KR100798858B1 - A traffic card that combines a portable traffic card balance checker and its balance checker - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a portable traffic card balance checker and a traffic card in which the balance checker is integrally integrated, without the enormous cost of newly designing and manufacturing an RF chip for a traffic card or upgrading an existing terminal operating system accordingly. This is to enable the balance inquiry for the existing transportation card. The balance checker of the present invention is configured to communicate with a traffic card with the reader RF antenna 21, and a reader RF chip programmed to read and display various useful information such as the balance and the usage history or mileage points stored in the traffic card. (22), an indicator (23), a power supply unit (24), and a switching element (25). In addition, the traffic card combined with the balance checker of the present invention is equipped with the RF chip 11 and the RF antenna 12 of the existing traffic card integrally to the balance checker configuration of the previous inquiry of the useful information such as the balance itself Provided as possible transportation card. The reader RF chip is driven while the power is applied by the operation of the switching element, and communicates with the traffic card through the reader RF antenna to read useful information including the balance data and display it on the indicator. The RF chip for the reader can also communicate with one or more other transportation cards in close proximity, displaying useful information, including each balance data, in turn or updated on the indicator. Therefore, the user can check the useful information such as the balance of their own traffic card, and also can query other people's traffic cards around, thereby greatly increasing the user's convenience.

Description

Portable balance inquiry unit for traffic card and traffic card combined with same}

The present invention relates to a portable traffic card balance checker and a traffic card in which the balance checker is integrally integrated. In particular, the portable card can be used to search the remaining balance of the user's traffic card at any time by simply carrying it. The present invention relates to a traffic card balance inquiry device which can be inquired and a balance inquiry device integrated therein.

When using public transportation such as buses or subways, transportation cards are well known as a means of paying for fare instead of cash. A commercially available transportation card is a non-contact prepaid card. A semiconductor module that inputs (charges) cash as data information and an RF module for radio frequency (RF) communication as an input / output interface to the semiconductor circuit. And an RF antenna. Here, the semiconductor integrated circuit and the RF module operate as a miniature transponder composed of one chip (hereinafter referred to as an "RF chip"). The RF antenna is for communicating with an external device through a radio frequency of a certain frequency band, and also induces a current required to drive the RF chip by inducing an electromagnetic induction with the external device so that it can operate without a separate power source. It also functions as a power source. In other words, when the transportation card is brought close to the RF reader and writer terminal installed at the entrance of the bus or subway, the first RF signal transmitted from the RF card generates back electromotive force due to electromagnetic induction and the back electromotive force Current flows, and this current drives the RF chip. The RF chip provides the terminal with the data information of the charged amount according to the signal of the terminal through the RF antenna, and when the data information about the amount of the transportation fare is settled from the terminal is input, the RF chip is updated to store the transportation fare. It is programmed to go. For reference, the RF chip is stored with a unique number, and the terminal is automatically handed over the calculated fare from the amount previously paid by the user based on the unique information.

If the current balance information of the transportation card is insufficient, the ride is denied from the terminal, the user can continue to use by paying and recharging as much cash as desired through the terminal installed there. On the other hand, the terminal device is to display the charge amount and the settlement amount of the traffic card read, the user can check the balance of their own traffic card through the contents displayed on the terminal when getting on and off the bus or subway.

When a user attempts to use a bus or subway with a traffic card, in order to avoid being denied due to an insufficient amount of the balance of his or her own traffic card or an error due to the damage of the traffic card, the traffic card is often preferably used before boarding. You need to check in advance that you have enough money and that it is working. However, in the above-described traffic card and its operation system, the balance and normal operation can be checked only through the contents displayed on the terminal when the traffic card passes through the terminal installed at the bus or subway entrance. Not only is it difficult to remember, but unless you move to a designated charging station, there is no way to check the balance and normal operation before riding, which is a fact that has often caused difficulties such as refusal to ride.

In an effort to alleviate the inconvenience of the user, various methods for checking the balance of the transportation card have been proposed in the past, but have not been effective. This is as follows.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2006-0011278 proposes an inquiry machine which can inquire about the balance and transaction history of a contact smart card with a contact attached directly to an external terminal instead of the RF module. Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-0054814 proposes a contact smart card in which such an inquiry machine is integrated. The contact smart cards they use are only applied to a few credit cards or debit cards, and the system is different from the current transportation cards, especially in an environment where quick access and communication with terminals are required when getting on or off the bus or subway. On the other hand, since it may cause congestion and also various inconveniences such as poor reliability due to wear of a contact, application to a non-contact prepaid card such as a current traffic card is practically impossible.

On the other hand, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2006-0083443 is operated by a separate power and switch button operation, so that the balance inquiry of the contactless prepaid card, which is the same type as the currently available traffic card, can be directly connected to the RF chip, It is proposed to integrate the balance inquiry module into the card so that the balance information can be displayed. In addition, the Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-0423911 enables the balance check in the same way, and furthermore equipped with a bi-stable liquid crystal display, etc., without a separate power supply, starting with the current flowing induced to the RF antenna from the wireless signal of the external terminal It is proposed to display the current balance and to maintain the display state. According to these proposals, it is theoretically possible to display and confirm the amount of money information stored in the RF chip by operating the switch button even in a place without a terminal of a bus or subway entrance. However, the commercially available RF chip for traffic cards is defined in the ISO standard, there is a problem that can not be used for the proposed module. In other words, the RF chip required for the proposed module should be designed and manufactured with a new standard chip through a semiconductor manufacturer, and the operating system including the currently available transportation card and payment terminal can be compatible with the new chip. It is enormously expensive to upgrade to the environment, and in particular, the transportation card system is usually implemented in a wide range of cities and countries, so it can only be implemented if it is supported by the relevant government's policy decision regarding its operation. It is.

In addition, even if a card capable of inquiring the balance can be realized by the above-described conventional techniques, only the card balance which is integrally mounted therein can be inquired, and other cards cannot be inquired, so that its practicality is also low.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and the present invention has been focused on making it practically applicable without changing the current traffic card and its operating system. The object of the present invention is to use an RF chip of a conventional traffic card as it is. Users can easily carry and search useful information including the balance of their own transportation card anytime, anywhere, and in turn, can search several transportation cards owned by one another, and the traffic of other people around It is to provide a traffic card combined with a realistic portable traffic card balance checker and the balance checker that can also look up the card.

Portable traffic card balance query device according to the present invention for achieving the above object is provided with an RF antenna for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals, and communicated with the adjacent traffic card outside through the RF antenna and stored in the traffic card An RF chip programmed to read and display useful information including price data, and having an indicator connected to the RF chip to display useful information including the calculated price data, and to supply power to the RF chip and the indicator. A power supply unit for supplying is provided, and a switching element is operated to apply the power of the power supply unit for a predetermined time.

Preferably, the switching element is operated in conjunction with the external adjacent traffic card, so that useful information including the balance can be inquired by a so-called one-touch operation of bringing the traffic card to the recognition position without a separate switch operation. can do.

Also preferably, the RF chip transmits a signal to the external traffic card through the RF antenna when the power is applied, and transmits the amount data based on a signal input through the RF antenna from the external traffic card. The controller may be configured to extract useful information including the information and output the same to the display, and an RF module unit for interfacing the input / output signals between the RF antenna and the controller.

Also preferably, after the RF chip displays the necessary information including the price data of the traffic card, the RF chip in turn communicates with one or more other traffic cards in close proximity, thereby the amount of the one or more other traffic cards. Useful information, including data, may be configured to be displayed in turn on the indicator.

In addition, preferably, the useful information including the respective amounts of data of the plurality of transportation cards communicated in turn may be updated to the display in turn to display all of them.

On the other hand, the traffic card combined with the balance inquiring device according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the RF antenna for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals, the useful information including the stored amount data driven by the current flowing through the RF antenna and stored And a card portion including an RF chip programmed to transmit via an RF antenna and thereafter update the amount data according to a signal received from the RF antenna, and a reader for communicating with the RF antenna with a radio frequency signal. RF antenna, a reader RF chip programmed to communicate with the card portion via the reader RF antenna and extract and display useful information including the stored or updated amount data of the card portion, the RF chip being connected to the Indicator to display useful information including extracted amount data, the RF And a balance inquiry unit including a power supply unit for supplying power to a chip and an indicator, and a switching element which is operated to apply power to the power supply unit for a predetermined time.

