Card processing apparatus with liquid drain

• US 8,251,293 B2
• Filed: 01/28/2008
• Issued: 08/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corporation (Nidec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nidec Sankyo Corporation (Nidec Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagata, Shigeyuki, Takahashi, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Hess, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): TARDIF, DAVID P
• Application Number:
  US12/020,617
• Publication Number:
  US 20080185442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,674 Days
• Field of Search: 235/475
• US Class Current: 235/475
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 13/08 Feeding or discharging cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 13/0868 using an arrangement for keeping the feeding or insertion slot of the card station clean of dirt, or to avoid feeding of foreign or unwanted objects into the slot
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 13/0875 the arrangement comprising a shutter for blocking at least part of the card insertion slot

Abstract

A card apparatus for use with a card may include a front bezel, a cart inlet slot placed in the front bezel, a card path continuously extending from the card inlet slot, a shutter installed between the card inlet slot and the card path for opening and closing the card path, a case body closely contacting the front bezel and internally including the card path, a tilted part that is tilted so as to become further away gradually from the card path in a direction from an inner part of the case body toward the front bezel to guide a liquid infiltrated through the card inlet slot, and liquid drain holes positioned at the front side of the front bezel to go through continuously to a side of the case body for draining the liquid.

Claims

1. A card processing apparatus for use with a card, the card processing apparatus comprising:

a front bezel;

a card inlet slot placed in the front bezel;

a card path continuously extending from the card inlet slot in a horizontal direction;

a shutter installed between the card inlet slot and the card path for opening and closing the card path;

a case body closely contacting the front bezel and internally including the card path, the case body including a tilted part that is tilted so as to become further away gradually from the card path in a direction from an inner part of the case body toward the front bezel and so as to extend to the front side with respect to the shutter to guide a liquid infiltrated through the card inlet slot;

a hollow section provided at least under the shutter between the card path and the tilted part so that liquid infiltrated through the card inlet slot is blocked by the shutter and is prevented from entering into an inside of the card processing apparatus through the card path by the shutter; and

liquid drain holes positioned at the front side of the front bezel to go through continuously to a side of the case body for draining the liquid, the liquid drain holes being disposed on the front side with respect to the shutter;

wherein the card path is so placed as to have the card inserted in a horizontal direction from the card inlet slot;

a control circuit board for controlling the card processing apparatus is located above the card path; and

the shutter is a full-range shutter that covers a full extent of the card path and is structured to block foreign material from entering the card path; and

the shutter is configured to block liquid infiltrated through the card inlet slot, and the tilted part and the hollow section are configured such that the blocked liquid directly drops to the tilted part through the hollow section without entering into the inside of the card processing apparatus through the card path extended in the horizontal direction and flows along the tilted part to the front side to the liquid drain hole of the front bezel.

2. The card processing apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a card processing section located at an inner side of the card path for reading and writing information data recorded in the card.

3. The card processing apparatus according to claim 1:

wherein a breaking-in protection member structured to prevent foreign material breaking in through the liquid drain holes is placed at an inner side of the liquid drain holes.