JPH11203544A - Prepaid card - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To utilize plural services without changing the design of a card processor on the side of a facility by recording plural pieces of service data so as to make mutually different the direction of reading by the card processor. SOLUTION: A card 11 can be utilized for both the service of a public telephone set and the gasoline supply service at a gas station, and respective direction marks 13 and 16 are printed so that the card 11 can be inserted from the side of left edge to the card processor installed on the public telephone set and the card 11 can be inserted from the side of right end to the card processor installed at the gas station. When two kinds of service data are respectively stored at symmetric positions with the graphic center of a prepaid card as a center, one service can be utilized in combination with the card processor of the other service without altering its card processor. Therefore, value-added for utilizing the new service can be added without altering the existent facility.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a prepaid card which can be used in common for a plurality of different services.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a prepaid card, usable fee information is recorded in magnetic data. A prepaid card is purchased in advance by paying money corresponding to the recorded fee information, and a service corresponding to the recorded fee information is provided. Can be used.

FIG. 4 shows a prepaid card (telephone card) 1 which can be used in a public telephone. A direction mark 2 indicating the direction of insertion into the public telephone and a frequency display unit 3 as a guide of the number of times of use are provided on one side. It is printed on.
By punching a punch hole along the frequency display section 3 of the card 1, the current number of times of use can be known. The card 1 is provided with service data (not shown) composed of magnetic data or the like in which an available balance is recorded. Each time the card 1 is used in a public telephone, the balance is checked and the fee is charged. The balance is being updated.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the telephone card 1 can only be used for a telephone service using a public telephone, and can be used for other services such as a refueling service, a highway use service, transportation such as a train and a bus, and other facilities. It has inconvenience that cannot be used.

In particular, since calls cannot be made while driving a car, many people make calls while refueling at gas stations, and these services are used using two types of prepaid cards. That was annoying.

On the other hand, the use frequency of public telephones is decreasing due to the spread of portable telephones and the like, and the number of telephones for which installation and maintenance costs cannot be recovered has increased. However, due to its public nature, it cannot be removed unnecessarily, and it is expected that the use of the telephone card 1 is increased and the use of the public telephone is promoted.

[0008] For these reasons, there is a demand for a prepaid card that can use different services in addition to the telephone call service as shown in FIG. The prepaid card 5 shown in FIG. 1 includes first service data 6 including, for example, call rate information for a public telephone, and fare rate information for using other services, for example, transportation. The second service data 7 is recorded independently.

In such a prepaid card 5, the service data 6 and 7 are spaced apart from each other in a direction orthogonal to the card insertion direction so as to be independent of each other so that the card processing devices for other services do not cause erroneous reading. Data 6a, 6b in the service data 6, 7
, 7a, 7b, ... are stored in the same forward position as the direction mark 10.

However, since the service data 7 is recorded at a different position from the conventional service data 6, the card processing device at one service facility uses the same structure as the conventional one. However, the card processing device of the other service facility needs to have a different structure from the conventional one. For example, when the card processing device that reads the first service data 6 uses a conventional structure, the card processing device that reads the second service data 7 transmits the read / write head to the second service data 7. It is necessary to have a structure provided at a position corresponding to the above.

On one side of the prepaid card 5, a frequency display 8, which is an indication of a usage limit in each service,
9 is printed, and if a punch hole is to be formed along each frequency display section 8 or 9 according to the usage frequency, the second frequency display 9
It is necessary to separately arrange a punch punching machine for punching a punch hole along the position indicated by the frequency display unit 9.

As described above, even with the prepaid card 5 which can use a plurality of services, there is a problem that the cost of equipment increases due to the necessity of changing the design of the card processing device at the facility. Prepaid cards that can be used for are not developed.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and provides a prepaid card which can use a plurality of services without requiring a design change in a facility card processing apparatus. The purpose is to do.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a prepaid card that allows common use of other services in addition to the telephone call service, increases the use of telephone cards, and encourages the use of public telephones.

[0015]

To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of service data including prepaid fee information for using different services are provided.
It is recorded for each service, and each service data is recorded so that the reading directions by the card processing device are different from each other.

According to the present invention, prepaid fee information for using different services is recorded in a plurality of service data, and a plurality of services can be used with one card. This eliminates the need to carry a plurality of cards.

The plurality of service data are arranged so that the reading directions are different from each other. In the card processing device of one service, the card is inserted from the opposite direction with respect to the insertion direction of the card processing device of one service. Then, the data is read. For this reason, when service data for using one service is stored on one side of the prepaid card, another service data must be stored on the other side without restriction on its storage location. Can be adjusted to the position of the read / write head of the card processing device of another service.

