Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
TABLETOP TERMINAL FOR POINT OF SALE PURCHASES
Notice Re aq rdingi Copyrighted Material
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
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
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.
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
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
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.
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.
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. Patent 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.
These terminals are adapted for receiving monetary value information.
This would include account information for making a transfer in the case of a
-2-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
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.
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.
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
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.
-3-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
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.
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.
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
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:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a prior art terminal with a card reader;
Figure 2 is a block diagram of thereof;
Figure 3 is a front view of a bill terminal;
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a bill reader for use in the invention;
-4-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
Figure 5 is a view of a terminal according to the inventions, showing the
connections therein;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a terminal according
to the invention;
Figure 7 is a perspective view thereof, wherein the cover plate has been
removed;
Figure 8 is a block diagram of the software to operate the terminal; and
Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the use of the terminal with bills.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
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.
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
-5-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
communicate with a network, for example to allocate PIN numbers for prepaid
phone cards, or for obtaining authorization for a debit or credit card.
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.
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.
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).
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
-6-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
not in a position to be closely observed by staff, for example outside a
store, or
at a public station.
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.
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.
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
8, as front plate 82 of POS terminal 90 is removed bill reader 41 and terminal
10
are recognizable.
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.
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.
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
_g_
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
using a POS modem, or from one POS Station to another POS Station using
their serial ports and a communication cable.
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.
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.
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.
Bill reader library 115 preferably includes the following routines:
1 ) Open Com Port
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.
2) Close Com Port
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.
-9-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
3) Initialize Bill Reader
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.
4) Enable Bill Reader
This routine is used to enable the bill reader 41 to accept bills.
5) Disable Bill Reader
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.
6) Get Status
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.
7) Store Bill
This routine instructs the bill reader 41 to store the detected bill.
8) Reject Bill
This routine instructs the bill reader 41 to reject the inserted bill.
9) Display information
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
-l0-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
related to or accept information from the cancel key (or other input) that
the user could earlier have used to cancel the transaction.
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.
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.
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.
Most bill readers don'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
-n-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
payment is completed the bill reader 41 is disabled (step 245) and the
communications port 35 closed (step 250) until the next transaction.
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).
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
f
long Amt to enter;
long Credit;
int Max timeout;
int Ins bill timeout;
int Bill rdr status;
int Interrupt;
3 Bill Reader;
Where:
long: ANSI C definition for a long integer numeric field
-12-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
int: ANSI C definition for an integer numeric field
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.
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.
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.
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.
-13-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
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 timeo 5 Maximum timeout reached terminating the
ut task
Bill timeout6 Bill insertion timeout reached terminating
the task
Stacker -1 Bill reader stacker error or full
err
Tamper -2 Tampering detected in Bill Reader
err
Com err -3 Error opening the communication port I
Bill rdr -4 Bill reader is not responding I
err
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.
- 14-
CA 02337702 2001-02-21
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.
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.
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,
is 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.
- is -
