JPH04197657A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a recording device available for processing of a recording medium with which a user of the said recording medium can easily recognize the decrease of the amount of usable balance by a method wherein a first information is read out of the recording medium in which the first and a second information are stored, and judgement is made to determine whether the read out information fulfills specified requirements. CONSTITUTION:Necessary information including time and date of use, etc., is selectively transferred to acceptance layer of a card 6 with a thermal head driven by a printing control section 45 through an ink ribbon coated with ink that is solid at the normal temperature, and the transferred information is displayed in the form of visible ink images on a first display layer of the card. Usable balance calculated in a balance computing section 48 is compared with preset amount of the balance in a judgement section 47, and when the compared value is within the limit of the preset amount of the balance, ultraviolet rays are shed on the card with an ultraviolet-emitting means 25 controlled by an irradiation control section 46 through a main control section 40. As a result, discoloring layer, a second display layer of the card, colors and backing color under the data display surface changes thereby. In the case where the amount of usable balance is above the preset amount of the balance, the ultraviolet rays are not emitted, keeping the backing color under the data display surface unchanged.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Purpose of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention is directed to storing information in a storage medium with a usage limit set, such as a deductible card used in telephones, ticket vending machines, etc. The present invention relates to a recording device for recording.

(Prior art) Conventionally, with deductible cards, so-called brivate cards, used in telephones, ticket vending machines, etc., in the case of large amounts that cannot be limited to the number of uses, printing is not possible even though there is a balance. Due to reasons such as running out of area and making it unusable, or the difficulty of printing small characters, it is no longer possible to record updates (printing) of balances, etc. Therefore, the remaining amount to be used (or the number of usable degrees) is roughly notified by punching a hole or the like. Therefore, there was a problem in that it was not possible to know the usage history and accurate balance.

To solve the problem of not being able to know the usage history or accurate balance, this card has a recording layer on one side of the card that can reversibly cause a change in color or light transmittance due to heat. has been proposed (patent application 1986)
-136357). The configuration of this card is shown in FIG. Card 1 is a base material 2 made of plastic etc.
A printing layer 3 is laminated on the upper part, and a reversible recording layer (variable display layer) 5 composed of a magnetic recording layer 4 and a thermosensitive member is laminated on the lower part (back side). For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the reversible recording layer 5 is in a transparent state and its temperature is increased from T1 to T2, the reversible recording layer 5 changes from a transparent state to a cloudy state, and when the temperature reaches T1. Even after returning, it remains cloudy.

Then, when the temperature of the reversible recording layer 5 is increased from T1 to T3 beyond T2 and returned to T1 again, the state changes from a cloudy state to a transparent state, and the transparent state is maintained as it is. This change is repeatable. There is also a card in which a part of a base material having a magnetic recording layer on the negative side is punched out, filled with a magnetic particle dispersion liquid or magnetic particles, and provided with a shielded display area (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-269281). This card displays a pattern on the display section by magnetizing a pattern part in the magnetic recording layer and attracting magnetic particles to the magnetized part. The pattern is retained unless the magnetized pattern is demagnetized. Erasing of the display is accomplished by applying an alternating magnetic field to the magnetic recording layer and the display section.

The above cards either have a built-in rewritable display section, or a transfer sheet with a transfer ink layer on the backing material is placed in close contact with the plastic card, the thermal head is driven to record the image, and then the image is fixed. It is fixed by the container,
There is also a proposal for a plastic ticket issuing device that forms an image on a card (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 55-39351). In this card, the display body that forms the image is supplied from outside.

(Invention or Problem to be Solved) However, these cards have made it possible to display the usage limit accurately, or even when the usage limit is near, the display format does not change, so it is difficult for the user to know that the usage limit is approaching. The problem is that it cannot be easily recognized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device for processing a storage medium that allows a user to easily recognize that the available amount of money has decreased.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the recording device of the present invention has a first recording layer for storing first information and a second recording layer for storing second information. receiving means for receiving a storage medium having a storage layer;
reading means for reading the first information from a storage medium accepted by the receiving means; determining means for determining whether the first information read by the reading means satisfies a predetermined condition; and recording means for recording a color change on the second recording layer of the storage medium based on the recording medium.

