JP2006035616A - Point card and point card printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a point card, in which the number of issue sheets of a card is not compelled to increase even in case that the amount of money per point is set lower and the accumulated number of present points can be easily confirmed from the points themselves printed in a printing area. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of star-shaped points 16 are at least printed side by side to an additional record provided on one side of a resin base material sheet 11 or in a recordable or erasable print recording part 12 and further each point 16 can be splittingly printed in response to the amount of money purchased. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a point card to which points according to the purchase amount of goods or services are given and a printing method thereof.

  For example, there is a point card on which points are printed by a thermal printer as points that are given according to the purchase price of goods or services. Such point cards are used for discounts, prize exchanges, and the like when a predetermined number of points are reached. Here, the points are usually printed so that the accumulated state can be seen at a glance with dots or various symbols.

  By the way, such a point card is a business card size, and a design or the like is printed on the card itself, so that the point printing area is restricted. Therefore, since the number of points that can be printed in the printing area is limited, it is necessary to set the amount per point higher if discounts or prize exchanges can be performed with one point card. That is, for example, when the amount per point is 500 yen, if the purchase amount has reached 1500 yen, 3 points are printed.

  However, if the purchase amount is less than 1500 yen, only 2 points are printed, and the point card cannot give satisfaction or a sense of value to the purchaser. In this case, by setting the amount per point low, buyers can be satisfied and profitable, but until the point reaches the predetermined number until it is used for discounts or gift exchanges. Requires multiple point cards.

Here, in Patent Document 1, for example, the outline of the face of “Okame” is printed in advance in a print area having a rewrite layer, and elements such as eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth of the face of “Okame” are purchased. A point printing method is proposed in which if the face of “okame” is completed, it can be seen that the point has reached a predetermined number until it is used for discounts or prize exchange.
JP 2002-137578 A

  However, as in Patent Document 1 described above, by increasing the elements such as the eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth of the face of “Okame”, the amount per point card can be set lower. However, there is a problem that the accumulated number of current points cannot be confirmed from the “okame” face itself until the “okame” face is completed.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that even if the amount per point is set low, the number of cards issued is not increased, and the current point from the point printed in the print area itself It is an object of the present invention to provide a point card and a printing method for the point card that can easily confirm the cumulative number of the card.

The point card of the present invention is a point card that has at least one additional recording on one surface of a base sheet or a recording area that can be recorded and erased, and a plurality of points are arranged and printed in the printing area. Each of the plurality of points is constituted by divided printing corresponding to the purchase amount.
Further, the point may be composed of a dot or a predetermined symbol.
The point card printing method of the present invention has a printing area on which at least one surface of the base sheet can be additionally recorded or can be recorded and erased, and the point card printing method for printing a plurality of points side by side in the printing area In this case, each of the plurality of points is divided and printed according to the purchase amount.
In the point card according to the present invention, when printing a plurality of points side by side with respect to at least additional recording provided on one surface of the base sheet or recording and erasing, each point is used as a purchase price. In accordance with this, division printing can be performed.

  According to the point card and the printing method of the present invention, when printing a plurality of points side by side with respect to at least additional recording provided on one surface of the base sheet or recording and erasable printing areas, The points can be divided and printed according to the purchase amount, so even if the amount per point is set low, the number of cards issued is not increased and printed in the print area. The accumulated number of current points can be easily confirmed from the points to be played.

  In this embodiment, when printing a plurality of points side by side for at least additional recording provided on one surface of the base sheet or recording and erasing, each point is divided according to the purchase amount. Even if it is possible to print and the amount per point is set low, the number of cards issued is not increased, and the current point is accumulated from the point printed in the print area itself. The number can be easily checked.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining an outline of a card reader / writer that gives points to a point card of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram for explaining an outline of an internal configuration of the card reader / writer of FIG. 3 and 4 are diagrams for explaining a point card to which points are given by the card reader / writer of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining points given to the point cards of FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a point printing method by the card reader / writer of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining another embodiment when the shape of the point of FIG. 5 is changed. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a card reader / writer (hereinafter referred to as a reader / writer) 20 has a card insertion / discharge port 22 for a point card 10 on the front surface of a casing 21, and a key input part 23 on the upper side thereof. Further, a liquid crystal display unit 24 is provided on the upper surface.

  The key input unit 23 includes numeric keys from “0” to “9”, an inspection key, an exchange key, a sales key, a total key, a correction key, an X key, and the like. A power cable 25 and a communication cable 26 for connecting to a register or a personal computer are provided at the rear part of the casing 21.

  In the casing 21, as shown in FIG. 2, there is a control unit 40 that controls the transport roller 27, the print head 28, the magnetic head 29, the key input unit 23, the communication adapter 30, the card insertion sensor 31, and the liquid crystal display unit 24. Is provided.

  The control unit 40 includes a roller driving circuit 41, a print head driving circuit 42, a magnetic head recording / reproducing circuit 43, a key controller 44, a RAM 45, a CPU 46, a ROM 47, a clock means 48, a data memory 49, and a data bus 49a.

  The roller drive circuit 41 drives the transport roller 27 that transports the point card 10 inserted from the card insertion / discharge port 22. When the point card 10 is inserted from the card insertion / discharge port 22, the point card 10 is optically detected by the card insertion sensor 31.

  The print head drive circuit 42 causes the print head 28 to perform a printing operation. The magnetic head recording / reproducing circuit 43 causes the magnetic head 29 to read and write data on the point card 10.

  The key controller 44 receives an input from the key input unit 23. The RAM 45 stores print data to be printed on the point card 10 by the print head 28. When the point card 10 is detected by the card insertion sensor 31, the CPU 46 controls the operation of each unit according to a predetermined program.

  The ROM 47 stores programs and the like necessary for the control of the CPU 46. The clock means 48 gives the current time as data. The data memory 49 stores data to be written to the point card 10 by the magnetic head 29, data read from the point card 10, and the like. Note that the communication adapter 30 communicates with a host computer, a register, etc. (none of which are shown) provided outside.

Next, the point card 10 on which points and the like are printed by the reader / writer 20 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 3, the point card 10 has a print recording portion 12 as a print area capable of thermal printing on the surface of the resin base sheet 11, and magnetic recording made of a magnetic material applied on the back surface. This is a so-called magnetic card having the portion 13. The print recording unit 12 includes a type that can only perform additional recording and a type that can be repeatedly recorded and erased.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, the magnetic recording unit 13 is composed of a belt-like magnetic area, and for example, a tissue ID code recording area, a ticket issuer ID code recording area, a card ID code recording area, and usage data. It is divided by recording areas (not shown), and various codes and data are written as digital signals of a predetermined number of bits by the magnetic head 29 described above.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, a member number 14, an issue date 15, points 16, and the like are printed on the print recording unit 12.

  Here, the point 16 may be printed by a dot or a predetermined symbol, and in this embodiment, the symbol is, for example, a star shape. Further, the points 16 are printed side by side or vertically. Each star-shaped point 16 is divided and printed according to the purchase amount as shown in FIGS.

  That is, when the amount per point is 100 yen, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the point 16 with the star shape being 1/5 is printed at 100 yen, and at 200 yen, the point 16 is printed in FIG. 5 (b). As shown in FIG. 5, point 16 with a star shape of 2/5 is printed. As shown in FIG. 5C, point 16 with a star shape of 3/5 is printed at 300 yen, and at 400 yen, FIG. As shown in FIG. 5D, the point 16 with a star shape of 4/5 is printed, and for 500 yen, the star shape is completed as shown in FIG. Then, one completed star shape as shown in FIG. 5E can be set to 5 points, for example.

  Thus, by dividing and printing one point 16 according to the purchase amount, the amount per point can be set lower. Also, by confirming the completed points 16 and the points 16 that have been divided and printed, the current cumulative number of points can be easily determined.

Next, a printing method for the point card 10 will be described.
It is assumed that the point card 10 described below can only be additionally recorded.

  First, as shown in FIG. 6, when payment is performed, the customer's point card 10 is inserted into the card insertion / discharge port 22 of the reader / writer 20 in a register payment counter or the like (step S1). At this time, when the insertion of the point card 10 is detected by the card insertion sensor 31, the point card 10 is drawn by the rotation of the transport roller 27, and the data of the magnetic recording unit 13 is read by the magnetic head 29 (step S2). ).

  Next, the CPU 46 determines whether or not the read data matches the code in the data memory 49 (step S3). If the code does not match, the point card 10 is ejected (step S4). Thereby, unauthorized use of the point card 10 is prevented. On the other hand, if they match, the number of points, the date of issue, etc. are determined from the data (step S5).

  Next, if an expiration date has been set, it is determined whether or not the expiration date has been reached (step S6). If the expiration date has expired, the expiration date is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24 and a point card. 10 is discharged from the card insertion / discharge port 22 (step S4).

  On the other hand, if it is within the expiration date, the current number of points is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24, and contents for prompting the operation of the exchange key for point exchange and the sales key for accumulation of point 16 are displayed ( Step S7). Here, when the point card 10 can only be additionally recorded, only the accumulation of the points 16 is performed, so that the operation using the exchange key is invalid. Therefore, when the point 16 of the point card 10 is full, a content such as “Point is full” is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24. On the other hand, when the point card 10 is of a rewritable type, the operation using the exchange key is valid, which will be described later.

  Here, when the sales key is operated, contents prompting the user to input the purchase amount are displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24. Therefore, when the purchase amount is input from the key input unit 23 according to the contents, the purchase amount is preliminarily stored. It is converted into the number of points at a predetermined ratio and added to the accumulated points recorded in the magnetic recording unit 13 by the magnetic head 29 (step S8).

  Further, based on the converted number of points, the star-shaped points 16 described in FIG. 5 are divided and printed by the print head 28 on the print recording unit 12 of the point card 10 (step S9). That is, as described above, when the amount of money per point is 100 yen, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), 100 points are printed with points 16 with a star shape of 1/5, and 200 yen is shown in FIG. As shown in (b), the point 16 with a star shape of 2/5 is printed, and at 300 yen, the point 16 with a star shape of 3/5 is printed as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5D, a point 16 with a 4/5 star shape is printed, and for 500 yen, the star shape is completed as shown in FIG. 5E.

  When the divisional printing of the points 16 according to the purchase amount is completed, the point card 10 is discharged from the card insertion / discharge port 22 (step S9).

  In (Step S7), if the point card 10 is of a rewritable type, points can be exchanged. In this case, when the exchange amount is input by the key input unit 23, the point corresponding to the exchange amount is obtained. The number is subtracted from the accumulation point and subtracted from the accumulation point recorded in the magnetic recording unit 13 by the magnetic head 29.

  In this case, the point 16 printed on the print recording unit 12 of the point card 10 is corrected by the print head 28 based on the number of points corresponding to the exchange amount. That is, when the print recording unit 12 is a rewritable type that can be recorded and erased, the points 16 that have already been printed may be erased according to the number of points corresponding to the exchange amount.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of star-shaped points 16 are printed side by side on at least the additional recording provided on one surface of the resin base sheet 11 or the print recording unit 12 capable of recording and erasing. At the same time, since each point 16 can be divided and printed according to the purchase amount, even if the amount per point is set low, the number of cards issued is not increased. In addition, the cumulative number of current points 16 can be easily confirmed from the points themselves printed on the print recording unit 12.

  In this embodiment, the case where the point 16 is a star has been described. However, the point 16 is not limited to a star, but may be a polygon, such as a triangle, a circle, a quadrangle, or a pentagon. That is, for example, when a circle as shown in FIG. 7 is used, if the amount per point is 100 yen as in the above case, the circle is reduced to ¼ as shown in FIG. 16 is printed, and as shown in FIG. 7 (b) at 200 yen, a point 16 with a circle of 2/4 is printed, and at 300 yen, the circle is reduced to 3/4 as shown in FIG. 7 (c). The point 16 is printed, and a circle is completed at 400 yen as shown in FIG.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the point card 10 is only capable of additional recording, only the accumulation of the points 16 has been described, and the operation using the exchange key is invalid. You may make it the operation by a key become effective. In this case, an X mark or an erasing line (double line or the like) may be printed from the point 16 already printed according to the number of points corresponding to the exchange amount.

  The present invention can be applied not only to a magnetic card but also to an IC card capable of displaying points.

It is a perspective view for demonstrating the outline | summary of the card reader / writer which gives a point to the point card of this invention. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the outline | summary of the internal structure of the card reader / writer of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the point card to which a point is provided by the card reader / writer of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the point card to which a point is provided by the card reader / writer of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the point provided to the point card | curd of FIG.3 and FIG.4. 2 is a flowchart for explaining a point printing method by the card reader / writer of FIG. 1. It is a figure for demonstrating other embodiment at the time of changing the shape of the point of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 point card 11 resin base sheet 12 print recording unit 13 magnetic recording unit 16 point 20 reader / writer

Claims (3)

At least one surface of the base sheet has a print area that can be recorded only or recorded and erased, and a point card in which a plurality of points are arranged and printed in the print area,
Each of the plurality of points is configured by division printing according to a purchase amount.   The point card according to claim 1, wherein the points are dots or predetermined symbols. It is a printing method of a point card that has at least one additional recording on one side of the base sheet or a printing area that can be recorded and erased, and that prints a plurality of points arranged in the printing area,
Each of the plurality of points is divided and printed according to the purchase amount.

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