JP4222264B2 - Card reader / writer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a card reader / writer that can simultaneously determine the insertion and direction of a card to be read and / or written by a card reader / writer.

  An example of a card that is read and / or written by a card reader / writer is a magnetic display card. This magnetic display card has a recording unit that magnetically records data, and a display unit that displays data recorded in the recording unit as characters by magnetization. In order to read and / or write to such a magnetic display card with a card reader / writer, the insertion direction of the magnetic display card into the card reader / writer must be correct. For this reason, a mechanism for discriminating the direction of a magnetic display card has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The direction discriminating mechanism described in Patent Document 1 includes first detection means (position sensor) for detecting arrival of a magnetic display card having a magnetic display unit and a magnetic recording unit, and the presence or absence of the magnetic recording unit of the magnetic display card. And a second detection means (direction discrimination sensor) for detecting the direction of the magnetic display card based on the detection output of the second detection means on the premise of the detection output of the first detection means. It is configured.
JP-A-6-176537

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, two sensors, a position sensor that detects that a magnetic display card is inserted into a card reader / writer, and a direction determination sensor that determines the direction of the inserted magnetic display card. There is a problem that the cost increases.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a card reader / writer in which the cost for inserting a card such as a magnetic display card and determining the direction is further reduced.

In order to achieve the above object, the card reader / writer of the present invention has an identification image and an insertion direction arrow at the insertion side end of the surface, and an identification image at the end opposite to the insertion side end. And a card insertion slot into which a card having an insertion direction arrow opposite to the insertion direction arrow is inserted, a card transport mechanism for transporting a card inserted from the card insertion slot along the card transport path, and a card insertion slot An image detection sensor provided on the card and a determination unit that determines whether or not a card identification image detected by the image detection sensor matches a previously registered identification image. When the card is transported along the card transport path by the card transport mechanism, at least one of reading and writing of the card is performed.

  In this card reader / writer, the card insertion and the direction determination are performed simultaneously by determining whether or not the card identification image detected by the image detection sensor matches the previously registered identification image.

In this card reader / writer, the card has a recording unit for recording data on the back surface, and has means for reading data in the card recording unit and / or writing data in the recording unit when the card is transported by the card transport mechanism. Is preferred.

Also, the card has a display unit for displaying an image on the surface, and a means for erasing the image on the display unit of the card and transferring the image to the display unit when the card is transported by the card transport mechanism is recorded across the card transport path. It is preferable that the unit is arranged opposite to the means for reading the data in the recording section and / or writing the data in the recording section .

According to the present invention (the invention described in claim 1) , since one card (image detection sensor) can simultaneously determine the insertion and direction of the card, only one sensor is required. The cost of the writer can be reduced. Further, the card can be inserted into the card reader / writer in the reverse direction and used.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the card can be used by inserting it into the card reader / writer in either the forward direction or the reverse direction, the magnetic surface that has not been used so far is also used. Will be used, and the life of the card can be extended. Further, by using both the forward direction and the reverse direction, two recording portions can be formed, and the information that can be recorded can be doubled.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a configuration example of a card reader / writer according to the embodiment. The card reader / writer includes an MPU 1, a CCD 2 as an image detection sensor, an image processing circuit 3, a mechanism control circuit 4, a warning circuit 9, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, an interface (I / F) 14, A thermal head drive circuit 16 is provided, and these components are connected by a bus 18.

  The MPU 1 comprehensively controls each part of the card reader / writer according to a program stored in the ROM 12. Further, the MPU 1 is determined to match with a determination function for determining whether or not a card identification image detected by a CCD (image detection sensor) 2 described later matches a previously registered identification image. At this time, it has a function of operating both a card transport mechanism, which will be described later, and performing both reading and writing of the card.

  The CCD 2 reads the identification image 51 formed at the insertion side end of the card 50 (FIG. 3) as a line image sensor. Although this will be described later, since the identification image 51 is a bar code here, the CCD 2 scans and reads the identification image 51 in a direction orthogonal to the card carrying direction. Note that a simple reflection type photosensor may be used as the image detection sensor. In the case of a reflection type photosensor, the identification can be performed only by the density of the identification image 51.

