DEVICE FOR EFFECTING CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for effecting credit card-based transactions; more particularly, the invention relates to a computer mouse/magnetic card reader device. Background of the Invention
Small businesses are usually equipped with a personal computer (PC). For credit card purchasing, the businesses must buy or rent either a credit card and electronic wallet terminal or special hardware and software, which can cost several hundred dollars per year.
For business conducted via the Internet, especially business-to-customer commerce (B2C), customers are required to present their credit card information. A customer can only type in his card number. Any criminal, or an innocent customer who enters the wrong number by mistake, can make a purchase using a stolen number, since the actual card is not required. The potential customer, knowing the situation, hesitates to provide his credit card information on the web; if he does not do so, he is thus prevented from malcing on-line purchases. Furthermore, credit card companies are exposed to the misuse of stolen card numbers, causing them enormous expenses regarding claims. This state of affairs makes life difficult for customers and businesses on the one hand, and for the credit card companies, on the other hand.
Furthermore, present methods of digital signature require the user to secure a private key, as well as an authenticating certificate issued to him. A safety feature is required in order to avoid unauthorized use. Disclosure of the Invention
It is therefore a broad object of the present invention to ameliorate the above-described difficulties relating to credit card-based transactions and digital signature via the Internet, and to provide a combined computer mouse and magnetic card reader.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide means for assuring greater security in the operation of computers, enabling their use by authorized persons only.
In accordance with the present invention, there is therefore provided a computer mouse/magnetic card reader device, comprising a computer mouse having a housing at least partially enclosing means for performing standard computer mouse functions when the device is connected to a computer; a slot traversing at least a major portion of a surface of said housing, said slot being configured to smoothly guide a magnetic card slid therethrough; a magnetic head located at least in close proximity to said slot; a switch disposed in, or adjacent to, said slot for detecting the insertion of a card in the slot and for switching the device from a standard mouse mode to a magnetic card-reading mode, and a microcontroller for controlling the functioning of the device in said modes. Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention will now be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments with reference to the following illustrative figures so that it may be more fully understood.
With specific reference now to the figures in detail, it is stressed that the particulars shown are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the preferred embodiments of the present invention only, and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the invention. In this regard, no attempt is made to show structural details of the invention in more detail than is necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention, the description taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the several forms of the invention may be embodied in practice.
In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a top view of a first embodiment of a combined mouse and magnetic card-reader device according to the present invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the device of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the device of Fig. 1;
Figs. 4 to 6 are top, side and bottom views, respectively, of a second embodiment of a device according to the present invention, and Fig. 7 is a circuit diagram of a combined mouse and magnetic card-reading device according to the present invention. Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
In Figs. 1 to 3 and 4 to 6, there is shown a computer mouse 2 and electrical lead 4, including all of the standard components and functions of a commonly used mouse, in addition to other features which will be described below in detail. The common main features of the mouse 2, as seen in Fig. 3, include a ball 6; a ball pusher 8; a cog wheel 10; opto-couplers 12 and 14, providing suitable signals representing movements of the mouse in four directions; amplifier 16 (e.g., a dual TL072), and a microcontroller 18 (e.g., a PIC16C63A or PIC16F87X unit), providing accurate data to the PC (not shown) to which the mouse is connected.
Housing 20 of mouse 2 is made with a slot 22, configured to smoothly guide a credit card passed through the slot. The slot 22 can be produced across the width of housing 20, as seen in Figs. 1 to 3, or along its length, as seen in Figs. 4 to 6. As is further shown in Figs. 3 and 6, a magnetic head 24 is mounted in close proximity to slot 22, for reading information from a specific card slid through the slot. There is further provided a switch, e.g., a micro-switch, or preferably, a third opto-coupler 26, located across the slot 22 for detecting the insertion of a card in the slot and for thereby distinguishing between mouse-acquired data and magnetic card data.
Referring now also to Fig. 7, there is illustrated a circuit diagram for a preferred embodiment of a combined mouse/magnetic card reader. Seen are the switches S1 and S2, constituting the mouse's left and right buttons, the circuit composed of the diodes D7, Dg, and capacitor C6, providing rectified voltage (Vcc) for the operation of the entire circuit. Diodes D2, in combination with resistor R2 and capacitor C3, provide a reset function upon connection to the PC's RS232 or PS/2 or USB connector, or upon activation of the PC.
The circuit components of the magnetic head 24 lead to amplifier 16 and, in turn, to microcontroller 18, which is stabilized by crystal Yi . The microcontroller is preferably an 8-bit microcontroller, with an analog converter capable of supporting double-track reading and encoding. For triple-track reading and encoding, a stronger microcontroller is recommended.
The dual TL072 amplifiers U11A and U12A are auto-adjustable signal amplifiers amplifying each of the signals of the two tracks of a magnetic card. Regardless of the level of signals that the magnetic head provides, the level of signals at the output of the amplifiers U11A and U12A is uniform. Two BC557 transistors performing Schmitt trigger functions are also provided.
Since the source and the amplified signals are not purely digital, rather resembling sine waves, the Schmitt trigger sets threshold levels both for the logical "l"s and "0"s, with a vague area between the two levels. At the output of the amplifiers, the signal is a pure digital stream of data with an appropriate level to drive the microcontroller 18.
The microcontroller 18 is responsible for providing accurate data to the PC via the RS232, PS/2 or USB connection. The microcontroller performs three main functions: a) decoding the stream of logic "1" and "0" coming from the tracks via the amplifiers to supply the clock and the magnetic card data and to transfer the data to the PC; b) decoding the pulses coming from the opto-coupling devices and the switches Si and S2 to provide mouse data to the PC; and c) switching between the above-mentioned two functions. The default function is mouse mode; however, when a card is passed, the microcontroller switches to card mode.
Additional photo-coupler 26 supplies the trigger to microcontroller 18 for initiating the card-reading mode when a magnetic card is slit through slot 22. The credit card information is then passed to the computer and is processed and handled in a per se known manner.
The Data EEPROM program memory of the microcontroller 18 is readable and writable during normal operation and may be used to store digital signature ingredients, namely, digital certificates and private keys. The memory is
advantageously a non-volatile memory for storing the programs and other secured data.
According to another aspect of the present invention, any personal magentic card, including a credit card, may also be utilized in conjunction with the device, to identify an user's authority to access a specific computer program or document, or to obtain secured data stored in the device.
It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrated embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.