AU2001100235A4

AU2001100235A4 - Kiosk

Info

Publication number: AU2001100235A4
Application number: AU2001100235A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Nicholas Beams
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2001-08-07
Filing date: 2001-08-07
Publication date: 2001-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 2009-08-07

Description

KIOSK

The present invention relates to the field of electronic point of sale devices and in particular improvements in function that facilitate the efficient sale of photographic images, motion video, products and information.

The invention generally relates to computer-controlled point-of-sale terminals (herein referred to as Kiosks), which incorporate a Visual Display Unit (herein referred to as VDU), computer and either a physical output device (such as a printer) or an electronic data output facility. The invention also has application to vending machines using a computer-controlled interface to accept orders electronically.

Kiosks are widely used in various retail applications because they provide an efficient and fast way to provide customers with information and/or accept orders for providing services and/or products. They facilitate access to vast quantities of information which the customer can view and subsequently use to decide whether or not a particular product or service is necessary or desirable.

The kiosk can then facilitate the creation of an order for the product and/or service, (or products and/or services) which are either provided directly by the kiosk, or placed in an electronic queue for fulfilment at a later time.

In existing kiosks and vending machines there are inherent disadvantages. They must electronically send and receive data electronically using cables. For example, in some kiosks, a data connection (ie. a cable or modem connection) is required to intermittently access programs or data on a remote computer or computer network.

Also, to be capable of displaying photographic images they must be made too large or heavy to be considered portable.

Therefore, in a first aspect of the invention, the kiosk has been designed using light-weight materials, unique software programs and smaller, more highly advanced components.

Thus a kiosk that is small and light enough to be carried by hand, has been advantageously combined with both an appropriately capable computer and a suitably sized Visual Display Unit, to display images for a commercial purpose.

In order to assist in arriving at an understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment is illustrated in the attached drawings. However it should be understood that the following description is illustrative only and should not be taken in any way as a restriction of the generality of the invention as described above.

As illustrated in Figure 1 the invention is constructed and there is provided a handle 2. The VDU 1 incorporating a touch-sensitive device for collecting user input is positioned on the front side of the invention's case 5. A specially constructed computer incorporating a central processor, memory bank, graphics subsystem, storage device, heat dissipation device and battery is included inside the invention's case. Also included is a power supply and in some instances, a printer 3. All components are held captive inside the case and can be accessed for servicing or replenishment by way of two apertures at the rear which incorporate locking doors.

In a second aspect there is provided two alternative electronic arrangements for transferring order information and electronic data to and from the kiosk. The first method uses a physical storage medium (such as a memory card, disk or disk drive 4, which can be removed and subsequently read by another computer or kiosk to complete the transfer process. If it is desirable or necessary a second transfer method is provided in which an internal transmitter and receiver arrangement sends and receives electronic information as required.

In the present invention this is a 2Ghz radio frequency transmitter and receiver combination, which establishes a continuous (but not unbreakable) connection with another computer or kiosk. If necessary or desirable this connection can also be established using other kinds of electromagnetic radiation (for example a microwave or optical link) and may be configured to link to one or more kiosks and computers.

The invention is powered by an internal battery, however if necessary or desirable it may be connected to an external power source via the external power plug 6.

The present invention can be, for all intents and purposes, a physically independent viewing terminal, which can be carried by hand to any location to facilitate display and accept orders for photographic images, motion video, products and information.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are many variations and modifications of the configuration described herein which are within the scope of the present invention.

DATED: 05th August 2001 Nicholas Beams