Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US8025219?dq=patent:4807115
Timestamp: 2016-05-31 18:18:06
Document Index: 770120550

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 2007237929', 'Application No. 572530', 'Application No. 200807684', 'Application No. 200780013759', 'Application No. 200780013759', 'Application No. 07760768', 'Application No. 200807684']

Patent US8025219 - Dual purpose card reader - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsThe present invention provides for a compact, portable POS terminal through the co-location of a magnetic card slot and a smart card entry slot. In one embodiment, the smart card slot is positioned within a portion of the magnetic card slot. The POS terminal also accommodates contactless instrument readers...http://www.google.com/patents/US8025219?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US8025219 - Dual purpose card readerAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS8025219 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/736,302Publication dateSep 27, 2011Filing dateApr 17, 2007Priority dateApr 17, 2006Fee statusPaidAlso published asCA2649833A1, CN101421743A, EP2011055A2, EP2011055A4, US20080011850, WO2007121433A2, WO2007121433A3Publication number11736302, 736302, US 8025219 B2, US 8025219B2, US-B2-8025219, US8025219 B2, US8025219B2InventorsChris HenryOriginal AssigneeHypercom CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (5), Non-Patent Citations (10), Referenced by (1), Classifications (5), Legal Events (3) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetDual purpose card reader
US 8025219 B2Abstract
The present invention provides for a compact, portable POS terminal through the co-location of a magnetic card slot and a smart card entry slot. In one embodiment, the smart card slot is positioned within a portion of the magnetic card slot. The POS terminal also accommodates contactless instrument readers and optionally includes features for electronic signature capture, user display interaction, multi-tasking capabilities, check reading and age and identity verification.
1. A dual purpose card reader assembly comprising:
a card swipe slot for dynamically orienting a transaction card having a magnetic stripe;
a first magnetic stripe reader head disposed along said slot for reading said magnetic stripe on said card;
a second magnetic stripe reader head disposed along said slot for reading said magnetic stripe on said card, wherein said second magnetic stripe reader head is longitudinally offset from said first magnetic stripe reader head; and
a smart card reader, for receiving a smart card having an integrated circuit, wherein said smart card reader is co-located with said card swipe slot.
2. The dual purpose card reader assembly of claim 1, wherein the first and second magnetic stripe reader heads are longitudinally offset from the smart card reader.
3. A point-of-service terminal comprising:
a card swipe slot associated with said housing, for dynamically orienting a transaction card having a magnetic stripe;
a smart card reader associated with said housing, for receiving a smart card having an integrated circuit, wherein said smart card reader is co-located with said card swipe slot.
4. The point-of-service terminal of claim 3, wherein the first and second magnetic stripe reader heads are longitudinally offset from the smart card reader.
5. A method of extracting financial transaction information at a point-of-service terminal, the method comprising:
providing a first magnetic stripe reader head;
providing a second magnetic stripe reader head, wherein said second magnetic stripe reader head is longitudinally offset from said first magnetic stripe reader head;
providing a card swipe slot to facilitate drawing a magnetic stripe on a transaction card past the first and second magnetic stripe reader heads;
providing a smart card reader to facilitate receiving a smart card such that information can be read by the smart card reader, wherein the smart card reader is co-located with the card swipe slot. Description
This application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/792,829, entitled “Dual Purpose Card Reader” and filed on Apr. 17, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates, generally, to a point of sale (“POS”) terminal that is compact, portable and capable of reading both magnetic stripe cards and smart cards, and more particularly to a POS terminal having a magnetic stripe reader and a smart card reader that are co-located.
Point of service (“POS”) terminals enable convenient electronic payment for many products and services. Consumers holding cards associated with a charge, credit, debit, or loyalty account may pay for a purchase simply by utilizing a magnetic stripe card, a smart card, or a contactless card. A POS terminal reads information from a magnetic stripe card when the magnetic stripe is swiped through a slot in the POS terminal. A POS terminal reads information from smart cards when the smart card is inserted into a separate opening in a POS terminal. In addition, POS terminal may read contactless cards by utilizing a separate antenna device that detects and retrieves information from contactless cards.
Presently known POS terminals typically include, inter alia, a magnetic stripe reader, a keypad for entry of a personal identification number (“PIN”), and a user display. Conventional POS terminals communicate with a central computer to authorize and settle sales transactions. Terminals often include peripheral devices such as printers, bar code readers or PIN entry pads. Use of such known POS terminals typically requires that the user orient the magnetic stripe on a card to correspond to the position of the magnetic stripe reader head within the card track or slot on the terminal. Some POS terminals can read smart cards either instead of, or in addition to, magnetic stripe cards. If the POS terminals supports reading both magnetic stripe cards and smart cards, then an external extraction device may be used to read the smart card. Such an extraction device would connect to the POS terminal via a socket or similar interface. Other POS terminals may have an opening for receiving smart cards that is separate from the magnetic card slot. The smart card would be inserted into the opening. Separate magnetic card slot and smart card openings result in a POS terminal that is too large to be used as a portable, hand-held device.
Accordingly, in order to create a POS terminal that is compact in size and can be utilized as a hand-held, portable POS terminal, it has been necessary to choose to either support magnetic stripe cards or smart cards. Supporting both card formats, would lead to a larger POS terminal that is less portable and not easily utilized as a hand-held POS terminal.
Accordingly, there is a need for a POS terminal that accommodates multiple card formats, such as magnetic stripe and smart cards, and still results in a compact, hand-held POS terminal.
The present invention facilitates convenient POS terminal transactions by providing a dual purpose card reader that may be used in portable, hand-held POS terminals and other compact POS terminals. By including a dual purpose card reader with a magnetic stripe reader and a smart card reader that are co-located, a POS terminal may be produced that is compact, and yet capable of supporting magnetic stripe cards and smart cards. When a magnetic stripe card is utilized, the card may be swiped such that it passes through the slot and by the reader head. When a smart card is utilized, the smart card may be inserted through the smart card entry slot, passing through the side wall of the magnetic card slot, and into the smart card acceptance device, thereby allowing the smart card and the smart card acceptance device to communicate. The smart card will pass through the magnetic card slot at an angle that is approximately perpendicular to the magnetic card slot.
Co-locating the magnetic card slot and the smart card entry slot allow for a more compact POS terminal design that is easy to use.
FIG. 2 is a top view of the exemplary POS terminal of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary dual purpose card reader assembly; and
FIG. 4 is a side view of the exemplary POS terminal of FIG. 1.
The detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings, which show exemplary embodiments by way of illustration and the best mode. While these exemplary embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, it should be understood that other embodiments may be realized and that logical and mechanical changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation. For example, the steps recited in any of the method or process descriptions may be executed in any order and are not limited to the order presented.
A point of sale (“POS”) terminal according to various embodiments of the present invention includes a magnetic stripe reader, a smart card reader, various electronic circuits for processing a financial transaction, an interactive display for presenting and receiving input of transaction information, a keypad including numeric and function keys, and a housing containing the circuits, display and keypad. The POS terminal may also be used with a contactless card reader, bar card reader, biometric reader, or other input devices, and thus may provide for a variety of interfaces. Wireless capabilities may also be incorporated into the present invention to promote portability. Other periphery devices for use with the POS terminal may include printers, additional displays, PIN entry pads, alphanumeric keyboards, voice prompt systems, and signature capture devices. The POS terminal may be a stand alone unit or may be integrated into an electronic cash register (“ECR”), vending machine or a self check-out kiosk and the like.
In an exemplary POS transaction, the POS terminal facilitates payments by extracting account information from a user's transaction instrument (e.g., when a user swipes a credit card or inserts a smart card), receiving authentication input, constructing an authorization message, and communicating the authorization message to a host computer to authorize a financial transaction. As used herein, the term “user” includes a consumer, cardholder, merchant, and merchant temporarily in possession of a consumer's transaction card. Cardholder authentication may be accomplished using a PIN number, signature, voice command, biometric input, encrypted transaction instrument data, or any other suitable input. The host computer performs normal authorization procedures and returns one of an authorization and a rejection message. In performing an “on-line” transaction, after the transaction is consummated, the POS terminal communicates the relevant details of the transaction to be stored on the host computer system. While in performing an “off-Line” transaction, the terminal may approve or decline based on tables or card date or other data, and later forward transaction data to the payment manager host computer. The POS terminal further communicates with the payment manager host computer to reconcile accounts at the end of a predetermined business cycle (e.g., at the end of each day). Communications between the POS terminal and a host computer may be conducted over any suitable network now known or later developed. As used herein, the term “network” shall include any electronic communications means which incorporates both hardware and software components of such. Exemplary networks or communication channels include a telephone network, an extranet, an intranet, Internet, online communications, satellite communications, off-line communications, wireless communications, transponder communications, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), networked or linked devices, and/or any suitable communication or data input modality.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 4, an exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated including a POS terminal 100 having a housing 102, a key pad 104, an interactive display 106, a magnetic card slot 108, a magnetic stripe reader head 110, and a smart card reader 120. Housing 102 houses various components of POS terminal 100 including basic components not shown here, such as a power supply circuit, internal clock, microcontroller or microprocessor, ROM, RAM, lights, and other suitable hardware for communicating with a host computer, and inputting, processing, transferring or displaying transaction data.
Housing 102 includes magnetic card slot 108 formed therein and houses reader head 110 positioned along slot 108. Slot 108 includes two sidewalls for guiding a user's transaction card drawn past reader head 110 to facilitate extraction of card data from a magnetic stripe on the card. An opening 122 for smart card reader 120 is positioned such that a user's smart card is inserted into opening 122, through slot 108, and into smart card reader 120. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, smart card opening 122 is positioned offset from reader head 110, such that reader head 110 is located on a part of slot 108 away from smart card opening 122. The invention contemplates any orientation or placement of magnetic head 110 and smart card opening 122 such that magnetic card slot 108 and smart card opening 122 are co-located, and such their orientation and location facilitates reading a magnetic stripe card in one instance, and reading a smart card at a separate time. For example, reader head 110 may be positioned on the same side of slot 108 as smart card opening 122, or, instead, be positioned on the opposite side of the slot from smart card opening 122. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, reader head 110 is offset from smart card opening along the length of card slot 108, and may be located on either side of smart card opening 122. Offsetting reader head 110 and smart card opening 122 along card slot 108 reduces interference and/or enables a user to more smoothly draw a card through card slot 108 or insert a card into opening 122. Reader head 110 and smart card opening 122 may be directly opposed in alternative embodiments.
Reader head 110 may be positioned so as to protrude from, be flush-mounted with, or be recessed into the sidewalls of card slot 108. Similarly, card slot 108 need not include sidewalls, but may include, instead, any feature suitable for guiding a card past reader head 110. Exemplary alternative card slot features include a slot, ledge, pin, tab, projection, recess, and the like. A mechanical feed or feed-return device may be used to automatically draw a card inserted into card slot 108 past reader head 110.
Smart card opening 122 may be positioned so as to protrude from, be flush-mounted with, or be recessed into the sidewalls of card slot 108. A mechanical feed or feed-return device may be used to automatically draw a card inserted into smart card opening 122, through slot 109, and into smart card reader 120.
With reference to FIG. 2, housing 102 may include a lanyard opening 112 for connecting a lanyard or similar cord to housing 102. In this manner, a user may carry the POS terminal on their belt, backpack, and the like. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, housing 102 may comprise a zinc alloy chassis, resulting in a highly portable, compact POS terminal. In addition, modular or peripheral devices may connect to housing 102, either via a socket or through a wireless connection (not illustrated). Exemplary modular peripheral devices include contactless transaction instrument readers, radio frequency readers, infrared and wireless communications devices, supplemental magnetic stripe readers, PIN keypads, bar code scanners, printers, modems, telephone handsets, biometric scanners, voice command input devices and the like. Similarly, any peripheral device or capability now known or later developed may be integrated into or associated with POS terminal 100. Additionally, housing 102 may include features such as a latch, clip, or slot to facilitate docking, tabletop, pedestal or stand mounting.
Keypad 104 comprises an alphanumeric keypad including keys numbered zero through nine for entry of PIN numbers. Keypad 104 may also include any number of function keys, such as, for example, keys for canceling a transaction, specifying the type of transaction instrument, selecting whether to print a receipt, confirming a charge amount, or for any other relevant feature. Alphanumeric and/or function keys on keypad 104 may be separately movable as with a conventional keyboard, or may be displayed on an interactive surface that responds to pressure, static, or any other suitable user input or action. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, keypad 104 is integrated into interactive display 106 as a series of on-screen interactive icons. Exemplary function keys or icons include: cancel, enter, clear, print, reset, power, debit, credit, cash back, additional transaction selection, preset dollar amounts for cash back, and the like.
With reference to FIG. 3, an exemplary dual card reader 300 is illustrated. Dual card reader assembly 300 comprises one or more reader heads 110 positioned along slot 108. Dual card reader assembly 300 further comprises a smart card reader 120 with opening 122. Opening 122 for smart card reader 120 is positioned such that a user's smart card is inserted into opening 122, through slot 108, and into smart card reader 120. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, smart card opening 122 is positioned offset from reader head 110, such that reader head 110 is located on a part of slot 108 away from smart card opening 122. The invention contemplates any orientation or placement of magnetic head 110 and smart card opening 122 such that magnetic card slot 108 and smart card opening 122 are co-located, and such their orientation and location facilitates reading a magnetic stripe card in one instance, and reading a smart card at a separate time. For example, reader head 110 may be positioned on the same side of the slot as smart card opening 122, or, instead, be positioned on the opposite side of the slot from smart card opening 122. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, reader head 110 is offset from smart card opening along the length of card slot 108, and may be located on either side of smart card opening 122. Offsetting reader head 110 and smart card opening 122 along card slot 108 reduces interference and/or enables a user to more smoothly draw a card through card slot 108 or insert a card into opening 122. Reader head 110 and smart card opening 122 may be directly opposed in alternative embodiments.
In one embodiment of the invention, a transceiver disposed in POS terminal 100 and associated programming modules support wireless communication between POS terminal 100 and a host computer. This wireless communication enables the POS terminal to be portable and even held in a user's hand. The user can carry the POS terminal with them as they carry out their business.
In one embodiment of the invention, IP and/or USB ports enable connectivity of the POS terminal with a docking station, printer device, keyboard, personal computer, or with additional POS terminals. Additionally, the POS terminal may support both Ethernet and modem connectivity capabilities. Redundant communications connectivity capabilities serve to reduce or eliminate the impact of temporary network failures by automatically reestablishing communications with a host system using a backup communications channel. For example, if a local internet network hub fails, the POS automatically dials the appropriate host system using a back-up modem. Additional wireless communication capabilities enable portable use of the POS terminal. For example, a salesperson may carry a wireless POS terminal on his or her belt for assisting customer's with showroom purchases without the need to relocate to a cashier's desk
Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described herein with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all the claims or the invention. The scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” Further, no element described herein is required for the practice of the invention unless expressly described as “essential” or “critical.”
Patent CitationsCited PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS6983882Mar 31, 2003Jan 10, 2006Kepler, Ltd.Personal biometric authentication and authorization deviceUS20040188519Mar 31, 2003Sep 30, 2004Kepler, Ltd. A Hong Kong CorporationPersonal biometric authentication and authorization deviceEP0959424A1May 19, 1999Nov 24, 1999Ascom Monetel S.A.Portable point-of-sale terminal for IC cards and magnetic cardsEP1037446A1Mar 6, 2000Sep 20, 2000Francesco IanniPortable and programmable multifunctional device for data and voice transferEP1457919A1Mar 8, 2004Sep 15, 2004Mag-Tek, Inc.Integrated circuit and magnetic stripe readerNon-Patent CitationsReference1Examination Report for corresponding Australian Patent Application No. 2007237929, issued Jan. 8, 2010, 2 pages.2Examination Report for corresponding Malaysian Patent Application No. PI20084124, issued May 29, 2009, 3 pages.3Examination Report for corresponding New Zealand Patent Application No. 572530, issued Mar. 29, 2010, 1 page.4Examination Report for corresponding Singapore Patent Application No. 200807684-6, issued Nov. 24, 2010, 6 pages.5Office Action for corresponding Chinese Patent Application No. 200780013759.1, issued Feb. 21, 2011, 3 pages.6Office Action for corresponding Chinese Patent Application No. 200780013759.1, issued Jun. 29, 2010, 10 pages.7Office Action for corresponding Mexican Patent Application No. MX/a/2008/013316, issued Feb. 1, 2011, 3 pages.8Office Action for corresponding Mexican Patent Application No. MX/a/2008/013316, issued Sep. 3, 2010, 5 pages.9Supplementary Search Report and Preliminary Opinion for corresponding European Patent Application No. 07760768.7, issued Apr. 6, 2011, 3 pages.10Written Opinion for corresponding Singapore Patent Application No. 200807684-6, issued Mar. 23, 2009, 7 pages.Referenced byCiting PatentFiling datePublication dateApplicantTitleUS20160117529 *Oct 28, 2015Apr 28, 2016Poynt Co.Low-profile card reader* Cited by examinerClassifications U.S. Classification235/380, 235/383International ClassificationG06K5/00Cooperative ClassificationG06K7/0004European ClassificationG06K7/00CLegal EventsDateCodeEventDescriptionFeb 14, 2008ASAssignmentOwner name: HYPERCOM CORPORATION, ARIZONAFree format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HENRY, CHRIS;REEL/FRAME:020511/0927Effective date: 20080214Jul 9, 2014ASAssignmentOwner name: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT, ILFree format text: SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:VERIFONE, INC.;HYPERCOM CORPORATION;GLOBAL BAY MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES, INC.;REEL/FRAME:033282/0757Effective date: 20140708Mar 19, 2015FPAYFee paymentYear of fee payment: 4RotateOriginal ImageGoogle Home - Sitemap - USPTO Bulk Downloads - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - About Google Patents - Send FeedbackData provided by IFI CLAIMS Patent Services