JPH04246049A - Processor for card and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform a positional regulation of cards so favorably at time of conveyance, in a conveyor mechanism for a cards processor. CONSTITUTION:In a cards processor which is provided with a conveyor mechanism reciprocating a train of cards directly along a conveying line, a pinch roller 129 being dragged in contact with a passing ticket 104 is installed free of rocking motion around an axis orthogonal with a conveying surface of the passing ticket 104.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card processing device for writing and reading various information on cards, and is particularly suitable as a toll road terminal.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In long-distance toll roads with multiple entrance gates and exit gates, a toll system is adopted in which tolls are collected according to the section of use and the type of vehicle used. Therefore, at the entrance gate of such toll expressways, a pass is issued and handed to the user, which records information such as the type of vehicle, date and time of use, and the entrance gate. A toll collection system is adopted that collects tickets from users, reads the information recorded on the tickets, and settles the usage fee. For this reason, the entrance gates and exit gates of the above-mentioned toll expressways, etc. are equipped with card processing devices for processing cards such as passing tickets, highway cards that are prepaid cards, and credit cards called separate payment plates. It is installed as a terminal.

[0003] Such a card processing apparatus is equipped with a transport mechanism that reciprocates the cards along a linear transport line. Figures 7 to 7 show the main parts of a conventional transport mechanism.
This will be explained with reference to FIG. Figure 7 is a plan view of the main part, Figure 8
9 shows a view taken along the line C--C, and FIG. 9 shows a view taken along the line D--D in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, a drive belt 201 is attached to a drive roller mounting shaft 203 provided on a conveyor base plate 202.
A plurality of drive rollers 20 are rotatably attached to the drive rollers 20 and driven by a pulse motor (not shown) capable of forward and reverse rotation.
4 (only one is shown), and the cards 205 are wrapped around the drive belt 201 and each drive roller 204.
The paper is conveyed while being held between pinch rollers 206 provided opposite to the paper.

[0005] The pinch roller 206 is a nylon washer 2
07 and a retaining ring 208, and is rotatably attached to one end of a fixed shaft 209, and the other end of the fixed shaft 209 is fixed to one end of a roller mounting plate 210. A shaft mounting portion 211 in the shape of a rectangular pipe is formed by a bent plate on the other end side of the roller mounting plate 210, and the roller mounting plate 210 passes through the shaft mounting portion 211 and attaches to the fixed shaft 2.
It is rotatably attached to a pinch roller attachment shaft 212 parallel to 07 via a nylon washer 213 and a stop shaft 214. And, inside the shaft mounting part 211,
A torsion coil spring 216 is attached to the pinch roller mounting shaft 212, one end of which abuts on the opposite side of the shaft mounting portion 211 from the cards 205, and the other end of which abuts against a stopper 215 provided close to the pinch roller mounting shaft 212.
It is installed in a state where it is penetrated. As a result, the roller mounting plate 210 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 7, so that the pinch roller 206 is pressed toward the cards 205. Note that 217 in the figure indicates a conveyance guide that guides the cards 205 that are conveyed on the upper and lower sides.

[0006] In such a conveyance mechanism, cards 205 are conveyed back and forth while being held between a drive belt 201 and a pinch roller 206.

