JP3364564B2 - Operation control method of card issuing 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 operation control method of a card issuing device used in a convenience store or the like for issuing various cards, for example, prepaid cards such as telephone cards.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of prepaid cards represented by telephone cards in recent years, various card issuing devices for handling thin and flexible cards have been proposed and put into practical use. As an example, for example, the actual Kaihei 5-92.
Referring to Japanese Patent Publication No. 876, an issuance device in which about 50 prepaid cards having different types of face value, pattern, etc. are stored in advance in a plurality of card cassettes, and these card cassettes are covered by a common opening / closing door. It is set in advance in the cassette mounting section in the main body, and when a card issuance request is made, one card is taken out from the card cassette in which the target card is stored by the pickup roller and issued from the card issuing slot. There is something like this. Store each card in a sealed card cassette,
In addition, it is necessary to set it in the cassette mounting part in the issuing device main body and close it with a keyed opening / closing door so that the key of the opening / closing door cannot be operated directly by a person other than the person in charge, the card is stolen, other financial This is to eliminate the cause of trouble as much as possible. Regarding a card cassette that stores a plurality of cards in a stacked state, a narrow slit-shaped card ejection port that can take out only one card is formed on the end surface of a rectangular box-shaped case body. A general structure is one in which the card is ejected through the. Further, on one surface of the case main body of the card cassette, there is formed a roller entrance opening for allowing the pickup roller to enter so as to come into contact with the uppermost card in the case main body.

In such a card issuing device, looking at the structure around the cassette mounting portion, a mounting portion for mounting the card cassettes in a stacked state is formed, and a pickup means including a pickup roller is provided for each card cassette. Individually arranged. Therefore, by bringing the pickup roller corresponding to the target card cassette into contact with the card by the solenoid and rotating the pickup roller, only one target card is taken out from the card cassette and issued from the corresponding card issuing port.

[0004]

However, according to such a card issuing device, since the pickup roller and the card issuing port are provided for each card cassette, the space between the cassettes is restricted and the cassettes are restricted. The mounting part becomes large, which hinders downsizing of the entire device. In particular,
More types of cards can be handled by one card issuing device,
For example, considering the case of handling ten or more types of cards, it is inevitable to increase the size of the multi-stage laminated structure, and the number of required components is large, resulting in a large-scale device.

Some cards have a single card issuing port, which is common to all of them, to achieve miniaturization. That is, the structure is based on the structure for feeding paper from the multi-stage paper feeding cassette in the image forming apparatus, and the pickup rollers and the rollers and belts in the conveyance path common to the respective card cassettes are rotated at the same time. Only the corresponding solenoid is energized and the corresponding pickup roller is brought into contact with the card for a certain period of time so that the cards can be taken out one by one. However, when a plurality of rollers and belts are combined to form a transport path from each card cassette to a common card issuing port, and a card is issued from the card cassette mounted farthest from the card issuing port. However, since the card sequentially passes between a plurality of rollers, between belts, etc., there is an inconvenience that the information stored in the card is lost by being rubbed or scratched more than necessary during that time. . With this,
A defective product will be issued, and the reliability as a card issuing device is lacking.

Therefore, even if a large number of card cassettes are stacked, the development of a new card issuing device that does not increase the size of the stacked structure and reduces the number of parts is desired. Therefore, the present invention provides an operation control method for a card issuing device, in which, when such a card issuing device is developed, adjustment work necessary for the device to operate reliably can be easily performed before shipping. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A cassette rack in which a plurality of card cassettes, each of which stores a plurality of cards so that each card can be taken out, is individually drawn out and is formed in the stacking direction, and the cassette rack is stored in each of the cassette storage units of the cassette rack. A cassette drawer for selecting a desired card cassette from a plurality of card cassettes and pulling it out from the corresponding cassette storage section, and one for extracting only one card from the card cassette that is shared by all card cassettes A card take-out device including a pick-up roller, a carrier unit that mounts the card take-out device including the pick-up roller and the cassette draw-out device, and is movable so as to traverse the entire range in the stacking direction of the card cassette, and encoder feedback. Directly moving the carrier unit by control A card issuing device having a servo motor, which carries a card taken out and conveys it to a card issuing port, and a reference position sensor for determining a reference point of movement of the carrier unit. In the operation control method, before shipping, by measuring the length from the reference point by the reference position sensor to the pull-out position of each card cassette stored in the cassette storage section by moving the carrier unit in advance. , The measured value is stored in the memory as the movement amount of the carrier unit, and when the carrier unit is moved to the target card cassette during use, the detection output of the reference position sensor and the information stored in the memory Was used to determine the amount of movement.

Therefore, one pickup roller common to all the card cassettes is mounted on the carrier unit that is movable over the entire range of the stacked card cassettes.
Move to the position of the target card cassette, pull out the card cassette with the cassette drawer, and enable the card to be taken out by the pickup roller of the card takeout device.
In the new card issuing method that issues a card by moving the removed card to the card issuing slot by moving the carrier unit, a reference position sensor is used to determine the reference point for moving the carrier unit to the target card cassette position. It is necessary to move the carrier unit to the position of the target card cassette and pull it out as it is. However, before shipping the product, the carrier unit is moved in the stacking direction of the card cassette to measure the length from the reference position sensor to the card cassette pull-out position, and the measured value Is stored in the memory as the movement amount of the carrier unit, and When the carrier unit is moved to the position of the target card cassette when using, the physical position of the reference position sensor is controlled because it is controlled to move from the position of the reference position sensor by the amount of movement based on the information stored in the memory. It is possible to correct the reference point position of the carrier unit movement substantially according to the state peculiar to the device without individually adjusting the cassette, and surely move it to the target card cassette withdrawal position and the cassette required for card issuing. Withdrawal operation can be performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the cassette withdrawing device selectively engages with the slider that reciprocates in the withdrawing direction of the card cassette and the recess formed integrally with the slider and having the same shape for each of the card cassettes. 2. The operation control method for a card issuing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a claw body that is removed, and the cassette rack has a drawer groove for moving the claw body in a drawer direction for each cassette storage unit. During the length measurement from the reference point before shipment to the draw-out position of each card cassette, while the carrier unit is manually moved from the reference point to the target card cassette position, the pawl body is aligned with the corresponding draw-out groove. By driving the DC servo motor to slightly reciprocate the carrier unit in the stacking direction, the amount of movement of the claw body in the pull-out groove is calculated and the pull-out is performed. By identifying the center position of the inner,
The measured value from the reference point to the drawing position of the card cassette was used.

Therefore, the pull-out groove formed in the cassette rack has a slight gap in the cassette stacking direction with respect to the pawls for facilitating the movement of the pawls in the cassette pulling-out device. In consideration of the gap in the pullout groove, the position where the claw body is the center position of the pullout groove is the actual measured value, so when actually using after shipping, move the carrier unit to the pullout position of the target card cassette and When the cassette is pulled out, the claw body smoothly moves along the center position of the pull-out groove without causing a deviation such that the claw body moves by rubbing on one side of the pull-out groove.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the operation control method for the card issuing device according to the first or second aspect, the reference position sensor is arranged at one end in the card cassette stacking direction, and the card cassette is set from the reference point before shipment. The measurement is performed only up to the drawing position of the card cassette farthest from the reference position sensor, and the amount of movement from the reference point to the drawing position of another card cassette is calculated by calculation based on this measured value. did.

Therefore, when the distance accuracy between the drawing positions of the respective card cassettes can be obtained on the cassette rack assembly, only the length measurement from the reference point to the farthest drawing position of the card cassette is performed, and the other card cassettes are measured. It is also possible to simplify the work before shipping by calculating the amount of movement to the pull-out position based on the above-mentioned measured values.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As an embodiment of the operation control method for a card issuing device of the present invention, a desired operation is performed by a command from the host side such as a POS terminal, which is placed next to a POS (Points Of Sales) terminal in a store such as a convenience store. It is applied to devices that issue prepaid cards one by one.

<Basic Description> First, an exploded perspective view of the main part shown in FIG. 1, a perspective view of the vicinity of the cassette rack shown in FIG. 2,
An overall front schematic configuration diagram shown in FIG. 3, an overall side schematic configuration diagram shown in FIG. 4, a schematic plan view and a schematic side view of a carrier unit portion shown in FIG. 5, and a perspective view of a card cassette shown in FIG. The basic configuration and basic operation of the card issuing device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

A. Basic Configuration The card issuing device according to the present embodiment is configured to be capable of issuing 10 types of cards 1 having different face values and pictures, and a plurality of different cards 1 having the same size and the same shape,
Here, ten rectangular box-shaped card cassettes 2 each containing 50 sheets are prepared. Each of the card cassettes 2 has a case body 3 having the same size and the same shape and formed in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape. A slit-shaped card discharge port 4 is formed on the upper end side of the tip side end surface of each case body 3,
In addition, on the upper surface side, there is a roller entrance opening 5 for allowing a pickup roller described later to enter the case body 3.
Are formed. Further, a recess 6 for taking out the cassette is formed on one side surface on the rear side of the case body 3 so as to vertically penetrate therethrough.
Are formed.

On the lower side of the apparatus main body 10, a base plate on which a drive source such as a carrier motor 11 which is a DC servo motor for moving a carrier, a pulse motor 12 for carrying a cassette, a pulse motor 13 for carrying a card, and the like are mounted. 14 is provided, and a cassette rack 15 is provided on the base plate 14.
Is erected. In this cassette rack 15, a cassette storage portion 18 for ten card cassettes 2 is vertically partitioned by both side plates 16a and 16b and a plurality of partition plates 17. All of these cassette storage portions 18 are left open in the front-rear direction, the front is a cassette outlet 19, and the rear closed by an opening / closing door (not shown) is a cassette insertion opening 20. Therefore, by inserting each of the card cassettes 2 into the cassette housing portion 18 from the cassette insertion port 20 side, these card cassettes 2 are stored in the cassette rack 15 in a stacked state so as to be taken out freely from the cassette ejection port 19 side. Will be. Draw-out grooves 22 are formed in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction) for each cassette housing portion 18 on one side plate 16a of the cassette rack 15, and the cassette insertion opening 2 of these draw-out grooves 22 is formed.
The 0-side end portion is communicated with a vertical common groove 23 formed in the up-down direction so as to traverse all the cassette storage portions 18.
The position of the vertical common groove 23 is set so as to correspond to the position of the concave portion 6 of the card cassette 2 stored in the regular position in the cassette storing portion 18.

Next, between the base plate 14 and the ceiling plate 30 in the main body 10 of the apparatus, two round shafts 31 and 32 along the cassette rack 15 on the side plate 16a side.
Is rotatably attached. Around the cassette rack 15, there is provided a carrier unit 33 which is guided by the round shafts 31 and 32 and is movable in the vertical direction over all the cassette housing portions 18.
The carrier unit 33 constitutes a main part of a carrier device 34 that functions as a guide device, and is attached to the base plate 14 and the drive pulley 35 that is driven in the forward and reverse directions by the carrier motor 11 and the ceiling plate 30. The carrier unit 3 follows the timing belt 37 by being locked by a part of the timing belt 37 which is stretched between the driven belt 36 and the driven pulley 36.
3 is configured to reciprocate in the vertical direction.

Further, there is provided a cassette drawer 40 for moving the card cassette 2 housed in the cassette housing portion 18 of the cassette rack 15 so as to project from the cassette outlet 19 side. This cassette drawer 4
0 is a slider 43 with a rack 42 supported slidably in the front-rear direction with respect to the carrier unit 33.
And a retracting pin 44, which is a claw body projectingly formed on the back side of the slider 43 up to a position crossing the side plate 16a and selectively engaged with and disengaged from the concave portion 6 of the card cassette 2 as an operating portion 45 (Fig. 5), a gear 46 serving as a rotating body as a driving force transmitting means that meshes with the rack 42 portion of the slider 43 is also mounted on the carrier unit 33. That is, the operating unit 45 and the gear 46, which form the main part of the cassette drawer 40, are mounted on the carrier unit 33. The pull-in pin 44 is formed smaller than these groove widths so that it can freely move horizontally in the pull-out groove 22 and vertically in the vertical common groove 23. .

The cassette pull-out device 40 uses the cassette carrying pulse motor 12 as a drive source, and a transmission gear 48 meshing with the motor gear 47 of the cassette carrying pulse motor 12 is attached to the lower end side of the round shaft 31. The rotation of the round shaft 31 is transmitted to the gear 46, and the slider 43 is configured to reciprocate linearly via the rack 42. In order to transmit the rotation of the round shaft 31 to the gear 46 regardless of the position of the carrier unit 33, the carrier unit 33 is attached to the round shaft 31.
A key groove 31a is formed over the range of movement of the key 46a, which is always engaged with the key groove 31a on the gear 46 side.
Are formed. That is, the gear 46 is fitted to the round shaft 31 so as to be movable in the axial direction and transmit the rotational force in the rotational direction.

Further, there is provided a card take-out device 50 for taking out only one card 1 from the card cassette 2 drawn out from the cassette housing section 18. This card ejecting device 50 is located on the front side of the cassette rack 15 and takes out only one topmost card 1 which is the outermost surface of the drawn card cassette 2 from the card ejecting port 4. Pickup roller 51 of
A pair of conveying rollers 5 for feeding one card 1 taken out by the pickup roller 51 further forward.
2 and a pair of transport rollers 53 for switching the transport direction to the upward direction are provided as the operating unit 54. The operating portion 54 is also mounted on the carrier unit 33 by using the support rod 55, the auxiliary frame 56 and the like. The pickup roller 51 can selectively take a position where it comes into contact with the surface of the uppermost card 1 and a position where it separates from the drawn card cassette 2 through the roller entrance opening 5. It is rotatably supported by an arm 58 with a shaft 57 portion of the transport roller 52 as a fulcrum. A solenoid 59 as a drive source for selectively switching between a card-removable position where the pickup roller 51 comes into contact with the card 1 and a retracted position away from the card 1.
Is provided, and the solenoid 59 serves as the auxiliary frame 5.
It is supported by 6. In addition, the pickup roller 5
A spring 60, which applies a pressing force so that the card 1 comes into pressure contact with the card 1, is locked between the arm 58 and the auxiliary frame 56. Therefore, the pickup roller 51 is set so as to be able to take the card takeout position in a state where the solenoid 59 is not energized.
Reference numeral 61 is a pair of guide plates.

Card transportation in the card ejecting device 50 uses the pulse motor 13 for card transportation as a drive source, and the transmission gear 63 meshing with the motor gear 62 of the pulse motor 13 for card transportation has the round shaft 32.
It is attached to the lower end side of. A bevel gear 64 is provided on the shaft 57 of the transport roller 52, and a bevel gear 65 that meshes with the bevel gear 64 is provided on the round shaft 32. That is, these bevel gears 65 and 64 function as driving force transmission means for converting the rotation of the round shaft 32 by 90 ° and transmitting it as the rotational force of the transport roller 52, and are mounted on the carrier unit 33. . In order to transmit the rotation of the round shaft 32 to the bevel gear 65 regardless of the position of the carrier unit 33, the round shaft 32
Is formed with a key groove 32a over the moving range of the carrier unit 33, and a key 65a is formed on the side of the bevel gear 65 that is always engaged with the key groove 32a. That is, the bevel gear 64 is fitted to the round shaft 32 so as to be movable in the axial direction and transmit the rotational force in the rotational direction. Further, on the carrier unit 33, a gear train 66 for transmitting the rotation of the carry roller 52 to the pickup roller 51 is provided on one side of the arm 58. Further, the rotation of the bevel gear 64 meshes with that of the transport roller 53.
A gear train 67 for transmitting to the side is provided on the carrier unit 33.

Further, in the apparatus main body 10, a card issuing port 70 is formed at the uppermost position corresponding to the carrying roller 53.

