm is engaged with the rear edge of the card to push the card from the rear side.
It functions to push into the connector in the read / write device and, after mounting on the connector, stops while keeping engagement with the trailing edge to prevent the card from being removed.

That is, in the initial stage, the inserted card comes into pressure contact with the conveying roller at its side surface, and the starter lever is rotated against the elastic means to operate the switch. The electric drive is started by the operation of the switch, the gear train transmits the driving force to the conveyance rollers, and the card moved by the rotation force of the conveyance rollers toward the connector further abuts the insertion side edge against the card support leg. Interlock the card holder.

Since the rack fixedly mounted by the movement of the card holder meshes with the pinion of the gear train, the card holder moves by directly receiving the driving force from the pinion. At this time, the cam means engaging with the extended portion of the rotation axis of the carrying roller acts so as to separate the carrying roller from the side surface of the card. As the card holder moves, the pushing arm that rotates to engage the rear edge of the card holds the card from the rear and moves integrally with the card holder, and finally pushes the card into the connector. You can

The card can be discharged by rotating the gear train in the reverse direction. The pinion drives the rack to move the card holder in the ejecting direction, and the card support leg holds the card insertion side edge to pull out the card from the connector. Moreover, by the time the engagement between the rack and the pinion is released, the pushing arm is disengaged from the card and pivots out of the card moving path in association with the movement of the card holder. On the other hand, the conveyance roller controlled by the cam means engages with the side surface of the card. Elastic means for urging the card holder in the ejecting direction assists in surely releasing the meshing of the rack and pinion and engaging the conveying roller and the side surface of the card.

The conveying roller which can be engaged with the side surface of the card is driven to rotate in the reverse direction and is pressed against the side surface of the card by the elastic means of the starting lever to move the card in the discharging direction. When the card is ejected to the predetermined position, the transport roller is completely freed, the start lever is rotated and the switch is operated, and the rotation of the gear ratio is stopped.

Further, if the pushing arm, the conveying roller and the driving force transmitting gear train are collectively provided on only one side of the center line of the card moving path, two devices having the same structure for two cards can be provided. , The back surfaces can be made to face each other and overlap each other, and can be integrally configured in an axially symmetrical arrangement. Further, if the rotation direction of the transport roller and the pinion are the same and the rotation peripheral speed of the transport roller is higher than the rotation peripheral speed of the pinion, the pinion and the rack are reliably engaged and disengaged, and the high speed and low torque drive by the transport roller and the pinion It is possible to smoothly switch between low speed and high torque drive.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a card-shaped medium attaching / detaching device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of a main part of a mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which an edge 12a on an insertion side of a card 12 manually inserted into a guide 10 is provided with a gear train 18 driven by a motor 16. Through the motor, the contact pin 22 of the connector 20 is electrically inserted.

Reference numeral 24 is a starting lever, which is rotatably supported coaxially with a rotary shaft 28 of a drive gear 26, and a tension coil spring 30 causes a switch 36 to be actuated by an action piece 34 of one arm 32.
The actuator 38 is always urged in the counterclockwise direction (arrow A) so as to constantly press the actuator 38. Also, the starting lever 2
The other arm 40 of 4 has a gear 4 that meshes with the drive gear 26.
A rubber roller 44 rotatably driven by 2 is rotatably supported.

The rubber roller 44 is also projected into the moving path of the card 12 so that it can be engaged with the card 12 by the urging force of the tension coil spring 30. further,
The extending portion of the rotary shaft 46 of the rubber roller 44 engages with the cam groove 54 provided in the arm 52 projecting to the side of the lower surface plate 50 of the card holder 48, and the start lever 24 is swung by the movement of the cam groove 54. Controlled as.

A rack 56 is fixedly mounted on the lower surface plate 50 of the card holder and meshes with a pinion 58. 6
Reference numeral 0 denotes an upper surface plate of the card holder 48, to which a lower surface plate 50 is connected via card supporting legs 62, 62 which support the card insertion side edge 12a. The card holder 48 includes pins 64 and 66 that are erected on the top plate 60 and the guide 10, respectively.
It is urged in the card ejection direction (arrow B) by a tension coil spring 68 stretched between the two. The upper plate 60 is provided with elongated holes 70a and 70b, and the pushing arms 72a and 7b
The 2b actuating pins 74a and 74b are slidably received.

