JPS63140447A - Conveying path for card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To convey correctly even a magnetic card of a form like a very thin prepaid card by moving a card while one surface of the magnetic card is brought into contact with a sliding rail. CONSTITUTION:By a sliding base plate 21, right and left side surface guides 22, 23, 24 and 25 and covers 14 and 15, a very thin space with a square cross section is formed and approximately at the center of the sliding base plate 21, a sliding rail 64 is protruded in the length direction. For this reason, the center of the one side surface of a magnetic card is mounted on the sliding rail 64 and conveyed while a part brought into contact to a lower surface in a space is small. Since the contacting area of the magnetic card is made smaller, a friction force is minimized and the card can be moved while a flat shape is maintained. Since the card is conveyed without having a sandwiching mechanism such as a belt, excess force is not applied to the magnetic card and the card can be smoothly moved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a card reader used for reading information stored in magnetic cards used as coupon tickets, gift certificates, cash coupons, etc., and for writing information therein. Regarding
In particular, it relates to a transport path for a card reader that allows a magnetic card to run smoothly.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, magnetic recording means is attached to paper or plastic media such as credit cards, cash cards, ID cards, etc., and various information is recorded on this magnetic recording means to create certificates, gift certificates, cash vouchers, etc. Increasingly, companies are being asked to act on their behalf.

A card reader must be used to read the information recorded on the magnetic recording means of these magnetic cards, and to process and rewrite the read information. In this card reader, it is necessary to transport thin, flexible, flat magnetic cards in a fixed direction, and in order to smoothly transport them in one direction while maintaining flatness, various Some efforts were made.

For example, JP-A No. 125569 of 1982, JP-A No. 2 of 1982
As shown in publications such as No. 00376, in conventional card readers, when conveying cards, a heald is passed between two pulleys, and the information card is conveyed by the PXX force of the belt. Most of them were. In this method of conveying the information card using a belt, the information card can be held and conveyed strongly by the frictional force, but on the other hand, the belt must be made of an elastic material such as rubber. In addition, they often stretch or lose their elasticity due to changes over time during use.

Therefore, after a certain period of use, the belt had to be replaced by maintenance or turning on. Furthermore, in order to move the elongated belt, it must be driven from one direction, resulting in poor card transport responsiveness and the disadvantage that magnetic cards cannot be transported quickly. Furthermore, in recent years, magnetic cards called prepaid cards have been issued in order to issue tickets for public telephones, railways, etc., on which a fee is paid in advance and an amount commensurate with the fee is written. Magnetic cards based on this prepaid card system are disposable, and in order to reduce costs, they must be extremely thin, making them flexible and having a weak structure.

For this reason, if you try to forcibly transport the magnetic card by holding it from above and below with a belt, the magnetic card itself may be bent, or it may not be transported accurately in one direction, which tends to cause reading and writing errors. , which could easily lead to accidents such as damage to the magnetic card. For this reason, there has been a desire for a card reader that can accurately transport prepaid cards, which are thinner than ID cards and credit cards manufactured by Plus Sochisoku, while maintaining its flatness.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In conventional card readers, belts are placed on the top and bottom of the rack, and the magnetic card is held between these belts and conveyed, making it easy for excessive force to be applied to the magnetic card itself. However, there was a drawback that it could not be transported reliably in one direction. There is a need for a transport path for a card reader that can transport these magnetic cards flat and without applying excessive force.

[Means for solving problems]

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention provides a card reader that includes a conveying means and a magnetic reading/writing means, and is capable of reading and writing information on a magnetic card by conveying the magnetic card in one direction. A sliding base with a flat surface, a pair of side guides standing parallel to each other with a corner between them on the left and right sides of the flat part of the sliding base, and a slightly flat lid body installed between the side guides. A slit-shaped space is formed by the sliding base, the side guide, and the lid, and a sliding rail is slightly raised from the plane at the center of the sliding base and in the longitudinal direction of the conveyance. The present invention provides a card reader characterized in that the magnetic card is moved through the space while one side of the magnetic card is brought into contact with the sliding rail.

