Passive biometric customer identification and tracking system
First Claim
1. A method for identifying and tracking customers of an establishment who have not previously registered or identified themselves to the establishment, which comprises:
- obtaining biometric identification information from the customer, transmitting acquired biometric data to a data processor memory, maintaining a library of files of anonymous customers and their corresponding biometric identification data in the data processor memory, said processor comparing the received biometric data identifying the customer to identification data in the files of said library to determine if the acquired biometric data match stored biometric identification data of anonymous customers, if said processor determines that said biometric data match stored identification data of a prior customer in said library, said processor storing in the memory of said customer'"'"'s file that a repeat identification has been made, said processor storing in the memory of the customer'"'"'s file information relating to the customer'"'"'s current transaction, if said processor is only able to reduce the identity of the customer to two or more of said library of files of anonymous customers and their corresponding biometric identification data in the data processor memory, a human being compares the received biometric data identifying the customer to the identification data in the two or more files of said library to determine which one of the two or more files of said library correspond to the anonymous customer, and said human being manually inputting into said processor which of the two or more files of said library correspond to the anonymous customer causing said processor to store in the memory of said customer'"'"'s file that a repeat identification has been made and causing said processor to store in the memory of the customer'"'"'s file information relating to the customer'"'"'s current transaction.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A computer-based customer tracking system passively identifies customers. Acquired biometric identification information is sent to a computer processor, which searches files in a library for matching biometric data. If no match is found, the processor opens a new file in the library. If a match is found, said processor stores in the file that a repeat identification has occurred. If said processor is only able to reduce the number of possible matches to two or more files, personnel determines if a match certain has occurred.
If prior activity information stored in the file exceeds a predetermined level, the prior activity information is retrieved from the file and sent to a terminal, preferably at the location of the transaction. New information from the transaction is stored for future access. The processor scans the files periodically, and deletes files which include activity level below a predetermined level over a preselected time period.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for identifying and tracking customers of an establishment who have not previously registered or identified themselves to the establishment, which comprises:
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obtaining biometric identification information from the customer, transmitting acquired biometric data to a data processor memory, maintaining a library of files of anonymous customers and their corresponding biometric identification data in the data processor memory, said processor comparing the received biometric data identifying the customer to identification data in the files of said library to determine if the acquired biometric data match stored biometric identification data of anonymous customers, if said processor determines that said biometric data match stored identification data of a prior customer in said library, said processor storing in the memory of said customer'"'"'s file that a repeat identification has been made, said processor storing in the memory of the customer'"'"'s file information relating to the customer'"'"'s current transaction, if said processor is only able to reduce the identity of the customer to two or more of said library of files of anonymous customers and their corresponding biometric identification data in the data processor memory, a human being compares the received biometric data identifying the customer to the identification data in the two or more files of said library to determine which one of the two or more files of said library correspond to the anonymous customer, and said human being manually inputting into said processor which of the two or more files of said library correspond to the anonymous customer causing said processor to store in the memory of said customer'"'"'s file that a repeat identification has been made and causing said processor to store in the memory of the customer'"'"'s file information relating to the customer'"'"'s current transaction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An identification method for identifying and tracking the play of a player playing a wagering game comprised of:
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acquiring passively, without active entry of player identification data by a player or establishment personnel at the time of play, biometric identification information related to the player, transmitting acquired biometric identification information to a data processor memory, maintaining a library of files of anonymous players and their corresponding biometric identification information in the data processor memory, said processor comparing the received biometric identification information identifying the customer to information in the files of said library to determine if the acquired information matches stored biometric identification information of an anonymous player, if said processor is only able to reduce the identity of the customer to two or more of said library of files of anonymous customers and their corresponding biometric identification data in the data processor memory, a human being compares the received biometric data identifying the customer to the identification data in the two or more files of said library to determine if the acquired information matches stored biometric identification information of an anonymous player, if said received biometric identification information matches stored identification information of a prior anonymous player in said library, said processor storing in the memory of said player'"'"'s file that a repeat identification has been made, and if said received biometric information does not match stored identification information of a prior customer in said library, said processor opening a new anonymous file for said player and storing in the memory of said processor file biometric identification information of said player and at least one parameter of play of the identified game. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An identification method for identifying and tracking the play of a player playing a wagering game comprised of:
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acquiring passively, without active entry of player identification data by a player or establishment personnel at the time of play, biometric information related to the customer, transmitting acquired biometric identification information to a data processor memory, maintaining a library of files of anonymous players and their corresponding biometric identification information in the data processor memory, said processor comparing the received biometric identification information identifying the customer to information in the files of said library to determine if the acquired biometric identification information matches stored biometric identification information of an anonymous player, if said processor is only able to reduce the identity of the customer to two or more of said library of files of anonymous customers and their corresponding biometric identification data in the data processor memory, a human being compares the received biometric data identifying the customer to the identification data in the two or more files of said library to determine if the acquired biometric identification information matches stored biometric identification information of an anonymous player, if said received biometric information matches stored identification information of a prior anonymous player in said library, said processor storing in the memory of said player'"'"'s file that a repeat identification has been made, if said received biometric information does not match stored identification information of a prior customer in said library, said processor opening a new anonymous file for said player and storing in the memory of said processor file biometric identification information of said player and at least one parameter of play of the identified game, if said received biometric information matches identification information of a prior anonymous player in said library, sending at least one parameter of play of the identified game to said processor, said processor storing the parameter in the player'"'"'s file, and said processor sending information from the file relating to the player'"'"'s activity to a predetermined terminal if the level of said player'"'"'s activity exceeds a predetermined minimum level. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification