JPH1058871A - Card and card recognition method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a card that can add new information while effectively using the card surface and is also effective in preventing forgery. SOLUTION: Information such as a machine-readable barcode or visually recognizable information is written on a side surface 1 of a card as side information 2.
Provided as Then, the type and authenticity of the card are recognized based on the presence / absence of the side information and the correctness of the content. Furthermore,
The information attached to the card surface as a magnetic stripe or the like is associated with the side information, and the authenticity of the card is determined based on whether the association is correct or not.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to various cards such as prepaid cards, credit cards, bank cards, etc., which can effectively utilize the card surface and are difficult to forge, and a method for recognizing such cards.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various cards such as bank cards, credit cards and IC cards have been used for a wide range of purposes. The prevention of forgery of the card has been performed by making use of advanced printing technology such as providing a hologram on the card surface. In a card having a machine-readable information storage unit such as an IC card, forgery prevention has been performed by storing security information in the information storage unit.

[0003]

However, in order to prevent forgery of a conventional card, for example, when a hologram is provided,
With the complicated manufacturing process of manufacturing holograms,
Since a special material is used for the hologram, the processing cost is high, and the forgery prevention effect cannot be obtained simply and at low cost. Therefore, for the hologram for preventing forgery, cards which can be applied in terms of cost are limited. For example, it is applied to a credit card or the like that uses one card for a relatively long period of time, but forgery prevention is desired for a prepaid card or the like that requires a single card to be supplied in a relatively short period and at a low cost. However, holograms were difficult to apply due to their cost.
Furthermore, the prevention of forgery by holograms means that a part of the card surface is occupied by the hologram, the effective area of the card surface that can be used for the original purpose of the card is narrowed, and the design freedom of the card surface is reduced. I was

[0004]

Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the card of the present invention is a card in which information such as a mark and a bar code is attached to the side of the card as side information by printing or the like. For this reason, the effective area of the card surface does not decrease, and since the side information is information formed by printing or the like, it is possible to prevent forgery at a low cost without being expensive like a hologram, and can be applied to a prepaid card and the like. Was. If non-side information such as magnetic stripes and embossed characters on the card surface are attached to the non-side information other than the side of the card, and the side information of the related content is used, the security can be improved by using both information. High anti-counterfeiting becomes possible. In addition, the card recognition method of the present invention uses the above-mentioned card, without reducing the effective area of the card surface, by using the side information, and in some cases, the non-side information attached to other than the card side, such as the card surface information. It also checks the relevance of the card and recognizes the type and authenticity of the card.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a card and a card recognition method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is an external view showing an embodiment of the card of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a card 10 of the present invention is a card in which side information 2 is added to a card side 1. In the card 10 illustrated in FIG. 1, a bar code, which is machine-readable information, is provided as side surface information 2 on the lower side of the four sides of the four sides of the card. A magnetic stripe 4 is provided on the front card surface 3 of the front and back surfaces, and the magnetic stripe 4 has machine-readable information as non-side information attached to portions other than the card side. It is recorded in a form. The type and authenticity of the card are determined by visually recognizing the card side 1 or by machine reading, based on whether or not the side information 2 of a predetermined content is attached to the predetermined card side. is there. Further, the card is recognized not only based on the side information, but also based on the relationship between the side information and the non-side information.

