Patent Publication Number: US-6338436-B1

Title: Variable ticket and ticket printer

Description:
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/016,209, filed Feb. 10, 1993, now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a valuable ticket and a ticket printer and, more particularly, to a valuable ticket in which ticketing data is magnetically recorded and printed and a ticket printer for issuing such a ticket by recording and printing ticketing data on it. 
     In airline and other industries, a reservation and ticketing system for airline or other tickets, called a computer reservation system or CRS for short, has been built up so as to deal with intensive passenger-conscious services. A problem of vital importance for such a system designed to accommodate to a recently increasing number of passengers is to make its services (for reservation and fare adjustment) efficient. 
     For that reason, the introduction of airline tickets provided with magnetic stripes so as to control these services in bulk, called automated ticket/boarding pass or ATB for short, is now spreading drastically. These tickets are required to have high storage stability of printed data and to have the ability to be printed easily as well. A ticket printer for them, on the other hand, is required to make ticket management easy and to render ticketing less time- and labor-consuming as well. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Tickets issued from a conventional ticket printer have made use of plain paper and been printed on wire-dot, electrophotographic and other printing systems. The wire-dot printing system involves some grave problems such as (1) loud noise, (2) low print resolution and (3) slow printing speed, and the electrophotographic printing system has again some serious problems such as (1) an increase in hardware size, (2) a rise in hardware cost and (3) susceptibility to environmental changes (printing is difficult at high humidity in particular). In recent years, hardware working on a thermal-dot printing system making use of a heat transfer ink ribbon has been developed. 
     This thermal-dot printing system making use of a heat transfer ink ribbon makes no noise, has a high print resolution and a high printing speed, achieves reductions in hardware size and cost and dispenses with any maintenance, and so lends itself well to issuing airline tickets. 
     However, some serious problems with the conventional thermal-dot printing system making use of a heat transfer ink ribbon are that (1)the heat transfer ink ribbon costs much and incurs some considerable expense for maintenance, and (2) the heat transfer ink ribbon is troublesome to handle, because it must be replaced by new one whenever a certain number of prints are obtained. 
     Consequently, it is now desired to use printing hardware working on a direct thermal printing system—in which case heat-sensitive paper is directly printed—and making no use of any heat transfer ink ribbon. In the case of airline tickets that are a sort of securities, however, there are the following problems. 
     (1) Generally, the thermal-printing paper is a paper that is obtained by coating a heat-sensitive layer comprising a leucodye, a color developer and a binder onto a paper substrate at a thickness of a few μm. When heated by a thermal printing element, the leucodye and color developer are fused to give rise to a color-developing chemical reaction. However, this color-developing zone, when stored over an extended period, disappears, thus rendering the thermally printed paper invaluable. 
     (2) A printed thermal-printing paper, when coming into contact with an organic solvent such as alcohol, a plasticizer and oils and fats, breaks up the chemical reaction, causing the color-developing zone to disappear. 
     Conventional airline ticket printers have been broken down into two types, one in which a stock of precut ticket blanks are fed out one by one for magnetic recording and printing, and the other in which a stock of continuous paper blanks is magnetically recorded and printed. 
     The former airline ticket printer has an advantage in that the precut ticket blanks can be easily magnetically recorded and printed. These tickets are a sort of high-priced securities, and so there is a need of managing the blanks therefor. However, not only is it difficult to manage such separate ticket blanks, but they are also likely to be missing by wrongdoing or in error. In addition, much difficulty is encountered in finding them, when missing. 
     The latter airline ticket printer has an advantage in that the continuous ticket blank can conveniently be managed, because whether or not something wrong is occurring can be easily determined by finding the presence of cutouts. However, it is difficult to make magnetic records and prints on a continuous form of ticket blank, and this form of ticket blank costs much time and labor, because it is required for an operator to separate it into individual tickets and hand them to passengers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to provide a valuable form of ticket which, even when printed on a direct thermal printing system, does not erase what is printed. 
     Another object of the invention is to provide a ticket printer for issuing a valuable form of ticket which, even when printed on a direct thermal printing system, does not erase what is printed. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a ticket printer which enables ticket blanks to be easily managed and which is capable of issuing a valuable form of tickets in a separate form. 
     A still further object of the invention is to provide a ticket printer which is so compact in size that it can be located between desks. 
     A valuable form of ticket according to the invention enables ticketing data to be magnetically recorded and printed, and includes a base, a heat-sensitive layer applied on one side of the base, a protective layer applied on the heat-sensitive layer and a magnetic recording layer applied on the other side of the base. 
     Because the protective layer is applied on the heat-sensitive layer, the valuable form of ticket according to the invention can be protected against coming into contact with a solvent, a plasticizer, and so on. Besides, the ticket of the invention can be used in the form of a security, because the color-developing zone is by no means erased, even when formed on a simple direct thermal printing system, and so is high in terms of storage stability. 
     Because the magnetic recording layer is applied on the side of the base that is opposite to the side thereof on which the heat-sensitive layer is formed and so the heat-sensitive layer is all available in the form of the side to be printed, it is possible to make effective use of the ticket that has a limited area. With the ticket according to the invention wherein the magnetic recording layer is not affected by the heat of a thermal recording element and so the data magnetically recorded there is invariable, it is possible to make sufficient prints and record the magnetic data certainty. 
     A ticket printer according to the invention comprises a stock holder unit for holding ticket blanks, each including a heat-sensitive layer and a protective layer on one side of a base and a magnetic recording layer on the other side of the base, a thermal printer unit for thermally printing the heat-sensitive layer of each ticket blank fed out of the stock holder unit and a magnetic recorder unit for magnetically recording data on the magnetic recording layer of the ticket blank. 
     According to this ticket printer, it is possible to issue valuable tickets having high storage stability, because they can be protected against coming into contact with solvents, plasticizers, etc., due to the provision of the protective layer on the heat-sensitive layer, and because their color-developing zones are by no means erased, even when formed by the thermal printer unit that makes use of a simple direct thermal recording system. 
     Another ticket printer of the invention is designed to print and magnetically record ticketing data on a ticket blank and thereby issue a valuable ticket, and comprises a ticket blank holder for containing a continuous form of medium that is separated along perforations into individual ticket blanks, a pre-feeder unit for feeding the continuous form of medium from the ticket blank holder and cutting and separating the medium into individual ticket blanks, a magnetic recorder unit for magnetically recording ticketing data on a magnetic recording layer of each ticket blank cut by and fed from the pre-feeder unit, and a printer unit for printing ticketing information on the magnetically recorded ticket blank. 
