Flap-type portal reader

Apparatus for selectively reading or writing data on a magnetic data stripe on a data card which is thin and flexible, said apparatus comprising:

• card guide means defining a card guide path including a cylindrical card guide path section and an entrance card path section including an entrance slit for admitting said data card into said cylindrical card guide path section;
• drive means for driving a data card though said entrance slit and around said cylindrical card guide path section;
• transducer means, including a read head member and a write head member, positioned at a prearranged location on said cylindrical card guide path section for selectively detecting data or writing data on a least one data track on said data stripe of a data card being driven through said cylindrical card guide path section;
• position tracking means for determining the position of said data card within said cylindrical card guide path section;
• card-in sensor means for sensing the presence of a data card in said entrance card path section;
• and
• control circuit means coupled to said drive means, said transducer means, said position tracking means and said card-in sensor means and being operative
• during a card capture time period to respond to said card-in sensor means to detect the presence of a data card in said entrance card path section to turn on said drive means to drive said data card through said entrance slit and said entrance card path section into said cylindrical card guide path;
• during a data scan interval to respond to said position tracking means and said transducer means to alternatively read or write data on said data card;
• said entrance slit being a card-in/out slit operative during said card capture time period to admit said data card into said cylindrical card guide path and operative during a card discharge time period to allow discharge of said data card from said cylindrical card guide path;
• said card guide means includes a guide claw means having a guide finger portion located at said card-in/out slit and movable between a card in-out position and a card guide position and spring means for biasing said guide finger portion toward said card in-out position, said card in-out position permitting free movement of said data card thorugh said card-in/out slit during both said card capture time period and said card discharge time period;
• and said guide finger portion being moved into said card guide position by the leading edge of a data card being driven around said cylindrical card guide path to provide a smooth guided movement of said data card at the position of said card-in/out slit;
• said drive means comprising a bidirectional drive means for driving said data card alternatively in a forward direction to drive said data card forwards through said entrance slit and around said cylindrical card guide path thereby to scan said data stripe thereon past said transducer means and in a reverse direction to drive said data card backwards through said entrance slit to discharge said card from said card guide means;
• and
• said control means is operative during said card capture time period to turn on said drive means in a forward direction and during said card discharge time period to turn on said drive means in a reverse direction to discharge said data card through said card-in/out slit.

Apparatus for selectively reading or writing data on a magnetic data stripe on a data card which is thin and flexible, said apparatus comprising:

• card guide means defining a card guide path including a cylindrical card guide path section and an entrance card path section including an entrance slit for admitting said data card into said cylindrical card guide path section;
• drive means for driving a data card through said entrance slit and around said cylindrical card guide path section;
• transducer means, including a read head member and a write head member, positioned at a prearranged location on said cylindrical card guide path section for selectively detecting data or writing data on a least one data track on said data stripe of a data card being driven through said cylindrical card guide path section;
• position tracking means for determining the position of said data card within said cylindrical card guide path section;
• card-in sensor means for sensing the presence of a data card in said entrance card path section;
• and
• control circuit means coupled to said drive means, said transducer means, said position tracking means and said card-in sensor means and being operative
• during a card capture time period to respond to said card-in sensor means to detect the presence of a data card in said entrance card path section to turn on said drive means to drive said data card through said entrance slit and said entrance card path section into said cylindrical card guide path;
• during a data scan interval to respond to said position tracking means and said transducer means to alternatively read or write data on said data card;
• said apparatus further comprising:
• punch and die means mounted in a position relative to said card guide means in alignment with said transducer means and being selectively operable to punch a hole in said data card at a location on a data track on said magnetic data stripe thereon;
• and said control means is coupled to said punch and die means and is operative during a hole punching time period to operate said drive means to drive said data card to a prearranged data card position based on the output of said position tracking means and thereafter to operate said punch and die means to punch a hole in said data card.

A portal for automatically exciting and reading a passive transponder type tag, which is excited by an inductively coupled signal of a first predetermined frequency and which simultaneously produces a magnetic field and an electrostatic field modulated with a digitally coded identifying signal, while the device is moving along a substantially horizontal conveyor belt, said portal comprising:

• a rectangular frame for placement around a portion of a substantially horizontal conveyor belt in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt;
• means for producing a magnetic field of said first predetermined frequency within the interior of said frame said means including first, second, third and fourth exciter coils mounted respectively on an upper, a lower and respective side panels forming the walls of said frame, and oscillator and driver circuit means, connected to each of said exciter coils, for producing a signal of said first predetermined frequency;
• a curtain, formed of a plurality of spaced flexible rectangular flaps of non-conductive material suspended from said upper panel disposed within said frame, extending in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt, and being of a length such that at least one of said flaps will be contacted and deflected by an object moving along the conveyor belt;
• a pickup coil, serving as a magnetic field receiving antenna, and an electrostatic field receiving antenna disposed in each of said flaps;
• and receiver means, connected to each of said pickup coils and of said electrostatic field receiving antennas, for detecting a coded signal of the second frequency received by any of said pickup coils and electrostatic receiving antennas.