JPH11185113A - Card issuing device and its operation control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To issue a card in a short time by managing the issuing number of respective cards respective card cassettes in a cassette rack and setting the standby position of a carrier unit until a card issuing request is given to a card cassette position where the cards whose issuing number is the largest are stored to make it stand by. SOLUTION: An accumulation value column where the issuing number of cards are accumulated in respective slot numbers and cassette numbers is prepared in a counter memory. When power is supplied, the counter memory is retrieved and the position of the card cassette 2 of the cassette number whose accumulation value of the issuing number of the cards is the largest is set as a home position. The carrier unit 33 is moved to the home position which is set after it is set and it is made to stand by in the position until the card issuing command is outputted. When the card issuing command is outputted, the carrier unit 33 is moved to the position of the target card cassette 2 storing the instructed card and a card issuing processing is executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card issuing apparatus used in a convenience store for issuing various cards, for example, prepaid cards such as telephone cards and highway cards and IC cards such as IC telephone cards, and the operation thereof. It relates to a control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of prepaid cards represented by telephone cards in recent years, various card issuing devices for handling thin and flexible cards have been proposed and put into practical use. As an example, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-92
Referring to Japanese Patent Publication No. 876, an issuing device in which about 50 prepaid cards of different types such as face value and pattern are stored in advance in a plurality of card cassettes, and these card cassettes are covered with a common opening / closing door. The card is set in advance in a cassette mounting portion in the main body, and when a card issuance request is made, one card is taken out of a card cassette containing a target card by a pickup roller and is issued from a card issuing port. There is something like that. Each card is stored in a sealed card cassette,
In addition, setting the door in the cassette mounting section in the main body of the issuing device and closing it with the keyed door prevents the key of the door from being operated directly by anyone other than the person in charge, so that the card can be removed, stolen, and other financially. This is to eliminate trouble occurrence factors as much as possible. With respect to a card cassette for storing a plurality of cards in a stacked state, a narrow slot-shaped card ejection port from which only one card can be taken out is formed on an end face of a rectangular box-shaped case main body. In general, the card is ejected through the card. A roller entry opening is formed on one surface of the case body of the card cassette so that the pickup roller enters the card body so as to come into contact with the topmost card in the case body.

In such a card issuing apparatus, when looking at the configuration around the cassette mounting section, a mounting section for mounting the card cassettes in a stacked state is formed, and a pickup means including a pickup roller for each card cassette is provided. They are arranged individually. Therefore, only one target card is taken out from the card cassette by rotating the pickup roller corresponding to the target card cassette by bringing the pickup roller into contact with the card by the solenoid, and is issued from the corresponding card issuing port.

[0004]

However, according to such a card issuing apparatus, since a pickup roller and a card issuing port are provided for each card cassette, there is a restriction in filling the space between the cassettes. The mounting section becomes large, which hinders downsizing of the entire device. Especially,
The types of cards handled by one card issuing device have increased,
For example, when dealing with cards of ten or more types, an increase in the size of the multi-layer structure is inevitable, the number of required components is large, and the device becomes large.

[0005] In some cases, only one card issuing port is used in common for all cards to reduce the size. That is, the image forming apparatus has a structure in accordance with the paper feeding structure from the multi-stage paper feeding cassette, and each pickup roller and the rollers and belts of the common conveyance path of each card cassette are simultaneously rotated, so that the target card cassette is rotated. By energizing only the corresponding solenoid and bringing the corresponding pickup roller into contact with the card for a certain period of time, it is possible to take out the cards one by one. However, when a plurality of rollers and a belt are combined to form a transport path from each card cassette to a common card issuing port, and a card is issued from a card cassette mounted at a position farthest from the card issuing port. In this method, the card sequentially passes between a plurality of rollers, belts, and the like, so that the card may be rubbed or damaged more than necessary during that time, and the information stored in the card may be lost. . In this,
Defective products are issued, and the reliability as a card issuing device is lacking.

Therefore, development of a new card issuing device which can reduce the number of parts without increasing the size of the stacked structure even when a large number of card cassettes are stacked is desired. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a card issuing device that can be expected to issue a card in as short a time as possible when such a card issuing device is developed, and an operation control method thereof.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A cassette rack in which a plurality of card cassettes, each of which accommodates a plurality of cards so as to be able to be taken out, is individually detachably accommodated, and a cassette rack formed in the stacking direction; A card pick-up device including one pick-up roller for picking up only one card in the selected card cassette by selecting a desired card cassette from the plurality of card cassettes, and the card pick-up device including the pick-up roller A carrier device that has a carrier unit that is movable across the entire range of the card cassette in the stacking direction, and that conveys the removed card to a card issuing port while holding the card; and each card cassette in the cassette rack. An issue number individual management means for managing the number of issued cards for each card; Standby position setting means for variably setting a standby position of the carrier unit until an issuance request is issued to a card cassette position in which a card having the largest number of cards issued and managed by the individual issue number management means is stored; And with.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cassette rack in which a plurality of card cassettes each accommodating a plurality of cards in a detachable manner are formed in a stacking direction. A card pick-up device including one pick-up roller for selecting a desired card cassette from a plurality of card cassettes stored in each of the cassette storage portions of the cassette rack and picking up only one card in the selected card cassette; And a carrier unit mounted with the card removal device including the pickup roller and movable so as to traverse the entire range of the card cassette in the stacking direction. A carrier device for conveying, and an operation control method for a card issuing device comprising:
The number of issued cards is managed for each card cassette in the cassette rack, and the standby position of the carrier unit until a card issuance request is issued is set to the card cassette position where the card with the largest number of issued cards is stored. Variable setting.

A single pickup roller common to all the card cassettes is mounted on a carrier unit movable over the entire range of the stacked card cassettes, and is moved to the position of the target card cassette to be picked up by the card ejection device. In a new card issuance system that enables the card to be removed by rollers and transports the removed card to the card issuance port by moving the carrier unit, basically the card that seems to sell best The card cassette containing the card is placed near the card issuance slot, but in actuality, the card cassette card that is always located near the card issuance slot depends on the type of card, the card sales time zone, the location of the store, etc. Is not always the best seller. As a result, depending on the standby position of the carrier unit until the card issuance request is issued,
In many cases, a reciprocating operation to the target card cassette is required until the card is finally moved to the card issuance slot and the card is issued, so that it may take time to issue the card. In this regard, according to these inventions, the number of cards issued is managed for each card cassette in the cassette rack, and the card with the largest number of cards issued is stored in the standby position of the carrier unit until a card issuance request is issued. Since the card unit is set at the designated card cassette position and caused to stand by, the probability that the card issuance request in which the carrier unit is on standby increases, and it can be expected that the card can be issued in a short time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the operation control method of the card issuing apparatus according to the second aspect, the number of cards issued in a card cassette corresponding to each card issuance is managed by using a counter memory. Every time the number of issued cards is updated, the card with the largest number of issued cards is searched and a new card cassette position serving as a standby position is set.

Therefore, each time a card is issued, the standby position of the carrier unit is newly set, so that the card issuance request at the standby position of the carrier unit is most likely to be issued. We can expect to get.

[0012]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As one embodiment of the operation control method of the card issuing device according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a POS (Point) is used in a store such as a convenience store.
s Of Sales) The present invention is applied to a card issuing apparatus B which is arranged beside a terminal and issues desired prepaid cards one by one according to a command from a host A such as a POS terminal. Host A
The card issuing device B is connected to the card issuing device B by, for example, an RS-232C cable.

<Basic Description> First, an exploded perspective view of a main part shown in FIG. 2, a perspective view around a cassette rack shown in FIG.
4, a schematic side view of the entire side shown in FIG. 5, a schematic plan view and a schematic side view of the carrier unit shown in FIG. 6, and a perspective view of the card cassette shown in FIG. 7. The basic configuration and basic operation of the card issuing device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

A. Basic Configuration The card issuing apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to issue ten types of cards 1 having different denominations and patterns, and a plurality of different cards 1 having the same size and the same shape and different from each other in advance.
Here, ten rectangular box-shaped card cassettes 2 each containing 50 sheets are prepared. Each of the card cassettes 2 has a case body 3 having the same size and the same shape and formed in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape. A slit-shaped card discharge port 4 is formed on the upper end side of the front end surface of each case body 3,
A roller entry opening 5 for allowing a pickup roller, which will be described later, to enter the case body 3 is provided on the upper surface side.
Are formed. Further, a concave portion 6 for taking out a cassette which penetrates vertically in one side surface on the rear side of the case body 3.
Are formed.

