JPH06318991A - Card type charge collecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the charge collection from a prepaid card without exchanging a cash collection type communication terminal equipment connected with the line of a communication line network and in a state where the equipment can be used as it is roughly. CONSTITUTION:The control circuit 24 of the card type charge collecting device 20 connected between trunk lines L1 and L2 and a public telephone set 10 transmits a card use request signal to the control circuit 14 of the public telephone set 10 via a serial communication circuit 23 and makes the public telephone set 10 be the state which is equivalent to the state when a prepaid card having the balance is inserted in a card processor 21, and decreases the rate information read from the prepaid card and makes it display on an indicator 22 when the rate collection signals showing that charging signals are outputted are inputted in the trunk lines L. and L2. When the termination signal showing the termination of a calling is inputted, the display rate is delivered to a card processor 21 and the rate is returned after the rate of the prepaid card is rewritten.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is installed between a line and a communication terminal device such as a public telephone, which is connected to a communication line network and collects cash such as coins in response to a billing signal from the communication line network. The present invention relates to a card-type charge collection device that enables collection of usage charges from a prepaid card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A communication terminal device connected to a communication line, such as a public telephone, is provided with a function of receiving a charge signal from the line and collecting a usage charge.

In order to collect the usage fee, besides the conventional method of storing coins, there is a method of reducing the frequency of prepaid cards. In most cases, a new communication terminal device capable of performing the above-mentioned operation is newly installed, and an already installed public telephone dedicated to coins is also replaced with a combined public telephone.

[0004]

However, it takes a huge amount of money to replace all the public telephones for exclusive use of coins, which are already installed in this way, with a dedicated card type or a combination type, and it is also necessary to replace the existing public telephones. There was a problem that his public telephone was completely wasted.

In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to attach a card processing device for reading and writing frequency information to a prepaid card to a public telephone. However, in the case where the card processing device is simply attached externally as described above, The reading frequency data and the writing frequency data of the card will appear directly on the connection line between the public telephone and the card processing device, and there is a possibility that illegal frequency data may be directly written, and the public telephone side However, a great deal of remodeling is required.

The present invention solves this problem and provides a card type fee collecting device which is strong against illegal use, can be used almost as it is without replacing an existing communication terminal device, and can be used by a prepaid card. The purpose is to do.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a card type charge collecting device of the present invention is connected to a line of a communication line network and receives a charge signal from the communication line network to collect a use charge in cash. A card type fee collection device installed between the communication terminal device and the line for collecting the usage fee from a prepaid card, and a card processing device for reading and writing value information from the inserted prepaid card, Communication means for communicating with the communication terminal device, and when a prepaid card with the remaining amount of value information is inserted into the card processing device, is equivalent to cashing the communication terminal device A card use signal transmitting means for outputting a card use request signal for making the above-mentioned state to the communication terminal device via the communication means, It is inserted into the card processing device in response to a signal indicating that a billing signal has been output to the line of the communication terminal device while in a state equivalent to the cash insertion state by the card use request signal. The payment means for reducing the value information of the prepaid card and making the payment.

[0008]

With the above construction, in the card type fee collecting device of the present invention, when the prepaid card with the remaining amount is inserted into the card processing device, the card use request signal is sent to the communication terminal device through the communication means. , If the communication terminal device is in a state equivalent to the cash-in state and the billing signal is output from the line network to the line of the communication terminal device during this period, the value information of the prepaid card inserted in the card processing device is reduced. Then, the communication usage fee of the communication terminal device is settled.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an office line L which is a terminal line of a public telephone network.
1 shows a configuration of a card-type charge collection device 20 of one embodiment which is installed between the L1 and L2 and a public telephone 10 dedicated to coins and is capable of collecting charges by a prepaid card.

The public telephone 10 has connection terminals 10a, 1
0b, the line monitoring circuit 11 for monitoring the loop state of the office lines L1 and L2 and the presence or absence of a billing signal from the public telephone network, the outgoing call circuit 12 for dialing and talking, and the coin Coin processing device 13 for storing and returning
And a control circuit 14 for controlling each of these parts and for communicating with the card type fee collecting device 20 via the connection terminal 10c.

The control circuit 14 of the public telephone 10 is composed of a microcomputer, and includes S1 to S of FIG.
In addition to the conventional call processing shown in FIG. 14, it is pre-programmed to carry out the processing according to the communication with the card type charge collecting apparatus 20 as shown in S15 to S24.

That is, in the call processing of S1 to S14, when the handset (not shown) of the call circuit 12 is off-hook and a coin is inserted into the coin processing device 13, the outgoing call circuit 12 is sent.
A loop is formed between the central office lines L1 and L2 to enable the originating operation, and every time a billing signal from the public telephone network is input, the coins inserted into the coin processing device 13 are transferred to a safe or the like not shown. Store. When the call ends while the remaining coins are present, the coins are returned. When the remaining coins are exhausted, an alarm sound is generated, and when the next billing signal is received, the loop is disconnected and the call is forcibly terminated.

Further, in steps S15 to S24 for using the card type charge collecting device 20, when the card use request signal is received from the card type charge collecting device 20 after off-hook, the local lines L1 and L2 are received as in the case of coin insertion. A loop is formed between them, and every time a billing signal from the public telephone network is received, a frequency collection signal is output to the card-type charge collection device 20 instead of collecting input coins. When the call ends before the alarm request signal is received from the card-type charge collection device 20, an end signal is sent to the card-type charge collection device 20, and when the alarm request is received, an alarm sound is generated and the next charging signal is issued. And cut the loop. It should be noted that this card use processing is also performed when a card use request signal is received during a call using coins (S6, S12).

The station lines L1 and L2 from the public telephone network for the public telephone 10 are connected to the connection terminals 20a and 20b of the card type charge collection device 20, respectively, and the connection terminal 2 is connected.
0a, 20b from the connection terminals 20c, 20d connected by the trunk lines L1 ', L2' to the connection terminal 1 of the public telephone 10.
0a and 10b are connected. In addition, public telephone 10
The connection terminal 10c is connected to the connection terminal 20e of the card-type charge collection device 20.

The card type charge collecting device 20 is connected to a card processing device 21 for reading and writing frequency information for a prepaid card inserted by a user, a display 22 for displaying the frequency, and a connection terminal 20e. It comprises a serial communication circuit 23 and a control circuit 24 which performs card frequency adjustment and communicates with the public telephone 10 via the serial communication circuit 23.

The control circuit 24 is composed of a microcomputer, and performs the processing shown in FIG. 3 to settle the call charge by the prepaid card. That is, when the prepaid card is inserted into the card processing device 21, the frequency information is read, and if the frequency information is not 0, a card use request signal is sent to the public telephone 10 to put the public telephone 10 into a coin insertion state. Then, the frequency is displayed on the display 22 (S1 to S4). Then, each time the power collection signal is received from the public telephone 10 side, the display frequency is reduced by one, and when the end signal is received from the public telephone 10 side before the frequency becomes 0, the remaining frequency is received by the card processing device 21. To the user, rewrite the frequency of the prepaid card, and have the user return it (S5-10). If the display frequency becomes 0 before receiving the end signal, an alarm request signal is output to the public telephone 10 and then the frequency of the prepaid card is rewritten to 0 and returned (S11).
The settlement process (rewriting of the frequency) may be performed each time the frequency collection signal is received.

By providing the card type charge collecting device 20 thus constructed between the public telephone 10 and the central office lines L1 and L2, coins are inserted into the public telephone 10 when it is desired to make a call using coins. If a user wants to make a call using a card, the prepaid card can be inserted into the card processing device 21 of the card type charge collecting device 20, and the call can be used in exactly the same operation as a conventional public telephone of a combination type. It is also possible to continuously use the call from coins to the call from cards.

It should be noted that the control circuit 14 of the public telephone 10 connected to the card type charge collecting device 20 must be provided with a function for performing communication processing with the card type charge processing device 20 in advance. This change can be made by replacing the ROM of the control circuit 14 of the existing public telephone, etc., and can be carried out at an extremely small cost and labor compared to replacing the public telephone itself and discarding the existing public telephone.

Further, between the card type charge collecting device 20 and the public telephone 10, only signals not directly related to the card frequency such as a card use request signal, an end signal and an alarm request signal are exchanged. Illegal operations such as direct writing of frequency data cannot be done from the outside.

[0020]

[Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, the line L from the public telephone network is used.
1 and L2, a signal indicating that a billing signal has been output and a signal indicating that the call has ended are received from the public telephone side to settle the card frequency.
Like the card type charge collecting device 30 shown in FIG.
A line monitoring circuit 31 for monitoring the loop state of L2 and the presence / absence of a charging signal may be connected to the trunk lines L1 'and L2'.

In this case, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, if the control circuit 24 directly determines the end of the call and the presence / absence of the billing signal in the processes S5 'and S6', if the charge is collected from the prepaid card. Good. Further, when the line type monitoring circuit 31 is provided like the card type charge collection device 30, it is not necessary to output the end signal and the frequency collection signal from the public telephone 10 side, and the processing procedure on the public telephone side is changed. Less is required. Further, means for outputting the alarm signal to the relay lines L1 ', L2' and transmitting it to the receiver of the public telephone 10 may be provided.

