JP4102331B2 - Magnetic stripe writing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a magnetic stripe writing apparatus for processing magnetic stripe data provided on a medium such as a passbook handled by a financial institution.

  Conventionally, in a magnetic stripe writing apparatus that writes magnetic data to a magnetic stripe provided on a booklet-shaped medium such as a passbook, as a transport means for transporting the medium, as shown in FIG. A transport port 82 is provided, and a transport path 83 for transporting the medium 81 inserted from the transport port 82 to a magnetic stripe writing unit (not shown) is formed. The transport path 83 includes a medium support plate 84 that supports the cover side of the medium 81 and a medium guide plate 85 that guides the middle sheet side of the medium 81. A transport roller 86 for transporting the medium 81 protrudes from the back side of the medium support plate 84 in the transport path 83 to the front side and is provided at a predetermined interval, and faces the transport roller 86 from the back side of the medium guide plate 85 to the front side. A projecting rotatable pinch roller 87 is provided.

  The medium 81 is inserted from the conveyance port 82 with the medium 81 opened, and is sandwiched between the nip portions 88 of the conveyance roller 86 and the pinch roller 87 and is conveyed along the conveyance path 83 at a constant speed. In addition, a magnetic stripe data processing unit (not shown) provided in the middle of the transport path 83 performs magnetic stripe data writing processing.

Further, when the medium is transported in an open state, there is a case where a binding rod is attached near the binding portion of the booklet-shaped medium. In the case where such a binding wrinkle is attached, the magnetic stripe is also deformed accordingly. A binding portion pressing arm is provided in order to avoid a problem in writing data of the magnetic stripe due to the influence of the deformation. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-46795

  A financial institution that records data on a medium is required to increase the processing speed as the amount of data to be recorded on the medium increases. When recording on the medium, when the medium enters the respective roller portions of the conveyance roller and the pinch roller and the leading edge of the medium is thin, there is almost no influence of the speed fluctuation, but as shown in FIG. As the thickness of the roller increases, the medium collides with the roller before the nip portion of each roller, and the conveyance speed fluctuates. Due to the collision of the medium, a deviation of the transport amount occurs, and the data writing process on the magnetic stripe cannot be performed normally. That is, the fluctuation in the conveyance speed has a great influence on the data writing of the magnetic stripe. In order to solve these problems, for example, the diameter of each roller can be made as large as possible to prevent it, but there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large in size because a large number of rollers are spaced apart.

  Moreover, as shown in Patent Document 1, speed fluctuation can be suppressed by providing a binding portion pressing arm for pressing the binding portion of the medium. However, this also has a problem that the apparatus becomes large and costs increase.

  The present invention provides a magnetic stripe writing apparatus capable of suppressing fluctuations in the speed of a medium when data is written to a magnetic stripe provided on the medium.

  A magnetic stripe writing apparatus according to the present invention has a magnetic head that performs data writing processing on a magnetic stripe while moving the medium by a conveying means that conveys a horizontal medium provided with a magnetic stripe in an open state. A media thickness detector that detects the thickness of the side, detects the thickness of the media by this media thickness detector, and writes data to the magnetic stripe while transporting it from the thin side of the media to the magnetic head Equipped with.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the speed fluctuation of the medium when writing data to the magnetic stripe.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a main configuration of a magnetic stripe writing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view of the internal configuration of FIG. 1 viewed from above, and FIG. 3 is used in the magnetic stripe writing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side view showing each page of the medium in an open state, illustrating a configuration of a booklet-shaped medium that is a passbook.

  As shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes a magnetic stripe writing device. The magnetic stripe writing device 11 is provided with a transport port 13 for inserting and ejecting a medium 12, and the medium 12 inserted from the transport port 13 is connected to a printing unit 14. A conveyance path 15 is formed to convey the film up to. The transport path 15 includes a medium support plate 16 that supports the cover side of the medium 12 and a medium guide plate 17 that guides the medium side of the medium. Each conveyance roller 18 for conveying the medium 12 protrudes from the back side of the medium support plate 16 in the conveyance path 15 to the front side, and is provided at a predetermined interval. Opposite to the conveying roller 18, each rotatable pinch roller 19 protruding from the back side of the medium guide plate 17 to the front is provided. The conveyance path 15, the conveyance roller 18, and the pinch roller 19 constitute a conveyance unit 20.

  A medium insertion detection sensor 21 sandwiched in the vertical direction is provided in the vicinity of the transport port 13. This medium insertion detection sensor 21 is a sensor that detects the medium 12, and generally an optical sensor 21 using an LED (Light Emitting Diode) or the like is employed. The sensor 21 forms an optical path, and the medium 12 detects the insertion by blocking the optical path. Further, the sensor 21 is used for control for calculating the amount of movement of the medium 12 from the elapsed time thereafter, with the time when the medium 12 blocks or opens the optical path as a reference time.

  A shutter 22 for opening and closing the transport port 13 is provided downstream of the medium insertion detection sensor 21 to limit the insertion of the medium 12, and when the medium insertion detection sensor 21 detects that the medium 12 has been inserted. While the shutter 22 is opened, the medium 12 is moved to the back of the conveyance path 15 by the conveyance roller 18 and the pinch roller 19.

