JP4553264B2 - Non-contact terminal device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a non-contact type terminal device that communicates with a value holding medium such as an IC card having an IC chip in a non-contact state, and reads and writes an IC chip.

In recent years, with the progress of cashlessness and the spread of electronic money, various services and systems using IC cards are provided in various fields such as distribution. Among them, non-contact type IC cards are attracting attention especially in terms of ease of use. In addition, electronic value information (electronic value) of electronic money and electronic tickets (commuter pass, boarding ticket, airline ticket, etc.) is stored in an ultra-small IC chip built in the non-contact type IC card. Various payments, such as payments at ticket vending machines at stations, payments at vending machines such as beverages, payments at stores, admission to various facilities, etc. are considered.
When using such an IC card, the reader generally performs wireless communication in a non-contact state with the IC card, reads information recorded in the internal IC chip, or writes new information to the IC chip. A writer device is used (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Such a reader / writer device includes a reading surface (reading unit) having an antenna capable of wireless communication with an IC chip. Then, the holder of the IC card can perform various payments using the electronic money described above by reading and writing the IC chip while holding the IC card close to the reading surface. Further, whether reading and writing of the IC chip is completed, that is, whether or not settlement of electronic money is completed can be easily determined by checking the contents of the display unit provided in the reader / writer device.
In addition, when the IC card is held over the reading surface, in order to maintain a good communication state between the normal IC card and the reader / writer device, the IC card is placed on the reading surface itself of the reader / writer device or in the vicinity of the reading surface. A mark or the like to be held is formed. For example, by forming the reading surface in a rectangular shape corresponding to the outer shape of the IC card, the holder of the IC card can hold the IC card over the reader / writer device in a direction that provides a good communication state.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 20, the LED 42 is arranged at positions corresponding to the outer shape of the IC card 41 on the surface of the reading surface 40, that is, at the four corners of the rectangle, so that the IC card 41 is held over. There is also known a combination of the above-mentioned role as a display unit for displaying a progress role of payment and the progress of settlement. The LEDs 42 are arranged at four corners, for example, every three of red, green, and blue (total of 12), and can emit light of each color. Note that the colors that emit light are not limited to these colors. For example, the LED 42 is set to emit blue light when guiding the IC card 41 and emit green light when the payment is completed after the IC card 41 is held over. Moreover, when payment is abnormal, it is set to emit red light.
By doing so, the IC card 41 can be guided by the blue light of the LEDs 42 arranged at the four corners, so that the holder of the IC card 41 can easily place the IC card 41 on the reading surface 40 in an appropriate orientation. Can be held over. In addition, after the IC card 41 is held over, it is possible to easily confirm that the payment has been completed, payment abnormality, or the like by using green or red light.
Thus, the LED 42 can be used to simultaneously guide the IC card 41 and read / write progress of the built-in IC chip, that is, the settlement progress.
JP 2002-133378 A (paragraph numbers 0013-0028, FIGS. 1 to 5) JP 2003-141463 A (paragraph number 0010-0030, FIG. 1 to FIG. 7)

  However, the above-described conventional reader / writer device shown in FIG. 20 has a disadvantage that the cost is increased because the LEDs 42 of three colors of red, green and blue need to be provided at the four corners. Assuming that the IC card 41 is arranged at two or one diagonal instead of four corners, it is difficult to guide the IC card 41 to the reading surface 40 in an appropriate direction and position.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to be able to guide a value holding medium such as an IC card at a low cost and to check the progress of reading and writing of an IC chip. It is to provide a contactless terminal device that can be used.

The present invention provides the following means in order to solve the above problems.
The non-contact type terminal device of the present invention is a non-contact type terminal device capable of communicating information including at least an amount of money with a IC chip in a non-contact state with respect to a value holding medium having a read / write IC chip. A reading surface on which the value holding medium is brought close to the front surface, a light emitting unit arranged on the back side of the reading surface to emit light from one place, and an IC chip arranged between the reading surface and the light emitting unit A wireless communication unit having an antenna unit capable of wirelessly communicating the information, a speaker that outputs sound from the vicinity of the reading surface, a display unit that displays the information of the IC chip, the light emitting unit, the IC via the antenna unit controls the reading unit having a I / O module speaker and the display unit are connected, and the operation of the radio communication unit Tsu and data processing storage unit that performs data processing and recording flop, and said light emitting portion in response to the operating situation of the data processing storage unit, the speaker and the terminal body section and a control section for controlling the operation of the display unit The reading unit is wired or wirelessly connected to the terminal main unit and is spaced from the terminal main unit, and the light emitting unit, the speaker, and the display unit are connected to the terminal main unit via the I / O module. Controlled by the control unit , the reading surface is provided with a light transmission surface that emits the light emitted from the light emitting unit on the surface of the reading surface in a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the value holding medium. It is a feature.

In the contactless terminal device according to the present invention, when a value holding medium such as an IC card is held over the reading surface, the reading surface has a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the value holding medium, for example, the outer shape of the IC card. Since the light transmitting surface for emitting light from the light emitting unit is provided in a corresponding rectangular shape, the value holding medium can be reliably held over a predetermined position on the reading surface in a state of being directed in an appropriate direction. That is, the value holding medium can be guided by the light transmission surface. At this time, since the antenna unit is disposed between the reading surface and the light emitting unit, it is possible to reliably communicate with the value holding medium held in a predetermined direction on the reading surface.
Further, since the control unit controls the light emitting unit according to the operation status of the data processing storage unit, it is possible to inform the holder of the value holding medium of the progress status of reading and writing of the IC chip. For example, while guiding the value holding medium, the holder can be notified visually by turning on, blinking, or stopping the light emitted from the light emitting unit according to each situation such as the settlement of the amount and the abnormal settlement of the amount.
As described above, by using the light from the light emitting unit, it is possible to inform the holder of the value holding medium of the guidance of the value holding medium and the progress of reading and writing of the IC chip. In particular, since it has a light transmissive surface, it is not necessary to provide a light emitting portion at any number of places as in the prior art. The light can be emitted in a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the value holding medium. Therefore, the light emitting unit can be configured with the minimum necessary installation, and the cost can be reduced.
In addition, since the reading unit can be separated from the terminal main body unit, for example, the terminal main body unit can be installed inside the cash register and the reading unit can be installed outside the cash register. Therefore, the freedom degree of installation can be improved.

  The contactless terminal device of the present invention is characterized in that, in the contactless terminal device of the present invention, the light transmission surface is formed in a slit shape surrounding the periphery of the antenna unit. is there.

  In the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention, since the light transmission surface is formed in a slit shape surrounding the periphery of the antenna unit, when the value holding medium is held over, the value holding medium is surely opposed to the antenna unit. It can arrange | position, and the communication property between both can be improved more. Further, since the light transmission surface is slit-like, the outer shape of the value holding medium can be clearly seen, and the inductivity is more excellent.

  Further, the non-contact type terminal device of the present invention is the non-contact type terminal device of the present invention, wherein the non-contact type terminal device is arranged so as to surround the periphery of the antenna unit and transmits the light emitted from the light emitting unit to the light transmitting surface. And a non-metallic light guiding member for guiding the light.

  In the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention, the light guiding member guides the light emitted from the light emitting unit to the light transmitting surface, so that the light can be efficiently collected and the light amount of the light emitting unit is reduced as much as possible. Can be suppressed. Therefore, further cost reduction can be achieved. Further, since the light guide member is non-metallic, it does not affect the communication performance of the antenna unit.

  Further, the non-contact type terminal device of the present invention is the non-contact type terminal device of the present invention, wherein the light guide member is arranged so that an opening is in contact with the back surface of the reading surface, and the light is transmitted on the inner peripheral surface. It is a hollow light reflecting plate to be reflected, and has a non-metallic reflecting surface that is provided on the back surface of the antenna portion and reflects the light.

  In the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention, the light emitted from the light emitting unit is efficiently collected while being repeatedly reflected by the light reflecting plate and the light reflecting surface and guided to the light transmitting surface. The amount of light can be suppressed as much as possible, and the cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the reflecting surface is non-metallic, it does not affect the communication performance of the antenna unit.

  Further, in the non-contact type terminal device of the present invention, in the non-contact type terminal device of the present invention, the light guide member is a light diffuser that guides the light transmission surface while diffusing the light inside. It is characterized by.

  In the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention, the light emitted from the light emitting unit is efficiently collected while being diffused inside the light diffuser and guided to the light transmission surface. As much as possible, the cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, the non-contact type terminal device of the present invention is the non-contact type terminal device according to any one of the above-described present invention, wherein the light emitting unit is an LED that emits a plurality of different colors, and corresponds to a control signal from the control unit. The color and the light emission time are controlled to be different from each other.

In the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention, when the light emitting unit is, for example, an LED that emits red, green, and blue light, the light emission color and the light emission time are respectively determined according to the operation status of the data processing storage unit. It is possible to clearly inform the holder of the value retention media.
For example, when guiding value holding media, blue light is blinked, green light is turned on when the amount payment is completed, and red light is turned on when the amount payment is abnormal. It is possible to clearly notify the holder of the progress of reading and writing of the IC chip through vision, and the ease of use can be improved.

