Credit card and credit card identification system for automatic vending equipment

• US 3,872,438 A
• Filed: 05/04/1973
• Issued: 03/18/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Coded Verification Systems Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Vilma M. Wagner, William E. Cuttill
• Inventors: Cuttill, William E., Wagner, Vilma M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yusko, Donald J.
• Application Number:
  US05/357,509
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 340/149A,149R 235/61.7B,61.11H
• US Class Current: 235/381
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/067 Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 5/00 Methods or arrangements for verifying the correctness of markings on a record carrier; Column detection devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/081 electrostatic, e.g. by detecting the charge of capacitance between electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/342 Cards defining paid or billed services or quantities
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/025 by means, e.g. cards, providing billing information at the time of purchase, e.g. identification of seller or purchaser, quantity of goods delivered or to be delivered
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/10 together with a coded signal , e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1058 PIN is checked locally

Abstract

The system is used to enable the operation of automatic vending equipment without requiring the attention of sales personnel. A special credit card construction is employed with the credit card precoded in binary code representing several digits and with a locator indicator to insure that the card is correctly positioned when inserted in the console or read-out station. The card coding includes an arrangement of high dielectric constant discs and low dielectric constant discs arranged in several bit groupings related to a plurality of identification digits. On the cards, which are preferably of the plastic material type, opaque conductive plastic inserts are included over and above the first mentioned discs so that the discs, their location and code arrangement, cannot be readily ascertained. The read-out device includes key operated switches for entering a second plurality of digits which are the same as those first encoded on the card and known only to the proper card holder. For example, the identifying digits may be the last four numbers of his social security number or the like. Responsive to the comparison and the coincidence of the code on the card and the code entered by the purchaser, the vending equipment is enabled so that the desired objects may be removed and a totalizer and appropriate print-out means are then actuated to total the amount of the purchases and then provide a printed bill for the purchaser.

Claims

1. A vending machine system for dispensing products to a purchaser without the attendance continuous of sales personnel, comprising:

a credit identification card;

a first plurality of indicia of relatively high dielectric constant mounted in said card;

a second plurality of indicia of relatively low dielectric constant mounted in said card in a predetermined pattern with said first plurality;

means for sensing the electrical time constant characteristics of said indicia and providing a binary code output representative thereof;

means for manually selecting a digital code memorized and known by the purchaser to be identical to the code represented by the pattern on said card;

means for converting the digital code to a binary code;

means for comparing said two binary codes; and

enabling means responsive to coincidence between said two codes to enable the operation of said vending machine.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for presetting a binary code for comparison with said binary code of said card comprises a digit key and a coder, said digit key operable to initiate the operation of said coder to convert the digit key setting to a binary code.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 1, wherein there is included in the system a further compare error counter for summing the number of times in which the code entered by the operator did not coincide with the card code, said compare error counter operable after attaining a predetermined count to disable further operator of the vending machine.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein a means is operably connected in said sYstem for locking said card against withdrawal by the purchaser responsive to the counting of said compare error counter to said predetermined count.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 3 in which a further means is included in circuit with said system to prevent further counting of the binary digit and binary compare error counters and to inhibit the further operation of the vending machine and of an associated bill printer.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 3 wherein there is included in the system a release solenoid for preventing card removal by the operator, and in which a key operated switch is required to provide final actuation of said solenoid and release of the card.