[0007]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned transport mechanism, since the distance between the upper and lower transport guides 217 is made slightly larger than the width dimension of the cards 205,
During transportation, the cards 205 may be tilted or moved to one side. Like this, cards 205
Because the card 205 is transported irregularly in various postures, the positional relationship between the magnetic head for writing and reading information and the information recording track on the magnetic stripe of the card 205 is not determined, and the card may be written at an angle. Store it away,
There is a possibility that the reading magnetic head may not be able to pass over the writing position. Further, adjusting the distance between the conveyance guides 217 is also very time-consuming.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the fixed shaft 209 of the pinch roller 206 is mounted at an angle of θ, for example, several degrees (1 to 2 degrees) from the axis perpendicular to the roller mounting plate 210, so that the cards 205 can be held wide. There is a conveying device that conveys while restricting it to one side in a direction. However, in this case, for example, the cards 205 being conveyed from left to right in FIG. is regulated in position so as to be pressed against the upper conveyance guide 217. Therefore, in such a conveyance device, for example, when writing and reading are performed during unidirectional conveyance, the writing position and the reading position can be regulated. However, for example, when writing and reading are performed during transport in opposite directions, processing is performed at the bottom and top ends, respectively, and the difference between the distance between the transport guides 217 and the width of the cards 205 remains unchanged. This appears as a difference between the writing position and the reading position, so the cards 205
There is a problem in that the width dimension must be controlled very strictly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a card processing device that is equipped with a transport mechanism that satisfactorily regulates the position of cards during transport and facilitates management of the width of cards. With the goal.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] A card processing apparatus according to the present invention that achieves the above object is a card processing apparatus equipped with a transport mechanism that reciprocates cards along a linear transport line. A pinch roller that is disposed inside and rotates in contact with the cards being conveyed is swingable around an axis perpendicular to the conveying surface of the cards.

[0011]

[Operation] In the card processing device having the above configuration, the pinch roller that comes into contact with the cards being transported always swings and is slightly tilted in the direction of transport with respect to the axis perpendicular to the card transport surface. The cards are pressed toward the pivoting center of the pinch roller and their positions are regulated. Therefore, the cards are always positioned on one side regardless of the direction of transport.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the card processing apparatus of the present invention is applied as a pass ticket confirmation machine which is a terminal of a toll collection system on a toll road will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the transport mechanism, FIG. 2 is a plan view of essential parts of the transport mechanism, FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line A-A in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a B--
A view taken along line B, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic planar structure of the ticket processing section of the terminal, and FIG. 6 is an external view of the terminal.

A terminal device 1 shown in FIG. 6 is installed at an entrance gate, an exit gate, etc. of a toll motorway. Inside the main body 2, there is a ticket processing unit 10 that performs operations such as issuing new tickets and reading tickets received from users.
0 is provided, and an entrance/exit 101 for passing tickets is open at the front. In addition, a card processing section 3 is installed inside the main body 2, which processes cards such as IC cards and credit cards as a means of payment for users (passersby), and reads maintenance staff and collection staff plates. The card insertion/ejection port 4 is open at the upper front. moreover,
An operation display unit 5, which integrates a display unit for displaying operation guidance, charge display, key shape display, etc. of the terminal 1 and a touch panel for detecting input by a collector using a transparent switch, is rotatable on the main body 2. a key switch 6 which is pivotally connected to the key switch 6 and which switches the power on/off and the opening/closing of the gate;
A red/green LED 7 indicating opening/closing of the gate is provided at the upper front of the main body 2. In addition, a ticket processing unit 1 to be described later
A keyboard (not shown) is placed on the top surface of the hopper stacker 102 of No. 00, which has five operation buttons for inputting the vehicle type.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pass ticket processing unit 100 performs the processing of passes all at once, and can now be used as is in a pass ticket issuing machine like the conventional one. ing. On the side of the entrance/exit 101 formed at the front end of the casing 103, new toll tickets 104 are stored to be reissued in case a road user loses them, and also to store defective new toll tickets 104. A hopper stacker 1 that collects used toll tickets 105, used toll tickets 105, etc.
02 is detachably attached to the main body 2 and the casing 103, and on both left and right sides of the hopper stacker 102 on which a handle 106 is formed, there are feed-out rollers 10 for feeding out a new pass 104 from the hopper stacker 102.
7 and a pull-in roller (stacker roller) 108 that pulls a defective ticket 105 among the new tickets 104 and a used ticket 105 into the hopper stacker 102, each rotatable with respect to the housing 103. attached. Further, a pair of guide plates (hopper guides) 109 and 110 are fixed to the hopper stacker 102, which straddle the feed roller 107 and the pull-in roller 108, respectively. Between these guide plates 109 and 110 is a hopper stacker 10 that is slidable in these opposing directions.
A pair of holding plates 111, 112 attached to the guide plates 109, 112 are arranged, and each holding plate 111, 112 is urged in a direction opposite to the guide plates 109, 110, respectively, via a tension spring (not shown). Therefore, a new pass 104 is inserted between the guide plate 109 and the holding plate 111.
The used pass ticket 10 is urged toward the payout roller 107 side via the holding plate 111 by a tension spring, and is fed between the guide plate 110 and the holding plate 112.
5 and the like are urged toward the drawing roller 108 via the holding plate 112 by a tension spring.

[0015] Behind the entrance/exit 101 (right side in FIG. 1)
includes a printing device 114 equipped with a print head 113 for printing characters, symbols, etc. on the ticket 104;
A reproducing head 115 for reading magnetic information from a magnetic recording section (not shown) formed in the pass ticket 104 and a recording head 116 for writing new magnetic information on the pass ticket 104 are arranged in this order. A waiting section 117 is formed at the rearmost end of the ticket processing section 100 to temporarily hold the ticket 104. Although this embodiment is described as a pass ticket confirmation machine, when used as a pass ticket issuing machine, the print head 113 prints on the pass ticket 104 at a different location, so this print head 113 is used as a pass ticket 104. It is configured to be movable in the width direction or to print multiple lines.

A transportation line for the ticket 104 is formed in the ticket processing section 100 so as to connect the standby section 117 and the entrance/exit 101 via a print head 113, a reproducing head 115, and a recording head 116. Ticket 1
A plurality of drive rollers 118 to 126 that reciprocate 04
are rotatably attached to the housing 103 at intervals shorter than the length of the pass 104. A timing belt 127 is wound around these driving rollers 118 to 126, which rotate in forward and backward directions by the operation of a pulse motor (not shown) capable of forward and backward rotation, and a tension roller 128 is interposed between the driving rollers 119 and 120. This takes up the slack in the timing belt 127. In addition, pinch rollers 129 that are rotatably attached to the housing 103 are in contact with the drive rollers 118 to 121 and 123 to 126 other than the drive roller 122 facing the print head 113, respectively, with the conveyance line in between. .

At the rear of the hopper stacker 102, there is a feed roller 107 from the hopper stacker 102.
The new ticket 104 drawn by
A pass ticket feeding unit 130 is provided on the conveyance line side between the print head 113 and the print head 113. A separator roller 131 and a reverse roller 132 for taking out only one new ticket 104, and a pair of pinching rollers 133, 134 are provided on the feeding roller 107 side of the ticket feeding section 130, facing each other. separator roller 131 and sandwiching roller 1.
33 is wound with a first feeding belt 136 which is rotated by a feeding roller 134 connected to a stepping motor (not shown) via a timing belt and a clutch, with the slack taken up by a tension roller 135. Further, a second feed-out belt 138 is provided so as to face the first feed-out belt 136 and is wound around a feed-out roller 137 that is also connected to a stepping motor (not shown). The new pass 104 is passed through the first and second feeding belts 136, 13.
After being conveyed while being sandwiched between the rollers 8 and 8, it is guided to a feeding guide 139 and supplied to a conveying line. Further, on the exit side of the feeding guide 139, there is a one-way flapper 140 that prevents the ticket from moving backwards from the conveyance line, and the conveyance line is connected to the
A switching flapper 142 is provided to switch the conveyance direction between when the pass ticket being conveyed from the center right to the left is conveyed to the entrance/exit 101 side and when it is collected as the pass ticket 105 from the return port 141 of the hopper stacker 102. That is, the one-way flapper 140 has its distal end biased upward in FIG. 5 via a spring member (not shown), while the switching flapper 142 is pivotally attached to the housing 103 so as to be able to swing freely.
It is oscillated by a flapper drive means such as a rotary solenoid (not shown).