  A magnetic stripe read / write unit 23 comprising a magnetic head for reading or writing data of the magnetic stripe 33 stored on the lower cover of the medium 12 is provided below the conveyance path 15 downstream of the medium detection sensor 22. ing. A position sensor 24 for detecting the leading end side 30 or the trailing end side 31 of the medium 12 inserted from the conveying port 13 is provided further downstream of the conveying path 15.

  A page mark reading sensor 25 is provided on the upper side of the conveyance path 15 downstream of the position sensor 24. The page mark reading sensor 25 comprises a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 26, and this CCD 26 is fixed in the apparatus with the direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the medium 12 as the longitudinal direction. In addition, the length of the CCD 26 in the longitudinal direction is longer than the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the medium 12, so that the image of the entire medium 12 can be read without moving the CCD 26. Further, the page mark reading sensor 25 has a function as a medium thickness detecting unit 25 that detects the thickness of the leading end side of the medium 12 by reading the page mark. The medium thickness detection unit 25 reads the data of the vertical barcode 36 provided above the middle sheet of the medium 12 that is the gist of the present embodiment, and detects the thickness of the medium in the direction in which the medium 12 is conveyed. Thus, it is determined whether or not the thickness of the leading end 30 of the medium 12 is thin, and writing to the magnetic stripe 33 is controlled with respect to the magnetic head 23.

  A printing unit 14 is provided downstream of the page mark reading sensor 25 as printing means for printing on the medium 12. The printing unit 14 is provided with a printing head 27 and a platen 28 on the lower side facing the printing head 27. The printing unit 14 has a function of outputting a predetermined printout such as a transaction result on the conveyed medium 12.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the booklet-shaped medium 12 such as a bankbook defines the leading end side 30 as the leading end side 30 and the trailing end 31 as the trailing end with respect to the transport direction X with the medium 12 opened. Further, a binding unit 32 for binding the inner sheet is provided in the center of the medium 12. The binding portion 32 is provided along a direction orthogonal to the transport direction X. Further, a vertical magnetic stripe 33 is provided on the lower side of the cover of the medium 12, and the front side is defined as the front end 34 and the rear side is defined as the rear end 35 with respect to the suction direction of the magnetic stripe 33. Further, a vertical bar code 36 that is a page mark is printed above the middle sheet of the medium 12. Individual data such as the account number of the medium 12 is written in the magnetic stripe 33, and the vertical bar code 36 indicates the subject and page of the opened page.

  As shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the number of pages of the medium 12 is set to 13 pages, when the number of pages on the front end 30 is 6 pages or less, the thickness of the medium 12 is thin in the medium thickness detection unit 25. It is judged. When the number of pages is 7 or more, it is determined that the thickness of the medium 12 is thick (not thin).

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the magnetic stripe information writing device according to the present embodiment. Reference numeral 41 denotes a CPU (central processing unit) as a control unit main body, and 42 denotes program data for the CPU 41 to control each unit. ROM (read-only memory) 43, RAM (random access memory) provided with a memory area used for various data processing performed by the CPU 41, 44, medium detection for controlling the medium detection sensor 21 A sensor control unit, 45 is a shutter control unit that controls opening and closing of the shutter 22, 46 is a conveyance motor control unit that controls a conveyance motor 47 for rotating the conveyance roller 18 forward and backward, and 48 is a magnetic head 23 and the magnetic stripe 33. A magnetic stripe read / write control unit 49 for controlling reading or writing, 49 is a medium 12 A medium position sensor control unit for controlling the medium position sensor 24 for detecting the leading end 30 or the rear portion 31.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes a medium thickness detection control unit that controls the medium thickness detection unit 25 that detects the thickness of the leading end side 30 of the medium, and reference numeral 51 denotes a print control that controls the print head 27 for printing a monetary amount on the medium. Part. Further, reference numeral 52 denotes a communication interface for connecting a computer of a higher-order center by online communication.

  CPU 41, ROM 42, RAM 43, medium detection sensor controller 44, shutter controller 45, transport motor controller 46, magnetic stripe read / write controller 48, medium position sensor controller 49, medium thickness detection controller 50, printing The control unit 51 and the communication interface 52 are electrically connected by a bus line such as a control bus, a system bus, and a data bus.

  Next, the operation of writing data to the magnetic stripe will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the medium 12 is set in the transport port 13 as shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 41 performs processing as shown in the figure based on a program stored in the ROM 42. First, the CPU 41 transports the medium 12 set in the transport port 13 in ST (step) 1 in the suction direction. Specifically, when the medium detection sensor 21 detects that the medium 12 has been inserted, the shutter 22 is opened and the conveyance motor 47 is driven via the conveyance motor control unit 46, and the medium 12 is detected by the conveyance roller 18 and the pinch roller 19. Move while sandwiching.