     This ticket printer makes magnetic recording and printing easy and dispenses with separating tickets after issuance, because, even when a continuous form of medium is used, it is cut through the pre-feeder unit into individual ticket blanks. And these individual ticket blanks are magnetically recorded and printed, and so the valuable ticket blanks can be easily controlled as a continuous form of medium and, besides, can be magnetically recorded and printed individually. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIGS.  1 (A) and (B) are sectional views of one example of the airline ticket according to the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is an upper view of the airline ticket of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a characteristic graph that shows the storage stability of the airline ticket of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is an illustration of the appearance of one embodiment of the airline ticket printer according to the invention; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the airline ticket printer of FIG. 4 in which all the units are drawn out; 
     FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the airline ticket printer of FIG. 4; 
     FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the pre-feeder unit of the airline ticket printer of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the pre-feeder unit of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pre-feeder unit of FIG. 8 that is in a finished-up state; 
     FIGS. 10A and 10B are diagrams showing part of the pre-feeder unit of FIG. 7; 
     FIG. 11 is a performance time chart of the pre-feeder unit of FIG. 7; 
     FIGS. 12A and 12B are diagrams of how the pre-feeder unit of FIG. 7 works; 
     FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams of how the pre-feeder unit of FIG. 7 works; 
     FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the MS unit of the airline ticket printer of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the MS unit of FIG. 14; 
     FIGS. 16A and 16B are diagrams of the MS unit of FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the printer unit of the airline ticket printer of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 18 is a front view showing part of the printer unit of FIG. 17; 
     FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams part of the printer unit of FIG. 17; 
     FIGS. 20 and 20B are diagrams showing the attachment or detachment of the head in the printer unit of FIG. 17; 
     FIGS. 21A and 21B are diagrams showing another embodiment of the pre-feeder unit; 
     FIGS. 22A and 22B are diagrams of how the pre-feeder unit of FIG. 21 works; 
     FIG. 23 is a diagram that illustrates the construction of a further embodiment of the pre-feeder unit; 
     FIG. 24A and 24B are diagrams of how the pre-feeder unit of FIG. 23 works; 
     FIG. 25A and 25B are diagrams of how the MS unit of FIG. 16 starts to write; 
     FIG. 26 is a block diagram that provides an illustration of how the write start position of the MS unit of FIG. 16 is corrected; 
     FIG. 27 is a block diagram that illustrates the function of a main controller unit shown in FIG. 26; 
     FIG. 28 is a flow chart for correcting the write start position of the MS unit of FIG. 16; and 
     FIGS. 29A-29C are timing diagrams of how the block of FIG. 27 works. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring first to FIGS. 1-3, there is shown an airline ticket that is one embodiment of the invention. 
     As illustrated in FIG.  1 (A), an airline ticket blank, shown generally by  1   a , comprises a paper base  13  that is provided on its one (back) side with a heat-sensitive layer  14  having on its surface a protective layer  15  formed of water-soluble resin. On the opposite (front) inside of the paper base  13  there is provided a magnetic stripe  11 . This heat-sensitive layer  14  is composed of an irreversible pigment, a developer and a binder. 
     Thus, the provision of the protective layer  15  on the surface of the heat-sensitive layer  14  can physically prevent a solvent such as alcohol, a plasticizer, and so on from entering the heat-sensitive layer  14 . This in turn makes it possible to prevent a solvent such as alcohol, a plasticizer, and so on from coming into contact with the portion of the heat-sensitive layer  14  that develops color by chemical reactions, thereby breaking up such chemical reactions and so resulting in fade-out. 
     The irreversible pigment is used as the color-developing dye in the heat-sensitive layer  14 , so that the ticket according to this embodiment can stand up to long-term storage and so is best suited as a reservation ticket. 
     The magnetic stripe  11  is provided on the side of the paper base  13  that is opposite to the side thereof, on which the heat-sensitive layer  14  is provided, so that the heat-sensitive layer  14  is available all over surface for printing, thus assuring good-enough printing. In addition, the magnetic stripe  11  is unlikely to receive printing heat directly and so the magnetically recorded data thereon is unlikely to change. 
     Another embodiment of the ticket shown in FIG.  1 (B) follows the construction shown in FIG.  1 (A) with the exception that an additional protective layer  16  is provided on the side of the paper base  13  with the magnetic stripe  11  formed on it. According to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent solvents, plasticizers, etc., from penetrating into the heat-sensitive layer  14  through the paper base  13 , and so it is possible to further improve the storage stability of the ticket. 
     As illustrated in FIG. 2, this airline ticket blank  1   a  is in the form of continuous paper  1  that is provided with folds  19  perforated, as shown at  17 , for its easy separation from equipment. Further, each perforation  17  is cut on both its sides, as shown at  18 , for easier separation of each ticket blank. It is here noted that one ticket blank  1   a  is divided by a fold  19  from another, and provided with additional two perforations  17 ′, so that a ticket collector can receive the stub when it is used. 
     As can be seen from FIG. 3 which is a storage stability diagram, a conventional heat-sensitive ticket having no protective layer  15  decreases in terms of the residual rate of the color-developing zone to 50% with respect to a solvent, 30% with respect to oils and fats and 10% with respect to a plasticizer, but the heat-sensitive ticket of the invention, shown in FIG.  1 (A), is of good-enough storage stability, because the residual rate of the color-developing zone is nearly invariable, i.e., 100% with respect to a solvent, 100% with respect to oils and fats and 90% with respect to a plasticizer. 
     The airline ticket printer according to the invention will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 4,  5  and  6 . 
     Referring first to FIG. 4, there is perspectively shown an airline ticket printer shown generally as  2 . This ticket printer is built up of a housing  20 , an inlet port  21  through which an unrecorded, unprinted ticket blank is inserted for printing and magnetic recording, an internal stacker or hopper  22  for storing printed, magnetically recorded ticket blanks, and an ejection port  23  for ejecting the printed, magnetically recorded ticket blanks. Reference numeral  24  represents a display (e.g., a liquid-crystal display—LCD) for guidance and other purposes,  25  an indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode—LED) for providing an indication of what state the ticket printer is in, and so on, and  26  a control panel that is covered and includes keys for various operations. 
     Referring then to FIGS. 5 and 6, the printer  2  includes in its lower portion ticket blank stock holders  3   a  and  3   b  in which the continuous paper  1  shown in FIG. 2 is set in order and kept in stock. The printer  2  further includes a pre-feeder unit  4  in which the continuous paper  1  fed from the ticket blank stock holders  3   a  and  3   b  is cut and separated into individual tickets blanks  1   a  and the ticket blanks are put in order in the widthwise direction and then in a ready-for-further-feeding state, an MS (magnetic recording) unit  5  for magnetically recording on the magnetic stripe  11  of each separated ticket blank  1   a  ticketing data (for instance, destination, departure and arrival dates and times, flight number, seat number, and so on), and a printer unit  6  for thermally printing on the side  12 , to be printed, of the magnetically recorded ticket blank  1   a , ticketing data (for instance, destination, departure and arrival dates and times, flight number, seat number, and so on) for issuance. 
     Also, built in the printer  2  are slide rails  27   a  and  27   b  for pulling out of the housing  20  the ticket blank stock holders  3   a  and  3   b , pre-feeder unit  4 , MS unit  5 , printer unit  6 , and so on, and a reject unit  28  for keeping some defective tickets  1   a , if any, in stock. 
     In the instant embodiment, individual tickets blanks  1   a  are stocked in the form of the continuous paper  1 . This is because the respective ticket blanks  1   a  must have been serially numbered owing to being the originals of securities. The tickets being in the form of continuous paper means that pilferage is by no means feasible, unless the paper is cut; in other words, as long as the tickets are in a continuous form, it can be judged that something wrong such as pilferage has not occurred. In the case where ticket blanks are stocked in a separate state, some considerable time and labor are needed for determining whether or not pilferage has occurred, thus making their control difficult. However, if they are in a continuous form, they can then be easily controlled as securities. 
