JP2009039413A - Hybrid functional card and hybrid data transmitting/receiving system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the confidentiality in the sale/purchase of articles and prize exchange, etc. by using cards. <P>SOLUTION: The hybrid functional card includes: a storage element capable of storing management information and bank account balance information of a card owner; an input element capable of inputting at least numbers and characters; and an information processing device capable of encoding/decoding information. The hybrid functional card can transmit/receive data with a card reader, and can transmit/receive encoded data with a server computer via the card reader. At the time, encoding/decoding functions in the card reader are not required. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a card capable of transmitting / receiving data to / from a server computer and a data transmission / reception system based on such a card. In particular, the transmission / reception of data between the card and the server computer is encrypted. In that case, the present invention relates to a card and system in which the card itself and the server computer have encryption / decryption functions.

  Conventionally, withdrawal of cash from an account, insertion of cash, remittance, etc. has been performed using a card. Also, there is a card that stores a certain amount of money in a card and subtracts this amount when shopping. Furthermore, prepaid cards used in amusement facilities such as prepaid cards used for ball lending machines in pachinko parlors are also known (Patent Documents 1 and 2). In this method, points are stored in a prepaid card by depositing cash into a ticket selling and charging device, and balls are lent out within a range of points stored in the prepaid card by inserting them into a ball lending machine. In addition, there is a case where the remaining balls are converted into points and stored in a prepaid card. Furthermore, the points stored in the prepaid card can be exchanged for prizes other than the ball rental, or can be exchanged for cash in some cases.

  These have the function of identifying and proving their identity when accessing a financial system or the like. In addition, the card that stores the amount is a card that makes it possible to make a certain type of sale with a card reader.

On the other hand, a portion of cash or a specific bank lock account deposit is once deposited into a management account such as a debit card, credit card, electronic money, or prepaid card, and after that, cash or a specific bank lock account is used to win There is also a voting system equipped with a composite settlement function in which horse voting rights are purchased and the voting funds can be used for payment at a facility such as a racetrack entrance fee, a reserved seat fee, and a store (Patent Document 3). Special member application terminal connected to the response computer installed in a store outside the facility including at least post offices, convenience stores, department stores, and supermarkets in cooperation with the racetrack / winds facility and operation organizer, and a communication line including the Internet The racetrack / winds facility is a system equipped with a winning voting ticket vending machine equipped with a function to read a membership card issued to a special member, a cash refund machine, and a restaurant / purchase register. It has also been proposed that voting and refunding be made through a winning horse voting right vending machine equipped with a membership card reading function and a cash refund machine.
JP 2002-306793 A JP2004-303046 JP 2003-223528 A

  A conventionally known card and a system based on the card are generally connected to a card reader, and necessary data is exchanged with a server computer having account information and the like via a computer that controls the card reader. However, information stored in the card or information such as a password entered by the cardholder when using the card is not protected at all against the card reader or the computer controlling the card reader. Of course, this is not a problem if it is the current usage, but when cards with a large amount of cash information or cards with important personal information are used in a wide range of situations, convenience will improve. It is necessary to take some defensive measures against theft of such information from a card reader corresponding to a data transmission / reception route or a computer controlling the card reader.

  Moreover, by taking thorough defense measures against theft of information as described above, a very wide range of usage becomes realistic, and convenience is greatly improved.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a storage element capable of storing cardholder management information and account balance information, an input element capable of inputting at least numbers and characters, and encryption / decryption. An information processing device capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from a card reader,
The present invention proposes a multi-function card that can transmit / receive encrypted data to / from a server computer via a card reader and does not require the encryption / decryption function of the card reader.

  Here, the management information of the cardholder may be extremely basic information such as name and date of birth, or it may be quite large as data such as information on the transaction history of the owner so far. May be. The account balance information is information representing cash remaining in a predetermined account, such as a deposit balance of a bank account. The input element capable of inputting at least numbers and characters may be a dedicated input device such as a numeric key or an alphabet key, or may be a touch panel having a display function and an input function. . An information processing apparatus capable of encryption / decryption corresponds to a CPU or the like having a storage device that stores a processing procedure necessary for encryption / decryption in some form. The server computer is a computer that is not essential but is generally provided separately from the card reader, and manages a cardholder's account information and the like. For example, this may be a bank account management computer.

It is possible to send / receive encrypted data to / from a server computer via a card reader, and the encryption / decryption function of the card reader is not required at that time. Means that the data transmitted from the server computer remains encrypted when passing through the card reader. That is, even when a card reader and a computer for controlling the card reader are connected to the card reader, the data only passes through these devices in an encrypted state.

  According to the present invention described above, even when a card reader and a computer for controlling the card reader are connected to the card reader, the data only passes through these devices in an encrypted state. Since it is impossible to discriminate the contents unless the apparatus has the function of decrypting the code, the safety of communication is high. Therefore, for example, even when the card owner's ID number is input at the start of communication by the card, the card encrypts the ID number and deposits the encrypted information through the card reader and the control computer. Since it is transmitted to the server computer, the ID number cannot be known even if the card reader or the control computer is operated.

  The server computer may store the cardholder's fingerprint information, and the card reader may be configured to read the cardholder's fingerprint and send the information to the server computer for verification. Alternatively, the cardholder's fingerprint information is stored in the card, the fingerprint reader is built into the card reader (or provided separately), and the fingerprint information stored in the card is collated with the information read by the fingerprint reader. It is also possible to have the card reader and the control computer do this. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the load on the server computer as compared with a configuration in which the server computer performs everything. In this case, if an identification number or the like is given to the card itself, the card reader and the control computer can store the card identification number and fingerprint information in association with each other. It is not essential to give a number or the like, and even if an identification number is given, it is not essential to send the number to the card reader.

It is preferable that the storage element is further configured to store gold balance information.
That is, the cardholder can directly buy and sell gold by using the card by storing the balance of the account and the balance (or remaining amount) of the gold held in the card. For example, a card is connected to a server computer via a card reader, and in this case, purchase of gold is performed with a server computer which is a computer of an organization that buys and sells gold. The server computer subtracts a predetermined amount from the balance of cash remaining in the account from the card, and instead writes the balance of the purchased gold to the card.

  Also in this case, since all the information related to the buying and selling of gold passes through the card reader and the computer managing the card reader in an encrypted state, the risk that the information is illegally stolen or altered is very small. Further, it is possible to confirm from the server computer whether or not the encryption / decryption program stored in the card is legitimate. There are several conventional techniques for this approach.

It is preferable that the card further stores personal identification information of the registered owner, and the personal identification information can be read out only when a predetermined input is made through the input element.
The personal identification information of the owner is, for example, an ID number, and only after the card is inserted into a card reader and the ID number is first input and confirmed to be legitimate. You may accept the procedure. If this ID number is already encrypted when sent from the card to the card reader, only the server computer can confirm its legitimacy, and it is very difficult for the intervening computer to copy it. Have difficulty.

  In the same way that the subsequent procedure is allowed when a correct ID number is entered, a specific emergency ID is set, and when this emergency ID is entered, it is unconditionally determined to be unauthorized use. It may be assumed. At the moment when the emergency ID is used, the card reader may collect the card, or if this is done in a booth having a door, the door may not be opened. An emergency ID is inconvenient if it is confusing with the correct ID, and it is preferable to use something that the cardholder thinks is not generally used, such as the date of birth or telephone number.

Further, the card preferably has a display element capable of displaying at least numerals and characters.
Not only can the input be confirmed using the display function, it is also possible to confirm the identity by sending a question from the server computer to the card and answering it. Furthermore, since the result can be confirmed by displaying the result of the transaction, it is very convenient.

  Further, the card is very convenient if it stores age authentication data, the user's fingerprint / voiceprint information for identifying the user, electronic money information, information on the number of game media in the game facility, and service point information. Further, the card reader may emit a warning sound if the card is not taken out after a certain period of time even though the information indicating the end of the transaction is sent from the server computer. Further, it is desirable that the card itself has an eddy card function, a credit card function, a watermelon function, identity confirmation by holography, or validity confirmation information of the card itself.

The present invention further includes a multifunction card as described above,
A card reader capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the card;
A server computer that transmits / receives encrypted data via a card reader, and the transmission / reception of encrypted data between the card and the server computer is combined data in the server computer and the card A transmission / reception system is proposed.

  According to the composite data transmission / reception system, the information is encrypted except for the card corresponding to both ends of the communication path and the inside of the server computer. Therefore, the confidentiality of the information is high. Furthermore, reliability can be further improved by taking measures such as fingerprint / voiceprint authentication and ID number confirmation against illegal use and modification of the card.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the server computer is a server computer of a gold sales and purchase organization,
With the card, it is possible to buy and sell gold through a card reader and rewrite account balance information and gold balance information stored in the card in accordance with the buying and selling of the gold.

  In this case, if the computer that manages the cash is the computer that manages the bank account, the card is connected to the computer that manages the bank account at the same time as the server computer of the gold sales / purchase organization, It may be possible to withdraw or deposit cash from sales and bank accounts. Or you may purchase money in the range of the cash balance memorize | stored in the card | curd.

The card reader is connected to a display device that displays personal identification information, and only when the personal identification information read from the card is confirmed to be the same as that of the card owner, the card and the server computer The transmission / reception of data to / from may be permitted.
In this case, if the personal identification information is a face picture of the cardholder, it is convenient if the card reader reads the face picture and displays it on the screen to let the administrator confirm the identity. . In this case, it goes without saying that the identification information needs to be transmitted from the card to the card reader in a format that can be read by the card reader.

The complex data transmission / reception system
A card reader is connected to the amusement hall computer provided in the amusement hall,
The game hall computer is connected to the server computer so as to be able to send and receive data,
The card may exchange data with a server computer via a card reader and a game hall computer.

  In the case of the above configuration, the server computer management side is very conscious of the reliability (ability to prevent unauthorized use) of the game room card reader and the game room computer through which encrypted information passes. There is no need to use. Therefore, similarly to the credit card, the use of the card can be promoted not only in a very wide range of game halls or game halls but also in goods trading facilities.

The game room computer can convert excess game media into money and write it to the card, and the card and server computer can trade between the remaining money and money. May be.
With such a configuration, by using the card and system of the present invention, it is possible to convert a very fluid value of the remaining amount of game media, cash balance, and gold balance of the game hall. Therefore, the convenience of use is further improved.

  By using the card of the present invention, it is possible to exclude the information from being stolen or illegally copied through the card reader and the computer managing the card reader, so that the range of use of the card and the system is greatly expanded. .

Claims (10)

A storage device capable of storing cardholder management information and account balance information; an input device capable of inputting at least numbers and characters; and an information processing device capable of encryption / decryption; A card that can send and receive data,
A functional card that can send / receive encrypted data to / from a server computer via a card reader and does not require the encryption / decryption function of the card reader.   The multi-function card according to claim 1, wherein the storage element can further store gold balance information.   3. The multifunction card according to claim 1 or 2, further storing personal identification information of the registered owner, wherein the personal identification information can be read only when a predetermined input is made through the input element. .   4. The multi-function card according to claim 3, wherein when there is a second predetermined input instead of the predetermined input, information indicating unauthorized use is transmitted to the card reader.   5. The multi-function card according to claim 1, further comprising a display element capable of displaying at least numerals and characters. A multi-function card according to any one of claims 1 to 5;
A card reader capable of transmitting and receiving data to and from the card;
A server computer that transmits / receives encrypted data via a card reader, and the transmission / reception of encrypted data between the card and the server computer is combined data in the server computer and the card Transmission / reception system. The server computer is a server computer of a gold sales / purchase organization,
7. The composite data transmission / reception system according to claim 6, wherein the card is bought and sold through a card reader, and the account balance information and the gold balance information stored in the card are rewritten according to the sale and purchase of the gold.   The card reader is connected to a display device that displays personal identification information, and only when the personal identification information read from the card is confirmed to be the same as that of the card owner, the card and the server computer The composite data transmission / reception system according to claim 6 or 7, which permits transmission / reception of data to / from the. The card reader is connected to a game hall computer provided in the game hall,
The game hall computer is connected to the server computer so as to be able to send and receive data,
8. The composite data transmission / reception system according to claim 6, wherein the card transmits / receives data to / from a server computer via a card reader and a game room computer.   10. The game room computer can convert a surplus game medium into an amount of money and write it on a card, and can trade between the remaining amount of money and money between the card and the server computer. The composite data transmission / reception system according to any one of the above.