Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Patent
1995-02-03
1997-02-25
Shepperd, John
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
235487, G06K 500, G06K 1700
Patent
active
056061587
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a collection and processing apparatus of recording media on which necessary items are erasably recorded for transferring information, and in particular to a recording medium collection and processing apparatus which separates recording media according to whether or not they can be used, and processes only usable recording media so as to recycle them.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
In a gaming house containing gaming machines such as pinball machines, a player plays games at a gaming machine and obtains game play media by winning games. The number of game play media won by the player is counted using a game play media counter, for example. The game play media counter records the count result on paper, such as thermosensible paper, using a recording head, and issues a receipt. For recording, digits and a bar code indicating the number of game play media are printed on paper, for example.
In such a gaming house, the player receives the receipt and can exchange the receipt for a prize equivalent to the number of game play media indicated on the receipt at an adjustment counter or window. The player may exchange the receipt for cash if such a transaction is legal.
Incidentally, the applicant proposed use of repeatedly usable recording media of card type in place of such receipts to avoid wasting of resources in Japanese patent Application No. Hei 3-272659 (Japanese patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-111570, laid open to public on May 7, 1993) and Japanese atent Application No. Hei 3-260879 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 5-96058, laid open to public on Apr. 20, 1993). Since the recording media can be recycled, excellent effects of contributing to cost reduction, resource conservation, etc., can be expected. However, the number of times such a recording medium can be repeatedly used is finite; to secure reliability in recording data, the recording media need to be discarded within certain limits.
To use a large number of such recording media, for example, in a gaming house, the recording media may be replaced with new ones all together. However, this method requires collection of a large number of recording media and replacement of them all with new ones, which is labor consuming, and is not an easy method. Simultaneous replacement of recording media having different usage conditions introduces the following problem: When the recording media are considered individually, replacement of those frequently used is delayed; whereas replacement of those less frequently used is wasteful.
If such a problem can be solved, such recording media can be used not only in gaming houses, but also as tickets for parking lots and facilities, railway tickets, etc.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a recording medium collection and processing apparatus which can individually manage the number of recycle times of each recording medium on which the record contents can be erased for repeated use, and can determine whether or not the recording medium is to be discarded based on the number of recycle times for automatically discarding recording media without delay or waste.
To this end, according to the invention, there is provided a recording medium collection and processing apparatus for recycling recording media which are capable of erasably recording data and are repeatedly usable, the apparatus comprising: the outside; recycle times of the recording medium taken in from the outside, written in a specific area of the recording medium; reused based on the read data indicating the number of recycle times, if the recording medium is not reused, the controller outputting a discarding command, and if it is reused, updating the number of recycle times and outputting data indicating the updated number of recycle times and a number-of-times write command; discarding command is issued from the main transport passage; and times of the recording medium into a specific area of the recording medium upon receipt of the number-of-times write command.
The collection and pr
REFERENCES:
patent: 4048475 (1977-09-01), Yoshida
patent: 5321239 (1994-06-01), Masubuchi et al.
Takemoto Takatoshi
Yatsu Hiroyuki
Kabushiki Kaisha Ace Denken
Shepperd John
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