JPH1139434A - Collect card carrier device for card reader/writer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a collect card carrier device for a card reader/writer which prevents mischief that is performed when a processed card is collected as much as possible. SOLUTION: This device is constituted of a 1st card detection sensor 6 which is arranged just at the back of a card insertion slot 5 and detects the existence of a card, a shutter means 25 which is arranged just at the back of the slot 5 and closes a card carrying path 4 together with entrance collection, a shutter opening/closing detection sensor 27 which detects the closure of the path 4 by the means 25 and a controlling means which sends an abnormal signal when the sensor 6 detects the existence of a card after a prescribed time passes from the start of an entrance operation of a processed card 41 by a card carrying means 11 or when it is detected that the path 4 is not closed after a prescribed time passes from the start of an entrance operation of a processed card 41 by a card carrying means 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card reader / writer collect card transporter for collecting a processed card in a card collection container when the card is forgotten to be removed from a card insertion slot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a magnetic card having a magnetic recording area, an optical card having an optical recording area, an IC card having an IC storage area, or an information recording apparatus having these various storage or recording areas on one card. 2. Description of the Related Art A card reader / writer is provided as a device for performing a recording and reproducing process of information on a reproducing card (hereinafter, simply referred to as a card).

[0003] In such a card reader / writer, a card transport means for reciprocating the card and a card transport means comprising a card transport roller and the like are provided inside the card reader / writer. A magnetic head for recording and reproducing information on a magnetic recording area of the card facing the transport path, an optical head for recording and reproducing information on an optical recording area of the card, and an I / O of the card.
An IC head or the like for recording / reproducing information to / from the C storage area is provided.

In the above-described card reader / writer, while the card inserted from the card insertion slot is reciprocated in the card transport path, the various heads described above use the various heads to store various types of information in the card or to store various types of information in the recording area. Processing such as recording and reproduction is performed.

On the other hand, in the above card reader / writer,
The processed card is transported to the card insertion slot, and the card is stopped and returned with a part of the card protruding from the card insertion slot, and the returned card is inserted by the user from the card insertion slot. If the user forgets to take the card, that is, if the processed card is not removed from the card insertion slot within a certain period of time, the processed card is drawn back into the card conveyance path from the card insertion slot, and is disposed in the card conveyance path. A collect card transport device that drops the card into a card collection container and stores it is provided.

In the above-described collect card conveying device, the shutter means is disposed immediately after the card insertion slot, and when the processed card is drawn back into the card conveyance path from the card insertion slot, the shutter means changes the card conveyance path. In some cases, a card other than a processed card is closed when the card is collected, and is prevented from being drawn into the card transport path together with the processed card and stored in the card collection container.

[0007]

According to the above-mentioned conventional collect card transport apparatus, when a processed card is not removed from the card insertion slot for a certain period of time, the processed card is reinserted from the card insertion slot. Due to the structure that the card is drawn into the transport path, dropped into the card collection container arranged in the card transport path, and accommodated, another new card is inserted from the card insertion slot immediately after the start of the processing of the processed card. When a mischief such as insertion is performed, there is a problem that a new card along with the processed card is stored in a card collection container.

Further, even if a shutter means is provided in the card reader / writer and the processed card is drawn back into the card transport path from the card insertion slot, even if the card transport path is closed by the shutter means, the processing is performed. If another new card is continuously inserted from the card insertion slot immediately after the start of drawing of the used card and before closing the card conveyance path by the shutter means, the shutter means contacts the new card and conveys the card. Since the road cannot be closed, there is a problem that the new card is stored in the card collection container together with the processed card.

Further, immediately after the start of drawing in the processed card and before the shutter means closes the card transport path,
Even when a stick-like foreign matter is inserted from the card insertion slot due to mischief, the shutter means cannot completely close the card transport path, and there is also a problem that the inside of the card reader / writer is damaged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a card reader / writer collect card transport apparatus which prevents mischief when collecting processed cards as much as possible. .

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first collect card conveying device of the present invention comprises:
After returning the processed card to the card insertion slot side by the card transfer means, if the processed card is not taken out of the card insertion slot for a certain period of time, it is determined that the card has been forgotten to be removed, and the processed card is transferred to the card insertion slot. A card reader / writer which is drawn into the card transport path again from the card insertion slot by means and is disposed immediately after the card insertion slot to detect the presence or absence of a card; A control means for sending an abnormal signal when the first card detection sensor detects the presence of the card after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of the drawing-in operation of the processed card by driving.

Further, in the second collect card conveying device of the present invention, after the processed card is returned to the card insertion slot side by the card conveying means, if the processed card is not taken out of the card insertion slot for a certain period of time, It is determined that the card is forgotten, and the processed card is drawn back into the card transport path from the card insertion slot by the card transport means and collected, and the card transport is performed by the shutter means disposed immediately after the card insertion port. In a card reader / writer that closes a path, a shutter opening / closing detection sensor that detects opening / closing of the card transport path by the shutter means, and after a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of the drawing-in operation of the processed card by driving of the card transport means, The card transport path is determined by the detection signal of the shutter Upon detecting that it is not busy, and control means for transmitting an abnormality signal.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the collect card transporter according to the present invention will be described below in detail. FIG. 1 is a conceptual sectional view of a main part of a card reader / writer 2 equipped with a collect card transport device 1 of the present invention. An upper chute 3a and a lower chute 3 are provided in the housing of the card reader / writer 2.
b, a card transport path 4 is provided, and the upstream side thereof communicates with a card insertion slot 5.

Immediately after the card insertion slot 5, a first card detection sensor 6 composed of a light emitting and light receiving element such as a phototransistor is provided. The first card detection sensor 6 includes a first card detection sensor 6
Is determined, the ON signal is output when the first card detection sensor 6 is located, and the OFF signal is output when no card is present at this position.
(FIG. 9).

The card reader / writer 2 includes a first card transport roller 7 composed of a pair of upper and lower rollers, respectively, from the upstream (toward the card insertion slot 5) of the card transport path 4 to the downstream, and a second card transport. A roller 8 and a third card transport roller 9 are provided.

Further, the card branches off from the middle of the card transport path 4,
A fourth card transport roller 10 for transporting the card is also provided at the lower end 22b of the card recovery path 22 for guiding the processed card to the card recovery container 23. The above-described first to fourth card transport rollers 7, 8, 9, and 10 constitute a card transport unit 11.

The fourth card transport roller 10 comprises an upper roller 13 rotatably supported on a shaft 12 and a lower roller 14 opposed to the upper roller 13. The upper roller 13 is a driven roller. , The lower roller 14 functions as a driving roller.

According to the above-described card conveying means 11, as shown in FIG. 1, when the solenoid plunger 21 of the passage switching means 31, which will be described later, is OFF and the card conveying path 4 is expanded, the card insertion port 5 is opened. Card 41 inserted
Can travel back and forth along the longitudinal direction of the card transport path 4, and as shown in FIG. 2, the solenoid plunger 21 of the passage switching means 31, which will be described later, is turned on, and the card collection passage 22 is expanded. In this case, the card can be conveyed to the card collection container 23 disposed below the card collection passage 22 via the card collection passage 22.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a shutter means 25 comprising a vertically movable shutter lever 26 is provided between the first card transport roller 7 and the first card detection sensor 6. . According to the shutter means 25, when the shutter lever 26 moves up and down, the lower end 26a of the shutter means 26 projects into the card transport path 4, and when the shutter lever 26 escapes therefrom, the card transport path 4 can be closed or expanded.

Further, the upper end 26 of the shutter lever 26
b, the shutter means 25 expands the card transport path 4,
Alternatively, a shutter open / close detection sensor 27 for detecting whether or not the shutter is closed is provided. The shutter opening / closing detection sensor 27 includes a light emitting and light receiving element such as a phototransistor, and detects whether or not the upper end 26b of the shutter lever 26 is at the position of the shutter opening / closing detection sensor 27. ON when the shutter opening / closing detection sensor 27 is located, that is, when the shutter lever 26 opens the card transport path 4.
A signal is output when the upper end 26b of the shutter lever 26 is not at the position of the shutter open / close detection sensor 27, that is, when the shutter lever 26 closes the card transport path 4.
The FF signal is sent to the control means 51 (FIG. 9) described later.

Immediately after the second card transport roller 8, a second card detection sensor 15 composed of a light emitting and light receiving element such as a phototransistor is provided. The second card detection sensor 15 detects that the card
Is determined to be at the position of the card detection sensor 15 of
When there is a card at the position of the second card detection sensor 15, an ON signal is output.
The FF signal is sent to the control means 51 (FIG. 9) described later.

At the lower end 22b of the card collection path 22 branched from the card transport path 4, a third card detection sensor 16 composed of a light emitting and light receiving element such as a phototransistor is provided. The third card detection sensor 16 determines whether or not the card collected by driving the card transport means 11 is located at the position of the third card detection sensor 16. And if there is no card at this position, an OFF signal is sent to the control means 51 (FIG. 9) described later.

On the other hand, the path switching means 31 provided at the branch point between the card collection path 22 and the card transport path 4 is
The passage switching claw 3 is rotatably supported on the shaft 12 and has a substantially triangular cross section.
Solenoid plunger 2 for rotating shaft 2 about shaft 12
And 1. According to the passage switching means 31, when the solenoid plunger 21 is turned ON or OFF, the passage switching claw 32 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise about the shaft 12 by a predetermined rotation angle, and the tip 32a of the passage switching claw 32 is moved. Card transport path 4 or card collection path 22
The path is switched by projecting into one of the paths.

Next, the above-described collect card transport device 1
And the configuration will be described in more detail. FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the control means 51 for controlling the above-described collect card transport device 1. Control means 51 of FIG.
Is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), not shown, and peripheral circuits having a main storage device and an auxiliary storage device as main components. The travel position information of the processed card 41 is input to the control means 51 from the first to third card detection sensors 6, 15, 16. From the shutter opening / closing detection sensor 27, a signal indicating whether or not the shutter means 25 has closed the card transport path 4 is input. On the other hand, the control means 51, based on each of these information, the solenoid plunger 21, the card transport means 11, the shutter means 2
5 and sends a drive signal to the abnormal state notifying means 52 based on the output information of the first card detection sensor 6 or the shutter open / close detection sensor 27.

Next, the processing procedure of the control means 51 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the processed card 41 is stopped with the rear end 41 b of the card 41 protruding from the card insertion slot 5. At this time, the solenoid plunger 21 is turned off.
The state of F is maintained. The control means 51 determines whether or not the first card detection sensor 6 is ON after a lapse of a predetermined time from the stop state of the card 41 (step 10).
1) After the lapse of a predetermined time, the first card detection sensor 6
If it is not N, it is determined that the processed card 41 has been removed from the card insertion slot 5, and the process returns to the standby state (step 102).

On the other hand, if the control means 51 determines in step 101 that the first card detection sensor 6 is ON after a predetermined time has elapsed, it determines that the processed card 41 has been forgotten and the solenoid plunger 21 is turned off. It is turned ON (step 103). When the solenoid plunger 21 is turned on, as shown in FIG. 2, the passage switching claw 32 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 12 by a predetermined rotation angle, and its tip 32a is projected into the card transport path 4 to cause the card transport path 4 to move. 4 and the card collection passage 22 is expanded.

After that, the control means 51 moves the card 41 in the card insertion direction so that the processed card 41 is drawn back into the card conveyance path 4 from the card insertion slot 5 again.
Is driven (step 104).

Next, the control means 51 determines whether or not the second card detection sensor 15 has been turned on (step 10).
5) If it is determined that the second card detection sensor 15 is not ON, it is determined that the leading end 41a of the card 41 has not passed through the second detection sensor 15, and step 10
The processes after 5 are repeated until it is determined that the second card detection sensor 15 is ON.

On the other hand, if the control means 51 determines in step 105 that the second card detection sensor 15 has been turned on, it determines that the leading end 41a of the card 41 has passed through the second card detection sensor 15, Next, it is determined whether the first card detection sensor 6 has been turned off within a predetermined time (step 106). In step 106, when the control means 51 determines that the first card detection sensor 6 has not been turned off within a predetermined time, as shown in FIG. Is determined to be pulled out from the card insertion slot 5, that is, an abnormal state has occurred, and a drive signal is transmitted to the abnormal state notifying means 52 (step 107). When a drive signal is transmitted to the abnormal state notifying unit 52, the abnormal state notifying unit 52 transmits an abnormal signal for temporarily suspending the processing of the card reader / writer 2.

On the other hand, at step 106, the control means 51
When it is determined that the first card detection sensor 6 has been turned off within a predetermined time, it is determined that the rear end 41b of the card 41 has passed the first card detection sensor 6, and then, in FIG. As shown, the shutter means 25 is driven to close (step 108).

After the rear end 41b of the card 41 has passed through the first card detection sensor 6, the card 41 is guided into the card collection passage 22 from the front end 41a.

Next, the control means 51 determines whether or not the shutter open / close detection sensor 27 has been turned off within a predetermined time (step 109), and determines that the shutter open / close detection sensor 27 has not been turned off within the predetermined time. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, a rod-shaped foreign matter 43 or the like that cannot be detected by the first card detection sensor 6 is inserted from the card insertion slot 5, and the shutter means 25 cannot close the card transport path 4, ie, It is determined that an abnormal state has occurred, and a drive signal is sent to the abnormal state notifying means 52 (step 110).