  Further, the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention has a speaker that outputs sound from the vicinity of the reading surface in any of the non-contact type terminal devices of the present invention, and the speaker is connected to the control unit. It is controlled to output different sounds according to the control signal.

In the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention, a different sound is output from the speaker in addition to the light emitted from the light emitting unit in accordance with the operating status of the data processing storage unit, so that the holder of the value holding medium can The progress of reading and writing of the chip can be notified more clearly. For example, “normal settlement sound” is output when the amount settlement is completed normally, and “abnormal settlement sound” is output when the amount settlement is abnormal. For example, there is a case where a sound of “beep” is used as a normal settlement sound and a sound of “beep” is used as a warning sound as an abnormal settlement sound. Furthermore, by using a voice synthesis IC or a voice synthesis circuit, a voice that is easier to understand for the user may be emitted. For example, a warning sound may be output as a sound of “Chareen” as a normal settlement sound and a sound of “Pyrolon” as an abnormal settlement sound.
In this way, by outputting different audio depending on the situation, it is possible to inform the holder of the progress of reading and writing of the IC chip using the voice, and further improve the ease of use. Can do.

The non-contact terminal device according to the present invention, characterized in that the non-contact terminal device according to any of the above present invention, the reading portion of the plurality have been the terminal body section and a wired or wireless connection It is what.

  In the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention, since the reading unit can be separated from the terminal main body, for example, the terminal main body is installed inside the cash register and the reading unit is installed outside the cash register. Can be installed. Therefore, the freedom degree of installation can be improved.

  According to the non-contact type terminal device according to the present invention, by using the light from the light emitting unit, it is possible to notify the holder of the value holding medium of the progress of the guidance of the value holding medium and the reading and writing of the IC chip. it can. In particular, it is possible to emit light in a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the value holding medium through the light transmission surface by simply emitting light from one place arranged on the back side of the reading surface. The cost can be reduced.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a contactless terminal device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the non-contact terminal device 1 of the present embodiment has a read / write IC chip 2 and a non-contact state with respect to an IC card (value holding medium) 3 formed in a rectangular shape. Information including at least the amount of money can be communicated with the IC chip 2.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the non-contact type terminal device 1 is arranged on the reading surface 5 where the IC card 3 is brought close to the front surface and the back surface side of the reading surface 5 and emits light from one place. An LED (light emitting unit) 6 to be operated, and a wireless communication unit 8 having an antenna substrate (antenna unit) 7 disposed between the reading surface 5 and the LED 6 and capable of wirelessly communicating the above information with the IC chip 2. A holding unit (reading unit) 10, a settlement module (data processing storage unit) 11 that controls the operation of the wireless communication unit 8 and performs data processing and recording of the IC chip 2 via the antenna substrate 7, and the settlement module 11 includes a terminal body unit (terminal body section) 15 having a control section 12 that controls the operation of the LED 6 in accordance with the operation status of 11.
In the non-contact type terminal device 1 of the present embodiment, the holding unit 10 and the terminal body unit 15 are connected by wire with the cable 16, and the holding unit 10 can be separated from the terminal body unit 15.

As shown in FIG. 3, the above-mentioned holding unit 10 has a plastic case 20, which has a predetermined inclination angle (with respect to the lower case 21 that can be placed on the floor surface and the floor surface). For example, the upper case 22 is fitted to the upper side of the lower case 21 with an inclination angle of 30 degrees. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a part of the surface of the upper case 22 serves as the reading surface 5.
The reading surface 5 is formed with a light transmitting surface 23 that emits light emitted from the LED 6 on the surface of the reading surface 5 in a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the IC card 3, that is, a rectangular shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the light transmission surface 23 is formed in a slit shape so as to surround the periphery of the antenna substrate 7. In the present embodiment, the antenna substrate 7 is described as being formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above. The upper case 22 is formed so as to optically shield a region other than the light transmission surface 23.

  In the case 20, as shown in FIG. 3, a non-metallic reflector (light) is arranged so as to surround the LED 6 and the antenna substrate 7 and guides the light emitted from the LED 6 to the light transmission surface 23. A guide member, a light reflecting plate) 24 is provided. The reflector portion 24 is made of a non-metallic material, such as plastic, and is disposed so that the opening abuts against the back surface of the reading surface 5, and transmits light while reflecting the light of the LED 6 by the inner peripheral surface 24 a. Guide to the surface 23. A reflection surface 25 that reflects light is provided on the entire back surface of the antenna substrate 7. The reflecting surface 25 is also formed of a non-metallic material, for example, plastic or the like, similarly to the reflector portion 24.

