WO2015059719A1

WO2015059719A1 - Card reader

Info

Publication number: WO2015059719A1
Application number: PCT/IN2014/000679
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vasyl Lizanets; Suresh N Thota; Subhash Mungarwadi
Original assignee: Te Connectivity India Private Limited; Tyco Electronics Ukraine Limited
Priority date: 2013-10-25
Filing date: 2014-10-24
Publication date: 2015-04-30

Abstract

A card reader (100) comprises a card receiving space (200). A card (600) can be inserted into the card receiving space in an insertion direction through an entrance slit (220). The card reader comprises a rotatable stopper (500) which can assume a locked position and an unlocked position. The entrance slit is clear when the stopper is in the unlocked position. A locking surface of the stopper partially blocks the entrance slit when the stopper is in the locked position.

Description

Card reader

Description The present invention relates to a card reader according to claim 1.

Card readers for reading from and writing to electronics cards such as smart cards, chip cards or integrated circuit cards are known in the state of the art. Such card readers comprise an entrance slit for inserting a card into the card reader. A contact assembly is in general arranged inside of the card reader for reading data from the card and for writing data to the card.

Known card readers comprise ejector mechanisms for automatically ejecting the card upon completion of a process. It is in many cases undesirable that a user removes the card from the card reader before a defined point in time, such as a completion of data transfer or other processing. It has turned out to be challenging to reliably prevent a card from being removed ahead of time and to reliably eject a card automatically over a large number of repeated cycles. It is an object of the present invention to provide a card reader. This objective is achieved by a card reader according to claim 1. Preferred embodiment are disclosed in the dependent claims. A card reader comprises a card receiving space. A card can be inserted into the card receiving space in an insertion direc^¬ tion through an entrance slit. The card reader comprises a rotatable stopper which can assume a locked position as well as an unlocked position. The entrance slit is clear when the stopper is in the unlocked position. A locking surface of the stopper partially blocks the entrance slit when the stopper is in the locked position. Advantageously, the locking sur- face of the stopper of this card reader prevents a manual removal of a card from the card receiving space of the card reader when the rotatable stopper is in the locked position. The prevention of a manual removal of a card helps to ensure that the card is not removed from the card reader before a data transfer or another process has been completed.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the card reader comprises a plunger which is moveable along the insertion direction between an outer position and an inner position. Insert- ing a card into the card receiving space pushes the plunger from the outer position to the inner position. The plunger is rigidly connected to a lock pin. The lock pin locks the stopper in the locked position when the plunger is in the inner position. The plunger and the lock pin of the card reader thus ensure that the rotatable stopper assumes the locked position upon inserting a card into the card receiving space of the card reader.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the stopper can assume the unlocked position when the plunger is in the outer position. Consequently, the locking surface of the stopper does not block the entrance slit when the plunger is in the outer position, allowing for inserting a card into the card receiving space of the card reader.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the stopper is rotatable around a rotary axis perpendicular to a card plane of the card receiving space. Advantageously, this allows for a sim- pie and reliable construction of the card reader. A further advantage is that the stopper may be rotated from the locked position to the unlocked position by the card itself on ejecting the card from the card receiving space of the card reader.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the card reader comprises a shaft that extends perpendicular to the card plane of the card receiving space. The stopper is rotatable around the shaft. Advantageously, the shaft provides a guiding for the rotary movement of the stopper.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the shaft comprises a convex side and a flat side. The stopper is arranged adjacent to the convex side. The flat side faces the card receiving space. Advantageously, the convex side of the shaft provides a guiding for the rotary movement of the stopper. The stopper can rest firmly on the convex side of the shaft at different angular positions.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the shaft comprises a clamp for retaining a card in the card receiving space in a direction perpendicular to the card plane of the card receiving space. Advantageously, the clamp of the shaft prevents a manual removal of a card from the card receiving space of the card reader in a direction perpendicular to the card plane of the card receiving space. The prevention of a manual removal of a card helps to ensure that the card is not removed from the card reader before a data transfer or another process has been completed.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the stopper comprises an elongate beam with a first end and a second end. The beam is bent around an axis perpendicular to a card plane of the card receiving space. Advantageously, this construction of the stopper allows for a space-saving arrangement of the stopper inside of the card reader.