  The image processing circuit 3 binarizes the signal of the identification image 51 of the card 50 read by the CCD 2. The mechanism control circuit 4 controls the card transport mechanism of the card reader / writer. As will be described in detail later, the mechanism control circuit 4 controls excitation / non-excitation of the solenoid 6 via the solenoid drive circuit 5 and controls rotation / reverse rotation / stop of the motor 8 via the motor drive circuit 7. To do. By energizing / de-energizing the solenoid 6, the card insertion slot A is opened and closed by a shutter 35 which will be described later, and by rotating / reversely rotating / stopping the motor 8, two pairs of transport rollers 31, 32, 41, The movement of the card 50 is controlled by 42.

  The warning circuit 9 generates a warning sound with the buzzer 10 when the card is inserted in the wrong direction or when the card identification image is different from the registered identification image (when both identification images do not match). The LED 11 is turned on or blinked. Note that the buzzer 10 and the LED 11 need not be both, and only one of them may be provided.

  The ROM 12 stores a program for controlling the operation of the entire card reader / writer. The RAM 13 stores data necessary for control by the MPU 1 and data that needs to be temporarily stored during the control operation. In addition, the RAM 13 has registered in advance a standard identification image for determining whether the identification image 51 of the card 50 detected by the CCD 2 is correct.

  The I / F 14 is used to connect the card reader / writer to the host computer 15 via the Internet or the like. The host computer 15 records the magnetic data read from the recording unit 52 of the card 50 or the host computer 15. It is used for receiving magnetic data stored in the computer 15 and storing image data to be written on the display unit 53 of the card 50.

  The thermal head drive circuit 16 controls ON / OFF of the thermal print head 17 when erasing an image displayed on the display unit 53 of the card 50 or writing an image on the display unit 53. The thermal print head 17 is used for erasing and writing the image on the display unit 53. In this embodiment, the card 50 has a rewritable layer, and the image on the surface on which the rewritable layer is formed can be rewritten. This is because the rewritable layer is rewritten depending on the temperature. Details of this will be described later.

  Next, FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a configuration example of a mechanism portion in the vicinity of the card insertion slot of the card reader / writer. In this mechanism unit, the CCD 2 as an image detection sensor for detecting the identification image 51 of the card 50, the light source 21 for illuminating the card 50, and the identification of the card 50 at the entrance of the card insertion slot A into which the card 50 is inserted. A lens 22 for forming the working image 51 on the CCD 2 is arranged. The signal of the identification image 51 of the card 50 detected by the CCD 2 is input to the image processing circuit 3.

  A pair of transport rollers 31 and 32 that sandwich and transport the card 50 are arranged inside the card insertion slot A, and a shutter 35 having a shape as shown in the figure is inserted in front of the transport rollers 31 and 32. It arrange | positions so that the opening | mouth A may be opened and closed. The shutter 35 is rotatably supported by the support shaft 32 a of the transport roller 32, and has an oval hole 36 a at the base end portion 36. A pin 39 provided on the plunger 38 operated by the solenoid 6 is fitted into the oval hole 36a, so that the shutter 35 is interlocked with the operation of the plunger 38 and closes the card insertion slot A shown in FIG. It rotates between the position and the position where the card insertion slot A is opened. That is, when the solenoid 6 is excited from the closed state of the card insertion slot A shown in FIG. 2 and the plunger 38 moves to the solenoid 6 side, the shutter 35 is raised and the card insertion slot A is opened. When excitation of the solenoid 6 is lost, the plunger 38 protrudes from the solenoid 6 by, for example, urging of a spring (not shown), the shutter 35 is lowered, and the card insertion slot A is closed.

  Inside the transport rollers 31, 32, the thermal print head 17 and the magnetic head 40 are arranged with the card transport path in between. The thermal print head 17 is for erasing an image displayed on the display unit 53 of the card 50 or writing another image on the display unit 53. The magnetic head 40 is for reading magnetic data recorded in the recording unit 52 of the card 50 and writing other magnetic data in the recording unit 52. Further inside the thermal print head 17 and the magnetic head 40, another pair of transport rollers 41 and 42 that sandwich and transport the card 50 are disposed. Here, a card transport mechanism is constituted by the motor 8 and the two pairs of transport rollers 31, 32, 41, 42 and the like.

  On the other hand, the card 50 used in this card reader / writer has an identification image 51 formed at the insertion side end on the front side as shown in FIG. The identification image 51 is shown here as a barcode indicating the direction and type, but may be other than the barcode. On the same surface side of the card 50, an arrow 54 indicating the insertion direction is formed close to the identification image 51. A recording unit 52 is formed on the back side of the card 50. Here, the recording unit 52 is a magnetic stripe for magnetically recording data.

  The entire surface of the card 50 is the display unit 53, but the display unit 53 may be only a part. As described above, the display unit 53 is provided with a rewritable layer (not shown) that can rewrite an image, and the display unit 53 is rewritten depending on the temperature. Specifically, an image is written by rapidly heating (high temperature) and rapidly cooling (low temperature) the display unit 53 by the thermal print head 17 in a state where no image is written on the display unit 53. That is, a rapid coloring causes a colored state (image appears), and this colored state is maintained by rapid cooling (image remains). On the contrary, the image is erased by heating / cooling the display unit 53 for a long time at an intermediate temperature by the thermal print head 17 in a state where the image is written on the display unit 53. That is, the colored state becomes a decolored state (image disappears) by long-time heating at an intermediate temperature, and this decolored state is maintained by cooling. A rewritable layer having such characteristics is already known.

  Next, operations when the card 50 is read and written by the card reader / writer will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. However, in the flowcharts of FIGS. 4 and 5, for the sake of simplicity, the image (only the necessary part) is erased and the magnetic data is read when the card is carried in, and the image (only the necessary part) is taken out when the card is carried out. Writing and magnetic data writing.

  In step ST1, when the card insertion slot A is closed by the shutter 35 and the card 50 is inserted into the card insertion slot A until it hits the shutter 35 (state of FIG. 2), the card 50 is inserted into the insertion side end. A certain identification image 51 is detected by the CCD 2. At this time, it is determined whether any image is detected by the CCD 2, and if no image is detected, even if the inserted card is different from the card 50 of the predetermined format, or even if it is the card 50 of the predetermined format Since it is assumed that the insertion direction is wrong, the process is terminated.

  When the CCD 2 detects any image in step ST1, it is determined in step ST2 whether or not the detected image is a correct identification image registered in advance. When this determination is NO, it is determined that the detected image is an image different from the correct identification image, and in step ST10, the buzzer 10 sounds through the warning circuit 9 and the LED 11 is turned on or flashing. The user is warned to that effect, and the process ends.

  If the detected image is a correct identification image, the solenoid 6 is excited via the solenoid drive circuit 5 in step ST3, the shutter 35 is raised by the movement of the plunger 38, and the card insertion slot A is opened. Next, in step ST4, the motor 8 is rotated forward via the motor drive circuit 7, and the card 50 is carried into the card insertion slot A by the two pairs of transport rollers 31, 32, 41, and 42. When the card 50 is taken in, in step ST5, the solenoid 6 is de-energized and the plunger 38 is returned to its original position by the bias of the spring, so that the shutter 35 is lowered and the card insertion slot A is closed. .

  Subsequently, in step ST6, in order to start erasing the image on the display unit 53 of the card 50 (deleting only a necessary part), as described above, the thermal print head 17 is kept at a medium temperature via the thermal head driving circuit 16. Drive time. At the same time, reading of magnetic data from the recording unit 52 of the card 50 is started by the magnetic head 40 in step ST7. In step ST8, the read magnetic data is transferred to the host computer 15 through the I / F 14.

  In the next step ST9, it is determined whether the image erasure on the display unit 53 and the magnetic data reading on the recording unit 52 have been completed up to the end of the card 50. If not, the image erasing and magnetic data reading / transfer are continued. When the processing is completed up to the end of the card 50, in step ST11, the thermal print head 17 is turned off, the forward rotation of the motor 8 is stopped, and the card 50 by the two pairs of transport rollers 31, 32, 41, 42 is used. Stop the transport. Thereafter, in step ST12, image data is received from the host computer 15 in order to write a new image on the display unit 53 of the card 50, and in step ST13, new magnetic data is written in the recording unit 52 of the card 50. In addition, the magnetic data is received from the host computer 15.

  In step ST14, the motor 8 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the card 50 is conveyed in the direction of the card insertion slot A by the two pairs of conveying rollers 31, 32, 41, and 42. At this time, in order to start writing the image data acquired from the host computer 15 to the display unit 53 of the card 50 (writing only the necessary part) in step ST15, the thermal print head 17 is driven at a high temperature for a short time as described above. To do. At the same time, in step ST16, the magnetic head 40 starts writing the magnetic data acquired from the host computer 15 to the recording unit 52 of the card 50.

  Next, in step ST17, it is determined whether the motor 8 has been rotated a predetermined number of times (reverse rotation). That is, by checking the rotation speed of the motor 8, it is determined whether the writing of the image data to the display unit 53 of the card 50 or the writing of the magnetic data to the recording unit 52 has been completed. When this determination is NO, writing of image data and magnetic data is continued. When the determination is YES, in step ST18, the thermal print head 17 is turned off, the reverse rotation of the motor 8 is stopped, and the conveyance of the card 50 by the two pairs of conveyance rollers 31, 32, 41, 42 is stopped. The process ends. At this point, the card 50 that has been written is positioned in the card insertion slot A.

  In the above embodiment, the display unit 53 of the card 50 is formed with a rewritable layer that erases and writes an image by temperature control by the thermal print head 17, but erases and writes an image by magnetization. A rewritable layer may be formed.

  In the above embodiment, the card 50 has the writable display unit 53 and erases and writes the image on the display unit 53. However, the card 50 may have no display unit 53. In this case, the magnetic data in the recording unit 52 is only read and written by the magnetic head 40. Further, it is not necessary to read and write magnetic data by the magnetic head 40, and only one of them may be used.

  In addition, the identification image 51 is printed on the opposite end of the card 50 and the arrow 54 is printed in the opposite direction, so that it can be inserted into the card reader / writer in the reverse direction. At this time, the recording unit 52 uses a magnetic surface that has not been used so far, and the life of the card 50 can be extended. Further, by using both the forward direction and the reverse direction, two recording sections 52 can be formed, and the information that can be recorded can be doubled.

It is a block diagram of a configuration example of a card reader / writer according to an embodiment. It is the schematic of the structural example of the mechanism part of the card reader / writer near the card insertion slot. It is a top view of the surface side which shows an example of the card | curd used with the card reader / writer. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement when reading and writing of a card | curd with the card reader / writer. FIG. 5 is a flowchart following FIG. 4.

Explanation of symbols

1 MPU
2 CCD (image detection sensor)
6 Solenoid 8 Motor 15 Host computer 17 Thermal print head 31, 32 Conveyance roller 35 Shutter 40 Magnetic head 41, 42 Conveyance roller A Card insertion slot 50 Card 51 Identification image 52 Recording unit 53 Display unit

Claims (3)

There is a card having an identification image and an insertion direction arrow at the insertion side end of the surface, and an identification image and an insertion direction arrow in the direction opposite to the insertion direction arrow at the end opposite to the insertion side end. Card insertion slot to be inserted, card transport mechanism for transporting a card inserted from the card insertion slot along the card transport path, an image detection sensor provided in the card insertion slot, and identification of the card detected by the image detection sensor Determining means for determining whether or not the image for use matches a pre-registered identification image, and when the card is determined to match by the determining means, when the card is transported along the card transport path by the card transport mechanism A card reader / writer which performs at least one of reading and writing of a card. The card has a recording unit for recording data on the back surface, and includes means for reading data in the recording unit of the card and / or writing data in the recording unit when the card is transported by the card transport mechanism. The card reader / writer according to claim 1. The card has a display section for displaying an image on the surface, and means for erasing the image on the display section of the card and writing the image on the display section when the card is transported by the card transport mechanism. 3. The card reader / writer according to claim 2 , wherein the card reader / writer is arranged opposite to the means for reading data in the recording unit and / or writing data in the recording unit .

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