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Claims  |
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Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure
by Letters Patent is:
1. A control system for limiting the operation of appliances at a first
site to authorized users, the control system comprising:
A. a plurality of cards individually encoded with identifying information
for a prospective operator of said appliances;
B. a card reader at the first site for reading said identifying information
encoded on said cards exposed thereto;
C. a plurality of relays individually connected to said appliances and
individually deployable in a first mode, wherein said relay is available
for operation but not operative, and a second mode, wherein said relay
operates to render its respective appliance operative;
D. a control board for receiving authorizing information indicating those
perspective operators authorized to use the appliances, for interpreting
said identifying information read by said card reader relative to said
authorizing information to determine whether or not the prospective
operator identified by said identifying information is authorized to
operate the appliances and, if so, to place one of said relays in the
second mode;
E. a computer, located at a second site remote from said first site, for
receiving said authorizing information identifying prospective operators
who are authorized to use said appliances and transmitting said
authorizing information to said control board at the first site; and
F. communication means linking the computer, the card reader, the control
board, and the relays for supplying said authorizing information to the
control board from the computer, for supplying said identifying
information read by the card reader to the control board for determination
of whether or not the prospective operator identified by said identifying
information is authorized to operate the appliances and for placing one of
said relays in the second mode upon the control board determining that
said prospective operator is authorized to operate the appliances whereby
said appliances are discriminately made available for operation only by
authorized prospective operators.
2. The control system of claim 1 wherein the computer receives and supplies
to said control board operator data evidencing the number of cycles of
operation for which said prospective operators are individually authorized
to operate said appliances and deletes by one the number of cycles of
operation for which each prospective operator is authorized upon the
placing of a relay of an appliance in said second mode as the result of
the card reader reading said identifying information identifying said
prospective operator.
3. The control system of claim 1 including
G. signal lights mounted in the vicinity of said card reader and connected
by said communication means to the control board for indicating to a
prospective operator having exposed a card to the card reader whether or
not operation of an appliance is authorized.
4. The control system of claim 3 wherein the appliances are each operable
through a cycle of operation after which said operation terminates
requiring that its respective relay again by placed in the second mode to
initiate operation of the appliance in a next successive cycle of
operation, and wherein the computer receives operator data evidencing the
number of said cycles of operation for which said prospective operators
are individually authorized to operate said appliances, transmits said
operator data to the control board and the signal lights are operated by
the control board through said communication means to indicate to the
prospective operator when only a predetermined minimum number of cycles of
operation are authorized.
5. The control system of claim 4 wherein each of the appliances has a code
and the control system includes
H. a key pad, connected through said communication means to the card reader
and the control board, having a plurality of independently actuable keys
selectively operable by a prospective operator to indicate a code of an
appliance desired to be operated and wherein said control board places the
relay of said appliance desired for operation in the second mode upon
determining that a prospective operator is authorized to operate the
appliances.
6. The control system of claim 1 wherein said plurality of cards, card
reader, plurality of relays and control board constitute a single site
control system at said first site and wherein there are a plurality of
said single site control systems at a plurality of other sites and said
computer is linked to said plurality of single site control systems for
receiving said authorizing information and transmitting said authorizing
information to the control boards of the plurality of single site control
systems.
7. The control system of claim 6 wherein said appliances are each operable
through a cycle of operation after which said operation terminates
requiring that its respective relay again be placed in the second mode to
initiate operation of the appliance in a next successive cycle of
operation, and wherein the computer receives operator data evidencing the
number of cycles of operation for which said prospective operators are
individually authorized to operate said appliances and transmits said
operator data to the control boards of the plurality of single site
control systems and wherein said computer interrogates the control boards
of said plurality of single site control systems to update its operator
data for each prospective operator authorized to use the appliances.
8. The control system of claim 7 wherein said computer transmits said
operator data for said prospective operators only to one said single site
control system for any given prospective operator.
9. The control system of claim 8 wherein payment is made at said second
site by each of said prospective operators who wishes to be authorized to
use the appliances of one of said single site control systems and once
said payment is made by a prospective operator the authorizing information
and operator data for said prospective operator are loaded into the
computer.
10. A system for controlling access to a plurality of subsystems at a first
site for discriminately rendering the subsystems available for operation
only by authorized prospective operators, the system comprising means
connected to said subsystems for rendering the subsystems individually
operable through predetermined periods of operation; an identifier for
designating a prospective operator; a reader for reading the identifier to
identify said prospective operator designated thereby; a control means
interconnecting said rendering means, identifier and reader for
identifying said prospective operator, upon the reader reading the
identifier and rendering a subsystem operable through said predetermined
period of operation; and a computer at a second site remote from said
first site for supplying authorizing information to the rendering means
indicating those prospective operators who are authorized to use said
subsystems and permitting the rendering means to render a subsystem
operable through said predetermined period of operation.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein said rendering means includes a
plurality of relays individually connected to the subsystems and
individually deployable in a first mode, wherein said relay is available
for operation but not operative and a second mode, wherein said relay
operates to render the subsystem thereof operable.
12. The system of claim 10 wherein said identifier is a card magnetically
encoded for information identifying the authorized prospective operator
and the reader is a magnetic card reader for reading said information
encoded on said card exposed thereto.
13. The system of claim 10 including a plurality of rendering means
individually connected in controlling relation to a plurality of said
subsystems, a plurality of identifiers individually bearing information
identifying prospective operators and a determining means individually
connected through said control means with the plurality of rendering means
and with the reader for receiving operator data indicating those
prospective operators authorized to use the subsystems, interpreting said
information read by the reader relative to the operator data to determine
whether or not the prospective operator identified by said information is
authorized to operate the subsystems and, if so authorized, activating one
of said rendering means to render one of the subsystems operable for the
predetermined period of operation.
14. The system of claim 13 wherein the determining means receives operator
data evidencing a number of cycles of operation for which said prospective
operators are individually authorized to operate said subsystems and
deleting by one of the number of cycles of operation for which any given
prospective operator is authorized upon activating one of said rendering
means as the result of the reader reading said information identifying
said given prospective operator.
15. The system of claim 14 wherein said plurality of rendering means,
plurality of identifiers, reader, determining means and control means
constitute a single site control system and wherein there are a plurality
of said single site control systems and including a computer linked to
said plurality of single site control systems for receiving said operator
data and individually transmitting said operator data to the determining
means of the plurality of single site control systems.
16. A control system for limiting the operation of appliances at a first
site to authorized users, the control system comprising:
A. a plurality of cards individually bearing identifying information for a
prospective user of said appliances;
B. a card reader at the first site for reading said identifying information
borne by a card exposed thereto;
C. a plurality of mechanisms individually connected to said appliances and
individually deployable in a first mode, in which said appliance thereof
is not operative, and a second mode, in which said appliance thereof is
operative;
D. a control board for receiving and storing authorizing information
indicating those prospective users authorized to use the appliances and,
where the card reader reads identifying information borne by a card
exposed thereto which identifies a prospective user authorized to use said
appliances as indicated by said authorizing information, for placing one
of the mechanisms of one of said appliances in said second mode;
E. a computer, located at a second site remote from said first site, for
receiving said authorizing information identifying prospective users who
are authorized to use the appliances and transmitting said authorizing
information to said control board; and
F. a communication system for interconnecting the computer, control board,
card reader and mechanisms for transmission of said authorizing
information from the computer to the control board and for placing one of
said mechanisms of an appliance in said second mode upon the card reader
reading a card bearing identifying information which corresponds to said
authorizing information received from the computer thereby indicating that
the prospective user is authorized to use said appliances at the first
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control system and, more particularly,
to such a control system which is particularly well suited to controlling
access to subsystems, such as appliances or the like, permitting usage
without the necessity of handling coinage and the innumerable problems
associated therewith.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are a variety of environments in which the operation and control of
subsystems is replete with problems which not only interfere in general
with the efficient operation of those subsystems, but also render their
usage so unattractive as to be unacceptable.
For example, apartment complexes, university residence halls, military
bases, commercial establishments and the like characteristically maintain
laundry facilities accessible to authorized persons for the purpose of
washing and drying clothing. Typically, such facilities provide for
operation of the appliances through the use of coinage. Thus, the
prospective operator inserts the required combination of coins into the
coin mechanism of the appliance to initiate its operation. In the first
place, such usage is inconvenient because the prospective operator may not
have the required combination of coins. For this purpose, many commercial
establishments employ money changing machines on site so that the
prospective operators can obtain the required combination of change.