When a drive signal is sent to the abnormal state notifying means 52, the abnormal state notifying means 52 sends an abnormal signal for temporarily suspending the processing of the card reader / writer 2.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step 109 that the shutter open / close detection sensor 27 has been turned off within a predetermined time, it is determined that the card transport path 4 has been closed, and the control means 51 drives the shutter means 25 to close. It is stopped (step 111).

Next, the control means 51 determines whether or not the third card detection sensor 16 has been turned on (step 11).
2) If it is determined that the third card detection sensor 16 is not ON, the leading end 41a of the card 41 guided into the card collection passage 22 is still in the third card detection sensor 1
6 and the processing after step 112 is repeated until the third card detection sensor 16 is turned on.

On the other hand, the third card detection sensor 16 is turned on.
If it is determined that the card 41 has passed, the leading end 41a of the card 41 guided into the card collection passage 22 has passed through the third card detection sensor 16, and then the control means 51 sends the second card detection sensor 15 It is determined whether or not is turned off (step 113).

If it is determined in step 113 that the second card detection sensor 15 has not been turned off, it is determined that the rear end 41b of the card 41 has not passed through the second card detection sensor 15, and control is performed. Means 51 includes step 113
The subsequent processing is repeated until the second card detection sensor 15 turns off.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the control means 51 determines in step 113 that the second card detection sensor 15
F, it is determined that the rear end 41b of the card 41 has passed the second card detection sensor 15, and then the control means 51 determines that the third card detection sensor 16 has been turned off.
It is determined whether or not F has been performed (step 114).

In step 114, the control means 51
When it is determined that the card detection sensor 16 is not turned off, the rear end 41b of the card 41 does not pass through the third card detection sensor 16, and the card 41 is not stored in the card collection container 23. And step 114
The subsequent processing is repeated until the third card detection sensor 16 is turned off.

On the other hand, at step 114, the control means 51
When it is determined that the third card detection sensor 16 has been turned off, the rear end 41b of the card 41 passes through the third card detection sensor 16 as shown in FIG. Then, the card transporting means 11 is stopped (step 115), and then the control means 51 turns off the solenoid plunger 21 (step 116).

When the solenoid plunger 21 is turned off, the passage switching claw 32 rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 12 as shown in FIG. To expand.

Next, the control means 51, as shown in FIG.
The card conveying path 4 is driven to expand the shutter means 25 (step 117). Next, it is determined whether or not the shutter open / close detection sensor 27 is turned on (step 118). The shutter open / close detection sensor 27 is not turned on. If it is determined that the card transport path 4 has not been expanded yet, the control unit 51 repeats the processing of step 118 until the shutter open / close detection sensor 27 is turned on.

On the other hand, if the control means 51 determines in step 118 that the shutter open / close detection sensor 27 has been turned on, it stops the widening drive of the shutter means 25 (step 119) and returns to the standby state (step 119). 12
0).

That is, according to the collect card transport device 1 described above, as shown in FIG. 7, the first card detection sensor 6 for detecting the presence or absence of a card is provided immediately after the card insertion slot 5, and the card transport means 11 is provided. When the first card detection sensor 6 detects the presence of the card 42 after a lapse of a predetermined time from the card collection drive, the control means 51 controls so as to send an abnormal signal, so that the withdrawal of the processed card 41 is started. Immediately after that, it is possible to detect an abnormal state due to tampering, such as inserting another new card 42 into the card insertion slot 5, and when this abnormal state is detected, the card reader / writer 2 after that point in time is detected. By stopping all the functions, it is possible to prevent as much as possible the possibility that another new card 42 is stored in the card collection container 23 together with the processed card 41. .

Further, in the case where the shutter means 25 is provided immediately after the card insertion slot 5 as in this embodiment, the shutter open / close detection sensor 27 for detecting the blockage of the card transport path 4 by the shutter means 25 is provided by the first sensor. It is arranged downstream of the card detection sensor 6 and sends an abnormal signal when the control means 51 detects that the card transport path 4 is not closed after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of driving of the card transport means 11. Therefore, immediately after the start of drawing in the processed card 41, the narrow card-like foreign matter 43 or the like that cannot be detected by the first card detection sensor 6 is inserted into the card insertion slot 5 as shown in FIG. It is possible to detect an abnormal state due to mischief of the card reader / writer, and when this abnormal state is detected, All can be stopped, as a result, the card reader-writer 2 by the foreign matter 43 such as rod-shaped and thus capable of blocking as much as possible the risk of damage.

