JPH04295985A - Magnetic card and method and device for discriminating justifiability of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the forgery or falsification of a magnetic card from being performed. CONSTITUTION:A fixed pattern 5 with visible light absorbing property and infrared ray permeability is applied to the magnetic card, and the fixed pattern 5 is irradiated with a visible light sensor and an infrared sensor, respectively, and the reflected light of them are detected, respectively, and truth/falsehood can be decided by comparing the output of those sensors.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to magnetic cards used for credit cards, cash cards, prepaid cards, etc., and in particular, counterfeiting of magnetic cards,
Concerning technology that makes tampering difficult.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Magnetic cards that are widely used today have a bar code indicative of the power or face value formed thereon using conventional process black ink.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, with the conventionally proposed barcodes using process black ink, it is possible to fraudulently create barcodes using easily available writing means such as felt-tip pens in order to increase the face value. Met. It has also been proposed to hide the entire barcode section in order to make the barcode difficult to see, but this method has the disadvantage that the card manufacturing method is complicated and costs are high. The present invention aims to solve these problems.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention is a card having a magnetic recording/reproducing function, and at least one surface of the card is formed with an ink that absorbs visible light but transmits infrared light. To provide a magnetic card with a barcode representing fixed information such as face value and power information. The present invention also uses such a magnetic card, and when a barcode on the magnetic card is read by a reader equipped with a visible light sensor and an infrared light sensor, the difference in output between the two sensors is used to detect the value of the card. Provided is a method for determining the validity of a magnetic card, which is characterized by determining the validity of a magnetic card, and an apparatus therefor. The present invention is characterized in that it uses special ink, which makes it difficult to tamper with magnetic cards using felt-tip pens, etc., and provides sufficient security functions without having to hide the barcode.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to embodiments of the present invention based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a magnetic card as an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line XX' in FIG.

In this embodiment, the magnetic card 1 has a magnetic recording layer 3 and a reflective layer 4 that reflects infrared and visible light, which are laminated in sequence on the surface of a non-magnetic substrate 2, and a reflective layer 4 that reflects infrared light and visible light. A barcode-shaped fixed pattern 5 is formed with ink that transmits visible light and absorbs visible light.

[0008] The nonmagnetic substrate 2 may be plastic, paper, or a nonmagnetic metal plate.

The magnetic recording layer 3 is made by dispersing magnetic powders commonly used in magnetic cards, such as γ-Fe2O3, cobalt-coated γ-Fe2O3, barium ferrite, strontium ferrite, and metal powder, in a suitable resin. It is made into ink and formed by methods such as gravure printing, offset printing, and screen printing.

The reflective layer 4 is made by dispersing metal pieces such as aluminum, which has a high reflectance in visible light and infrared light, and pigments such as titanium oxide, mica, and silica in a suitable resin to form an ink, which is used for magnetic recording. It is formed in the same manner as layer 3.

The barcode-shaped fixed pattern 5 is made of colored ink, such as cyan, which transmits infrared light and absorbs visible light.
It is formed using a method such as offset printing, screen printing, or gravure printing using black ink that is a mixture of process inks of three colors, magenta and yellow.

In order to protect the fixed pattern 5, a transparent protective layer (not shown) may be provided on the fixed pattern 5.

Next, a method of reading the barcode-like fixed pattern 5 according to the present invention will be explained.

FIG. 3 shows the validity determining section of the magnetic card reader according to the present invention, in which 6 is a visible light sensor and 7 is an infrared light sensor.

The visible light sensor 6 has a wavelength of 600 nm to 70 nm.
It is composed of a visible light emitting section 61 made of a light emitting diode that emits red visible light with a wavelength of 0 nm, and a visible light receiving section 62 made of a phototransistor having maximum sensitivity at the wavelength. In addition, the infrared light sensor 7 has 90
It is composed of an infrared light emitting section 71 made of a light emitting diode that emits infrared light with a wavelength of 0 nm or more, and an infrared light receiving section 72 made of a phototransistor having maximum sensitivity at the wavelength. When reading a card, the fixed pattern 5 is inserted directly below the visible light sensor 6 and then the infrared light sensor 7 by a card transport device (not shown).

First, the fixed pattern 5 is detected by the visible light sensor 6.
When read, the visible light receiving section 62 generates an output at the barcode location due to the difference in reflectance between the reflective layer 4 and the fixed pattern 5, as shown in FIG. 4(A). When the fixed pattern 4 is read by the infrared light sensor 7, as shown in FIG. 4(B), since the fixed pattern 5 transmits infrared light, the reflective layer 4
Since there is no difference in reflectance between the fixed pattern 5 and the fixed pattern 5, no output is generated from the infrared light emitting section 72. At this time, the difference between the outputs shown in FIG. 4(A) is identified to determine validity.

Next, FIG. 5 shows the operation when a fraudulent card is inserted that uses process black ink, which is used in general printing and is easily available, in the fixed pattern part.
Explain with reference to.

First, when the visible light sensor 6 reads the barcode-shaped fixed pattern 8 made of process black ink,
As shown in FIG. 5A, an output is generated from the visible light receiving section 62 due to the difference in reflectance between the reflective layer 4 and the fixed pattern 8. Next, when the fixed pattern 8 is read by the infrared light sensor 7, it is found that the normal process black ink shows absorption even in infrared light, and there is a difference between the reflectance of the reflective layer 4, which has a high reflectance. The infrared light receiving section 72 generates an output as shown in FIG. 5(B). That is, since similar waveform outputs are obtained from the visible light sensor 6 and the infrared light sensor 7, it can be determined that the card is not a legitimate card, and subsequent processing is stopped.

[Modification] In the above example, the fixed pattern was superimposed on the magnetic recording layer, but the fixed pattern may be provided on the surface of the nonmagnetic layer on the side where there is no magnetic layer, or the fixed pattern may be provided on the surface of the nonmagnetic layer on the side where there is no magnetic layer. Striped magnetic layers and fixed patterns may be provided at different locations on the same surface.

[Effects of the Invention] The fixed pattern of the present invention has the property of absorbing visible light and transmitting infrared light, so it cannot be printed with process black ink used in general printing or altered with a felt-tip pen. If a fixed pattern is fraudulently formed, it can be easily determined by the difference in output from the infrared light sensor that it is a forgery. Additionally, unique information that is difficult to forge or falsify can be added at low cost through a simple manufacturing process, and it also has the advantage that unique information can be confirmed visually.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a magnetic card of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line X-X' in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a determination device that determines the authenticity of a magnetic card according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part of the magnetic card of the present invention, and a diagram comparing the output waveform (A) of a visible light sensor and the output waveform (B) of an infrared light sensor.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the main part of a conventional magnetic card, and a diagram comparing the output waveform of a visible light sensor (A) and the output waveform of an infrared light sensor (B).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Magnetic card 2 Non-magnetic layer 3 Magnetic recording layer 4 Reflection layer 5 Infrared transparent fixed pattern

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim 1: A card having a magnetic recording and reproducing function, with fixed information such as face value and power information formed on at least one surface of the card using ink that absorbs visible light and transmits infrared light. When the barcode on the magnetic card is read by a reading device equipped with a visible light sensor and an infrared light sensor, the validity of the card is determined by the difference in output between the two sensors. A method for determining validity of a magnetic card, characterized by determining the validity of a magnetic card. 2. A card used in the validity determination method according to claim 1, which has a magnetic recording and reproducing function, and has a magnetic recording and reproducing function on at least one surface of the card.
Made with ink that absorbs visible light and transmits infrared light,
A card with a barcode that shows fixed information such as face value and power information. 3. A validity determination device used in the validity determination method according to claim 1, comprising a visible light sensor, an infrared light sensor, and output difference recognition means between the two sensors. A validity determination device equipped with