JPH01288489A - Optical card and card reader - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enlarge the application range of a ROM card considerably, by making an optically readable record in the data recording area of an optical card and printing data readable through eyes in an external data recording area. CONSTITUTION:An external data record area 20 is provided on the rear face of an optical card 10, i.e. the face at the opposite side from the face having data recording areas 11a, 11b where required data are previously recorded optically readably. The external data recording area 20 is subjected to heat- sensitive processing through application of a heat-sensitive paper or coating of heat-sensitive agent. When the external data are printed through a thermal head 21, lock patterns are read out through an optical head with the optical card 10 moving along a track and the moving position of the optical card 10 is measured, then the heat-sensitive pattern in the thermal head 21 is heated correspondingly and printed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to an optical card and a reading device thereof.

[Conventional technology]

Various types of optical cards have been proposed in the past, and the present applicant has proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7533/1983, a so-called ROM card in which required data is prerecorded in a photoelectrically readable manner.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above-mentioned ROM card can be used for various purposes such as dictionaries, novels, CATV program guides, identification cards, study problem collections, etc., and its range of applications is extremely wide.

In addition, when using such a ROM card, for example, C
For ATV program guides, if the programs and viewing times selected from a ROM card that records weekly or monthly programs can be printed on the ROM card in a visually readable manner, it is extremely suitable for calculating fees, etc. In this case, it would be extremely suitable for grading if the learner could print out his/her answers on the ROM card in a visually readable manner.

However, conventional ROM cards do not allow external data to be printed in a visually readable manner, so there is a problem in that they cannot be used in the above manner. It is also possible to provide an area for recording external data in a photoelectrically readable manner similar to the recorded data on a ROM card, but in this case, the card itself would be expensive, and the reader/writer that handles it would also be expensive. There is a problem that it becomes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel optical card and its reading device that can be manufactured at low cost and that can print external data in a visually readable manner.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] In order to achieve the above object, the optical card of the present invention has a data recording area in which required data is prerecorded in a photoelectrically readable manner, and a data recording area that can be read visually. An external data recording area where data can be printed is provided.

Furthermore, the optical card reading device of the present invention further includes a photoelectric reading means for reading the data readably recorded photoelectrically in the data recording area of the optical card, and a visually readable data recording area in the external data recording area of the optical card. and printing means for printing data.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an example of an optical card of the present invention. This optical card 10 has two data recording areas 11a and 11 on its front surface so that the front surface can be reversed and inserted into an optical card league to read information photoelectrically.
lb is formed, and in order to detect the relative position between the data recording area to be read and the reading position in the optical card league, each data recording area 11a, ll
Position detection marks 12a and 12b are formed corresponding to b. In addition, a large number of tracks are formed in the data recording areas 11a and llb extending in the direction of insertion into the optical card league, and seek sections 13a and 13b in which track numbers and the like are recorded at both ends of these tracks. , 1
4a and 14b are formed, and data sections 15a and 15b in which necessary information is recorded are formed between the seek sections. Each track has 19 lines divided at approximately equal intervals, as shown in FIG. 2 for track 16 of one data recording area 11a.
The 0 line has a clock pattern 17 for clock generation, focus error detection, and tracking error detection, which is formed of a black pattern at equal intervals and formed over the seek section 13a, data section 15a, and seek section 13b. Further, a track number pattern representing a track number is formed in the seek sections 13a and 13b, and a fixed recognition pattern common to each track is formed for recognizing this track number pattern.

Furthermore, in the data section 15a, each track 16 is provided with a plurality of frames 18, and each frame is recognized between 18 adjacent frames and the seek section 13a, 13b and the adjacent frame 18. A frame number pattern has been created for this purpose. In this way, in this example, the upper 1st to 8th lines and the lower 12th to 19th lines of the clock pattern 17 each have 8
Bytes of bits are arranged and these data are read simultaneously in synchronization with the black clock pattern 17.

Tracks in the other data recording area 11b are similarly formed.

