JPS61139952A - Optical memory card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect an angle conversion of a card by a card itself, and to execute easily positioning by a simple constitution, by providing a start bit and a stop bit of a code of a prescribed sequence by making them circulate successively in the data band direction, on each track. CONSTITUTION:Many data bands 3 are arranged on a card substrate 1, a wide line reference bus 70 is provided on its center part, and a start bit and a stop bit of a code of a prescribed sequence are provided on the initial end and the terminal of each track 4. When a card is set, and a sensor detects a pattern in a visual field, and a bus 70 of an area in which '0' or '1' which has been set in advance is continued by a prescribed bit is detected, it is detected that the card exists in the initial position of the band 3. The start and stop bits are detected from information of one track 4, and from its comparison, an angle conversion of the card is detected, and if it is abnormal, the card is discharged. Accordingly, the angle conversion of the card is detected by the card itself, and positioning can be executed easily by a simple and inexpensive constitution.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a card-type data band that is constructed in a band-like manner by arranging a large number of tracks in which a plurality of data cells are arranged in a straight line. The present invention relates to an optical memory card of a type that is provided on a base and stores digital information along the tracks based on the optical brightness of the data cells.

[Prior Art] In recent years, cards in which a magnetic storage medium is provided on a card-like base and necessary information is stored in the medium have been widely used, such as personal identification cards and financial cards.

By the way, in today's information age, there is a demand for devices that can store more information in a smaller area.For example, programs such as microcomputers,
Cards stored for each purpose, dictionaries for word processors, electronic translators, etc., and cards on which the contents of educational printed matter, business printed matter, books, etc. are written, etc. A storage capacity of several kilobytes to several megabytes is required.However, magnetic cards have a small storage capacity and cannot be used for this purpose.

In contrast, optical memories have recently attracted attention. There are various types of optical memory, but one suitable for card-type memory is one in which a memory layer is formed by arranging a large number of memory cells that store digital values depending on the level of reflectance of light. There is a type of memory that is made by pasting on a card-type substrate.

This memory has storage cells arranged in high density, so
The storage capacity is large, ranging from several kilobytes to several megabytes.

Even with such a large-capacity storage medium, the actual format used is similar to conventional magnetic cards, in which certain contents are stored in advance and this is read out as needed. . The first reason for this is that at present, this type of optical memory is not readable/writable, but is suitable for read-only use. The second reason is that in most of the above-mentioned applications, there is no need for the user to freely write data.

Under these circumstances, the conditions for the widespread use of optical memory cards include not only the ability to manufacture the cards themselves at low cost, but also the ability to provide read-out devices that are easy to handle at low cost.

However, this type of card-type optical memory has conventionally had the following problems, and its practical application has been delayed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In this type of optical memory card, recorded contents are read out by a linear reading sensor that keeps the track in its field of view.

Therefore, when inserting a memory card into a reader,
It is necessary to perform positioning using an appropriate guide to prevent positional deviation and angular displacement.

By the way, such a guide for positioning is usually formed with a certain amount of play in order to ensure ease of insertion and removal of the card. With conventional magnetic cards, even slight errors due to such play do not interfere with reading, but optical memory uses high-density recording, so even slight positional or angular displacements do not interfere with reading. , causing reading errors.

Therefore, the reading device needs to detect the positional shift or angular displacement, stop reading the data, and automatically correct the card position based on an instruction to reinstall the card or a detection signal.

However, in order to detect and correct this slight positional deviation, a complex and highly accurate detection mechanism and control mechanism are required. Although this is technically possible, the device becomes expensive and is not practical for widespread use of reading devices.

However, in the case of misalignment due to parallel displacement of the card, it is not necessary to mechanically correct the position of the card.
By making appropriate modifications in the processing stage of the read signal, it becomes possible to read the data accurately.

On the other hand, in the case of angular displacement, the card is tilted with respect to the linear sensor's field of view, so that the sensor's field of view spans multiple tracks. Therefore, the read data is in a state where data from multiple tracks is mixed and cannot be used.Moreover, in this case, the data from each read track is incomplete, and the point where the data is mixed is unclear. Therefore, the read signal cannot be modified at the processing stage.

