Access- or trnansaction-control

• US 3,892,948 A
• Filed: 02/26/1973
• Issued: 07/01/1975
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Geoffrey Ernest Patrick Constable
• Original Assignee: Geoffrey Ernest Patrick Constable
• Inventors: Constable, Geoffrey Ernest Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Cook, Daryl W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kilgore, Robert M.
• Application Number:
  US05/336,126
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.11E,61.11D,61.7B,61.11R 340/149A,149R 194/4 221/2 177/314
• US Class Current: 340/5.41
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/108 Remote banking, e.g. home banking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/347 Passive cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• 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 7/10 together with a coded signal , e.g. in the form of personal identification information, like personal identification number [PIN] or biometric data
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1075 PIN is checked remotely

Abstract

A money-dispensing system is operative to dispense money to a bank customer in response to keyed-entry of his personalidentification number and account number in succession, using a set of ten push-buttons. The account number is printed out and as read from the hard-copy log is transmitted to a central processor to obtain read out of account information stored there. The stored account information includes a check number for comparison with the entered personal-identification number which is transmitted via the data link in enciphered form. Provided there is correspondence of the enciphered personal-identification number with the check number and the transaction is not otherwise barred, approval for dispensing of the money to the customer is signalled to the terminal station by transmission over the data link of an enciphered number specially generated at the processor using a cipher supplied from the terminal station. The same number is generated independently at the terminal station using the same cipher and is compared for equality with the number received over the data link in recognizing this as signifying approval of the dispensing operation.

Claims

1. Equipment for use in the control of authorization of an operation requested by a person comprising:

a plurality of manually-operable devices that are operable to enter a word into the equipment, the particular word entered being dependent on which, and in what sequence, the manually-operable devices are operated;

means to derive signals in accordance with two different words entered respectively by successive sequences of operation of said manually-operable devices;

comparison means for effecting a comparison between the two different words to detect whether a predetermined correspondence exists between them, said comparison means comprising a signal comparator, a store for storing a multiplicity of words at a multiplicity of addresses respectively, means for reading out a stored word from an address of the store dependent on one of the two entered words, means for supplying signals in accordance with the other entered word to the signal comparator, and means for supplying signals in accordance with the word read out from the store to the signal comparator for comparison with the signals supplied thereto in respect of the said other of the two entered words; and

means for signifying authorization of said operation in dependence upon the detected existence of said predetermined correspondence.

2. A method of controlling machine-authorization of a credit-account transaction requested by a customer comprising the steps of:

a. entering the customer'"'"''"'"'s credit-account identification into the machine through manually-operable means, the credit-account identification entered being dependent on the manual operation effected to the manually-operable means;

b. entering into the machine a customer-dependent code through the said manually-operable means, the code entered being different from the credit-account identification and also being dependent on the manual operation effected to the manually-operable means;

c. comparing the credit-account identification and the entered code with one another to detect whether a predetermined correspondence exists between them;

d. signifying authorization of said credit transaction only upon the existence of said predetermined correspondence; and

e. recording the account identification of the customer for later billing.

3. A method according to claim 2 including the steps of checking the extent of previous use of the credit account by the customer, and inhibiting the signalling of authorization of said credit transaction in the event that a predetermined maximum use of the credit account would otherwise be exceeded.