In this embodiment, external data is stored on the back surface of the optical card 10, that is, on the surface opposite to the surface having the data recording areas 11a and 11b on which required data is prerecorded in a photoelectrically readable manner, as shown in FIG. A recording area 20 is provided. In this example, the external data recording area 20 is formed by attaching thermal paper to the card body made of plastic or the like, or by coating it with a heat-sensitive agent to give it a heat-sensitive finish, and further protect the heat-sensitive part from hand sweat, scratches, etc. on its surface. It is constructed by thinly coating a plastic material to prevent deterioration due to ultraviolet rays.

In this manner, in this embodiment, visually readable data is printed in the external data recording area 20 by the thermal head 21 as shown in FIG. 4 in the optical card league. Here, the thermal head 21 is attached via a leaf spring 23 to the other end of the bimorph 22 whose one end is fixed to the fixing part 24 of the optical card league, and the optical head of the optical card league is connected to the data recording area 11a or llb.
When in the reading state, no voltage is applied to the bimorph 22 and the thermal head 21 is separated from the optical card 10. When external data is to be printed by the thermal head 21, a predetermined voltage is applied to the bimorph 22 and the thermal head 21 is moved away from the optical card 10. is transferred to the external data recording area 2 by the force of the leaf spring 23.
0 to print external data. In addition, when printing external data using the thermal head 21, the optical head reads the clock pattern 17 (see FIG. 2) while moving the optical card 10 in the track direction to measure the moving position of the optical card 10, and then A thermal pattern of a thermal head 21 is printed by generating heat. For example, the clock obtained by reading the clock pattern 17 with an optical head is transmitted to the optical card 10.
Assuming that this occurs every 10 μm movement, when 30 of these are counted (0,311I11), the thermal pattern of the thermal head 21 is made to generate heat in accordance with the external data, and the external data is printed.

Note that when printing external data, the transport speed of the optical card 10 may be made slower than when reading data using an optical head, so that changes in the heat-sensitive portion can be performed reliably. Furthermore, the printing position of the external data can be determined by recording information indicating the printing position in advance in the data recording areas 11a and 11b, for example, and reading this with an optical head to set a time axis so that the printing positions do not overlap. control.

As described above, when the thermal head 21 is fixedly provided, external data can be printed in one line in each of the data recording areas 11a and llb of the optical card 10 in the external data recording area 20. .

Next, the data recording areas 11a and llb of the optical card 10
An optical card reader that is capable of printing external data on a plurality of lines in each external data recording area 20 will be described.

FIG. 5 shows an exploded perspective view of the main parts of the optical card league, in which the optical card 10 has data recording areas 11, a,
With the surface having the .
2a and 32b are rotated by a card motor 33 via a worm gear 34 and a rotating shaft 35, so that they are reciprocated in the longitudinal direction as shown by double-headed arrows. Note that the optical card 10 is attached to one rubber roller 32a.
A flange portion 36 is provided so as to come into contact with one side surface of the optical card 10, and a presser member 37 is provided on the other rubber roller 32b side so as to loosely fit on the rotating shaft 35 and come into contact with the other side surface of the optical card 10. The holding member 37 is pressed against the other side by the spring 38 so that one side is brought into contact with the flange portion 36. Further, in the transport direction of the optical card 10, a rotating shaft 35 having rubber rollers 32a and 32b is provided.
A guide roller 39a is provided so as to be in contact with one side surface of the optical card 10, and a guide roller 39b is provided so as to be in contact with the other side surface of the optical card 10.
9b is elastically pressed against the other side surface so that one side surface comes into contact with the guide roller 39a. In this way, the flange portion 36 of the rubber roller 32a, the presser member 37
, spring 38 and a pair of guide rollers 39a, 39b
The optical card 10 is positioned in the width direction. Also,
The rotating shaft 35 is biased upward by a biasing means such as a spring (not shown), so that the upper surface of the optical card 10 is aligned with the position roller 3.
1a and 31b to position the upper surface.

