Registers – Systems controlled by data bearing records – Credit or identification card systems
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-09
2003-03-04
St. Cyr, Daniel (Department: 2876)
Registers
Systems controlled by data bearing records
Credit or identification card systems
C235S382000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06527174
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card payment transaction terminal and system which are so formed that a card payment transaction can be executed by using card information read from an inserted card and a password inputted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
FIG. 7
, goods sales data processing unit (POS system) is disposed in, for example, a supermarket or a large-sized domestic electrical appliance store. The unit is so constructed that a plurality of electronic cash registers
10
and a POS controller
40
are connected through a data communication line
1
, and that they and a store controller
50
being a host machine are connected through a data communication line (for example, LAN)
2
.
The individual electronic cash registers
10
can execute goods registrations for goods purchased by customers, and account transactions for the registered goods. Sales data are gathered by the store controller
50
, and are collectively managed therein.
The account transactions by the electronic cash register
10
include card payment as well as payment in cash. In order to deal with the card payment, card payment transaction terminals
30
P are provided in a number equal to or smaller than the number of the electronic cash registers
10
.
The card payment transaction terminal
30
P is a terminal for making an inquiry as to credit. As shown in
FIG. 8
, the terminal body
30
B is formed as a structure in which an upper housing
30
U and a lower housing
30
D are combined. Besides, the terminal body
30
B is constructed including a control unit (a CPU, a ROM, etc.), a data input device
34
, a data display device
35
, a card reader
37
and a printer
36
.
Now, the basic functions of the card payment transaction terminal
30
P will be explained with reference to FIG.
9
.
First, when a card user or a store clerk inserts a card into the card reader
37
through an insertion guide
37
G (YES at ST
50
in FIG.
9
), the card reader
37
reads card information including the personal data of the card (ST
51
).
Subsequently, the card user himself/herself inputs his/her personal ID (password) with the data input device
34
(YES at ST
52
). Further, the card user or the clerk inputs payment information (such as the amount of payment) (YES at ST
53
). The amount of payment, etc. are displayed on the data display device
35
for the sake of verification.
Besides, the card payment transaction terminal
30
P generates inquiry information (ST
54
), and it inquires of the POS controller
40
through the data communication line
1
shown in FIG.
7
. Further, the POS controller
40
inquires of the store controller
50
through the data communication line
2
. Finally, the store controller
50
inquires of a host computer (external computer)
70
installed in, e. g., a credit card company, about the card through a data communication line
3
(ST
55
).
Besides, when the card payment transaction terminal
30
P receives an permission response from the external computer
70
(YES at ST
56
,. YES at ST
57
), it executes a card payment transaction (ST
58
). Card payment data are printed on printing paper delivered from a roll of printing paper
100
, by the printer
36
. The printed paper is handed to the card user. By the way, when the card payment transaction terminal
30
P receives a rejection response (YES at ST
56
, NO at ST
57
), it executes an error transaction (ST
59
).
Accordingly, the card payment transaction terminal
30
P can execute the complicated card payment quickly and exactly, and such transaction terminals have remarkably spread wide.
With the spread of the terminals, however, the damages of so-called “skimming” being illegal acts in which wrongdoers copy the personal data of cards have become a serious problem.
More specifically, someone (the wrongdoer) having stolen in at midnight will detach the upper housing
30
U and lower housing
30
D constituting the terminal body
30
B, then mount a so-called “skimmer”, which is a device having a size approximately equal to that of a cigarette case and capable of copying the personal data, near the card reader
37
built in the terminal body
30
B, and thereafter reassemble the terminal body
30
B.
When a clerk not knowing the wrongdoing inserts cards into the card reader
37
and makes inquiries on and after the next day (ST
51
to ST
54
in FIG.
9
), the personal data of the cards are accumulated into the skimmer simultaneously with the inquiries. That is, the skimming is done at each well-intentioned use after the mounting of the skimmer.
Thereafter, the wrongdoer will disassemble the terminal body
30
B, take out the skimmer and read the personal data copied by the skimmer. Then, a plurality of cards might be forged by the wrongdoer so as to be used illegally. Since the holders of the lawful cards do not notice their damages soon, the skimming is serious.
Meanwhile, in a case where the terminal body
30
B is disassembled and reassembled, it is inevitably opened. Therefore, a sealing label
200
on which words “DON'T OPEN” are printed as shown in
FIG. 8
is stuck on the terminal body
30
B in order that the clerk et al. may judge the opening of the terminal body
30
B, that is, the high likelihood of the mounting of the skimmer.
When the terminal body
30
B was disassembled (or opened), the clerk et al. can know the illegal act from the external appearance of the terminal body
30
B. In this way, the store side has prevented the skimming from occurring.
However, the methods of illegal acts become craftier and craftier. By way of example, when a substitute label for the sealing label
200
is created and stuck, the store side cannot find out the illegal act. The illegal act in which an insider is involved cannot be seen through at all for the reason that a genuine label is stuck as the sealing label
200
.
In this regard, there has been proposed and has come into use a card payment transaction terminal which is so constructed that the opening of the terminal body
30
B can be electronically detected, and that, in case of the detection, a card payment transaction program, for example, can be forcibly destroyed by judging the mounting of the skimmer.
By the way, in each of an eating house, a golf course, a gasoline station, etc., the card payment transaction terminal
30
P is sometimes used independently out of relation to the electronic cash register
10
.
With the program destruction scheme, certainly the skimming and the card forgery can be prevented, but card payment transactions for customers in good faith cannot be handled after the illegal act at which the skimmer was mounted. That is, customer service degrades with the scheme. Besides, the scheme really avoids actual damage to the store or the like because of the prevention of the skimming as well as the card forgery, but it has the fatal problem of failing to take the drastic measure of finding and arresting the wrongdoer and his/her group who mounted the skimmer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The first objective of the present invention is to provide a card payment transaction terminal which can externally transmit information to the effect that the illegal act of mounting a skimmer was performed. The second objective is to provide a system which can prevent the use of a forged card from occurring and can find a wrongdoer having mounted a skimmer, by using transmission information sent from a card payment transaction terminal.
(1) A card payment transaction terminal of one aspect of the present invention executes a card payment transaction by using card information read from an inserted card and a password inputted to the terminal,
wherein the terminal detects that a terminal body has been opened when the terminal body is opened, and information of an illegal act that has been performed is stored in a memory when the opening of the terminal body is detected, and
wherein transmission information that includes information stored in the memory is transmitted to an external device.
With such a card payment transaction
Cyr Daniel St.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha
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