However, such money changing machines are notoriously subject to
breakdown, may not have the required combination of coins to dispense and
frequently are the target of tampering and theft. Still further, whether
or not such money changing machines are known to be present, it is evident
that the patrons must be carrying money. As a consequence, the patrons of
such facilities are at some degree of risk for robbery. This risk is
aggravated by the fact that patrons frequently must use such facilities in
the evening hours after dark when security may be uncertain.
Similarly, the money receiving mechanisms of the respective appliances are
plagued by breakdown due to jamming, overuse and improper use. They also
serve as an attractive target for theft. Since such theft :frequently
involves an attempt to break into the coin box of the machine, damage not
only to the coin mechanism, but also the appliance itself is frequently
the result. Such coin mechanisms are frequently the target for various
schemes to avoid payment such as by using slugs, or the insertion of
objects into the coin slots in an attempt to trigger the operation of the
appliance.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, perhaps the most significant problem
associated with the use of coinage in the operation of appliances is the
fact that it is inconvenient to the prospective operators. The necessity
for obtaining the correct combination of coins in the necessary quantity
is tedious, time consuming and generally offensive. Similarly, the
carrying of the required combination of coins, once obtained, is onerous
in that it is bulky, heavy and not readily handled.
While prior art efforts have included the on site dispensing of tokens, and
the on site issuance of single use cards, all such prior art efforts have
proved inadequate and therefore unsatisfactory. They are typically
complicated and expensive devices, one of which must individually be
mounted on each of the appliances.
There are still other more obscure problems which plague businesses which
provide such facilities. These problems may generally be categorized as
those attendant to the business operations themselves. These include the
need to travel regularly to each of the facilities; collect from all of
the coin boxes; tabulate the income from each site; maintain business
records; institute in house security procedures to prevent skimming;
circulate frequently through all of the facilities to ensure that the
appliances are maintained in working order; and service and repair the
money changing equipment. The need daily to perform all or most of these
operations is expensive both in terms of the number of employees required
as well as in the other direct expenses associated therewith. Furthermore,
it is notoriously the case that income from such operations frequently
goes unreported in income tax returns and therefore is not taxed.
Conversely from the point of view of the persons using the appliances, the
conventional need to gauge pricing to the coinage such as in twenty-five
cent (25.cent.) increments means that the price charged for each cycle of
operation is higher than would otherwise be the case.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a
control system capable of conveniently, dependably and accurately
controlling access to subsystems such as appliances avoiding the necessity
for using coinage and thereby avoiding the host of problems associated
therewith while ensuring that the prospective operators are able to use
such appliances with a convenience and reliability promoting continued
usage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved
control system for controlling access to and operation of subsystems such
as appliances and the like.
Another object is to provide such a control system which has particular
utility in controlling access to such appliances as washing machines,
drying machines and other such appliances which are characteristically
maintained for use in apartment complexes, university housing complexes,
military bases, commercial establishments and the like.
Another object is to provide such a control system which precludes the use
of coinage at any point in the operation of the subsystems so as to avoid
the multiplicity of problems conventionally associated with such usage.
Another object is to provide such a control system which permits
prospective operators of appliances to make a single monthly prepayment
for a selected number of cycles of operation of the appliances thereby
obtaining the right to such usage of the appliance in the selected number
of cycles without dependance upon coinage for such usage.
Another object is to provide such a control system which operates to
prevent unauthorized persons from using such appliances and reduces to an
absolute minimum the attractiveness of such facilities to tampering,
theft, robbery and the like.
Another object is to provide such a control system which is not subject to
the malfunction of which prior art control systems are characterized and
which operates with a speed making the initiation of such operation
virtually instantaneous while being trouble free.
Another object is to provide such a control system which alerts a
prospective operator when the number of cycles of operation for which he
authorized falls below a predetermined minimum so as to alert the
prospective operator of the need to purchase more cycles of operation well
before the number authorized is entirely depleted.
