公开(公告)号：US3752074A

公开(公告)日：1973-08-14

申请号：US3752074D

申请日：1970-11-12

申请人： DAY ALBERT J

发明人： WHITE J ,  OUDIJK T ,  TALBOT L ,  COLLADO E ,  CORRELL Q ,  SWAIN A

IPC分类号： G06K7/04 ,  B41F3/04

CPC分类号： G06K7/04

摘要： A credit card terminal for reading relatively standard credit cards. Reading is achieved through the employment of sensing pins arranged to read the account number or other special embossments embossed on the card. The pins are independently mounted in close groupings in a block and biased by individual vanes of a common leaf spring. Pin condition is sensed either through means of electical contacts activated by the pins or electromagnetic sensors which change in condition responsive to the movement of the pins. In the preferred embodiment for the direct reading of embossed account numbers, the pins are grouped in groups of five on generally rectangular coordinates so as to achieve a discrete pin condition for each of the numbers zero to nine, inclusive. The terminal also includes a verifying mechanism to sense the presence or absence of a light responsive verification area on the credit card and a voucher imprinting mechanism to imprint indicia embossed on the card onto a voucher. The principal element of the imprinting mechanism comprises a carriage to receive a card and voucher and maintain the embossments of the card in juxtaposition with the area of the voucher to be imprinted. The basic structure of the imprinting mechanism is completed by a roller positioned to be normally spaced from a voucher and card received within the carriage and a motion imparting mechanism adapted to selectively impart relative motion to the carriage and roller to force the roller into engagement with the voucher and roll the roller relative to the voucher in the area of the voucher to be imprinted. The verifying mechanism comprises a locking device associated with the motion imparting mechanism to normally maintain the mechanism in an inoperative condition and a photoelectric device to sense the presence or absence of a light responsive verification area on a card received in the carriage. Upon the sensing of a valid varification area, the photoelectric device operates in cooperation with the locking device to condition the motion imparting mechanism for operation.