A drive source such as a carrier motor 11, a cassette transfer pulse motor 12, a card transfer pulse motor 13, and the like by a DC servo motor serving as a drive source for carrier movement are mounted on a lower side in the apparatus main body 10. A base plate 14 is provided, and a cassette rack 15 is erected on the base plate 14. This cassette rack 1
5, a cassette storage portion 18 for ten card cassettes 2 is vertically formed by both side plates 16a and 16b and a plurality of partition plates 17 in a vertical direction. The front and rear directions of these cassette storage portions 18 are all kept open, the front is a cassette outlet 19, and the rear closed by a not-shown opening / closing door is a cassette insertion opening 20. Accordingly, each card cassette 2 is inserted from the cassette insertion slot 20 side.
By inserting the card cassette 2 into the cassette storage section 18, these card cassettes 2 are stored in the cassette rack 15 in a stacked state such that they can be taken out from the cassette outlet 19 side. One side plate 16a of the cassette rack 15
The drawer grooves 22 are formed in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction) for each of the cassette storage portions 18.
Are communicated with each other by a vertical common groove 23 formed in the vertical direction so as to cross the horizontal direction. The position of the vertical common groove 23 is set so as to correspond to the position of the concave portion 6 of the card cassette 2 stored at a regular position in the cassette storage portion 18.

Next, between the base plate 14 and the ceiling plate 30 in the apparatus main body 10, two round shafts 31, 32 arranged along the cassette rack 15 on the side plate 16a side.
Is rotatably mounted. Around the cassette rack 15, there is provided a carrier unit 33 which is guided by these round shafts 31 and 32 and which can move up and down over all the cassette storage sections 18.
The carrier unit 33 constitutes a main part of a carrier device 34 functioning as a guide device. The carrier unit 33 is attached to the base plate 14 and is attached to the drive pulley 35 driven forward and reverse by the carrier motor 11 and the ceiling plate 30. Is locked to a part of the timing belt 37 stretched between the driven unit 36 and the driven pulley 36.
3 is configured to reciprocate up and down.

Further, there is provided a cassette drawer 40 for moving the card cassette 2 stored in the cassette storage portion 18 of the cassette rack 15 so as to protrude from the cassette outlet 19 side. This cassette drawer 4
Reference numeral 0 denotes a slider 43 with a rack 42 supported slidably in the front-rear direction with respect to the carrier unit 33.
And a pull-in pin 44 which is formed on the rear side of the slider 43 to a position crossing the side plate 16a and is a claw body which is selectively engaged with and disengaged from the recess 6 of the card cassette 2. 6), a gear 46 serving as a rotating body as a driving force transmitting means meshing with the rack 42 of the slider 43 is also mounted on the carrier unit 33. That is, the operating unit 45 and the gear 46, which constitute the main parts of the cassette drawer 40, are mounted on the carrier unit 33. The draw-in pins 44 are formed smaller than these groove widths so as to freely move in the draw-out groove 22 in the horizontal direction and freely move in the vertical common groove 23 in the vertical direction. .

The cassette pull-out device 40 uses the cassette transfer pulse motor 12 as a drive source. The rotation of the round shaft 31 is transmitted to the gear 46, and the slider 43 is reciprocated linearly via the rack 42. In order to transmit the rotation of the round shaft 31 to the gear 46 regardless of the position of the carrier unit 33, the carrier unit 33 is attached to the round shaft 31.
A key groove 31a is formed over the range of movement of the key 46a.
Are formed. That is, the gear 46 is fitted to the round shaft 31 so as to be movable in the axial direction and to transmit rotational force in the rotational direction.

Further, there is provided a card take-out device 50 for taking out only one card 1 from the card cassette 2 drawn out of the cassette storage section 18. This card removal device 50 is located on the front side of the cassette rack 15 and is for removing only one topmost card 1, which is the topmost card in the card cassette 2 pulled out, from the card ejection port 4. Pickup roller 51,
A pair of transport rollers 5 for sending one card 1 taken out by the pickup roller 51 further forward.
2 and a pair of transport rollers 53 for switching the transport direction thereof upward. The operating section 54 is also mounted on the carrier unit 33 using a support bar 55, an auxiliary frame 56, and the like. The pick-up roller 51 can selectively take a position where it comes into contact with the uppermost card 1 surface via the roller entrance opening 5 with respect to the drawn-out card cassette 2 and a position where it is separated from the card cassette 2. The transport roller 52 is rotatably supported by an arm 58 with a shaft 57 as a fulcrum. A solenoid 59 is used as a drive source that selectively switches between a card removal position where the pickup roller 51 contacts the card 1 and a retracted position separated from the card 1.
The solenoid 59 is provided on the auxiliary frame 5.
6 is supported. In addition, the pickup roller 5
A spring 60 for applying a pressing force so as to press the card 1 against the card 1 is locked between the arm 58 and the auxiliary frame 56. Therefore, the pickup roller 51 is set to be able to take out a card-removable position in a state where the solenoid 59 is not energized.
61 is a pair of guide plates.

The card is transported by the card removal device 50 using the card transport pulse motor 13 as a driving source. The transmission gear 63 meshing with the motor gear 62 of the card transport pulse motor 13 is connected to the round shaft 32.
It is attached to the lower end side of. A bevel gear 64 is provided on a shaft 57 of the transport roller 52, and a bevel gear 65 meshing with the bevel gear 64 is provided on the round shaft 32. That is, these bevel gears 65 and 64 function as driving force transmission means for converting the rotation of the round shaft 32 by 90 ° and transmitting the rotation as the rotational force of the transport roller 52, and are mounted on the carrier unit 33. . In order to transmit the rotation of the round shaft 32 to the bevel gear 65 regardless of the position of the carrier unit 33, the round shaft 32
A key groove 32a is formed over the moving range of the carrier unit 33, and a key 65a is formed on the bevel gear 65 side so as to always engage with the key groove 32a. That is, the bevel gear 64 is fitted to the round shaft 32 so as to be movable in the axial direction and to transmit rotational force in the rotational direction. On the carrier unit 33, a gear train 66 for transmitting the rotation of the transport roller 52 to the pickup roller 51 is provided on one side of the arm 58. Further, the transmission roller 53 meshes with the bevel gear 64 and rotates the rotation thereof.
A gear train 67 for transmitting to the side is provided in the carrier unit 33.

In the apparatus body 10, a card issuing port 70 is formed at the highest position corresponding to the transport roller 53.

B. Basic Operation In such a basic configuration, when a command is issued from the host A for a certain card 1, a desired card cassette 2 containing the target card 1 is selectively pulled out from the cassette rack 15. Is performed by the cassette drawer 40. First, by moving the carrier unit 33 in the vertical direction via the timing belt 37 by driving the carrier motor 11, the operating section 45 such as the slider 43 is positioned in the cassette storage section 18 in which the target card cassette 2 is stored. . At this time, since the pull-in pin 44 moves up and down in the vertical common groove 23 and the concave portion 6, it does not hinder the vertical movement of the carrier unit 33 on which the slider 43 is mounted. When the cassette conveying pulse motor 12 is driven at the position of the target card cassette 2 to rotate the round shaft 31 and the gear 46, the slider 43 slides forward. At this time, since the pull-in pin 44 that moves in the pull-out groove 22 integrally with the slider 43 is locked in the recess 6, the pull-in pin 44
The card cassette 2 is slid forward from inside the cassette accommodating portion 18 so that the leading end of the card cassette 2 projects from the cassette rack 15 (see FIG. 11). The solenoid 59 is energized before the card cassette 2 is pulled out, and the pickup roller 51 is set to the retracted position so as not to hinder the drawing of the card cassette 2 to a position corresponding to the pickup roller 51. The position is controlled (see FIG. 9). Therefore, the carrier unit 33 is moved up and down by the carrier motor 11 and stopped at a position corresponding to the target card cassette 2, and the cassette transport pulse motor 12 is driven to move the target card cassette 2 to the cassette rack 15. Can be pulled out a little.