The meaning and purpose of the information provided in the side information 2 are arbitrary. One use of the side information is information for judging the authenticity of the card, that is, judging the validity. It may be 1-bit information, for example, as digital information. That is, whether or not there is a certain mark on a predetermined side surface. Whether the card is true or false based on the presence or absence of the mark, ie, the side information,
That is, the validity of the card is recognized. Of course, the side surface of the card has a length and area sufficient to hold a plurality of bits of information, and the side surface information may have information as a code composed of a plurality of bits of information. By providing the information of a plurality of bits, it is possible to provide side information for authenticity determination with higher security. The information consisting of a plurality of bits of the side information is, for example, ID
The information is different for each card, such as a number. The information composed of a plurality of bits may be information used for encryption processing, such as an encryption key. In terms of security, the security is improved by using non-side information, which is information attached to parts other than the side of the card, such as the card side, without using the side information alone to judge the authenticity of the card. Can be high. As non-side information, for example, visible information such as embossed characters and printed characters attached to the card surface, or a magnetic stripe, a magnetic recording layer on the entire surface, an IC memory, an optical memory such as a hologram or a so-called optical card And the like, which is machine-readable information such as information attached to the card surface, or information attached to the inside of the card, such as an IC memory, which is machine-readable information.

[0007] Another use of the side information is information on the card type, such as being different for each card type.
For example, in the case of a prepaid card, the denomination is a denomination indicating the type of the amount of money, and a ticket type indicating the type of an organization, organization, company, or the like that provides the prepaid card. Further, side information indicating such a denomination or a denomination may be used as authenticity determination information.
The side information as described above may be a method of visually recognizing the contents with the naked eye, a method of mechanically reading and mechanically recognizing the contents, or a method of both visual recognition and machine recognition.

The place where the side information is attached to the side of the card is arbitrary. In FIG. 1, the lower side of the side of the card is shown. In addition, any of the upper side, the left side, and the right side may be used. However, in a normal so-called rectangular card, the upper side surface and the lower side surface of the normal reader / writer or the like along the card transport direction are used for mechanically reading the information attached to the card side surface when the card is transported. There is an advantage that the side information can be read by the fixed reading means by utilizing. Of course, this is a problem on the side of the device that reads the side information when the side information is machine-read and used. If the mechanism corresponding to the left side or the right side is used on the side of the device, the right side is also used on the left side. In terms of aspects, there is no restriction on attaching machine-readable information.

Further, in the card of the present invention, the side information attached to the side of the card is not limited to machine-readable information as in the bar code example, but is simply visible information (and Machine unreadable information)
It may be. Provide machine-readable information,
Whether to provide simply visible information, or (usually) machine readable and visible information, depends on what card system to use the side information on, Optional. If the side information is simply made visible without machine reading, the position of the side information is not determined in relation to the reader / writer reading the side information of the card. In other words, the card has a machine readable information storage means such as a magnetic stripe, and a reader / writer is used for reading / writing, etc., and the card transport mechanism of the used reader / writer has four sides of the card. Which of the sides is less likely to wear in the device without much contact. However, in practice, such a thing is sufficient if the side information is formed as having wear resistance.

The side information may be provided on any side when the side of the card is composed of a plurality of sides (left and right and up and down if it is rectangular as shown in FIG. 1). May be provided on the side surface. By providing a plurality of surfaces to increase the length of the usable side surface, side information having a larger information amount can be formed. Note that the number of card side surfaces is one if the card shape consists of one closed curve such as a coin shape.

As an example of machine-readable information, the side information 2 is a bar code in the card 10 of FIG.
The machine-readable side information is not limited to a barcode, and is not particularly limited in any form as long as it is a machine-readable form. For example, there is a form in which a magnetic recording layer is provided on the side surface of the card and magnetic information is recorded on the magnetic recording layer, or a form of a two-dimensional code in which marks representing codes are two-dimensionally arranged. Further, the form of the barcode is not particularly limited, for example, other than a so-called normal barcode which has visible light absorption characteristics and is detected by visible light, it is transparent in a visible light region but has absorption in an ultraviolet region or an infrared region. There are a transparent barcode which is detected by light in an ultraviolet region or an infrared region, a fluorescent barcode which emits light when excited by ultraviolet light or visible light, and a magnetic barcode which is formed of magnetic ink and detected by a change in magnetic characteristics. Further, the form of the two-dimensional code is not particularly limited, and there may be a form in which the above-described various forms of barcode are converted into a two-dimensional code. A barcode is formed of information from a plurality of bars. When providing side information in a machine-readable manner, when the side information is the simplest, one mark (one analogy to a barcode) is provided on the side. Bar). Even if it is one mark, the specific position of the specific side itself is another information included in the side information, and whether or not the mark is present at the predetermined position on the predetermined side is determined based on whether or not there is a mark at the predetermined position on the predetermined side. It is possible to recognize the authenticity and the type of the card. Moreover, even for one mark, its size, shape, and color provide further information. By appropriately combining one or a plurality of these, it is possible to represent not only a single mark but also a digital or analog meaning with a plurality of bits of information, instead of a unique meaning.

