JPS63273293A - Cleaning mechanism for magnetic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate dirt and dust attached on the surface of a magnetic card and to keep good contact between a rotary head and a magnetic stripe, by arranging a cleaning mechanism formed with a soft cloth or fiber immediately before the rotary head housed in a magnetic recorder. CONSTITUTION:When a pair of rollers 13 and 14 to insert the magnetic card 1 into a magnetic card read/write mechanism, the rotary head 15, a pair of rollers 22 and 23 to carry the card 1 after read/write, and a pair of rollers 24 and 25 to send out the card are provided, a cleaning drum 30 positioned at the rear side of the rollers 13 and 14 and just before the head 15 and rotatably driven by a motor 23, and a drum 31 adjacent to the drum 30 are provided, and the card 1 is passed between the pair of drums. In such constitution, very soft linen or buff is arranged closely on the outer peripheries of the drums 30 and 31, and the dirt and dust attached on the surface of the card 1 can be cleaned compulsorily.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an information recording device that records information on a magnetic card, and in particular, automatically records information on the surface of the magnetic recording band of the magnetic card, which easily comes into contact with dirt and dust. The present invention relates to a cleaning mechanism for magnetic cards that can be cleaned.

(Prior Art) Magnetic cards (thin carriers made of plastic or paper with a magnetic stripe pasted on the surface) have been widely used for a long time. It is often used for credit cards that allow you to purchase products or receive services, and for cash cards that allow you to withdraw cash deposited at a bank. A telephone usage card that allows you to use the telephone within a certain amount of money, a ticket issuing card that allows you to issue a ticket for an underground train fare that is within the amount that you have paid in advance, or a ticket issuing card that allows you to use a train or train within the amount that you have paid. 2. Description of the Related Art Prepaid cards, such as coupon cards that can be used to ride buses, are widely used.

Furthermore, depending on the purpose of use, a specific signal or code may be recorded, and the recorded content may be preset and attached to an entry permit card that opens a door or gate when it matches the recorded content, or to a price tag of a product. In addition, it has been widely applied to POS cards that can record which products were lit and when each time they were sold. Although their purpose of use is different, the essential act of attaching or coating a magnetic stripe to a card-shaped carrier and magnetically recording information on the magnetic stripe is the same.

Figure 1 shows the appearance of a conventional magnetic card l.
It is made of a carrier such as cardboard or plastic, and a magnetic stripe 2 is coated on the surface of the magnetic card 1 in parallel to its length. When recording information using this magnetic card 1, the magnetic card 1 is conveyed at a constant speed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 by a belt or the like. Then, a magnetic head is fixed, and the fixed magnetic head is brought into contact with the surface of the magnetic stripe 2, and information is recorded as a magnetic change on the magnetic stripe 2 according to a conventionally well-known theory. The magnetic stripe 2 shown in FIG. 2 schematically shows the state in which the magnetic recording has been completed, and a magnetization pattern is formed on the magnetic stripe 2 as a helical recording section 3 in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction. The information can be read only along the direction of arrow A in which the magnetic card 1 is conveyed.

However, when information is recorded on the magnetic card 1 using the conventional recording method, the magnetic head is fixed and the information is magnetically recorded in the direction in which the magnetic card 1 is transported. For example, according to the JIS standard, the card I can only record a maximum of 72 characters, and the amount of information that can be recorded is extremely limited.

Because of these shortcomings, in recent years there have been new devices that can record a large amount of information on thin card-shaped carriers, called 10 cards, which have a built-in high-density integrated circuit, and devices that can record large amounts of information optically using laser light. A so-called laser card has also been developed that allows recording. However, IC cards have the disadvantage that they are expensive, and the contacts for inputting and outputting data must be processed with high precision. It also had a characteristic of being extremely weak against static electricity. Next, laser cards can store an extremely large amount of data, and the laser cards themselves are relatively inexpensive. However, laser card writing/reading devices for writing information to and reading information from laser cards require extremely high accuracy and have the drawback of being extremely expensive.

New recording methods have been proposed to overcome these conventional drawbacks and record a large amount of information at low cost.

In this new proposal, a magnetic stripe is coated on the surface of a carrier to form a magnetic card, and information is sequentially recorded on tracks diagonal to the direction of travel of the magnetic card, which increases the amount of information recorded. It is possible to greatly increase the number of cards, and the manufacturing cost of the card itself can be reduced. However, in this method, the width that can be recorded in one track is extremely narrow, and extremely high precision is required in the contact between the magnetic head and the magnetic stripe.

[Means for solving problems]

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention uses a magnetic card in which a magnetic recording band is provided on a part of a thin flat carrier, and a plurality of trunks are formed by a rotating head at an angle inclined to the traveling direction of the magnetic recording band. In an information recording device capable of recording information, there is provided a cleaning mechanism for a magnetic card, characterized in that a cleaning brush is provided at a position immediately in front of a rotary head and can come into contact with the surface of the magnetic recording band.

[Effect]

In the present invention, since a cleaning mechanism made of soft cloth or fiber is provided immediately before the rotating head housed in the magnetic recording device, the magnetic card first comes into contact with this cleaning mechanism when reading or writing. Dirt and dust adhering to the surface are removed. Therefore, dirt and dust are removed from the surface of the magnetic card before it is transferred to the rotary head, and the contact between the rotary head and the magnetic stripe can be made extremely good.

〔Example〕

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

First, FIG. 3 shows a method of recording information on the magnetic card 1 according to this embodiment. As mentioned above, this magnetic card 1 has the same structure as the conventional magnetic card 1 shown in FIG. be. This magnetic card 1 is conveyed in the direction indicated by A in FIG. This magnetic stripe 2 is tilted with respect to its length direction, and a rotating head is attached to the magnetic stripe 2 by an arrow B in the figure.
A helical recording section 5 is formed in which information is sequentially recorded in a large number of trunks in the direction. In this helical recording section 5, a large number of trunks are sequentially approached and recorded so as to be parallel to the B direction, and the area from one side of the magnetic stripe 2 to the other side is sequentially recorded as one trunk. It is something. In this way, a large amount of information is recorded obliquely to the longitudinal direction of the magnetic stripe 2 in the B direction, thereby forming a helical recording section 5.

Next, FIG. 4 shows the external appearance of a magnetic card writer/reader IO for embodying this information recording method.

This magnetic card writer/reader IO has a slightly rectangular outer shape, and a slit-shaped insertion opening 11 that opens upward and downward is opened at a position biased toward one example of the front panel, and the other side of the front side of the panel is opened. A slit-shaped discharge port 12 that opens upward and downward is opened at a position that is biased toward . The magnetic card l is inserted through the insertion slot 11, and is ejected from the ejection slot 12 after the writing or reading of information is completed.

FIG. 5 shows the internal structure of the magnetic card writer/reader 10 described above. Inside this magnetic card write/read mto, a pair of rollers 13.14 are pivoted close to the aforementioned insertion slot 11, and further back there are a pair of cleaning drums 30.31 pivoted so as to approach. The cleaning drum 3o is driven by a motor 32. Each of the cleaning drums 3o and 31 has an extremely soft material such as linen or puff pasted on its outer periphery, and its surface is used to remove dirt and dust from the surface of the magnetic card l. A helical recording mechanism 15 is installed at the back of this magnetic card read/write 4!110.

This helical recording mechanism 15 has a structure that is almost the same as that commonly used in video tapes and the like, and has a cylindrical outer periphery. The lower part is a fixed cylinder 16 whose cylindrical axis is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the vertical direction.
An inclined card guide 17 is formed as a stepped portion on the outer periphery of the lower part. A cylindrical rotary cylinder 19 is mounted on the upper part of the fixed cylinder 16 so as to be rotatable at high speed with both axes being the same.The outer shape of the rotary cylinder 19 is approximately the same as that of the fixed cylinder 16. ,
Rotating heads 20 are mounted at equal intervals from the bottom of the rotating cylinder 19 to four locations around it. Also, at the back of this magnetic card writer/reader lO is the helical recording mechanism 15.
On the opposite side, rollers 22 and 23 are in contact and are pivotally supported, and furthermore, at a position close to the aforementioned discharge port 12, a pair of rollers 24 and 25 are in contact and are pivotally supported.

