JPH05307653A - Data recording/reading system for prepaid card - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a highly safe prepaid card data recording/reading system capable of executing detailed card management at a low cost. CONSTITUTION:In the data recording/reading system for a prepaid card 10 constituted of a magnetic recording part for writably/readably recording the using data of a respective card and a printing part 12 capable of printing out at least a part of the using data and card management data on the front or rear face of the card 10, a bar code 13 constituting the card management data is printed out on the printing part 12 by the same method as the printing method of using data at an optional point of time after manufacturing the card 10, and at the time of using the card 10, the bar code 13 is read out.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention records the usage data of individual cards such as the date of use, the amount spent, the balance, etc. as magnetic data, and manages and sells a part of the usage data and the card. The present invention relates to a data recording / reading method of a prepaid card capable of recording card management data used for management and the like by printing or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional prepaid card, the date of use, the amount of money used, the remaining amount, etc. are written as usage data in a recording section provided at a predetermined position on the front surface of the card according to the state of use. By punching holes near the number indicating the remaining amount printed according to the usage state, or by sequentially printing the numbers indicating the remaining amount etc. by a printer according to the use state, It is known to display the remaining amount of money on a card. Since such a prepaid card needs to write the above-mentioned usage data into the recording section each time the card is used, the recording section is a so-called magnetic recording section formed by applying a magnetic substance to the card surface. It is configured.

Further, in the prepaid card having such a structure, it is necessary to record card management data in the card itself for production management, sales management, etc. The amount of magnetic data that can be recorded is relatively small, and therefore there is no room for writing detailed card management data in the magnetic recording unit.

Therefore, a prepaid card 1 as shown in FIG. 4 is known. That is, in FIG. 4, the prepaid card 1 is provided with a second magnetic recording section 3 for recording card management data, in addition to the magnetic recording section 2 for recording utilization data. As a result, the card management data recorded in the second magnetic recording unit 3 can be read arbitrarily.

Further, since the card management data need not be changed after being written at the time of production or at the time of sale, as shown in FIG. 5, the bar code 4 by which the card management data can be visually recognized by printing or the like is printed. There is also known a prepaid card 1 which is written as, so that the card management data can be arbitrarily read.

[0006]

However, in the case of a prepaid card in which the card management data shown in FIG. 4 is recorded in the second magnetic recording section, the card management data is stored at the time of selling the card. It is possible to write to the magnetic recording unit of the card, and therefore fine-grained card management data can be recorded. However, in order to read or write the card management data recorded in the second magnetic recording unit, a reader for a prepaid card can be used. There is a problem in that the writer needs to be further provided with a dedicated magnetic head for writing / reading to / from the second magnetic recording section, resulting in an increase in cost.

In the case of the prepaid card of the format shown in FIG. 5 in which the card management data can be recorded as a visible bar code on the card surface by printing or the like, the visible bar code is directly printed on the card surface. Is suitable for creating a large number of cards such as during production, so the same data will be attached to each large lot such as each production lot of cards, and as a result, small lots at the time of selling cards etc. Since it is not possible to set individual or individual card management data, there is a problem that fine card management is impossible.

There is also one in which the visible bar code is printed on the surface of a label or the like and the label is attached to the surface of the card. This is done on the front surface or the back surface of a completed prepaid card. Since the label with the barcode printed on each is attached later, the work is complicated and troublesome, and the label may peel off from the surface of the prepaid card during use. There was a problem with safety, such as the inability to manage cards.

In view of the above points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a prepaid card data recording / reading system which enables fine card management at low cost and high safety.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the above object is to provide a magnetic recording portion on the front surface or the back surface of a card in which the usage data of each card can be written and read, and the usage data. In a data recording / reading method for a prepaid card, which includes at least a part and a printing unit on which card management data can be printed, a bar which forms the card management data in the printing unit at any time after the card is manufactured. This is achieved by a data recording / reading method of a prepaid card, which is characterized in that the code is printed by the same method as the printing method of the utilization data and the bar code is read when the card is used.

In the data recording / reading method of the prepaid card according to the present invention, the printing on the printing portion is preferably performed by the discharge breakdown printing method.

In the data recording / reading method of the prepaid card according to the present invention, the data recording / reading of the prepaid card is performed by the reader / writer provided with the printing device and the bar code reading device.

[0013]

According to the above construction, the printing of the card management data is performed at an arbitrary time after the card is manufactured, for example, at the time of inputting magnetic data or at the time of sale by the same printing method as the printing of the usage data. Alternatively, individual card management data can be set, and as a result, finer card management can be performed. Further, since the card management data is printed by the same printing method as the printing of the usage data, the card management data can be printed by using the printing mechanism of the usage data as it is. Can be performed at a relatively low cost. Further, when the printing method is the discharge breakdown printing method, tampering with the usage data and the card management data can be effectively prevented, and the safety of the card can be improved. If data is recorded / read on a prepaid card by a reader / writer equipped with a printer and a bar code reader, the card management data can be obtained at the same time as the recording / reading of usage data when the card is used. Therefore, more detailed card management is possible.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the structure of a prepaid card used in a data recording / reading method according to the present invention. The prepaid card 10 is a lower surface of a card body 11 made of a non-magnetic material such as plastic such as PET or paper. A known type of magnetic card constituted by sequentially forming a magnetic recording layer and a protective layer (not shown) on the surface of a printing unit 12 (the entire surface of the card body 11 in the case shown) formed on the surface thereof. A part of, for example, the lower area on the right side edge is formed as the card management data recording section 13.

This embodiment is constructed as described above,
The prepaid card 10 configured as described above corresponds to card management data by using a reader / writer equipped with a printing device at any time after its manufacture, for example, when magnetic data is input or when it is sold. The barcode is printed on the card management data recording unit 13 and the printing unit 1
Printing is performed by the same method as the printing method of the usage data for No. 2, preferably the discharge breakdown printing method. After this, after the prepaid card 10 is delivered to the user, every time the prepaid card 10 is used, a reader / writer equipped with a bar code reader is used to print on the card management data recording unit 13. The read bar code is read, and detailed usage data is magnetically recorded by the magnetic head on the magnetic recording layer formed on the lower surface of the card body 11, and at the same time, on the printing unit 12 on the surface of the card body 11. A part of the usage data, for example, the date of use, the amount of money, the balance, etc., is printed by, for example, the discharge breakdown printing method.

FIG. 2 shows a prepaid card 10 'in which a card management data recording section 13 is provided at a position different from that of the prepaid card 10 of FIG. 1, that is, near the lower edge of the card body 11. The other configurations and operations are similar to those of the prepaid card 10.

As the reader / writer, a reader / writer device including a printing device and a bar code reading device is used. Specifically, for example, a reader / writer device 20 for reading and writing magnetic data as shown in FIG. 3 is used. This device includes a reader / writer unit 22 arranged along a card running path 21 for recording and reproducing usage data on a magnetic recording layer of a prepaid card 10, and a barcode printed on a card management data recording unit in the vicinity thereof. And a discharge destruction type printer 24 for printing and displaying the usage data and the card management data on the card surface by discharge destruction.
The usage data and management data are printed and the barcode data is read in synchronization with the running of the card.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the printing of the card management data is performed at the arbitrary time after the card is manufactured, for example, when the magnetic data is input or at the time of sale, by the same printing method as the printing of the usage data. It is possible to set card management data for each small lot, and as a result, fine card management can be performed. Further, since the card management data is printed by the same printing method as the printing of the usage data, the card management data can be printed by using the printing mechanism of the usage data as it is, and the recording of the card management data is relatively low. Can be done at cost. Further, when the printing method is the discharge breakdown printing method, tampering with the usage data and the card management data can be effectively prevented, and the safety of the card can be improved. Further, since the data recording / reading of the prepaid card is performed by the reader / writer device including the printing device and the bar code reading device, it is possible to obtain the card management data at the same time as the recording / reading of the usage data when the card is used. As a result, more detailed card management is possible.

[0019]

As described above, according to the recording / reading method of the prepaid card according to the present invention, it is possible to perform fine card management at low cost, and it is very important in practical use that it is highly safe.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a prepaid card used in an embodiment of a data recording / reading method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a modified example of the prepaid card of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a reader / writer device with a printing device for a prepaid card used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a conventional prepaid card.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing another example of a conventional prepaid card.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10 'prepaid card 11 card body 12 printing unit 13 card management data recording unit 20 reader / writer device with printing device

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic recording unit capable of writing / reading the usage data of each card on the front surface or the back surface of the card, and a printing unit capable of printing at least a part of the usage data and card management data. In the data recording / reading method of the prepaid card equipped with, the bar code which forms the card management data is printed on the printing section at the arbitrary time after the manufacturing by the same method as the printing method of the usage data, and the card is used. A data recording / reading method for a prepaid card, characterized in that the bar code is sometimes read. 2. The printing on the printing unit is performed by a discharge breakdown printing method.
Data recording / reading method for prepaid cards described in. 3. Data recording for a prepaid card
The reading is performed by a reader / writer provided with a printing device and a barcode reading device.
A data recording / reading method for the prepaid card according to claim 1.