Card reading apparatus having a passive electrical speed controller
First Claim
1. A card reading apparatus comprising:
- guide means for guiding movement of a card along a path;
transducer means for detecting information recorded on said card as said card is moved along said path;
energy store means for elastically storing energy as said card is inserted into said guide means and moved along said path by an insertion force, said energy store means further for moving said card along said path towards expulsion from said guide means in response to removal of said insertion force; and
controller means for controlling the rate of movement of said card along said path;
said controller means comprising a D.C. electrical generator operative to produce across its output terminals and electromotive force proportional in sense and magnitude to the direction and velocity respectively of said card;
said generator having an electrical load including at least one unidirectional current conducting device connected across said output terminals, said unidirectional current conducting device being driven to a conducting state when the produced electromotive force reaches a predetermined magnitude.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is an apparatus for reading information stored on a card. The card is introduced through a slot in the fascia and moved along an adjacent guide path by the user. A slider, coupled to the guide path, interrupts the leading edge of the card as the card is moved into the slot and along the guide path. One or more springs, coupled between the slider and a fixed position, store elastic energy as the card is moved into the apparatus and along the guide path. Upon the user releasing the card, the stored elastic energy is applied to the slider to move the card back along the guide path and expel the card through the slot. A speed controlled comprised of a passive D.C. generator/diode under configuration, coupled between the slider and the guide path, maintains the velocity of the card constant as the card moves in either or both directions along the guide path, thereby allowing a fixed position optical or magnetic transducer to read the stored information from the card.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A card reading apparatus comprising:
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guide means for guiding movement of a card along a path; transducer means for detecting information recorded on said card as said card is moved along said path; energy store means for elastically storing energy as said card is inserted into said guide means and moved along said path by an insertion force, said energy store means further for moving said card along said path towards expulsion from said guide means in response to removal of said insertion force; and controller means for controlling the rate of movement of said card along said path; said controller means comprising a D.C. electrical generator operative to produce across its output terminals and electromotive force proportional in sense and magnitude to the direction and velocity respectively of said card; said generator having an electrical load including at least one unidirectional current conducting device connected across said output terminals, said unidirectional current conducting device being driven to a conducting state when the produced electromotive force reaches a predetermined magnitude. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification