Field of the invention The present invention relates to a hand held transaction processing device for performing order taking and payment processing.

Summary of the invention

According to the present invention there is provided a portable transaction processing device, comprising a card reader for interfacing with a financial transaction card having an integral electronic security device, and data processor for providing at least one of order selection, stock query, storage of transaction details, and reporting tasks.

It is thus possible to facilitate the processing of orders and payment away from a till space.

Preferably the portable transaction device has a wireless communications transceiver for enabling it to interface with a transaction processing network

Preferably the financial transaction card is a credit or debit card having an electronic chip included therein for validating a transaction and for providing enhanced security against fraud. Such cards are commonly known as "Chip and Pin" cards. These cards and their readers are commercially available and need not be described in detail here as the protocols concerning the use of the cards and interactions between the cards and the card readers are known to the person skilled in the art.

Advantageously the data processor is a commercially available computing device such as a personal digital assistant, PDA, as these usually come with a user interface in the form of a graphical user interface for displaying data and a touch screen for making selections or entering data. PDA's often also include an operating system and various embedded tools and applications such as a handwriting recognition application and networking adaptors. PDAs often include an integral wireless communications device such as a Bluetooth device

or an 802.11 (b or g) wireless network adaptor. PDAs also include non volatile storage making them suitable for running user applications such as an electronic point of sale application, EPOS, which may handle order taking and keep a record of all items ordered or sold for the purpose of updating stock control systems or interfacing with accounting systems so as to process card payments and to keep a track of the value of items or services sold.

Advantageously the user interfaces for the data processor and the card reader are on different and preferably opposing sides of the portable transaction device. This has the advantage of maximising the size of the user interface available for each function. Furthermore, since the EPOS interface and the card reader should not be used simultaneously, the card reader functionality may be disabled while the EPOS functionality implemented by the data processor or PDA is in use, and the EPOS functionality may be disabled while the card reader is in use. This disabling can be carried out automatically as a transaction progresses. Advantageously a command interface remains active to enable the retailer to manually determine which device should be in use.

Advantageously the device includes a tilt switch or other component for determining which side of the device is facing generally upwardly (i.e. towards a user) and for enabling the upwardly facing one of the card reader and the data processor. If a tilt switch is not used, then a light dependent sensor may be employed to determine which side is facing upwardly as generally the device will be held in a users hand and this shields one side of the device from the ambient light. Alternatively the resistance or capacitance of the user may be detected by a suitable sensor. This reduces the risk of inadvertent data entry by pressing of keys during transport or while being passed from the retailer to the purchaser. As a further precaution the user interfaces on either device may be disabled when neither side is facing upwardly (or within an acceptable range of angles from upwardly) and furthermore the interfaces may optionally be disabled for a generally short time period ¹ once the device has been orientated into a usable position (i.e. one of the data processor and the card reader facing towards a user) so as to allow the user time to adjust their hold on the device without the risk of entering data into it.

Advantageously the portable transaction processing device further includes a magnetic card reader for reading those cards which still carry, or only carry, magnetic strips encoding the card number and other suitable information.

Brief description of the drawings Figure 1 schematically shows a portable transaction terminal constituting an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 schematically illustrates the functional components within the transaction terminal; and

Figure 3 schematically illustrates a transaction using the portable transaction terminal

Description of preferred embodiments of the invention

The portable transaction terminal shown in figure 1 comprises a housing, generally designated 2 which contains a chip and pin card reader 4 on a first side 6 of the housing 2 and a PDA 7 contained within the housing and having its GUI 8 facing through an aperture 10 on a second side 12 of the housing 2 opposed to the first side 6.

In use, the portable terminal generally rests within the palm of a user's hand enabling them to hold the device in a convenient position while enabling them to operate the device with their other hand. As a result, in use one side of the device will be facing generally upwardly and the other side will be facing generally downwardly.

The card reader is commercially available and implements within it transaction and communication protocols, which, for example may correspond to the Visa Approved PED, EMV Level 1, EMV Level 2, and APACS Common Criteria EAL 4+ Requirements. The card reader performs its interfacing with a back office or card issuer's network via the communication functionality of the PDA 7. The system components provided within the terminal are shown in greater detail in figure 2.