The reflector 24 is formed such that the diameter L of the opening gradually decreases as the distance from the reading surface 5 increases (substantially umbrella-shaped in cross section), and the LED 6 is disposed at the deepest portion. The reflector portion 24 is not limited to the shape described above, and may be a hollow body shape. For example, a cylindrical shape or a bowl shape may be used.
Further, the LED 6 of the present embodiment is mounted on the circuit board 27 shown in FIG. 3 via the I / O module 26 shown in FIG. 2 and has three different colors (plural colors) of blue, green and red. LED 6 to emit. Note that the LED 6 is not limited to the case where three colors are included in a single package as described above, but may have a configuration in which packages of each color are arranged close to each other. Further, the LED 6 is controlled so that the color and the light emission time are different according to the control signal from the control unit 12. This will be described in detail later. The reflector portion 24 has an opening diameter L so that the gap between the opening and the antenna substrate 7 is substantially the same distance as the slit width of the light transmission surface 23.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the antenna substrate 7 is formed so that, for example, a transmission coil pattern 7a and a reception coil pattern 7b are adjacent to each other on the surface. It is electrically connected to the RF substrate 28. A transceiver unit 29 is mounted on the RF substrate 28, and the transceiver unit 29 and the antenna substrate 7 constitute the wireless communication unit 8.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cover unit 10 includes a display unit 30 that displays the contents of the IC chip 2 and a speaker 31 that outputs sound from the vicinity of the reading surface 5. The display unit 30 is provided on the surface of the upper case 22 so as to be adjacent to the light transmission surface 23, and is electrically connected to the circuit board 27 via the I / O module 26. The speaker 31 can output sound through a sound hole 32 formed on the surface of the upper case 22 so as to be adjacent to the display unit 30, and, like the display unit 30, the I / O module 26 can be output. And electrically connected to the circuit board 27. In addition, the speaker 31 is controlled so as to output different sound according to a control signal from the control unit 12. This will be described in detail later.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the terminal body unit 15 can be placed on the floor surface and has a predetermined inclination angle (for example, an inclination angle of 30 degrees) with respect to the floor surface, like the holding unit 10. The case 35 is made of plastic, and the settlement module 11 and the control unit 12 are provided in the case 35.
The terminal body unit 15 includes an operation key 36 including a plurality of buttons capable of inputting information such as a monetary amount, and a display unit that displays various information such as information input by the operation key 36 and data in the IC chip 2. 37, a printer unit 38 capable of printing the information displayed on the display unit 37 on paper, and a modem unit 39 capable of connecting and transmitting information recorded in the settlement module 11 to the external institution A. The modem unit 39 is connected directly to a communication transmission / reception modem installed in the external organization A for transmission and transmission, and is connected to an IP network via a third party organization to provide communication means such as the Internet. It may be transmitted to an external organization via The display unit 37, the printer unit 38, and the modem unit 39 are comprehensively controlled by the control unit 12 in accordance with an input from the operation key 36. This will be described in detail later. The settlement module 11 is electrically connected to the RF board 28 via the cable 16, and the control unit 12 is electrically connected to the circuit board 27 via the cable 16. Note that the control unit 12 has a function of outputting sound to the speaker 31.

A case where electronic payment is performed by the IC card 3 using the non-contact type terminal device 1 configured as described above will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7.
First, the power button is turned on by the operation key 36 (S1). When the power is turned on (ON), a self-diagnosis (self-test) is performed as to whether each function is normal (S2). For example, it is confirmed whether the connection state between the cover unit 10 and the terminal body unit 15 is normal, or the payment module 11 itself diagnoses whether its function is normal. Note that this self-test is not limited to the above-described diagnosis contents, and can be arbitrarily set. During the self-test, the display unit 37 of the terminal body unit 15 displays that effect, for example, “during self-diagnosis”.
If it is determined as an abnormality or failure as a result of the self-test, “error” is displayed on the display unit 37 of the terminal body unit 15 (S3). In response to this, the operator of the non-contact type terminal device 1 confirms the electrical connection state of the cable 1 or the like, or performs predetermined measures such as searching for a fault location. On the other hand, if it is determined to be normal, the process proceeds to the main processing routine (S4). That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the input key 36 is waited for (S5). At this time, the power can be shut off by turning off the power button of the operation key 36.

  Here, for example, when the holder of the IC card 3 purchases an item having a price of 1000 yen, the operator of the operation key 36 inputs the amount information of 1000 yen with the operation key 36 as shown in FIG. To do. The control unit 12 performs a process determination (S6) on what instruction is an instruction from the operator, that is, what signal is an input signal from the operation key 36, and performs control according to the determination. For example, in the case described above, a signal is sent to the settlement module 11 so as to perform a settlement process of 1000 yen in response to an input signal from the operation key 36. If the input signal from the operation key 36 is a power-off signal as described above, control is performed so as to shift to the end routine (S7). If the signal indicates that setting or management is to be performed, control is performed to shift to a setting / management routine (S8).

As described above, when the control unit 12 determines to perform the payment process, the control unit 12 displays the input amount on the display unit 37 of the terminal body unit 15 (S9). The operator presses the confirmation button with the operation key 36 after confirming that an accurate input has been made with the amount displayed on the display unit 37. In response to this, the control unit 12 transmits money amount information to the settlement module 11 (S10) and sends a control signal via the cable 16 and the circuit board 27 so that the LED 6 blinks blue light. Thereby, LED6 repeats instantaneous light emission and blinks blue light (S11). Further, light emitted from the LED 6 is guided to the opening while being repeatedly reflected by the inner peripheral surface 24 a and the reflecting surface 25 of the reflector portion 24, and is emitted from the light transmitting surface 23 to the surface of the reading surface 5. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 1, light is emitted with a rectangular slit width along the outer shape of the IC card 3. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, the blinking blue color causes the holder to hold the IC card 3 up. At this time, the light from the LED 6 can be guided to the light transmitting surface 23 by the reflector portion 24 and the reflecting surface 25 and can be efficiently condensed, so that the light emission amount of the LED 6 can be suppressed as much as possible.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, when the amount information is input, the settlement module 11 puts the transmission / reception unit 29 into a standby state and waits for an input from the antenna board 7 (S12).

As shown in FIG. 10, the holder of the IC card 3 can easily hold the IC card 3 over the reading surface 5 by guiding the light blinking in blue through the light transmission surface 23. At this time, since the light transmission surface 23 surrounds the antenna substrate 7 and corresponds to the outer shape of the IC card 3, that is, a rectangular slit, the holder holds the IC card 3 in a predetermined position in a predetermined direction. Can be held over. As a result, the IC card 3 and the antenna substrate 7 are surely opposed to each other, and a good communication state can be maintained. In particular, since the light transmission surface 23 has a slit shape, the outline of the outer shape of the IC card 3 can be seen more clearly, and the IC card 3 can be easily guided.
When the IC card 3 is held over the reading surface 5, the transmitting / receiving unit 29 reads information recorded on the IC chip 2 of the IC card 3 via the antenna substrate 7 by wireless communication and transmits the information to the settlement module 11. The settlement module 11 performs data processing of the IC chip 2 that has been sent, that is, subtracts the amount of 1000 yen entered by the operation key 36 from the saving amount recorded in the IC chip 2, and a new saving amount ( (Balance) is calculated and settlement processing is performed. After the settlement process is completed, a new saving amount is written (overwritten) in the IC chip 2 via the transmission / reception unit 29 and the antenna substrate 7. At the same time, the payment module 11 notifies the control unit 12 that the payment has been completed normally.
In the above-described wireless communication, the reflector portion 24 surrounding the antenna substrate 7 and the reflection surface 25 on the back surface of the antenna substrate 7 are both non-metallic materials, and thus do not affect the communication performance.

In response to this, the control unit 12 controls the LED 6 to change the color and the light emission time of light emission. That is, a control signal is sent to the LED 6 so that green light is lit (S13). Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 12 causes the speaker 31 to output a sound notifying that the payment is normally completed, for example, a normal sound of payment “Sharin” (S14). At the same time, the control unit 12 causes the display unit 30 of the unit 10 to display the purchase amount, that is, the amount input by the operation key 36 and the new saving amount as a settlement result (S15).
The holder of the IC card 3 confirms that the payment has been normally completed by visually confirming the green light emission of the light transmitting surface 23 and the payment result displayed on the display unit 30 and listening to the normal sound of payment “Sharin”. It can be recognized reliably and easily. Thus, the holder can determine that the reading and writing operations on the IC chip 2 have been normally completed, and can separate the IC card 3 from the reading surface 5.

On the other hand, similarly to the display unit 30 of the cover unit 10, the control unit 12 uses the purchase amount that has been settled, that is, the amount input by the operation key 36 and the new saving amount as a settlement result, and displays the display unit 37 of the terminal body unit 15. To display. After confirming the display on the display unit 37 again, the operator prints out the settlement result using the printer unit 38 as shown in FIG. 11 (S16).
The settlement result print is used as a receipt for the operator and as a receipt for the holder. Further, the control unit 12 may be set so that the settlement result is displayed on the display unit 37 and at the same time the settlement result is automatically printed out by the printer unit 38.
Next, when the settlement result is printed out, the control unit 12 sends a control signal to the LED 6 again, turns off the green light emission (S17), and sets the settlement module 11 again in a state waiting for input from the operation key 36. To do. In S16, the green light emission is set to be turned off. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be set freely. For example, blue light may be turned on.

In addition, when the settlement does not end normally and, for example, a settlement abnormality occurs due to some reason, for example, communication failure, the control unit 12 causes the LED 6 to emit light of a color different from that in the normal state. Take control. For example, control is performed to turn on red light (S18). At the same time, the control unit 12 controls the speaker 31 so as to output a sound different from that in the normal state. That is, a warning sound (NG sound) notifying that the payment is abnormal, for example, a payment abnormal sound of “Pyrolon” is output (S19). Further, the control unit 12 displays that fact on the display unit 37 of the terminal body unit 15 and the display unit 30 of the holding unit 10 and instructs the holder to hold the IC card 3 over the reading surface 5 again.
The holder of the IC card 3 visually confirms the result of the abnormal payment displayed on the display unit 30 of the red light emission and holding unit 10 of the light transmission surface 23 and hears a warning sound “Pyrolon”, thereby causing an abnormal payment. It can be recognized reliably and easily. Thereby, the holder can perform a predetermined process such as holding the IC card 3 over the reading surface 5 again (S20). Further, the data of the IC chip 2 recorded in the settlement module 11 can be transmitted to the external institution A periodically by the operator, for example, once every evening in the evening. That is, as shown in FIG. 12, the modem unit 39 can communicate with a communication receiving modem (not shown) installed in the external engine A to transmit data. As described above, the modem unit 39 may be connected to the IP network via a third party organization and transmitted via a communication means such as the Internet.

As described above, according to the non-contact type terminal device 1 of the present embodiment, the IC card 3 can be guided by using the light from the LED 6 and the progress of reading and writing of the IC chip 2 can be determined by the IC. The holder of the card 3 can be notified. In particular, since the light transmission surface 23 is provided, it is not necessary to provide the LED 6 in any number of places as in the prior art, and the light transmission surface 23 can be formed only by emitting light from one place opposed to the reading surface 5. Thus, light can be emitted in a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the IC card 3. Therefore, the LED 6 can be configured with the minimum necessary installation, and the cost can be reduced.
Further, since the light transmission surface 23 is formed in a slit shape surrounding the periphery of the antenna substrate 7, when the IC card 3 is held up, the IC card 3 is securely opposed to the antenna substrate 7 in a predetermined direction and position. It can arrange | position and can improve the communication property between both. Moreover, since the outline of the outer shape of the IC card 3 can be clearly recognized, the inductivity is excellent.
Furthermore, since the light emitted from the LED 6 can be guided and emitted to the transmission surface 23 while being efficiently condensed by the reflector 24 and the light reflection surface 25, the light amount of the LED 6 can be suppressed as much as possible. Cost can be reduced.

Further, since the color emitted from the LED 6 and the sound output from the speaker 31 are controlled to be different depending on the reading and writing status of the IC chip 2, the IC card 3 is held to the holder of the IC card 3 through vision and hearing. Can be guided, and the status of the amount settlement can be clearly and easily notified, and the usability of the holder is improved.
Furthermore, since the cover unit 10 can be separated from the terminal body unit 15, for example, the terminal body unit 15 can be installed inside the register and the cover unit 10 can be installed outside the register. Thus, since it is possible to install each separately according to an installation place, the freedom degree of installation can be improved.

The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, although the value holding medium is an IC card, the value holding medium is not limited to an IC card, and may have an IC chip that has at least information including money and can be read and written. For example, a mobile phone having such an IC chip may be used as a value holding medium.
Further, the light transmitting surface is described as surrounding the antenna substrate and as a rectangular slit corresponding to the outer shape of the IC card, but it is not necessary to surround the entire antenna substrate. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, there may be four linear slits along each side of the antenna substrate. As shown in FIG. 14, four L-shaped slits arranged at the four corners of the antenna substrate. As shown in FIG. 15, there may be four crescent-shaped slits arranged at the four corners of the antenna substrate.
Furthermore, although the antenna substrate is rectangular, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an elliptical shape as shown in FIG. 16 or a combination of a straight line and an arc as shown in FIG.
When these shapes are employed, a slit may be formed so as to surround the periphery of each antenna substrate.
Furthermore, the light transmission surface does not have to be a slit shape surrounding the periphery of the antenna substrate, and may be any shape according to the outer shape of the IC card, for example.

