JPH11126307A - Magnetic head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the accumulation of the stains sticking to a magnetic head and to facilitate the cleaning of the magnetic head. SOLUTION: Clearance grooves 13 along the traveling direction of a magnetic card 1 are formed on both sides of plural columns of gap forming parts 12 of the magnetic head 10. Even if dust, printing ink, etc., fall onto the magnetic head by sliding contact with the traveling magnetic card, the dust, etc., are eventually accumulated in the escape grooves and the accumulation thereof in the gap forming parts is reduced. Since the dust, etc., accumulate in the clearance grooves 13, the generation of gaps with the magnetic card in sliding contact therewith do not arise any more. The dust, etc., accumulated the grooves 13 do not solidify and are, therefore, easily removed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic head,
In particular, the present invention relates to a magnetic head that prevents contamination of a magnetic head core portion for reading and writing data on a magnetic card, prevents deterioration of magnetic characteristics, and facilitates cleaning of attached contamination.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, various magnetic cards have recently been used, such as a ticket during a traffic period, a telephone card, a bank card, and the like, for reading or writing data on these magnetic cards. 2. Description of the Related Art Magnetic card reading / writing devices (hereinafter referred to as “magnetic card reading / writing devices”) are becoming more and more popular, and the demand for improving the reliability of the devices is becoming even higher.

[0003] Such a magnetic card reader / writer is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the magnetic card 1 inserted from the insertion slot of the apparatus is brought into sliding contact with the gap forming surface 2a of the magnetic head 2,
Data is read and written. In this case, the magnetic card 1
Is made to travel by being pressed by the tension roller 3. The magnetic head 2 has a configuration in which a magnetic core 5 in which a gap 4 is formed is held by a head shield 6. A magnetic head used in a magnetic card reader / writer usually has a head shield 6 as shown in FIG.
Are provided with a plurality of gaps 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e. The gaps 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e are formed so as to be substantially flush with the upper surface 6a of the head shield 6, and the magnetic card sliding contact surface of the magnetic head 2 is flush with the whole. I have.

[0004]

When reading and writing data on a magnetic card with a magnetic card reader / writer, the magnetic head slides in close contact with the surface of the magnetic card. Dirt and the like adhere to the head and accumulate. For example, in the case of a magnetic card such as a traffic ticket, the surface of the magnetic card is printed, and when such a magnetic card is inserted into a magnetic card reader / writer, the printing ink is peeled off. Adheres to the tension roller and the magnetic head itself. The ink that has adhered to the tension roller also peels off and adheres to the surface of the magnetic head, and accumulates on the surface of the magnetic head together with other dirt and dust as the number of uses increases.

When dirt adheres and accumulates on the surface of the magnetic head and the thickness of the magnetic head exceeds a certain level, a gap is formed between the inserted magnetic card and the gap between the magnetic head, and the data reading characteristics of the magnetic head deteriorate. Deterioration and reading errors occur. For example, the jitter value is usually 8 to 9% but may be 15%. Further, the dirt once adhered to the surface of the magnetic head firmly adheres to the surface due to the sliding contact with the magnetic card and the action of frictional heat caused thereby. The magnetic head is periodically cleaned with a cleaning tool, but the dirt once firmly attached as described above cannot be easily removed. And if you try to forcibly remove such strongly adhered dirt,
The surface of the magnetic head may be damaged, and the life of the device may be shortened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and makes it difficult for dirt to adhere to a magnetic head of a magnetic card reader / writer and to remove dirt and dust attached to the surface of the magnetic head. An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic head for a magnetic card that can be easily removed.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic head of a magnetic card reading / writing device for slidingly contacting a running magnetic card and reading / writing data on the magnetic card.
A groove is formed on both sides of the gap forming portion of the magnetic head along the running direction of the magnetic card. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the magnetic head according to the first aspect, the magnetic head has a plurality of gap forming portions, and grooves are formed on both sides of a gap in each row.

According to each aspect of the present invention, since the groove is formed on the side of the gap on the sliding contact surface of the magnetic recording medium, dust dropped on the magnetic head, printing ink of the magnetic card, and the like are formed on the groove on the side of the gap. It will fall and be prevented from accumulating on the gap.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a magnetic card magnetic head 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view, and FIG. 1B is a front view. In the magnetic head 10 according to the present embodiment, a gap forming portion 12 formed of a plurality of n rows of magnetic cores is formed on the upper surface of the shield case 11.
The structure is formed so as to be exposed from one opening.
Each gap forming section 12 includes a write track section 12a and a read track section 12b.
Are arranged in a lateral direction with respect to the traveling direction X of the magnetic card.

In the magnetic head 10, a clearance groove 13 is formed in the upper surface 11a of the shield case on the upper surface of the magnetic head 10 where a gap to be a sliding surface of the magnetic card is formed. The clearance groove 13 is formed on the side of each gap forming portion 12 along the running direction X of the magnetic card. That is, on the upper surface of the shield case 11, as shown in FIG. 1B, only the gap rows protrude in the gap forming region Y except for the side portions 11b and 11c.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing a state in which the magnetic card 1 is inserted into a magnetic card reader / writer using the above-described magnetic head 10 and the magnetic card is run. The magnetic card 1 sent by the transport mechanism to the position of the magnetic head 10 travels while being pressed against the gap forming surface 10 a of the magnetic head 10 by the tension roller 3. The magnetic head 10 according to the present embodiment includes the magnetic card 1
The sliding surface 10a of the magnetic card 1 travels in sliding contact with the magnetic head 10 because only the gap forming portion 12 protrudes except for the side portions 11b and 11c of the upper surface 11a of the shield case 11. Comes into sliding contact only at the gap forming portion 12.

When the magnetic card 1 to which dust or other dirt is attached comes into contact with the magnetic head 10, the magnetic card 1 falls on the magnetic head 1 due to contact with the gap forming portion 12 of the magnetic head 10 and adheres. However, since the clearance groove 13 is formed on the side of the gap forming portion 12, dust and the like enter the clearance groove 13 and accumulate. Further, the printing ink or the like once attached to the gap forming portion 12 is peeled off by contact with the magnetic card 1 and enters the escape groove 13 to be accumulated.

[0013] The surface of the magnetic head is similar to the conventional one.
When the gap forming portion and the surrounding head shield are flush, dirt adheres to the entire sliding surface of the magnetic head, and consequently dirt easily adheres to the gap forming portion. . However, the magnetic head 1 of the present embodiment
0, the escape groove 13 is provided on the side of the gap forming portion 12.
Is formed, the adhered dirt tends to enter the escape groove 13, and the dirt adhered to the surface of the gap forming portion 12 is greatly reduced.

Since most of the dirt adhering to the surface of the magnetic head 10 is accumulated in the escape groove 13, even if a certain amount of dust or other dirt accumulates, the magnetic card 1 pressed against the surface of the magnetic head 10 It is avoided that there is a gap between the two. Therefore, the characteristics of the magnetic head are not adversely affected, and a good state can be maintained over a long period of use. In addition, since the adhesion of dirt and the like is concentrated in the escape groove 13, it is not pressed by the magnetic card 1 and hardened, and is easily removed by using an appropriate cleaning tool when cleaning the magnetic head 10. be able to.

FIG. 3 shows the results of an experiment in which the degree of contamination of the magnetic head is compared between the magnetic head formed with the clearance groove according to the present invention and the conventional one without the clearance groove. The experiment was conducted by running a dirty magnetic card several times under the same conditions in a magnetic card reader / writer using a conventional magnetic head and a magnetic card reader / writer using a magnetic head according to the present invention. This is a comparison of photographs of the card sliding part of the head.

FIG. 3A shows the state of contamination of the gap forming portion when a conventional magnetic head without a relief groove is used.
(B) shows the state of contamination of the gap forming portion when the magnetic head having the escape groove according to the present invention is used. As can be seen from the figure, dirt adhering to the gap forming portion is much smaller in the magnetic head in which the escape groove according to the present invention is formed.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the groove is formed on the side of the gap forming portion of the magnetic head, dirt such as dust adhering to the magnetic card sliding contact surface of the magnetic head accumulates in the groove. Therefore, when the magnetic card comes into contact with the magnetic head, no gap is generated between them. In addition, dirt accumulates in the grooves, for example, the change in the jitter value is small and about 9%,
The amount of dirt adhering to and accumulating on the gap forming portion of the magnetic head can be reduced. Also, when cleaning dirt that accumulates and accumulates on the magnetic head, most of it is accumulated in the groove, so the magnetic card is not pressed and solidified, making it suitable for cleaning inside the groove. The cleaning can be easily performed using an appropriate cleaning tool. Further, since the gap forming portion of the magnetic head can be cleaned without excessively rubbing, the gap forming portion is not damaged. Furthermore, even if dirt or dust adheres to the magnetic card, the reading characteristics do not deteriorate, and it is possible to prevent a reading error from occurring.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a magnetic head according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a plan view, and (b) is a front view.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which a magnetic card is run on a magnetic head according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the results of comparative experiments performed using a magnetic head according to the present invention and a conventional magnetic head. (A) shows the conventional magnetic head, and (b) shows the magnetic head of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional magnetic card reader / writer.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a magnetic head of a conventional magnetic card reader / writer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Magnetic card 3 Tension roller 10 Magnetic head 11 Shield case 12 Gap formation part 13 Escape groove

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic head of a magnetic card reading / writing device which slides on a running magnetic card and reads / writes data on the magnetic card, the magnetic head being provided on both sides of a gap forming portion of the magnetic head along a running direction of the magnetic card. A magnetic head comprising a groove. 2. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic head includes a plurality of rows of gap forming portions, and grooves are formed on both sides of a gap in each row.