Token-control

• US 4,020,326 A
• Filed: 01/20/1975
• Issued: 04/26/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/1974
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Chubb Integrated Systems Limited
• Original Assignee: Chubb Integrated Systems Limited
• Inventors: Coulthurst, Ian James
• Primary Examiner(s): Canney, Vincent P.
• Application Number:
  US05/542,624
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.7 B, 235/61.11 D
• US Class Current: 235/381
• 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 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification

Abstract

A money-dispensing system is operative to dispense packets of money in selected number to a bank customer in response to presentation to the system of his credit card and keyed-entry of a personal identification number corresponding uniquely to the account number recorded magnetically on the card. Magnetic heads read from the card recordings defining the maximum number N of packets that can be withdrawn in any period of D days, the date of card expiry, and, as of the last use of the card, the date of commencement of the next period of D days and the extent to which the limit N has not been reached. If the date of commencement of the next period, which date is recorded as the number of days to the end of the expiry year, is after the current date, the transaction proceeds with up-dating of the extent of use recording accordingly, provided the limit N is not exceeded. If the date of next-period commencement is the same or before the current date the full limit N is made available for use and the recording of the next-period commencement is up-dated on the card to D days later than the current date.

Claims

1. In a system comprising, in combination, equipment for receiving a token, and a token for use with the equipment, said token bearing recorded information relating to the extent of previous use of the token within one of a succession of periods of time throughout each of which the token is authorized for limited use, and the recorded information also including time-identifying data, said equipment being adapted to receive said token and being operative to perform an operation in dependence upon said recorded information, said equipment including means for reading said recorded information from the token, means for providing reference signals defining a current epoch in time, means for comparing the time-identifying data read from the token with said reference signals, and means for updating the said informatiion recorded on the token in dependence both upon the said operation performed by the equipment and the result of the said comparison between the time-identifying data read from the token and the said reference signals, the improvement wherein the time-identifying data recorded on the token defines the commencement of the authorized-use period which is next to commence following the last use of the token, and the said equipment includes means for up-dating the record of said time-identifying data on the token when the result of said comparison signifies that the next period-commencement is not later than the current time identified by the reference signals.

2. A system according to claim 1 wherein said information recorded on the token includes further data defining the length of each said authorized-use period, and wherein the said up-dating means includes means operative to define the next-period commencement as following at an interval of time equal to said length after the current epoch defined by the said reference signals.

3. Equipment for performing a function in dependence upon a token presented thereto, which token bears changeable recorded data defining the remaining available use of the token within one of a succession of periods throughout each of which the token is authorized for use, said equipment comprising means for receiving the token presented to the equipment, means for reading the recorded data from the received token to derive time-identifying signals, said time-identifying signals defining the authorized-use period which is next to commence immediately following previous use of the token, means for supplying reference signals defining a current epoch in time, means for effecting a comparison between the time-identifying signals and said reference signals to provide a first signal when said current epoch in time is before the said next authorized-use period defined by said time-identifying signals and otherwise to provide a second signal, output means operable to perform said function, means for operating said output means in accordance with a condition for operation that depends at least in part upon whether the result of said comparison is said first or second signal, said operating means including means responsive to occurrence of said first signal for determining whether said function may be performed without exceeding said remaining available use, and means responsive to occurrence of said second signal to up-date the said data recorded on the token to define a fresh one of said periods commencing after said current epoch.

4. Equipment according to claim 3 including means for reading further data from the received token to define the length of each said authorized-use period, and wherein said up-dating means is operative to define the commencement of said fresh period as following at an interval of time equal to said length after the said current epoch defined by said reference signals.

5. Equipment according to claim 4 including means for reading from the received token information as to its date of expiry, and wherein said up-dating means is operative to record on the token a number computed in dependence upon the interval of days between the dates of said commencement and expiry.

6. The combination of a dispenser that is releasable to effect a dispensing operation, and equipment according to claim 5, said output means of said equipment being operable to release the dispenser in performance of said function.

7. Equipment for controlling use of a credit card or like token that bears a recording medium, whereby the token is to have a limited extent of authorized use within each of successive periods of time, the equipment comprising means for receiving the token, means for reading from the received token information recorded in said medium, means deriving from said information use-related signals and time-related signals, said use-related signals being indicative of the aggregate use of said token in one of said periods and said time-related signals being indicative of the commencement of the next of said periods following said one period, means for supplying reference signals indicative of a current epoch in time, means for comparing the time-related signals with said reference signals to provide a first signal when said current epoch in time is before the indicated commencement of the next of said periods and otherwise to provide a second signal, means for signifying a requested use of the token, processing means operative in a first mode in response to said first signal and operative in a second mode in response to said second signal, said processing means when operative in said first mode determining whether the sum of the said requested use and said aggregate use lies within the said authorized limit of use of the token and, if it is, to issue an approval signal and a total signal indicative of the value of said sum, and said processing means when operative in said second mode determining whether the said requested use lies within the said authorized limit and, if it is, to issue said approval signal and said total signal indicative in said second mode of the value of said requested use alone, approval means to manifest approval of the requested use in response to occurrence of said approval signal, means to change the recording of aggregate use of the token to the value indicated by said total signal, and means operative in response to occurrence of said second signal to up-date the recording of said commencement of the next said period to a point in time following said epoch.

8. Equipment according to claim 7 including means for reading further data from the received token to define the length of each said authorized-use period, and wherein said up-dating means is operative to define the next-period commencement as following at an interval of time equal to said period length after said current epoch defined by said reference signals.

9. Equipment according to claim 7 in combination with dispensing means releasable to perform a dispensing operation, and wherein said approval means is means for releasing the dispensing means in response to issue of said approval signal.

10. In a method for performing an operation in response to presentation of a token, which method is conditioned by information read from a recording borne by the token, the recorded information relating to the extent of previous use of the token within one of a succession of periods of time throughout each of which the token is authorized for limited use, and wherein said method includes the steps of reading date information frm the token, comparing the read date information with the current date, and updating the recorded information on the token in dependence upon the operation performed and the result of said comparison, the improvement wherein the date information recorded on the token defines the commencement of the authorized-use period which is next to commence followng the last use of the token, and the updating of the information recorded on the token occurs when the result of said comparison signifies that the next period-commencement is not later than the current date.

11. A method according to claim 10 wherein further data is read from the token and the commencement of the next authorized-use period is defined in the updating so as to follow the current date after an interval that is of a length determined from the said further data.

12. A method according to claim 11 wherein the further data read from the token defines the length of each of the said authorized-use periods, and the said interval is made equal to this.

13. A method according to claim 11 wherein the further data rread from the token defines the maximum extent of use of the token authorized for each authorized-use period, the method including the step of up-dating the recorded information relating to the extent of previous use of the token in accordance with the token-defined maximum whenever the date of commencement of the next authorized-use period is updated.

14. A method according to claim 10 including the step or reading from the token a record of the date of its expiry, and the step of recording on the token the date of commencement of the next authorized-useperiod as a number in accordance with the interval of days between the two dates.

15. A method according to claim 10 wherein said operation is dispensing of money in accordance with a request made by the token-holder.

16. A method for controlling a credit transaction by use of a credit card or like token that bears recorded information relating to a limited extent of authorized use of the token within each of a plurality of successive periods of time, said method comprising reading said recorded information from the token, deriving from said read information use-related signals and time-related signals, said use-related signals being indicative of the aggregate use of said token in one of said periods and said time-related signals being indicative of the commencement of the next of said periods following said one period, supplying reference signals indicative of a current epoch in time, comparing the time-related signals with said reference signals to provide a first signal when said current epoch in time is before the indicated commencement of the next of said periods and otherwise to provide a second signal, determining in response to occurrence of said first signal whether the sum of the said requested use and said aggregate use lies within the said authorized limit of use of the token, producing an approval signal and a total signal indicative of the value of said sum when said determination is affirmative, alternatively determining in response to occurrence of said second signal whether the said requested use lies within the said authorized limit, producing said approval signal and said total signal indicative of said requested use alone when said alternative determination is affirmative, manifesting approval of the requested use in response to occurrence of said approval signal, changing the recording of aggregate use on the token to the value indicated by said total signal, and up-dating the recording of said commencement of the next said period to a point in time following said epoch in response to occurrence of said second signal.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said reading step reads further data from the token to define the length of each said authorized-use period, and said up-dating step defines the next-period commencement as following at an interval of time equal to said period length after the current epoch defines by the said reference signals.

18. The method of claim 16 including the step of performing a dispensing operation in response to occurrence of said approval signal.