JPH1083437A - Magnetic card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To set a magnetic card reader to be thin by fitting a printing means to a frame so that it can freely turn, providing the guides of the magnetic card for the printing means and the frame and moving the magnetic card in an oblique direction in progressing the magnetic card or in printing. SOLUTION: A printing head 71 is fixed to a shaft 72. The shaft 72 is turnably supported by a bearing 73 fitted to a lower frame 21. The guide 74 projecting on the side of the magnetic card 101 is provided on the lower side of the printing head 71. The guide 94 of the magnetic card 101 is provided for the sideboard of the lower frame 21. In the guide part 94, a linear part 94a is provided for a part where the magnetic card 101 previously passes. A bending part 94b is provided in continuation to the linear part 94a. The magnetic card 101 can be bent in a prescribed form by the guide 94 and the printing head 71.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a magnetic card reader for reading magnetic information recorded on a magnetic card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a magnetic card, a plastic card having a magnetic stripe attached thereto, such as various credit cards and cash cards, or a card using PET (polyethylene terephthalate), such as a prepaid card, or There are paper cards and the like. Recently, the use of prepaid cards such as telephone cards, highway cards, and orange cards has been increasing. As optional processing for improving security, there are a method of making a small hole in a card such as a telephone card and an orange card, and a method of printing a usage history (balance) one by one such as a highway card. In particular, the type of printing is increasing. The magnetic card reader is provided with the optional functions as described above.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a conventional example of a magnetic card reader. The lower frame 2 has a magnetic card 1
A roller 6 for moving the magnetic card on a transport path 5 formed in a plane, a magnetic head 8 for reading magnetic information, a drive roller 10 for moving a magnetic card reader rightward in the drawing, and a platen roller 12. Have been. The upper frame 3 is provided with a pressing roller 7 facing the driving roller 6, a pressing roller 9 facing the magnetic head 8, and a pressing roller 11 facing the driving roller 10. Further, a thermal head 13 (print head) is provided so as to face the platen roller 12. In general, thermal heads are broadly classified into an end face type (side face type) and a flat type (edge type). The end face type prints on the end face portion of the thermal head and has a schematic shape like the thermal head 13 in FIG. Magnetic cards, unlike thermal paper, are elastic and difficult to bend. Therefore, in printing, a method is generally used in which a magnetic card is transported straight (straight pass), and an end face type thermal head is pressed vertically against the magnetic card. The flat type prints on a flat portion at one end of a print head formed flat, like a print head 71 in FIG. 5 described later in the embodiment of the invention. The flat type is used for printing on thermal paper used in a fax or a printer. The print head shown in the conventional example is an end face type. An insertion port 4 is formed by the lower frame 2 and the upper frame 3.

[0004] The magnetic card 1 is inserted into the insertion slot 4 from the left side of the drawing, passes over the transport path 5, and is inserted to the position of the drive roller 6. Then, a sensor (not shown) detects that the magnetic card 1 is present, and the drive roller 6 rotates, and the magnetic card 1 is moved rightward so as to sandwich the magnetic card 1 with the pressing roller 7. When moving, the magnetic head 8 reads magnetic information written on the magnetic card 1. The pressing roller 9 is provided so as to increase the adhesion to the magnetic head 8 in order to accurately read the magnetic information written on the magnetic card 1. The magnetic card 1 advances rightward, and is further fed rightward by the driving roller 10 and the pressing roller 11. When the reading is completed, the drive roller 10 rotates forward or backward to send the magnetic card 1 to the printing position. The thermal head 13, which has been separated from the magnetic card 1 at the upper position and is on standby, is lowered by a driving device (not shown), sandwiches the magnetic card 1 with the platen roller 12 and prints information to be displayed on the surface thereof. After printing, magnetic card 1
Is sent leftward by the drive roller 10, further sent by the drive roller 6, and carried out of the insertion slot 4.

[0005]

In the prior art, the thermal head is mounted so as to be vertically movable. However, such a mechanism requires a large space in the height direction, and the magnetic card reader becomes thick.
At present, there is an increasing demand for miniaturization, and it is important to reduce the thickness. Further, sharpness is required in printing. The present invention is to solve such a problem.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve the problem of the conventional magnetic card reader, and provides a thin magnetic card reader.

A frame having a magnetic card transport path;
In a magnetic card provided with a magnetic card transporting means, a magnetic head for reading magnetic information of the magnetic card, and a printing means for printing on the surface of the magnetic card, the printing means is rotatably attached to the frame. The printing means includes a print head, a driving device for driving the print head at the time of printing, and a platen roller.A magnetic card guide is provided on the magnetic card side of the print head and the frame. Alternatively, the magnetic card can be moved obliquely during printing. Further, the guide of the magnetic card provided on the frame is formed so as to have at least a linear portion that is on a tangent to the platen roller and a curved portion that is continuous with the linear portion. Since the print head rotates, the thickness can be reduced. Further, by providing a magnetic card guide on the magnetic card side of the print head and on the frame, the shape of the guide may be at least a straight line portion tangential to the platen roller and a curved portion continuous with the straight line portion. In this case, the thickness of the magnetic card can be further reduced, and the magnetic card can be brought into close contact with the platen roller so that printing can be made clearer.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a top view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a top view of the embodiment of the present invention without an upper frame, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view, partially in section, of the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the print head is waiting at a predetermined upper position. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a partial cross section in an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state at the time of printing. FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
Is a side cross-sectional view as viewed from the left (AA direction).

A transport path 25 is formed in the lower frame 21 by a flat portion 22 and guides 23 and 24 erected on the flat portion 22.

Below the flat portion 22, a DC motor 26 is mounted on a side plate 37 of the lower frame 26. DC
The motor 26 is provided with an encoder unit 39, and a pinion 31 is attached to a rotating shaft. Also, the side plate 37
, Shafts 27 and 28 are erected. A gear 29 is attached to the shaft 27, and a gear 30 is attached to the shaft 28. Further, a bearing 35 is attached to a side plate 37 and a bracket 36 provided on the lower surface of the flat portion 22, and the shaft 33 is rotatably supported by the bearing 35. A gear 33 and a drive roller 34 using urethane rubber on the surface are attached to the shaft 33.

A bracket 51 is provided on the lower surface of the flat portion 22. A magnetic head 52 is fixed to the bracket 51.

The upper frame 61 is provided with a resin pressing roller 65 at a position facing the magnetic head 52, and a resin pressing roller 62 at a position facing the drive roller 34. The pressing roller 62 is rotatably attached to a shaft 63, and the shaft 63 is pressed by a spring 64. The spring 64 is for applying an appropriate pressing force to move the magnetic card 101. The pressing roller 65 is rotatably attached to a shaft 66, and the shaft 66 is pressed by a spring 67.
The spring 67 presses the magnetic card 101 against the magnetic head 52 with an appropriate force to ensure reading. The upper frame 61 is fixed to the lower frame 21 with screws.

The print head 71 is fixed to a shaft 72. The shaft 72 is rotatably supported by a bearing 73 attached to the lower frame 21.
A lever 75 is fixed to an end of the shaft 72.
A drive shaft 77 of a solenoid 76 is connected to an end of the lever 75 opposite to the side on which the shaft 72 is mounted. On the lower surface side (the magnetic card 101 side) of the print head 71, a guide 74 having a convex shape on the magnetic card 101 side is provided. In this embodiment, the print head 71 is a flat thermal head. This is because the magnetic card 101 can be bent into a predetermined shape by the guide 94 and the print head 71 described later. Thereby, the thickness can be reduced.

A platen roller 81 is provided to face the print head 71. The platen roller 81 is fixed to a shaft 82, and the shaft 82 is rotatably supported by bearings 83 attached to the side plates 37, 38 of the lower frame 21. The surface of the platen roller 81 was made of NBR (nitrile rubber).

