US3696335A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Credit verification system
Assignee: REFAC INTERNATIONAL Ltd 100 E 42ND ST NY NY 10017 A CORP OF NY
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Filing: 1970-04-21
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Granted: 1972-10-03
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Expires: 1990-04-21
Abstract
Abstract A credit verification system employing cards such as credit cards, and means for automatically determining if an account represented by a card is of acceptable credit. In one form, information recorded on the card which identifies the account, is read after inserting the card into a reader and is compared with locally recorded information to determine if the account is acceptable for effecting the transaction. Upon generation of an indication that the credit standing of the account is acceptable or verified, the card may be used to complete the transaction in a printer which prints information recorded on the card onto one or more transaction slips.
Inventors
- 👤 Jerome H Lemelson
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-22 16:51
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07F; G07F7/00; G07F7/08; G06; G06Q; G06Q20/00; G06Q20/38; G06Q20/40; G06Q20/403; G07F19/00; G07F19/20; G07F19/201
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
293 words
A system for verifying and updating the status of accounts such as credit card accounts each defined by a card containing readable account-identifying information, said system comprising: a master accounting station including recording means for recording and updating information with respect to specific accounts, a plurality of account verification stations remote from said master accounting station for reading the account-identifying information recorded on a card and generating codes representative of the account numbers of cards read thereby, each of said account verification stations having a local recorder for information representative of specific account numbers, an automatic switching and connection communication system, means for periodically reading the information recorded by said master recording means at said master accounting station and generating codes representative of the accounts recorded thereby, means for automatically connecting the output of said reading means with a plurality of said recorders of said account verification stations and means for transmitting the codes generated in reading said master recording means to said recorders of said account verification stations, means for recording said codes in each of said recorders, means operative upon the reading of card identifying information from a card presented to the card reading means of each station for reading all the account identifying codes recorded in its local recorder, comparator means at each verification station operatively connected to receive code signals generated by the card reading means of said station and code signals generated in reading the account-identifying codes of the local recorder, said comparator means being operative to generate a signal when the code generated in reading a card matches a code reproduced from said local recorder and means operatively connected to said comparator means responsive to said signal generated thereby to indicate that said signal has been generated.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
293 words
A system for verifying and updating the status of accounts such as credit card accounts each defined by a card containing readable account-identifying information, said system comprising: a master accounting station including recording means for recording and updating information with respect to specific accounts, a plurality of account verification stations remote from said master accounting station for reading the account-identifying information recorded on a card and generating codes representative of the account numbers of cards read thereby, each of said account verification stations having a local recorder for information representative of specific account numbers, an automatic switching and connection communication system, means for periodically reading the information recorded by said master recording means at said master accounting station and generating codes representative of the accounts recorded thereby, means for automatically connecting the output of said reading means with a plurality of said recorders of said account verification stations and means for transmitting the codes generated in reading said master recording means to said recorders of said account verification stations, means for recording said codes in each of said recorders, means operative upon the reading of card identifying information from a card presented to the card reading means of each station for reading all the account identifying codes recorded in its local recorder, comparator means at each verification station operatively connected to receive code signals generated by the card reading means of said station and code signals generated in reading the account-identifying codes of the local recorder, said comparator means being operative to generate a signal when the code generated in reading a card matches a code reproduced from said local recorder and means operatively connected to said comparator means responsive to said signal generated thereby to indicate that said signal has been generated.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
57 words
A system in accordance with claim 1, including input means to said master recording means for recording signals representative of bad accounts and means for controlling said means for reading said master recording means to read only those codes recorded since the last reading operation and transmitting said read codes to said plurality of account verification stations.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
58 words
A system in accordance with claim 2, including means for recording codes in said master recording means which codes are representative of accounts to be reinstated, and control means at each of said verifying stations for effecting erasure of those codes recorded in its recorder which are received thereby and are representative of said accounts to be reinstated.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
77 words
A system in accordance with claim 1, including means for printing a transaction slip with the information contained on a card and means for disenabling said printing means to prevent the printing operation, said disenabling means being operatively connected to said comparator means and including means operative in response to a signal generated by said comparator means for preventing the printing of information contained on a card and the completion of a transaction by said printing means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
93 words
A system in accordance with claim 1 whereby said automatic connecting means comprises an automatic telephone switching and connection system having a plurality of circuits for transmitting said codes generated in reading said master recording means to said account verification stations, and means at said master accounting station for generating sigNals for automatically controlling the operation of said automatic telephone switching system to connect the output of said reading means of said master accounting station with a plurality of said verification stations prior to the reproduction of codes from said master recording means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
