JPH11110511A - Card-type information recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card-type information recording device which can effectively use a credit card and the like even for a purpose other than the original purpose of the card. SOLUTION: This card-type information recording device is provided with an area 2 for recording a telephone number for internet connection, aser ID, and a password on the surface or the back of a telephone card 1. An area 4 displaying an illustration for advertisement is provided adjacent to the area 2. Information on an advertisement content in the area 4 is printed on the area 2, for example. Thus, a customer who is interested in the advertisement content in the area 4 views a home page in accordance with information of the area 2 and it is not necessary to send detailed catalogues to multiple persons. Consequently, efficient advertisement can be made at small advertisement cost.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card-type information recording apparatus for providing various types of information using various types of business card-sized cards such as prepaid cards and credit cards.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the spread of personal computers (hereinafter referred to as personal computers), via the Internet,
Examples of providing various products and services are increasing. In order to connect to the Internet, it is necessary to call an Internet connection provider called a provider and specify the URL address of the homepage of the target connection destination.

[0003]

However, the user must input the telephone number and URL address of the Internet service provider by himself / herself, forgetting the telephone number and URL address, and pressing the wrong key to input. Then you will not be able to connect to the Internet. Further, since the URL address has a large number of characters, it takes time to enter a key, and there is a problem that a target homepage cannot be displayed immediately.

Some browser software for connecting to the Internet has registered a URL address frequently accessed by a user and can immediately call up the registered URL address with a mouse or the like.
The L address registration procedure must be performed by the user himself, and if a large number of URL addresses are registered, it takes time to call.

[0005] On the other hand, recently, examples of using a free space on a telephone card to advertise various products and services have increased. However, since telephone cards are only the size of business cards, it is difficult to provide detailed explanations of products and the like in terms of space, and the effect of advertising is not so high at present.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a purpose of the present invention is to provide a prepaid card, a credit card, and the like which can be effectively used for data communication other than the card's original purpose. An object of the present invention is to provide a type information recording device.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 includes at least a credit card, a cash card, a prepaid card, an authentication card for certifying self, and an IC card having a built-in LSI. At least one area for recording information other than the card's original purpose is provided on at least one of the front side and the back side of the target card, and the target card is designated as the card's original purpose. And also can be used for information recorded in the area.

The information includes a telephone number of a server which mediates connection to the Internet, a DNS server name of the server, an IP address of the server, a user ID required to access the server, and a user ID.
D, and at least one of a URL address of a homepage to which the Internet is connected.

[0009] Alternatively, the information includes a telephone number of a server that mediates transmission and reception of e-mail, a user ID for accessing the server, a password for validating the user ID, and an e-mail destination of the e-mail.
Contains at least one of the addresses.

The information may be any of pictographic information that can be visually grasped, optical pattern information that can be optically detected, magnetic information, an electric signal, and a radio signal.
It is recorded in the area.

[0011] The invention according to claim 5 is that at least one of the front side and the back side of the telephone card has a telephone number of a server which mediates connection to the Internet or transmission and reception of e-mail, and is necessary for accessing the server. An area for recording a user ID and a password for validating the user ID is provided.

An area for recording an E-mail address of an Internet connection destination or an e-mail transmission destination is provided on the surface where the area is provided.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a card-type information recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a card type information recording apparatus according to the present invention.
The recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 uses a telephone card 1 that can be used as a public telephone as a medium, and has an area 2 for recording a telephone number for Internet connection, a user ID, and a password on the front or back side of the telephone card 1. It is a thing. In this area 2, specific information is printed in alphanumeric characters.

However, the type of information recorded in the area 2 is not particularly limited, and FIG. 1 is only an example. For example, in FIG. 2, an area 3 for printing an E-mail address is provided below the area 2. Recently, the use of e-mail for business has increased, and it has become common to receive orders and provide various types of business information via e-mail. If the salesman or the like writes his or her E-mail address in the area 3 when giving the card to the customer, inquiries and orders from the customer can be received by e-mail, and the sales activities can be performed efficiently. be able to.

The telephone card shown in FIGS.
In a position adjacent to the area 2, an area 4 for advertising is provided.
In this area 4, illustrations, characters, and the like for advertisement of products and services are displayed.

When the telephone card shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used for sales promotion, it is desirable to print information related to the contents of the advertisement in the area 4 in the areas 2 and 3. For example, when displaying an advertisement for a certain product in the area 4,
The URL address of the Internet homepage where detailed information of the product is provided, the telephone number of the server that mediates the connection to the Internet, the user ID required to access the server, and the validity of the user ID A password or the like may be printed in areas 2 and 3. In this way, only the customers who are interested in the advertising content in the area 4 need to send a detailed catalog to an unspecified number of people to view the homepage based on the information in the areas 2 and 3. And for a small amount of advertising costs,
Effective advertising can be performed.

In recent years, public telephones capable of data communication have also become widespread. If such public telephones are used, the telephone number printed on the telephone card using the telephone card of the present embodiment can be used. By calling, the user can obtain desired information without paying a telephone charge, and can easily perform data communication on the go.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example in which information necessary for connecting to the Internet is printed on a telephone card. However, when data communication is performed without going through the Internet (hereinafter referred to as PC communication). Information required for the call may be printed. For example, if the telephone number of the personal computer communication server, the user ID, and the password are printed in area 2 of FIG. 2, and the e-mail address of the other party is printed in area 3, the user can obtain the information at hand. By inputting the print information in the areas 2 and 3 using a personal computer or the like, the personal computer communication can be performed easily and quickly.
The possibility of erroneously specifying the connection destination is reduced.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the URL address of the home page is displayed below the areas 2 and 3. However, the URL address may be printed in the area 2 or the area 3.

[Second Embodiment] In a second embodiment, information necessary for connection to the Internet or communication with a personal computer is recorded on a telephone card in the form of a barcode.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the card type information recording device. As in the first embodiment, the recording device of FIG. 3 uses a telephone card 1 as a medium, and has a barcode 5 attached or integrally formed on the upper surface thereof. The barcode 5 is composed of a plurality of vertical lines having the same length, and records various information by changing the interval between the vertical lines and the thickness of the vertical lines.

There is no particular limitation on the information recorded by the bar code 5, and, for example, like the area 2 in FIG.
All information other than the original purpose of the card is covered. For example,
It is conceivable to record the URL address of the Internet connection destination or the E-mail address of the area 3 in FIG.

Since it is generally difficult for a user to visually decode the information recorded in the bar code 5, the information is read into a personal computer 12 or the like via a bar code reader 11 as shown in FIG. The bar code reader 11 usually has a pen shape as shown in FIG. 4, and irradiates the bar code 5 with infrared rays and detects the reflected light thereof.
Read the barcode pattern. The read information is converted into digital data and read into the personal computer 12 via a serial interface or the like.

On the other hand, control software for reading a bar code is installed in advance on a hard disk or the like of the personal computer 12, and the digital data sent from the bar code reader 11 is decoded into the original information. The decrypted information is sent to, for example, browser software for the Internet, and connects to a desired homepage or the like according to the information recorded in the barcode 5 without the user inputting a URL address, a telephone number, or the like by a key. It becomes possible.

As described above, if information necessary for Internet connection and personal computer communication, such as a telephone number and a URL address, is recorded in the bar code 5 such as a telephone card, the bar code Information can be automatically read into a personal computer, which eliminates the need for the user to input a key. This improves usability, eliminates key input errors, and speeds up access to the Internet.

In the first and second embodiments described above,
Although an example using a telephone card as a medium has been described, the present invention uses various prepaid cards other than a telephone card, a credit card, an authentication card (member card) for certifying oneself in a specific organization or group, and an LSI. Various cards such as a built-in IC card, a commuter pass, and a business card can be used as a medium. Alternatively, a digital cash card in a form similar to a prepaid card is used as a medium, and an LSI in the digital cash card is used.
Various types of information that may be printed in the areas 2 and 3 in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be recorded in the memory.