In an embodiment of the card reader, a concave side of the stopper is oriented towards the card receiving space. Advantageously, this arrangement of the stopper requires very little free space on the outer convex side of the stopper, allowing for a compact construction of the card reader.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the locking surface is arranged at the first end of the stopper wherein the first end is arranged closer to the entrance slit than the second end. Advantageously, the stopper has to be rotated by only a small angle to move the stopper from the unlocked position to the locked position and vice versa.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the lock pin faces the first end when the plunger assumes the outer position. Advantageously, the lock pin can prevent the stopper from rotating from the unlocked position to the locked position when the plunger assumes the outer position. In an embodiment of the card reader, the lock pin faces the second end when the plunger assumes the inner position. Advantageously, the lock pin thus prevents the rotatable stopper from rotating from the locked position to the unlocked position when the plunger assumes the inner position.

In an embodiment of the card reader, a lug is arranged on the second end of the stopper. The lock pin abuts on the lug when the plunger assumes the inner position. Advantageously, the lock pin may exert a force on the lug of the rotatable stopper to rotate the stopper from the unlocked position to the locked position. In an embodiment of the card reader, the lug is arranged below a card plane of the card receiving space in a direction perpendicular to the card plane of the card receiving space. Advantageously, this allows for a compact construction of the card reader.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the plunger is connected to the lock pin by means of a connection rod. The lock pin protrudes from the connection rod in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction. This allows for arranging the rotatable stopper next to the connection rod in such a way that the lock pin acts on the rotatable stopper when the connection rod is moved in parallel to the insertion direction.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the card reader com- prises a solenoid lock for locking the plunger at the inner position. The solenoid lock may for example comprise a solenoid and a latch. Advantageously, the solenoid lock allows for locking the plunger at the inner position which also locks the rotatable stopper in the locked position. In the locked position of the rotatable stopper, the locking surface of the stopper blocks the entrance slit and prevents a card from being removed from the card receiving space of the card reader. The solenoid lock thus allows for locking the card inside of the card receiving space of the card reader.

In an embodiment of the card reader, the card reader comprises a spring that exerts a force on the plunger in a direction opposing the insertion direction. Inserting a card into the card receiving space of the card reader has to be carried out against the force exerted by the spring, which advantageously provides a tactile feedback to a user of the card reader. A further advantage is that the spring allows for automatically ejecting the card from the card receiving space of the card reader.

The invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the Figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows a top view of a card reader with a cover removed; gure 2 shows a perspective view of a frame of the card reader; gure 3 shows a perspective view of a connection rod of the card reader; Figure 4 shows a further perspective view of the connection rod of the card reader ;

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a stopper of the card reader;

Figure 6 shows a further perspective view of the stopper of the card reader;

Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a detail of the frame of the card reader;

Figure 8 shows a further top view of the card reader with the cover removed; Figure 9 shows a sectional view of the card reader;

Figure 10 shows a perspective view of a detail of the card reader with the stopper assuming an unlocked position;

Figure 11 shows a perspective view of a detail of the card reader with the stopper assuming a locked position;

Figure 12 shows a perspective view of a card being inserted into the card receiving space of the card reader;

Figure 13 shows a perspective view of the card locked inside of the card receiving space of the card reader;

Figure 14 shows a perspective view of an entrance slit of the card reader with the stopper assuming the locked position;

Figure 15 shows a perspective view of a detail of the card reader with the stopper assuming an intermediate position; and Figure 16 shows a further perspective view of a detail of the card reader with the stopper assuming the intermediate position.

Figure 1 shows a top view of a card reader 100. Some compo- nents of the card reader 100 have been removed in the depiction of Figure 1 for the sake of clarity. The card reader 100 serves for reading data from and writing data to electronic cards such as smart cards, chip cards or integrated circuit cards. The card reader 100 may for example be used in a tachograph device for trucks.

The card reader 100 comprises a card receiving space 200 ar- ranged inside the card reader 100. The card receiving space 200 serves for receiving cards. Cards can be inserted into the card receiving space 200 through an entrance slit 220 of the card reader 100. Figure 1 shows an exemplary card 600 inserted halfway into the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100 through the entrance slit 220. For inserting the card 600 into the card receiving space 200, the card 600 is moved in insertion direction 101 through the entrance slit 220.

The card 600 is arranged in a card plane 210 which is spanned by the insertion direction 101 and a transverse direction 102 which is arranged perpendicularly to the insertion direction 101. A vertical direction 103 is oriented perpendicularly to the card 600. ·

The card 600 comprises an upper side 610 and a lower side 620 that is opposed to the upper side 610. The upper side 610 and the lower side 620 are both oriented in parallel to the card plane 210. The card 600 furthermore comprises a front face 630 and a rear face 640 that is opposed to the front face 630. The front face 630 and the rear face 640 are both arranged perpendicularly to the upper side 610 and the lower side 620. The card 600 is inserted into the card receiving space 200 in such a way that the front face 630 of the card 600 points forward in the insertion direction 101. The card receiving space 200 comprises an outer end 201 and an inner end 202. The outer end of the card receiving space 200 is located near the entrance slit 220. While inserting the card 600 into the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100, the card 600 moves from the outer end 201 to the inner end 202 of the card receiving space 200.

The card reader 100 comprises a contact assembly 140 arranged near the inner end 202 of the card receiving space 200. The contact assembly 140 is provided for contacting a data memory of the card 600. The data memory is arranged on the lower side 620 of the card 600. The data memory of the card 600 may for example be provided by a microchip integrated into the card 600.

The card reader 100 is designed to retain the card 600 inside of the card receiving space 200 until all operations that require the presence of the card 600 are completed. Afterwards, the card reader 100 automatically ejects the card 600 from the card receiving space 200. To this end, the card reader 100 comprises a plunger 300 and a stopper 500. The plunger 300 is rigidly connected to a connection rod 400 that acts on the stopper 500. The plunger 300 is arranged near the inner end 202 of the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100. The plunger 300 is moveable in the insertion direction 101 and can move between an outer position 301 and an inner position 302. In the outer position 301, the plunger 300 is located more closely to the entrance 220 than at the inner position 302.

The card reader 100 comprises a pair of springs 160 which exert a force onto the plunger 300 which pushes the plunger 300 in a direction opposed to the insertion direction 101. Consequently, the springs 160 push the plunger 300 from its inner position 302 to its outer position 301. The card reader 100 comprises a solenoid lock 150 which is provided to lock the plunger 300 in its inner position 302. The solenoid lock 150 comprises a solenoid 151 and a latch 152. The solenoid 151 is designed to move the latch 152 in the transverse direction 102 to lock or unlock the plunger 300 at the inner position 302.

The card reader 100 comprises a frame 110. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of the frame 110. The frame 110 serves to hold the other components of the card reader 100. The card reader 100 furthermore comprises a cover 115 that is visible in the depiction of Figure 14. The cover 115 is not shown in Figure 1. The card receiving space 200 is located between the frame 110 and the cover 115 of the card reader 100. Figures 3 and 4 show perspective views of the connection rod 400 from two different angles. The connection rod 400 comprises an elongate shape with an outer end 401 and an inner end 402. In the card reader 100, the inner end 402 of the connection rod 400 is rigidly connected to the plunger 300. The outer end 401 of the connection rod 400 is arranged near the outer end 201 of the card receiving space 200 and the entrance slit 220 of the card reader 100. Moving the plunger 300 in the insertion direction 101 also moves the connection rod 400 in parallel to the insertion direction 101.

At its outer end 401, the connection rod 400 comprises a displaced section 410 which is displaced in a sideward manner with respect to the remaining parts of the elongate connec- tion rod 400. At the outer end 401 of the connection rod 400, a lock pin 420 is arranged in the displaced section 410. The lock pin 420 points in a direction opposed to the transverse direction 102 and thus in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the elongate connection rod 400.

