Abstract:
A method of manufacture of a point of sale terminal for placement in a secure location comprising the following steps: (a) providing a payment terminal having: information output means; means for user input; a processor; and communication means for programming said processor; (b) providing a bill reader; programming said processor to instruct said payment terminal to accept information from said bill reader via said communication means; and connecting said bill reader to said payment terminal via said communication means.

Description:
NOTICE REGARDING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL  
         [0001]    A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the public Patent Office file or records but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.  
         TECHNICAL FIELD  
         [0002]    This invention relates to Point of Sale (“POS”) terminals, and more particularly to portable POS terminals, and the use and manufacture thereof, with the ability to accept cash from, and be operable by purchasers.  
         BACKGROUND  
         [0003]    Tabletop terminals for use by clerks when receiving payment for goods or services are known. The terminals can be used for receiving payment via cards, if the terminal is equipped with a card reader. A card, for the purposes of this document is defined as a card that can be used to store or otherwise provide information about monetary value. Examples of cards include debit cards, credit cards or smart cards. The terminal may also be used for providing the good or services, for example by printing a redeemable coupon or receipt, or providing a code or PIN.  
           [0004]    In use, these terminals are controlled by the vendor and are usually operated by a clerk, sometimes with input from the purchaser (for example to enter a PIN for a debit card). The purchaser will select a good or service, such as prepaid cellular phone time, the clerk will enter the appropriate information into the terminal and accept payment from the purchaser. If the purchaser is paying via a card, the clerk will take the card, slide the card through the card reader, enter any further information necessary (or allow the purchaser to enter such information) and once the purchase is approved (for example, the credit card is verified), return the card to the purchaser. If the purchaser is paying via cash, the cash must be given to the clerk who will provide change, and enter any information necessary to the terminal to complete the transaction.  
           [0005]    Such terminals have a printer to allow the purchaser and/or vendor to record the transaction, and in the case of a purchase of certain goods or services, such prepaid phone time, provide the good or service (for example, a PIN) to the purchaser. Further the terminals can be used to replenish accounts, for example to add value to a prepaid phone account, or add value to a credit card or smart card.  
           [0006]    These terminals operated by a clerk must be small enough to fit in a relatively compact area as the clerk is usually in a small space with other tools and/or merchandise for sale (for example, a cash register). An example of such a terminal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,944 to Arakaki for a Transaction Terminal for Electronic Purse Transactions and the like. These terminals are used to accept payment by one of two ways: (1) by receiving monetary value (or related information to obtain monetary value) by the use of a card; or (2) by manual input, i.e. a person, usually a clerk, has to enter information about the payment received to the terminal using the keypad or other input means associated with the terminal.  
           [0007]    These terminals are adapted for receiving monetary value information. This would include account information for making a transfer in the case of a debit card, account information in the case of a credit card and more detailed transaction information in the case of a smart card. When payment is received via cash, the monetary value information is provided by manual input, for example a clerk entering the amount received on a keypad.  
           [0008]    Terminals that accept bills (i.e. “bill terminals”) are also known, and such bill terminals may or may not accept card payment. Bill terminals contain a bill reader for collecting, storing and determining the value of the bill being entered. As such terminals typically have large numbers of bills stored within them, they are a prime target for thieves. For this reason, bill terminals are usually made to be very secure, for example by affixing the terminal to a wall, or by inserting the terminal in a large, heavy frame. The advantage of such terminals is that they do not require the presence of a clerk to operate them, as they can be operated by a purchaser alone.  
           [0009]    Also known are terminals with card readers that are combined with traditional cash handling means, for example a cash register. Such terminals require the presence of a clerk to accept money or operate the card reader.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    A method of manufacture of a point of sale terminal for placement in a secure location is provided comprising the following steps: (a) providing a payment terminal having: information output means; means for user input; a processor; and communication means for programming said processor; (b) providing a bill reader; programming said processor to instruct said payment terminal to accept information from said bill reader via said communication means; and connecting said bill reader to said payment terminal via said communication means.  
           [0011]    A further method of manufacture of a point of sale terminal for placement in a secure location is provided comprising the following steps: (a) providing a payment terminal adapted for receiving monetary value information via cards or via manual input; providing a bill reader; programming said payment terminal to receive payment value information from said bill reader; and connecting said bill reader to said payment terminal.  
           [0012]    A method for a purchaser to make a purchase is provided comprising the steps of: providing a portable, standalone point of sale terminal in a secure location having: a bill reader; information output means; a processor; and means for user input; said purchaser selecting a purchase using said input means; said purchaser paying for said purchase by placing cash within said bill reader.  
           [0013]    A stand alone point of sale terminal for placement in a secure location and for use by a purchaser is provided comprising: information output means; means for user input; a processor; a bill reader; and means for storing bills; wherein said terminal is portable. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES  
       [0014]    Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a prior art terminal with a card reader;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of thereof;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a front view of a bill terminal;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bill reader for use in the invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is a view of a terminal according to the inventions, showing the connections therein;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a terminal according to the invention;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 7 is a perspective view thereof, wherein the cover plate has been removed;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the software to operate the terminal; and  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the use of the terminal with bills. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0024]    As best seen in FIG. 1, tabletop terminals for reading cards are known in the art. An example of such a terminal is the desktop terminal sold under the trade-mark VERIFONE OMNI 3350. The terminal  10  includes a compact frame  13 ; means for user input, such as keypad  21  or switches, for entering information about the purchase; a display  31 ; and a printer  23  for printing a receipt or other information. Optionally, a card reader  24  for reading cards, such as debit, credit and/or smart cards, is included. A further option is a speaker (not shown) for making an audible signal or beeper to indicate to the user when certain steps in the transaction are completed.  
         [0025]    As seen in FIG. 2, inside the terminal on programmable chip  26  is a processor  27 , and a memory  30 . Terminal  10  also has a modem  32  for communicating with an external server, which is typically a dial up modem, or may be an ISDN modem or a GSM modem. Terminal  10  also has communication means  35 , typically a communication port. This allows users of terminal  10  to transmit a program for processor  27  to memory  30  via port  35 . Port  35  is preferably a standard RS-232 port. Modem  32  allows terminal  10  to communicate with a network, for example to allocate PIN numbers for prepaid phone cards, or for obtaining authorization for a debit or credit card.  
         [0026]    Terminal  10  is used by a clerk, for example at a cash register. When a purchase is made via a card, the clerk enters the necessary information via the keypad  21 , accepts payment from the purchaser by accepting cash, or by swiping a card offered by the purchaser through card reader  18  and entering any other necessary information via keypad  21 . Once the transaction is processed, the card is returned to the purchaser.  
         [0027]    As best seen in FIG. 3, a bill terminal  50  for receiving cash has a bill reader  53 , a keypad  55 , a display  57  and preferably a card reader  60  allowing the terminal to also read debit, credit and/or smart cards. The frame  63  of terminal  50  is large and bulky to make it difficult to remove.  
         [0028]    When a bill is entered and accepted by bill reader  53 , it is stored in storage means (not shown). The storage means are typically protected by more than one security means (locks, alarms and the like).  
         [0029]    Such terminals are used directly by purchasers, i.e. there is usually no clerk nearby to assist with the transaction (although guards or other personnel may be present). For the purposes of this document the term “secure location” shall mean a location wherein a clerk, or other personnel are nearby a terminal when the terminal is accessible to purchasers, whereas an “insecure location” is a location where personnel are not always present when purchasers can access the terminal. An examples of a secure location is within a store or business establishment, where access to the terminal is not available to the general public when the store is closed and when the store is open an employee of the location can easily observe the terminal. An example of an insecure location would be a location wherein the terminal is freely accessible at all times by the public, and is not in a position to be closely observed by staff, for example outside a store, or at a public station.  
         [0030]    In use, the purchaser approaches the terminal, enters information about the purchase via the keypad, and enters bills into the bill reader. After the bills have been accepted by the bill reader, the terminal provides the purchaser the good or service being purchased (e.g. a prepaid phone PIN, increased value for a calling card or smart card, a transit ticket, etc.) As seen in FIG. 4, a bill reader  41  for use in the invention includes a means for entering bills  45 , an acceptor head  46  and bill stacker  47 . After bills have been placed in the means for entering bills  45 , typically a tray or aperture to receive the bill, the acceptor head  46  verifies the value of the bill by means known in the art. If the bill is rejected it is returned to the purchaser. If the bill is accepted by bill reader  41  it is stored in bill stacker  47 . Bill reader  41  also has a communication port (not shown), preferably a RS232 port, with which to communicate with other devices.  
         [0031]    In a preferred embodiment of the invention, as seen in FIG. 5, bill reader  41  is in communication with terminal  13  (and preferably a terminal with a card reader  24 ). Power plug  11  is used to power both bill reader  41  and terminal  10  via power supply  8  and power supply cord  9 . Communication cable  100  connects the communication means  35  and the communication means within bill reader  41  to allow bill reader  41  to communicate with terminal  10 . In a preferred embodiment, as best seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, bill reader  41  and terminal  10  are encased in a POS terminal  90  so that they appear to the purchaser as a single unit. The purchaser has access to and can operate the keypad  21 , bill placement means  45 , display  31 , printer  23 , and card reader  24 . As seen in FIG.  8 , as front plate  82  of POS terminal  90  is removed bill reader  41  and terminal  10  are recognizable.  
         [0032]    In use, the purchaser approaches POS terminal  90 , and uses keypad  21  and display  31  to select a purchase. POS terminal  90  can be used for the purchase of many goods or services typically available for sale at terminals or via vending machines. Preferably POS terminal  90  is used for the sale of goods or services that can be provided via the display  31  or printer  23 . Examples of such goods and services include prepaid cellular or long distance phone time. Tickets or coupons can also be dispensed easily from printer.  
         [0033]    Terminal  10  is used to provide the processing power for POS terminal  90 . As best seen in FIG. 8, terminal  10  is preferably provided with software development kit  110  that can be run in a PC  120  under an operating system such as DOS or Windows. A library of routines for the bill reader  115  must be developed. The software for the terminal such as applications  125  and bill reader library  115  are developed in a programming language such as C or Basic and preferably include a set of precompiled routines and libraries specific for the terminal. The code is compiled by cross compiler  116  to generate the applications  125  needed to run the terminal and bill reader library  115 . Cross compiler  116  converts the software developed in C or another programming language useable on PC  120  into an executable or library file that can be used by the terminal operating system  135 .  
         [0034]    After the applications  125  for use in the terminal  10  have been developed, they are downloaded from the PC  120  to the terminal  10  typically by means of the serial cable connected to the serial communication ports of the PC  120  and the terminal  10 . Other download methods include remote software download using a POS modem, or from one POS Station to another POS Station using their serial ports and a communication cable.  
         [0035]    Bill reader library  115  interfaces terminal  10  with bill reader  41 . Bill reader library  115  will be part of the application  125  and provides the routines necessary to control and operate bill reader  41 .  
         [0036]    A group of routines (herein, the “Obtain cash Task”)  130  are needed that use the bill reader library  115  to perform the task of obtaining the cash. The Obtain cash Task is preferably part of the application  125 .  
         [0037]    Bill reader library  115  is a set of routines written for a specific bill reader  41  make and model. Bill reader library  115  provides the support for the specialized features and functions needed to recognize the currency to be accepted by bill reader  41  and to process the information about the bills. Bill reader library  115  is preferably written in the software language used to program the terminal  10 , for example ANSI C. Bill reader library  115  is linked by the cross compiler  116  and linked to generate the applications  125  that are downloaded to the terminal.  
         [0038]    Bill reader library  115  preferably includes the following routines:  
         [0039]    1) Open Com Port  
         [0040]    This routine is used to initialize the communication port  35  in the terminal  10  to which bill reader  41  will be connected. It sets the communication parameters: Baud Rate, parity, and Port number. It also allocates memory for the receiver buffer and transmitter buffer.  
         [0041]    2) Close Com Port  
         [0042]    This routine is used to reset the terminal communication port  35 . It frees the memory allocated for the receiver buffer and transmitter buffer allowing other applications to use the port.  
         [0043]    3) Initialize Bill Reader  
         [0044]    This routine is used to initialize the software operating parameters of the bill reader  41 . It will vary depending on the manufacturer of the bill reader, and may not be available for all models.  
         [0045]    4) Enable Bill Reader  
         [0046]    This routine is used to enable the bill reader  41  to accept bills.  
         [0047]    5) Disable Bill Reader  
         [0048]    This routine is used to prevent the bill reader  41  from accepting bills. If a bill is being processed while the command is received, the bill will be rejected and no more bills will be accepted.  
         [0049]    6) Get Status  
         [0050]    This routine is used to obtain the status from the bill reader  41  and update the bill reader data structure to reflect the current status.  
         [0051]    7) Store Bill  
         [0052]    This routine instructs the bill reader  41  to store the detected bill.  
         [0053]    8) Reject Bill  
         [0054]    This routine instructs the bill reader  41  to reject the inserted bill.  
         [0055]    9) Display information  
         [0056]    This routine formats and displays the inserted credit information at display  31 . It typically displays the following messages: for the purchaser to insert cash; the amount of cash to be inserted; an indication that the denomination has been accepted; and the key that the user may press to cancel the task. After the first bill is inserted and processed, it displays the current credit information and remaining credit required to complete the transaction. At that time terminal  10  will no longer display information related to or accept information from the cancel key (or other input) that the user could earlier have used to cancel the transaction.  
         [0057]    More applications may be implemented by combining the terminal user interface with the bill reader library  115 . These applications are part of more complex events that may be used to determine the amount of bills entered in the POS terminal  90 .  
         [0058]    Implementing the task of obtaining cash from the purchaser includes a combination of the following user interface messages: bill reader  41  monitoring and status evaluation; clock monitoring to limit the time it takes to perform the task; keyboard and switches monitoring to detect the cancel key; and decisions made based on the sequence of events.  
         [0059]    To facilitate the development of applications, preferably the bill reader library  115  becomes part of the Obtain cash task  130 . Task  130  handles user interface and bill reader control, and it may be called by other applications.  
         [0060]    Most bill readers don&#39;t have the capability to return the bills that have been stored in the stacker. This must be taken into consideration when implementing the application. One approach to avoid having to return the bills, as seen in FIG. 9 is to prevent the user from inserting more credit than requested. To being the bill acceptance process, the Obtain Cash Task  130  begins by opening communications port  35  (step  200 ), initializing bill reader  41  (step  210 ) and enabling bill reader  41  (step  220 ). Once a purchaser has requested a transaction, display  31  prompts the user to insert cash (step  230 ) and display other information for the purchaser (step  235 ). The bill reader  41  status is then polled as described below, as is the keypad and the internal clock (step  240 ). If payment is completed the bill reader  41  is disabled (step  245 ) and the communications port  35  closed (step  250 ) until the next transaction.  
         [0061]    Once the bill is detected and recognized, the Obtain Cash task  130  compares the inserted credit to the maximum amount of credit needed for the transaction (step  255 ). If the resulting credit exceeds the maximum amount, a Reject Command is sent to the bill reader, which results in the ejection of the bill (step  260 ). The POS terminal  90  then displays a pop up message informing the user that it has exceeded the requested amount (step  265 ). If there is still an amount needed to complete the transaction, the bill is stored (step  270 ).  
         [0062]    The Obtain-Cash task  130  interacts with applications  125  by reading and updating the information on the bill reader data structure. The data structure is typically coded in ANSI C as described:  
                                                                       Typedef struct           {                long Amt_to_enter;           long Credit;           int Max_timeout;           int Ins_bill_timeout;           int Bill_rdr_status;           int Interrupt;                } Bill_Reader;                      
 
         [0063]    Where:  
         [0064]    long: ANSI C definition for a long integer numeric field  
         [0065]    int: ANSI C definition for an integer numeric field  
         [0066]    Amt_to_enter Defines the maximum amount of credit that will be allowed to be inserted in the bill reader  41 . The Obtain-Cash task  130  ends when the amount inserted matches the maximum amount. If the value is 0 it will consider that no maximum amount is set. The maximum amount of credit is typically represented in cents.  
         [0067]    Credit: Is updated to represent the credit inserted in the bill reader stacker  47  since the beginning of the task. The Credit field is not automatically reset to zero and must be reset to zero by the application  125 .  
         [0068]    Max_timeout: Defines the maximum time in seconds for the Obtain-Cash task  130 . When the Max_timeout is reached the Obtain-Cash task  130  will terminate returning control to the application  125 . Any inserted bill that has not been processed will be rejected and the bill reader  41  will be deactivated until the next transaction is initiated. If the passed value is 0 the maximum timeout will have no effect.  
         [0069]    Ins_bill timeout: Defines the maximum time in seconds between inserting bills. When the Ins_bill_timeout is reached the Obtain-Cash task  130  will terminate returning control to the application  125 . The Ins_bill_timeout timer is reset every time a bill is successfully inserted. If the passed value is 0 the insert bill timeout will have no effect.  
         [0070]    Bill_rdr_status: Field used to report the status of the bill reader  41 . Part of the Obtain-Cash task  130  is to poll for the status of the bill reader  41  and inform the application  125  by updating the Bill_rdr_status. The Bill_rdr_status returns the following values:  
                                           TABLE 1                           Returned Status Values            Code   Value   Description                    Idle   0   Value return when the Bill Reader               is Idle waiting for bank notes.       Reading   1   A valid bank note has been detected       Stacked   2   A valid bank note has been successfully stored in the               stacker.       Cancel   3   User pressed Cancel Key terminating the task       Interrupt   4   Interrupt field set to 1 terminating the task       Max_   5   Maximum timeout reached terminating the task       timeout       Bill_   6   Bill insertion timeout reached terminating the task       timeout       Stacker_   −1   Bill reader stacker error or full       err       Tamper_   −2   Tampering detected in Bill Reader       err       Com_   −3   Error opening the communication port       err       Bill_   −4   Bill reader is not responding       rdr_err                  
 
         [0071]    Interrupt: The field used by the application  125  to interrupt the Obtain-Cash task  130 . A value of 1 aborts the task. The field is reset to 0 when the task is initiated.  
         [0072]    After the cross compiled applications  125 , Obtain-Cash task  130  and bill reader library  115  are downloaded to terminal  10 , bill reader  41  is connected to terminal  10  and stored with terminal  10  in POS terminal  90 . POS terminal  90  is meant for storage in a secure location, i.e. it is a portable device and therefore can easily be stolen. As it may contain a number of bills in the bill stacker  47 , it is therefore preferable to place POS terminal  90  in a secure location.  
         [0073]    POS terminal  90  has the further advantage of being portable. For the purposes of this document portable means compact enough for placement on a countertop or table top and easily carried by a single person.  
         [0074]    While the principles of the invention have now been made clear in the illustrated embodiments, it will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications may be made of structure, arrangements, and algorithms used in the practice of the invention, and otherwise, which are particularly adapted for specific environments and operational requirements, without departing from those principles. The claims are therefore intended to cover and embrace such modifications within the limits only of the true spirit and scope of the invention.