Portable networked self-service terminals for product/service selection
First Claim
1. A method for selecting and purchasing products/services at one or more portable networks of portable self-service terminals, the self-service terminal having a display screen, input via buttons or touch screen, a card reader, an output device for producing indicia of selection, purchase and authorization such as a printer, a communications device and a terminal controller, the steps comprising:
- displays of product or service offerings on the display screen to guide user selection and displays of special notices to accomplish a specific purpose with the potential purchasers such as awareness of special promotions, product/service selection through interactions with the terminal by depressing appropriate buttons under directions on the screen or by direct pressing of a touch screen, inserting a financial card into the card reader to provide data about a user;
communicating with a remote database to transmit user and transaction data to a remote database and to receive information such as transaction authorizations, security data and general information as requested by the users from the remote database;
production of indicia on an output device such as printer, the terminal controller also optionally generating machine readable indicia such as a unique bar code based upon the security information and selection made;
presentation of the output indicia at one or multiple locations for fulfillment of some or all of the product/services authorized. Communication is provided to several distinct databases such as;
financial authorization, product/service information, sales reporting, financial tracking and accounting. The communications paths to each of said databases may be the same or different means in any specific network. Throughout the specification the term indicia is intended to mean any ticket, voucher, slip, receipt or mechanism which is intended to be redeemed for products/services, by the purchaser thereof.
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Abstract
This patent relates to a method and apparatus to provide portable networks of portable (moveable, e.g. table top or free-standing on wheels) self-service terminals designed to perform any or all of the following: product/service selection, payment acceptance, payment authorization or verification, communication via wire or wireless means for purposes including requesting product, service and/or payment authorization from local or remote network servers, to generate payment indicia in the form of tokens or tickets dispensed, such product/service selection/payment indicia to be human readable or optionally machine readable via bar code or other coding schemes, and optionally to include within a network, redemption terminals capable of reading the machine readable indicia, capturing and vaulting the tickets or tokens and generating confirmation of receipt of the payment indicia via visual or audible means to communicate to an attendant staff person. Self-serve product/service selection and payment is accomplished by user input data entry to a display screen with aligned buttons or “touch screen” capability.
35 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for selecting and purchasing products/services at one or more portable networks of portable self-service terminals, the self-service terminal having a display screen, input via buttons or touch screen, a card reader, an output device for producing indicia of selection, purchase and authorization such as a printer, a communications device and a terminal controller, the steps comprising:
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displays of product or service offerings on the display screen to guide user selection and displays of special notices to accomplish a specific purpose with the potential purchasers such as awareness of special promotions, product/service selection through interactions with the terminal by depressing appropriate buttons under directions on the screen or by direct pressing of a touch screen, inserting a financial card into the card reader to provide data about a user;
communicating with a remote database to transmit user and transaction data to a remote database and to receive information such as transaction authorizations, security data and general information as requested by the users from the remote database;
production of indicia on an output device such as printer, the terminal controller also optionally generating machine readable indicia such as a unique bar code based upon the security information and selection made;
presentation of the output indicia at one or multiple locations for fulfillment of some or all of the product/services authorized. Communication is provided to several distinct databases such as;
financial authorization, product/service information, sales reporting, financial tracking and accounting. The communications paths to each of said databases may be the same or different means in any specific network.Throughout the specification the term indicia is intended to mean any ticket, voucher, slip, receipt or mechanism which is intended to be redeemed for products/services, by the purchaser thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27)
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21. A personal computer software suite is provided which enables the seller of the product/service to:
- configure the set of terminals and networks, set product/service descriptions and prices, and report sales by terminal, by product/service and in total.
- View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
Specification