As described above, the practical use of optical memory cards has been delayed because no simple and inexpensive correction means has been developed for the angular shift that occurs during reading.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances.

An optical memory card that can easily detect the angular shift of the card from the card itself when reading data, has a relatively simple and inexpensive positioning mechanism in the reading device, and allows the reading device to be formed at low cost. The purpose is to provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a card-shaped data band in which a plurality of data cells are arranged in a straight line to form a track, and a large number of the tracks are arranged in parallel to form a band-like data band. A reference line consisting of a non-signal area of a constant width is provided on both longitudinal sides of the data band, and digital information is transmitted along the track by optical brightness of the data cell. Applies to storage format optical memory cards.

The technical means of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in such an optical memory card.

(a) Add a start bit to the starting end of each track.

On the other hand, a plurality of stop bits are each provided on the terminal side, and (b) and each start bit and stop bit is provided with a code constituting a certain permutation that is sequentially circulated in the data band direction. .

It is characterized by

The start bit and stop bit in the above technical means can each be set to an appropriate number of bits, for example 2 bits or more. For example, when set to 2 bits each, the codes are "OO" and "oi".

There are four ways: “'10” and “11”.
'.

“01”, “10′° or “01”, “10”
Three types of codes such as "" and "11" may be used.

The codes are arranged according to a fixed order. This order may be arbitrary as long as it can form a combination of start bits and stop bits that allows the reading sensor to identify the track that it is spanning. It can be expressed in binary numbers and arranged in ascending order.

In this case, in order to easily distinguish between start bits and stop bits, the start positions of the code permutations are made different.For example, if the start bits are in the order of 0, 1, 2.3, then the stop bits are are in the order of 1.2 and 3.0.

Also, the number of bits that can be formed and 1 is determined by the number of bits in this code, so here are 6 examples of how to use it in circulation. f, 0
．． 1, 2, 3, 0, 1, 2. Circulate like... .

[Operation] According to the above-mentioned configuration, the start bit and the start bit
Since the data part is provided in the read signal, it is easy to find the data part in the read signal.

That is, since the portion of the read signal sandwiched between the start bit and stop bit can be processed as data, errors in reading data are reduced.

Furthermore, since a plurality of bits are assigned to the start bit and stop bit, codes can be assigned to each bit in a fixed permutation. That is, since the number of bits determines the combination of distinguishable codes, the larger the number of bits, the more distinguishable combinations can be set.

- If the order of the codes and their arrangement is always constant, this combination will be on the finite side in the system using that card, and all of them can be determined in advance.

Therefore, in a succession device, the combination of codes of a start bit and a stop bit is determined in the case of the same track, in the case of an adjacent track, and also in the case of a track arranged one or two lines apart from that track. This can be stored in advance for cases such as.

As a result, when the reading device reads data from the optical memory card, it detects the start bit and stop bit, compares the combination of codes of these bits with a pre-stored combination of codes, It is possible to detect whether the data is read from the same track, from adjacent tracks on either the left or right, or across tracks arranged one or two apart.

Therefore, erroneous data will not be read from the card, and the inclination of the card can be determined from the combination of codes, so this can be used.

It is also possible to mechanically correct the angular shift of the card.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4B.

<Configuration of Embodiment> As shown in FIG. 1, the optical memory card of this embodiment is made up of a large number of strip-shaped data bands 3 arranged side by side on a plastic substrate 1 about the size of a business card, for example. memory layer 2
A column reference line 6 is provided along the column direction of the memory layer 2, and a row reference bus line 70 and a row reference line 71 are provided along the row direction of the memory layer 2. be done.

The memory layer 2 is located approximately at the center of the substrate 1.

A plurality of data bands 3 are arranged in parallel and in a rectangular shape as a whole. A column reference line 6 is provided on one side of the memory layer 2 in the column direction (the left end side in the above figures). The data band 3 is divided into upper and lower parts at the center of the memory layer 2, and a row reference generatrix 70 that is perpendicular to the center of the column reference line 6 in a T-shape is provided at the boundary between the two parts. It is.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, row reference lines 71 are provided along the longitudinal direction (south) on each side of the three data bands and the outer data band 3.

