Card reader and card ejection control method

Abstract

A card reader that can easily eject a card is provided. A card transport path (4) is used to transport a card (2) inserted from an insertion ejection port (4a). A sensor detects the card (2) being transported on the card transport path (4). A first roller (41) and a second roller (42) transport the card (2) on the card transport path (4). The first roller (41) is disposed on the near front side close to the insertion ejection port. The second roller (42) is disposed at a position further inward than the first roller (41). When the sensor detects that the first roller (41) has not ejected the card (2), the card (2) is transported inward to a position that can be driven by the second roller (42). Thereafter, the rotation speed of the second roller (42) is made faster than usual to eject the card (2) toward the near front side.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention particularly relates to a card reader for transporting cards and a card ejection control method. Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is a card reader that can read and write information recorded on a card-shaped medium (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "card").

[0003] When used, the card inserted into the card reader may be contaminated with dust or deformed by bending, etc. When such a card is inserted into the card reader, the roller may slip during conveyance or the card may get stuck in the conveyance path, and the card may not be ejected.

[0004] To address such a problem, in conventional card readers, only the conveyance of the card in the ejection direction is repeated a predetermined number of times.

[0005] Alternatively, in the technology described in Patent Document 1, when a transport failure occurs, the card is fed back to a predetermined position, and the card is transported again at a lower speed and higher torque than when the transport failure occurred.

[0006] Prior art literature

[0007] Patent Literature

[0008] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-169430 Summary of the invention

[0009] However, if an attempt is made to transport the card at a low speed as in the technique described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the card cannot be ejected in many cases.

[0010] The present invention is made in view of the above situation, and its object is to provide a card reader that can eject cards that are difficult to eject more easily than before, so as to solve the above technical problems.

[0011] The card reader of the present invention is characterized in that it includes: an insertion and discharge port, the insertion and discharge port is used for card insertion and discharge; a card conveying path, the card inserted from the insertion and discharge port is conveyed; a sensor, the sensor detects the card conveyed on the card conveying path; a first roller, the first roller conveys the card on the card conveying path and is arranged on the near front side close to the insertion and discharge port; a second roller, the second roller is arranged at a position closer to the inside than the first roller; a conveying mechanism, the conveying mechanism drives the first roller and the second roller to convey the card; and a control unit, the control unit controls the conveying mechanism, and when the sensor detects that the first roller has not discharged the card, the control unit controls the conveying mechanism to convey the card to the inside to a position that can be driven by the second roller, and then makes the second roller rotate faster than usual to discharge the card to the near front side.

[0012] With this configuration, a card that is difficult to eject can be ejected more easily than before.

[0013] The card reader of the present invention is characterized in that the second roller is provided near a head portion for reading information of the card, and has a driving force stronger than that of the first roller for driving the card.

[0014] With this configuration, the card can be ejected more powerfully.

[0015] The card reader of the present invention is characterized in that the above-mentioned sensor includes a first sensor arranged near the above-mentioned first roller and a second sensor arranged near the above-mentioned second roller, and the above-mentioned control unit determines that the part can be driven by the above-mentioned second roller when the above-mentioned card is not detected by the above-mentioned first sensor but the above-mentioned card is detected by the above-mentioned second sensor.

[0016] With this configuration, the card can be reliably driven by the second roller.

[0017] The card reader of the present invention is characterized in that when the control unit detects that the card is not ejected and is being conveyed to the back, if the card cannot be detected by the second sensor, it determines that it is an error after multiple attempts.

[0018] With this configuration, even in the case of discharge failure, it is possible to cope with it.

[0019] The card reader of the present invention is characterized in that, when it is detected that the card has not been ejected and the card has not been ejected even when an attempt is made to rotate the second roller faster than usual to eject the card toward the near front side, the control unit controls the conveying mechanism to convey the card toward the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller, and then rotates the second roller intermittently to eject the card toward the near front side.

[0020] With this configuration, for a card that is difficult to transport, the number of activations of the second roller can be increased, thereby making it easier to discharge the card.

[0021] The card reader of the present invention is characterized in that the conveying mechanism can set the rotational speed of the second roller to a normal speed, a speed faster than normal or a speed slower than normal, and when the control unit detects that the card has not been ejected and the card has not been ejected toward the near front side even when trying to make the rotational speed of the second roller faster than normal, the control unit repeatedly tries to: convey the card toward the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller, and then control the conveying mechanism so that the rotational speed of the second roller becomes any one of the normal speed, the speed faster than normal and the speed slower than normal, and ejects the card toward the near front side.