An optical head 41 that reads data recorded in the data recording areas 11a and llb of the optical card 10 is provided movably in the width direction of the optical card 10 by a screw 42 and a guide 43, and is moved by a seek motor 44 via a worm gear 45. By rotating the screw 42, the optical head 41 can be moved in the width direction of the optical card 10 to seek a desired track.

On the other hand, a thermal head 21 that prints external data in an external data recording area 20 provided on the back surface of the optical card 10 is supported by a holding member 46 via a leaf spring 23 and a bimorph 22. One end of the holding member 46 in the optical card transport direction is
It is slidably supported by a guide 47 provided extending in the width direction of the optical card, and the other end is engaged with a screw 48 similarly extended in the width direction of the optical card and provided rotatably.

Furthermore, the screw 48 and the screw 42 for moving the optical head 41 are provided with gears 49 and 50, respectively, and these gears 49 and 50 are meshed with each other via an intermediate gear 51.

In this way, only when the thermal head 21 is moved in the width direction of the optical card in conjunction with the optical head 41 by the seek motor 44 and external data is printed at a desired position in the same manner as described above, the bimorph 21 is By applying a predetermined voltage to the thermal head 21, the thermal head 21 is elastically pressed against the external data recording area 20 by the force of the leaf spring 23, and visually readable external data is printed while the optical card 10 is being transported. do.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the thermal head 21 is moved in the width direction of the optical card in conjunction with the optical head 41, so that the data recording area 11a is moved.

11b, external data can be printed in a plurality of lines in each external data recording area 20. In this case, the external data printing line is in the data recording area 11.
For example, the width of the l track in a, llb is 180μ
Since the data recording area 11a is extremely narrow, for example, one track is set for every 20 tracks.

The track number is read by the optical head 41 at the print position recorded in the print position 11b, and the thermal head 21 is positioned on the corresponding print line. In addition, a time axis is provided for each printing line, or the printing position is controlled by frame numbers in the data recording areas 11a and llb, or when one optical card is used in one league, it is possible to The position of the data is stored in the RAM of the league to avoid duplication of printing positions. Further, the amount of movement of the optical head 41 and the thermal head 21 may be 1:1, and the gear ratio of the gears 49 to 51 may be adjusted depending on the relationship between the track pitch and the print line pitch in the data recording areas 11a and llb. It may be changed by the thread pitch of the screw threads 42 and 48, etc.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified or changed in many ways. For example, an optical card may have one data recording area on one surface, and its track configuration is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2, but may also be a one-line track configuration. Further, the external data recording area can be provided on the same surface as the data recording area, and its structure is not limited to the heat-sensitive agent, and can also be configured to print using an ink ribbon.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, since the present invention enables external data to be printed in a visually readable manner, it can be constructed at low cost and the range of use of ROM cards can be significantly expanded.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the optical card of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of an example of the printing means, and FIG. 5 is an embodiment of the optical card reading device of the present invention. FIG. 10... Optical card 11a, Ilb... Data recording area 12a, 12
b...Position detection marks 13a, 13b, 14a,
L4b-... Seek section 15a, 15b... Data section 16... Track 20... External data recording area 21... Thermal head 22... Bimorph 2
3... Leaf springs 31a, 31b... Position rollers 32a, 32b... Rubber rollers 33...
・Card motor 34...worm gear 35・
...Rotating shaft 36...Flange portion 37...Press member 38...Springs 39a, 39b
... Guide roller 41 ... Optical head 42
...Screw screw 43...Guide 4
4... Seeking motor 45... Worm gear
46... Holding member 47... Guide 48
...Screw screws 49, 50.51...Gear patent applicant Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An optical card comprising a data recording area in which required data is prerecorded in a photoelectrically readable manner and an external data recording area on which visually readable data can be printed. 2. A photoelectric reading means for reading data readably recorded photoelectrically in the data recording area of the optical card;
An optical card reading device comprising: printing means for printing visually readable data in an external data recording area of the optical card.