The feeding roller 107, the drawing roller 108, the printing device 114, and the driving rollers 118 to 12
6, the pass ticket supply device 130, the flapper drive means, etc., the operation timings thereof are controlled by the processing control section incorporated in the rear part of the main body 2. Therefore, in the middle of the conveyance line, between the feed guide 139 and the return port 141, there are
Optical sensors 143 to 146 are arranged to detect the passage of No. 4, 105, and output detection signals to the processing control section.

When such a ticket processing unit 100 is installed at an entrance gate, a new ticket 104 stored between the guide plate 109 and the holding plate 111 in the hopper stacker 102 is handled by a clutch. The pass ticket is guided to the pass ticket dispensing section 130 by a dispensing roller 107 that operates only when the pass ticket is issued. Here, the pass 104 is the separator roller 1
Only one sheet is taken out by the roller 31 and the reverse roller 132, and is held between the first and second feed belts 136, 138 and fed out. Then, it is supplied from the feed guide plate 139 to a linear conveyance line operated by a drive roller 118 directly connected to a motor by a timing belt. Here, the pass ticket 104 is held between a conveyor belt 127 rotated by drive rollers 118 to 126 and a pinch roller 129, and the reading head 11
5, confirm the new ticket and wait at the temporary standby position 117. If the ticket is not a new ticket, the switching flapper 142 is switched and the hopper stacker 102 is opened from the return port 141.
is stored between the guide plate 110 and the holding plate 111. The waiting pass ticket 104 starts to be issued by a key input by the collector, magnetically records various entrance information with the write head 116, checks with the read head 115, prints the information with the print head 114, and then passes the ticket. Ticket insertion/ejection port 10
Transport to 1. Note that if the reading head 115 detects an abnormality, the same applies as in the case where the bill is not a new bill.

On the other hand, when installed at the exit gate,
The ticket 104 that the collector received from the user is inserted and
It is inserted through the discharge port 101 and conveyed by the conveyor belt 127. The entrance information of the pass ticket 104 is read by a reading head 115, and the pass ticket 104 waits at a temporary standby position 117, and the fare is displayed. When the payment type (cash, coupon, etc.) and special treatment (free car, etc.) are input from the operation display, the motor reverses, the ticket 104 records the exit information with the writing head 116, and the next The reading head 115 confirms whether the information has been written correctly, the exit information is printed by the print head 113, and the exit information is returned to the exit 1 as a used ticket 105.
41 and stored in the hopper stacker 102.

[0021] Here, the feature of this terminal device 1 is that the pinch roller 129 is opposite to the drive rollers 123 to 126.
This structure will be explained below based on FIGS. 1 to 4.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the pinch roller 1
29 is rotatably supported at one end of a fixed shaft 151 via a bearing 152 and a stop shaft 153, and the fixed shaft 151 is erected to be perpendicular to the flat tip 154a of the swing shaft 154. . A nylon washer 157 is attached to the swing shaft mount 156 so that the swing shaft 154 can freely rotate via a bearing 155 at a cylindrical base end 154b.
and is fixed with a retaining ring 158. Further, on one end side of the swing shaft mount 156, a tip portion 154a of the swing shaft 154 is provided.
A plate-shaped swing stopper plate 159 whose tip end faces near the surface on the base end 154b side is fixed, and limits the rotatable range of the swing shaft 154 to within a certain range. On the other hand, a shaft mount 160 having a flat plate bent in a U-shape is attached to the other end of the swing shaft mount 156.
6 is rotatably fixed to a pinch roller mounting shaft 161 passing through a shaft mounting base 160 via a mounting shaft 162. The pinch roller attachment shaft 161 is erected on the conveyance base 163 and parallel to the fixed shaft 151 of the pinch roller 129, and the pinch roller 153 is configured to rotate around the pinch roller attachment shaft 161. Further, a stopper 164 is provided upright near the pinch roller mounting shaft 161 on the conveyance base plate 163, and a torsion coil spring 165 is provided in the pinch roller mounting shaft 161 in the shaft mounting base 160 so as to pass through it. There is. The torsion coil spring 165 has one end in contact with the stopper 164 and the other end in contact with the edge of the shaft mount 160, and has the function of pressing the pinch roller 153 against the cards 104. Note that 166 in the figure indicates a conveyance guide.

