Apparatus and method for accessing events, areas and activities

Apparatus operative to monitor access to activities and to grant and deny access to a customer according to one or more selected conditions, comprising:

• card means associated with a plurality of customers for providing an account file identifier corresponding to each said customer;
• comptroller processor means for processing data according to command instructions and for creating customer account files correlated to said account file identifiers;
• data storage means associated with said comptroller processor means for storing said customer account files;
• credit processor mans for inputting account file identifiers and credit data into said comptroller processor means, said credit processor means including first card reader means for reading an account file identifier on a selected one of said card means and for producing a first account file signal corresponding to the account file identifier thereon and including credit input means for receiving payment from a customer corresponding to said selected one of said card means and for generating a first credit data signal having first credit data of a first type and a second credit data signal having second credit data of a second type different from said first type, said first and second credit data corresponding to an amount of payment, said comptroller processor means responsive to said first account file signal and said first and second credit data signals to open the customer account file corresponding to the account file identifier and to credit the customer account file with said payment to create a respective credit account having first credit data corresponding to said first credit signal and second credit data corresponding to said second credit signal;
• a first debit processor means for inputting account file identifiers and first debit data into said comptroller processor means, said first debit processor means including second card reader mans for reading the account file identifier on the selected one of said card means, for producing a second account file signal corresponding to the account file identifier thereon and for generating a first debit data signal having the first debit data, said comptroller processor means responsive to said second account file signal and said first debit signal to open the respective customer account file corresponding to the account file identifier and to debit the respective customer account file with said first debit data;
• and
• a second debit processor means for inputting account file identifiers and second debit data into said comptroller processor means, said second debit processor means including third card reader means for reading the account file identifier on a selected one of said card means, for producing a third account file signal corresponding to the account file identifier thereon and for generating a second debit data signal having the second debit data, said comptroller processor means responsive to said third account file signal and said second debit signal to open the respective customer account file corresponding to the account file identifier and to debit the respective customer account file with said second debit data.

An access control system for use in a facility having activities, such as events, areas, devices and the like, to which customers may be granted access, comprising;

• a plurality of access cards providing an account file identifier corresponding to said customers, each of said access cards encoded with an account file identifier for a respective customers;
• a credit station including a first card reader operative to read the account file identifier on each of said access cards and generate a first account file signal corresponding thereto and including credit input means for receiving payment from a customer and including credit allocation means for permitting the customer to allocate said payment between at least two different types of selected credit, one of which comprises credit units and the other of which comprises a time interval credit, whereby said credit input means generates a first credit data signal having first credit data representative of a selected number of credit data respective of a selected number of credit units and a second credit data signal representative of a selected interval of time;
• comptroller processor means for processing data according to command instructions and for creating customer account files correlated to said account file identifiers, said customer account files each having credit sub-accounts correlated to the different types of selected credit allocated by the respective customer, said comptroller processor means having data storage means associated therewith for storing said customer account files and responsive to said first account file signal to open the customer account file corresponding to the respective account file identifier and responsive to said first and second credit data signals to credit the respective credit sub-accounts with said payment as allocated by the customer and to maintain a first sub-account of a total available credit units and to maintain a second sub-account of a total available time credit interval, said comptroller processor means having verification means for inquiring into each said customer account file to determine an availability of different types of credit therein and issuing an approval status signal when credit is available and a disapproval status signal when credit is not available in the respective customer account file;
• a plurality of access stations, there being an access station associated with each said activity for controlling access to the respective activity, each access station including a second card reader operative to read the account file identifiers on said access cards and to generate a second account file signal corresponding to the account file identifier on a selected access card, said comptroller processor means responsive to said second account file signal to open the respective customer account file corresponding to the respective account file identifier;
• debit means associated with each said access station for generating a debit signal corresponding to a selected cost debit for the respective activity, said comptroller processor means responsive to said debit signal to interrogate the respective customer account file to determine whether a time credit interval is available in the second sub-account and to issue an approval signal where the respective second sub-account has an unexpired time credit interval therein and where the respective second sub-account does not have an unexpired time credit interval therein to determine whether the respective first sub-account has sufficient credit units in an amount at least equal to the selected cost debit for the respective activity and to issue said approval signal where sufficient credit units are available in the respective first sub-account, said comptroller processor means generating a disapproval signal where the respective customer account file does not have an unexpired time credit interval and contains credit units in an amount less than the selected cost debit for the respective activity;
• and
• receiving means associated with said access control station for receiving said approval and disapproval signals from said comptroller processor and for granting and denying the customer access to the respective activity.

In a facility wherein customers are permitted and denied access to activities that have debit charge associated therewith, a method of controlling access to the activities comprising the steps of:

• providing a plurality of access cards available for acquisition by a prospective customer, each of the access cards having means for receiving a customer account file identifier encoded thereon;
• encoding said access cards as encoded access cards such that there is a unique customer account file identifier for each of said encoded access cards;
• issuing encoded access cards to prospective customers for use by said customers in authorizing access to selected ones of said activities;
• creating customer account files in a central comptroller processor such that there is a unique customer account file corresponding to each of the encoded access cards that are used to authorize access to the activities;
• crediting each of the unique customer account files upon receipt of payment from the respective customer who has been issued the respective encoded access card, each said customer being able to allocate said payment to at least two different types of credit, each of aid customer account files being created to have credit sub-accounts in one-to-one correspondence with the different types of credit for which the respective said customer has allocated said payment;
• and
• providing an access control station associated with each of the activities, each said access control station including means for inputting into said comptroller processor the account file identifier corresponding to the encoded access card that is used to access a selected activity and the debit charge corresponding to the selected activity, said comptroller processor operative in response to the account file identifier to open the corresponding customer account file and to review whether any of the respective sub-accounts have sufficient credit to authorize access to the selected activity, said comptroller processor issuing to the access control station an approval signal when sufficient credit is available in the respective customer account file and issuing to the access control station a disapproval signal when insufficient credit is available in the respective customer account file said access control stations responsive respectively to the approval signal and the disapproval signal to grant and deny the respective customer access to the activity.