A memory system for simultaneously accessing a memory from a large number of sources includes a cyclic memory from which stored information is continuously read by a plurality of read means and temporarily entered into comparison registers, input registers receive and temporarily store at least one of the coded digits on said memory, and comparators generate a signal upon the existence of a coincidence between a coded digit momentarily in said comparator register and a coded digit temporarily stored in said input register. The existence of such coincidence is used to trigger arithmetic and logic units for further processing of the information.
A verification method and system for determining whether a holder of a card is authorized to complete a transaction through an on-line terminal of an institution in a network of cooperating institutions, such as banks. The method and system are also useable in such applications as accessing a security data file in a computer, entering a security area, completing a point of sale transaction and operating on-line automated tellers in banks. In the preferred embodiment, the card contains information including first data identifying the institution holding an account of an authorized card holder and second data identifying the account. The first and second data are machine read from the card and a secret number, derived from the data but known only to the authorized holder of the card, is keyboard entered by the card holder. The first data are used to address a read only memory having random characters stored therein. Random character digits outputted from the memory are successively exclusive ORed with each digit of the second data and the resultant applied to the address terminals of the memory to cause pseudo-random vectoring among random data stored in the memory. Preselected digits of the characters generated by the memory are correlated to the digits of the secret number to generate a go-no go indication of whether the holder of the card is authorized to transact in the system. By the provision of an offset number on the card, all digits of the secret number can be selected by the holder of the card when the card is issued. The offset number converts the secret number digits selected by the card holder to digits which correspond to the preselected digits of the memory generated character. The card can be verified at any institution of a network of cooperating institutions having verification systems with identically programmed read only memories. The first data contained on the card cause the transaction to be charged against the institution holding the account and prevent comingling of transaction records among the cooperating institutions.
An automatic monetary value dispensing system wherein a card previously issued to each customer having an account therein is used to actuate the system. The card has recorded thereon necessary data such as the identification number and the current off-line balance of the account, with the on-line balance thereof being recorded in a central processing unit. Dispensation of the requested amount of value is determined by comparing the amount with the on-line and off-line balances of the account.
Indicia having an encrypted number that is stamped upon a mail piece representative of postage so as to provide a code for authentication of such postage.
A method and device are disclosed for an associative and approximate, analog or digital scanning of databases that allows for the asynchronous accessing of data from a mass storage medium. The invention includes providing dedicated analog and digital circuitry and decision logic at the mass storage medium level for determining a key identifying the data of interest, continuously comparing the key to a signal generated from a reading of the data from the mass storage medium with an approximate or exact matching circuit to determine a pattern match, determining a correlation value between the key and the data as it is read in a continuous fashion, and determining a match based upon a preselected threshold value for the correlation value. The pattern matching technique eliminates any need to compare data based on its intrinsic structure or value, and instead is based on an analog or digital pattern. The key and data may be either analog or digital. This device and method may be provided as part of a stand-alone computer system, embodied in a network attached storage device, or can otherwise be provided as part of a computer LAN or WAN.
A reprogrammable packet processing system for processing a stream of data is disclosed herein. A reprogrammable data processor is implemented with a programmable logic device (PLD), such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), that is programmed to determine whether a stream of data applied thereto includes a string that matches a redefinable data pattern. If a matching string is found, the data processor performs a specified action in response thereto. The data processor is reprogrammable to search packets for the presence of different data patterns and/or perform different actions when a matching string is detected. A reconfiguration device receives input from a user specifying the data pattern and action, processes the input to generate the configuration information necessary to reprogram the PLD, and transmits the configuration information to the packet processor for reprogramming thereof.
