JPH07219869A - Inter-terminal equipment information transmission method and interface device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide such a method that can facilitate the transmission of information between the terminal equipments and then can prevent the so-called double input of information in a system that requires the input of the same sales information between a POS and CAT terminal equipments, etc. CONSTITUTION:An S type IC card reader/writer 5 is placed between a POS terminal equipment 1 and a CAT terminal equipment 2. At the same time, the interface parts 12 and 22 are provided on the equipments 1 and 2 respectively to perform the write/read control of information to an S type IC card 4. Then the sales information inputted to the equipment 1 is written in an information recording area of the card 4 in the first step. In the second step, the equipment 2 reads the said information out of the information recording area and fetches this information into its own device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a merchandise distribution system using a credit card or a cash card, and in particular, it is possible to share one information between a plurality of terminal devices that need to input the same information. The invention relates to a method of tightening and parts for carrying out this method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, when buying and selling products using credit cards and cash cards, POS (point
of sale) terminal equipment and CAT (credit autorization ter)
mins) POS systems using terminal devices together are widely used.

[0003] The POS terminal device is installed in the sales floor of the product and immediately processes the sales information about the movement and price of the product, while the CAT terminal device is installed in the same sales floor or credit member store. Installed, CAF
Connect to IS (credit and finance information system) center to check invalid cards, check credit lines,
It automatically issues slips and processes sales information. In the case of processing the sales information of a product using a credit card, the sales information such as the product code and the amount of money is input to the POS terminal device, and the sales information is input again to the CAT terminal device and sent to the CAFIS center.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional POS system of this type, the POS terminal device and the CAT are used.
The same sales information is input independently for each terminal device. Therefore, there are problems that the operation becomes complicated, data is erroneously erroneously input, and a great amount of time is required for input processing and resolution when trouble occurs. This is extremely inconvenient for a store or the like that requires quick sales processing, and there has been a strong demand for improvement of the system for passing sales information.

On the other hand, since the POS terminal device and the CAT terminal device can be used independently, they are manufactured according to the manufacturer's own standard. In addition, like the POS terminal device, in many cases, even if they have the same function, there is no compatibility of information due to the difference in their standards, and they have been used in an extremely limited environment.

In view of such a problem, the present invention provides a method for enabling sharing of one information by a simple method between a plurality of terminal devices that need to input the same information, especially between devices having different standards. Another object of the present invention is to provide a component (interface device) that realizes this method.

[0007]

A method of the present invention for achieving the above object is a terminal device for transmitting information via a communication path between a plurality of terminal devices including at least one of a POS terminal device and a CAT terminal device. A method of transmitting information between devices, wherein an IC card reader / writer is interposed in the communication path, and writing / reading control to / from an information recording area of an IC card in the IC card reader / writer is performed in each of the plurality of terminal devices. An interface device for performing the above is provided, and the transmission target information generated in one terminal device is written in the information recording area of the IC card, and the other terminal device reads the transmission target information written in the information recording area, and its own device. It is characterized by being taken in. The IC card may be either a narrowly defined IC card or an IC memory card.

In the above method, preferably, the IC card is an S-type IC card, and the information recording area thereof is
Format according to the common specifications of each terminal device. Furthermore, I
The transmission target information written in the information recording area of the C card may be cumulatively stored. The S-type IC card is an IC card based on common specifications established by a number of manufacturers in cooperation with each other, and is a de facto domestic standard. Smart cards also belong to this S-type IC card.

The interface device according to the first configuration of the present invention is provided in a POS terminal device or a CAT terminal device, and an IC card reader / writer connected to each terminal device and an IC mounted in this IC card reader / writer. An interface device for controlling drive of a card, a command generating unit for generating an access command for an information recording area of the IC card, and transmission target information generated in the device itself when the generated access command is a write command. And an input / output control means for fetching the transmission target information from the IC card when the access command is a read command.

The interface device according to the second aspect of the present invention is an interface device of an IC card reader / writer for transmitting information to and from at least one of a POS terminal device and a CAT terminal device. Alternatively, a determination unit that determines whether or not the access command sent from the CAT terminal device is addressed to itself or an IC card attached to the device, and when the determination result is addressed to the IC card, a transmission target is transmitted according to the access command. And an input / output control unit for switching the direction of information.

In the interface device having the first or second configuration, preferably the IC card is an S
Type IC card, and the information recording area thereof is formatted according to the common specifications of the terminal device for transmitting information. This S-type IC card is as described above.

[0012]

In the method of transmitting information between terminal devices according to the present invention, as a first step, for example, the POS terminal device records the information to be transmitted through the interface device of its own in the information recording of the IC card mounted on the IC card reader / writer. Write to the area cumulatively. As a second step, for example, a CAT terminal device
The information recording area of the IC card is accessed through its own interface device to read the information to be transmitted, and the information is taken into the device itself. As a result, the CAT terminal device can share the transmission target information from the POS terminal device, so that it is not necessary to input the information again, and it is possible to avoid troubles due to incorrect data input.

When the standard of the IC card conforms to the standard of each terminal device and the information recording area is formatted with the common specifications to each terminal device,
The same information can be shared only by going through the first and second steps. However, when the standards do not conform and the formats are different, it becomes difficult to implement the above method as it is. In this case, by using the S-type IC card and formatting with the common specifications of each terminal device, the difference in standards is absorbed and the compatibility of information becomes more complete, so that the above difficulty is solved.

In the interface device according to the first configuration of the present invention, first, the command control means generates an access command for the information recording area of the IC card. The input / output control means guides this access command to the IC card reader / writer, and when it is a write command, writes the transmission target information generated in its own device in the information recording area of the IC card. On the other hand, when the access command is a read command, the information to be transmitted is fetched from the information recording area of the IC card to the device itself. In this way, information transmission with the IC card reader / writer is realized.

Further, in the interface device according to the second configuration of the present invention, when an access command is sent from the POS terminal device or the CAT terminal device, first, the access command is addressed to itself or to the IC card attached to itself. It is judged by the judging means. When it is confirmed that the IC card is addressed, the direction of the transmission target information is changed according to the access command. For example, when a write command is issued, the terminal device sends the information to be transmitted to the IC card side, and when a read command is issued, the IC card sends the information to be transmitted to the terminal device side. The IC card controls writing or reading of the information to be transmitted.

As described above, the IC card is an S type I
By using a C card and formatting the information recording area in accordance with the common specifications of the terminal device for transmitting information,
The differences in standards will be absorbed and the compatibility of information will increase.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, showing an example of a POS system that rapidly processes sales information when a product is bought and sold using a credit card.

In the figure, 1 is a POS terminal device, 2 is a CAT terminal device, 3 is an S-type IC card reader / writer (hereinafter referred to as an R / W device in this embodiment), and 4 is an S-type IC card (hereinafter In the present embodiment, it is simply referred to as an IC card), and the devices 1 to 3 are connected to each other by an RS232C cable so as to be capable of mutual transmission. Each device 1
3 has a unique address set therein, and has means for determining whether or not the received information is addressed to itself.
No interference occurs even if the 32C cable is connected as shown. It should be noted that this drawing shows the configuration of only the part for carrying out the present invention.

The POS terminal device 1 and the CAT terminal device 2 are
Although there are some functional differences except that the latter communication control unit 21 is connected to the CAFIS center 5,
It has almost the same configuration. That is, each terminal device 1, 2
Is a communication control unit 1 for controlling communication with a partner device, respectively.
1, 21, interface units 12 and 22, data input units 13 and 23, data output units 14 and 24, and storage units 15 and 25 for storing control programs and related data of the own device. The programs and the like stored in the storage units 15 and 25, the interface units 12 and 22, and the communication control units 11 and 21 implement the interface device according to the first configuration of the present invention.

The R / W device 3 has a switch mechanism 31.
An interface unit 32, a data input unit 33, a data output unit 34, and a card contact unit 35, and includes a switch mechanism 31, an interface unit 32, and control means (not shown) for controlling these units. The interface device according to the second configuration of the invention is realized. The card contact portion 35 serves as an electrical contact with the IC card 4.

The interface units 12 and 22 of the POS terminal device 1 and the CAT terminal device 2 respectively read the R / W device 3 according to the control programs recorded in the storage units 15 and 25.
And various commands including an access command (writing or reading command) to the IC card 4 (command generating means), and the communication control units 11 and 2 based on the generated commands.
Input / output (INPUT / OUTPUT) control of information is performed between the R / W device 3 and the IC card 4 via 1 (input / output control means). For example, when the access command is a write command, the transmission target information generated in the device itself is guided to the IC card 4, and when the access command is a read command, the transmission target information is fetched from the IC card 4.

The interface unit 3 of the R / W device 3
2 refers to its own unique address, for example, P
When it is determined whether the access command sent from the OS terminal device 1 or the CAT terminal device 2 is addressed to the IC card 4 attached to itself (determination means), and it is confirmed that the IC card 4 is addressed. Mediates the access command. That is, when the access command is a write command, the transmission target information is guided to the IC card 4 side, and when the access command is a read command, the information from the IC card 4 is sent to the POS terminal device 1 or the CAT terminal device 2.
Guide to the side (input / output control means).

