JPH03129593A - Card processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to use a thermal head for erasing and writing of displayed contents by allowing the thermal head to erase the displayed contents of a card heated to a 1st set temperature and write the displayed contents in the card heated to a 2nd set temperature. CONSTITUTION:A heat control means 31 allows the thermal head 25 to execute erasing heating at the 1st set temperature when the card is inserted to a 1st position and execute writing heating at the 2nd set temperature different from the 1st one when the card is inserted to a 2nd position. Thereby the displayed contents of the card heated to the 1st set temperature of the thermal head 25 are erased and the display contents are written in the card heated to the 2nd set temperature. consequently the thermal head can be used for both the erasing and writing of the displayed contents.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a card processing device that can rewrite the display of a card used as a prepaid card, commuter pass, or the like.

(Prior Art) In the case of prepaid cards, the remaining amount is displayed by punching holes or thermal printing on the card surface.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the former method described above has the problem that the user cannot accurately know the remaining amount, and if a problem occurs with the magnetic information, the remaining amount becomes unknown. The latter does not have the problems of the former, but each time a prepaid card is used, the remaining amount is printed on the card surface, so a large space is required to print the remaining amount, and there is a problem that space for displaying other advertisements cannot be secured. .

In view of the above points, the applicant invented a card with rewritable display contents (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-12245), and
We developed a processing device for rewriting the card.

The above-mentioned card processing apparatus uses a heater and a thermal head as heating rewriting means, and rewrites the display by heating the card to different set temperatures using the heater and the thermal head.

However, as mentioned above, as a heating rewriting means,
A configuration that includes two heating devices, a heater and a thermal head, has problems in that the device becomes large and the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is equipped with only a thermal head as a heating rewriting means, making it compact and
The purpose is to provide a card processing device that can be formed at low cost! (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a card processing device including a thermal head, a card transport mechanism arranged to pass through the thermal head, and a a card transport control means for operating the transport mechanism so that the card reaches the thermal head twice;
If the thermal head is
Heating control that causes the thermal head to perform heating for erasing at a set temperature, and when the card is used for a second time, heats the thermal head for writing at a second set temperature different from the first set temperature. The configuration includes a means.

(Function) According to the present invention, the display contents of the card are erased by heating the thermal head to the first set temperature, and the display contents of the card are erased.
By heating the card to a set temperature, the display contents are written on the card, and the thermal head is used both for erasing and writing the display contents.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Each figure in FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the prepaid card used in the present invention in different display states, FIG. 2 is a sectional view, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the same.

In these figures, reference numeral I denotes a prepaid card, and on the front side of the prepaid card L, a rewritable display layer 3 made of a thermoreversible material is provided on one side of a substrate 2 serving as a card body. , a colored layer 4 is provided on the substrate 2 on which the display layer 3 is not present, and a transparent overcoat layer 5 for card protection is provided continuously on the display layer 3 and the colored layer 4.
On the back side, a magnetic layer 6 on which denominations are written is provided over the entire substrate 2. The display layer 3 has a structure in which a resin and an organic low-molecular substance are dissolved in a solvent, and the organic low-molecular substance 3b is present in the resin *3a. Advertisement contents and the like are attached as appropriate on the surface of the overcoat layer 5 on the colored layer 4 on the surface side.

The thermoreversible material constituting the display layer 3 has a composition in which a resin and an organic low-molecular substance are dissolved in a solvent, and when the particles of the organic low-molecular substance are relatively large single crystals, the entire body is transparent. When it becomes polycrystalline, it becomes cloudy as a whole and has thermoreversible properties as shown in FIG. 4, and its material is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 258853/1983. This material is cloudy at room temperature, and when heated, its transparency begins to increase from TI (low temperature), reaches its maximum transparency at T, (medium temperature), and then remains transparent even after cooling to room temperature, which reaches its maximum at T. Remains transparent. Next, when this temperature is raised to T (high temperature), it becomes a state intermediate between a transparent state and a maximum cloudy state, and then when it is cooled to room temperature, it returns to a cloudy state.

The prepaid card l configured in this way has a display layer 3.
The remaining amount corresponding to the amount of money held in the prepaid card 1 is displayed by changing between a cloudy state and a transparent state in response to temperature changes. I will explain it together.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a writing machine as a card processing device of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a block circuit diagram thereof.

IO is an exterior body, and a card insertion slot 11 and a card ejection slot 12 are provided on opposite sides of the case, respectively. 13 is a motor, 14, 15, 16, and 18 are feed rollers, 17 is a platen, and 9 is a drive force from the motor 13 to feed rollers 14, 15, 16, 1.
8, a belt provided to each of the platens 17. 2
0, 21, 22, and 23 are press rollers, which are provided so as to elastically contact the upper sides of the feed rollers 14, 15, 16, and 18, respectively. The above motor 13, feed roller 14. 15, 16, 18, belt 9, and press rollers 20, 21, 22, and 23, respectively, constitute a card conveyance mechanism.

25 is a thermal head provided opposite to the platen, and the thermal head 25 stores write data or erase data (ALL
rlJ data) and a shift register 40 to which clock pulses for data movement are applied; a latch circuit 41 that holds data from the shift register 40 by a latch signal;
A circuit is provided, each consisting of gate circuits 42 which open their gates in response to data from a latch circuit 41 in response to an ENB signal, and heating resistors 43 connected in series to these gate circuits. 26, 28, and 29 are photoelectric sensors that detect the transport position of the prepaid card l.

30 is a CPU 3 as a conveyance control means and a heating control means constituted by a microcomputer! and ROM3
2, a control unit consisting of a RAM 33, and the control unit 30 is connected to the motor 13, the thermal head 25, and the voltage setting circuit 24 via the first interface 35, and the photoelectric sensor 26 via the second interface 36. .28,2
9, are connected to each of the thermistors 27 provided integrally with the thermal head 25, and are further connected via a third interface 38 to a control section of a ticket vending machine or the like in which this writing device is installed.

Next, regarding the writing operation in the writing machine K, the eighth
This will be explained with reference to the flowchart in the figure.

The prepaid card 1 inserted from the insertion slot 11 is taken into the interior while being sandwiched between the roller 14 and the pressing roller 20 by the photoelectric sensor 26 being turned on (step S1) and the forward rotation of the motor 13 (step S2). It will be done.

In this case, the prepaid card 1 is shown in FIG. 1(A).
The entire display layer 3 is in a cloudy state as shown in FIG. 1(B), the display layer 3 is entirely transparent as shown in FIG. 1(B),
A part of the display layer 3 as shown in FIG. 1(C) and FIG. 1(D) may form a cloudy monetary amount display section 8 as appropriate. In the case shown in FIG. 1(B), the substrate 2 surface is exposed in the entire display layer 3, and FIG. 1(C) and FIG.
In the case shown in D), only the display portion 8 of the display layer 3 becomes cloudy, and the other portions display the amount by exposing the surface of the substrate 2.

Next, when the prepaid card I is taken inside, the photoelectric sensor 28 is turned on (step S3), and preheating of the thermal head 25 is started (step S4). In this case, the shift register 40 of the thermal head 25
The data given to is erase data. This preheating operation of the thermal head 25 is performed at a low voltage as shown in FIG. 1O (A) using an ENB signal pulse as shown in FIG. 9(A). The setting operation of this voltage is
This is performed by the voltage switching operation of the voltage setting circuit 24 based on a command from the CPU 31.

Then, after a predetermined period of time after the detection in step S3, when the prepaid card 1 reaches the erasure start position facing the thermal head 25 (step S5), erasure heating of the thermal head 25 is started. This erase heating operation is performed at a low voltage as shown in FIG. 10(A) by successive ENB signal pulses as shown in FIG. 9(B). As the prepaid card 1 moves, the entire display layer 3 is heated to a medium temperature T and processed by the thermal head 25 (step S6), and after a predetermined time, the entire display layer 3 is heated to a medium temperature T and processed (step S7). The motor 13 is stopped (step S8) and further reversed (step S9). As a result, the entire display layer 3 becomes transparent as shown in FIG. 1(B) after cooling.