By the way, the thickness of a card is conventionally about 0.7 to 0.8 for a credit card, a bank card and the like.
mm, and about 0.1 mm for prepaid cards such as telephones and railways. In this way, compared with printing on the card surface, this method is to form side information by attaching a pattern of a predetermined shape to a much thinner and narrower linear portion, but the pattern forming method is particularly limited. However, for example, it is sufficiently possible using various existing printing means. FIG.
Shows an example of a method of forming side information. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a main part in which side information is collectively formed in a state where a plurality of cards are stacked, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a main part of one card obtained as a result. As shown in FIG. 2A, when a plurality of cards are stacked and aligned so that one side is formed by the side of each card, various printing means can be formed in the same manner as in the conventional method of forming characters and designs on the card surface. Can be used as is. For example, transfer printing such as offset printing, silk screen printing, gravure printing, letterpress printing, flexographic printing, tampo printing, or hot stamping, or a thermal transfer printer, an inkjet printer, or the like may be used. However, the shape of the card may be formed by injection molding or the like, but usually the side shape is often formed by punching or the like. Therefore, even if the sides of each card are aligned to form one side,
If some irregularities remain, it is preferable to use a printing means which does not damage the printing plate in the case of a printing plate which is used continuously, and which can be formed on the concave side surface. For example, in the contact printing unit, a printing unit that can use a printing plate that is somewhat flexible is preferable. For example, offset printing, flexographic printing, tampo printing, gravure printing using a resin plate or a rubber plate, letterpress printing, or the like. Also, silk screen printing may be used.
Alternatively, an ink jet printer or the like which is a non-contact printing means is also preferable.

The method of forming side information by stacking cards as shown in FIG. 2 is usually the case where the pattern of the side information (therefore, the meaning of the side information) can be the same for each card. However, even with the method shown in the figure, it is possible to form unique side information for each card, depending on how the side information is used. For example, in a state where cards are stacked as shown in FIG. 2 (A), a random pattern or the like or an arbitrary pattern is formed on the entire side surface of each card (for example, one pattern may be used as a whole), When broken down into individual cards, each individual card will have different side information according to different patterns. Although the pattern of each individual side information is not the pattern determined from the beginning, the obtained pattern is read, the corresponding information is generated, and the generated information is read by a machine such as a magnetic stripe on the card surface. For example, a form to be added as possible information. In this case, the side information and the information on the card surface are mutually related, which is effective in preventing forgery. Moreover, when forming the side information from a random pattern, there is no regularity of the pattern like a bar code,
Since the side information is provided with randomness, the forgery prevention effect is more excellent. The information generated corresponding to such random side information is, for example, a pattern of black on a white background, which is the length of each black portion and the length of a white portion.

In the case where the side information is formed for each card, the side of the card is almost linear.
A suitable jig may be applied to both sides of the front and back surfaces of a single card so that the side surface of the card forms a part of the wide surface as described above. Alternatively, the printing may be performed by a printing method in which a flexible plate is slightly contacted as a single card without using a jig or the like. For example, flexographic printing, tampo printing, and the like. Alternatively, a non-contact printing method such as inkjet printing may be used.

