Abstract:
A self-service terminal ( 10 ) comprising a user interface ( 14 ) including a display ( 30 ) is described. The display has a display area ( 80 ) for presenting financial information to a user ( 12 ). The terminal ( 10 ), which may be an ATM, comprises: a sensor ( 16 ) for sensing people in the vicinity of the terminal ( 10 ), and means ( 74 ) for confining transaction information to a sub-portion ( 84 ) of the display area in response to the sensor ( 16 ) sensing people in the vicinity of the terminal ( 10 ). A method of improving privacy on a self-service terminal is also described.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a self-service terminal, such as an automated teller machine (ATM), including a display for guiding a user through a transaction.  
         [0002]     Self-service terminals are generally public-access devices that are designed to allow a user to conduct a transaction or to access information in an unassisted manner and/or in an unattended environment. SSTs typically include some form of tamper resistance, in both hardware and software. SSTs include: ATMs; non-cash kiosks that allow users to access information (for example, to view reward points on a reward card the user has inserted into the SST); and kiosks that accept payment for services (for example, Web surfing kiosks, photo printing kiosks, kiosks that allow users to buy goods, and such like). The term SST has a relatively broad meaning and includes vending machines.  
         [0003]     An ATM is one type of SST, and typically includes a display that presents a series of screens to a user to help the user execute a transaction at the ATM. With the decreasing cost of displays, and the increased amount of information to be presented to users, there has been a recent trend towards incorporating bigger displays in ATMs. Previously, 10 inch displays were conventionally used in ATMs; whereas, it is becoming common to include 15 inch displays on ATMs.  
         [0004]     One problem associated with using bigger displays is that a user may perceive that the transaction is not private because passers-by or people queuing to use the ATM may be able to see the display during a transaction.  
         [0005]     To address this problem, ATMs conventionally use a privacy filter comprising a series of thin, spaced, vertical slats encapsulated within a transparent glass frame and mounted in front of the display. This privacy filter restricts the viewing angle to a direction generally normal to the surface of the filter. As a result, someone standing directly in front of the ATM can view the ATM display, but someone standing to one side of the ATM cannot view the display. However, the privacy filter does not prevent someone standing behind an ATM user from looking over the ATM user&#39;s shoulder to see the display.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     It is among the objects of an embodiment of the present invention to obviate or mitigate one or more of the above disadvantages or other disadvantages of the prior art.  
         [0007]     The invention relates generally to a display that is able to reduce the viewing area when a transaction is being executed to make it more difficult for a third party to view a transaction.  
         [0008]     According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a self-service terminal comprising a user interface including a display having a display area for presenting financial information to a user, a sensor for sensing people in the vicinity of the terminal, and means for confining transaction information to a sub-portion of the display area in response to the sensor sensing people in the vicinity of the terminal.  
         [0009]     Preferably, the means for confining transaction information to a sub-portion of the display area confines the transaction information to less than 70% of the display area.  
         [0010]     Preferably, the means for confining transaction information to a sub-portion of the display area reduces text font size less than spacing between text so that the text scales down less than the spacing. This ensures that the text is not too small to read.  
         [0011]     In some embodiments it may be possible to retain the font size of information presented so that the information is no more difficult to read than prior to confining the transaction information to a sub-portion of the display area.  
         [0012]     In a preferred embodiment, the terminal is an ATM and the transaction information is presented in the form of a series of screens.  
         [0013]     The term “screen” is used herein to denote the graphics, text, controls (such as menu options), and such like, that are presented on an SST display; the term “screen” as used herein does not refer to the hardware (that is, the display) that presents the graphics, text, controls, and such like. Typically, when a transaction is being entered at an SST, a series of screens are presented in succession on the SST display, the next screen displayed being dependent on a user entry or activity relating to the current screen. For example, a first screen may request a user to insert a card; once a card has been inserted a second screen may invite the user to enter his/her PIN; once the final digit of the PIN has been entered, a third screen may invite the user to select a transaction; and so on.  
         [0014]     In a preferred embodiment, the screens are provided as mark-up language files, such as XML or HTML files.  
         [0015]     The means for confining transaction information to a sub-portion of the display area may ensure that an area around the sub-portion is blank, de-focused, or used for displaying advertising information. Alternatively, the means for confining transaction information may provide lead lines from selectable options presented on a reduced size screen to function display keys provided on opposing edges of the display. This ensures that the selectable options on a reduced size screen align with the corresponding FDKs at the edges of the display.  