     On the other hand, some difficulty is involved in feeding continuous paper directly for magnetic recording, and the continuous paper, if ejected, must be cut manually. For these reasons, the invention is designed such that the continuous paper  1  is cut and separated into individual ticket blanks through the pre-feeder unit  4 , and they are then magnetically recorded through the MS unit  5  and finally printed through the printer unit  6  for issuance. 
     In addition, the pre-feeder unit  4  is designed such that each ticket blank  1   a  previously cut and separated there is put in a ready-for-further-feeding state and, by an issuance order, is fed to the MS unit  5 , thereby improving the issuance speed. 
     Furthermore, the printer unit  6  works on a direct printing mode making use of a thermal head, so that printing can be made easily and in a timesaving and laborsaving manner as well. 
     The ticket printer according to this embodiment is reduced in height and in depth as well by locating the ticket stock holders  3   a  and  3   b  in its lower region and locating the pre-feeder, MS and printer units  4 ,  5  and  6  above them. In particular, the ticket printer is made further compact by disposing the pre-feeder unit  4  diagonally to extend the ticket blank feed passage from the lower portion to the back side thereof and then from the back side to the front side thereof. 
     In order to print and magnetically record data on a manually inserted ticket blank, the ticket blank is inserted into the MS unit  5  through the inlet port  21  for magnetic recording and then printed through the printer unit  6  for issuance. The provision of the internal stacker  22  enables a large quantity of tickets for party travelers, for instance, to be stacked up and issued. 
     Each part of such an airline ticket printer will now be explained at great length. Reference will first be made to FIGS. 7,  8 ,  9 ,  10 A and  10 B. 
     As can be seen from FIG. 7, there are provided ticket suction ports  40   a  and  40   b  through which the continuous paper  1  is sucked from the ticket blank stock holders  3   a  and  3   b , feed rollers  41   a  and  41   b  for paper feeding and pinch rollers  41   c  and  41   d  for feeding the paper while it is held between the feed rollers  41   a  and  41   b . Also, there are provided ejection rollers  42   a  and  42   b  for paper feeding and pinch rollers  44   a  and  44   b  for feeding the paper while it is held between the rollers  42   a  and  42   b . Additionally, there are provided pulse motors PM 1  and PM 2  for driving the rollers  41   a ,  42   a  and  41   b ,  42   b  and timing belts  43   a  and  43   b  for rotating the rollers  41   a ,  42   a  and  41   b ,  42   b  by the rotational forces of the pulse motors PM 1  and PM 2 . 
     Magnets MG 1  and MG 2  are provided for engaging or disengaging the pinch rollers  44   a  and  44   b  with or from the rollers  42   a  and  42   b , and sensors S 1  and S 2  are located for detecting that a cut medium passes by and is present or absent. Reference numeral  45  represents a cam for driving a link  46  linearly, PM 3  a pulse motor for rotating the cam  45 ,  46  a link designed to move linearly by the rotation of the cam  45 , and  47   a  and  47   b  burst cutters that are driven by the link  46  for burst-cutting the perforation  17  in the continuous paper  1 . S 3  represents a sensor for sensing the location of the link  46 , thereby detecting that the cutters  47   a  and  47   b  are at their positions available for cutting, and S 4  denotes another sensor for sensing the location of the link  46 , thereby detecting that the cutters  47   a  and  47   b  are at their retracted positions. 
     As can be seen from FIGS. 8 and 9, the feed rollers  41   a  and  42   a  are attached to a unit frame  48  of the pre-feeder unit  4 . This feed roller  41   a  is provided with a gear  410  that meshes with the timing belt  43   a  driven by a driving gear  411  of the pulse motor PM 1 . Similarly, the feed roller  42   a  is provided with a gear  420  that meshes with the timing belt  43   a , a gear  421  integral with the gear  420 , a gear  422  and auxiliary gears  423 ,  424 . 
     As illustrated in FIG.  10 (A), the gears  420  and  421  of the feed roller  42   a  are provided therethrough with a one-way clutch  421   a  that works only in the direction shown at B in this figure, and the gear  422  is provided therethrough with a one-way clutch  422   a  as well, which works only in the direction shown at B in this figure. Then, the auxiliary gear  423  meshes with the gear  421 , the auxiliary gear  424  meshes with the auxiliary gear  423 , and the gear  422  meshes with the auxiliary gear  424 . 
     As can be seen from FIG.  10 (A), as the timing belt  43   a  is driven in the direction B, the rotations of the gears  420  and  421  are transmitted to the shaft of the feed roller  42   a  by way of the one-way clutch  421   a , so that the feed roller  42   a  can rotate in the direction B or forwardly. At this time, the gear  422  is rotated in the direction A or backwardly by the gear  421  through the auxiliary gears  423  and  424 , but it remains idle by the operation of the one-way clutch  422   a.    
     Then, as the timing belt  43   a  is driven in the direction A in FIG.  10 (A), the gears  420  and  421  rotate, but they remain idle by the operation of the one-way clutch  421   a . This in turn causes the gear  422  to rotate by the gear  421  by way of the auxiliary gears  423  and  424  in the direction B or forwardly in this figure, so that its rotation can be transmitted to the shaft of the feed roller  42   a  by the one-way clutch  422   a , thereby rotating the feed roller  42   a  in the direction B or forwardly in this figure. 
     Thus, the feed roller  42   a  can be rotated in the direction B or forwardly, irrespective of whether the timing belt  43   a  is fed in the direction A (forwardly) or B (backwardly), enabling the medium to be fed forwardly. 
     As illustrated in FIG.  10 (B), a right-hand frame  48 ′ is provided with a biasing spring  49  that serves to engage each cut ticket blank  1   a  with a left-hand frame  48 , so that it can be put in order in the widthwise direction. 
     While the arrangement shown in FIGS. 8-10 has been described chiefly with reference to the suction port  40   a  that corresponds to the ticket blank holder  3   a  shown in FIG. 7, it is understood that this is true of the suction port  40   b  that corresponds to the ticket blank holder  3   b.    
     How the pre-feeder unit  4  works will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 11,  12 A,  12 B,  13 A and  13 B. 
     In their initial state shown in FIG.  12 (A), the cutters  47   a  and  47   b  are at their ready-to-cut positions, and so block up the feed passage. In this state, the operator operates an associated lever, not shown, to retract the pinch roller  41   c , and then inserts the continuous paper  1  into the suction port  40   a  until it abuts against the back of the cutter  47   a . Thereafter, the operator operates the lever to close up the pinch roller  41   c , and then inserts the leading end of the continuous paper  1  between the feed roller  41   a  and the pinch roller  41   c  for setting the continuous medium in place. 
     Then, the magnet MG 1  is first driven to close up the retracted pinch roller  44   a  so as to retract the cutter  47   a , as shown in FIG.  12 (B). Subsequently, the pulse motor PM  3  for the cutter is rotated counterclockwise (or in the CCW direction) to move the link  46  by the cam  45  in the right-handed direction in this figure, thereby retracting the cutter  47   a . The rotation of this pulse motor PM  3  is put off, when the output of the sensor S 4  is so low that it reaches its retracted position, as shown in FIG.  11 . 
     With the pulse motor PM 1  for paper feed rotated counterclockwise (or in the forward direction), the feed rollers  41  and  42   a  are then rotated in the forward direction by the timing belt  43   a  for paper feed. The pulse motor PM 1  stops upon the perforation  17  of the medium  1  reaching the location of the cutter  47   a . This is because the output of the sensor S 1  decreases upon detecting that the leading end of the medium  1  passes by. In this state, the perforation  17  in the medium (continuous paper)  1  is positioned at the location of the cutter  47   a.    
     Then, the PM 1  for paper feeding is rotated  2  to  5  steps clockwise (or in the CW direction), as shown in FIG.  13 (A). This in turn causes a reversal of the feed roller  41   a  and a forward rotation of the feed roller  42   a  by the operations of the above-mentioned one-way clutches  421  and  422   a  shown in FIG. 10, thereby pulling the medium  1  by both the feed rollers  41   a  and  42   a  to impart tension to the medium  1 , thereby making it easy to cut the medium  1 . 
     With no tension imparted to the medium  1 , the continuous medium  1  may become loose at the location of the cutter due to a difference in the feed speed between both the feed rollers  41   a  and  42   a  that is caused by their outer diameter accuracy, making the proper cutting of the medium  1  unlikely. In the instant embodiment, however, tension can be applied by the feed rollers  41   a  and  42   a  to the medium. In other words, the feed mechanism itself has the ability to impart tension to the medium, and so can be simplified in structure. 
     As shown in FIG.  13 (B), the pulse motor PM  3  for the cutter is further rotated counterclockwise to move the link  46  by the cam  45  in the left-handed direction in this figure, so that the cutter  47   a  can beat the perforation  17  of the medium  1  for burst-cutting. 
     The medium  1  can then be cut easily and surely, because tension is imparted to the medium  1 , as shown in FIG.  13 (A), and because the perforation  17  in the medium  1  is cut on both its sides, as shown at  18 . 
     After the cutting of the medium is completed, the pulse motor PM  1  is rotated  40  steps clockwise (or in the CW direction), as shown FIG.  11 . This in turn causes a reversal of the feed roller  41   a  and a forward rotation of the feed roller  42   a  by the operations of the above-mentioned one-way clutches  421   a  and  422   a  shown in FIG. 10, thus separating the cut medium  1   a  from the continuous medium  1  and putting it in a ready-for-further-feeding state on the ejection port side. 
     After that, as the magnet MG 1  is put off, as shown in FIG. 11, the pinch roller  44   a  is retracted to enable each cut medium  1   a  to be widthwise engaged with the left-hand frame  48  by the biasing spring  49  attached to the right-handed side frame  48 ′, shown in FIG.  10 (B). In this manner, the pre-feeding of each ticket blank is completed. 
     Upon receipt of an issuance command, the sequences from FIG.  12 (B) occur, and the cut medium  1   a  that is standing ready for further feeding is fed to the magnetic recording unit  5 , while the continuous medium  1  is fed and cut and then allowed to stand ready for further feeding. 
     Because the set continuous paper  1  is precut into individual ticket blanks  1   a  ready for further feeding, each ticket blank  1   a  can be fed to the magnetic recorder unit  5  just upon receipt of issuance instructions, thereby improving issuance speed. 
     While the operations of the parts located on the suction port ( 40   a ) side corresponding to the ticket blank holder  3   a  have been described with reference to FIGS. 12A,  12 B,  13 A and  13 B, it is understood that those on the suction port ( 40   b ) side corresponding to the ticket blank holder  3   b  operate similarly. In this case, the cutter-driving PM  3 , cam  45  and link  46  are commonly used. 
     The magnetic recording unit  5  will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 14,  15 ,  16 A and  16 B. 
     As shown in FIG. 14, the MS (magnetic recording) unit  5  includes a manually-inserting portion  5   b  for receiving a manually inserted ticket blank, an MS read-write unit  5   a  for magnetically recording data on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank and a portion  5   c  in which the manually inserted ticket blank stands ready for further feeding. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, an upper feed belt  52  is provided all over the hand-inserting portion  5   c , the MS read-write portion  5   a  and the portion  5   c.    
     The MS read-write unit  5   a  is provided with a lower feed belt  53  for feeding the ticket blank  1   a  while it is held between the upper and lower feed belts  52  and  53 , a write head  50  for magnetically recording data on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank  1   a  and a read heat  51  for read-after-write check. 
     Further, there are provided a guide roller  50   a  opposite to the write head  50 , a guide roller  51   a  opposite to the read head  51 , a gate  54  for guiding the magnetically recorded ticket  1   a  to the printer unit  6  or the hand-inserting portion  5   b , and a discharge roller  55  for ejecting the ticket  1   a  into the printer unit  6 . 
     The manually-inserting portion  5   b  includes a shutter  56  located on an inserting port  21  and a magnet MG 3  that opens the shutter  56  in association with hand insertion, thereby switching the gate  54  over to the hand-inserting portion  4   b.    
     The standby portion  5   c  includes a roller  57  opposite to the upper feed belt  52  and a magnet MG 4  for moving and engaging the roller  57  toward and with the upper feed belt  52 . 
     As shown in FIG. 16A, the MS read-write unit  5   a  includes a biasing spring  58  attached to a right-hand frame  59 ′, which serves to bias the ticket blank  1   a  at the write and read heads  50  and  51  against a left-hand frame (guide). 
     Explaining this operation, the ticket blank  1   a  fed from the pre-feeder unit  4  is supplied, while it is sandwiched between the upper and lower feed belts  52  and  53  in FIG. 16B, to the write head  50  where data are magnetically recorded on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank  1   a . Then, it is further fed to the read head  51  where the data are read, and ejected into the printer unit through the ejection roller  55  by way of the gate  54 . 
     In this case, it is assured that the data can be written onto the magnetic stripe by the write head  50  and read therefrom by the read head  51 , because the ticket blank  51   a  is carried while it is biased by the biasing spring  58  against the left-hand guide  59  on the side at which there are the heads  50  and  51 . Also, since the ticket blank is fed by the feed belts  52  and  53  without undergoing any speed change, it is assured that the data can be written onto the magnetic stripe  11  by the head  50  and read therefrom by the head  51 . 
     In the case of the manually inserted ticket blank, on the other hand, the shutter  56  is opened by the magnet MG 3  and the gate  54  is actuated to connect the hand-inserting portion  5   b  with the MS read-write portion  5   a . Then, the ticket blank  1   a  is fed by the upper feed belt  52  through the inserting port  21  and the read-write portion  5   a  to the standby portion  5   c  where it stands ready for further feeding as shown in FIG.  14 . 
     Upon receiving an issuance order, the magnet MG 4  of the standby portion Sc is driven to feed the ticket blank  1   a  to the MS read-write unit  5   a  while the roller  57  is engaged with the upper belt  52 . Through the MS read-write unit  5   a , the ticket blank  1   a  is fed while it is sandwiched between the lower belts  52  and  53 , in the course of which the data are magnetically recorded on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank  1   a  and read therefrom by the read head  51 . Then, the ticket blank  1   a  is ejected by the ejection roller  55  into the printer unit  6  by way of the gate  54 . 