FIG. 6 shows a card type charge collecting device 40 according to another embodiment of the present invention. The card type charge collecting device 40 is different from the embodiment of FIG. 4 in that a modem device 41 is provided between the relay lines L1 'and L2' and the control circuit 24, and the relay lines L1 'and L2' and connecting terminals are provided. A relay switch Ra provided between 20c and 20d is switched so that a DC loop is formed between the office lines L1 and L2 by the terminator 42 instead of the public telephone 10, and the center station and the card of the public telephone network are connected. Communication is made possible with the toll collection device 40 (C in the drawing is a DC blocking capacitor).

When a signal indicating that an incoming signal for maintenance or the like has been received from the center station is input from the public telephone 10 side, the card type charge collecting device 40 drives the drive circuit 43 to relay switch Ra. Is switched to the terminator 42 side to form a DC loop on the office lines L1 and L2, and predetermined communication is automatically performed with the center station via the modem device 41.

In the card type fee collecting device 40 which communicates with a specific center station via the modem device 41 as described above, not only for maintenance thereof but also the accumulated information of the frequency of use of the prepaid card and other than the telephone card. Send information on the frequency of use of prepaid cards to the center station,
The usage status can be monitored or the card type fee collecting device can be checked for theft damage or the like.

Further, the user can use this modem device 41 for data communication. That is, the modem device 41
When a prepaid card with a balance is inserted into the card processing device 21 with the terminal device 50 such as a personal computer externally connected to the connector 45 connected to the control circuit 24, the control circuit 24 performs the same operation as in the above embodiment. Public telephone 1
0 to send a card use request signal to form a loop in the public telephone to enable dialing, and terminate the relay switch Ra after completion of dialing or when the first billing signal is detected. Switch to the container 42 side to maintain the loop formation. When the line monitoring circuit 31 detects a billing signal in response to the communication partner's response, the card display frequency is reduced, and data communication between the user's terminal 50 and the communication partner is performed via the modem device 41. Let During this communication, the control circuit 24 decrements the display frequency each time the billing signal is detected, and relays when a specific code for disconnecting the line is input from the terminal 50 or when the line of the other party is disconnected. The switch Ra is switched to the public telephone 10 side, and the frequency of the prepaid card is rewritten and settled and returned to the user.

As described above, in the card type fee collecting device equipped with the modem device 41, in addition to automatic communication with a specific center station, data communication by a terminal brought by a user is collected from a prepaid card. Can be done.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the card type fee collecting device communicates with the public telephone as the communication terminal device by wire, but this communication may be carried out by a radio signal or by using light. You may communicate with each other.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the case of the card type charge collecting device which is connected to the public telephone and enables the collection of charges from the prepaid card has been described, but the present invention collects the charges by the charging signal. Any communication terminal device connected to the communication network can be applied to a facsimile or other data communication device.

[0029]

As described above, the card type fee collecting device of the present invention makes the communication terminal device in a state equivalent to the state in which cash is inserted when the prepaid card is inserted into the card processing device. Of the card use request signal to the communication terminal device, and receiving a signal indicating that the charging signal has been output from the communication line network to the line of the communication terminal device,
The prepaid card inserted into the card processing device is configured to settle the usage fee.

Therefore, the value information of the card is not directly exchanged with the communication terminal device, illegal writing of the value information is not possible, and the existing communication terminal device can be used almost as it is without replacement. , It is possible to collect usage fees from prepaid cards at an extremely low cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a public telephone connected to the card type fee collection device of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a card type fee collecting device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the card type fee collecting device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Public Telephones 11 Line Monitoring Circuit 12 Call Circuit 13 Coin Processing Device 14 Control Circuit 20 Card Type Charge Collection Device 21 Card Processing Device 22 Display 23 Serial Communication Circuit 24 Control Circuit

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ikuko Shimada 1-1-6 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A communication terminal connected to a line of a communication line network, which is installed between a communication terminal device which receives a charging signal from the communication line network and collects a use charge in cash, and the use charge from a prepaid card. A card-type fee collecting device for collecting, the card processing device for reading and writing the value information from the inserted prepaid card, a communication means for communicating with the communication terminal device, and the balance of the value information. When a prepaid card is inserted in the card processing device, a card use request signal for making a state equivalent to cash being inserted in the communication terminal device is provided through the communication means. While the communication terminal device is in a state equivalent to the cash insertion state by the card use request signal, the communication A settlement means for receiving a signal indicating that a billing signal has been output to the line of the terminal device and subtracting the value information of the prepaid card inserted in the card processing device to make a settlement. Card type fee processing device.