WO2017056091A1 - System and method for utilizing retail pos data streams with transaction information - Google Patents

System and method for utilizing retail pos data streams with transaction information Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017056091A1
WO2017056091A1 PCT/IL2016/051065 IL2016051065W WO2017056091A1 WO 2017056091 A1 WO2017056091 A1 WO 2017056091A1 IL 2016051065 W IL2016051065 W IL 2016051065W WO 2017056091 A1 WO2017056091 A1 WO 2017056091A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
data
pos
customer
raw communication
port
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IL2016/051065
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Yan Zagatsky
Michael PARSHIN
David AVRAHAM
Eduard KONTOROVICH
Original Assignee
Georest Ltd
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Publication date
Application filed by Georest Ltd filed Critical Georest Ltd
Publication of WO2017056091A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017056091A1/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G07—CHECKING-DEVICES
    • G07G—REGISTERING THE RECEIPT OF CASH, VALUABLES, OR TOKENS
    • G07G1/00—Cash registers
    • G07G1/12—Cash registers electronically operated
    • G07G1/14—Systems including one or more distant stations co-operating with a central processing unit
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/04—Payment circuits
    • G06Q20/047—Payment circuits using payment protocols involving electronic receipts
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/08—Payment architectures
    • G06Q20/20—Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
    • G06Q20/202—Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q20/00—Payment architectures, schemes or protocols
    • G06Q20/08—Payment architectures
    • G06Q20/20—Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
    • G06Q20/209—Specified transaction journal output feature, e.g. printed receipt or voice output

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to the field of retail systems, and more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to the field of wireless-enabled systems connected to point-of-sale systems (POS).
  • POS point-of-sale systems
  • the point of sale is the time and place where a retail transaction is completed. It is the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. It's also an aggregation point for all orders received not in- person but through various external sources: phone orders, orders placed through web portal, orders placed through smartphone application.
  • the merchant would prepare an invoice for the customer (which may be a cash register printout) or otherwise calculate the amount owed by the customer and provide options for the customer to make payment.
  • this output will also include relevant information for customer identification and all additional information required to complete the remote order by driver/delivery person or future customer identification in case of later self-pick-up.
  • the merchant After receiving payment, the merchant will also normally issue a receipt for the transaction, though increasingly a receipt is being dispensed with (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_sale, incorporated herein as reference). In case of an external/remote order, the merchant will prepare invoice and attach it as part of the order package.
  • the POS in various retail situations would use customized hardware and software tailored to their particular requirements.
  • Retailers may utilize weighing scales, scanners, electronic and manual cash registers, EFTPOS terminals, touch screens and a variety of other hardware and software available.
  • a grocery or candy store may use a scale at the point of sale, while a bar and restaurant may use software to customize the item or service sold when a customer has a meal or drink request.
  • the point of sale is often referred to as the point of service because it is not just a point of sale but also a point of return or customer order. Additionally, today POS software may include additional features to cater for different functionality, such as inventory management, CRM, financials, warehousing, etc.
  • Hospitality point of sale systems are computerized systems incorporating registers, computers and peripheral equipment, usually on a computer network to be used in restaurants, hair salons or hotels. Like other point of sale systems, these systems keep track of sales, labor and payroll, and can generate records used in accounting and bookkeeping. They may be accessed remotely by restaurant corporate offices, troubleshooters and other authorized parties.
  • Point of sale systems have revolutionized the restaurant industry, particularly in the fast food sector.
  • registers are computers, sometimes with touch screens.
  • the registers connect to a server, often referred to as a "store controller” or a "central control unit”.
  • Printers and monitors are also found on the network.
  • remote servers can connect to store networks and monitor sales and other store data.
  • Typical restaurant POS software is able to create and print guest checks, print orders to kitchens and bars for preparation, process credit cards and other payment cards, and run reports.
  • some systems implement wireless pagers and electronic signature- capture devices.
  • Typical POS systems run proprietary software and do not allow any unauthorized external software to be installed on top. Any third party vendor willing to extend existing POS capabilities will have to comply with the POS's manufacturer interface and receive relevant approval.
  • POS systems are often designed for a variety of clients, and usually offer limited set of generic functionalities that can be configured by the end users to suit their needs. Only some large clients can afford to write their own specifications for vendors to implement. In some cases, POS systems are sold and supported by third-party distributors, while in other cases they are sold and supported directly by the vendor. As mentioned before, typical POS systems run proprietary software and do not allow any un-authorized external software to be installed on top. Any vendor willing to extend their existing POS capabilities will have to comply with POS's manufacturer interface and receive relevant approval.
  • the selection of a restaurant POS system is critical to the restaurant's daily operation and is a major investment that the restaurant's management and staff must live with for many years.
  • the restaurant POS system interfaces with all phases of the restaurant operation and with everyone that is involved with the restaurant including guests, suppliers, employees, managers and owners.
  • Patent application US 2009/0006151 Al discloses a customer receipt data collection robotic (RBOT) device which is connected to a point-of-sale (POS) device, such as a cash register, through an available connection link, such as an available auxiliary printer port or in-line connection.
  • the RBOT device operates autonomously to collect receipt data for transmission to a Data Center for storing and processing the collected receipt data and making the results thereof accessible online to vendors and customers.
  • the customer receipt data are tagged with the customer's ID number by scanning a customer barcode ID or a magstripe customer ID store card.
  • useful data mining functions are performed on the collected receipt data, and the results are made available online to vendors for inventory control and/or product sales purposes, and to customers for accessing their purchase histories and/or for customer loyalty, discount and/or reward programs.
  • Patent application US 2012/0284081 Al discloses an intelligence-gathering system operates on a network-connected server having at least one processor and at least one coupled data repository, with software executing on the at least one processor from a non-transitory medium.
  • the software provides a first function obtaining data from itemized receipts, a second function obtaining related data from one or more merchant sites, and a third function matching data sets obtained from the itemized receipts to data sets obtained from the one or more merchant sites.
  • Patent application WO2013062481A1 discloses system and method to collect receipts autonomously from Point-of-Sale systems (105) through a receipt acquisition and processing device (120) which comprises of a mobile device capable of near field communication. Captured receipt content is reconstructed in device for display and verification to further obtain anonymous identity and consent through a passive or an active NFC tag from a device (140) carried by buyer to be sent to a receipt store (185). Receipt items are extracted based on receipt XML template created by importing and superimposing printed receipt onto an ASCII text cell matrix using a modeling and template generation tool.
  • a receipt presentment service (190) displays categorized and aggregated spending view with comparative trend analysis and allows social networking based on receipt items.
  • a reverse auction service (190) allows buyers to perform reverse auction on receipt items and sellers to bid and fulfill.
  • Patent application EP1209601A2 discloses a system for compiling a plurality of digital receipts and the transaction data from the plurality of digital receipts (e-receipts) from a plurality of vendors includes forwarding the plurality of digital receipts to a central collection point such as a data warehouse.
  • the central collection point is adapted to categorize the plurality of digital receipts and all of the transaction data therefrom. Access to the central collection point is controlled and/or restricted on a subscription basis.
  • Each retailer is in communication with the central collection point.
  • the data warehouse may be accessible via a public network (i.e. Internet) or a private network.
  • POS point-of-sale terminal
  • It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device comprising: an input port adapted to receive said data stream from said POS terminal, said data stream representing a transaction record for a transaction conducted by a costumer; a switcher adapted to channel said data stream received from said POS terminal; a splitter adapted to duplicate and forward to at least two different locations said data stream received from said POS terminal; a current adaptor adapted to adapt said data stream received from said POS terminal to be read by a CPU; a CPU having an optional software adapted to: analyze said data stream received from said POS terminal; perform parsing methods on said data; transmit said data to an external location; a non-transitory computer readable media (CRM) adapted to store data; means to transmit said data stream received from said CPU to said computer server; an output port adapted to send said data stream to said peripheral device.
  • CCM computer readable media
  • an electronic message such as SMS or Email
  • CRM computer readable media
  • It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said step of allocating all data in a non-transitory computer readable media (CRM) adapted to store data further comprises the steps of: creating a merchant profile, comprising: sold items, time and date of purchases, merchant sales person, prices of sold items; performing data auto correction and verification of certain customer and transaction details based on previously collected and stored data; and creating a customer profile, comprising: personal information (name, address, phone number, credit card information, ID number), sold items, time and date of purchases, prices of sold items.
  • CRM computer readable media
  • an electronic message such as SMS or Email
  • FIG. 1 showing a schematic example POS system configuration including an example embodiment of a POS receipt data routing device.
  • FIG. 2 showing another schematic example POS system configuration including an example embodiment of a POS receipt data routing device.
  • FIG. 3 showing another schematic example POS system configuration including an example embodiment of a POS receipt data routing device.
  • FIG. 4 showing a schematic example illustration of the router device.
  • FIG. 5 showing an example flowchart of the operation of the POS system.
  • FIG. 6 showing an example flowchart of the operation of the Server.
  • Described herein are system and methods for capturing customer details and associating it with retail transaction data based on POS output without any additional external inputs and/or devices (barcode, RFQ code) and without the need of any additional software integration in the already installed POS.
  • Certain embodiments include a device configured to capture, store, and transmit purchase records electronically for access by purchasers and/or sellers, together with software module running on external server and algorithms for data extraction.
