Device and method for customizing, in particular, a card reader terminal.

Abstract

Title: Device and method for personalizing, in particular, a card reader terminal. The invention relates to an electronic terminal, in particular a payment terminal, characterized in that it comprises a housing (2) and a screen (3), said screen having a front face (3S) accessible to a user, said housing comprising means (20) for optionally receiving a peripheral strip (6). Figure for the abstract: Figure 1

Description

Title of the invention: Device and method for personalizing, in particular, a card reader terminal.

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of electronic terminals, particularly payment terminals, especially those used as bank card readers or contactless payment readers. These terminals may be fixed or portable, wired or wireless. The invention relates more particularly to the personalization and identification of such terminals.

[0002] Sometimes such a terminal is specific to a payment operator, for example, specific to a particular payment card system. In such cases, it is desirable to customize the terminal. Furthermore, several terminals, each specific to different operators, may be available from the same merchant; it is therefore important to be able to differentiate one terminal from another.

[0003] Terminal manufacturers offer customization options. Such customization may include a different shape or color for the terminal's outer casing. However, these customizations must be implemented very early in the manufacturing process, under secure conditions. This implies small production runs, specific to each customization, which significantly increases manufacturing costs. Consequently, the lead times for delivering a terminal with such customization are lengthy.

[0004] One object of the invention is to offer personalized terminals with reduced costs and lead times compared to prior art terminals and to facilitate the rapid identification of a terminal among others.

[0005] According to the invention, an electronic terminal, in particular a payment terminal, comprises a case and a screen having a front face accessible to a user, the case comprising means for optionally receiving a peripheral strip.

[0006] Advantageously, the housing forms a peripheral rebate around the screen, said rebate forming an edge around the screen, and the strip being intended to be arranged in said rebate.

[0007] The rebate can be formed by an outer surface of the edge and a shoulder formed between the edge and a wall of the housing.

[0008] Preferably, the terminal includes means for attaching the headband. These attachment means may be arranged in the rebate.

[0009] These fastening means are advantageously snap-on gripping means for the headband, gluing means or screwing means.

[0010] Advantageously, the housing forms around the screen an edge which extends to the front of said screen by a non-zero distance preferably about equal to one millimeter or more.

[0011] Also, the housing can be designed so that there is a clearance distance between the headband and an opening or element penetrating through the housing, the clearance distance preferably being approximately equal to one millimeter or more.

[0012] The invention also relates to a terminal which includes the peripheral strip.

[0013] Preferably, the band is frayable and fixed to the housing so that it cannot to be removed without being broken.

[0014] Advantageously, the band includes areas of weakness, to promote its breakage.

[0015] The invention also relates to a headband intended to be mounted on a terminal according to the invention.

[0016] Embodiments and variants will be described below by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0017] [Fig-1] is a perspective view of a payment terminal according to the invention;

[0018] [Fig.2] is a schematic view of the terminal of [Fig.1], in which a terminal body and a terminal band are shown separately from each other;

[0019] [Fig.3] is a schematic cross-section of a housing for the terminal body of the [Fig.1];

[0020] [Fig.4] is an enlarged view of the cross-section of [Fig.3]; and,

[0021] [Fig.5] is a partial schematic perspective and cross-sectional view of a lateral extension for a headband according to the invention

[0022] In this description, in particular the terms "front", "back", "top", "bottom", "upper", "lower" and other terms of the same type may be used arbitrarily and generally refer to the usage positions of the described terminal without having a limiting meaning.

[0023] The figures illustrate an electronic terminal 1 which, in the illustrated example, is portable and designed to record bank card payments or contactless payments. The terminal comprises a housing 2 and a screen 3. The screen and the housing together form a substantially sealed enclosure containing electronic and mechanical means—not shown—necessary for the operation of the terminal. The screen is not shown in Figures 2 and 3. The terminal 1 further comprises a peripheral bezel 6, arranged around the screen 3.

[0024] In the illustrated example, the housing 2 includes, in particular, an upper side cover 11, a lower side cover 12, and a rear cover 13. The side covers 11, 12 together form a peripheral edge 14 that surrounds the screen. The The rear shell 13 seals with the side shells 11, 12 and the side shells seal the rear shell 13 and the screen.

[0025] The lower shell 12 includes a slot 16 for physically inserting a payment card. The slot 16 is formed in the lower part of the lower side shell 12, this lower part forming a transverse edge of the housing 2. The upper side shell 11 includes a set of buttons 17 for controlling certain functions of the terminal 1, in particular for turning the terminal on or off. A clearance distance DG is provided between the strip 6 and the set of buttons 17 and between the strip and the slot 16. Advantageously, the distance DG is approximately one millimeter or more. The clearance distance DG may be provided at any other opening or element penetrating through the side shells 11, 12 in the vicinity of the strip 6. It should be noted that the strip 6 partially or totally covers at least one of the side shells 11, 12.

[0026] In addition to the peripheral edge 14, the upper shell 11 and the lower shell 12 together form a peripheral side wall 18 of the housing 2, and, between the side wall 18 and the edge 14, a shoulder 19. Figure 4 schematically represents a cross-section of a shell, which may be the upper shell 11 or the lower shell 12. The peripheral edge 14 extends perpendicularly to a front face 3S of the screen 3, from an inner edge 19N of the shoulder 19. The front face of the screen 3 is the one accessible to a user's view; generally, this face is touch-sensitive. The shoulder 19 extends substantially parallel to the face 3S of the screen, from its inner edge 19N, outwards from the housing, to an outer edge 19E of this shoulder.The side wall 18 extends substantially perpendicularly to the face 3S of the screen 3, in a direction opposite to that of the peripheral edge 14, rearward from the outer edge 19E of the shoulder 19. In the illustrated example, the guard distance DG is measured from the shoulder 19.