[0022] According to this configuration, the card can be easily discharged by changing the rotation speed of the second roller.

[0023] The card ejection control method of the present invention is a card ejection control method executed by a card reader, characterized in that the card reader comprises: an insertion ejection port, the insertion ejection port is used for card insertion and ejection; a card conveying path, the card inserted from the insertion ejection port is conveyed; a sensor, the sensor detects the card conveyed on the card conveying path; a first roller, the first roller conveys the card on the card conveying path and is arranged on the near front side close to the insertion ejection port; a second roller, the second roller is arranged at a position closer to the inside than the first roller; and a conveying mechanism, the conveying mechanism drives the first roller and the second roller, and when the sensor detects that the first roller has not ejected the card, the card is conveyed to the inside to a position that can be driven by the second roller, and the rotation speed of the second roller is faster than usual to eject the card to the near front side.

[0024] With this configuration, a card that is difficult to eject can be ejected more easily than before.

[0025] According to the present invention, a card reader can be provided. When it is detected that a card has not been ejected, the card reader is controlled to move the card toward the inner side to a position that can be driven by a second roller on the inner side. Thereafter, the rotation speed of the second roller is made faster than usual to eject the card toward the near front side, thereby making it easier to eject the card than before. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a system structure diagram of a card reader according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 yes Figure 1A general side cross-sectional view of a card reader is shown.

[0028] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of the card ejection control process according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 A conceptual diagram of the card ejection control process shown.

[0030] Explanation of symbols

[0031] 1 Card reader

[0032] 2 cards

[0033] 4 Transportation Path

[0034] 4a Insert the discharge port

[0035] 10. Control Unit

[0036] 11 Storage

[0037] 12 Pre-reading head

[0038] 13 Sliding door mechanism

[0039] 14. Transport mechanism

[0040] 15 Sensor Group

[0041] 16 Magnetic Head

[0042] 40 Electric Motor

[0043] 41 First Roller

[0044] 42 Second Roller

[0045] 43 Third Roller

[0046] 51 First Sensor

[0047] 52 Second sensor

[0048] 53 Third sensor

[0049] 54 Head Sensor

[0050] 55 Open / Close Sensor

[0051] P Pulley

[0052] B-Belt DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] <Implementation Method>

[0054] (Structure of Card Reader 1)

[0055] Reference Figure 1 to Figure 3 , the structure of the card reader 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is described.

[0056] First, according to Figure 1 , the control structure of the card reader 1 is described. The card reader 1 is, for example, a device for issuing a new card 2. The card reader 1 is installed in, for example, an ATM (Automated Teller Machine), a Kiosk terminal, a ticketing system of a transportation agency, a point card system of a convenience store, a membership card system of a retail store, a card payment system of a game machine, an entry and exit management system, etc. (hereinafter referred to as "ATM, etc.") and used as a host device.

[0057] The card 2 corresponding to the card reader 1 of the present embodiment is a magnetic card including a magnetic stripe and / or a contactless IC card, a contact IC card, etc. The card 2 is, for example, a rectangular card made of vinyl chloride with a thickness of about 0.7 to 0.8 mm. In the case where the card 2 is a magnetic card, for example, a magnetic stripe for recording magnetic data is formed. In addition, in the case where the card 2 is a contactless IC card and / or a contact IC card, for example, an IC chip is built in. Here, both an IC chip and a magnetic stripe can also be provided in the card 2. In addition, in the case where the card 2 is a contactless IC card, an R / W (Read / Write) antenna for short-range wireless can also be built in.

[0058] In addition, the card 2 may be a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) card having a thickness of about 0.18 to 0.36 mm, a paper card having a predetermined thickness, or the like.

[0059] The structure of the card reader 1 will be described in more detail.

[0060] The card reader 1 mainly includes a control unit 10 , a storage unit 11 , a pre-head 12 , a shutter mechanism 13 , a transport mechanism 14 , a sensor group 15 , and a magnetic head 16 .

[0061] The control unit 10 controls the entire card reader 1. The control unit 10 is a control calculation unit including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), and the like.

[0062] In the present embodiment, the control unit 10 controls the conveyance of the card 2 by the conveyance mechanism 14 .

