US 2021/0330832 A1Published application

Payment sanitizing system for point of sale

AssigneeEllenby Technologies, Inc.

InventorsAaron H. Dobbins, Bob M. Dobbins, Thomas Carullo

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Abstract

A sanitizer is described which frames a payment media, such as a bill, a coin and a credit card, in an irradiation zone between narrowly spaced support walls having associated ultraviolet lamps arranged to irradiate the payment media for at least a predetermined minimum time period. In one approach a motorized transport transports the payment media to an entry point from which it falls into the irradiation zone. In another aspect, a gravity feed approach is employed to return the irradiated media item to a dispense zone. One application is to alleviate concern at a point of sale where customers and merchants are concerned about whether payment media may be carrying a dangerous virus.

Claims20

Dependent claims

Payment media sanitizing apparatus comprising:

a thin payment media directing mechanism that directs the thin payment media from an insertion point to a sanitization zone internal to the payment sanitizing apparatus;
the sanitization zone having a length slightly longer than a longest thin payment media to be sanitized by the payment media sanitizing apparatus and comprising a thin payment media support and associated ultraviolet sources irradiating the thin payment media when the thin payment media is in the sanitization zone;
and a release mechanism comprising a movable support member supporting a leading edge of the thin payment media when the thin payment media is in the sanitization zone during sanitizing and a mechanical release lever operated to return the thin payment media to a return retrieval tray.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/228,862Filed 13 Apr 2021
Priority: 22 Apr 2020
Published: 28 Oct 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

A61L 2/10
Radiation: ultraviolet [UV] radiation
A61L 2/24
Disinfection or sterilisation of materials or objects, in general; Accessories therefor: apparatus using programmed or automatic operation
A61L 2/26
Disinfection or sterilisation of materials or objects, in general; Accessories therefor: accessories
G06Q 20/20
Payment architectures: point-of-sale [POS] network systems

Family

Application63/013,663Us provisional application · filed 22 Apr 2020
US 11,679,170 B2Related patent
US 2021/0330832 A1This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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