When the target card cassette 2 is pulled out from the cassette rack 15, one card 1 is taken out from the card cassette 2 by the card take-out device 50. First, when the target card cassette 2 is pulled out to a predetermined position, the solenoid 59 is de-energized, and the pickup roller 51 enters the roller entry opening 5 and contacts the uppermost card 1 in the card cassette 2. (See FIG. 12). At this time, the pickup roller 51 receives the pressing force of the spring 60, so that the pickup roller 51 comes into pressure contact with the card 1. By driving the card conveying pulse motor 13 in parallel with this operation, the pickup roller 51 is driven to rotate via the round shaft 32, the bevel gears 65 and 64, and the gear train 66. As a result, the top card 1 receives the repetitive output from the pickup roller 51 which is in contact with the rotating and pressing contact, and is taken out of the card cassette 2 from the card discharge port 4 (see FIG. 13). The card 1 taken out is further transported by being transported by the transport roller 52 rotating at the same time. When the removed card 1 is in a state of being conveyed by the conveying roller 52,
The solenoid 59 is energized to prevent double feeding, and the rotating pickup roller 51 is separated from the retracted position (see FIG. 14). Further, the cassette transport pulse motor 12
Is driven in the reverse direction, and a process of returning the card cassette 2 that has been pulled out to the original position in the cassette storage portion 18 is performed by an operation reverse to that at the time of pulling out of the cassette pulling device 40 (see FIG. 15). When the card 1 receiving the transfer force by the transfer roller 52 reaches the transfer roller 53 side, the transfer force is continuously received. However, the front end of the card 1 faces directly upward and the rear end side does not come out of the transfer roller 53. As a result, the card transport pulse motor 13 is stopped, and the card 1 is held by the transport roller 53 while being directed upward while being guided by the guide plate 61.

One card 1 by the card removal device 50
Is completed, the carrier motor 11 is driven again, and the carrier unit 33 is moved to the target card cassette 2 again.
Is moved upward from the position to the uppermost position.
Therefore, the card 1 held by the transport roller 53
Card issuance slot 7 with the movement of carrier unit 33
Transported to zero. As a result, the leading end of the card 1 is exposed to the outside through the card issuing slot 70, so that the card 1 can be pulled out by hand and the card 1 is issued.

As described above, the plurality of card cassettes 2 are simply stacked using the cassette rack 15, and the target card cassette 2 is pulled out of the card cassettes 2 by the cassette drawer 40. According to the configuration in which only one card 1 is taken out from the inside by the card take-out device 50 and the taken-out card 1 is conveyed to the card issuing port 70 by the carrier unit 33 to be issued, between the card cassettes 2 in the stacked state. There is no need to dispose the components of the card removal device including the pickup roller, and the card cassettes 2 in the stacked state can be made as close as possible. In particular, in the case of the present embodiment, the partition plate 1 is provided between each card cassette 2.
7 can be brought close to the state where there are only 7, and the height of the cassette rack 15 can be kept low even when the number of card cassettes 2 to be handled is large, so that the entire card issuing apparatus can be downsized. it can.

Further, since one pickup roller 51 is used in common for taking out cards from all card cassettes 2, the number of parts is greatly reduced as compared with a case where pickup rollers are individually provided for each card cassette. Can be done.

Further, the card 1 taken out of the card cassette 2 is transported by the carrier device 34 to the card issuing port 70, so that the card 1 is located far from the card issuing port 70 (in the present embodiment, the lower cassette storage portion 18). (A position farther away) from the card cassette 2, the transport path through which the card 1 passes does not become long, and data stored in the card 1 may be lost. To be extremely reduced. Particularly, in the present embodiment, the carrier unit 33 holding the card 1 taken out of the card cassette 2 by the transport roller 53 moves to the card issuing port 70 to convey the card 1 to the card issuing port 70. The card 1 taken out of any card cassette 2
However, the transport path through which the card 1 itself passes (the pickup rollers 51 to the transport rollers 52 and 53) is common to all the cards 1 and is the shortest. Reliability is improved.

In the present embodiment, the cassette extracting device 40 and the card extracting device 50 integrated with the carrier unit 33 are provided.
5 and 54 and the solenoid 59 are the only carrier units 33
The pulse motors 12 and
Since 13 is attached to the base plate 14 side of the apparatus main body 10, the moving carrier unit 33 can be reduced in weight as much as possible even if it has an integrated structure. Therefore, the load on the carrier motor 11 for moving the carrier unit 33 is reduced. At the same time, since the lightened carrier unit 33 is moved without mounting a drive source other than the solenoid 59, the moving speed can be increased, and the card cassette 2 which is far from the card issuing port 70 and the card 1 can be moved.
Even when a document is taken out and issued, the time required for the issue can be reduced. Further, the pulse motors 12 and 13 are not mounted on the carrier unit 33, and the round shafts 31 and 3 for guiding the movement of the carrier unit 33 are provided.
2, the rotational driving force is transmitted mechanically, so wiring for supplying the motor driving energy to the carrier unit 33 is not required, and there is no fear of disconnection and the like, so that the operation reliability is improved. In addition, the cost can be reduced.

<Individual Description> Next, the configuration around the cassette rack 15 will be individually described in detail. First, the configuration around the cassette rack 15 will be described.
An opening / closing door (not shown) that closes the rear side of the cassette rack 15 (that is, the cassette insertion port 20 side) in the apparatus main body 10 is attached to be openable and closable. The door is normally closed so that only the person in charge can open and close the door, and an opening permission solenoid 81 that opens the door when an opening signal is given from the host A is attached to the base plate 14. . Therefore, in the normal state in which the opening and closing door is closed, each cassette storage unit 1 of the cassette rack 15 is
The position on the rear end side of the card cassette 2 accommodated in the cartridge 8 is regulated to some extent by the opening and closing door. on the other hand,
The front of each cassette storage portion 18 remains open as a cassette outlet 19, and a shutter mechanism 82 is provided on the cassette outlet 19 side. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the shutter mechanism 82 includes a shutter member 83 which is disposed immediately before the cassette outlet 19 so as to be vertically displaceable, and a shutter member 83 which is vertically displaced by a predetermined amount. A shutter opening solenoid 84 attached to the side plate 16b for displacement, and a shutter member 83 and the side plate 16b for urging the shutter member 83 to a predetermined position when the shutter opening solenoid 84 is not energized. Spring 87 locked between
It consists of. The shutter member 83 is a plate-like member having the same length as the cassette rack 15, and shutter pieces 85 corresponding to the partition plate 17 and openings 86 corresponding to the cassette outlet 19 are formed alternately. ing. Therefore, when the shutter piece 85 is located at the position corresponding to the cassette outlet 19,
When the forward movement of the card cassette 2 stored in the cassette 8 is prohibited and the opening 86 is located at a position corresponding to the cassette outlet 19, the cassette storage 1
The card cassette 2 accommodated in the cartridge 8 is in an open state in which the card cassette 2 can be moved forward. Normally, when the shutter opening solenoid 84 is in a non-energized state, the shutter piece 85 takes a forbidden position where the shutter piece 85 is located in front of the cassette housing portion 18 under the urging force of the spring, and the shutter opening solenoid 8
When the power is supplied to the shutter 4, the shutter member 83 is raised (or lowered) so that the shutter piece 85 matches the position of the partition plate 17, and the opening 86 takes the open position where the opening 86 is located on the front surface of the cassette housing 18. (See FIGS. 4 and 5).

Therefore, normally, since the shutter piece 85 of the shutter member 83 is at the prohibition position located at the front of the cassette storage portion 18, when the card cassette 2 is inserted into each cassette storage portion 18 by opening the opening / closing door. Since the leading end abuts on the shutter piece 85, it does not drop from the cassette outlet 19, and the insertion amount is regulated, so that the insertion operation becomes easy. In addition, the cassette drawer 40 is actually
Prevents the card cassette 2 stored in the cassette storage unit 18 from being accidentally dropped from the cassette outlet 19 even when vibration is applied to the apparatus main body 10 when the card cassette 2 is not pulled out. Is done.
This also means that the storage position of the card cassette 2 is always regulated to a predetermined position, and the position of the concave portion 6 of each card cassette 2 in the stored state does not shift back and forth, and along the vertical common groove 23. The vertical movement of the pull-in pin 44 is not hindered. When the card cassette 2 is withdrawn by the cassette withdrawing device 40, the opening 86 is closed by the cassette housing portion 18.
The cassette can be pulled out without any trouble. In the present embodiment, the portion that does not require the cassette to be drawn is also commonly opened, but the shape of the shutter member 83 and the operation control thereof are simplified accordingly. That is, the present invention is not limited to the shutter member 83 of the present embodiment. For example, a bar-like member having a length that extends over the entire length of the cassette rack 15 and crossing all the cassette storage portions 18 is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. You may.

