Credit card telephone station
US4672661A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 28, 1985 |
| Grant date | Jun 9, 1987 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 28, 2005 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04M17/023
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A credit card telephone station adapted to permit the initiation of telephone calls in response to the movement of a credit card having a stripe of magnetic characters on one face thereof past a magnetic card reader includes a housing for containing a telephone receiver-transmitter and circuit means including a magnetic card reader for enabling a call to be made. A telephone handset and supporting hook switch is provided and dial means accessible from the exterior of the housing is utilized for dialing calls. The telephone station includes a credit card receiving slot structure having an open edge accessible from outside the housing to permit a magnetic stripe containing portion of the credit card to be moved along a slot while manually gripped by a user. The slot structure includes a pair of spaced apart sidewalls, one of said walls having a window defined along a longitudinal path of movement for the credit card. The slot structure also includes a guide means between the walls adapted to be engaged by a longitudinal side edge of a credit card for guiding the card so as to align the stripe of magnetic characters to pass in front of the window for reading by the magnetic card reade…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.