JPH05189642A - Issuing/recovering system for magnetic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the recovery rate of magnetic cards and to save resources by providing an invalidated magnetic card and giving a chance capable of obtaining a premium at the time of purchasing a new magnetic card. CONSTITUTION:When a purchaser charges cash, a cash processor 3 checks the charged cash, and when there is no problem, displays its amount and the purchaser is allowed to select a ticket sort to be purchased. When an invalidated magnetic card (invalid card) is inserted into a card inlet/outlet 5-1, a detecting means 5 detects the existence of the invalid card and whether the card is matched with the format of the system or not to recover or return the invalid card. When both of the detection information output of the means 5 and the ticket sort selecting information output of the means 6 are obtained, the premium corresponding to a previously determined valuable amount is added to the valuable amount inherent in the selected ticket sort at the time of using a new magnetic card.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a system for issuing and collecting magnetic cards such as prepaid cards, and more particularly to a system suitable for vending machines for prepaid cards.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Magnetic cards are roughly classified into the following three types. First of all, the ID information of the owner is magnetically recorded like a so-called credit card, and secondly,
Prepaid cards such as telephone cards, tickets that are tickets for various transportations, fixed-price tickets, etc. that magnetically record valuable values and claims, and thirdly,
There are magnetic cards for the purpose of logistics management and service management, specifically those that comprehensively manage entry and exit from the library, lending and returning, and a prize exchange system at a pachinko amusement store.

In the above, the first one is generally not intended to be disposable and is intended to be used by a specific person over a long period of time. There is no big problem with regard to. On the contrary, the second and third ones have the characteristic that they are used by an unspecified person in a relatively short period of time, and the predetermined value and claims are extinguished or scheduled. After the service is provided, the magnetic card has no meaning to the user and is often discarded by the user.

A magnetic card is generally a paper or plastic substrate coated with magnetic powder such as iron oxide in a stripe shape or over the entire surface, but a card using a plastic substrate is relatively durable. Rich For example, a magnetic card using a plastic material such as polyethylene terephthalate as a base material can read and write magnetic information several hundred to several thousand times. In recent years, the second and third items described above can also be recycled. It is being used more often. Examples of such magnetic cards that are supposed to be recycled include those disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 56-852 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-165286.

[0005]

However, unless there is a special circumstance regarding the magnetic card which has become invalid after the valuable value and claims have been extinguished for the user or the scheduled service etc. has been provided to the user. Regardless of whether the unit price of issue is high or low, it is simply garbage. Therefore, although the card issuer can enjoy the merit of retrieving an invalid magnetic card, the card user cannot directly enjoy any merit. It was almost impossible to expect. As a result, the locations where the valuable value of magnetic cards is consumed, such as the places where public telephones are installed, the locations near railroad station bill outlets, game centers, and pachinko game shops, are no longer valid. Magnetic cards are scattered, which is not preferable from an environmental point of view. The magnetic card has a wide and flat surface, and its thickness is very thin (about 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm), so it easily attaches to the floor surface due to static electricity, moisture, etc. Labor and labor costs are required. In addition, even if the magnetic cards are collected with great care, most of the magnetic cards thus discarded cannot be recycled due to stains or the like.

Further, in the magnetic card as disclosed in the above publication, when the number of times of recycling overlaps, even if reading and writing of magnetic information is not hindered, the characters visually appearing on the information display portion are It lacks clarity. For this reason, the numbers having similar contours such as the numbers 5 and 6 and the numbers 3 and 8 cause a mistake in the user of the magnetic card. The characters visually displayed on the information display are the only means for the user of the magnetic card to confirm the contents of the magnetic card, and this is a serious problem regarding the recognition of the remaining amount of valuable value. Such unclear display of characters was also one of the causes of troubles between magnetic card issuing stores and customers.