The data band 3 is constructed by providing a large number of memory cells 5 for storing one bit of digital data, as shown in FIG. 3'. The memory cells 5 are lined up in a row in the width direction of the data band 3 to form a track 4, and a large number of these tracks 4 are arranged in parallel to form a long strip-shaped data band 3 in the longitudinal direction. Note that although the memory cells 5 are shown in a grid pattern in the same figure, this is for convenience of explanation and does not mean that lines are actually provided in a grid pattern.

The column reference line 61, row reference bus line 70, and row reference line 71 are set to "On" or "1", for example, to distinguish them from the data band 3.
The 0th row reference bus line 70 is formed as a region in which one of the states continues for a certain number of bits.

It is provided as a reference for setting the initial position of the data band 3 when reading the card C, and is formed with a thick width to distinguish it from the row reference line 71.

As shown in FIG. 4A, each track is provided with two start bits and two stop bits at its beginning and end. The start bit and stop beat 2 bit are provided with codes expressed in binary numbers.

The codes are arranged according to a fixed order. This order may be arbitrary as long as it can form a combination of start bits and stop bits that can identify the track that the reading sensor straddles.In this embodiment, '00'', 401'',
Numerical values from θ to 3 consisting of binary numbers 10'' and 11'' are arranged in ascending order.

In this case, in order to easily distinguish between the start bit and the stop bit, the start positions of the code permutations are made different. That is, in this embodiment, the start bit is set to 0.
, 1, 2.3, and the stop bit is changed by 1 to 1, 2, 3.0.

Furthermore, there are four types of codes in this embodiment.

For example, 0, 1, 2, 3, 0, 1, 2. It is used in circulation as shown below.

<Apparatus Used to Read Card of Embodiment> Next, prior to explaining the operation of the optical memory card of this embodiment constructed as described above, the reading apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG. 5.

The reading device used for reading the card of the present invention moves the card C and the sensor S relative to each other.
The sensor S is configured to sequentially read data stored in the sensor S.

Relative movement is performed by an XY movement device 140.

This moving device 140 includes an X-axis radial movement section 141 that moves the sensor S in the direction (X-axis) along the data band on the card surface, and an X-axis radial movement section 141 that moves the sensor S in the direction (Y-axis) orthogonal thereto. and a Y-axis moving section 142. This is sensor S
The card C may be moved either directly or together with an appropriate platform. Both are equipped with a servo mechanism.

As the sensor S, for example, a linear CCD array, such as a linear CCD array, is used, in which a light receiving section is arranged in a linear shape corresponding to a track. However, the 'sensor S is not limited to one linear sensor, but may be arranged in a row so that a plurality of tracks can be placed within the field of view at the same time.

The length of the sensor field of view in the track direction is set to be longer than the width of the data band. Therefore, even if the sensor S and the card C are misaligned in the width direction (Y-axis direction) of the data band, they can be read as long as they are within the visual field.

Also, in the case of a linear sensor, the width of the sensor field of view in the data band direction (X-axis direction) is approximately equal to the track width, or
Or make it narrower than this.

For example, it is desirable that the width be 1/3 to 1/4 of the track width.

Note that the sensor S is provided with an appropriate illumination means for illuminating its field of view.

The sensor drive circuit 101 is connected to the sensor S and drives and controls the sensor S.

The reading control means 110 includes a reference detection section 111 that detects a reference line portion from digital information sent from the sensor S. This detection unit 111 detects whether or not there is an area in the information in which a predetermined state of either "0" or "1" continues for a certain number of bits, and also detects whether or not the area exists in the information. It has a function to detect where it is located. The reading control means 110 uses the information regarding this reference line detection as status information and transmits it to the movement control means 120.
and the data storage means 130.

