JP2747616B2 - Prepaid card system - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a prepaid card system used for paying for a television receiver, a washing machine, a refrigerator and the like.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various prepaid card systems have been proposed, and viewing / listening of a television receiver and use of a washing machine are charged by a charging device. Some of these paying devices enable a device to be used when a prepaid card is inserted from a card insertion slot, write remaining charge data to the prepaid card after using the device, and discharge the prepaid card from the card insertion slot. .

For example, in a fee-charging device that charges a fee for viewing a television receiver, when a prepaid card is inserted from a card insertion slot as shown in FIG. 12, the prepaid card is pulled in by a card transport motor, and the prepaid card is removed from the prepaid card. The frequency data or the like is read to determine whether the prepaid card is valid or not from this data. If the prepaid card is not valid, the prepaid card is ejected from the card insertion slot by the card transport motor. If the prepaid card is valid, turn on the power of the television receiver to enable viewing of the television receiver, and broadcast signals of each program to the television receiver according to the channel selection signal from the operation unit. To select. Then, the frequency with respect to the viewing time of the television receiver is counted at the set rate, and the result of counting the frequency is subtracted from the frequency data read from the prepaid card to obtain the remaining frequency. It is determined whether or not the remaining frequency is valid (more than frequency data per unit viewing time of the television receiver). If the remaining frequency data is more than frequency data per unit viewing time of the television receiver, When the television receiver is set to be kept viewable and the television receiver has finished viewing and a television receiver viewing end signal is input from the operation unit, the residual frequency data is written (rewritten and rewritten) in the prepaid card. ) The prepaid card is ejected from the card slot by the card transport motor. If the remaining frequency data is less than the frequency data per unit viewing time of the television receiver, the frequency data of the prepaid card is rewritten to the remaining frequency data, and the prepaid card is ejected from the card insertion slot by the card transport motor.

Some prepaid card systems charge not only television receivers for viewing but also use of refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, showers, ice makers, water heaters, and the like.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above prepaid card system, when the prepaid card is inserted from the card insertion slot, the device becomes usable, and after using this device, the remaining charge data is written into the prepaid card and the prepaid card is discharged from the card insertion slot. The wire is attached to the prepaid card, inserted from the card slot, and the prepaid card is forcibly pulled out from the card slot by wire before writing the remaining charge data. When another prepaid card is inserted through the card slot, the remaining charge data is written to the used prepaid card and the remaining charge data must be 0. Prepaid car that can use used prepaid card It would be replicated to. For this reason, the prepaid card can be used semipermanently, and illegal use of the prepaid card is possible.

An object of the present invention is to provide a prepaid card system which can solve the above-mentioned drawbacks and can prevent unauthorized use of the prepaid card.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention reads the charge data from the prepaid card by inserting the prepaid card, enables the device to be used when the charge data is valid, and reads the device from the read charge data after using the device. As shown in FIG. 1, in a prepaid card system having a paying device for obtaining remaining charge data by subtracting the charge data corresponding to the usage time, writing the remaining charge data on the prepaid card, and discharging the prepaid card, A card forcible replacement detection means for detecting that the prepaid card has been forcibly replaced after insertion and before writing the remaining charge data, and storing a unique identification code read from the prepaid card in a nonvolatile memory; Inserted a prepaid card with an identification code stored in the memory If those having a card disabling means 2 to rewrite the price fee data of the prepaid card to the data used in the apparatus becomes impossible.

(Operation)

The card forcible exchange detection means 1 detects that the prepaid card has been forcibly exchanged before insertion and before writing the remaining charge data, stores the unique identification code read from the prepaid card in a nonvolatile memory, and uses the card. When a prepaid card having an identification code stored in the non-volatile memory is inserted, the disabling means 2 rewrites the charge data of the prepaid card to data which makes the use of the device impossible.

〔Example〕

 FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention.

This embodiment is a hospital prepaid card system used by hospitalized patients and their attendants in a hospital,
The viewing of the television receiver 11 is charged by the charging device 12.

The antenna 13 receives a television broadcast signal of a plurality of channels, and the television broadcast signal from the antenna 13 is selected by the tuner 15 via the distributor 14. The independent broadcasting device 16 has a video tape recorder, a television camera, a microphone, and the like for recording and reproducing the television broadcasting signal from the distributor 14. The reproduction signal from the video tape recorder and the video signal from the television camera are provided. And an audio signal from the microphone as a broadcast signal of a channel different from the television broadcast channel. Either the broadcast signal from the independent broadcast device 16 or the broadcast signal from the tuner 15 is selected by the control signal from the control unit 18 by the RF switch 17 and input to the television receiver 11, and The control unit 19 turns on / off the power of the television receiver 11 according to a control signal from the control unit 18.
The display / operation unit 20 includes a television button 21 as shown in FIG.
Channel down button 22, channel up button 23,
It has a channel indicator 24, a residual number indicator 25, and the like, and inserts and ejects a prepaid card from a card insertion slot 27. In addition, as shown in FIG.
The card reader / writer 28 used for paying for viewing is inserted and ejected from the card insertion slot 27. The rate is arbitrarily set by a switch or the like so that the viewing time of the television receiver 11 is, for example, 36 seconds, 54 seconds, or 72 seconds per unit frequency.

In the card reader / writer 28, as shown in FIG. 4, a prepaid card is inserted in the direction indicated by an arrow from a card insertion slot 27, and the prepaid card is conveyed (insertion and ejection) along a card conveyance path 29 by a conveyance system (not shown). The magnetic head 30 magnetically reads and writes data on the prepaid card, and the thermal head 31 records marks on the prepaid card. The sensors 32, 33, and 34 detect a prepaid card at each predetermined position in the card transport path 29. As shown in FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (d), the magnetic head 30 comprises a write magnetic head 30a and a read magnetic head 30b, and the modulation / demodulation circuit 35 is controlled in synchronization with a write clock from a write clock generation circuit 36. The data from the section 18 is modulated and output to the write magnetic head 30a via the amplifier 37, thereby writing the data on the prepaid card. The data is read from the prepaid card by the read magnetic head 30b, and the read magnetic head 30b is read.
Is demodulated by the modulation / demodulation circuit 35 via the amplifier 38 and output to the control unit 18. Motor drive circuit
Numeral 39 drives the card transport DC motor 40 for driving the transport system in accordance with the motor forward rotation signal MF and the motor reverse rotation signal MB from the controller 18. The card position detection circuit 41 sends card detection signals from the sensors 32, 33, and 34 to the control unit 18, and the thermal head driving unit 42 uses the signal from the control unit 18 to
Is driven to record a mark on the prepaid card. As shown in FIG. 6, a magnetic stripe 44 having a width of 3 mm is provided on the lower surface of the prepaid card 43 at a position 9 mm from one side end in parallel with the insertion direction of the prepaid card 43. Reading and writing of data are performed by the magnetic head 30. Also, prepaid cards
43 magnetic stripe 44 has a unique ID for each prepaid card
Data and fee data (frequency data corresponding to time), an identification code number unique to each prepaid card that can be identified for each prepaid card, and the like are recorded. Initially, the frequency data is data of a certain frequency. As shown in FIG. 7, on the upper surface of the prepaid card 43, ten mark recording positions P1 to P10 are provided at regular intervals in parallel with the insertion direction of the prepaid card 43.
The thermal head 31 is driven by the thermal head drive unit 42 in accordance with the remaining frequency of 43 to record marks at the mark recording positions P1 to P10.

The control unit 18 controls the tuner 15 and the RF switch 17 based on signals from the channel down button 22 and the channel up button 22 to switch the reception channel (channel to be viewed) of the television receiver 11 each time the channel down button 22 is pressed. .., 11 and 12 of the television broadcast and the channels of the independent broadcast are sequentially selected to move downward, and each time the channel up button 22 is pressed, the television broadcasts 1, 2, 3 .. Are selected so that the channels 11 and 12 and the channel of the independent broadcast move sequentially upward, and the selected channels are displayed on the channel display 24. Further, the control unit 18 causes the remaining frequency indicator 25 to display the remaining frequency of the prepaid card inserted from the card insertion slot 27.

 FIG. 8 shows a part of the processing flow of the control unit 18.

When the prepaid card is inserted from the card insertion slot 27 and detected by the sensor 32, the control unit is turned on as shown in FIG.
18 outputs a motor normal rotation signal MF to the motor drive circuit 39 when the card detection signal PH1 from the sensor 32 is turned on, rotates the card transport DC motor 40 in the card loading direction, and outputs the card detection signal PH3 from the sensor 34. After sensor 3 turns on
When the card detection signal PH1 from 2 is turned off, the card transfer DC motor 40 is braked via the motor drive circuit 39 and stopped to terminate the loading of the prepaid card. When the card detection signal PH3 from the sensor 34 is turned on during the loading of the prepaid card, the magnetic head for reading from the prepaid card is read.
The data is read by 30b, and this data is
The signal is input to the control unit 18 via the modulation / demodulation circuit 35. Control unit 18
Stores the input data in the RAM and checks the ID data and frequency data in the input data to determine whether the inserted card is a valid prepaid card. Control unit 18
If the inserted card is determined not to be a valid prepaid card from the ID data, or if the frequency data in the input data is determined to be not more than the frequency data corresponding to the unit viewing time of the television receiver 11, the motor is rotated in reverse. The signal MB is output to the motor drive circuit 39 and the card transport DC
The motor 40 is rotated in the ejection direction, and the prepaid card is ejected from the card insertion slot 27. In this case, the control unit 18
As shown in FIG. 10, about two seconds after the prepaid card detection signal PH1 from the sensor 32 is turned off, the card transport DC motor 40 is stopped via the motor drive circuit 39.

The control unit 18 determines that the inserted card is a valid prepaid card from the ID data in the input data, and that the frequency data in the input data is greater than or equal to the frequency data corresponding to the unit viewing time of the television receiver 11. If determined, the identification code number in the input data is stored in the RAM, and it is determined whether or not this identification code number matches the identification code number of the unusable prepaid card stored in the nonvolatile memory described later. to decide.
If the identification code number in the input data does not match the identification code number of the unusable prepaid card stored in the non-volatile memory, the control unit 18 determines that the inserted prepaid card is a usable prepaid card Then, the power of the television receiver 11 is turned on by the power supply control unit 19 to enable viewing of the television receiver 11. Next, the control unit 18 controls the tuner 15 and the RF switch 17 in accordance with the input signals from the channel down button 22 and the channel up button 23 in the display / operation unit 20 so that the antenna 13 and the independent broadcasting device 16 A television broadcast signal to the John receiver 11 and an independent broadcast signal are selected. Then, the controller 18 counts the frequency corresponding to the viewing time of the television receiver 11 at the set rate while watching the television receiver 11, and the result of the counting is less than the frequency data in the input data and the remaining frequency It is determined whether or not (the value obtained by subtracting the counting result from the frequency data in the input data) is equal to or greater than the frequency corresponding to the unit viewing time of the television receiver 11. Television receiver 11
Control unit if the frequency does not exceed the frequency corresponding to the unit viewing time of
18 judges whether or not the inserted prepaid card 43 has been forcibly replaced by the user, that is, the user attaches a wire or the like to the prepaid card, inserts it through the card insertion slot 27, and writes remaining charge data. Previously, it is determined whether an illegal act of forcibly pulling out the prepaid card from the card insertion slot 27 with a wire or the like and then inserting another prepaid card from the card insertion slot has been performed. In this case, the control unit 18 outputs the motor reverse rotation signal MB to the motor drive circuit 39, rotates the card transport DC motor 40 in the ejection direction, returns the prepaid card 43 to near the card insertion slot 27, The transfer signal MF is output to the motor drive circuit 39, and the card transport DC motor 40 is rotated in the take-in direction to take in the prepaid card 43.
The data read by the read magnetic head 30b is taken in through the amplifier 38 and the modulation / demodulation circuit 35, and the ID data in this data is compared with the ID data in the input data (input data stored in the RAM) to be read. Prepaid card by judging whether or not
It is determined whether 43 has been replaced. When the control unit 18 determines that the prepaid card 43 has been forcibly replaced by the user, the user attaches a wire or the like to the prepaid card, inserts it through the card slot 27, and writes the prepaid card before writing the remaining charge data. It is determined that an illegal act of inserting another prepaid card from the card insertion slot after forcibly pulling out the card from the card insertion slot 27 with a wire or the like has been performed, and the prepaid card 43 stored in the RAM is determined.
Is stored in the nonvolatile memory as the identification code number of the unusable prepaid card, the motor reverse rotation signal MB is output to the motor drive circuit 39, and the card transport DC motor 40 is rotated in the discharge direction to prepare the prepaid card. card
43 is ejected from the card insertion slot 27, and the power control unit 19 turns off the power of the television receiver 11. The control unit 18
If it is determined that the forcible replacement of the prepaid card 43 has not been performed, when the prepaid card 43 is inserted, the time read from the prepaid card 43 and stored in the RAM is used as the viewing time of the television receiver 11 based on the frequency data stored in the RAM. The result of counting the frequency corresponding to the above is subtracted, and the result is output as residual frequency data to the write magnetic head 30b via the modulation / demodulation circuit 35 and the amplifier 37, and is written to the prepaid card 43. In this case, the controller 18 outputs the motor reverse rotation signal MB to the motor drive circuit 39, rotates the card transport DC motor 40 in the ejection direction, returns the prepaid card 43 to near the card insertion slot 27, and returns to the eleventh step. As shown in the figure, the motor forward rotation signal MF
Is output to the motor drive circuit 39 and the card transport DC motor 40
Is rotated in the take-in direction to take in the prepaid card 43, and after the card detection signal from the sensor 34 is turned on, the remaining frequency data is written into the prepaid card 43 (frequency data is rewritten). Further, the control unit 18 outputs a motor reverse rotation signal MB to the motor drive circuit 39, and rotates the card transport DC motor 40 in the ejection direction to thereby prepare the prepaid card.
43 is ejected from the card insertion slot 27, and the power control unit 19 turns off the power of the television receiver 11.

If the remaining frequency is equal to or more than the frequency corresponding to the unit viewing time of the television receiver 11, the control unit 18 keeps the power of the television receiver 11 turned on until the television button 21 is pressed, and the channel down button 22, The tuner 15 and the RF switch 17 are controlled according to the input signal from the channel up button 23, and the frequency corresponding to the viewing time of the television receiver 11 is counted at the set rate. Therefore, the viewer of the television receiver 11 can select a channel by the channel down button 22 and the channel up button 23 to view the television broadcast or the independent broadcast on the television receiver 11, and when the viewing is finished, Press the TV button 21. The control unit 18 determines whether or not the viewing of the television receiver 11 has ended based on a signal from the television button 21. When the viewing of the television receiver 11 is completed, the control unit 18 controls the inserted prepaid card.
It is determined as described above whether 43 has been forcibly replaced by the user. If the control unit 18 determines that the prepaid card 43 has been forcibly replaced by the user, the control unit 18 stores the identification code number of the prepaid card 43 stored in the RAM in the same manner as described above in the identification code of the prepaid card that cannot be used in the nonvolatile memory. After storing the number as a number, the motor reverse rotation signal MB is output to the motor drive circuit 39, the card transport DC motor 40 is rotated in the discharge direction to discharge the prepaid card 43 from the card insertion slot 27, and the power supply control unit 19 John receiver
Turn off the power of 11. When the control unit 18 determines that the prepaid card 43 has not been forcibly replaced, the control unit 18 reads the data from the prepaid card 43 when the prepaid card 43 is inserted and stores the data in the RAM in the same manner as described above. The counting result of the frequency corresponding to the viewing time of the John receiver 11 is subtracted, and the result is converted into residual frequency data via the modulation / demodulation circuit 35 and the amplifier 37.
Output to 0a and write it to the prepaid card 43. Further, the control unit 18 causes the prepaid card 43 to be ejected from the card insertion slot 27 in the same manner as described above, and causes the power control unit 19 to shut off the power of the television receiver 11.

If the identification code number in the input data matches the identification code number of the unusable prepaid card stored in the nonvolatile memory, the inserted prepaid card is an unusable prepaid card. The residual frequency data of 0 is output to the write magnetic head 30a via the modulation / demodulation circuit 35 and the amplifier 37, and is written to the prepaid card 43, whereby the residual frequency data of the prepaid card 43 is rewritten to 0 and the prepaid card is rewritten. 43 cannot be used. Further, the control unit 18 causes the prepaid card 43 to be ejected from the card insertion slot 27 in the same manner as described above.

In this embodiment, it is detected that the prepaid card has been forcibly replaced after insertion and before writing the remaining charge data, and the unique identification code read from the prepaid card is stored in the nonvolatile memory. When the prepaid card in which the identification code is stored is inserted, the frequency data of the prepaid card is set to 0, so that the user attaches a wire or the like to the prepaid card and inserts it through the card insertion slot 27 to write the remaining charge data. If the fraudulent act of forcibly pulling out a prepaid card from the card insertion slot 27 with a wire or the like and then inserting another prepaid card from the card insertion slot is performed beforehand, the frequency data of this prepaid card becomes 0, Subsequent use becomes impossible. For this reason, if the same prepaid card has a high probability of being used many times with the same pay-as-you-go device as in this embodiment, the above-mentioned fraudulent acts may not be profitable even if it may be damaged. It is no longer performed, and unauthorized use of the prepaid card is prevented.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, time data may be used as the fee data instead of the frequency data, and the usage time of the device may be directly counted regardless of the rate. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to a case where the use of a refrigerator, a washing machine, a dryer, a shower device, an ice machine, a water heater, and the like is charged.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by inserting the prepaid card, the charge data is read from the prepaid card, and the device can be used when the charge data is valid,
After using the device, the charge data is obtained by subtracting the charge data corresponding to the device usage time from the read charge data to obtain remaining charge data, writing the remaining charge data to the prepaid card, and discharging the prepaid card. In a prepaid card system, a card forcible exchange detecting means for detecting that the prepaid card has been forcibly exchanged before insertion and before writing the remaining charge data, and storing a unique identification code read from the prepaid card in a nonvolatile memory. And a card disabling means for rewriting the charge data of the prepaid card into data that makes the use of the device unusable when a prepaid card having an identification code stored in the nonvolatile memory is inserted. The user attaches wires to the prepaid card and inserts it into the If you perform a fraudulent act of forcibly pulling out a prepaid card with a wire or the like before writing another card and inserting another prepaid card, it will be profitable even if the prepaid card becomes unusable and loses Therefore, unauthorized use of the prepaid card can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a block diagram showing the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a front view showing a display / operation unit of the embodiment, and FIG. 5 (a) to 5 (d) are plan views showing a part of the card reader / writer in FIG.
Is a block diagram showing each part of the card reader / writer, and FIG.
FIG. 7 and FIG. 7 are a bottom view and a plan view showing a prepaid card used in the embodiment, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a part of a processing flow of a control unit in the embodiment, FIG.
FIG. 11 is a timing chart of the card reader / writer, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of a control unit in the conventional prepaid card system. 1 .... card forced replacement detecting means, 2 .... card use disabling means.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] Claims: 1. When a prepaid card is inserted, charge data is read from the prepaid card, and when the charge data is valid, the device can be used. After use of the device, the read charge data corresponds to the device use time. In a prepaid card system having a fee-charging device for subtracting the charge data to obtain the remaining charge data, writing the remaining charge data on the prepaid card and discharging the prepaid card, the prepaid card is forcibly inserted before the remaining charge data is written. Card forced replacement detecting means for detecting in a non-volatile memory the unique identification code read from the prepaid card upon detecting that the prepaid card has been replaced, and a prepaid card storing the identification code in the non-volatile memory. When inserted, the charge data of the prepaid card is Prepaid card system characterized by comprising a card disabling means for rewriting the data is impossible use.