Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Patent
1994-11-07
1996-11-19
Hajec, Donald T.
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
235492, G06K 500, G06K 1906
Patent
active
055765262
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention related to a closure system.
In the known closure system (Federal Republic of Germany OS 37 28 072), the key bears, in addition to individual fields which can be differently magnetically coded, also a bar code in order to be able to obtain possible services or the like by means of the key. It is also already known to effect the recording of such services in the manner that the closure code of the card key is read at the service station where the dispensing of goods or the accounting for services is effected, and then, via an on-line connection of the service station with an output unit or via some other central unit, to note therein the accounting factor in order to bill it then or later on to the user, for instance upon leaving a public pool or returning a room key to a hotel. In this connection, the closure code formed by the differently coded individual fields may furthermore have a subdivision for the identity of different card holders so that, for instance, two persons who use the same hotel room are billed separately for the services used by them, in the manner that this complete closure-code/card-holder code is forwarded for evaluation over the on-line connection.
The corresponding on-line connection is in many cases rather expensive and unsuitable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to develop a closure system of this type in such a manner that any services can be recorded for accounting by means of the closure-system card code at service stations which can operate in addition to or instead of the on-line-connected service stations.
As a result of the invention a closure system is provided in which services performed are recorded by the card key and can then be accounted subsequently, after evaluation in a central unit or the like, without the service station, where the goods are to be dispensed or the service performed is to be recorded, being connected by a line with the control unit. The recording of the service used is effected rather by a change in the coding of the key in the region of its magnetizable-individual fields which are not used for the closure coding. This also provides a valuable safety factor. The holder of the card key cannot recognize what magnetically codable individual fields form part of the closure code and/or the closure-code/card-holder identity code or to that region which is to be or can be re-coded so as to increase or reduce its value. Attempts at tampering lead with the greatest probability to the card losing the function as a key for the corresponding closure-system lock. A change in the coding which increases the value takes place after the central unit has issued the card key and all services claimed have been subsequently added on the card. A change in the coding which reduces the value takes place when the key has been issued against a deposit and when the services claimed are then deducted by change in the code. This is done, so that upon the return of the key to the central unit, a bill is not issued to the user, and money of the deposit which has not been used is returned to the user. In this connection, the service station reads the code present on the key upon its insertion in order to determine whether and to what extent a change in the coding which increases or decreases the value is to be effected. When the card key is then returned to the central unit, the value of these data-identification individual fields is noted and by simultaneously noting the lock-related code, which may also include card-holder identity codes, the value of the services used is applied to the correct card holder and billed to him. The corresponding change in code, whether an increase or decrease in the value, is in this case restricted to the limit provided. In order not to make the entire evaluation necessary directly upon each insertion of the card key into the central unit, this forwarding of the re-coded data can, in accordance with a special embodiment, also be effected by
REFERENCES:
patent: 4204635 (1980-05-01), Hofmann et al.
patent: 4717816 (1988-01-01), Raymond et al.
Farber Martin A.
Hajec Donald T.
Le Thien Minh
Schulte-Schlagbaum Aktiengesellschaft
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