Abstract:
A caddy receivably retains a two-way messaging pager. The caddy has a connector for power and data transfer between the pager and caddy. The caddy can also be equipped with a magnetic strip card reader. This enables remote transactions using a magnetic strip card such as a credit card or debit card. The caddy has serial bus ports for attaching the caddy to peripheral devices such as printers and taxi fare meters.

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 10/147,461, filed May 17, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,689 and claims benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/291,317, filed on May 17, 2001. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Wireless communication allows people to create many tasks without having to be near a computer or other device which cannot be easily transported. The ability to send computer generated voice messages, text messages, telefax messages, and other information through a wireless device greatly enhances the flexibility a person has in keeping in communication. The prior art does not disclose a device that can be connected with an existing pager to enable the reading of a card having a magnetic strip. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide device attaching to a pager and having a data reader. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide, wireless means for processing transactions. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a device that may have both a magnetic reader and an optical code reader. 
     It is the object of the invention to provide a device that is inexpensive and easy to use. 
     These and other objects of the invention will become apparent when after reading the disclosure of the invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A caddy receivably retains a two-way messaging pager. The caddy has a connector for power and data transfer between the pager and caddy. The caddy is equipped with a data reader. The data reader may be a magnetic strip reader or an optical code reader (OCR). This enables remote transactions using the a credit card or debit card. The caddy has serial bus ports for attaching the caddy to peripheral devices such as printers and taxi fare meters. An optical code reader may be attached to the caddy&#39;s serial bus port via a cable. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the combined pager and magnetic card reader; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the combined pager and magnetic card reader; 
     FIG. 3 is a front view of the combined pager and magnetic card reader; 
     FIG. 4 is a side view of the combined pager and magnetic card reader; 
     FIG. 5 is a top view of the combined pager and magnetic card reader; 
     FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the combined pager and magnetic card reader; 
     FIG. 7 is a front view of the pager combined with an optical code reader; and 
     FIG. 8 is a bottom view of the caddy for the pager having an optical code reader. 
     FIG. 9 is a front view of the combined pager and caddy having a magnetic strip reader with an optical code reader attached via a cable. 
     FIG. 10 is a front view of the combined pager and caddy with an optical code reader attached via a cable. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The combined pager and magnetic card reader  10  is seen in FIG.  1 . The device has a two way messenger pager  20  combined with a magnetic card reader  40  into one unit. The card reader slot is in the front of the device and allows the user to swipe the card either horizontally or vertically. 
     FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the device. The back panel  55  supports a clip  57 . The clip  57  can be of any conventional design for attaching the device to a user&#39;s belt, for instance. The side wall  52  of the magnetic card reader connects the back wall  55  to the front wall upper portion  43 . The top edge  53  of the side wall  52  angles downwardly due to the greater height of the rear wall  55  relative to the front wall  43 . 
     Turning now to FIG. 3, the front view of the device is seen. As is shown in the figure, the pager has a screen  24  for receiving and displaying messages and a keypad  22  for the user to input commands and text. The front of the magnetic card reader  40  has an upper portion  43  and a lower portion  44 . Between the two portions is the magnetic card slot  41 . A card having a magnetic strip is passed through the slot  41  in order to be read. The front has a top edge  45  forming a cut-out portion for allowing continued access to the keyboard  22  when the pager is connected to the magnetic card reader. A finger grip portion  47  is formed in the front face for facilitating the insertion and removal of the pager  20 . 
     FIG. 4 is the side view of the combined pager and magnetic card reader. The side wall  52  with the downwardly angled top edge  53  is clearly seen, as is its position relative to the pager  20 . If desired, a serial port  58  is provided for attaching printers, other computer hard drives, and the like. 
     FIG. 5 shows the top view of the device. As can be seen, when the two units of the pager  20  and magnetic card reader  40  are connected, they appear to be as one piece. 
     An exploded view of the device is shown in FIG.  6 . Pager  20  is removably received within the card reading module  40 . The card reading slot  41  houses the magnetic strip reader  62 . The bottom front panel  44  extends below the card reading slot  41  and the upper front panel  43  extends above the card reading slot  41 . The front panel  43  is formed as one piece with the side panels  52 . Rear panel  55  also has side panels formed as one piece. When the front panel  43  and rear panel  55  are connected to one another, the side panels complete channels for receiving and retaining the pager  20 . 
     The pager  20  has a serial bus port in its bottom surface. The serial bus port engages a connector  65  so that the magnetic strip reader  62  receives power from the battery of the pager  20 . The first connector  65  also provides data transfer between the pager  20  and the caddy. Alternatively, the connector may provide only data transfer and the magnetic strip reader provided with its own power source. A second power source prolongs the battery life of the pager. The caddy can also be supplied with power from an external source, such as a household outlet or car battery, through an adapter. A second connector  67  communicates between the magnetic strip reader and first connector  65  via a cable(not shown). The magnetic card reading module  40  can also have one or more serial bus port(s)  58  to connect the device to a peripheral device such as a printer, bar code reader or personal computer. The serial bus ports are connected to the first connector by a second cable  59 . 
     There are many applications for the invention. It allows for remote credit card transactions. One specific application is the connection of the device to a taxi meter through the serial bus port  58 . The amount of the fare and transaction approval can be communicated between the pager and applicable financial institution. 
     FIG. 7 shows a similar device to that shown in FIGS. 1-6 but having a caddy combinable to a pager having an optical character reader (OCR)  75 , commonly known as a bar code reader, in the bottom of the caddy. The bar code reader  75  can scan any bar code placed under the pager caddy when the bar code reader is activated. The bar code reader would be connected to the first connector  65  by a cable. FIG. 8 shows the bottom of the device with the bar code reader  75  clearly seen. With the OCR, it is preferred that a second power source be utilized for the OCR. 
     FIG. 9 shows the embodiment of the device having a magnetic strip reader. An optical code reader  80  is attached by a cable to the serial bus port  58  by cable  82 . This allows the user to conduct transactions with both the magnetic strip reader and the optical code reader with one device. If desired, the user could attach a second magnetic strip reader to the serial bus port. 
     FIG. 10 depicts a caddy for a pager wherein no data reader is provided in the housing. The housing has a serial bus port similar to the other embodiments. Any type of date reader, such as a magnetic strip reader or an optical code reader  80  can be connected through the serial bus port to provide data transfer to the pager. The advantage of such a caddy is the ability to use any type of data reader that the user requires at the moment. The omission of a data reader built into the housing is a lower cost. Also, with a peripheral data reader, the data reader can be easily replaced when it malfunctions. 
     While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, variations and modifications would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. Consequently, the appended claims should not be limited to their literal terms, but should be broadly construed in accordance with the scope of the invention, as described above.