  • the example router device may be coupled to a port, such as a printer port or other communication port of the POS terminal, which may be in the form of a personal computer hosting POS software.
  • the router device intercepts/receives all data, such as receipt data, order data, customer details data and others, embedded with printer commands, and enables the data to be converted into electronic data. Examples of such printer commands (which may be in the form of control codes) are described in greater detail below.
  • the data may be sent to a system, such as a remote server (e.g., a customer management system), which will perform data processing and analysis using proprietary algorithms to extract relevant information from POS data flow, store it in the Data Base and then may email the customer and/or the seller, and/or may make the information available via a network site, such as a web site.
  • a remote server e.g., a customer management system
  • the data is optionally pre-processed by the router device prior to sending the data to the system.
  • Order data may then be relayed from the POS system, via the router device, to a service that parses the purchase information/receipt data into various elements (e.g., identifies printer commands, field names, and/or variable values).
  • the customer/seller is then provided access to electronic versions of the data in one or more formats and/or some or all of the receipt data.
  • a POS terminal may be a computing device (e.g., with a processor, memory, input/output ports, etc.).
  • a POS terminal may include user input devices, such as a keyboard, touch pad, mouse, trackball, bar code scanner, a card reader (e.g., a magnetic MICR card reader to read credit cards, prepaid cards, gift cards, membership cards, etc.), an RFID reader, etc.
  • a POS terminal may include output devices, such as graphical displays for the operator, customer-facing graphical and/or character displays, speakers, beepers, and a receipt printer.
  • a cash storage drawer with an electronic release is often included as well.
  • POS system component manufacturers both hardware device manufacturers e.g., of receipt printers and software modules manufacturers
  • POS system component manufacturers need to ensure that their components can work reliably with a variety of POS system and need to maintain such interoperability.
  • POS system component manufacturers often provide authentication mechanisms that will prevent their software and/or hardware from working with unauthorized or non-verified devices.
  • certain embodiments described herein enable point of sales systems to extend data analysis capabilities, without requiring that new software be installed on the POS terminals. Certain embodiments further do not require new software to be installed on the POS system backend.
  • certain embodiments of the router device can be utilized with POS terminals, printers, and systems, for a variety of different suppliers and manufacturers, without having to customize the router device for a given POS manufacture's or supplier's equipment.
  • certain embodiments include a data router device that includes a print data interceptor device that is configured to be coupled to receive data from a POS terminal port, such as via a printer port.
  • the interceptor device may sit between the POS terminal printer port and a printer and coupled to both, thereby receiving raw data from the POS terminal and forwarding the data to the printer (via a wired or wireless connection).
  • the interceptor device may be connected as a tap on the connected (wired or wireless) between the POS terminal and the receipt printer, without having to forward the printer data to the printer.
  • the raw data may have been formatted by the POS terminal as a combination of printer commands (e.g., setting the font size, moving the paper, etc.) and data for the printer connected to the POS terminal.
  • the data stream from the POS terminal may include data providing relevant data regarding a purchase transaction including customer information, interleaved with special printer formatting commands.
  • POS printers By way of illustration, a number of manufactures make POS printers. Certain of these printers use special POS printer command codes, such as POS printer control codes, which may be manufacturer specified codes or may be codes defined by a standards body.
  • POS printer control codes such as manufacturer specified codes or may be codes defined by a standards body.
  • the stream of data directed to the printer would be interpreted as ASCII character data
  • ASCII data would only be partially meaningful/understandable to a human reader.
  • the stream of data is interpreted by firmware on the printer device and translated into a physical receipt that is includes the information data that is intended to be human readable (e.g., the name of the purchased item, the price, the date of the purchase, the tax, address to be sent, way of payment, etc.).
  • the data router device also includes a port, such as an internet port, via which the device is coupled to a network, such as a LAN network or Wi-Fi network.
  • the data router device is configured to transmit via the network port the printer data, either in raw form (including the printer control codes and the receipt data) or in a processed form (e.g., with the printer command data stripped out), to a remote receipt management system, which may also be configured as a server.
  • a remote receipt management system which may also be configured as a server.
  • certain components of the data router device is divided into separately housed devices.
  • the data router device includes one or more print data interceptor devices and a network communication device.
  • the print data interceptor devices may be wirelessly via a wired or wireless connection (e.g., a Wi-Fi or other RF network) to the network communication device.
  • the print data interceptor devices forward some or all of the printer data they receive to the communication device, and the communication device (connected via a phone, Ethernet or other port) forward the information to a remote system.
  • This technique allows the print data interceptor devices to be made at a lower cost as, rather than having each print data interceptor device include a phone modem or the like, multiple print data interceptor devices can share such a modem, which is located in the communication device.
  • the communication device can also process the printer data (e.g., by stripping out printer commands) prior to forwarding the data to the remote system.
  • a print data interceptor device does include or is coupled to its own modem, which may in turn be connected to a communications network.
  • the data router device and/or a remote system processes the raw printer data into human readable form and/or as well-structured data that is suitable for machine understanding and ease of indexing and searching.
  • An example process traverses through the raw printer data stream and removes printer-specific commands. For example, for data that was received from a printer driver (that may optionally use company-specific (e.g., proprietary) and/or standardized printer command codes, such as formatting commands) on the POS terminal, the process, configured to recognize such printer formatting commands, removes or filters out the printer formatting commands.
  • the remaining data (e.g., the data that was intended to be printed for human reading), is formatted by the process to be readable to a human reader (e.g., as ASCII formatted data).
  • an example process breaks down the cleaned printer data into well-structured data, to facilitate automated operations such as search, categorizing, and indexing.
  • the formatting can be automated based on parsing and "understanding" the text and/or on the location of the text. For example, the formatting of the data often follow a predictable pattern, where the information positioned towards the top of a printout includes information about the merchant/store, such as name, address, telephone. The information positioned towards the middle portion of the printout typically includes a list of purchased items with itemized costs, and additional metadata, such as SKU numbers and/or discounts. The information positioned towards the bottom portion of the printout typically includes subtotals, taxes, total amount, and transaction tendering information.
  • a rules-based engine such as regular expressions, which uses known formatting data for a given printout style to parse the printout data into different parts.
  • Regular expressions provide an efficient and flexible technique for identifying strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters.
  • a regular expression may be written in a formal language that can be interpreted by a regular expression processor program that serves as a parser generator and/or examines text and identifies parts that match the provided specification.
  • a regular expression may include constants and operators that denote sets of strings and operations over these sets.
  • Second phase of data processing and analysis is usually done by a remote system, which may include verification and automatic correction of raw data parsing results.
  • This analysis can be done based on logical rules (e.g. phone number should include numeric characters) and also through comparison to known data such as: customer address can be verified vs geolocation service and list of previous customer addresses; order item can be verified vs generic restaurant menu; etc.
  • the specific format and layout of a printout may be determined by the point of sale software being used (e.g. proprietary POS software from one or more entities), by type of peripheral device (e.g. type of receipt printer) and/or end-user/merchant configurable settings.
  • the formatting information may be user specified. For example, a merchant can specify (e.g., via a web-based administrative site hosted by the remote system that will perform the parsing), what POS software is deployed within the merchant's stores or what type of printer is used. By knowing what POS software is deployed and the settings configuration, the process can determine the receipt format and layout.
  • an example process performs an iterative estimation of which data parser can process a given data stream with the most or a certain level of certainty.
  • Printout data may include field names (e.g., "tax”, “total”, etc.) and variable values (e.g., the actual tax amount that is to be printed on the printout, the total amount to be printed on the printout, etc.).
  • field names e.g., "tax”, “total”, etc.
  • variable values e.g., the actual tax amount that is to be printed on the printout, the total amount to be printed on the printout, etc.
  • Example types of printout data are described below, although a given printout can include less or more types of information:
  • Merchant data Merchant name, address of store where purchase was made, and/or merchant phone number;
  • Transaction data Identifier of sales person; date of transaction, code identifying the store, code identifying the register/POS terminal used in the transaction, item data (e.g., UPC code, textual description, list price, actual sales price, quantity, total costs for a given item (item price * quantity), savings ((list price * quantity)-(item price * quantity));
  • item data e.g., UPC code, textual description, list price, actual sales price, quantity, total costs for a given item (item price * quantity), savings ((list price * quantity)-(item price * quantity));
  • Payment data Account number, credit/debit card type, card expiration date, approval code, merchant code, amount paid in cash;
  • Customer data customer identifier, customer name, phone number, address, custom customer notes to the order.
  • Internet transaction data transaction identifier, authorization code.
  • the data can be stored in a database, where the different pieces of data are mapped to corresponding fields.
  • the store name can be mapped to a store name field
  • a purchased item name can be mapped to a purchased item field
  • an item price can be mapped to an item price field
  • a tax can be mapped to a tax field
  • a total can be mapped to a total field, etc.
  • the customer Based on the customer data, the customer will be either identified as exiting user or as a new user. In case of existing user new information will have reference to his data base ID and in case of new user new customer record will be created.
  • the data can then be presented to a user (e.g., the customer, merchant, and/or other authorized party) via user interface provided via a terminal.
  • a user may be able to access and view some or all of the data in a table and/or graph format via a website over the Internet via a browser hosted on a user computing device (e.g., a personal computer, browser- enabled phone, networked television, etc.) or via an application (e.g., a phone app) loaded onto a computing device such as a phone.
  • the website enables the user to add metadata with respect to the presented data.
  • the user is optionally able to categorize and annotate data, at the printout and/or printout line item levels.
  • This user generated metadata is optionally also stored in the database in association with the data and/or user to account for later recall and querying.
  • Such data representation via user interface may completely replace any output on paper-based peripheral device enabling fully paperless working routine.
  • the website or app are configured to enable the user to query statistical information across all or selected portions of the data for a given customer, merchant, and/or particular store.
  • automated personal finance tools are provided via which information, which may include charts (e.g., pie charts, bar charts, etc.) to illustrate/chart how a customer's purchases fall into distinct categories.
  • the system likewise enables merchants to display, query, and generate reports that summarize purchase information on a store by store basis, for all stores, etc.
  • the consumer can be provided aggregated information on their spending habits, optionally over a selected period of times.
  • a merchant can view who are their better customers, how much they spend over a given period of time, and what types of items they are spending their money on.
  • the user can specify that certain notifications should be sent to the user (e.g., via email, SMS/text messaging, and/or via phone, etc.) upon the occurrence of certain events or conditions.
  • the user can be notified each time a new order is received, when specified spending thresholds have been reached or exceeded, when discounts or special offers are being made available, and/or when summary reports have been generated.
  • the notification can include some or all of the data relating to the event that caused the notification (e.g., a copy of a receipt or discount coupon).
  • customers can sign up for the customer services described herein at a merchant, via a website, or otherwise.
  • a customer can choose to pre-register for the services at the point-of-sale.
  • the POS terminal or other device can provide the customer with a digital receipt.
  • the customer then confirms and finalizes the registration. This permits the customer to access, online at a later date, their first digital data from the merchant where the customer pre-registered.
  • the customer can retrieve their pre-registration account information by providing an identifier that the customer used in the purchase, such as a phone number or credit card number.
  • the data management system is optionally configured to accept, store, and process electronic data directly from online transaction and from newer POS systems or even from intermediate data aggregation point such as e-mail address that collects remote/external orders as part of some existing online ordering system.
  • Merchants may be charged a flat fee (e.g., a flat periodic fee, such as a monthly or yearly fee) and/or fees based on their usage (e.g., the number of data over a given time period received from the merchant and/or the number of routing devices or printer interceptor devices provided to the merchants).
  • the routing devices may be provided free to the merchant, leased to the merchant for a periodic fee, or sold outright to the merchant for a flat fee.
  • the merchant profile may also be automatically generated, in whole or in part, by the system, where, for example, the system examines the merchant's customer data stored on the system, and identifies items sold by the merchant from item listings on the customer receipts.
  • the merchant profile may also be generated, in whole or in part, on other customer information, including customer profiles, purchase information, and spending habits as determined from the customer receipts stored on the data management system.
  • marketing entities may also obtain data-based information from the system (e.g., transmitted by the system to the marketing entities).
  • the information will not include such sensitive items as credit card numbers, debit card numbers, customer addresses, customer phone numbers, and/or customer names to thereby protect customer privacy.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example POS system configuration including an example embodiment of a POS receipt data routing device. It is obvious that there may be multiple sets of systems, as many POS there are present. In FIG. 1 there is depicted only by way of example.
  • the POS terminal 100 may include some or all of the features discussed above (e.g. user input devices, a card reader, a display for the operator, a display for the customer, a speaker (e.g., to provide voice prompts or notifications), a beeper, a printer port, a cash storage drawer, etc.), and/or other features.
  • a given POS terminal may be located at a corresponding checkout lane.
  • the POS terminal 100 is coupled 130 to respective print data interceptor device 110 via respective communication ports, (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 or RS- 485 compatible port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, an Ethernet port, etc.).
  • a parallel port such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port
  • a serial port such as a RS-232 or RS- 485 compatible port
  • USB port such as a USB port, a wireless USB port, an Ethernet port, etc.
  • the POS terminal and the print data interceptor device include communication ports via which they can communicate with each other.
  • the print data interceptor device 110 may include wired and/or wireless communication ports (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible port, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.), etc.).
  • the print data interceptor device 110 is coupled via respective print data interceptor device ports to ports on respective printer 120 (e.g., to a printer parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.).
  • a printer parallel port such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port
  • a serial port such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible
  • an Ethernet port such as a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.
  • the POS terminal port, the print data interceptor device port, and the printer port that are used in the interconnections described above are all of the same port type (e.g., all the connections are made using a parallel port or a serial port).
  • the POS terminal 100 may be coupled via a wired 130 or wireless 140 network (e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network) to the rest of the system.
  • a wired 130 or wireless 140 network e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network
  • the print data interceptor device 110 is connected to an external server 150 via a wired 130 or wireless 140 connection (e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network).
  • a wired 130 or wireless 140 connection e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment.
  • the POS terminal 100 may include some or all of the features discussed above (e.g. user input devices, a card reader, a display for the operator, a display for the customer, a speaker (e.g., to provide voice prompts or notifications), a beeper, a printer port, a cash storage drawer, etc.), and/or other features.
  • a given POS terminal may be located at a corresponding checkout lane.
  • the POS terminal may receive the order information directly from an external source 160 (database, email, cloud, intermediate data aggregation point such as e-mail address that collects remote/external orders as part of some existing online ordering system, etc.) via wire 170 or wireless 190.
  • an external source 160 database, email, cloud, intermediate data aggregation point such as e-mail address that collects remote/external orders as part of some existing online ordering system, etc.
  • the print data interceptor device 110 can receive the data stream from the POS 100 or directly from the external source 160 via wire 180 or wireless 191. As, previously described, the POS terminal 100 is coupled to respective print data interceptor device 110 via respective communication ports, (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 or RS-485 compatible port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, an Ethernet port, etc.).
  • the POS terminal and the print data interceptor device include communication ports via which they can communicate with each other.
  • the print data interceptor device 110 may include wired and/or wireless communication ports (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible port, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.), etc.).
  • the print data interceptor device 110 is coupled via respective print data interceptor device ports to ports on respective printer 120 (e.g., to a printer parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.).
  • a printer parallel port such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port
  • a serial port such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible
  • an Ethernet port such as a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.
  • the POS terminal port, the print data interceptor device port, and the printer port that are used in the interconnections described above are all of the same port type (e.g., all the connections are made using a parallel port or a serial port).
  • the POS terminal 100 may be coupled via a wired 130 or wireless 140 network (e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network) to the rest of the system.
  • a wired 130 or wireless 140 network e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network
  • the print data interceptor device 110 is connected to an external server 150 via a wired 130 or wireless 140 connection (e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network).
  • a wired 130 or wireless 140 connection e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates another example embodiment.
  • the POS terminal 100 may include some or all of the features discussed above (e.g. user input devices, a card reader, a display for the operator, a display for the customer, a speaker (e.g., to provide voice prompts or notifications), a beeper, a printer port, a cash storage drawer, etc.), and/or other features.
  • a given POS terminal may be located at a corresponding checkout lane.
  • the POS terminal may receive the order information directly from an external source 160 (database, email, cloud, intermediate data aggregation point such as e-mail address that collects remote/external orders as part of some existing online ordering system, etc.) via wire 170 or wireless.
  • an external source 160 database, email, cloud, intermediate data aggregation point such as e-mail address that collects remote/external orders as part of some existing online ordering system, etc.
  • the print data interceptor device 110 receives the data stream from the POS 100.
  • the POS terminal 100 is coupled to respective print data interceptor device 110 via respective communication ports, (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 or RS-485 compatible port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, an Ethernet port, etc.).
  • respective communication ports e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 or RS-485 compatible port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, an Ethernet port, etc.
  • the POS terminal and the print data interceptor device include communication ports via which they can communicate with each other.
  • the print data interceptor device 110 may include wired and/or wireless communication ports (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible port, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.), etc.).
  • the print data interceptor device 110 is coupled via respective print data interceptor device ports to ports on respective printer 120 (e.g., to a printer parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.).
  • a printer parallel port such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port
  • a serial port such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible
  • an Ethernet port such as a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.
  • the POS terminal port, the print data interceptor device port, and the printer port that are used in the interconnections described above are all of the same port type (e.g., all the connections are made using a parallel port or a serial port).
  • the POS terminal 100 may be coupled via a wired 130 or wireless network (e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network) to the rest of the system.
  • a wired 130 or wireless network e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network
  • the print data interceptor device 110 is connected to an external server 150 via a wired or wireless connection (e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network).
  • a wired or wireless connection e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network.
  • the external server 150 receives the data directly from the external source 160 via wire or wireless 180, same data as the POS.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of the router device 200.
  • the POS terminal 201 is connected to the router device 200 via the respective port (e.g., to a printer parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.).
  • the splitter 202 in this example the RS-232 splitter
  • the splitter 202 is configured to actuate in two possible modes: “listening mode” and "modifying mode”.
  • the printer data is forwarded directly to the printer without any modifications, as if the router device is not there.
  • the data stills go to the converter 203 (in this example from RS-232 to TTL) and forward but without any active intervention on the exiting data to the printer 208.
  • the printer data is forwarded to the current converter 203 (in this example from RS-232 to TTL).