By the way, since the side information is formed as a pattern on the side surface of the card, it is preferable to have abrasion resistance when forming the side information with ink, although it depends on the usage of the card. The abrasion resistance can be obtained by a curable ink such as an ultraviolet curable ink. This makes the side information excellent in durability.

In the case of the card of the present invention, a conventionally known card base can be used. For example, vinyl chloride resin, vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer, polyester resin, polypropylene, polyethylene, acrylic resin, polystyrene resin, polycarbonate resin, ABS
A single layer of various resins such as resin, metal, paper or the like, or a multilayer sheet composed of one or more of these can be used. The multi-layer sheet has, for example, a three-layer structure in which a white resin sheet containing a white coloring material is used as a core sheet, and oversheets made of a transparent resin sheet are laminated on both the front and back surfaces of the core sheet. The thickness of the card is not particularly limited and may be appropriately selected depending on the application. For example, 0.1 ~
2.0 mm. If the thickness is too small, it becomes difficult to recognize the side information attached to the side of the card. Further, if the thickness is large, it is possible to form a pattern of side surface information in the thickness direction, but if the strength is sufficient, the cost is only high in material cost. In the case of the above-mentioned three-layer structure, printing on the card surface is performed using a core sheet or an oversheet before forming the three-layer structure, but formation of side information on the side surface of the card is usually performed with a three-layer structure. I will do it later. This is because, after the three-layer configuration, the blank is punched into a card size.

In the three-layered card base material using the transparent oversheet, the side of the card is white at the center and transparent on both sides. For example, when a black bar code is provided on the card side, the transparent portion is formed on the base. If so, the contrast is reduced. However, the determination may be made only with the bar code of the white portion. In such a case, a white base layer or the like may be provided on a side surface portion to be provided before forming a pattern as side surface information.

A method for recognizing a card by machine reading in the card and card recognition method of the present invention as described above will be further described. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a card system necessary for recognizing a card by machine reading. As shown in the figure, the card system includes a card 10 of the present invention,
It is sufficient if there is a reading machine 20 having a function of reading the side information of the card side by machine. If card 1
0 also has a magnetic stripe and the like, and a function of reading from and writing to the magnetic stripe is also required at the same time.
A read / write means, such as a magnetic head for a magnetic stripe, may be mounted. As described above, the card reader 20 has a magnetic stripe, an IC memory, an optical memory, and the like, and the form of the machine-readable non-side information attached to a portion other than the side of the card of the card 10 to be used. If it is necessary to take measures, the reading, writing, reading, and writing means may be appropriately mounted.

FIG. 4 shows a read / judgment device 3 corresponding to a magnetic stripe when the information attached to the card surface is information by a magnetic stripe as non-side information.
0 shows an example of a schematic configuration diagram of FIG. A reading / judging device 30 shown in FIG. 1 is a bar code reader 31 for reading side information provided as a bar code on the side of the lower card.
And a magnetic reader 32 for reading information of a magnetic stripe
And a magnetic writer 3 for writing non-lateral information on a magnetic stripe
3 and whether or not the relationship between the side information and the non-side information (magnetic stripe) read by these readers is a predetermined relationship, to judge the authenticity of the card, etc. A determination processing unit 34 that performs processing such as writing necessary information is provided. The determination processing unit 34 includes a CPU,
It is composed of a memory and the like, executes a predetermined judgment processing program stored in the memory, performs card recognition such as authenticity judgment of the card based on the relationship between the side information and the non-side information, and based on the recognition result, Processing such as writing necessary information to the magnetic stripe with a magnetic writer is performed as appropriate. The barcode reader 31 includes a unit that detects a barcode to be read with visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared light, magnetism, or the like.