Figures 5 and 6 show perspective views of the stopper 500 from two different angles. The stopper 500 generally comprises a half -ring shape. The stopper 500 comprises an elon- gate beam 510 with a first end 511 and a second end 512. The elongate beam 510 of the stopper 500 is bent around the bending axis 561 by approximately 180°. The stopper 500 thus comprises a concave side 520 which is oriented towards the bending axis 561, and a convex side 521 which points outwards in a direction opposed to the concave side 520.

The stopper 500 comprises an upper part 530 and a lower part 535. The upper part 530 is arranged above the lower part 535 in a direction parallel to the bending axis 561. The upper part 530 and the lower part 535 are integrally connected.

At the first end 511 of the elongate beam 510 which forms the stopper 500, the stopper 500 comprises a recess 540. The recess 540 is formed at the concave side 520 at the upper part 530 at the first end 511 of the stopper 500. At the outer convex side 521 of the upper part 530, a wall of the recess 540 forms a locking surface 545.

The stopper 500 comprises a lug 550 which is arranged at the second end 512 of the stopper 500 in the lower part 535 of the stopper 500. At the first end 511 of the elongate beam 510, the elongate beam 510 comprises a first face. At the second end 512, the elongate beam 510 comprises a second face. The first face and the second face are approximately arranged in parallel to each other and in a shared plane due to the bending of the elongate beam 510 around the bending axis 561. The first face is partially missing in the upper part 530 in the area of the recess 540. The lug 550 protrudes from the second face in the lower part 535 of the stopper 500.

Figure 7 shows a perspective view of a detail of the frame 110 of the card reader 100. The frame 110 comprises a guiding channel 120 which runs in an approximately half-circular shape around a shaft 130 of the frame 110.

The shaft 130 comprises a pillar 131 which extends in the vertical direction 103. The pillar 131 comprises a convex side 132 and a flat side 133. The convex side 132 of the pillar 131 is arranged adjacent to the guiding channel 120. The guiding channel 120 extends around the convex side 132 of the pillar 131 of the shaft 130. The flat side 132 of the pillar 131 faces the card receiving space 200.

The shaft 130 furthermore comprises a clamp 132 which is ar- ranged on an upper end of the pillar 131 of the shaft 130. The clamp 134 extends over the flat side 133 of the pillar 131 of the shaft 130 in the transverse direction 102. The projecting part of the clamp 134 of the shaft 130 is arranged above the card receiving space 200 in the vertical direction 103.

The stopper 500 can be arranged in the guiding channel 120 in such a way that the concave side 520 of the stopper 500 is oriented towards the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100 and that the first end 511 of the elongate beam 510 of the stopper 500 is arranged closer to the entrance slit 220 than the second end 512 of the elongate beam 510 of the stopper 500.

In the guiding channel- 120, the stopper 500 is rotatable around a rotary axis 560 that is formed by the shaft 130 of the frame 110. The rotary axis 560 preferably coincides with the bending axis 561 of the stopper 500.

The stopper 500 is provided to lock the card 600 in the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100 once the card 600 has been inserted into the card receiving space 200. To this end, the stopper 500 can be rotated between an unlocked position and a locked position in the guiding channel 120 of the frame 110 of the card reader 100. When the stopper 500 is in the unlocked position, the card 600 can be inserted into the card receiving space 200 and be removed from the card receiv- ing space 200. When the stopper 500 is in the locked position, the card 600 is locked in the card receiving space 200 and cannot be removed from the card receiving space 200.

Figure 8 shows a top view of the card reader 100 with the card 600 partially inserted into the card receiving space 200 through the entrance slit 220. The card 600 is inserted further into the card receiving space 200 than in the depiction of Figure 1, but has not reached its final position in the card receiving space 200 yet.

The stopper 500 of the card reader 100 assumes an unlocked position 501 in the guiding channel 120 of the frame 110 of the card reader 100 and consequently does not block the en- trance slit 220 of the card reader 100. The entrance slit 220 is clear. The plunger 300 assumes the outer position 301. The card 600 has been pushed into the card receiving space 200 through the entrance slit 220 in the insertion direction 101. The front face 630 of the card 600 touches a contact face 310 of the plunger 300. The clamp 134 of the shaft 130 is located above the card 600 in the vertical direction 103. The card 600 is thus maintained between the frame 110 and the clamp 134 in the vertical direction 103.

When the card 600 is pushed further into the card receiving space 200 in the insertion direction 101, the front face 630 of the card 600 exerts a force onto the contact face 310 of the plunger 300 and moves the plunger 300 from the outer po- sition 301 to the inner position 302. The springs 160 of the card reader 100 are compressed while the plunger 300 is moved from the outer position 301 to the inner position 302.

Once the plunger 300 has reached the inner position 302, the plunger 300 is locked at the inner position 302 by the solenoid lock 150. This is shown in the sliced partial top view of Figure 9. The solenoid 151 of the solenoid lock 150 moves the latch 152 of the solenoid lock 150 in the direction opposed to the transverse direction 102 in such a way that the latch 152 latches on the plunger 300 and locks the plunger

300 at the inner position 302. This prevents the plunger 300 from returning to the outer position 301 despite a force exerted on the plunger 300 by the springs 160. Once the plunger 300 has reached the inner position 302, the card 600 has also reached its final position in the card receiving space 200 and is completely inserted into the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100. In this situa- tion, the stopper 500 will lock the card 600 in the card receiving space 200.

Figures 10 and 12 show perspective views of a part of the card reader 100. In the situation depicted in Figures 10 and 12, the card 600 is not completely inserted into the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100. The card 600 is not shown in Figure 10 for sake of clarity. In the situation depicted in Figures 10 and 12, the plunger 300 assumes the outer position 301. The stopper 500 assumes the unlocked position 501. In the unlocked position 501 of the stopper 500, the first face at the first end 511 of the elongate beam 510 of the stopper 500 and the second face at the second end 512 of the elongate beam 510 of the stopper 500 are approximately oriented in parallel to the insertion direction 101.

The connection rod 400 which is rigidly connected to the plunger 300 assumes a position in which the lock pin 420 of the connection rod 400 faces the first end 511 of the stopper 500. This prevents the stopper 500 from rotating around the rotary axis 560 in a counter-clockwise manner and thus maintains the stopper 500 in the unlocked position 501. The lug 550 of the stopper 500 extends from the second face at the second end 512 of the stopper 500 into a free space provided by the displaced section 410 of the connection rod 400.

Figures 11 and 13 show further perspective views of a part of the card reader 100. In the depiction of Figures 11 and 13, the card 600 has reached its final position in the card receiving space 200. The card 600 is not shown in Figure 11 to permit a view of the stopper 500. Pushing the card 600 completely into the card receiving space 200 has moved the plunger 300 from the outer position 301 to the inner position 302. The connection rod 400 which is rig- idly connected to the plunger 300 has been moved simultaneously in the insertion direction 101. Now that the plunger 300 has reached the inner position 302, the lock pin 420 of the connection rod 400 faces the second end 512 of the stopper 500. The lock pin 420 abuts on the lug 550 at the second end 512 of the stopper 500. During its movements in the insertion direction 101, the lock pin 420 of the connection rod 400 has exerted a force on the lug 550 of the stopper 500 which has rotated the stopper 500 in a counter-clockwise manner around the rotary axis 560 from the unlocked position 501 to a locked position 502.

In the situation depicted in Figures 11 and 13, the stopper 500 assumes the locked position 502. The first end 511 of the stopper 500 extends into the card receiving space 200. The locking surface 545 at the first end 511 of the stopper 500 partially blocks the entrance slit 220 of the card reader 100. This can also be understood from the perspective view of Figure 14. The contact between the lock pin 420 of the connection rod

400 and the lug 550 at the second end 512 of the stopper 500 prevents the stopper 500 from rotating in a clock-wise manner around the rotary axis 560 from the locked position 502 to the unlocked position 501 as long as the plunger 300 remains at the inner position 302. Since the plunger 300 is locked at the inner position 302 by the solenoid lock 150 of the card reader 100, the stopper 500 remains in the locked position 502 as long as the plunger 300 remains locked in the inner position 302 by the solenoid lock 150.

As long as the stopper 500 is in the locked position 502, the card 600 cannot be removed manually from the card receiving space 200 through the entrance slit 220. Figure 15 shows a perspective view of a part of the card reader 100. In the depiction of Figure 15, the card 600 is arranged in the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100. The plunger 300 is locked at the end position 302 of the solenoid lock 150. The stopper 500 assumes the locked position 502 and blocks the entrance slit 220 of the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100. Manually pulling the card 600 in a direction opposed to the insertion direction 101 out of the card re- ceiving space 200 through the entrance slit 220 is not possible. The rear face 640 of the card 600 abuts on the locking surface 545 of the stopper 500 which blocks the entrance slit 220.

In the situation depicted in Figure 13, the card 600 can also not be removed from the card receiving space 200 in the vertical direction 103, because in the vertical direction 103 the card 600 is retained by the clamp 134 of the shaft 130. In order to allow removing the card 600 from the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100, the plunger 300 first has to be unlocked by the solenoid lock 150. To this end, the solenoid 151 of the solenoid lock 150 pulls the latch 152 of the solenoid lock 150 in the transverse direction 102 and thus frees the plunger 300. This allows the plunger 300 to move back from the inner position 302 to its outer position 301. The springs 160 of the card reader 100 exert a force on the plunger 300 that moves the plunger 300 from the inner position 302 to the outer position 301. Moving the plunger 300 in the direction opposed to the insertion direction 101 simulta- neously moves the connection rod 400 in the direction opposed to the insertion direction 101. This movement of the connection rod 400 releases the lock pin 420 of the connection rod 400 from the lug 550 at the second end 512 of the stopper 500, as is shown in the perspective view of Figure 16. This allows the stopper 500 to rotate in a clockwise manner around the rotary axis 560 from the locked position 502 to the unlocked position 501.

Moving the plunger 300 in the direction opposed to the inser- tion direction 101 simultaneously moves the card 600 in the direction opposed to the insertion direction 101 because the contact face 310 of the plunger 300 abuts on the front face 630 of the card 600. Moving the card 600 in the direction opposed to the insertion direction 101 brings the rear face 640 of the card 600 into contact with the locking surface 545 of the stopper 500. Since the stopper 500 is enabled to rotate from the locked position 502 to the unlocked position 501, a force exerted by the rear face 640 of the card 600 on the locking surface 545 of the stopper 500 rotates the stopper 500 from the locked position 502 to the unlocked position 501 around the rotary axis 506 in a clock-wise manner. Rotation of the stopper 500 from the locked position 502 to the unlocked position 501 moves the first end 511 of the stopper 500 out of the card receiving space 200 and clears the en- trance slit 220 of the card reader 100. This allows the card 600 to leave the card receiving space 200 through the entrance slit 220. Once the plunger 300 has been pushed from the inner position 302 to the outer position 301 by the springs 160, the card 600 has moved partially out of the card receiving space 200 through the entrance slit 220. At this point, a user of the card reader 100 can easily manually remove the card 600 completely from the card receiving space 200.

Once the card 600 has been removed from the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100, the card reader 100 is ready for insertion of another card 600. The plunger 300 of the card reader 100 assumes the outer position 301. The stopper 500 assumes the unlocked position 501. The entrance slit 220 of the card receiving space 200 of the card reader 100 is clear .

A card locking mechanism as described above on the basis of the card reader 100 may also be used in a card reader that is designed for reading data from and writing data to magnetic- stripe cards or other cards capable of storing electronic data.

Reference symbols

100 card reader

101 insertion direction

102 transverse direction

103 vertical direction

110 frame

115 cover

120 guiding channel

130 shaft

131 pillar

132 convex side

133 flat side

134 cl mp

140 contact assembly

150 solenoid lock

151 solenoid

152 latch

160 spring

200 card receiving space

201 outer end

202 inner end

210 card plane

220 entrance slit

300 plunger

301 outer position

302 inner position

310 contact face

400 connection rod

401 outer end 402 inner end

410 displaced section

420 lock pin

500 stopper

501 unlocked position

502 locked position

510 elongate beam

511 first end

512 second end

520 concave side

521 convex side

530 upper part

535 lower part

540 recess

545 locking surface

550 lug

560 rotary axis

561 bending axis

600 card

610 upper side

620 lower side

630 front face

640 rear face

Claims

A card reader (100)

comprising a card receiving space (200) ,

wherein a card (600) can be inserted into the card receiving space (200) in an insertion direction (101) through an entrance slit (220) ,

wherein the card reader (100) comprises a rotatable stopper (500) that can assume a locked position (502) and an unlocked position (501) ,

wherein the entrance slit (220) is clear when the stopper (500) is in the unlocked position (501), wherein a locking surface (545) of the stopper (500) partially blocks the entrance slit (220) when the stopper (500) is in the locked position (502) .

The card reader (100) according to claim 1,

wherein the card reader (100) comprises a plunger (300) that is movable along the insertion direction (101) between an outer position (301) and an inner position (302) ,

wherein inserting a card (100) into the card receiving space (200) pushes the plunger (300) from the outer position (301) to the inner position (302), wherein the plunger (300) is rigidly connected to a lock pin (420) ,

wherein the lock pin (420) locks the stopper (500) in the locked position (502) when the plunger (300) is in the inner position (302) .

The card reader (100) according to claim 2,

wherein the stopper (500) can assume the unlocked sition (501) when the plunger (300) is in the outer position (301) .

The card reader (100) according to one of the previous claims,

wherein the stopper (500) is rotatable around a rotary axis (560) perpendicular to a card plane (210) of the card receiving space (200) .

The card reader (100) according to claim 4,

wherein the card reader (100) comprises a shaft (130) that extends perpendicular to the card plane (210) of the card receiving space (200) ,

wherein the stopper (500) is rotatable around the shaft (130) .

The card reader (100) according to claim 5,

wherein the shaft (130) comprises a convex side (132) and a flat side (133),

wherein the stopper (500) is arranged adjacent to the convex side (132),

wherein the flat side (133) faces the card receiving space (200) .

The card reader (100) according to one of claims 5 and 6 ,

wherein the shaft (130) comprises a clamp (134) for retaining a card (600) in the card receiving space (200) in a direction (103) perpendicular to the card plane (210) of the card receiving space (200) .

The card reader (100) according to one of the previous claims, wherein the stopper (500) comprises an elongate beam (510) with a first end (511) and a second end (512), wherein the beam (510) is bent around an axis (561) perpendicular to a card plane (210) of the card receiving space (200) .

The card reader (100) according to claim 8,

wherein a concave side (520) of the stopper (500) is oriented towards the card receiving space (200) .

The card reader (100) according to one of claims 8 and 9,

wherein the locking surface (545) is arranged at the first end (511) of the stopper (500),

wherein the first end (511) is arranged closer to the entrance slit (220) than the second end (512).

The card reader (100) according to one of claims 2 and 3 and to one of claims 8 to 10,

wherein the lock pin (420) faces the first end (511) when the plunger (300) assumes the outer position

(301) .

The card reader (100) according to one of claims 2 and 3 and to one of claims 8 to 11,

wherein the lock pin (420) faces the second end (512) when the plunger (300) assumes the inner position

(302) .

The card reader (100) according to claim 12,

wherein a lug (550) is arranged on the second end (512) of the stopper (500) ,

wherein the lock pin (420) abuts on the lug (550) when the plunger (300) assumes the inner position (302) .

The card reader (100) according to claim 13, wherein the lug (550) is arranged below a card plane (210) of the card receiving space (200) in a direction (103) perpendicular to the card plane (210) of the card receiving space (200) .

The card reader (100) according to one of claims 2 and 3 and optionally to any one of claims 4 to 14, wherein the plunger (300) is connected to the lock pin (420) by a connection rod (400) ,

wherein the lock pin (420) protrudes from the connec tion rod (400) in a direction (102) perpendicular to the insertion direction (101).