         [0016]     The means for confining transaction information is preferably implemented by a screen reducing software application. In one embodiment, a mark-up language file is used for each screen, and the application applies a style sheet to these files so that the font size of text on a screen remains the same even after the screen has been shrunk to a sub-portion of the display area.  
         [0017]     In one embodiment, the means for confining transaction information is implemented by an application that scales a screen image to fit the desired sub-portion of the display area. This embodiment is simple to implement, but is less preferred because it reduces the size of text presented on the display by the same amount as the spacing between text.  
         [0018]     According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of improving privacy on a self-service terminal, the method comprising: presenting information to a user on a display; sensing people in the vicinity of the terminal; and confining transaction information to a sub-portion of the display area in response to the sensor sensing a person other than the user in the vicinity of the terminal.  
         [0019]     The step of confining transaction information to a sub-portion of the display area may occur automatically in response to the sensor sensing a person other than the user, or the step may only be performed after the user indicates that he/she would like the transaction to be confined to a sub-portion of the screen. This may be advantageous in areas having a high pedestrian traffic but which are, nevertheless, relatively private. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0020]     These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from the following specific description, given by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0021]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a self-service terminal according to one embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a part (the controller) of the terminal of  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0023]      FIGS. 3A  to  3 F illustrate a sequence of screens displayed on the terminal of  FIG. 1  when the terminal is operating in a first mode;  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  illustrates a screen presented to a user when another person is detected in the vicinity of the terminal of  FIG. 1 ; and  
         [0025]      FIGS. 5A  to  5 F illustrate a sequence of screens displayed on the terminal of  FIG. 1  when the terminal is operating in a second mode. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0026]     Reference is now made to  FIG. 1 , which illustrates an SST  10  in the form of an ATM being operated by a user  12 .  
         [0027]     The ATM  10  includes a user interface  14  for outputting information to a user and for allowing a user to input information.  
         [0028]     The user interface  14  comprises a molded fascia incorporating: a sensor  16  in the form of a passive infra-red (PIR) sensor, a display module  30  surrounded by function display keys  32 , an encrypting keypad module  34 , and a plurality of slots aligned with modules located behind the fascia. The slots include a card entry/exit slot  36   a  that aligns with a magnetic card reader/writer (MCRW) module  36 , a printer slot  38   a  that aligns with a printer module  38 , and a cash dispense slot  40   a  that aligns with a cash dispense module  40 .  
         [0029]     The ATM  10  also includes an internal journal printer module  50  for creating a record of all transactions executed by the ATM  10 , a network connection module  52  for communicating with a remote transaction host (not shown) for authorizing transactions, and an ATM controller module  54  for controlling the operation of the various modules ( 30  to  52 ). All of the modules ( 30  to  54 ) within the ATM  10  are interconnected by an internal bus  56  for securely conveying data.  
         [0030]     The ATM controller module  54  (which is a PC core) is shown in more detail in  FIG. 2 . The controller  54  comprises a BIOS  60  stored in non-volatile memory, a microprocessor  62 , associated main memory  64 , and storage space  66  in the form of a magnetic disk drive.  
         [0031]     In use, the ATM  10  loads the main memory  64  with: an operating system kernel  70 , control means  72  (in the form of an ATM application program), and means  74  for confining transaction information to a sub-portion of the screen in the form of a screen controller program.  
         [0032]     The ATM application program  72  is used to control the operation of the ATM  10 . In particular, the ATM application program  72 : provides the sequence of screens used in each transaction (referred to as the transaction flow); monitors the condition of each module within the ATM (state of health monitoring); and interfaces with the screen controller program  74 . The screens are provided in XML format in this embodiment and are conveyed from the ATM application program  72  to the operating system  70  via the screen controller  74 .  
         [0033]     An example of a typical transaction at the ATM  10  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 3A  to  3 F. During this transaction, the ATM  10  does not detect any other person in the vicinity of the ATM  10 .  
         [0034]     Initially, the user  12  inserts his/her card through slot  36   a . The ATM  10  detects this card, and the ATM application  72  presents a PIN entry screen  80   a  ( FIG. 3A ) to the user  12 . When the user  12  enters the last digit of his/her four digit PIN, then the ATM application  72  presents a transaction options screen  80   b  ( FIG. 3B ) listing the available transaction options to the user  12 .  
         [0035]     The user  12  selects a transaction option from the list using an FDK  32  aligned with the desired option.  
         [0036]     The next screen presented in the transaction flow depends on the option selected by the user  12 . In this example, the user  12  has selected the cash withdrawal option, so a cash amount screen  80   c  ( FIG. 3C ) is presented to the user  12  by the ATM application  72 .  
         [0037]     After selecting or entering an amount of cash to be dispensed, the user  12  is presented with an authorization screen  80   d  ( FIG. 3D ) while the ATM control module  54  attempts to obtain authorization for the transaction from a remote transaction host (not shown).  
         [0038]     If authorization is successful then the ATM application  72  presents the user  12  with a card remove screen  80   e  ( FIG. 3E ) while the ATM  10  partially ejects the user&#39;s card through slot  36   a  for removal by the user  12 .  
         [0039]     After the card has been removed by the user  12 , the ATM application  72  presents the user  12  with a cash removal screen  80   f  ( FIG. 3F ).  
         [0040]     When the user  12  has removed the dispensed cash, then the transaction is complete and the ATM application  72  reverts to an attract sequence.  
         [0041]     Another example of a typical transaction at the ATM  10  will now be described with reference to  FIG. 4  and  FIGS. 5A  to  5 F. During this transaction, which is identical to the transaction of the previous example, the ATM  10  detects another person in the vicinity of the ATM  10 .  
         [0042]     Initially, the user  12  inserts his/her card through slot  36   a . The ATM  10  detects this card, and the ATM  10  also detects, via sensor  16 , another person standing in the vicinity of the ATM  10 . This causes the ATM application  72  to present a privacy request screen  82  ( FIG. 4 ) to the user  12 . The privacy request screen  82  informs the user of the option of reducing the size of the screen for improved security and asks the user  12  to accept or reject this option. In this example the privacy request screen  82  is shown as full size, but in other examples, the privacy request screen  82  may be shown at a reduced size corresponding to the size that a screen would be presented if the user selects the privacy option.  
         [0043]     If the user  12  rejects the improved security option then the transaction proceeds in the same way as for the previous example ( FIGS. 3A  to  3 F).  
         [0044]     If the user  12  accepts the improved security option then this causes the screen controller program  74  to operate on all transaction related screens, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5A  to  5 F. In the previous example ( FIGS. 3A  to  3 F), the screen controller  74  allowed screens supplied by the ATM application  72  to be presented full-size without any modification. However, when the screen controller  74  is activated, the screen controller  74  may modify the screens provided by the ATM application  72 . This ensures that screens are presented that cover only a sub-portion of the display  30 .  
         [0045]     The screen controller  74  modifies the size of a screen by applying an XSL stylesheet to the XML screens, which reduces the spacing between words to allow the text to fit into a smaller screen area.  
         [0046]     The reduced size PIN entry screen  84   a  is generally centrally located on display  30  and includes a surround area  86  that is not used for information related to the transaction being executed.  
         [0047]     The transaction proceeds in the same manner as for the example described with reference to  FIGS. 3A  to  3 F. Once the transaction has been completed, the screen controller  74  is de-activated and the attract sequence is presented as a full size screen or screens.  
         [0048]     It will now be appreciated that the above embodiment has the advantage that an ATM can provide increased privacy by reducing the viewable size of a display during a transaction. By using stylesheets it is possible to use the same screen data for either a full size screen or a reduced size screen.  
         [0049]     Various modifications may be made to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention. For example, in other embodiments, the self-service terminal may be a non-cash kiosk, or a point of sale terminal.  
         [0050]     In some embodiments, the ATM application  72  may provide XML format screen data to the screen controller  74 , and the screen controller  74  applies either a first XSL stylesheet to configure the XML format screen data for a full size screen or a second XSL stylesheet to configure the XML format data for a reduced size screen to reduce the viewable area of a display.  
         [0051]     In other embodiments, the screen controller may automatically reduce the screen size if the sensor  16  detects another person, thus privacy request screen  82  would not be required.  
         [0052]     In other embodiments, for example where a touch sensitive screen is used, the user  12  may be able to move the reduced size screen to any desired area of the display  30 .  
         [0053]     In other embodiments, the area  86  around the reduced size screen may display advertisements or other non-confidential information.  
         [0054]     In other embodiments, a user may have a pre-selected screen size. For example, a user may have a screen size referenced by a customer relationship management system or stored the user&#39;s identification token, such as his/her card.  
         [0055]     In other embodiments, the means for confining transaction information to a sub-portion of the display area may de-focus areas of the display outside the reduced size screen.  
         [0056]     This may be achieved in software using a mathematical filter, or in hardware using a voltage-controlled variable refractive index coating.