Ncr Corporation

Steven A Carnegie

Kenneth J Peters

Nicholas Cooke

John Gardner

Bryan D Sturrock

An apparatus and method are disclosed for temporarily storing at least one item of media. The apparatus includes a rotatable item support member arranged to rotate about a support member axis of rotation and comprising an outer support surface. The apparatus also includes a pair of drive tape members, each arranged along a respective tape pathway, each tape pathway comprising a pathway portion in which the tape members extend in a co-operating relationship supported by said outer support surface. The outer support surface includes at least one support region that supports the tape members and an item located therebetween in a flat orientation.

Item storage

This invention relates to an electrically powered machine , for example, a card operated self service terminal (SST) and an automated teller machine (ATM). Such machines, in addition to necessary electronic circuitry and computer process controls, include means to receive a card ( ), a reader ( ) for reading data stored on the card, a display screen ( ), a keyboard pad ( ) and, in the case of an ATM a cash delivery slot ( ). In the event of power failure during a customer transaction, the customer's card, for example, a bank card is captured by the machine when power is subsequently restored. Capture of a card is inconvenient to a customer. In order to overcome such inconvenience, it has been proposed to equip such a machine with a battery back-up system operable on power failure to return the card to the customer. A battery back-up system is expensive and accordingly a machine according to the present invention uses a device for mechanically stored energy during normal operation of the machine and means for using the stored energy in the event of power failure to discharge the card ( ) from the machine.

Machine operable by a card carrying data

During a transaction using a magnetic card (,), test data is written to the card (,) at a constantly increasing frequency rate. The test data is then read from the card (,) and the high frequency cut-off point f,of the card (,) (i.e. the maximum write frequency above which it is no longer possible to read the test data from the card (,)), is determined. The high frequency cut-off point f,of a magnetic card (,) will gradually decrease over the lifetime of the card as the quality of the magnetic stripe (,) of the card (,) deteriorates. The high frequency cut-off point f,of the card (,) is compared with the high frequency cutoff point f,&prime; of the card (,) in the previous transaction using the card (,). If the difference between the cut-off frequencies f,and f,&prime; lies within a predetermined acceptable range, the card (,) is regarded as authentic and the transaction is allowed to proceed. If the difference in the cut-off frequencies f,and f,&prime; lies outside this predetermined acceptable range, there is a substantial risk that the card (,) is a counterfeit card and hence the card is retained and the transaction terminated.

Method of authenticating a magnetic card

An automated teller machine (ATM) 10 is provided with a reader/writer 28 for a flex disc 34. The ATM can be operated to download a receipt or a ministatement to a flex disc inserted by a cardholder, and the information can be encrypted or compressed. The flex disc can be preloaded with an instruction by a home PC, and the instruction can be encrypted.

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Perthshire, United Kingdom

Steven A Carnegie