JP3869489B2 - Prepaid card processing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a prepaid card processing apparatus that performs processing such as transaction processing via a card.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In prepaid cards used in company cafeterias, university co-ops, and gas stations, transaction information such as the balance of the card and the number of uses is stored internally, and the user confirms the balance on the back. For this purpose, for example, a print-type card that thermally prints the remaining amount with a thermal printer may be used.
[0003]
Some IC cards store transaction information in a storage area in the card. Prepaid card vending machines that issue new prepaid cards with a new amount added to re-use prepaid cards with fewer card usages, but have fewer card balances for print-type prepaid cards was there.
[0004]
When an attempt is made to settle a transaction using a prepaid card at a cash register such as a canteen or the like, it is often the case that the shortage amount is paid in cash due to a shortage of the remaining card amount. In the case of a prepaid card with a premium on the card, if you need to pay anyway, rather than paying the deficit in cash, you will be notified of the remaining number of usages, and the addition process will be done early, the next new with premium It is better for the user to use a prepaid card, but as mentioned above, the conventional card processing device can be used many times after considering the purchase amount per user. There was no one to give a notice according to the actual usage situation of notifying.
[0005]
In order to make such a notice, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-67122 as a technique that seems to be related. This is to ensure that the necessary continuation procedure is executed before the expiration date of the card elapses by letting the user recognize that the expiration date of the card is approaching. The storage means for storing the input near-end days, and when the difference between the expiration date read from the card and the current date and time is smaller than the near-end days stored in the storage means, it is calculated and displayed. Computation means and display means are provided.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, this prior art is based on the premise that the expiration date is stored in the card, and if the near end is not set and input in advance, it cannot be notified that the expiration date is approaching. On the other hand, a card with no expiration date such as a prepaid card cannot be notified from the expiration date.
[0007]
On the other hand, some prepaid cards re-use money amount information and reuse it (addition processing) in order to reuse the card when there is no remaining amount. In the past, the reason for the user's judgment regarding this extra time is that the next prepaid card will be prepared at his own discretion from the remaining amount displayed on the display of the card processing device when this card is used. Judging that it was necessary, etc., it was determined whether or not to add. Therefore, at lunch time, when you are in line with a long line and finally place your order and check it out, look at the display and know that there is not enough money left on the card. There was inconvenience such as having to cancel. In addition, there are drawbacks such as inconvenience the subsequent people who are hungry to have lunch within the limited time of lunch break and cause confusion in the card checkout process of the cafeteria.
[0008]
In another conventional technique, the card processing device determines that the remaining amount of the card has become a certain amount or less, and displays a preset amount on the display such as “100 yen remaining”. Some print-type cards are configured to print for the first time when the remaining amount exceeding this amount is set as a threshold value with a preset amount as the threshold. In the same way as above, there is also a drawback that the order has to be canceled due to a shortage of the remaining amount. If the threshold value is set to a large value, a notice card will be printed frequently for low-value cards. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the number of print columns for the original settlement processing result is reduced.
[0009]
In the present invention, the employee cafeteria and the university co-op cafeteria have few expensive foods, the cardholder's spending amount is almost constant, it does not fluctuate significantly, and users of gas stations There is a distinction between always using a full tank and always using a fixed amount. In this way, paying attention to the fact that the transaction amount does not fluctuate significantly in transactions that account for the majority of transactions, using cards that can know past transaction information, and cumulative use of cards Card processing that calculates the average usage amount from the amount of money and the number of times of use, notifies the user of how many times the card can be used from the remaining amount of the card based on this average usage amount, and prompts the user to add money early A device is provided.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a prepaid card processing apparatus of the present invention includes a reading unit that reads information stored in a prepaid card, and the number of uses of the prepaid card obtained based on the information read by the reading unit, calculating means for calculating the estimated available count from the cumulative spending and balance, a prepaid card processing device and an output means for outputting the estimated available number, and clock means for obtaining the current date information, A fixed holiday information memory for storing fixed holiday information, wherein the computing means is based on the current date information from the clock means, the estimated number of usable times, and the fixed holiday information from the fixed holiday information memory. In addition, the expiration date for use of the prepaid card is calculated, and the output means is informed of the expiration date so as to perform addition processing up to the use expiration date. And characterized in that also outputs the notice.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
The card processing apparatus according to the present invention calculates the estimated usable number of times from the number of use of the prepaid card obtained based on the information stored in the prepaid card read by the reading means, the accumulated use amount, and the remaining amount. In calculating the estimated usable number of times, the accumulated usage amount is divided by the number of usages to calculate an average usage amount. If the amount of money used once does not fluctuate significantly, it is predicted that the same amount will be reduced in the future. Then, by dividing the remaining amount by the average usage amount, it is possible to obtain the number of times that the remaining amount can be used in the same way as before. Therefore, it can be determined how many times it can be used in the future and when the remaining amount will be 0 yen, and this information can be provided by various methods.
