Patent Publication Number: US-2003229418-A1

Title: Stake vending system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001] This application claims priority of Taiwanese application no. 091112418, filed on Jun. 7, 2002.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] 1. Field of the Invention  
       [0003] The invention relates to a stake vending system, more particularly to a fully automated stake vending system to reduce labor costs and to result in faster transactions.  
       [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art  
       [0005] There are three operations involved when completing a stake purchase transaction in a conventional stake vending system:  
       [0006] 1) A customer tells a vendor in a stake vending outlet his selected betting group.  
       [0007] 2) The vendor inputs and uploads the selected betting group to a customer service terminal of a stake provider via a terminal connected on-line thereto.  
       [0008] 3) After completion of the aforesaid uploading operation, a transaction receipt is printed and handed to the customer.  
       [0009] The following are some of the drawbacks of the aforesaid conventional stake vending system:  
       [0010] 1) Ideally, stake vending outlets must hire a large number of vendors for fast stake purchase processing. However, in consideration of operating costs, the number of vendors actually hired in a stake vending outlet is very limited. Therefore, customers must wait in long queues and take up a lot of time to complete stake purchase transactions. In other words, the labor costs in handling stake purchases are high while the processing efficiency is low. The conventional stake vending system is thus not cost-effective.  
       [0011] 2) In the event that a customer wishes to place a large amount of stakes, not only is it inconvenient and troublesome for the customer to carry large amounts of cash, customer security concerns also arise.  
       [0012] 3) Furthermore, a large daily cash flow for each stake vending outlet involves a lot of security and management issues that stake providers must but cannot easily resolve.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a stake vending system that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art.  
       [0014] Accordingly, the stake vending system of the present invention comprises a customer service terminal, a customer terminal, and a stake purchase certificate.  
       [0015] The customer service terminal includes a security unit adapted to verify identity of a customer and to authorize stake purchasing by the customer, a banking unit associated with the security unit and adapted to perform banking transactions, and a stake vending unit associated with the security unit and the banking unit and adapted to keep track of stakes purchased by the customer.  
       [0016] The customer terminal includes a user input unit, a display unit, a purchase authentication unit, and a printing unit. The user input unit is manually operable so as to select service items provided by the customer service terminal, the service items including betting group selection and transaction amount selection. The display unit is adapted to show interaction and transaction between the user input unit and the customer service terminal, including selected betting group, transaction amount and remaining customer credit. The purchase authentication unit is associated with the user input unit and the display unit and is connected to the customer service terminal on-line. The purchase authentication unit is configured to process transactions related to stake purchasing by the customer, including transmission of selected betting group and transaction amount to the customer service terminal, and receipt of transaction information from the banking unit and confirmation of purchased stakes from the stake vending unit. The printing unit is associated with the purchase authentication unit and is adapted to generate at least one of a stake purchase receipt and a banking transaction receipt.  
       [0017] The stake purchase certificate is associated with the customer terminal and is used by the customer to log into the customer terminal to enable the security unit to verify the identity of the customer. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0018] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:  
     [0019]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a preferred embodiment of a stake vending system according to the present invention;  
     [0020]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a customer service terminal and a purchase authentication unit of the preferred embodiment;  
     [0021]FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of a customer terminal of the preferred embodiment; and  
     [0022]FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a stake purchase transaction of the preferred embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
     [0023] Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and  3 , the preferred embodiment a stake vending system according to the present invention is shown to include a customer service terminal  10 , a customer terminal  20  and a stake purchase certificate  30 .  
     [0024] The customer service terminal  10  includes a security unit  11 , a banking unit  12  and a stake vending unit  13 . The security unit  11  is adapted to verify the identity of a customer and to authorize stake purchasing by the customer. The banking unit  12  is associated with the security unit  11  and is connected to banking institutions. The banking unit  12  keeps track of the customer&#39;s remaining credits, and is adapted to perform known banking transactions, such as withdrawals, deposits, transfers and inquiries. The stake vending unit  13  is associated with the security unit  11  and the banking unit  12  and is adapted to keep track of stakes purchased by the customer.  
     [0025] In this embodiment, the customer terminal  20  is a stand-alone card-reader, such as an automated teller machine (ATM) of a banking institution. The customer terminal  20  includes a user input unit  21 , a display unit  22 , a purchase authentication unit  24 , and a printing unit  23 . The user input unit  21 , such as a keyboard, is manually operable so as to select service items provided by the customer service terminal  10 , the service items including betting group selection and transaction amount selection. The display unit  22  is adapted to show interaction and transaction between the user input unit  21  and the customer service terminal  10 , including selected betting group, transaction amount and remaining customer credit. The purchase authentication unit  24  is associated with the user input unit  21  and the display unit  22  and is connected to the customer service terminal  10  on-line. The purchase authentication unit  24  is configured to process transactions related to stake purchasing by the customer, including transmission of selected betting group and transaction amount to the customer service terminal  10 , and receipt of transaction information from the banking unit  12  and confirmation of purchased stakes from the stake vending unit  13 . The printing unit  23  is associated with the purchase authentication unit  24  and is adapted to generate at least one of a stake purchase receipt and a banking transaction receipt.  
     [0026] In this embodiment, the stake purchase certificate  30  is one of a credit card, a bank card and a prepaid card provided by a stake provider. The stake purchase certificate  30  is associated with the customer terminal  10  and is used by the customer to log into the customer terminal  10  to enable the security unit  11  to verify the identity of the customer. In case that the stake purchase certificate  30  is a credit card or a bank card, the transaction amount can be deducted directly from the customer&#39;s account through the connection to and communication between related banking institutions. In the case that the stake purchase certificate  30  is a prepaid card provided by a stake provider, the transaction amount is deducted directly from remaining balance of the prepaid card.  
     [0027] With further reference to FIG. 4, for a customer to initiate a stake purchase, the stake purchase certificate  30  is first inserted into the customer terminal  20 . Then, a password is inputted by the customer to complete the log-in process to the customer terminal  20  to enable the security unit  11  of the customer service terminal  10  to verify the identity of the customer. Once the customer&#39;s identity has been verified, the customer service terminal  10  will authorize the customer for further service. Thereafter, via the user input unit  21  and the display unit  22 , the customer can select service items, such as withdrawal, deposit, bank transfer, account inquiry and other banking transactions, or select available betting groups, such as lottery, dog race betting or horse race betting. When the customer selects a betting group, the purchase authentication unit  24  will first confirm with the banking unit  12  the customer&#39;s remaining credit, and enables the display unit  22  to show the remaining credit thereon. When the customer inputs a stake purchase amount, and the customer&#39;s remaining credit is sufficient to cover the stake purchase amount, the customer will be allowed to select a betting group, and the transaction will be confirmed. At this time, the customer terminal  20  will transmit the stake purchase amount to the banking unit  12  for deduction from the customer&#39;s account, and transmit the selected betting group to the stake vending unit  13  to keep track of the stakes purchased by the customer.  
     [0028] Thereafter, the banking unit  12  will transmit the customer&#39;s updated remaining credit to the customer terminal  20 , and the stake vending unit  13  will send a transaction confirmed message to the customer terminal  20 . The display unit  22  will then display the transaction amount, the remaining credit, and the confirmed selected betting group accordingly. Finally, depending on service items selected or available betting groups selected, the printing unit  23  will either print and provide a stake purchase receipt via a first printout exit  231 , or print and provide a banking transaction receipt via a second printout exit  232 . The stake purchase receipt contains a login barcode, a prize certifying computer code, etc., to be used when claiming stake winnings. The banking transaction receipt contains the selected service item, the transaction amount, the remaining credit, etc.  
     [0029] It is worth noting that the customer terminal in this invention can be implemented as a household computer capable of on-line connection with the customer service terminal  10 . The customer can use the computer for inputting passwords or electronic authentication for authorization during stake purchasing, and select account transfer or payment using bank or credit cards. Via the keyboard and monitor of the computer, the customer can select service items or available betting groups. The computer will then transmit the stake transaction amount to the banking unit  12  for deduction from the customer&#39;s account, and transmit the selected betting group to the stake vending unit  13  to keep track of purchased stakes. The banking unit  12  will transmit the updated remaining credit and the stake vending unit  13  will send a transaction confirmed message for subsequent display by the computer. Finally, a printer connected to the computer can be used to print the stake purchase receipt and/or the banking transaction receipt.  
     [0030] The following are some of the advantages of the stake vending system of this invention:  
     [0031] 1) To the stake vending outlets, while there is a need to spend for the cost of the customer terminals  20 , the maintenance cost thereof is very small as compared to the salaries of hired vendors. Moreover, the extension of service to home computer user not only saves operating costs but also widens the customer base.  
     [0032] 2) The cost-effective factor will make the installation of customer terminals  20  more accessible than conventional stake vending outlets, and also resolve the problem of long queues.  
     [0033] 3) The on-line connection with banking systems and institutions not only assures customers&#39; and providers&#39; security and promotes operating convenience, but also yields more effective transaction management.  
     [0034] While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.