TRANSACTION ACCUMULATOR FOR A CREDIT VERIFICATION SYSTEM

• US 3,657,702 A
• Filed: 08/19/1970
• Issued: 04/18/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/1970
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kenrick O. Stephenson Jr
• Original Assignee: Kenrick O. Stephenson Jr
• Inventors: Stephenson, Kenrick O. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yusko, Donald J.
• Application Number:
  US05/064,976
• Time in Patent Office: 608 Days
• Field of Search: 340/149,149A,152 235/61.7,61.7B
• US Class Current: 340/5.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4037 Remote solvency checks
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02

Abstract

In a system for verification of a customer'"'"''"'"'s credit status in response to entry of a charge account number at a remote location, the level of credit sale activity is accumulated. Each time that a valid credit signal is sent to a remote location the accumulated level of credit sale activity is incremented. This accumulated level is compared to a predetermined run level. When it exceeds this level a run signal is sent to the point of sale to prevent completion of the sale. The accumulated credit sale activity is stored in sectors of a magnetic drum. The accumulation is periodically advanced from sector to sector. When the accumulation reaches the last sector it is timed out. In this way unusual credit card activity in a given period of time is determined. This activity is also compared to a hold level. If the activity exceeds the hold level the accumulation is inserted back into the first sector of the drum so that it is held in the accumulator for another period of time.

Claims

1. A system for verification of customers'"'"''"'"' credit status in response to entry of a charge account number at remote locations comprising:

a central processor unit having a storage means for storing signals representing charge account numbers, a plurality of counter units at said remote locations each having means for encoding the charge account number, means for transmitting the encoded charge account number to said central processor unit, comparing means in said central processor unit for comparing the data received with signals stored in said storage means to determine whether a credit sale transaction should be completed on the encoded charge account number, an accumulator for accumulating the credit sale activity on each encoded charge account number transmitted to said central processor, said accumulated activity being automatically updated in substantially immediate response to a transmission from a counter unit at the time of a transaction, means for registering a run indication after said accumulated activity has reached a predetermined run level, and clock means for automatically clearing said accumulator a clocked period after the transmission from the counter unit.

2. The system recited in claim 1 wherein said accumulator records the number of transactions and wherein said negative indication is registered after a predetermined number of transactions have been accumulated on a particular charge account number.

3. The system recited in claim 1 wherein said transaction accumulator comprises:

a plurality of sequential and addressed storage sectors on a cyclical magnetic storage medium, and means for advancing the accumulated activity from address to address until it is recorded and erased from the last address in the sequence.

4. The system recited in claim 3 further comprising:

means for transferring said accumulated activity from the last address to the first address on said cyclical storage medium when said activity exceeds a hold level which is less than said run level.

5. The system recited in claim 4 wherein said cyclical magnetic storage medium includes memory timing and control circuits for normally rewriting each said accumulated activity in the same sector from which it is read and sector address circuitry responsive to said clock for periodically advancing the address of the sector into which said accumulated activity is rewritten.

6. The system recited in claim 1 further comprising:

an authorizer unit at a location at which a credit manager can supervise the credit sale activity at a plurality of said counter units, said authorizer unit including;

means responsive to the registration of said run indication for displaying to said credit manager an indication that a charge account number transmitted from a counter unit under his supervision has exhibited an unusual level of credit sale activity.

7. The system recited in claim 3 wherein said transaction accumulator further comprises means for transferring said accumulated activity to the first address when said activity is updated.

8. The system recited in claim 1 wherein said clock means clears said transaction accumulator of said accumulated activity said clocked period of time after the last transaction.