Portable transaction terminal system

• US 5,933,812 A
• Filed: 04/12/1995
• Issued: 08/03/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verifone, Inc. (Verifone Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fischer, Michael, Serotta, Paul A., Hanley, David C., Cole, William B., Fuller, James D., Specht, Gary L., Meyer, Lee, Fong, Willie Yuen
• Primary Examiner(s): Tkacs, Stephen R.
• Application Number:
  US08/419,676
• Time in Patent Office: 1,574 Days
• Field of Search: 235/435, 235/449, 235/482, 235/483, 235/485, 235/375, 235/379, 235/380, 200/5 A, 361/679, 361/686, 364/705.06, 364/709.04, 364/710.04, 395/201, 395/215, 395/216, 395/217, 395/221, 395/224, 395/225, 705/1, 705/15, 705/16, 705/17, 705/21, 705/24, 705/25
• US Class Current: 705/15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/343 Cards including a counter
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/12 Hotels or restaurants
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/02 by keys or other credit registering devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/0866 by active credit-cards adapted therefor G07F7/1008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/00 Cash registers alarm indicators G07G3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0081 the reader being a portable scanner or data reader G07G1/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 7/0044 specially adapted for holding portable devices containing batteries H02J7/0045 takes precedence

Abstract

Portable transaction terminal apparatus adapted for use in eating and drinking establishments. A terminal housing has a generally rectangular shape and a size slightly larger in length and width to corresponding dimensions of a restaurant guest check. A folio-type cover is mounted to a left side portion of the terminal housing by a hinge arrangement and thereby adapted to swing between open and closed cover positions, the cover corresponding in length and width to the terminal housing so as to completely cover a top face of the terminal housing in the closed cover position and to lie flat against a surface in the open cover position. A data entry keypad and an alphanumeric display are carried on the top face of the terminal housing. A card reader module is mounted in the terminal housing for accepting and reading a transaction data card selected for use by a guest of the establishment for payment of the amount of the guest check. A microcomputer system is carried within the terminal housing and being pre-programmed with operating system and application software for management of data entry, message display, card reading and transaction message formatting and storing functions associated with a preselected data entry sequence and data message format. The microcomputer system communicates a transaction data message to an external transaction terminal system for completion of transaction processing steps. A docking station is provided for communication with a transaction terminal. Recharging stations with intelligent charge controllers are provided for recharging the batteries of the portable transaction terminal.

Claims

1. Portable transaction terminal system adapted for use in an eating and drinking establishment, including a portable transaction terminal apparatus comprising:

a terminal housing having a generally rectangular shape and of size slightly larger in length and width to corresponding dimensions of a restaurant guest check,

a folio cover mounted to a left side portion of said terminal housing by a hinge arrangement and thereby adapted to swing between open and closed cover positions, said cover corresponding in length and width to said terminal housing so as to completely cover a top face of said terminal housing in said closed cover position and to lie flat against a surface in said open cover position,

a data entry keypad and an alphanumeric display carried on said top face of said terminal housing,

a card reader module mounted in said terminal housing for accepting and reading a transaction data card selected for use by a guest of the establishment for payment of the amount of the guest check,

a microcomputer system carried within said terminal housing and being pre-programmed with operating system and application software for management of data entry, message display, card reading and transaction message formatting and storing functions associated with a preselected data entry sequence and data message format, and including a data communication means for communicating a transaction data message to an external transaction terminal system for completion of transaction processing steps;

said terminal housing including a battery compartment carrying a rechargeable battery to provide power therefor, and an arrangement of charging contact elements carried in a prearranged position on a selected one of a front edge and back edge of said terminal housing for applying recharging voltage and current to said rechargeable battery,

and said system further including a battery charger unit comprising

a charger housing defining at least one cavity adapted for close insertion of said terminal housing with said cover in said closed cover position and in a single predetermined orientation dictated by said hinge arrangement,

said cavity having a cavity bottom surface with an arrangement of spring mounted charger contact elements carried thereon and positioned to contact said charging contacting elements on said terminal housing when fully inserted into said cavity, and

a charge control circuit mounted in a base portion of said charger housing and powered by a power supply module for intelligently controlling the charging of said rechargeable battery, said charge control circuit including charge state monitoring means and charge state display means for indicating the operation of said battery charger unit and the charge state of said rechargeable battery.

