JPH01307893A - Transaction device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To continue transaction till arrival of the balance in a transaction medium at zero to improve the convenience for use by displaying visual discrimination information on the outside of character information entry columns of the medium by a transaction history information adding means at the time of filling up these columns. CONSTITUTION:A customer transfers his card to a clerk in charge for the purpose of accounting for the commodity purchase price, and the clerk in charge inserts the card to the handling entrance of a transaction device 1. A carrying means 6 carries the card to a recorded information processing means 12 by the control of a CPU 23. A magnetic head is operated in the means 12, and a magnetic stripe of the card is scanned to read recorded information, and this information is sent to a transaction history information discriminating part 25. The discriminating part 25 checks whether there is a bank column in character information entry columns included in sent recorded information or not. When any blank column does not exist, the processing to account for the commodity price and the processing to record the balance on the magnetic stripe are performed and the card is sent to a printing means 9. The means 9 adds visual discrimination information of a black circle to a discrimination information additional column provided on the outside of character information entry columns by the control of the CPU 23, and the card is returned.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a transaction device, and more specifically, a transaction device that handles prepaid transaction media (referred to as two or less prepaid cards). Regarding equipment.

(Prior Art) A general transaction format using this type of transaction medium will be explained with reference to FIG.

User M uses a pre-manufactured card C as shown in the figure.
is purchased at a sales office 51 or card vending machine 52 in exchange for banknotes 54 equivalent to a predetermined amount, and when the purchased card C is brought to a merchandise retail store to pay for the merchandise desired, the card is C to cash register 55
Hand it over to the person in charge. The person in charge inserts the received card C into a card reader/writer 56 serving as a transaction device. Then, the user inputs amount information corresponding to the price of the product using the input key of the cash register 55.

As a result, the output connected to the cash register 55
The transaction history information (for example, magnetic information) of this card C read by the card reader/writer 56 and the amount information entered in the cash register 55 are sent to the card reader/writer 57 for aggregation processing. At 56, transaction history information associated with the current transaction is recorded on the card C in the form of transaction history text information and magnetic information. After this, the card C is transferred from the card reader/writer 56 to the user M.
will be returned to.

By the way, as the above-mentioned card C, the one shown in FIG. 8 has conventionally been used.

This card C is formed into a thin rectangular plate shape, and on its surface, 20 lines on one side, 40 lines in total, are text information for writing text information indicating the month and date of the transaction and the remaining amount of this card C. An entry field 60 is provided. Further, on the back side of this card C, a magnetic stripe MS2 is provided for recording transaction history information corresponding to the character information entered in the character information entry 160, as well as the owner name information and password information of this card C. .

In the case of card C shown in FIG. 8, when performing payment processing for a product in the usage pattern shown in FIG. 7 mentioned above,
Transaction layer information is recorded on the magnetic stripe MS 2 using the magnetic head provided in the card reader/writer 56, and the date and balance indicating the transaction history are entered in text in the text information entry field 60 by printing. .

However, in the case of the conventional card reader/writer 56, the storage capacity of the magnetic stripe 1 to live MS2 is larger than that of the character information entry (1160), and as a result, there is sufficient storage capacity of the magnetic stripe MS2, and Even if there is a balance on card C, text information indicating the transaction history is entered in the text information entry field 60, and when making subsequent transactions, the date and remaining amount must be displayed in the text information entry field. The problem is that it is not possible.

When such a situation occurs, the conventional treatment method is t.
Yo, why don't you display the subsequent transaction history as text information?
Or, a new card C to which the balance of this card C has been transferred.
is being published.

However, if text information is not displayed, card C
A problem arises in that the recorded content of the magnetic stripe M S 2 and the displayed content of the character information entry field 60 do not match, which is extremely inconvenient for the user.

In addition, when issuing a new card C, we will process the old card and unissued card (raw card) for the new card C.
The supply situation becomes a problem.

For processing the 1-day card, use Card Reader/Writer 5.
It is common to install a stacker for old cards in the 6 and take the old cards in there, or to attach punch holes etc. indicating the abolished Tokaibu to the old cards and then discard them. Regarding the issuance of a new card C, either the raw card is stored in the card reader/writer 56, and each time a new card C is issued, the new card C is handed over to the user by the issuance operation of the operator, or the raw card It is common to insert the card into the card reader/writer 56, record the required magnetic information, and then hand this as an analysis card C to the user.