The IC card 4 controls writing or reading of the information to be transmitted according to this access command. Note that I
In the information recording area of the C card 4, a data file is formed by being formatted according to a common specification defined in advance with the POS terminal device 1 and / or the CAT terminal device 2.
The information to be transmitted is not erased from the information recording area by reading, but is cumulatively stored unless newly formatted.

In the POS system having such a configuration, the sales information input from the data input unit 13 of the POS terminal device 1 is used as the above-mentioned transmission target information, and this is the CAT via the R / W device 3 (IC card 4). A specific processing procedure for transmission to the terminal device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of processing in the POS terminal device 1 in this case, and S represents each processing step (the same applies hereinafter). Referring to FIG. 2, the POS terminal device 1 performs initial setting at the start of POS processing (S21), and executes sales processing when a product is purchased (S22).
The sales process is, for example, a keyboard or bar code input process of a product code or amount data in a register, and sales information is immediately generated at the sales floor of the product. Then, credit processing is selected (S23), and this sales information is transferred to the R / W device (S24).

Thereafter, it is judged whether or not the transfer is normally completed (S25), and if the transfer is normal, the automatic CAT process described later is awaited (S26). If the transfer ends abnormally, the operation of the R / W device is checked (S27), and if the result is good, the sales information is transferred again. When the operation is defective, the manual CAT process is performed, that is, the sales information is re-input to the CAT terminal device and the result of the process is waited (S28). When the CAT process is completed, the product is delivered to the purchaser (S29), and the process is completed.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of processing on the side of the CAT terminal device 2. In the CAT terminal device 2, first, the CAT process is initialized (S31), and the above-mentioned sales information is fetched from the R / W device based on a notification from the POS terminal device or upon a manual operation (S32). At this time, it is determined whether the data has been normally imported (S33).
The operation of the / W device is checked (S34), and if the result is good, the sales information is fetched again. When the operation is defective, the sales information is re-input (S35). When the acquisition or re-input of the sales information is completed, the CAFIS center is connected to the online line (S36), if the credit check result is good, the receipt is printed (S38), and if it is bad, the card transaction cannot be displayed. (S39), and the CAT process ends.

The flow of processing in the R / W device 3 and the IC card 4 at this time will be described with reference to FIG.
First, initial settings such as initialization processing are performed (S4
1), triggered by the mounting of the IC card (S42), the IC card itself and the administrator are checked (S43). If the check is defective, the card is ejected (S52).
If the check is good, self (IC
The sales information writing command addressed to the card is received (S44),
This writing command is checked (S45), and if there is any abnormality, an abnormality notice is output to the POS terminal device (S5).
3). When the write command is normal, writing to the IC card is permitted (S46). Then, it is confirmed whether or not the processing has ended normally (S47), and if the processing has ended abnormally, the fact is notified to the POS terminal device (S54).

After the normal termination, when a read command addressed to itself (IC card) is received from the CAT terminal device (S48),
This read command is checked (S49), and if there is any abnormality, an abnormality notification is output to the POS terminal device (S5).
5). At this time, the CAT terminal device may be notified. When the read command is normal, the read command is guided to the IC card and information transmission from the IC card to the CAT terminal device side is permitted (S50). After that, it is confirmed whether the processing has ended normally (S51), and if the processing has ended abnormally, the POS terminal device is notified of that (S56). On the other hand, if it is a normal end, the process ends.

When the IC card is ejected (S52),
When writing to the IC card ends abnormally (S54) and when reading from the IC card ends abnormally (S56),
The process is returned to the IC card mounting (S42) again.

As described above, in the POS system of this embodiment, the sales information input at the POS terminal device 1 is R /
Since it is automatically taken in by the CAT terminal device 2 via the W device (IC card 4), it is possible to share one sales information, and the problem of mistyping due to double hitting of data and the complicated operation. The problem goes away. Further, since the sales information is sequentially accumulated in the IC card 4, it is possible to read the sales information by another R / W device and perform sales totalization, or use it as proof in the event of an accident.

The above description is an example of the transmission of sales information from the POS terminal device 1 to the CAT terminal device 2.
Information transmission in the reverse direction is also possible. Even in this case, substantially the same explanations are valid except that the directions of the write / read command and the transmission target information are different.

The present invention also provides a PO as in this embodiment.
Not limited to the S system, information transmission between POS terminal devices or between a plurality of POS terminal devices and a server device that collectively manages sales information of each POS terminal device, and other interface devices of the present invention may be added. The same can be applied to information transmission between terminal devices.

Furthermore, the present embodiment has been described on the premise that the S-type IC card is used and the information recording area thereof is formatted according to the common specifications for the POS terminal device and the CAT terminal device. A terminal device or IC card reader / writer (I
In the case of constructing a system that does not need to consider the difference in standards, such as a C card), or in a system that separately performs an address operation and a file operation, it is not always necessary to use the S-type IC card, and an IC of another standard may be used. Cards can be used.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the information transmission method between terminal devices of the present invention, the transmission object information generated by one terminal device is triggered by an automatic or manual operation. In a system that has the effect of being captured by the other terminal device and requires the same information to be input to multiple terminal devices, this is an extremely effective method for avoiding troubles and expediting processing due to inconsistency of this information. .

Further, by using an S-type IC card as the IC card and formatting the information recording area according to the common specifications of each terminal device, a standard between the terminal devices can be obtained without separately providing an address operation and a file operation. Since the difference in information structure is absorbed, effective use of resources can be achieved and
A more versatile system can be constructed.

Moreover, since this method can be realized by adding an inexpensive IC card reader / writer and an interface device without specializing each terminal device as a dedicated device, it is significantly advantageous in terms of cost. In addition, the transmission target information accumulated and stored in the information recording area of the IC card is stored in another IC.
It can be read by a card reader / writer and tabulated, or can be used for other purposes, and its practical effect is enormous.

The interface device according to the first configuration of the present invention, which is provided in the POS terminal device or the CAT terminal device, has a command generating means for generating an access command to the IC card reader / writer and transmission target information based on this command. Since it has means for controlling input / output with the IC card reader / writer, there is an effect that information can be transmitted to and from the IC card reader / writer (and IC card) and the implementation of the above information transmission method is facilitated.

Furthermore, the interface device according to the second configuration of the present invention provided in the IC card reader / writer is a PO
Means for determining whether or not the access command received from the S terminal device or the CAT terminal device is addressed to itself (and the IC card mounted therein), and the input / output control of the access command and the transmission target information associated therewith Since the IC card can be used as an information recording medium in these terminal devices, there is an effect that the implementation of the above information transmission method is facilitated.

Also in these interface devices, the IC card is an S-type IC card, and the information recording area is formatted according to the common specifications of the terminal device, so that the difference in the standard and the information structure is absorbed. There is an effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a POS system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a processing procedure diagram of a POS terminal device in the system having the configuration of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a processing procedure diagram of a CAT terminal device in the system having the configuration of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a processing procedure diagram of an IC card and an IC card reader / writer in the system having the configuration of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 POS Terminal Device 2 CAT Terminal Device 3 IC Card Reader / Writer 4 IC Card 5 CAFIS Center 11,21 1 Communication Control Unit 12, 22, 32 Interface Unit 13, 23, 33 Data Input Unit 14, 24, 34 Data Output Unit 15, 25 memory unit 31 switch mechanism 35 card contact unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method for transmitting information via a communication path between a plurality of terminal devices including at least one of a POS terminal device and a CAT terminal device, wherein an IC card reader / writer is interposed in the communication path. , I in the IC card reader / writer for each of the plurality of terminal devices.
An interface device for controlling writing / reading of information to / from the C card is provided, the transmission target information generated in one terminal device is written in the information recording area of the IC card, and the other terminal device is written in the information recording area. A method for transmitting information between terminal devices, characterized in that the transmitted information to be transmitted is read and stored in the device itself. 2. The information between terminal devices according to claim 1, wherein the IC card is an S-type IC card, and an information recording area thereof is formatted according to a common specification of each terminal device. Transmission method. 3. An interface device which is provided in a POS terminal device or a CAT terminal device and which controls driving of an IC card reader / writer connected to each terminal device and an IC card mounted in the IC card reader / writer, Command generation means for generating an access command to the information recording area of the IC card, and when the generated access command is a write command, the transmission target information generated in the own device is guided to the IC card, and the access command is transmitted. An interface device, comprising: an input / output control means for fetching the transmission target information from the IC card when an information read command is issued. 4. An interface device of an IC card reader / writer for transmitting information to and from at least one of a POS terminal device and a CAT terminal device, wherein an access command sent from the POS terminal device or the CAT terminal device is self-service. A determination means for determining whether or not it is addressed to the IC card attached to itself, and an input / output control means for switching the direction of the information to be transmitted according to the access command when the determination result is for the IC card. An interface device having. 5. The IC card according to claim 3, wherein the IC card is an S-type IC card, and an information recording area thereof is formatted according to a common specification of a terminal device for transmitting information. Interface device.