     The printer unit  6  will now be explained with reference to the FIG.  17 . 
     In FIG. 17, reference numeral  60  represents a line thermal head for the thermal printing of the heat-sensitive ticket blank including the protective layer, shown in FIG. 1,  61  a platen that is located in opposition to the thermal head  60 ,  62  a lever for keeping the space between the thermal head  60  and the platen  61  constant, and MG 5  a magnet for driving the lever  62 . 
     Reference numeral  63  is a feed belt for feeding the printed ticket  1   a  toward the ejection port  23 ,  64  a feed belt for carrying the printed ticket  1   a  to the hopper (internal stacker)  22 ,  65  a gate for guiding the printed ticket  1   a  to the hopper  22  or the discharge port  23 , and MG 6  a magnet for driving the gate  65  for switching-over. 
     Reference numeral  66  denotes a gate for guiding the printed ticket  1   a  to the reject box  28  or the ejection portion  23 , MG 7  a magnet for driving the gate  66  for switching-over, and PM 4  a pulse motor for driving the feed belt  64 , etc. 
     Explaining this operation, the ticket blank  1   a  fed from the MS unit  5  strikes on the thermal head  60  where its leading end is properly positioned and whence it is fed to the platen  61 , in the course of which it is linearly printed. 
     In order to eject the ticket blank  1   a  into the ejection port  23 , the magnet MG 6  is put on to locate the gate  65  at a position shown by a dotted line in FIG.  17 . The gate  66  is then located at a position shown by a solid line in this figure, so that the ticket  1   a  can be ejected into the ejection port  23 . For ejection into the hopper  22 , on the other hand, the magnet MG 6  is put off to locate the gate  65  at the position shown by a solid line in FIG. 17, thereby guiding the ticket  1   a  into the hopper  22 . 
     If the ticket is rejected due to some error in magnetic recording, etc., the magnet MG 7  is then put on to locate the gate  66  at the position shown by a dotted line in FIG. 17, thereby guiding that ticket  1   a  into the reject box  28 . 
     In what follows, the printer unit  5  will be explained more specifically with reference to FIGS. 18,  19 A,  19 B,  20 A and  20 B. 
     As shown in FIGS. 18,  19 A and  19 B, the thermal head  60  is made up of a thermal line head including an array of heat elements corresponding to one line, which are arranged in the axial direction of the platen  61 , and is attached to a bracket  600  by means of a fixing screw  600 - 1 . At both ends of the bracket  600  there are positioning shafts  601  and  602 , and on the bracket  600  there is a pin  603  and a sheet spring  604 . 
     On the other hand, the printer unit  6  is provided with a swing lever  606  that swings around its fulcrum  607 . This swing lever  606  is provided with a hanger  608 , and biased counterclockwise (see FIG. 18) by a spring  605 . This hanger  608  receives both the pin  603  and the sheet spring  604  at its center, as shown in FIGS.  19 (A) and (B), and is provided with a positioning groove  609  that comes into contact with the bracket  600 . The printer unit  6  is also provided in its frame with a positioning groove  610  that engages with the positioning shaft  602  of the bracket  600 . 
     Further, an axis  61   a  of the platen  61  opposite to the thermal head  60  is provided with a lever  62  that swings around an axis x to force up (the printing line portion of) the thermal head  60  against the biasing force of the spring  605 . This lever  62  is limited by a stopper  620  in terms of the position at which it swings clockwise in FIG. 18, biased clockwise by a spring  621 , and driven counterclockwise by the magnet MG  5  through a lever X. 
     In such an arrangement, the lever  62  abuts against the stopper  620  by the spring  621 , so that it can be limited in terms of the position at which it swings, thereby spacing the thermal head  60  about 0.1-0.2-mm away from the platen  61 . 
     At this time, the tickets  1   a  ejected through the ejection rollers  55  of the MS unit  5  abut against the diagonally positioned thermal head  60 , so that their leading ends can be in alignment. 
     Subsequent driving of the magnet MG  5  causes the lever  62  to swing clockwise around the axis X through a shaft X of the lever X that swings around an axis Y, thereby releasing the upward displacement of the thermal head  60 . This in turn causes the thermal head  60  to be engaged with the platen  61  following the biasing force of the spring  605 , enabling the platen  61  to be fed and so making thermal recording by the thermal line head  60  possible. 
     At this time, the location of the thermal head  60  with respect to the platen  61  is assured by engaging the positioning shaft  602  of the bracket  600 —to which the thermal head  60  is fixed—within the positioning groove  610  in the frame. 
     The horizontal location of the thermal head  60 , on the other hand, is assured by engaging the pin  603  extending from the center of the bracket  600  within the positioning groove  609  in the center of the hanger  608  and biasing the opposite side thereof by means of the sheet spring  604 , as shown in FIG. 19, thereby making the positioning of the thermal head  60  easier. 
     Further, the thermal head  60  is designed to be rotatable around the pin  603  fitted within the positioning groove  609  in the hanger  608 , as shown in FIG.  19 (B), so that it can turn following the platen  61 , keeping printing pressure constant. This in turn enables printing density to be kept constant in dependence on a paper thickness variation, eccentricity of the platen  61 , and so on. 
     The attachment or detachment of the bracket  600  that supports the thermal head  60  in place will now be explained more specifically with reference to FIG.  20 . For detachment of the thermal head  60  from the swing lever  606  of the bracket  600  that supports it in place, the spring  605  is removed to swing the swing lever  606  upward in FIG.  18 . Then, the bracket  600  that fixes the thermal head  60  in place is disengaged from the platen  61  and from within the positioning groove  610 . Subsequently, a push is given by a finger to the sheet spring  604  of the bracket  600 , as shown in FIG.  20 (A) to deform the sheet spring  604 , thereby detaching the pawl of the sheet spring  604  from the hanger  608 . Finally, the bracket  600  with the thermal head  60  fixed to it is turned downward, whereby the bracket  600  with the thermal head  60  fixed to it can be disengaged from the hanger  608 . 
     The attachment of the swing lever  606  to the bracket  600  is achieved in the opposite manner as mentioned above, i.e., by fitting the pin  603  extending from the bracket  600  into the positioning groove  610  in the hanger  608  and then forcing therein the side of the bracket  600  on which the sheet spring  604  is attached. 
     After that, while the spring  605  is attached to the swing lever  606 , the positioning shaft  602  of the bracket  600  is fitted in the positioning groove  610  in the frame, so that the thermal head  60  and platen  61  can be regulated in terms of their positions. 
     Thus, the attachment or detachment of the thermal head  60  to or from the associated bracket  600  is easily achievable by providing the positioning groove  609  in the hanger  608  and engaging or disengaging the pin  603  and sheet spring  604  of the bracket  600  within or from that groove  609 . 
     Further, the printing line of the thermal head  60  and the platen  61  can be regulated in terms of their positions by engaging the positioning shaft  602  of the bracket  600  within the positioning groove  610  in the frame. 
     Still further, the line thermal head  60  is designed to be rotatable around the positioning groove  610  in the hanger  608  in the line direction, thus enabling printing pressure and density to be made uniform in the horizontal direction. 