Further, the reference detection unit 111 detects a start bit and a stop bit from the digital information, compares the codes written in both bits, and determines whether the digital information is information of the same track. If the signal does not belong to the same track, the reinstallation instruction means 1, which will be described later,
A reinstallation instruction signal is sent to 50.

For this reason, the reference detection section lll has a storage section that stores code combination data that is easy.

By the way, in the case of this example, the 1st score is Q, l, 2゜3
Furthermore, the start bit and stop bit are arranged in the above order with a difference of 1. Therefore, the codes of the start bit and stop g7 bit in the obtained digital information are the following combinations.

■ (0,1), (1,2), (2,3), (3,0
)■ (1,1), (2,2), (3,3), (0,0
)■ (3,1), (0,2), (1,4), (2,Q
) j・ ■ (2,1), (3,
2), (0, 3), (1, 0) Among the above, in the case of the combination (2), the data belong to the same track (see #2 in FIG. 4B). Therefore, the reference detection unit lit stores the data of this combination of ■.

It should be noted that combinations other than the above (■) are not data of the same track, so there is no need to store them in the reference detection unit 111. However, as will be described later, the data regarding the code is used to automatically detect the angular change of the card. If the configuration is such that the data of ■ and ■ are also stored, it is necessary to store the data of ■ and ■.

By the way, in the case of the combination ■, these codes are a combination of the start bit with the sign and the stop bit of the track before that track, and in the case of the combination ■, These codes are a combination of a signed start bit and a stop bit of the track following that track. Therefore, these data are a mixture of data from two tracks (see #1 and #3 in FIG. 4B).

Furthermore, in the case of a combination of ■, these codes are
Since it is a combination of a start bit with a sign and a stop bit of a track located either before or after one of the tracks, the data is a mixture of data from three tracks. In this case, it is not possible to distinguish between the sign of the stop bit before or after the start bit.

Furthermore, the reading control means 110 has a temporary storage section 112 that temporarily stores digital information.

The movement control means 120 includes a determination unit 121 that determines whether the position of the reference line is above or below the normal range based on the status information.
and a displacement signal sending unit 122 that sends a displacement signal for relatively displacing the sensor S and the card C to the XY moving device 140 in accordance with the determination result.

Further, the movement control means 120 continuously moves the sensor S and the card C relative to each other along the data band in synchronization with the operations of the sensor S, its drive circuit 101, reading control means 110, etc. It has a movement signal sending unit 123 that sends a movement signal to the XY movement device 140, or to send it in small increments.

The data storage means 130 includes a memory 132 that can store a large amount of data, and a transfer control section 131 that stores the data temporarily stored in the read control means 110 in the memory 132.

The reinstallation instruction means 150 includes a display means such as a liquid crystal display, and receives the reinstallation instruction signal from the reference detection section t x t and displays that the card C should be reinstalled. In addition, it is equipped with a voice synthesizer, and the card C is
It may be configured to instruct that the user should reinstall the
- <Operation at the time of reading of the embodiment> Next, with reference to the above figures and FIG. I will explain.

In the reading device configured as described above, when the card C is set in a predetermined position and the reading device is started, first, the movement control means 120 sends a movement signal and a displacement signal to the XY movement device 140, and the sensor S and Card C is set to the initial position.

The sensor S detects a bright and dark pattern within its field of view and sends it as digital information to the reference detection section 111 via the sensor drive circuit 101.

Upon receiving this information, the reference detection unit 111 detects whether or not there is an area in the information in which a preset state of either "0" or "1" continues for a certain number of bits, and
The position of that area in the information for one track is detected. If card C and sensor S are in the initial position,
The field of view of the sensor S is on the column reference line, and all areas within the field of view are in a state where either "O" or "1°" is continuous.The reference detection unit 111 detects this. The status information of the determination unit 1 of the movement control means 120
Send to 21. ' In response to this, the determining unit 121 determines whether the mobile signal transmitting unit 12
3 sends a movement signal to the X-axis moving unit 141 to move the card C or sensor S along the data band.

This movement signal is set in consideration of the reading speed of the sensor S, and is set so that at least one reading operation can be performed for one track.

When the sensor S moves relatively on the data band, the reference detection unit 111 receives the sensor S via the sensor drive circuit 101.
Digital information is sent from.

The reference detection unit 111 determines “0” or “1” from this information.
At this time, if either the above °゛0'' or °°1'' has a constant number of consecutive bits, Located at the center of digital information, and
If this part is a row reference generatrix that is wider than other reference lines,
It is confirmed that card C is in the initial position for the data band. Therefore, the reference detection section 111 sends status information to that effect to the determination section 121 of the movement control means 120.

In response to this, the determining unit 121 determines whether the mobile signal transmitting unit 12
3 sends a displacement signal to the Y-axis radial portion 142 to cause the card C or sensor S to be displaced upward or downward in the width direction of the data band.

As the card changes, digital information is sent from the sensor S to the reference detection unit ill via the sensor drive circuit 101. From this information, the reference detection unit 111
If there is a part with a certain number of consecutive bits of 0° or "1" in the upper and lower parts of the digital information, it means that the track data is sandwiched between these parts and exists normally. Then, normal status information to that effect is sent to the transfer control unit 131 of the data storage means 130.

On the other hand, if there is only one part where either 0" or "1" is consecutive for a certain number of bits, or there is no part at all,
Abnormal status information to that effect and regarding the position of the reference line is sent to the transfer control section 131 of the data storage means 130 and the determination section 121 of the movement control means 120, respectively.

Further, the reference detection unit 111 detects a start bit and a stop bit from the digital information for the above-mentioned l tracks, and compares the codes set for both. Based on the result of this code comparison, the angular shift of the card is detected.

That is, when the obtained combination of codes corresponds to the combination (2) above, the reference detection unit 111 determines that the data belong to the same track, and outputs angle normal status information. On the other hand, if the above combination (2) does not apply, the angular displacement of the card exceeds the permissible range, and the senna is scanning across adjacent tracks. Therefore, the read digital information becomes incomplete information (see FIG. 4B), so the reference detection unit Il
l outputs angle abnormality status information.

This angular abnormality status information provides a reinstallation instruction signal and an instruction that the reinstallation should be performed visually and further by voice.

Further, this angle abnormality status information is transmitted to the movement control means 1.
It will also be sent to the 20th.

In addition, when the configuration is such that one track is scanned multiple times, if the reading is normal during any scanning, normal angle status information is output for that scanning.

Then, track portion data is extracted from the detected normal digital information and stored in the temporary storage section 112, making it possible to receive the next digital information.

The transfer control unit 131 of the data storage unit 130 sequentially transfers the data stored in the temporary storage unit 112 to the memory 132 with an address, and stores the data.

At this time, the transfer control unit 131 performs the transfer in accordance with the status information 5 above, and when responding to abnormal information, does not read data from the temporary storage unit 112 and transfers the data to the memory 132.
Leave the corresponding part blank.

Note that when the sensor S moves on the card C, if the reading operation is performed multiple times for one track, digital information is input multiple times for the track. In this case, selecting one from multiple pieces of digital information can be done by selecting data corresponding to normal status information on a first-come, first-served basis, or by performing a parity check and selecting the one with the least number of errors. Do it by method.

In the movement control means 120, information of normality or abnormality is inputted each time the digital information is inputted to the reference detection section ill.The zero determination section 121 extracts a synchronization signal from the input dimming of this information and outputs the synchronization signal to the movement signal sending section. Send to 123. The movement signal sending unit 123 forms a movement signal for relatively moving the sensor S or card C based on this synchronization signal, and sends it to the X-axis movement unit 141.

On the other hand, from the reference detection unit 111 as abnormality information.

When information indicating the position of only one reference line detected is sent, the determination unit 121 sends the information to the displacement signal sending unit 122. The displacement signal sending section 122 sends a displacement signal to the Y-axis moving section 2 to relatively move the sensor S and the card C in the track direction. This movement continues until a normal signal is input to the determination unit +21.

