Ergonomically designed multifunctional transaction terminal

• US 20030132918A1
• Filed: 01/11/2002
• Published: 07/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hand Held Products Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Smith, George S. II, Coleman, Eric C., McCall, Melvin D., Higgins, Paul, Fletcher, Donna M., Fitch, Timothy R., Sperduti, David, Gomez, Garrison, Rosetti, James B., Meseroll, Russ A., Gresko, James, Siegler, Thomas A., Sakal, Joseph B., Klock, Paul, Mangicaro, David A., OʼDonnell, James F.
• Granted Patent: US 7,479,946 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/173
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/18 Packaging or power distribution
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/205 Housing aspects of ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system

Abstract

An ergonomically designed transactional terminal according to the invention in one embodiment includes a housing having a top portion partially defined by a touch screen, a base, and an enlarged head portion extending forwardly from the base to define a lip. An insert style card reader having horizontally oriented feed slot opening toward the front of the housing is disposed in the lip of the housing. The feed slot may be angled downward slightly to reduce build up in the slot and to encourage a sweeping action by a card during card removal. The touch screen may be angled downward in coplanar relationship with the feed slot to improve visibility of the touch screen and to improve simultaneous observation of touch screen and card indicia.

Claims

1. A portable desk top transaction terminal for processing debit or credit card POS transactions, said terminal comprising:

a housing having a base, a top, and an enlarged head portion extending forwardly from said base to define a lip;

a touch screen disposed in said head portion comprising display and a touch sensitive overly, wherein said touch screen partially defines said housing top, said terminal having a mode of operation in which said touch screen displays a virtual keyboard for accommodation of data entry into side keypad; and

an insert style reader unit comprising at least one of a mag stripe and smart card reader, wherein said reader unit is disposed in said lip, said reader unit having a feed slot opening toward a front of said housing.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein said terminal includes a mode in which said touch screen is adapted for signature capture.

3. The terminal of claim 1, wherein said base comprises a detachable riser.

4. The terminal of claim 1, wherein said housing further comprises an integrated fingerprint scanner unit.

5. The transaction terminal of claim 1, wherein said reader unit is a hybrid mag stripe and smart card unit.

6. The transaction terminal of claim 1, wherein said reader unit is disposed.

7. The transaction terminal of claim 1, further comprising an RF communication interface for enabling communication with a nonintegrated computer system.

8. A portable transaction terminal for processing point-of-sale transactions, said transaction terminal comprising:

a housing having a front, a top, and a base adapted for resting said terminal on a counter top, said base having a base plane defined by a bottom of said base;

a touch screen integrated in said top of said housing, said touch screen being disposed in a touch screen plane;

a hybrid mag stripe and smart card insert style reader unit disposed in said housing, said reader unit having a feed slot opening toward said front of said housing, said feed slot disposed in a feed slot plane, wherein said base plane, said feed slot plane, and said touch screen plane are all substantially coplanar.

9. The transaction terminal of claim 8, wherein said housing further comprises a head portion extending forwardly from said base to define a lip, wherein said reader unit is disposed in said lip.

10. The transaction terminal of claim 8, further comprising a detachable stylus holder detachably attachable on said housing.

11. The transaction terminal of claim 8, wherein reader unit is disposed so that said feed slot plane is at a slight downward angle from a back of said housing to said front, with respect to a horizontal plane so that moisture and debris is forced out of said slot by gravitational forces.

12. The transaction terminal of claim 11, wherein touch screen is disposed so that said touch screen plane is also at a slight downward angle from said back to front, so that said touch screen is easily viewed by a user.

13. The transaction terminal of claim 8, further comprising a detachable riser.

14. A transaction terminal comprising:

a housing having a top, a front, a back end, and a base having a base plane defined by a bottom of said base;

a control circuit encapsulated by said housing;

a touch screen in communication with said control circuit at least partially defining a top of said housing, wherein said touch screen defines a touch screen plane angled downwardly from said back end to said front with respect to said base plane; and

a card reader unit disposed in said housing having an insert-style feed slot for receiving a card, wherein said feed slot opens toward said front of said housing.

15. The terminal claim 14, wherein said insert style feed slot includes a feed slot plane substantially coplanar with said touch screen plane.

16. The terminal of claim 15, wherein said feed slot plane is disposed angularly downwardly from said back end to said front.

17. The terminal of claim 14, wherein said control circuit, in one mode, adapts said touch screen for signature capture.

18. The terminal of claim 14, wherein said control circuit, in one mode of operation, controls said touch screen to display a virtual keyboard.

19. The terminal of claim 14, wherein said control circuit, in at least one mode, configures said terminal to capture a signature entered by a user into said touch screen.

20. The terminal of claim 14, further comprising a wireless communication link.

21. The terminal of claim 14, wherein said terminal includes a secure information entry circuit including a program having an encryption routine, wherein said secure information entry circuit includes cryptographic firmware adapted to change the state of an encryption mode signal when said encryption routine is actuated, and wherein said terminal further includes a user-perceivable indicator responsive to said encryption mode signal.

22. The terminal of claim 14, wherein said housing comprises an upper section and a lower section, wherein said control circuit is in communication with a secure IC chip comprising a volatile memory, wherein said terminal further includes a battery for powering said secure IC chip, wherein said terminal is adapted so that said battery is disconnected from said secure IC chip if said upper section is removed from said lower section.

23. The terminal of claim 14, wherein said housing includes a forwardly extending lip and wherein said reader unit is disposed in said lip.

24. The terminal of claim 14, wherein said housing includes an imaging assembly aperture further comprises:

an optical reader unit comprising an imaging assembly, wherein said imaging assembly is incorporated in said housing in such manner that light received by said assembly passes through said imaging assembly aperture.