JPH11198577A - Card reading/writing device and magnetic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a card with an easily recognizable indication for a visually handicapped person and a device to be used for reading data from and writing data into this card. SOLUTION: This card reading/writing device moves the card 77 with a magnetic material layer in which data is magnetically written into the rotating direction of a roller 87 while bringing one of the faces of the card 77 into contact with the roller 87 and at the same time, reads the data or writes the data into the magnetic material layer while bringing the other face of the card 77 into contact with or setting the other face in close proximity with the magnetic head 85. In addition, the face, which comes into contact with the roller 87, of the card 77 has a protruding printing part 79 with a specified width formed by causing an ink of such a physical property as to foam when heated at a higher temperature than specified to foam. Further, the outer diameter of the roller 87 at a position corresponding to the printing part 79 is smaller than that of the other part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a card such as a ticket having an uneven surface, and an apparatus for reading or writing data from the card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, bank cards, credit cards,
Various kinds of prepaid cards used for payment of railway fares, telephone charges, and the like, as well as various kinds of cards, such as tickets and commuter passes, have penetrated everyday life. Also, non-contact IC cards capable of reading or writing information from a card without directly inserting the card into a reader are being put into practical use.

FIG. 10 shows a conventional example of a print issuing machine that prints and issues characters and figures on the surface of a printing material such as the above-mentioned various cards. Reference numeral 1 denotes a stocker unit. The stocker unit 1 accommodates a large number of unprinted cards 3 and other printing materials 3 in an accumulated state. At the bottom of the stocker unit 1, a feeding roller 5 is provided.
Is provided in a state where a part of the outer periphery is exposed.
On the other hand, a pressurizing means 7 is provided on the upper part of the printed matter 3 in the accumulated state, and presses the printed matter 3 downward. The positioned object is pressed against the feeding roller 5. When the feed roller 5 is rotated in such a state, a frictional force acts on the printing material 3 at the lowermost portion, and the printing material 3 is pushed out in the surface direction (horizontal right direction in FIG. 6) and is taken into the graphic / character printing unit 9.

The graphic / character printing unit 9 sends the ink ribbon 13 from one of the unused ink ribbon roll 11 and the used ink ribbon roll 11 ′ to the other, and transfers the ink ribbon 13 and the printing material 3 to each other. The heating element constituting the thermal head 15 is heated in a predetermined pattern while passing the printing object 3 by a predetermined amount by the platen roller 17 while passing the thermal head 15 and the platen roller 17 while moving them in an overlapping manner. By
By transferring a predetermined pattern or character from the ink ribbon 13 to the surface of the printing material, the image printing unit 19 or the character printing unit 21 can be formed on the surface of the printing material 3. The thermal head 15 is configured to be able to move up and down as shown by the arrow in the figure, and to be brought into contact with the platen roller 17 when a print execution command is issued, so that the printing material 3 is moved between them. The printing is performed while being sandwiched between and sent.

In the printer having the above-described structure, a large number of minute heating elements (for example, arranged at a density of 12 / mm in the width direction of the printing medium) constituting the thermal head 15 are individually driven and controlled. While the substrate 3 is running, the ink ribbon 13 at the corresponding position is heated by the heating element that has generated heat. Heated ink ribbon 13
In the sublimation type, by sublimating the ink,
In the case of the melting type, the ink is transferred from the ribbon 13 to the surface of the printing material 3 by softening the ink.

Generally, the ink ribbon 13 is formed of a thin (about 6 to 10 μm thick) film made of PET as a base material.
This surface is protected by applying a transfer ink and further applying a heat-resistant coating material on the surface opposite to the ink application surface (the surface that contacts the thermal head). Further, the ink ribbon 13 for color printing has a structure in which five kinds of inks, that is, sublimation ink for three colors, molten ink for black, and an overcoat material, are applied. Printing is performed by heating the ink of each color to a predetermined density by the thermal head 15 while reciprocating.

[0007]

However, in the printer of the above-mentioned type, the ink is simply transferred flat on the surface of the printing material or the ink is permeated into the printing material, so that the surface of the printing material is not easily transferred. Image printing unit 19 and character printing unit 21 must be visually recognized. Specifically, there is a problem to be solved that it is difficult for visually impaired persons to understand the printed contents.

[0008] Braille is sometimes used for the purpose of recognizing a visually impaired person. As a technique for printing the braille, there is an automatic ticket vending machine described in JP-A-9-115005. In this automatic ticket vending machine, a mechanism for recording braille is provided in addition to normal printing, but no specific technology for realizing three-dimensional braille printing is disclosed.

[0009] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-1 for the purpose of printing Braille
In the technique described in Japanese Patent No. 15005, a so-called embossing process is performed by pressing a printing material with a pin to plastically deform the printing material, and printing of Braille on the surface of the printing material by the embossing is performed. . However, embossing requires a special mechanism for individually driving a large number of pins, so that it is impossible to print fine images and characters. In addition, embossing,
There is a problem that it can be performed only for a printing material of a specific material and thickness.

[0010] Another prior art relating to Braille printing is a card recording material disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 25554632. In this technique, a card is used in which a resin having a property of being foamed by heat is laminated in a layered manner, and the card is partially heated to foam a predetermined pattern to form a convex portion of a predetermined pattern. doing. However, in this conventional technique, it is necessary to use a card having a special structure in which a foamable resin layer and a protective layer are laminated as a print material, so that the selection range of the print material is extremely limited. Therefore, there is a problem that it cannot be used for an application in which Braille is additionally displayed on a general printed matter.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a device for reading and writing a magnetic card, which can reliably read or write even when Braille is printed on the card. And printing of Braille on a magnetic card handled by the device.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention, wherein one side of a card having magnetic data written on a magnetic layer is brought into contact with a roller to rotate the roller. A card reading / writing device that reads or writes data to or from the magnetic layer while moving along the direction while contacting or approaching the other surface magnetic head; a surface of the card that contacts the roller; Is provided with a protruding printing portion made of ink having a property of expanding when heated to a predetermined temperature or higher, and the outer diameter of the roller at a position corresponding to the printing portion is made smaller than other portions. Features.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a depression is provided at a position corresponding to a small diameter portion of the roller in the magnetic head, the depression being recessed from a contact surface of the magnetic head with the magnetic layer. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the printing section is formed along the feeding direction of the roller and with substantially the same width. The card according to claim 4, wherein the contact surface with the roller of the card which is brought into contact with the roller and moved in the rotation direction of the roller is formed by bubbling an ink having a property of bubbling by heating to a predetermined temperature or more. And a magnetic layer is formed on the other surface. The card according to claim 5 is characterized in that the printing section is formed along the feeding direction of the roller and with a substantially constant width.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same components as those of the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description will be simplified. First, an automatic ticket gate as a specific example of a card reader / writer will be described with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 71 denotes a ticket conveying device constituted by a belt conveyor or the like, and the ticket conveying device 71 conveys a boarding ticket 77 from a ticket slot 73 at one end of the card reading / writing device to a ticket outlet 75 at the other end. . This ticket 77
Has a magnetic layer coated on one surface (lower surface in FIG. 1), and the other surface (upper surface in FIG. 1) has
A printing portion 79 (see FIG. 4) on which the braille is projected from the surface and printed is formed. The printing section 69 is formed in a belt shape having a substantially constant width, and is formed continuously in the longitudinal direction of the ticket. Usually, braille is formed in the printing portion 79. Since the braille has a certain standard size, as a result, a protruding printing portion having a substantially constant width is continuously formed. Will be. The specific means for forming the printing section 69 will be described later.

In the card reading / writing device,
The reading unit 81 extends along the transport direction of the ticket transport device 71.
And a writing unit 83 are provided. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the reading section 81 and the writing section 83 are provided with a magnetic head 85 for reading or writing.
And a pressing roller 87 that conveys the ticket 77 while pressing it against the magnetic head 85. As shown in FIG. 3, the magnetic head 85 has a depressed portion 85a which is slightly recessed from the surface (the contact surface with the ticket 67).
The depth H of the depression 85a is set to be slightly larger than the protrusion amount t (see FIG. 8) of the printing portion 79 in the ticket 77, and the printing portion 79 of the ticket 77 is
It does not come in contact with The depression 85a
Is the printing unit 79 of the ticket 77 conveyed in the apparatus.
And the width A is the width B of the printing section 79.
Are set so that A> B. That is, the size is set in consideration of a difference in width between the ticket slot 73 and the ticket 77 and a positional shift during conveyance in the conveyance device 71.

On the other hand, a small-diameter portion 87a having a smaller outer diameter than other portions is formed at a position corresponding to the depression 85a in the pressing roller 87. This small diameter portion 87
The outer diameter d of a is (D−d) with respect to the outer system D of the other parts.
/ 2> t, and the depression 8
Like 5a, it does not come into contact with the printing unit 79. Note that the outer diameter d may be such that the printing portion 79 slightly contacts the small diameter portion 87a. Also, the small diameter portion 87
Similarly, the width A of “a” is set to have a relation of A> B. The magnetic head 85 and the pressing roller 87
Two sets are provided for each of the reading section 81 and the writing section 83, and in each case, the magnetic head 85 is disposed below on the upstream side, and the magnetic head 85 is disposed above on the downstream side. That is, even when the ticket 77 is inserted into the ticket slot 73 in either direction, the magnetic head 85 contacts one of the magnetic layers of the ticket 77 to read or write information. It has become.

