Systems and methods for emulating a point of sale on a mobile device

• US 10,360,551 B1
• Filed: 06/16/2014
• Issued: 07/23/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Excentus Corporation (Professional Datasolutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Excentus Corporation (Professional Datasolutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Perry, Dickson
• Primary Examiner(s): Zeender, Florian M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Buchanan, Christopher R
• Application Number:
  US14/306,144
• Time in Patent Office: 1,863 Days
• Field of Search: 705 16, 705 17, 705 21
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/20 Point-of-sale [POS] network systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/202 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/204 comprising interface for record bearing medium or carrier for electronic funds transfer or payment credit
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/322 Aspects of commerce using mobile devices [M-devices]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3223 Realising banking transactions through M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/356 Aspects of software for card payments
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0226 Incentive systems for frequent usage, e.g. frequent flyer miles programs or point systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/088 the card reader being part of the point of sale [POS] terminal or electronic cash register [ECR] itself

Abstract

A method for emulating a point of sale (POS) at a mobile device includes identifying a POS based on information associated with the POS received from a mobile device. The method includes generating emulation data descriptive of information captured at the POS, and initiating transmission of the emulation data to the mobile device. The emulation data causes the mobile device to emulate the POS at a display device of the mobile device. The information captured at the POS is associated with a consumer transaction. The method includes dynamically generating updated emulation data as the information captured at the POS changes during the consumer transaction, and initiating transmission of the updated emulation data to the mobile device. The updated emulation data causes the emulation of the POS at the display device of the mobile device to be dynamically updated during the consumer transaction.

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations for emulating a point of sale (POS) of a retailer at a user device, the operations comprising:

receiving information identifying the POS at a mobile device;

initiating a connection from the mobile device to the POS, wherein the connection is initiated based on the information identifying the POS;

receiving, at the mobile device via the connection, first emulation data from the POS, wherein the first emulation data corresponds to first product information captured at the POS as a first product is scanned via a scanner of the POS during a transaction executed via the POS;

emulating, at the mobile device, a first portion of the transaction executed via the POS at the mobile device based on the first emulation data, wherein the emulating of the first portion of the transaction includes presenting the first product information captured at the POS during execution of the transaction at a display device of the mobile device as the first product information is captured by the POS and displayed at a display device of the POS;

receiving, at the mobile device via the connection, additional emulation data from the POS, wherein the additional emulation data corresponds to additional product information captured at the POS as additional products are scanned via a scanner of the POS during the transaction, and wherein portions of the additional emulation data are received from the POS as each of the additional products are scanned via the scanner of the POS;

emulating, at the mobile device, additional portions of the transaction executed via the POS at the mobile device based on the additional emulation data, wherein the emulating of the additional portions of the transaction includes presenting the portions of the additional product information captured at the POS during execution of the transaction at the display device of the mobile device as the additional product information is captured by the POS and displayed at the display device of the POS;

determining, at the mobile device, a payment amount at the mobile device based on the first emulation data and the additional emulation data subsequent to all items being scanned via the POS; and

receiving, at the mobile device, a message that comprises an authentication code subsequent to providing payment information to the POS;

displaying, at the mobile device, the authentication code;

receiving, at the POS, an authentication input corresponding to the authentication code;

validating, at the POS, the authentication input against the authentication code included in the message transmitted to the mobile device; and

executing, by the POS, a financial transaction to pay the payment amount to the retailer using the payment information in response to successful validation of the authentication input against the authentication code.

2. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the first product information includes a sales price of the first product, and wherein emulating the POS at the mobile device includes presenting, at the display device of the mobile device, information corresponding to the sales price of the first product.

3. The computer-readable storage device of claim 2, wherein the information associated with the first product includes a description of the first product, and wherein emulating the POS at the mobile device includes presenting, at the display device of the mobile device, the description of the first product, wherein the description of the first product is presented at the display device of the mobile device in association with the sales price of the first product.

4. The computer-readable storage device of claim 2, wherein the emulation data includes information associated with a plurality of products to be purchased by a user, wherein the plurality of products includes the first product, wherein the information associated with the plurality of products includes a sales price for each product of the plurality of products, and wherein emulating the POS includes presenting, for each of the plurality of products, the sales price of each of the plurality of products at the display device of the mobile device.

