JPH0636446A - Prepaid card inspection device and inspection system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To discriminate a unauthorized card and to prevent a unauthorized use of a prepaid card system by inspecting the intrinsic data of a card and comparing the utilization number data with normal data. CONSTITUTION:The intrinsic information of a prepaid card is kept in a storage memory 1 and the number of utilization data, which one to one correspond to the intrinsic information of the card are stored in a temporary memory 2. An intrinsic information inspection means 41 of an inspection section 4 collates the intrinsic data of the prepaid card read by a card reader 5 with the intrinsic data stored in the memories 1 and 2. Moreover, a number of utilization data inspection means 42 compares the number of utilization data read from the prepaid card with the number of utilization data stored in the memory 2. Thus, a copy of a normal card and a unauthorized card in which the number of utilization has been rewritten are discrminated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inspection device and inspection method for inspecting the validity of a prepaid type prepaid card, and particularly to the inspection of a prepaid card which can be used only in a specific place or a specific reader / writer device. Relates to an effective inspection device and inspection method.

[0002]

[Prior art and problem to be solved] Today, frequency data (including monetary data etc.) according to a prepaid fee
A prepaid card system in which a prepaid card in which is recorded magnetically or electronically is used as a substitute for cash has been widely introduced as a method of paying a public telephone charge or a transportation charge.

By the way, in general, prepaid cards record data magnetically or electronically as described above, so that reading and writing of data is relatively easy. Therefore, an illegal prepaid card could be easily created by copying the data of a normal prepaid card or rewriting the frequency data. Then, there is a possibility that the illegal prepaid card may be used illegally in the prepaid card system. The present invention is
In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, it is an object to identify an illegal prepaid card when using the prepaid card and prevent the illegal use of the prepaid card system.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the prepaid card inspection apparatus of the present invention is configured to store data for a prepaid card in which predetermined unique information and frequency data corresponding to a prepaid amount are recorded. A card reader section for reading the prepaid card, a checking section for checking the validity of the prepaid card based on the data of the prepaid card read by the card reader section, a temporary memory for storing the read data, and an illegal section And a storage memory for storing and listing the unique information of the prepaid card determined to be the unique information stored in the temporary memory and the storage memory for the unique data read from the prepaid card. Equipped with unique data inspection means for collating with data, and stored in the temporary memory A frequency data associated with the specific data that matches the unique data read above of the specific data being, and characterized in that it comprises a frequency data checking means for comparing the frequency data read from the prepaid card. The temporary memory and the storage memory each have a ring buffer structure for canceling the oldest information and storing the latest information when the capacities are full.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the prepaid card inspection system of the present invention is a prepaid card in which predetermined unique information and frequency data corresponding to a prepaid amount are recorded, and is read from the prepaid card. An inspection unit that inspects the validity of the prepaid card based on data, a temporary memory that stores the read data, and a storage memory that stores and lists unique information of the prepaid card that is determined to be illegal by the inspection unit. And a prepaid card inspection device comprising: and the verification unit collates the unique information read from the prepaid card with the unique information stored in the storage memory before processing the read data. If there is no corresponding unique information in the storage memory, A step of collating with the unique information stored in the library memory; and, after the collation, the inspection unit adds the frequency data attached to the unique data that matches the read unique data among the stored unique data, After the step of comparing the read frequency data and the processing of the read data, the storage unit attaches the frequency data written in the prepaid card to the corresponding unique data. And storing and updating.

[0006]

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 prepaid card inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Prepaid card inspection apparatus 10 of this embodiment
Is a CPU 4 as an inspecting unit for inspecting the prepaid card 60 as shown in the figure, and a temporary memory 2 for storing all information to be collated in the inspection by the CPU 4.
And the storage memory 1 that stores only the same information when the information read from the card among the information in the temporary memory 2 is the same. Further, the prepaid card inspection device 1 is connected to the host device 50 via the I / O port 3 as shown in the figure, and the prepaid card 60 is connected to the prepaid card 60.
The information is read through the card reader unit 5 and updated through the card writer unit 6. A work memory 7 is provided for reading all other card information from the card and storing processed information. FIG. 4 shows a prepaid card 6 to be inspected according to this embodiment.
0 shows the format of the data recorded on the prepaid card 60. The illustrated prepaid card 60
Is no different from the one used in a normal prepaid card system. Prepaid card 60
In the data recording area 61, as shown in FIG. 5, unique data such as a serial number unique to the card and frequency data recorded according to the prepaid fee are recorded.

The unique data is not rewritten at all even if the prepaid card 60 is used, but the frequency data is rewritten according to the usage content. As shown in FIG. 2, the CPU 4 of the prepaid card inspection device 10 has a unique information inspection means 41 for collating the unique information read from the card reader 5, a frequency data inspection means 42 for comparing frequency data, and a prepaid card. There is provided updating means 43 for updating the information according to the use of 60 and storing it in the respective memories 1 and 2, and writing the data into the prepaid card 60 through the card writer section 6. Here, the temporary memory 2 stores unique information of the card and frequency data corresponding to the unique information in a one-to-one relationship. The frequency data on this memory is updated at the same time as the information on the prepaid card 60 is updated. Regarding the updating method, if the temporary memory 2 has the same unique information as the information read from the prepaid card 60,
The frequency data of the area corresponding to the unique information may be directly updated, or the unique information and the frequency data may be newly added to another area and updated.

