JPH10228528A - Ic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make an IC card different from others and to make it hard to be influenced by dirt, etc. SOLUTION: The measurements in a longitudinal direction and in a width direction of a card body 2 are made smaller than measurements that are defined by an ISO/JIS standard. Also, an external connection terminal part 6 on the surface of an IC module 3 is positioned almost the center of the body 2 in the longitudinal direction and positioned on only one side of the width direction with the central position A of the body 2 in the width direction as reference.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an IC card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There has been known an IC card in which an IC module is embedded in a plastic card body. The IC module includes a one-chip control unit (CPU) and a storage unit (memory element).
An external connection terminal for an IC card reader / writer device or the like is provided on the surface.

[0003] Such an IC card is conventionally known as an ISO /
It is created according to JIS standards. In the standard, the size of the card body is defined as 85.6 mm in the longitudinal direction, 53.97 mm in the width direction, and 0.78 mm in the thickness. Further, the external connection terminal portion of the IC module is defined as a position at a maximum of 10.25 mm from the left end of the card body and at a maximum of 19.23 mm from the upper end.

[0004]

In a game arcade such as a pachinko parlor, a prepaid card is used. At present, a magnetic card is used as the prepaid card. However, since the magnetic card is easy to forge or the like, illegal use is frequently performed. For this reason,
Higher security IC with advanced security functions
It has been proposed to use the card as a prepaid card in a game arcade.

[0005] However, if the ordinary IC card as described above is used as it is in a game arcade or the like, it becomes difficult to distinguish which card is used for a game when the IC card is widely used, which is inconvenient for the user. It is. When the IC card is used as a prepaid card, it is conceivable that the used IC card is collected and updated by updating data and the like to reuse the IC card. In this case, the IC card is used repeatedly and used by an unspecified number of people. Therefore, the IC card is liable to be stained.

[0006] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an IC card which is different from other IC cards. It is another object of the present invention to provide an IC card which is hardly affected by contamination or the like.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following technical measures. That is, a feature of the present invention is that, in an IC card in which an IC module is embedded on a rectangular card body, the longitudinal dimension and the width direction dimension of the card body are larger than those defined by the ISO / JIS standard. The point is that it is made smaller.

In this case, since the size of the IC card according to the present invention is different from the size of the card defined by the standard, the difference can be visually discriminated. Further, in the case where an external connection terminal is provided on the surface of the IC module, the external connection terminal is an ISO /
It can be provided at a position that does not coincide with the external connection terminal section created according to the JIS standard.

In this case, the card can be distinguished from the card defined by the standard also by the difference in the position of the external connection terminal. Further, even if an IC card created according to the standard is inserted into the card reader / writer, the position of the external connection terminal of the IC card created according to the standard is different. Reading and writing cannot be performed, and misuse and unauthorized use can be prevented.

[0010] The present invention also relates to a method in which an I
In an IC card in which a C module is embedded and an external connection terminal portion is provided on the surface of the IC module, the external connection terminal portion is located substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction of the card body and at the center in the width direction of the card body. It is provided so as to be located only on one side in the width direction with reference to the position.

In this case, as will be described in the following embodiments, it is possible to prevent dirt from adhering to the external connection terminal portion, and to insert the IC card into a reader / writer device or the like in a state of being turned upside down by mistake. In addition, damage to the IC module can be prevented. Here, it is preferable that the external connection terminal portion is arranged closer to the center in the width direction of the card body in the width direction. This is because the dirt can be prevented from adhering to the external connection terminal when the card is disposed at the center in the width direction, rather than at the upper or lower end of the card body that may be gripped by a finger.

Further, the external connection terminals are arranged as described above, and the longitudinal dimension and the lateral dimension of the card body are set to be smaller than those defined by the ISO / JIS standard.
By making it smaller, you can differentiate your IC card,
The IC card is less susceptible to contamination and the like. Also, if one or more concave or convex portions are formed on the card body,
By touching the concave or convex portion, the front and back and the direction of the card can be determined.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an IC card 1 according to the present invention. The IC card 1 is used as a prepaid card in a game arcade, and is configured by embedding an IC module 3 in a rectangular card body 2.

The card body 2 is made of a synthetic resin such as vinyl chloride, and a recess for embedding an IC module 3 is formed on the surface of the card body 2. Is embedded in the recess so as to be flush with the surface of the card body 2. According to the ISO / JIS standard, the dimensions of the card body 2 are defined as 85.6 mm in the longitudinal direction and 53.97 mm in the width direction, but the card body 2 is smaller than the standard. Specifically, the length is 78 mm in the longitudinal direction and 49 mm in the width direction. Due to such a difference in size, the card can be easily distinguished from a card specified in the standard.

Further, by making the card insertion slot of the card reader / writer device for receiving the IC card 1 small according to the size of the IC card 1, the IC card specified by the standard can be inserted into the card insertion slot. It becomes impossible to insert, and misuse can be prevented. In addition,
Since three convex portions 4 are formed on the lower right side of the card body 2, the front and back of the card and the direction of the card can be determined by touching the card. In particular, when the visually impaired uses the IC card 1, the front and back and the direction of the card can be reliably determined. In addition, you may form a recessed part instead of the convex part 4, and the number and the position are not limited.

In the IC module 3, a control unit (CPU) and a storage unit (memory element) are provided as one chip. The storage unit is configured by a non-volatile memory, and stores data necessary for functioning as a prepaid card, such as amount information. As shown in FIG. 2, a power supply, a ground,
8 terminals 5 for clock, reset, serial port, etc.
Are provided separately. In each of the surfaces of the terminals 5, a portion 6 surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 2 is a portion (hereinafter, referred to as an external connection terminal portion) that actually contacts the terminal on the card reader / writer device side. Signals are transmitted to and received from the outside via the terminal unit 6.