The lower frame 21 has sensors 91 and 92 mounted thereon. The presence or absence of a magnetic card is detected by sensors 91 and 92. Based on the signal, the movement of the magnetic card, printing and the like are controlled by an electric circuit (not shown).

A guide 94 for the magnetic card 101 is provided on the side plates 37 and 38 of the lower frame 21. Guide 94
The portion through which the magnetic card 101 passes first is a straight portion 94
a is provided. The linear portion 94a is formed on a tangent to the platen roller 81. A curved portion 94b is provided continuously to the straight portion 94a. And the curved part 9
4b, a straight portion 94c is provided substantially parallel to the transport path 25. A stopper 93 is provided at the end of the straight portion 94c. The stopper 93 stops the magnetic card 101 at a position where the magnetic card 101 does not deviate from the magnetic head 52, so that the magnetic card 101 can be transported reliably.

An insertion opening 95 is formed by the lower frame 21 and the upper frame 61.

Next, the operation will be described. The magnetic card 101 is inserted through the insertion slot 95, moved on the transport path 25, and pushed down to the drive roller 34. Then, the sensor 91 detects the magnetic card 101, and the DC motor 26 rotates. This rotation is reduced from the pinion 31 via the gears 29 and 30 and transmitted to the gear 32. The rotation transmitted to the gear 32 is transmitted from the shaft 33 to the drive roller 34,
The magnetic card 101 is pressed by the pressing roller 62 and transported rightward without slipping. The magnetic card 101 crosses the sensor 92. If the sensor 92 does not detect the signal even after the lapse of a predetermined time, an error occurs and error processing is performed. At the same time that the sensor 91 detects the magnetic card 101, the magnetic head 52 is ready to read the magnetic information of the magnetic card 101. Further, at the same time when the sensor 91 detects the magnetic card 101, the encoder 39 detects the number of pulses accompanying the rotation.

When the magnetic card 101 is transferred,
The magnetic head 52 reads magnetic information written on the magnetic card 101. The pressing roller 65 moves the magnetic card 101 so that a reading error is prevented.
2 is pressed with appropriate force. The magnetic card 101 advances to the right side, and moves obliquely downward by the guide 74 of the print head 71, which stops at a predetermined position above and stops at the time other than printing, and the guide 94 provided on the side plate 38 of the lower frame 21. .

When the magnetic card 101 is transferred by a preset number of rotations (number of pulses), the rotation of the DC motor 26 stops, and then starts to rotate in a direction opposite to the current rotation direction, and the magnetic card 101 is transferred to the left. Is done. The rotation speed is set based on the read magnetic information, and when the motor rotates by the set rotation speed, the DC motor 26 decelerates or stops. At the same timing, current flows through the solenoid 76, and the drive shaft 77 moves rightward. Accordingly, the magnetic head 71 rotates downward (counterclockwise) about the shaft 72, and presses the magnetic card 101 with the platen roller 81 disposed at the opposed position to perform printing.

When printing, the magnetic card 101 is pressed obliquely downward by a guide 74 of the print head 71 and a guide 94 provided on the side plate 38 of the lower frame 21.
As described above, the guide 94 is provided on the tangent line of the platen roller 81 with a straight portion 94a, a curved portion 94b continuous with the 94a, and a straight portion 94c continuous with the curved portion 94b substantially parallel to the transport path 25. A stopper 93 is provided at the end of the portion 94c. Thereby, at the time of printing, the magnetic card 10
1 is pressed down along the guide 94 to bend the magnetic card 101 to a predetermined curvature and to come into close contact with the platen roller 81 over a wide area. Therefore, the print head 71
Can hold down the magnetic card 101 properly,
Printing becomes clearer. Since the guide of the magnetic card 101 is also for clear printing, for example, the guide 74 provided in the print head 71 is eliminated, and the linear portions 9 of the guide 94 are provided on the side surfaces of the side plates 37 and 38.
A guide may be newly provided at a position that does not interfere with the print head 71 above the position 4a.

After printing is completed, the current flowing through the solenoid 76 is cut off, and the drive shaft 77 is pushed back by a spring provided in the solenoid 76 to rotate upward again to a predetermined position. Stop. At the same time, the DC motor 26 rises again to a predetermined rotation speed and rotates by a predetermined number of rotations. By the end of the rotation, the magnetic card 101 is moved to the left, and the magnetic card 101 can be taken out from the insertion slot 95. If the sensor 92 detects the magnetic card 101 even after the rotation has been performed by the determined number of rotations, an error process is performed as an error.

Although a magnetic card reader has been described so far, the magnetic head 52 can be used as a magnetic card reader / writer by using a magnetic head 52 that can read and write data. The operation at this time is, for example, reading when moving the magnetic card 101 rightward, then moving leftward to write, moving rightward again to verify (verify), and finally moving leftward. , And print and carry out.

[0024]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by employing the above-described structure. 1 By attaching the printing means to the frame so as to be rotatable, providing the printing means and a guide for the magnetic card on the frame, and allowing the magnetic card to move in an oblique direction when the magnetic card advances or when printing is performed. The thickness of the magnetic card reader can be reduced. (2) Since the guide of the magnetic card provided on the frame is formed of at least a straight line portion tangent to the platen roller and a curved portion continuous therewith, a large area of the magnetic card comes into close contact with the platen roller 81 during printing, and The head can appropriately press the magnetic card, and the printing can be sharpened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a conventional example of a magnetic card reader.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the embodiment of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the embodiment of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention, from which an upper frame is removed.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the embodiment of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view, partially in section, of the magnetic card reader according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state where the print head is waiting at a predetermined upper position.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a magnetic card reader according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a partial cross-sectional view, showing a state at the time of printing.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a magnetic card reader according to the present invention;
Is a side cross-sectional view as viewed from the left (AA direction).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Magnetic card 2 Lower frame 3 Upper frame 4 Insertion opening 5 Transport path 6 Drive roller 7 Press roller 8 Magnetic head 9 Press roller 10 Drive roller 11 Press roller 12 Platen roller 13 Thermal head 21 Lower frame 22 Flat part 23 Guide 24 Guide 25 Conveying path 26 DC motor 27 Shaft 28 Shaft 29 Gear 30 Gear 31 Pinion 32 Gear 33 Shaft 34 Drive roller 35 Bearing 36 Bracket 37 Side plate 38 Side plate 39 Encoder unit 51 Bracket 52 Magnetic head 61 Upper frame 62 Pressing roller 63 Shaft 64 Spring 65 Press Roller 66 Shaft 67 Spring 71 Print head 72 Shaft 73 Bearing 74 Guide 75 Lever 76 Solenoid 77 Drive shaft 81 Platen roller 2 shaft 83 bearing 91 sensor 92 sensor 93 stopper 94 guide 94a linear portion 94b curved portion 94c linear portion 95 insertion opening 101 magnetic card

Claims (3)

[Claims] A frame having a transport path for a magnetic card;
In a magnetic card comprising a magnetic card transporting means, a magnetic head for reading magnetic information of the magnetic card, and a printing means for printing on the surface of the magnetic card, the printing means is rotatably attached to the frame. A magnetic card reader. 2. A printing means comprising a print head, a driving device for driving the print head during printing, and a platen roller, and a guide for a magnetic card provided on at least one of the magnetic card side of the print head and the frame. 2. The magnetic card reader according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic card is movable in an oblique direction when the magnetic card advances or when printing is performed. 3. The magnetic card according to claim 2, wherein the guide of the magnetic card provided on the frame has at least a straight line portion tangential to the platen roller and a curved portion continuing from the straight line portion. Card reader.