JPH02240871A - Method for deciding true/false of magnetic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a forgery card from being used by comparing a bit interval with a reference value. CONSTITUTION:A data written on a magnetic stripe 16 on a magnetic card 9 is read by a read/write magnetic head 32 and a bit interval T is measured at a measurement circuit 80 via a waveform shaping circuit 62. A reference bit interval To+ or -10% is stored in a memory 81 and fed to a window comparator (WC) 82 as a reference value. When an interval T from the circuit 80 is within equation I, the WC 82 outputs 0 and when the interval T is at the outside of the range, the WC outputs 1. The decision result of the WC 82 is stored in a temporary memory 36 and displayed on a display device 38. When the decision is discordant or the decision represents the out side of the reference range, a punch hole is made to the trouble mark area of the card 9. Thus, the use of a forgery card is prevented. In equation, T is a bit interval, So is 10% and To is a reference bit interval.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a magnetic card payment system that allows payments to be made using a magnetic card, and specifically, the magnetic car F used in the magnetic card payment system is a counterfeit one. The present invention relates to a method for determining the authenticity of a magnetic card. (Prior art) The above-mentioned magnetic card payment system is used in telephones, automatic ticket vending machines, automatic ticket vending machines, etc.The magnetic card used in this magnetic card payment system is called a prepaid card, and it is used to prepay the amount. It is known as a card that is issued upon payment, and allows payments to be made later without using cash, and is used in various industries.In the conventional magnetic card payment system, the prepaid amount is calculated from the magnetic card used. When reading data containing variable information such as, the output level of the read signal of the data may be due to dirt on the magnetic recording part of the magnetic card or a decrease in coercive force of the magnetized part of the magnetically recorded data due to aging. Therefore, regardless of the output level of the signal indicating the read data, the bit interval of the data read from the magnetic card must match the standard bit interval of the magnetic card to be settled. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-described magnetic card payment system, unless the card has been used (the amount remaining is zero), the card will be subject to payment. When a magnetic card made to a certain standard is inserted into a slot, data such as the remaining amount of the prepaid amount can be read → erased → Processing was performed using a rewriting procedure.Here, the magnetic card was used as a magnetic card payment system without using a magnetic card, that is, without performing any operations to pay for products, etc. using a magnetic card. Just by inserting the magnetic card into the slot, the above-mentioned process will be carried out, and the magnetic card will be ejected from the ejection slot.This is generally referred to as ``blank pass''.By the way, as this type of magnetic card payment system becomes more widespread. Accordingly, it is necessary to take measures against the case where a forged magnetic card is used in the magnetic card payment system. Since these were not included in the authenticity determination of magnetic cards, there was a possibility that the following counterfeit cards would be determined to be valid magnetic cards. commercially available magnetic tape (e.g. 8-bit videotape)
The data written on the magnetic card is copied onto the magnetic tape by passing it through the magnetic card. A magnetic card is a counterfeit card, such as a card with a magnetic tape with copied data attached to a used magnetic card, or a card with a magnetic tape with copied data attached to a round board made of plastic. When used in a payment system, there is a problem in that if the bit interval of the read data is normal, it is determined that the card is the correct magnetic card. The present invention was made in view of these circumstances, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a magnetic card authenticity determination method that can reliably prevent a forged magnetic card from being used in a magnetic card payment system. (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a magnetic card payment system in which payment can be made using a magnetic card on which data including variable information such as an advance payment amount is magnetically recorded. The bit interval of the data read from the magnetic recording part of the 1ftfi card inserted from the insertion slot is compared with the pre-stored reference bit interval of the magnetic card to be settled, and the bit interval of the read data is determined. If the interval is normal, the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the read data is calculated, and if the average value is not within a preset reference range, the output level of the device inserted from the socket is determined. The card is characterized by being determined to be a forgery. - Effects] In the magnetic card payment system to which the present invention is applied, when a card is inserted from a slot, the bit interval of data read from the magnetic recording part of the card is first stored as a payment target. It is determined whether the focus interval matches the reference focus interval of the magnetic card. This bit interval may occur when the magnetic card is of a different type, or when a data writing or reading error occurs despite the correct magnetic card due to a malfunction of the data writing/reading device built into the system. A situation occurs in which the bit interval does not match the reference bit interval. Therefore, in the magnetic card payment system to which the present invention is applied, the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the read data is determined only when the bit interval of the read data matches the reference bit interval. If the magnetic card is a correct magnetic card, the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the read data will always fall within a certain range because the magnetic characteristics of the magnetic recording section are standardized. On the other hand, for counterfeit cards, such as cards in which a magnetic tape with copied data is attached to a plastic substrate, the above average value is low; The average value will be higher for cards that have been used. This is due to the difference in the magnetic properties of the magnetic recording portions of the respective cards. Therefore, in the magnetic card payment system described above, if the average output level of the signal indicating the read data of the card inserted from the insertion slot is within a preset reference range, it is determined that the magnetic card is the correct magnetic card to be used for payment. , if it is not within the above reference range, the card is determined to be counterfeit. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent a counterfeit magnetic card from being used in a magnetic card payment system. [Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1st
The figure shows the appearance of a vending machine as an example of a magnetic card payment system to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the vending machine 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the front panel section 2 of the rectangular parallelepiped is provided with showcase sections 3a, 3b, and 3C13d for displaying product samples. Selection buttons 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d are provided, a bill insertion slot 5 and a coin insertion slot 6 are provided, and a change tray 7 is provided below the selection buttons 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d. The car 1 is provided with an insertion port 10. Further, the vending machine 1 is provided with an acoustic alarm l] for notifying the user of forgetting to take out a card or other problems with an audible sound, and a cancel lever 12 for canceling the payment. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a magnetic card used in an embodiment of the present invention. The magnetic card 9 is a flexible card made of thin plastic, paper, etc., and displays the payment amount and payment status on its surface, as shown in FIG. 2 (1). There is an area 13 for recording, and other necessary information (sales amount, issued note name, etc.) is printed thereon. Furthermore, a trouble mark area 14 is provided on the right side of the area 13 of the magnetic card 9, and a trouble mark area 14 is provided on the right side of the area 13 of the magnetic card 9. If the standard via) does not match the interval, a punch hole will be punched in this trouble mark area. T,? ,: Even if a counterfeit magnetic card is inserted from the card slot instead of the magnetic card 9, a punch hole will be punched at the same position as the trouble mark area. On the other hand, a magnetic stripe 16 as a magnetic recording medium is provided on the back surface of the magnetic card 9, as shown in FIG. 2(n). The magnetic stripe 16 is shown in FIG. 2 (III).
As shown, a code Cd is recorded. This code Cd includes data such as the amount to be paid, the date of issue of the card, and data specifying the device that issued the card. Next, FIG. 3 shows the internal structure of the vending machine shown in FIG. 1. In the figure, inside the vending machine 1, there is a money processing mechanism 18 and a magnetic card reading/writing device.
9, a payment processing device 20, a product ejecting mechanism 21, and a magnetic card issuing device 22 are provided. Further, the money processing mechanism 18 reads the authenticity and value of the money inserted into the bill insertion slot 5 and the coin insertion slot 6. The magnetic card reading/writing device 19 reads information from the magnetic card 9, performs payment, and writes information after payment. The payment processing device 20 processes the value information from the money processing mechanism 18 and the magnetic card reading/writing device 219, and presses the product selection buttons 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d.
Based on this designation, the product ejecting mechanism 21 or the magnetic card issuing device 2? It moves one step. The magnetic card issuing device 22 is a ROM 2 provided in the vending machine main body.
The code from 3 is read more, and this code and the magnetic stripe 1 of the magnetic card 9, which has no monetary information written on it.
When the code written in the magnetic card 6 matches the code written in the magnetic card 9, the magnetic card 9 can be issued. In addition, money handling 19
tl]s has no direct relation to the present invention, so
The explanation will be omitted hereafter. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the magnetic card reading/writing device 19. The magnetic card reading/writing device 19 is configured as follows. That is, at a position corresponding to the card insertion slot 10, a pair of feed rollers 30 and 31 are provided so as to be rotatable in parallel. A read/write magnetic head 32 is provided adjacent to the feed rollers 30,31. The read/write magnetic head 32 is for reading data such as the amount and issuer from the Mi member strip 16 of the IAI card 9 and rewriting data such as the balance after payment on the magnetic stripe 16. . Further, reflective optical reading devices 33, 34, and 35 are provided. These reflective optical reading devices 33, 34, and 35 detect the position of the magnetic card 9. The read/write magnetic head 32
A pressing roller 37 for pressing the magnetic card 9 against the head 32 is provided facing the magnetic card 9 . Furthermore, a pair of feed rollers 39.40 are rotatably provided in parallel to the pair of feed rollers 30.31. A punch mechanism 41 is provided on the left side of the feed roller 39, 40 in the drawing. The punch mechanism 41 has a mechanism that can punch holes in the area 13 and trouble mark area 14 of the magnetic card 9 in response to a punch command. Further, a pair of rollers 42 and 43 are provided to be rotatable in parallel, and a card contact detection sensor 44 that also serves as a stopper is provided on the right side of the rollers 42 and 43 in the drawing. The feed roller 30, the feed roller 39, and the roller 42 are connected to a driving step motor 45 via an mti (not shown), and rotate according to the rotation speed of the step motor 45. The read/write magnetic head 32 is switched to the contact a side when reading data from the magnetic card 9 by an analog switch 49 which is switched and controlled by a control signal output from the control circuit 50, and also to the contact a side when reading data from the magnetic card 9. When writing, it can be switched to the contact side. 47 is a write driver, 48 is a data succession circuit, and these are connected to a control circuit 50. Further, 36 is a temporary memory for temporarily storing the comparison result between the bit interval read from the used magnetic card and the reference bit interval, and 38 is a temporary memory 113.
This is a display device that displays the stored contents of No. 6. an optical reader 33, 34, 35, a -time memory 36,
The punch mechanism 41 and the card contact detection sensor 44 are electrically connected to the control circuit 50. In addition, the control circuit 5
0 is for rotating the step motor 45 via the motor controller 46. Next, a specific configuration of the control circuit 50 is shown in FIG. In the figure, the control circuit 50 includes the data read circuit 48 and the D
/A converter 53, input/output section 54, and controller 55
It is composed of. Here, the data read circuit 48 includes a waveform shaping circuit 62 that shapes the waveform of a signal indicating read data obtained from the read/write magnetic hand 32 via the analog switch 49, and a read data output from the waveform shaping circuit 62. A bit interval determination circuit 63 determines whether or not the bit interval is normal, and a bit interval determination circuit 63 determines whether or not the average value of the output level of the read signal obtained from the magnetic head 32 indicating read data is within a preset reference range. The average value judgment circuit 64 makes a judgment. The controller 55 also includes a CPU 56, a ROM 57, a RAM 58,
It is composed of an interface 59 and an external interface 60. Next, the specific configuration of the waveform shaping circuit 62 is shown in FIG. 6. In the figure, the waveform shaping circuit 62 includes a preamplifier 70,
It is composed of a differentiator 71, a zero volt comparator 72, and a pulse shaping surface 1573. In such a configuration, the magnetically recorded data written on the magnetic stripe 16 of the magnetic card 9 (see FIG. 9(a)) is read by the read/write head 32. The data read by the read/write head 32 (see FIG. 9(b)) is amplified by the preamplifier 70. The amplified data is differentiated by a differentiator 71. Next, the differentiated signal (see Fig. 9(c)) is used to detect zero volts with the zero volt converter tough 2 and output it (see Fig. 9(d)).
, this signal is pulse-shaped by a pulse shaping circuit 73, thereby obtaining read data as shown in FIG. 9(e). Therefore, this data is taken into the bit interval determination circuit 63, and the bit intervals T o , T 1 , TI . . . as shown in FIG. 9 can be measured in the bit interval determination circuit 63 . Next, the configuration of the bit interval determination circuit 63 is shown in FIG. 7. In the figure, the bit interval determination circuit 63 includes a measurement circuit 80 that measures the bit interval, and a memory 8 that stores the set value of the reference bit interval.
1 and a window comparator 82. Necessary data is recorded on the magnetic stripe 16 of the regular magnetic card 9 in the binary state of °# I HIIO°, and the jitter of the bit interval is basically the same for °1" and °°0. Now, in the above configuration, the data written on the magnetic stripe 16 of the magnetic card 9 is read out by the read/write magnetic hand 32, waveform shaped by the waveform shaping circuit 62, and read processing is performed. The read data obtained from the 8-order waveform shaping circuit 62 is input to the measurement circuit 80, and the bit interval T, is measured.On the other hand, in the old memory, if the reference focus interval is To, then T, ±So( Here, S is expressed in %, and 5.-
10%) is stored and supplied to the window comparator 82 as a reference value. In the window comparator 82, the bit interval T output from the measurement circuit 80 is T*(ISs/100)≦
It is determined whether T1≦T*(1+S@/100) (see FIG. 1O). When the bi-nod interval Tm is within the above range, the output of the window comparator 82 is 01°.
Outputs 1. The judgment result of this window comparator 82 is temporarily stored in the temporary memo 1J36, and its contents are displayed on the display ti.
