JPH0512509A - Writable security card and its using method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain inexpensive and safe writing protected from copying and alteration by displaying marks to be read out by a visual light sensor and an infrared-ray sensor on display spots located like a matrix consisting of rows and columns based upon a required pattern. CONSTITUTION:Paper 11 coated with a specific thermal agent e.g. based upon JIS standards is used for a security card 10. Thermal marks 12 can be displayed on the display spots of the mount 11 by a thermal printer similarly to normal printing. The thermal marks 12 can be detected by the infrared-ray sensor, observed by human's eyes and detected also by the visual light sensor. On the other hand, printing marks 13 to be detected by the vidual light sensor can be displayed on the display spots of the mount 11 by an ink ribbon, ink jet, or the like. However the marks 13 can not be detected by the infrared-ray sensor. The written marks are read out by a reader having the visual light sensor and the infrared-ray sensor and prescribed data analysis is executed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a writable security card and its use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Magnetic cards are mainly used for various prepaid cards such as telephone cards. Magnetic cards are convenient, have a large amount of information, and are easy to use. In addition, there is an IC card in recent years that has a large amount of information. Furthermore, an inexpensive optical reading card using a special thermal agent coated paper card (JIS) has also appeared.

[0003]

However, since the magnetic card can be easily rewritten, there is a problem in safety. Further, there is a problem that the IC card is expensive. The above optical reading card uses only the thermal mark,
Since it is only read by the infrared sensor, security is very good even if mark expansion and coding are strengthened.
There is a risk of copying or tampering, and it is dangerous to sell as a high-value prepaid card.

Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a safe and writable security card which is inexpensive and is free from the risk of copying and tampering and a method of using the security card. To provide.

[0005]

The present invention has the following constitution in order to achieve the above object. That is, the security card according to the present invention is characterized in that the marks readable by the visible light sensor and the infrared sensor are displayed in a required pattern on the display spots arranged in a matrix of rows and columns. Further, in the method of using the security card according to the present invention, a mark readable by a visible light sensor or an infrared sensor by a writer is written in a predetermined pattern on a display spot located in a matrix of rows and columns of the security card. It is characterized in that the written mark is read by a reader having a visible light sensor and an infrared sensor to perform predetermined data analysis.

[0006]

[Function] Each display spot has no mark, print mark 1
Although only 3 and the thermal mark 12 are displayed in 3 patterns, the human eye can see 2 patterns. However, as will be apparent from FIG. 2, there are three patterns of reading by the sensor: no reading, reading only the visible light sensor, and reading both the visible light sensor and the infrared sensor. Therefore, in the conventional case, 2 ²⁰ = 1,000,000
(20 spots per line) could only display patterns, but this time 3 ²⁰ = 3480000000.
As many patterns as possible (20 spots per line) can be displayed, and it is possible to display a pattern 3480 times as large as the conventional pattern. Furthermore, if four patterns are added with thermal marks that can be detected only by the infrared sensor, 4 ²⁰ = 10000000
It is possible to display the pattern as 00 (20 spots per line).

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a security card 10.
FIG. The security card 10 is, for example, J
An IS standard special thermal agent coated paper (mounting paper) 11 is used. A thermal mark 12 (indicated by a double circle in the figure) can be displayed on the display spot of the mount 11 by a thermal printer as usual. The thermal mark 12 can be detected by an infrared sensor, is visible to human eyes, and is also detected by a visible light sensor. .

Further, a print mark 13 (indicated by a black circle in the figure) which can be detected by a visible light sensor by an ink ribbon, ink jet or the like can be displayed on the display spot on the mount 11. The print mark 13 is not detected by the infrared sensor. To display these marks,
A given lighter is used. This writer is composed of, for example, a thermal printer and an inkjet device arranged side by side, and a predetermined mark is displayed according to the data input to the writer at a display spot on the security card 10 which is fed at a fixed size by an appropriate feeding mechanism. The thermal printer and the ink jet device are driven and controlled as described above.

The mark display spot on the mount 11 is 1
For example, 600 points in 20 columns and 30 rows are set on the sheet 11 of mount. According to the processed data, there is no mark on the display spot, only the print mark 13, and the thermal mark 1
Only 3 patterns of 2 marks are displayed. However, the thermal mark 12 also looks to the human eye only in the same way as the printed mark 13, and therefore, the human eye can only discriminate between two patterns, with and without the mark.

The reader of the security card 10 includes a visible light sensor and an infrared sensor. The visible light sensor has a light emitting portion that emits visible light of a predetermined wavelength and a light receiving portion that receives the reflected light emitted by this light emitting portion and reflected by the print mark 13. This visible light is also reflected by the thermal mark 12, and this reflected light is received by the light receiving section. Therefore, the visible light sensor includes the print mark 13 and the thermal mark 12.
To detect both. It is preferable that the visible light sensor incorporates a condenser lens in its light emitting portion and light receiving portion in order to avoid disturbance as much as possible, and that the light emitting source emits light having wavelengths as uniform as possible. Similarly, the infrared sensor also includes a light emitting unit that emits infrared light and a light receiving unit that receives the reflected light reflected by the thermal mark 12. The infrared rays are hardly reflected by the print mark 13, and therefore the print mark 13 is not detected by the infrared sensor.

As described above, each display spot is displayed in three patterns of no mark, only the print mark 13 and only the thermal mark 12, but the human eye sees two patterns. However, as will be apparent from FIG. 2, there are three patterns of reading by the sensor: no reading, reading only the visible light sensor, and reading both the visible light sensor and the infrared sensor. Therefore, in the conventional
Only ²⁰ = 1,000,000 (20 spots per line) patterns could be displayed, but this time 3 ²⁰ = 3
As many as 480000000 (20 spots per line) patterns can be displayed, and the pattern can be displayed at 3480 times the conventional pattern.

Therefore, such a large amount of information can be displayed, and for example, the first 10 spots of one line can be assigned to the security code and the latter 10 spots can be assigned to the amount code. Of the 10 security code spots, the previous 4 spots are the store name code, the next 2 spots are the main store,
A number of spots can be assigned to the security code, such as a code for each branch and the latter four spots to the location code of the branch, which can create complicated security. Further, since both the print mark 13 and the thermal mark 12 can be discriminated by the human eye only as visible light marks, there is less possibility of being copied or tampered with, and the print mark 13 and the thermal mark 12 can be safely used for a large amount of prepaid card.

As a prepaid card, it is mainly used for subtraction. If one line is subtracted once, 30 lines 30
It can be used only once, but can be handled by increasing the number of rows. When the final line is reached, a new ticket with the balance remaining can be issued. Of course, this security card can be used not only for subtraction but also for addition.

In the above embodiment, three patterns are displayed on one spot, but if four patterns are added with a thermal mark that can be detected only by the infrared sensor, 4 ²⁰ =
The pattern can be displayed in the number of 1,000,000000000 (20 spots per line), the pattern can be displayed 1,000,000 times as much as the conventional pattern, and a larger amount of information can be stocked, and the usage thereof is wide.

Although the present invention has been variously described with reference to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Of course.

[0016]

The writable security card according to the present invention is inexpensive and has a large amount of information, so that a complicated security code can be created, copy and tampering can be prevented, and security is ensured. There is an effect that it can be used. Also its use is a thermal printer,
It has a remarkable effect that it can be easily performed by using a lighter equipped with an inkjet device and the like, and a reader equipped with a visible light sensor and an infrared sensor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a security card.

FIG. 2 shows reading patterns by a visible light sensor and an infrared sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 security card 11 mount 12 Thermal mark 13 Print mark

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A writable security card, wherein marks readable by a visible light sensor and an infrared sensor are displayed in a predetermined pattern on display spots arranged in a matrix of rows and columns. 2. A mark readable by a visible light sensor or an infrared sensor by a writer is written in a predetermined pattern on a display spot located in a matrix of rows and columns of a security card, and the written mark is written. A method of using a security card, which comprises reading with a reader having a visible light sensor and an infrared sensor to analyze predetermined data.