Passbook transport mechanism for a passbook printer

Abstract: A passbook transporting or conveying mechanism has front gripping rollers (24,26) for gripping the passbook (12) in unprinted areas thereof and for moving the passbook to a printing station. The front gripping rollers (24,26) are caused to be moved along guide rods (36,38,40,42) in a rearward direction by driving wires (44, 48) or cables connected to roller supports (32,34). The passbook (12) is received by rear gripping rollers (64,66) which are caused to be moved along guide rods (74,76) in a further rearward direction by driving wires (88,92) or cables connected to roller supports (72,78) to a predetermined position for reading a magnetic stripe on the back cover of the passbook (12). The magnetic stripe (62) is read out and the passbook (12) is moved forward by.the rear gripping rollers (66,68) to position the passbook (12) at the printing station for the printing operations on the desired print line or lines. After the printing operations, the passbook is again moved rearward by the rear gripping rollers (66,68) to record the printed information in the magnetic stripe (62). The passbook (12) is then moved in a forward direction to the front gripping rollers (24,26) for exit from the printer.

Description: This invention relates to passbook printers of the kind including gripping means adapted to grip said passbook, wherein said gripping means are movable along a feed path to convey a gripped passbook towards and away from a printing station. The invention has a particular application where the passbook is used in a financial institution, such as a bank, for recording financial transactions. Such a passbook may carry a magnetic stripe on which read/write operations are performed during financial transactions. A passbook printer of the kind specified is known from US Patent No. 3,951,251. In the known printer, a passbook is inserted into the printer until it reaches the bottom of a passbook holder, thereby causing a photodetector to actuate a solenoid clamp which clamps the passbook into a U-shaped slot in the holder. The document US-A-3 933 234 discloses passbook handling apparatus for positioning a passbook relative to a type carrier in a printer. The apparatus includes passbook gripping fingers located at ends of pivoted arms. The fingers raise or lower the passbook through an arc as the arms move. The document US-A-4 279 413 discloses passbook handling apparatus including a drive mechanism which includes eight rollers, four of which are power driven and four of which are idler rollers. The idler rollers are movable and are spring biased to firmly engage a passbook and press it against the drive rollers, whereby different passbook thicknesses can be accommodated. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer of the kind specified having a versatile passbook drive capability. Therefore, according to the present invention there is provided a passbook printer as specified in claim 1. It will be appreciated that in a passbook printer according to the invention, the gripping means has the capability of further feeding the passbook while remaining stationary relative to the passbook feed path, thereby providing a versatile passbook drive capability. One embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the record media transport mechanism incorporating the structure of the present invention; Figs. 2A and 2B show a printing area of the record medium or passbook and the front and back covers of the passbook; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing conveying mechanism in a conventional printer. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of printing mechanism, generally designated as 10, for printing on a record medium such as a passbook 12. The printing mechanism or printer 10 has an insert or entrance port 14 at one end thereof for receiving the passbook 12 for processing a printing or recording operation. The insert port 14 is located at the front of the printer 10. A shutter or like member (not shown) is provided at a predetermined distance from the insert port 14. The shutter is in a normally closed position in the printer 10 and is engaged by an end 16 of the passbook 12 when the passbook is inserted into the receiving end or insert port 14 of the printer 10. A sensor 18 having an upper portion 20 and a lower portion 22 is supported in a position to detect the insertion of the passbook 12. The sensor 18 may comprise a limit switch, a photosensor or like element supported and connected in suitable manner to detect the presence of the passbook 12. When the passbook 12 is detected by the sensor 18, a printer controller (not shown) causes a lower roller 24 to be moved toward an upper roller 26 by means of a solenoid 25 or other actuating device. The passbook 12 is in position to be gripped by the upper roller 26 and the lower roller 24, designated as front grip rollers, in marginal areas of the passbook which are not used in the printing and/or recording operations. The rollers 24 and 26 are coated with a material having high frictional characteristics such as rubber or the like so as to firmly grip and thus maintain the passbook 12 in precise position between the rollers 24 and 26. The upper roller 26 is designed to perform as a drive roller by means of being supported on a rotatable shaft 28 in order to be conveyed or transported toward the rear of the printer 10. The lower roller 24 performs as an idler roller and freely rotates on a shaft 30. Frictional contact of the two rollers and driving the upper drive roller 26 causes the lower roller 24 to be rotated by the upper roller. The correct amount of rotational loading on the lower roller 24 is maintained so as to prevent the passbook 12 from moving down and away from the upper roller 26 during transport of the passbook 12. After the passbook 12 has been gripped by the rollers 24 and 26, the controller opens the shutter to allow the passbook 12 to be transported toward the rear of the printer 10. The rollers 24 and 26 are supported by brackets 32 and 34 which in turn are carried on lower rods or shafts 36, 38 and on upper rods or shafts 40, 42, respectively. The rollers 24 and 26 are moved in parallel manner along a feed path for the passbook 12 while such rollers are gripping the passbook. A driving wire or cable 44 is secured by means of a clip 46 to the upper bracket 34 and a driving wire or cable 48 is secured by means of a clip 50 to the lower bracket 32 for moving the brackets 32, 34 and the rollers 24, 26 along the passbook feed path. The driving wires or cables 44 and 48 are connected to appropriate drive means (not shown) for moving the rollers 24 and 26 along the feed path for transporting the passbook toward and from the printing station. This structure provides an arrangement wherein the upper roller 26 and the lower roller 24 move parallel with each other along the feed path of the passbook 12 while maintaining their relative positions. Fig. 2A is a view of the passbook 12 in open condition at the fold line 51 and Fig. 2B is a view of the front and back covers of the passbook 12 in a turned over condition from that of Fig. 2A. The passbook 12 is inserted into the port 14 at the front of the printer 10 in the open condition, as shown in Fig. 2A. An upper portion 52 of the passbook 12 is shown as having printed matter in five lines out of eleven lines thereof and a lower portion 54 is shown as having twelve blank lines. The upper portion 52 includes appropriate headings such as the date, repayment, deposit, balance and the like which are common terms used in financial transactions. A bar code or like marking 56 is provided at the upper left corner of the upper portion 52 of the passbook 12 and such bar code 56 indicates the number of the page of the passbook 12. The front cover 58 (Fig. 2B) of the passbook 12 includes appropriate information regarding the identification of the holder of the passbook 12. A magnetic stripe 62 is provided at the lower edge of the back cover 60. The magnetic stripe 62 contains information or data such as an identification code, information or data regarding previous transactions and like information. The page number of the passbook 12, as indicated by the bar code 56, is read out when the passbook is inserted into the port 14 of the printer 10 and when the passbook 12 is disposed at a predetermined position in preparation for a transaction. An upper roller 64 and a lower roller 66 (Fig. 1), designated as rear grip rollers, are provided at the rear of the printer 10. The lower roller 66 is coated with a material having high frictional characteristics such as rubber or the like so as to firmly grip the passbook 12. The upper roller 64 is covered over approximately one-half the periphery thereof with rubber and the other one-half is not covered and is exposed metal. The upper rear grip roller 64 is supported by a bridge member 72 which is carried on outer rods 74 and 76. Additional supporting structure 78 for the lower rear grip roller 66 is carried on rods 80 and 82 located between the outer rods 74 and 76. A pair of opposed rollers, an upper roller 68 and a lower roller 70, are positioned in an area between the front grip rollers 24 and 26 and the rear grip rollers 64 and 66. The opposed rollers 68 and 70 are carried on transverse rods or shafts 84 and 86. As shown in Fig. 1, a right upper roller 68 and a right lower roller 70 are carried on the shafts 84 and 86 and are spaced from the rollers 68, 70 at the left side of the shafts. The drive roller 26 of the front grip rollers is positively rotated to feed or transport the passbook 12 to the opposed rollers 68 and 70. Since the lower roller 24 is an idler roller, such roller is free to rotate during movement of the passbook 12 toward the rear of the printer 10. It is also noted that the passbook 12 is transported in the rearward direction by the driving force of the front grip rollers 24 and 26 and that the opposed rollers 68 and 70 are freely rotating rollers which receive and guide the passbook 12 along its feed path. The upper roller 64 of the rear grip rollers is a drive roller to positively receive and grip the passbook 12. The lower roller 66 is an idler roller and is movable toward and from the upper roller 64. A sensor (not shown) is provided in a position adjacent the rear grip rollers 64 and 66 to detect the presence of the passbook 12. A controller (not shown) is responsive to operation of