Automatic service equipment

• US 6,474,547 B1
• Filed: 09/18/2000
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Original Assignee: OKI Electric Industry Company Limited
• Inventors: Suzuki, Kunikazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Frech, Karl D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Caputo, Lisa M.
• Application Number:
  US09/664,004
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 235/379, 235/380, 705/35, 705/33, 705/43, 382/114, 902/22, 434/113, 341/22
• US Class Current: 235/379
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1085 involving automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/201 Accessories of ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 21/003 using tactile presentation of the information, e.g. Braille displays

Abstract

Automatic service equipment is provided which is capable of providing easy and simple handleability to users with vision impairments in a cost-effective manner. A user with vision impairments can reach a handset by touching a tactile displaying (or information-presentation) section and by tracing a guide extending therefrom. The user can select a targeted operational device by touching the tactile displaying section in accordance with a voice guidance message provided by the handset and can reach a targeted operational device by tracing the guide.

Claims

1. Automatic service equipment for providing a specified service to a user having a tactile sense, comprising:

two or more operating sections for performing operations to render said service;

tactile information-presentation sections, each of which is mounted on a portion of the automatic service equipment where the user can reach it at once, leaving a space from a corresponding one of said operating sections, to present information about operations at said corresponding operating section via the user'"'"'s tactile sense; and

guiding sections extending from said tactile information-presentation sections to said corresponding operating sections to guide the user'"'"'s hand to each of said operating sections by the user'"'"'s tactile sense,

wherein the user can read information about the existence of each operating section at once by touching the corresponding tactile information-presentation section, and reach a desired operating section by tracing the guiding section with the user'"'"'s fingertip.

2. The automatic service equipment according to claim 1, wherein said operating sections include a voice guiding section to give guidance on operational procedures for said automatic service equipment by at least one voice message,

wherein, in addition to reading information about the existence of the voice guiding section at once by touching the corresponding tactile information-presentation section and reaching the voice operating section by tracing the guiding section with the user'"'"'s fingertip, the user hears a voice message to select a specified service and perform a specified operation to render said service.

3. The automatic service equipment according to claim 2, wherein said tactile information-presentation section corresponding to said voice guiding section is provided on the left side of a guidance plate and the other tactile information-presentation sections are provided on the right side of the guidance plate in front of the user.

4. The automatic service equipment according to claim 1, wherein said guiding sections comprise tactile paths extending from said guidance plate to each of said operating sections.

5. The automatic service equipment according to claim 1, further comprising a front panel, wherein each of said guiding sections comprises a modified portion of said front panel extending from one of said tactile information-presentations sections to said corresponding operating section.

6. The automatic service equipment according to claim 5, wherein each of said modified portions provides a continuous path.

7. The automatic service equipment according to claim 5, wherein each of said modified portions provides an intermittent path.

8. The automatic service equipment according to claim 5, wherein each of said modified portions has a convex configuration.

9. The automatic service equipment according to claim 5, wherein each of said modified portions has a concave configuration.

10. The automatic service equipment according to claim 2, wherein said operating sections include a cash handling port having a shutter, a bankbook handling port to insert and eject a bankbook, a card handling port to insert and eject a card for transactions and an operation timing key, and wherein opening of said shutter of said cash handling port and ejection of the bankbook from said bankbook handling port and of said card from said card handling port are performed by operations of said operation timing key depending on the nature of the transaction.

11. The automatic service equipment according to claim 10, wherein said voice guiding section comprises a handset having two or more operational buttons and a receiver and said operation timing key is attached as one of said operational buttons.

12. Automatic service equipment for providing banking services to a user who has a tactile sense and who possesses a transaction card, comprising:

first, second, and third ports, one of the ports being a card-handling port to receive the transaction card and another of the ports being a cash-handling port to dispense cash;

first, second, and third Braille messages that are mounted on a portion of the automatic service equipment where the user can reach them at once, and that are spaced apart from the first, second, and third ports;

a first tactile path extending from the first Braille message, guiding the user'"'"'s hand to the first port by the user'"'"'s tactile sense;

a second tactile path extending from the second Braille message, guiding the user'"'"'s hand to the second port by the user'"'"'s tactile sense; and

a third tactile path extending from the third Braille message, guiding the user'"'"'s hand to the third port by the user'"'"'s tactile sense,

wherein the user can read information about the existence of each port at once by touching the corresponding Braille message, and reach any of the ports by tracing the respective path with the user'"'"'s fingertip.

13. The automatic service equipment according to claim 12, further comprising a handset to deliver audible instructions to the user, a fourth Braille message associated with the handset, the fourth Braille message being mounted on said portion of the automatic service equipment where the user can reach it at once, and a fourth tactile path extending from the fourth Braille message, guiding the user'"'"'s hand to the handset by the user'"'"'s tactile sense,

wherein the user can:

read information about the existence of the handset at once by touching the fourth Braille message, and reach the handset by tracing the fourth tactile path with the user'"'"'s fingertip,

hear a voice message to select a specified banking service and perform a specified operation to obtain said banking service, and

read information about the existence of the first, second, and third ports by touching the corresponding Braille message, and reach the first, second, or third port by tracing the respective path with the user'"'"'s fingertip.

14. The automatic service equipment of claim 12, wherein the first, second, and third Braille messages are disposed in the localized area that is substantially smaller in size than an area encompassing the first, second, and third ports.

15. The automatic service equipment according to claim 13, wherein said first, second, and third Braille messages are provided on the right side of a guidance plate and said fourth Braille message is provided on the left side of the guidance plate in front of the user.