JPH04241999A - Prepaid-card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form constitution, in which the forgery and alteration of a prepaid- card are prevented effectively, without boring any hole in card itself. CONSTITUTION:Magnetic data recording sections 3-5, bar codes 6 for discriminating nominal value and pulse magnetic recording sections 2 at regular intervals to sections, to which optically detected punch holes 8, 9 are bored, are formed to the rear side surface of a prepaid-card 1, and a blank section 10 for collating nominal value or a magnetic ink applying section 11 are formed to one part of the pulse magnetic recording sections 2, thus detecting whether or not the card is used falsely by properly combining and collating the data of each section.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to prepaid cards such as telephone cards, and in particular, to prevent counterfeiting or alteration of cards by effectively utilizing the punched hole portion when the card is used. Regarding prepaid cards that can be used.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the back side (the side that is not printed) of a conventional prepaid card.

In the figure, 1 is the main body of the prepaid card, 3, 4, and 5 are the magnetic data recording parts, 6 is the bar code for identifying the face value (the number of usable cards in an unused state), and 7 is the main body of the prepaid card. numerals 8 and 9 indicate punch holes for identifying the face value, and user punch holes 8 and 9 that are mechanically punched each time they are used to indicate the remaining power.

[0004] In conventional prepaid cards, the face value (that is, the unused power) and the remaining power after being used can be confirmed by detecting the data contents of the magnetic data recording sections 3 to 5 using a magnetic reading method. This was done by detecting the data content of the barcode 6 for power identification using a barcode reading method, and then detecting the positions of the punch holes 7 to 9 using a phototube method, and comparing these data. .

However, the magnetic data recording sections 3, 4,
5 and the barcode 6 can be rewritten or tampered with by an outsider in various ways. Therefore, counterfeiting or alteration of such prepaid cards has become a problem because it is possible to commit fraudulent acts such as increasing the face value of the card to a higher value than the original value or leaving a used card in an unused state. Ta. In addition, the punch hole 7 for identifying the face value can be punched before the prepaid card is used.
There was also the problem that the commercial value of the card was significantly reduced.

[0006]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to effectively prevent counterfeiting and falsification of prepaid cards, and to prevent the cards from having punch holes before use so that the cards do not have any pictures on the surface. To provide a prepaid card that does not have any influence on the card or design.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a prepaid card having a magnetic data recording section and a barcode for identifying the face value on the back surface thereof, in which an optically detected punch hole is punched during use. Before use of the card, magnetic pulse recording sections are superimposed at regular intervals on the portion where the card is used, and a blank section and a magnetic ink coating section are provided in a part of the magnetic pulse recording section for identifying and verifying the face value. It is characterized by:

[0008]

Embodiment A prepaid card according to the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. It should be noted that, among the reference numerals in these figures, those that are the same as those in FIG. 1 have the same names and functions, and therefore their explanations will be omitted.

Further, the magnetic ink described in this specification is a magnetic material containing a substance that does not permanently demagnetize.

The present invention provides magnetic data recording sections 3 to 5 provided in the longitudinal direction of the back surface of the prepaid card body 1;
In addition to the barcode 6 provided below, the recording sections 3 to 5
A predetermined interval (in this example, 21
A pulse magnetic recording section 2 that performs pulse magnetic recording of 0 pulses/inch) is provided, and a blank section 10 corresponding to the face value is provided.
(FIG. 2) or a magnetic ink application section 11 (FIG. 3). These blank portions 10 and magnetic ink coating portions 11 perform substantially the same function as the punch holes 7 for identifying the face value of the prior art, thereby eliminating the need for the punch holes 7 and allowing holes to be punched in advance in unused cards. The inconvenience of having a beautiful photo on the front of a prepaid card,
This eliminates the drawback of holes in the picture area.

[0011] Incidentally, a magnetic recording medium may be coated on the entire back surface of the prepaid card, and a blank area may be provided as a non-magnetic recording area in at least a part of the medium, and the magnetic pulse input to the blank area may be The frequency may be made to be different from the frequency of the magnetic pulses on the left side (as viewed in FIG. 2) from the boundary 10a of the blank area of the pulsed magnetic recording section 2.

The features of the present invention will be specifically explained below based on the embodiment shown in FIG.

The length of the blank section 10 in the longitudinal direction of the card corresponds to the barcode 6. In other words, the barcode 6 consisting of two barcodes indicates the minimum frequency of 50 degrees (for identifying the face value) in the case of a telephone card, for example, but the left end of the barcode 6 (as seen in the diagram) The position corresponding to the code and the leftmost boundary 10 of the blank area 10
The position of a is made to coincide with the position of a. In other words,
The minimum frequency indicated by the barcode 6 and the maximum length of the blank section 10 are made to correspond. This can be done by associating the maximum length that can be recognized as a blank space with the minimum frequency.
If the frequency is to be increased by remodeling, alteration, etc., the blank portion must be made longer than that, and in this case, the newly enlarged portion becomes unrecognizable and can be easily detected. Note that no magnetic medium is applied to this blank area so that magnetic recording is impossible.