  • the current converter may comprise a led indicator 204 which provides the user information regarding power consumption and communication processes. Once the printer data is converted, then is being forwarded to the CPU 205.
  • the CPU 205 is a processor, which may be in the form of a general purpose processor, a microcontroller, or other device, is coupled to non- volatile memory 206 (e.g., ROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, or other non-volatile memory).
  • non- volatile memory 206 e.g., ROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, or other non-volatile memory.
  • the non-volatile memory 206 may be used to store program code used to implement processes described herein.
  • the processor 205 is coupled to volatile memory (not shown) (e.g., RAM), which is used as working memory (e.g., to store variable values, data received from the POS system/terminal, etc.).
  • the processor 205 is also coupled to a battery and/or a source of power 207.
  • the router device 200 there are one or more ports, which are intended to be coupled to a POS terminal printer port and to a POS printer 208.
  • the router device 200 comprises an internal Wi-Fi 209 or GPRS 210 system, from which the data is delivered to an external server to be further used.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates an example flowchart of the operation of the POS system 300.
  • the POS terminal 100 sends the print data 301 to the interceptor device 110, including general information, receipt data and printer commands.
  • the interceptor device can be in two possible modes 302: modifying or listening. If the print data interceptor is in "modifying mode" 304, the printer data is passed to the current converter 306 to be modified and adapted to be read by the CPU 205.
  • the CPU is configured to perform some or all of the parsing, organizing, reporting, and/or displaying functions described herein 307.
  • the CPU can execute the processes discussed herein, including examining printer data, and identifying and removing printer-specific commands (e.g., company- specific (e.g., proprietary) and/or standardized printer command codes, such as printer formatting commands).
  • printer-specific commands e.g., company- specific (e.g., proprietary) and/or standardized printer command codes, such as printer formatting commands.
  • the CPU parses, optionally using the rules based engine discussed herein, and processes the receipt printer data into well-structured data, to facilitate automated operations such as search, categorizing, and indexing.
  • the CPU then return the data to the current converter 306, in order to adapt it back for the printer, and finally is delivered 305 to the printer 120.
  • the CPU stores the information in the memory 308 and forward the same to an external server 309.
  • the printer data (optionally in raw form or in a processed form, such as with the printer commands stripped out) is sent 305 to the printer 120, and to the current converter 306 to follow the path previously described in order to save the data without inducing any change to it.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates an example flowchart of the operation of the Server 400.
  • the server 450 receives transmission from device (110) 401, it performs first phase of analysis (rules-based) 402, then second phase of verification and automatic correction 403. At this point if the information is new, then there is the creation 404 and saving of merchant and customer profile in the database 405 along with additional transaction data. If the information is not new, therefore is an existing costumer, then the data is updated 406 along with additional transaction data.
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • FPGA field programmable gate array
  • a general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine.
  • a processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
  • a software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art.
  • An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.
  • the storage medium may be integral to the processor.
  • the processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC.
  • the ASIC may reside in a user terminal.
  • the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

Abstract

A system for capturing and utilizing a data stream from a point-of-sale terminal (POS) to a peripheral device, the system comprising: a plurality of data capturing devices, each one connected to a data output port of said POS for collecting transaction record as raw communication data and transmitting said raw communication data either "as is" or after at least one step of processing to a computer server; a computer server programmed to: receive said raw communication data from said plurality of data capturing devices; analyze said raw communication data using an Analysis Module; said Analysis Module adapted to extract customer information from said raw communication data and associate it with the transaction details extracted from said raw communication data.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR UTILIZING RETAIL POS DATA STREAMS
WITH TRANSACTION INFORMATION
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to the field of retail systems, and more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to the field of wireless-enabled systems connected to point-of-sale systems (POS).
BACKGROUND
The point of sale (POS) is the time and place where a retail transaction is completed. It is the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. It's also an aggregation point for all orders received not in- person but through various external sources: phone orders, orders placed through web portal, orders placed through smartphone application. At the point of sale, the merchant would prepare an invoice for the customer (which may be a cash register printout) or otherwise calculate the amount owed by the customer and provide options for the customer to make payment. In case of external/remote order this output will also include relevant information for customer identification and all additional information required to complete the remote order by driver/delivery person or future customer identification in case of later self-pick-up. After receiving payment, the merchant will also normally issue a receipt for the transaction, though increasingly a receipt is being dispensed with (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_sale, incorporated herein as reference). In case of an external/remote order, the merchant will prepare invoice and attach it as part of the order package.
The POS in various retail situations would use customized hardware and software tailored to their particular requirements. Retailers may utilize weighing scales, scanners, electronic and manual cash registers, EFTPOS terminals, touch screens and a variety of other hardware and software available. For example, a grocery or candy store may use a scale at the point of sale, while a bar and restaurant may use software to customize the item or service sold when a customer has a meal or drink request.
The point of sale is often referred to as the point of service because it is not just a point of sale but also a point of return or customer order. Additionally, today POS software may include additional features to cater for different functionality, such as inventory management, CRM, financials, warehousing, etc.
Hospitality point of sale systems are computerized systems incorporating registers, computers and peripheral equipment, usually on a computer network to be used in restaurants, hair salons or hotels. Like other point of sale systems, these systems keep track of sales, labor and payroll, and can generate records used in accounting and bookkeeping. They may be accessed remotely by restaurant corporate offices, troubleshooters and other authorized parties.
Point of sale systems have revolutionized the restaurant industry, particularly in the fast food sector. In the most recent technologies, registers are computers, sometimes with touch screens. The registers connect to a server, often referred to as a "store controller" or a "central control unit". Printers and monitors are also found on the network. Additionally, remote servers can connect to store networks and monitor sales and other store data.
Typical restaurant POS software is able to create and print guest checks, print orders to kitchens and bars for preparation, process credit cards and other payment cards, and run reports. In addition, some systems implement wireless pagers and electronic signature- capture devices. Typical POS systems run proprietary software and do not allow any unauthorized external software to be installed on top. Any third party vendor willing to extend existing POS capabilities will have to comply with the POS's manufacturer interface and receive relevant approval.
Newer, more sophisticated, systems are getting away from the central database "file server" type system and going to what is called a "cluster database". This eliminates any crashing or system downtime that can be associated with the back office file server. This technology allows 100% of the information to not only be stored, but also pulled from the local terminal, thus eliminating the need to rely on a separate server for the system to operate.
POS systems are often designed for a variety of clients, and usually offer limited set of generic functionalities that can be configured by the end users to suit their needs. Only some large clients can afford to write their own specifications for vendors to implement. In some cases, POS systems are sold and supported by third-party distributors, while in other cases they are sold and supported directly by the vendor. As mentioned before, typical POS systems run proprietary software and do not allow any un-authorized external software to be installed on top. Any vendor willing to extend their existing POS capabilities will have to comply with POS's manufacturer interface and receive relevant approval.
The selection of a restaurant POS system is critical to the restaurant's daily operation and is a major investment that the restaurant's management and staff must live with for many years. The restaurant POS system interfaces with all phases of the restaurant operation and with everyone that is involved with the restaurant including guests, suppliers, employees, managers and owners.
A steady stream of new POS-integration-dependent innovations are announced every year that capture the imaginations of the industries they touch, but wide-scale deployment is never achieved because there are over 300 different POS platforms in circulation today. Currently, any new POS-dependent innovation requires a custom integration with each POS platform to support the merchants using that platform. Few companies can afford the human and financial resources required to integrate across enough POS platforms to achieve wide scale reach. As a result, innovators tend to focus on a few key POS systems. This often gives rise to copycats and clones that focus on competing POS platforms. Further fragmentation is the result. Regardless of the fact that common standards and inter-operability across POS platforms are in the best interest of consumers and commerce, these ideals have been impossible to date due to the fragmented structure of the POS marketplace and the lack of a technical solution that can universally resolve this fragmentation. Another major problem with integration of novel POS system is switch cost. As it was mentioned before, POS system is crucial part of business' daily operation and any learning curve related to integration of the new POS system will immediately affect critical aspects of the working routine and overall operational yield.
Therefore, there is a long felt need for a device and methods that, taking under account the variety of POS systems in the market provides way to extend POS capabilities, without the need to replace the whole previous POS system.
Patent application US 2009/0006151 Al discloses a customer receipt data collection robotic (RBOT) device which is connected to a point-of-sale (POS) device, such as a cash register, through an available connection link, such as an available auxiliary printer port or in-line connection. The RBOT device operates autonomously to collect receipt data for transmission to a Data Center for storing and processing the collected receipt data and making the results thereof accessible online to vendors and customers. The customer receipt data are tagged with the customer's ID number by scanning a customer barcode ID or a magstripe customer ID store card. At the Data Center, useful data mining functions are performed on the collected receipt data, and the results are made available online to vendors for inventory control and/or product sales purposes, and to customers for accessing their purchase histories and/or for customer loyalty, discount and/or reward programs.
Patent application US 2012/0284081 Al discloses an intelligence-gathering system operates on a network-connected server having at least one processor and at least one coupled data repository, with software executing on the at least one processor from a non-transitory medium. The software provides a first function obtaining data from itemized receipts, a second function obtaining related data from one or more merchant sites, and a third function matching data sets obtained from the itemized receipts to data sets obtained from the one or more merchant sites.
