Registers – Coded record sensors – Particular sensor structure
Patent
1993-05-25
1995-01-03
Willis, Davis L.
Registers
Coded record sensors
Particular sensor structure
360101, G06K 708
Patent
active
053788869
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a drive device for a magnetic head for reading and/or recording magnetic data on a document or the like, said magnetic head being driven reciprocally in a slot in a document supporting surface substantially perpendicularly to the feeding direction of the document.
Such drive devices are used in banks, e.g. in ink printers provided with a moving magnetic head which reads and stores information on a magnetic strip on the reverse side of a bank document inserted into the printer. The plate on which the document rests has a slot perpendicular to the feeding direction of the document. The magnetic head sweeps back and forth in the slot across the reverse side of the document. In such devices, the document is stationary while the printer device and the magnetic head move on either side of the document perpendicularly to the feeding direction of the document. This creates a number of problems. One must make sure that the forward edge or corner of the document, even if it happens to be folded downwards, will not catch in the slot when the document is fed in.
BACKGROUND
One solution to this problem which has been used in such printers during the last 15 years has been a helical spring disposed in the slot and provided with eight evenly distributed plastic elements for example, to prevent the front edge of the document from entering the slot. The helical spring is suspended between the magnetic head and one end of the slot. In the home position of the magnetic head for feeding the document into or out of the printer, i.e. when the magnetic head is at the other end of the slot, the helical spring is at: its maximum extent and the spacing between the plastic elements is also at a maximum. When the magnetic head is at its other end position, the spring assumes its shortest length and the plastic elements are packed tightly together at one end of the slot, and this reduces the potential length of stroke of the magnetic head in the slot by about one third. This design has proved complicated and expensive. The mounting of the spring and the plastic elements spaced thereon is quite labour-consuming.
Another unsolved problem in this context has been to achieve a positive non-slipping but at the same time smooth reciprocal movement of the magnetic head. In the previous design described above with a helical spring and plastic elements, it was necessary to fix the drive belt to the lower portion of the magnetic head, and this gave rise to a certain amount of stick-slip movement.
An object of the present invention is to achieve a drive device of the type in question which solves these problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Such a device is achieved according to the invention in a device of the type described by way of introduction which is characterized in that the magnetic head is mounted in an endless cogged belt running in and covering the slot, said belt having a flat side and a cogged side, the latter facing outwards, the cogs in the part of the belt in the slot having top surfaces lying essentially in the same plane as the supporting surface, the contact surface of the magnetic head being in proximity to said plane.
In addition to the advantages mentioned above, the drive device according to the invention is quite inexpensive to manufacture.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the smooth inside of the cogged belt runs over smooth rollers mounted at either end of the slot. This provides very smooth operation due to the fact that the portion of the belt which is in the slot is tensioned by means of smooth surfaces on the belt and on the rollers, at the same time as positive, non-slip drive can be achieved by means of a cogged belt drive wheel remote from the slot.
A cogged belt according to the invention which is sufficiently thick for bevelling can run easily and evenly over a reversing roller since the spacing between the top surfaces of the cogs can increase when the belt passes over the reversing roller by virtue of the fact that the belt is on
REFERENCES:
patent: 2951118 (1960-08-01), Shahbender
patent: 3731061 (1973-05-01), Laybourn
patent: 3818500 (1974-06-01), Lemelson
patent: 4040097 (1977-08-01), Mizuno
patent: 4907098 (1990-03-01), Ohkoda
Kagebeck Tor
Stiernspetz Allan
Frech Karl D.
ICL Systems Aktiebolag
Willis Davis L.
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