JPH11238147A - Automatic ticket issuing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic ticket issuing machine capable of improving convenience at the time of updating data and preventing an erroneous processing at the time of updating the data further. SOLUTION: This machine is provided with a mounting base 1a for mounting a wallet 17 composed by housing a non-contact IC card 16, a case 9, a transparent cover 10 attached to the case 9 and a reader/writer for reading and writing the data from/to the non-contact IC card 16 through radio waves. The reader/ writer performs a data updating processing in a state that transmission signals transmitted from the non-contact IC card 16 become equal to or higher than a threshold value at the time of updating the data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic ticket vending machine having a card receiving portion for contactless IC cards.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, contactless IC cards have been used in ticket gates and the like of stations in consideration of user convenience and recyclability. This non-contact IC card is used in place of a conventional commuter pass, coupon, and prepaid card made of a magnetic card. By transmitting and receiving data such as an expiration date and a balance via radio waves, It is a card that only needs to pass through a ticket gate.

More specifically, the non-contact IC card generally includes a memory for storing data and a communication control unit for communicating with a ticket gate via an antenna via radio waves. That is, when the non-contact IC card is placed in a field of vibration energy (for example, an induced magnetic field by an electromagnetic wave) generated by an external device, the antenna absorbs the vibration energy and extracts data included in the vibration energy. Signal processing is performed to update and add data.

[0004] When purchasing the above-mentioned non-contact IC card, an automatic ticket vending machine is used which issues a ticket of the non-contact IC card and updates the balance data (addition of the balance) via radio waves. This type of automatic ticket vending machine includes, for example, a non-contact IC on which a non-contact IC card for updating the balance data is placed.
The card receiving section is generally composed of a reader / writer for reading data written in the memory of the non-contact IC card via radio waves and writing update data in the memory, and a control section for controlling each section of the apparatus. .

[0005] In the above configuration, after the user takes out the non-contact IC card from the wallet, the user places it on the non-contact IC card receiving portion, or holds the non-contact IC card in his hand and holds the non-contact IC card. Hold it over the receiving section. Here, the reason for taking out the non-contact IC card from the wallet is to prevent the radio wave communication state from becoming unstable due to coins or the like in the wallet at the time of data update described later. Next, the user presses a desired purchase button after inserting bills corresponding to the amount of money to be updated into the bill insertion slot. As a result, the reader / writer of the automatic ticket vending machine updates the data stored in the memory of the non-contact IC card via radio waves.

[0006]

However, in the conventional vending machine, the contactless IC card must be removed from the wallet at the time of updating the data.
There was a disadvantage that it lacked convenience. Further, in the conventional vending machine, the contactless IC card is removed from the contactless IC card receiving unit during the data update, or the user intentionally removes the contactless IC card for an improper purpose. If another non-contact IC card is placed on the non-contact IC card receiving section while the data of the non-contact IC card is being updated, there is a problem that erroneous processing is performed. The present invention has been made under such a background, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic ticket vending machine which can improve the convenience at the time of updating data and can prevent erroneous processing at the time of updating data. And