Patent application WO2013062481A1 discloses system and method to collect receipts autonomously from Point-of-Sale systems (105) through a receipt acquisition and processing device (120) which comprises of a mobile device capable of near field communication. Captured receipt content is reconstructed in device for display and verification to further obtain anonymous identity and consent through a passive or an active NFC tag from a device (140) carried by buyer to be sent to a receipt store (185). Receipt items are extracted based on receipt XML template created by importing and superimposing printed receipt onto an ASCII text cell matrix using a modeling and template generation tool. A receipt presentment service (190) displays categorized and aggregated spending view with comparative trend analysis and allows social networking based on receipt items. A reverse auction service (190) allows buyers to perform reverse auction on receipt items and sellers to bid and fulfill.
Patent application EP1209601A2 discloses a system for compiling a plurality of digital receipts and the transaction data from the plurality of digital receipts (e-receipts) from a plurality of vendors includes forwarding the plurality of digital receipts to a central collection point such as a data warehouse. The central collection point is adapted to categorize the plurality of digital receipts and all of the transaction data therefrom. Access to the central collection point is controlled and/or restricted on a subscription basis. Each retailer is in communication with the central collection point. The data warehouse may be accessible via a public network (i.e. Internet) or a private network.
These patents and several others provide only partial solution for vendors that already own POS systems and wish to upgrade the current systems without the need to acquire a new system from scratch.
Those solutions usually utilize the combination of POS output with additional input (such as barcode reader or NFC tag device) in order to pair transaction data with customer info. Therefore, there is a long felt need for the ability to extract all relevant information without any additional input in fully autonomous mode providing a great way to extend POS capabilities by utilizing the POS data in a brand new platforms.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one of the main objects of the present invention to provide a system for capturing and utilizing a data stream from a point-of-sale terminal (POS) to a peripheral device, the system comprising: a plurality of data capturing devices, each one connected to a data output port of said POS for collecting transaction record as raw communication data and transmitting said raw communication data either "as is" or after at least one step of processing to a computer server; a computer server programmed to: receive said raw communication data from said plurality of data capturing devices; analyze said raw communication data using an Analysis Module; said Analysis Module adapted to extract customer information from said raw communication data and associate it with the transaction details extracted from said raw communication data.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, comprising: an input port adapted to receive said data stream from said POS terminal, said data stream representing a transaction record for a transaction conducted by a costumer; a switcher adapted to channel said data stream received from said POS terminal; a splitter adapted to duplicate and forward to at least two different locations said data stream received from said POS terminal; a current adaptor adapted to adapt said data stream received from said POS terminal to be read by a CPU; a CPU having an optional software adapted to: analyze said data stream received from said POS terminal; perform parsing methods on said data; transmit said data to an external location; a non-transitory computer readable media (CRM) adapted to store data; means to transmit said data stream received from said CPU to said computer server; an output port adapted to send said data stream to said peripheral device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said input port supports a plurality of communication protocols.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said communication protocols can be RS232, USB, Parallel and Ethernet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said data stream comprises a plurality of information.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said switcher comprises a plurality of modes selected from a group consisting of: pass, block and any combination thereof. It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said means to transmit said data stream are selected from a group consisting of: Wi-Fi, GPRS, Ethernet Box, phone line connection and any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said transaction record is result of customer transaction done either in loco or remotely through plurality of sources.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said plurality of sources are selected from a group consisting of phone order, order through smartphone application, order through web site, web application and any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said system doesn't require any additional external inputs and devices except for said data capturing device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said system doesn't require any installation of additional software into said POS.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein the output of said at least one step of processing of said Analysis Module is then allocated in a database, said database having a plurality of modules adapted to store relevant specific data.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein at least one of the following is being held true: said database is adapted to create a merchant profile, comprising: sold items, time and date of purchases, merchant sales person, prices of sold items; said database is adapted to perform data auto correction and verification of certain customer and transaction details based on previously collected and stored data; and said database is adapted to create a customer profile, comprising: personal information (name, address, phone number, credit card information, ID number), sold items, time and date of purchases, prices of sold items. It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said system is used as a replacement for paper-based peripheral device without the need of replacing said POS terminal.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said computer server is further adapted to send an electronic message, such as SMS or Email, notifying and updating said customer regarding said transaction record.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said system is further adapted to accept, store and process data from intermediate data aggregation points complementary to POS data routing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said analysis can be done by said plurality of data capturing devices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said costumer information is selected from a group selected of customer identifier, customer name, phone number, address, custom customer notes to the order, payment information and any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said transaction details is selected from a group selected of identifier of sales person, date of transaction, code identifying the store, code identifying the register/POS terminal used in the transaction, item data and any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said computer server is either on some external server located on the network, local PC or Cloud computer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said plurality of data capturing devices are further adapted to function in passive (slave) mode, thereby collecting said raw communication data and store it in an on-board memory (either Flash or RAM). It is another object of the present invention to provide the data capturing device, wherein said raw communication data stored in said on-board memory is actively recovered by said computer server.
It is another main object of the present invention to provide a method for capturing and utilizing a data stream from a point-of-sale (POS) terminal to a peripheral device, the method comprising the steps of: acquiring at least one data capturing device; connecting said data capturing device to a data output port of said POS for collecting transaction record as raw communication data; transmitting said raw communication data either "as is" or after at least one step of processing to a computer server; receiving on said computer server said raw communication data from at least one data capturing device; analyzing said raw communication data using an Analysis Module; extracting customer information from said raw communication data; associating said customer information with the transaction details extracted from said raw communication data; allocating all data in a non-transitory computer readable media (CRM) adapted to store data.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said data capturing device supports a plurality of communication protocols.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said communication protocols can be RS232, USB, Parallel and Ethernet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said data stream comprises a plurality of information.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said data capturing device further comprises steps selected from a group consisting of: passing said raw communication data, blocking said raw communication data and any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said step of transmitting is performed by means selected from a group consisting of: Wi-Fi or GPRS or Ethernet Box or phone line connection and any combination thereof. It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said step of collecting transaction record as raw communication data is a result of a customer transaction done either in loco or remotely through a plurality of sources.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said plurality of sources are selected from a group consisting of phone order, order through smartphone application, order through web site, web application and any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said method doesn't require any additional steps from external devices except for said data capturing device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said method doesn't require any step of installation of additional software into said POS.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said step of allocating all data in a non-transitory computer readable media (CRM) adapted to store data further comprises the steps of: creating a merchant profile, comprising: sold items, time and date of purchases, merchant sales person, prices of sold items; performing data auto correction and verification of certain customer and transaction details based on previously collected and stored data; and creating a customer profile, comprising: personal information (name, address, phone number, credit card information, ID number), sold items, time and date of purchases, prices of sold items.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said method further comprises a step of sending an electronic message, such as SMS or Email, notifying and updating said customer regarding said transaction record.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said method further comprises steps of accepting, storing and processing data from intermediate data aggregation points complementary to POS data routing.
It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said method further comprises a step of functioning in passive (slave) mode, thereby collecting said raw communication data and store it in an on-board memory (either Flash or RAM). It is another object of the present invention to provide the method, wherein said method further comprises a step of actively recovering said raw communication data stored in said on-board memory by said computer server.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
FIG. 1 showing a schematic example POS system configuration including an example embodiment of a POS receipt data routing device.
FIG. 2 showing another schematic example POS system configuration including an example embodiment of a POS receipt data routing device.
FIG. 3 showing another schematic example POS system configuration including an example embodiment of a POS receipt data routing device.
FIG. 4 showing a schematic example illustration of the router device.
FIG. 5 showing an example flowchart of the operation of the POS system.
FIG. 6 showing an example flowchart of the operation of the Server.
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODF ENTS
The following description is provided, so as to enable any person skilled in the art to make use of the invention and sets forth the best modes contemplated by the inventor of carrying out this invention. Various modifications, however, are adapted to remain apparent to those skilled in the art, since the generic principles of the present invention have been defined specifically to provide a device that can utilize the POS data in brand new platforms, without the need to replace the whole previous POS system.
Described herein are system and methods for capturing customer details and associating it with retail transaction data based on POS output without any additional external inputs and/or devices (barcode, RFQ code) and without the need of any additional software integration in the already installed POS. Certain embodiments include a device configured to capture, store, and transmit purchase records electronically for access by purchasers and/or sellers, together with software module running on external server and algorithms for data extraction.
The example router device may be coupled to a port, such as a printer port or other communication port of the POS terminal, which may be in the form of a personal computer hosting POS software. The router device intercepts/receives all data, such as receipt data, order data, customer details data and others, embedded with printer commands, and enables the data to be converted into electronic data. Examples of such printer commands (which may be in the form of control codes) are described in greater detail below. The data may be sent to a system, such as a remote server (e.g., a customer management system), which will perform data processing and analysis using proprietary algorithms to extract relevant information from POS data flow, store it in the Data Base and then may email the customer and/or the seller, and/or may make the information available via a network site, such as a web site. The data is optionally pre-processed by the router device prior to sending the data to the system.
Thus, for example, at the time of a purchase, either in loco (in person) or as external/remotely order a user/customer provides identification data to identify themselves and to associate the order data with the user. Order data may then be relayed from the POS system, via the router device, to a service that parses the purchase information/receipt data into various elements (e.g., identifies printer commands, field names, and/or variable values). The customer/seller is then provided access to electronic versions of the data in one or more formats and/or some or all of the receipt data.