[Effect]

In the present invention, the sliding base, the left and right side guides, and the lid form an extremely thin space with a rectangular cross section, and a sliding rail is located slightly in the center of the sliding base in the length direction. It is protruding. Therefore, the center of one side of the magnetic card is placed on the sliding rail, and the magnetic card is transported within the space with the portion that contacts the lower surface reduced. Since the contact area of this magnetic card is reduced, the frictional force is reduced.
It can be moved while maintaining its flat shape.

And in order to transport it without a holding mechanism such as a belt,
This allows the magnetic card to be moved extremely smoothly without any excessive force being applied to it.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example in which the card reader of the present invention is actually applied, and this example shows a video game device that can be operated using a magnetic card without using coins.

In this embodiment, the video game machine l is a conventionally well-known one, with a CRT display fixed at the center of its top surface, and a control box on the side with operations for controlling screen selection, start, etc. on the top surface. A switch 2 is attached, and a control lever 3 for controlling the character on the screen protrudes near the operation switch 2. Further, a card processing machine 4 is fixed to the side surface of the video game machine 1, and the card reader of this embodiment is housed within this card processing machine 4. A magnetic stripe is attached to a part of the magnetic card 5, and information such as an amount corresponding to the amount paid in advance is magnetically recorded on this magnetic stripe. By inserting this magnetic card 5 into the card processing machine 4, the information recorded in the magnetic card 5 is read, and the card processing machine 4 determines permission for the game, the number of remaining uses, etc., and plays the video game @1. It is possible to license the use of Note that in this embodiment, the video game 4111
However, it goes without saying that the magnetic card 5 can be used not only in this embodiment but also in vending machines, public telephones, ticket issuing machines, etc.

Next, Fig. 2 and subsequent figures show the main body of the card reader housed in the card processing JR4. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the unit that constitutes the card reader, and Fig. 3 is a side view. , FIG. 4 is a front view, FIG. 5 is a plan view, FIG. 6 is a sectional view cut in the length direction, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view.

This card reader is roughly divided into a rail body 11 having an elongated three-dimensional structure, side plates 12 and 13 formed of sheet metal or the like fixed to the side surfaces of the rail body 11, and a side plate 12 and 13 that are covered from above the rail body 11. Front lid body 14 to be fixed
, a punch body 16 fixed slightly in the center of the rail body 11 , a rear cover body 15 covered and fixed from above the rail body 11 , and a punch body 15 fixed on the front surface of the rail body 11 through which the magnetic card 5 is inserted. It consists of a front panel 17 with a slit for the purpose.

This rail body 11 is formed by cutting out a single piece of metal, or is integrally formed by casting, etc., and has a flat sliding base 21 on most of its upper surface. A sliding rail 64 is formed approximately at the center of the sliding base 21 and is raised in the longitudinal direction.

A pair of side guides 22, 23, 24, 25 are erected and fixed on the left and right sides of the sliding base 21 so as to be parallel to each other. The inner walls of the side guides 22 and 23 are parallel, and the distance between them is set to be slightly wider than the width of the magnetic card 5. Similarly, the inner walls of the side guides 24 and 25 are parallel, and the spacing between them is set to be slightly wider than the width of the magnetic card 5. This rail body 11 has roller holes 26 that are opened vertically in the front (on the left side in FIG. 7) so as to open on the surface of the sliding base 2I. Rear (right side in Figure 7)
A roller hole 27 is opened vertically through the roller hole 27, and a head hole 28 is opened vertically through the side of the roller hole 27. In addition, a guide 29 for a punching action is provided at a position offset to the side at the center of the sliding base 21.
is fixed. Further, on the surface of the sliding base 21 at a position offset toward the side guide 22.24, detection holes 30.31.
32.33 is the upper and lower through hole i1 opening. The detection holes 30, 31, 32, and 33 are for allowing light from the light emitting diode to pass through.

Next, a roller hole 34 that opens upward and downward is opened approximately in the center of the front cover body 14, and furthermore, light receiving holes 35 and 36 are opened through the front and back near the side surface of the front cover body 14. The light receiving holes 35 and 36 are for fixing a photodiode and receiving light.