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, at the time of data update, a card receiving portion on which the non-contact IC card having a memory in which data is stored is placed; Reads / writes data in the memory, and adjusts the level of the transmission signal transmitted to the non-contact IC card so that the level of the reception signal from the non-contact IC card becomes a predetermined value when the data is updated. And a reader / writer that performs the operation. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the automatic ticket vending machine according to the first aspect, the card receiving unit includes the non-contact I
A mounting table on which the C card is mounted, a substantially box-shaped case provided to cover the mounting table, and having an opening;
And a cover provided near the opening of the case. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the automatic ticket vending machine according to the second aspect, the cover is fully opened before updating the data, and the cover is fully closed when updating the data. It is characterized by comprising opening and closing control means. The invention according to claim 4 is the automatic ticket vending machine according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the cover is made of a transparent material.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a front view showing an external configuration of an automatic ticket vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1B is a side view showing an external configuration of the automatic ticket vending machine according to the same embodiment. In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 1 denotes a substantially box-shaped main body. Reference numeral 2 denotes a guide display unit provided on the upper front part of the main body 1, and is composed of a liquid crystal display or a plurality of light emitting diodes arranged in a dot matrix. The guidance display unit 2 displays guidance information relating to the issue of a non-contact IC card, which will be described later, to the user.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a customer service unit provided below the guidance display unit 2, which comprises a plurality of purchase buttons, a cancel button, and the like provided in accordance with a plurality of amounts. 4
Is a bill insertion slot provided below the customer service section 3, and is a slot for inserting bills. Reference numeral 5 denotes a coin insertion slot provided to the right of the bill insertion slot 4, and is a port for inserting coins. Reference numeral 6 denotes a discharge port for discharging a boarding ticket in which boarding data is printed on paper or the like or a newly purchased non-contact IC card. 7 is a non-contact I when updating the balance data
This is a card receiving portion on which a C card is placed, and has a trapezoidal shape including a case and a cover as shown in FIG. Reference numeral 8 denotes a reader / writer that reads and writes data from and to a non-contact IC card placed on the card receiving unit 7 via radio waves.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external structure of the card receiving section 7 and the reader / writer 8 described above. The card receiving section 7 shown in FIG. 1 includes a mounting table 1a, a case 9, and a transparent cover 10. The mounting table 1a is formed at the center of the front of the main body 1 (see FIG. 1A), and the mounting table 1a is provided with a non-container stored in a wallet 17 shown in FIG. The contact IC card 16 is placed. The case 9 has a shape having an opening 9e on the user side. That is, the case 9 has a substantially trapezoidal left end plate 9a extending upward from the left end edge of the mounting table 1a, and a substantially trapezoidal shape disposed to face the left end plate 9a and extending upward from the right end edge of the mounting table 1a. A right end plate 9b, a rear end plate 9c extending from the rear end edge of the mounting table 1a along each edge of the left end plate 9a and the right end plate 9b, and a ceiling plate 9 for closing a ceiling opening.
and d are integrally formed.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a transparent cover formed of a transparent plate having a substantially L-shaped cross section.
plays the role of closing e. This transparent cover 10 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), it is provided along the back end plate 9c and the ceiling plate 9d, and is rotatably supported by the shaft member 11 via the other end portion 10b in the arrow Y direction shown in FIG. I have. The transparent cover 10 is provided with a motor 28 (see FIG. 4).
Is driven to open and close. When the transparent cover 10 is open, one end 10a of the transparent cover 10 is provided.
Project from the edge of the ceiling plate 9d. The reader / writer 8 includes an antenna 14 and a communication unit 15, and the antenna 14 and the communication unit 15 are provided below the mounting table 1a. The communication unit 15 performs communication with the non-contact IC card 16 via the antenna 14.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a cover opening / closing detection sensor which is disposed near one end 10a of the transparent cover 10 and includes, for example, a proximity switch, and detects whether the transparent cover 10 is open or closed. I do. Reference numeral 13 denotes a temperature sensor attached to the ceiling plate 9d,
It detects the temperature of the arm.

Next, the electrical structure of the automatic ticket vending machine according to the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, FIG. 1 (a), FIG. 1 (b),
2, 3A and 3B are denoted by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 20 denotes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each unit of the apparatus. The operation of the CPU 20 will be described later in detail. 21 is
It is a memory that stores programs executed by the CPU 20, fee data, and the like. Reference numeral 22 denotes a customer service control unit that controls the customer service unit 3. An operation control unit 23 controls an operation unit (not shown).

The reader / writer 8 includes a non-contact I / O shown in FIG.
Data is read from and written to the C card 16. In the communication section 15 of the reader / writer 8 shown in this figure, 30 is an I / O (input / output) section having an interface function with the CPU 20 (see FIG. 4). A modulation unit 31 modulates data (for example, update data) input via the I / O unit 30 and outputs a modulation result as a transmission signal. 32 is the CPU 2
This is a level adjustment unit that converts the level of the transmission signal to a predetermined level under the control of 0, and transmits the level-converted transmission signal as a radio wave via the antenna 14. 33
Is a demodulation unit for demodulating a received signal input via the antenna 14.