Another object is to provide such a control system which monitors, updates,
interrogates and otherwise controls a multiplicity of individual
geographically disparate sites each having a plurality of appliances from
a remote location virtually without personnel having to travel to the
sites except for purposes of servicing or repairing the appliances.
Another object is to provide such a control system which can be operated to
prevent a prospective operator from selecting an inoperable appliance as
well as from having a cycle of operation of the appliance deleted from his
account when an inoperative appliance has been selected.
Another object is to provide such a control system which is capable of
determining what appliances are inoperative, the frequency of use of each
appliance at each site, the frequency of use of appliances by each
authorized operator and a variety of other data all from a remote control
location.
Further objects and advantages are to provide improved elements and
arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purpose described which is
dependable, economical, durable and fully effective in accomplishing its
intended purpose.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention are
achieved, in the preferred embodiment of the control system of the present
invention, by having a card for receiving and storing information
identifying an operator; a mechanism operably connected to the subsystem
for initiating operation of the subsystem through a cycle of operation; a
card reader for reading the information stored on each card means to
identify the operator; a control board operable individually to determine,
according to predetermined criteria, if an operator, identified by the
card reader, is entitled to a cycle of operation of the subsystem; and a
communication system operably interconnecting the card reader, control
board and initiating mechanism whereby, upon presentation of the card by a
prospective operator to the card reader, the card reader reads the
information to determine the operator, the control board determines if the
operator is entitled to a cycle of operation and, if so determined, the
initiating mechanism is operated to initiate a cycle of operation of the
subsystem.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, perspective view of an illustrative environment
for the control system of the present invention, in this case, a laundry
facility.
FIG. 2 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary, diagrammatic view of a site
control system of the control system of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the control system of the present
invention showing a regional control system for operating a plurality of
site control systems constituting individual operational systems of the
control system of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a somewhat enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of the
magnetically encoded card inserted in the card reader both of the present
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring more particularly to the drawings, the control system of the
present invention is generally indicated by the numeral 10 in FIG. 3. As
will hereinafter become more clearly apparent, the control system of the
present invention can be employed in a wide variety of different
embodiments to control the operation of a wide variety of types of
subsystems. The subject invention is not limited to operation of any
specific type, or class of subsystems. Similarly, the control system of
the present invention is not limited to the specific details of any
particular electronic systems or circuits, but rather the invention
resides broadly in the combination of which the preferred embodiment is a
representative example. However, the control system of the present
invention has particular utility in the preferred embodiment hereinafter
set forth.
The representative environment within which the control system shown herein
to operate is a laundry facility 30 shown best in FIG. 1. The laundry
facility is intended to represent, for illustrative convenience, a laundry
or utility room such as are commonly found in apartment complexes,
university residence halls, planned housing developments, military bases,
commercial establishments and the like. In the illustrative environment of
the laundry facility 30, the facility has a floor 31 bounded by upstanding
walls 32. A plurality of appliances or washing machines 34 are mounted in
side-by-side relation on the floor. Representative of a characteristic
arrangement, a plurality of other appliances or drying machines 35 are
mounted in side-by-side relation on the floor facing in spaced relation to
the washing machines. It will be understood that the washing and drying
machines are in all respects, except as hereinafter set forth, entirely
conventional. The washing and drying machines however have been modified
so as not to be rendered operable with coinage nor by use of the
conventional manual controls. However, once operation is initiated, as
hereinafter described, the washing and drying machines are fully operable
using the conventional controls thereof.
The numbers of appliances which can be controlled using the control system
of the present invention at any site is essentially unlimited as will
hereinafter become more clearly apparent. The numbers of appliances shown
in FIG. 1 are merely intended to symbolize a multiplicity of such
appliances.
As previously noted, the control system 10 of the present invention is best
shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3. The control system has a regional
control center generally indicated at 100. The control system has a
plurality of satellite offices 110. The control system has a plurality of
site control systems 120 associated with each of the satellite offices. It
will be understood that the regional control center has a master computer
system, not shown, operable to receive, maintain and manage the
identities, accounts, billing and payment of prospective operators or
users of the machines controlled using the control system. It will be
understood that any suitable computer system and software can be employed
for the purpose. Similarly, it will be understood that the regional
control center and the master computer system thereof can, if desired, be
linked to a national or other regional control centers and the computer
systems thereof. There may be more or fewer satellite offices and site
control systems as best suits the needs of the operation.
In many instances, the numbers of prospective operators in the area to be
serviced by the control system determine the specific arrangement of the
control system in this regard. For example, in a sparsely populated area,
a single satellite office 110 may be entirely appropriate to control only
a few site control systems 120 without connection to a regional control
center 100. In heavily populated areas, it may be more appropriate to have
a regional control center linked to a plurality of satellite offices each
of which is itself linked to a multiplicity of site control systems. It
may also be desirable to have a national control center linked to a
plurality of regional control centers in turn linked to a multiplicity of
satellite offices each of which is linked to any appropriate number of
site control systems. The control system of the present invention is
entirely flexible in these regards.
In the described embodiment hereof, the regional control center 100,
satellite offices 110 and site control systems 120 are interconnected as
shown in FIG. 3 by a regional control system generally indicated at 130.
The region control system is a diagrammatic representation of the system
and may be composed of any suitable links such as by telephone lines,
radio transmission, microwave transmission, or the like. In the
illustrative embodiment, the regional control system is interconnected in
the manner represented diagrammatically in FIG. 3 by telephone lines
accessed through modems. Thus, the regional control system has modem links
131 interconnecting the regional control center 100 with each of the
satellite offices 110 through telephone lines. Similarly, modem links 132
interconnect each individual satellite office 110 and its respective site
control systems 120 through telephone lines.
The control system 10 of the present invention employs a microprocessor or
computer 150 which accesses each of the site control systems 120
associated with an individual satellite office 110. Preferably, although
not necessarily, the computer 150 is physically housed in the satellite
office 110 for the site control systems associated therewith. The computer
itself can be of any suitable type adapted to the specific needs and
capacities of its respective site control systems 120. The computer is
operatively connected to each of the site control systems 120, as will
otherwise hereinafter be described, through telephone lines accessed
through modems and diagrammatically represented in FIG. 2 by a modem link
151.
One of the site control systems 120 of the control system 10 is shown in
FIG. 1. The site control system includes a housing 160 mounted within the
wall 32 at a position convenient for access by prospective operators of
the washing machines 34 and drying machines 35. A face plate 161,
preferably of metal, is mounted on the wall 32 in covering relation to the
housing 160. The face plate serves the purpose not only of mounting some
of the components of the control system hereinafter to be described and
protecting the more delicate internal components contained within the
housing, but also to display indicia, not shown, such as operator
instructions, service marks, advertising, and the like.
The site control system 120 has a reader, or magnetic card reader 170 of a
type operable to read information encoded magnetically on a card in
operation of the control system. The magnetic card reader is preferably,
although not necessarily, a model number 110 TD manufactured by American
Magnetics of Carson, Calif. The magnetic card reader is, in itself,
conventional having a housing 171 extending outwardly through the face
plate 161 and having a card slot 172 adapted to receive a magnetic card
upon insertion by a prospective operator.
The site control system 120 has an alphanumeric key pad assembly 180
mounted within the housing 160 and having a plurality of keys 181,
individually bearing indicia, extending through openings individual
thereto in the face plate 161. The key pad assembly mounts a red light
182, a yellow light 183 and a green light 184 for purposes hereinafter
described, The key pad assembly is preferably, although not necessarily,
an alphanumeric key pad assembly model number 705-100 manufactured by CECO
of Plantation, Fla.
The site control system 120 has a modem 190 preferably entirely fully
contained within the housing 160 so as to be protected by the face plate
161 from tampering. The modem is preferably, although not necessarily, a
Zoom modem MX manufactured by Zoom Telephonics Inc. of Boston, Mass.
The site control system 120 has a control board 200 of any suitable type
configured to perform the various functions hereinafter set forth. The
control system of the present invention is not limited in any respect to
any particular type of control board. However, the control board, in the
preferred embodiment is programmable and has sufficient memory capacity to
handle the functions hereinafter described including keeping track of a
multiplicity of authorized users, individually keeping track of the
numbers of cycles of use of each appliance connected thereto and being
accessed by the computer 150 to receive updated user information therefrom
and to transmit its stored data to the computer 150. A transformer 210 is
mounted within the housing 16 | | |
