Method and apparatus for autonomous validation of issued scrip media

• US 7,036,721 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2004
• Issued: 05/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stanley P. Dabrowski
• Original Assignee: Stanley P. Dabrowski
• Inventors: Dabrowski, Stanley P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thien M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TAYLOR, APRIL ALICIA
• Application Number:
  US10/985,856
• Publication Number:
  US 20050096127A1
• Time in Patent Office: 538 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/381, 463 16- 45
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/06 Private payment circuits, e.g. involving electronic currency used among participants of a common payment scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/42 for ticket printing or like apparatus , e.g. apparatus for dispensing of printed paper tickets or payment cards
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/04 by paper currency

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for autonomously validating issued scrip media is disclosed. In response to a cashout command, a cashout value is magnetically and visibly recorded on a re-recordable continuous magnetic media portion and a surface suitable for the application of print media, respectively.

Claims

1. A method of dispensing a self-authenticating media useable in transferring credits from a first gaming device to a second gaming device, comprising the steps of:

determining a cashout value in response to a cashout command;

recording a visible manifestation representing information comprising the cashout value on a media;

recording a magnetic manifestation representing the information on the media;

dispensing the media from the first gaming device;

accepting the media in the second gaming device;

confirming the authenticity of the media, comprising the steps of

reading the visible and magnetic manifestations of the information from the media;

decrypting the information from the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation;

confirming the authenticity of the media if the information from the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation are comparable; and

issuing credits equivalent to the cashout value after the authenticity of the media is confirmed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the magnetic manifestation of the information is continuously variable.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the visible manifestation of the information is recorded on a heat-sensitive top surface of the self-authenticating media.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the magnetic manifestation of the information is recorded on a magnetic media portion embedded between a bottom surface of the media and a top surface of the media.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the magnetic media portion is substantially undetectable by a reflective optical sensor and substantially detectable by a densometric sensor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation of the information are recorded in the same area of the media.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

determining that one of the manifestations of the information on the media has failed to be recorded, the manifestation selected from the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation; and

determining the cashout value from the recorded manifestation of the information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the visibly and magnetically manifested information is encrypted according to a first encryption key that is temporally-dependent and, wherein the step of decrypting the information comprises the steps of;

determining a temporally-dependent first encryption key computed in the second gaming device; and

decrypting the information using the temporally-dependent first encryption key computed in the second gaming device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

determining a second encryption key temporally preceding the first encryption key and a third encryption key temporally following the first encryption key; and

decrypting the information using the second encryption key and the third encryption key if the information cannot be decrypted using the first encryption key.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second encryption key immediately precedes the first encryption key and the third encryption key immediately precedes the second encryption key.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the information recorded in the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation further comprises an approximate time that the media is dispensed from the first gaming device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

determining the approximate time the media was inserted into the second gaming device; and

determining if the media has expired using the time recorded on the media and the time the media was inserted into the second gaming device; and

if the media has not expired, selecting a second encryption key preceding the first encryption key and a third encryption key following the first encryption key according to the time of day recorded on the media, and decrypting the information using the second encryption key and the third encryption key if the information cannot he decrypted using the first encryption key.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the information further comprises an identification of the first gaming device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the information further comprises a theft code.

15. A self-authenticating media useable in transferring credits from a first gaming device to a second gaming device, comprising:

a bottom surface, suitable for application of print media;

a top surface, suitable for manifesting printed media;

a continuous magnetic media portion, embedded within the media between the bottom surface and the top surface, the magnetic media portion suitable for recording, playing back, and erasing a continuously variable magnetic field by a magnetic head;

wherein the magnetic media portion is substantially undetectable by reflective optical sensors and substantially detectable by densometric optical sensor.

16. The media of claim 15, wherein the magnetic media portion comprises a polyethelene stripe having magnetizable particles.

17. The media of claim 15, wherein the magnetic media portion comprises a magnetic track.

18. The media of claim 15, wherein the bottom surface comprises pre-printed information.

19. The media of claim 15, wherein the media is of substantially the same dimension as currency so as to be acceptable within a currency acceptor.

20. The media of claim 15, wherein the currency acceptor comprises a magnetic head for reading magnetic patterns manifested by magnetic ink printed on the currency, and wherein the magnetic media portion is disposed within the media so as to be readable by the magnetic head.

21. The media of claim 15, further comprising:

a visible manifestation disposed on the top surface, representing information comprising a media cashout value;

a magnetic manifestation on the magnetic media portion, representing the information.

