JPH11232398A - Structure of contact point part for ic card processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable collection of illegal cards or defective cards. SOLUTION: An IC card 8 inserted inside of a card carrier path 29 from an opening 30 is clamped by a driving belt 22 and a follower belt 27 and is carried in a direction of the arrow A. A contact point unit 33 having an engagement part 39 in which a point of the IC card 8 to be carried is engaged follows the card and lowers while moving, and a contact point 35 contacts an electrode of the IC card 8. The IC card 8 is temporarily stopped by detection by a sensor S3, and read and write of information is performed by the contact point 35. Two pairs of pins 37 and 38 provided back and forth on both sides of the contact point unit 33 are made to move by guide grooves 15 and 16 with V-shape when laterally viewing between a advancing position and a retracting position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card processing device for reading / writing information recorded on an IC card inserted from a card insertion slot and discharging the information from the card insertion slot, and more particularly, to an IC card processing device which contacts an IC card. The structure of a contact portion for reading and writing information recorded on an IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an IC card processing apparatus of this type includes a card transport path communicating with a card insertion slot, and a transport means including a drive belt and a driven belt for transporting the card inserted into the card transport path. A contact portion that engages with a leading edge of a conveyed card, moves following the conveyed card, moves out of the retracted position into the card conveyance path, and contacts an electrode portion of the card. The card is configured to read and write information recorded on the card via the card and eject the card from the card insertion slot. In the IC card processing apparatus thus configured, it is important that the contact portion surely contacts the electrode portion of the card with a good contact pressure in order to reliably read and write information. . For this reason, it is necessary to surely stop the card at a predetermined position. In the conventional IC card processing device, a stopper which determines the stop position of the card when the leading end of the card hits the card is provided in the card transport path.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional IC card processing apparatus, since the stopper is provided in the card transport path, the card is ejected after reading / writing information by the contact portion. In this method, the drive belt of the conveying means is run in the reverse direction, the card is conveyed in the direction opposite to the insertion direction, and the card is ejected from the card insertion slot. For this reason, even if a fraudulent or defective card is taken into the card transport path from the card insertion slot, it cannot be collected and returned from the card insertion slot. There was a problem that it could not be regulated.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable collection of an illegal card or a defective card.

[0005]

In order to achieve this object, the structure of the contact portion in the IC card processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a card transport path communicating with a card insertion slot, and a card insertion path inserted into the card transport path. IC card processing device, comprising: transport means for transporting a transferred card; and a contact portion for reading out and writing information recorded on the card at the advanced position in the card transport path following the transported card. Wherein a sensor for stopping the card at the advanced position is provided, and the contact portion is movable back and forth in the transport direction across the advanced position. Therefore, since a stopper for stopping the card at the advanced position is not provided, the card can be ejected or inserted from the opposite side of the card insertion port and the card transport path.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the IC card processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG.
Is a plan view, (b) is a rear view, and (c) is a side view. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1 for explaining the operation of the IC card processing device according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A shows a state where the contact portion is at the advanced position, and FIG. This shows a state where the contact portion is located on the rear end side. FIG. 5 shows an IC according to the present invention.
6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of collecting an unauthorized card or a defective card in the card processing device.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an IC card processing apparatus generally indicated by reference numeral 1 has a bottom plate 2 and an
A pair of side plates 3 and 4 standing upright facing each other with a space slightly larger than the width of the C card 8, and a card transport plate 5 and an upper plate 6 horizontally mounted between the side plates 3 and 4. A housing is formed. An elongated rectangular window 10 is formed on one side plate 3 side of the card transport plate 5, and a rectangular window 11 is formed on the central rear side (in the direction of arrow A in the figure). Card transport plate 5 outside the other side plate 4
A substrate 12 is attached to a portion corresponding to the above, and four sensors S1, S2, S3, and S4 each including a light emitting element and a light receiving element facing the card transport plate 5 are attached to the substrate 12, and the sensors S1 and S2 Are positioned so as to be arranged on the front side (arrow B direction), and the sensors S3 and S4 are arranged on the rear side (arrow A direction).

A pair of guide members 14, 14 are attached to the side plates 3, 4 from substantially the center in the direction of arrow AB to the rear side so as to face each other.
Guide portions 14a, 14a are erected on the side opposite to the side 4 and a guide member 14 on the side plate 3 side is provided with a roller 2 described later.
Notches 14b, 14b are formed to prevent contact with 3, 26. On the outer surfaces of these guide portions 14a, 14a, a groove portion 15a inclined downward toward arrow A and a groove portion 15b communicating therewith and inclined upward toward arrow A are provided.
A pair of guide grooves 15, 15 each having a substantially V-shape in side view are formed. In addition, guide grooves 16, 16 having the same shape as the guide grooves 15, and being shifted from the guide grooves 15 in parallel in the direction of arrow A, are formed on the inner side surfaces of the guide portions 14 a, 14 a. . That is, the guide grooves 16, 16 are formed with grooves 16a, 16a having the same shape as the grooves 15a, 15a of the guide grooves 15, 15.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a stepping motor mounted on the bottom plate 2 and rotatable in forward and reverse directions. A worm 18 is mounted on the motor shaft, and a worm wheel 19 meshes with the worm 18 and a worm wheel 19 The shaft on which is mounted is supported by the side plate 3, and a driving roller 20 is mounted on a protruding end projecting inside the side plate 3. Reference numeral 21 denotes a driven roller rotatably supported by the side plate 3, and a driving belt 22 is stretched between the driven roller 21 and the driving roller 20.
The conveyance roller 23 is in contact with the window 10 from below.

Above the driving roller 20 and the driven roller 21, pinch rollers 25 and 26 are rotatably supported by the side plate 3, respectively.
A driven belt 27 facing the drive belt 22 is stretched,
A transport roller 23 is attached. These two belts 2
The card transport path 29 is formed by the opposing surfaces of the card transport paths 2 and 27 and the above-described card transport plate 5, and both ends 30 and 31 of the card transport path 29 in the direction of the arrow AB are open.

In FIG. 3, the reference numeral 33 designates a contact unit, which is a movable element 34 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a width slightly smaller than the distance between the pair of guide members 14 and 14 described above. The movable element 34
A contact 35 is provided on the lower surface of the. This mover 34
A pair of arms 36 having an L-shaped cross section is provided on both sides of a front portion of the arm, and a pair of pins 37, 37 project from opposite ends of the arms 36, 36 so as to face each other. Are protruded from both sides of the pin so as to face the pins 37 in a rear view. An engaging portion 39 projecting downward is formed at the center of the rear part of the moving element 34, and a convex part 40 is formed at the upper part of the rear part of the moving element 34. Is a pair of spring hooks 40
a, 40b are formed.

The contact unit 33 connects the two pairs of pins 37 and 38 of the movable member 34 to the guide members 14 and 14 described above.
By moving into the guide grooves 15 and 16 of the
4 is supported movably in the card transport direction (arrows AB) while moving up and down while maintaining the horizontal state.
Reference numerals 43 and 44 denote a pair of tension springs.
One end is hung on a bracket 42 attached to the bottom of the upper plate 6 so as to be arranged in a direction orthogonal to the −B direction. The other end of one tension spring 43 is hooked on a spring hook 40a of the mover 34, and the other end of the other tension spring 44 is attached to one end of a steel wire 46. It is wound around a pulley 45 that is rotatably supported at one end, and the other end is hooked on a spring hook 40 b of the mover 34.

Accordingly, a tension force in the direction of arrow B is applied to the movable element 34 by the tension spring 43, and a tension force in the direction of arrow A is applied by the tension spring 44 via the steel wire 46.
4, the state is maintained at the neutral position C shown in FIG. In this neutral position C, the pin 3
7 and 38 are positioned substantially at the centers of the grooves 15a and 16a, the contact point 35 is positioned at the retracted position above the card transport path 29, and the lower end of the engaging portion 39 faces the card transport path 29. It is positioned in. As described above, when the movable element 34 is set to the neutral position C, by arranging the pair of tension springs 43 and 44 side by side in the direction orthogonal to the arrow AB direction, if the total length of the steel wire 46 is shortened. The total length of the card transport path 29 can be reduced as compared with a structure in which the pair of tension springs 43 and 44 are arranged in series in the direction of the arrow AB.

The IC card processing apparatus 1 configured as described above is installed in a store such as a bank so that only the front end is exposed from the wall 50 as shown in FIG. Accordingly, the space in the direction of arrow A in the figure functions as a management space for the card manager, while the space in the direction of B functions as a use space for the card user with the wall 50 interposed therebetween. Hereinafter, the rewriting operation of the information recorded on the card in the IC card processing device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2, when the user inserts the IC card 8 into the card transport path 29 from the opening 30 as shown in FIG. 2 from the standby state in S5, the sensor S1 detects the leading end of the card in S6. In step S7, the stepping motor 17 rotates in the forward direction, and the rotation is performed by the worm 18 and the worm wheel 1.
9 to the drive roller 20 and the drive belt 22
Travels in the direction of arrow A.

When the leading end of the IC card 8 is inserted between the driving belt 22 and the driven belt 27, the IC card 8 is sandwiched between the two belts 22, 27 in S8, and the driving belt 22 travels in the direction A. The IC card 8 and the driven belt 27 also follow in the direction A, so that the IC card 8 is transported to the rear side of the card transport path 29. At this time, the lower end of the engaging portion 39 of the contact unit 33 is
9, the tip of the IC card 8 conveyed in the card conveyance path 29 engages with the engagement portion 39, and the contact unit 33 resists the tension force of the tension spring 43.
It moves in the direction of arrow A following the conveyance of the IC card 8.

When the leading end of the IC card 8 is detected by the sensor S3 in S9, the rotation of the stepping motor 17 is stopped in S10, and the conveyance of the IC card 8 is also stopped as shown in FIG. The stopped state is held by the stepping motor 17 against the tensile force of the tension spring 43. At this time, in the contact unit 33 that moves in the direction of arrow A following the IC card 8, the pins 37, 38 are connected to the right ends (grooves 15) of the grooves 15a, 16a.
b, 16b) and descends to contact 3
5 advances into the card transport path 29, and at this advance position D, the contact point 35 contacts an electrode portion (not shown) of the IC card 8.