In any case, providing the card reader/writer 56 with a stacker or storing raw cards in order to issue a new card C has the problem of significantly complicating the configuration of the card reader/writer 56. In addition, in the case of the raw card insertion method, there is a problem that the card reader/writer 56 needs to be highly functional.

That is, the card reader/writer 56 is provided with the function of a gold ffi ticket issuing machine, and the issuing process of the analysis card C is performed even when the store is open.

Naturally, the processing content on the cash register 55 side increases, and the burden on the person in charge of the service increases. Furthermore, there is a problem in that anyone in charge of the cash register 55 can issue money bills, which normally can only be done by people who manage money.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in conventional devices, the display of character information indicating the transaction history for the card and the recording of magnetic information may become inconsistent, causing inconvenience to the user. [There is also a problem in that it requires time and effort to issue a product at a store, etc., and the device must be highly functional.

Therefore, the present invention is capable of displaying visual information indicating the transaction history of the card until the remaining balance on the card becomes zero, which is convenient for the user and eliminates the need for reissuing the card and for increasing the functionality of the device. The purpose is to provide a transaction device.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a text information entry column for adding transaction history text information;
A transaction device that takes in a prepaid transaction medium and has a recording unit that records information corresponding to the transaction history text information in a format different from visual information, and enters a balance in the text information entry field according to the transaction. recorded information processing means for reading transaction history information from a recording section of the transaction medium; and determination control means for determining the entry state of the character information entry field based on the transaction history information read by the recorded information processing means; Based on the determination result of the discrimination control means, the transaction history information adding means is provided to enter transaction history character information in the character information entry field or to display visual identification information indicating the transaction history outside the character information entry field. be.

(for production) The operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be explained below.

This device takes in a prepaid transaction medium having a textual information entry field and a recording section during a transaction.

The recorded information processing means of this device reads transaction history information corresponding to the transaction history character information written in the character information entry field from the recording section of the transaction medium. The 111-specific control means of this device determines the entry state of the character information entry column, that is, the presence or absence of a blank space, based on the transaction history information read by the read information processing means.

When the discrimination control means determines that there is a blank space in the text information entry field, the transaction history information adding means writes the transaction history text information regarding the current transaction in the blank spaces in the text information entry field based on the result of this discrimination.

Further, when the discrimination control means determines that there is a blank space in the text information entry field, the transaction history information adding means displays visual identification information regarding the current transaction outside the text information entry field.

(Example) The present invention will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of an embodiment device 1 of the present invention.

This transaction device 1 has a device main body 2 formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and a card handling opening 3 in a front panel 2A of the device main body 2 for individually inserting and removing a card Co as a transaction medium, which will be described later. has been established.

Further, on the front panel 2A, there is an error lamp 4a that indicates a reading error or writing error of the card CO.

A jam lamp 4b indicating the occurrence of a trouble, a line lamp 4G indicating a communication error with a host device (not shown), a power lamp 4d, and a handling lamp 4e indicating a handling ready state of the card CO are provided.

FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. That is, inside the device main body 2, there is a transport means 6 that forms a horizontally arranged transport path 5 from the card handling opening 3 toward the deepest part of the device main body 2, and a transport means 6 is arranged facing the transport path 5, respectively. Shutter section 7. Conveyance control means 8 consisting of first to fourth sensors S1 to S4. A transaction history information adding means 11 consisting of a printing means 9 and a punching means (punch mechanism section) 10, and a recorded information processing means 1 for reading and writing recorded information (details will be described later) on the card Co.
2 is provided.

The first to fourth sensors S1 to S of the transport control means 8
Numeral 4 denotes light emitting elements 13a arranged so as to form an optical path passing through the transport path 5.

It includes a light receiving element 13b and is arranged along the conveyance path 5 at a predetermined interval.