  Subsequently, in ST2, the transaction information written on the magnetic stripe 33 of the medium 12 is read while being advanced to the printing unit 14 and simultaneously conveyed while being read by the page mark reading sensor 25. Specifically, the magnetic head 23 is controlled via the magnetic stripe read / write control unit 48, and the final print line, deposit balance, etc. stored in the magnetic stripe (MS) 33 provided on the back cover of the medium 12 are recorded. While reading information, the page mark reading sensor 25 reads the page mark 36 on the leading end side 30 of the medium 12. The read data such as the last line of printing and the money balance stored in the magnetic stripe (MS) 33 is transmitted to the host computer connected online via the communication interface 52.

  In ST3, transaction information such as the last printed line and money balance is received from the original book of the money information storage unit with the host computer via the communication interface 52.

  In ST4, monetary information is received based on transaction information such as the final printing line and monetary balance from the host computer, and the transaction information is printed while moving the medium 12 to the printing unit.

  In ST5, the medium thickness detector 25 detects the leading end 30 of the medium 12 to determine whether the medium 12 is thin or thick. Specifically, the page mark of the vertical bar code 36 is read, the thickness of the medium is detected, and it is determined whether or not the medium is thin.

  If it is determined that the medium is thin in Y of ST5, the medium is ejected from the magnetic (MS) head until the tip 34 of the magnetic stripe 33 comes to the front as shown in FIG. 7 in ST6. Specifically, when the medium position sensor 24 is stopped by discharging 10 pulses from OFF, the tip 34 of the magnetic stripe 33 is stopped on the front side of the magnetic head 23.

  If it is determined that the leading end 30 of the medium 12 is not thin at N in ST5, inhalation is performed from the magnetic head 23 until the rear end 35 of the magnetic stripe 33 becomes deep as shown in FIG. Specifically, when the medium position sensor 24 is stopped by sucking 100 pulses from ON, the rear end 35 of the magnetic stripe 33 stops on the back side from the magnetic head 23.

  In ST8, the medium 12 is moved from the thin side to the magnetic head 23, and data writing processing is performed on the magnetic stripe 33 by the magnetic head 23. Specifically, the page mark 36 on the leading end side 30 of the medium 12 is detected by the medium thickness detecting unit 25, and it is determined that the thickness on the leading end side 30 of the medium 12 is thinner than the thickness on the trailing end side 31. In this case, the magnetic stripe 33 is ejected by the conveying means 20 until the tip of the magnetic head 33 comes before the magnetic head 23, and data is written into the magnetic stripe 33 by the magnetic head 23 while sucking from there. Alternatively, when it is determined that the thickness of the leading end side 30 of the medium 12 is thicker than the trailing end side 31, the medium is sucked by the transport unit 20 until the trailing end 35 of the magnetic stripe 33 is located at the back side of the magnetic head 23. Then, data is written to the magnetic stripe 33 by the magnetic head 23 while ejecting from there.

  In ST9, the medium 12 is conveyed in the reverse direction in which information is written to the magnetic stripe 33, and data reading processing of the magnetic stripe 33 is performed.

  In ST10, the medium 12 is moved to the transport port 13 and the process is terminated. Specifically, the CPU 41 drives the transport motor 47 to rotate the transport roller 18 and the pinch roller 19 to discharge the medium 12 from the transport port 13.

  As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, when the medium is set at the transport port, the medium is transported to the magnetic head, the information of the magnetic stripe provided on the medium is read, and the page mark information is also read by the page mark reading sensor. Based on the read information, the medium thickness detection unit determines whether or not the medium is thin, and the medium is transported to the magnetic head from the thin direction of the medium to write the information on the magnetic strap of the medium. By doing so, information on the magnetic stripe is not erroneously written due to fluctuations in the conveyance speed of the medium.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the page mark is used as the medium thickness detection unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the interval between the print head and the medium in the printing unit may be controlled. Of course.

  As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and needless to say, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention at the stage of implementation.

1 is a side view illustrating a main configuration of a magnetic stripe writing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The top view explaining the main structures of the magnetic stripe writer concerning the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view on the middle paper side for explaining a bankbook used in the embodiment. The side view explaining the passbook used for the embodiment. The figure which shows the block of the magnetic stripe writer based on the embodiment. The flowchart figure which shows the process which CPU in the same embodiment performs. The top view which shows the relationship between the magnetic stripe writer based on the embodiment, and a medium. The top view which shows the relationship between the magnetic stripe writer based on the embodiment, and a medium. The figure explaining the conveyance means which conveys the conventional medium.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Medium, 20 ... Conveyance means, 23 ... Magnetic head, 25 ... Medium thickness detection part, 30 ... Front end side of medium, 33 ... Magnetic stripe, 36 ... Page mark, 41 ... CPU (control part), 42 ... ROM 43 ... RAM.

Claims (2)

  Conveying means for conveying a horizontal medium provided with a magnetic stripe in an open state, a magnetic head for performing data write processing on the magnetic stripe while moving the medium by the conveying means, and a thickness on the leading end side of the medium A medium thickness detection unit for detecting the thickness, and a control unit for detecting the thickness of the medium by the medium thickness detection unit and writing data to the magnetic stripe while being transported from the thin side of the medium to the magnetic head A magnetic stripe writing apparatus comprising:   The magnetic stripe writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the medium thickness detection unit detects the thickness of the medium by a page mark.

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