JP2001134725A - Point card reader-writer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a point card reader-writer capable of dealing with various kinds of point cards with one reader-writer by storing the card class of the point card and the number of times of printing onto a thermosensible printing face corresponding to the card class on a magnetic printing face. SOLUTION: At the time of printing onto the thermosensible printing face of the point card, a control part 11 records the kind of the point card on the magnetic point printing face and records the number of times of printing corresponding to the kind of the card on the thermosensible printing face. Thus, heating to the thermosensible printing face can be controlled in accordance with the card type. Further, when the service life of the thermosensible printing face different for each card is exhausted, the point card is collected and a new point card corresponding thereto can be issued.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a point card reader / writer, and more particularly to a point card reader / writer capable of handling a plurality of types of point cards and a point card read / write method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional point card reader / writer is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 02-132584 when the additional data writing capacity on the magnetic surface of the point card becomes less than a certain value, or in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 222817, when a data defect on the thermal printing surface of the point card is detected or when the number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface of the point card exceeds the number of demands of the thermal printing surface, these point cards are used. They were collected and the necessary information was written on a new point card and issued.

[0003] These point card reader / writers are all considered on the premise that there is only one type of target point card. Therefore, the card type and the number of times of printing corresponding to the card type are recorded on a magnetic surface at a predetermined location on the magnetic printing surface of the point card handled by these pointer reader / writers, and a single point card reader / writer can record a plurality of types of point cards. There was no suggestion of handling.

[0004] The configuration and operation of a conventional point card reader / writer will be described below. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional point card reader / writer. Conventional point card reader / writer is a point card (not shown)
, A magnetic sensor 102 for reading magnetic data from a point card and writing magnetic data on the point card, and a thermal head 103 for printing and erasing on a thermal printing surface (not shown) of the point card
And an insertion slot sensor 104 for detecting insertion of a point card
And a timing detection sensor 105 for detecting a start timing of writing and reading of magnetic data to the point card and a timing of starting erasure of the thermal printing surface, and a card presence / absence confirmation sensor 1 for confirming the presence or absence of the point card
06, a timing detection sensor 107 for detecting a timing for starting printing on the thermal printing surface and a timing for switching the transport path switching valve, and a switching valve 10 for switching the transport path 101 when the point card is collected.
8, a bad point card collection that collects a point card when a data defect on the magnetic printing surface (not shown) of the point card is detected and when the number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface exceeds the life count of the thermal printing surface. The box 109, a new point card storage box 110 for storing a new point card to be used in place of the collected point card, and monitoring the transfer position of the point card, and writing the point card on the magnetic printing surface and The control unit 111 controls reading from the magnetic printing surface and printing and erasing on the thermal printing surface.

The operation of each section is as follows. First, the transport path 101 is a point card (not shown)
To each part. The magnetic sensor 102 reads magnetic data from a point card and writes magnetic data to the point card. The thermal head 103
It prints data on the thermal printing surface (not shown) of the point card and erases the print data. The point card sensor 104 detects insertion of the point card. Sensor 10
Numeral 5 detects the start timing of writing or reading magnetic data on the point card and the timing of starting printing on the thermal printing surface. The sensor 106 checks the presence or absence of a reward card. The sensor 107 detects a timing at which printing on the thermal printing surface is started and a timing at which the transport path switching valve 108 is switched. The switching valve 108 moves the transport path 1 toward the collection box when collecting the point card.
Change 01. In the collection box 109, the point cards whose number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface of the point card is equal to or longer than the number of life of the thermal printing surface are collected. The storage box 110
Stores a new loyalty card to be used in place of the collected loyalty card. The control unit 111 monitors the transport position of the point card, and controls writing on the magnetic surface of the point card, reading from the magnetic surface, and printing and erasing on the thermal printing surface.

[0006]

Recently, the convenience of prepaid cards and the enhancement of the point system at each store have been combined, and it can be said that this is the era of the prosperity of point cards. Also, there are occasions where individual retail stores share sales space and conduct business, and share registers. In such a sales system, if the point card reader / writer supports only one type of card,
Each store inevitably needs to create a unified reward card, and it is not possible to show the individuality of each store. In the case of a point card similar to a prepaid card having a different set amount, a business measure for giving a difference in a discount rate or the like depending on the initial purchase amount is a frequently used means.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to store the card type of a point card and the number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface corresponding to the card type on a magnetic printing surface. Another object of the present invention is to provide a point card reader / writer that can handle a wide variety of point cards with one card. In addition, the first transport path switching valve has two or more transport path switching valves, and the first transport path switching valve switches the transport path by collecting or newly issuing a point card, and the second transport path switching valve switches the new transport path to a new point stored in the storage box. By switching the transport path so that point cards of the same type as the collected point cards are taken out of the cards, a point card reader / writer that can handle a wide variety of point cards with one unit To provide.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic sensor for writing and reading magnetic data on a magnetic printing surface of a point card, and a thermal head for printing and erasing on a thermal printing surface of the point card. In the point card reader / writer comprising: with the printing on the thermal printing surface of the point card, the type of the point card and the corresponding number of times of printing are recorded on the magnetic printing surface, and the data failure of the magnetic printing surface of the point card is detected. When the number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface of the point card exceeds the corresponding number of times of printing, the point card is collected, and magnetic data and print data are written and issued on a new point card. It is characterized by having done.

With this configuration, the card type of the point card and the number of times of printing corresponding to the card type are stored in the thermal printing surface of the point card, so that heating of the thermal printing surface can be controlled according to the card type. When the number of lifespan of the thermal printing surface becomes different for each card, the point card is collected and a new point card corresponding to the point card can be issued. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a point card reader / writer corresponding to each of a wide variety of point cards, which is advantageous because a very efficient business measure can be implemented.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a transport path for transporting a point card, a magnetic sensor for writing and reading magnetic data to and from the point card, and printing and erasing on a thermal printing surface of the point card. A point card reader / writer having a thermal head, an insertion slot sensor for detecting insertion of the point card, a timing for starting writing and reading of magnetic data to the point card, and a timing for starting erasing of the thermal printing surface. A first timing detection sensor to detect, a card presence sensor to confirm the presence or absence of the point card, a second timing detection sensor to detect the timing to start printing on the thermal printing surface and the timing to switch the transport path switching valve , Change the transport path when collecting and issuing new point cards A first transport path switching valve, a second transport path switching valve for switching a transport path to carry out a point card of the same type as the point card collected at the time of new issuance, and detection of data failure on the magnetic printing surface In the case where the number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface exceeds the number of lifespan of the thermal printing surface, a collection box for collecting point cards, two or more storage boxes for storing new point cards, and the insertion port sensor, Monitoring the transport position of the point card based on detection information from a second timing detection sensor and the card presence / absence confirmation sensor;
And a control unit for controlling the second transfer path switching valve.

[0011] With this configuration, it is not necessary to provide a point card reader / writer corresponding to each of various types of point cards, and it is possible to save space at the sales floor. Also, it is very useful because various business measures can be taken according to the number of types of reward cards. In addition, since all the stored point cards are of the same type, even a single type of point card can be processed in a larger number than in the related art, so that it is efficient.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the control unit records the type of the point card and the corresponding number of times of printing on the magnetic printing surface of the point card during printing and erasing on the thermal printing surface of the point card. It is characterized by doing. With such a configuration, it is possible to quickly respond to a variety of renewal procedures of the point card, and furthermore, it is possible to appropriately carry out the transfer of a new point card, which is efficient.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a point reader / writer of the present invention. Point reader / writer is transport path 1 for transporting point cards
A magnetic sensor 2 that reads magnetic data from a point card and writes magnetic data to the point card;
Thermal head 3 for printing on the thermal printing surface (not shown) of the point card and erasing print data, an insertion opening sensor 4 for detecting insertion of the point card, and timing for starting to write and read magnetic data on the point card , A timing detection sensor 5 for detecting the start of erasing of the thermal printing surface, a card presence / absence sensor 6 for confirming the presence / absence of a point card, a timing for starting printing on the thermal printing surface, and a transport path switching valve 8a and transport. A timing detection sensor 7 for detecting the timing of switching the path switching valve 8b, a switching valve 8a for switching the transport path 1 when collecting point cards, and a switching valve 8a for switching the transport path 1 when discharging new point cards. Detects defective data on transfer path switching valve 8b and magnetic printing surface of point card A bad point card collection box 9 for collecting point cards when the number of printings on the thermal printing surface exceeds the number of service life of the thermal printing surface, and a new point card used in place of the collected point cards. The loyalty card storage box 10, the loyalty card storage box 12, and the loyalty card storage box 13 for storing a new loyalty card of a type corresponding to the collected loyalty card, and monitoring the transfer position of the loyalty card, The control unit 11 controls writing on the printing surface, reading from the magnetic printing surface, and printing and erasing on the thermal printing surface.

It is desirable that the number of storage boxes arranged via the switching valve 8a or the switching valve 8b is a number corresponding to the type of card to be handled by one point card reader / writer.

The function of each part is as follows. When the sensor 4 detects the point card, the control unit 11 starts to convey the point card by the conveyance path 1. The transport direction of the transport path 1 is as shown by the arrow A, and the direction is controlled by the control unit 11. Magnetic sensor 2 from insertion slot
Is defined as a forward direction, and the reverse direction is defined as a reverse direction.

When the timing detection sensor 5 detects the tip of the point card conveyed in the forward direction, the magnetic sensor 2 starts collecting magnetic data, and analyzes the collected magnetic data. When printing on the thermal printing surface of the point card, the control unit 11 records the type of the point card and the number of times of printing corresponding to the type of the card on the thermal printing surface on the magnetic printing surface.

If the number of times of printing or erasing on the thermal printing surface in the magnetic data is equal to or longer than the number of lifespan of the thermal printing, the point card switching valve 8a detected by the timing detection sensor 7 is replaced with the collection box 9 The direction is switched to transport on the transport path 1. Further, the control unit 11 controls the transport path switching valve 8a or the transport path switching valve 8a and the transport path switching valve 8b to carry out a new point card corresponding to the type of the collected point card. The loyalty card is fed out of the storage box 10, the storage box 12, or the storage box 13, and is conveyed in the opposite direction. When the trailing end of a new point card is detected by the sensor 7, printing is performed by the thermal head 3, and when the timing detection sensor 5 detects the point card, print data is printed on the thermal printing surface and the magnetic printing surface is printed. The point card type and the initial value of the number of prints are written and issued. When a data defect on the printing surface is detected, or when the number of printings on the thermal printing surface exceeds the lifespan of the thermal printing surface, the point card is collected,
Instead, a new loyalty card can be issued.

Here, new loyalty cards corresponding to the types of loyalty cards collected in the collecting box 9 are stored in the storing boxes 10 to 13, respectively. When issuing a new point card, when the point card is collected in the collection box 9, the storage box 10 corresponding to the type is collected.
A new point card is fed out from one of the storage boxes 13 and conveyed, print data is printed on the thermal printing surface, and the type of the point card and the initial value of the number of times of printing are written on the magnetic printing surface.

As described above, the control unit 11 monitors the point card transport position and controls a series of operations from the insertion port sensor 4 of the point card reader / writer to the switching valves 8a to 8b.

With the above configuration and operation, when the number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface of the point card becomes equal to or longer than the life of the thermal printing surface of the point card, the collection of the point card and the collection of the point card are performed. It is possible to issue a new loyalty card quickly in place of the above. The above series of steps and the operation when the number of printings on the thermal printing surface does not exceed the number of lifetimes of the thermal printing surface are represented by a time chart shown in FIG.

That is, when the type of the point card and the number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface are given to the control unit 11 from the magnetic data of the point card, the control unit 11 determines the number of times of printing demand on the thermal printing surface according to the card type. Select and compare the life and the number of prints according to the card type.If the life is not exceeded, count up the number of prints on the thermal printing surface after printing on the point card and store it in the magnetic data And discharge the loyalty card.

Further, the control unit 11 compares the life and the number of printings according to the type of the carried-in card, and if the number of times exceeds the life, collects the point card in a collection box and then stores it in the collection box. Then, a new point card corresponding to the type of the collected point card is fed from one of the storage box 12 and the storage box 13, and is conveyed. Further, predetermined items are printed on the thermal printing surface, an initial value is stored in the magnetic printing surface, and an initial value is stored in the number of times of printing corresponding to the type of card on the thermal printing surface, and the card is ejected.

[0023]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a time chart according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 conveyance path 4 insertion port sensor 2
Magnetic sensor 3 Thermal head 8a, 8b Transport path switching valve 11 Control unit 9 Collection box 10, 12, 13 Storage box

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G11B 5/02 G11B 19/02 521 19/02 521 B41J 3/20 109E F-term (Reference) 3E042 BA07 BA18 CC01 CC02 CD04 CE01 CE03 CE04 5B058 CA31 KA02 KA05 KA08 KA11 KA12 KA16 YA02 5D066 SA01 SB04 SB11 SB15 SC03 SE03 SF02 5D091 AA11 BB06 FF10 FF20 HH20 JJ21

Claims (3)

[Claims] A point card reader / writer comprising: a magnetic sensor for writing and reading magnetic data on a magnetic printing surface of a point card; and a thermal head for printing and erasing on a thermal printing surface of the point card.
Along with printing on the thermal printing surface of the point card, the type of the point card and the corresponding number of printings are recorded on the magnetic printing surface, and when a data defect on the magnetic printing surface of the point card is detected, or when the thermal printing of the point card is performed. A point card reader / writer, wherein when the number of times of printing on the side exceeds the corresponding number of times of printing, the point card is collected and magnetic data and print data are written and issued on a new point card. . 2. A transport path for transporting a point card, a magnetic sensor for writing and reading magnetic data to and from the point card, and a thermal head for printing and erasing the thermal printing surface of the point card. A point card reader / writer provided with an insertion slot sensor for detecting insertion of the point card, and a first port for detecting timing of starting writing and reading of magnetic data to the point card and timing of starting erasing of the thermal printing surface.
A timing detection sensor, a card presence / absence sensor for confirming the presence / absence of the point card, a second timing detection sensor for detecting timing for starting printing on the thermal printing surface, and timing for switching a conveyance path switching valve, and the point card A first transfer path switching valve for switching the transfer path when collecting and newly issuing a card, and a second transfer path for switching the transfer path so as to carry out the same type of point card collected when the new card is issued. A collection box for collecting a point card and a new point card for storing the point card when a data failure on the switching valve and the magnetic printing surface is detected and when the number of times of printing on the thermal printing surface exceeds the number of lifespan of the thermal printing surface. The above storage box, the insertion slot sensor, the first and second timing detection sensors, and the card presence / absence confirmation sensor And a control unit for monitoring the transfer position of the point card based on the detection information from the controller and controlling the first and second transfer path switching valves. 3. The point card type and the corresponding number of times of printing are recorded on the magnetic printing surface of the point card at the time of printing and erasing on the thermal printing surface of the point card. Point card reader writer described in.