Card reader for time and attendance
First Claim
1. A card reader for use in a security system having a central controller and a plurality of said card readers, which controller keeps the time of day, and wherein the central controller and each card reader are electrically connected so as to each define an electrical communication system, each said card reader comprising:
- means for reading data stored permanently on a card;
means for determining the time of day;
storage means for said data in said card reader and said time of day;
operative means in said reader for authorizing or refusing authorization independent of the central controller, based upon the data on said card and for causing said data read from said card and said time of day to be stored in said storage means at a first time; and
means for sending said data read from said card and said stored time of day data from said storage means to said central controller at a second time controlled by said electrical communication system.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
There is disclosed herein an improved card reader for a security system utilizing a central controller and a plurality of card readers for controlling traffic through critical doors in a facility. The improved reader includes means for improving the system throughput by buffer storing large numbers of transactions all occurring within a short time for time clock functions in time and attendance applications for hourly employees. Also disclosed are means for conditioned emergency responses to sensed changes in status of alarm contacts coupled to the reader and located in the vicinity of the reader within 2 miles. There is also disclosed means for temporarily storing transaction information for transactions made during periods when communications with the controller are lost. During such degraded mode operation, access is granted to cardholders with the proper system code and their ID code and the time of the transaction are stored in a buffer. When communications are restored, the transactions saved in the buffer are sent to the controller.
89 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A card reader for use in a security system having a central controller and a plurality of said card readers, which controller keeps the time of day, and wherein the central controller and each card reader are electrically connected so as to each define an electrical communication system, each said card reader comprising:
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means for reading data stored permanently on a card; means for determining the time of day; storage means for said data in said card reader and said time of day; operative means in said reader for authorizing or refusing authorization independent of the central controller, based upon the data on said card and for causing said data read from said card and said time of day to be stored in said storage means at a first time; and means for sending said data read from said card and said stored time of day data from said storage means to said central controller at a second time controlled by said electrical communication system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15)
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11. A method of operating a card reader in a security system having a central controller and plural remote card readers wherein the central controller and each of the remote card readers cooperate to each define separate electrical communication systems, the method, comprising:
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reading card data from cards inserted in a selected card reader, with read cycles initiated at a rate determined by the frequency of card insertions at said reader; storing said card data in a memory at said reader; producing an authorization signal in said card reader, independent from the central controller, in response to appropriate data read from the card; and transmitting said card data from said memory to said central controller at a rate determined by the electrical communication system associated with said card reader. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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12. A card reader for use in a security system having a central controller and a plurality of said card readers, which controller keeps the time of day, wherein the central controller and each card reader are electrically connected so as to each define an electrical communication system, each said card reader comprising:
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means for reading data stored permanently on a card; means for keeping local time at said card reader synchronized with the time at said central controller but offset from it by a predetermined amount; means for storing the data read from said card by said reading means and for storing said local time at the time the card was read; means in said reader for authorizing or refusing authorization independent of the central controller, based upon the data on said card and for causing said data read from said card and said time of day to be stored in said storage means at a first time; and means for communicating data stored in said storage means to said central controller at a time controlled by the electrical communication system associated with the card reader. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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Specification