According to the ISO / JIS standard, the external connection terminal portion is defined as a position at a maximum of 10.25 mm from the left end of the card body and at a maximum of 19.23 mm from the upper end.
The external connection terminal portion 6 of the IC module 3 is
It is provided at a position outside the range defined by the standard so that it does not coincide with the external connection terminal section created according to the JIS standard.

Since the position does not match the position of the external connection terminal prepared according to the standard, even if an IC card having the external connection terminal prepared according to the standard is inserted into the card reader / writer device, the IC prepared according to the standard is inserted.
Since the position of the card is different from that of the external connection terminal, the card cannot be read or written, and erroneous use and unauthorized use can be prevented.

Here, when the external connection terminal portion 6 is set outside the range defined by the standard, it is preferable to change the size of one terminal from the range defined by the standard by at least the size of one terminal. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the IC module 3 including the external connection terminal portion 6 is located at a position of 33 mm from both ends in the longitudinal direction such that the IC module 3 is located substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction of the card body 2. Are located.

If the external connection terminal 6 becomes dirty,
If the C module 3 is damaged, the IC card 1 cannot perform its function. When the IC card 1 is handled, for example, when the IC card 1 is inserted into a reader / writer device or when the IC card 1 is stored in a wallet or the like, it is common to use the I card.
One of the longitudinal ends of the C card is grasped by a finger. If the fingers are gripped, dirt and the like easily adhere. Therefore, by providing the external connection terminal portion 6 at the substantially central position in the card body longitudinal direction, which is the position furthest away from both ends in the longitudinal direction, as described above, the fingers can be used when the external connection terminal portion 6 is gripped.
No more touching. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the external connection terminal portion 6 from being contaminated.

The external connection terminal portion 6 is provided so as to be located only on one side in the width direction (upper side in FIG. 1) from the position A with reference to the center position A in the width direction of the card body. As shown in FIG. 3A, the external connection terminals 3 may be located on both the upper side and the lower side across the position A, but in the case shown in FIG.
When the card 1 is turned upside down, the IC module is at the position 3a indicated by the dotted line, and the position of the IC module 3 in the non-inverted state and the position of the external connection terminal 6 partially overlap.

Therefore, even when the IC card 1 is turned over, the external connection terminal 6 comes into contact with the terminal of the reader / writer device. Such an incorrect match between the two terminals may cause damage to both the IC card 1 and the reader / writer device. As described above, by arranging the external connection terminal portion 6, which is a portion that actually contacts the terminal of the card reader / writer device, only above the position A, the external connection terminal portion 6 can be used even when the IC card 1 is used upside down. , Can prevent damage.

In FIG. 1, the external connection terminals 6 are all located above the position A. However, the IC module 3 itself is partially located below the position A. The external connection terminal section 6 is arranged as far as possible from the position A. That is, the external connection terminal 6 is arranged as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, it can be arranged at the upper end of the card body 2, but it is arranged at the upper end of the card body 2 which may be gripped by a finger (the length from the upper end of the card body 2 to the upper end of the IC module 3). (Where d1 <d2 when the length from the position A to the lower end of the IC module 3 is d2), the external connection terminals 5 are liable to be stained.

If d1> d2 so that the external connection terminal 6 is as far as possible from the upper end of the card body 2,
Since it is difficult for a finger to touch the external connection terminal portion 6 when the user holds the terminal, it is possible to prevent adhesion of dirt. In particular, FIG.
As shown in (1), it is preferable that the lower end of the external connection terminal portion 6 located at the lowermost position substantially coincides with the position A. By positioning the IC module 3 substantially at the center of the card body 2 as described above, the card body itself plays a role of effectively protecting the IC module from an impact from the side of the card body.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, for example, the external connection terminal 6
May be arranged only below the position A. In this case, it is preferable that the upper end of the uppermost external connection terminal 6 substantially coincides with the position A.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By reducing the size of the card body, differentiation from other IC cards can be achieved. In addition, the IC card is less susceptible to contamination and the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an IC card according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the IC module.

FIG. 3A is an IC card according to a first comparative example. FIG. 3B shows an IC card according to a second comparative example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 IC card 2 Card body 3 IC module 4 Convex part 5 Terminal 6 External connection terminal part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An IC card having an IC module (3) embedded on a rectangular card body (2), wherein the card body (2) has a longitudinal dimension and a width dimension.
An IC card characterized in that the size is smaller than the size defined by the ISO / JIS standard. 2. An external connection terminal part (6) is provided on a surface of the IC module (3), and the external connection terminal part (6) is connected to an external connection terminal part prepared according to the ISO / JIS standard. 2. The IC card according to claim 1, wherein the IC card is provided at a position that does not match. 3. An IC card in which an IC module (3) is embedded on a rectangular card body (2) and an external connection terminal (6) is provided on a surface of the IC module (3). The connection terminal portion (6) is located substantially at the center in the longitudinal direction of the card body (2), and based on the center position (A) in the width direction of the card body (2).
An IC card provided so as to be located only on one side in the width direction. 4. The IC card according to claim 3, wherein the external connection terminal portion is disposed at a position in the width direction of the card body closer to a center position in the width direction. 5. The card according to claim 3, wherein the length in the longitudinal direction and the width in the width direction of the card body are smaller than those defined in the ISO / JIS standard.
2. The IC card according to 1. 6. The IC card according to claim 3, wherein the card body (2) has one or a plurality of concave or convex portions (4).