Here, preferably, the reader RF chip transmits a signal to the card unit through the reader RF antenna when the power is applied and is based on a signal input from the card unit through the reader RF antenna. The control unit may extract useful information including data and output the same to the display, and the RF module unit may interface the input / output signals between the reader RF antenna and the control unit.

Also preferably, after the reader RF chip displays useful information including the value data of the card portion, the reader RF chip in turn communicates with one or two or more other transportation cards that are external to each other, thereby allowing one or more of the external ones or more to communicate therewith. Useful information, including the amount data of another transportation card, can be configured to be displayed in turn on the indicator.

In addition, preferably, the useful information including the respective amounts of data of the plurality of transportation cards communicated in turn to the outside may be updated in turn on the display to display all.

Useful information including the above price data includes information on the amount of money previously charged and the current balance, the use and settlement of the amount of money charged, the issuance information of the transportation card and the unique number of the chip, and the mileage provided by various event affiliates. All information that can be stored in the transportation card, such as point information, may be included.

The traffic card combined with the portable traffic card balance checker and the balance checker according to the present invention configured as described above is characterized by using an RF chip of an existing traffic card as it is.

Therefore, the present invention does not need to design and manufacture a chip of a new standard, and can be realized without incurring huge costs such as upgrading an existing operating system to be compatible with the chip of the new standard. Useful information such as the balance of the traffic card owned by the user can be inquired, and the inquiry can be used to check the normal operation of the card, as well as the traffic card of other people traveling together, thereby increasing the user's convenience. Will be provided.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a portable traffic card balance inquiry device with an existing traffic card according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a non-contact prepaid transit card using an existing RF signal as described above, and 20 denotes a balance inquiry machine of the present invention.

The traffic card 10, which will be commercially available, is equipped with the RF chip 11 and the RF antenna 12 as described above.

The balance inquiry machine 20 of the present invention includes a reader RF antenna 21, a reader RF chip 22, an indicator 23, a power supply unit 24, and a switching element 25, The RF chip 22 includes a controller 221 and an RF module 222. This balance inquiry machine 20 can be built in one small external case which is not shown, for example. The outer case may be provided, for example, as a synthetic resin molding, and may be preferably designed in the form of an accessory for a mobile phone or a key ring, for example, according to various preferences of users.

The reader RF antenna 11 and the reader RF chip 22 of the balance checker 20 may be the same type or the same standard as that mounted on the existing traffic card 10, but the reader RF chip The control unit 221 of 22 is programmed to perform a routine as shown in FIG.

Since the indicator 23, the power supply unit 24, and the switching element 25 are conventional, specific examples and explanations thereof are omitted for convenience. However, the switching element 25 may include a switch button for user manipulation, and the button may be disposed at a position interlocked by the traffic card 10 close to the recognition position.

The operation of the balance inquiring unit 20 of the present invention as described above will be described with reference to the control flowchart of FIG. 2.

The inquiry device 20 of the present invention is operated by a traffic card 10 in which the switching element 25 is directly manipulated or accessed by a user in a state where the power is normally turned off. The power is applied to the power supply. When the power is applied, the controller 221 initializes each circuit part (S21), and initiates communication (S22) with the traffic card 10 through the reader RF module 222. At this time, a radio frequency signal is transmitted from the reader RF antenna 21, and the RF chip 11 of the adjacent traffic card 10 is started by the current flowing through the RF antenna 12 and contains the remaining balance data. Useful information will be transmitted via the RF antenna 12. The useful information including the balance data of the transit card 10 is transmitted to the reader RF antenna 21 of the balance inquiry machine 20 and input to the controller 221 through the reader RF module 222. The control unit 221 determines whether useful information including the balance data is input from the traffic card 10 (S23). When the information is input, the controller 221 extracts useful information including the input balance data and extracts the useful information on the display 23. While displaying useful information including the remaining balance data (S24), if there is no data input within a predetermined time, an error message is output to the display unit 23 to display the error message (S25) or a buzzer through a buzzer (not shown). The output informs the error of the traffic card 10. Therefore, the user can check the balance of the transportation card 10 or check whether the transportation card 10 is normally operating in this process. Meanwhile, the controller 221 may be programmed to further perform a portion enclosed by a virtual line in the drawing as a preferred routine. That is, the time is counted after the above-described RF communication (S22) to determine whether the predetermined time has elapsed (S26). If the time has elapsed, the power is shut off to terminate the program. It is determined whether the card is close (S27). If it is determined that the user has approached another transportation card before the program is terminated, the user can repeatedly check the balance of the other transportation card from the above-described RF communication (S22). At this time, the display 23 can be cleared of the previous display content, or can be displayed together with the useful information including the balance of the other traffic card with the previous display content. For reference, the determination of the other transportation card may be possible by referring to the unique information input together from each transportation card in the process of determining whether the data is input (S23).

Figure 3 shows a traffic card in which the balance inquiry machine as described above is integrally combined according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the same reference numerals are given for the same or corresponding parts as in FIG.

The traffic card 30 of the present invention may be divided into a card unit 10 'and a balance inquiry unit 20' used as payment means by inputting (charging) a prepaid amount as data information, and the card unit 10 ') And the balance inquiry unit 20' are mounted on one substrate (not shown) and embedded in another outer case. The outer case can likewise be provided as a synthetic resin molding, for example, and can be designed in the form of a cell phone or a key ring accessory.

The card portion 10 'of the present embodiment may be composed of an RF chip 11 and an RF antenna 12 that are substantially the same as the components of the traffic card 10 of the above-described embodiment.

The balance inquiry unit 20 'of the present embodiment is a reader RF antenna 21, an reader RF chip 22, and an indicator 23 that are substantially the same as the components of the balance inquiry unit 20 of the above-described embodiment. ), A power supply unit 24, and a switching element 25. The reader RF chip 22 may include a control unit 221 and an RF module 222. The controller 221 may be programmed to perform a routine substantially the same as that of FIG. 2 described in the above-described embodiment. However, in the present embodiment, the card unit 10 'communicates with a card reader / writer terminal installed at a bus or subway entrance and performs a routine for payment of traffic fare irrespective of the balance inquiry unit 20'. .

As described above, the portable traffic card balance inquiry system and the traffic card in which the balance inquiry system is integrated as described above are not limited to those described above and illustrated in the drawings. The same applies to, for example, all types of RF-enabled contactless prepaid cards that can be used as a means of payment by charging data and cash and / or mileage or points data in such a way, for example. In addition, each embedded circuit configuration or program may be modified or modified in various other forms.

1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a portable transportation card balance inquiry machine according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention together with the circuit configuration of an existing transportation card.

FIG. 2 is a control flowchart of the balance inquiring device implemented in FIG. 1; FIG.

3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a traffic card in which a balance inquiring unit is integrated according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

10: transportation card 10 ': card portion

11: RF chip 12: RF antenna

20: Balance Inquiry 20 ': Balance Inquiry

21: RF Antenna for Reader 22: RF Chip for Reader

23: indicator 24: power supply

25: switching element 221: control unit

222: RF module

Claims (9)

delete delete delete delete delete RF antenna for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals, the information including the price data driven and stored by the current flowing induced by the RF antenna through the RF antenna and thereafter the price data according to the signal received from the RF antenna A card unit including an RF chip programmed to update the chip; A reader RF antenna for communicating with the RF antenna of the card portion with a radio frequency signal, and a communication with the card portion through the reader RF antenna so as to read and display information including the stored or updated amount data of the card portion. A reader RF chip that is subsequently programmed to communicate with one or more other transit cards in close proximity to the outside, information including value data of the card portion in connection with the reader RF chip, and the one or two adjacent ones outside. Balance display unit including an indicator for sequentially displaying information including the amount data of the other transportation cards, a power supply unit for supplying power to the reader RF chip and the indicator, a switching element which is operated to apply power to the power supply unit for a predetermined time Traffic card, characterized in that is provided. The RF chip of claim 6, wherein when a power source of the power supply unit is applied to the reader RF chip, a signal is transmitted to the card unit through the reader RF antenna and based on a signal input from the card unit through the reader RF antenna. And a control unit for extracting information including the price data and outputting the information to the display unit, and an RF module unit for interfacing input / output signals between the reader RF antenna and the control unit. delete 7. The traffic card according to claim 6, wherein the information including the respective amounts of data of one or more external traffic cards in close proximity to each other is sequentially displayed on the indicator.

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