This invention relates generally to a system and method for ensuring payments for equipment and/or machinery are made on accounts. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and a method that automatically renders equipment—purchased or leased on credit—unusable when payments due on an incremental basis for the equipment are not timely made.
In the sale of equipment, companies such as lenders typically lose significant capital when purchasers fail to make timely payments. While the purchaser is delinquent in its payments, the purchaser has possession of the equipment and can productively use the equipment to its benefit. At the same time, however, although the lending company may penalize the purchaser by charging a late finance fee for the missed payment, the lending equipment company has no certainty of when—or whether—the purchaser will pay.
Several patents directed to the gaming industry disclose systems and methods for “pre-paying a set sum” to be used for playing a gaming machine or placing a wager. For example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,902,983 and 6,347,738, the latter being a continuation, Crevelt et al. disclose an electronic funds transfer (EFT) system for gaming machines. The gaming machines include apparatus necessary for sending requests to and receiving authorizations from the EFT system. The requests for credit are limited to a pre-set amount, so that when a player uses an EFT transfer to obtain playing credit, the credit will be limited to no more than a specified amount. In practice, the player inserts his or her ATM card (debit card), keys in a PIN number, requests playing credit, and receives the pre-set amount of credit which can be converted to “plays” on the gaming machine.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,310, Orus et al. disclose gaming machines having mechanical counters according to the regulations. Grafted onto the mechanical counters are electronic payment mechanisms that work on the basis of a chip card. The electronic payment mechanism diverts a certain number of links of the units of the machine to enable wagers to be placed and payments to be made through the chip card, without the receiving or issuing of tokens and, preferably, without the modifying of the contents of the TOTAL IN and TOTAL OUT counters. A downgraded version modifies the contents of these counters, and the balance of the feeder box containing the coins is obtained by modifying the formula used to compute this balance.
These systems and methods, however, are targeted for the gaming industry where an ATM card or a chip card is used directly or in conjunction with the gaming machine. Moreover, neither discloses the monitoring of the timeliness of payments made on an account. Nor do these references disclose or suggest a method that inactivates equipment when payments are not made or are late.
Thus, there exists a need for a system and method that monitors a credit account from the sale or leasing of equipment and that renders the purchased or leased equipment unusable when the account falls in arrears.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for ensuring payments are made on a timely basis on credit accounts for the sale or lease of equipment. The system can be used worldwide and needs not be located near a particular central facility. Specifically, the lender can be in one country, while the purchaser of the equipment can be in another country.
To that end, in one aspect of the invention, a system is provided for ensuring that payments are made on a timely and regular basis for equipment. Particularly suitable for use by equipment suppliers, financing groups, and account managers, the system provides for the automatic shut-down of the purchased or leased equipment, including machines, after a predetermined interval when an account from the purchase or lease of the machine is in arrears. The system has a control center connected to the machine with a display screen for displaying a message, a user interface for entering a code into the control center, a controller for controlling the operation of the machine, and means for checking the payment status of the account. The user interface is a keypad or touch screen affixed to the machine or alternatively tethered to the machine. The controller has a timed shut-down program for rendering the machine unusable after an interval when the account is found to be delinquent. A device in the controller monitors the interval, including the date for which the shut-down is scheduled to become activated. The controller also has an internal code generator for generating a re-set code that the user needs to enter into the control center to initiate a new interval and keep the machine operational. Additionally, one aspect of the controller provides for comparing the re-set code entered into the keypad by the user/operator to the re-set code generated by the code generator. For checking on the payment status of the account, at least one of a telephone, email, facsimile, or a designated website on the Internet are included in the system. In short, the re-set code acts as a keep to key the machine running for a certain, preselected interval (time, revolutions, operations, etc.).
In another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for ensuring that payments are current and timely made to an account associated with the purchase or lease of equipment. The method automatically renders unusable the operating functions of the machine in a user's custody upon an unpaid balance of the account. The machine, such as a printing machine, is connected to a timed shut-down system, substantially as described above. The system has a control center equipped with a controller and a user interface for entering a code into the system. The controller has a code generator for generating a system-generated re-set code, a disabling program for shutting the machine down at the end of a preselected interval, and means for comparing a user-entered re-set code against the system-generated re-set code. The disabling program shuts down the machine when no timed interval is in place. The method comprises: (a) activating the disabling program to initiate a preselected initial interval associated with the account; (b) upon a paid status of the account, releasing a re-set code from a location remote from the machine; (c) entering the re-set code into the user interface to set a new interval; and repeating steps (b)–(c) to keep the machine operational.