In step S11, the information recorded on the IC card 8 is read and written. If it is determined in step S12 that there is no abnormality in the IC card 8, the reading and writing of the IC card is terminated in step S13. Since the stepping motor 17 rotates in the reverse direction, the drive belt 22
Travels in the direction of arrow B. Therefore, the IC card 8 is also transported in the direction of arrow B in the card transport path 29, is discharged from the opening 30 in S15, and is returned to the user. In this case, the opening 30 formed at the front end of the device functions not only as a card insertion slot but also as a card return slot.

If the IC card 8 inserted in the card transport path 29 is an unauthorized card or a defective card,
At S12, it is determined that the IC card is abnormal. At S16, the stepping motor 17 rotates in the forward direction.
The C card 8 is transported from the state of FIG. The contact unit 33 in which the engaging portion 39 is engaged with the tip of the IC card 8 also moves in the direction A following the tension force of the tension spring 43. At this time, since the pins 37 and 38 of the contact unit 33 are located at the left ends of the grooves 15b and 16b, the pins 37 and 38 are moved by the movement of the contact unit 33 in the direction A to form the grooves 15b and 16b.
And the contact unit 33 rises as shown in FIG.

Accordingly, the leading end of the IC card 8 is disengaged from the lower end of the engaging portion 39 of the contact unit 33, and the IC
Since the card 8 is discharged from the opening 31 and collected in a collection box (not shown), it is possible to prevent a fraudulent card or a defective card from being used again. The contact unit 33 disengaged from the IC card 8 is moved in the direction of arrow B by the tensile force of the tension spring 43, and is positioned at the neutral position C shown in FIG. Can be As described above, the stop of the stepping motor 17 based on the detection of the sensor S3 is performed to stop the IC card 8 at the position where the information recorded on the IC card 8 is read / written. (In the direction of arrow B).

Further, since the contact unit 33 can be moved from the advanced position D in the direction of the arrow A, the IC card 8 can be ejected from the opening 31, so that an illegal card or a defective card can be collected. Will be possible. In addition, two pairs of pins 37, 38 are provided on both sides of the movable element 34, and two pairs of guide grooves 15, 16 for guiding these two pairs of pins 37, 38 are provided so as to be shifted from each other in the direction of the arrow AB. Accordingly, the movable element 34 is moved in the direction of the arrow AB while maintaining the horizontal state. Therefore, the contact 35 is
Since the electrode portion of the card 8 is uniformly contacted with an appropriate contact pressure, a contact failure can be prevented, and a reading / writing failure of information can be prevented. Further, the contact unit 33 moved from the advanced position D in the direction of the arrow A can be returned to the neutral position C by the pair of tension springs 43 and 44.

A pair of tension springs 43, 44
Are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the card transport direction, but may be arranged in series in the card transport direction, or may be a compression spring.

[0022]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, an unauthorized card or a defective card can be collected.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the contact point uniformly contacts the electrode portion of the IC card with an appropriate contact pressure, contact failure can be prevented, and information can be read / written. Failure can be prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the total length in the direction of the card transport path can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an IC card processing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

3A and 3B show a contact portion of the IC card processing device according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 3A is a plan view, FIG. 3B is a rear view, and FIG. 3C is a side view.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1 for explaining the operation of the IC card processing device according to the present invention;
(A) shows a state where the contact portion is at the advanced position, and (b) shows a state where the contact portion is located at the rear end side.

FIG. 5 shows an IC card processing apparatus according to the present invention.
It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement which collects an unauthorized card.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: IC card processing device, 8: IC card, 15, 16
... Guide groove, 17 ... Stepping motor, 22 ... Drive belt, 27 ... Driving belt, 29 ... Card transport path, 30,
31 ... opening, 33 ... contact unit, 34 ... mover, 35
... contact points, 37, 38 ... pins, 39 ... engaging portions, 40a, 4
0b: Spring hook portion, 43, 44: Tension spring, S
1 to S4 ... sensors.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A card transport path communicating with a card insertion slot, transport means for transporting a card inserted into the card transport path, and advanced into the card transport path following the card to be transported. In the structure of the contact portion in the IC card processing device having a contact for reading and writing information recorded on the card at the position, a sensor for stopping the card at the advance position is provided, and the contact is transported across the advance position. Characterized by being movable back and forth in the direction
Structure of the contact portion in the C card processing device. 2. The structure of the contact portion in the IC card processing device according to claim 1, wherein two pairs of pins are provided before and after both sides of the movable member holding the contacts, and these pins are engaged to transfer the contacts to the card. Two pairs of guide grooves are provided on both sides of the card transport path for guiding the retracted position and the advanced position from the road, and a pair of biasing means for biasing the contact point from front and rear in the card transport direction is provided. Structure of the contact portion in the IC card processing device. 3. The contact portion of the IC card processing device according to claim 2, wherein a pair of biasing means are arranged side by side in a direction orthogonal to the card transport direction. Structure.