  In addition, the LED is an LED that emits light of three colors of blue, green, and red, but is not limited to these colors. A plurality of LEDs each emitting only a color may be arranged in the same place so as to emit light from one place. Also in this case, unlike the case where LEDs are arranged in a plurality of places as in the prior art, only one LED of each color, that is, the minimum installation is required, and the IC card can be guided reliably.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the IC card is guided, the blue light blinks, and when the payment is normally completed, the green light is turned on and the sound output “Sharin” is output and the payment is abnormal. Is set to turn on the red light and output the warning sound “Pyrolon”, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the light color and sound may be freely combined depending on the situation. For example, a sound of “beep” as a normal sound for settlement and a sound of “beep” as a settlement abnormal sound may be output.

  Furthermore, various functions may be added. For example, a function for making a balance inquiry may be added. That is, as shown in FIG. 18, it may be set so that a constant polling mode in which the balance inquiry can be performed in parallel can be performed when waiting for an input from the operation key 26 in S5. In this case, it is detected whether or not the IC card 3 is detected when waiting for input (S5) (S25). Here, by holding the IC card 3 over the reading surface 5, the settlement module 11 detects the IC card 3 via the wireless communication unit 8, and reads the balance (saving amount) from the IC chip 2 (S26). ). In response to this, the control unit 12 displays the balance read by the settlement module 11 on the display unit 37 of the terminal body unit 15 and the display unit 30 of the holding unit 10 (S27). Thereby, the holder of the IC card 3 can check the balance of the IC card 3.

Further, the manual polling mode may be used instead of the constant polling mode. That is, as shown in FIG. 19, when the state is waiting for input (S5), the balance key is pressed with the operation key 36 (S30) to shift to a determination mode for determining whether or not the IC card 3 is detected (S30). S31). When the mode is shifted to this determination mode, it is determined whether or not the IC card 3 is detected for a predetermined time (S32). If the IC card 3 is not detected within the predetermined time, the mode again shifts to the input waiting state.
On the other hand, when the IC card 3 is detected during the determination mode, the settlement module 11 reads the balance (saving amount) from the IC chip 2 (S33). In response to this, the control unit 12 displays the balance read by the settlement module 11 on the display unit 37 of the terminal body unit 15 and the display unit 30 of the holding unit 10 (S34). Thereby, the holder of the IC card 3 can check the balance of the IC card 3.

In the above embodiment, the cover unit and the terminal body unit are configured to be separated from each other, but may be integrated. Further, in the case of being configured to be separable, the connection is not limited to a wired connection using a cable, and a wireless connection using infrared communication, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, or the like may be used. Further, a plurality of holding units may be connected to one terminal body unit.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the printer unit is provided. However, the printer unit may be omitted. In this case, since the time for printing out the settlement result can be omitted, it is possible to shorten the time required for the settlement process. In addition, the terminal main body can be further easily configured and can be reduced in size.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the reflector part was employ | adopted as a light guide member and guided to the light transmissive surface while reflecting the light emitted from LED by an internal peripheral surface, it is not restricted to a reflector part, Light is light transmissive surface Any light guide member capable of guiding the light beam may be used.
For example, it may be a light diffuser that is formed of milky white acrylic or the like and guides light while diffusing inside the acrylic. When this light diffuser is employed, it may not be a hollow body, for example, a block or the like, and is not limited to a shape.

It is an external view which shows one Embodiment of the non-contact-type terminal device which concerns on this invention. It is a main block diagram of the non-contact type terminal device shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional arrow BB figure of the holding unit of the non-contact type terminal device shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the relationship between an antenna board | substrate and a light transmissive surface. It is the top view which showed an example of the shape of an antenna board | substrate, and an antenna pattern. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure in the case of performing electronic payment with an IC card, Comprising: It is a figure which shows from starting of a non-contact type terminal device to a main processing routine. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure in the case of performing electronic payment with an IC card, and is a figure until it performs electronic payment from the main processing routine. It is a principal block diagram of a non-contact type terminal device, and is a figure showing the state where the operator inputted money amount information which performs electronic payment from an operation key. It is a principal block diagram of a non-contact type terminal device, and is a figure showing a state where LED of a holding unit is made to emit light and an IC card is attracted. It is a principal block diagram of a non-contact type terminal device, and is a figure showing a state where an IC card is held over a reading surface. It is a principal block diagram of a non-contact type terminal device, and is a figure showing the state where electronic payment was normally performed and the payment result was printed out. It is a principal block diagram of a non-contact type terminal device, and is a figure showing the state where information recorded in a payment module is transmitted to an external organization via a modem unit. It is a figure which shows another example of a light transmissive surface, Comprising: It is the figure which formed four slits in the linear form along each edge | side of an antenna board | substrate. It is a figure which shows another example of a light transmissive surface, Comprising: It is the figure which formed the L-shaped slit in four corners of an antenna board | substrate. It is a figure which shows another example of a light transmissive surface, Comprising: It is the figure which formed the crescent-shaped slit in four corners of an antenna board | substrate. It is a figure which shows an example of the other shape of an antenna substrate, and an example of the light transmissive surface corresponding to this antenna substrate, Comprising: It is the figure which formed the antenna substrate in the ellipse shape. It is a figure which shows an example of the other shape of an antenna board | substrate, and an example of the light transmissive surface corresponding to this antenna board | substrate, Comprising: It is the figure which formed the antenna board | substrate combining the straight line and the circular arc. It is an example of the flowchart in the case of performing balance inquiry of an IC card by constant polling. It is an example of the flowchart in the case of performing balance inquiry of IC card by manual polling. It is a figure which shows an example of the positional relationship of the reading surface and LED of the conventional non-contact-type terminal device.

Explanation of symbols

  1 non-contact type terminal device 2 IC chip 3 IC card (value holding media) 5 reading surface 6 LED (light emitting unit) 7 antenna substrate (antenna unit) 8 wireless communication unit 10 holding unit (reading unit) 11 settlement module (data processing storage unit) 12 control unit 15 terminal main unit (terminal main unit) 23 light transmitting surface 24a inner peripheral surface 24 reflector unit (light guide member, light reflecting plate) 25 reflecting surface 31 speaker

Claims (8)

In a non-contact type terminal device capable of communicating information including at least an amount of money in a non-contact state with respect to a value holding medium having a readable / writable IC chip,
A reading surface on which the value holding medium is brought close to the front surface, a light emitting unit arranged on the back side of the reading surface to emit light from one place, and an IC chip arranged between the reading surface and the light emitting unit A wireless communication unit having an antenna unit capable of wirelessly communicating the information, a speaker that outputs sound from the vicinity of the reading surface, a display unit that displays the information of the IC chip, the light emitting unit, A reading unit having a speaker and an I / O module to which the display unit is connected ;
A data processing storage unit that controls the operation of the wireless communication unit and performs data processing and recording of the IC chip via the antenna unit, and the light emitting unit , the speaker, and the like according to the operating status of the data processing storage unit A control unit for controlling the operation of the display unit , and a terminal main body unit,
The reading unit is wired or wirelessly connected to the terminal body, and is spaced apart from the terminal body.
The light emitting unit, the speaker, and the display unit are controlled by the control unit via the I / O module,
The non-contact type is characterized in that the reading surface is provided with a light transmissive surface for emitting the light emitted from the light emitting unit on the surface of the reading surface in a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the value holding medium. Terminal device. The contactless terminal device according to claim 1,
The non-contact type terminal device, wherein the light transmission surface is formed in a slit shape surrounding the periphery of the antenna unit. The contactless terminal device according to claim 1 or 2,
A non-contact type terminal comprising a non-metallic light guide member arranged so as to surround the periphery of the antenna unit and guiding the light emitted from the light emitting unit to the light transmitting surface. apparatus. The contactless terminal device according to claim 3,
The light guide member is a hollow light reflecting plate that is arranged so that an opening is in contact with the back surface of the reading surface and reflects the light on an inner peripheral surface,
A non-contact type terminal device having a non-metallic reflecting surface provided on the back surface of the antenna portion for reflecting the light. The contactless terminal device according to claim 3,
The non-contact terminal device, wherein the light guide member is a light diffuser that guides the light transmission surface while diffusing the light inside. The contactless terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The non-contact type terminal device, wherein the light emitting unit is an LED that emits a plurality of different colors, and is controlled so that a color and a light emission time are different according to a control signal from the control unit. Te contactless terminal odor according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The non-contact type terminal device, wherein the speaker is controlled to output different sound according to a control signal from the control unit. The contactless terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The reading portion of the plurality is, non-contact terminal device, characterized in that said are terminal body section and a wired or wireless connection.

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