5. The computer-readable storage device of claim 4, wherein the information associated with the plurality of products includes a description of each of the plurality of products, and wherein emulating the POS at the mobile device includes presenting, at the display device of the mobile device, the description of each of the plurality of products, wherein, for a particular product of the plurality of products, the description of the particular product is presented at the display device of the mobile device in association with a corresponding sales price of the particular product.

6. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations include:

determining the payment information at the mobile device; and

providing the payment information from the mobile device to the POS.

7. The computer-readable storage device of claim 6, wherein the payment information is associated with a financial card of a user, wherein the financial card is associated with at least one account selected from a list consisting of:

a credit card account associated with a credit card, a bank account associated with a debit card, a gift card account associated with a gift card, a pre-paid account associated with a pre-paid financial card, and a loyalty rewards account associated with a loyalty rewards program, and wherein executing the financial transaction from the mobile device includes;

transmitting information indicating a result of the financial transaction to the POS via the connection, wherein the result of the financial transaction corresponds to an authorization of the financial transaction by a payment processing entity.

8. The computer-readable storage device of claim 6, wherein the payment information is determined based on financial information stored at a memory of the mobile device, wherein the financial information is associated with at least one of a credit card, a debit card, a gift card, a pre-paid financial card, a loyalty rewards program, a coupon, or a combination thereof.

9. The computer-readable storage device of claim 6, wherein the payment information is determined based on information read from a financial card using a financial card reader device communicatively coupled to the mobile device.

10. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations include generating, at the mobile device, a receipt based on the first emulation data and the additional emulation data received from the POS.

11. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the operations include storing the receipt at a memory of the mobile device.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 10, wherein the operations include storing the receipt at a memory external to the mobile device.

13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the first emulation data and the portions of the additional emulation data are received at the mobile device periodically from the POS.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations include:

receiving promotion information via the connection, wherein the promotion information is associated with an advertisement for a product, a service, or both, and wherein the advertisement is determined based on particular product information captured at the POS during the transaction; and

presenting the advertisement at the mobile device.

15. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations include:

receiving discount information via the connection, wherein the discount information is associated with a discount for one or more products, one or more services, or a combination thereof, and wherein the discount is determined based on particular product information captured at the POS during the transaction; and

presenting the discount information at the mobile device.

16. The computer-readable storage device of claim 15, wherein the operations include:

determining, at the mobile device, loyalty reward program information; and

initiating transmission of the loyalty reward program information from the mobile device to the POS via the connection, wherein the discount is determined based on the loyalty reward program information.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the loyalty reward program information is stored at a memory of the mobile device.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the loyalty reward program information is determined based on an input provided to the mobile device.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 1, wherein the information identifying the POS is received via an input provided to the mobile device via a user interface presented at the display device of the mobile device, via an imaging device integrated with or coupled to the mobile device, via a radio frequency identification (RFID) device integrated with or coupled to the mobile device, via a communication interface of the mobile device, or a combination thereof.

20. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving, by a server, information associated with a point of sale (POS) from an electronic device of a user;

identifying, by the server, the POS based on the information received from the electronic device;

determining, by the server, first emulation data based on first product information captured by a scanner of the POS during a transaction executed via the POS;

providing the first emulation data to the electronic device, wherein the first emulation data causes the electronic device to emulate the POS, wherein emulation of the POS by the electronic device includes presentation, at a display device of the electronic device, of the first product information captured by the scanner of the POS during execution of the transaction concurrently with presentation of the first product information captured at the POS at a display device of the POS;

determining, by the server, additional emulation data based on additional product information captured by the scanner of the POS during the transaction executed via the POS;

providing, by the server, portions of the additional emulation data to the electronic device as the additional product information is captured by the scanner of the POS, wherein the additional emulation data causes the electronic device to emulate the POS via presentation, at the display of the electronic device, of each of the portions of the additional product information concurrently with presentation of each of the portions of the additional product information at the display device of the POS;

receiving, by the server, payment information from the electronic device;

in response to receiving the payment information, transmitting, by the server, a message to a mobile communication device of the user, wherein the message includes authentication information;

receiving, by the server, a response to the message, wherein the response comprises an authentication input based on the authentication information, and wherein the response is received from at least one of the electronic device of the user and an input device communicatively coupled to the POS; and

subsequent to receiving the response to the message, validating the authentication input against the authentication information; and

initiating, by the server, a financial transaction based on the payment information in response to a successful validation of the authentication input against the authentication information.

21. The computer-readable storage device of claim 20, wherein the financial transaction is initiated by an electronic device coupled to or integrated with the POS.

22. The computer-readable storage device of claim 21, wherein the electronic device coupled to or integrated with the POS is selected from the list consisting of:

a financial card reader and a check reader.

23. The computer-readable storage device of claim 20, wherein the financial transaction charges an amount to a financial account associated with the user, and wherein the amount corresponds to a total sales price for the transaction.

24. The computer-readable storage device of claim 20, wherein the payment information is associated with a loyalty rewards program, a financial card, a coupon, a gift card, a pre-paid card, a check, cash, or a combination thereof.

25. The computer-readable storage device of claim 20, wherein the information captured at the POS is determined based on an input received from one or more input devices coupled to the POS, wherein the one or more input devices include a keyboard, a barcode scanner, a numeric keypad, a weight sensor, a radio frequency identification (RFID) device, or a combination thereof.

26. The computer-readable storage device of claim 20, wherein the first emulation data and the additional emulation data includes information descriptive of respective items each of a plurality of items purchased in the transaction, wherein the information descriptive of each of the respective items of the plurality of items includes a sales price of each and a description of each respective item of the plurality of items.

27. The computer-readable storage device of claim 26, wherein the operations include:

determining an advertisement based on an analysis of the plurality of items; and

transmitting the advertisement to the electronic device.

28. The computer-readable-storage device of claim 26, wherein the operations include:

determining an offer based on an analysis of the plurality of items; and

transmitting the offer to the electronic device.

29. A method comprising:

receiving, by a processor, information associated with a point of sale (POS) from an electronic device associated with a user;

identifying, by the processor, the POS based on the information received from the electronic device;

generating, by the processor, first emulation data descriptive of first product information captured via a scanner of the POS during a transaction executed via the POS;

initiating, by the processor, transmission of the first emulation data to the electronic device, wherein the first emulation data causes the electronic device to emulate the POS via presentation, at a display device of the electronic device, of the first product information concurrently with presentation of the first product information at a display device of the POS;

generating, by the processor, additional emulation data based on additional product information captured by the scanner of the POS during the transaction executed via the POS;

initiating, by the processor, transmission of portions of the additional emulation data to the electronic device as the additional product information is captured by the scanner of the POS, wherein the portions of the additional emulation data cause the electronic device to emulate the POS via presentation, at the display of the electronic device, of each of the portions of the additional product information concurrently with presentation of each of the portions of the additional product information at the display device of the POS;

receiving, by the processor, payment information;

in response to receiving the payment information, transmitting, by the processor, a message to a mobile communication device of the user, wherein the message includes authentication information;

receiving, by the processor, a response to the message, wherein the response comprises an authentication input based on the authentication information, and wherein the response is received from at least one of an electronic device of the user and an input device communicatively coupled to the POS;

subsequent to receiving the response to the message, validating the authentication input against the authentication information; and

initiating, by the processor, a financial transaction based on the payment information in response to successful validation of the authentication input against the authentication information.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the transaction is a purchase of a plurality of items.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the processor is integrated with a server communicatively coupled to the POS.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein the processor is integrated with the POS.

33. A system comprising:

a point of sale (POS) comprising one or more first processors, a first memory communicatively coupled to the one or more first processors, a scanner, a first display device, and a first communication interface; and

a mobile device comprising one or more second processors, a second memory communicatively coupled to the one or more second processors, a second display device, and a first communication interface,

wherein the POS is configured to;

establish a connection between the POS and the mobile device during a checkout process to purchase a plurality of items;

read, via the scanner, first product information from a first barcode corresponding to a first scanned item;

display, at the first display device, at least a portion of the first product information read from the first barcode;

generate, by the one or more first processors, first emulation data based on the first product information;