(Operation) The recording device of the present invention reads first information from a storage medium that stores first and second information, determines whether or not the read information satisfies a predetermined condition, and determines whether or not the read information satisfies a predetermined condition. Color change recording is performed on a storage medium based on the following.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail by exemplifying a card processing apparatus without reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of the internal mechanism of the card processing device of the present invention. This device uses a deductible amount card to visually record usage history data such as date of use and remaining amount on the display layer of the cart each time the card is used. 6 is a card having the cross-sectional configuration shown in FIG.

The card 6 has a magnetic recording layer 8 on one side of a base material 7, a first display layer 11 consisting of a white layer 9 and an ink receiving layer 10, and a color change layer 12 as a second display layer on the other side. . Base material 7
is made of plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, or paper, and here 188 μm thick polyvinyl chloride was used.

The receptor layer 10 receives an externally supplied image forming member on its surface to form a visible image. It is composed of resin materials such as polyethylene terephthalate and polyurethane.

These may be colored and used if necessary. Here, 3 μm polyethylene terephthalate was used. The color-changing layer 12 is made of a material exhibiting photochromism that develops color when exposed to ultraviolet rays and disappears when exposed to heat. Known materials can be used as photochromic materials. As such materials, spiropyrans, diarylethenes, spirooxazines, spiroherezothiopyrans, etc. can be used. Here, it was composed of spiropyran materials. White layer 9 contains polyurethane mixed with silicon dioxide fine particles.
A 1 μm thick white layer was used. The first display surface of card 6 (
As shown in FIG. 3(a), the usage status (usage history) of the card 6, such as the usage date and remaining amount, is recorded in the area (within the broken line frame). The first display surface may be provided in a portion as shown in FIG. 3, or may be provided over the entire surface. In the magnetic recording layer 8, the initial state and usage status (usage history) of the card 6, such as the usage limit, date of usage, and remaining amount, are magnetically recorded. 2
0 is a card slot; 21 is a card transport path that is composed of known transport rollers (not shown) and can transport cards in both left and right directions; and 22 is security-related data such as card authenticity and validity period. , a read head for reading out usage history data such as remaining amount from the magnetic recording layer of the card 6; 23 a write head for updating and writing magnetic information in the magnetic recording layer of the card 6; 24 a recording layer of the card 6; This is a thermal head thermal transfer recording means that is a printing means for printing usage history data such as usage date and remaining amount.

25 is an ultraviolet irradiation means; 26 is a read head for reading magnetic information from the magnetic recording layer of the card 6 in order to confirm written and updated data; and 27 is a read head when there is any doubt about the authenticity of the card, its validity period, etc. 28, 29, and 30 are sensors that detect the position of the leading end of the card in the transport direction; 31 is a card ejection port;

FIG. 4 shows an outline of the control system of the card processing device shown in FIG. 1. 40 is a main control unit that controls the entire device; 41 is a transport mechanism control unit that controls a motor connected to a transport roller in a card transport path via a drive system; and 42 is a read control unit that controls magnetic information reading by the reading head 22. 43 is a write control unit that controls the writing of magnetic information by the write head 23, 44 is a read control unit that controls the reading of magnetic information by the read head 26, and 45 is a thermal head of the thermal transfer recording means 24 which is a printing means. A print control unit that controls driving, 46 is a color changing layer 10
47 is an irradiation control unit that controls ultraviolet irradiation from an ultraviolet lamp of an ultraviolet irradiation means for coloring; 47 determines the validity of the card by checking security-related data; displays the remaining amount;
A determination unit that determines the appropriate operation based on preset conditions and the usage status of the card; 48 is a balance calculation unit that calculates the remaining amount on the card; and 49 is a calculation table that stores the relationship between usage conditions and required amounts. . Each block is connected to the main control section 40 by a data bus 50. The main control unit 40 is connected to an external terminal (not shown) as necessary and can display, input and output necessary data.

Next, the card processing operation in this recording device will be explained. A user inserts the card 6 into the card slot 20. The inserted card is conveyed along a conveyance path 21 by a conveyance roller or the like, and a reading head 22 reads security-related data such as the card's authenticity and validity period, and usage history data such as the remaining amount. Usage history data is stored in the main control unit 40
The subtraction amount set for the usage conditions is sent to the remaining amount calculation unit 48 via the calculation table 49, and the available remaining amount is calculated. The calculation result data and other read data are processed by the determination unit 47. If there is a problem with the card, the stopper 27 is operated to stop the card, the motor operation that drives the transport roller is reversed under the control of the transport mechanism control unit 41, and the card is ejected to a separate tray (not shown). do. If the card is valid, the usage history data is updated and written to the magnetic recording layer by the next write head 23. The next thermal head thermal transfer recording means 24 selectively records necessary information such as the date and time of use on the receiving layer 10 of the card 6 using an ink ribbon coated with ink that is solid at room temperature by a thermal head driven by a print control unit 45. The ink is transferred to and displayed as a visible ink image on the first display layer. In the ultraviolet irradiation means 25,
The remaining amount calculated by the remaining amount calculating section 48 is compared with a preset remaining amount value (in this case, 1000 yen) in the determining section 47, and if it is within the set remaining amount value, the main controller 40
The ultraviolet rays are irradiated via the control of the irradiation control section 46. As a result, the color changing layer, which is the second display layer of the card, develops color, and the base color of the data display surface changes. If the available balance is greater than or equal to the set balance value, no ultraviolet rays will be irradiated.
The background color of the data display surface does not change. Sensors 28 and 29 provided upstream of each means detect the leading edge of the card and output a reference signal for positioning the card to the main controller 40. After printing, the updated data is read from the magnetic recording layer by the reading head 26, and the updated data is confirmed. Finally, the card comes out to the outlet 31 and is returned to the user.

Next, another embodiment of the recording apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a schematic structure of the internal mechanism of the card processing device. The same numbers as in FIG. 1 indicate the same means and functions, and only the parts that are different from FIG. 1 will be explained below. 60 is a card whose cross-sectional structure is shown in FIG. The card 60 has a magnetic recording layer 8 on one side of the base material 7, a first display layer 63 for displaying a visible image consisting of a metal vapor deposited layer 61 and a thermosensitive color changing layer 62 on the other side, and a base color of the first display layer. A second display layer 64 responsible for color change and a protective layer 65 are laminated. The same numbers as in FIG. 2 indicate the same materials.

The thermosensitive color-changing layer 62 is made of a material that exhibits a transparent state and an opaque (cloudy) state by heat, and maintains this state stably even when the temperature returns to room temperature. Recording on the first display layer is performed by selectively turning the transparent thermosensitive color-changing layer cloudy using a thermal head or the like, thereby forming a cloudy image.

To erase this image, the thermosensitive color changing layer is heated to a transparent temperature using a heat roller or the like to make the cloudy image transparent and initialized. Here, it becomes cloudy when the clouding temperature is 95℃ or higher, and it becomes cloudy at 80℃~
A material that changes from cloudy to transparent at 95°C and does not change below 80°C was used. As the material for the second display layer, a material exhibiting photochromism that develops color when exposed to ultraviolet rays and disappears when exposed to heat or visible light is used. Known materials can be used as such materials, such as spiropyrans,
Diarylethenos, spirooxazines, spirobenzothiopyrans, etc. can be used. Here, it was composed of spiropyran materials. The second display layer is colored by ultraviolet light and decolored by heat or visible light, and this phenomenon occurs reversibly, so the second display layer can be used repeatedly. 6
6 is a heat roller heating means for erasing the display on the first display layer.

As a means for erasing the display, a thermal head, an infrared ray generating means, etc. may be used. When a thermal head is used, the display visible image at an arbitrary position is generated by selectively generating heat from the heating element of the thermal head. It is also possible to erase. 67 is a thermal head recording means for recording a visible image on the first display layer.

FIG. 7 shows an outline of the control system of the card processing device shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the same numbers as in FIG. 4 indicate means having the same functions. Below, the fourth
Only the parts that differ from the diagram will be explained. 68 is a print control unit that controls the driving of the thermal head of the thermal head recording means 67 which is a printing means; 69 is a heat roller heating means for erasing the display on the first display layer; This is an erase control section that controls contact and evacuation operations.

Next, the card processing operation in this device will be explained with respect to the differences from the device shown in FIG. 1. In the heat roll heating means 66, based on the usage history data that has already been read, the determination unit 47 additionally displays the information on the first display layer (not shown) of the card 60 (as shown in FIG. 8(a)). When it is determined that there is no margin, a heat roller heated to 85° C. is brought into contact with the display image area to be erased under the control of the erase control unit 69, and the recorded image is made transparent and erased. If there is a margin in the first display layer, heat low/
LJ [The heat roll of the heating means 66 is retracted so as not to contact the card, and the card is transferred to the next thermal head recording means 6.
7. Here, necessary information such as the date and time of use and the remaining amount is applied to the first display layer of the card 60 as a heat pattern at about 100° C. by a thermal head controlled by the print control section 68, and is recorded as a cloudy image. In the example shown in FIG. 8, when it is determined that there is no margin for additional display, all displayed visible images are erased and a new visible image is displayed on the updated display surface.

