Registers – Records – Conductive
Patent
1990-08-14
1991-01-08
Pitts, Harold
Registers
Records
Conductive
235441, 235472, G06K 1906
Patent
active
049838202
ABSTRACT:
A physical interface configuration which provides rapid contact to a two-terminal coin-shaped electronic token data module. A slot, dimensioned to receive electronic tokens, includes a grounded contact positioned to make contact to the edge of a token which may be inserted, and two data contacts which are positioned to make contact to the opposite faces of the token. Each of the data contacts is connected to an open-collector interface circuit, including a pull-up resistor which will bring the potential of the contact high when the slot is empty. The token is shaped so that its edge, and one of its faces, are connected to the token's ground line, and the other face is the token's data line. Thus, when a token is inserted (no matter which way the token is facing), one of the two data contacts will be immediately pulled to ground, by short-circuiting across the ground plane of the token. The system can thereby recognize that a token has been inserted, and that the other data contact (the one which was not shorted to ground) can communicate with this token's data line. Thus, even though the token itself is asymmetric, and even though the directional orientation of the token is not initially known to the system, no physical asymmetry needs to be introduced into the token or the slot to assure proper data interface.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4442345 (1984-04-01), Mollier
patent: 4459607 (1984-07-01), Reid
patent: 4511796 (1985-04-01), Aigo
patent: 4514785 (1985-04-01), Parmentier
patent: 4539472 (1985-09-01), Poetker
patent: 4945217 (1990-07-01), Bolan
Dallas Semiconductor Corporation
Pitts Harold
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