Similarly, a roller hole 37 is also provided at approximately the center of the rear lid body 15.
are opened vertically through the roller hole 37, and a pressure contact hole 38 is opened through the roller hole 37 close to the side surface thereof. Furthermore, light receiving holes 39.40 are opened at the front and back of the side surface of the rear lid body 15 and are opened vertically through the holes, and a photodiode is placed in front of the light receiving holes 39.40 for detecting light. It is. Further, the punch body 16 is the front lid body 1
4 and the rear cover body 15, it is formed of one block, has a solenoid lever etc. inside, and operates to reciprocate the punch with respect to the die 29. The total length is approximately that of the rail body 1.
It's a one-way margin and one loss.

There are shaft holes 42 and 43 in the middle of the front and rear of the side plate 12, respectively.
is a through opening. In addition, shaft holes 44 and 45 are opened in the middle of the front and back of the side plate 13, respectively.
There is a single-shaped fixing channel 46 at the front and back of the lower part of the
is fixed. A shaft 47 is rotatably mounted between the shaft holes 42 and 44.
An elongated shaft 48 is rotatably connected between the racks 5 and 5. A pulley 4 is attached to the end of both shafts 47 and 48.
9.50 is fixed, and a heald 51 is wound around between the pulleys 49.50. A driving roller 52 is fixed to the middle of the shaft 47, and this driving roller 52 is inserted into the sliding base 2 from the opening of the roller hole 34.
It is pivoted so that its lower surface protrudes toward 1.

Further, a drive roller 53 is fixed to the center of the shaft 48, and the lower surface of the drive roller 53 projects toward the sliding base 21 from the opening of the roller hole 37.

At the same time, a pressure roller 54 made of an elastic material such as rubber is loosely fitted onto the shaft 48 and rotatably supported, and the pressure roller 54 slides through the opening of the pressure contact hole 38. It protrudes toward the base 21. Next, facing the roller hole 26, a clamping roller 55 protrudes from the lower surface of the rail body 11, and the clamping roller 55 is elastically pushed upward by a spring (not shown), and The roller 52 and the nipping roller 55 are supported so that they are always in contact with each other with a constant pressure. Further, facing the roller hole 27, a clamping roller 56 protrudes from the lower surface of the rail body 11, and this clamping roller 56 is urged upward by a spring (not shown), and the driving roller 53 The holding roller 56 and the holding roller 56 are pivotally supported so that they are always in contact with each other with a constant pressure. Further, a rail body 1 is provided in the head hole 28.
A magnetic head 57 protrudes from the lower surface of the magnetic head 57, and the outer periphery of the pressure roller 54 is in constant contact with the magnetic head 57.

Further, a shaft hole 5 is opened in the center of the side plate 13, and the shaft hole 5 is located above the rail body 11, that is, above the front cover body 14, and is fixed to the side plate 13. The output shaft of the motor 59 is made to protrude. This motor 59
A pulley 60 is pivotally supported on the output shaft of the shaft 48 , and a pulley 61 with a large diameter is fixed to the end of the shaft 48 that projects outward from the side plate 13 . A belt 62 is used as a bridge between the racks.

FIG. 9 shows an enlarged view of the rail body 11. A sliding rail 64 is formed in the center of the upper surface in a raised manner, and the left and right sides of the sliding rail 64 are slightly stepped and lowered. A flat sliding base 21 is provided at the position. And side guides 22, 23, 24, 25 are provided on the left and right sides of the sliding base 21.
are set up in parallel.

Moreover, FIG. 1O is a sectional view taken along the line XX in FIG. 6, and shows the vicinity of the drive roller 52 and the nipping roller 55. The lower part of the drive roller 52 is the roller hole 3
4 and faces below the front lid body 14, and its lower end is set at a position slightly higher than the upper surface of the rail body 11. It faces upward from the roller hole 26 from the lower surface of the rail body 11, and its upper end is brought into elastic contact with the lower end of the drive roller 52. The configuration for elastically holding the clamping roller 55 upward may be any structure as long as the shafts on both sides of the clamping roller 55 are lifted by, for example, a spring.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