The pushing arms 72a and 72b are provided with long grooves 76.
a and 76b, and urged in the discharge direction (arrow B) by the tension coil springs 78a and 78b. Long groove 76
The extending portion of the rotary shaft 28 of the drive gear is fitted in a, and the fixed shaft 80 is fitted in one long groove 76b. Therefore, each of the pushing arms 72a and 72b is acted upon by the biasing force of the tension coil springs 78a and 78b.
The rotary shaft 28 and the fixed shaft 80 are rotatably supported by the rotary shaft 28 and the fixed shaft 80 at a position biased toward one end 82a, 82b of the 76b, and are slidable along the rotary shaft 28 and the fixed shaft 80. 84a and 84b are pushing arms 72a and 7b.
2b is a hook portion that is integrally provided with the card 2b and that can engage with the rear edge 12b of the card so as to embrace the card 12.

The gear train 18 includes a reduction gear train 18a from the output shaft of the motor 16 to the pinion 58 and a pinion 58.
From the drive gear 26 to the drive gear 26. For example, the pinion 58 and the rubber roller 44 have the same rotational direction, and the rubber roller 44 has a rotational peripheral speed higher than that of the pinion 58. All are arranged only on one side from the center line MM of the card moving path.

In this embodiment, the first device shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 and the same second device 2 are overlapped with the back sides facing each other, and the devices 1 and 2 for two cards are integrated. Although it is configured in an axially symmetric arrangement, it is not limited to this configuration. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing this configuration along the line III-III in FIG. 1, where S is a card storage portion and G is a drive mechanism portion.

Next, the operation of the card-shaped medium attaching / detaching device in the above embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, the card 12 is manually inserted from the insertion side end edge 12a.
Rubber roller 4 that is inserted into the card and engages at the corner 12c of the card.
4 is pushed against the biasing force of the tension coil spring 30.
As a result, the starting lever 24 rotates in the clockwise direction (arrow C), and the action piece 34 releases the actuator 38. Then, the switch 36 is operated to drive the motor 16, and the gear train 18 transmits the driving force of the motor 16 to the rubber roller 44 via the pinion 58.

First, the rubber roller 44 is rotated counterclockwise (arrow D), and the outer peripheral edge of the rubber roller 44 is pressed against the side edge 12d of the card by the urging force of the tension coil spring 30, so that the rubber roller 44 rotates. Accordingly, the card 12 is moved in the insertion direction (arrow E) toward the connector 20 by the frictional force between the rubber roller surface and the surface of the card side edge.
The edge 12a on the card insertion side reaches the card support leg 62, and the card holder 48 moves as the card 12 moves.

Then, the rack 56 fixedly mounted on the lower surface plate 50 of the card holder 48 meshes with the pinion 58, and the card holder 48 holds the card 12 between the lower surface plate 50 and the upper surface plate 60. The movement by the driving force is started. Almost at the same time, the rotation shaft 46 of the rubber roller 44 is pushed by the oblique side 54a of the cam groove 54 provided on the lower surface plate 50, and the outer peripheral edge of the rubber roller 44 is separated from the side edge 12d of the card. As a result, the peripheral speed of the rubber roller 44 does not interfere with the rotation of the pinion 58. Although different rotations are superposed at the initial stage of switching from the high-speed low-torque rubber roller drive to the low-speed high-torque pinion drive, even if the engagement between the rack 56 and the pinion 58 is promoted, the rotation peripheral speed of the rubber roller 44 is high. There is nothing to do.

As the card holder 48 moves, the long holes 70a, 70b provided in the upper plate 60 are pushed by the operating pins 74a, 74b, respectively.
Activate 72b. Since the pushing arms 72a and 72b are biased in the ejection direction (arrow B) of the card 12 by the tension coil springs 78a and 78b, at the initial stage of operation, the shafts 28 and 80 of the shafts 28 and 80 are respectively formed at the ends 82a and 82b of the long grooves. The hooks 84a and 84b are rotated around to engage the rear edge 12b of the card 12.

When the freedom of rotation due to this engagement is lost, the turning force acts as a holding force for the card 12, and the pushing arms 72a, 72b cause the tension coil springs 78a, 78b to urge with the movement of the card holder 48. Axis 2 against
While the long grooves 76a and 76b are slidably guided along the lines 8 and 80, the long grooves 76a and 76b move in the insertion direction (arrow E) integrally with the card 12 and the card holder 48. As a result, the driving force of the low speed and high torque pinion 58 causes the card 12 to move toward the trailing edge 12b.
Is pressed by the hook portions 84a and 84b of the pushing arm, and the contact pin 22 of the connector 20 is forcibly inserted into the insertion-side edge 12a to complete the coupling (see FIG. 2).