the sensor to move the lower roller 66 toward the upper roller 64 and cause the rollers to grip the passbook 12. The upper roller 64 and the lower roller 66 are constructed in a manner to facilitate a page turning operation of the passbook 12. The rear grip rollers 64 and 66 are moved in parallel with each other toward the rear of the printer. A driving wire or cable 88 is secured by means of a clip 90 to the bridge member 72 and a driving wire or cable 92 is secured by means of a clip 94 to the structure 78 for moving the bridge member 72 and the structure 78 with rollers 64 and 66 along the feed path of the passbook 12. The driving wires or cables 88 and 92 are connected to appropriate drive means (not shown) for moving the rollers 64 and 66 along the feed path for transporting the passbook toward and from the printing station. This arrangement provides that the upper roller 64 and the lower roller 66 move parallel with each other along the feed path of the passbook 12 while maintaining their relative positions. The parallel movement of the rollers 64 and 66 is realized by reason of the simultaneous movement of the driving wires 88 and 92. The passbook 12 is moved toward the rear of the printer 10 to a position as shown in phantom lines in Fig. 1. The recorded contents of the magnetic stripe 62 on the back cover of the passbook 12 are read out by a read head 96 of a magnetic reader adjacent the printing station. It is to be noted that the read head 96 of the reader can read out the contents of the magnetic stripe 62 under conditions of traversing operation of a print head 98 of the printer 10. The traversing movement of the print head 98 along with a platen 100 is effected by means of a motor 102 driving a belt 104 trained around pulleys 103 and 105 and coupled with a lead screw 106. A right hand bracket 108 is coupled to the lead screw 106 and to a shaft 110 which carries the platen 100, and a left hand bracket 112 is coupled to the lead screw 106 and to the shaft 110. The brackets 108 and 112 engage with respective cams 114 and 116 on a cross shaft 118. A motor 120 is coupled by means of a gear 121 and a further gear 122 to rotate the shaft 118. Rotation of the shaft 118 enables vertical movement of the brackets 108 and 112 whereby the brackets are located in a lower position while the passbook 12 is being transported along the feed path. Rotation of the shaft 118 moves the brackets 108 and 112 to a position wherein the brackets are located in an upper position when the contents of the magnetic stripe 62 are being read and/or recorded or when printing operations are being performed. After the contents of the magnetic stripe 62 have been read out, the passbook 12 is transported in a direction toward the front of the printer 10 by means of the driving wires 88 and 92. The passbook 12 is stopped at the printing station in a position wherein print line 124 (line 6 of the page of the passbook) is placed in alignment with or under the print head 98. Fig. 2A shows line 6 of the page as being the next print line 124 for receiving printed matter. This position of the passbook 12 is recorded in the magnetic stripe 62 and the printer controller thus has advance notice for the next operation. The printing position is also noted by the photosensor adjacent the rear grip rollers 64 and 66 when the passbook 12 is transported along the feed path. The passbook 12 is placed in the printing position for printing of data on a predetermined number of lines and printing is accomplished by traversing movement of the print head 98 and the platen 100. Line feeding of the passbook 12 to enable printing on additional lines by the print head 98 is accomplished by operation of the rear grip rollers 64 and 66. If additional printing of data on another line or other lines is required to complete the transaction after having printed the last line on the page, it is necessary to turn to the next page of the passbook 12. The page turning operation is performed by controlling the movement and rotation of the rear grip rollers 64 and 66. The lower grip roller 66 is moved toward the rear of the printer 10 a predetermined distance independently of the upper grip roller 64. The predetermined distance is set so as to have the roller 66 positioned at a location for turning up or curving a portion of the passbook 12. The upper roller 64 is then rotated one revolution to spring up one page of the passbook 12 in a rearward direction and then to return the passbook to its original flat condition. The bridge member 72 is then moved rearward to align the upper roller 64 with the lower roller 66. The rollers 68 and 70 grip the pages of the passbook 12 so that only one page can be turned in this operation. In this regard, the rear grip rollers 64 and 66 can provide a page turning operation in addition to the passbook transport operation. At the completion of the printing operation, the passbook 12 is again moved rearward and the necessary data are recorded in the magnetic stripe 62. In this manner, the printing operation and the associated reading and recording operations are accomplished. The passbook 12 is then transported from the rear grip rollers 64 and 66 to the rollers 68 and 70 and then to the front grip rollers 24 and 26, and out the port 14 at the front of the printer 10. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing passbook conveying mechanism in a conventional printer. One type of conveying means uses a plurality of pairs of opposed rollers 130 and 132, disposed along one side of the path of a passbook 134. A plurality of pairs of opposed rollers 136 and 138 are disposed along the other side of the path of the passbook 134. The pairs of rollers 130, 132 and 136, 138 are spaced from each other and additional pairs of such rollers are disposed at spaced intervals along the path of the passbook 134. The rollers 130 and 136 are in fixed position on a shaft 131 and the rollers 132 and 138 are carried on arms 140 and 142, secured to a shaft 144. The rollers 132 and 138 are suitably journaled on the arms 140 and 142. A solenoid or like actuator 146 is connected to the shaft 144 by links 148 and 150 for rotating the shaft to provide space between the respective rollers for passage of the passbook 134. The solenoid 146 operates against the action of a spring 152. A platen 154 and a print head 156 are positioned at the printing station for performing printing operations on the passbook 134. The passbook 134 or like print medium conveying means of the prior art utilizes a frictional force generated between the respective pairs of rollers 130, 132 and 136, 138. In another type of conveying means, if belts are used, the frictional force is also relied on to convey the passbook 134. The conveying of the passbook 134 depends on certain unstable factors such as uneven surfaces of the rollers, variation in material of the belt, or dust particles or moisture on the belt. Also, the passbook 134 or other print medium may jam in the printer or may be conveyed at an angle and the printing may not be done at the precise print line or may be done on a slant. Additionally, the rollers or belts are in direct contact with the surface of the print medium on which information or data are to be printed. Since the printed medium is conveyed immediately after the printing operation, the printing ink on the surface of the printed medium may not be dry and smears or stains may result. Further, it is seen that a plurality of rollers and/or belts are necessary along the conveying path of the passbook and the increased number of components adds to the cost of manufacturing the passbook printer. The present invention provides gripping rollers which grip the passbook and convey or transport the passbook by moving the gripping rollers along the path of the passbook. The two gripping rollers tightly grip the passbook and feed or convey the passbook in a stable condition, so that jamming, slant feeding and slant printing are eliminated. The gripping rollers are not in contact with the printed surface of the printed medium so as to avoid smearing or staining of such medium. It is thus seen that herein shown and described is a passbook transport mechanism wherein two rollers grip a surface area of a passbook or like print medium on which no data or information are printed and the rollers are moved in parallel to feed the passbook along a feed path through the printer. The passbook is conveyed along such feed path in a stable condition and the printed surface area is never in contact with the gripping rollers.

Claims: A passbook printer, including gripping means (24,26) adapted to grip said passbook (12), wherein said gripping means (24,26) are movable along a feed path to convey a gripped passbook (12) towards and away from a printing station, characterized in that said gripping means include a pair of opposed rollers (24,26) supported for movement along said feed path and rotatable to further feed said passbook along said feed path, and in that there is provided a further pair of opposed rollers (64,66) located on the other side of said printing station, opposite to said pair of opposed rollers (24,26) said further pair of opposed rollers (64,66) being adapted to grip said passbook (12) and being supported for movement along said feed path towards and away from said printing station, to correspondingly move said passbook (12) when gripped therebetween. A passbook printer according to claim 1, characterized in that one (24) of said pair of opposed rollers (24,26) is moveable towards the other (26) of said pair of opposed rollers (24,26), whereby said passbook (12) is gripped therebetween. A passbook printer according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by drive wire means (44,48) adapted to move said pair of opposed rollers (24,26) towards and away from said printing station. A passbook printer according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by freely rotatable roller means (68,70) fixed in position in said feed path and located between said pair of opposed rollers (24,26) and said further pair of opposed rollers (64,66) for guiding said passbook (12) between the pairs of opposed rollers (24,26;64,66).

Inventors: NAKAMURA YASUSHI, TAKEDA JUNNOSUKE, NAKAMURA, YASUSHI, TAKEDA, JUNNOSUKE
Applicants: AT & T GLOBAL INF SOLUTION, AT&T GLOBAL INFORMATION SOLUTIONS INTERNATIONAL INC.
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B41J13
IPC codes: B41J13, B41J11, B41J3, B65H5