JPH0612533A - Reader writer device and print information confirmation system for prepaid card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the reliability of visual information by confirming the printed visual information on the reader writer device for the prepaid card on which the amount of money used and the balance are printed as user's standards. CONSTITUTION:This system consists of the prepaid card 2 and the reader writer device 1 for the prepaid card 2, and the reader writer device 1 is equipped with a printing part 11 which prints the specific visual information and read marks on the surface of the prepaid card 2, a print read part 12 which reads out the read marks printed by the printing part 11, a counter 13 which counts the read marks read out by the print read part 12, and a comparison part 14 which compares the counted values of the counter 13 before and after the printing by the printing part 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reader / writer device for magnetically reading and writing data on a prepaid card and printing predetermined visual information on the surface thereof, and print information of the prepaid card by the reader / writer device. Regarding confirmation method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, prepaid prepaid cards that magnetically record predetermined data and use them as cash substitutes are widely used, as represented by telephone cards and prepaid cards for transportation. Generally, prepaid cards are provided with simple visual information as a guide for the user to check the balance and the like.

As a means for adding such visual information, there is a means for printing the amount of money used and the remaining amount on the surface of the prepaid card each time it is used, and many prepaid cards employ this printing means. Conventionally, this type of printing means
After the data processing is performed by the printing unit provided in the reader / writer device of the prepaid card, the printing is performed corresponding to the contents. And, no means for mechanically confirming the content after printing is provided.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional technique, since the reader / writer device only prints the visual information on the prepaid card and does not perform any confirmation, the reader / writer device may not be printed due to a malfunction or the like. Or, if extra printing was done, it could not be detected that it was an error.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and confirms visual information printed by a reader / writer device,
The purpose is to improve the reliability of visual information.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a prepaid card on which data is magnetically recorded, and a reader / writer for magnetically reading and writing data by inserting the prepaid card. The reader / writer device comprises a printing unit for printing predetermined visual information and read marks on the surface of the prepaid card, a print reading unit for reading the read marks printed by the printing unit, and the print reading. It is characterized by comprising a counter for counting the number of read marks read by the unit and a comparing unit for comparing the count values of the counter before and after printing by the printing unit.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a reader / writer device that realizes a print confirmation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The reader / writer device 1 of the present embodiment includes a printing section 11 for printing on the surface of the prepay card 2 including a predetermined reading mark as shown in the figure, and a printing reading for reading the reading mark printed by the printing section 11. Part 12 and
The print reading unit 12 includes a counter 13 that counts the number of read marks read by the print reading unit 12.

When the prepaid card 2 is used, the printing unit 11 prints a predetermined reading mark on the surface of the prepaid card 2 together with predetermined visual information such as the used amount, the remaining amount, and the date of use. FIG. 2 shows an example of printing on the front surface of the prepaid card 2.

In this embodiment, the date of use and the balance are printed on the surface of the prepaid card 2. Here, for example, "-" between the month number and the day number of the date of use is used as a reading mark. The print reading unit 1
Reference numeral 2 is an optical pickup device or the like, and optically reads a read mark'- 'printed on the surface of the prepaid card 2.

In addition, the reader / writer device 1 includes a read / write unit 15 for magnetically reading and writing data from the prepaid card 2, and a printing unit 11 for performing data processing, as in a normal reader / writer device. And a data processing unit 16 for controlling the printing operation. Further, the printing unit 11
The comparison unit 14 that compares the count values of the counter 13 before and after the printing by. Based on the comparison result of the comparison unit 14, it is possible to determine whether or not the printing of the printing unit 11 is ensured.

The printing unit 11 prints and the print reading unit 1
The reading mark read by 2 does not necessarily have to be'- ', and may be the remaining amount' ¥ ', or' ★ 'or' ● '.
You may set a predetermined mark, such as. Further, if some character, number, or mark is attached to a specific place on the surface of the prepaid card 2, it may be determined that there is a read mark.

Further, the comparing section 14 may compare the count value of the counter 13 with the processing content of the data processing section 16. By doing so, it is possible to judge not only whether the printing has been performed reliably but also whether the number of times of printing is accurate.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The illustrated operation is performed independently of normal data processing by the reading / writing section 15 and the data processing section 16 except for the printing operation by the printing section 11.

First, when the prepaid card 2 is inserted into the reader / writer device 1, the print reading unit 12 prints a read mark "-" (not printed in the initial state on the surface of the prepaid card 2). Not read). Then, the counter 13 counts the number of read marks "-" (0 in the initial state). (Step S1).

After the data processing by the data processing unit 16, the printing unit 11 prints predetermined visual information and the read mark "-" (step S2). The read mark "-" is read again by the print reading unit 12, and the number of read marks "-" is counted by the counter 13 (step S3).

Next, the comparator 14 compares the count value of the counter 13 in step S1 with the count value of the counter 13 in step S3. Then, if the count value in step S3 is increased by 1 from the count value in step S1, it is determined that the printing is surely performed, and the reader / writer device 1 ejects the prepay card 2 and finishes the process (step S4,
S5).

On the other hand, the counter 1 in steps S1 and S3
If the count values of 3 are equal or the count value of step S3 is 2
If the number is greater than the above, a process corresponding to the abnormality such as displaying that there is abnormality or issuing an alarm is performed (step S6). If the count values in steps S1 and S3 are the same, the printing unit 11 may be operated again to perform printing. This is the end of the operation of the reader / writer device 1 according to the present embodiment.

[0019]

As described above, the present invention comprises a prepaid card on which data is magnetically recorded, and a reader / writer device which inserts the prepaid card to read and write data magnetically. The reader / writer device prints predetermined visual information and read marks on the surface of the prepaid card, a print reading unit that reads the read marks printed by the print unit, and a read read by the print reading unit. Since it has a counter for counting the number of marks and a comparator for comparing the count values of the counter before and after printing by the printing unit, it is necessary to confirm the visual information printed by the reader / writer device. Therefore, there is an effect that the reliability of the visual information can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a reader / writer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a printing example of the prepaid card in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of the reader / writer device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Reader / Writer Device 2 Prepaid Card 11 Printing Section 12 Print Reading Section 13 Counter 14 Comparison Section

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A reader / writer device for magnetically reading and writing data by inserting a magnetically recorded prepaid card into a pre-paid card and printing predetermined visual information and read marks on the surface of the prepaid card. Section, a print reading section that reads the read marks printed by the printing section, a counter that counts the number of read marks read by the print reading section, and a counter before and after printing by the printing section. A reader / writer device for a prepaid card, comprising: a comparison unit for comparing count values. 2. A prepaid card on which data is magnetically recorded, and a reader / writer device for inserting and reading the prepaid card to read and write data magnetically, wherein the reader / writer device corresponds to the prepaid card. A printing unit for printing predetermined visual information and reading marks on the surface, a printing reading unit for reading the reading marks printed by the printing unit, and a counter for counting the number of reading marks read by the printing reading unit, A print information confirmation system for a prepaid card, comprising: a comparison unit that compares the count value of the counter before and after printing by the printing unit.