Dedicated systems for facilitating point of sale transactions are known in the art, and indeed are familiar to most consumers in industrial countries. Such systems are commonly used when a consumer (or user) pays for a purchase, or is to receive a credit back, typically in conjunction with the consumer's credit card or debit card. FIG. 1 illustrates a point-of-sale and/or point-of-service (“POS”) transaction terminal 100 in the art. POS transaction terminal 100 typically comprises a transaction computer 102, such as a CPU, operatively connected to a display 104.
With conventional credit cards or debit cards, at the time of purchase or credit, the card is moved through a magnetic stripe reader 106 of the POS terminal 100, and the encoded information on the magnetic stripe is read. To promote security, the consumer typically is required to enter some sort of personal identification number (“PIN”) or a personal signature to help confirm that the consumer is indeed the authorized card owner. Entry is commonly made using display 104 of the POS terminal. Display 104 typically has a virtual (e.g., displayed) keypad interface, signature-capture interface, or other data-capture interface that is formed by the combination of a touch pad and a liquid crystal display (“LCD”). Display 104 can respond to pressure or touch from a passive style or pen 108 or from the consumer's finger, fingernail, keys or other such objects.
Alternatively, referring to FIG. 2, the POS terminal may simply comprise a pin entry device (“PED”) 200, which comprises a PIN entry display 202 coupled to a computer device, such as a CPU. PIN entry display 202 typically has a virtual keypad interface that is formed by the combination of a touch pad and an LCD. In this embodiment, a consumer's credit or debit card is moved through a magnetic strip reader of another device (not shown), such as a cash register, which is operably connected to PED 200. The consumer is then prompted by PED 200, such as via an LCD display 204, or by a product or service provider, to enter a PIN. The consumer may enter the PIN by touching or pressing on the virtual keys of PIN entry display 202.
During entry of such personal information by the consumer, the personal information may be subjected to theft by onlookers that can view POS terminal display 14 or PIN entry display 202 at an angle. FIG. 3 illustrates the various positions about a POS terminal, such as PIN entry device 200, at which an onlooker may be positioned to view PIN entry display 202. The position of the onlooker may be measured as having a position angle β about the “5” key of PIN entry display 202. A consumer using PIN entry device 200 typically stands facing PIN entry display 202, with position angle β being about zero degrees. An onlooker standing behind the consumer likely will not be able to view PIN entry display 202 because her view will be blocked by the consumer. However, an onlooker standing to the side of PIN entry device 200, such as when the onlooker is at a position angle β of about 45 to 135 degrees or about 225 to 315 degrees, or an onlooker standing across from the consumer, such as when the onlooker is at a position angle β of about 135 to 225 degrees, may be able to view PIN entry display 202 when the consumer is inputting her PIN.
To improve the security of POS transactions, POS terminals in the art may comprise a mechanical shield disposed about the terminal or the terminal display to limit the angles at which the terminal display may be viewed. However, such mechanical shields can increase the costs of the POS terminals. In addition, such mechanical shields may interfere with entry of data by the consumer.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a POS terminal display that limits the angles at which the display may be viewed. In addition, it is desirable to provide a POS terminal with a display having limited viewing angles. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.