[0027] As particularly illustrated in [Fig.4], the peripheral band 6 is arranged in a peripheral rebate 20 formed by the edge 14 and the shoulder 19 together, outside the housing 2.

[0028] In the illustrated example, the peripheral edge 14 forms an edge 14A that projects forward beyond the front face 3S of the screen 3 by a distance D3; preferably, the distance D3 is approximately one millimeter or more. Thus, the edge 14 provides protection for the screen in the event the terminal is dropped.

[0029] Also, the band 6 can extend towards the rear casing 13 until it covers, totally or partially, the side wall 18. Thus, the band can have, at least locally, an apparent thickness EA greater than that illustrated in [Fig. 4]. Also, the band 6, instead of being substantially flush with the front face 3S of the screen, can, for example, be mounted further back on the side casings 11, 12.

[0030] As illustrated in [Fig. 4], the peripheral edge 14 includes one or more protruding sockets 22 extending outwards from the peripheral edge 14. The sockets 22 are designed to engage with additional means—not shown—of the strip 6. Preferably, the strip is designed to be frangible, meaning that the strip 6 is destroyed if it is removed. This prevents an operator's strip from being removed from a corresponding terminal to falsely personalize another terminal 1 that does not belong to that operator. Advantageously, the strip includes areas of weakness that, in the event of removal or attempted removal, facilitate breakage and destruction of the strip.

[0031] Figure 5 illustrates a possible lateral extension 24 for a headband according to the invention. In the example in this figure, the extension is an integral part of the headband; it extends from the rebate towards the rear, along the side wall 18. In this example, the extension forms a frame 25 around the buttons 17. The extension is shaped so that there is a guard distance DG between the buttons and the frame 25.

[0032] Of course, the invention is not limited to the examples just described. On the contrary, the invention is defined by the following claims.

[0033] It will indeed appear to the person skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the embodiments described above, in the light of the teaching which has just been disclosed to him.

[0034] Thus, the headband may have a cross-sectional profile that is not triangular, contrary to what is schematically illustrated in [Fig. 4]. The headband may also comprise one or more materials. It may also be one or more colors. Advantageously, it includes raised features and / or inscriptions allowing the terminal to be personalized and the logo or name of the operator to be identified, for example, a specific bank.

[0035] The headband described above is designed to be snap-on. Other fastening methods may be provided, for example by screwing or by gluing using adhesive tape or glue.

[0036] Also, the band may not have a constant cross-section, as extensions may be provided, as illustrated in [Fig. 5]. Such an extension may be provided to form a window around the card insertion slot. Alternatively, such an extension may not have a window.

[0037] It should be noted that a peripheral is defined as a strip which may only be located on a part of the periphery of the terminal.

[0038] Thus, the peripheral strip may be disposed only on a part of a periphery of the terminal, for example, comprising a central part disposed between the slot and The screen and two branches extending from two opposite ends of this part, along the screen. It may also not include such branches. List of references#:

[0039] 1: terminal 2: case 3: screen 3S: front of the screen 6: Peripheral strip 11: Upper side shell 12: Lower side shell 13: rear hull 14: peripheral edge of the case 14A: edge of the peripheral border 16: Payment card insertion slot 17: Control buttons 18: peripheral lateral wall 19: shoulder 19N: inner bank of the shoulder 19E: outer bank of the shoulder 20: peripheral rebate 22: socket for the headband on the peripheral edge 24: Headband extension 25: frame formed by the extension D3: Distance from the edge of the peripheral band to the front of the screen DG: guard distance EA: apparent thickness of the strip

Claims

Demands

1. Electronic terminal (1), in particular payment terminal, characterized in that it comprises a housing (2) and a screen (3), said screen having a front face (3S) accessible to a user, said housing comprising means (20) for optionally receiving a peripheral strip (6).

2. Terminal according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (2) forms a peripheral rebate (20) around the screen, said rebate forming an edge (14) around the screen (3), and the band (6) being provided to be disposed in said rebate.

3. Terminal according to claim 2, characterized in that the rebate (20) is formed by an outer surface of the edge (14) and a shoulder (19) formed between said edge and a wall (18) of the housing (2).

4. Terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it includes means (22) for fixing the headband thereto.

5. Terminal according to claim 4, characterized in that the fastening means comprise snap-on gripping means (22) for the headband (6), gluing means or screwing means.

6. Terminal according to claim 3 taken in combination with one of claims 4 and 5, characterized in that the fixing means are arranged in the rebate.

7. Terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the housing forms around the screen an edge (14A) which extends in front of said screen by a non-zero distance (D3) preferably about equal to one millimeter or more.

8. Terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it further comprises the peripheral band (6).

9. Terminal according to claim 8, characterized in that it is designed so that there is a guard distance (DG) between the band (6) and an orifice (16) or an element (17) penetrating through the housing (2), said guard distance preferably being about one millimeter or more.

10. Terminal according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the band (6) is frangible and fixed to the housing so that it cannot be removed without being broken.

11.

12. A terminal according to claim 10, characterized in that the band (6) comprises areas of weakness to facilitate its breakage. A band characterized in that it is intended to be mounted on a terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 11.