B. Basic Operation In such a basic configuration, when the host issues an issuance command for a certain card 1, the desired card cassette 2 in which the target card 1 is stored can be selectively withdrawn from the cassette rack 15. It is performed by the cassette drawer 40. First, by driving the carrier motor 11 to move the carrier unit 33 in the vertical direction via the timing belt 37, the operating portion 45 such as the slider 43 is positioned in the cassette storage portion 18 in which the target card cassette 2 is stored. . At this time, since the pull-in pin 44 is positioned in the vertical common groove 23 and the concave portion 6 and moves up and down, it does not interfere with the vertical movement operation of the carrier unit 33 on which the slider 43 is mounted. When the cassette carrying pulse motor 12 is driven at the position of the target card cassette 2 and the round shaft 31 and the gear 46 are rotated, the slider 43 slides forward. At this time, since the pull-in pin 44 that moves in the pull-out groove 22 integrally with the slider 43 is locked in the recess 6, the pull-in pin 44 slides the target card cassette 2 from the inside of the cassette housing portion 18 in the forward direction. The card cassette 2 is pulled out so that its tip end side projects beyond the cassette rack 15 (see FIG. 10). The pickup roller 51 is set to the retracted position so that the solenoid 59 is energized prior to the withdrawal of the card cassette 2 and the withdrawal of the card cassette 2 to the position corresponding to the pickup roller 51 is not hindered. The position is controlled (see FIG. 9). Therefore, the carrier motor 11 moves the carrier unit 33 in the vertical direction to stop the carrier unit 33 at a position corresponding to the target card cassette 2, and drives the cassette transport pulse motor 12 to move the target card cassette 2 to the cassette rack 15. You can get a little out of it.

When the target card cassette 2 is pulled out from the cassette rack 15, one card 1 is taken out from the card cassette 2 by the card take-out device 50. First, when the target card cassette 2 is pulled out to a predetermined position, the solenoid 59 is de-energized and the pickup roller 51 enters the roller entrance opening 5 and contacts the uppermost card 1 in the card cassette 2. (See Figure 11). At this time, since the pressing force of the spring 60 is received, the pickup roller 51 comes into pressure contact with the card 1. By driving the pulse motor 13 for card transportation in parallel with this operation, the pickup roller 51 is rotationally driven via the round shaft 32, the bevel gears 65 and 64, and the gear train 66. As a result, the uppermost card 1 receives the repeated output by the pickup roller 51 that is in pressure contact with the card while rotating, and is taken out of the card cassette 2 through the card discharge port 4 (see FIG. 12). The card 1 taken out is further conveyed by being conveyed by the conveying roller 52 which is rotating at the same time. When the card 1 taken out is in a state of being conveyed by the conveying roller 52,
The solenoid 59 is energized to prevent double feeding, and the pickup roller 51 in the rotating state is separated from the retracted position (see FIG. 13). In addition, the cassette transport pulse motor 12
Is reversely driven, and the card drawer 2 that has been pulled out is returned to its original position in the cassette housing portion 18 by the operation opposite to that when the cassette drawer 40 is pulled out (see FIG. 14). When the card 1 receiving the carrying force of the carrying roller 52 reaches the carrying roller 53 side, the card 1 continues to receive the carrying force, but the leading end side of the card 1 faces right above and the trailing end side does not come out of the carrying roller 53. Thus, the pulse motor 13 for card transportation is stopped, and the card 1 is held by the transportation roller 53 while being directed upward while being guided by the guide plate 61.

One card 1 by the card ejecting device 50
When the removal of the card is completed, the carrier motor 11 is driven again, and the carrier unit 33 is moved to the target card cassette 2
Is moved upward from the position of to the uppermost position.
Therefore, the card 1 held by the transport roller 53
With the movement of the carrier unit 33, the card issuing slot 7
It is transported to 0. As a result, the tip of the card 1 is exposed to the outside from the card issuing port 70, so that the card 1 can be pulled out by hand and the card 1 is issued.

As described above, the plurality of card cassettes 2 are simply stacked by using the cassette rack 15, and the target card cassette 2 is pulled out from the card cassettes 2 by the cassette pulling-out device 40 and pulled out. According to the configuration in which only one card 1 is taken out from the inside by the card take-out device 50 and the taken-out card 1 is conveyed to the card issue port 70 by the carrier unit 33 and issued, between the card cassettes 2 in the stacked state. It is not necessary to dispose the constituent members of the card ejecting device including the pickup roller, and the card cassettes 2 in the stacked state can be brought as close as possible. Particularly in the case of the present embodiment, the partition plate 1 is provided between the card cassettes 2.
7, the height of the cassette rack 15 can be kept low even when the number of card cassettes 2 to be handled is large, and therefore the entire card issuing device can be miniaturized. it can.

Further, since one pickup roller 51 is commonly used for taking out the cards from all the card cassettes 2, the number of parts is greatly reduced as compared with the case where the pickup rollers are individually provided for each card cassette. Can be made.

Further, since the card 1 taken out from the card cassette 2 is conveyed to the card issuing port 70 by the carrier device 34, it is located at a position far from the card issuing port 70 (in the present embodiment, the lower cassette storage portion 18). Even when the card is taken out from the card cassette 2 (which is located far away), the transport path through which the card 1 passes does not become long, and the data stored in the card 1 may be lost. Be extremely reduced. Particularly, in the present embodiment, the carrier unit 33 in a state where the card 1 taken out from the card cassette 2 is held by the carrying roller 53 is moved to the card issuing port 70 so that the card 1 is carried to the card issuing port 70. The card 1 taken out from any of the card cassettes 2
However, since the transport path (pickup roller 51 to transport rollers 52, 53) through which the card 1 itself passes is common to all cards 1 and is the shortest, there is no fear of data loss, and as a card issuing device, Improves reliability.

Further, in the present embodiment, the cassette withdrawing device 40 and the card withdrawing device 50 integrated with the carrier unit 33 are provided.
Only 5, 54 and solenoid 59 are carrier units 33.
Pulse motor 12, which is installed in the
Since 13 is attached to the side of the base plate 14 of the apparatus body 10, the moving carrier unit 33 can be made as light as possible even with an integrated structure. Therefore, the load on the carrier motor 11 for moving the carrier unit 33 is reduced. At the same time, the carrier unit 33, which is light in weight without any driving source other than the solenoid 59, is moved, so that the moving speed can be increased, and the card cassette 2 and the card 1 far from the card issuing port 70 can be moved.
Even in the case of taking out and issuing the, it is possible to shorten the time required for the issuing. Further, the pulse motors 12 and 13 are not mounted on the carrier unit 33, and the round shafts 31 and 3 that guide the movement of the carrier unit 33.
Since the rotational driving force is mechanically transmitted by using 2, the wiring for supplying the motor driving energy to the carrier unit 33 becomes unnecessary, and there is no fear of disconnection and the like, so that the operation reliability is improved. In addition, the cost can be reduced.

<Individual Explanation> A. Next, the configuration around the cassette rack 15 will be individually described below in detail. First, the configuration around the cassette rack 15 will be described.
An opening / closing door (not shown) that closes the rear side of the cassette rack 15 (that is, the cassette insertion port 20 side) in the apparatus body 10 is openably and closably attached. This opening / closing door is normally closed so that only the person in charge can open / close it, and an opening permission solenoid 81 is attached to the base plate 14 to open the opening / closing door when an opening signal is given from the host side. Therefore, in the normal state in which the opening / closing door is closed, each cassette storage portion 18 of the cassette rack 15 is
The position on the rear end side of the card cassette 2 housed in is regulated to some extent by the opening / closing door. On the other hand, the front of each cassette housing portion 18 is left open as a cassette outlet 19, but a shutter mechanism 82 is provided on the cassette outlet 19 side. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the shutter mechanism 82 is provided with a shutter member 83 which is arranged immediately before the cassette outlet 19 so as to be vertically displaceable, and a predetermined amount of the shutter member 83 which is vertically movable. The shutter opening solenoid 84 attached to the side plate 16b for displacement, and the shutter member 83 and the side plate 16b for keeping the shutter member 83 biased to a predetermined position when the shutter opening solenoid 84 is not energized. It is constituted by a spring 87 locked in between. The shutter member 83 is a plate-shaped member having a length equal to that of the cassette rack 15,
Shutter pieces 85 corresponding to the partition plate 17 and openings 86 corresponding to the cassette outlet 19 are formed alternately. Therefore, the shutter piece 85 causes the cassette outlet 19 to move.
When it is located at a position corresponding to, the forward movement of the card cassette 2 housed in the cassette housing part 18 is prohibited, and the opening 86 opens the cassette outlet 19.
When it is located at a position corresponding to, the card cassette 2 stored in the cassette storage portion 18 is in an open state in which it can be moved forward. The shutter release solenoid 84
When the shutter opening 85 is in the non-energized state, the shutter piece 85 is located under the biasing force of the spring and is located in front of the cassette housing portion 18. When the shutter opening solenoid 84 is energized, the shutter piece 85 is moved to the partition plate 17. The shutter member 83 rises (or descends) so as to coincide with the position (3), and the opening 86 is displaced so as to take the open position located on the front surface of the cassette housing portion 18 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

Therefore, since the shutter piece 85 of the shutter member 83 is usually in the prohibited position located on the front surface of the cassette housing portion 18, when the opening / closing door is opened and the card cassette 2 is inserted into each cassette housing portion 18, the shutter is opened. Since the tip end hits the shutter piece 85, it does not fall from the cassette outlet 19, and the insertion amount is regulated, so that the insertion operation becomes easy. In addition, the cassette drawer 40
Therefore, when the card cassette 2 is not pulled out, even if vibration or the like is applied to the apparatus main body 10, the card cassette 2 stored in the cassette storing portion 18 is prevented from being accidentally dropped from the cassette outlet 19. To be done.
This also means that the storage position of the card cassette 2 is always regulated to a predetermined position, and the position of the recessed portion 6 of each card cassette 2 in the stored state does not shift to the front and back, and along the vertical common groove 23. The vertical movement of the retracting pin 44 is not hindered. When the card drawer 2 is pulled out by the cassette pull-out device 40, the opening portion 86 has an opening 86.
The cassette can be pulled out without any problem because it faces the. In the present embodiment, the portions that do not require cassette withdrawal are also opened in common, but the shape of the shutter member 83 and its operation control are simplified accordingly. That is, not limited to the shutter member 83 of the present embodiment, for example, a rod-shaped member having a length over the entire length of the cassette rack 15 and traversing all the cassette storage portions 18 may be provided so as to be movable in the lateral direction. May be.

B. Configuration near pickup roller 51 Next, the configuration near the pickup roller 51 will be described.
As the pickup roller 51, a roller made of a rubber material is usually used to ensure the removal of the card 1 from the card cassette 2. However, if the material is deteriorated or a foreign substance is attached to the surface, the ability of the card 1 to be taken out is improved. It becomes unstable and may cause fatal damage as a card issuing device,
Needs replacement. In particular, in the present embodiment, since only one pickup roller 51 is shared for taking out the cards 1 from all the card cassettes 2, the frequency of use thereof is likely to deteriorate drastically.
Must be replaced. Generally, in this type of roller, the pickup roller is mounted on the shaft that passes between the two frames (arms), so when replacing the roller, the frame must be removed with a tool, and the replacement work is troublesome. Is. In this respect, the present embodiment has a one-touch exchangeable configuration in which the pickup roller 51 can be exchanged without using a tool.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, one end of a shaft 91 rotatably supported by the arm 58 via a bearing 90 projects outward from the arm 58,
The pickup roller 51 is detachably fitted to one end of the protruding shaft 91. The pickup roller 5
An annular groove 94 is formed in the shaft hole 93 of the first roll body 92, and a ring-shaped spring 95 is mounted in the groove 94 portion. The inner diameter of the spring 95 is set smaller than the inner diameter of the shaft hole 93. Further, about half of the shaft hole 93 in the axial direction is a round hole-shaped portion 93a, and the other half is a flat-shaped deformed hole-shaped portion 93b. The groove 94
Is formed in the round hole-shaped portion 93a. on the other hand,
The tip of the shaft 91 is formed with a taper 91a for facilitating insertion into the shaft hole 93 having the spring 95 built therein, and is flat so as to correspond to the irregular hole shape portion 93b. The deformed shaft portion 91b is formed. Further, an annular recess 91c for positioning the spring 95 is formed on the shaft 91 at a position corresponding to the groove 94.

As a result, when the pickup roller 51 is replaced, when the roll body 92 is pushed into one end of the shaft 91, the built-in spring 95 is expanded along the taper 91a and the groove 94 in the shaft hole 93 and It fits into the annular recess 91c of the shaft 91 and stops. At the same time, the deformed hole-shaped portion 93b of the roll body 92 is fitted into the deformed shaft-shaped portion 91b. Therefore, when the shaft 91 rotates, the rotation of the deformed shaft-shaped portion 9b.
1b and the deformed hole shape portion 93b are fitted to each other to form the roll body 9
2 (hence, the pickup roller 51), and the pickup roller 51 surely rotates. At this time, since the axial force applied to the pickup roller 51 is small,
The roll body 92 does not move on the shaft 91. On the other hand, if a certain amount of force is applied in the axial direction to remove the pickup roller 51, it cannot be regulated by the stopping force of the spring 95, and the pickup roller 51 can be removed directly from one end of the shaft 91.

That is, the pickup roller 51 of the present embodiment has a detachable fitting structure which is detachable by exerting a predetermined force or more in the direction of the shaft 91, and transmits the rotation of the shaft 91 in the rotating direction. It has a rotating force transmission fitting structure and a roll body 92 attached to one end of a shaft 91, and the pickup roller 51 can be frequent.
The replacement work can be done easily with one touch without using a tool.

The structure in which the pick-up roller 51 can be attached to one end of the shaft 91 with one touch is not limited to the illustrated example, but a structure having a detachable fitting structure using a magnet and a rotational force transmission fitting structure, a pin, Alternatively, a structure having a detachable fitting structure and a rotational force transmitting fitting structure using a rotation stopper by

C. Concerning Configuration Related to Identification / Selection of Target Card Cassette 2 A configuration related to identification / selection of the target card cassette 2 from the plurality of card cassettes 2 stacked in the cassette rack 15 will be described. For example, in the conventional card issuing device as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-92876 mentioned above, the correspondence relationship between the card cassette used for each card and the mounting position of the cassette in the main body is predetermined. In order to prevent the card cassette from being mounted in the wrong place, the pair of cassette storage portions / card cassettes are formed with grooves that match each other.
Therefore, when the host issues an instruction to issue a certain card, the position of the card cassette in which that card is stored is known, and the target card is issued by driving the corresponding pickup roller. Is possible. However, in this system, the shape of the card cassette is different for each type of card, and the mounting location of each cassette is also specified, so that there is no flexibility in selecting the mounting location of the cassette and lacking flexibility. This means that when the number of card cassettes to be handled increases, it is necessary to check the mounting points one by one and store them, which is a troublesome and troublesome work.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, even if the types of the cards 1 are different, the card cassette 2 having the same shape common to all the cards 1 is used, and the cassette rack 15 is The card cassette 2 and the cassette storage portion 18 do not have a specific correspondence of 1: 1 and have a degree of freedom to be stored in any cassette storage portion 18. Then, in order to identify which number of the cassette storage section 18 stores the card cassette 2 of which type of card 1 is stored, a different barcode 100 is attached to each card cassette 2. This barcode 1
00 functions as an identification information section indicating the type information of the card 1 stored in the card cassette 2. In the present embodiment, one of the peripheral surfaces traversed by the moving carrier unit 33 as shown in FIG. Front end face 101 of the cassette
Attached to. Further, the bar of the barcode 100 is also oriented in the horizontal direction, and the reading operation of the barcode 100 is set to be performed by vertical scanning. A bar code scanner 102, which is a reading unit for reading the bar code 100, is mounted on the carrier unit 33 in a direction facing the cassette outlet 19.

The reading operation of the bar code 100 of each card cassette 2 by the bar code scanner 102 is automatically executed at least when the power of the apparatus is turned on. That is,
With respect to all the card cassettes 2 stored in the cassette rack 15, the information of the barcode 100 is sequentially read by the barcode scanner 102 for each cassette storage unit 18, so that which card storage unit 18 is used for which card cassette for which card 1. It recognizes whether or not 2 is stored, and sends that information to the host side to read the R on the host side.
Store in AM. This processing is executed as a function of the positional relationship recognizing means for recognizing the positional relationship between each cassette housing portion 18 and each card cassette 2. This allows the host side to know which card cassette 2 for which card 1 is already stored in the cassette storage section 18 at which position when actually issuing a card. Therefore, the card removal command should be given together with the card issuing command. You can

In this case, the time when the power is turned on for performing the reading operation includes not only the time when the power is actually turned on but also the time from that time until the time when the card 1 is actually taken out. . Further, at least the bar code 100 is read for all card cassettes 2 when the power is turned on because the CPU initializes all the states before that at the time when the power is turned on. Further, in the present embodiment, the reading operation of the barcode 100 by the barcode scanner 102 is redone from the beginning not only when the power is turned on but also when the opening / closing door is opened / closed. This is because there is a possibility that the card cassette 2 has been replaced in the cassette housing portion 18 when the opening / closing door is opened / closed.

Therefore, there is no problem even if the user freely replaces the storage position of the card cassette 2. Further, according to the present embodiment, scanning by the barcode scanner 102 is required to read the barcode 100 attached to each card cassette 2, but the barcode 10
The scanning unit 0 is set in the vertical direction and the scanner unit 3 that moves in the entire range of the cassette rack 15
Since the movement can be performed by using the movement of 3, it can be easily realized without separately providing a scanning system.

The identification information section of each card cassette 2 is not limited to the bar code 100, but may be unevenness information or the like. The point is that it can be attached to each card cassette 2 and the type of the card 1 Anything can be used as long as it can read information. Further, the position of attaching the barcode 100 or the like is not limited to the cassette front end face 101, but may be a peripheral face that the carrier unit 33 can traverse, for example, the side face of the side plate 16a of the cassette, or the like, and the bar may be attached according to the position. The mounting position of the code scanner 102 may be changed.

D. Configuration for Removing Only One Card Next, a configuration for reliably removing only one card 1 from the card cassette 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 to 19.

In this type of card issuing device, when a card issuing command is issued, it is important to reliably issue only one corresponding card without causing double feeding or non-feeding. By the way, in the conventional card issuing device, a limiter formed outside the card cassette and having a width of one card is arranged on the card transport path, and two cards are overlapped by the width management of this limiter. It is regulated so that it will not be issued. However, with this method, it is difficult to control the dimensions related to the width of the limiter, and the thickness of the card may differ if the standard and type of the card used are different. When the degree of freedom is given, it may not be possible to match the limiter located outside the cassette, and double feeding or non-feeding may occur.

In this respect, the present embodiment does not employ a structure in which a limiter is provided outside the card cassette 2, but only one card 1 is secured by devising the relationship between the card cassette 2 itself and the pickup roller 51. It is designed to be taken out. First of all, in the case body 3 that houses the plastic and strong card 1 in a stacked state,
As shown in FIG. 17 and the like, a bottom plate 110 on which the card 1 is placed is provided. Further, a leaf spring 112 is provided on the center of the bottom surface of the case body 3 with a biasing force acting to push the tip side of the stacked cards 1 toward the ceiling surface 111 side through the bottom plate 110. It is installed. Further, on the bottom surface in the case body 3 and on both sides of the leaf spring 112, the rear end side of the stacked cards 1 is pushed up toward the ceiling surface 111 side via the bottom plate 110. A leaf spring 113, which serves as a forward tilting means in a state where a force is applied, is attached. The pushing force of the leaf spring 113 is generated by pressing the uppermost rear end of the stacked cards 1 against the ceiling surface 111 while the pickup roller 51 is in pressure contact with the cards 1 in the case body 3. No. 1 is set so as to be in a forward tilted state in which the pickup roller 51 side is slightly lowered (see FIG. 18). A rib 114 is formed on the inner wall surface of the case body 3 on the card ejection port 4 side, and the upper end of the rib 114 (hence, near the card ejection port 4) is inclined toward the card ejection port 4 side. Tapered portion 11
5 is formed. On the other hand, the pickup roller 5 that enters the card cassette 2 from the roller entrance opening 5 at the draw-out position and removes the card 1.
1 is a spring 6 having a larger pushing force than the leaf spring 112.
With the urging force of 0, it comes into pressure contact with the top card 1,
An approach amount restricting portion 116 that abuts a part of the case body 3 is formed in a part of the arm 58 that is a support so that the amount of the pickup roller 51 entering the case body 3 is always constant. As described above, the pick-up roller 51 whose amount of entry is restricted comes into pressure contact, so that the uppermost card end position in the stacked cards 1 in the forward tilted state is located at the tapered portion 115 rather than the position of the card ejection port 4.
The height of the taper-shaped portion 115 is set so as to be displaced by the height. The transport roller 52
A card position sensor 117 that optically detects the front end of the card 1 taken out is provided at the position immediately after.

Where μ ₁ is the coefficient of friction between the pickup roller 51 and the card 1, μ _{2 is the} coefficient of friction between the card 1 and the ceiling surface μ _{3, the} coefficient of friction between the cards 1 is F _{1, and the} pickup roller. Card output P ₁ due to rotation of 51; pressing force between pickup roller 51 and card P ₂ ; pressing force of card 1 against ceiling surface 111, μ ₁ >> μ ₂ , μ ₃ , P ₁ > P ₂ Then, it is represented by F ₁ = μ ₁ P ₁ −μ ₂ P ₂ −μ ₃ (P ₁ + P ₂ ).

Therefore, when the pickup roller 51 comes into pressure contact with the card 1 in the card cassette 2 pulled out from the cassette housing portion 18 while rotating, the pickup roller 51 directly contacts the topmost one. The card feeding output F ₁ expressed by the above formula acts on the card 1, and the leading end side of the uppermost card 1 advances along the taper-shaped portion 115 while curving upward and advances from the card outlet 4 to the case body 3 I go outside. At this time, the transport roller 52 is also rotating at the same speed as the pickup roller 51, and the leading end of the card 1 taken out enters between the transport rollers 52 and is taken out further forward. In this operation, when the front end of the card 1 is detected by the card position sensor 117, the solenoid 59 is energized at that time and the pickup roller 51 is retracted so as to come out of the roller entrance opening portion 5, and the inside of the card cassette 2 is removed. Leave card 1. Therefore, although the pickup roller 51 continues to rotate, the repetitive output does not act on the subsequent card 1 and the double feeding is prevented. On the other hand, the card 1 taken out this time is conveyed by the conveying roller 52 and further by the conveying roller 53.
Therefore, the card 1 is completely removed from the card cassette 2.

In the operation of taking out the card 1 as described above,
The double feed preventing action of the tapered portion 115 will be described. If the friction coefficient μ ₃ between the cards 1 is always constant, even if the uppermost one card 1 is basically fed out, it is 2
The carrying force does not act on the first and subsequent cards 1, but in reality, the friction coefficient between the first and second cards and the second and third cards due to adhesion of foreign matter between the cards 1 and some other external factor. The friction coefficient between the sheets may be different. Under these circumstances, when the highest card 1 is sent in response to the repeated output F ₁ of the pickup roller 51, the second and third cards 1 and 2 below it are sent.
The first card 1 is also fed, and the tip ends of the respective cards 1 stored in the forwardly tilted state hit the tapered portion 115. Since the card 1 is strong, the highest card 1 that directly receives the repeated output F ₁ by the pickup roller 51 has a sufficiently larger repeated output F ₁ than the resistance generated by the tapered portion 115. This strong card 1 is sent to the card discharge port 4 side while warping so as to ride on the tapered portion 115 (see FIG. 19B). On the other hand, the second and subsequent cards 1 have tapered portions 11
Since it does not receive the repetitive force enough to overcome the resistance force generated by No. 5, it cannot be warped according to the tapered portion 115, stays at the place where it abuts, and is not sent along.
Double feeding after the first sheet is prevented. From another perspective,
When the cards 1 are taken out, the tips of several cards 1 are abutted against the taper-shaped parts 115 to form a gap between the cards 1, so that the cards 1 can be easily peeled off, which effectively prevents double feeding, and the taper-shaped parts 115. According to the movement of the card 1 in, the dynamic friction state between the first and second cards 1 changes to the static friction state between the second and third cards 1 and 1 Easy to move only the second piece 2
It is also considered that double feed is prevented because the second sheet becomes difficult to move. In this way, unlike the paper used in the paper feeding device, the card 1 having a strong rigidity is focused on, and the cards 1 stacked in the forward tilted state are taken out while the tip end side is warped by the taper-shaped portion 115 to perform the double feeding. Can be reliably prevented.

On the other hand, if there is variation in the amount of the pickup roller 51 entering the card cassette 2, the pickup roller 51 enters too deeply and the card 1
There is a possibility that the tip end of the card will just hit the rib 114 to cause non-feeding, or that the pickup roller 51 is inserted too shallowly and the card 1 is likely to come into contact with the ceiling surface 111 entirely and slip easily to cause non-feeding. There is. In this respect, in the present embodiment, the pressing force of the spring 60 for the pickup roller 51 is set to be sufficiently stronger than the pressing force of the leaf spring 112, and the entry amount restricting portion 116 of the arm 58 always contacts the ceiling surface 111. As a result, the advancing amount of the pickup roller 51 is regulated so as to be always constant, so that a stable repetitive output can always be applied and no feeding failure occurs.

E. Regarding the positioning of the card cassette 2, the card cassette 2 accommodated in the cassette accommodating portion 18 of the cassette rack 15 can take a fixed position in the accommodated state and a withdrawal position withdrawn for card ejection. Positioned so that there is no deviation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 20, a cam body 120 integrated with the gear 46 is provided on the round shaft 31.
At the predetermined position of the cam body 120, two notches 120a,
120b is formed. The cam body 1 is rotatably supported by a fulcrum 121 on the carrier unit 33.
Roller-shaped cam follower 12 that constantly rolls on the circumference of 20
An arm 123 having 2 is provided. The arm 123 is biased toward the cam body 120 by a spring 124. Further, the cassette origin sensor 1 is turned on / off by using the tip of the arm 123 as an actuator 125.
26 is also mounted on the carrier unit 33. The cassette origin sensor 126 is set to be turned on when the arm 123 is displaced in a state where the cam follower 122 is in either the notch 120a or 120b.

As shown in FIG. 21, the slider 43
A guide pin 127, which is shorter than the pull-in pin 44, is integrally formed on the rear surface side of the carrier in a stepped manner, and two stepped slit holes 128a, 128b formed on the side surface of the carrier unit 33 are inserted into these. Since the pin 44 and the guide pin 127 penetrate, the slider 43 is slidable within a certain range.
A retaining pin 129 is inserted into the pull-in pin 44 and the guide pin 127.

In such a structure, when the target card cassette 2 is located at a fixed position (the pull-in pin 44 is located at the left end of the slit hole 128a, and the vertical common groove 2).
20 is engaged with the concave portion 6 of the card cassette 2 at the position 3), the cam follower 122 is in a state of entering into the notch 120a for the fixed position with respect to the cam body 120 as shown in FIG. Turns on the cassette origin sensor 126. In this state, when the cassette transporting motor 12 is driven to rotate the round shaft 31, the gear 46 rotates and the slider 43 slides rightward via the rack 42. The card cassette 2 is pulled out through the engagement. At this time, since the cam body 120 also rotates at the same time, as shown in FIG.
Since it comes out of 20a, the actuator 125 is also displaced in the separating direction, and the cassette origin sensor 126 is turned off. When the card cassette 2 is pulled out to a predetermined pull-out position, the cam follower 122 pulls out the notch 120b for the pull-out position.
The actuator 125 turns on the cassette origin sensor 126 because it enters the state. This ON signal is used to control the cassette carrying pulse motor 12, and the power supply to the cassette carrying pulse motor 12 is cut off. The motor is in a non-energized state, and the gear 46 is in a rotatable and unstable state, but the cam follower 122 has the cutout 120.
b, and the cam body 120 (hence, the gear 4
Since the rotation of 6) is restricted, the card cassette 2 in the drawn-out state does not inadvertently move in the front-rear direction and is maintained at a predetermined drawn-out position.

F. With respect to various sensors, the card issuing device according to the present embodiment is used for timing control of various operations and so on.
17. In addition to the cassette origin sensor 126, various optical and mechanical sensors are provided. Description will be given with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 which are schematically shown. First, the apparatus main body 10 is provided with a door opening / closing sensor 130 for detecting opening / closing of the opening / closing door as shown in FIG. Further, a shutter origin sensor 131 for detecting whether or not the shutter member 83 is at the origin position which is a prohibited position is provided.
Further, a carrier origin sensor 132 for specifying a reference position that determines the movement amount of the carrier unit 33 is provided on the upper side. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, a card position sensor 133 is provided on the carrier unit 33 immediately before the carrying roller 52 to detect the leading end of the card 1, and a leading end of the card 1 is provided on the exit side of the carrying roller 53. A card exit sensor 134 for detecting the rear end is mounted. Further, a detection hole 135 formed at a position penetrating in the up and down direction in a part of the front end side of the case body 3 of the card cassette 2.
A pair of upper and lower card presence / absence sensors 136 for detecting the presence / absence of the card 1 in the card cassette 2 in the pulled-out state are also mounted on the carrier unit 33 via (see FIG. 6).

G. Regarding the operation timing control of each unit until the card issuance, the carrier unit 33 moves to the position of the target card cassette 2 and the card cassette 2 is moved as in the present embodiment.
The card cassette 2 is pulled out, one card 1 is taken out of the drawn card cassette 2, and the taken card 1 is issued by being conveyed to the card issuing port 70 by the carrier unit 33. Although there is a possibility that the time required for issuance will take longer due to the movement of the carrier unit 33 and the carrier unit 33, in the present embodiment, the card issuing time is controlled by controlling the operation timing so that the operations of the respective parts are performed simultaneously as much as possible. Is being shortened. At this time, if the timing to move to the next operation is temporally controlled, the operation becomes uncertain. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a reliable trigger is prepared to ensure the reliability of the operation.

The flowchart shown in FIG. 22 and FIG.
Describing with reference to the time chart shown in FIG. 3, when a card issuance command is issued while waiting for the home position (the lowest position), the carrier motor 11 is driven to move the carrier unit 33 to the position of the target card cassette 2. Is done. During such movement of the carrier unit 33, the card cassette 2 from the cassette rack 15 is
In order to complete the preparation for pulling out the sheet, the shutter opening solenoid 84 is driven to perform the opening process to open the shutter member 83 in parallel, and the solenoid 59 is driven to displace the pickup roller 51 to the retracted position. The save processing is performed in parallel. As a result, when the carrier unit 33 moves to the position of the target card cassette 2, the card cassette 2 is ready for withdrawal, and there is no time loss.

Subsequently, the cassette transport pulse motor 1
By driving 2, the cassette withdrawing device 40 withdraws the target card cassette 2. At this time, the completion of the movement of the carrier unit 33 is judged from the number of pulses accumulated in the position deviation counter of the carrier motor 11 and is used as a trigger for starting the driving of the cassette carrying pulse motor 12. After the target card cassette 2 is pulled out by the cassette pull-out device 40, the solenoid 59 is de-energized to displace the pickup roller 51 to the card-removable position and the card 1 from the target card cassette 2 by the card take-out device 50 is moved.
To take out. At this time, judgment is made from two signals, that is, a movement completion signal from the command pulse state of the cassette transport pulse motor 12 and a detection signal from the cassette origin sensor 126 that detects that the card cassette 2 is in the regular retracted position. , And triggers the start of card ejection (return of the pickup roller 51). During the card taking-out operation by the card taking-out device 50, while the taken-out card 1 is being carried by the carrying roller 52, the solenoid 59 is energized to cause the pickup roller 51 to be evacuated to the retracted position in parallel, and at the same time, the cassette is ejected. The conveyance pulse motor 12 is reversely driven to cause the card cassette 2 that has been pulled out to return to the original position in the cassette housing portion 18 in parallel with the cassette restoration process. At this time, a trigger signal for retracting the pickup roller 51 is used by using the detection signal of the card position sensor 133 that detects the front side of the first card 1 passing the pickup roller 51.

Then, the carrying operation is carried out in which the drawn card 1 is carried to the card issuing port 70 by the carrier unit 33. In this way, when the carrier unit 33 is moved to the card issuing port 70, the movement completion signal of the cassette-conveying pulse motor 12 and the detection signal from the cassette origin sensor 126 for detecting that the card cassette 2 is in the original fixed position are used. By using these two signals as triggers, safety when moving the carrier unit 33 is ensured.
That is, the carrier unit 33 does not start the moving operation with the card cassette 2 protruding. During this conveying operation, the solenoid 59 is again de-energized to displace the pickup roller 51 to the card readable position and wait, and the shutter opening solenoid 84 is also de-energized to move the shutter member 83 to the prohibited position. The return process for displacing is performed.

In the present embodiment, the cassette origin sensor 126 is configured as a sensor for detecting two states when the card cassette 2 is in the fixed position and the withdrawal position, so that the conditions with other sensors are set. As a result, it is determined whether the card cassette 2 is located at the fixed position or the drawn position.

H. Regarding the origin detection method for moving the carrier unit 33, in order to move the carrier unit 33 to the drawing position of each card cassette 2, a reference position sensor for determining an absolute position (reference point) with respect to the movement of the carrier unit 33. The carrier origin sensor 132 is required. However, the detection points of the carrier origin sensor 132 may differ from product to product due to sensor mounting errors, variations in sensor characteristics, and the like. In this case, it is sufficient to adjust the physical position of the carrier origin sensor 132 for each product, but it is troublesome and not always accurate. Further, even if the physical position of the carrier origin sensor 13 is adjusted, it is not possible to adjust the variation in the interval between the card cassettes. In this regard, in the present embodiment, an adjustment program for automatically correcting the carrier origin sensor 132 in the process before shipping is incorporated without adjusting the physical position of the carrier origin sensor 132.
In general, the length from the carrier origin sensor 132 to each cassette pull-out position is measured, and the measured values thereof are recorded in an EEPROM (Electrical Erasable Programmable) on the host side.
le ROM), and when the user actually uses it after shipping, the data stored in the EEPROM is used to perform positioning related to the movement amount of the carrier unit 33. Control processing according to the adjustment program for this purpose will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, before the shipment, the carrier unit 33 is manually moved to the position of the card cassette 2 farthest from the carrier origin sensor 132 (the lowest = 10th), and the pull-in pin 44 is moved to the corresponding cassette storage portion. 18
The adjustment program is run in the state where it is positioned in the drawing groove 22 for use. Note that this adjustment work is performed in an empty state without storing the card cassette 2 in the cassette rack 15. Further, the adjustment program is started by appropriately setting the dip switch and turning on the power switch.

First, the carrier motor 11 is turned on by exciting it on the spot, but the gain is initially set low. After that, when the carrier unit 33 is moved up and down by a certain amount of pulses, the carrier unit 33 can move up and down only by a gap in which the pull-in pin 44 can move in the pull-out groove 22. By sampling the number of feedback pulses of the encoder directly connected to the carrier motor 11 for the actual amount of vertical movement at this time,
It is possible to obtain data for positioning the pull-in pin 44 at the center of the pull-out groove 22 in the vertical direction (stacking direction). Therefore, the moving amount of the carrier motor 11 is adjusted so that the pull-in pin 44 is located at the center point of the pull-out groove 22.
Hold at the moved position. Subsequently, the gain of the carrier motor 11 is returned to normal, and the pull-in pin 44 is also movable in the vertical direction (home position (vertical common groove 23).
When the carrier origin sensor 132 detects the carrier origin sensor 132 by moving it up to the position), the carrier origin sensor 132 and the number of pulses up to the center position of the drawing groove 22 for the lowest card cassette 2 are accurately recognized. it can. Next, the same sampling operation is performed for the second lowest card cassette 2, and the same operation is repeated for all the remaining card cassettes 2, so that the carrier origin sensor 132 detects each card cassette 2 for each card cassette 2. It is possible to accurately grasp all the movement amounts with respect to the center position of the drawing groove 22. The data actually measured by running the adjustment program in this manner is used as the EEPR on the host side.
By writing in the OM, only the position of the carrier origin sensor 132 needs to be detected for actual use after shipment, and the carrier origin sensor 132 and each card cassette 2 (drawing groove for each card stored in the EEPROM are stored thereafter). 22
By using the distance (movement amount) data between the center positions), the movement amount to the target card cassette 2 for which the issuing command is issued can be acquired and the movement can be performed accurately.

If the distance between the card cassettes 2 in the cassette rack 15 (distance between the drawing grooves 22) can be accurately obtained in the assembling, the above work need not be performed for all the card cassette positions. At a minimum, only the card cassette position farthest from the carrier origin sensor 132 may be measured and stored, and the remaining card cassette positions may be arithmetically calculated by calculation using the measured values.

I. Regarding the operation control of the carrier unit 33 when the power is turned on, in the present embodiment, the carrier unit 33 is moved to the position of the target card cassette 2, the target card cassette 2 is pulled out from the cassette rack 15, and the card 1 is removed from the card cassette 2. Since the card 1 is taken out and further conveyed by the carrier unit 33 to the card issuing port 70, the card issuing operation cannot be performed unless the vertical conveying path of the carrier unit 33 is secured, and the card is driven unnecessarily. Then, an error such as damage of the card cassette 2 or the carrier unit 33 itself occurs. In particular, when the power is turned on or the power is restored, it is a rise from a state that is not electrically managed and various situations can occur. Therefore, the situation can be grasped by the information obtained from various sensors before turning on the carrier motor 11. If the carrier unit 33 is in the immovable state, the carrier motor 11 (therefore, the movement of the carrier unit 33) is controlled so as to start the normal operation after removing the obstacle factor.

As a phenomenon that the carrier unit 33 becomes immovable, it is considered that the power is turned off due to a power failure or other reasons during the card issuing operation. In this case, since the card cassette 2 is pulled out from the cassette rack 15 and the pull-in pin 44 is located in the pull-out groove 22, the origin for moving the carrier unit 33 to the position of the carrier origin sensor 132 is left as it is. The detection operation cannot be performed. In consideration of such a phenomenon, in the present embodiment, a program relating to operation control of carrier unit 33 as shown in FIG. 25 is incorporated.

This operation control is started when the power is turned on (including the time of restoration after a power failure). First, the detection states of various sensors such as the cassette origin sensor 126 are checked, and it is determined whether the carrier unit 33 is movable or not from the situation. Carrier motor 1 if it can be moved
1 is turned on to move the carrier unit 33 upward, and the detection operation of the carrier origin sensor 132 is performed. After that, the carrier motor 11 is rotated in the reverse direction to lower the carrier unit 33 at a low speed, and the entire card cassette 2 is burned. The barcode 100 is read by scanning with the code scanner 102. All card cassettes 2 read from the barcode 10 by this scanning operation
By writing the card type information about the card together with the cassette storage position information and moving the carrier unit 33 to the home position (for example, the lowest position),
The card is ready to be issued.

On the other hand, when the power is turned on, the carrier unit 3
If it is determined that the movement of No. 3 is impossible, the operation control for securing the carrier unit transport path is executed. First, as a situation in which movement is impossible, it is checked whether or not the retracting pin 44 is located at the home position (position of the vertical common groove 23). If the pull-in pin 44 is not located at the home position, it is determined that the card cassette 2 is in the pulled-out state and the pull-in pin 44 is located in the pull-out groove 22. In this case, the carrier motor 11 is turned on with a low gain and excited on the spot. After that, when the carrier unit 33 is moved up and down by a certain amount of pulses, the carrier unit 33 is pulled out by the extraction groove 22.
Only the groove width of can move up and down. By sampling the movement amount at this time as an actual measurement value, it is possible to obtain data for positioning the pull-in pin 44 at the center of the pull-out groove 22. Therefore, the gain of the carrier motor 11 is returned to normal, and excitation is performed with the pull-in pin 44 positioned in the center of the pull-out groove 22. By holding in this state, the pull-in pin 44 is located at the center of the pull-out groove 22,
Since 2 is not necessary, the retracting pin 44 can be moved smoothly. In this state, the cassette transport pulse motor 12 is driven to move the pull-in pin 44 to the home position side, whereby the card cassette 2 in the pulled-out state can be returned to the home position. The return of the card cassette 2 to the home position is detected by the cassette origin sensor 126. As a result, the carrier unit 33 can freely move in the vertical direction. Therefore, the normal operation (the detection operation of the carrier origin sensor 132, the card issuing port if the card 1 taken out in the carrier unit 33 exists). The card is moved to 70 and issued, etc.) to enter the card issuance standby state. In the operation for securing such a transport path, the shutter member 8 for holding the card cassette 2 in a fixed position in the cassette rack 15
3 also remains in the open state, and the other card cassette 2 in which the carrier unit 33 is not located is projected toward the cassette outlet 19 side due to vibration or the like, and the carrier unit 3
There is also a possibility of inhibiting the movement of 3. So, just in case,
The shutter member 83 is also opened and closed,
If the shutter member 83 cannot be closed, it is determined that the card cassette 2 protruding toward the cassette outlet 19 exists, and an error message is displayed to prompt the operator to repair.

The opening / closing operation of the shutter member 83 is similarly performed when the card cassette 2 is not projected at the position of the carrier unit 33.

J. Others In the present embodiment, a plurality of card cassettes 2 are vertically stacked by the cassette rack 15, and the card issuing operation is performed by moving the carrier unit 33 and the like in the vertical direction. The cassettes may be stacked in the horizontal direction and the card issuing operation may be performed by moving the carrier unit or the like in the horizontal direction.

[0069]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a carrier unit that is movable over the entire range of stacked card cassettes is equipped with one pickup roller common to all card cassettes, and a target card is installed. Move the card to the cassette position, pull out the card cassette with the cassette pull-out device, enable the card to be taken out by the pickup roller of the card take-out device, and move the taken-out card to the card issue port by moving the carrier unit to remove the card. Regarding the new card issuing method to issue, a reference position sensor is required to determine the reference point to move the carrier unit to the position of the target card cassette, and due to sensor mounting error and variations in sensor characteristics, this reference position sensor The detection point may vary from product to product, Moving the carrier unit to the desired position the card cassette remains becomes a hindrance when trying to perform the drawer, before shipment of the product,
The carrier unit is moved in the stacking direction of the card cassette to measure the length from the reference position sensor to the card cassette withdrawal position, and the measured value is stored in the memory as the movement amount of the carrier unit for actual use after shipment. At the time of moving the carrier unit to the position of the target card cassette, the physical position of the reference position sensor is controlled individually so that it is moved from the position of the reference position sensor by the movement amount based on the information stored in the memory. It is possible to correct the reference point position of the movement of the carrier unit substantially according to the condition peculiar to the device without adjusting to the above, and therefore it is necessary to surely move to the target card cassette withdrawal position and issue the card. The cassette withdrawal operation can be performed.

According to the invention described in claim 2, in the operation control method of the card issuing device according to claim 1, the drawing groove formed in the cassette rack facilitates the movement of the claw body in the cassette drawing device. Although there is a slight gap in the cassette stacking direction with respect to the body, the position where the claw body is the center position of the drawer groove is set to the actual measurement value when considering the gap in this drawer groove during length measurement before shipping. Therefore, when the carrier unit is moved to the pull-out position of the target card cassette and the card cassette is pulled out at the time of actual use after shipping, the claw body rubs one side of the pull-out groove to cause an offset. Without this, it can be moved smoothly along the central position of the drawing groove, and the drawing process of the target card cassette can be carried out smoothly.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the operation control method of the card issuing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the reference position sensor is arranged at one end in the stacking direction of the card cassettes, and the reference point before shipment is set from the reference point. The measurement up to the drawing position of the card cassette is performed only for the drawing position of the card cassette farthest from the reference position sensor, and the movement amount from the reference point to the drawing position of another card cassette is calculated by calculation based on this measured value. Therefore, if the distance accuracy between the draw-out positions of each card cassette can be obtained on the cassette rack assembly, only the length measurement from the reference point to the farthest draw-out position of the card cassette is performed and the other card cassettes Since the movement amount to the pull-out position can be accurately controlled by calculating it based on the above-mentioned actual measurement value, It is also possible to simplify the load before working.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a cassette rack.

FIG. 3 is an overall front schematic configuration diagram.

FIG. 4 is an overall side schematic configuration diagram.

5A is a schematic plan view of a carrier unit portion, FIG.
(B) is the outline side view.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a card cassette.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a sensor arrangement.

8A is a schematic plan view showing a sensor arrangement in a carrier unit, and FIG. 8B is a schematic side view thereof.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing the beginning of cassette withdrawal and card withdrawal operations.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette withdrawal and card withdrawal operations.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette withdrawal and card withdrawal operations.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette withdrawal and card withdrawal operations.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette withdrawal and card withdrawal operations.

FIG. 14 is a side view showing the next step of the cassette withdrawal and card withdrawal operations.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure near a pickup roller.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a pickup roller.

FIG. 17 is an exploded perspective view showing a card cassette.

FIG. 18 is a vertical sectional side view showing a card taking-out configuration.

FIG. 19 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the vicinity of the card discharge port of the card cassette in an enlarged manner.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing the vicinity of a cassette origin sensor.

21 is a side view showing a guide structure in the carrier unit as viewed from the direction A in FIG. 20. FIG.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the basics of card issuing processing control.

FIG. 23 is a time chart showing operation timing associated with the control.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing an origin detection method by an adjustment program for carrier movement.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing carrier operation control when the power is turned on.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 card 2 card cassette 6 recess 11 DC servo motor 15 cassette racks 18 cassette storage 22 Drawout groove 33 carrier units 34 Carrier device 40 cassette drawer 43 Slider 44 nail body 50 card ejector 51 Pickup roller 70 Card issuing slot

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Sato 1-4843-1 Bunkyo-cho, Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture Tech Giken Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-5-210783 (JP, A) 5-92876 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07F 7 / 08,11 / 42

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cassette rack in which a cassette storage unit for individually storing a plurality of card cassettes each storing a plurality of cards so as to be drawn out is formed in a stacking direction, and each cassette of the cassette rack. A cassette drawer that selects a desired card cassette from a plurality of card cassettes stored in the storage unit and draws it from the corresponding cassette storage unit, and a card in the card cassette that is shared and drawn out by all the card cassettes. A card take-out device including one pickup roller for taking out only one sheet, and a carrier unit that is equipped with the card take-out device including the pick-up roller and the cassette pull-out device and is movable so as to traverse the entire range in the stacking direction of the card cassette. And the carrier unit by feedback control of the encoder A carrier device that has a DC servo motor that moves the card, and that conveys the card that has been taken out to the card issuing port while holding it, and a reference position sensor that determines a reference point for moving the carrier unit. A method for controlling the operation of a card issuing device, comprising measuring the distance from a reference point by the reference position sensor to a pull-out position of each card cassette stored in the cassette storage section by moving the carrier unit in advance before shipment. When the carrier unit is moved to the target card cassette during use, the measured output is stored in the memory. The operation control of the card issuing device is characterized in that the amount of movement is determined using the information stored in the card issuing device. Method. 2. A cassette withdrawing device includes a slider that reciprocates in a card cassette withdrawing direction, and a claw body that is integrally formed with the slider and that selectively engages and disengages with a recess formed in the same shape for each card cassette. 2. The operation control method for the card issuing device according to claim 1, wherein the cassette rack has a pull-out groove for moving the claw body in a pull-out direction for each cassette storage unit, and a reference point before shipment. During measurement from the to the drawing position of each card cassette, manually move the carrier unit from the reference point to the target card cassette position and drive the DC servo motor with the pawl aligned with the corresponding drawing groove. By slightly reciprocating the carrier unit in the stacking direction to calculate the movement amount of the claw body in the drawing groove and specify the center position in the drawing groove. In Rukoto, the operation control method for a card issuing device, characterized in that the reference point has to be the actual measurement value to the pull-out position of the card cassette. 3. A reference position sensor is arranged at one end in the stacking direction of card cassettes, and the length measurement from the reference point to the drawing position of the card cassette before shipment is performed only for the drawing position of the card cassette farthest from the reference position sensor. Done,
3. The operation control method of the card issuing device according to claim 1, wherein the movement amount from the reference point to the withdrawal position of another card cassette is calculated by calculation based on the measured value.