Further, information may be recorded anywhere in the card. For example, information may be recorded only on the front side of the card, only on the back side, or on both sides. Further, different information may be recorded in a plurality of places on the card.

Further, the contents of the information recorded on the card are not limited to those described in the first and second embodiments.
For example, the type of information is not particularly limited as long as it is information other than the card's original purpose, such as the DNS server name and IP address of an Internet connection company, a winning number such as a lottery ticket, card expiration date information, and card use time information. .

Further, the information can be recorded in various forms such as character information as in the first embodiment, bar codes as in the second embodiment, and magnetic information used in cash cards and the like. Is the target. For example, various kinds of information may be transferred by a radio wave method that is being considered for use in commuter passes, or an electrical contact may be provided on the card surface, and the contactor may respond to the various kinds of information. The supplied voltage may be supplied, and the voltage of the contact may be detected by an external probe to decode the information. Further, the information may be recorded by a glyph code.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the outline of the glyph code, which is disclosed in "SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN" (May 1994, p.114). The glyph code 21 expresses digital information by combining the slashes 21 and 22 with the slash 22 rising to the left as "0" and the slash 23 ascending to the right as "1", for example. The glyph code 21 has a higher information density per unit area than a bar code, and is less susceptible to surface contamination. Therefore, if various information such as a telephone number for Internet connection and a user ID is recorded in a telephone card or the like in the form of a glyph code, errors in reading information can be reduced as compared with the bar code 5, and the amount of recordable information can be reduced. Can also be increased.

[0032]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, an area for recording information other than the card's original purpose is provided on at least one of the front side and the back side of a prepaid card or the like. Since the card can be used for purposes other than the purpose, the purpose of use of the card can be enhanced, and convenience is improved. In particular, if information necessary for connecting to the Internet and information necessary for sending and receiving e-mails are recorded on a card, data communication can be performed easily and quickly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a card-type information recording device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a card-type information recording device provided with an area for printing an E-mail address.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the card-type information recording device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating reading of a barcode.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining an outline of a glyph code.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Telephone card 2 Area for printing Internet connection phone number 3 Area for printing E-mail address 4 Area for advertising 5 Barcode 11 Barcode reader 12 Personal computer 21 Glyph code 22, 23 Glyph code Make up the slash

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A credit card, cash card, prepaid card, authentication card for certifying self, and L
For at least one of the IC cards incorporating the SI, at least one area for recording information other than the original purpose of the card is provided on at least one of the front side and the back side of the target card. A card-type information recording apparatus, wherein the card can be used for the original purpose of the card, and can also be used for information recorded in the area. 2. The information includes a telephone number of a server that mediates connection to the Internet, a DNS server name of the server, an IP address of the server, a user ID required to access the server, and a user ID.
2. The card-type information recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a password for validating D and a URL address of a homepage to which the Internet is connected. 3. The information includes a telephone number of a server that mediates transmission and reception of e-mail, a user ID for accessing the server, a password for validating the user ID, and an e-mail destination of the e-mail. 2. The card-type information recording device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the addresses is included. 4. The information includes pictographic information that can be visually grasped, optical pattern information that can be optically detected, magnetic information,
The card-type information recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information is recorded in the area in any form of an electric signal and a radio signal. 5. A telephone number of a server that mediates connection to the Internet or transmission / reception of e-mail, a user ID required to access the server, and the user ID on at least one of a front side and a back side of the telephone card. A card-type information recording device provided with an area for recording a password for validating the information. 6. The card type information recording device according to claim 5, wherein an area for recording an E-mail address of an Internet connection destination or an e-mail transmission destination is provided on a surface on which the area is provided. apparatus.