JP7580334B2 - Terminal device and light emitting method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal device and a light emission method.

Conventionally, there are payment systems that allow payment by electronic money in addition to payment by cash when purchasing goods. For example, a payment terminal device is provided in a store, and a user making a purchase can make a payment by bringing a payment recording medium (e.g., an IC card) close to the terminal device and performing contactless communication.
In recent years, the use of smartphones, tablets, etc. as such payment terminal devices is becoming more widespread. For example, by installing and executing a payment processing application on a store's smartphone, the store can communicate with a recording medium and a payment server to perform payment processing.
Patent Document 1 discloses a handheld reader capable of reading an RFID tag.

Patent No. 6106138

However, since the screen of a smartphone has come to occupy the entire area of one main surface of the smartphone, a communication unit capable of communicating with a recording medium is increasingly provided on the surface opposite to the display screen (for example, the back). Furthermore, smartphones have come to be equipped with various circuits, and the range in which a recording medium can be read is extremely small due to the influence of electromagnetic waves. In this case, since the communication area is small, it may be difficult for a user to quickly bring the recording medium close to an accurate position. This may result in time being spent on positioning the recording medium to read it, which may cause congestion at cash registers, etc.
In addition, since the terminal device is held by the store clerk while the operation to start reading is performed, it is difficult for the user to know whether the terminal device has transitioned to a state where the recording medium can be read. In that case, it is also difficult to know the timing to hold the recording medium over the terminal device. Therefore, it is preferable to be able to smoothly read the recording medium on the terminal device.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a terminal device and a light emission method that allows the terminal device to smoothly read a recording medium.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention is a terminal device having an illuminating label attached to a second main surface of the terminal device, which is different from a first main surface on which a display area is provided, at a position where a communication unit that communicates with a recording medium by non-contact communication is provided, and the illuminating label has a light-emitting portion that emits light using power generated based on a wireless signal output from the communication unit when the communication unit communicates with the recording medium.

Another aspect of the present invention is a light emitting method in which an illuminating label is attached to a second main surface of a terminal device, which is different from a first main surface on which a display area is provided, at a position where a communication unit that communicates with a recording medium by non-contact communication is provided, and the illuminating label emits light using power generated based on a wireless signal output from the communication unit when the communication unit communicates with the recording medium.

As described above, this invention allows a terminal device to smoothly read a recording medium.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a case where a payment is made in a store using the terminal device 1 as a payment terminal.

Hereinafter, a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing the configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The terminal device 1 is, for example, a smartphone or a tablet, and is provided with a display screen and a communication unit. The display screen is provided on the first main surface. This display screen has been getting larger in recent years, and therefore the display area of the display screen covers almost the entire first main surface. Since the first main surface is almost entirely occupied by the display screen, the communication unit is provided at a position on the second main surface on the opposite side to the first main surface. A camera or the like may be provided on this second main surface, but no display screen is provided.

The light-emitting label 2 is attached to the second main surface at a position where a communication unit that communicates with the recording medium by non-contact communication is provided. Here, the communication unit is provided with an antenna for communication. By attaching the light-emitting label 2 to the position where the communication unit is provided, the light-emitting label 2 is attached to a position where it is likely to receive a wireless signal (radio wave) radiated from the antenna.
The luminescent label 2 may be attached to the terminal device 1, and may have, for example, one surface of the luminescent label coated with an adhesive material or bonding material so as to be attached to the terminal device 1. The luminescent label 2 may also be attached by being sandwiched between an adhesive sheet and the terminal device 1.

The light-emitting label 2 has an antenna circuit 20 , a rectifier circuit 21 , and a lighting circuit 22 .
The antenna circuit 20 receives a wireless signal (radio wave) transmitted from the communication unit of the terminal device 1. The rectifier circuit 21 rectifies the wireless signal received by the antenna circuit 20. The lighting circuit 22 has a light-emitting lamp, and supplies the voltage obtained by rectifying the wireless signal by the rectifier circuit 21 as a power source to the light-emitting lamp, thereby causing the light-emitting lamp to emit light. In other words, the light-emitting label 2 does not include a power source device such as a battery for lighting the light-emitting lamp, and can cause the light-emitting lamp to emit light using power generated based on the wireless signal supplied from the terminal device 1.

The terminal device 1 has an input unit 11 , a calculation unit 12 , and an output unit 13 .
The input unit 11 receives various data from the outside and is, for example, an input device such as a touch panel.
The calculation unit 12 is a processing unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes various programs. There are multiple types of programs that are executed, one of which is an application program for performing payment processing for a store. By executing the payment application program, the calculation unit 12 drives a communication unit to communicate with a recording medium and functions as a payment function unit that performs payment processing.

After the calculation unit 12 executes the application program for the store, when a store clerk inputs an instruction to read the recording medium from the input unit 11, the calculation unit 12 drives the communication unit to communicate with the recording medium for payment.
When the communication unit starts to operate, it outputs a wireless signal for wirelessly communicating with the recording medium.
The output unit 13 outputs various data. The output unit 13 is, for example, a display screen, and is attached to the first main surface side of the terminal device 1.
Here, the recording medium is, for example, an IC card. The recording medium can communicate with the terminal device 1 through contactless communication by being brought close to the communication unit of the terminal device 1. Such a recording medium is carried by the user and used as a payment recording medium when making a payment at a store.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a case where a payment is made in a store using the terminal device 1 as a payment terminal.
When making a payment for selling a product or providing a service to a user, a store clerk inputs a payment instruction from the input unit 11, thereby executing a payment application program. The terminal device 1 executes the payment application program, starts the payment process, and sets the payment amount. The payment amount may be input by the store clerk via the touch panel of the input unit 11, or may be specified to the terminal device 1 from an external device (e.g., a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal). The calculation unit 12 causes the output unit 13 to display the set payment amount on the display screen.
The store clerk checks the payment amount, presents it to the user for confirmation, and then inputs an instruction to execute a process of reading the recording medium 3.

When the instruction to execute the reading process is input, the calculation unit 12 drives the communication unit, which then outputs a wireless signal for communicating with the recording medium 3 in accordance with the timing for reading the recording medium 3 for making a payment.
Here, the communication unit is disposed at a position on the second main surface of the terminal device 1. In the example of Fig. 2, the communication unit is disposed slightly toward the upper end side from the center of the second main surface, and the position where the communication unit is disposed is set as the communication area 15.
The light-emitting label 2 is affixed to a position corresponding to the communication area 15. Therefore, when a wireless signal for communicating with the recording medium 3 is output from the communication unit, the light-emitting label 2 receives the wireless signal, and lights up the light-emitting lamp 25 with the voltage obtained by rectifying the received wireless signal.

The light-emitting label 2 may be attached by bringing the light-emitting label close to the communication area 15 while a wireless signal is being output from the communication area 15, and confirming that the light-emitting lamp 25 is lit.

In this way, in response to the start of communication to read the recording medium 3, the light-emitting lamp 25 emits light at a position where the recording medium 3 can be read. Therefore, when the user wants the terminal device 1 to read the recording medium 3, the user can bring the recording medium close to the position on the second main surface of the terminal device 1 where the light-emitting lamp 25 is lit. Here, a wireless signal for communicating with the recording medium 3 is output from the communication unit, so that the light-emitting lamp 25 lights up when the timing arrives when the recording medium 3 can be read. Therefore, the user can know the position where the recording medium 3 can be read, and can know that the recording medium 3 can be read by checking the light of the light-emitting lamp 25.

When the terminal device 1 is held by a store clerk, the first main surface of the terminal device 1 is oriented so that the store clerk can see it, and the second main surface of the terminal device 1 is oriented so that the user can see it. In this state, the display screen 16 is oriented so that the store clerk can see it, and the user cannot see it. Therefore, in the payment application program, if a message such as "The recording medium will be read. Please bring the recording medium close" is displayed on the display screen 16, the store clerk can see the message, but the user cannot see it. In order to have the user see it, the store clerk needs to turn the terminal device 1 so that the user can see the side with the display screen, or tell the user by speech, "The card can now be read, so please bring the card close." This causes the inconvenience of having to change the direction in which the terminal device 1 is held, and also creates a burden because the user needs to be informed that the card can be read every time a payment is made.

On the other hand, when a user is having the terminal device 1 read a recording medium and is unsure when the recording medium will be able to be read, the user may hold the recording medium close to the terminal device 1 from an earlier stage than when the recording medium can actually be read. This increases the time the recording medium is held over the terminal device 1, and increases the burden on the reading operation. Also, if the recording medium is held close to the terminal device 1 from a stage later than when the recording medium can actually be read, it takes longer to start reading the recording medium, and in some cases the recording medium may not be held over the terminal device 1 during the period when it can be read, resulting in a communication error. This increases the time it takes to complete a payment.

According to the above-described embodiment, the light-emitting lamp 25 can be illuminated when the recording medium becomes available for reading, so the user can know when reading is available without having to perform complicated operations or receiving guidance from a store clerk. In this case, the user can also know the position where reading is possible. Therefore, the recording medium 3 can be smoothly read by the terminal device 1.

1: Terminal device, 2: Illuminating label, 3: Recording medium, 11: Input section, 12: Calculation section, 13: Output section, 15: Communication area, 16: Display screen, 20: Antenna circuit, 21: Rectification circuit, 22: Illumination circuit, 25: Illuminating lamp

Claims (3)

a light-emitting label is attached to a position on a second main surface of the terminal device, the second main surface being different from a first main surface on which a display area is provided, the light-emitting label being attached to a position on a communication unit that communicates with the recording medium by non-contact communication;
The light-emitting label is a terminal device having a light-emitting portion that emits light using power generated based on a radio signal output from the communication unit when the communication unit communicates with the recording medium. A payment function unit that performs payment processing by communicating with the recording medium,
the communication unit outputs a wireless signal to the recording medium in accordance with a timing for reading the recording medium for making a payment;
The terminal device according to claim 1 , wherein the light-emitting label emits light from the light-emitting section in response to a wireless signal output in response to the start of communication with the recording medium by the settlement function section. a light-emitting label is attached to a second main surface of the terminal device, the second main surface being different from a first main surface on which a display area is provided, at a position where a communication unit that communicates with the recording medium by non-contact communication is provided;
The light emitting label emits light using power generated based on a radio signal output from the communication unit when the communication unit communicates with the recording medium.

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