Access-control equipment and item-dispensing systems including such equipment

Claim 2

Access-control equipment comprising means for receiving a token presented to the equipment, security means for inhibiting unauthorized access to the equipment comprising a plurality of magnetic reading heads for reading magentic recordings from the received token, said reading heads having reading gaps which are out of alignment with one another, means mounting said reading heads closely side-by-side with their reading gaps out of alignment respectively to read recordings from parallel magneticrecroding tracks of the token, at least one of the reading heads being mounted with its reading gap extending obliquely to said tracks, detector means to detect whether a predetermined relationship exists between the recordings read from the token by the individual heads, and release means that is operable as a prerequisite to the enabling of access, said release means being coupled to said detector means to be operable only in the event that said predetermined relationship is detected between the recordings.

Claim 3

Access-control equipment according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the reading heads has a reading gap of a stepped form to provide a plurality of obliquiely oriented straight sections displaced from one another lengthwise of said tracks.

Claim 4

Access-control equipment according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said reading heads includes means to inhibit energization of the head to record magnetically on the token.

Claim 5

Access-control equipment according to claim 1 wherein the reading means includes means to detect the existence of substantial equality between the magnitudes of the output signals of the reading heads and also includes means to detect the existence of a predetermined phase relationship between the said output signals, said release means being operable only in the event that both said substantial equality in magnitude and said predetermined phase relationship are detected between said output signals.

Claim 6

Access-control equipment according to claim 1 including means for transporting the received token along a path past the reading gaps of the magnetic heads, and means mounting the heads to present their gaps oblique to said path.

Claim 7

Access-control equipment according to claim 5 wherein there are two reading heads mounted with their gaps oblique to said path at angles of equal magnitude but opposite sense to one another.

Claim 8

An item-dispensing system comprising means providing an entrance for admitting an information-bearing token to the system, token-reading means spaced from said entrance, token-transporting means for transporting the admitted token along a path to the token-reading means, said token-reading means being operative to read information from the token transported thereto, security means for inhibiting unauthorized dispensing of items comprising magnetic reading-means mounted at a point along said path to read magnetic recordings from the token transported past said point to the token-reading means, said magnetic reading-means including a plurality of reading-head means having individual magnetic sensing-gaps for sensing respective ones of said recordings, said gaps being inclined obliquely to one another and to said path, detector means for detecting whether a predetermined relationship exists between tHe magnetic recordings read from the token by the individual head-means, item-dispensing means operable to dispense from a reserve of items at least one such item upon each operation of the item-dispensing means, and means for enabling operation of the item-dispensing means in dependence upon the information read from the token by the token-reading means and then only if said predetermined relationshiop is detected by said detector means.

Claim 9

An item-dispensing system comprising means providing an entrance for admitting an information-bearing token to the system, token-reading means spaced from said entrance, token-transporting means for transporting the admitted token along a path to the token-reading means, said token-reading means being operative to read information from the token transported thereto, security means for inhibiting unauthorized dispensing of items comprising magnetic reading-means mounted at a point along said path to read magnetic recordings from the token transported past said point to the token-reading means, said magnetic reading-means including a plurality of reading-head means having individual magnetic sensing-gaps for sensing respective ones of said recordings, said gaps being inclined obliquely to one another and to said path, detector means for detecting whether a predetermined relationship exists between tHe magnetic recordings read from the token by the individual head-means, item-dispensing means operable to dispense from a reserve of items at least one such item upon each operation of the item-dispensing means, and means for enabling operation of the item-dispensing means in dependence upon the information read from the token by the token-reading means and then only if said predetermined relationshiop is detected by said detector means.

Claim 10

An item-dispensing system according to claim 7 wherein sid reading-means includes two straight-gap magnetic heads, and means mounting the two heads with their gaps oblique to one another in a V-shaped configuration.

Claim 11

An item-dispensing system aCcording to claim 7 wherein said item-dispensing means is means for dispensing money at a bank.

Claim 12

An item-dispensing system according to claim 7 wherein the token-transporting means is also operable to return the token along said path from the token-reading means to said entrance only in the event that said predetermined relationship is detected by said detector means.

Claim 13

An item-displacing system according to claim 10 wherein said detector means includes means for energizing at least some of said head-means to record magnetically on the token during return of the token to said entrance.

Claim 14

An item-dispensing system according to claim 10 wherein said detector means includes means to detect the condition in which the magnitudes of output signals of the reading head-means each exceed a predetermined threshold level, and wherein operation both of said item-dispensing means and of said token-transporting means to return the token as aforesaid, is dependent on the detection of said condition by said detector means.

Claim 15

Access-control equipment comprising: means for receiving a token presented to the equipment; security means for inhibiting unauthorized access to the equipment comprising magnetic reading-head means for reading magnetic recordings of information recorded out of alignment respectively in a plurality of magnetic tracks of the received token, said reading head means comprising gap-defining means defining a plurality of magnetic-reading gaps for sensing the non-aligned magnetic recordings in respective ones of said tracks, said gaps being inclined to one another, and means mounting said gap-defining means to present at least one of said gaps obliquely to its respective track; detector means to detect whether a predetermined relationship exists between the recordings read from the said tracks of the token by the magnetic reading-head means; and release means that is operable as a prerequisite to the enabling of access, said release means being coupled to said detector means to be operable only in the event that said predetermined relationship is detected between the recordings.

Claim 16

Access-control equipment comprising: means for receiving a token presented to the equipment; security means for inhibiting unauthorized access to the equipment comprising magnetic reading-head means for reading magnetic recordings of information recorded out of alignment respectively in a plurality of magnetic tracks of the received token, said reading head means comprising gap-defining means defining a plurality of magnetic-reading gaps for sensing the non-aligned magnetic recordings in respective ones of said tracks, said gaps being inclined to one another, and means mounting said gap-defining means to present at least one of said gaps obliquely to its respective track; detector means to detect whether a predetermined relationship exists between the recordings read from the said tracks of the token by the magnetic reading-head means; and release means that is operable as a prerequisite to the enabling of access, said release means being coupled to said detector means to be operable only in the event that said predetermined relationship is detected between the recordings.

Claim 17

Access-control equipment according to claim 13 wherein said reading-head means comprises two magnetic reading heads mounted side-by-side with their reading gaps oblique to one another in a V-shaped configuration.

Claim 18

Access-control equipment according to claim 13 wherein said detector means includes means to detect whether there is substantial equality in magnitude between the recordings sensed by the different ones of said gaps, and said release means is operable only in the event that said substantial equality is detected.

Claim 19

Access control equipment according to claim 13 wherein said detector means includes means to detect the condition in which the recording sensed by each gap exceeds a predetermined threshold level, and said release means is operable only in the event that said condition is detected.

Claim 20

Access-control equipment according to claim 13 wherein said detector means includes means to detect the existence of a predetermined phase relationship between the recordings sensed by the gaps, and said release means is operable only in the event that said predetermined phase relationship if detected.

Claim 21

Access-control equipment according to claim 13 whereiN the token-receiving means includes means providing an entrance for admitting the presented token to the equipment, and means operable to return the token through said entrance only in the event that the detector means detects the existence of said predetermined relationship.

Claim 22

Access-control equipment according to claim 13 in combination with dispensing means that is responsive to operation of said release means to perform a dispensing function.

Claim 23

Access-control equipment according to claim 13 including means for reading information borne by the received token, means for entering a plural-character word into the equipment, and comparator means for detecting whether a predetermined correspondence exists between the said information read from the token and the plural-character word, and wherein said release means is means operable to enable access only in the event that both said predetermined correspondence and said predetermined relationship are detected by said comparator and detector means respectively.

Claim 24

Access-control equipment according to claim 20 wherein said means for reading information from the received token, comprises means for making a record of information borne by the token, and means for reading from said record part at least of the information recorded thereon.

Claim 25

Access-control equipment according to claim 13 wherein said reading head means is operative to read out data recorded magnetically on the token, and said detector means is operative to enable operation of said release means in dependence upon the data content of said read-out.

Claim 26

Access-control equipment according to claim 22 wherein said data is read out in accordance with the relative phase relationship that exists between corresponding recordings sensed by different ones of said gaps.

Claim 27

Access-control equipment according to claim 22 wherein at least part of the data read out relates to rate of use of the token, and said detector means is operative to inhibit operation of said release means in the event that a predetermined permitted rate of use would otherwise be exceeded.

Claim 28

Access-control equipment according to claim 24 wherein said detector means includes means to energize at least some of said gaps in accordance with up-dated rate-of-use data to record this data magnetically on the token.

Claim 29

Access-control equipment according to claim 22 wherein at least part of the data read out relates to the extent of permitted use of the token, and said detector means is operative to inhibit operation of said release means in the event that a predetermined extent-of-use would otherwise be exceeded.

Claim 30

Access-control equipment according to claim 26 including means operative to erase from the token at least part of the extent-of-use data.