JP2762030B2 - IC card processing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card processing apparatus for receiving an IC card having a memory circuit or the like therein and performing a reading / writing process on the IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Unlike a magnetic recording card, an IC card electrically stores various kinds of information in a memory IC and communicates with an external device connected via a terminal provided on an outer surface. It is formed so that information may be transmitted and received by the user.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the IC card 1. A plurality of external terminals 2, 2,..., 2 are provided at a predetermined position near the front end on one surface 1a side of the resin card 1. Each external terminal is connected to a memory IC or the like built in the vicinity of the terminal.

[0004] Unless predetermined information is electrically exchanged via an external terminal, such an IC card cannot know the unique information and the amount information of the card owner. It has the advantage that it is hard to be used illegally and that the contents are not changed by external magnetism, and it has been used instead of a magnetic card.

[0005] Such an IC card processing apparatus for reading and writing information from and to an IC card generally does not have an internal draw-in mechanism, and has an IC card inserted into a card insertion slot.
The C card is received until the external terminal portion enters the inside of the device, the contact terminal is brought into contact with the external terminal of the card in the device, and information is transmitted and received through the contact terminal. The IC card that has been read and written is used by being pulled out by hand.

However, in such a conventional IC card processing apparatus, when a defective card cut shorter than a regular card is inserted into a card insertion slot for the purpose of mischief,
The defective card cannot be pulled out from outside, and the equipment cannot be used.

As a technique for solving this, FIG.
As shown in the IC card processing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1, the IC card 1 received from the card insertion slot 11 is received in the housing 12 having an open lower surface, and the leading end side of the card passing above the opening is inclined. The card is guided upward by a guide member 13 and a plurality of contact terminals 14 provided so as to face the upper portion of the guide member 13 are connected to external terminals 2 of the card.
Is disclosed in JP-A-63-271677.

According to this technique, when a defective card 3 shorter in length than the regular card is inserted from the card insertion slot 11 as shown in FIG. 15, the rear end of the card passes through the card insertion slot 11. At times, it is discharged downward from the opening along the guide member 13. When a longer defective card is inserted, the card is pushed by the succeeding card and is ejected from the opening when the rear end of the defective card passes through the card insertion slot 11.

[0009]

However, in the conventional IC card processing apparatus as described above, the external terminals of the card are contacted between the leading end and the intermediate portion of the IC card by strongly bending the card itself. Since the terminals are in contact with each other, a large force is applied to an integrated circuit such as a memory IC buried near the external terminal, which may cause a failure in the internal integrated circuit.

To prevent this, for example, if the inclination of the guide member 13 is reduced, the opening for discharging the defective card becomes small, and only a very short defective card can be discharged. In addition, if the length of the lower side of the guide member 13 is shortened in order to widen the opening while the inclination of the guide member is reduced, the leading end of the regular card inserted slightly downward cannot be received by the guide member, The regular card is ejected from the opening, causing a great deal of damage to the user.

As described above, in the conventional IC card processing apparatus, a defective card having a relatively large length can be ejected without applying excessive force to the IC card, and the regular card is reliably guided to the terminal contact position. Getting it done was extremely difficult. An object of the present invention is to provide an IC card processing device that solves this problem.

[0012]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an IC card processing apparatus comprising: a card slot having a card insertion slot for receiving an IC card;
IC inserted from the card slot of the card slot
A frame for receiving a card in a card receiving portion having an open lower surface;
The card is provided so as to be slidable along the C card insertion direction, is urged toward the IC card insertion opening by urging means, and has a contact terminal on the lower surface side for contacting an external terminal of the IC card. A sliding member that slides to the back side against the urging force when pressed against the tip of the inserted IC card from the insertion slot, and is rotatably attached to the frame;
A card pressing member for pressing the IC card from the lower surface side to the contact terminal side by being pressed by the slide member and rotating when the slide member slides to the rear side by insertion of the IC card.

[0013]

With this configuration, in the IC card processing apparatus of the present invention, when the IC card is inserted from the card insertion slot into the card accommodating portion, the slide member in the frame slides backward at the leading end of the card. Then, the card pressing member pressed by the slide member rotates and presses the IC card from the lower surface side to the contact terminal side to bring the external terminal of the card into contact with the contact terminal.

[0014]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 show an IC card processing device 20 according to one embodiment of the present invention. This IC card processing device 20
Is mounted on a housing 18 of a public telephone that can be used by a prepaid IC card, and accepts an IC card manually inserted by the user to a position where it can be pulled out after use, and records the IC card on the IC card. The rewritten frequency information is rewritten.

The card processing device 20 includes an IC
A card slot 22 fixed to project from the housing 18 for receiving a card;
And a housing 28 fixed to the rear of the housing.

The card slot 22 has a card insertion slot 23
Are provided on the front side, and protruding portions 22b and 22c protruding forward from both sides thereof so as to face each other.
And is formed in a substantially U-shape when viewed from above. The interval between the opposing surfaces of the two protrusions 22b and 22c is I
Guide grooves 24, 24, which are formed to be narrower than the width of the C card and are continuous with the card insertion slot 23 and guide the IC card inserted from the front horizontally, are provided on the opposing surface side of each protrusion. I have.

Flanges 25, 25 are provided on both sides of the card slot 22, and the flanges 25, 25 are screwed to the inner surface of the housing 18 so that the entire processing apparatus is supported by the housing. Have been.

A shutter member 26 is disposed behind the card insertion slot 23. The shutter member 26 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, a shutter plate 26a formed to be oblong so as to close the card insertion slot 23, and one protruding portion 22c of the card slot 22 from one end of the shutter plate 26a.
Lever 26b extending in the direction of the arrow and projecting a lower portion inclined to the guide groove 24, shafts 26c, 26c projecting laterally from both ends of the shutter plate 26a, and upward from the upper center of the shutter plate 26a. It is formed integrally with the protruding projection 26d.

The shafts 26c are rotatably supported by bearings 32 of a frame 31, which will be described later. The upper end of the projection 26d is in contact with the lower surface of a leaf spring 30 attached to a cover 29 to be described later. With this leaf spring 30, the shutter member always moves the shutter plate 26a and the shutter lever 26b downward, that is, when inserting a card. Mouth 2
3 is urged so as to receive a force in the direction of closing.

The shutter member 26 has a regular width IC.
When the card is supported and inserted between the guide grooves 24 of the card slot 22, the shutter lever 26 b is pushed upward by the card passing through the guide groove 24 on the one protruding portion 22 a side, and the shafts 26 c at both ends are moved up. The shutter plate 26a is pivoted upward about the fulcrum to retract the shutter plate 26a upward, and the card insertion slot 23 is opened. When a piece of paper or the like having a width smaller than the regular width is to be directly inserted into the card insertion slot 23, the shutter lever 26b is not pushed upward, so that the card insertion slot 23 is closed by the shutter plate 26a. The paper pieces are prevented from entering.

The housing 28 fixed to the rear part of the card slot 22 is composed of a cover 29 and a frame 31 whose upper surface is covered by the cover 29. The cover 29 is fixed so that the front portion formed one step lower is in contact with the upper inner wall of the base portion 22a of the card slot 22. On the upper surface of the front end, a leaf spring 30 for pressing down the shutter member 26 is provided. Is attached.

The frame 31 includes a front plate 31a, a side plate 31
The outer shape is formed in a substantially rectangular frame shape by b, 31b and the rear plate 31c, and the lower surface thereof is opened except for a bottom plate 31d extending slightly forward from the lower end of the rear plate 31c.

At both ends of the front plate 31a, a shutter member 26 is provided.
The bearings 32, 32 which support the shaft 26c of this type are projected. The inside of the frame is partitioned into three in the width direction by two parallel middle plates 33,33. Card slot 23
The card which is inserted from below and passes under the front plate 31a is a lower plate of the middle plates 33, 33 and a side plate 31 of the frame 31.
b, 31b and is received in the card accommodating portion 34 whose lower surface side is largely opened.

At the front of each middle plate 33, a card slot 2 is provided.
A high step portion 33a is provided extending to a height sandwiching the front portion of the cover 29 between the upper wall of the second base portion and the rear portion, and is formed one step lower than the high step portion 33a. A rail portion 33b is provided for slidably supporting back and forth.

At the front end of the lower surface of each high step portion 33a, an inclined portion 35 which is inclined so as to descend downward as it goes rearward is protrudingly provided. Each inclined portion 35 separates the leading end side of the card inserted from the card insertion slot 23 from the lower surface of the intermediate plate 33 in order to prevent a contact terminal 47 described later from being directly pressed by the leading end of the inserted card and deformed. It is intended to guide you to do so.

A spring shaft 36 is erected on a bottom plate 31d of the frame 31. On both sides of the spring shaft 36, an intermediate plate 33 is provided to guide the backward movement of a slide member 40 described later on the upper side. , 33 are provided in the card slot direction with a slightly wider interval than the interval of 33. Also, the side plates 31b, 31 of the frame 31
At the front end of the inner wall of b, support shafts 38, 38 for rotatably supporting a card pressing member 50 described later are protruded.

