JPH0775034B2 - Card reader - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a card reader used for public telephones and the like.

[Prior Art] In recent years, a failure diagnosis system has been developed which diagnoses a failure of various devices by sending an instruction from the center to various devices provided in a remote place. From this failure diagnosis system, it is possible to know whether or not a plurality of remote devices are operating normally even though they are in the center.

A card reader provided in a public telephone is one of the devices.

This card reader performs card processing such as reading and writing of a magnetic card with a magnetic head.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional failure diagnosis system can only perform static diagnosis. Therefore, even the card reader can diagnose only the operation of the sensor, which is a static characteristic. However, since the operation of the card reader is mainly intended for reading and writing of magnetic cards, the dynamic characteristics of reading and writing of this card cannot be diagnosed, and the failure diagnosis system described above cannot be completed. There was a problem.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a card reader capable of self-diagnosing dynamic characteristics,
The purpose of this is to enable failure diagnosis of the card reader to be performed at the center provided at a remote location from the card reader.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the card reader of the present invention is provided with a card inserted from the outside fixed at a fixed position and movably provided facing the card to read card information. Alternatively, in a head-moving type cart reader having a writing head, by receiving a diagnostic command from the outside, a single diagnostic medium arranged at a fixed position of the card reader and reading of head information from the diagnostic medium are read. , And a determination function unit for determining whether or not the writing is normal and transmitting the diagnosis result to the outside.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, the diagnostic medium is fixed to the fixed position of the card reader only by receiving a diagnostic command from the outside, and reading / writing is performed by the head, and whether the reading / writing is normal in the reflex function unit. It is determined whether or not. This diagnostic medium is used only during the diagnostic operation, and since the same diagnostic card is used for each diagnostic, whether the card reader / writer has a failure without being affected by the card characteristics of each card. It can be accurately determined.

Further, since the diagnostic result is sent to the outside, the read / write characteristics of the card reader at multiple locations can be obtained at only one central location by centering the portion sending the diagnostic command.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a card reader of the present invention.

This card reader is of a head moving type which is provided in a public telephone (not shown) and in which a magnetic head 5 moves to read and write with respect to a magnetic card 1 as a card having frequency information.

When the magnetic card 1 is inserted through the insertion slot 2, it is fixed at a predetermined fixing position K.

The fixed magnetic card 1 is provided with a magnetic head 5 as a head for inputting / outputting information so as to face the magnetic card 1. The magnetic card is biased by the rotatable reference surface lever, and the magnetic head 5 is The reading / writing process is performed while moving in parallel to the surface of the magnetic card 1 by the moving mechanism 3.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a card as an example of a diagnostic medium, on which the same magnetic recording as that of the magnetic card 1 is made and which is made of a flexible material.

The diagnostic card 10 is always retracted to a retracted position T provided separately from the fixed position of the magnetic card 1. The retracted position T is provided on the surface opposite to the surface provided with the magnetic head 5 that moves around the magnetic card 1.

Then, the delivery mechanism 15 drives the drive motor to deliver the diagnostic card 10 to the card fixing position K, or performs the evacuation operation.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a processing unit, which is provided outside the card reader for convenience in FIG. 1, but is actually provided inside the card reader. The processing unit 20 performs a later-described card process for the magnetic card 1, and has a diagnosis control unit 21 and a judgment function unit 22. The diagnostic control unit 21 is activated by a diagnostic command signal S1 sent from the center, which is a place away from the place where the card reader is provided, and controls a self-diagnosis operation described later.

Next, card processing by the normal magnetic card 1 will be described.

The inserted magnetic card 1 is fixed at the fixed position K, and the moving mechanism 3 operates to move the magnetic head 5 to read the frequency information and simultaneously activate the telephone circuit.

Further, the frequency change caused by a telephone call is rewritten by the magnetic head 5, and it is confirmed whether or not the writing is normally performed, and the result is discharged to the outside. Then, whether or not the reading and writing processes have been performed properly is determined by a determination function unit 22 provided in a processing unit (not shown) that processes information of the magnetic head 5, and a defective magnetic card is detected. It is configured to determine 1.

Next, the self-diagnosis operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2. When the diagnosis command signal S1 is received from the outside such as the center, the diagnosis control unit 21 is activated and controls the following (SP
1).

First, during the self-diagnosis, the loading of the magnetic card 1 is temporarily stopped (SP2).

Then, the delivery mechanism 15 delivers the card diagnostic card 10 from the retracted position T to the fixed position K (SP3).
After that, the magnetic head 5 moves with respect to the diagnostic card 10, and the information on the diagnostic card 10 is read by the magnetic head 5. The information of the diagnostic card 10 is sent to the judgment function unit 22. Since this diagnostic card 10 is normal and the same for each self-diagnosis, the judgment function unit 22 is
It is possible to diagnose the dynamic characteristics of the magnetic head 5 in the operating state.

Here, if the magnetic head 5 operates normally, the determination function unit
22 can judge that the reading and writing status is normal (SP
4) Send the diagnostic normal signal S2 to the center as an external result (SP5), operate the delivery mechanism 15 again, store the diagnostic card 10 in the retracted position T (SP6), and terminate the self-diagnostic operation. (SP7).

However, if the magnetic head 5 is worn or the moving mechanism 3 for moving the magnetic head 5 fails, the judgment function unit 22 cannot perform the above-mentioned normal card processing at the time of reading or writing (SP8), and the diagnosis result is diagnosed. An abnormal signal S3 is sent to the center (SP9). As a result, in the center, it is possible to know that the dynamic part of the card reader has failed, and maintenance and repair can be performed.

Thus, the dynamic characteristics of a normal card reader is, for example, 1
It took a lot of time to confirm whether it is normal or not due to the influence of the magnetic characteristics of the different magnetic cards 1.
According to the present invention, the self-diagnosis is performed only by the normal single diagnostic card 10, so that the dynamic characteristics of the card reader can be grasped each time the self-diagnosis is instructed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the card is used as the diagnostic medium, but the diagnostic information may be recorded on the head contact surface of the reference surface lever described above if a single type of magnetic characteristic can be confirmed, or necessary data may be recorded. The diagnostic card having only the area may be used.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the card reader of the present invention, self-reading / writing characteristics can be self-diagnosed, and if this self-diagnosis is instructed from a remote center, the self-diagnosis result can be obtained at the center. You can

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a card reader of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a self-diagnosis operation of the card reader. 1 ... Magnetic card, 3 ... Movement mechanism, 5 ... Magnetic head, 10 ... Diagnostic card, 13 ... Card reader housing, 15
...... Sending mechanism, 20 …… Processing unit, 21 …… Diagnostic control unit,
22: Judgment function part, K: fixed position, T: retracted position,
S1 …… Diagnostic command signal, S2 …… Diagnostic normal signal, S3 …… Diagnostic abnormal signal.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A head-moving type card reader having a head for reading or writing card information which is fixed so that a card inserted from the outside is fixed at a fixed position and is movable facing the card. By receiving the single diagnostic medium arranged at the fixed position of the card reader, it is judged whether or not the reading and writing of the information of the head with respect to the diagnostic medium are normal, and the diagnostic result is output to the outside. A card reader having a determination function unit for sending to a card reader.