transmit the first emulation data to the mobile device via the connection between the POS and the mobile device;

wherein the mobile device comprises an application that, when executed by the one or more second processors, causes the one or more second processors to;

receive, by the one or more second processors, the first emulation data from the POS via the connection between the POS and the mobile device;

display, at the second display device, the first emulation data;

wherein the POS is configured to;

read, via the scanner, second product information from a second barcode corresponding to a second scanned item;

display, at the first display device, at least a portion of the second product information read from the first barcode;

generate, by the one or more first processors, second emulation data based on the second product information;

transmit the second emulation data to the mobile device via the connection between the POS and the mobile device;

wherein the application, when executed by the one or more second processors, causes the one or more second processors to;

receive the second emulation data from the POS via the connection between the POS and the mobile device;

display, at the second display device, the second emulation data,

wherein the POS is configured to;

receive, by the one or more first processors, payment information;

transmit a message to the mobile device, wherein the message comprises an authentication code;

wherein the application, when executed by the one or more second processors, causes the one or more second processors to;

receive, by the one or more second processors, the message that comprises the authentication code; and

display, at the second display device, the authentication code;

wherein the POS is configured to;

receive, by the one or more first processors, an authentication input corresponding to the authentication code;

validate, by the one or more first processors, the authentication input against the authentication code transmitted to the mobile device; and

execute, by the one or more first processors, a financial transaction using the payment information in response to successful validation of the authentication input against the authentication code.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the POS is configured to:

display at least a portion of additional product information read by the scanner from one or more additional, scanned items at the first display device; and

generate and transmit additional emulation data to the mobile device based on the additional product information.

35. The system of claim 33, wherein the mobile device displays the first emulation data at the second display device and the POS displays at least the portion of the first product information at the first display device concurrently.

36. The system of claim 33, wherein the message is transmitted to the mobile device via a short messaging service (SMS) message.

37. The system of claim 33, wherein the payment information is received from a server communicatively coupled to the POS.

38. The system of claim 33, wherein the message is transmitted in response to the payment information indicating a particular type of payment.

39. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving information identifying a consumer at a point of sale (POS);

capturing, by the POS, first product information;

displaying, at a display device communicatively coupled to the POS, the first product information;

determining, by the POS, first emulation data based on the first product information captured at the POS during a transaction executed via the POS;

providing, by the POS, the first emulation data to an electronic device associated with the consumer, wherein the first emulation data causes the electronic device to emulate the POS via presentation, at a display device of the electronic device, of the first emulation data concurrently with presentation of the first product information at a display device of the POS;

capturing, by the POS, additional product information;

displaying, at the display device communicatively coupled to the POS, the additional product information as the additional product information is captured by the POS;

determining, by the POS, additional emulation data based on the additional product information captured at the POS during the transaction;

providing, by the POS, portions of the additional emulation data to the electronic device as the additional product information is captured by the POS, wherein each of the portions of the additional emulation data cause the electronic device to emulate the POS via presentation, at the display device of the electronic device, of each of the portions of the additional emulation data concurrently with presentation of the additional product information at the display device of the POS;

receiving, by the POS, payment information;

in response to receiving the payment information, transmitting a message to a mobile communication device of the consumer, wherein the message includes authentication information;

receiving a response to the message, wherein the response comprises an authentication input based on the authentication information, and wherein the response is received from at least one of the electronic device of the consumer and an input device communicatively coupled to the POS;

subsequent to receiving the response to the message, validating, by the POS, the authentication input against the authentication information; and

initiating, by the POS, a financial transaction based on the payment information in response to a successful validation of the authentication input against the authentication information.

40. The computer-readable storage device of claim 39, wherein the information identifying the consumer is received via an input provided to the POS.

41. The computer-readable storage device of claim 40, wherein the input is provided to the POS by scanning information presented at the display device of the electronic device using the POS.

42. The computer-readable storage device of claim 40, wherein the input corresponds to a telephone number of the consumer, and wherein the telephone number is associated with the electronic device.

43. The computer-readable storage device of claim 39, wherein the operations includes identifying the electronic device based on profile information corresponding to the consumer, wherein the information identifying the consumer is associated with the profile information, and wherein the profile information is stored at a memory accessible to the POS.