     In addition, the printer unit can be achieved simply and inexpensively, because the mechanism for attachment or detachment of the thermal head  60  is made integral with the mechanism for making density uniform. 
     How to ticket will be explained chiefly with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. 
     In the pre-feeder unit  4 , the continuous paper  1  held in the ticket blank holders  3   a  and  3   b  is first cut, biased and put in a ready-for-further-feeding state. 
     Upon receiving a ticketing command, the pre-feeder unit  4  is actuated to feed each cut ticket blank  1   a  to the MS unit  5  where it is biased and data is magnetically recorded on its magnetic stripe  11  and then it is fed to the printer unit  6 . 
     In the printer unit  6 , the data is thermally recorded by the thermal head  60  on the ticket blanks  1   a  with their leading ends in order, and they are then ejected into the ejection port  23  or the hopper  22 . 
     Following the feed of the cut ticket blanks  1   a  by the pre-feeder unit  4 , the next continuous paper  1  may be fed, positioned and separated by cutting into individual ticket blanks  1   a  for making ready-to-feed. In other words, the next cut ticket blanks  1   a  are made for ready-for-further-feeding while the preceding cut ticket blanks  1   a  are magnetically recorded and thermally printed, thus improving the issuance speed of tickets. 
     The ticket blank holders  3   a  and  3   b  hold airline ticket blanks in the form of continuous paper, and so the management of the securities can not only be easily achieved, but something wrong can immediately be found as well. In addition, the continuous paper is separated by cutting into individual ticket blanks  1   a , and so not only is it assured that they are magnetically recorded and thermally printed, but there is also no need of separating the continuous paper into individual ticket blanks after ejection. 
     While the instant embodiment has been described with reference to airline tickets, it is understood that the invention is applicable to other securities or tickets such as passenger or reservation tickets. 
     Next, another embodiment of the pre-feeder unit  4  will be explained with reference to FIGS. 21,  22 A and  22 B. 
     As shown in FIGS.  21 ( a ) and  21 ( b ) that are the perspective and side views of such an embodiment, a gear  425  is coaxially fixed to a shaft of a feed roller  42   a , which in turn meshes with a gear  423 . The gears  425  and  423  are respectively in mesh with gears  421  and  422  that are mounted on their driving shaft through one-way clutches  421   a  and  422   a , respectively. The driving shaft is provided at its one end with a toothed pulley  420 . It is noted that pulleys  410 ,  411  and  420  are connected with one another by a belt  43   a.    
     The one-way clutches  421   a  and  422   a  are mounted such that the gears  421  and  422  are each rotated in the opposite direction. To put it another way, when the pulley  420  is rotated in the direction shown by an arrow A, the one-way clutch  422   a  disengages the gear  422  to keep it idle, while the one-way clutch  421   a  is actuated to rotate the gear  421  and thereby rotate the gear  425  through the gear  423 , so that the feed rollers  420  can be rotated in the feed direction of the continuous paper  1 . 
     When the pulley  420  is rotated in the direction shown by an arrow B, on the other hand, the one-way clutch  421   a  disengages the gear  421  to keep it idle, while the one-way clutch  422   a  is actuated to rotate the gear  422  and then the gear  425 , so that the feed roller  42   a  can again be rotated in the feed direction of the continuous paper  1 . 
     According to the pre-feeder unit  4  of the construction mentioned above, the continuous paper  1  fed from the ticket blank holder  3   a  is fed in the feed direction by the forward rotation, i.e., rotation shown by the arrow A, of the motor PM 1 , because the pulleys  410  and  420  are then rotated in the direction shown by the arrow B to rotate the feed rollers  41   a  and  42   a  in the same direction. 
     With the continuous paper  1  fed to a predetermined position, the motor PM 1  stops, and then rotates in the opposite direction, i.e., the direction shown by the arrow B in FIG.  21 . Thereupon, the pulleys  410  and  420  are rotated in the direction shown by the arrow B and, as illustrated in FIG.  22 (B), this then causes the rotation of the feed roller  41   a  in the opposite direction and the rotation of the feed roller  42   a  in the forward direction. 
     Consequently, the continuous paper  1  is pulled and tensioned regardless of the presence or absence of looseness, because the feed rollers  41   a  and  42   a  are each rotated in the opposite direction. 
     Then, the continuous paper  1  is cut along the perforations  17  into individual ticket blanks  1   a  by the cutter  47   a.    
     The tickets  1   a  are then carried by driving the feed rollers  41   a  and  42   a  to the MS read-write unit  5 . 
     In the ensuing description, a further embodiment of the pre-feeder unit  4  will now be explained with reference to. FIGS. 23,  24 A and  24 B. 
     The construction shown in FIG. 23 follows that of the embodiment illustrated with reference to FIG. 21, with the exception that when the motor PM 1  is rotated in the opposite direction (the direction shown by an arrow B), the feed roller  41   c  is caused to stop rather than rotate in the opposite direction. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 21, when the feed roller  41   c  is rotated in the opposite direction, the continuous paper  1  is cut, but the rest of the continuous paper  1  may be fed back in that moment. The instant embodiment is provided to avoid this. 
     More specifically, the axis of the feed roller  41   c  is provided at its one end with a toothed pulley  410  through a one-way clutch  410   a , as illustrated in FIG.  23 . Consequently, it is when the motor PM 1  is driven in the forward direction (or in the direction shown by an arrow A) that the one-way clutch  410   a  is so actuated that the feed roller  41   c  can rotate in the forward direction (or in the direction A). In contrast, it is when the motor PM 1  is driven in the opposite direction (or in the direction shown by an arrow B) that the one-way clutch  410   a  disengages the pulley  410 , so that it can be kept idle, thereby keeping the feed roller  41   c  from rotation. 
     When the motor PM 1  is driven in the opposite direction (or in the direction B), the feed roller  42   a  is rotated in the feed direction, but the feed roller  41   a  is not rotated by the rotational force of the pulley  410 . Consequently, a sag in the continuous paper  1  is temporarily pulled, and so tension is imparted to the continuous paper  1 . Subsequently, the continuous paper is fed by the feed roller  42   a  under that tension, so that, as shown in the time chart presented in the form of FIG.  24 (B), the continuous paper  1  can be cut along the perforation  17  by the cutter  47   a  at a timing at which that sag is pulled by the feed roller  41   a  just after the backward driving of the motor PM 1 . 
     The feed roller  41   a  is then not rotated, and so the feeding-back of the rest of the continuous paper  1  is avoided, thus enabling the distance to the next cutting position to be reduced. The time reduction achieved per ticket is slight, but the total ticketing time can be much reduced in the case of issuing a large number of tickets sequentially. 
     How to regulate the position of the MS unit  5  at which data recording is initiated is described below. 
     As shown in FIG.  25 (A), the main part of the MS unit  5  is built up of a sensor SS for sensing the leading end of each ticket blank  1   a , a write head  50  disposed in the rear of the sensor SS by a predetermined distance LI, a read head  51  located in rear of the write head  50  and a sensor ES located in rear of the read head  51  for sensing the trailing end of each ticket blank  1   a.    