Example POS systems will now be discussed in greater detail. Many conventional point of sales (POS)/checkout systems are computerized, and include terminals, sometimes networked to a backend computer system. A POS system may be utilized to track and manage inventory, and process sales, including the printing of receipts. A POS terminal may be a computing device (e.g., with a processor, memory, input/output ports, etc.). A POS terminal may include user input devices, such as a keyboard, touch pad, mouse, trackball, bar code scanner, a card reader (e.g., a magnetic MICR card reader to read credit cards, prepaid cards, gift cards, membership cards, etc.), an RFID reader, etc. A POS terminal may include output devices, such as graphical displays for the operator, customer-facing graphical and/or character displays, speakers, beepers, and a receipt printer. A cash storage drawer with an electronic release is often included as well.
Because a POS system has strict requirements to data integrity and 100% uptime, one challenge faced by POS system developers and users is the need to control integration of every type of equipment or software modules from third party manufacturers. Analogously, many POS system component manufacturers (both hardware device manufacturers e.g., of receipt printers and software modules manufacturers) need to ensure that their components can work reliably with a variety of POS system and need to maintain such interoperability. Thus, such component manufacturers often provide authentication mechanisms that will prevent their software and/or hardware from working with unauthorized or non-verified devices.
One challenge merchants have faced in utilizing current POS systems is that a large percentage of merchants have legacy systems that do not support latest upgrades of hardware or software. Further, the point of sales system market is fragmented in that there is large numbers of suppliers/manufactures of point of sales systems, each providing a unique solution. Therefore, a purely software solution of enabling a large number of these legacy systems from various manufacturers to provide electronic data has proven impractical, as a custom software solution would need to be developed for each unique system type. Further, installing software solutions can be time consuming, mistake-prone, and unreliable, and often requires someone with technical expertise to perform the installation.
In order to overcome the foregoing challenges, certain embodiments described herein enable point of sales systems to extend data analysis capabilities, without requiring that new software be installed on the POS terminals. Certain embodiments further do not require new software to be installed on the POS system backend. Thus, for example, certain embodiments of the router device can be utilized with POS terminals, printers, and systems, for a variety of different suppliers and manufacturers, without having to customize the router device for a given POS manufacture's or supplier's equipment.
For example, certain embodiments include a data router device that includes a print data interceptor device that is configured to be coupled to receive data from a POS terminal port, such as via a printer port. The interceptor device may sit between the POS terminal printer port and a printer and coupled to both, thereby receiving raw data from the POS terminal and forwarding the data to the printer (via a wired or wireless connection). Optionally, the interceptor device may be connected as a tap on the connected (wired or wireless) between the POS terminal and the receipt printer, without having to forward the printer data to the printer.
With respect to the raw printer data, the raw data may have been formatted by the POS terminal as a combination of printer commands (e.g., setting the font size, moving the paper, etc.) and data for the printer connected to the POS terminal. For example, the data stream from the POS terminal may include data providing relevant data regarding a purchase transaction including customer information, interleaved with special printer formatting commands.
By way of illustration, a number of manufactures make POS printers. Certain of these printers use special POS printer command codes, such as POS printer control codes, which may be manufacturer specified codes or may be codes defined by a standards body.
If the stream of data directed to the printer would be interpreted as ASCII character data, the ASCII data would only be partially meaningful/understandable to a human reader. Conventionally, the stream of data is interpreted by firmware on the printer device and translated into a physical receipt that is includes the information data that is intended to be human readable (e.g., the name of the purchased item, the price, the date of the purchase, the tax, address to be sent, way of payment, etc.).
In an example embodiment, the data router device also includes a port, such as an internet port, via which the device is coupled to a network, such as a LAN network or Wi-Fi network. The data router device is configured to transmit via the network port the printer data, either in raw form (including the printer control codes and the receipt data) or in a processed form (e.g., with the printer command data stripped out), to a remote receipt management system, which may also be configured as a server. In certain embodiments, certain components of the data router device is divided into separately housed devices. For example, in one embodiment, the data router device includes one or more print data interceptor devices and a network communication device. By way of illustration, for a given installation, there may be multiple print data interceptor devices connected to corresponding POS terminals (e.g., wherein a POS terminal and associated print data interceptor device are located in a given checkout lane). The print data interceptor devices may be wirelessly via a wired or wireless connection (e.g., a Wi-Fi or other RF network) to the network communication device. The print data interceptor devices forward some or all of the printer data they receive to the communication device, and the communication device (connected via a phone, Ethernet or other port) forward the information to a remote system. This technique allows the print data interceptor devices to be made at a lower cost as, rather than having each print data interceptor device include a phone modem or the like, multiple print data interceptor devices can share such a modem, which is located in the communication device.
Optionally, the communication device can also process the printer data (e.g., by stripping out printer commands) prior to forwarding the data to the remote system. Optionally, however, a print data interceptor device does include or is coupled to its own modem, which may in turn be connected to a communications network.
In an example embodiment, the data router device and/or a remote system processes the raw printer data into human readable form and/or as well-structured data that is suitable for machine understanding and ease of indexing and searching.
An example process (executed by the remote system and/or the print data interceptor) traverses through the raw printer data stream and removes printer-specific commands. For example, for data that was received from a printer driver (that may optionally use company-specific (e.g., proprietary) and/or standardized printer command codes, such as formatting commands) on the POS terminal, the process, configured to recognize such printer formatting commands, removes or filters out the printer formatting commands. The remaining data, (e.g., the data that was intended to be printed for human reading), is formatted by the process to be readable to a human reader (e.g., as ASCII formatted data).
In addition, an example process breaks down the cleaned printer data into well-structured data, to facilitate automated operations such as search, categorizing, and indexing.
The formatting can be automated based on parsing and "understanding" the text and/or on the location of the text. For example, the formatting of the data often follow a predictable pattern, where the information positioned towards the top of a printout includes information about the merchant/store, such as name, address, telephone. The information positioned towards the middle portion of the printout typically includes a list of purchased items with itemized costs, and additional metadata, such as SKU numbers and/or discounts. The information positioned towards the bottom portion of the printout typically includes subtotals, taxes, total amount, and transaction tendering information.
Thus, for example, a rules-based engine, such as regular expressions, is optionally employed, which uses known formatting data for a given printout style to parse the printout data into different parts. Regular expressions provide an efficient and flexible technique for identifying strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters. A regular expression may be written in a formal language that can be interpreted by a regular expression processor program that serves as a parser generator and/or examines text and identifies parts that match the provided specification. A regular expression may include constants and operators that denote sets of strings and operations over these sets.
Second phase of data processing and analysis is usually done by a remote system, which may include verification and automatic correction of raw data parsing results. This analysis can be done based on logical rules (e.g. phone number should include numeric characters) and also through comparison to known data such as: customer address can be verified vs geolocation service and list of previous customer addresses; order item can be verified vs generic restaurant menu; etc.
The specific format and layout of a printout may be determined by the point of sale software being used (e.g. proprietary POS software from one or more entities), by type of peripheral device (e.g. type of receipt printer) and/or end-user/merchant configurable settings. The formatting information may be user specified. For example, a merchant can specify (e.g., via a web-based administrative site hosted by the remote system that will perform the parsing), what POS software is deployed within the merchant's stores or what type of printer is used. By knowing what POS software is deployed and the settings configuration, the process can determine the receipt format and layout.
Optionally, if an authoritative declaration of the POS software has not been provided to the parser, an example process performs an iterative estimation of which data parser can process a given data stream with the most or a certain level of certainty.
Printout data may include field names (e.g., "tax", "total", etc.) and variable values (e.g., the actual tax amount that is to be printed on the printout, the total amount to be printed on the printout, etc.). Example types of printout data are described below, although a given printout can include less or more types of information:
Merchant data: Merchant name, address of store where purchase was made, and/or merchant phone number;
Transaction data: Identifier of sales person; date of transaction, code identifying the store, code identifying the register/POS terminal used in the transaction, item data (e.g., UPC code, textual description, list price, actual sales price, quantity, total costs for a given item (item price * quantity), savings ((list price * quantity)-(item price * quantity));
Sales summary: subtotal, sales tax, total for the sale (total = subtotal + sales tax)
Payment data: Account number, credit/debit card type, card expiration date, approval code, merchant code, amount paid in cash;
Customer data: customer identifier, customer name, phone number, address, custom customer notes to the order.
Marketing profile, rewards offer data: discount coupon;
Internet transaction data: transaction identifier, authorization code. The data can be stored in a database, where the different pieces of data are mapped to corresponding fields. For example, the store name can be mapped to a store name field, a purchased item name can be mapped to a purchased item field, an item price can be mapped to an item price field, a tax can be mapped to a tax field, a total can be mapped to a total field, etc.
Based on the customer data, the customer will be either identified as exiting user or as a new user. In case of existing user new information will have reference to his data base ID and in case of new user new customer record will be created.
The data can then be presented to a user (e.g., the customer, merchant, and/or other authorized party) via user interface provided via a terminal. Different types of data may be displayed to different types of users. For example, a user may be able to access and view some or all of the data in a table and/or graph format via a website over the Internet via a browser hosted on a user computing device (e.g., a personal computer, browser- enabled phone, networked television, etc.) or via an application (e.g., a phone app) loaded onto a computing device such as a phone. Optionally, the website enables the user to add metadata with respect to the presented data. For example, the user is optionally able to categorize and annotate data, at the printout and/or printout line item levels. This user generated metadata is optionally also stored in the database in association with the data and/or user to account for later recall and querying.