Further, the unit price per magnetic card is very expensive as compared with the conventional one.
Although such a magnetic card depends on the number of cards to be introduced, the issue unit price per card is about 4 to 8 times that of the most popular polyethylene terephthalate (PET) card-based magnetic card. However, such an expensive magnetic card for small and medium-sized businesses, and its system, are difficult to introduce because the economic burden involved in the introduction is greater than the merit of rationalization etc. obtained by the introduction. Have

The present invention has been developed in view of such a situation. When a magnetic card is purchased, the invalid magnetic card is donated, and as a reward of the donation, a premium in addition to the valuable value of the purchase amount is paid. By improving the recovery rate of magnetic cards, conserving resources and beautifying the environment, the cost of issuing magnetic cards can be kept as low as possible and The card issuer will secure a fixed number of customers and increase sales, and by providing a visual display of the remaining amount of valuable value on the magnetic card appropriately, a high-performance magnetic card can be provided at a low price.
It is intended for the convenience of users of magnetic cards.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a means for depositing money such as banknotes and coins, a means for returning money such as banknotes and coins, money deposited, and money to be refunded. Money processing means for counting and displaying amount of money, display of magnetic cards that can be sold by the output of money processing means, ticket type selection means for selection, card stock means for holding magnetic cards for sale, ticket type selection Encoding / decoding means for magnetically reading and writing valuable value information on the magnetic card according to information output, magnetic card discharging means for providing the encoded magnetic card to the customer, and other auxiliary means necessary for issuing the magnetic card. In the magnetic card sales system provided, a means for receiving a magnetic card that has become invalid due to consumption of magnetically written valuable value is provided at an appropriate position, and When means for detecting the presence of an invalid magnetic card is provided in the means, and both the detection information output of this detection means and the above-mentioned ticket type selection information output of the ticket type selection means are obtained It consists of a premium giving means that operates in accordance with the above, and by providing an invalid magnetic card when purchasing a magnetic card, the valuable value of the purchase amount as a reward of offering to the person who provided the invalid magnetic card In addition to the above, there is an opportunity to obtain a premium, which increases the collection rate of magnetic cards. In this case, the premium that can be obtained by the premium giving means is a predetermined uniform valuable value, or the premium adding means is provided with lottery means, and the premium can be obtained by a predetermined predetermined lottery result. Further, it is also possible to provide the receiving means for the invalid magnetic card for each kind of magnetic card to be sold. Furthermore, as a means of receiving invalid magnetic cards,
Recycling possibility selection means for magnetic cards, transportation means for returning magnetic cards selected as recyclable to card stock means, and defective card elimination means for not returning magnetic cards selected as non-recyclable to the above card stock means Also, the encoding / decoding means is provided with means for magnetically reading and writing the cumulative number of times the magnetic card has been used, and the recyclable magnetic card collected by the receiving means for the invalid magnetic card is encoded again and collected. It is preferable that the magnetic card is recycled.

The magnetic card used in the above method has a magnetic layer for magnetically reading and writing valuables or the like on at least one surface of a card base material made of plastic material, paper material, fiber material or the like, or A magnetic card having a magnetic stripe, and an elongated recording item visible portion capable of being sequentially rewritten corresponding to a valuable value amount magnetically written at a position near an edge of any one surface of the magnetic card. It is arranged so that the approximate remaining amount of the valuable value recorded on the magnetic card can be visually confirmed by the change of the visible portion of the recorded matter. In this case, it is preferable to display the cumulative number of times of use by the printing method or a guideline for the cumulative number of uses at an appropriate position of the magnetic card.

[0011]

The present invention having the above structure has the following functions. First, when the purchaser puts money into the system when purchasing a magnetic card, the money processing means detects the input of money and checks the inserted money, and if the money is defective, it is returned by the money return means. It If there is no problem with the inserted money, the amount of money is displayed immediately, and the purchaser can select a purchaseable ticket type by the ticket type selection means.

At this time, when the invalid card is inserted into the invalid magnetic card (hereinafter referred to as "invalid card") receiving means provided in the system, the presence of the invalid card and the format of the system by the function of the detecting means. It is detected whether or not the magnetic card conforms to, and if the format is compatible, the invalid card is collected, and if the format is different, it is returned. Such means effectively prevent accidents due to the mistake of the purchaser due to the insertion of magnetic cards of different uses and types, and prevent mischief such as illegally obtaining a premium.

When both the detection information output of the invalid card receiving means and the ticket type selection information output by the ticket type selecting means are obtained, a predetermined value of a valuable value is issued at the time of issuing the magnetic card. The premium is added to the value of the selected ticket type. The premium is granted with a uniform value if the two conditions of purchasing a magnetic card and offering an invalid card are met, or there are two conditions: purchasing a magnetic card and offering an invalid card. When the lottery means operates after all of the items have been gathered and a predetermined predetermined lottery result is obtained, the value is given as a valuable value. In the former case, if the value peculiar to the selected ticket type is (s) and the premium is (v), both are added, so the value (e) received by the purchaser is e = s + v. In the latter case, when both the detection information output of the invalid card receiving means and the ticket type selection information output of the ticket type selecting means are obtained, the lottery means operates. As a result, when a predetermined specific result is obtained, that is, when the winning is achieved, the premium value value amount is added to the value value peculiar to the selected ticket type. Here, if the value peculiar to the selected ticket type is (s) and the premium is (v), the value that can be received by the purchaser (e)
Is as above, e = s + v.

However, when the lottery means is added to the condition for giving the premium, the relation as shown in the above equation is not always established. In other words, when the result of the lottery means is out of alignment, the premium is 0 and the premium giving means does not operate, so that the purchaser cannot obtain a profit more than the valuable value (s) peculiar to the selected ticket type. That is, the valuable value (e) that the purchaser can receive is e = s. In this way, in any of the methods, it is preferable for the purchaser that the valuable value specific to the ticket type selected when the magnetic card is purchased is given an opportunity to be further added with the valuable value. From the next time onward, the purchaser will voluntarily cooperate with the provision of invalid cards, that is, the collection of magnetic cards, and the magnetic card issuer will be able to secure fixed customers and increase sales.

When the invalid card is not delivered as in the case of a new purchase of the magnetic card, both the detection information output of the invalid card receiving means and the ticket type selection information output by the ticket type selecting means are output. Since it cannot be obtained, the premium giving means does not work. In such a case, the valuable value (s) peculiar to the selected ticket type is the valuable value (e) that the purchaser can receive, as in the case of the above-mentioned case. When a magnetic card with a different format is delivered, it is treated as if the invalid card was not delivered.

When the value that the purchaser can receive is finally decided, the magnetic card for sale is sent from the card stock means to the encoding / decoding means. The encoding / decoding means starts with valuable information, issues date and time, issue store identification, security identification, etc.
Other necessary information is written on the magnetic card according to a predetermined format. When the writing of information is completed, the encoding / decoding means performs verification for confirming the recorded items, and if there is no abnormality in the magnetic card, the magnetic card ejection means provides the purchaser with the information. Also,
When an error occurs in the verification, it is appropriately processed by other auxiliary means necessary for issuing the magnetic card. Then, in the calculation result of the money processing means, if there is a difference between the input amount and the valuable value peculiar to the selected ticket type, it is judged that there is change, and the change amount is displayed by the money return means and the change is returned. Is done.

When the collected magnetic card is to be recycled, the invalid card provided is sorted by the magnetic card recyclability sorting means based on the cumulative number of times it has been used. This is done by reading the cumulative number of times the delivered magnetic card has been used and identifying whether or not it has reached the prescribed number of durable uses. Therefore, in addition to the above-mentioned information, the number of times the card is recycled must be written on the issued magnetic card. Therefore, when the magnetic card is encoded by the encode / decode means, first, the cumulative number of times of use of the magnetic card sent from the card stock means is read, and the number obtained by adding 1 is added to the various types of information described above. I am writing on a magnetic card.

The magnetic card used in the system of the present invention has the following functions. Use magnetic card (payment)
Each time it is inserted, it is inserted into a predetermined card reader / writer and magnetic information such as valuable value magnetically written in this magnetic layer is read out. As a result, the written valuable value is consumed, and according to the consumed amount, the remaining valuable value is restarted in the magnetic layer, and necessary items such as the date and time of use and the store used are written as magnetic information. At this time, the display content of the recorded item visible portion provided on the magnetic card is updated according to the newly written remaining amount of the valuable value. This magnetic card
As described above, since the visible portion of the recorded matter is elongated, the remaining amount of the valuable value is displayed in a bar shape, and the bar-shaped display becomes shorter as the valuable value decreases. In this way, the indication of the residual value of the valuable value is rough, so even if the visible part of the recorded item is lacking in clarity due to repeated recycling, the magnetic card user can There is no misunderstanding.

Each time the magnetic card is used, that is, each time it is inserted into a predetermined card reader / writer, the magnetic card is worn out due to contact and friction of each part, but a fixed number of times of durable use is determined. ing. However, in the case of the present invention, the service life limit of this magnetic card is notified by printing the number of times the magnetic card is recycled at an appropriate position on the magnetic card.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a lottery means is used to give a premium, and the collected magnetic card is recycled. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a magnetic card vending machine. Here, in the magnetic card vending machine main body 1, a money processing unit 3 that controls from the insertion of money to the return of money, a lottery unit 4 for giving a premium, an encoder / decoder controller 5 that controls reading and writing of the magnetic card 2, and sales data. And trouble occurrence in the host computer (not shown)
And a control unit 7 having an interface, an arithmetic unit (CPU), a storage device (memory, etc.), and an interface for centrally controlling these. On the panel 101 of the main body 1 of the magnetic card vending machine, a coin slot 301, a bill slot 302, a bill return slot 303, a coin return slot 304, and an amount display section 30.
5, a ticket type selection switch group 6 including a refund switch, a purchasable ticket type display lamp 601, a lottery display 401, a card insertion exit 501, a card insertion guide display lamp 502, and a card receipt guide display lamp 503 are arranged. ..

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a transport path for collecting and issuing the magnetic card 2, and the collected invalid card 205.
Is a recycling card 203 for recycling,
It is divided into defective cards 204 that are removed from recycling. This transport path is composed of an encoder / decoder 510, a card collecting unit 530, a defective card collecting unit 540, a recycling card sending unit 520, a card stocker 504, and a defective card stocker 505.

The present embodiment constructed as described above is shown in FIG.
It has the operation as shown in the flowchart of FIG. The operation of this embodiment will be described below with reference to this flowchart. When the power supply (not shown) of the magnetic card vending machine body 1 is turned on, the CPU register and the memory in the control unit 7 are reset, and the initial values of the variables used in the software for controlling the magnetic card vending machine body 1 are reset. Settings are made. In the present embodiment, as variables, for example, change (refund) amount; c, encoded value; e, presence / absence of invalid card collection; f, input amount;
m, a value peculiar to the selected ticket type; s, a value given by a lottery winning (premium); v,
The initial value of each is set to 0.

When the software stored in the ROM in the control unit 7 is activated, the lottery display 4 which will be described later is displayed.
01 properly starts the display, and the money processing unit 3 starts detecting the insertion of money into the coin insertion slot 301 and the bill insertion slot 302. The money processing unit 3 of the present embodiment is, for example, a 100-yen coin,
500 yen coin, 1000 yen bill, 5000 yen bill, 10
You can identify and handle 000 yen bills. Coin slot 301,
When money is inserted into the bill insertion slot 302, the money processing unit 3
Checks whether the money is valid money, and money having forgery, alteration, or other inconvenience is returned to the banknote return port 303,
It is returned from the coin return port 304. If the inserted money is valid, the money processing unit 3 counts the amount of money inserted, and the counting result is displayed on the amount display unit 305.
It is sent to the control unit 7 and stored as a variable m. In this case, if 5000 yen is put in, 5000 yen is displayed in the amount display portion 305 and 5 is set in the variable m.
000 is substituted.

When money is thrown in, the magnetic card 2 is ready for purchase, and the purchaseable ticket type display lamp 601 provided together with the ticket type selection switch group 6 is turned on. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, 1,000 yen, 3000 yen,
It is possible to purchase four kinds of magnetic cards 2 of 5000 yen and 10000 yen, and at this time, by pressing the refund switch provided in the ticket type selection switch group 6, the purchase can be canceled. Here, the purchaseable ticket type display lamp 601
Since the value of the variable m is 5000, the four lamps of 1000 yen, 3000 yen, and 5000 yen are lit up.

Then, the card insertion guide display lamp 502 provided on the panel 101 is turned on to prompt the purchaser to dispense the invalid card 205. When the invalid card 205 is inserted into the card insertion slot 501, the encoder / decoder 510
The read head 511 checks whether the magnetic card 2 is present, whether the magnetic card 2 conforms to a predetermined format, and whether the card is an invalid card 205. After reading the cumulative number of times of use, this invalid card 20
Collect 5 However, invalid card 2 at this point
The encoder / decoder 5
It stays within 10. This is to return the invalid card 205 when the purchase of the magnetic card 2 described later is stopped. On the other hand, when the format is different or the card is not the invalid card 205, the card receipt guide display lamp 503
Is turned on, and the magnetic card 2 is returned from the card insertion exit 501. These measures prevent accidents caused by the insertion of cards of different types and types due to the purchaser's negligence, prevent mischief, and prevent the purchase of a magnetic card without a premium. ..

If the format is correct, the encoder / decoder controller 5 sends this result to the control unit 7 and recognizes that the value of the variable f is set to 1 and the invalid card 205 is finally dispensed. ..
However, if the purchase of the magnetic card 2 is canceled for some reason, the refund switch of the banknote type selection switch group 6 on the panel 101 is pressed, and the inserted money is returned to the banknote return port 30.
3. The coin is returned from the coin return port 304. Then, the card reception guide display lamp 503 is turned on, and the invalid card 205 collected earlier from the card insertion opening 501 is also returned. Refund processing due to purchase cancellation is performed by changing the value of variable c to variable m.
Is added, that is, in the control unit 7, the calculation of c = c + m is performed, and the input amount is replaced with the change variable c. Since the value of the variable m is 5000 at this point, the value of the replaced variable c is 5000, and this value is sent to the money processing unit 3 and the refund amount of 5000 yen is displayed on the amount display unit 305. , Bill return slot 30
3. The money returned from the coin return port 304 is refunded.

When the purchase is not stopped, the ticket type is selected. As described above, since the value of the variable m is 5000 at this point, the magnetic card 2 that can be purchased is 1000 yen, 3000 yen, 5000 yen. By the selection of the banknote type selection switch group 6, the valuable value peculiar to the selected banknote type is stored in the memory in the control unit 7 as a variable s, and the invalid card 205 retained in the encoder / decoder 510 is stored. Complete recovery will be performed. And the collected invalid card 205
Reads the cumulative number of times of use written in the read head 5
By reading at 11, the recycling possibility is selected. The magnetic card 2 has a durable usage frequency of, for example, 50.
When it is 0 times, if the cumulative number of times of use is 500 times or less, it is determined as a recycled card 203 to be used for recycling, and if it exceeds 500 times, it is determined as a defective card 204 that is excluded from recycling use. The card is carried from the decoder 510 to the card collecting section 530 by the carrying path switching section 531. The recycle card 203 is returned to the card stocker 504 by the transport path switching unit 541 and the guide 532 and waits for the next use. On the other hand, the defective card 204 that cannot be recycled is controlled by the encoder / decoder 510. In accordance with an instruction from the unit 7, the transport path switching unit 541 operates, is sent to the defective card collection unit 540, is sent to the defective card stocker 505 via the guide 542, and is excluded (discarded) from recycling use. Here, for example, when the 3000 yen button of the ticket type selection switch group 6 is selected, the value of the variable s stored in the memory in the control unit 7 is 30.
The change is calculated as 00 because change will be generated. The change is handled by the variable c, and is determined by the difference between the variable m of the input amount and the variable s of the valuable value peculiar to the selected ticket type. That is, in the control unit 7, the calculation c = ms is performed, and in this case, c = 5000-3000, and the change variable c is calculated to be 2000.

When the output of both the value of the variable f, which is the output of the detection information of receipt of the invalid card 205, and the variable s, which is the output of the ticket type selection information in the ticket type selection switch group 6, are obtained. Gives an operation instruction of the game circuit 4 which is a lottery means. If the variable f is 1, it is determined that the invalid card 205 has been dispensed. If the value of the variable f is other than 1, it is determined that the invalid card 205 has not been dispensed. The display means of the lottery in this embodiment is shown in FIG.
As shown in Fig. 4, a suitable number of LEDs 402, a specific L
The LED display 401 including the ED 403 is mounted on the panel 101.
It is arranged above. LE by the operation output of the game circuit 4
The D display 401 is lit for a few seconds like a flasher, and when the flash stops at the specific LED 403, it becomes a hit, and a predetermined appropriate amount of premium, for example, 100
The value of 0 yen is added to the value of the selected ticket type. Here, since the variable s of the valuable value peculiar to the selected ticket type is 3000, if the variable v of the valuable value given by the lottery winning (premium) is 1000, the valuable value that the purchaser can receive That is, the variable e of the valuable value encoded in the recycle card 203 is e = s + v, the calculation of e = 3000 + 1000 is performed in the control unit 7, and 4000 is substituted into the variable e.

On the other hand, if the predetermined result is not obtained, that is, if the result is off, the variable of the valuable value given by the lottery winning (premium) is 0.
Since the premium is not added, the value that the purchaser can receive does not exceed the value unique to the selected ticket type. That is, the variable e of the valuable value encoded in the recycling card 203 is e = s, and in this case, 3000 is substituted for the value of the variable e.

When the value of the variable f is not 1 because the invalid card 205 is not provided when a new purchase is made, the detection information of the invalid card 205 is output,
Since neither of the output of the ticket type selection information in the ticket type selection switch group 6 can be obtained, the control unit 7 does not instruct the operation of the game circuit 4 which is the lottery means. In such a case, as in the case of the above-described case, the value of the variable s of the valuable value peculiar to the selected ticket type becomes the variable e of the valuable value encoded in the recycling card 203. Even when a magnetic card having a different format is delivered, the invalid card 205 is treated as having not been delivered.

The value of the variable e of the valuable value encoded in the recycling card 203 thus determined in the control unit 7 is sent to the encoder / decoder controller 5 and written to the recycling card 203 by the write head 512. Instructions are given. In the above, if the value of the variable e is 4000, the valuable value of 4000 yen is written to the recycle card 203, and if the value of the variable e is 3000, the valuable value of 3000 yen is written to the recycle card 203. Done. When writing this valuable value, the date and time of issue, the issue store identification, the security identification, the number of times of recycling, and other necessary information are written according to a predetermined format. The number of times of recycling is determined by the read head 5 when the recycled card 203 is sent from the card stocker 504 to the encoder / decoder 510.
The cumulative number of times of use is read at 11, and the number obtained by adding 1 to this is taken as the number of times of recycling.

The encoder / decoder controller 5 is
When the writing of these information is completed, the read head 5
Verification is performed to confirm the contents written in the recycle card 203 through 11. If there is no abnormality in the written contents, the card reception guide display lamp 503 provided on the panel 101 is turned on to turn on the magnetic card 2.
Is handed over to the purchaser from the card insertion outlet 501, and the above-mentioned change is returned. In this case, the value of the variable c stored in the control unit 7 is 2000,
By sending this value to the money processing unit 3, the change amount is 20.
00 yen is displayed on the amount display portion 305, and the change is returned from the bill return opening 303 and the coin return opening 304. If an error occurs during verification, the recycling card 203 is recognized as a defective card 204, removed from recycling, and collected in the defective card stocker 505. 203 is sent, and information writing and verification are performed again. However, if the verification continuously fails or some other trouble occurs in the card vending machine body 1, the control unit 7 notifies the host computer or the like (not shown) of the situation via the communication unit 8, We will wait for maintenance as appropriate.

When the purchaser receives the magnetic card 2 from the card insertion slot 501, the card receipt guide display lamp 503.
Turns off. At this time, if the specific LED 403 is turned on, it is also turned off, and the lottery display 401 starts displaying appropriately. Then, the above variables are cleared to 0, and the memory in the control unit 7 sells, sells ticket types, IDs assigned to the sold ticket types,
The premium status, sales time, etc. are recorded. As described above, in the card vending machine body 1, the money processing unit 3 starts detecting the insertion of money into the coin insertion slot 301 and the bill insertion slot 302, and stands by for the next sale of the magnetic card 2. The sales data stored in the memory of the control unit 7 is transmitted to a host computer or the like (not shown) via the communication unit 8 at regular intervals, for example.

The present embodiment is an example and can be implemented in various other modes. For example, without carrying out the lottery as described above, the output of both the value of the variable f which is the detection information output of the invalid card 205 receipt and the variable s which is the ticket type selection information output in the ticket type selection switch group 6 are obtained. Then, a method of unconditionally giving a uniform valuable value may be used. Further, the premium is not limited to a valuable value and may be a gift provided by an article such as a confectionery or a toy. Further, a plurality of card insertion outlets 501, which are means for receiving the invalid card 205, are provided for each amount of money to be issued, for example, 1000 yen tickets, 3000 yen tickets, 5000 yen tickets, according to the description of this embodiment. You may provide four pieces for 10000 yen tickets. In this way, it is not necessary to sort the invalid cards 205 that have been collected, so that the magnetic cards 2 that issue tickets can be printed with different designs for each ticket type, that is, the magnetic cards 2 can be differentiated. Can be planned. As a result, the image of using cards will be promoted, and it will be possible to increase sales by selling cards.

