JPH04135874A - Record medium processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow the title processor to accommodate easily to changes of a printing area of a record medium by deciding a next print start position based on control information relating to a read printable area and an area printed already. CONSTITUTION:A CPU receives a detecting signal from a 3rd sensor S3 and controls a 1st magnetic head 20a. The 1st magnetic head 20a scans a magnetic stripe MS on the rear of a prepaid card C1 so as to start reading transaction information. Soon after the 3rd sensor S3 is turned off, the reading operation by the 1st magnetic head 20a also ends. At this time, the CPU decides security information based on the information read by the magnetic head 20a so as to distinguish whether the card C1 can be used or not. When it can be used, the CPU compares the remainder of the magnetic data with a transaction amount. When it is determined that a transaction can be established, a position of a printing area after the transaction is calculated. If the calculated position does not exceed a lower limit of printing position (15 lines), printing will be possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a recording medium processing device for processing a recording medium such as a prepaid card on which transaction information can be printed.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, the printing area of a prepaid card or the like, that is, the area from the printing start position to the printing end position, is fixed for each type of card.

For such cards, the processing device is
Based on the number of transactions), the number of times of printing, or information equivalent to these, as long as the card is valid, printing is performed in the above printing area in order.

However, since the printing area is fixed, if this is to be changed, the processing device must also be modified.

Furthermore, since the processing device can only process one type of card, it has the disadvantage of lacking in usability.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, conventional printing methods have drawbacks in that they cannot easily accommodate changes in the printing area and lack L usability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium processing apparatus that can easily respond to changes in the printing area of a recording medium and can process various recording media.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the recording medium processing device of the present invention includes a printing area where transaction information can be printed and a mechanical reading area. A device for processing a recording medium having a printable area and a recording unit that records control information related to the printed area in a printable state, from the recording unit of the recording medium to the printable area and the printed area in the printing area. a reading means for reading control information related to the printable area, a determination means for determining the next printing start position based on the control information related to the printable area and the printed area read by the reading means, and a determination result of the determination means. and a printing means for printing from the printing start position based on the printing start position.

(Function) The present invention allows transaction information to be always printed from the print start position in the print area by the above-described means, so that processing can be performed without being restricted by changes in the type of recording medium or the print area. It is.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the external appearance of the recording medium processing apparatus of the present invention.

This processing device 1 has a device main body 2 formed in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and two front panels of the device main body 2 have cards for individually inserting and removing prepaid cards as various recording media to be described later. There are 3 handling ports.

In addition, an error lamp 4a1 indicating a reading error or writing error of a prepaid card, etc. is provided on the two front panels.
A jam lamp 4b indicating the occurrence of a trouble, a line lamp 4c indicating a communication error with a host device (not shown), a power lamp 4d, and a handling lamp 4e indicating a state in which a prepaid card or the like can be handled are provided.

FIG. 3 shows the internal configuration of the processing device 1 shown in FIG. 2 described above.

That is, the card handling opening 3 is provided inside the device main body 2.
A conveying means 6 forming a horizontally disposed conveying path 5 from the bottom toward the deepest part, and a shutter section 7 disposed facing the conveying path 5, respectively. Area discrimination means 8 consisting of first to fourth sensors S1 to S4, visual history information forming means 11 consisting of printing means 9 and punching means (punch mechanism section) 10, transaction information for prepaid cards etc. (details will be described later) ) is provided.

The first to fourth sensors S1 to S of the area determination means 8
4 includes a light emitting element 13a and a light receiving element 13b, both of which are arranged to form an optical path passing through the transport path 5, and are arranged along the transport path 5 at predetermined intervals.

The conveying means 6 includes a first conveying roller 14a disposed near the first sensor S, 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 S.
a second conveying roller 14b disposed at a position in front of the third conveying roller 14b; Fourth sensor S3. A third conveyance roller 14c disposed between S4, a fourth conveyance roller 14d disposed further after the fourth sensor S4, and the first to fourth conveyance rollers 14a to 14d are tensioned. and 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.
and the above-mentioned No. 1. A branched conveyance roller 17 disposed at an intermediate position between the second conveyance rollers 14a and 14b, and the first guide roller 15a2 branched conveyance roller 17. It is provided with an auxiliary conveyance belt 18 stretched around the second guide b-ra 15b.

The conveying path 5 is then moved by the belt surface of the conveying belt 16.
At the same time, by bringing the conveyance belt 16 into contact with the lower side of the branch conveyance roller 17, a branch conveyance path 5a is formed between the first conveyance roller 14a and the second conveyance roller 14b. .

In addition, in FIG. 3, 19 is a guide plate.

The shutter section 7 is arranged at a position closer to the card handling opening 3 than the first conveyance roller 14a, and appears and retracts on the conveyance path 5 under the control of a control means to be described later to block the passage of prepaid cards and the like. or open to the public.

The first to fourth sensors S1 to S of the area determination means 8
4 has the arrangement state described above, sends a position signal indicating the position of a prepaid card etc. conveyed on the conveyance path 5, and records the recording state of a visual history recording area provided on the prepaid card etc. The area determination signal shown in FIG.

The printing means 9 is constituted by, for example, a thermal printer, and is arranged so that its print head surface faces the outer peripheral surface of the branch conveyance roller 17.

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 prepaid card.

The reading/writing means 12 includes the third conveyance roller 14c.
and the first guide roller 15c, which are arranged facing each other with their head surfaces facing upward and downward, respectively. It is composed of second magnetic heads 20a and 20b.

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

This processing device 1 has a control means 21 that controls the whole, and this control means 21 includes a transport motor (not shown) of the transport means 6, sensors S1 to S4 of the area determination means 8, a shutter section 7, and a printing means. 9, punching means 10, and reading/writing means 12 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 It is equipped with a data memory 24 that stores transaction information to be handled.

Here, with reference to FIG. 5, the prepaid cards handled by this device 1 will be explained.

The prepaid card c1 shown in FIG. 5 has a recording area Ca for displaying visual history information such as date and balance on the front side, and a magnetic stripe MS on the back side.

Sunawachi, as shown in Figure 5 (b), the face value of the card that can be transacted, the card number, and a note are printed and recorded on the front side of the prepaid card C1, and the transaction record is recorded in the center part. A recording area Ca is formed.

This recording area Ca is from the 8th line to the 15th line in a normal line pitch, and printing is possible from the Oth character to the 19th character in the line direction.

FIG. 6 shows the contents of transaction information recorded on the magnetic stripe MS.

This magnetic stripe MS includes security information such as identification code and expiry date 1 upper limit printing position information (recording area C
Transaction information consisting of starting line number 8), lower limit printing position information (ending printing line number 15 in recording area Ca), number of transactions, history information, amount, and serial number is now recorded in the form of magnetic information. ing.

The history information is formed from the previous information, the information from the time before the previous time, and the information from the time before the previous time. The contents of this historical information are as follows:
It is specified as the date of use, place of use, and remaining amount.

Next, the operation of the apparatus having the above structure will be explained with reference to FIG.

When a prepaid card C3 is inserted into the card handling slot 3 of this device 1, first, the first sensor S1 detects the prepaid card C1 and sends a detection signal (position signal) to the CPU.
Send to 23rd. As a result, the CPO 23 operates the shutter section 7 that had previously blocked the conveyance path 5 to open the conveyance path 5. Further, at the same time, the conveyance motor rotates in the normal direction and is further accelerated to convey the prepaid card C1 in the X1 direction shown in FIG. 3.

When the rear end of the prepaid card C1 comes off the sensor S1 of Ml as the prepaid card C1 is transported in the X1 direction, the first sensor S1 is turned off, and when the prepaid card C1 is further transported in the X1 direction, the first sensor The second sensor S2 is turned on, and upon receiving the detection signal from the second sensor s2, the CPU 23 closes the shutter section 7 to shut off the conveyance path 5.

Further, when the prepaid card CI is transported in the X direction, the third sensor S3 is turned on, and the CPU 23, which receives the detection signal from the third sensor S, controls the first magnetic head 20a. As a result, the first magnetic head 20a scans the magnetic stripe MS on the back side of the prepaid card C1 and starts reading the transaction information in the t-mode shown in FIG.

Eventually, after the third sensor S3 is turned off, the reading operation by the first magnetic head 20a ends, and at this time, under the control of the CPU 23, the transport motor changes from deceleration to a stop state, and further, The reverse operation is started and the prepaid card CI is transported backward in the X2 direction.

At the time of 2, the CPU 23 determines security information etc. from the information read by the first magnetic head 20a,
It is determined whether the card C1 can be used. When enabled, the read information is communicated to a higher-level device, such as a POS, and the POS
The transaction amount is transmitted from S to the CPU 23.

The CPO 23 compares the remaining amount of the magnetic data with the transaction amount, and when determining that the transaction is successful, calculates the position of the print area after the transaction. This position calculation is performed by calculating the print position - upper limit print position information + number of transactions + 1 (current transaction) from the upper/lower limit print position information and the number of transactions so far.

If this calculated position does not exceed the lower limit printing position IF (line 15), it is determined that printing is possible and that transactions and printing are possible.

As the prepaid card C2 is transported backward in the X2 direction, the third. Second sensor S3. S2 is turned on again in turn and the fourth sensor s4 is turned off. Eventually, when the third sensor S is turned off, the conveyance motor decelerates to a stop, and then rotates normally again to accelerate. As a result, the prepaid card CI is again
conveyed in the direction. And the X of prepaid card C3
, the third sensor S is turned on as it is transported in the direction, and the CPU 23 receives the detection signal from the third sensor s3.
performs write control on the first magnetic head 20a.

That is, history information of the read transaction information is temporarily stored in the data memory 24, and the latest information consisting of the date of use, place of use, and remaining amount associated with the current transaction, and the previous information stored in the data memory 24 The information and the information from the previous time are written in the magnetic stripe MS of the prepaid card C1 in the form shown in FIG. By such a writing operation to the magnetic stripe MS, the previous information of the history information is discarded, and the history information of the magnetic stripe MS is updated.

This writing operation is performed over the steps in which the fourth sensor S4 is turned on, the second sensor S2 is turned off, and the third sensor S3 is turned off as the prepaid card C1 is transported in the X1 direction.

Eventually, when the writing operation by the first magnetic head 20a is completed, the transport motor changes from deceleration to a stop state, and then reverses again to accelerate.

Confirmation reading is then performed by the first magnetic head 20a. During this time, the third sensor S.

is turned on, the second sensor S2 is turned on, and the fourth sensor S4 is turned off. When the third sensor S is turned off, the confirmation reading operation by the first magnetic head 20a ends, and at this time, the transport motor enters the deceleration state.

At this time, the prepaid card C1 is in a state of sliding contact with the upper outer peripheral surface of the branch transport roller 17 in the transport path 5, and in this state, when the second sensor S2 is turned off, the above-mentioned CPU 23 determines whether printing is possible or not. Based on the determination result and the print position calculation result, the printing means 9 performs an operation of recording visual history information corresponding to the current transaction in the blank space of the recording area Ca.

After 2, the prepaid card C1 is further transported backward in the 3, and the 1st
sensor S1 is turned off.

As described above, the printing position is determined by calculation, and the recording operation for the recording area is controlled according to the calculation result. Therefore, since there are no restrictions on the format of the recording area, it is possible to handle a plurality of types of carts.

In the above embodiment, the explanation is given using a card in which the number of printed lines is 19 characters per line, but the card is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, each line can be divided into left and right blocks. The card C2 may be such that the X1 block on the left side is used first and the X2 block is printed after the X1 block is completed.

Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to prepaid cards, but may also be various magnetic carts such as cash cards.

It goes without saying that various other modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve L usability, so it is possible to easily cope with changes in the printing area of a recording medium, and it is also possible to adapt to various recording media. It is possible to provide a recording medium processing device capable of processing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 6 show an embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a flowchart shown to explain the operation, Fig. 2 is an external perspective view showing the recording medium processing device, Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram of the device, and Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the electrical control system of the device. 5 is a plan view showing an example of a prepaid card, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the contents of the magnetic stripe, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another example of the prepaid card. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Processing device, 6... Conveyance means, 8... Area discrimination means, 9... Printing means, 11... Visual history information forming means, 12... Reading/writing means, 20a, 20b...
・Magnetic head, 21...control means, 23...CPU
, 24...Data memory, C1...Prepaid card, Ca...Recording area. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 2 Figure 6 MS --- Chapter x 1 --- Chapter x 2 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A recording medium having a printing area on which transaction information can be printed and a recording section recording control information related to the printable area and the printed area in a mechanically readable state is processed. In the recording medium processing device, a reading means for reading control information related to the printable area and the printed area in the printing area from the recording section of the recording medium; and control information related to the printable area and the printed area read by the reading means. 1. A recording medium processing device comprising: determining means for determining the next printing start position based on control information that is determined; and printing means for performing printing from the print starting position based on the determination result of the determining means.