2. System as claimed in claim 1, wherein

said charger housing defines a plurality of separated cavities each adapted for close insertion of a terminal housing

each of said cavities having

a cavity bottom surface with an arrangement of spring mounted charger contact elements carried thereon and positioned to contact said charging contacting elements on a terminal housing when fully inserted into said cavity, and

a charge control circuit mounted in a base portion of said charger housing underneath said cavity and adapted to be powered by a DC power supply module for intelligently controlling the charging of said rechargeable battery, said charge control circuit including charge state monitoring means and charge state display means communicating through an aperture in said base portion of said charger housing for indicating the operation of said battery charger unit and the charge state of said rechargeable battery,

and said battery charger unit further comprises an AC-DC power supply module mounted in a base portion of said charger housing and having a DC power output connected via a cable to each of said charge control circuits and a POWER ON/OFF indicator light communicating through said base portion of said charger housing.

3. Portable transaction terminal system adapted for use in an eating and drinking establishment, including a portable transaction terminal apparatus comprising:

a terminal housing having a generally rectangular shape and of size slightly larger in length and width to corresponding dimensions of a restaurant guest check,

a folio cover mounted to a left side portion of said terminal housing by a hinge arrangement and thereby adapted to swing between open and closed cover positions, said cover corresponding in length and width to said terminal housing so as to completely cover a top face of said terminal housing in said closed cover position and to lie flat against a surface in said open cover position,

a data entry keypad and an alphanumeric display carried on said top face of said terminal housing,

a card reader module mounted in said terminal housing for accepting and reading a transaction data card selected for use by a guest of the establishment for payment of the amount of the guest check,

a microcomputer system carried within said terminal housing and being pre-programmed with operating system and application software for management of data entry, message display, card reading and transaction message formatting and storing functions associated with a preselected data entry sequence and data message format, and including a data communication means for communicating a transaction data message to an external transaction terminal system for completion of transaction processing steps;

said data communication means being an optical serial data communication means comprising an optical transmitter element and an optical receiver element,

said optical transmitter element and receiver element being mounted on a circuit board within said terminal housing near a selected one of a front edge and a back edge of said terminal housing and being covered by an optical window carried on said selected edge of said terminal housing,

and said system further includes a docking station and said portable transaction terminal apparatus is adapted for being mated to said docking station for communicating with a point of sale transaction terminal, said docking station comprising

a docking station housing defining at least one cavity adapted for close coupled insertion of said terminal housing with said cover thereof in said closed cover position and in a single predetermined orientation dictated by said hinge arrangement,

said cavity having a cavity bottom surface with an optical window carried thereon at a position to be in registration with said optical window on said terminal housing when fully inserted into said cavity,

a docking station circuit board mounted in a base portion of said docking station housing and having mounted thereon an optical transmitter and optical receiver in position adjacent said optical window in said cavity bottom surface for optical communication with corresponding optical transmitter and optical receiver elements in said portable transaction terminal apparatus, said circuit board further having electronic circuits providing full-duplex RS-232 serial data communication for coupling to an RS-232 serial port of a point-of-sale transaction terminal and a power supply circuit receiving operating power from the point-of-sale transaction terminal.

4. System as claimed in claim 3, wherein

said optical transmitter elements are infrared LED elements and said optical receiver elements are infrared phototransistors,

and further comprising a visible LED coupled in series with said infrared LED element in said terminal housing and positioned to emit visible light through said optical window in said wall of said terminal housing to serve as a wait person call signal output from said portable transaction terminal apparatus.

5. System as claimed in claim 3, wherein

said microcomputer system of said portable transaction terminal apparatus stores in memory a terminal configuration message and is programmed to operate in a selectable one of two transaction data communication modes with a point-of-sale transaction terminal comprising a manual mode and an automatic mode,

said automatic mode comprising the steps of:

repetitively sending out over said optical data transmitter said terminal configuration message until said optical data receiver receives from said point-of-sale transaction terminal an ACK message followed by a READY message indicating readiness to receive a transaction data packet

responding to receipt of said READY message by sending a transaction data packet over said optical data transmitter to said point-of-sale data terminal,

responding to an ACK message from said point-of-sale transaction terminal by sending the next transaction data packet or an EOT if no more packets are stored in the portable transaction terminal apparatus;

and said manual mode comprising the steps of;

repetitively sending out over said optical data transmitter a NUL message until said optical data receiver receives from said point-of-sale transaction terminal an ENQ message sent in response to manual pressing of a key on said point-of-sale transaction terminal,

sending said terminal configuration message to said point-of-sale transaction terminal,

responding to receipt of an ACK message from said point-of-sale transaction terminal followed by a READY message by

responding to receipt of said READY message by sending a transaction data packet over said optical data transmitter to said point-of-sale data terminal, and

responding to an ACK message from said point-of-sale transaction terminal by sending the next transaction data packet or an EOT if no more packets are stored in the portable transaction terminal apparatus.