The conveying means 6 includes a first conveying roller 14a disposed near the first sensor S1, and a first conveying roller 14a spaced apart from the first conveying roller 14a by a predetermined distance, and a second conveying roller 14a disposed near the first sensor S1.
a second conveyance roller 14b disposed at a position in front of the
Said 3rd. A fourth sensor 33 is arranged between Sa'
a third conveyance roller 14c, a fourth conveyance roller 14d arranged after the fourth sensor S4, and a conveyance belt stretched over these first to fourth conveyance rollers 14a to 14d. 16 and the first to fourth guide rollers 15a to 15d arranged with their outer peripheries in contact with the first to fourth conveyance rollers 14a to 14d, respectively; A branched conveyance roller 17 disposed at an intermediate position between the second conveyance rollers 14a and 14b, and the first guide roller 15a1 branched conveyance roller 17. It also includes an auxiliary conveyance belt 18 stretched around the second guide roller 15b.

The conveying path 5 is then moved by the belt surface of the conveying belt 16.
By forming this conveyance belt 16 and avoiding contact with the lower side of the branch conveyance roller 17, a branch conveyance path 5a is formed between the first conveyance path 14a and the second conveyance roller 14b. There is. In addition, in FIG. 2, 19 is a guide plate.

The branch conveyance path 5a includes a first. The second branch is the structure part 31
．． 32 are provided.

The first branching mechanism section 31 has a fulcrum at a position near the first conveying roller 14a and near the guide plate 19,
A first rotary lever 33a with a protruding end facing the auxiliary conveyance belt 18 side, and a first rotary lever 33a that applies a slight tensile force to the first rotary lever 33a in the direction of arrow Y1 shown in FIG.
A tension spring 34a is provided.

The second branch mechanism section 32 has a fulcrum located between the branch conveyance roller 17 and the second conveyance roller 14b and near the auxiliary conveyance belt 18, and has a protruding end facing toward the conveyance belt 16 side. The second rotary lever 33b and this second
The second tension spring 34b applies a tension force to the rotating lever 33b in the direction of arrow Y2 shown in FIG.

The V ivy section 7 is disposed at a position closer to the card handling opening 3 than the first conveyance roller 14a, and moves in and out of the conveyance path 5 under the control of a discrimination control means 21, which will be described later.
It is designed to block or open the passage of etc.

The first to fourth sensors S1 to S of the transport control means 8
4 has the above-mentioned arrangement state, and is adapted to receive the position of the card Go conveyed on the conveyance path 5 and send out a position signal.

The printing means 9 is constituted by, for example, a thermal printer, and its print head surface is connected to the branch conveyance roller 1.
It is arranged so as to face the outer peripheral surface of 7.

The punching means 10 is arranged facing the conveyance path 5 between the second conveyance roller 14b and the second sensor S2 in order to punch holes in the card Co, as will be described later.

The recorded information processing means 12 includes the third conveyance roller 1
4G and the third guide roller 15G, with the head surfaces facing upward and downward, respectively. It is composed of second magnetic heads 20a and 20b.

Next, the electrical control system of the transaction device 1 will be explained with reference to FIG.

This transaction device 1 has a discrimination control means 21 that performs overall control and a discrimination operation to be described later. to S4° shutter section 7. A printing means 9 and a punching means 10 are connected to each other.

The control means 21 includes a program memory 22 that stores operation programs necessary for the operation of this apparatus 1, a CPU 23 that controls each of the above-mentioned elements of this apparatus 1 based on the operation programs, and A data memory 24 for storing transaction information handled by the card Co, and a transaction history information discriminating section 25 that performs a discriminating operation as described below based on recorded information (described later) of the card Co read by the recorded information processing means 12. There is.

Here, the card Co handled by this device 1 will be explained with reference to FIG.

This card Co has approximately the same structure as the card C shown in FIG. In addition to the magnetic stripe MS1 recorded with
For example, identification information addition H40 for displaying visual identification information indicating transaction history consisting of symbols such as printed characters (dots), etc.
The difference is that is provided in the mortar of the character information entry field 60.

Then, the transaction history information determining unit 25, based on the recorded information (for example, the number of transactions: a value of 1 to 40 in this embodiment) corresponding to the transaction history read from the magnetic stripe MS1 of the card Go by the recorded information processing means 12, Text information entry aI
It is determined whether or not there is a blank field in the entry status of 60, and the determination result is sent to the CPU 23.

Next, the operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 showing the operation of this apparatus 1.

Incidentally, like the conventional example, the cash register 55 shown in FIG.
The following explanation will be given assuming that this device 1 is connected to.

