Patent ID: 9708125
Date: 2017-07-18
CPC Classifications: B65G,B65H,G06K

Claim:
1. A card processing apparatus comprising: a first card insertion section having a first card insertion hole; a conveying section for conveying a card inserted through the first card insertion hole along a predetermined conveying path; a conveying mechanism for conveying an inserted card forward or backward along the conveying path by driving the conveying section; a first card detector provided at a first position in the conveying path, wherein the first position is adjacent to the first card insertion hole; a second card detector provided at a second position in the conveying path, wherein the second position is apart from the first card detector backward along the conveying path at a predetermined distance; a third card detector provided at a third position in the conveying path, wherein the third position is apart from the second card detector backward along the conveying path at a predetermined distance; a control section for controlling the conveying mechanism based on a first detection signal sent from the first card detector, a second detection signal sent from the second card detector, and a third detection signal sent from the third card detector; wherein each of the first card detector, the second card detector, and the third card detector comprises a movable operating member which is moved from a standby position to a shifted position due to contact with a card which is being conveyed on the conveying path, and a sensor for detecting a movement of the operating member from the standby position to the shifted position; the standby position of the operating member is defined at a position where an inserted card which is being conveyed on the conveying path is contactable with the operating member at an opposing edge of the card, and the operating member is moved by the moving card toward outside of the conveying path to reach the shifted position; the first, second, and third card detectors are respectively provided at the first, second, and third positions in such a way that the operating members in the first, second, and third card detectors can be simultaneously moved to the corresponding shifted positions by a card conveyed on the conveying path; and the control section judges insertion or non-insertion of a card through the first card insertion hole and a position of a card on the conveying path based on a combination of which one of the first, second, and third detection signals is a signal notifying that a card is detected or a signal notifying that a card is not detected; and wherein in each of the first, second, and third card detectors, the operating member comprises a resilient shaft having a first fixed end and a second displaceable end, and the operating member is attached to the second end of the shaft so as to be contactable to a card conveyed on the conveying path; when a card conveyed on the conveying path is contacted with the operating member, the shaft is resiliently deformed to make a movement of the operating member to the shifted position from the standby position, wherein the movement of the operating member is detected by the sensor; and the operating member is immediately returned to the standby position if the contact of the operating member with the card is released.