The transaction terminal has a PDA 22 coupled to a chip and pin card reader 24. The PDA 22 includes a graphical user interface such as a touch sensitive screen 26 that functions as the main interface with a human user. The screen displays material under the control of a microprocessor 28 which in turn communicates with a memory 32 (such as non volatile memory and random access memory), an input -output device such as an RS232 interface 34, a universal serial bus (USB) port and a wireless network interface 36 via a data bus 38. The PDA communicates with the card reader via the RS232 interface. The PDA may also be in communication with a position sensor 39 (over the bus 38 or via the USB or RS232 devices) which enables the general orientation of the terminal to be identified such that the interface facing towards a user is enabled and the interface facing away from a user is disabled.

The card reader 22 contains its own data processor and memory to operate the display and keyboard, and to interface with the chip and pin card via the approved protocols.

The memory 32 stores the operating system for the PDA and the electronic point of sale software (EPOS) , which offers the standard EPOS functionality and need not be described in detail here, but which may include a bar code scanning capability.

Figure 3 schematically illustrates a transaction using the transaction terminal in a restaurant environment. The transaction commences at step 40 where the customer order is taken. In this example the customer orders a pizza. The staff member taking the order, such as a waiter, turns the transaction terminal such that the PDA GUI is facing them (step 42) and uses the EPOS software to select the right category of food from a menu, and confirms this to the EPOS software at step 44. Control now passes to step 46 where the EPOS client running on the PDA interfaces with the back office systems, either over a wired or more preferably a wireless connection, to place the order to the kitchen order system and/or to modify the stock control system to register the sale of the pizza and to decrement the number of pizzas logged by the stock control system.

Following step 44 or 46 the customer way wish to pay for his purchase. This occurs at step 48 where the waiter opens the customer's account or order to review the items that are to be paid for and then confirms to the EPOS system that payment is to be made. The EPOS system totals bill and passes the value of the bill to the card terminal such that the customer can see the value that they are being requested to pay for. Simultaneously the input/output interface of the card reader is enabled at step 50 and the interface of the EPOS system is temporarily disabled, with the exception of a manual override button, which may be presented as a soft button on the GUI of the PDA.

The user then enters an off line PIN validation procedure at step 52 which is under the control of the card reader. This process is known as part of the standard repertoire of functions from the commercially available chip and pin card reader. The user enters their card into the reader and enters their PIN in response to instructions from the reader. The reader may then authenticate and complete the transaction as step 54, either as part of a fully off line transaction, or by using its wireless connectivity to connect to a bank or card issuer's verification system at step 53.

Once the transaction is completed the card reader is deactivated at step 56 and the EPOS system is reactivated so as to enable the customer to be given a printed receipt for their records at step 58.

The PDA may have a 3.5" QVGA TFT colour 16-bit touch sensitive Transflective display and a processor running at, for example 400MHz there by allowing the mobile terminal to run a full gamut of PDA applications. The PDA may include or be connected to a mobile telephone module to enable the PDA to establish connectivity using GPRS or 3 G (or above) mobile telephone network infrastructure. The terminal typically lasts for 8 hours continuous use from one charge of its rechargeable battery and may also include flash card reader slot and/or a multimedia card slot together with the magnetic card reader. This can be provided in a device whose dimensions are roughly 190mm by 90mm by 55mm.

In order to provide a printed receipt for the customer several printing options may be available.

In a first solution wireless / Bluetooth printers scattered around a complex such as a restaurant or other retail space. Printers are strategically placed around the area where the portable transaction terminal will be used. Staff are then able to select the printer (via wireless or Bluetooth communications) which is closest to their position to print receipts, saving precious leg work and time.

In a second solution, the staff operate with a printer attached to them, for example clipped onto their belt. Staff can request a printout using the PDA - the software passes this command to the printer and a receipt is printed on their attached printer.

In a third solution a wireless/Bluetooth printer is provided at the main till or entrance/exit of the retail space. Transactions and operations are undertaken using the portable transaction terminal and, when a printed receipt is required, the member of staff simply prints it off at the main till printer.

It is thus possible to facilitate order and payment processing. The transaction device may also allow reporting of orders taken and remaining stock either by reference to its internal storage or to a network store and/or processing device.