Hybrid card readers for IC cards/magnetic cards

摘要

A hybrid card reader for IC cards/magnetic cards includes a casing consisting of an upper casing and a lower casing defining a card passage therebetween. A reduction gear train is mounted on the upper casing and driven by a motor mounted in the casing for driving a roller. Two parallel walls are mounted on the lower casing and include aligned slots defined therein. An idle wheel is mounted to face the roller to sandwich a card therebetween. A fixing member is swivelably mounted to the casing for supporting a magnetic head. A frame is slidably guided by the slots of the parallel walls for contacting with an IC on the card. The idle wheel contacts with the roller under the action of a spring wire when the card is not inserted into the card passage. When the card is inserted into the card passage, the card is sandwiched between the idle wheel and the roller and conveyed under rolling friction upon rotation of the roller. When an interruption of service occurs or the card reader malfunctions, the card can be quickly removed from the card reader and returned to the owner under manual operation.