Card Reader Assembly; Functional Description And Characteristics; Card Reader Design; Card Reader Configuration - Honeywell LEVEL 6 Operation Manual

the Level 6 processor by means of a single-board,
multiple device controller (MDC91 0 I), a Card
Re ader Device-Pac (Card Reader Adapter)
CRM9101 (one per device) and a 50-foot cable.
CARD READER ASSEMBLY
The card reader assembly consists of an input
module and an output hopper. The input module
contains the input hopper, the picker roller, a
gau~ed throat, a pair of drive rollers, and their
opposing pinch rollers (see Figure 3-2).
Functional Description And Characteristics
As shown in Figure 3-2, cards are moved from
the input hopper by the picker roller, which is a
friction roller in close contact with the bottom
card of the stack. This roller is rotated (by motor)
on command by a magnetically operated clutch.
This rotation feeds a card through the throat,
which is gauged to permit only one card at a time
to pass through. The picker roller continues to
drive the card until its leading edge is sensed, at
which time the card is already captured by the
first drive roller and the accompanying set of
pinch rollers as shown in Figure 3-2. An inertial
damper on the picker roller shaft prevents over­
travel of the picker roller after the captured card
loses contact with it.
When the card enters the transport system,
matched drive rollers maintain positive control
during the entire reading operation. The read
station. consisting of a 'line lamp and an array of
photosensors, is located between these two drive
rollers (see Figure 3-2). Timing is taken from the
first drive roller by means of the strobe wheel (sec
Figure 3-2), and is therefore, in unison with the
card being driven. The second drive roller also
functions as a positive drive to deposit the card
into the output hopper. The cards arc ramped
downward into the output hopper over a variable
angle that is a function of the number of cards in
the output hopper. A hinged follower in the
output hopper guides the buildup of cards in the
hopper and ensures positive stacking action. The
input and output hoppers are both capable of
holding 500 cards.
CARD READER DESIGN
The card reader has been carefully engineered
for simplicity of design making it a most highly
reliable device with minimum intervention re­
quired on the part of the operator in the areas of
operation and maintenance.
Detection of input hopper empty-output
hopper full, failure to pick a card on three
successive tries, and card jam conditions will
cause motor to stop and the card reader to go
offline. These features are incorporated into the
design of the device in order to protect the
mechanism.
CARD READER CONFIGURATION
There are four types of card readers available
at two different card speeds; two that read cards
at 300 cards per minute and two that read cards
at 500 cards per minute. Two of the devices in
each speed category have the additional capability
of reading mark sense cards. The four types of
card readers configured for Level 6 system use are
shown in Table 3-1. Specifications and prime card
reader characteristics are described in Table 3-2.
CARD READER CAPABILITIES AND DATA
FORMATS
Cards meeting American National Standards
Institute standards in stock, size, and specifica­
tions in general, are used with the Level 6 system
card reader. Cards used with the device are:
80-column Hollerith or binary punched cards,
51-column cards (require Option CRF910 I), and
40-or 80- column mark sense cards (available only
with the CRU9102j9104 Card Reader). Cards
may be read in either binary or ASCII format.
Card Data Formats
Cards may be read in either of two formats:
binary or ASCII. A card column has 12-rows for
punched data, which if read in binary mode is
12-bits. These bits arc placed directly into
memory, right justified as shown in Figure 3-3.
One memory word is required for each card
column read.
TABLE 3-1. CARD READER READ CAP ABILITIES
Speed
Card Reader
Cards Per Minute
CRU9101 300 cpm
CRU9102 300 cpm
CRU9103 500 cpm
CRU9104 500 cpm
Punched Cards 1 Mark Sense Cards
51-or SO-column
51-or SO-column
51-or SO-column
51-or SO-column
Not Available
40-or SO-column
Not Available
40-or SO-column
ICard readers have the added capability of reading 51-column cards only if option CRF9101 is installed.
CARD READER DEVICES 3-2 AT04