Further, the determination unit 120 of the movement control means 120 receives information from the reference detection unit 111 that there is no reference line as abnormal information.
When the signal is sent to the mobile signal transmitting unit 12, the determining unit 121
3 and the displacement signal sending unit 122 to move the sensor S and the card C to their initial positions. In this case, if the last track of the data band has been read, the determination unit 121 instructs the shift signal sending unit 122 to move the sensor S to the next data band.

In this way, as the sensor S and the card C move relative to each other on the track of each data band, the data written in each data band of the card is stored in the memory 132 of the data storage means 13G. be transferred. memory 132
The data stored in the data storage means +30 is read out and used by access from a data processing device connected to the data storage means +30.

By the way, when the reference detection unit tti outputs the angle abnormality status information, the movement control means 120 outputs a signal to eject the card. As a result, the card is ejected from the reading device, so it is only necessary to insert it into the reading device again.

<Modification of Embodiment> In the above embodiment, when an angular shift is detected in the reference detection unit 111, an instruction is given to reinstall the card, but it may also be configured to automatically correct the angular shift of the card. An example of this is shown in FIG. 6. ' The reading device shown in the same figure has the same structure as the device shown in FIG. 5 above except for the swing driving device 18G. Therefore, only the different parts will be explained.

The swing drive device 180 rotates the card C and the sensor S relative to each other, and includes a motor, a reduction gear train, and a drive control device. The drive control device receives the above-mentioned reinstallation instruction signal and also receives the combination of signs of the detected start bit and stop bit, and then connects the card C and the sensor S.
A signal is generated to rotate the motor by a predetermined angle in a corresponding rotation direction, and the motor is driven and controlled by the signal.

For example, if the combination of signs of the start bit and stop bit belongs to the above group (2) and the case where the combination belongs to the above group (2), the signal will cause rotation at the same angle in opposite directions.

Next, other modifications of the above-described embodiment will be described.

In the above embodiment, the start bit and stop bit are
2 bits are allocated, but with 2 bits, 22 or 1
It can only form a kind of code. Therefore, as described above, the linear sensor can only detect inclinations that span between adjacent tracks, and it is difficult to detect inclinations beyond that.

Therefore, as a modification of the embodiment, there is a configuration in which a large number of bits, 3 or more, are allocated to the start bit and stop bit.

For example, if 3 bits are assigned to each code, 23 or 8 types of codes can be formed. In this case, it is possible to detect even the case where the linear sensor is tilted across three tracks.

In this way, by increasing the number of bits to be opened to 4 or 5 bits, the number of combinations of codes that can be identified increases, and it becomes possible to detect a larger slope accordingly. However, since there is a guide in the part where the card is installed, the inclination of the card is within a certain range. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the number of bits so much.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention allows the angular shift of the card to be easily detected from the card itself without using a special sensor during data reading, and improves the positioning mechanism in the reading device. The structure is relatively simple and inexpensive, and the readout device can be formed at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the optical memory card of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged plan view of the card, FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the portion seen from arrow A in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4A. and FIG. 4B is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of the start bit and stop bit of the card and their functions, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are blow diagrams showing the configuration of the reading device used for reading the optical memory card of the present invention. be. 1...Substrate 2...Memory layer 3...Data band 4...Track 5...Storage cell
6... Column reference line. 70... Row reference bus line 71... Row reference line IQX
...Sensor drive circuit 110...Reading control means 111
... Reference detection section 112 ... Temporary storage section 120.
...Movement control means 130...Data storage means 140
...x-y moving device! 41...xill sliding part 14
2...Y-axis moving unit 15o...Reattachment instruction means 180...Swivel drive device

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A data band in which a plurality of data cells are arranged in a straight line to form a track, and a data band formed in a band shape by arranging a large number of the tracks in parallel is provided on a card-shaped base, and , a reference line of a constant width is provided on both longitudinal sides of the data band,
Digital information is transmitted by the optical brightness of the data cell,
In an optical memory card that stores data along the tracks, a start bit is placed at the beginning of each track.
On the other hand, it is characterized in that a plurality of stop bits are provided on each terminal side, and a code constituting a certain permutation is attached to each start bit and stop bit in sequence in the direction of the data band. optical memory card.