JPS61184792A - Issuing device for portable medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To add visible information on the surface of a portable medium and to facilitate its handling by inputting data to be written in the data memory in the portable medium and visible data to be added on the surface of the portable medium through an input means, and writing the data which are inputted by the input means in the data memory. CONSTITUTION:A CPU 11 indicates to a mechanism control circuit 43 to issue and IC card 1. Then, the mechanism control circuit 43 drives a picker 42 and conveyor rollers 32 and 32 to take one blank IC card 1 out of a stack part 41 and the card is conveyed through a conveyance path 31. The IC card 1 is conveyed by the conveyor rollers 32 on the conveyance path 31 to face a reader writer 34. At this time, respective terminals 2a-2h of the IC card 1 contact respective terminals of the reader writer 34 to make electric connections. The IC card after data storing operation is completed is conveyed again by the conveyor rollers 32 and 32 to pass through a part which faces printing device 35.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] This invention is applicable to ICs such as CPUs and data memories.
The present invention relates to a portable medium issuing device that issues a portable medium such as an IC card with a built-in chip.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] As a new medium to replace the conventional magnetic stripe card,
IC cards are emerging. This IC card has a storage capacity more than 100 times that of a magnetic stripe card, and a built-in microprocessor prevents unauthorized access. Therefore, it has a feature of high safety (security function). Taking advantage of these features, IC cards are expected to be used in a variety of applications in the future.

By the way, no matter what application an IC card is used for, it is necessary to record initial information or information unique to the card in the data memory of the card before use. For example, the initial information may include a logical zone number in the data memory and its corresponding physical address, or a table that defines the size of the zone. In addition, card-specific information varies depending on the application, but
The serial number of the card, the holder's name or PIN number, the bank name and account number if used as a cash card or credit card, and the initial amount if used as a discount ticket. It is now possible to do so. Further, such an IC card needs to have some form of visible display on the surface of the card so that it can be visually distinguished. However, when such IC cards are issued, data is printed on the surface of the IC card in advance by an external device, and each piece of information is recorded in the data memory of the printed IC card before being issued. It looks like this. For this reason, its handling has become very troublesome.

[Object of the Invention] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to record data in a data memory when a portable medium is issued, and at the same time record the data on the surface of the portable medium. Corresponding visual information can be given,
An object of the present invention is to provide a portable media publishing device that is easy to handle.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention issues a portable medium having a data memory and a control element, in which data to be written to the data memory in the portable medium and a portable Visible data to be added to the surface of the medium is input using an input means, the data input by this input means is written into a data memory, and the visually visible data input by the input means is applied to the surface of the portable medium. It was designed to be given to

[Embodiment 1 of the Invention Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show the configuration of an IC card issuing machine 10 as a terminal according to the present invention. That is, 11 is a CPU (central processing unit) that controls the whole, 12 is a keyboard for inputting data, 13 is a CRT display device, 14 is a ROM (read only memory) in which a control program is stored, and 15 16 is a dot printer that outputs various print data; 17 is a floppy disk inserted from a floppy disk insertion slot 18 for storing and reproducing data; Floppy disk device, 2
Reference numeral 0 designates an IC card issuing unit that writes data such as initial information into the memory of the IC card 1 and at the same time issues an IC card 1 with visible data recorded on its surface from a card issuing port 21.

As shown in FIG. 4, the IC card 1 is provided with a connect portion 2 on its surface, and includes, for example, a plurality of terminals (
It is composed of contact portions) 2a, . . . 2h.

The above terminal 2a is for the power supply voltage (+5V) for operation, terminal 2
b is for grounding, terminal 2c is for a clock signal, terminal 2d is for a reset signal, terminals 28 to 2g are for data input/output, and terminal 2h is for a power supply voltage (+21V) for data writing.

Also, as shown in FIG. 5, inside the IC card 1, a control CPU (central processing unit) 3, a control 70g, a password (for example, 4 digits), data, etc. are recorded. , a data memory 4 composed of an EEPROM, an interface circuit 5, and a RAM 6 for data processing. Each of the above parts is composed of an IC chip and is provided on one substrate. Further, the interface circuit 5 and the connection section 2 are wired.

The IC card issuing section 20 is connected to the main body of the card issuing machine 10 by a cable 22. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the IC cards 1 on which no data is stored or recorded are taken out one by one from the storage section 41 in which the IC cards 1 are stored. I taken out from this storage section 41
A conveyance path 31 for conveying the C card 1 is provided.

In this transport path 31, a rotatable transport roller 53 is positioned so as to sandwich the IC card 1 from above and below when transporting it.
2 are provided in pairs. The pair of conveyance rollers 32 are provided along the conveyance path 31 at equal intervals. Each of these conveyance rollers 3
The distance from the center of the card 2 to the center of the adjacent transport roller 32 has the width dimension in the card transport direction. Therefore, the transport bus 31 of the IC card 1 is
stipulated by. The lug 42 and the transport rollers 32, 32 are controlled by a mechanism control circuit 43.