A slide member 40 is mounted on the rails 33b of the middle plates 33, 33 of the frame 31 so as to be slidable back and forth. As shown in FIG. 7, the slide member 40 has an upper plate 40a formed substantially in a T shape when viewed from above.
And a side plate 40 vertically suspended from both ends of the upper plate 40a.
b, 40b, and a rear plate 40c vertically downwardly provided from the rear end of the upper plate 40a.

The upper plate 40a has a width wider than the width of the IC card, and its central portion 40d has the middle plate 33 of the frame 31,
It has a width substantially the same as the gap 33 and protrudes largely forward.
Further, ribs 41, 41 are provided on the upper surface of the upper plate 40a at intervals so as to circumscribe the guide protrusions 37, 37.

The both side plates 40b, 40b of the slide member 40
Column-shaped shafts 42, 42 for rotating a card pressing member 50, which will be described later, are protruded inward from the inner wall on the distal end side. Also, the rear plate 40c has a rail portion 3 of the middle plate 33.
Slits 43 are provided for receiving the slide member 3b from below and restricting the slide member 40 from moving in the lateral direction, and moving the slide member 40 only in the front-rear direction. This rear plate 40
“c” is located at a position crossing the card accommodating portion 34, abuts against the leading end of the card inserted from the card insertion slot, and transmits force in the card insertion direction to the slide member 40.

On the lower surface side of the upper plate central portion 40d of the slide member 40, a terminal plate mounting hole 45 formed to be depressed at a predetermined depth.
Is provided. The terminal plate mounting hole 45 has the terminal plate 4
6 is screwed.

On the lower surface of the terminal plate 46, there are provided four contact terminals 47 for contacting each external terminal of the IC card.
They are provided side by side in a row. Each contact terminal 47 is formed in a substantially V-shape by a conductive member having a spring property (for example, phosphor bronze or the like), one end of which is fixed to the terminal plate 46, and the other end of which is provided on the terminal plate 46. It is supported so as to be inserted through each terminal hole (not shown). When pressed from below, it moves upward while elastically deforming, and opposes the pressing force from below with its elastic return force.

One end of a spring 48 hung on the spring shaft 36 is in contact with the rear plate 40c of the slide member 40 from behind.
8 is always urged in the direction of the card insertion slot. The rear plate 40c has a projection 49 projecting rearward to turn on a microswitch 61 described later when the slide member 40 is pushed to the rearmost position.

On the other hand, below the slide member 40, a card pressing member 50 is arranged. Card pressing member 50
Is a side plate 40 of the slide member 40 as shown in FIG.
b and 40b, the arm plates 50a facing each other with a space slightly larger than the width of the IC card.
50a and a semi-cylindrical and elongated pressing plate 50b connecting the distal ends of the two arm plates 50a, 50a are integrally formed.

Each arm plate 50a is formed so that its height decreases from one end side to the other end side, and a lower end of one end side has a bearing engaged with the support shafts 38, 38 of the frame 31. 51, 51 are provided. Also, the arm plate 5
A contact piece 52 projecting outward at a predetermined width
Is provided.

The contact piece 52 is provided on the shaft 42 of the slide member 40.
For transmitting rotational power to the card pressing member 50 by being pressed by the pressing member 50, and a parallel portion 52 substantially parallel to the upper surface of the pressing plate 50b.
a and an inclined portion 52b that is inclined from one end side to the other end side of the arm portion 50a and is continuous with the parallel portion 52a. Note that two elastic members 53 made of rubber, sponge, or the like are fixed on the upper surface of the pressing plate 50b in a straight line.

When the slide member 40 is in contact with the high step portion 33a of the middle plate 33, the respective axes 42 of the slide member 40 are connected to the arm plate 5 as shown in FIG.
0a, the slide member 40 slides rearward, and the shaft 42 is moved to the inclined portion 52b of the contact piece.
When the card pressing member 50 moves backward while abutting on the lower surface of the card, the card pressing member 50 rotates counterclockwise. Card pressing member 50
8B, the shaft 42 rotates until the shaft 42 reaches the lower surface of the parallel portion 52a of the contact piece 52 and the upper surface of the pressing plate 50b becomes substantially horizontal, and the lower surface of the inserted card is Push up.

A circuit board 60 is fixed to the high step portion 33a of the middle plate 33 and the upper surface of the guide projection 37. The circuit board 60 is connected to the contact terminals 47 attached to the slide member 40 via, for example, a flexible board (not shown). Also, on the rear lower surface of the circuit board 60,
A micro switch 61 is attached as a sensor for detecting that the card has been fully inserted.
The micro switch 61 is mounted at a position where the movable portion is pressed by the projection 49 to be turned on when the slide member 40 is pressed to the rearmost position.

The contact terminals 47 and the microswitch 61 are connected to a control unit (not shown) of the public telephone via the circuit board 60. This control unit determines the insertion and removal of the card from the on / off state of the microswitch 61 in addition to the normal call control, and
The rewriting process of the frequency information for the inserted card is performed via the.

Next, the operation of the IC card processing device 20 will be described. A regular IC card 1 is supported on both sides by a guide groove 24 of a card slot 22 and a card insertion slot 2
When the card is inserted into the third side, the shutter lever 26b is pushed upward, the shutter plate 26a is retracted upward from the rear of the card insertion slot 23, and guides the card into the card accommodating portion 34.

As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the card which has entered the card accommodating section 34 passes below each contact terminal 47 while being slightly pushed down by the inclined section 35, and the leading end thereof is formed. The slide member 40 contacts the rear plate 40c.

Further, when the card is pushed in, the slide member 40 is pushed by the card and slides backward, and the shaft 42 of the slide member 40 comes into contact with the inclined portion 52 b of the contact piece 52 of the card pressing member 50. Then, the card pressing member 50 rotates so that the pressing portion 50b approaches the lower surface side of the slide member 40. At the time of this sliding, the sliding member 40
Is restricted by the lower surface of the circuit board 60 and the guide projections 37.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the slide member 40
When the card slides to a position where it comes into contact with the upright portion of the guide projection 37 of the frame 31, the card pressing member 50 rotates until the upper surface of the pressing plate 50b becomes substantially horizontal, and the card 1 is held by the elastic material 53. By pushing up from the lower surface, each external terminal 2 of the card 1 is brought into contact with each contact terminal 47.

At this time, the middle portion of the card 1 is
As a result, the external terminal portion is pushed upward by the card pressing member 50, so that a force is exerted on the contact portion with the inclined portion 35 to bend the card, but this force is weak, and This part does not contain an integrated circuit and does not render the card unusable.

The return force of the slide member 40 by the spring 48 is set so as to be smaller in advance than the frictional force on the card caused by a slight bending of the card, and the shaft 42 of the slide member 40 pushes the card. Abutting against the parallel portion 52a of the contact piece 52 of the member 50,
Since the moment of the card pressing member 50 is received only in the downward direction, the card does not return even if the card is released in this state.

In this state, the microswitch 61
Is turned on by being pushed by the protrusion 49 of the slide member 40. When the ON of the micro switch 61 is detected, the reading of the frequency information from the memory in the IC card 1 via the contact terminals 47 and the reduction processing for the number of times of use are performed, and the call and the like are terminated, and the card is terminated. When pulled out,
The slide member 40 is returned forward by the spring 48, the micro switch 61 is turned off, and the card pressing member 5 is turned off.
0 is rotated by its own weight, and is in the original state (state in FIG. 2)
Return to

As shown in FIG. 10, for example, when a defective card 3 shorter than the distance from the card insertion slot 23 to the rear plate 40c of the slide member 40 is inserted into the card insertion slot 23, the defective card 3 Before the leading end of the card reaches the rear plate 40c, the trailing end enters the card accommodating portion 34, so that the defective card is discharged downward from the open lower surface of the card accommodating portion 34. Therefore, there is no hindrance to the next card insertion, and there is no possibility that the use of the device becomes impossible.

When a defective card longer than the distance from the card insertion slot 23 to the rear plate 40c of the slide member 40 and shorter than the regular card is inserted, the card cannot push the slide member 40 to the rear end. Therefore, a force for returning the card is always generated by the spring 48, and when the hand is released, the defective card is pushed out. Also,
Even if the defective card is forcibly pushed into the card insertion slot 23 and the shutter plate 26a is closed, the next time another card is inserted and the shutter plate 26a is retracted upward, the card moves toward the card insertion slot 23 side. Returning, or the rear end of the defective card is lifted upward by the shutter plate 26a, and the front end thereof is displaced below the rear plate 40c of the slide member 40 and is ejected from the opening of the card accommodating portion 34. The next card can be inserted without any trouble.

As described above, in this IC card processing apparatus, without applying an unreasonable external force to the regular card,
It is possible to reliably receive the external terminal up to a position where the external terminal comes into contact with the contact terminal, and it is possible to prevent the card from being clogged by a defective card having a short length intentionally cut.

[0049]

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment, the IC card inserted from the card insertion slot is guided into the card accommodating portion so as to be slightly lowered, but this is not limited to the present invention. For example, instead of providing the inclined portion 35 of the middle plate, a mechanism (a cam mechanism, a link mechanism, or the like) for lowering each contact terminal or the terminal plate supporting them in conjunction with the sliding of the slide member 40 is provided. Alternatively, the lower surface of the insertion card may be pushed upward by the card pressing member 52 to lower each contact terminal, so that the contact terminal and the external terminal come into contact with each other. In this way, no bending force needs to be applied to the insertion card.

Further, in the above embodiment, the card slot having the card insertion slot and the frame are formed separately, but both may be formed integrally, and the shape of each part including the card pressing member may be formed. Is not limited to the above embodiment,
Various modifications are possible.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11, guide plates 55, 5 and 5 for discharging defective cards are provided on the inner wall sides of both arm plates 50a.
5 may be used. If this card pressing member 50 'is used, as shown in FIG.
When the card is inserted from above, the card passes between the inclined portion 35 and one end of the guide plate 55, and then is fixed at a diagonally lower position with both lower surfaces supported by the upper surfaces of the guide plates 55 and 55. Discharged in the direction. A defective card having a width smaller than the gap between the guide plates 55 is discharged downward from the gap. The guide member 55 is connected to the upper surface of the pressing plate 50b at an angle so that a defective card sliding on the guiding member 55 passes above the elastic member 53 of the pressing plate 50b.

When the elastic member 53 is not used, the angle can be set so that the guide member 55 and the upper surface of the pressing plate 50b are linear. If you do this,
Not only can a defective card be ejected in the same manner as described above, but also when a regular card is inserted, the guide plate 55 together with the pressing plate 50a pushes up both ends of the lower surface of the card over a wide range, so that the card can be contacted in a more stable posture. The terminal can be contacted.

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a card processing apparatus for manually inserting and extracting a card, but the card inserted between the card insertion slot and the card accommodating portion is inserted. The present invention is also applied to a card processing device which has a mechanism for transporting a card, draws a card inserted from a card insertion slot into a card storage portion, and discharges a card after reading and writing processing from the card insertion slot or the card ejection slot. be able to.

In the above embodiment, the prepaid type I
Although the card processing device for reading and writing the C card has been described, the present invention can be similarly applied to a card processing device for reading the information from an IC card as an ID card for identifying an individual. .

[0055]

As described above, the IC card processing apparatus of the present invention guides the card inserted into the card insertion slot into the card receiving portion having the lower surface opened, and slides the card into contact with the leading end of the card. By sliding the member backward, the card pressing member is rotated, and the inserted card is pressed from the lower surface side to the contact terminal side attached to the slide member, so that the external terminal and the contact terminal of the card come into contact with each other. It is configured to be.

Therefore, the IC card can be securely received up to the terminal contact position without giving a force to bend the external terminal portion of the regular IC card forcibly, and the card is jammed due to insertion of a defective card shorter than the regular card. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view in which a part of one embodiment is broken.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the embodiment in which a cover and a circuit board are omitted.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of one embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the operation of the card pressing member with respect to the sliding of the sliding member.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view when a regular card is inserted into the card processing apparatus of one embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view when a defective card is inserted into the card processing apparatus according to the embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a modification of the card pressing member of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a schematic side view when a defective card is inserted into a card processing apparatus using the card pressing member of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 shows an IC card.

FIG. 14 is a schematic side view showing the structure of a conventional device.

FIG. 15 is a schematic side view when a defective card is inserted into a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 20 IC card processing device 22 Card slot 23 Card insertion slot 31 Frame 33 Intermediate plate 34 Card storage portion 40 Slide member 42 Shaft 46 Terminal plate 47 Contact terminal 48 Spring 50, 50 'Card pressing member 50a Arm plate 50b Press plate 55 Guide plate 61 Micro switch

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A card slot having a card insertion slot for receiving an IC card, and an IC inserted from the card insertion slot of the card slot.
A frame for receiving a card in a card receiving portion having an open lower surface; a frame slidably provided in an upper portion of the card receiving portion of the frame along an IC card insertion direction; It is urged and has a contact terminal on the lower surface side for contacting an external terminal of the IC card, and when pressed against the tip of the inserted IC card from the card insertion slot, the back side against the urging force A sliding member that slides on the frame, and is rotatably mounted on the frame. When the sliding member slides inward by inserting the IC card, the IC card is rotated by being pressed by the sliding member to lower the IC card. An IC card processing device comprising: a card pressing member that presses the contact terminal side from the contact terminal side.