JPH0521173Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] "Industrial application field" This invention is used for processing cards that magnetically hold information (so-called magnetic cards), which are used as tickets for passenger cars (route buses), etc. This invention relates to a magnetic card processing device that collects fares by determining the validity of a card and at the same time subtracting the remaining amount magnetically recorded on the card and writing it back to the card.

``Prior Art'' Conventionally, various methods and devices have been proposed and used for processing magnetic cards using magnetic cards as tickets for passenger cars.

This type of card is generally coated with magnetic material in the form of one or more stripes in the longitudinal direction of the card, and information is recorded on this magnetic stripe by patterning the magnetic polarity of N/S using a magnetic head. be done.

The magnetically recorded information includes the card's issuer, issuing office, validity period, valid usage period, remaining amount, etc.

When paying fares using such a magnetic card on a route bus, the magnetic data is read and checked for validity when boarding the bus, and the boarding area at that time is written on the magnetic card. Note that a boarding area is a numbered number in order of the number of stops that can be boarded at the lowest fare. Then, when getting off the train, it is necessary to read all the information again, check its validity, calculate the fare, change only the necessary information, and write it back.

Note that regardless of whether the vehicle is getting on the vehicle or disembarking from the vehicle, a check (verification) is performed by reading the information again to confirm whether the information has been written correctly.

``The problem that the invention attempts to solve'' In this way, we checked the effectiveness of magnetic cards,
In order to calculate the fare, it is necessary to read all the information on the magnetic card each time you get on the train and when you get off the train, and it takes a lot of time to process one magnetic card (one passenger). In particular, when getting off the train, all the information on the magnetic card must be read out, checked for validity, and the fare calculated and the information rewritten, which has the disadvantage that it takes more time than when getting on the train.

This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional technology, and its purpose is to reduce the lingering time of passengers due to the time required to process magnetic cards when passengers get off the bus. card 1
To provide a magnetic card processing device with high processing speed per card.

``Means for solving the problem'' According to this invention, a boarding device is installed at the boarding entrance of the bus, and an exit device is installed at the exit gate, and the boarding device has a control system that separates individual magnetic cards. Means for writing data to the head part of the inserted magnetic card; Means for reading card data such as validity period and remaining amount from the magnetic card; Means for immediately transmitting the control data and card data to the exit device. It is equipped with The exit device receives the data transmitted from the boarding device and stores it in a memory together with the current boarding zone boundary, and reads the control data recorded at the time of boarding from the inserted magnetic card, and the device reads the control data. The relevant card data and boarding zone boundary at the time of boarding are identified from among the data group received and stored based on the control data received, and the fare is calculated from the boarding zone boundary and the current boarding zone boundary. and a means for rewriting card data.

``Function'' According to this idea, when a passenger gets on a route bus, the information on the magnetic card held by the passenger is only read by the boarding device, and the information on the magnetic card held by the passenger is only read by the exit device. Since the information is sent to the device, there is no need to read this information again when getting off the vehicle. This makes it possible to improve card processing speed.

In other words, the information on the magnetic card held by the customer is read at the time of boarding, and at the same time, control data that allows the identification of individual magnetic cards is recorded on the magnetic card, and this card data and control data are immediately transferred to the exit device. , and is recorded in memory along with the current boarding area, so simply by reading the control data of this magnetic card when getting off the train, the card data of the magnetic card at the time of boarding and the card data of the passenger holding the magnetic card at the time of boarding are recorded. Since the boarding area can be specified from the data group recorded in the memory, the fare can be calculated reliably and immediately written to the magnetic card.

"Example" Hereinafter, an example of this invention will be described according to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a magnetic card, and the magnetic card 100 has a card data track 1 that records card data such as the issuer, validity period, and remaining amount.
10, and a control data track 120 for recording control data for classifying individual magnetic cards.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the data recording positions of the card data track 110 and the control data track 120. Card data track 1
10 consists of a card data area 111 in which card data itself is recorded, and synchronization bit areas 112 provided at both ends thereof to serve as an auxiliary function for reading magnetic data.

