Nidec Sankyo Corporation

Takeki Watanabe

Toshio Tatai

Keiji Ohta

Chisato Hiyama

Koji Oguchi

Fumiya Akasu

Shigeki Ozawa

Hiroyuki Aiyoshi

Hiroshige Takeda

Yuji Fujimori

Akiyoshi Saito

A card reader for use with a card having a magnetic stripe may include a card insertion port; a card passage through which the card inserted from the card insertion port passes, the card passage being connected to the card insertion port; a magnetic head configured to perform at least one of: recording magnetic data to the magnetic stripe of the card and reading magnetic data from the magnetic stripe of the card; a capacitive sensor provided in contact with the card passage; and a movable structure structured such that a distance to the capacitive sensor is variable. The capacitive sensor may include a plurality of regions, each of the plurality of regions being structured to detect a capacitance, and a switch circuit configured to electrically connect and disconnect each region of the plurality of regions.

Card reader and foreign matter detection method thereof

A card reader may include a card reader main body having a card transport path and a card insertion port; and a magnetic sensor unit configured to detect the contact terminal of the IC chip of the card. The card reader main body may include a mount unit in which the magnetic sensor unit is detachably mounted. The mount unit may include a locked unit. The magnetic sensor unit may include a magnetic sensor having a sensor surface facing a side of the card transport path and an opposite surface facing an opposite direction of the sensor surface, a sensor holder having a locking unit locked into the locked unit and a fixation unit to which the magnetic sensor is fixed, and an adhesive configured to fix the magnetic sensor to the fixation unit. The adhesive covers the opposite surface.

Card reader and magnetic sensor unit

A card insertion part for use with a card may include a card insertion port; a light guide member surrounding at least a part of a periphery of the card insertion port when viewed in an inserting direction of the card; a light source configured to emit a light toward the light guide member; a reflection member disposed on a rear side with respect to the light guide member in the inserting direction of the card; and a cover member including the card insertion port and covers at least the light guide member and the light source from a front side in the inserting direction of the card. The cover member may include translucent light transmissive material.

Card insertion part and card reader

A card reader may include a card insertion port; a card conveying passage; and a card lock mechanism. The card lock mechanism may include a motor; a rotation shaft; a gear provided with a power transmission gear part and a ratchet gear part; a clutch mechanism disposed between the rotation shaft and the gear; a ratchet member to engage with the ratchet gear part; a cam member held by the rotation shaft; a torque limiter which is disposed between the rotation shaft and the cam member; an urging member which urges the ratchet member in a direction where the cam follower is contacted with the cam face; a stopper for restricting a turnable range of the cam member; and a lock member.

Card reader

A card storage and ejection module may include a card storage cassette comprising a plurality of card storage parts each of which stores one card; a lifting mechanism structured to lift and lower the card storage cassette; and a support frame which supports the card storage cassette. The plurality of the card storage parts may be disposed so as to be overlapped with each other in an upper and lower direction. The lifting mechanism may include a parallel link mechanism having at least two link arms which connect the support frame with the card storage cassette and are disposed in an aligned state in a horizontal direction so as to be parallel to each other for lifting and lowering the card storage cassette in a state that a horizontal posture of the card storage cassette is maintained.

Card storage and ejection module

A card reader may include a card passage, a magnetic head to abut with a magnetic stripe of the card, and an IC contact block having IC contact springs to contact with external connection terminals of an IC chip of the card. The magnetic head is disposed in a front side portion of the card reader so that a gap of the magnetic head faces the card passage from a lower side, and the IC contact block is disposed in a rear side portion of the card reader so that the IC contact springs face the card passage from an upper side. The card passage is formed in a straight shape but is inclined to a lower side as going to the rear side.

