JPS6194271A - Magnetic card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the foul use of an altered card by blanking simultaneously magnetic segments which are printed magnetically and hiddenly through a card blanking process. CONSTITUTION:The information of the types of cards and the number of remaining cards, etc. are read and written through a magnetic stripe part 11. While plural magnetic segment parts 12 are printed magnetically and hiddenly at the area on the card surface excluding the part 11 and blanked according to the number of cards used. These parts 12 that could not be recognized by users are blanked at a time. Therefore a card handling machine can detects that no coincidence is obtained between the information on the remaining number of cards written at the part 11 and the number of cards remaining at the part 12 even through the information on a new card is copied to the stripe part 11 of the old card and also the blanked holes are filled. Thus the foul use is prevented with a magnetic card.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field 1] The present invention relates to a magnetic refueling system which is particularly suitable for use in, for example, gasoline refueling cars, in which a predetermined capacity of the card is consumed in several parts. It's about cards.

[Background Art 1] In recent years, a form of payment in which magnetic cards are used in place of cash has become widespread in various product sales or service provision settings. However, magnetic cards only have a magnetic stripe section on the surface of the card, which is printed or embossed in various ways, and there is a problem in that, from the card user's perspective, it is impossible to know the amount consumed or the remaining amount of the card. Therefore, a conventional magnetic card (Special Publication No. 186729/1986) that had a magnetic stripe on its front surface printed and displayed the remaining amount of the card on the back side each time the card was used.
However, in such cards, the information printed on the back side is only for the purpose of letting the card user know the remaining amount, and the machine that takes the card will not be able to read the information printed on the back of the card. The contents are no longer readable.

Therefore, if you are knowledgeable about magnetic cards, you would know that when the remaining capacity of a card becomes low, it will be written on the magnetic stripe section of the card, and on the magnetic stripe section of new tickets that have never been used since purchase. There is a risk that the old ticket may be misused by copying the information on the old ticket as if it were the same as a new ticket.

[Object of the invention 1 The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
The first objective is to provide a magnetic card that can clearly display the consumption amount of the card to the card user, and that also allows the machine that handles the card to sufficiently cope with the amount of cards. There is something to do.

1 Disclosure of the Invention 1 As shown in FIG. 1, the magnetic card 10 of the present invention includes a magnetic stripe portion 11 on which information such as the type of card and remaining amount of the card is read and written, and a magnetic stripe s1 on the card surface.
This card has a plurality of magnetic segment parts 12 which are hidden and magnetically printed on parts other than 1 and punched out according to the amount of use of the card. FIG. 162 shows, as an example, a state in which a portion of the magnetic segment portion 12 is punched out.

Although the magnetic segment portion 12 is clearly shown in each of the above figures for convenience of explanation, it is actually hidden within the printed design on the card surface and is magnetically printed as part of the design, and is A user cannot notice that the magnetic segment HI312 is provided just by looking at the printed pattern on the surface of the card.6 In the present invention, a plurality of magnetic segments hidden and magnetically printed on the card. It is preferable that the sections 12 are arranged in a line parallel to the magnetic stripe section 11 as shown in each of the above figures. It is only necessary to provide a first magnetic head for reading and writing information to and from the section 11 and a second magnetic head for counting the remaining number of magnetic segment sections 12, and punch out the magnetic segment sections 12. This is because the configuration of the punching mechanism section can also be simplified.

In this way, according to the present invention, since the card is punched out according to the usage amount, the usage amount of the card can be displayed very clearly to the card user. Since the magnetic segment part 12, which has been hidden and magnetically printed so as to prevent the card from being damaged, is punched out at the same time as the card is punched out, even if a person with considerable knowledge about magnetic cards were to replace the magnetic stripe part 11 of the old ticket with a new one. Hole 1 punched to copy the information on the ticket and to fool the punch hole detection mechanism, which is expected to be photoelectric.
5, the machine that handles the card can detect that the remaining amount information written on the magnetic stripe section 11 and the remaining number of magnetic segment sections 12 do not match. It is possible to deny unauthorized use of the card that has been placed on the card. Furthermore, even if a person who has analyzed the structure of the magnetic card 10 in detail attempts to convert the old card into a new card, the hole must be filled in such a way that the magnetic segment portion 12 lost due to punching can be restored to its original state. It is quite difficult to do so, and the cost required to store the number of cards may well exceed the cost of purchasing the cards, so is it possible to prevent unauthorized use of cards in this respect as well?
It is a monkey.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The magnetic card 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an example of the present invention. This magnetic card 1
The magnetic stripe section 11 in 0 magnetically records initial data such as the issuing place, issue date, expiration date, capacity, etc. of the card, and magnetically records usage history data such as the date and time of use, location of use, and amount used each time the card is used. It is to be recorded. On the other hand, a plurality of clock data are written in each magnetic segment part 12 along the card conveyance direction, and when the magnetic card reader/writer detects one or more clock pulses, the magnetic segment part in that part In the illustrated embodiment, the number of magnetic segment parts 12 is set to 20, but the number of magnetic segment parts 12 in the present invention is
The number of magnetic stripes 5111 and magnetic segment portions 12 is not limited to the number shown in FIG. The base of the magnetic card 10 should preferably be one that can prevent deformation such as bending and that does not make punching difficult.

A case in which the magnetic card 10 of this embodiment is used as a Solin refueling ticket, which is equipped with a card handling terminal but allows refueling at a Solin stand even in an unmanned state, will be described in more detail. The card shown in FIG. 1 is assumed to be a gasoline refueling ticket with a capacity of 400 liters. Since this card is provided with 20 magnetic segments) ffls12, one magnetic segment) $12 corresponds to a usage of 20 liters, thus increasing the usage of the card to 20') -/ ), one magnetic segment portion 12 of the card is punched out each time the card is crossed.

- For example, in a state where five magnetic segment parts 12 are punched out as shown in A of FIG.
5 = 100 liters has already been consumed. Note that the recording of usage amount by the magnetic segment unit 12 is relatively rough as explained above;
The magnetic stripe section 11 records more accurate card usage.

3 and 4 show a plan view and a front view, respectively, of a card punching machine 40 that performs a punching process on the magnetic card 10. FIG. Also, FIG. 5 shows the card punch 8!
The main configuration of the control system in 40 is shown in blocks, and 6th 1 is 11; 1 card punching 8! 4
2 schematically shows the area around the location where the hole drilling process is performed at the top of the image 0. This card perforation 8!40 is
A magnetic card read/write unit 20 for reading and writing information on the magnetic card IO inserted from the card insertion slot 24, and a punching unit 8 for punching the magnetic card 10! It has a structural part 30, which is placed on the base 25. The magnetic card read/write unit 20 transports the card using transport roller groups Z1, 22, and 23.

During transportation of the card, information is read and written to the magnetic stripe section 11 and the remaining number of magnetic segment sections 12 is counted. mi and second magnetic head 26.2 respectively corresponding to
7. These magnetic heads 26, 27 are arranged at a portion corresponding to the conveying roller 22 of the magnetic card read/write i9'1s20, and the surface of the card is pressed against the magnetic heads 26, 27 by the pressing force of the roller 22. It has become. The punching isofil 1 section 30 includes transport rollers 45 and 46 for transporting the card, a punching rod 32 for punching the card,
A punching motor 31 for applying driving force to the punching head 32, and a one-turn clutch 3 for transmitting the rotation of this motor 31 (power to the punching head 32).
5, and a solenoid 34 for driving the one-turn clutch 35 1Frl&. Conveyance rollers 45 and 46 for conveying cards are rotated and driven by a stepping motor 47 (1), and for this purpose, the output shaft 47 of the stepping motor 47 and each conveyance roller 45, 46
The pulleys attached to the transporter and the transporter are connected via a belt 44. Further, pulleys attached to the output shaft of the motor 31 and the input shaft of the one-turn clutch 35 are connected via a belt 36. Tsure/Ido 34
With the excitation, the one-turn clutch 35 extracts the turning force of the human-powered shaft, which is continuously rotated by the motor 31, to the output shaft for one rotation period. An eccentric cam is attached to the output shaft of the one-turn clutch 35, and one rotation of the eccentric cam causes the punch bin 33 for punching a hole in a card to move back and forth once. One rotation clutch 3
A disc (not shown) with an opening through which light passes is attached to the output wheel 5 in order to allow the rotation sensor 43 to detect the rotation. Each time the output shaft 35 rotates once and a card is punched out, one detection pulse is obtained from the sensor 43. The 7t sensor 41 is a sensor for detecting that the magnetic card 10 has been carried into the punching mechanism section 30 and is in the position where it should perform a punching operation. When the card is transported to the side of the card read/write section 20,
Magnetic card, 10 is bunch 8! This is a sensor that detects the state in which unloading from the structure section 30 has been completed.

The ia x card read/write section 20 is a magnetic card read.
' It is connected to a host computer (not shown) via the write control circuit 51 and connector CNI.

The motor drive circuit 52 controls the stepping motor 47, and the signal transmission/reception circuit 53 processes drive signals for the punching motor 31 and solenoid 34, and detection signals for each of the seven otosensors 4L42 and 4:1. Each of these circuits 52 and 53 is connected to the host computer via a connector CN2. Power supply for card punching 8!40 is via connector CN
In addition, the printed circuit board 55.6 on which each of the above-mentioned circuits is mounted ．． 557,55. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the magnetic card read/write unit 20
and around the punching mechanism section 30 as appropriate.

Hereinafter, a series of operations under the control of the host computer regarding the above-mentioned card punching 8!40 will be explained. The magnetic card read/write unit 20 detects the card inserted from the card insertion slot 24 with a built-in 7-point sensor and takes in the card, reads the information written on the card, and reads the information in the magnetic stripe unit 11. If the information on the magnetic segment section 12 and the information on the magnetic segment section 12 match, the card is carried out to the punching mechanism section 30 side. The magnetic card read/write unit 20 is provided with a 7t sensor that detects the card being carried out to the punching mechanism unit 30 in the subsequent stage. The conveyance rollers 45 and 46 of the magnetic card read/write section 30 start rotating so that the same conveyance speed as that of the conveyance roller 23 of the magnetic card read/write section 20 is obtained.

This punches the card while the magnetic card read/write unit 20 is in use! This is to prevent the card from being deformed if the conveying speeds of the conveying rollers 23 and 45, which sandwich both ends of the card, are different when passing the card to the structure 30. Punching 8! In the first part 30, the card is 7 Oto sensor 41
After blocking the light, the card is temporarily stopped, and the card is conveyed in the opposite direction at a low speed, and the card is stopped at the position of the 7-point sensor 41. This card stop position is
Magnetic segment part 12 to be punched out first of the card
is set to be located directly below the punching pad 32.

By the way, when controlling the card stop position by detecting the end position of the card using the 7-point sensor 411, it is necessary to remove the portion of the magnetic card 10 that corresponds to the 7-point sensor 41. Since accurate positioning will not be possible if there is
As shown in FIG. s9, it is arranged at a position corresponding to the magnetic stripe section 11 of the magnetic card 10. This is because if the leading portion of the magnetic stripe section 11 were to be cut off, the magnetic card read/write section 20 at the previous stage would renoect the magnetic card 1O as being unable to read or write, so that it would reach the punching mechanism section 30. This has been taken into consideration because it can be assumed that there is no abnormality such as removal of the magnetic stripe section 11 of the card.

FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) show the magnetic segment I! of the card. 1
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method for determining a punching process start position when punching out a card, and FIG. 8 is a 7o-chart showing the card punching process operation. Assume now that the card has been punched out from the first to the fifth magnetic segment portion 12, as shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the magnetic segment portion 12 to be punched first is temporarily stopped at an initial stop position corresponding to the punching rod 32, as shown in FIG. 7(a). In this case, the total number of magnetic segment parts 12 is 20, and 5 of them have already been punched out, so the number n of magnetic segment parts 12 detected by the magnetic card read/write part 20 is 15. It is individual. The punching mechanism section 30 uses the count number (n=15) of the magnetic segment section 12 obtained by the magnetic card read/write section 20 as the count number (n=15) of the magnetic segment section 12.
The number subtracted from the initial side a (S=20) of (20-15=
5), the separation pitch pt between each magnetic segment portion 12
! - The card is shifted by the multiplied distance R5P. As a result, the card stops at a position where the sixth magnetic segment portion 12 corresponds to the punching pad 32. After that, the punching herad 32 is magnetically segmented by the number of magnetic segments corresponding to the amount of history of the card) i1
It punches out $12. At this time, it goes without saying that the card is shifted by one pitch P each time one magnetic segment part 12 is punched out. Furthermore, if the card is a new card and no magnetic segment part 12 has been punched out, , f57 The punching of the magnetic segment portion 12 is started from the initial stop position shown in FIG. After the punching process is completed, the card is carried into the card read/write unit 20 again, and it is checked whether the punching process was performed normally. If it is confirmed that the punching process is normal, the magnetic card read/write section 20 reads 11711 of the magnetic stripe section 11.
After confirming that the rewriting has been performed normally, the card is taken out from the card insertion slot 24.

FIG. 10 shows issuance 8! used when issuing the magnetic card 10 described above. (Encog) 60 shows a schematic configuration of the encoder 60. The magnetic cards IO stored in the card stocker 61 are supplied one by one to the card read/write unit 63 by a card supply device 62. The card read/write section 63 writes the date of issue, place of issue, and other necessary information on the magnetic stripe section 11 of the magnetic card 10, and also writes a plurality of clock pulses on each magnetic segment section 12 of the card. It is. When the writing of the melodies is completed, the card read/write section 63 checks whether the writing has been performed normally.6 If the writing to the card is normal, the dot printer 64 prints alphanumeric characters, etc., on the surface of the card as appropriate. It is printed. 65 is a belt for conveying the card during printing operation by the dot printer 64, and 66 is a motor for driving the belt 65.

Magnetic card 1 after printing by dot printer 64
0 is sent to the card storage card 70 and stored therein.

In the card stocker 70, as the amount of accumulated cards increases, the spiral shaft 72 supporting the bottom plate 71
is rotated by a motor 73 so that the bottom plate 71 is lowered. If the writing on the card in the card read/write section 63 is defective, the writing operation is performed again. If the writing cannot be performed normally even after the second writing, the card is moved to the side of the defective card stocker 80. to be discharged. That is, for defective cards, the upper opening of the card stocker 70 is closed with a shutter 90 as shown by the chain line in FIG. 10 to prevent them from entering the card stocker 70. As a result, the defective card will be placed on the top surface of the shutter 90, but when the next normal card is conveyed and the shutter 90 is opened as shown in the actual drawing in FIG. It is designed to slide into the stocker 80.

E Effects of the Invention j As described above, the present invention provides a magnetic stripe section where information such as the type of card and remaining layer of the card is read and written, and a portion of the card surface other than the magnetic stripe section that is hidden magnetically printed.
Since the card has a plurality of magnetic segments that are punched out according to the amount of card usage, it is also possible to clearly display the usage amount of the card to the card user by the number of punched pieces. Moreover, since the magnetic segment printed hiddenly so that it cannot be recognized by the card user is punched out at the same time as the card is punched out, even if a person with considerable knowledge about magnetic cards can insert the magnetic stripe of the old card into the magnetic stripe of the new card. Even if the information is copied and the punched holes are filled, the machine that handles the card cannot detect that the remaining amount information written on the magnetic stripe section does not match the remaining number of magnetic segments. , This makes it possible to deny unauthorized use of the improved card.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a magnetic card according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a front view showing a state where a part of the same card is punched out, Fig. 3 is a plan view of a card punching machine that punches the same card, Fig. 4 is a front view of the same card punching machine, Fifth
The figure is a block diagram of the control system of the same card punching and converting machine, Figure 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the vicinity of the punching point of the same card punching machine, and Figure 7 (,) (b) is a block diagram of the control system of the same card punching machine. An explanatory diagram for explaining a method for determining a punching process start position device, FIG. 8 is a 70-chart showing the punching process operation of the same card as above, and FIG. 9 is a 70-chart for controlling the card stop position in the same card punching machine as above. An explanatory diagram showing the installation position of the auto sensor,
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an issuing machine used when issuing the above card. 10 is a magnetic card, 11 is a magnetic strip section, and 12 is a magnetic segment section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A magnetic stripe area where information such as the card type and remaining amount is read and written, and multiple pieces hidden magnetically printed on areas other than the magnetic stripe area on the card surface and punched out depending on the amount of card usage. A magnetic card comprising a magnetic segment section.