B. Next, a configuration near the pickup roller 51 will be described.
Normally, a rubber roller is used as the pickup roller 51 in order to ensure the removal of the card 1 from the card cassette 2. However, if the material is deteriorated or foreign matter adheres to the surface, the removal ability of the card 1 is reduced. As it becomes unstable and may be fatal as a card issuing device,
Need replacement. In particular, in the present embodiment, since only one pickup roller 51 is used for taking out the cards 1 from all the card cassettes 2, the frequency of use thereof is so severe that the pickup roller 51 is easily deteriorated.
Exchange is mandatory. Generally, in this type of roller, a pickup roller is mounted on a shaft that passes between two frames (arms). Therefore, when replacing the roller, the frame must be removed using a tool, and the replacement operation is troublesome. It is. In this regard, in the present embodiment, the configuration is such that the pickup roller 51 can be replaced without using a tool, and the one-touch replacement is possible.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, one end of a shaft 91 rotatably supported by the arm 58 via a bearing 90 protrudes outward from the arm 58.
A pickup roller 51 is detachably fitted to one end of the protruding shaft 91. The pickup roller 5
An annular groove 94 is formed in a shaft hole 93 of one roll body 92, and a ring-shaped spring 95 is mounted on the groove 94. The inner diameter of the spring 95 is set smaller than the inner diameter of the shaft hole 93. Further, about half of the axial hole 93 in the axial direction is a round hole-shaped part 93a, and the other half is a flat deformed hole-shaped part 93b. The groove 94
Is formed in the round hole-shaped portion 93a. on the other hand,
The tip of the shaft 91 is formed with a taper 91a for facilitating insertion into the shaft hole 93 in which the spring 95 is incorporated, and is flattened so as to correspond to the deformed hole portion 93b. A modified shaft-shaped portion 91b is formed. Further, an annular concave portion 91c for positioning the spring 95 is formed in the shaft 91 at a position corresponding to the groove 94.

Thus, when the pickup roller 51 is replaced, when the roll body 92 is pushed into one end of the shaft 91, the built-in spring 95 is expanded along the taper 91a and the groove 94 in the shaft hole 93 is formed. The shaft 91 fits into the annular concave portion 91c and stops. At the same time, the deformed hole-shaped portion 93b of the roll body 92 fits into the deformed shaft-shaped portion 91b.
1b and the roll body 9 through fitting of the deformed hole-shaped portion 93b.
2 (accordingly, the pickup roller 51), and the pickup roller 51 surely rotates. At this time, since the axial force applied to the pickup roller 51 is small,
The roll body 92 does not move on the shaft 91. On the other hand, if a relatively large force is applied in the axial direction to remove the pickup roller 51, it cannot be regulated by the stopping force of the spring 95, and the pickup roller 51 can be removed from one end of the shaft 91 as it is.

That is, the pickup roller 51 of the present embodiment has a detachable fitting structure which is detachable by applying a predetermined force or more in the direction of the shaft 91, and transmits the rotation of the shaft 91 in the rotating direction. And has a roll body 92 attached to one end of a shaft 91.
Can be easily performed with one touch without using a tool.

The configuration in which the pickup roller 51 can be freely attached to one end of the shaft 91 by one touch is not limited to the example shown in the figure. Or a structure having a detachable fitting structure and a rotational force transmitting fitting structure using a rotation stopper by the above.

C. Configuration Regarding Identification Selection of Target Card Cassette 2 A configuration relating to identification selection of the target card cassette 2 from among the plurality of card cassettes 2 stored in the cassette rack 15 in a stacked state will be described. For example, in a conventional card issuing device as shown in the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 5-92876, all the correspondence relations regarding card cassettes used for each card and mounting positions of the cassettes in the main body are previously determined. In order to prevent the card cassette from being mounted in a wrong place, the pair of cassette housing portions and card cassettes are formed with grooves that match each other.
Therefore, when the host issues an instruction to issue a certain card, the position of the card cassette in which the card is stored is known, and the corresponding pickup roller is driven to issue the target card. Becomes possible. However, in this method, the shape of the card cassette is different for each type of card, and the mounting position of each cassette is also specified, so that there is no freedom in selecting the mounting position of the cassette and lacks flexibility. This means that when the number of card cassettes to be handled becomes large, it is necessary to store the card cassettes while checking the mounting locations one by one, which is a troublesome and time-consuming operation.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, even if the type of the card 1 is different, the card cassette 2 having the same shape common to all the cards 1 is used. The card cassette 2 and the cassette storage section 18 have a degree of freedom to be stored in any of the cassette storage sections 18 without a specific correspondence relationship of 1: 1. A different bar code 100 is assigned to each card cassette 2 in order to identify the type of card 1 in which cassette 1 is stored. This barcode 1
00 functions as an identification information section indicating type information of the card 1 stored in the card cassette 2. In the present embodiment, one of the peripheral surfaces traversed by the moving carrier unit 33 as shown in FIG. Cassette front end face 101
It is attached to. The direction of the bar of the bar code 100 is also set to be horizontal, and the reading operation of the bar code 100 is set to be performed by vertical scanning. A bar code scanner 102 as a reading means for reading such a bar code 100 is mounted on the carrier unit 33 in a direction facing the cassette outlet 19.

The operation of reading the barcode 100 of each card cassette 2 by the barcode scanner 102 is automatically executed at least when the power of the apparatus is turned on. That is,
By reading the information of the barcode 100 for each of the card cassettes 2 stored in the cassette rack 15 for each cassette storage unit 18 in order by the barcode scanner 102, the card cassette for which card 1 is stored in which cassette storage unit 18. 2 is stored in the RAM of the host A by sending the information to the host A. This processing is performed for each cassette storage unit 1
This is executed as a function of a positional relationship recognizing means for recognizing a positional relationship between the card cassette 8 and each card cassette 2. In this way, the host A can know which card cassette 2 for which card 1 is already stored in the cassette storage section 18 at which position when issuing the actual card, and gives the card issuing command and the removal position command. be able to.

In this case, when the power is turned on to perform the reading operation, it means not only the time when the power is actually turned on, but also the time from when that power is actually turned on to when the card 1 is actually taken out. . The reason why the barcode 100 is read for all the card cassettes 2 at least when the power is turned on is that the CPU initializes all of the previous states at the time of turning on the power. Further, in the present embodiment, the reading operation of the barcode 100 by the barcode scanner 102 is restarted from the beginning not only when the power is turned on, but also when the door is opened and closed. This is because when the door is opened and closed, there is a possibility that the card cassette 2 has been replaced with respect to the cassette storage unit 18.

Therefore, there is no problem even if the user freely changes the storage position of the card cassette 2. According to the present embodiment, scanning by the barcode scanner 102 is required to read the barcode 100 attached to each card cassette 2.
The scanner unit 3 whose scanning direction is set to the vertical direction and moves over the entire range of the cassette rack 15.
Since the movement can be performed by using the movement of No. 3, it can be easily realized without separately providing a scanning system.

The identification information portion of each card cassette 2 is not limited to the bar code 100, but may be irregularity information or the like. What is necessary is just to hold information readable. Further, the position where the barcode 100 or the like is attached is not limited to the cassette front end surface 101, but may be on a peripheral surface that the carrier unit 33 can traverse, for example, on the side surface of the cassette of the side plate 16a. What is necessary is just to change the mounting position of the code scanner 102.

D. Configuration for Removing Only One Card Next, a configuration for reliably removing only one card 1 from the card cassette 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this type of card issuing apparatus, it is important that when a card issuance command is issued, only one corresponding card be issued without causing double feed or non-feed. Incidentally, in the conventional card issuing apparatus, a limiter having a width of one card is provided outside the card cassette and on the card conveyance path, and two cards are overlapped by the width management of the limiter. Is regulated so that it is not issued. However, in this method, it is difficult to control the dimensions of the limiter width, and if the standard and type of the card used are different, the thickness of the card may be different. In the case where the degree of freedom is given, alignment with the limiter located outside the cassette cannot be achieved, and double feed or non-feed may occur.