Optionally such data representation via user interface may completely replace any output on paper-based peripheral device enabling fully paperless working routine.
Optionally, the website or app are configured to enable the user to query statistical information across all or selected portions of the data for a given customer, merchant, and/or particular store. For example, optionally, automated personal finance tools are provided via which information, which may include charts (e.g., pie charts, bar charts, etc.) to illustrate/chart how a customer's purchases fall into distinct categories. Optionally, the system likewise enables merchants to display, query, and generate reports that summarize purchase information on a store by store basis, for all stores, etc. The consumer can be provided aggregated information on their spending habits, optionally over a selected period of times. Similarly, a merchant can view who are their better customers, how much they spend over a given period of time, and what types of items they are spending their money on.
Optionally, the user can specify that certain notifications should be sent to the user (e.g., via email, SMS/text messaging, and/or via phone, etc.) upon the occurrence of certain events or conditions. For example, the user can be notified each time a new order is received, when specified spending thresholds have been reached or exceeded, when discounts or special offers are being made available, and/or when summary reports have been generated. Optionally, the notification can include some or all of the data relating to the event that caused the notification (e.g., a copy of a receipt or discount coupon).
Optionally, customers can sign up for the customer services described herein at a merchant, via a website, or otherwise. Optionally, a customer can choose to pre-register for the services at the point-of-sale. The POS terminal or other device can provide the customer with a digital receipt. The customer then confirms and finalizes the registration. This permits the customer to access, online at a later date, their first digital data from the merchant where the customer pre-registered. Optionally, the customer can retrieve their pre-registration account information by providing an identifier that the customer used in the purchase, such as a phone number or credit card number.
In addition to data provided via the routing device discussed above, the data management system is optionally configured to accept, store, and process electronic data directly from online transaction and from newer POS systems or even from intermediate data aggregation point such as e-mail address that collects remote/external orders as part of some existing online ordering system.
Merchants may be charged a flat fee (e.g., a flat periodic fee, such as a monthly or yearly fee) and/or fees based on their usage (e.g., the number of data over a given time period received from the merchant and/or the number of routing devices or printer interceptor devices provided to the merchants). The routing devices may be provided free to the merchant, leased to the merchant for a periodic fee, or sold outright to the merchant for a flat fee. The merchant profile may also be automatically generated, in whole or in part, by the system, where, for example, the system examines the merchant's customer data stored on the system, and identifies items sold by the merchant from item listings on the customer receipts. The merchant profile may also be generated, in whole or in part, on other customer information, including customer profiles, purchase information, and spending habits as determined from the customer receipts stored on the data management system.
Optionally, marketing entities may also obtain data-based information from the system (e.g., transmitted by the system to the marketing entities). Optionally, the information will not include such sensitive items as credit card numbers, debit card numbers, customer addresses, customer phone numbers, and/or customer names to thereby protect customer privacy.
Certain example embodiments will now be described with respect to the figures.
FIG. 1 illustrates an example POS system configuration including an example embodiment of a POS receipt data routing device. It is obvious that there may be multiple sets of systems, as many POS there are present. In FIG. 1 there is depicted only by way of example. The POS terminal 100, may include some or all of the features discussed above (e.g. user input devices, a card reader, a display for the operator, a display for the customer, a speaker (e.g., to provide voice prompts or notifications), a beeper, a printer port, a cash storage drawer, etc.), and/or other features. A given POS terminal may be located at a corresponding checkout lane. The POS terminal 100 is coupled 130 to respective print data interceptor device 110 via respective communication ports, (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 or RS- 485 compatible port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, an Ethernet port, etc.).
Thus, in this embodiment the POS terminal and the print data interceptor device include communication ports via which they can communicate with each other. The print data interceptor device 110 may include wired and/or wireless communication ports (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible port, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.), etc.). The print data interceptor device 110 is coupled via respective print data interceptor device ports to ports on respective printer 120 (e.g., to a printer parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.). Optionally, the POS terminal port, the print data interceptor device port, and the printer port that are used in the interconnections described above are all of the same port type (e.g., all the connections are made using a parallel port or a serial port).
The POS terminal 100 may be coupled via a wired 130 or wireless 140 network (e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network) to the rest of the system.
The print data interceptor device 110 is connected to an external server 150 via a wired 130 or wireless 140 connection (e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network).
FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment. The POS terminal 100, may include some or all of the features discussed above (e.g. user input devices, a card reader, a display for the operator, a display for the customer, a speaker (e.g., to provide voice prompts or notifications), a beeper, a printer port, a cash storage drawer, etc.), and/or other features. A given POS terminal may be located at a corresponding checkout lane. The POS terminal may receive the order information directly from an external source 160 (database, email, cloud, intermediate data aggregation point such as e-mail address that collects remote/external orders as part of some existing online ordering system, etc.) via wire 170 or wireless 190. The print data interceptor device 110 can receive the data stream from the POS 100 or directly from the external source 160 via wire 180 or wireless 191. As, previously described, the POS terminal 100 is coupled to respective print data interceptor device 110 via respective communication ports, (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 or RS-485 compatible port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, an Ethernet port, etc.).
Thus, in this embodiment the POS terminal and the print data interceptor device include communication ports via which they can communicate with each other. The print data interceptor device 110 may include wired and/or wireless communication ports (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible port, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.), etc.).
The print data interceptor device 110 is coupled via respective print data interceptor device ports to ports on respective printer 120 (e.g., to a printer parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.). Optionally, the POS terminal port, the print data interceptor device port, and the printer port that are used in the interconnections described above are all of the same port type (e.g., all the connections are made using a parallel port or a serial port).
The POS terminal 100 may be coupled via a wired 130 or wireless 140 network (e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network) to the rest of the system.
The print data interceptor device 110 is connected to an external server 150 via a wired 130 or wireless 140 connection (e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network).
FIG. 3 illustrates another example embodiment. The POS terminal 100, may include some or all of the features discussed above (e.g. user input devices, a card reader, a display for the operator, a display for the customer, a speaker (e.g., to provide voice prompts or notifications), a beeper, a printer port, a cash storage drawer, etc.), and/or other features. A given POS terminal may be located at a corresponding checkout lane. The POS terminal may receive the order information directly from an external source 160 (database, email, cloud, intermediate data aggregation point such as e-mail address that collects remote/external orders as part of some existing online ordering system, etc.) via wire 170 or wireless. The print data interceptor device 110 receives the data stream from the POS 100. As, previously described, the POS terminal 100 is coupled to respective print data interceptor device 110 via respective communication ports, (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 or RS-485 compatible port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, an Ethernet port, etc.).
Thus, in this embodiment the POS terminal and the print data interceptor device include communication ports via which they can communicate with each other. The print data interceptor device 110 may include wired and/or wireless communication ports (e.g., a parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible port, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.), etc.).
The print data interceptor device 110 is coupled via respective print data interceptor device ports to ports on respective printer 120 (e.g., to a printer parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.). Optionally, the POS terminal port, the print data interceptor device port, and the printer port that are used in the interconnections described above are all of the same port type (e.g., all the connections are made using a parallel port or a serial port).
The POS terminal 100 may be coupled via a wired 130 or wireless network (e.g., via an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network) to the rest of the system.
The print data interceptor device 110 is connected to an external server 150 via a wired or wireless connection (e.g., via an IEEE 802.11 or cellular network).
In this embodiment the external server 150 receives the data directly from the external source 160 via wire or wireless 180, same data as the POS.
Example embodiments of the router device will now be discussed in greater detail.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of the router device 200. In this example, the POS terminal 201 is connected to the router device 200 via the respective port (e.g., to a printer parallel port, such as a IEEE 1284 compatible port, a serial port, such as a RS-232 port or RS-485 compatible, an Ethernet port, a USB port, a wireless USB port, a Wi-Fi port, such as an IEEE 802.11 port, etc.). When the POS printer data arrives at the router device, the first component it meets in the splitter 202 (in this example the RS-232 splitter), which is configured to actuate in two possible modes: "listening mode" and "modifying mode". In case the splitter is in "listening mode" the printer data is forwarded directly to the printer without any modifications, as if the router device is not there. The data stills go to the converter 203 (in this example from RS-232 to TTL) and forward but without any active intervention on the exiting data to the printer 208. In case the splitter is in "modifying mode" the printer data is forwarded to the current converter 203 (in this example from RS-232 to TTL). The current converter may comprise a led indicator 204 which provides the user information regarding power consumption and communication processes. Once the printer data is converted, then is being forwarded to the CPU 205. The CPU 205 is a processor, which may be in the form of a general purpose processor, a microcontroller, or other device, is coupled to non- volatile memory 206 (e.g., ROM, EEPROM, Flash Memory, or other non-volatile memory). The non-volatile memory 206 may be used to store program code used to implement processes described herein. In addition, the processor 205 is coupled to volatile memory (not shown) (e.g., RAM), which is used as working memory (e.g., to store variable values, data received from the POS system/terminal, etc.).
Then the data returns to the current converter 203, and from there to the splitter 202, and from there to the printer 208.