Further, the magnetic card 2 used in the above-mentioned embodiment and other embodiments has a structure as shown in FIG. The magnetic card 2 is made of a plastic material such as PET or vinyl chloride,
A magnetic layer or a magnetic stripe (not shown) for magnetically reading and writing valuable values or the like is provided on either surface. The magnetic card 2 has, for example, a front surface 20.
6 has an elongated recording item visible portion 201 that can be sequentially rewritten corresponding to the amount of valuable value magnetically written, and has a printing space 202 that indicates the cumulative number of times the magnetic card 2 has been used. ..

The magnetic card used in the method of the present invention has the following actions. Each time the magnetic card 2 is used, it is inserted into a predetermined card reader / writer (not shown) to read magnetic information such as valuable value magnetically written. As a result, the written valuable value is consumed, and according to the consumed amount, the remaining valuable value amount is started again, and necessary items such as date and time of use and store used are written as magnetic information. At this time, the recorded item visible portion 2 provided on the magnetic card 2
The display contents of 01 are updated by the marking head (not shown) provided in the above-mentioned card reader / writer according to the newly written remaining amount of the valuable value. According to the present embodiment, since the recording item visible portion 201 of this magnetic card 2 is elongated as described above, the remaining amount of valuable value is displayed in a bar shape. Therefore, the magnetic card 2
The bar-shaped display that was shown at the beginning of purchase becomes shorter as the value decreases. In this way, the display of the remaining amount of valuable value is made rough without using characters or the like, so that the magnetic card 2 is used many times and the displayed contents of the recorded item visible portion 201 lack clarity. Even if
The user of the magnetic card 2 does not mistakenly recognize the remaining amount of valuable value. That is, the accurate remaining amount of the valuable value of the magnetic card 2 is shown on the display provided in a predetermined card reader / writer (not shown) each time the magnetic card 2 is used.
The user of does not cause any inconvenience. Further, as described above, when the recycling card 203 is encoded, the marking head 513 provided in the encoder / decoder 510 displays the amount of valuable value corresponding to the variable e of the valuable value to be encoded in a bar shape. become.

The print space 202 provided on the surface 206 of the magnetic card 2 indicates the cumulative number of times the magnetic card 2 has been used. This is the magnetic card vending machine body 1
When the magnetic card 2 is recycled and when the magnetic card 2 is used, the cumulative number of times of use of the magnetic card 2 is counted, and the result is displayed appropriately. That is, as described above, when the magnetic card 2 is recycled and used, the read head 511 of the encoder / decoder 510 of the magnetic card vending machine body 1 reads the cumulative number of times the magnetic card 2 has been used. Then, as described above, the number obtained by adding 1 to the read cumulative number of uses is written by the write head 512 together with other necessary information. At this time, the print head 514 visibly prints the cumulative number of times of use, or a guideline for the cumulative number of times of use, in the print space 202.
You can know the service life limit of. Also, when the magnetic card 2 is used, although not shown, the magnetic card 2 is accumulated when magnetic information such as valuable value that is inserted into a predetermined card reader / writer and magnetically written is read out. The number of times of use is read, magnetic information is written in the same manner as above, and the cumulative number of times of use, or a guideline for the cumulative number of times of use, can be visually checked in the print space 202 by the print head provided in a predetermined card reader / writer. It is printed.

The recorded item visible portion 201 of the magnetic card 2 of this embodiment has a method of displaying by magnetically adhering magnetic powder,
A method of utilizing a change in color tone due to a heat-sensitive material can be used. For printing the cumulative number of times of use in the printing space 202, various methods such as a method of magnetically adhering magnetic powder for display, a method of utilizing a change in color tone due to a heat-sensitive material, and a printing method can be used. These should be appropriately selected according to the implementation.

[0039]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the following excellent effects can be obtained. In other words, the person who dispenses an invalid card and purchases a magnetic card is given the opportunity to give a premium, and the purchaser voluntarily dispenses the invalid card. It can be done efficiently. This makes it possible to collect magnetic cards without stains, which was difficult in the past, and dramatically increases the recycling rate, so the burden on businesses such as the unit price for issuing magnetic cards is much lighter than before. At the same time, it has become possible to drastically reduce personnel expenses and other expenses conventionally required for collecting invalid cards. In addition, since such a premium is beneficial to the purchaser of the magnetic card, it is possible to promote the fixation of customers. This allows the issuer of the magnetic card to enjoy increased sales. Moreover, the present invention not only enables both the issuer and the purchaser of the magnetic card as described above to enjoy the benefits, but also prevents the scattering of invalid cards near the place where the valuable value of the magnetic card is consumed. It has the effect of producing a remarkable effect in environmental beautification.