Then, the prepaid card l is conveyed by the reverse rotation of the motor 13, and the photoelectric sensor 28 is turned off (step 5lO), and the motor 13 is stopped (step 5lO).
l), it is rotated forward again (step 512). Then, as the prepaid card l moves, the photoelectric sensor 28 turns off again.
If N (step S13), the thermal head 25
Preheating is started (step 5I4). This preheating operation is performed at a high voltage as shown in FIG. 10(B) by successive ENB signal pulses as shown in FIG. 9(A). Next, after a predetermined time, the prepaid card l
When the thermal head 25 reaches the writing start position facing the thermal head 25 (step S15), writing heating of the thermal head 25 is started (step 516).
). The write heating operation here is also continued at a high voltage as shown in FIG. 10(B) by continuous ENB signal pulses as shown in FIG. 9(A).

As the prepaid card l moves, the thermal head 2
5, a high temperature T for writing over the entire display layer 3;
After a predetermined period of time, the entire display layer 3 is heated to a high temperature T and the thermal head 25 is stopped (step 518). Next, the motor 13 continues to rotate normally, the prepaid card l passes through the photoelectric sensor 29, and the photoelectric sensor 29 turns ON (
Step 519), turn it off (Step 520),
The motor 13 is stopped (step 52f), and in this state, the prepaid card 1 is delivered to the ejection port I2.

The above-mentioned high-temperature T3 treatment is performed only at positions corresponding to the desired shape of the display section 8 in the display layer 3, and only the portions of the display layer 3 subjected to the high-temperature T3 treatment after cooling are shown in FIG. 1(C).
, a display section 8 is formed which displays the remaining amount in a cloudy manner as shown in FIG. 1(D).

In the case of rewriting the display due to a decrease in the remaining amount, the display section 8 shown in FIG. 1(C) is erased by the above-mentioned step S6, and the display section 8 shown in FIG. 1(D) is erased by the above operation. The display unit 8 shows the high temperature T in step 816 above.
It is written by 3 processes.

In the above embodiment, the display form was obtained by making the display layer 3 a cloudy part, but it may also be obtained by making the display layer 3 transparent and exposing the surface of the substrate 2 in that part. In this case, the display may be erased by processing at a high temperature T, and writing may be performed by processing at a medium temperature T.

(Effects of the Invention) Therefore, according to the present invention, the content displayed on the card is erased by heating the thermal head to the first set temperature, and the content displayed on the card is erased by heating the thermal head to the second set temperature. , and the thermal head is used both for erasing and writing the displayed contents, and as a result, it has become possible to provide a card processing device that can be made compact and at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 10 relate to embodiments of the present invention, and each of FIG. 1(A), FIG. 1(B), FIG. 1(C), and FIG. 1(D) shows different display states. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the prepaid card, FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the prepaid card, and FIG. 4 is a characteristic diagram illustrating thermoreversible characteristics.
Figure 5 is a block diagram of the writing machine, Figure 6 is its block circuit diagram, Figure 7 is a circuit diagram of the thermal head, Figure 8 is a flowchart explaining the operation of the writing machine, and Figure 9 (A).
10(B) is an explanatory diagram of an ENB signal waveform when a thermal head is used, and FIGS. 10(A) and 10(B) are explanatory diagrams of voltage when a thermal head is used. 25... Thermal head, 31... CPU (transport control means, heating control means).

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) a thermal head; a card transport mechanism arranged to pass through the thermal head; a card transport control means for operating the transport mechanism so that the card reaches the thermal head twice; If the card reaches the temperature for the first time, the thermal head is heated for erasing at the first set temperature, and if the card reaches the temperature for the second time, the thermal head is heated to the first set temperature. A card processing device comprising: heating control means for performing heating for writing at a different second set temperature.