Non-contact IC card 16 (see FIG. 3A)
Is an antenna for transmitting and receiving radio waves to and from the antenna 14. 41 is an antenna 40
Is a power supply that converts the energy of the radio wave input through the device into a DC voltage V, and supplies the DC voltage V to each unit of the device. Reference numeral 42 denotes a demodulation unit that demodulates a reception signal input via the antenna 40.

Reference numeral 43 denotes an I / O unit for interfacing between the demodulation unit 42 and the modulation unit 45 and the memory 44. Further, the I / O unit 43 has a control function of controlling each unit of the device. The memory 44 stores various data such as balance data and communication control data. The modulating section 45 has I
Various data input via the / O unit 43 is modulated, and the modulation result is transmitted as a transmission signal via the antenna 40.

Reference numeral 24 shown in FIG. 4 is a change control unit for calculating change and the like. 25 is the bill slot 4 (FIG. 1)
(A)) is a bill control unit for determining the authenticity of bills to be inserted, calculating the number of bills, and the like. 26 is a ticketing control unit for controlling the ticketing operation. Reference numeral 27 denotes a card control unit, which controls the drive of the motor 28 based on the output signals of the cover open / close detection sensor 12 and the temperature sensor 13 when updating the data of the non-contact IC card 16 (see FIG. 3A).

Next, the operation of the automatic ticket vending machine according to the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, when a power supply (not shown) is turned on, the process proceeds to step S1 shown in FIG. 6, and the data corresponding to the message for the user "Please put the card in the slot" is sent to the guidance display unit 2. Output. As a result, the guidance display section 2 (see FIG. 1A) displays the above-mentioned message "Please put the card in the slot". Here, the “receiving port” in the message indicates the mounting table 1a (see FIG. 2).

Now, it is assumed that the transparent cover 10 is fully opened as shown in FIG. 2, and the antenna 1 shown in FIG.
4, it is assumed that the transmission signals generated by the modulation unit 31 and the level adjustment unit 32 are transmitted. However, since the non-contact IC card 16 does not exist near the reader / writer 8, no reception signal is input to the demodulation unit 33.

Then, in step S2, when the user places the non-contact IC card 16 stored in the wallet 17 on the mounting table 1a through the opening 9e shown in FIG.
The transmission signal transmitted from the antenna 14 is received by the antenna 40 of the non-contact IC card 16. The received signal output from the antenna 40 is
, And is input to the I / O unit 43. As a result, a response signal is output from the I / O unit 43. The response signal is modulated by the modulation unit 45, and then transmitted to the antenna 14 as a transmission signal via the antenna 40.

After the transmission signal is received by the antenna 14, it is input to the demodulation unit 33 as a reception signal. Thereby, the demodulation unit 33 demodulates the received signal and, after detecting the level of the received signal, outputs a received signal (response signal) and a level detection signal corresponding to the level to the CPU 20.

As a result, the CPU 20 determines in step S3
Then, a level control signal for setting the level of the received signal obtained from the level detection result to be equal to or higher than a preset threshold value is output to the level adjusting unit 32, and then the process proceeds to step S4. Here, the threshold value is a value that does not affect the data update process even if the non-contact IC card 16 is stored in the wallet 17 shown in FIG.

The level control signal is transmitted to the level adjusting unit 3
2, the level adjuster 32 adjusts the level of the transmission signal so that it becomes equal to or higher than the threshold. As a result, the level of the transmission signal transmitted from the antenna 14 increases, and the level of the transmission signal transmitted from the modulation section 45 increases, and the level of the reception signal input to the demodulation section 33 increases. To increase.

In step S4, CPU 20 determines whether or not the signal received by reader / writer 8 is equal to or greater than a threshold value. In this case, assuming that the above determination result is “NO”, the CPU 20 proceeds to step S5, and determines whether or not the non-contact IC card 16 is a normal card based on data obtained from the received signal. The result of the determination is "N
In the case of "O", the process returns to step S1 to repeat the above operation. In this case, assuming that the non-contact IC card 16 is a normal card, the CPU 20 sets the determination result of step S5 to "YES", returns to step S3, and repeats the above-described operation.