Next, the operation of recording information on the magnetic card 1 and cleaning the surface of the magnetic card 1 will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, the magnetic card l on which information is to be recorded is inserted into the insertion slot 11 from direction D in the state shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. Then, the magnetic card l is shown in Figure 6 (a).
As shown in , it is held between rollers 13 and 14 and drawn into the inside of the magnetic card writer/reader 10 . This roller 1
The magnetic card l taken in in step 3.14 is then transferred between the cleaning drums 30 and 31;
, 31 are each rotated by a motor 32, so while the magnetic card l is being transferred, the cleaning drum 3
o, 31 comes into contact with the surface of the magnetic card 1 and is forcibly wiped off. Therefore, dirt and dust adhering to the surface of the magnetic card 1 are transferred to the flexible material formed on the outer periphery of the cleaning drum 30, 31, and are cleaned thoroughly. Next, the magnetic card that has passed through the cleaning drums 30 and 31 is transported further back toward the helical recording mechanism 15, and is guided while contacting the upper surface of the card guide 17. In the state shown in FIG. 6 (b) when the magnetic card 1 first contacts the outer periphery of the fixed cylinder 16, the rotating cylinder 19 is constantly rotating in the direction of the arrow in the figure, and the rotating head 20 is attached to the rotating cylinder 19. As a result, the rotary head 20 comes into contact with the magnetic stripe 2 of the magnetic card l. The state shown in FIG. 6(b) shows a state in which the rotary head 20 has begun to come into contact with the magnetic stripe 2. However, in this state, no information has been written yet. When the magnetic card 1 is further transferred and advances with the lower part of the magnetic card 1 in contact with the upper surface of the card guide 17, the magnetic card 1 is bent and comes into contact along the curved surfaces of the fixed cylinder 16 and the rotating cylinder 19. Become. Only when the magnetic card 1 is wound around the rotating cylinder 19 to a length of one-fourth of the circumference in a bent state can the rotating head 20 come into contact with the entire width of the magnetic stripe 2. Become. In this figure 6 (
When the magnetic stripe 2 contacts up to a quarter of the outer circumference of the rotary cylinder 19 as shown in c), since the rotary hends 20 are attached to four locations on the rotary cylinder 19 at equal intervals, that one rotation One track of information can be recorded while the head 20 starts and ends contacting the magnetic stripe 2 from one side to the other. In the recording of one track by this rotary head 20, the aforementioned helical recording section 5 is formed. When the magnetic card 1 moves, the rotating cylinder 19 is rotating at high speed, and the rotating head 20 is moving the magnetic stripe 2.
The information on each trunk can be written by contacting one track from one side of the trunk to the other side so that the trunks do not overlap. Then, when the magnetic card 1 continues to be transferred and the rear end of the magnetic card 1 is separated from the position where the magnetic card 1 first contacts the rotary cylinder 19, recording of information on each trunk by the rotary head 20 is completed. The transferred magnetic card l is then held between the rollers 22 and 23, and is moved with the transfer direction reversed at right angles (see FIG. 6(d)).

The magnetic card l is then reversed by rollers 22 and 23.
is held between the rollers 24 and 25, and is discharged from the discharge port 12 in the direction E (see FIG. 6(E)).

In this way, the inside of the magnetic card writing/reading machine 10 is
During transport, a helical recording section 5 is formed by a plurality of tracks on the magnetic stripe 2 by the four magnetic heads provided in the helical recording mechanism 15, and a large amount of information is written.

When reading the information recorded in this way,
In the same way as described above, by inserting the magnetic card l through the insertion slot 11, it is possible to read each piece of information in the helical recording section 5 that has already been written by the rotary disk 20.

Incidentally, FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the method of recording information on the magnetic stripe 2. In FIG.

That is, in the first embodiment, first, to the rotation throat 2
Each magnetic head of No. 0 was provided with a gap perpendicular to the direction of rotation. However, in this embodiment, among the four rotary heads 20 attached to the rotary cylinder 19, the inclination angle of the gap between adjacent rotary heads 20 is changed, so that adjacent tracks X and Y, which are sequentially recorded, are It is possible to perform recording by so-called azimuth recording, in which magnetic recording directions are recorded so that they do not interfere with each other. According to this azimuth recording, the proximity of adjacent tracks X and Y can be made extremely high, and the degree of integration of the tracks in the magnetic stripe 2 can be increased, so that the information capacity to be recorded can be made extremely high. It is possible.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to dramatically increase the information capacity to be recorded while using a magnetic card having the same configuration as the conventional one. In some cases, the surface of the rotating head is cleaned and dirt and dust are removed before it comes into contact with the rotating head, which improves the contact between the rotating head and the magnetic recording band and prevents wear on the rotating head. At the same time, reading and writing errors can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a plan view showing the surface of a conventionally used magnetic card, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of writing information on a conventional magnetic card, and Figure 3 is a newly proposed recording method for a magnetic card. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a magnetic card writer/reader used for recording and reproducing information according to the present invention; FIG. 5 is a skeleton diagram showing the internal configuration of the same; FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the order of writing and reading information, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1...Magnetic card, 2...Magnetic stripe, 5...
・Helical recording section, 30.31...Cleaning drum, 32
...Motor 〇Patent Applicant Shiniskei Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Hibi Akira 11ffl Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6r! A 6ml Fig. 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an information recording method that uses a magnetic card in which a magnetic recording band is provided on a part of a thin flat carrier, information can be recorded in a plurality of tracks using a rotating head at an angle inclined to the traveling direction of the magnetic recording band. A cleaning mechanism for a magnetic card, characterized in that a cleaning brush is provided at a position immediately in front of a rotary head and can come into contact with the surface of the magnetic recording band.