[0063] The storage unit 11 is a non-transitory storage medium such as a non-volatile ROM (Read Only Memory) and a volatile RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0064] ROM is a non-volatile memory that stores operating data and control programs required for various operations of the card reader 1. In addition, ROM may be a rewritable non-temporary storage medium such as EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM) or flash memory (Flash Memory). The control unit 10 executes processing based on the programs and data stored in the ROM, thereby controlling various parts of the device.

[0065] When the control unit 10 executes the program stored in the ROM, the RAM is used as a work area, etc. The RAM stores temporary data including the detection status of each sensor of the sensor group 15, historical data of the processing executed by the control unit 10 so far, communication data with the host device, etc. In addition, in the case of DRAM, the RAM is a rewritable volatile memory. In addition, the RAM may also include a non-volatile memory such as a battery backup SRAM.

[0066] The pre-head 12 is a magnetic head or the like for detecting only the insertion of the card 2 into the card reader 1. The pre-head 12 is arranged inside a card insertion portion constituting a front end side portion of the card reader 1.

[0067] The slide door mechanism 13 is a mechanism for driving a slide door member or the like for preventing external dust and foreign matter from entering. The slide door mechanism 13 is, for example, arranged at a card insertion portion of the card reader 1. The slide door mechanism 13 uses the power of a solenoid (not shown) to move the slide door member between a closed position for blocking the card conveying path 4 and an open position for opening the card conveying path.

[0068] The transport mechanism 14 is a transport path 4 ( Figure 2 ) is a mechanism for transporting card 2.

[0069] The conveying mechanism 14 will be described in detail later.

[0070] The sensor group 15 is a plurality of sensors for detecting the position of the card 2 conveyed in the card reader 1. The sensor group 15 may include, for example, an optical sensor composed of a light emitting element (photodiode) and a light receiving element (photo sensor), a piezoelectric sensor for detecting the pressing pressure when in contact with the card 2, a capacitive sensor for detecting the electrostatic capacitance of the card 2, and a physical switch. By arranging a plurality of sensors of the sensor group 15 in a variable position in the conveying path 4, the position of the card 2 on the card conveying path can be detected.

[0071] The arrangement of each sensor of the sensor group 15 will be described in detail later.

[0072] The magnetic head 16 is an electromagnetic element that reads recorded magnetic data or writes new magnetic data to the magnetic stripe by contacting and sliding with the magnetic stripe formed on the card 2. Therefore, a demodulation IC, which is a demodulation electronic component that demodulates the analog output signal and generates a digital demodulation signal, is connected to the magnetic head 16, and is connected to the control unit 10 via the demodulation IC. In addition, the magnetic head 16 can also be an encryption magnetic head corresponding to the encryption of the magnetic signal.

[0073] In addition, the card reader 1 may also include an IC contact block for reading and writing IC information of an IC card, an RF (Radio Frequency) antenna corresponding to reading and writing information to a contactless IC card, a circuit, etc. In addition, the card reader 1 may also include a card collection library, a card rotation unit, a printer for printing cards, etc.

[0074] Also refer to Figure 2 The following describes the details and positional relationship of the sensor group 15 of the card reader 1 according to this embodiment with reference to the side appearance structure of the card reader 1.

[0075] exist Figure 2 In the figure, the X direction is the front-to-back direction of the card reader 1, the Z direction is the up-down direction of the card reader 1, and the Y direction is the left-right direction of the card reader 1, which is orthogonal to the front-to-back direction and the up-down direction. The X1 direction (discharge direction) side in the front-to-back direction is the near front side of the card reader 1, and the opposite side, that is, the X2 direction (introduction, insertion direction) side is the back side (rear side) of the card reader 1.

[0076] The card reader 1 is installed in a host device such that the front end of the card reader 1 is arranged on the front surface side of the ATM, etc. In addition, in the present embodiment, the end of the card 2 inserted into the insertion outlet 4a toward the back is defined as the front end and the end near the front is defined as the rear end.

[0077] according to Figure 2The card reader 1 is provided with an insertion and discharge port 4a for inserting and discharging the card 2, and a sliding door mechanism, a pre-reading head, and a magnetic head are respectively provided from the front side to the inner side relative to the conveying path 4 formed inside the card reader 1. The pre-reading head 12 and the magnetic head 16 are arranged in a manner facing the conveying path 4 from the upper side and / or the lower side.

[0078] Here, the conveyance mechanism 14 of this embodiment is constituted by, for example, a motor 40, a pulley P, a belt B, a first roller 41, a second roller 42, and a third roller 43. The conveyance mechanism 14 conveys the card 2 via a conveyance path 4 formed inside.

[0079] The motor 40 is a driving source such as a stepping motor 40 that transmits driving force to the pulley P via a driving belt. The motor 40 rotates the pulley P in a positive clockwise direction and in a reverse direction opposite to the positive direction. In addition, a rotary encoder (hereinafter, simply referred to as an encoder) is connected to the shaft of the motor 40, which can detect the rotation position and speed of the shaft of the motor 40. The rotation speed of the shaft of the motor 40 can be controlled by the control unit 10, and the rotation speed of the pulley P can also be changed accordingly. That is, by changing the rotation speed of the pulley P, the conveying speed of each drive roller (drive mechanism) that drives the card 2 can also be changed.

[0080] The pulley P is a pulley or a gear rotatably supported by the frame of the card reader 1. In the present embodiment, the pulley P is configured to coaxially move with the second roller 42.

[0081] The belt B is a power transmission belt such as rubber or elastic body connected between the first roller 41, the second roller 42, the third roller 43 and the pressure roller for maintaining tension. In this embodiment, the belt B is linked to the rotation of the second roller 42 and drives the other first rollers 41 and the third rollers 43.

[0082] The first roller 41, the second roller 42 and the third roller 43 are driving rollers for conveying the card 2 in the forward and backward directions in the conveyance path 4. The first roller 41, the second roller 42 and the third roller 43 form roller pairs with backup rollers that are biased toward them and disposed opposite to each other.

[0083] Here, in the present embodiment, the first roller 41 , the second roller 42 , and the third roller 43 are arranged in this order from the front side to the back side.

[0084] Specifically, the first roller 41 is located near the slide door mechanism 13, and moves the inserted card 2 to the inner side when the slide door of the slide door mechanism 13 is in an open state, and moves the card to the front side after reading / writing, so that the card 2 protrudes from the insertion and discharge port 4a and is discharged.

[0085] The second roller 42 is disposed near the magnetic head 16 that reads the information of the card 2. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to be in close contact with the magnetic stripe of the card 2, the second roller 42 is configured to apply a stronger pressure between it and the relative pad roller. That is, compared with other drive rollers, the second roller 42 slips less when carrying the card 2. Moreover, in the present embodiment, the second roller 42 is the main (primary) drive roller that is linked to the pulley P driven by the motor 40. Therefore, the torque (driving force) that drives the card 2 is also stronger than the first roller 41 and the third roller 43. As a result, the second roller 42 can carry the card 2 with a stronger force than the other drive rollers.

[0086] The third roller 43 is a driving roller located at the innermost side, and when reading / writing the card 2 , it moves the card 2 to the inner side in conjunction with the second roller 42 , and drives the card to be read / written to the second roller 42 side.

[0087] In the conveyance path 4 , the sensor group includes an opening and closing sensor 55 , a first sensor 51 , a head sensor 54 , a second sensor 52 , and a third sensor 53 , which are provided in order from the front side to the back side.

[0088] The first sensor 51 is a sensor provided near the first roller 41. In the present embodiment, the first sensor 51 can detect the card 2 while the first roller 41 holds and drives the card 2. Specifically, the first sensor 51 is used to determine whether the card 2 is correctly ejected (whether there is ejection abnormality) when ejecting the card 2 after reading / writing the card 2, for example, based on whether the card 2 is detected.

[0089] The second sensor 52 is a sensor provided near the second roller 42. In the present embodiment, the second sensor 52 can detect the card 2 when the second roller 42 holds the card 2 and / or the card 2 contacts the magnetic head 16. Specifically, the second sensor 52 is used to determine whether the card 2 is conveyed to the second roller 42 when controlling the conveyance of the undischarged card 2 to the inner side.

[0090] The third sensor 53 is a sensor provided near the third roller 43. In this embodiment, the third sensor 53 can detect the card 2 when the third roller 43 grips and drives the card 2. Specifically, the third sensor 53 is used to detect the completion of the conveyance of the card 2 from the front side to the back side, for example.

[0091] The head sensor 54 is a sensor for detecting that the leading end of the card 2 has reached the magnetic head 16. When the head sensor 54 detects the card 2, reading / writing of magnetic data is started.

[0092] The opening / closing sensor 55 is a sensor that detects that the card that has passed through the pre-head 12 has passed through the slide door of the slide door mechanism 13 .

[0093] In addition, a detection switch, a sensor, or the like for detecting the insertion of the card 2 into the insertion discharge port 4 a may be provided in place of the pre-head 12 or in addition to the pre-head 12 .

[0094] (Card ejection control processing)

[0095] Next, refer to Figure 3-4 , the card ejection control process according to the embodiment of the present invention is described.

[0096] In the card ejection control process of this embodiment, when ejecting the read / written card 2, it is temporarily transported to the inner side until it rests on the second roller 42, and the rotation speed of the second roller 42 is quickly driven to transport it to the front side (ejection direction) again (re-transport). At this time, multiple re-transport attempts may be made.

[0097] The card ejection control process of the present embodiment is mainly performed by the control unit 10 cooperating with other units and executing a control program stored in a storage medium using hardware resources.

[0098] Below, according to Figure 3 The card ejection control process of this embodiment is described step by step with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

[0099] (Step S101)

[0100] First, the control unit 10 performs post-reading ejection processing.

[0101] When reading / writing of the inserted card 2 is completed, the control unit 10 starts ejecting the card 2 .

[0102] In this embodiment, when the front end of the inserted card is detected by the third sensor 53, the third roller 43 and the second roller 42 are driven in the discharge direction, and the card 2 is conveyed in the near-front direction. At this time, the magnetic stripe of the card 2 can also be slid on the magnetic head 16 again, thereby reading the magnetic information in reverse phase.

[0103] (Step S102)

[0104] Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the card 2 has been ejected.

[0105] If the card 2 is ejected within the prescribed time, the control unit 10 determines YES. Conversely, if an ejection abnormality is detected in which the first roller 41 does not eject the card 2 even after the prescribed time has passed, or in other cases, the control unit 10 determines NO.

[0106] according to Figure 4(a), for example, after the card 2 is ejected, even if the first sensor 51 is still detecting the card 2 after a predetermined time, such as several milliseconds to several tens of seconds, the control unit 10 can determine that the card 2 has not been ejected. That is, the first sensor 51 is used to detect that the first roller 41 has not ejected the card 2. In this case, Figure 4 As shown in (a), for example, the card 2 is detected by the opening and closing sensor 55 and the card 2 is not detected by the second sensor 52 and the third sensor 53 .

[0107] If yes, the control unit 10 determines that the card has been ejected normally and ends the card ejection control process of the present embodiment.

[0108] If not, the control unit 10 determines that the discharge is abnormal, and advances the process to step S103.

[0109] (Step S103)

[0110] When the discharge is abnormal, the control unit 10 performs the back conveyance process.

[0111] The control unit 10 temporarily stops the conveyance and conveys the card 2 to the back side, which is the direction opposite to the ejection direction. Thus, the control unit 10 tries to temporarily remove the card 2 from the position where the jam has occurred.

[0112] Specifically, the control unit 10 conveys the card 2 to the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller 42, which is an adjacent roller of the first roller 41 that conveys the card 2. The control unit 10 can convey the card 2 to the inner side by rotating the motor 40 by a specific rotation angle or for a specific time of several milliseconds to several seconds using an encoder, for example.

[0113] (Step S104)

[0114] Next, the control unit 10 determines whether the card 2 can be conveyed to a position where the second roller 42 can be driven.

[0115] according to Figure 4 (b), for example, when the first sensor 51 does not detect the card 2 and the second sensor 52 detects the card 2, the control unit 10 determines that it is a part that can be driven by the second roller 42, and determines that it is. In this case, in this embodiment, the head sensor 54 also detects the card 2.

[0116] Furthermore, when the magnetic head 16 detects a magnetic signal, the control unit 10 may wait until the length of the signal reaches a specific length before determining that the card 2 is positive. That is, the second roller 42 may further transport the card 2 to the back by a specific distance.

[0117] In other cases, the control unit 10 determines as No. In addition, the control unit 10 may determine as No even if the card has not been ejected after the high-speed ejection process described below has been executed a predetermined number of times.

[0118] If yes, the control unit 10 advances the process to step S105.

[0119] If NO, the control unit 10 advances the process to step S106.

[0120] (Step S105)

[0121] When the card 2 can be conveyed to a position where the second roller 42 can be driven, the control unit 10 performs high-speed discharge processing.

[0122] After returning the card 2, the control unit 10 starts to transport the card 2 from this position to the ejection direction at high speed again. The control unit 10 rotates the motor 40 at a higher speed than usual, so that the second roller 42 rotates faster than usual to eject the card toward the front side. As a result, the card 2 is transported more powerfully, and even if the first roller 41 slips, the card 2 can be transported to a position closer to the front side than usual, thereby increasing the possibility of final ejection.

[0123] Thereafter, the control unit 10 returns the process to step S102 and determines again whether the card has been ejected.

[0124] (Step S106)

[0125] Here, when the card 2 cannot be conveyed to the position where the second roller 42 can be driven, the control unit 10 determines whether multiple attempts have been made.

[0126] When the back-side conveying process and the high-speed discharge process are attempted multiple times, the control unit 10 determines that it is YES. In other cases, the control unit 10 determines that it is NO.

[0127] If yes, the control unit 10 advances the process to step S107.

[0128] If NO, the control unit 10 returns the process to step S103 and attempts to convey the goods to the back side again.

[0129] (Step S107)

[0130] If the conveyance or discharge to the back side cannot be performed even after repeated attempts, the control unit 10 performs error processing.

[0131] Since the card 2 cannot be ejected, the control unit 10 notifies the host device of the jam as an error. As a result, the transaction of the ATM or the like is suspended, and a service personnel is called or the like.

[0132] Based on the above, the card ejection control process according to the embodiment of the present invention is completed.

[0133] (Main Effects of the Present Embodiment)

[0134] By configuring as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

[0135] In the past, a card inserted into a card reader may be contaminated by dust, oil, or deformed by bending, etc. When such a card is inserted into a card reader, rollers may slip during transportation or the card may get stuck in the transportation path, making it impossible to transport the card.

[0136] Thus, when ejecting a card, if the card does not reach the ejection end position even after a specified time has passed, in a conventional card reader, the conveyance is temporarily stopped after a specified time has passed, and ejection is attempted again after a specified time has passed. Alternatively, as in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the conveyance speed is slowed down to attempt ejection.

[0137] However, there is a problem that even if this process is repeated a predetermined number of times, even if the card is only conveyed at a low speed, the card cannot be ejected in many cases. In the case where the card cannot be ejected, the card reader 1 ends the process with an error as a card jam. As a result, there is a case where the ATM enters a stopped state.

[0138] In contrast, the card reader 1 of the present embodiment is characterized in that it includes: an insertion and discharge port 4a for inserting and discharging a card 2; a card transport path 4 for transporting a card 2 inserted from the insertion and discharge port 4a; a sensor group 15 for detecting a card 2 transported on the card transport path 4; a first roller 41 for transporting a card 2 on the card transport path 4 and disposed near the front side of the insertion and discharge port; and a second roller 42 for transporting a card 2 on the card transport path 4. It is arranged at a position closer to the inside than the first roller 41; a conveying mechanism 14, which drives the first roller 41 and the second roller 42 and conveys the card 2; and a control unit 10, which controls the conveying mechanism 14. When it is detected by the sensor group 15 that the card 2 is not discharged by the first roller 41, the control unit 10 controls the conveying mechanism 14 to convey the card 2 to the inside to a position that can be driven by the second roller 42, and then makes the rotation speed of the second roller 42 faster than usual to discharge the card 2 to the near front side.

[0139] With such a configuration, when the card 2 is not ejected from the card reader 1 due to slipping, jamming, etc., after the card 2 is transported to the second roller 42 on the inner side with a stronger transport force, the rotation speed of the second roller 42 is increased and the card 2 is transported in the ejection direction. Thus, even a card 2 that is difficult to eject can be ejected more easily than before. That is, in order to suppress idling, the speed can be increased from the roller with a stronger torque, and the card 2 can be pressed out more forcefully. Thus, the card 2 becomes easier to eject, and the situation where the card 2 stops in a state where it is not ejected can be suppressed. As a result, the possibility of ending in error can be reduced, and the possibility of the ATM entering a stopped state can also be reduced. Therefore, the workload of service personnel can be reduced, and the maintenance cost can also be reduced.

[0140] Furthermore, the card reader 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the second roller 42 is provided near the head portion of the card 2 for reading information, and has a stronger driving force for driving the card 2 than the first roller 41 .

[0141] With this configuration, the card 2 can be ejected more powerfully by the second roller 42 having a strong driving force. Therefore, the card 2 can be ejected more easily.

[0142] In addition, in the card reader 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, it is characterized in that the sensor group 15 includes a first sensor 51 arranged near the first roller 41 and a second sensor 52 arranged near the second roller 42. When the card 2 is not detected by the first sensor 51 and the card 2 is detected by the second sensor 52, the control unit determines that it is a part that can be driven by the second roller 42.