Moreover, the IC card 1 is placed on the transport guide 33 by contacting the IC card 1 and its terminals 2a to 2h.
A reader/writer 34 is arranged to exchange data with the CPU 3 inside. Terminals (not shown) of this reader/writer 34 are electrically connected by contacting each of the terminals 2a to 2h of the connecting section 2. A printing device 35 is provided downstream of the reader/writer 34, which records visible data such as a name, account number, and serial number on the surface of the IC card 1. This printing device 35 includes a thermal head 36 and a thermal transfer ribbon 37.
This is a well-known method for printing by thermal transfer. The IC card 1 that has been printed by the printing device 35 is transported along a transport path 31 and is issued from the card issuing port 21.

Next, the issuing process of the IC card 1 in such a configuration will be explained. For example, the issuer now uses the keyboard 12 of the IC card issuance*io to instruct the issuance, and as initial information accompanying the issuance, the logical zone number in the data memory 4 and the corresponding physical address or zone. The size of the card is defined, and the card's serial number, holder's name, PIN number, bank name, account number, etc. are input. Then, cPUll is the mechanism control circuit 4
3 to issue an IC card 1.

As a result, the mechanism control circuit 43 drives the picker 42 and the transport row 532.32 to remove the unused ICs.
One card 1 is taken out from the storage section 41 and transported by the transport bus 31. Then, the IC card 1 is conveyed on the conveyance path 31 by the conveyance roller 32 to face the reader/writer 34 . At this time, each terminal 2 of the IC card 1
A to 2h are electrically connected by contacting each terminal (not shown) of the reader/writer 34. As a result, I
The connection section 2 of the C card 1 and the reader/writer 34 are electrically connected. Therefore, the CPU 11 transfers various data inputted through the keyboard 12 to the reading/writing device 34.
, the connection unit 2 and the interface circuit 5 to the CPU 3. As a result, the CPU 3 defines the logical zone number and the corresponding physical address or zone size in the data memory 4 according to the supplied data, and then determines the card's serial number and the holder's Store your name, PIN, bank name, account number, etc. in the corresponding zone.

Then, the IC card 1 on which the data has been stored is conveyed again by the conveyance rollers 32 and 32, thereby passing through the portion facing the printing device 35. At this time,
The CPU 11 supplies the holder's name, account number, and serial number among the various data entered through the keyboard 12 to the printing device 35. As a result, the printing device 3
5 drives the thermal head 36 and the ink ribbon 37 during this passage, thereby printing on the surface of the IC card 1.
As shown in FIG. 6, the holder's name, account number, and serial number are printed. And this printed IC
The card 1 is issued from a card issuing port 21.

As mentioned above, when an IC card is issued, initial data and unique data are stored in the data memory, and at the same time,
Since it is printed on the surface of the IC card, handling becomes easier. Furthermore, since visual information is added to the IC card using a thermal transfer method, there is no risk of damaging the IC chip within the card compared to conventional embossed cards.

In the above embodiment, unused I/O is automatically removed from the storage section.
The C-card was issued after the card was taken out and a series of processes were completed, but it is not limited to this. Also good. In addition, keyboards and CRTs are used as input means.
Although a case has been described in which a terminal device using a display is used, the present invention is not limited to this, and the case may be such that cards are sequentially issued using data sequentially supplied from a host computer. In this case, the host computer can manage various data in the form of files, which is more useful. Furthermore, although the printing method used was a thermal type that used a thermal head and an ink ribbon, it was not limited to this.Direct thermal printing, in which a thermal coloring material was applied to the surface of the card and the color was directly developed by the heat from the thermal head, was used. A type or a laser beam may be used. Further, after printing, the surface may be coated with a thin vinyl film or the like to increase durability.

In addition, although an IC card is used, it is not limited to this, as long as it has a data memory and a control element, and selectively inputs and outputs from the outside. It may be a shape.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, when a portable medium is issued, data is recorded in the data memory at the same time,
Visual information corresponding to the data can be added to the surface of a portable medium, and a portable medium issuing device that is easy to handle can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings are for explaining one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of an IC card issuing unit, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the card issuing machine, and FIG. 3 is the card issuing machine. A schematic block diagram of the configuration, FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the IC card,
FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the electric circuit of the IC card, and FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of printing on the surface of the IC card. 1...IC card (portable medium), 2...Connection part, 28-2h...Terminal, 3...CPU, 4...
・Data memory, 5...Interface circuit, 6.
...RAM, 10...IC card issuing machine, 11...
cpu113...CRT display device, 20...
・IC card issuing department, 34...reader/writer, 35...
・Printing device, 36... Thermal head, 37... Ink ribbon, 41... Storage section, 42... Bicca, 4
3...mechanism control section. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue 113 Figure 411! ! 1

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a portable medium issuing device that issues a portable medium having a data memory and a control element, data to be written to the data memory in the portable medium and visual marking to be applied to the surface of the portable medium an input means for inputting possible data; a writing means for writing the data input by the input means into a data memory; and a writing means for applying the visible data input by the input means to the surface of the portable medium. What is claimed is: 1. A portable medium issuing device, characterized in that it is equipped with a providing means. (2) The portable medium issuing device according to claim 1, wherein the applying means is a thermal transfer type printing device using a thermal head. (3) The portable medium issuing device according to claim 1, wherein the control element is a CPU. (4) The portable medium issuance device according to claim 1, wherein the issuing device performs the assignment by the assigning device after the writing by the writing device.