The storage memory 1 stores only the unique information of the prepaid card 60. Of course, the frequency data may be saved. This storage memory 1 is the I / O of FIG.
In addition to being referred to by the host device through the port 3, unique information can be saved in this memory through the host device if necessary. Here, the temporary memory 2 and the storage memory 1 have a ring buffer structure as shown in FIG.
When data is written from information 1 and data is accumulated up to information n, the latest information that comes next is overwritten in the area of information 1 that is the oldest at that time. In FIG. 1, the temporary memory 2, the storage memory 1, and the work memory 7 have different configurations for easy understanding of the description, but the respective areas may be arranged in the same memory element. In that case, in order to make a ring buffer structure, it is sufficient to control the address pointer so that when the information is stored, the pointer is incremented by one and when the boundary address with another area is reached, the pointer is returned to the first address of the same area again. .

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Information on the data recording area 61 of the prepaid card 60 is read from the card reader unit 5 into the work memory 7 (step 1). If the information cannot be read, the prepaid card 60 is discharged without any processing (steps 2 and 8).
When the data is read, the CPU 4 goes to the inspection process. In the inspection processing, first, the unique information P ₁ read from the card by the unique information inspecting means 41 is compared with the unique information Q ₁ in the storage memory 1 (step 3). If the unique information Q ₁ corresponds to the unique information P ₁ , the read prepaid card 60 is not a prepaid card that can be processed, so the processing is stopped and the prepaid card 60 is ejected (step 8). ). When a card with a frequency of 0 is read, it is immediately discharged without processing.

On the other hand, if none of the unique information Q ₁ corresponds to the unique information P ₁ , then the unique information inspection means 4
1 is the unique information R ₁ and the unique information P in the temporary memory 2.
Collate with ₁ (step 4). If there is the unique information P ₁ corresponding to the unique information R ₁ , the frequency data checking means 42 reads the frequency data P ₂ of the prepaid card 60 read in step 1 and the unique information P ₁ stored in the temporary memory 2. The magnitude comparison is performed with the frequency data R ₂ corresponding to (step 5). As a result, if frequency data P ₂ less than the frequency data R ₂ is read from the card in the temporary memory 2, a prepaid card 60
Since the remaining number data recorded in 1 is increased, it is determined that the card is invalid, and the unique information P ₁ read from the prepaid card 60 is stored in the storage memory 1 (step 7). After that, all the prepaid cards 60 having the unique information matching this unique information are determined to be fraudulent cards. When the unique information P ₁ corresponding to the unique information R ₁ does not exist, or when the frequency data R ₂ in the temporary memory 2 corresponding to the corresponding unique information P ₁ is greater than or equal to the reading frequency P _{2 of the} card. Indicates that the remaining frequency data of the prepaid card 60 is decreasing or has not changed, so that the prepaid card 60 is determined to be a normal prepaid card and data processing is performed according to the use of the prepaid card 60.

After the above data processing, the prepaid card 6
0 is updated by writing data such as frequency from the card writer unit 6 by the updating means 43, and the frequency data R ₂ is newly stored in the temporary memory 2 in the area corresponding to the unique data P ₁ (step 6). . After the above processing is completed, the prepaid card is ejected (step 8).

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, the peculiar data inspecting means collates the peculiar data with the prestored data, and the frequency data inspecting means compares the frequency data with the prestored data. It is possible to identify not only whether the prepaid card is compatible with the reader / writer device, but also an unauthorized prepaid card that has been copied to a normal prepaid card or rewritten frequency data. This has the effect of preventing unauthorized use of the system. In addition, because the unique information of an illegal prepaid card is stored in a dedicated storage memory, it is possible to detect that a prepaid card that has been determined to be illegal once is illegal without comparing the frequency data. , The inspection efficiency is improved. Furthermore, there is an effect that a large amount of fraudulent prepaid cards can be dealt with.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a prepaid card inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the CPU of FIG.

3 is a diagram showing an internal structure of a storage memory and a temporary memory of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a prepaid card used in this embodiment.

5 is a diagram showing a structure of data recorded in a data recording area of the prepaid card of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Storage Memory 2 Temporary Memory 4 CPU (Inspection Unit) 5 Card Reader Unit 10 Prepaid Card Inspection Device 41 Unique Information Inspection Means 42 Frequency Data Inspection Means

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A card reader unit for reading data from a prepaid card in which predetermined specific information and frequency data corresponding to a prepaid amount are recorded, and data of the prepaid card read by the card reader unit. An inspection unit that inspects the validity of the prepaid card based on the
The inspection unit includes a temporary memory for storing the read data and an accumulation memory for accumulating and storing the unique information of the prepaid card determined to be illegal by the inspection unit, and the inspection unit read from the prepaid card. A unique data check means for collating the unique data with the unique data stored in the temporary memory and the storage memory is provided, and the unique data matching the read unique data among the unique data stored in the temporary memory A prepaid card inspection device comprising a frequency data inspection means for comparing incidental frequency data with frequency data read from the prepaid card. 2. The prepaid storage system according to claim 1, wherein the temporary memory and the storage memory each have a ring buffer structure for canceling the oldest information and storing the latest information when the capacity is full. Card inspection device. 3. A prepaid card in which predetermined specific information and frequency data corresponding to the amount of prepaid money are recorded, and an inspection unit for inspecting the validity of the prepaid card based on the data read from the prepaid card. The prepaid card inspection device includes a temporary memory for storing the read data and a storage memory for storing and listing the unique information of the prepaid card determined to be illegal by the inspection unit. Before the processing is performed, the checking unit collates the unique information read from the prepaid card with the unique information stored in the storage memory; and when the corresponding unique information is not present in the storage memory, Collating the unique information with unique information stored in the temporary memory; And a step of comparing the read frequency data with the frequency data associated with the unique data that matches the read unique data among the stored unique data, and the read data. And the storage unit updates the frequency data written in the prepaid card with the corresponding unique data. Card inspection method.