The control data track 120 also includes a control data area 125 in which control data itself is recorded at the beginning of the card (the position where data is first read or written), and a synchronization bit area 124 provided at both ends of the control data area 125. In this embodiment, a riding area area 123 is provided at the rear of the control data track 120 in order to record the riding area area on a magnetic card in case of equipment failure. In this embodiment, the control data area 125 includes a vehicle number area 121 for recording the vehicle number and a serial number area 12 for recording the serial numbers of cards handled from the start of operation.
It consists of 2.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the magnetic read/write section of the magnetic card processing device for boarding and exiting. The magnetic read/write unit 230 for the boarding gate includes a control data write head 231, a verification head 232, and a card data read head 2.
33, a card transport mechanism 234, and an insertion slot 235.
and a discharge port 236. The magnetic card 100 of the passenger who has boarded the vehicle is inserted through the insertion slot 235, and transferred to the control data write head 231 and the verification head 23 by the transport mechanism 234.
2. The card passes through the card data reading head 233 in this order and is discharged from the discharge port 236. Here, the customer receives a magnetic card 100'.

In addition, a magnetic read/write section 330 for exit
is a control data reading head 331;
It consists of a card data write head 332, a verification head 333, a card transport mechanism 334, an insertion port 335, and an ejection port 336.
A passenger with a magnetic card 100' inserts the card into the insertion slot 335 when getting off the train. The transport mechanism 334 sequentially passes the card 100' through a control data reading head 331, a card data writing head 332, and a verification head 333 to the ejection port 3.
Discharge from 36. The customer ejected magnetic card 1
You will get off the bus at 00''.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the control data read head 331 and card data write head 332 of the magnetic read/write section for exit, and the control data area 125 and card data area 111 of the magnetic card 100. The card inserted into the exit magnetic read/write section is carried by a transport mechanism and brought to the position of the magnetic card 100a. From here, the control data reading head 331 reads the synchronization bit 124 and the control data area 125 until it reaches the position of the magnetic card 100c. Based on the read control data, the exit device identifies the card data read and transmitted by the entrance device and the boarding area at the time of boarding from among the data group stored in the memory. Fares are calculated from the boarding zone boundary and the current boarding zone boundary.
When the card is conveyed to the position of the magnetic card 100d, the card data writing head 332 writes the data after fare payment into the card data area 111 following the synchronization bit 112.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the entrance device and the exit device. The boarding gate device 200 includes a display section 220,
A magnetic read/write unit 230, a vehicle number setting switch 250 that sets a vehicle number that becomes part of the control data, a card counter 260 that generates a serial number that also becomes part of the control data, and a device 300 for exiting the exit terminal. Area number storage memory 27 for storing the boarding area number that is received
0, a communication unit 290 that sends and receives data to and from the exit device 300, and a control unit 2 that controls each of these units.
10 and a power supply section 280 that supplies power to each section.

On the other hand, the exit device 300 includes a display section 320, a magnetic read/write section 330, a switch input section 350 used for inputting the start and end of a bus service, and setting a boarding section number while the bus is running; A fare table storage memory 36 that stores fare tables for each field.
0, a communication unit 390 that sends and receives data to and from the boarding device 200, a card that stores control data written in the boarding device 200, card data read out, and the boarding area where the data was read; It consists of a data storage memory 370, a control section 310 that controls these sections, and a power supply section 380 that supplies power to each section.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the contents recorded in the card data storage memory 370 of the exit device 300.
The control data written to the magnetic card by the boarding device 200 and the card data read from the magnetic card are immediately transferred to the boarding device 300 via communication.
sent to. The exit device 300 temporarily records this data together with the current boarding area in the card data storage memory 370, and when the customer inserts a magnetic card into the exit device 300 when exiting the vehicle, the card is composed of a vehicle number and a serial number. Using the control data as an index, the boarding area number and card data at the time of boarding are specified, the fare is calculated from the fare table described later, the card data is changed, and the information is written back to the magnetic card.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the contents recorded in the fare list storage memory 360 of the exit device 300.
From this fare table, the fare can be calculated based on the area where the passenger boarded the train and the area where the passenger alighted.
For example, if you get on the bus at Kukai 2 and get off at Kukai 5, the fare will be 170 yen.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the entrance device and the exit device from the start to the end of bus service.

In the exit device, after the power is turned on,
The operation start switch indicating the start of bus operation is turned ON. When the operation start switch is turned on, the exit device sends data to the boarding device indicating that the operation has started. Similarly, once the boarding area number is set, this boarding area number is sent to the boarding device so that the boarding area can be written on a magnetic card at the time of boarding the vehicle in case the device fails. At this point, the exit device becomes ready to accept cards and starts accepting cards.

