Card reader assembly
First Claim
1. A card reader assembly configured to be attached to a printer assembly and retrofit into a vending machine, said vending machine having a vending machine interface, said card reader assembly comprising:
- a faceplate having a user accessible front surface portion of approximately 3.375 inches by 4.25 inches, and a display slot and a print slot, said faceplate configured to facilitate access to a card reader;
a support bracket fastened to said faceplate, said support bracket interconnects and aligns for assembly with a printer bracket of the printer assembly, said printer bracket being detachable from the support bracket, thereby detaching said printer assembly from said card reader assembly, the printer assembly being adapted to receive a roll of paper and including a printing mechanism adapted to print receipts on the paper, the printer assembly being remote from the faceplate;
a paper guide configured to guide the paper from the printing mechanism through the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide extending toward the printing mechanism and in contact with the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide connected to the faceplate and not connected to the printer assembly so as to be physically separate and distinct from said printer assembly such that the paper guide remains in contact with the print slot of the faceplate when said printer bracket is detached from said support bracket;
a card reader interface circuit board, said card reader interface circuit board being secured in proximity to said faceplate, said card reader interface circuit board further comprising a display configured to be viewable through said display slot; and
said card reader interface circuit board configured to interconnect to and data communicate with a payment module configured to interconnect to and data communicate with said vending machine interface, such that by way of said payment module, said card reader assembly is configured to initiate or terminate cashless vending cycles effectuated by said vending machine interface.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to a card reader assembly. The card reader assembly can be mounted in a variety of vending equipment, arcade game equipment, and other suitable equipment. Furthermore, the card reader assembly can be mounted in a standard size vending machine bill validator opening.
The card reader assembly can provide for the optional mounting of a card reader, a card reader interface circuit board, a payment module board, a communication board, and or a printer. The printer mechanism is mounted on a printer bracket. The printer bracket can be slid over the edges of and fastened to the support bracket. A paper exit slot can be provided in the card reader assembly faceplate to allow the printer paper to exit through the faceplate such that a user can receive the printer paper.
In addition, the printer mechanism, card reader, and or a pushbutton can be electrically connected to the card reader interface board. The card reader interface board can be electrically connected to a computing platform 802, vending interface unit (system 500), or other suitable data processing device. In addition, a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED) can be incorporated into the card reader assembly. The LED display can be viewable by a user of the card reader assembly.
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Citations
47 Claims
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1. A card reader assembly configured to be attached to a printer assembly and retrofit into a vending machine, said vending machine having a vending machine interface, said card reader assembly comprising:
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a faceplate having a user accessible front surface portion of approximately 3.375 inches by 4.25 inches, and a display slot and a print slot, said faceplate configured to facilitate access to a card reader; a support bracket fastened to said faceplate, said support bracket interconnects and aligns for assembly with a printer bracket of the printer assembly, said printer bracket being detachable from the support bracket, thereby detaching said printer assembly from said card reader assembly, the printer assembly being adapted to receive a roll of paper and including a printing mechanism adapted to print receipts on the paper, the printer assembly being remote from the faceplate; a paper guide configured to guide the paper from the printing mechanism through the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide extending toward the printing mechanism and in contact with the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide connected to the faceplate and not connected to the printer assembly so as to be physically separate and distinct from said printer assembly such that the paper guide remains in contact with the print slot of the faceplate when said printer bracket is detached from said support bracket; a card reader interface circuit board, said card reader interface circuit board being secured in proximity to said faceplate, said card reader interface circuit board further comprising a display configured to be viewable through said display slot; and said card reader interface circuit board configured to interconnect to and data communicate with a payment module configured to interconnect to and data communicate with said vending machine interface, such that by way of said payment module, said card reader assembly is configured to initiate or terminate cashless vending cycles effectuated by said vending machine interface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 39, 40, 44, 47)
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16. A card reader assembly configured to be attached to a printer assembly and retrofit into a vending machine, said vending machine having a vending machine interface, said card reader assembly comprising:
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a faceplate having a user accessible front surface portion, a display slot, and a print slot; a support bracket fastened to said faceplate, said support bracket interconnects and aligns for assembly with a printer bracket of the printer assembly, said printer bracket being detachable from the support bracket, thereby detaching said printer assembly from said card reader assembly, the printer assembly adapted to receives a roll of paper and including a printing mechanism adapted to print receipts on the paper, the printer assembly being remote from the faceplate; a paper guide configured to guide the paper from the printer mechanism through the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide extending toward the printer mechanism and in contact with the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide connected to the faceplate and separate not connected to the printer assembly so as to be physically separate and distinct from said printer assembly such that the paper guide remains in contact with the print slot of the faceplate when said printer bracket is detached from said support bracket; and a card reader interface circuit board, said card reader interface circuit board being secured in proximity to said faceplate, said card reader interface circuit board further comprising; a microcontroller; and a plurality of peripheral devices operationally related to said microcontroller, at least one of said plurality of peripheral devices being a card reader interface, said card reader interface configured to interconnect to and data communicate with a card reader, said plurality of peripheral devices further including at least one of the following; a display being viewable through said display slot;
ora printer interface configured to interconnect to and data communicate with the printing mechanism; said card reader interface circuit board further comprising; an interactive interface configured to operationally relate said microcontroller to a payment module, said payment module configured to interconnect to and data communicate with said vending machine interface, such that by way of said payment module, said card reader assembly is configured to initiate or terminate cashless vending cycles effectuated by said vending machine interface. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 41, 45, 46)
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29. A card reader assembly configured to be attached to a printer assembly and retrofit into a vending machine, said vending machine having a vending machine interface, said card reader assembly comprising:
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a faceplate having a user accessible front surface portion that facilitates access to a card reader and a print slot; a support bracket fastened to said faceplate, said support bracket interconnects and aligns for assembly with a printer bracket of the printer assembly, said printer bracket being detachable from the support bracket, thereby detaching said printer assembly from said card reader assembly, the printer assembly adapted to receiver a roll of paper and including a printer adapted to print receipts on the paper, the printer being remote from the faceplate; a paper guide configured to guide the paper from the printer through the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide extending toward the printer and in contact with the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide connected to the faceplate and not connected to the printer assembly so as to be physically separate and distinct from said printer assembly such that the paper guide remains in contact with the print slot of the faceplate when said printer bracket is detached from said support bracket; and a card reader interface circuit board secured in proximity to said faceplate, said card reader interface circuit board further comprising; a microcontroller; and a plurality of peripheral devices operationally related to said microcontroller, at least one of said plurality of peripheral devices being a card reader interface configured to interconnect to and data communicate with said card reader, said plurality of peripheral devices further including at least one of the following; a display interface configured to interconnect to and data communicate with a display;
ora printer interface configured to interconnect to and data communicate with the printer; said card reader interface circuit board further comprising; an interactive interface configured to operationally relate said microcontroller to and data communicate with a computing platform configured to interconnect to and data communicate with said vending machine interface, such that by way of said computing platform said card reader assembly is configured to initiate or terminate cashless vending cycles effectuated by said vending machine interface. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 42)
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33. A card reader assembly configured to be attached to a printer assembly and retrofit into a vending machine, said vending machine having a vending machine interface, said card reader assembly comprising:
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a faceplate having a user accessible front surface portion and a print slot; a support bracket fastened to said faceplate, said support bracket interconnects and aligns for assembly with a printer bracket of the printer assembly, said printer bracket being detachable from the support bracket, thereby detaching said printer assembly from said card reader assembly, the printer assembly adapted to receiver a roll of paper and including a printing mechanism adapted to print receipts on the paper, the printer assembly being remote from the faceplate; a paper guide configured to guide the paper from the printing mechanism through the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide extending toward the printing mechanism and in contact with the print slot in the faceplate, the paper guide connected to the faceplate and not connected to the printer assembly so as to be physically separate and distinct from said printer assembly such that the paper guide remains in contact with the print slot of the faceplate when said printer bracket is detached from said support bracket; and a card reader interface circuit board being secured proximate to said faceplate, said card reader interface circuit board further comprising; a microcontroller operationally related to a display and a card reader; and an interface configured to operationally relate said microcontroller to and data communicate with a computing platform interconnecting to and data communicating with said multi-drop-bus (MDB) interface, such that by way of said computing platform said card reader assembly is configured to initiate or terminate cashless vending cycles effectuated by said multi-drop-bus (MDB) interface. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 43)
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Specification