The operation of such a pinch roller swinging mechanism will be explained. When the ticket 104 is conveyed, the pinch roller 129 is pressed against the ticket 104 by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 165. The pinch roller 129 is connected to the fixed shaft 151 by a bearing 153, and the friction during rotation is small, but since it is pressed by a spring force, it receives force in the conveyance direction. This force applies rotational force to the swing shaft 154, causing the fixed shaft 151 and the pinch roller 129 to rotate so as to be tilted in the transport direction while remaining parallel to the transport surface. The rotation range at this time is determined by the position where the tip 154a of the swing shaft 154 contacts the swing stopper plate 159.In other words, the inclination angle of the fixed shaft 151 can be adjusted by the mounting position of the swing stopper plate 159. Case 1~
It is 2°. In this way, the fixed shaft 151 is connected to the swing shaft 1.
54, the pinch roller 129 rotates around the tilted fixed shaft 151, so the pass ticket 104
is shifted toward the swing axis 154 side. As shown in FIG. 1B, when the pass ticket 104 is conveyed rightward in the figure, the fixed shaft 151 swings clockwise, and the pass ticket 104 is regulated in a downward position. In addition, when the pass ticket 104 is conveyed to the left in the figure as shown in FIG. 1(C), the fixed shaft 15
1 swings counterclockwise, and the pass ticket 104 is also regulated in position downward. In this way, no matter which direction the pass ticket 104 is conveyed, its position is restricted to one direction (downward side in the embodiment).

Therefore, when such a pinch roller swinging mechanism is provided, the position of the pass ticket is restricted in one direction regardless of the conveyance direction, so that even if the writing and reading directions are reversed, the width direction of the ticket is restricted. The position of the cards can be kept constant, and the dimensions of the cards can be easily managed.

[0025]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the card processing device according to the present invention has the following features: 1) The magnetic head, print head, etc.
Since the positional relationship between the reading device and the card perpendicular to the transport direction can be kept constant regardless of whether the card is transported in the forward or reverse direction, it is possible to prevent misreading of magnetic records due to positional misalignment and prevent printing misalignment. 2) One side of the conveyance guide and one end of the card are always held down with a certain force while being conveyed, making it possible to prevent reading errors and writing errors due to tilted records. 3) Conveyance Since only one side of the guide is used as a reference, it is easier to adjust the dimensions between the guide and the other side, and the processing accuracy during manufacturing can be lower than with conventional methods. It will be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a swinging mechanism of a pinch roller of a terminal device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a pinch roller mounting structure of a terminal according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along line BB in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view of a transport mechanism of a terminal according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an external view of a terminal according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a pinch roller mounting structure according to the prior art.

8 is a view taken along line CC in FIG. 7; FIG.

9 is a view taken along line DD in FIG. 7; FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing another mounting structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Terminal 3 Card processing department 5 Operation display section 100 Ticket processing department 101 Entrance/exit 102 Hoppa stacker 104,105 Passage ticket 114 Printing device 115 Playhead 116 Recording head 117 Waiting section 129 Pinch roller 151 Fixed axis 154 Swing axis 156 Swing mounting base 159 Swing stopper plate 161 Pinch roller mounting shaft 162 Torsion coil spring 164 Stopper 166 Conveyance guide

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A card processing device comprising a conveyance mechanism that reciprocates cards along a linear conveyance line, comprising: a pinch roller disposed within the conveyance mechanism and rotating in contact with the conveyed cards; A card processing device characterized in that the is swingable about an axis perpendicular to the card conveying surface.