If the level of the received signal of the reader / writer 8 becomes equal to or higher than the threshold value,
Sets the determination result of step S4 to "YES" and proceeds to step S6. Therefore, in this case, the contact 17
Even when the C card 16 is stored, the data update process can be performed normally.

In step S6, the CPU 20 determines whether the user has purchased the wallet 17 (the non-contact IC card 16) shown in FIG.
It is determined based on the output signal of the temperature sensor 13 input via the card control unit 27 whether or not the hand has been released.
Now, assuming that the user has not released his / her hand from the wallet 17, the temperature of the hand is detected by the temperature sensor 13. Therefore, in this case, the CPU 20 repeats the determination with the result of the determination in step S6 set to “NO”. And
Now, assuming that the user has released the hand from the wallet 17, the output of the output signal output from the temperature sensor 13 is stopped. As a result, the CPU 20 sets the determination result of step S6 to "YES" and proceeds to step S7.

In step S7, the CPU 20 outputs a motor drive signal to the card controller 27 to close the transparent cover 10, and then proceeds to step S8. This allows
The motor 28 is driven to rotate by the control of the card control unit 27, and the transparent cover 10 shown in FIG.

In step S 8, the CPU 20 operates the cover opening / closing detection sensor 1 input via the card control unit 27.
2 (see FIG. 3A) from the output signal of the transparent cover 10
It is determined whether or not is completely closed. In this case, FIG.
As shown in (a), it is assumed that the other end 10b of the transparent cover 10 is not in contact with the cover open / close detection sensor 12, and no output signal is output from the cover open / close detection sensor 12. Accordingly, the CPU 20 determines in step S
The result of determination in step 8 is "NO", and the flow advances to step S9.

In step S9, the CPU 20 outputs data corresponding to the message to the user "Please release your hand" to the guidance display unit 2, and then proceeds to step S8.
Return to Thereby, the guidance display unit 2 (see FIG. 1A)
, The message "Please release your hand" is displayed as a guide.

Assuming that the transparent cover 10 is now completely closed as shown in FIG. 3B, the other end 10b of the transparent cover 10 is
2 abuts. Thereby, the cover open / close detection sensor 1
2 outputs an output signal.
The result of the determination at Step 8 is "YES", and the routine proceeds to Step S10.

In step S10, the CPU 20 outputs a data read signal to the I / O unit 30 shown in FIG.
Thereby, through the above-described operation, the read signal is transmitted to the I / O through the antenna 14, the antenna 40, and the demodulation unit 42.
It is input to the O section 43. Then, the I / O unit 43 reads out the remaining amount data from the memory 44 and outputs the data to the modulation unit 45.

The balance data is input to the CPU 20 via the modulator 45, the antenna 40, the antenna 14, the demodulator 33, and the I / O unit 30 through the above-described operation. Thereby, the CPU 20 proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, the CPU 20 turns on the purchase button (customer reception section 3) corresponding to the amount of the bill inserted into the bill insertion slot 4 via the customer reception control section 22, and executes the data update processing. I do. Then, when the purchase button is pressed by the user, the CPU 20 outputs the sum of the amount corresponding to the purchase button and the balance obtained from the balance data to the I / O unit 30 as update data, Proceed to S12.

Thus, the update data is input to the I / O unit 43 via the modulation unit 31, the level adjustment unit 32, the antenna 14, the antenna 40, and the demodulation unit 42 through the above-described operation. Then, the I / O unit 43
4 is rewritten with new update data. During this data update, the user can visually check his or her wallet 17 through the transparent cover 10.

Then, in step S12, the CPU 20
Outputs a motor drive signal to the card control unit 27 to open the transparent cover 10 shown in FIG. 3B, and then proceeds to step S13. Accordingly, the motor 28 is driven to rotate by the control of the card control unit 27, and the transparent cover 10 shown in FIG. After a lapse of a predetermined time, the transparent cover 10 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.

In step S13, the CPU 20 outputs to the guidance display unit 2 data corresponding to the message for the user, "Please remove the card from the slot", and then proceeds to step S14. Thereby, the guidance display unit 2
In FIG. 1 (a), the above-mentioned message “Please remove the card from the slot” is displayed. Then, the user who confirms the guidance display takes out the wallet 17 containing the non-contact IC card 16 shown in FIG.

In step S14, the CPU 20 determines whether or not data can be read from the non-contact IC card 16 (memory 44) based on the level of the signal received by the reader / writer 8. In other words, the CPU 20 determines whether or not the non-contact IC card 16 has been removed from the card receiving unit 7, and repeats the same determination if the determination result is "NO". In this case, since the non-contact IC card 16 has already been removed from the card receiving unit 7, the CPU 20 sets the determination result of step S14 to "YES" and proceeds to step S1.
Then, the above operation is repeated.

As described above, according to the automatic ticket vending machine according to the above-described embodiment, the level of the transmission signal is adjusted to an appropriate level by the level adjusting unit 32, so that the non-contact IC card 16 is accommodated in the wallet 17. Even if it is performed, the data update process can be performed normally. Therefore, according to the automatic ticket vending machine according to the above-described embodiment, it is not necessary to take out the non-contact IC card 16 from the wallet 17 at the time of updating data, so that convenience at the time of updating data can be improved. Further, according to the automatic ticket vending machine according to the above-described embodiment, since the data updating process is performed in a state where the transparent cover 10 is completely closed, the non-contact IC card 16 is moved during the data updating as in the related art. As a result, erroneous processing at the time of data update does not occur. Furthermore, according to the automatic ticket vending machine according to the above-described embodiment, since the transparent cover 10 is used, the user can visually check the wallet 17 while updating data, and thus, give the user a sense of security. Can be.

[0039]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the level of the signal received from the non-contact IC card becomes a predetermined value when the data is updated by the reader / writer. Since the level of the transmission signal transmitted to the non-contact IC card is adjusted, an effect is obtained that the data update process can be performed normally even when the non-contact IC card is stored in a wallet or the like. . Therefore, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, it is not necessary to take out the non-contact IC card from the wallet or the like at the time of updating data, so that it is possible to improve the convenience of updating data. . According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cover is fully closed at the time of data update, so that the non-contact IC card is not moved by the user as in the related art, and the data is updated due to poor communication. The effect that no erroneous processing at the time occurs is obtained. Furthermore, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the cover is transparent, the user can visually check his / her wallet or the like containing the non-contact IC card during data updating. As a result, the user can be provided with a sense of security.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an external configuration of an automatic ticket vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a card receiving section 7 and a reader / writer 8 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining an opening and closing operation of the case 9 shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the automatic ticket vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

5 shows a reader / writer 8 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the non-contact IC card 16 shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the automatic ticket vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 1a Mounting table 2 Information display part 3 Customer service part 7 Card receiving part 8 Reader / writer 9 Case 10 Transparent cover 12 Cover open / close detection sensor 13 Temperature sensor 14 Antenna 15 Communication part 16 Non-contact IC card 17 Wallet 20 CPU 28 Motor

Claims (4)

[Claims] When updating data, a card receiving section on which the non-contact IC card having a memory in which data is stored is placed, and reading / writing of data in the memory is performed via a radio wave to read / write the data in the memory. A reader / writer that adjusts a level of a transmission signal transmitted to the non-contact IC card so that a level of a reception signal from the non-contact IC card becomes a predetermined value at the time of updating. Automatic ticket vending machine. 2. The card receiving portion, wherein: a mounting table on which the non-contact IC card is mounted; a substantially box-shaped case provided to cover the mounting table and having an opening; 2. The automatic ticket vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover provided near the opening. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an opening / closing control unit that brings the cover into a fully open state before updating the data, and brings the cover into a fully closed state when updating the data. Automatic ticket vending machine. 4. The automatic ticket vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the cover is made of a transparent material.