[0143] By configuring in this manner, the card 2 can be reliably driven by the second roller 42. As a result, the card 2 can be ejected more easily.

[0144] In the card reader 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit 10 detects that the card 2 has not been ejected and the card 2 has been moved to the back side, if the second sensor 52 cannot detect the card 2, it determines that it is an error after multiple attempts.

[0145] By configuring in this way, when the card 2 cannot be conveyed to the back side, it is possible to detect that the card 2 is completely blocked, and call a service person, etc. Therefore, even when the ejection fails, it is possible to deal with it.

[0146] (Variant 1)

[0147] In the above embodiment, the following example is described: when the control unit 10 detects that the first roller 41 has not ejected the card 2, the control unit 10 conveys the card 2 to the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller 42, and then ejects the card 2 to the near front side by rotating the second roller 42 faster than usual. However, when the control unit 10 detects that the card 2 has not been ejected and the card 2 has not been ejected even when the second roller 42 is rotated faster than usual to eject the card 2 to the near front side, the conveying mechanism 14 may be controlled to convey the card 2 to the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller 42, and then eject the card 2 to the near front side by rotating the second roller 42 intermittently. In order to eject a card 2 that is difficult to eject, the ejection of the card 2 may be promoted by increasing the number of times the second roller 42 is started from a stop state with high friction.

[0148] As a method for intermittently rotating the second roller 42, an operation of repeatedly rotating the second roller 42 for a specified time and temporarily stopping it in a short cycle can be cited. Specifically, the following operation can be repeatedly performed: after rotating the second roller 42 for a time of 100 msec, temporarily stopping the rotation, and rotating it again for 100 msec. The rotation time for driving the second roller 42 to rotate is not limited to 100 msec, and can be appropriately set to fall within the discharge allowable time included in the discharge instruction received from the upper device, etc. In addition, the rotation time can be set to a different time each time, and can also be set to gradually increase from the initial stage of driving, or can be set to gradually decrease on the contrary.

[0149] (Variant 2)

[0150] In the second modification, the conveying mechanism 14 may also set the rotation speed of the second roller 42 to a normal speed (medium speed), a speed faster than normal (high speed), or a speed slower than normal (low speed). When the control unit 10 detects that the card 2 is not ejected and the card 2 is not ejected even when the second roller 42 is rotated faster than normal to eject the card 2 toward the near front side, repeated attempts may be made: the card 2 is conveyed toward the inner side to a position where it can be driven by the second roller 42, and then the conveying mechanism 14 is controlled so that the rotation speed of the second roller 42 becomes any one of medium speed, high speed, and low speed, thereby ejecting the card 2 toward the near front side. When the ejection action is repeated, the rotation speed of the second roller 42 may be changed to any one of medium speed, high speed, and low speed each time. When the second roller 42 is driven to eject the card 2, the rotation speed may be changed to perform a retry. Therefore, the card 2 can be ejected easily. In addition, the rotation speed is not limited to the three types of medium speed, high speed, and low speed, and may be any two, or may be set to four or more.

[0151] (Other embodiments)

[0152] In addition, in the above embodiment, an example is described in which the main driving roller driven by the motor 40 is the second roller 42. However, the main driving roller may be the third roller 43, the first roller 41, or another roller. In this case, the second roller 42 may have a stronger driving force than the other driving rollers.

[0153] With this configuration, regardless of the structure of the transport mechanism 14 , the second roller 42 can be rotated quickly, and the card 2 can be easily discharged.

[0154] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, an example is described in which the card 2 is not discharged from the first roller 41 to the front side.

[0155] However, the card ejection control of the present invention can also be applied to the case where the conveyance between the third roller 43 and the second roller 42 fails. In this case, either the insertion direction from the near front side to the back side or the ejection direction from the back side to the near front side can be applied. For example, the card ejection control processing of this embodiment can also be applied to the ejection of a card that fails to be conveyed and does not reach the second sensor 52.

[0156] Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a case where it is difficult for the card 2 to pass through the slide door mechanism 13 due to a malfunction or the like.

[0157] By configuring in this way, it is possible to cope with various transport problems.

[0158] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is described that the rotation speed of the motor 40 is faster than usual when conveying from the back side to the front side.