Next, in a card system as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an example of use of a card and card recognition according to the present invention will be described.
This will be described more specifically with a prepaid card as an example. First, at the time of production of a prepaid card, a barcode is printed as side information on the side of the card below the card. The contents of the barcode code information are unique to each prepaid card provider unit (the same within the same provider). The prepaid card also has a magnetic recording section composed of a magnetic layer on the entire surface. When a card is issued, a bar code on the side of the card is read by the issuing machine, and the authenticity is determined based on whether or not a predetermined bar code exists. Then, if the card is recognized as a valid genuine card, the money information is recorded in the magnetic recording unit. In addition,
The issuing machine is the same as the reader of FIG. 4 in terms of a device, and includes a barcode reader 31, a magnetic reader 32, a magnetic writer 33,
Although a judgment processing unit 34 and the like are provided, when the judgment processing unit 34 is a genuine card, it has a function of writing amount information to a magnetic recording unit of the card by a magnetic writer. At the time of use, the barcode attached to the side of the prepaid card is read by a reader / determiner to determine whether or not the card is a genuine card. After reading the subtracted amount information by a magnetic reader and subtracting the used amount, the subtracted amount information is written to a magnetic recording unit by a magnetic writer. If it is determined that the card is not a genuine card, the card is ejected and the use of the card is refused.

As described above, by using the card of the present invention having the side information on the side of the card, the card recognition of the present invention can be performed by utilizing the side information to determine the authenticity of the card and the type of the card. In the card recognition method, the relationship between the side information and the non-side information is arbitrary, but the manner of establishing the relationship is arbitrary. For example, in a simple example, it is assumed that a barcode meaning "12345" is attached as side information, and information having the same meaning "12345" is also recorded on a magnetic stripe or the like as the information on the card surface. is there. Alternatively, the personal ID number printed on the card surface is also attached to the side surface of the card with a barcode or the like. Such an identical content relationship is one of the relationships.
Also, information obtained by encrypting the side information with an encryption key is non-side information (in this case, usually recorded on a machine-readable magnetic stripe or IC memory, etc.). The information obtained by encrypting the code information with the encryption key may be the information added as the side information. These are relationships based on a certain mathematical relational expression called cryptographic processing. In this way, by increasing the complexity of the association, better security can be ensured.

The card of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it has side information on the side, and the card has machine-readable information such as a magnetic card, IC card, optical card, or the like. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may have a plurality of machine-readable information recording means. Also, the form of transmission and reception of the machine-readable information to the outside is arbitrary, such as contact or non-contact. In addition, the information form attached to the card surface is also arbitrary, such as print characters, print patterns,
It is optional, such as embossed characters, photographs, and sign panels with appropriate writing characteristics. The use of the card of the present invention is not particularly limited, for example, a credit card, a bank card,
Prepaid cards, commuter passes, ticket cards, name cards, ID cards, employee cards, various membership cards,
It is optional with a loyalty card.

[0023]

According to the card of the present invention, new information can be added to the card without using the card surface.
As a result, the entire card surface can be used freely on both sides. With the side information attached to the side of the card, forgery prevention, discrimination of the type of card, and the like can be performed visually or by machine. Moreover, in the present invention, forgery can be prevented at a very low cost as compared with the related art, and a forged card can be identified very easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view showing one embodiment of a card of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of one method of forming side information on the side of a card. 2A is a perspective view of a main part in which a plurality of cards are stacked to form side information. (B) is an essential part perspective view of the obtained one card.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a card system using the card of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a card reading / determining device that can be used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Card side surface 2 Side information 3 Card surface 4 Magnetic stripe 10 Card 20 Reader 30 Reader / determiner 31 Barcode reader 32 Magnetic reader 33 Magnetic writer 34 Determination processor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A card provided with side information which can be visually or mechanically read on a side surface of the card. 2. The card according to claim 1, wherein the side information and non-side information attached to other than the side of the card have an association. 3. The side information attached to the side of the card,
A card recognition method that recognizes the type, authenticity, etc. of the card. 4. The card recognition method according to claim 3, wherein the type, authenticity, and the like of the card are recognized based on the relationship between the side information and the non-side information attached to other than the side of the card.