     With each ticket blank  1   a —that has been fed from the ticket blank holder  2   a  and is now ready to leave in the pre-feeder unit  4 —fed out of the pre-feeder unit  4  as per ticketing instructions, it is fed by the belt mechanism  52  to the passage for the MS unit  5 . When the ticket blank  1   a  is carried to a given position through a predetermined distance S after its leading end has been sensed by the sensor SS, as shown in FIG.  25 (B), boarding reservation data (departure date and time, flight number, passenger&#39;s name, and so on) sent out of external equipment is magnetically recorded by the write head  50  on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank  1   a.    
     The data recorded on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank  1   a  is reproduced by the read head  51  for checkup. If there is no error, the ticket blank  1   a  is fed to the printer unit  6  where the data is printed and then it is sent out of the issuance port. Then, when the printing is ended, the completion of ticketing is notified. This enables the succeeding ticket  1   a  to be ready to leave the pre-feeder unit  4 . 
     It is to be noted that the position of a predetermined distance S taken by the ticket blank  1   a  after its leading end has been detected lies at the position of a distance L 2  from the leading end of the magnetic stripe  11  to the write head  50  (i.e., L 2 =S−L 1 ), and this distance L 2  must lie within a certain tolerable range with respect to a predetermined size. 
     In other words, the writing of the data onto the magnetic stripe by the write head  50  is initiated after the lapse of a time period t from the detection of the leading end of the ticket  1   a  by the sensor SS to the time at which the leading end of the ticket blank  1   a  would reach the position of the distance S. 
     When the distance L 2  is too short, reading is unlikely to occur because some difficulty is involved in the synchronization of the read signals, whereas when it is too long, some data are unlikely to be recorded because the recording zone of the magnetic stripe  11  becomes narrow. For assuring stable reading and recording region, there are thus the ISO and JIS standards (e.g., 7.44 Mmm±1.0 mm). 
     However, the given distance S depends on the accuracy of the spacing between the sensor SS and the write head  50  and, besides, there is an error in the accuracy of mechanical feeding by the belt mechanism  52 , which in turn gives rise to an error in the distance L 2 . For this reason, after data is actually recorded on the ticket blank  1   a , the recording initiation position from the leading end of the magnetic strip of the ticket  1   a  is measured to regulate the quantity of the error alone. So far, this regulation has been achieved by the following procedures. 
     The first procedure, as already mentioned above, involves recording data on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket  1   a  and visualizing the magnetic pattern with the use of a developer to measure the distance L 2  to the write start position on the ticket blank  1   a  under a scaled magnifier. In the process of this development, the magnetic stripe  11  is treated with a developer composed of a mixture of a volatile liquid with magnetic powders. Then, the volatile component volatilizes, leaving the magnetic powders on the data part. 
     When the results of this measurement teach that the error deviates from the prescribed value, the relative distance between the sensor SS and the write head  50  is adjusted by changing the position at which the sensor SS is mounted, again, followed by magnetic recording and development to measure the recording start location. In other words, the first procedure is a method of trial and error. 
     The first procedure may be achieved by a mere displacement of the position of the sensor SS but, in this case, it is sometimes required to provide some mechanism for the fine adjustment of the location of the sensor SS. 
     A second procedure that is similar to the first procedure in that data is recorded on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank  1   a  and then developed. The distance of movement of the ticket blank  1   a  is from the time when the sensor SS detects the leading end of the ticket  1   a  to the recording start time. 
     To be more specific, an encoder, (not illustrated), is provided on the driving pulley of the belt mechanism  52  for feeding the ticket  1   a . Then, the distance of movement of the ticket  1   a  is calculated. It is when the sensor SS reaches a given calculated value t after detecting the leading end of the ticket blank  1   a  that the write head  50  starts to record. 
     This is followed by development and measurement. The recording start position, when there is an error, is regulated by increasing or decreasing this calculated (or set) value. 
     It is noted that the second procedure may also be achieved by using a stepping motor for driving the driving pulley in place of the encoder, but there is a need of increasing or decreasing the stepping number of the motor. 
     A problem with the above-mentioned conventional procedures, however, is that they are all time and labor consuming, because of involving the steps of development, measurement and regulation after the recording of data on the magnetic stripe of a ticket blank. 
     According to the instant embodiment, this problem is solved by making it possible to automatically regulate the recording start position on a ticket blank by the mere insertion of the ticket blank. 
     FIG. 26 is a block diagram presented for achieving this. In FIG. 26, a control panel  26  is similar to that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and includes a correction-mode indicating button  260  for setting the mode for determining a correction value for the recording start position on a ticket  1   a . A clock generator  76  generates a clock signal of a frequency F. 
     A clock counter  76 , when the correction-mode indicating button  260  is pushed down, is actuated to count the number of all clock signals M sent out of the clock generator  75  from the time a sensor SS detects the leading end of the ticket  1   a  to the time the sensor SS detects the trailing end of the ticket  1   a . FIG.  29 ( b ) represents the timings of the sensor-detected signal and the clock signals, and counts the time during which the ticket  1   a  of accurate size passes by the sensor SS by the clock signals of frequency F. This is to measure the feed speed accurately. 
     A RAM  77  stores the value of the frequency F of the clock signals set out of the clock generator  75  and a recording frequency F of data “0” generated from a data generator block  71  at a correction mode to be described later. A data reception block  78  receives the data to be recorded, which is sent out of an external device. 
     A main control block  70  includes a CPU and a control program memory, and the CPU controls each block according to the control program in the memory, feeding a ticket blank  1   a , making a given record on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank  1   a , reproducing the record for checkup, and printing data on the ticket blank  1   a  for ejection. 
     Further, the CPU, when the correction-mode indicating button  260  is pushed down, is actuated to detect an error in the recording start position by a series of controls shown in FIG. 27, and thereby executes the automatic correction of the recording start position. 
     Reference numeral  72  stands for a motor driver that drives a motor M upon receipt of instructions from CPU  70  to drive feeding belts  52  and  53 . Reference numeral  73  denotes a sensor amplifier that amplifies the output of the sensor SS for output to the CPU in the main control block  70 , and  74  represents an amplifier that amplifies the output of a reproduction head  51  for output to the CPU in the main control block  70 . 
     FIG. 27 represents the functions of the CPU in the main control block  70  of FIG. 26 in block form, and the functions of the main control block  70  will now be explained with reference thereto. 
     In FIG. 27, a cycle counter block  70 - 1  is constructed from a peak detector sub-block  80 , a cycle detector sub-block  81  and a counter  82 , and a calculator block  70 - 2  is built up of a feed speed calculator sub-block  83 , a recording density calculator sub-block  84 , a recording start position calculator sub-block  85  and a correction time calculator sub-block  88 . In what follows, the function of each block will be explained. 
     A feed time setting block  92  is made up of a memory, and initially set with a theoretical write start time t until the leading end of a ticket blank  1   a  is detected to start recording data, wherein t=SN, where S is the recording start position (to be described later) and is the feed speed. However, this preset t, when the correction time Δt to be described later is found, is replaced by a correction time t′(=t+Δt). 