On the other hand, after the power is turned on, the entrance device receives data indicating the start of operation from the exit device, reads the vehicle number from the vehicle number setting switch, and reads the vehicle number from the vehicle number setting switch.
Reset the card counter and prepare data to be used as control data. Thereafter, the boarding area number is received from the exit device, and the state becomes ready for card acceptance, and card acceptance begins.

Once both the entrance and exit devices begin accepting cards, each device continues to operate, repeating card processing and boarding area changes until the service end switch is turned on. The exit device receives the control data and card data that are sent immediately when the boarding device processes the card, records it in the card data storage memory along with the current boarding area, or uses the recorded data. When the boarding area number is changed, the boarding area number is sent to the boarding device. The boarding device repeatedly processes a passenger's card and receives a boarding zone number when boarding the board.

FIG. 9 is an operational flowchart of the card processing portion of the boarding gate device.

Of course, in the boarding gate device, card processing will not be performed unless a magnetic card is first inserted. When the card is inserted, the control data of the vehicle number and serial number and the current vehicle area number are written on the magnetic card as a backup (measure against equipment failure), and a verification is performed to see if the writing was successful. At the same time, card data is also read. After this, it is determined whether the control data was written normally or whether the card data is valid. If either is abnormal, an error message is displayed and the card is returned to the insertion slot. If both are normal, the written control data and read card data are sent to the exit device, a normal display is displayed, and the card is taken out to the exit. The serial number is then incremented by 1 for the next card processing.

FIG. 10 is an operational flowchart of the card processing portion of the exit device.

In the exit device, when a magnetic card is inserted, it first reads the control data, determines whether this control data is valid (is it data written when boarding this bus), and if it is abnormal, an error is detected. Display the message and return it to the insertion slot. If normal, this control data is used as an index to identify the card data received from the entrance device in advance and the boarding area at the time of boarding from among the data group stored in memory, and to determine the boarding area at the time of boarding. The fare is calculated based on the current boarding area and the current boarding area. Then, when new data is written to the card after fare settlement, the written data is verified at the same time.
If the verification is abnormal, an error message is displayed and the card is returned to the insertion slot; if the verification is normal, a normal display is displayed and the card is taken out to the ejection slot.

"Effects of the Invention" As explained above, according to the magnetic card processing device of this invention, when a passenger gets on a bus, he or she inserts the magnetic card into the boarding device, and control data is written to the front part of the magnetic card. Read write card data. The control data and card data are then immediately sent to the exit device and stored together with the boarding area at the time of boarding. When a passenger gets off the bus, the card data of the magnetic card can be identified from among the stored data based on the control data by simply reading the control data recorded at the time of boarding the first part of the magnetic card. Since the boarding area can also be specified at the time of boarding, there is no need to read all card data again when getting off the vehicle, and there is no need to check the validity of the card data, making the fare payment process faster and more reliable.
In other words, the processing speed per card can be increased at the time of getting off the train, which has the effect of eliminating customer stagnation.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is an external view of the magnetic card, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the data recording position of the magnetic card, Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram of the magnetic read/write section of the magnetic card processing device, and Figure 4 is for exit. An explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the magnetic head of the magnetic read/write unit and the data recording position of the magnetic card, Figure 5 is a configuration diagram of the magnetic card processing device, and Figure 6 is the card data storage memory of the exit device. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the contents of the fare list storage memory of the exit device, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the magnetic card processing device, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the exit device. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the card processing operation of the exit device.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Utility Model Registration Request] In a magnetic card processing device for buses that use magnetic cards to pay fares, a magnetic card installed at the boarding entrance of the bus and into which control data for separating individual magnetic cards is inserted. A boarding gate device having a means for writing on the head part, a means for reading card data such as the validity period and remaining amount from the magnetic card, and a means for immediately transmitting the control data and card data; means for receiving the data transmitted from the boarding gate device and storing it in the memory together with the current boarding zone boundary; a means for reading the control data recorded at the time of boarding from the inserted magnetic card; and a method for reading the control data. Based on the control data, the relevant card data and the boarding area boundary at the time of boarding are specified from the data group received and stored, the fare is calculated from the boarding area boundary and the current boarding area boundary, and the inserted card data is identified. A magnetic card processing device comprising: an exit device having means for rewriting card data on a magnetic card;