6. Portable transaction terminal apparatus specially adapted for use in eating and drinking establishments and comprising, in combination:

a terminal housing having a generally rectangular shape and of size and weight adapted to be carried in a server'"'"'s apron pocket,

a data entry keypad carried on a top face of said terminal housing and comprising a moisture impervious sealed keypad adhesively mounted on said top face and connected to a keysignal cable extending through an aperture in said top face underneath said sealed keypad,

an alphanumeric display module mounted on a electronic circuit board carried within said terminal housing with a display region of said display module communicating through an aperture in said top face of said terminal housing, said aperture being sealed on said top face of said terminal housing by a moisture impervious transparent cover member adhesively secured to the top face of said terminal housing,

a card reader module mounted in said terminal housing for accepting and reading a transaction data card selected for use by a guest of the establishment for payment of the amount of the guest check, said card reader module being mounted to said terminal housing and having a card entry slot defined by at the proximal end of a card guide bottom member which slopes inwardly and downwardly away from said top face of said terminal housing, said card guide bottom member having a distal end extending through an aperture in said electronic circuit board carried within said terminal housing and communicating with an aperture in a bottom face of said terminal housing to channel any spilled liquids entering said card guide all the way through said interior of said terminal housing to exit through said aperture in said bottom face thereof,

a microcomputer system carried within said terminal housing on said electronic circuit board and being pre-programmed with operating system and application software for management of data entry, message display, card reading and transaction message formatting and storing functions associated with a preselected data entry sequence and data message format, and including a data communication means for communicating a transaction data message to an external transaction terminal system for completion of transaction processing steps.

7. Transaction terminal apparatus comprising, in combination:

a terminal housing;

a data entry keypad mounted to said terminal housing;

an alphanumeric display mounted to said terminal housing;

a drop-in magnetic stripe card reader module mounted within said terminal housing and including a card accepting slot defined in an outside wall region of said terminal housing;

a microcomputer system carried within said terminal housing on said electronic circuit board and being pre-programmed with operating system and application software for management of data entry, message display, and card reading functions,

said card reader module comprising;

a card guide bottom member and a card guide top member mounted together to define the entire bottom wall of a card guide and at least a major portion of a top wall thereof;

a magnetic read head for reading at least one data stripe on a magnetic stripe card,

and a head mounting member for carrying said magnetic read head and adapted for mounting to a bottom wall of said card guide in a registered position thereon;

said bottom wall of said card guide having a length greater than the length of a magnetic stripe card to be inserted therein and having a front facing slot defined therein for receiving the fingers of a hand inserting a magnetic stripe card and thereby enabling full insertion of said card,

said bottom member having an aperture therein adjacent said slot for receiving a front portion of a magnetic read head and enabling a data pick up element on the face thereof to contact a magnetic stripe on a card inserted in said card guide,

said head mounting member having an aperture therein for receiving said magnetic pick up head, a cantilevered head support and spring bias element being integrally formed on a back portion of said head mounting member and extending behind said aperture for supporting said magnetic head therein and biasing said head toward a top surface of said card guide when said head mounting member is mounted to said card guide and said front portion of said magnetic read head is received in said aperture of said card guide;

said bottom member and said head mounting member having cooperating position registration elements for accurately mounting said head mounting member relative to a side wall of said card guide so that said magnetic read head carried thereon will be aligned with a data stripe on a magnetic stripe card inserted in said card slot.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, adapted for reading two of three possible data tracks in defined track locations on a magnetic stripe card, and wherein

said read head is a dual track read head with pick-up elements spaced for pickup of data on two adjacent data tracks,

said cooperating position registration elements define two separate registered mounting positions for said head mounting member to position said magnetic read head for reading a selected pair of said adjacent data tracks, and

said head mounting member is fastened to said bottom member with a single fastener element on one end and being held in position by a hook element on said bottom member on the other end thereof.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein said cooperating position registration elements comprise a series of four tongue elements on said bottom member and three groove elements on said head mounting member to define two accurately registered mounting positions for said head mounting member.