In this respect, in the present embodiment, a structure in which a limiter is provided outside the card cassette 2 is not employed, and only one card 1 is reliably secured by devising the relationship between the card cassette 2 itself and the pickup roller 51. It is configured so that it can be taken out. First, in the case body 3 for storing the plastic and strong cards 1 in a stacked state,
As shown in FIG. 18 and the like, a bottom plate 110 on which the card 1 is placed is provided. A leaf spring 112 is provided on the center of the bottom surface of the case body 3 via the bottom plate 110 in a state where an urging force acts so as to push the leading end side of the stacked cards 1 toward the ceiling surface 111 side. Installed. Further, on the bottom surface in the case body 3 and on both sides of the leaf spring 112, the rear end side of the stacked cards 1 is pushed up toward the ceiling surface 111 via the bottom plate 110. A leaf spring 113 serving as a forward tilting means is attached in a state where the force acts. The push-up force of the leaf spring 113 is such that the uppermost rear end portion of the stacked cards 1 is pressed against the ceiling surface 111 in a state where the pickup roller 51 is pressed against the cards 1 in the case body 3, and these cards are pressed. 1 is set so as to be in a forwardly inclined state in which the pickup roller 51 side is relatively low (see FIG. 19). A rib 114 is formed on the inner wall surface of the case body 3 on the side of the card outlet 4, and the upper end of the rib 114 (accordingly, near the card outlet 4) is inclined toward the card outlet 4. Tapered portion 11
5 are formed. On the other hand, the pick-up roller 5 which enters the card cassette 2 through the roller entrance opening 5 at the pull-out position to take out the card 1
1 is a spring 6 which is larger than the pushing force of the leaf spring 112.
With the urging force of 0, the uppermost card 1 is pressed and contacted,
An entry amount restricting portion 116 that contacts a part of the case body 3 is formed on a part of the arm 58 that is a support so that the amount of the pickup roller 51 that enters the case body 3 is always constant. When the pick-up roller 51 of which the amount of entry is regulated is pressed and contacted, the top end position of the uppermost card in the stacked cards 1 that is inclined forward is higher than the position of the card outlet 4 by the tapered portion 115.
The height of the tapered portion 115 is set such that the position is shifted by the height of. The transport rollers 52
A card position sensor 117 for optically detecting the leading end of the card 1 taken out is provided at a position immediately after the card 1.

Here, μ ₁ ; coefficient of friction between pickup roller 51 and card 1 μ ₂ ; coefficient of friction between card 1 and ceiling surface 111 μ ₃ ; coefficient of friction between card 1 F ₁ ; pickup roller pressure P ₂ between the pickup roller 51 card 1; 51 Repetitive card by rotating the output P ₁ of a pressing force of the card 1 to the ceiling surface _{111, μ 1 »μ 2, μ} 3, and P _1> P ₂ Then, F ₁ = μ ₁ P ₁ −μ ₂ P ₂ −μ ₃ (P ₁ + P ₂ ).

Therefore, when the pickup roller 51 comes into contact with the card 1 in the card cassette 2 pulled out from the cassette storage portion 18 while rotating, the uppermost position directly contacted by the pickup roller 51. The card repetition output F ₁ shown by the above formula acts on the card 1, and the uppermost card 1 advances while its tip side warps upward according to the tapered portion 115, and moves from the card outlet 4 to the case body 3. I go outside. At this time, the transport roller 52 is also rotating at the same speed as the pickup roller 51, and the leading end of the card 1 taken out enters the space between the transport rollers 52 and is taken out further forward. In this operation, when the leading end of the card 1 is detected by the card position sensor 117, the solenoid 59 is energized at that time and the pickup roller 51 is retracted so as to escape from the roller entrance opening 5, and Move away from card 1. Therefore, although the pickup roller 51 continues to rotate, the repetitive output does not act on the succeeding card 1 and double feed is prevented. On the other hand, the transport of the card 1 taken out this time is carried by the transport roller 52 and further by the transport roller 53.
, The card 1 is completely removed from the card cassette 2.

In such an operation of taking out the card 1,
The double feed prevention action of the tapered portion 115 will be described. If the coefficient of friction μ ₃ between the cards 1 is always constant, basically, even if the uppermost one card 1 is fed and conveyed, 2
No conveying force acts on the first and subsequent cards 1, but in reality, the friction coefficient between the first and second cards and the second and third cards 1 The coefficient of friction between the sheets may differ. Under such circumstances, when one card 1 the uppermost sent receiving Repetitive output F ₁ of the pickup roller 51, the second sheet below it, 3
The first card 1 is also fed, and the leading end of each card 1 stored in the forwardly inclined state abuts on the tapered portion 115. Since the card 1 is strong, the top card 1 receiving the repetitive output F ₁ directly by the pickup roller 51 has a repetitive output F ₁ that is sufficiently larger than the resistance generated by the tapered portion 115. The card 1 having a strong waist is sent to the card ejection port 4 side while warping so as to ride on the tapered portion 115 (see FIG. 20B). On the other hand, the second and subsequent cards 1 have tapered portions 11.
5 does not receive a repetitive output that overcomes the resistance generated by 5 and cannot warp in accordance with the tapered portion 115.
Double feed after the first sheet is prevented. From another perspective,
When the leading ends of several cards 1 are brought into contact with the tapered portion 115 at the time of removal, a gap is created between the cards 1. According to the movement of the card 1 in the above, while the space between the first and second cards 1 changes to the dynamic friction state, the space between the second and third cards 1 changes to the static friction state and Only the first sheet is easy to move, 2
It is conceivable that double feed is prevented by making it difficult for the first sheet to move. In this way, paying attention to the card 1 having a strong stiffness unlike the paper used in the paper feeding device, the card 1 stacked in the forward inclined state is taken out while the tip side is warped by the tapered portion 115, so that the multifeed is performed. Can be reliably prevented.

On the other hand, if there is a variation in the amount of the pickup roller 51 entering the card cassette 2, the pickup roller 51 may enter the card 1
May cause non-feeding by merely abutting the leading end of the card against the rib 114, or the card 1 may easily come into contact with the ceiling surface 111 because the pickup roller 51 enters too shallow, causing slippage due to slippage. There is. In this regard, in the present embodiment, the pressing force of the spring 60 for the pickup roller 51 is set sufficiently higher than the lifting force of the leaf spring 112, and the entry amount restricting portion 116 of the arm 58 always contacts the ceiling surface 111. As a result, the amount of entry of the pickup roller 51 is regulated so as to be always constant, so that a stable repetitive output can always be exerted and non-feeding does not occur.

E. Regarding the Positioning of the Card Cassette 2 The card cassette 2 stored in the cassette storage section 18 of the cassette rack 15 can have a fixed position in a stored state and a pulled-out position pulled out for taking out a card. Positioning is performed so as not to cause displacement. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 21, a cam body 120 integrated with the gear 46 is provided on the round shaft 31.
At a predetermined position of the cam body 120, two notches 120a,
120b are formed. The cam unit 1 is rotatably supported by a fulcrum 121 on the carrier unit 33.
Roller-shaped cam follower 12 constantly rolling on the peripheral surface of 20
2 is provided. The arm 123 is urged toward the cam body 120 by a spring 124. Further, a cassette origin sensor 1 which is turned on / off by using the distal end side of the arm 123 as an actuator 125
26 is also mounted on the carrier unit 33. The cassette origin sensor 126 is set to be turned on when the arm 123 is displaced in a state where the cam follower 122 enters either the cutouts 120a or 120b.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG.
A guide pin 127 shorter than the pull-in pin 44 is formed integrally with the draw-in pin 44 on the rear side, and two step-like slit holes 128a and 128b formed on the side surface of the carrier unit 33 are inserted into the recess. When the pin 44 and the guide pin 127 pass through, the slider 43 is slidable within a certain range.
The retaining pin 129 is inserted into the pull-in pin 44 and the guide pin 127.

In such a configuration, when the target card cassette 2 is located at a fixed position (the pull-in pin 44 is located at the left end of the slit hole 128a and the vertical common groove 2).
3 is engaged with the recess 6 of the card cassette 2), and as shown in FIG. 21A, the cam follower 122 enters the notch 120a for the fixed position with respect to the cam body 120, and the actuator 125 Turns on the cassette origin sensor 126. In this state, when the cassette conveying pulse motor 12 is driven to rotate the round shaft 31, the gear 46 is rotated, so that the slider 43 slides rightward via the rack 42, and the pulling pin 4
The card cassette 2 is pulled out through the engagement between the recess 4 and the recess 6. At this time, since the cam body 120 also rotates at the same time, as shown in FIG. 21B, the cam follower 122 comes out of the notch 120a, so that the actuator 125 is also displaced in the separating direction, and the cassette origin sensor 126 is turned off. When the card cassette 2 is pulled out to a predetermined draw-out position, the cam follower 122 moves to the notch 12 for the draw-out position.
0b, the actuator 125
Turns on the cassette origin sensor 126. The ON signal is used to control the cassette transport pulse motor 12, and the power supply to the cassette transport pulse motor 12 is cut off. The motor is de-energized, and the gear 46 is in a rotatable and unstable state.
20b, which restricts the rotation of the cam body 120 (therefore, the gear 46), so that the card cassette 2 in the pulled-out state does not inadvertently move in the front-rear direction, and is maintained at the predetermined drawing position. You.

