DE3031470A1 - CASHLESS TELEPHONE SETUP - Google Patents

Description

(LAWDlS & GYB J

LGZ LANDIS & GYR ZUG AG CH-6301 ZUG. Switzerland

Facility for cashless telephoning

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Facility for cashless telephoning

A device of the type mentioned in the preamble of claim 1 is from the prospectus "phonocard, public Telephone station for cashless telephoning ", known from CH-PS 574 144 and from CH-PS 572 299. Such Facilities allow the call charge to be paid using a prepaid prepaid card, with the value the credit card is recorded e.g. optically or magnetically on the card and when using the telephone station is reduced according to the call charge to be paid. The advantage for the user is that that he doesn't have to have coins on hand to have a conversation. The handling is extremely simple and the debit card is validated in very small steps, corresponding to those sent out by the control center Tax pulses so that neither the user nor the phone management come to harm. The telephone administration appreciates the advantage of prepayment, does not need any To provide for cash emptying and is protected against theft and vandalism.

It is also known that the telephone administration gives customers credit cards for making a phone call entitle to credit. The user gives the operator on the switchboard his account number, whereupon the the desired connection is released and the call charge is charged to the relevant account. With this manual Credit service cannot check whether the user actually has a credit card or the operator gives someone else's account number with fraudulent intent, so that frauds are very easy.

Finally, there are facilities for checking the assignment of an individual identification number to a The card number stored on a card is known (CH-PS

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604 285), which are used for personal control, for access control to secured rooms and systems, for identification by customers in the credit card business, etc. In the Use of the card is the card number in a testing facility read out and compared with the identification number entered by the user in a keyboard.

The invention specified in claim 1 is based on the object of the device of the type mentioned in such a way to design that both by means of a prepaid credit card and by means of a credit card a telephone call can be performed, with an automatic check of the credit card and the identification number assigned to it should take place.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing.

The figures show: FIG. 1 a prepaid card, FIG. 2 a credit card, and FIG

3 shows a basic illustration of a device for cashless telephoning .

The prepaid card 1 shown in FIG. 1 has one or more information tracks 2. On this information trail 2 is information in the form of optical markings 3 and of subsequently erased again optical markings 4 stored. The markings are e.g. holograms, which according to their difficult Manufacturability ensure a high level of protection against forgery and can be extinguished, for example, by thermal effects are. Some of the remaining or erased markings 5 at the beginning of the information track 2 represent a first generic code, which identifies the card 1 as a prepaid card. Each of the remaining markings 6 represents if it has not yet been extinguished, a unit of value

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In the example shown, some of the markings 6 have already been deleted, i.e. the credit card 1 is partial devalued.

The credit card 7 according to FIG. 2 has an information track 8 with remaining optical markings 9 and optical markings 10 that are subsequently erased again. The markings 9 need to be different from the markings 3 of the prepaid card 1 indistinguishable, so that they are in the telephone station with identical optical Means can be read out. Some of the remaining or erased markings 11 at the beginning of the information track 8 represent a second generic code which identifies the card 7 as a credit card. The remaining, partially remaining, partially erased markings 12 represent an individual card number in binary encoded form. This card number, which can be identical to the account number of the cardholder, is a assigned secret individual identification number.

According to FIG. 3, the telephone station 13 has a reading head 14 for reading out the information stored on the prepaid card 1 or on the credit card 7, a Validation head 15 for debiting the call charge on the credit card 1, one on the reading head 14, on the validation head 15 and to a number selector 16 (dial or keyboard) connected control device 17 and a transmitter 18. The control device 17 and the transmitter 18 are via a telephone line 19 with a Central 20 connected. The transmitter 18 is used to transmit the card number over the telephone line 19 to the Central unit 20 and can have a pulse contact on the output side, which is parallel to the pulse contact of the number dialer 16 is switched.

A comparator 21 is preferably arranged in the control center 20, which enables the assignment of a number by means of the

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Voter 16 entered identification number to the card number of a credit card 7 checks. The control center 20 also contains a taxi pulse generator 22, a memory 23 and a clock 24.
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The telephone station 13 is designed to accept either a prepaid card 1 or a credit card 7. To do this, the user inserts his card into an acceptance slot (not shown) in the telephone station 13, whereupon the control device 17 puts the reading head 14 into operation and initially reads out the generic code on the card will. Reading out can be done in a known serial or parallel mode of operation; with serial operation the card or the reading head 14 is moved mechanically so that the reading head 14 of the information track 2 or 8 walks along.

Is it the one inserted into the acceptance slot Card to a credit card 1 and is accordingly by means of the reading head 14 and the control device 17 the presence of the first generic code is determined, it is then checked whether 1 value units on the credit card are stored for paying the call charge. If applicable, the desired connection will be released and the call charge debited on the credit card 1 by each of the tax pulse generator 22 in the telephone station 13 emitted tax pulse of the validation head 15 is controlled and a marker 6 is erased on the credit card 1.

However, if the card inserted into the acceptance slot is a credit card 7 and thus the presence of the second generic code is detected, the reading head 14 remains after reading out the second generic code in operation, the card number stored on the credit card 7 is read out by means of the transmitter 18 via the

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Telephone line 19 is transmitted to the control center 20 and stored there in the comparator 21 for a certain time. Possibly the card number is compared with a blacklist in the comparator 21. The user can then enter his identification number into the telephone station by means of the dialer 16. This identification number is transmitted like a call number to the control center 20 and checked in the comparator 21. Was using the dialer 16 the correct identification number assigned to the relevant card number is selected, the desired telephone connection enabled by a yes signal of the comparator 21, the user can enter a telephone number select and the call charge is calculated in the center 20 by continuously counting the tax pulses and at the end of the call together with an account number assigned to the credit card 7 in the memory 23. This account number can be the card number, the identification number or a third one act assigned number. The registration of the call charge in the memory 23 can be done by storing the number of tax impulses or the calculated tax. The date is advantageous by means of the clock 24 and the time of the telephone connection recorded and together with the call charge and the account number as well stored in memory 23. The telephone number can also be registered in the memory 23.

The data contained in the memory 23 can be read out periodically and transmitted to a central data acquisition point and the account holder, for example, can be debited at the same time as the regular telephone bill.

The facility described allows the user more public Telephone stations, depending on his preference, the call charge when purchasing a prepaid card 1 in advance to be paid or on credit using a credit card 7

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Make phone calls and pay the call fee pay later. The participation of a telephone operator in establishing a credit connection is not required, and the amount of the possible call charge is not due to the possession of prepaid cards with the corresponding value restricted. Fraudulent acts to the detriment of third parties are practically impossible, since both are valid Credit card must be present as well as the associated identification number in order to benefit from a credit card To get credit connection.

It is possible to have the comparator 21 and the memory 23 not in the control center 20, but in each individual telephone station 13 to be arranged so that the transmitter 18 is unnecessary. In this case, the memory 23 is advantageously used a cassette memory, the cassette of which can easily be exchanged for transferring the data to a central point can be. The arrangement of the comparator 21 in the center 20 is preferable if checking the assignment of the identification number to the card number is time-consuming Operations, e.g. the execution of complex algorithms.

The described storage of the information on the prepaid card 1 or on the credit card 7 by means of optical markings ensures a very high level of security against fraud with low production costs for the cards. However, other storage methods, such as magnetic or electronic storage methods, are also conceivable. The debiting of the call charge on the credit card 1 can be done by gradually deleting value units during the telephone connection or by deleting the entire credit and storing the new remaining credit after the call has ended.
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Claims (6)

303 U PATENT CLAIMS IJ device for cashless telephoning, with a Telephone station connected via a telephone line to a central office, which has an acceptance slot for prepaid Credit cards, a reading head for reading out the information stored on the credit card, a validation head for debiting the call fee on the credit card, one connected to the reading head and the validation head Has control device and a number dialer, characterized in that the telephone station (13) is set up to optionally accept a prepaid card (1) or a credit card (7). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that a first generic code on the credit card (1) and a second genre code and a card number are stored on the credit card (7), that is, a comparator (21) for checking the assignment of an identification number entered by means of the number selector (16) to the Card number and also a memory (23) are provided and that the control device (17) is designed in such a way is that if the first genre code is present on the card inserted into the acceptance slot, the call charge debited to the card and, if the second generic code is present, the card number is read out with the comparator (21) assigns the entered identification number checked for the card number, the connection released by a yes signal from the comparator (21) and the call charge is written in the memory (23) together with an account number assigned to the card will. 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the telephone station (13) has a transmitter (18) for transmission the card number over the telephone line (19) 130023/0527 ''' ORIGINAL INSPECTED in the control center (20) and that the memory (23) is arranged in the control center (20). 4. Device according to claim 3, characterized in that the comparator (21) is arranged in the center. 5. Device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that for storing the date and time the telephone connection of the memory (23) with a clock (24) is connected. 6. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the memory (23) is arranged in the telephone station (13) and is formed by a cassette memory. 130023/0527 ''