Provided is a card raising/lowering device capable of appropriately raising and lowering cards by a simple configuration. In concrete, a card raising/lowering device () is provided with a card housing section () in which cards () are housed in a stacked state, and a raising/lowering mechanism () for raising and lowering the cards () housed in the card housing section (). The raising/lowering mechanism () is provided with a mounting table () on which the cards () housed in the card housing section () are mounted, and a biasing member () for biasing the mounting table () upward. The spring constant of the biasing member () is approximately equal to the weight per unit thickness of the card (). A power transmission mechanism is provided with a torque limiter for intermitting power transmission from a motor to a counter roller according to the magnitude of power transmitted from the motor to the counter roller when a carrying roller is rotated in the direction in which the card () is carried out, and a one-way clutch for cutting off the power transmission from the motor to the counter roller when the carrying roller is rotated in the direction in which the card is carried in.

Card elevating/lowering device, card carrying-out/carrying-in device and card issuing/collecting apparatus

Provided is a card reader capable of increasing visibility over the prior art for a location into which a card is actually inserted. A card reader is provided with a main body frame constituting a card passage through which an inserted card passes, and a light source for illuminating the interior of the card passage. With this card reader, the light source is illuminating the interior of the card passage through which the card passes, and therefore, it is possible to brighten the interior of the card passage through which the card passes. Therefore, it is possible to brighten the location into which the card is actually inserted so that it is easier to visually confirm the location into which the card is actually inserted.

A card processing unit that enables increasing a degree of freedom of a location of a communication antenna between pad rollers and simplifying a structure of the card processing unit itself. Specifically, a card processing unit equipped with a communication antenna for communicating with a non-contact IC card. The processing unit includes: two transfer rollers for transferring the non-contact IC card through contacting a surface of the non-contact IC card; pad rollers so placed as to face and bias themselves to the transfer rollers; fixed shafts protruding at both sides of each of the pad rollers in the axial direction for supporting the pad roller so as to be rotatable; and coil springs for biasing the fixed shafts at both the sides of the pad rollerin the axial direction so as to press the pad roller toward a corresponding one of the transfer rollers.

Card processing unit and card issuing device

A card elevating/lowering device for use with cards may include a card storage part in which the cards are stacked and accommodated, and an elevating/lowering mechanism by which the cards accommodated in the card storage part are elevated and lowered. The elevating/lowering mechanism may be provided with a placing table on which the cards accommodated in the card storage part are placed and an urging member which urges the placing table in an upper direction, and a spring constant of the urging member may be substantially equal to a weight per unit thickness of the card.

A card reader with magnetic heads, an anterior frame, a main body frame, a control board and a sealing member formed to be annular. The main body frame has a head arrangement in which the magnetic heads are positioned, a sac-like card cage in which the rear end of the inserted card is housed, and a seal arrangement which is formed between the head arrangement and the card cage and in which the sealing member is arranged. The anterior frame has a substantially cylindrical cylinder portion formed to connect to a front face portion. A rear end side portion of the cylinder portion (crushing portion) crushes the sealing member in the radial direction from the outer circumferential side of the sealing member. The control board is arranged outside the card cage, and the inner circumferential face of the seal crushing portion is formed in a tapered shape.

In a card reader having a card pulling-preventing function, provided is a card reader that can achieve energy savings. More specifically, a card readeris equipped with a card moving passagein which a card is moved, a pulling-preventing memberwhich is configured to be capable of turning to a closed position to close the card moving passageand to an open position to open the card moving passageand which prevents the pulling of the card at the closed position, an urging memberfor urging the pulling-preventing memberto the closed position, a turning-regulating member which regulates the turning of the pulling-preventing memberby abutting on the pulling-preventing memberat the closed position, and a solenoidwhich moves the turning-regulating memberto a turning-regulating position at which the turning of the pulling-preventing memberis regulated and to a turning position at which the turning of the pulling-preventing memberis enabled.

A card carrying device may include a stacker in which a plurality of cards is stacked, a card pushing-out member for engaging with the rear edge of a card at a lowest position of the cards to push the card at the lowest position outside from the stacker, a carrying-out roller for carrying the card outside from the stacker, and a card pushing-up member for pushing up other cards stacked on the card at the lowest position in an upper direction in a period after the carrying-out roller comes in contact with the card at the lowest position and before the card at the lowest position has been carried outside from the stacker.

Growing community of inventors

Nagano, Japan

Takeki Watanabe