In this embodiment, the first card detection sensor 6 and the shutter opening / closing detection sensor 27 are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the collect card transport device 1 is constituted by only one of the means. May be used. Further, in this embodiment, the abnormal state notifying unit 52 stops all functions of the card reader / writer 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a display lamp may be turned on or a buzzer may sound. .

[0047]

As described above, in the collect card conveying device of the present invention, the correct card transfer device is provided immediately after the card insertion slot.
A first card detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a card is provided, and when the first card detection sensor detects the presence of the card after a predetermined time has elapsed since the driving of the card transport means, an abnormal signal is transmitted. When the controller is controlled, if a mischief such as inserting another new card from the card insertion slot is performed immediately after the start of drawing in the processed card, the abnormal state is detected by the first card detection sensor. Since it can be detected, it is possible to prevent mischief such as another new card being stored in the card collection container together with the processed card.

In the case where a shutter means provided immediately after the card insertion slot is provided in the collect card conveying apparatus of the present invention, a shutter opening / closing detection for detecting a blockage of the card conveying path 4 by the shutter means is further performed. A sensor is provided to send an abnormal signal when it is detected that the card transport path is not blocked after a predetermined time has elapsed from the drive of the card transport means, so that the withdrawal of the processed card is started. If another mischief such as inserting another card or a stick-like foreign object into the card slot is performed immediately after the abnormal state, the abnormal condition can be detected by the shutter means. It is possible to prevent as much as possible the possibility that another card is stored in the card collection container and the possibility that the inside of the card reader / writer is damaged.

Therefore, according to the collective card transporter of the card reader / writer of the present invention, the mischief performed at the time of collecting the processed card is prevented as much as possible, and the stable operation of collecting the processed card is performed. A card reader / writer can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part of a card reader / writer to which a collect card transport device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an essential part cross-sectional view of a card reader / writer showing the operation of the collect card transporter according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part of a card reader / writer showing an operation of the collect card transport device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an essential part cross-sectional view of the card reader / writer showing the operation of the collect card transporter according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of a card reader / writer showing an operation of the collect card conveying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an essential part cross-sectional view of the card reader / writer, showing the operation of the collect card transporter according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an essential part cross-sectional view of the card reader / writer showing the operation of the collect card transporter according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of a card reader / writer showing an operation of the collect card conveying device according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of control means for controlling the collect card transport device according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a control unit that controls the collect card transport device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Correct card conveyance apparatus 2 ... Card reader / writer 4 ... Card conveyance path 5 ... Card insertion slot 6 ... First card detection sensor 11 ... Card conveyance means 25 ... Shutter means 27 ... Shutter open / close detection sensor 41 ... Processed card 51 ... Control means 52 ... Abnormal state notification means

Claims (6)

[Claims] After returning a processed card to a card insertion side by a card carrying means, if the processed card is not taken out of the card insertion slot for a certain period of time, it is determined that the card has been forgotten to be removed, and A card reader / writer that pulls a card from the card insertion port into the card conveyance path again by the card conveyance means and collects the card; a first card detection sensor disposed immediately after the card insertion port to detect the presence or absence of a card; Control means for transmitting an abnormal signal when the first card detection sensor detects the presence of a card after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the drawing-in operation of the processed card by the driving of the card transport means. A collective card transporter for a card reader / writer. 2. After returning the processed card to the card insertion slot side by the card transport means, if the processed card is not taken out of the card insertion slot for a certain period of time, it is determined that the card has been forgotten to be removed. A card reader / writer which draws and collects a card from the card insertion slot again into the card transport path by the card transport means and closes the card transport path by shutter means disposed immediately after the card insertion port, wherein the shutter A shutter opening / closing detection sensor for detecting opening / closing of the card conveyance path by means; When detecting that the transport path is not blocked, an abnormal signal is Collect the card transport device of the card reader-writer, characterized in that it comprises a control means for output. 3. The collect card transporter of a card reader / writer according to claim 1, wherein said abnormal signal is a drive signal for driving an abnormal state notifying means. 4. The collect card transporter of a card reader / writer according to claim 3, wherein said abnormal state notifying means stops driving of said card reader / writer. 5. The collect card conveying device of a card reader / writer according to claim 3, wherein said abnormal state notifying means sounds a buzzer. 6. The collect card transporter of a card reader / writer according to claim 3, wherein said abnormal state notifying means turns on a display lamp.