Electronic access control system for coin-operated games and like selectively accessible devices
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for controlling access to an equipment which has a control device associated therewith operative in response to an activation signal to permit usage of said equipment, the system comprising:
- a portable data-carrying device;
a reader associated with said equipment for obtaining data from said data-carrying device;
a data center communicating with said reader;
a data entry device for communicating to said data center data regarding said portable data-carrying device, said data center being responsively coupled to said data entry device and operative for establishing a data record in said data center representative of a number of activations of said equipment, said number corresponding to said portable data-carrying device, said data center also being coupled to said reader for receiving data contained on said data-carrying device when it is transmitted to said data center via said reader, said data center responding to receipt of said data from said reader by examining the data record within said data center corresponding to said data-carrying device and selectively activating the control device and adjusting said data record to account for such current activation, said data center also refraining from activating the control device if said data record shows no further activations of the equipment are warranted by the portable data-carrying device.
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Abstract
An access control system for coin operated games and the like in its preferred embodiment includes cards with magnetic strips carrying identifications of the cards. The cards are obtained from a card dispenser in response to deposit of money. A keyboard is used to enter data into a computer to create a data control for determining which cards are valid for uses of the electronic games. Alternatively, the card dispenser can communicate the identification of cards being dispensed to the computer. The user takes the card and inserts it into a card reader which is located at the game selected for play. The card reader reads the card and determines whether the card contains proper corporate and site identifications. If so, the card reader communicates the card identification to the computer which determines, by examining data record for that card, whether any further game plays are alloted to that card. If there are further game plays, the computer adjusts its data record to decrease the number of remaining plays which will be permitted, and activates the selected game. After a predetermined number of game activations for any particular card, the computer will disallow further activations so that the card is no longer valid. At that point, the card can be returned to a card dispenser which can read the card identification of the returned card and communicate that information to the computer which can revalidate the card for use when it is again dispensed in response to deposit of money. This system provides secure control over electronic equipment because the computer record and the means for creating it are located at a secure location.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A system for controlling access to an equipment which has a control device associated therewith operative in response to an activation signal to permit usage of said equipment, the system comprising:
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a portable data-carrying device; a reader associated with said equipment for obtaining data from said data-carrying device; a data center communicating with said reader; a data entry device for communicating to said data center data regarding said portable data-carrying device, said data center being responsively coupled to said data entry device and operative for establishing a data record in said data center representative of a number of activations of said equipment, said number corresponding to said portable data-carrying device, said data center also being coupled to said reader for receiving data contained on said data-carrying device when it is transmitted to said data center via said reader, said data center responding to receipt of said data from said reader by examining the data record within said data center corresponding to said data-carrying device and selectively activating the control device and adjusting said data record to account for such current activation, said data center also refraining from activating the control device if said data record shows no further activations of the equipment are warranted by the portable data-carrying device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A system for controlling access to multiple equipment units each having a respective control device associated therewith operative in response to an activation signal to permit usage of one of said equipment units, the system comprising:
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a plurality of readers each associated with a respective one of said equipment units for obtaining data from any of said data-carrying devices; a data center communicating with each of said readers; a data entry device for communicating data regarding said data-carrying devices to said data center, said data center being responsively coupled to said data entry device and operative for establishing a data record in said data center for each of said portable data-carrying devices, said data record containing data representative of a number of activations of said equipment for the corresponding data-carrying device; said data center also being coupled to said readers for receiving data contained on said data-carrying devices, said data center responding to receipt of said data from any of said readers by examining the data record within said data center corresponding to said data-carrying device and selectively activating the control device at said equipment unit associated with said reader and adjusting said data record to account for such current activation, said data center also refraining from activating the control device if said data record shows no further activations of equipment are warranted by the corresponding portable data-carrying device. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for controlling access to an arcade of electronic, electrical, or electromechanical games each having a respective control device associated therewith operative in response to an activation signal to permit usage of said game, the control system comprising:
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a plurality of portable cards each carrying data thereon; a plurality of readers for reading the data carried on any of said cards, each reader being associated with a respective game and communicating therewith, whereby a user can insert a card into the reader for the game which the user wants to play; a data center communicating with each of said readers; a data entry device for communicating data regarding said cards to said data center, said data center being responsively coupled to said data entry device and operative for establishing a data record in said data center for each of said cards representative of a number of plays corresponding to the respective card; said data center also being coupled to each of said readers for receiving data carried on any of said cards inserted into a reader, examining the data record corresponding to the inserted card, and activating the control device if the number of game plays represented by said card has not been exhausted, and in connection with said activation, adjusting said data record to account for the current game play, said data center disallowing the play of the game associated with the reader into which the card has been inserted if the data record for that card shows that no further game plays correspond to the inserted card. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A method for controlling access to multiple equipment units each having a respective control device associated therewith and operative in response to an activation signal to permit usage of one of said equipment units, the method comprising:
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establishing a data record for each of a plurality of data-carrying devices corresponding to the predetermined number of activations alloted to each of said data-carrying devices; dispensing data-carrying devices, each carrying data identifying the data-carrying device; reading a data carrying device at a location proximate to an equipment unit which has been selected for activation by the bearer of the data-carrying device; communicating the card identification from the card which has been read to a data center; determining whether the data record corresponding to the card which has been read corresponds to any number of activations, and if so, then permitting usage of said selected equipment unit and adjusting the data record to decrease the number of further activations to be permitted to the bearer of said data-carrying device, and if no further activations correspond to the data-carrying device, then prohibiting activation of the equipment unit.
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Specification