Further, the visible area of the recorded matter provided on the magnetic card can have a smaller display area than the conventional one. Therefore, since the cost of manufacturing the magnetic card can be kept low, it is possible to issue the card at a very low cost even though it is a high-performance magnetic card. This has made it possible for even small-capacity businesses that were previously unable to introduce such high-performance magnetic cards. Moreover, because the display of valuable values does not depend on the characters,
Even if the number of times the magnetic card is used is repeated and the clarity of the visible portion of the recorded matter is lacking, the user never mistakenly recognizes the remaining number of valuable values.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a system configuration of an embodiment of a magnetic card vending machine using the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a magnetic card transport path of the magnetic card vending machine of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a magnetic card used in this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the magnetic card vending machine of FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the magnetic card vending machine of FIG. 1 (continuation of FIG. 4).

6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the magnetic card vending machine of FIG. 1 (continuation of FIG. 5).

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Magnetic card vending machine main body 2 Magnetic card 3 Money processing unit 4 Game circuit 5 Encoder / decoder controller 6 Ticket type selection switch group 7 Control unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A means for inserting money such as banknotes and coins, a means for returning money such as banknotes and coins, a money processing means for counting and displaying the amount of inserted money, and the amount of money to be refunded, and the output of the money processing means. Can display and select the magnetic cards that can be sold by using the card type selection means, the card stock means that holds the magnetic card for sale, and the magnetic card can read and write the valuable information corresponding to the output of the ticket type selection information. In a magnetic card sales system including an encoding / decoding means, a magnetic card ejecting means for providing an encoded magnetic card to a customer, and other auxiliary means necessary for issuing a magnetic card, a magnetically written valuable A means for receiving an invalid magnetic card whose value has been consumed is provided at an appropriate position, and it is detected that there is an invalid magnetic card in this receiving means. The detecting means is provided, and it comprises premium giving means that operates when both the detection information output of this detecting means and the output of the above-mentioned ticket type selecting information of the ticket type selecting means are obtained. Providing an invalid magnetic card gives the person who provided the invalid magnetic card an opportunity to obtain a premium in addition to the valuable value of the purchase price as a reward for the donation. A magnetic card ticketing / collection system characterized by improved recovery rate. 2. The magnetic card issuing / collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the premium that can be obtained by the premium giving means is a predetermined uniform valuable value. 3. A lottery means is provided for the premium giving means,
The ticket issuing / collecting system for a magnetic card according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a premium is obtained according to a predetermined specific lottery result. 4. A means for receiving an invalid magnetic card,
The magnetic card issuing / collecting system according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic card issuing / collecting system is provided for each type of magnetic card to be sold. 5. A means for receiving an invalid magnetic card,
Recycling possibility selection means for magnetic cards, transportation means for returning magnetic cards selected as recyclable to card stock means, and defective card elimination means for not returning magnetic cards selected as non-recyclable to the above card stock means Also, the encoding / decoding means is provided with means for magnetically reading and writing the cumulative number of times the magnetic card has been used, and the recyclable magnetic card collected by the receiving means for the invalid magnetic card is encoded again and collected. The magnetic card issuing / collecting system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the magnetic card is recycled. 6. A magnetic card used in the above method, wherein a magnetic layer for magnetically reading and writing valuable values is provided on at least one surface of a card base material made of a plastic material, a paper material, a fiber material, or the like. Alternatively, a magnetic card having a magnetic stripe, in which an elongated recordable item that can be sequentially rewritten in correspondence with the valuable value magnetically written at a position near the edge of any one side of this magnetic card is visible. A magnetic card characterized by arranging a portion and visually confirming an approximate remaining amount of valuable value recorded on this magnetic card by the change of the visible portion of the recorded matter. 7. The magnetic card according to claim 6, wherein a cumulative number of times of use by the printing method or a guideline of cumulative number of uses is displayed at an appropriate position on the magnetic card.