10. Portable transaction terminal system adapted for use in an eating and drinking establishment, including a portable transaction terminal apparatus comprising:

a terminal housing having a generally rectangular shape and of size slightly larger in length and width to corresponding dimensions of a restaurant guest check,

a folio cover mounted to a left side portion of said terminal housing by a hinge arrangement and thereby adapted to swing between open and closed cover positions, said cover corresponding in length and width to said terminal housing so as to completely cover a top face of said terminal housing in said closed cover position and to lie flat against a surface in said open cover position,

a data entry keypad and an alphanumeric display carried on said top face of said terminal housing,

a card reader module mounted in said terminal housing for accepting and reading a transaction data card selected for use by a guest of the establishment for payment of the amount of the guest check,

a microcomputer system carried within said terminal housing and being pre-programmed with operating system and application software for management of data entry, message display, card reading and transaction message formatting and storing functions associated with a preselected data entry sequence and data message format, and including a data communication means for communicating a transaction data message to an external transaction terminal system for completion of transaction processing steps;

said microcomputer system being carried on one or more electronic circuit boards mounted within said terminal housing in a position spaced a short distance above an inside back surface of said terminal housing,

said card reader module including card reader electronics carried on one of said electronic circuit boards and a drop-in card reader mounted to said terminal housing and to said one of said electronic circuit boards;

said drop-in card reader having a card guide bottom member mounted to said one of said electronic circuit boards and cooperating with wall surface portions on said top face of said terminal housing to form a card entry slot at the proximal end of said bottom card guide member, a bottom wall of said card guide bottom member being formed to slope inwardly and downwardly away from said top face of said terminal housing to provide a convenient insertion angle for said transaction data card,

said card guide bottom member having a distal end extending through an aperture in said electronic circuit board on which it is mounted to communicate with and be received in an aperture in a bottom face of said terminal housing and thereby channelling any spilled liquids entering said card guide all the way through the interior of said terminal housing to exit through said aperture in said bottom face thereof and thereby prevent contamination of the electronic circuitry within said terminal housing.

11. System as claimed in claim 10, wherein

said data entry keypad is carried on a top face of said terminal housing and comprises a moisture impervious sealed keypad adhesively mounted on said top face and connected to one of said electronic circuit boards via a keysignal cable extending through an aperture in said top face underneath said sealed keypad to prevent any liquid spilled on said terminal housing when said cover is in a open cover position from entering said terminal housing through said data entry keypad,

said alphanumeric display module is mounted on a electronic circuit board carried within said terminal housing with a display region of said display module communicating through an aperture in said top face of said terminal housing, said aperture being sealed on said top face of said terminal housing by a moisture impervious transparent cover member adhesively secured to the top face of said terminal housing, to prevent any liquid spilled on said terminal housing when said cover is in a open cover position from entering said terminal housing through said alphanumeric display.

12. System as claimed in claim 10, wherein

said terminal housing has a recess formed therein at the mounting location of said card reader module adapted to receive the fingers of a person'"'"'s hand during insertion of said transaction data card,

said wall surface portions on said top face of said terminal housing forming a proximal portion of a card guide top surface and said card guide bottom member defining similar recesses for admitting fingers of a person'"'"'s hand during insertion of said transaction data card, and

said card reader module further comprises:

a card guide top member mounted on said card guide bottom member and forming the distal portion of a top wall of a card guide, a forward facing surface of said card guide top member having a notched region corresponding to the embossed data area on a transaction data card and thereby determining a single card insertion orientation.

13. System as claimed in claim 12, wherein said transaction data card is a magnetic stripe card and said card reader module further comprises:

a magnetic read head for reading at least one data stripe on said magnetic stripe card, and

a head mounting member for carrying said magnetic read head and adapted for mounting to a bottom wall of said card guide bottom member in a registered position thereon;

said card guide bottom member having an aperture therein adjacent said recess for receiving a front portion of a magnetic read head and enabling a data pick up element on the face thereof to contact a magnetic stripe on a card inserted in said card guide,

said head mounting member having an aperture therein for receiving said magnetic pick up head, a cantilevered head support and spring bias element being integrally formed on a back portion of said head mounting member and extending behind said aperture for supporting said magnetic head therein and biasing said head toward a top surface of said card guide when said head mounting member is mounted to said card guide bottom member and said front portion of said magnetic read head is received in said aperture therein,

said card guide bottom member and said head mounting member having cooperating position registration elements for accurately mounting said head mounting member relative to a side wall of said card guide so that said magnetic read head carried thereon will be aligned with a data stripe on a magnetic stripe card inserted in said card slot.