54 words
A system in accordance with claim 1 including means for connecting the output of said master station with a plurality of verification stations whereby the codes generated in reading said master recording means may be simultaneously transmitted to said plurality of verification stations and simultaneously recorded in each of the local recording means thereof.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
63 words
A system in accordance with claim 6 including means at said master station for indicating when connections have been made with said plurality of verification stations, said indicating means including signal generating means and control means responsive to said signal generated by said signal generating means for controlling the reading of information from said master recording means when said indicating signal is generated.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
60 words
A system in accordance with claim 1 including means at said verification stations for generating signals representative of variable data representing transactions and means for transmitting said variable data signals to said master accounting station when a connection is made between the two stations, and means at said master accounting station for recording signals transmitted thereto from each verification station.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
88 words
A system in accordance with claim 8, said means for generating said variable data signals comprising a recorder at each verification station, variable signal generating input means to each recorder including a keyboard having a plurality of key operated switches for generating variable information and recording said information as code signals in its recorder and control means operative in response to signals generated at said master accounting station for effecting the reading of information recorded in said verification station recorder and its transmission to said master accounting station.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
A system in accordance with claim 1 including means at each of said verification stations for effecting the local recording of information in each of said verification recorders and comprising a keyboard for recording variable information therein.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
315 words
A system for verifying and updating the status of accounts such as credit card accounts each defined by a card containing readable account-identifying information, said system comprising: a master accounting station including recording means for recording and updating information with respect to specific accounts, a plurality of account verification stations remote from said master accounting station for reading the account-identifying information recorded on a card and generating codes representative of the account numbers of cards read thereby, each of said account verification stations having a local recorder for information representative of specific account numbers, an automatic communication system operable for the automatic transmission of information from said master accounting station to said plurality of account verification stations, means for periodically reading the information recorded at said master accounting station and generating codes representative of the accounts recorded thereby, means for automatically coupling the output of said reading means of said master accounting station with a plurality of said recorders of said account verification stations and means for transmitting the codes generated in reading the recordings of said master accounting station to said recorders of said account verification stations, means for recording said codes in each of said recorders, means operative upon the reading of card identifying information from a card presented to the card reading means of each account verification station for reading all the account identifying codes recorded in its Local recorder, comparator means at each verification station operatively connected to receive code signal generated by the card reading means of the station and and code signals generated in reading the accoutn-identifying codes of the local recorder, said comparator means being operative to generate a signal when the code generated in reading a card matches a code reproduced from said local recorder and means operatively connected to said comparator means responsive to said signal generated thereby to indicate that said signal has been generated.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
315 words
A system for verifying and updating the status of accounts such as credit card accounts each defined by a card containing readable account-identifying information, said system comprising: a master accounting station including recording means for recording and updating information with respect to specific accounts, a plurality of account verification stations remote from said master accounting station for reading the account-identifying information recorded on a card and generating codes representative of the account numbers of cards read thereby, each of said account verification stations having a local recorder for information representative of specific account numbers, an automatic communication system operable for the automatic transmission of information from said master accounting station to said plurality of account verification stations, means for periodically reading the information recorded at said master accounting station and generating codes representative of the accounts recorded thereby, means for automatically coupling the output of said reading means of said master accounting station with a plurality of said recorders of said account verification stations and means for transmitting the codes generated in reading the recordings of said master accounting station to said recorders of said account verification stations, means for recording said codes in each of said recorders, means operative upon the reading of card identifying information from a card presented to the card reading means of each account verification station for reading all the account identifying codes recorded in its Local recorder, comparator means at each verification station operatively connected to receive code signal generated by the card reading means of the station and and code signals generated in reading the accoutn-identifying codes of the local recorder, said comparator means being operative to generate a signal when the code generated in reading a card matches a code reproduced from said local recorder and means operatively connected to said comparator means responsive to said signal generated thereby to indicate that said signal has been generated.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-10-03 | 1976-04-03 | 1976-10-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-10-03 | 1980-04-03 | 1980-10-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-10-03 | 1984-04-03 | 1984-10-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |