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;
obtaining a personal identification number (PIN) related to the customer;
transmitting acquired biometric data and said PIN to a data processor memory;
maintaining a library of files of anonymous customers and their corresponding biometric identification data and associated PIN in the data processor memory;
said processor comparing the received PIN with stored identical PINs in the files of said library to determine if the acquired biometric data associated with the received PIN match stored biometric identification data associated with the stored identical PINs of anonymous customers;
if said received 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;
if said received PIN and biometric data do not match a stored PIN and stored identification data of a prior customer in said library, said processor opening a new library file and storing said received PIN and biometric data in said new library file; and
said processor storing in the memory of the customer'"'"'s file information relating to the customer'"'"'s current transaction.
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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. A selected or assigned personal identification number (PIN) reduces the time associated with, and improves the efficiency of, the identification process.
124 Citations
36 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; obtaining a personal identification number (PIN) related to the customer; transmitting acquired biometric data and said PIN to a data processor memory; maintaining a library of files of anonymous customers and their corresponding biometric identification data and associated PIN in the data processor memory; said processor comparing the received PIN with stored identical PINs in the files of said library to determine if the acquired biometric data associated with the received PIN match stored biometric identification data associated with the stored identical PINs of anonymous customers; if said received 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; if said received PIN and biometric data do not match a stored PIN and stored identification data of a prior customer in said library, said processor opening a new library file and storing said received PIN and biometric data in said new library file; and said processor storing 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)
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14. An identification method for identifying and tracking the play of a player playing a wagering game comprising:
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acquiring passively biometric identification information related to the player; obtaining a personal identification number (PIN) related to the player; transmitting the PIN and acquired biometric identification information to a data processor memory; maintaining a library of files of anonymous players and their PIN and corresponding biometric identification information in the data processor memory; said processor comparing the received PIN with stored identical PINs in the files of said library to determine if the acquired biometric data associated with the received PIN match stored biometric identification data associated with the stored identical PINs of anonymous players; 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 players file that a repeat identification has been made; and if said received biometric information does not match stored identification information of a prior player 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 (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A gaming machine comprising:
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means for passively acquiring a player'"'"'s biometric identification data; and means for transmitting the biometric identification data to a central computer system such that the central computer system compares the acquired biometric identification data to stored biometric identification data of anonymous players to determine whether a match has occurred; and wherein if said acquired biometric identification data do not match stored biometric identification data in a library of player files, said central computer system opening a new library file and storing the acquired biometric identification data in said new library file. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A table wagering game comprising:
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a table; means for passively acquiring a players biometric identification data located in proximity to the table; means for transmitting the biometric identification data to a central computer system such that the central computer system compares the acquired biometric identification data to stored biometric identification data of anonymous players to determine whether a match has-occurred; and wherein if said acquired biometric identification data do not match stored biometric identification data, said central computer system opens a new library file and stores the acquired biometric identification data in said new library file. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36)
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Specification