In the automatic ticket gate configured as described above, when the ticket 77 is inserted into the ticket slot 73, the ticket 77 is transported by the transport device 71 and is first sent to the reading section 81. . When the ticket 77 sent to the reading unit 81 is facing up (the printing unit 79 is facing upward), the magnetic data is read when passing the space between the upstream magnetic head 85 and the pressing roller 87. At this time,
The printing portion 79 protruding from the surface of the ticket 77 passes through the small-diameter portion 87a of the pressing roller 87, so that the pressing roller 87 is lifted to cause poor contact with the magnetic head 85 or the printing portion 79 is crushed. Never do. In particular, the printing section 79 formed in a foamed state by a method described later.
Even if is vulnerable, it is possible to prevent an accident in which the device is broken and reading by a visually impaired person becomes impossible. On the downstream side, the printing unit 79 is oriented toward the magnetic head 85, but in this case, the printing unit 7
Since 9 passes through the depression 85a, similarly, it does not collapse when passing.

Further, since the printing portion 79 is formed with substantially the same width in the longitudinal direction of the ticket 77 as shown in FIG.
The printing section 79 is sent while being guided by the small diameter section 87a. In this embodiment, since the side surface 87b of the press roll 87 is vertical,
By contacting the printing unit 79 with 7ab, the ticket 77 can be guided without fail. Therefore, it is possible to accurately read the magnetic data while accurately positioning the ticket 77 with respect to the magnetic head 85. In addition, A
By setting the difference between the dimension and the B dimension to a necessary minimum, magnetic data can be read more accurately.

The ticket 77 that has passed through the reading section 81 is sent to the writing section 83, and, like the reading section 81, by the magnetic head 85 on either the upstream side or the downstream side depending on the direction of the ticket 77. Data is written. Note that the ticket 77 can be inserted in two different directions (upper end or lower end first in FIG. 4), so that the data read or written by the magnetic head 85 is A process for inverting the time-series read data or write data as necessary is required.

Next, a printer for printing the ticket 77 and the structure of paper used in the printer will be described. FIG. 5 shows the overall configuration of a printer according to an embodiment. This printer has a basic configuration in which a Braille printing unit 31 is provided downstream of a graphic / character printing unit 9 of a conventional example. The Braille printing unit 31 has the same basic configuration as the graphic / character printing unit 9,
The difference is that a Braille ink ribbon 33 for Braille printing is used, and a heater unit that heats a printed material and ink printed downstream of a printing unit that includes a thermal head 15 and a platen roller 17. 35 is provided. The Braille ink ribbon 33 is formed by laminating an ink having a property of expanding when heated by the heater unit 35 on a base material, and a specific configuration thereof is as shown in FIG.

That is, on one surface of the base film 37 (the surface on the side of the thermal head), the base film 37 is protected from heating by the thermal head 15 and
A heat-resistant lubricating layer 39 for lubricating the thermal head 15 is provided. The other surface (the surface on the platen roller 17 side) is provided with a release layer 4 for allowing ink or the like to be transferred to be easily separated from the base film 37.
1. A heat-expandable ink layer 43 laminated on the surface of the base film 37 via the release layer 41 and expanded by heating in the heater section 35; And a heat-sensitive adhesive layer 45 for adhering to a printing substrate.

The heat-expandable ink layer 43 contains, for example, a substance that decomposes upon heating to generate a gas, and expands by foaming with the generated gas. Then, by selecting a thermal decomposition temperature higher than the temperature obtained by heating the thermal head and lower than the temperature obtained by heating the heater section, the gas is thermally decomposed by the thermal expansion ink when passing through the heater section 35. Is generated and foamed, and expands to a volume and a protruding amount that can be recognized as Braille. Specifically, the graphic / character printing unit 9
The ink transferred from the ink ribbon 33 to the surface of the printing substrate 3 when passing through the ink 35 forms a flat shape having a thickness corresponding to the amount of ink applied before heating by the heater 35, and is thereafter heated by the heater 35. As a result, gas is generated and foams, and as shown in FIG. 4, expands to such an extent that it can be recognized with a fingertip, and becomes a dot 49 forming a part of the braille printing unit 47.
Generally, in the Japanese braille standard, the dot 49 is 1.
It is defined as 4 mmφ. Therefore, when a general thermal head having a resolution of 12 dots per millimeter is used, the printing substrate 3 is moved over 17 lines while controlling 17 heating elements, thereby corresponding to one dot constituting Braille. You can print the area you want.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the control system of the printer shown in FIG. Reference numeral 51 denotes a CPU.
Reference numeral 51 is connected to an external computer via an external interface 53, and controls a print controller 55 and a mechanical controller 57 in accordance with a supplied command. The print control unit 55 temporarily stores the character data and the image data supplied from the outside in the page memory 59 and reads out each of the heat generated by the graphic / character printing unit 9 and the thermal head 15 of the braille printing unit 31 while reading the data as necessary. It outputs control signals for turning on and off the heat of the body, and the amount of heat generated. The print control unit 55 is connected to a Braille code conversion unit 61 and a Braille dictionary file 63. The braille code conversion unit 61 includes the braille dictionary file 63
, A braille code of a pattern corresponding to the character data supplied via the external interface 53 is generated and supplied to the print control unit 55. For example, the character data supplied from outside
If a bit is added and a flag indicating whether or not printing of braille is required is set in the bit, the print control unit 55 determines whether or not a flag indicating printing of braille is set in this bit. Based on the determination, it is possible to determine whether conversion to the Braille code is necessary.

The print control unit 55 includes a page memory 59
Is supplied to the thermal head control unit 65, and the thermal head control unit 65
The heat generation of each heating element of the thermal head 15 of the printing medium printing unit 9 is turned on by the supplied character / image data,
Turn off, and control the calorific value. On the other hand, the printing control unit 65 supplies the Braille data to the thermal head control unit 67, and the thermal head control unit 67 uses the supplied data of the Braille pattern to control the heating elements of the thermal head 15 of the Braille printing unit 31. Controls on / off and the amount of heat generated.

The mechanical controller 57 includes the CPU
51, the stocker unit 9, the graphic / character printing unit 9, and the braille printing unit 31 in synchronism with the thermal head controllers 65 and 67.
Is controlling. That is, the mechanical controller 57
Depending on whether printing of characters and images or printing of braille (or both) is performed, the thermal head 15 is moved to a predetermined distance with respect to the platen roller 17 so as to be in a printable state and fed out. The roller 5 controls the feeding of the printing medium, and the feed amount and direction of the platen roller 17 and the ink ribbons 13 and 33 of the card printing unit 9 and the Braille printing unit 31. Further, the heating amount of the heater 35 is controlled as needed.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, a description will be given of the contents of control in the printing of Braille together with the operation of the printer.
S1 In response to an instruction to start printing of a printing material, an instruction is output from the mechanical controller 57, and the feeding roller 5 rotates clockwise in FIG. 5, and is sent between the thermal head 15 and the platen roller 17 of the graphic / character printing unit 9. . S2 The thermal head 15 and the platen roller 17 are brought into contact with each other in advance, and the mechanical controller 5
When the thermal head control unit 65 individually controls the heating elements of the thermal head 15 to generate heat while controlling the feed amounts of the printing material 3 and the ink ribbon 13 by the control unit 7, a predetermined print pattern is generated from the ink ribbon 13. Are transferred to the surface of the printing substrate 3, and the image printing unit 19 and the character printing unit 21 are printed. S3: It is determined whether or not there is a blind person signal indicating whether or not braille printing is necessary in the data relating to the print contents. If so, the process proceeds to S4 to perform Braille printing. The controller 57 controls the thermal head 1 of the braille printing unit 31.
5 is raised (separated from the platen roller 17).

S4 Platen roller 1 of Braille printing unit 31
7 is rotated to control the feed amount of the printing material 3 and the ink ribbon 33, and a predetermined pattern is printed on the surface of the printing material 3 from the Braille printing ink ribbon 33, and the printed printing material is heated by the heater 35. By sending to
The printed Braille printing ink is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the thermal decomposition temperature to generate gas and foam, thereby forming Braille of a predetermined size. This heating is also effective for drying the ink printed by the preceding figure / character printing unit 9. S6 The printing substrate 3 on which the Braille printing has been completed is further sent rightward in FIG. 5 to be issued. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a printed material having the image printing unit 19, the character printing unit 21, and the Braille printing unit 47 is issued.

In the above-described embodiment, the printed material is mainly a card such as a prepaid card or a cash card in addition to a ticket, but other printed materials that require Braille printing, such as gift certificates and cash vouchers. The present invention can also be applied to tickets such as securities, lotteries, and entrance tickets.
In the above-described embodiment, the graphic / character printing unit 9 for normal printing is arranged in the upstream and the braille printing unit 31 is arranged in the downstream in series. Further, when printing only Braille, it goes without saying that the graphic / character printing unit may be omitted. In addition, the print pattern is not limited to Braille, and may be a three-dimensional character or shape other than Braille as long as it can be used as a mark for recognizing with the sense of a fingertip. .

[0028]

As is clear from the above description, the invention described in each claim has the following effects. According to the device of the present invention, one surface of a card on which data is magnetically written on a magnetic layer is brought into contact with a roller and moved along the rotation direction of the roller while contacting or contacting the other surface magnetic head. In a card reading / writing device that reads the data or writes data to the magnetic layer in close proximity, the surface of the card that contacts the roller has a property of expanding when heated to a predetermined temperature or more. A protruding printing portion made of ink is provided, and the outer diameter of the roller at a position corresponding to the printing portion is made smaller than the other portion.By using the ink, a normal printer can be used. A protruding printing portion can be easily formed by using the roller, and since the roller has a small diameter portion, the portion passes through the printing portion. When the card is pressed against the magnetic head, unevenness occurs in the pressing pressure against the magnetic head due to the presence of the printing section, or the printing section is crushed and reading as Braille becomes impossible. Nothing. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the magnetic head is provided at a position corresponding to a small-diameter portion of the roller with a recessed portion recessed from a contact surface of the magnetic head with the magnetic layer. Is not crushed by the pressure of the roller when the protruding printing section is going to pass. In the apparatus according to claim 3, since the printing portion is formed with a substantially constant width along the feeding direction of the roller, the protruding printing portion is fitted in the small diameter portion of the roller or the recessed portion of the magnetic head. As a result, the card moves while being guided, and therefore, the positioning accuracy of the card with respect to the magnetic head can be enhanced, and accurate reading or writing can be performed. The card according to claim 4, wherein the contact surface with the roller of the card which is brought into contact with the roller and moved in the rotation direction of the roller is formed by bubbling an ink having a property of bubbling by heating to a predetermined temperature or more. -Shaped printing section, and on the other side,
Since the magnetic layer is formed, it is possible to easily form a printed portion such as Braille on a card on which magnetic information is recorded by using an ordinary printer. In the card according to the fifth aspect, since the printing portion is formed with a constant width along the feeding direction of the roller, the card is guided by the protruding printing portion to accurately position the magnetic head and the like. It can be moved while moving.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an automatic ticket gate according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the magnetic head unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a magnetic head unit according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a card according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an ink ribbon for Braille in the printer of one embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a printing medium in a Braille printing state in the printer of one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a conventional printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 stocker 3 substrate
5 Feeding roller 13 Ink ribbon 15 Thermal head
17 Platen roller 19 Graphic printing unit 21 Character printing unit
31 Braille printing unit 33 Braille ink ribbon 35 Heater
37 Base film 39 Heat-resistant lubricating layer 41 Release layer
43 thermal expansion ink layer 45 heat-sensitive adhesive layer 47 Braille printing section
51 CPU 55 Print control unit 57 Mechanical controller
61 Braille code conversion unit 63 Braille dictionary file 65, 67 Thermal head control unit 77 Ticket 79 Printing unit
81 reading unit 83 writing unit 85 magnetic head
85a Depressed part 87 Pressing roller 87a Small diameter part
87b side view

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G06K 19/08 G06K 19/00 B G09B 21/00 EF

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A card in which data is magnetically written on a magnetic layer, one surface of which is in contact with a roller and moves in the direction of rotation of the roller, while the other surface is in contact with or near a magnetic head. In a card reading and writing apparatus for reading out the data or writing data to the magnetic layer, the surface of the card that contacts the roller has an ink that has a property of expanding when heated to a predetermined temperature or higher. 2. A card reading and writing apparatus, comprising: a protruding printing portion formed by the method described above; and an outer diameter of the roller at a position corresponding to the printing portion is smaller than other portions. 2. The magnetic head according to claim 1, wherein a depression is provided at a position corresponding to a small diameter portion of the roller in the magnetic head, the depression being recessed from a contact surface of the magnetic head with the magnetic layer. Card reader / writer. 3. The card reading / writing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit is formed along the feeding direction of the roller and with a substantially constant width. 4. A protruding shape formed by foaming ink having a property of foaming when heated to a predetermined temperature or more on a contact surface of the card which is in contact with the roller and moved in the rotation direction of the roller. A card provided with a printing section and a magnetic layer formed on the other surface. 5. The card according to claim 4, wherein the printing section is formed along the feeding direction of the roller and with a substantially constant width.