Magnetic recording in the pulsed magnetic recording section 2 is as follows:
This is done by applying the magnetic medium from the border 10a that contacts the blank area 10 to the left (as viewed in the figure) to the left edge 2a of the card. Also, its recording density is 210 per inch.
Because of the high density of pulses, the width of one pulse is 100
It becomes microscopic as μ.

For example, when modifying or altering the power to increase the power, a new barcode is installed on the left side of the barcode 6 (as seen in the figure), and the boundary 10a of the blank part 10 is changed accordingly (as seen in the figure). ) You have to move it to the left. However, if the boundary 10a is shifted to the left, the pulsed magnetic recording contents at the recording start point of the recording section 2 will disappear, so when the card is read by the magnetic sensor, the contents of the barcode 6 and the recording section 2 will be different. If the contents do not match, it can be easily discovered that the card is not legitimate. Here, as described above, the minimum frequency is achieved when the length of the blank section is maximum.

Furthermore, by appropriately combining these data with the data in the magnetic data recording sections 3 to 5, even more accurate matching becomes possible.

The magnetic recording section 2 on the left side of the boundary 10a is magnetically recorded with a pulse width of 100μ when no punch holes are made (that is, when the prepaid card is unused), so the magnetic recording area 2 is When reading is performed by the sensor, pulses having a predetermined pulse width at regular intervals are read as they are.

However, once it is used and a punch hole is punched, there is no magnetic recording in the area where the punch hole was punched, and a pulse width corresponding to the diameter of the punch hole can be read. . Therefore, punch hole 8
The positions of and 9 are identified by detecting pulses with pulse widths corresponding to the diameters of these punch holes.

This specified position is recognized as the remaining number of uses, and correct data can be obtained by combining this with the data in the magnetic data recording sections 3 to 5 and comparing it.

The recorded contents of the magnetic recording section 2 on the left side of the boundary 10a may be set in accordance with the original usability of the card. For example, the content of the barcode 6 may correspond to the length from the border 10a to the left end 2a of the card. Alternatively, the pulse width recorded in the pulse magnetic recording section 2 may be set in advance to an (arbitrary) width indicating the same frequency as the frequency indicated by the barcode 6, and the two may be compared.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 has been described above.
In order to obtain the same effect, as shown in FIG.
A magnetic ink application section 11 may be provided instead. In this case as well, it is possible to employ a method similar to the embodiment of FIG. Incidentally, the blank area 10 and the magnetic ink application area 11 can be easily formed using known printing techniques, and the magnetic ink application area 11 can contain specific information to determine whether or not it has been used illegally. It can also be added to the judgment factor. In the pulsed magnetic recording section 2 of FIG. 3, the frequency of the pulses in the magnetic ink application section 11 may be different from the frequency of the magnetic pulses on the left side of the section.

[0022] When changing the conventional prepaid card currently in use to the one according to the present invention, the change can be easily made by newly performing pulsed magnetic recording on the part of the conventional card where the punch hole should be made. be. At this time, the blank area 10 and the magnetic ink application area 11 can also be provided by any known method. On the other hand, the machine in which the prepaid card according to the present invention is used can be easily modified by installing a new magnetic sensor for the recording section 2, and the conventional punch-hole reader can be replaced as necessary. They may be used together.

[0023] If fraudulent use of a prepaid card is discovered, a mechanism may be provided to issue some sort of alarm or automatically notify the police. Easy from technique.

[0024]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, punch holes can be closed,
Unused or
When a prepaid card whose usability is fraudulently increased or forged or altered is used regardless of whether it has already been used, it is possible to obtain the effect that the fact of the fraudulent use can be immediately and easily discovered.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a conventional prepaid card.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a prepaid card according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another configuration of a prepaid card according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Prepaid card body 2
Pulse magnetic recording section 2a
Card left edge 3, 4, 5 Magnetic data recording section 6 Barcode for identifying face value 7
Punch holes 8, 9 for identifying face value
User punch hole 10 Blank area 10a Boundary

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: In a prepaid card that has a magnetic data recording section and a barcode for identifying the face value on the back surface, an optically detected punch hole is placed in the part to be punched when the card is used. 1. A prepaid card, wherein magnetic pulse recording sections are stacked at regular intervals, and a part of the magnetic pulse recording section has a blank section for checking the face value. 2. In a prepaid card that has a magnetic data recording section and a barcode for identifying the face value on the back surface, an optically detected punch hole is placed in the part to be punched when the card is used. 1. A prepaid card, wherein magnetic pulse recording sections are stacked at regular intervals, and a part of the magnetic pulse recording section has a magnetic ink coating section for checking the face value.