When it becomes necessary to eject the card 12, the motor 1 is operated by the operation panel or an appropriate program.
6. Rotate 6 in the opposite direction. By driving the pinion 58 of low speed and high torque, the card holder 48 is forcibly moved in the ejecting direction (arrow B) via the rack 56, and the card supporting legs 62, 62 hold the edge 12a on the card insertion side, Is removed from the contact pin 22 of the connector 20. The pushing arms 72a and 72b have long grooves 76a and 76b.
While the effective length of b is moved, the hooks 84a and 84b move while engaging with the rear edge 12b of the card, and when the shafts 28 and 80 abut the ends 82a and 82b of the long grooves 76a and 76b, The movement of the holder 48 acts to rotate the pushing arms 72a and 72b by pushing the operating pins 74a and 74b with which the long holes 70a and 70b are in sliding contact with the inner surface, so that the pushing arms 72a and 72b move. The engagement with the rear edge 12b of the card 12 is released, and the moving path of the card 12 is released.

In the latter stage of the movement in which the engagement between the rack 56 and the pinion 58 is released by the movement of the relative position of the rack 56 and the pinion 58, the linear portion 54c of the cam groove 54 of the lower plate 50 is moved by the movement of the card holder 48. The rotation shaft 46 of the rubber roller 44, which has been constrained by the rubber roller 44, becomes free by reaching the bottom pocket 54b via the oblique side 54a of the cam groove 54, and the outer peripheral edge of the rubber roller 44 is urged by the tension coil spring 30 to the side edge of the card 12. It is pressed against 12d. The tension coil spring 68 smoothly assists the switching of the low speed drive of the pinion 58 to the high speed drive of the rubber roller 44.

Thereafter, the card 12 is ejected by the rotation of the rubber roller 44. Since the rubber roller 44 is free at the complete discharge position shown in FIG. 1, the starting lever 24 is rotated by the urging force of the tension coil spring 30, and the action piece 34 presses the actuator 38 to cause the switch 36 to rotate.
Is activated and the motor 16 is stopped. The card 12 can be easily removed manually.

[0028]

As described above, since the card-shaped medium attaching / detaching device according to the present invention is electrically driven, it can be operated by software using a password or the like, and security functions related to confidentiality protection can be achieved. Can be granted. Further, by disposing the card attaching / detaching mechanism on the same surface as the card and arranging it only on one side of the card, the device can be compactly constructed with a simple mechanism for two card-shaped media. Furthermore, if different systems with different peripheral speeds are used for the drive mechanism for pulling up the card-shaped medium up to the connector and the drive mechanism for inserting the contact pin into the contact pin, a quick pull-in operation and a secure insertion feeling will occur in operation, and Feeling is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a card-shaped medium attaching / detaching device according to the present invention when a card-shaped medium is inserted or ejected.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a card-shaped medium attaching / detaching device according to the present invention when a card-shaped medium is attached to a connector.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view shown along the line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a conventional card-shaped medium attaching / detaching device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Guide 12 Card 16 Motor 18 Gear Train 20 Connector 22 Contact Pin 24 Starting Lever 36 Switch 44 Rubber Roller 48 Card Holder 50 (Card Holder) Bottom Plate 54 Cam Groove 56 Rack 58 Pinion 60 (Card Holder) Top Plate 62 Card Support Legs 72a, 72b Pushing arms 84a, 84b (Hooking arm) hooks

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Makoto Hamada 5-35-2, Shirayama, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo Clarion Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A device for loading / unloading a card-shaped medium to / from a read / write device, which is rotatably arranged near a moving path of the card-shaped medium,
A pushing arm that is engageable with the card-shaped medium and a conveying roller that comes into contact with the side surface of the card-shaped medium and is rotatably driven are supported, and are rotatably supported by the shaft of the driving and rotating means of the roller and elastic. A starting lever that is urged in a direction of pressing the roller against the side surface of the card-shaped medium by means of the means, and a gear train that transmits an electric driving force to the rotating means, and a moving direction of the card-shaped medium. A card holder that is slidable and has a card support leg that comes into contact with a card-shaped medium to be inserted and a rack that meshes with the gear train, and that further includes cam means that engages with an extension of the rotation shaft of the transport roller. Elastic means for urging the card holder in the discharging direction, connecting the pushing arm and the card holder, and pushing the pushing arm according to the movement of the card holder. There attachment apparatus of a card-like medium to be interlocked. 2. The card-shaped medium according to claim 1, wherein at least the pushing arm, the conveying roller, and the driving force transmission gear train are collectively provided only on one side of a center line of a moving path of the card-shaped medium. Detachable device. 3. The rotation direction of a pinion that meshes with the conveyance roller and the rack of the gear train is the same, and the rotation peripheral speed of the conveyance roller is higher than the rotation peripheral speed of the pinion. A card-shaped medium attaching / detaching device according to.