Card reader apparatus with replacable card guide

A data terminal including a card reader for reading a data card having a magnetic stripe thereon and defining at least one magnetically encoded data track at

• a prearranged location on said magnetic stripe, said terminal comprising:
• a housing means, including a guide slot for said data card, being formed by injection molding a first plastic material, said guide slot including first and second opposing side wall members and a bottom wall member with a central guide slot gap formed in at least one of said opposing side wall members and said bottom wall member;
• and
• a card reader assembly mounted to said housing means at said central guide slot gap and comprising:
• a read head having a magnetic transducer element carried on a front face thereof for detecting data on said magnetically encoded data track;
• a separate guide slot section removably mounted within said central guide slot gap and including at least a major side wall section and a bottom wall section filling said central guide slot gap to form a complete guide slot for said data card, edge portions of said central guide slot gap and edge portions of said guide slot section being cooperatively performed into structural shapes providing a slide-in mounting relationship therebetween, said guide slot section being formed from a second plastic material having substantially greater wear resistance than said first plastic material, said major side wall section having an access window formed therein for admitting said front face of said read into said guide slot;
• and
• mounting means for mounting said read head to said separate guide slot section at a prearranged registered location relative to said access window and with said front face thereof extending into said card guide slot such that said magnetic transducer element is positioned relative to said bottom wall of said card guide means for accurate detection of data encoded on said data track.

A card reader subassembly adapted for slide-in mounting in a central card guide gap formed in a card guide provided in a housing to facilitate reading a data card having data stored on at least one data track,

• a guide slot section having at least one side wall member and a bottom wall member, said side wall member having edge portions preformed into a preselected structural shape to cooperate with an associated structural shape formed on edge portions of said card guide gap to provide a removable slide-in mounting relationship therebetween, said side wall member further having an access window formed therein;
• a transducer means for detecting said data stored on said data track;
• and
• mounting means for mounting said transducer means at a prearranged location within said access window for accurate detection of data stored on the data track of a data carrier being passed through said guide slot section. said data track.