Gimbal card reader
US5191198A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 22, 1991 |
| Grant date | Mar 2, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 22, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06K7/084
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A card reader for reading data recorded on a magnetic stripe on a card includes a guide for guiding the card along a path past a transducer head. A gimbal arrangement mounts the head on the end of a mounting shaft which is journaled in the end of an arm for free rotation about an axis parallel to the stripe as it moves along the path. The arm swivels about a transverse axis perpendicular to the stripe and is biased to bring the head into the guide path through a head opening. The head has a leading bevelled surface so that a card inserted in the path will lift the head which will then ride firmly on the stripe. By virtue of the free rotation of the head about an axis parallel to the stripe, the device adjusts for any lack of parallelism between the head and the magnetic stripe.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.