[0012]
【Example】
FIG. 1 is an external view of a card processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. On the front face of the card processing device 1, a card insertion slot 2 for inserting / ejecting a card and an insertion enabling lamp 3 for displaying the insertion permission of the card are provided, and a display unit 4 for displaying a monetary amount or the like on the upper part. And are provided.
[0013]
FIG. 2 is a memory map showing the main part of the stored contents of the magnetic card 5 which is an example of the prepaid card used in the present invention. The magnetic stripe 6 inside the magnetic card has information on at least the accumulated usage amount 21a, the usage count 21b, and the remaining card amount 21c. The information is updated every time the card is used.
[0014]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the card processing apparatus of the present invention. The card processing device 1 is provided with a card processing means 7 and a main body processing means 8. The card processing means 7 transports a prepaid card inserted from the card insertion slot 2 into the apparatus and a card conveying mechanism 7c for discharging the processed prepaid card to the card insertion slot 2, and is conveyed into the apparatus. The reading means 7a for reading the magnetic information of the prepaid card, the writing means 7b for writing the information after the transaction processing, and the remaining amount after the transaction processing by the thermal printer are written in the margin on the back of the card, As shown in FIG. 4, there is provided printing means 7d for printing the extra time limit notice 13 as shown in FIG.
[0015]
The main body processing means 8 is provided with arithmetic means 8a which is a CPU (central processing unit) that executes various arithmetic processes. The main body processing means 8 includes a clock means 9c for measuring the date and time, a printer printing means 9a for driving a built-in printer or an external printer, and a display 9b for operating the display unit 4. It is connected.
[0016]
The computing means 8a of the card processing apparatus 1 is configured as a program so as to execute the flowcharts of FIGS.
[0017]
That is, the prepaid card inserted from the card insertion slot 2 is determined to be inserted in S1, and is conveyed into the apparatus by the card conveying mechanism 7c, and the magnetic information inside the card is read by the reading means 7a in S2. Then, the current transaction amount is subtracted from the card remaining amount read in S3, and the new card remaining amount after the subtraction is written by the writing means 7b.
[0018]
However, in S4, it is determined whether the remaining amount of the new card is 0 yen or more. If it is not 0 yen or more, the process proceeds to the remaining amount shortage process and the current transaction is canceled or the shortage is paid in cash or two Whether to pay the shortage with an additional card using the eye card is selected, but the description is omitted because it is not directly related to the present invention.
[0019]
Further, the current transaction amount is added to the read accumulated usage amount (S5), and the new accumulated usage amount after the addition is written by the writing means 7b. Then, 1 is added to the read usage count (S6), and the new usage count after the addition is written by the writing means 7b. The card processing device 1 is provided with a display unit 4 for displaying the read card balance first, then displaying the transaction amount, and displaying the reduced card balance.
[0020]
Then, the new accumulated usage amount is divided by the number of new usages to obtain the average value of the usage amount per use, and the average usage amount is calculated. If the amount of money used once does not fluctuate significantly, it is predicted that the same amount will be reduced in the future. The new card remaining amount is divided by this average value to calculate the estimated usable number of times.
[0021]
In other words, estimated usage count = new card balance / (new cumulative usage amount / new usage count)
It becomes. This calculation is as in S7.
New card balance * New usage count / New cumulative usage amount = Estimated usage count. As described above, the method of calculating the estimated usable number of times after obtaining the average value has the same result.
[0022]
By this calculation, the estimated usable frequency is calculated from the remaining amount of the new card, the new usage count, and the new accumulated usage amount. When the estimated usage count is less than the set value N, the process proceeds to S16, and the operation of FIG. Execute. In S11, it is assumed that the user uses the magnetic card only once a day (may be several times a day, but once a day here), and the estimated number of usable times = estimated usable days, and the clock means 9c. Is added to the current available day information and the fixed holiday information from the fixed holiday information memory 10c to obtain the extra time limit.
[0023]
In S12, the new card remaining amount, the new accumulated usage amount, the number of new usages, etc. are written by the writing means 7b. Then, the advance time limit calculated in S13, 14, 15 is displayed on the display unit 4 as the additional time limit notice 14 as shown in FIG. 5, or the back side of the magnetic card 5 as the additional time limit notice 13 as shown in FIG. 11, and is printed on the receipt 15 as an extra time advance notice 16 as shown in FIG. 6.
[0024]
In this embodiment, the storage medium is limited to the magnetic card, but the same effect can be obtained even with an IC card. In addition, although it has been described that the accumulated usage amount is stored in the stored contents of the card, even if there is no accumulated usage amount 21a inside the card, if the information of the initial amount at the time of card issuance is stored, If the current card remaining amount 21c is subtracted from the initial amount, the accumulated usage amount 21a can be confirmed. Therefore, the accumulated usage amount 21a is not necessarily stored in the magnetic card 5.
[0025]
If configured in this way, the number of remaining usages obtained by the above method, the current date, and the date of availability of the cafeteria etc. (for example, if Sunday is a regular holiday, 6 days a week) From the calculation, it is possible to provide a card processing device that calculates the usable expiration date and notifies the expiration date so that the additional processing is performed until XX month XX days.
[0026]
The computing means for calculating the estimated usable number of times from the prepaid card usage count, the cumulative usage amount and the remaining amount obtained based on the information read by the reading unit is a new cumulative usage amount in the above embodiment. Regardless of the method of calculating the average usage amount per usage by dividing by the number of usages, calculating the average usage amount, calculating the average value, and calculating the estimated usable number of times, by other statistical methods Needless to say, it may be calculated.
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention calculates the average usage amount from the accumulated usage amount and the number of times of use of the prepaid card, and based on this average usage amount, notifies the user how many times it can be used in the future from the remaining amount of the card. The card user is encouraged to carry out the process of adding money at an early stage, so that card users can purchase new prepaid cards or add money in advance, reduce the occurrence of insufficient funds, and do not have enough funds left in restaurants, etc. Can also prevent confusion.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external view showing a prepaid card processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a memory map showing a main part of stored contents of a card inserted in the apparatus. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an example device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a card that is displayed with a notice in the example device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display that is displayed with a notice in the example device. FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a card transaction. FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a card transaction. FIG.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Card processing apparatus, 4 ... Display part, 5 ... Magnetic card, 7 ... Card processing means, 7a ... Reading means, 7b ... Writing means, 7d ... Printing means, 8 ... Main body processing means, 8a ... Calculation means, 9a ... Printer printing means, 9b ... display means, 10 ... memory means, 10a ... total memory, 10b ... card information memory, 10c ... regular holiday information memory, 13 ... addition date notice, 14 ... addition date notice, 15 ... receipt, 16 ... Additional deadline notice, 17 ... Built-in printer, 19 ... External printer, 21a ... Cumulative usage amount, 21b ... Usage count, 21c ... Card remaining amount.

Claims (1)

Reading means for reading information stored in the prepaid card, and calculating means for calculating an estimated usable number of times from the number of times of use of the prepaid card obtained based on the information read by the reading means, an accumulated amount of money, and a remaining amount , A prepaid card processing device comprising output means for outputting the estimated number of usable times, comprising clock means for obtaining current date information, and a fixed holiday information memory for storing fixed holiday information The calculation means calculates the expiration date for use of the prepaid card based on the current date information from the clock means, the estimated usable number of times, and fixed holiday information from the fixed holiday information memory, and the output means, prepaid card processing apparatus characterized by also outputting the date notice to notice the deadline to perform addition processing to allow deadline said use

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