[0159] In this regard, the rotation speed of the motor 40 may be further increased according to the number of attempts. Figure 3 In the high-speed ejection process of step S105, the rotation speed during the second and subsequent transports may be made faster than that during the initial transport, thereby increasing the kinetic energy of the card 2.

[0160] In addition, the distance for driving the card 2 can be longer when it is transported for the second time or later. That is, the card 2 can be transported to the inner side and then transported to the first roller 41. At this time, the card 2 can also be transported to the third roller 43 to further increase the momentum. In addition, the first roller 41 can also rotate at a high speed.

[0161] In addition to this, in the back side conveyance process of step S103 , the rotation speed of the first roller 41 may be increased in multiple attempts, and the second roller 42 may be reached reliably.

[0162] As described above, by configuring so that the rotation speed of the driving roller that drives the card 2 is changed during multiple attempts, the possibility of ejecting the card 2 can be further increased.

[0163] In the above embodiment, an example is described in which the card 2 after reading / writing is ejected in a state accommodated in the card reader 1 .

[0164] However, when an abnormal card that cannot be read or written is discharged, the above-mentioned processing can be performed. Thus, compared with normal discharge, the abnormal card can be discharged in a flying state, and the user can be prompted to pay attention.

[0165] In the above embodiment, an example is described in which the first sensor 51 and the second sensor 52 detect the card 2 to detect the ejection abnormality of the card 2 and control the motor 40 .

[0166] However, a configuration may be adopted in which an encoder or a torque sensor of the motor 40 detects abnormality in ejection of the card.

[0167] This configuration can cope with various card readers.

[0168] The configuration and operation of the above-described embodiment are merely examples, and can of course be executed with appropriate modifications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A card reader, characterized in that: include: An insertion and ejection port, wherein the insertion and ejection port is used for inserting and ejecting a card; a card transport path for transporting the card inserted from the insertion outlet; a sensor for detecting the card being transported on the card transport path; a first roller, which transports the card on the card transport path and is disposed near the front side of the insertion and discharge port; a second roller, the second roller being arranged at a position further inward than the first roller; a transport mechanism that drives the first roller and the second roller to transport the card; and a control unit, wherein the control unit controls the transport mechanism, The control unit When the sensor detects that the first roller has not ejected the card, the conveying mechanism is controlled to convey the card to the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller, and then the second roller is rotated faster than usual to eject the card to the near front side. The second roller The roller is provided near the head portion for reading the information of the card, and has a stronger driving force than the first roller for driving the card.

2. The card reader according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensor comprises: a first sensor disposed near the first roller and a second sensor disposed near the second roller, The control unit When the card is not detected by the first sensor but is detected by the second sensor, it is determined that the portion is drivable by the second roller.

3. The card reader according to claim 2, characterized in that: The control unit When it is detected that the card is not ejected and is being carried to the back side, if the card cannot be detected by the second sensor, it is determined as an error after multiple attempts.

4. The card reader according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the control unit detects that the card has not been ejected and that the card has not been ejected toward the near front side even when an attempt is made to rotate the second roller faster than usual to eject the card toward the near front side, the control unit controls the conveying mechanism to convey the card toward the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller, and then rotates the second roller intermittently to eject the card toward the near front side.

5. The card reader according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying mechanism can set the rotation speed of the second roller to a normal speed, a speed faster than normal, or a speed slower than normal. When detecting that the card has not been ejected and that the card has not been ejected even when attempting to eject the card toward the near front side by rotating the second roller faster than normal, the control unit repeatedly attempts to transport the card toward the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller, and then controls the transport mechanism so that the rotation speed of the second roller becomes any one of the normal speed, the speed faster than normal, and the speed slower than normal, and ejects the card toward the near front side.

6. A card ejection control method, The card ejection control method is executed by a card reader, and is characterized in that: The card reader comprises: An insertion and ejection port, wherein the insertion and ejection port is used for inserting and ejecting a card; a card transport path for transporting the card inserted from the insertion outlet; a sensor for detecting the card being transported on the card transport path; a first roller, which transports the card on the card transport path and is disposed near the front side of the insertion and discharge port; a second roller, the second roller being arranged at a position further back than the first roller and being arranged near a head portion for reading information of the card, and having a driving force stronger than that of the first roller for driving the card; and a conveying mechanism, the conveying mechanism driving the first roller and the second roller, When the sensor detects that the first roller has not ejected the card, the card is conveyed to the inner side to a position that can be driven by the second roller. The card is discharged toward the near side by rotating the second roller faster than usual.

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