ACCESS-CONTROL EQUIPMENT AND ITEM-DISPENSING SYSTEMS CONTROLLED BY CREDIT CARD

• US 3,629,834 A
• Filed: 08/19/1969
• Issued: 12/21/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/1968
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Constable Geoffrey Ernest Patr, William E. Randall
• Original Assignee: Constable Geoffrey Ernest Patr, William E. Randall
• Inventors: Randall, William E., CONSTABLE GEOFFREY ERNEST PATR
• Application Number:
  US04/851,301
• Time in Patent Office: 854 Days
• US Class Current: 235/382
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/202 Depositing operations within ATMs depositing in general G07D11/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/209 Monitoring, auditing or diagnose of functioning of ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/21 Retaining of the payment card by ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1016 Devices or methods for securing the PIN and other transaction-data, e.g. by encryption arrangements for secret communication, see H04L9/00

Abstract

A money-dispensing system is operative to dispense money in response to a bank customer'"'"''"'"'s embossed credit card and keyed entry of his personal identification number, only if this number accords with the customer'"'"''"'"'s account number as read from an accounting record impressed from the card. Accord is checked at the bank'"'"''"'"'s central computer and approval for dispensing, and return of the card to the customer, is given by an encyphered signal transmitted back to the dispensing terminal. The card is returned to the customer, whether or not he is successful in achieving the accord necessary for dispensing, only if the card carries an authentic magnetic recording and has not expired. If the card does not carry the recording, or has expired, dispensing is in all cases inhibited and the card is transported into a bin that is out of reach of the customer for retention until the machine is serviced by bank staff.

Claims

1. Access-control equipment for selectively enabling access to a facility, comprising first means for receiving fully within the equipment an information-bearing token presented by a person seeking access to said facility, second means for reading from the received token information borne thereby, third means that is operable in dependence upon the information read from the token to enable access to said facility, fourth means for detecting whether the received token has a predetermined characteristic, the existence of said predetermined characteristic being a criterion of valid access, fifth means for receiving invalid tokens and retaining them out of reach of said person within the equipment, sixth means operable selectively in a first or second mode for transporting the read token away from the second means, said sixth means being operative in said first mode to transport the read token to return it to said person and in said second mode to transport the read token to said fifth means for retention thereby, and seventh means to operate said sixth means in said first mode to return the token to said person only in the event that said predetermined characteristic is detected by said fourth means and otherwise to operate said sixth means in said second mode whereby the token is retained within the equipment.

2. Access-control equipment according to claim 1 wherein said predetermined characteristic is magnetic characteristic.

3. Access-control equipment according to claim 1 wherein said fourth means includes a magnetic reading head for detecting whether the token carries a predetermined magnetic recording.

4. Access-control equipment according to claim 1 wherein said fourth means comprise erasure means for submitting the received token to a magnetic erasure process for erasing magnetic recording from any magnetic material having less than a predetermined level of coercivity, and detecting means for detecting magnetic recording remaining on the token after the token has been submitted to the erasure process, and wherein said equipment includes means to inhibit operation both of said third means and of said sixth means in said first mode in the event that a predetermined magnetic recording is not detected by said detecting means.

5. Access-control equipment according to claim 1 including manually operable means for entering into the equipment a plural-character word, the particular word entered being dependent upon manual selection, comparison means for detecting whether a predetermined correspondence exists between the information read from the token and the manually entered word, and means for enabling operation of said third means to enable access to said facility only in the event that said predetermined correspondence exists, said seventh means being means to operate said sixth means in said first mode independently of whether said predetermined correspondence exists.

6. Access-control equipment according to claim 1 wherein said predetermined characteristic is characteristic involved in the information read from the received token by said second means, said fourth means including means responsive to said information to detect whether said characteristic is present therein.

7. Access-control equipment according to claim 1 including token-entry means providing an entrance to the equipment for a presented token, said second means being spaced from said entrance, token-transport means for transporting along a path to said second means any token admitted to the equipmeNt through said entrance, detector means positioned at a point along said path for detecting as the token passes that point whether the token has said predetermined characteristic, and inhibiting means operative to inhibit the said operation both of said third means and of said sixth means in said first mode, in the event that said predetermined characteristic is not detected by said detector means.

8. Access-control equipment according to claim 7 wherein said detector means is magnetic-reading means for detecting whether the transported token has a predetermined magnetic recording.

9. Access-control equipment according to claim 1 in combination with an item dispenser for dispensing items in response to each operation of said third means.

10. Access-control equipment for selectively enabling access to a facility, comprising token-entry means providing an entrance to the equipment for an information-bearing token presented to the equipment by a person seeking access to said facility, token-reading means for reading from the received token information borne thereby, said token-reading means being spaced from said entrance, bin means to receive tokens for retention within the equipment, token-transport means for transporting along a path to said token-reading means any token admitted to the equipment through said entrance, said token-transport means being operable following the reading of said information by the token-reading means to return the token through said entrance or, selectively, to drive the token from the token-reading means into said bin means, release means operable in dependence upon the information read from the token to enable access to said facility, detector means for detecting as the token passes along said path to said token-reading means whether the token has a predetermined characteristic, the existence of said predetermined characteristic being a criterion of valid access, and means responsive to detection of said predetermined characteristic by said detector means to operate said token-transport means to return the token through said entrance only in the event that said predetermined characteristic is detected and otherwise to operate said token-transport means to drive the token into the bin means.

11. Access-control equipment according to claim 10 wherein said detector means includes a magnetic-reading head positioned along said path for detecting whether the token carries a predetermined magnetic recording.

12. Access-control equipment comprising means providing an entrance to the equipment for an information-bearing token, token-reading means spaced from said entrance, means for transporting a token admitted to the equipment through said entrance to the token-reading means, said token-reading means being operative to read from a token transported there to information borne by the token, means operable manually for entering a number into the equipment, the particular number entered being dependent upon manual selection, release means selectively operable to provide a predetermined release to access function, comparison means for comparing a number dependent upon the information read from the token with the said number entered into the equipment to operate said release means as aforesaid in dependence upon whether a predetermined correspondence exists between the compared numbers, token-return means operable to return the token transported to said token-reading means to said entrance irrespective of whether or not said predetermined correspondence is detected, detector means separate from said comparison means for detecting whether the received token has validity, and means for inhibiting operation both of said release means and of said token-return means in the event that the said validity of the token is not detected by said detector means.

13. Access control equipment according to claim 12 including a dispenser for dispensing at least one item in response to each operation of said release means.

14. An item-dispenSing system according to claim 13 wherein said predetermined characteristic is a magnetic characteristic.