Credit card detector and validator
OwnerNeil H. Pereira, Andrew O. Nichollinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Apparatus and a method are disclosed for detecting that a credit card has not been returned to a user after use or that an incorrect card has been returned. A card holder holds one or more credit cards or the like and includes means for reading and storing a unique identification code applied to the cards. When a particular card is removed from the holder and not returned within a predetermined time interval, an alarm is activated. If a card having an incorrect identification code is returned to the card holder, an alarm is also activated. Further, if a card having an incorrect identification code is removed from the card holder, an alarm is also activated. The apparatus is programmable and password protection is optionally provided.
Claims23
A personal credit card detector and validator comprising:
- (a) a card holder, the card holder being dimensioned approximately the size of a credit card for the containment thereof and including a suitable battery receptacle;
- (b) card reader means mounted in the card holder for reading a unique identification code from and associated with the credit card in response to insertion or removal of the credit card with respect to the card holder;
- (c) a read/write memory operatively connected to the card reader;
- (d) control means operatively connected to the memory for selectively storing the identification code read by the card reader means into the memory to initialize the card detector and validator;
- (e) a comparator operatively connected to the card reader means and the memory, the comparator including means for generating a signal if the identification code stored in the memory is not read by the card reader means subsequent to said initialization;
- and
- (f) an alarm operatively connected to the signal generating means to be activated in the presence of said signal.
A method of preventing the loss of a credit card, the method comprising the steps of:
- providing the credit card with an identification code;
- providing a card holder with means for reading and memorizing said identification code;
- reading and memorizing said identification code;
- detecting when said credit card is removed from or returned to the card holder;
- measuring the time interval during which said credit card is removed from the holder;
- and
- sounding an alarm if a credit card with said identification code is not returned to the card holder within predetermined time interval.
A credit card detector and validator comprising:
- a card holder adapted to hold a credit card having a unique identification code;
- a switch mounted in the card holder to be actuated upon removal of said credit card from the card holder and deactivated upon reinsertion of said credit card into the card holder;
- a timer connected to the switch to be activated upon actuation of said switch;
- an alarm connected to the timer to be activated a predetermined time interval after the timer is activated;
- a card reader means mounted in the card holder for reading said identification code;
- a memory mounted in the card holder for storing said identification code;
- and
- a comparator connected to the card reader means, the memory and one of the alarm and the timer, the comparator including means for deactivating the alarm upon reinsertion into the card holder of a credit card having the identification code stored in the memory.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.