F. Regarding Various Sensors In the card issuing device according to the present embodiment, the card position sensor 1 described above is used for timing control of various operations and the like.
17. In addition to the cassette origin sensor 126, various optical and mechanical sensors are provided. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9 which are schematically shown. First, the apparatus main body 10 is provided with a door opening / closing sensor 130 for detecting opening / closing of the opening / closing door as shown in FIG. Further, a shutter origin sensor 131 that detects whether or not the shutter member 83 is at the origin position that is a prohibited position is provided.
Further, a carrier origin sensor 132 for specifying a reference position for determining the amount of movement of the carrier unit 33 is provided on the upper side. On the other hand, on the carrier unit 33, as shown in FIG. 9, a card position sensor 133 disposed just before the transport roller 52 to detect the leading edge of the card 1, and disposed at the exit side of the transport roller 53 to And a card exit sensor 134 for detecting the rear end. A detection hole 135 formed at a position vertically penetrating through a part of the front end of the case main body 3 of the card cassette 2.
A pair of upper and lower card presence / absence sensors 136 for detecting the presence / absence of the card 1 in the card cassette 2 in the pulled-out state is also mounted on the carrier unit 33 via (see FIG. 6).

G. Regarding operation timing control of each unit until card issuance As in the present embodiment, the carrier unit 33 moves to the position of the target card cassette 2 and
Is pulled out, one card 1 is taken out of the card cassette 2 drawn out, and the taken-out card 1 is conveyed by the carrier unit 33 to the card issuing port 70 to be issued. In this embodiment, the card issuance time is controlled by controlling the operation timing so that the operation of each unit is performed as simultaneously as possible. Is shortened. At this time, if the timing of the next operation is temporally controlled, the operation becomes uncertain. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a reliable trigger is prepared to ensure the operation reliability.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 23 and FIG.
Referring to the time chart shown in FIG. 4, when a card issuance command is issued during standby at the home position, a processing operation of moving the carrier unit 33 to the position of the target card cassette 2 by driving the carrier motor 11 is performed. During the movement of the carrier unit 33, in order to complete the preparation for pulling out the card cassette 2 from the cassette rack 15, an opening process of driving the shutter opening solenoid 84 to open the shutter member 83 is performed in parallel. At the same time, the evacuation process of driving the solenoid 59 to displace the pickup roller 51 to the evacuation position is performed in parallel. Thus, when the carrier unit 33 moves to the position of the target card cassette 2, the card cassette 2 is ready to be pulled out, and there is no time loss.

Subsequently, the cassette transport pulse motor 1
By driving the cassette 2, the cassette withdrawing device 40 performs the withdrawal process of the target card cassette 2. At this time, the completion of the movement of the carrier unit 33 is determined from the number of pulses accumulated in the position deviation counter of the carrier motor 11 and is used as a trigger for starting the driving of the cassette carrying pulse motor 12. After the target card cassette 2 is pulled out by the cassette pullout device 40, the solenoid 59 is de-energized, the pickup roller 51 is displaced to a card retrievable position, and the card 1
Take-out operation. At this time, judgment is made based on two signals: a movement completion signal from the command pulse state of the cassette transport pulse motor 12 and a detection signal from the cassette origin sensor 126 for detecting that the card cassette 2 is at the regular draw-in position. , Which triggers the start of card removal (return of the pickup roller 51). During the card removal operation by the card removal device 50, while the taken-out card 1 is being conveyed by the conveyance roller 52, the solenoid 59 is energized to perform a retreating process for retreating the pickup roller 51 to the retreat position. The transport pulse motor 12 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction to perform the cassette return process of returning the card cassette 2 that has been pulled out to the original position in the cassette storage unit 18. At this time, a trigger for retracting the pickup roller 51 using a detection signal of the card position sensor 133 for detecting a position before the first card 1 passes the pickup roller 51 is used.

Next, a carrying operation is carried out to carry out the drawn-out card 1 to the card issuing port 70 by the carrier unit 33. When the carrier unit 33 is moved to the card issuing port 70 in this manner, the movement completion signal of the cassette conveying pulse motor 12 and the detection signal from the cassette origin sensor 126 for detecting that the card cassette 2 is at the original fixed position are obtained. By using the two signals as triggers, safety when moving the carrier unit 33 is ensured.
That is, the carrier unit 33 does not start the movement operation in a state where the card cassette 2 protrudes. During this transport operation, the solenoid 59 is de-energized again, and the pickup roller 51 is displaced to the card readable position to perform a standby process, and the shutter release solenoid 84 is also de-energized to move the shutter member 83 to the prohibited position. A return process for displacement is performed.

In the present embodiment, the cassette origin sensor 126 is configured as a sensor for detecting two states when the card cassette 2 is at the fixed position and the drawn-out position. Thus, it is determined whether the card cassette 2 is located at the fixed position or the drawn-out position.

H. Regarding an origin detection method for moving the carrier unit 33 In order to move the carrier unit 33 to the drawing position of each card cassette 2, a reference position sensor for determining an absolute position (reference point) with respect to the movement of the carrier unit 33 is provided. Carrier origin sensor 132 is required. However, the detection point of the carrier origin sensor 132 may be different for each product due to a sensor mounting error, a variation in sensor characteristics, and the like. In this case, the physical position of the carrier origin sensor 132 may be adjusted for each product, but it is troublesome and not always accurate. Further, even if the physical position of the carrier origin sensor 132 is adjusted, it is not possible to adjust the variation in the interval between the card cassettes.
In this regard, in the present embodiment, the carrier origin sensor 132
An adjustment program for automatically correcting in a pre-shipment process without performing physical position adjustment of the device is incorporated. Schematically, the length from the carrier origin sensor 132 to each cassette pull-out position is measured, and those measured values are stored in an EEPROM (Electric Erasable Prog) on the host A side.
The data is stored in a rammable ROM, and when the user actually uses it after shipment, the data is stored in the EEPROM so as to control the movement of the carrier unit 33 so as to perform the positioning. The control process according to the adjustment program for this is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, at a stage before shipping, the carrier unit 33 is manually moved to the position of the card cassette 2 farthest (the lowest = tenth) from the carrier origin sensor 132, and the draw-in pin 44 is moved to the corresponding cassette storage section. 18
The adjustment program is run in a state where the adjustment program is positioned in the draw-out groove 22. This adjustment operation is performed in an empty state without storing the card cassette 2 in the cassette rack 15. The adjustment program is started by appropriately setting the dip switches and turning on the power switch.

First, the carrier motor 11 is turned on by being excited on the spot, but its gain is initially set low. Thereafter, when the carrier unit 33 is moved up and down by a predetermined amount of pulses, the carrier unit 33 can move up and down only by a gap in which the draw-in pin 44 can move in the drawing groove 22. By sampling the actual vertical movement at this time by the number of feedback pulses of the encoder directly connected to the carrier motor 11,
Data for positioning the drawing pin 44 in the vertical direction (stacking direction) center of the drawing groove 22 can be obtained. Therefore, the moving amount of the carrier motor 11 is adjusted so that the pull-in pin 44 is positioned at the center of the pull-out groove 22.
Is held at the moved position. Subsequently, the gain of the carrier motor 11 is returned to normal, and the retracting pin 44 is also allowed to move in the vertical direction.
When the detection operation of the carrier origin sensor 132 is performed by returning to the position and moving up from there, the number of pulses between the carrier origin sensor 132 and the center position of the lowermost drawer groove 22 for the card cassette 2 is accurately recognized. it can. Next, a similar sampling operation is performed for the second card cassette 2 from the bottom, and so on. For the remaining card cassettes 2, the same operation is repeated. Can be accurately grasped with respect to all the movement amounts of the drawing groove 22 with respect to the center position. The data actually measured by running the adjustment program in this manner is stored in the EEP of the host A side.
By writing the data in the ROM, in actual use after shipment, only the position of the carrier origin sensor 132 is detected, and thereafter, the carrier origin sensor 132 and each card cassette 2 (drawing groove for the card cassette 2) stored in the EEPROM are used. 2
By using the distance (movement amount) data between (the center positions of the two), the movement amount to the target card cassette 2 to which the issuance command was issued can be acquired and the movement can be performed accurately.

If the distance between the card cassettes 2 in the cassette rack 15 (the distance between the draw-out grooves 22) can be accurately determined in assembling, it is not necessary to perform the above operation for all card cassette positions. At a minimum, only the card cassette position furthest from the carrier origin sensor 132 may be actually measured and stored, and the remaining card cassette positions may be arithmetically calculated by an operation using the measured value.

I. Regarding Operation Control of Carrier Unit 33 at Power-on In the present embodiment, carrier unit 33 is moved to the position of target card cassette 2, target card cassette 2 is pulled out from cassette rack 15, and card 1 is loaded from card cassette 2. Since the card 1 is taken out and further conveyed to the card issuance opening 70 by the carrier unit 33, the card issuance operation cannot be performed unless the vertical conveyance path of the carrier unit 33 is secured, so that the drive is forced. This causes an error such as breakage of the card cassette 2 or the carrier unit 33 itself. In particular, when the power is turned on or when the power is restored, the power supply rises from a state that is not electrically managed, and various situations may occur. Therefore, before turning on the carrier motor 11, the situation is grasped by information obtained from various sensors. However, if it is detected that the carrier unit 33 is in a state in which it cannot be moved, the carrier motor 11 (and thus the movement of the carrier unit 33) is controlled so as to start the normal operation after removing the cause of the obstacle. You.

A typical example of the phenomenon that the carrier unit 33 cannot be moved is a case where the power is turned off during a card issuing operation due to a power failure or other reasons.
In this case, the card cassette 2 is in a state of being pulled out from the cassette rack 15 and the drawing pin 44 is in the drawing groove 2.
2, it is not possible to perform an origin detection operation as an initial operation of moving the carrier unit 33 to the position of the carrier origin sensor 132 as it is. In consideration of such a phenomenon, in the present embodiment, a program relating to the operation control of the carrier unit 33 as shown in FIG. 26 is incorporated.

This operation control is started when the power is turned on (including when the power is restored after a power failure). First, the detection state of various sensors such as the cassette origin sensor 126 is checked, and whether the carrier unit 33 is movable is determined based on the state. If movement is possible, carrier motor 1
1 is turned on to move the carrier unit 33 upward, and the detection operation of the carrier origin sensor 132 is performed. Then, the carrier motor 11 is rotated in reverse to lower the carrier unit 33 at a low speed, and The barcode 100 is read by scanning with the code scanner 102. All the card cassettes 2 read from the barcode 10 by this scanning operation
The card type information is written together with the cassette storage section position information, and the carrier unit 33 is moved to the home position, whereby a card issuance standby state is set.

On the other hand, when the power is turned on, the carrier unit 3
If it is determined that the movement of No. 3 is impossible, operation control for securing the carrier unit transport path is executed. First, as a situation where movement is impossible, it is checked whether or not the retracting pin 44 is located at the home position (the position of the vertical common groove 23). If the draw-in pin 44 is not located at the home position, it is determined that the card cassette 2 is in the draw-out state with respect to the carrier unit 33 and the draw-in pin 44 is located in the draw-out groove 22. In this case, the carrier motor 11 is turned on with a low gain,
Excite on the spot. After this, for a certain amount of pulses,
When the carrier unit 33 is moved up and down, the carrier unit 33 can move up and down only by the width of the drawing groove 22. By sampling the movement amount at this time as an actual measurement value, data for positioning the drawing pin 44 at the center of the drawing groove 22 can be obtained. Therefore, the gain of the carrier motor 11 is returned to normal, and excitation is performed in a state where the pull-in pin 44 is located at the center of the pull-out groove 22. By holding in this state, the draw-in pin 44 is located at the center of the draw-out groove 22 and does not rub the draw-out groove 22, so that the draw-in pin 44 can be moved smoothly. In this state, the cassette conveying pulse motor 12 is driven to move the draw-in pin 44 to the home position (the side of the vertical common groove 23), thereby returning the card cassette 2 in the draw-out state to the home position. be able to. The return of the card cassette 2 to the home position is detected by the cassette origin sensor 126. As a result, the carrier unit 33 can be freely moved in the vertical direction. Therefore, the normal operation (detection operation of the carrier origin sensor 132, the card issuing port if the removed card 1 exists in the carrier unit 33). 70, etc.), and enters a card issuing standby state.

In the operation for securing such a conveyance path, the shutter member 83 for holding the card cassette 2 at a fixed position in the cassette rack 15 also remains open, and the carrier unit 33 is positioned. There is a possibility that another card cassette 2 that is not protruding toward the cassette outlet 19 due to vibrations or the like may hinder the movement of the carrier unit 33. Therefore, just in case, the shutter member 83 is also opened and closed when the power is turned on.
If the shutter member 83 cannot be closed, it is determined that the card cassette 2 protruding toward the cassette outlet 19 is present, and since the card cassette 2 cannot be returned by the card drawer 40, an error message is displayed to the operator. Encourage repair.

Such a shutter member 83 when the power is turned on
Is also performed when the card cassette 2 does not protrude at the position of the carrier unit 33. If the shutter member 83 cannot be closed, the card cassette 2 protruding toward the cassette outlet 19 exists. Since the card cassette 2 cannot be returned by the card drawer 40, an error message is displayed to prompt the operator to repair the card cassette.

J. Regarding standby position control of carrier unit 33 In the present embodiment, carrier unit 3 is controlled as described above.
Numeral 3 stands by at the home position until a card issuance command is issued from the host A. When the card issuance command is issued, the carrier motor 11 is driven to move to the position of the target card cassette 2. Then, after taking out only one card 1 from the card cassette 2, the carrier unit 33 issues the card 1 by moving to the card issuing port 70, and then returns to the home position and waits again. Here, the home position where the carrier unit 33 is on standby refers to the slot numbers enclosed with squares in FIG. 4 outside the both ends of the cassette storage portion 18 in consideration of the insertion and removal of the card cassette 2 for replenishing cards. Then, the slot No. It is generally considered to be set at a position outside 1 or 10. Alternatively, a card cassette 2 of a card 1 of a kind which is considered to be sold is a card issuing port 7.
Since the cassettes are stored in the cassette storage unit 18 close to the cassette No. 0 (the cassette numbers indicated by circled numbers in FIG. 5 correspond to the order in which they are likely to sell). It is also conceivable that the position of the card cassette 2 indicated by 1 is set as a home position and the carrier unit 3 is made to wait.

Slot No. If the home position is located outside (below) the card issuing port 70,
Since the card always passes through the position of the target card cassette 2 during the movement to the slot No., it does not require a reciprocating operation during that time. Even when the card 1 is taken out from the card cassette 2 of the cassette No. 1 (cassette No. 1), the carrier unit 3
3 must always move a full stroke, which tends to take time, and does not necessarily result in an efficient card issuance operation. Slot No. If the home position is located outside (upper side) of the card issuing port 70,
During the transfer, the reciprocating operation must be performed after descending to the position of the target card cassette 2 and then ascending, so that extra time is apt to be taken and the card issuing operation is not always efficient. Cassette No. that seems to sell the most 1 of the card cassette 2 (slot No. 1).
When the home position is set to 1), the target card cassette 2 is set to the cassette number. In the case of one, it is sufficient to perform the withdrawal operation as it is and move to the card issuing port 70, and it is possible to efficiently issue the card in a short time. However, in reality, depending on the type of the card 1, the card sales time zone, the location of the store, etc., the cassette No. which is always located near the card issuing slot 70 is not necessarily required. The card 1 in one card cassette 2 does not always sell best. As a result, in many cases, a reciprocating operation to the position of the target card cassette 2 is required before the card is finally moved to the card issuing port 70 and the card 1 is issued, so that it takes a long time to issue the card. That is not always an efficient card issuance operation.

In this respect, in the present embodiment, the home position where the carrier unit 33 waits is not fixed.
Control is performed so that the position of the card cassette 2 in which the best selling card 1 is stored is variably set as the home position. That is, the number of issued cards is always managed for each card cassette 2 in the cassette rack 15, and the standby position of the carrier unit 33 is set to the position of the card cassette 2 in which the card 1 with the largest number of issued cards is stored. Set and wait,
Since there is a high probability that a card issuance request is issued at the position where the carrier unit 33 is on standby, the card issuance is performed in a short time.

Here, for the management of the number of cards issued, for example, a counter memory 130 as shown in FIG. 27 is used. The counter memory 130 may be provided in the card issuing device B, but in the present embodiment, a part of the EEPROM of the host A described above is used. The counter memory 130 stores the slot number. And cassette No.
A total value column for totaling the number of issued cards is prepared for each card, and each time a card 1 is issued, a slot No. And cassette No. Is incremented by one.

With respect to the standby position control of the carrier unit 33 using such a counter memory 130, FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This control is started when the power is turned on. Although not particularly shown in FIG. 28, when the power is turned on, the function of the positional relationship recognizing means is performed in advance. First, when the power is turned on, a search is made in the counter memory 130 to determine the cassette No. having the largest total number of issued cards. Is set as the home position. This processing is executed as a function of the standby position setting means. After the setting, the carrier unit 33 is moved to the set home position, and waits at that position until a card issuance command is issued. When a card issuance command is issued in such a standby state, the carrier unit 33 is moved to the position of the target card cassette 2 that stores the commanded card 1 and card issuance processing is performed. This process is performed according to the operation control described above with reference to FIG. When the card issuing process is completed, the corresponding slot No. in the counter memory 130 is set. And cassette No. Is incremented by +1. This process is executed as a function of the issued number individual management unit. Thereafter, if the power is not turned off, when the counter memory 130 is updated, the counter memory 130 is searched again, and the cassette No. having the largest total number of issued cards is the same. Is set as a new home position. This processing is executed as a function of the standby position setting means. After the setting, the carrier unit 33 is moved to the set new home position, and waits at that position until a card issuance command is issued. In this manner, the process of variably resetting the home position of the carrier unit 33 every time the card 1 is issued is repeated, and the control is always performed so as to wait at the position of the card cassette 2 where the number of cards issued is the largest.

In particular, according to the present embodiment, every time the card 1 is issued, the home position of the carrier unit 33 is newly set, so that the card issuing request of the standby position of the carrier unit 33 is most likely to be issued. Since it is high, it can be expected that the card can be issued in a short time.

Incidentally, regarding the above-mentioned position control, the initial value may be appropriately set at the initial stage when there is no accumulated value in the counter memory 130 (for example, the position of the cassette No. 1). In the case where there are a plurality of card issuing ports, it may be set in advance so that the side closer to the card issuing port 70 is prioritized, or the side farther away is prioritized.

In this embodiment, the card issuing port 7
Since 0 is set at the top position of the card issuing device B,
Slot No. in the cassette rack 15 Cassette No. indicating the expected sales order For example, the card issuing port 70 is set at the center of the front of the card issuing apparatus B (position of slot No. 5) as shown in FIG. In the case of a configuration in which a slot No. close to the card issuing port 70 is configured to be issued. Basically, the card cassettes 2 are arranged in order of expected sales. That is, the slot No. 5 → Cassette No. 1, slot No. 6
→ Cassette No. 2, slot No. 4 → Cassette N
o. 3, slot No. 7 → Cassette No. 4, ... The same can be applied to such a configuration.
The configuration of the counter memory 130 in this case is as shown in FIG.

K. Others In the present embodiment, the plurality of card cassettes 2 are vertically stacked by the cassette rack 15 and the card issuance operation is performed by moving the carrier unit 33 and the like in the up and down direction. The card issuing operation may be performed by stacking the cassettes in the horizontal direction and moving the carrier unit or the like in the horizontal direction.

Further, in the present embodiment, the home position is reset by retrieving the accumulated card issuance value in the counter memory 130 every time a card is issued. However, the home position is not necessarily set every time a card is issued. There is no need to correct this, and the location where the cumulative value of the number of issued cards is the highest is set as the home position by searching the counter memory 130 periodically at preset times, for example, only once every day when the power is turned on. Alternatively, the user may always wait at that position on that day.

Further, in this embodiment, since the present invention is applied to the card issuing apparatus B provided with the cassette withdrawing device 40, each card cassette 2 is stored in the cassette storing portion 18 so as to be able to be pulled out. If the card cassette 2 itself is provided with a card pull-out mechanism for each cassette storage unit without providing a device, it is not essential that the card cassette 2 itself can be pulled out of the cassette storage unit 18; For example, it may be detachable.

[0079]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, a single pickup roller common to all card cassettes is mounted on a carrier unit movable over the entire range of stacked card cassettes, A new card issuance method in which a card is issued by moving the carrier card to the card issuance port by moving the carrier unit to the card issuance position by moving the card to the position of the card cassette so that the card can be removed by the pickup roller of the card removal device. The number of cards issued for each card cassette in the cassette rack is managed, and the standby position of the carrier unit until a card issuance request is issued is set to the card cassette position where the card with the largest number of cards issued is stored. The carrier unit is waiting. Location of card issuance request the probability is high that out, can be expected to be obtained to perform the card issued in a short period of time.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the standby position of the carrier unit is newly set each time a card is issued. Since it is high, the expectation that the card can be issued in a short time can be further increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a connection diagram showing a schematic configuration of a card issuing system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a cassette rack.

FIG. 4 is an overall front schematic configuration diagram.

FIG. 5 is an overall schematic side view.

FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view of a carrier unit portion,
(B) is a schematic side view thereof.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a card cassette.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a sensor arrangement.

FIG. 9A is a schematic plan view showing a sensor arrangement in a carrier unit, and FIG. 9B is a schematic side view thereof.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing the beginning of the cassette pull-out and card take-out operations.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette pull-out and card take-out operation.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette pull-out and card take-out operations.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette pull-out and card take-out operations.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette pull-out and card take-out operation.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette pull-out and card take-out operation.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure near a pickup roller.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a pickup roller.

FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view showing the card cassette.

FIG. 19 is a vertical sectional side view showing a card removal configuration.

FIG. 20 is an enlarged longitudinal side view showing the vicinity of a card outlet of a card cassette.

FIG. 21 is a plan view showing the vicinity of a cassette origin sensor.

FIG. 22 is a side view showing a guide configuration of the carrier unit as viewed from a direction A in FIG. 21.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the basics of card issuing process control.

FIG. 24 is a time chart showing operation timings associated with the control.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a method of detecting the origin by an adjustment program for moving a carrier.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing carrier operation control when power is turned on.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing a counter memory.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing carrier standby position setting control.

FIG. 29 is an overall schematic side view showing a modified example of the position of the card issuing port and the like.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing a corresponding counter memory.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Card 2 Card Cassette 15 Cassette Rack 18 Cassette Storage Unit 33 Carrier Unit 34 Carrier Device 40 Cassette Pullout Device 50 Card Removal Device 51 Pickup Roller 70 Card Issuing Port 130 Counter Memory

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cassette rack in which a plurality of card cassettes, each of which accommodates a plurality of cards so as to be able to be taken out, is individually detachably accommodated, and is formed in a stacking direction. A card pick-up device including one pickup roller for selecting a desired card cassette from a plurality of card cassettes stored in the storage unit and picking up only one card in the selected card cassette; A carrier device having a card removal device mounted thereon and having a carrier unit that is movable across the entire range of the card cassette in the stacking direction, and that transports the removed card to a card issuing port while holding the card; Issued number individual tube that manages the number of cards issued for each card cassette in the rack And a standby position of the carrier unit until a card issuance request is issued is variably set to be a card cassette position in which a card with the largest card issuance number managed by the issuance number individual management means is stored. A card issuing device comprising: 2. A cassette rack in which a plurality of card cassettes each accommodating a plurality of cards so as to be able to be taken out are individually detachably accommodated, and a cassette accommodating portion is formed in a stacking direction. A card pick-up device including one pickup roller for selecting a desired card cassette from a plurality of card cassettes stored in the storage unit and picking up only one card in the selected card cassette; A carrier unit having a card removal device mounted thereon and having a movable carrier unit that can move across the entire range of the card cassette in the stacking direction, and transporting the removed card to a card issuing port while holding the card. Operation control method of a card issuing device, wherein each card cassette in the cassette rack is The number of issued cards is managed, and the standby position of the carrier unit until a card issuance request is issued is variably set to the card cassette position where the card with the largest number of issued cards is stored. An operation control method for a card issuing device. 3. A total number of cards issued in a card cassette corresponding to each card issuance is managed by using a counter memory, and a card having the largest number of cards issued is searched every time the number of issued cards in the counter memory is updated. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein a new card cassette position serving as a standby position is set.