     A block  71  (see FIG. 26) for generating data at the correction-mode time stores data “0” and “1” and, when the correction mode is indicated by pushing down the correction-mode indicating button  260 , is actuated to generate the data “0” that is recorded from the time the sensor SS detects the leading end of a ticket blank  1   a  to the the data-recording start time (i.e., the feeding time t of the ticket blank  1   a ) and the data “1” that is recorded from the data-recording start time. FIG.  29 ( a ) represents the timings of the sensor-detected signals and the recording signals. It is noted that the magnetic inversion cycles of the data “0” and “1” lie at a ratio of 2 to 1, and that the magnetic inversion cycle of the data “0” or the recording frequency is f. 
     In the cycle counter block  70 - 1 , the peak of the output signal corresponding to the magnetic inversion of the data read on the read head  51  is detected by the peak detector sub-block  80  from the leading end of the ticket blank  1   a  having the data “0” and “1” recorded thereon, as shown in FIG.  29 ( c )( 1 ), and the number of all cycles N until the changing of the data from “0” to “1” is detected is counted by the counter  82 , as shown in FIGS.  29 ( c )( 2 ) and  29  ( c )( 3 ). 
     In other words, the counter  82  counts the changing cycle of the data from “0” to “1” in terms of the number of all cycles detected by the cycle detector sub-block  81 . FIG.  29 ( c )( 4 ) represents a signal detecting that the peak signal cycle is reduced because of the changing of the data from “0” to “1”. 
     In the feed speed calculator sub-block  83 , an actual feed speed V given by LF/M is found, wherein F is the clock frequency read from RAM  77 , M is all the clock signals counted by the clock counter and L is the length of the ticket blank  1   a.    
     In the recording density calculator sub-block  84 , a recording density given by f/v is found, wherein f is the recording frequency read from RAM  77  and V is the actual feed speed. 
     The recording start position calculator block  85  is built up of a distance calculator  86  and a comparator  87 . In the distance calculator  86 , a distance S from the sensor SS to the recording start position given by NV/F is found, wherein N is the total cycle number N counted by the cycle calculator block  70 - 1  and f/V is the recording density calculated by the recording density calculator sub-block  84 . In the comparator  87 , the absolute value ΔS of a difference between the measured distance S and a preset distance S 0  to the recording start position is found and compared with a prescribed value S L  for an allowable tolerance limit set in an allowable-value setting block  91  to determine of ΔS&gt;S L  or ΔS≦S L . When ΔS&gt;S l , the main control block  71  is notified of the “need” for correcting the recording start position, and when Δ≦S L , the main control block  71  is notified of the “no need” for correcting the recording start position. 
     The correction time calculator block  88  includes a correction data calculator  89  and a correction feed time calculator  90 . The correction data calculator  89 , when there is the “need” for correcting the recording start position, calculates the correction time Δt given by ΔS/V, where ΔS is the difference found by the comparator  87  and V is the feed speed, according to instructions from the main control block  71 . With the correction time Δt found, the correction time feed time calculator block  90  is actuated to correct the feed (write start) time t that is initially set in the feed time setting block  92  with the correction time Δt. That is, the correction feed time t′=t±Δt is calculated. 
     In the ensuing description, the operation of the instant embodiment will be explained with reference to the flow chart of FIG.  28 . 
     (1) First, the power source of the apparatus is turned on and the correction-mode indicating button  260  is pressed down to set the correction mode. 
     Then, a ticket blank  1   a  (of accurate length L) for testing purposes is inserted through the inserting port  21 , shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and whence it is fed through the MS unit  5  to the unit  5   c  where the manually inserted ticket blank stands for further feeding, as is the case with the manually inserted ticket blank. From this unit  5   c , it is fed to the MS read-write unit  5   a . When the leading end of the ticket blank  1   a  is here detected by the sensor SS, the clock counter  76  is triggered to count the number of all clock signals (having frequency F) generated until the sensor SS detects the trailing end of the ticket blank  1   a . Then, the accurate actual feed speed V is found in the feed speed calculator block  83  from the length L of the ticket blank  1   a  and the total clock signals M; in other words, it is calculated from V=L×F/M. 
     (2) Further, the recording density f/V is found in the recording density calculator block  84  by dividing the recording frequency f read from RAM  77  by the feed speed V. 
     (3) From the time the sensor SS detects the leading end of the ticket blank  1   a , on the other hand, recording is made with the use of the feed (write start) time t initially set in the feed time setting block  92 . Before the recording start time t, the main control block  70  continuously output the data “0” from a data generation unit  71  that works at the correction value-determining time for recording them on the magnetic stripe  11  of the ticket blank  1   a  by the write head  50 . After the recording start time t, the data is changed to “1” for recording. 
     (4) Now, the data “0” is read by the read head  51  from the leading end of the fed ticket blank  1   a , and the counter  82  counts the total cycle number N until the cycle detector subblock  81  detects that the data is changed from “0” to “1”. 
     (5) The counted total cycle number N and the recording density f/V calculated at Step (2) are fed to the recording start position calculator block  85 , where the distance S to the recording start position is found by the distance calculator  86 ; in other words, the distance is calculated from S=N×V/f. 
     (6) In the comparator  87 , the absolute value ΔS (=S−S 0 ) of the difference between the distance S and the preset distance S 0  to the recording start position is found and compared with the prescribed value S L  in the allowable value setting block  91  to provide determination of ΔS&gt;S L  or ΔS≦S L , notifying the main control block  71  of the “need” or “no need” of correcting the distance S. When there is no need, no correction occurs. Hence, subsequent recording of the ticket blank  1 A is done with the use of the write start time t that is initially set in the feed time setting unit  12 . 
     (7) When there is the “need” of correcting the distance S, ΔS is divided by the feed speed V—that is found by in the feed speed calculator block  83 —by the correction data calculator  89  in the correction time calculator block  88  to find the correction time Δt (=ΔS/V). 
     (8) Then, the intially set recording start time t is read from the feed time setting block  92 , and the correction feed time t′=t+Δt is found in the correction feed time calculator  90  by the correction time Δt. The correction feed time t″ is then renewed in the feed time setting block  92  in place of the initially set feed time t. 
     (9) After that, the ticket blank  1   a  is fed to the printer unit  6  where the correction value (i.e., ΔS) is printed for issuance through an issuance port. This enables the operator to confirm the quantity of regulation. Finally, the correction-mode indicating button  260  is again pressed down to release the correction mode, making the correction of the recording start position complete. 
     After the passing of the time t′ from the time the sensor SS detects the leading end of the ticket blank  1   a , the write head  50  starts to write the data with the use of the thus corrected write start time (feed time) t′, whereby the data is written onto the ticket blank  1   a  from the position away from the leading end by the given distance L 1 . Such correction is usually done when hardware is forwarded from plants or in-situ replacement of the whole or a part of the MS unit  5 . 
     Therefore, the instant embodiment can dispense with some post-data-recording steps of development, measurement and regulation that are required for conventional correction procedures, and so can eliminate troublesome development and measurement works and works for regulating the distances of the sensor SS and write head  50  for correcting the recording start position on the ticket blank  1   a.    
     While the instant embodiment has been described as making correction only when the difference ΔS, when found, exceeds the allowable value S L , it is understood that only the feed time Δt corresponding to the difference ΔS may be corrected irrespective of the allowable value S L . 
     As many apparently widely different embodiments of the present invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims.