Reading and recording equipment for cards with a magnetic data carrier
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to equipment for reading and recording information on cards having a magnetic track disposed thereon in general, and more particularly, to an improved type of equipment of this nature which is less susceptible to defects in the card. 
     Reading and recording equipment for reading or recording upon cards, such as conventional credit cards now in use, which contain thereon a magnetic strip, is known. Cards of this nature are used, for example, in banking transactions. These cards are also used for identifying purposes, for example, to permit access to secured areas. 
     In the equipment which is used with such cards, the cards are normally led past a reading head having one or more tracks by means of a transport device. Where a card with a magnetic data carrier is used, a particular danger exists that due to external influences such as dust, oil, geometric deformation of the card or the like, reliable reading and writing will not take place. 
     It is typical of most known equipment to transport the card by friction. A primary disadvantage of such a transport method is that, due to oil on the card, the transport through the reading head will not take place in a reliable manner so that information already existing thereon is not read correctly or that information which is to be recorded thereon is applied incorrectly. 
     One proposed solution to this problem is to accomplish the transport by using a movable carriage upon which the card is held fast. Although this overcomes the uncertainty associated with a friction drive, it is a poor solution because it is costly, requiring relatively complex mechanical means, particularly where large inertial forces occur because of a requirement for a short reading or writing time. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide improved reading and recording equipment for cards with a magnetic data carrier which is of simple design and which is also capable of reading or writing on cards which have been damaged by external influences in a reliable manner. The reading and recording equipment according to the present invention is characterized by the feature that the card is held stationary and the magnetic head is suspended on a carriage in gimbals and the carriage moved past the magnetic data carrier on the card. In this manner, the air gap adapts itself well to any shape of the card surface and thus, the cards can be recorded upon and read without difficulty. 
     Normally the card will be inserted into the reader in the direction of the magnetic track. Often, however, inserting the card transversely to the magnetic track, i.e., with its long side ahead, is more advantageous. Among other factors, the handling is simpler and the dimensions of the equipment can be made smaller. 
     An important advantage of a stationary card with a moving magnetic head, particularly if the position of the card is transversal, is that the presently used cards which contain raised embossed information can also be provided with a magnetic track and can be processed along with cards without such embossing in the same equipment. With a card which remains stationary during processing and which is positioned transversely, it is furthermore an advantage that the magnetic head need be moved over the card only once during the reading or recording process. Because of this, the head can move in alternate directions, i.e., to the right and then to the left, when reading cards and need not be repositioned to read the next card. In this manner, the processing time or dwelling time of the card within the reader can practically be cut in half. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of reading and recording equipment according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a first drive means in the form of a threaded spindle for driving the recording head of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates a second driving means for the magnetic head in the form of a movable belt. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross section through a portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1. 
     FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view through a gimballed magnetic head according to the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 is a plan view of the magnetic head of FIG. 5. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1 shows a reading and recording apparatus of the type of the present invention in perspective view. The equipment includes a housing in which are provided, among other things, an illuminated keyboard 2 for entering various information and a light panel 3 for indicating various information. The general nature of such equipment is explained in somewhat more detail in co-pending application Ser. No. 807,729, now abandoned, filed on even date herewith and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The device disclosed in this co-pending application serves the same general purpose but is one which utilizes a transport drive for the card rather than for the magnetic head. 
     In the base of the equipment 4 is an input opening 5 for insertion of the card 6 which is to be read or recorded upon. This opening is shown in cross section in FIG. 4. The card 6 contains a magnetic track 7 on which information is to be read or recorded. The track runs in the transverse direction of the card, i.e., in and out of the plane of the paper. When the card 6 is inserted, a reading gap cover 8 which covers the opening 5 is moved in the direction of the arrow 9 to the extent that the magnetic track 7 comes to lie directly above the track of a magnetic head 10. Suitably stop means are provided for the reading gap cover 8 so as to ensure proper positioning. This is illustrated schematically as a stop switch 50. When the stop switch 50 is activated, a signal is provided to a driving device 51 such as a solonoid which is mechanically coupled to a card depressor or a hold down 11. It is then caused to move in the direction of arrow 12 downward to hold the card in place during reading. In this manner, a heavily deformed plastic or paper card is held flat so that the reading gap remains constant. Thus, when the card 6 is inserted, the gap cover 8 is moved to activate the stop switch 50 which in turn actuates the card depressor 11. The output of the switch 50 can also be used to activate the drive motor 25 which is coupled to a drive spindle 14, for example, in a manner to be described below. Operation of the motor 25 causes the magnetic head to move and guides it along the magnetic track 7. Because the head and not the card 6 is moved, the magnetic head is not accessible through the opening 5 when no card is inserted so that a manipulation thereof to falsify an input is impossible. The head is therefore in the area where the card is inserted, i.e., in the vicinity of the card only during the active time. 
     A switch 52 is shown interposed between the stop switch 50 and the solonoid 51, which may be one of the switches 2 of FIG. 1, to permit releasing the card after reading. Such may also be accomplished automatically if the equipment 1 includes appropriate computing means. As noted above, the drive motor can be caused to drive back and forth when reading tracks on successive cards. This may be done by means of computer control or, such reversing may be accomplished simply by means of well known reversing circuits operated by limit switches located at each end of travel of the card. 
     As shown by FIG. 2, the magnetic head 10 is mounted on a carriage 13 which is driven by means of a threaded spindle coupled to a motor 25. A guide shaft 15 is also provided for guiding the head 10, which as shown, is mounted in a properly threaded block 13. 
     An alternate embodiment for moving the magnetic head is illustrated by FIG. 3. In this embodiment, the block 3 is attached to a rotating belt 17 which is driven by a roller 19 on the end of motor 25 and loops around another roller 18. In this embodiment, the spindle 14 is replaced by a guide rod 16. 
     The carriage 13 can be operated by other means such as by a linkage designed so as to cause the magnetic head to execute a rectilinear motion above the magnetic track. Furthermore, a rack or linear motor such as that disclosed in the aforementioned co-pending application for transporting a card, may also be used. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the card to be read or to be recorded upon is inserted into the gap horizontally. The card can also be inserted in a gap arranged so as to be vertical or may be inserted so that the card is rotated 90° from the position shown in FIG. 1. In either case, an appropriate motion of the reading head with respect to the track can be accomplished using drive mechanism essentially the same as those discussed above in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3. 
     The manner in which the reading head 10 is supported in gimbals disposed within the support block 13 is shown on FIGS. 5 and 6. By suspending the magnetic head 10 in gimbals, cards which have been deformed by external influences can be processed without difficulty since the air gap can adapt itself to any card shape surface without difficulty. As shown, the reading head is supported within a mounting 20. The mounting 20 is gimballed by means of pins 22 visible on FIG. 6 to a frame 21 along a first axis. The frame 21 is itself gimballed to the support or carriage 13 by means of pins 23 along an axis perpendicular to the axis of the pins 22. Thus, a universal mobility of the magnetic head is provided.