JPS6156831B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a magnetic card recording method that uses a magnetic card as an information recording medium, transports this magnetic card by a transport mechanism, and performs recording and reproduction by a magnetic head provided on a transport path. The present invention relates to a playback device.

Conventionally, many devices of this type have been incorporated into cash dispensers, automatic ticket gates, and the like for general use. With these devices, the person managing the device is often always nearby, and even if a recording error occurs on the magnetic card due to dirt on the magnetic head, the user can press a button or otherwise contact the administrator. By calling, the equipment could be cleaned and restored immediately, and the user could easily take appropriate action.

However, when this type of device is applied to public telephones, which are installed in unmanned environments and where it is difficult for administrators to respond immediately, it is difficult to detect errors in recording on magnetic cards. If there is no means, it will cause inconvenience to the users.
For example, if the magnetic card is left in the device, the user will have to wait for the administrator to arrive; on the other hand, if the magnetic card is returned as it is, the user will be unable to remove the card from the device due to malfunction. There is no way to know when it is no longer usable. Furthermore, it is difficult for the administrator to determine whether the card has become unusable due to a malfunction in the device or due to mishandling by the user, and if the device is left as it is, it will be difficult for subsequent users to use the card. This may cause similar inconvenience to users.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide information to users and management that, when a recording error occurs, the magnetic card has become unusable due to device failure. To provide a magnetic card recording and reproducing device that can be checked by a person and can avoid troubles for subsequent users.

In order to achieve such an objective, the present invention
After recording on a magnetic card, it is played back to confirm the contents, and if there is an error, a predetermined code is assigned to the magnetic card and the card is returned, after which a malfunction is indicated on the display and the operation is stopped. be. Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using Examples.

The figure is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a display device consisting of a light emitting diode, which is provided at a location easily visible to the user. 2 is a magnetic card, 3 is an input slot, 4 is a detector consisting of a photo coupler, 5 is a control circuit consisting of a microprocessor, 6 is a motor, 7a and 7b are conveyor belts, 8 is a magnetic head for recording and reproducing, and 9 is a magnetic head for recording and reproducing. A return port, 10 is a punch mechanism formed by attaching a punch pin to a solenoid magnet, 11a to 11d are rollers, 12 is a reduction pulley, 13 is a drive belt,
14 is a memory. The rotation of motor 6 is transmitted to conveyor belts 7a and 7b via drive belt 13 and reduction pulley 12.

In the above configuration, when the indicator 1 is lit, it indicates that the device is ready for use. In this case, when the magnetic card 2 is inserted from the slot 3, the detector 4 detects it. Detection and control circuit 5
sends a detection signal to In response to this detection signal, the control circuit 5 issues a normal rotation command to the motor 6, thereby causing the motor 6 to start rotating in the normal direction. As a result, the magnetic card 2 is taken into the device by the movement of the conveyor belts 7a and 7b. When the magnetic card 2 passes through the magnetic head 8, the information recorded on the magnetic card 2 is reproduced, and the reproduced information is stored in the memory 14 via the control circuit 5. When the regeneration is finished, the control circuit 5 issues a stop command to the motor 6,
As a result of the motor 6 stopping its rotation, the magnetic card 2 remains within the transport path. For example, when applied to a cashless public telephone that uses magnetic cards instead of coins, the information stored in the memory 14 indicates the credit amount, and when a call is made, the contents are transferred to the control circuit in response to the arrival of a billing signal. Subtracted through 5. After the end of the call, in order to update the recorded information on the magnetic card 2 according to the updated contents of the memory 14, the control circuit 5 issues a reverse rotation command to the motor 6, which causes the motor 6 to start reverse rotation. When the magnetic card 2 passes the magnetic head 8, the information stored in the memory 14 is recorded on the magnetic card 2 by the magnetic head 8. When the recording is completed, the control circuit 5 issues a normal rotation command to the motor 6 again, and the motor 6 starts normal rotation. When the magnetic card 2 passes through the magnetic head 8, the updated recorded contents of the magnetic card 2 are reproduced by the magnetic head 8. The reproduced information is taken into the control circuit 5 and compared there with the contents of the memory 14. As a result, if it is confirmed that the contents of the memory 14 are correctly recorded on the magnetic card 2, the magnetic card 2 is transported to the return slot 9 and returned to the user.

On the other hand, if normal recording is not performed due to contamination of the magnetic head 8 or malfunction of other equipment, the reproduced information is stored in the memory 14.
This will not match the contents of . In this case,
The control circuit 5 sends a stop command to the motor 6 to stop the magnetic card 2 at the position of the punch mechanism 10. Next, the control circuit 5 sends an operation command to the punch mechanism 10, and in response to this, the punch mechanism 10 operates to punch holes in the magnetic card 2 at predetermined positions. When the punching operation is completed, the motor 6 starts rotating in the normal direction according to a normal rotation command from the control circuit 5, and the magnetic card 2 is sent to the return slot 9. At the same time, the control circuit 5
The device issues a light-off command to turn off the light, indicating that the device is no longer usable, and also cuts off the power supply and stops all operations.

A punch hole punched in a magnetic card indicates that the magnetic card is no longer usable due to a device failure or other cause.The punch hole allows the user to distinguish it from other magnetic cards, and also allows the user to use it at a later date.
You can see the fold and exchange it for a new magnetic card. On the other hand, the administrator can also see at a glance that the magnetic card presented by the user has become unusable due to a device malfunction due to a punch hole punched in a predetermined position. You can check with. In addition, if an abnormality occurs in the device itself, such as a recording failure,
It is configured to display a message informing the user and then stop its operation by itself.
Similar inconvenience will not be caused to subsequent users.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, a punch hole was punched as a code to distinguish cards that were no longer usable, but the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, a predetermined symbol may be printed on the surface.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an indicator made of a light emitting diode was used to indicate that the device is unusable by turning off the light, but the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, it is also possible to use a display device that displays text.

Further, in the embodiments described above, a microprocessor is used as the control circuit and various controls are performed by software processing, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the present invention is not limited to this. The comparison between the information obtained by post-reproduction and the original memory contents may be performed by hardware processing by providing a logic circuit separate from the microprocessor.

As explained above, according to the present invention, if a recording error occurs, the magnetic card is stamped with a predetermined mark and returned, and the device itself displays an indication that it is unusable and stops its functions. This allows users and administrators to know from the above stamp that the magnetic card has become unusable due to a malfunction on the device side, and to prevent similar inconvenience from occurring to subsequent users. It can be effectively prevented. Therefore, the present invention has the effect of eliminating the obstacles to applying magnetic card recording/reproducing devices to devices used in environments where it is difficult for managers to respond quickly, such as public telephones, and expanding the field of application of this type of device. have

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figure is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1...Display device, 2...Magnetic card, 5...Control circuit, 6...Motor, 7a, 7b...Transport belt, 8...Magnetic head, 9...Return slot, 10...
Punch mechanism, 14...memory.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a magnetic card recording and reproducing device that transports a magnetic card by a transport mechanism and records and reproduces information on the magnetic card using a magnetic head provided on a transport path, a display, a code assigning mechanism facing the transport path, and a magnetic A memory for storing information to be stored on the card, a control circuit for controlling the transport mechanism, a magnetic head, a display, a code assigning mechanism, and the memory are provided, and the contents of the memory are recorded on the magnetic card and then reproduced. to compare the playback information and the memory contents.
If the two are different, a predetermined code is assigned to the magnetic card by a code assigning mechanism, the magnetic card is returned, and then a malfunction is displayed on a display and the operation is stopped. Device.