In yet another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for automatically shutting down equipment in a user's custody when payment is not made to an account associated with the purchase or lease of the equipment. The equipment, such as a printing machine, is connected to a shut-down system having a control center that is substantially as described above. The control center includes a user interface for entering a code and a controller having a code generator and a shut-down program for shutting the machine down at the end of the timed interval unless a code is entered into the control center within a defined time frame. The method includes: (a) activating the shut-down program to initiate an interval; (b) at a defined point during the interval, determining that the account has a paid status; (c) depending upon the paid status of the account, releasing a code selected from the group consisting of (i) a re-set code when the account has a balance due for initiating a new interval and (ii) a final code when the account has a zero balance due for deactivating the disabling the program; (d) entering the code into the user interface; and, (e) if the code entered in step (d) was a re-set code, repeating steps (b)–(d) until the account has a zero balance due. In one embodiment, the interval is time.
In a further aspect, a method is provided for ensuring that payments are timely made on an account associated with the purchase or lease of a machine by automatically shutting down the machine when the account falls into arrears. The machine is connected to a control center of a shut-down system comprising a user interface for entering a code and a controller. The controller is equipped with a disabling program awaiting activation for triggering a timed sequence shut-down, a code generator, and means for monitoring a timed interval preceding the shut-down. The method comprises: (a) activating the disabling program to shut the machine down after an interval associated with the account; (b) transmitting a re-set code generated by the code generator to a non-user at a location remote from the machine; (c) at a defined point in the timed interval, triggering the timed sequence shut-down unless a code is entered into the user interface. The code, which is one of a re-set code and a final code, is obtained from the non-user upon the account having a paid status for the timed interval. The non-user relinquishes the code when advised that the account is current for the time frame associated with the timed interval.
In each of the above systems, the controller generates a warning (e.g., generated on screen or audio) before shut-down is scheduled to alert owners/operators that the timed interval is drawing to an end. Such warnings serve as reminders to those responsible for paying. In addition, it is an effort to avoid surprises by a shut-down.
Other aspects of the invention will become apparent when taken in conjunction with the following description and drawings.
In the accompanying drawings forming part of the specification,
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention. The present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
When payments to a credit account are late or overdue at a particular point in a timed interval, the system provides for automatically shutting down the operation of the machine, rendering it inoperable, after the preselected timed interval.
Herein, the term “equipment supplier” means one that manufactures, sells, distributes, or leases machines and equipment, including those giving rise to the credit account.
The term “financing entity” means a bank, a credit union, a savings and loan association, a leasing agency, and any other group that provides financing for the purchase or leasing of machinery or equipment. It is recognized, of course, that the financing entity can be the individual or entity that is the equipment supplier, namely the one that manufactures, sells, distributes, or leases the machines and equipment.
The term “non-user” means an entity other than the user, such as an equipment supplier, the supplier of a control center, or a financing entity according to the definition given above. For example, the non-user can include, among others, the equipment supplier, namely the one that manufactures, sells, distributes, or leases the machines and equipment.
In yet another embodiment, shown in
Briefly, the timed shut-down system 12 follows the following sequence:
The machine 11 (depicted in
The elements or components associated with the controller, such as the code generator, digital algorithm, disabling program, shut-down sequence, counter or interval monitor, and the means for comparing a user-entered re-set code against the system-generated re-set code can be put into or installed into the system as hardware or software. Creation, construction and installation of these elements or components can be performed by customary and conventional methods.
The re-set code 40 is stored in the memory 30 (memory 30 is shown in
Other information from the control center 10 is typically transmitted to the non-user 46 as well, such as the actual count 17 from the machine of, e.g., units worked on by the machine—i.e., from the counter 14—which may be reported on a real-time basis or the date of last use. Generally, the total count is also sent to the non-user, as it is used for checking the user's ID (for authentication purchases) and used for determining the re-set code. Further information, such as a machine's unique serial number or identification number, may also be communicated to the non-user from the user (via phone or computers) to ensure proper communications, authenticate the parties, check the account status, generate and communicate the re-set code, and to prevent one from overriding, bypassing or hacking the system.
Within a pre-set time before the timed interval 36 ends, the display screen 16 (shown in
The message 52 may appear on the display screen 16 at a pre-determined time—e.g., one week before the scheduled shut-down date. The message will be displayed until the machine shuts down or the timed shut-down is re-set by entry of the re-set code 40. In one embodiment, the message 52 may be displayed periodically at particular pre-set times; e.g., at one-hour intervals. In another embodiment, the message 52 may remain on the display screen 16 at all times until the timed interval 36 ends.
The user needs to obtain the system-generated re-set code 40 from the non-user 46, who has received or otherwise determined the system-generated re-set code 40. However, before the user may obtain the re-set code 40, the non-user 46 determines the status of the account from information provided by the financing entity holding the account or the management group retained to oversee the account, as shown by reference numeral 56. The account is checked to determine if payment associated with the present timed interval has been timely made and received.
If the account is paid, the non-user 46 releases the system-generated re-set code 40 to the user, as shown by reference numeral 66. The step of releasing the re-set code includes confirming the user's identity, as shown by reference numeral 68. In this step, the non-user confirms the user's identity by checking at least two forms of identifying information, such as the serial number 70 on the machine. The non-user typically records the serial number at the time the account is set up. The actual count 17 from the total counter 14 (shown in
To obtain the system-generated re-set code 40, the user 15 generally contacts the non-user 46. Alternatively, the user 15 may obtain the re-set code 40 by contacting a resource such as a website or a telephone line set up on behalf of the non-user 46. The step of obtaining the re-set code 40 is denoted by reference numeral 68. The re-set code 40 may be obtained via at least one means chosen from telephone 70, facsimile 72, email 74, the Internet by accessing a designated website 76, and any other suitable means. Typically, it is the equipment supplier that releases the re-set code to the user 15; however, there may be instances where the finance entity would release the re-set code.
After obtaining the system-generated re-set code 40, the user 15 manually enters a user-entered re-set code 40′ into the control center 10 via the keypad 18 (shown in
Throughout the first timed interval 36, the controller 26 keeps track of the time remaining on the initial timed interval (this step is shown as reference number 80). The controller 26 checks to determine whether a re-set code was entered into control center 10 (shown as reference number 82).
If a re-set code 40′ was entered into the control center 10, the controller 26 compares the user-entered re-set code 40′ to the system-generated re-set code 40 stored in memory to determine whether the codes match, indicating that the correct code was, in fact, entered.
If the user failed to enter the re-set code 40′ into the machine, the controller 26 will check to determine if any code was entered (shown by reference number 90). If no code was entered, the controller 26 will trigger the program 32 to shut-down the machine 11.
The sequence described above repeats until the account is paid in full and the final balance due is zero dollars ($0). At that time, the user 15 must obtain a final code—also called a program termination code—which, when entered by the user into the keypad or on the touch screen, will de-activate the program 32 (until reactivated, if ever). This final code is also generated by the code generator. Generally, after the non-user 46 ascertains that the account is current as shown by reference numeral 57 in the non-user 14 “box,” information is provided on the balance remaining on the account (designated by reference number 94). If the balance is zero ($0), the non-user 46 will provide the user 15 a final code 96.
In certain embodiments, the sequence of steps may vary from that depicted in
Finally, it should be noted that the code generator is never turned off “permanently.” It is always working in the system. In short, it is always living in the system in either the foreground (when the disabling program is activated) or in the background (when the disabling program is deactivated). The code generator is thus never “turned-off.” When the disabling program is activated, the code generator is in the foreground and employed as described above, to ensure payments and to shut down the machine if need be. When the disabling program is deactivated, or not activated, the code generator is in the background and merely continues to run, generating codes that serve no particular purpose. As such, when the final code is entered into the system, the disabling program is turned off, or deactivated, and the code generator continues, moving from the foreground of the system to the background of the system. In this manner, the disabling program can be turned on and activated and turned off and deactivated throughout the life of the machine or equipment. Specifically, when a machine is resold, or refurbished or even repaired, the disabling program can be manually activated to ensure proper and timely payments. Thus, if a machine (already paid for) is resold, the disabling program can be activated to ensure payment by the second purchaser.
It is understood that, given the above description of the embodiments of the invention, various modifications may be made by one skilled in the art. Such modifications are intended to be encompassed by the claims below.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4814901 | Onishi et al. | Mar 1989 | A |
5072103 | Nara | Dec 1991 | A |
5563586 | Baum et al. | Oct 1996 | A |
5572004 | Raimann | Nov 1996 | A |
5580310 | Orus et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
5752128 | Yamashita | May 1998 | A |
5902983 | Crevelt et al. | May 1999 | A |
5999748 | Nomura et al. | Dec 1999 | A |
6078907 | Lamm | Jun 2000 | A |
6078957 | Adelman et al. | Jun 2000 | A |
6114960 | Gilmour | Sep 2000 | A |
6227972 | Walker et al. | May 2001 | B1 |
6347738 | Crevelt et al. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
6473500 | Risafi et al. | Oct 2002 | B1 |
6487401 | Suryanarayana et al. | Nov 2002 | B2 |
20010037260 | Kim | Nov 2001 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20040118915 A1 | Jun 2004 | US |