Assemble each member from the state shown in FIG. In this case, the front cover body 14 and the rear cover body 15 are brought into contact with each other from the upper surface direction of the rail body 11 so as to cover them, and the front cover body 14 is screwed after R1 so that it is held at the upper ends of the side guides 22 and 23 on both sides. etc. to fix it. In addition, the rear lid body 15 is provided with side guides 24.2.
Fix it so that it is placed on the upper end of 5, and fix it with screws etc. Furthermore, since the punch body 16 has a groove formed on its lower surface to allow the magnetic card 5 to pass through, the rack can be placed and fixed across the center of the upper surface of the rail body 11 like a bridge.

Next, the side plates 12 and 13 are brought into close contact with the left and right sides of the rail body 11 so as to be perpendicular to the plane of the rail body 11, and each is fixed with a screw or the like. As a result, the rail body 11. A three-dimensional block is formed by the side plates 12,13. And shaft 47.48
are inserted into the shaft holes 42 and 43, and the drive roller 52 is inserted into the shaft 47, and the shaft 47 is inserted into the shaft hole 44.
Insert until the end. Then, the drive roller 52 is fixed to the shaft 47 by screwing or the like. Further, a driving roller 53 and a pressing roller 54 are respectively inserted into the shaft 48, and when the tip of the shaft 48 reaches the shaft hole 45, the driving roller 53 is attached to the shaft 48 by a screw or the like.
to be fixed. At this time, the pressure roller 54 is not fixed with screws or the like, but is held so that it can rotate freely relative to the shaft 48. Then, the motor 59 is fixed to the side plate 13, the belt 62 is passed between the pulleys 60 and 61, and the belt 51 is passed between the pulleys 49 and 50 on the side of the shaft 47 and 48. Finally, a front panel 17 made of plastic is fitted from the front of the rail body 11 and side plate 13 to fix the front panel 17 to the rail body 11. Furthermore, the rail body 11
The clamping rollers 55, 56 are elastically held from below, and are pivotally supported so as to project from the roller holes 26, 27 and come into contact with the drive rollers 52, 53, respectively. Further, the magnetic head 57 is made to protrude from the head hole 28, and the pressing roller 54 is kept in contact with the magnetic head 57.Through these steps, a card reader cent unit is assembled. In this assembled state, a flat front cover body 14 and a flat rear cover body 1 are provided above the slightly U-shaped cross section of the rail body 11.
5 is fixed, a thin slit-shaped space is formed between the upper surface of the sliding base 21 and the lower surfaces of the front lid 14 and the rear lid 15. The upper and lower thicknesses of this slit-shaped space are set to be approximately two to three times as thick as the magnetic card 5. Therefore, a groove having the width of the extremely thin magnetic card 5 is formed, and the magnetic card 5
has its lower surface in contact with the slide rail 64, and slides while its both sides are in contact with the side guides 22, 23, 24, 25, so that it can move while maintaining its flatness. When this magnetic card 5 moves, the front panel 1
When the magnetic card 5 is inserted through the slit A opened on the front side of the card 7, the insertion is detected and the motor 59 is driven, and the rotation is transmitted to the shaft 48 via the pulley 60, heald 62, and pulley 61. The rotation is transmitted to the shaft 47 via the pulley 50 and the belt 5L pulley 49. For this reason, the drive roller 52.53
rotate in the same direction, and the inserted magnetic card 5
While being held between the driving roller 52 and the holding roller 55, it acts to pull the card into the card reader.

The magnetic card 5 sent inside is further sandwiched between a drive roller 53 and a clamping roller 56, and can be further conveyed toward the inside of the card reader. In this case, the magnetic card 5 has drive rollers 52, 53
Since the holding rollers 55 and 56 hold only one place near the center from above and below, no unreasonable force is applied, and the paper can be conveyed smoothly.

FIG. 8 schematically shows the configuration for conveying this magnetic card 5, in which a driving roller 52 and a clamping roller 5 are shown.
5 is in contact with its outer periphery, and at the same time the drive roller 53
and a pinching roller 56 are also in elastic contact with each other, and the sliding base 21 and the sliding rail 64, side guide 22.23.24.25, front lid body 14, rear lid body 15
A conveyance path B is formed in which the vertical height is extremely thin and the width is approximately the same spatial shape as the width of the magnetic card 5, and the magnetic card 5 slides on this conveyance path B. .

In this sliding operation, the magnetic card 5 is transferred back and forth by the rolling force of the driving roller 52 and the clamping roller 55 and the rolling force of the driving roller 53 and the clamping roller 56.

In conveying the magnetic card 5, since the cross-sectional space of the conveying path B is a rectangle with a convex projection on the lower surface, the center of the lower surface of the magnetic card 5 is connected to the sliding rail 64.
The lower surfaces of the left and right sides are in a floating state apart from the sliding base 21. Therefore, the contact area between the magnetic card 5 and the sliding rail 64 becomes small, and since the frictional force is small, the magnetic card 5 slides smoothly. At this time, the slide rail 64 and the left and right side guides 22 come into contact with the magnetic card 5.
23, 24, and 25, the magnetic card 5 is maintained as if floating in the conveyance path B, and the frictional force is extremely small.

FIG. 1O shows a state in which the magnetic card 5 is not inserted into the conveyance path B, and the upper end of the holding roller 55 is in contact with the lower end of the drive roller 52, and the drive roller 5
When the roller 2 rotates, the holding roller 55 is driven and continues to rotate idly. FIG. 11 shows a magnetic card 5 on the conveyance path B.
The top center of the magnetic card 5 is in contact with the drive roller 52, and the bottom center of the magnetic card 5 is in contact with the holding roller 55. For this reason,
The magnetic card 5 is sandwiched between the drive roller 52 and the pinch roller 55 from above and below at the center thereof, and the rotation of the drive roller 52 causes the magnetic card 5 to slide within the transport path B.

During this transportation, a magnetic stripe is attached to the back surface of the magnetic card 5, and the magnetic head 57 comes into contact with this magnetic stripe. The pressing roller 54 comes into contact with the surface of the magnetic card 5, and the pressing roller 54 rotates as the magnetic card 5 is transferred and acts to press the magnetic card 5 against the magnetic head 57 with an appropriate pressure, thereby accurately transmitting information. is energized for reading and writing.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to transport the magnetic card along the conveyance space without deforming the magnetic card according to its shape or applying unreasonable force. It is possible to transport even magnetic cards accurately. Also,
In the magnetic card conveyance path, the center length direction is raised by the sliding rail to prevent contact with other surfaces, so the contact area is significantly smaller and the frictional force is small, allowing smooth sliding. movement becomes possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a game machine that accommodates a card reader and can permit games using a magnetic card; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a card reader unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; The figure is a side view of the same as the above, Fig. 4 is a front view of the same as the above, Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same as the above, Fig. 6 is a side sectional view showing the structure cut in the length direction of the above, and Fig. 7 is a view of each part. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the conveyance path and the positional relationship of the rollers. FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view with a part of the rail body cut away. FIG. 10 is in FIG. 6. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X--X, showing a state in which the magnetic card is inserted in FIG. 10. 5...Magnetic card, 11...Rail body, 12.13
...Side plate, 14...Front lid body, 15...Rear lid body, 1
6... Punch body, 21... Sliding base, 22.23.
24.25...Side guide, 64...Sliding rail,
B...transportation space. Patent Applicant Computer Service Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Tsuneaki Hibi Figure 1 Figure 10 Figure 11

Claims (1)

[Claims] A sliding base with a flat surface in a card reader that has a conveying means and a magnetic reading/writing means and can read information on a magnetic card and write information by conveying the magnetic card in one direction. It consists of a pair of side guides that stand up parallel to each other at intervals on the left and right sides of the flat part of the sliding base, and a slightly flat lid body installed between the side guides, and the sliding base and the side guide A slit-shaped space is formed by the cover and the lid, and a sliding rail is formed slightly in the center of the sliding base and slightly raised from the flat surface in the length direction of the conveying base, and one side of the magnetic card is The card reader is characterized in that the card reader moves in the space while being in contact with the sliding rail.