Abstract:
A cashing device for a prepaid card in a housing which contains a card receiving unit for prepaid cards, a card reading unit to determine the balance on the old prepaid card inserted into the device, a card writing unit to initialize and record the balance on a card, a card handling unit for moving the prepaid card selectively between the various units within the device, a money storage unit and money dispenser for selectively dispensing various denominations from the money storage unit. The device has a display unit with an integrated touch panel keyboard for a user interface. The touch panel keyboard unit issues commands to the control unit which in turn operates the units in the device to refund the balance of a prepaid to the user. The device has a storage area for prepaid cards to recycle the prepaid card after cashing. The device has the capability of returning tokens instead of cash for the balance on a prepaid card. Hence, the device contains a token storage unit and a token dispensing unit. The device has the ability to receive banknotes and dispense a new prepaid card. Hence, the device contains a banknote receiving unit and a new card stack unit. The banknote receiving unit includes a banknote reading unit which is capable of discriminating valid banknote denominations and rejecting fraudulent banknotes. The new card stack unit contains unused cards which may be initialized and a balance recorded thereon.

Description:
[0001]    This application is based on an application number 2001-288173 filed in Japan, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to a device from which a user can purchase a prepaid card for use in many applications, and more particularly, allow the user to redeem previously purchased prepaid cards and receive cash for the remainder of the prepaid card balance, or to purchase specialized tokens for use instead of cash, while a zero-balance prepaid card is retained by the device.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    Prepaid cards are used in many commercial applications, and machines for dispensing prepaid cards are well know such as in Japanese Laid Open patent application No. 2001-60280 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,760. Monetary instruments in the form of coins can be disposed in a coin hopper and its value calculated and electronically written on a prepaid card which is dispensed to the user.  
           [0006]    However, after using a prepaid card, a small account balance often remains on the prepaid card in an amount not readily usable in various applications. Previously, there was no cost effective and convenient way to return to the prepaid card owner the balance of the prepaid card. This value was often lost if the card went unused, or was discarded. Thus, the prior art is still seeking a device to enable card owners to receive cash in the amount of the prepaid card balance.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention is directed to a cashing device for a prepaid card which will allow a user to receive cash for the remainder of a prepaid card balance, to purchase a new prepaid card, or to purchase specialized tokens for use instead of cash. The invention permits a retention of used prepaid cards whose balance is zero so that such cards are removed from circulation and the opportunity for fraud or misuse is reduced.  
           [0008]    The present invention provides a housing with a receptor for receiving a prepaid card and which can optionally return the prepaid card to the user. A card reading unit determines a current balance of the inserted prepaid card. There is a receptor for receiving a banknote which can optionally return an invalid banknote to the user. A banknote receiving unit determines the denomination of valid banknotes received.  
           [0009]    A display unit with an overlay touch panel keyboard is the user interface. The display shows the current balance of money on the inserted prepaid card and received in the form of banknotes. The touch panel keyboard is used to command a control unit within the device to selectively cash the prepaid card, purchase a new prepaid card, or purchase tokens.  
           [0010]    The housing contains a money storage unit and money dispenser for selectively dispensing various denominations from the money storage unit. The device has a storage device for tokens and a token dispenser. Finally, the device has a storage area for prepaid cards to recycle the prepaid card after cashing.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]    The exact nature of this invention will be readily apparent from consideration of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cashing device for a prepaid card of the embodiment;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is an outline view of the cashing device for a prepaid card of the embodiment;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a view of the display unit and touch panel keyboard unit of the cashing device for a prepaid card of the embodiment;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the cashing device for a prepaid card of the embodiment;  
         [0016]    FIGS.  5 - 7  are a flow chart illustrating the operation of the cashing device for a prepaid card of the embodiment;  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]    The following description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventors of carrying out their invention. Various modifications, however, will remain readily apparent to those skilled in the art, since the general principles of the present invention have been defined herein to specifically provide a cashing and purchasing device which can return to the user of a prepaid card, hereinafter simply card, the remaining balance of the card.  
         [0018]    The term “prepaid card”, “smart card”, or “card” in this specification comprehends any easily transportable medium upon which some representation of account balance may be both recorded and read back multiple times such as a card or other framework with a magnetic strip, a card or carrier with an embedded microchip, a smart card, an optically alterable medium, or other forms of identification media which can support the representation of a modifiable account balance.  
         [0019]    This device will allow the user to purchase a new prepaid card by depositing one or more banknotes into the device and selecting the desired operation. Further, this device will allow the user of a prepaid card to purchase specialized tokens for use instead of cash in certain applications. After purchasing the selected number of tokens, the remainder of the card balance, if any, will be refunded to the user in the form of a new card.  
         [0020]    For the purposes of this specification, a monetary instrument is any medium of exchange such as a banknote or coin. A cashing medium is similar to a monetary instrument but the term cashing medium is more general and comprehends both monetary instruments and tokens.  
         [0021]    Referring to the view of FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. The housing  2  of the cashing machine is a boxlike enclosure  2 A with a door  2 F on the front face of the enclosure attached by hinges  3 A and  3 B. The door  2 F is optionally secured by means of a locking mechanism  4 .  
         [0022]    The user display unit  6  has an overlay touch-sensitive panel keyboard unit  5 , and these are mounted in the slanting top face  2 C of the housing  2 A. The touch-sensitive panel keyboard unit, also called the touch panel unit, is the user input device.  
         [0023]    The banknote receptor  10 M with an entry slot and the card receptor  20 M with a card slot protrude from the door  2 F on the same face of the enclosure  2 A. The banknote receptor  10 M transports the banknote into the housing and may optionally return an invalid banknote to an exterior of the housing of the device.  
         [0024]    The banknote receiving unit  10  in the housing includes a banknote reading unit, and is capable of discriminating valid banknote denominations and rejecting fraudulent banknotes. A banknote is herein defined as any flexible, paper-like monetary instrument which is distinguished from coins or other inflexible monetary instruments.  
         [0025]    The monetary instruments storage  30  unit in the housing is composed of dedicated storage units for particular denominations including hopper  35 , hopper  31 , hopper  305 , and hopper  301 . These hoppers may hold monetary instruments in the form of coins of various denominations, and they form a part of the monetary instruments dispenser unit  30 . The monetary instruments dispenser unit may be composed of a separate dispenser mechanism for each hopper, or the hoppers may together feed a single dispenser mechanism.  
         [0026]    The cashing unit  30  is a coin dispenser with a dispensing opening  7  which is located at the lower section of the door  2 F. The token dispenser  40  dispenses a predetermined number of tokens to the dispensing opening  7  through a duct  41  based on a dispensing signal PM.  
         [0027]    In one embodiment the monetary storage unit hopper  35  is designated for 500 Yen coins, hopper  31  is for 100 Yen coins, hopper  305  is for 50 Yen coins, and hopper  301  is for 10 Yen coins, all located so as to dispense coins into a common coin passageway  32  to arrive at the dispensing opening  7 .  
         [0028]    In an alternative embodiment, the monetary storage hopper  35  is for 25-cent coins, hopper  31  is for 10-cent coins, hopper  305  is for 5-cent coins, and hopper  301  is for 1-cent coins.  
         [0029]    The token dispensing unit  40  in the housing includes a token storage unit. Both the monetary instruments dispensing unit  30  and the token dispensing unit  40  dispense into the dispensing opening  7 .  
         [0030]    The housing contains a control unit  50  which communicates with the user interface display unit  6  and touch-sensitive panel keyboard unit  5  to operate the units within the device.  
         [0031]    The card handling unit  20  in the housing transports the card selectively within the device to and between various units within the housing.  
         [0032]    Referring to the view of FIG. 2, the card handling unit  20  is explained. The card handling unit includes a card slot  20 M, a card reading unit  21 , a card writing unit  22 , a card receiving unit  23 , a new card stack unit  24 , a card receiving and presentation unit  25 , a new card dispensing unit  26 , and a card recycling storing unit  27 . The card receiving unit  23 , the card reading unit  21 , the card writing unit  22 , and the new card dispensing unit are all aligned along a common card passageway P.  
         [0033]    The card receptor  20 M transports a card selectively into the housing and optionally returns a card to an exterior of the housing.  
         [0034]    The card receiving device  23  holds the received card. To recycle a received card, one end of the card receiving device  23  pivots about an axis point  28  approximately 45-degrees from a generally horizontal position to an inclined position, breaking the transport alignment from the passageway P and allowing gravity to draw the received card down into the used card recycling storage unit  27 . The card receiving device  23  then pivots in the opposite direction to return to a position of alignment with the passageway P.  
         [0035]    The reading unit  21  may read the used card by making contact with the used card, or by a non-contact reading mechanism. Similarly, the writing unit  22  may write to the new card by making contact with the new card, or by a non-contact writing mechanism. Further, the reading unit  21  and writing unit  22  may be combined into a single unit with both capabilities.  
         [0036]    The receiving and presentation unit  25  includes rollers  25 A and  25 B which may rotate in either the forward or reverse direction to move the card in either the forward or reverse direction to transport a card along the in a forward or reverse direction along passageway P.  
         [0037]    The forward direction is defined as the direction the card travels in the receiving operation, while the reverse direction is defined as the direction the card travels in the presentation operation. The roller  25 A, located below the card receiving device  25 , and roller  25 B, located below the card reading unit  21  and the card writing unit  22 , either or both may be replaced by a drive belt or other mechanism which cause the card to proceed in either the forward or reverse directions as defined above.  
         [0038]    New cards are prepared for use by stacking in the card stack unit  24 . The new card dispensing unit  26  is located adjacent to and below the card stack unit  24 . The new card dispensing unit includes a card transporting device such as a friction roller  29  which may be replaced by a drive belt or other mechanism which causes the new cards to be removed one at a time from the card stack unit  24 . Therefore, the card handling unit  20  functions to transport a card C, which is inserted into the card slot  20 M, in the forward direction along passageway P to the reading unit  21  in order to read the balance on the card, and then transport the card in the reverse direction along passageway P to the card receiving unit  23 , then pivoting the card receiving unit so that the received card will fall under the force of gravity into the recycling card storage unit  27  for recycling.  
         [0039]    The card handling unit  20  also functions to transport a card C in the reverse direction along passageway P from the card stack unit  24  to the card writing unit  22  which encodes an amount of money on the card, and then transport the card to the card slot  20 M for presentation to the user.  
         [0040]    When a card C is inserted in the card slot  20 M, the presence of this inserted card is detected by a sensor  201 , and the card handling unit outputs a signal CS. Under the direction of the control unit, the rollers  25 A and  25 B are rotated so as to transport the card in the forward direction to the card reading unit  21  and the writing unit  22  so that information regarding the card balance may be read from and written to the card. After a card C is written to by the card writing unit  22 , the card handling unit transports the card in the reverse direction along the passageway P to the card slot  20 M for presentation to the user.  
         [0041]    Referring to the view of FIG. 3, the touch panel unit  5  and display unit  6  are explained. Through the touch panel unit  5 , the user can input commands and respond to interrogatories regarding parameters of requested operations. The display  6  is programmable and may show a different configuration of information based on the location of operation of the device, the time of day, the monetary units expected or returned, and other information depending on the version of the program installed in a particular cashing device.  
         [0042]    The display shows the status of the cashing device which includes a banknote received money field  61  and a card received money field  6 C, along with a monetary unit which may change based on the magnitude of the amount of money received or the card balance. Further, the display can show a guidance field  6 G which gives instructions or guidance to the user and may indicate a command or option available to the user.  
         [0043]    There are programmable button fields which are used to input commands to the cashing machine. These button fields are denoted Cash  5 A, Medals  5 B, Card  5 C, and Close  5 D. The button Cash  5 A is used to command the cashing device to return the balance on the card as cash.  
         [0044]    The button Medals  5 B is used to command the cashing device to purchase specialized tokens within the parameters of the card balance. An option may be presented to the user allow the user to select the quantity of tokens for purchase. The programmable button fields may then change both in appearance and location to reflect the available quantity options. After the user selects the optional quantity of tokens, the display will revert back to the previous display configuration.  
         [0045]    The button Card  5 C is used to command the purchase of a new card using the total balance available which includes any banknotes deposited into the cashing machine for this purchase.  
         [0046]    The Close button  5 D is a command to indicate the end of all transactions, and to dispense a new card carrying the current balance, if any.  
         [0047]    Referring to the view of FIG. 4, the structure of the control unit  50  is illustrated. The control unit includes a microprocessor, read-only memory ROM  52 , and random-access memory RAM  54  which may be written to and read from. The read-only memory may not be altered by the cashing device since it contains the instructions for the control unit  50 .  
         [0048]    The random-access memory may be altered during the operation of the cashing device since this memory may contain various intermediate data values which are calculated or used in the operation of the cashing device. Either or both of the ROM  52  and RAM  54  may be contained within or physically separate from the structure of the CPU  50  as long as adequate communication between these elements is maintained.  
         [0049]    Referring to the views of FIGS.  5 - 7 , the operation of the cashing device is illustrated with flowcharts. After initial application of electrical power, or after initiating a manual reset of the control unit  50 , the control passes to step S 1  wherein an initial screen configuration is shown by display  6  and the control passes to step S 2 .  
         [0050]    In step S 2 , if a banknote has been received by the banknote receiving unit  10  as indicated by signal B, control passes to step S 3 . Else, if no banknote was received in step S 2 , control passes to step S 21 .  
         [0051]    In step S 21 , if a card has been received by the card handling unit  20  as indicated by signal CS, control passes to step S 22 . Else, if no card has been received in step S 21 , control passes to step S 2 . Thus, control will loop through steps S 2  and S 21  until either a banknote or a card is received.  
         [0052]    In step S 3 , the denomination of the received banknote is detected from the banknote receiving unit  10 , and control passes to step S 4 .  
         [0053]    In step S 4 , the received money field  61  of the display  6  is updated to reflect the amount detected in step S 3 , and control passes to step S 5 .  
         [0054]    In step S 5 , if the button Card  5 C has been pressed by the user as indicated by signal  5 CS, control passes to step S 6 . Else, if the button Card  5 C has not been pressed indicated by the absence of signal  5 CS, control passes to step S 51 .  
         [0055]    In step S 51 , if a banknote has been received by the banknote receiving unit  10  as indicated by signal B, control passes to step S 3 . Else, if no banknote was received in step S 51 , control passes to step S 5 . Thus, control will loop through steps S 5  and S 51  until either the button Card  5 C is pressed or a banknote is received.  
         [0056]    In step S 6 , the signal D is applied to the card dispensing unit  26  enabling the card to dispense one new card from the bottom of the new card stack unit  24  to the card handling unit  20 . The display guidance field  6 G is updated to indicate a new card is being dispensed and control is passed to step S 7 .  
         [0057]    In step S 7 , the card handling unit  20  transports the card dispensed from the card dispensing unit  26  in the reverse direction along passageway P until the card reaches the card writing unit  22  and control passes to step S 8 .  
         [0058]    In step S 8 , the card writing unit  22  initializes the card in preparation for recording an encoding which represents an amount of money and control passes to step S 9 .  
         [0059]    In step S 9 , the card writing unit  22  records an encoding which represents the amount of money detected by the banknote receiving unit  10  in step S 3  and control passes to step S 10 .  
         [0060]    In step S 10 , the card handling unit  20  transports the card in the reverse direction along passageway P so that the card is transported to the card slot  20 M for presentation to the user and control passes to step S 1 . The presented card protrudes from the card slot  20 M a sufficient amount to allow the card to be grasped by the hand of the user and removed from the cashing device. The protruding length is approximately half the length of the card.  
         [0061]    In step S 22 , the card is transported by the card handling unit  20  in the forward direction to the card reading unit  21 . The card reading unit determines the amount of money on the card and the card received money field  6 C is updated to reflect the amount of money on the card and control passes to step S 23 .  
         [0062]    In step S 23 , if the button Medals  5 B has been pressed, as indicated by signal  5 BS, control passes to step S 24 . Else, if the button Medals  5 B has not been pressed as indicated by the absence of signal  5 BS, control passes to step S 31 .  
         [0063]    In step S 24 , the number of tokens purchased is calculated based on the card received money determined in step S 22  and control passes to step S 25 .  
         [0064]    In step S 25 , a token dispensing signal PM corresponding to the number of tokens purchased is applied to the token dispensing unit  40  and control passes to step  26 . The display guidance field  6 G is updated to indicate tokens are being purchased.  
         [0065]    In step S 26 , the token dispensing unit  40  dispenses the purchased tokens into the dispensing opening  7  and control passes to step S 27 .  
         [0066]    In step S 27 , the value of the purchased tokens is subtracted by the control unit from the card money received as calculated in step S 22  and a new card money amount is updated to the card received money field  6 C. If the new card money amount is zero, control passes to step S 35 . If the new card money amount is not zero, the card handling unit  20  transports the card to the card writing unit  22 . The card writing unit  22  initializes the card in preparation for recording an encoding which represents an amount of money. This new card money amount is then recorded on the card by the card writing unit  22 . A message indicating a card is dispensing is displayed in the guidance field  6 G and control passes to step S 28 .  
         [0067]    In step S 28 , the card handling unit  20  transports the card from the card writing unit  22  in the reverse direction to the card slot  20 M where the card is presented to the user and control passes to step S 1 .  
         [0068]    In step S 31 , if the button Cash  5 A has been pressed, as indicated by the signal  5 AS, control passes to step S 32 . Else, if the button Cash  5 A was not pressed, control passes to step S 41 .  
         [0069]    In step S 32 , the number of each denomination of coins to be dispensed during the cashing operation is calculated by the control unit. The corresponding dispensing signal is applied to the cashing unit  30  and control passes to step S 33 .  
         [0070]    In step S 33 , a message indicating the cashing operation is in process is updated to the guidance field  6 G and control passes to step S 34 .  
         [0071]    In step S 34 , the number and denomination of coins calculated in step S 32  are dispensed to the dispensing opening  7  and control passes to step S 35 .  
         [0072]    In step S 35 , a message indicating the card is being recycled is updated to the guidance field  6 G and control passes to step S 36 .  
         [0073]    In step S 36 , the card handling unit transports the card in the reverse direction from the card reading unit  21  to the card receiving unit  23 . The card receiving unit pivots about the axis point  28  to allow gravity to draw the card down into the used card recycling storage device  27  and control passes to step S 1 .  
         [0074]    In step S 41 , if the button Close  5 D has been pressed, as indicated by the signal  5 DS, control passes to step S 42 . Else, if the button Close has not been pressed, control passes to step S 23 . Thus, control will loop through steps S 23 , S 31 , and S 41  until one of the buttons Medals  5 B, Cash  5 A, or Close  5 D are pressed.  
         [0075]    In step S 42 , a message stating a card is dispensing is updated to the guidance field  6 G and control passes to step S 43 .  
         [0076]    In step S 43 , the card handling unit  20  transports the received card in the reverse direction from the card reading unit  21  to the card slot  20 M where the card is presented to the user and control is passed to step S 1 .  
         [0077]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiment can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.