Furthermore, if the two types of service data are stored in symmetrical positions around the centroid of the prepaid card, the card processing device of one service can be modified without modifying the card processing device of another service. Can also be used.
Therefore, an added value for using a new service can be added to an existing prepaid card without modifying existing facilities.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the services are a telephone call service and a refueling service, and the service data includes prepaid telephone charge information and gasoline prepaid information. It is characterized in that fee information is recorded respectively.

According to the present invention, a telephone call service by a public telephone and a refueling service at a gas station or the like can be performed with a single card. During refueling of gasoline, a public telephone is often used, and at a gas station or the like, both refueling and telephone communication can be performed with a single card, which is convenient.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the services are a telephone call service and an expressway use service, and each service data includes prepaid toll information on telephone charges and expressway information. It is characterized in that prepaid fee information of the fee is recorded respectively.

According to the present invention, the telephone call service using the public telephone and the use of the expressway can be performed with a single card.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a prepaid card 11 (hereinafter, referred to as a card 11) according to an embodiment. The card 11 can use both a telephone service by a public telephone and a gasoline refueling service at a gas station. One side of the card 11 is printed with a display of a telephone charge and a display on gasoline refueling. I have.

The display of the call service by the public telephone is as follows.
A frequency display unit 12 is used as an indicator of the number of times the telephone has been used, and a direction mark 13 indicating the direction of insertion into the telephone. Also,
At the base of the direction mark 13 is a type mark (character "telephone" in the illustrated example) indicating use for a public telephone.
14 is printed.

The numerical value of the frequency display section 12 increases in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the direction mark 13. In a public telephone, a card processing device 40 described later inside the public telephone is provided.
Punches a punch hole along the numerical value of the frequency display unit 12,
The user operates the frequency display unit 12 corresponding to the punched holes.
The approximate usage limit can be known by looking at the value of.

The indications related to the gasoline refueling service are a refueling amount display section 15 as a measure of the refueling amount, a direction mark 16 indicating the direction of insertion into a card processing device installed at a gas station, and use for gasoline refueling. To the effect (in the illustrated example, characters of “refueling”). Like the frequency display unit 12 of the telephone, the refueling amount display unit 15 has a larger value of the refueling amount in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the direction mark 16. In the card processing device installed at the gas station, the user can use the card 11 by punching a punch hole according to the numerical value of the refueling amount display unit 15 and seeing the refueling amount corresponding to the punched hole. It is possible to know the approximate remaining amount of refueling.

In this embodiment, the insertion direction of the card processing device installed in the public telephone is opposite to the insertion direction of the card processing device installed in the gas station. That is, for the card processing device installed in a public telephone, the card 11 is inserted from the left end side, and for the card processing device installed in a gas station, each direction mark is inserted so as to be inserted from the right end side of the card 11. 1
Nos. 3 and 16 are to be printed.

FIG. 2 shows the service data 20 and 30 stored in the storage section of the card 11, which is stored as magnetic data or the like. Reference numeral 20 denotes first service data relating to a telephone call service, and reference numeral 30 denotes second service data relating to a gasoline refueling service. In the first service data 20, a preamble 21, a card type unit 22, a balance information unit 23, and a postamble 24 are arranged in this order from right to left. The second service data 30 moves from left to right, that is, in the direction opposite to the direction in which the first service data 20 is arranged.
Preamble 31, card type part 32, balance information part 3
3, postambles 34 are arranged in order.

The preambles 21 and 31 of the service data 20 and 30 are codes indicating the start position of reading service data, and the postambles 24 and 34 are codes indicating the end position of reading.

The card type section 22 of the first service data 20 indicates that the service data 20 is information on telephone charges, and the card type section 32 of the second service data 30 indicates that the service data 30 is information on refueling rates. It indicates that the information is information, and the card processing device at the facility reads these to determine the type of service data.
If it is determined that the service data 20 and 30 are different types of information, the facility-side card processing device returns the prepaid card 11 to the insertion slot or warns that it is different. Therefore, each facility does not perform erroneous processing on different service data.

The balance information section 2 of the first service data 20
Reference numeral 3 denotes a record of a call charge balance that can be used at the prepaid rate, and a balance information section 33 of the second service data 30.
Similarly, the remaining amount of gasoline that can be refueled at a prepaid rate is recorded. Each time the card 11 is used, these balance information sections 23 and 33 are rewritten to a new balance (remaining amount) by the card processing device of each facility.

With the card 11 configured as described above, the use for the public telephone and the use for the gas station can be performed with one card, and it is not necessary to carry a card for using each service. In particular, when refueling at a gas station, a public telephone is often used, and both telephone communication and gasoline refueling can be performed with one card, which is convenient for use.

[0033] For this reason, the use frequency of the public telephone is increased, and the installation and maintenance cost of the public telephone whose use frequency is reduced due to the spread of portable telephones can be secured.

As shown in FIG. 3, the card processing device 40 for inserting the card 11 includes an insertion detecting sensor 42,
Shutter 43 for preventing continuous insertion, rollers 44 and 4 for conveyance
5, a sensor 46 for detecting the number of punched holes at the time of insertion, a sensor 47 before the head, a read / write head 48, a sensor 49 after the head, a punch punching machine 50, a sensor 51 for detecting the number of punched holes after processing, a discharge roller 52, a card removal detection sensor 53, which are arranged along the transport path 41 of the card 11.

As described above, the service data 20 and 30 of the card 11 are recorded in a symmetrical position with respect to the centroid of the card 11 and along the reverse card insertion direction according to the service available for the card 11. And the frequency display unit 1
2 and the refueling amount display section 15 are displayed at symmetrical positions of the card 11. That is, the service data 20 and 30, the frequency display unit 12 and the refueling amount display unit 15 can be used by the conventional card processing device 4 for each service without interference with each other.
It is arranged at a position on the card 11 that matches the structure of the "0".

Therefore, in the card processing device 40 of each service facility, without changing the mounting position of the read / write head 48 or the punch 50, etc.
The service data of the card 11 can be rewritten, and a punching process can be performed. For this reason, even if the card 11 has newly added different service data,
A card processing device having the same structure as the conventional one can be used, and no design change is required. This makes it possible to spread the cards 11 that can be used for a plurality of types of services.

Note that the thickness and size of the card 11 must be adjusted to the insertion slot of the card processing device of the public telephone, so that the thickness of the card 11 is about 370 μm,
The width is about 54 mm and the length is about 86 mm. A card processing device for using a different service (in this embodiment, a card processing device for performing a refueling service)
If a thicker prepaid card is being processed, the card 11 may be inserted into a protection card to match the thickness and be adapted to the card processing device.

In the present invention, various modifications are possible without being limited to the above embodiment. For example, the prepaid toll information of the telephone toll and the prepaid toll of the expressway usage fee for using the expressway may be included in each service data and recorded on a card. Also in this case, the direction of inserting the card into the card processing device of the public telephone is different from the direction of inserting the card into the card processing device of the expressway facility. Information service data is recorded in opposite directions along the insertion direction of each card. As a result, a card processing device having the same structure as that of the related art can be used, and a single card can be used for a telephone call and a use of an expressway.

The service data stored in the prepaid card is not limited to two types, but may be, for example, three types of prepaid fee information such as a telephone fee, a gasoline fee, and an expressway usage fee. In this case, each service data is stored so as to be read in different reading directions, and is read along, for example, three mutually orthogonal sides of a rectangular prepaid card.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a punch hole is formed in the prepaid card to display the remaining amount (balance) of the prepaid fee information. ) Is not necessarily required to be punched.

[0041]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of screws can be used by one card, it is not necessary to carry a plurality of prepaid cards corresponding to each service. In addition, since the data of the plurality of service data are arranged so that the reading directions are different, each service data can be stored at an arbitrary position on one side of the prepaid card without interfering with each other. Therefore, it can be adjusted to the mounting position of the read / write head of the card processing device, and the existing card processing device can be used without being changed.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, by adding added value to the conventional telephone card, the chance of taking out the telephone card and using the public telephone is increased, and the use frequency of the public telephone is increased. be able to.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition, the use of the public telephone and the refueling at the gas station can be performed with a single card, which is convenient.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the use of the public telephone and the use of the expressway can be performed with a single card.

[0045]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a card according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing service data of a prepaid card.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the card processing device.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a conventional prepaid card.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a prepaid card.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Prepaid Card 13 Direction Mark for Telephone 16 Direction Mark for Gas Station 20 First Service Data 23 Balance Information 30 Second Service Data 33 Balance Information

Claims (3)

[Claims] A plurality of service data (20) (30) including prepaid fee information (23) (33) for using different services are recorded for each service, and each service data (20) (30) is recorded. 30) A prepaid card characterized by being recorded so that the reading directions by the card processing device (40) are different from each other. 2. The service is a telephone call service and a refueling service, and each service data (20) (30)
The prepaid card according to claim 1, wherein prepaid charge information (23) for telephone charges and prepaid charge information (33) for gasoline charges are recorded in each of the prepaid cards. 3. The service is a telephone call service and an expressway use service, and each service data (20)
2. The prepaid card according to claim 1, wherein (30) records prepaid toll information for telephone charges and prepaid toll information for expressways.