When a user who intends to purchase a product presents the card Co to the person in charge of the cash register 55 to pay for the product, the person in charge receives the card CO and inserts it into the card handling slot 3 of the transaction device 1. (STI).

This card CO is detected by the first sensor S1,
A position signal g indicating the presence of the card CO is sent from this first sensor S1 to the CPU 23. In response, the conveying means 6 conveys the card Co in the direction of arrow X1 shown in FIG. 2 under the control of the CPU 23. The card Co is guided by the first branching mechanism section 31, passes through the guide plate 19 side, and then passes through the second branching mechanism section 31.
While rotating the second rotating lever 33b of the turnout groove 32 against the tensile force of the second tension spring 34b, the third. CPU that received the position signal from the 4th sensor 1no 33.34
The first magnetic head 20a operates under the control of 23,
The magnetic stripe MS1 of the card Go is scanned and recorded information is read (Sr1).

This recorded information is sent to the transaction history information determination section 25 under the control of the CPU 23. The transaction history information determining unit 25 determines the magnitude of the value of transaction count information included in the recorded information based on the recorded information sent, and determines, for example, that this value is "10".
If so, there is a blank field in the text information entry field 60, and if this value is 140, enter the text information tl! It is determined that there is no blank field in 160 (Sr1).

When it is determined that there is a blank field, the product price information and record information entered from the cash register 55 are settled and the remaining amount is recorded on the magnetic stripe MS1 (ST4a), after which the card Co is transferred to the conveyance means. 6, it is sent to the printing means 9 side via the second branching mechanism section 32,
Here, text information (month, date, remaining amount) indicating the current transaction history is entered in the blank field of the text information entry field 60 (ST5a).
.

Thereafter, the card CO is transported in the X2 direction while rotating the first rotating lever 33a of the first branching mechanism 31 in the Y2 direction against the tensile force of the first tension spring 34a, and the card is handled. Returned to mouth 3 (3-cho 6).

On the other hand, when it is determined in Sr1 that the blank space is heated, the same payment process and balance recording process as in step 4a described above are performed (ST4b), and then the card Co is sent to the printing means 9 in the same manner as in the above case. At this time, under the control of the CPU 23, the printing means 9 adds visual identification information consisting of a * symbol as shown in FIG. (ST5b
), after which step 6 described above is executed.

In this way, according to the device 1 of the present embodiment, the card Co
Even when there is a remaining balance and the character information entry field 60 is full, by displaying visual identification information in the identification information addition 11140, the magnetic stripe MSI can be used without adding any new mechanism. This card Co can be used until the remaining amount reaches zero while ensuring consistency between the recorded information recorded on the card and the text information or visual identification information.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above,
Various modifications are possible within the scope of the gist.

For example, instead of the above-mentioned card Co, a card C1 may be used, as shown in FIG. 5, with I[41 indicating the estimated remaining amount attached to the identification information aI40.

This scale display can also be used in combination with text printing, so if you set the amount of the card at the time of issue as the maximum value on the scale, and print the text, you can also mark it on the scale, even when there is no space for text. It can be used as is. Also, if you think of it simply as a mark, if you print the characters along the outer periphery of the card so as to enclose them, it is possible to record the same number of times as the characters on about 10 cards.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention described in detail above, it is possible to improve the convenience of how a user uses a transaction medium, and there is no need for reissuance processing, which eliminates the need to improve the functionality of the device. It is possible to provide a trading device without any restrictions.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the internal structure of the device, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical control system of the main part of the device, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the other side of the same card, FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of the embodiment device, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing how the card is used. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a conventional card. 1... Transaction device, 11... Transaction history information addition means,
12... Recorded information processing means, 21... Discrimination control means, Go, CI... Card. Figure 4 Figure S

Claims (1)

[Claims] A prepaid transaction medium having a text information field for adding transaction history text information and a recording section for recording information corresponding to the transaction history text information in a form different from visual information is taken in, and the In a transaction device that writes a balance in a character information entry field, there is recorded information processing means for reading transaction history information from a recording section of the transaction medium, and writing of the character information based on the transaction history information read by this recorded information processing means. Discrimination control means for determining the entry state of the column, and entry of transaction history text information in the text information entry field based on the discrimination result of the discrimination control means, or display of visual identification information indicating the transaction history outside the text information entry field. A transaction device characterized in that it has transaction history information adding means for performing.