The processor 205 is also coupled to a battery and/or a source of power 207.
Included in the router device 200 there are one or more ports, which are intended to be coupled to a POS terminal printer port and to a POS printer 208. In addition, the router device 200 comprises an internal Wi-Fi 209 or GPRS 210 system, from which the data is delivered to an external server to be further used.
FIG. 5 illustrates an example flowchart of the operation of the POS system 300. As similarly discussed above, the POS terminal 100 sends the print data 301 to the interceptor device 110, including general information, receipt data and printer commands. At this point the interceptor device can be in two possible modes 302: modifying or listening. If the print data interceptor is in "modifying mode" 304, the printer data is passed to the current converter 306 to be modified and adapted to be read by the CPU 205. The CPU is configured to perform some or all of the parsing, organizing, reporting, and/or displaying functions described herein 307. For example, the CPU can execute the processes discussed herein, including examining printer data, and identifying and removing printer-specific commands (e.g., company- specific (e.g., proprietary) and/or standardized printer command codes, such as printer formatting commands). In addition, the CPU parses, optionally using the rules based engine discussed herein, and processes the receipt printer data into well-structured data, to facilitate automated operations such as search, categorizing, and indexing.
The CPU then return the data to the current converter 306, in order to adapt it back for the printer, and finally is delivered 305 to the printer 120.
Furthermore, the CPU stores the information in the memory 308 and forward the same to an external server 309.
On the other hand, if the print data interceptor is in "listening mode" 303, the printer data (optionally in raw form or in a processed form, such as with the printer commands stripped out) is sent 305 to the printer 120, and to the current converter 306 to follow the path previously described in order to save the data without inducing any change to it.
FIG. 6 illustrates an example flowchart of the operation of the Server 400. The server 450 receives transmission from device (110) 401, it performs first phase of analysis (rules-based) 402, then second phase of verification and automatic correction 403. At this point if the information is new, then there is the creation 404 and saving of merchant and customer profile in the database 405 along with additional transaction data. If the information is not new, therefore is an existing costumer, then the data is updated 406 along with additional transaction data.
Thus, the foregoing describes certain embodiments of systems and methods that provide electronic receipts, upgrades of legacy systems, and the organization, storage, and analytics of receipt data.
With respect to the description provided herein, those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.
Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.
The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.
The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

Claims

1. A system for capturing and utilizing a data stream from a point-of-sale terminal (POS) to a peripheral device, the system comprising:
a. a plurality of data capturing devices, each one connected to a data output port of said POS for collecting transaction record as raw communication data and transmitting said raw communication data either "as is" or after at least one step of processing to a computer server;
b. a computer server programmed to:
i. receive said raw communication data from said plurality of data capturing devices;
ii. analyze said raw communication data using an Analysis Module; c. said Analysis Module adapted to extract customer information from said raw communication data and associate it with the transaction details extracted from said raw communication data.
2. The data capturing device according to claim 1, comprising:
a. an input port adapted to receive said data stream from said POS terminal, said data stream representing a transaction record for a transaction conducted by a costumer;
b. a switcher adapted to channel said data stream received from said POS terminal;
c. a splitter adapted to duplicate and forward to at least two different locations said data stream received from said POS terminal; d. a current adaptor adapted to adapt said data stream received from said POS terminal to be read by a CPU;
e. a CPU having an optional software adapted to:
i. analyze said data stream received from said POS terminal;
ii. perform parsing methods on said data;
iii. transmit said data to an external location;
f. a non-transitory computer readable media (CRM) adapted to store data; g. means to transmit said data stream received from said CPU to said computer server;
h. an output port adapted to send said data stream to said peripheral device.
3. The device according to claim 2, wherein said input port supports a plurality of communication protocols.
4. The device according to claim 3, wherein said communication protocols can be RS232, USB, Parallel and Ethernet.
5. The device according to claim 2, wherein said data stream comprises a plurality of information.
6. The device according to claim 2, wherein said switcher comprises a plurality of modes selected from a group consisting of: pass, block and any combination thereof.
7. The device according to claim 2, wherein said means to transmit said data stream are selected from a group consisting of: Wi-Fi, GPRS, Ethernet Box, phone line connection and any combination thereof.
8. The system according to claim 1, wherein said transaction record is result of customer transaction done either in loco or remotely through plurality of sources.
9. The system according to claim 8, wherein said plurality of sources are selected from a group consisting of phone order, order through smartphone application, order through web site, web application and any combination thereof.
10. The system according to claim 1, wherein said system doesn't require any additional external inputs and devices except for said data capturing device.
11. The system according to claim 1, wherein said system doesn't require any installation of additional software into said POS.
12. The system according to claim 1, wherein the output of said at least one step of processing of said Analysis Module is then allocated in a database, said database having a plurality of modules adapted to store relevant specific data.
13. The system according to claim 12, wherein at least one of the following is being held true: a. said database is adapted to create a merchant profile, comprising: sold items, time and date of purchases, merchant sales person, prices of sold items;
b. said database is adapted to perform data auto correction and verification of certain customer and transaction details based on previously collected and stored data; and
c. said database is adapted to create a customer profile, comprising: personal information (name, address, phone number, credit card information, ID number), sold items, time and date of purchases, prices of sold items.
14. The system according to claim 1, wherein said system is used as a replacement for paper-based peripheral device without the need of replacing said POS terminal.
15. The system according to claim 1, wherein said computer server is further adapted to send an electronic message, such as SMS or Email, notifying and updating said customer regarding said transaction record.
16. The system according to claim 1, wherein said system is further adapted to accept, store and process data from intermediate data aggregation points complementary to POS data routing.
17. The system according to claim 1, wherein said analysis can be done by said plurality of data capturing devices.
18. The system according to claim 1, wherein said costumer information is selected from a group selected of customer identifier, customer name, phone number, address, custom customer notes to the order, payment information and any combination thereof.
19. The system according to claim 1, wherein said transaction details is selected from a group selected of identifier of sales person, date of transaction, code identifying the store, code identifying the register/POS terminal used in the transaction, item data and any combination thereof.
20. The system according to claim 1 , wherein said computer server is either on some external server located on the network, local PC or Cloud computer.
21. The system according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of data capturing devices are further adapted to function in passive (slave) mode, thereby collecting said raw communication data and store it in an on-board memory (either Flash or RAM).
22. The system according to claim 21, wherein said raw communication data stored in said on-board memory is actively recovered by said computer server.
23. A method for capturing and utilizing a data stream from a point-of-sale (POS) terminal to a peripheral device, the method comprising the steps of:
a. acquiring at least one data capturing device;
b. connecting said data capturing device to a data output port of said POS for collecting transaction record as raw communication data;
c. transmitting said raw communication data either "as is" or after at least one step of processing to a computer server;
d. receiving on said computer server said raw communication data from at least one data capturing device;
e. analyzing said raw communication data using an Analysis Module;
f. extracting customer information from said raw communication data;
g. associating said customer information with the transaction details extracted from said raw communication data;
h. allocating all data in a non-transitory computer readable media (CRM) adapted to store data.
24. The method according to claim 23, wherein said data capturing device supports a plurality of communication protocols.
25. The method according to claim 24, wherein said communication protocols can be RS232, USB, Parallel and Ethernet.
26. The method according to claim 23, wherein said data stream comprises a plurality of information.
27. The method according to claim 23, wherein said data capturing device further comprises steps selected from a group consisting of: passing said raw communication data, blocking said raw communication data and any combination thereof.
28. The method according to claim 23, wherein said step of transmitting is performed by means selected from a group consisting of: Wi-Fi or GPRS or Ethernet Box or phone line connection and any combination thereof.
29. The method according to claim 23, wherein said step of collecting transaction record as raw communication data is a result of a customer transaction done either in loco or remotely through a plurality of sources.
30. The method according to claim 29, wherein said plurality of sources are selected from a group consisting of phone order, order through smartphone application, order through web site, web application and any combination thereof.
31. The method according to claim 23, wherein said method doesn't require any additional steps from external devices except for said data capturing device.
32. The method according to claim 23, wherein said method doesn't require any step of installation of additional software into said POS.
33. The method according to claim 23, wherein said step of allocating all data in a non-transitory computer readable media (CRM) adapted to store data further comprises the steps of:
a. creating a merchant profile, comprising: sold items, time and date of purchases, merchant sales person, prices of sold items;
b. performing data auto correction and verification of certain customer and transaction details based on previously collected and stored data; and c. creating a customer profile, comprising: personal information (name, address, phone number, credit card information, ID number), sold items, time and date of purchases, prices of sold items.
34. The method according to claim 23, wherein said method further comprises a step of sending an electronic message, such as SMS or Email, notifying and updating said customer regarding said transaction record.
35. The method according to claim 23, wherein said method further comprises steps of accepting, storing and processing data from intermediate data aggregation points complementary to POS data routing.
36. The method according to claim 23, wherein said method further comprises a step of functioning in passive (slave) mode, thereby collecting said raw communication data and store it in an on-board memory (either Flash or RAM).
37. The method according to claim 36, wherein said method further comprises a step of actively recovering said raw communication data stored in said on-board memory by said computer server.
PCT/IL2016/051065 2015-09-29 2016-09-28 System and method for utilizing retail pos data streams with transaction information WO2017056091A1 (en)

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