22. The media of claim 21, wherein the information representing the media cashout value is encrypted.

23. The media of claim 22, wherein the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation representing the information are at least partially redundant.

24. The media of claim 15, wherein the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation are disposed in the same area of the media.

25. The media of claim 15, wherein the magnetic media portion is substantially undetectable by a reflective optical sensor and substantially detectable by a densometric optical sensor.

26. An apparatus for dispensing and receiving a self-authenticating media usable in transferring credits from a first gaming device to a second gaming device, comprising:

a printing device for applying printed media to a top surface of the self-authenticating media;

a processor, communicatively coupled to the printing device and a memory;

a magnetic head; and

a magnetic media subsystem communicatively coupled to the processor and the magnetic head, the magnetic media subsystem selectably configurable to authenticate currency via magnetic ink printed on the currency and to read a magnetic manifestation representing information comprising a cashout value on a re-recordable continuous magnetic media portion embedded within the self-authenticating media.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the magnetic manifestation is continuously variable.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the visible manifestation of the information is recorded on the top surface of the self-authenticating media.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the apparatus further comprises:

a reflective optical sensor, communicatively coupled to the processor, for reading a visible manifestation representing information comprising a cashout value on the media.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the apparatus further comprises a densometric optical sensor, and the magnetic media portion is substantially undetectable by the reflective optical sensor and substantially detectable by the densometric optical sensor.

31. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation of the information are disposed in the same area of the media.

32. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the visibly and magnetically manifested information is encrypted according to a first encryption key.

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein:

the apparatus further comprises a real time clock; and

the first encryption key is temporally selected from an ordered series of encryption keys computed according to the real time clock.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising decryption module having a plurality of instructions stored in the memory for instructing the processor to decrypt the information to confirm the authenticity of the media.

35. An apparatus for dispensing a self-authenticating media useable in transferring credits from a first gaming device to a second gaming device, comprising:

means for determining a cashout value in response to a cashout command;

means for recording a visible manifestation representing information comprising the cashout value on a media;

means for recording a magnetic manifestation representing the information on the media;

means for dispensing the media from the first gaming device;

means for accepting the media in the second gaming device;

means for confirming the authenticity of the media, comprising

means for reading the visible and magnetic manifestations of the information from the media;

means for decrypting the information from the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation;

means for confirming the authenticity of the media if the information from the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation are comparable; and

means for issuing credits equivalent to the cashout value after the authenticity of the media is confirmed.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the magnetic manifestation of the information is continuously variable.

37. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the visible manifestation of the information is recorded on a heat-sensitive top surface of the self-authenticating media.

38. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the magnetic manifestation of the information is recorded on a magnetic media portion embedded between a bottom surface of the media and a top surface of the media.

39. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the magnetic media portion is substantially undetectable by a reflective optical sensor and substantially detectable by a densometric sensor.

40. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation of the information are recorded in the same area of the media.

41. The apparatus of claim 35 further comprising:

means for determining that one of the manifestations of the information on the media has failed to be recorded, the manifestation selected from the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation; and

means for determining the cashout value from the recorded manifestation of the information.

42. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein:

the visibly and magnetically manifested information is encrypted according to a first encryption key that is temporally-dependent, and wherein the means for decrypting the information comprises

means for determining a temporally-dependent first encryption key computed in the second gaming device; and

means for decrypting the information using the temporally-dependent first encryption key computed in the second gaming device.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, further comprising:

means for determining a second encryption key temporally preceding the first encryption key and a third encryption key temporally following the first encryption key; and

means for decrypting the information using the second encryption key and the third encryption key if the information cannot be decrypted using the first encryption key.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein the second encryption key immediately precedes the first encryption key and the third encryption key immediately precedes the second encryption key.

45. The method of claim 43, wherein the information recorded in the visible manifestation and the magnetic manifestation further comprises an approximate time that the media is dispensed from the first gaming device.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, further comprising:

means for determining the approximate time the media was inserted into the second gaming device; and

means for determining if the media has expired using the time recorded on the media and the time the media was inserted into the second gaming device; and

if the media has not expired, selecting a second encryption key preceding the first encryption key and a third encryption key following the first encryption key according to the time of day recorded on the media, and decrypting the information using the second encryption key and the third encryption key if the information cannot be decrypted using the first encryption key.

47. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the information further comprises an identification of the first gaming device.

48. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the information further comprises a theft code.