Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Patent
1995-06-05
1998-09-22
Hajec, Donald T.
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
235486, G06K 500
Patent
active
058117709
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to devices for conducting transactions using smart cards.
As is conventional, a transaction conducted using a smart card involves the following steps: apparatus, the apparatus, by it, and certificate calculation, checking of blacklists, etc., the transaction is validated and a transaction ticket is printed by a printer provided in the apparatus.
A transaction apparatus destined to implement the following steps conventionally exists in the form of a desktop apparatus, powered through a main supply.
In order to facilitate the utilization of such apparatuses, particularly in the restaurant field, apparatuses for transactions using smart cards have been developed in the last several years which are portable, and which include, in one package, the smart card reading device, the keyboard, the printer, and the means for calculation and storage (for example a microcontroller), which are necessary to its operation, the entire assembly being battery powered.
In all applicable cases, the card is placed into the apparatus through a slot which opens onto a appropriate smart card coupler. This slot is generally situated in a front, rear or lateral wall of the package. However, portable apparatuses of this type are relatively heavy and cumbersome, and in practice, an operator such as a server in a restaurant cannot keep the apparatus in a pocket permanently without excessive inconvenience. This bulk is further accentuated when the keyboard of the apparatus is connected to a projecting wall which forms a screen intended for preserving the confidentiality of the code entered on this keyboard by the card holder.
In an attempt to overcome the above mentioned problems of weight and bulk, an apparatus has been developed recently which is separated into two parts, namely a fixed part powered by the main supply which includes part of the processing means and a ticket printer, and a portable part which includes the smart card coupler, a keyboard, and a display. This portable part can come to be physically connected to the fixed part during the transaction so that at least part of the data (amount, card number, etc.) related to this transaction can be transferred to it.
But this apparatus does not make it possible to overcome the disadvantage indicated above regarding confidentiality in entering the code. Furthermore, it can require bringing the portable part, in which the smart card is still in place, out of view of the card holder, resulting in a substantial risk of fraud, inasmuch as the operator would have access to both the card and the confidential code, were he able to observe the card holder entering it on the keyboard.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of prior apparatuses for conducting transactions with smart cards, including provisions for confidentiality of the transactions.
To this end, a device is provided for conducting monetary transactions using smart cards such as bank cards, of the type which includes, in one package, a smart card coupler, a slot situated to the right of the coupler for the partial insertion of a smart card, a keyboard for the entry of at least one confidential code associated with a card inserted into the coupler, and means for processing and validating the transaction, characterized in that the slot is disposed adjacent to one edge of the keyboard, and that the coupler and the slot are positioned so that one part of the card, which remains outside the package after the partial insertion, extends substantially perpendicular to the keyboard, forming a barrier against outside observers during the entry of the confidential code.
The device is used by proceeding according to the following steps: coupler of the portable part, the portable part, confidential code associated with the card, part, of this verification is displayed on the display means, from the coupler and returns it to the holder, amount of the transaction entered and at least the identi
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patent: 4569421 (1986-02-01), Sandstedt
patent: 4742351 (1988-05-01), Suzuki
patent: 4816655 (1989-03-01), Musyck et al.
patent: 4877947 (1989-10-01), Mori
patent: 5311450 (1994-05-01), Ojima
CKD S.A.
Frech Karl
Hajec Donald T.
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