38. Next, the configuration of the average value determination circuit 64 is shown in FIG. In the figure, the average value determination circuit 64 is composed of an absolute value circuit 90, an integral value circuit 91, and a comparator 92. Now, even if the focus interval of the data read from the magnetic card is approximately equal to the reference bit interval, it does not necessarily mean that the magnetic card is genuine, so the average value judgment circuit 64, a signal based on the read data of the magnetic card obtained via the preamplifier 70 is input to the absolute value circuit 90, and the absolute value of the signal is taken in the absolute value circuit 90 (Fig. 9<r ＞
(see FIG. 9(g)), the output signal of the IP-to-mouth circuit 90 is integrated by an integrator 91, and the integrated output is input to a comparator 92 (see FIG. 9(g)). A comparator 92 compares the output signal Vi of the integrator 91 with a reference voltage v atr. Here, the reference voltage ■1. are the upper limit reference value VIIL and lower limit reference value 1, which indicate a certain reference range.
There are two margins, lfvLL, and the comparator 92 determines whether or not it is actually within the range of vLL≦V−≦vLIL. In the case of a regular magnetic card, the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the read data due to the magnetic properties of the magnetic card, that is, the integral output Vi of the integrator 91
must be within the above range.
IAL is set), and if the integral output Vi is outside the above range, the control circuit 5G issues #!, indicating that it is a counterfeit magnetic card. ! , will be discussed. Next, the processing contents executed by the control circuit 5G are shown in FIG. It is determined whether the bit interval of the read data is normal (step 100.
101) If the bit interval is normal, it is further determined whether the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the read data is within a reference range specific to the magnetic card 9 (step 102). ), if the average value of this output level is within the above standard range, normal processing such as erasing the data and performing payment for purchasing products etc. is performed, and then the necessary data is re-created after payment. After writing is performed (steps 103 and 104) and rewriting is completed, the magnetic card is ejected from a predetermined ejection port (step 106). On the other hand, if the bit interval of the data read from the magnetic card does not match the reference bit interval (step 101), or if the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the read data is not within the reference range (step 102) A punch hole is punched by the punch mechanism 41 in the trouble mark area 14 of the magnetic card 9 or at a position corresponding to the trouble mark 14, and the magnetic card is ejected from a predetermined ejection port (steps 105 and 106).
. In addition, in this *embodiment, when adding a trouble mark in step 105, a hole is punched in the magnetic card, but the same meaning is not limited to this by cutting a specific mark or a specific position on the card. You may also be allowed to have one.

【Effect of the invention】

As explained above, the present invention provides a magnetic card payment system in which payments can be made using a magnetic card on which data including variable information such as an advance payment amount is magnetically recorded. The bit interval of the data read from the recording part is compared with the pre-stored reference bit interval of the magnetic card to be settled, and if the bit interval of the read data is normal, the i*m extraction is performed. The configuration is configured to calculate the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the data, and if the average value is not within a preset reference range, it is determined that the magnetic card inserted from the insertion slot is counterfeit. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent a forged magnetic card from being used in a magnetic card payment system.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a vending machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing one configuration of a magnetic card used in the embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a vending machine. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the magnetic card reading/writing device, and FIG. 5 is a magnetic card reading/writing bag! 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit used in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the waveform shaping circuit in FIG. 5.
8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the average value determination circuit in FIG. 5. FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the waveform shaping circuit and the average value determination circuit. Time chart, 1st
FIG. 0 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the bit interval of read data and the reference bit interval, and FIG. U is a flowchart showing the contents of processing executed by the control circuit. l...Vending machine, 48...Data reading circuit, 5o
...Control circuit, 62...Waveform shaping circuit, 63...
Bit interval judgment circuit, 64... Average value judgment circuit. Figure 1 Patent applicant: Nippon Card Center Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Hibi Akiaki Figure 4 Figure 1; Vending machine diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a magnetic card payment system in which payment can be made using a magnetic card on which data including variable information such as the prepaid amount is magnetically recorded, the bit interval of data read from the magnetic recording part of the magnetic card inserted into the system and the Compare the stored reference bit interval of the magnetic card to be settled, and if the bit interval of the read data is normal, calculate the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the read data, and calculate the average value of the output level of the signal indicating the read data. 1. A method for determining authenticity of a magnetic card, characterized in that the magnetic card is determined to be counterfeit if the value of the magnetic card is not within a preset reference range.