Next, in the ultraviolet irradiation means 25, the remaining amount calculated by the remaining amount calculating section 48 is compared with the preset remaining amount value (in this case, 1000 yen) in the same manner as the device shown in FIG. If the balance is within the set balance value, ultraviolet rays are irradiated under the control of the irradiation control unit 46 via the main control unit 40.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 8(b), the color changing layer, which is the second display layer of the card, develops color, and the base color of the data display surface changes. If the available remaining amount is equal to or greater than the set remaining amount value, no ultraviolet rays will be irradiated and the base color of the data display screen will not change. In this processing device, even when there is no margin left on the first display surface, the visible image on the display surface is deleted and the display surface is updated, and the display surface can be used repeatedly. can.

In the explanation of the operation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 5, the visible image displayed on the first display surface is entirely erased, but it goes without saying that it may be partially erased.

Formation of a visible image in the first display layer shown in the examples was carried out by a thermal transfer recording method or a thermal recording method using a material that shows a change in state from cloudy to transparent, but the first display layer material of the card to be processed Of course, recording means such as thermal recording, thermal breakdown recording, current recording, discharge recording, and optical recording may be used without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Further, this cart processing device can be used both when starting to use the card and when ending using the card.

When a cart is processed by the card processing device of the present invention, the user can easily visually confirm the amount paid for the cart. Therefore, security can be improved in combination with the magnetic information in the magnetic recording layer regarding the payment amount. Furthermore, since the image forming material (ink) supplied from the outside can be set according to the function, it has become possible to create a rewritable display with excellent visibility due to density contrast, color differences, etc. Furthermore, since the image forming body is solid at room temperature, highly reliable display can be obtained. Furthermore, unlike conventional image forming bodies, there is no deterioration due to fatigue caused by repeated use of the same image forming body, and the life of the display unit can be extended. Furthermore, since the display section can be set at any position, there is a high degree of freedom in setting the display surface, and the position of the display section can be easily changed without changing the card. Characteristics that meet the requirements for image forming bodies, such as repeatability and anti-scratch properties, can be designed almost independently without mutual interference. Display specifications can be changed without changing the card body or device by simply changing the characteristics of the image forming body supplied from the outside. In addition, by arranging a printing means that forms ink images of different colors, it is possible to change the color of the ink image according to the displayed information without changing the card itself, and more information can be obtained by combining characters and symbols. can be displayed. An important characteristic of the display area is the surface properties of the display layer, and since an image forming material with a high unit density can be used, sufficient image density can be obtained even with a thin ink image, and the thickness can be reduced. It has become possible to form an extremely thin display section. Therefore, a cart with a rewritable display that does not cause any trouble in reading and writing magnetic information even if the display layer is laminated on the magnetic layer and does not damage the magnetic head has been realized.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the recording device of the present invention, it is possible to process a storage medium so that the user can easily recognize that the available amount of money has decreased.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cart processing device which is an embodiment of the recording device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a cart used in the cart processing device of FIG. 1, and FIG. Figure 4 is a diagram to explain how the card shown in the figure is used.
Block diagram of the control system of the cart processing device shown in Figure 5.
The figure is a schematic configuration diagram of a cart processing device which is another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a card used in the card processing device of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is the same as shown in FIG. A block diagram of the control system of the card processing device; FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining how the card shown in FIG. 6 is used; FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional structure of a conventional repeatedly recordable and erasable card. 10 are diagrams for explaining recording and erasing operations on the recording layer of the card shown in FIG. 9. 6.60...Card, 11.63...First display layer, 10,64...Second display layer, 24.67...First display layer recording means, 25... Second display layer color changing means, 66...display visible image erasing means

Claims (1)

[Claims] Receiving means for receiving a storage medium having a first recording layer for storing first information and a second storage layer for storing second information; and a storage medium accepted by the receiving means. from said first
a reading means for reading the information of the storage medium; a determining means for determining whether the first information read by the reading means satisfies a predetermined condition; and a second information of the storage medium based on the determination of the determining means. 1. A recording device comprising a recording means for recording a recording layer in a color change manner.