Typewriting machines – Including selection of type-face by... – Including particular reader structure and operation
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-01
2001-01-09
Hilten, John S. (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Including selection of type-face by...
Including particular reader structure and operation
C400S105000, C235S449000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06171002
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a magnetic reader for reading magnetic ink characters recorded on paper sheets and the like, such as checks, securities and other cards, cards or a recording sheet as including cards and sheets of paper, plastic and the like having information magnetically recorded thereon, which may be in the form of visually readable characters, such as MICR characters. Also, the present invention relates to a printer provided with the magnetic character reader.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recently, personal checks, on which pieces of information such as bank numbers, account numbers and so forth are printed by magnetic ink characters, are widely used for commercial transactions and shopping at stores. Accordingly, readers have been proposed for reading magnetic ink characters printed on personal checks. Such prior readers have a compound structure described as follows: magnetic heads are made to come into contact with magnetic ink characters printed on the surface of a personal check, so that the magnetic ink characters can be read, and at the same time, printing is conducted on the reverse side of the personal check by a printing head according to the content of reading. Such a prior art reader and problems encountered with it are further described in the detailed description below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been accomplished in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the preferred embodiment of the present invention to provide a magnetic character reader, the size of which is reduced by shortening the distance of transporting a record sheet, capable of reading information recorded in the direction of transporting a record sheet to the utmost. Also, it is an object of the preferred embodiment of the present invention to provide a printer into which the magnetic character reader is incorporated.
It is another object of the preferred embodiment of the present invention to provide a magnetic character reader capable of stably transporting a record sheet irrespective of a size of the record sheet and also capable of excellently reading magnetic ink characters printed on a check or other sheet or record sheet P.
In order to accomplish the above objects, the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a magnetic character reader for reading magnetic information recorded on a record sheet comprising: a magnetic information detection head for detecting magnetic information recorded on the record sheet when the magnetic information detection head comes into contact with the record sheet; a reading unit having a magnetic information detection head for detecting magnetic information recorded on the record sheet when the magnetic information detection head comes into contact with the record sheet and a reading pressing member for pressing the record sheet against the magnetic information detection head; and a transport mechanism section having at least one transport member for transporting the record sheet and also having at least one transport pressing member for pressing the record sheet against the transport member, wherein the transport mechanism section is arranged at a position adjacent to the magnetic information detection head on a reference line extending from a reading section of the reading unit in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transporting direction of the record sheet.
Further, the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a printer for conducting printing on a record sheet on which magnetic information is recorded, comprising: a magnetic information detection head for detecting magnetic information recorded on the record sheet when the magnetic information detection head comes into contact with the record sheet; a reading unit having a magnetic information detection head for detecting magnetic information recorded on the record sheet when the magnetic information detection head comes into contact with the record sheet and a reading pressing member for pressing the record sheet against the magnetic information detection head; a transport mechanism section having at least one transport member for transporting the record sheet and also having at least one transport pressing member for pressing the record sheet against the transport member, wherein the transport mechanism section is arranged at a position adjacent to the magnetic information detection head on a reference line extending from a reading section of the reading unit in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the record sheet; and a printing mechanism section for conducting printing on the record sheet carried by the transport mechanism section according to the result of reading obtained by the magnetic information detection head. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention having the above structure, when the reading unit and the transport mechanism section are arranged on a reference line extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the record sheet transporting direction, it is possible to reduced a distance of the transport passage necessary for reading information recorded on the record sheet to the minimum. Further, unlike the prior art, there is generated no region in which information recorded on the record sheet can not be read. Therefore, it is possible to read information recorded on the record sheet to the utmost in the record sheet transport direction.
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a plurality of transport pressing members in a region in which a record sheet of the minimum width in the standard is carried.
According to the above arrangement, it is possible to transport even a record sheet of the minimum width in the standard when it is positively held by the transport member and the transport pressing member.
In this case, the plurality of transport pressing members can be composed so that the corresponding transport members can be respectively independently pressed.
According to the above arrangement, each transport pressing member comes into contact with the record sheet uniformly. Due to the foregoing, it is possible to avoid a biased contact condition of the transport pressing member with respect to a record sheet of different thickness.
In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to compose a first transport mechanism section in which a plurality of transport pressing members are arranged at positions, between which a center line of the transport direction is interposed, in a range in which a record sheet of the minimum width in the standard is carried.
Due to the above arrangement, the record sheet can be given a substantially uniform intensity of transport force.
Further, the preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a printer, further comprising a second transport mechanism section having a transport member for transporting a record sheet arranged outside a range in which a record sheet of the minimum width in the standard is carried and also having a transport pressing member for pressing the record sheet against the transport member, wherein an intensity of pressing force in the second transport mechanism section is lower than an intensity of pressing force in the first transport mechanism section.
According to the arrangement described above, it is possible to ensure a primary transport force in the minimum record sheet width in the standard, and an auxiliary transport force is given by the second transport mechanism section arranged outside the minimum width of the record sheet in the standard. Due to the foregoing, record sheets of various widths can be stably carried, and reading and printing can be conducted in a good condition.
When a transport surface of the transport member is roughened, a coefficient of friction between the transport surface of the transport member and the record sheet can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to increase an intensity of transport force for transpor
Koyabu Akira
Momose Tsutomu
Murata Sadao
Chau Mina H.
Fish & Richardson P.C.
Hilten John S.
Seiko Epson Corporation
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