Device self-maintenance

• US 20090199044A1
• Filed: 01/31/2008
• Published: 08/06/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NCR Corporation (NCR Voyix Corporation)
• Inventors: Hurrell, Nicholas J.
• Application Number:
  US12/012,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20090199044A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/23
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/20 Automatic teller machines [ATMs]
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 19/207 Surveillance aspects at ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/02 Devices for alarm or indication, e.g. when empty; Advertising arrangements in coin-freed apparatus alarms or warning devices indicating the interruption of flow to be metered G07F15/10

Abstract

Software running on a processor is operable to control the cycled powering down and powering up of components of a self-service terminal (SST) in order to attempt to rectify a fault within the SST without the need to power down the SST core processor. The software can also control the resetting of universal serial bus (USB) ports associated with the components of the SST in order to try and clear faults associated with a communications link between a component and the SST core processor.

Claims

1. A method of device self-maintenance comprising the steps of:

i) receiving at a processor a notification that a component of a device is faulty; and

ii) resetting, in response to an instruction issued by the processor, a respective utility associated with components of the device, cyclically to each of at least some of the components of the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective utility comprises power supplied to each of the at least some components of the device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the respective utility comprises a communications link between each of the at least some components of the device and a core processing unit.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the communications link comprises a universal serial bus (USB) port.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising logging of a disconnection event associated with the cyclical resetting of the utility of each of the at least some components of the device.

6. The method of claim 1 comprising logging a reconnection event associated with whichever of the at least some components of the device reconnect following the cyclical resetting of the utility.

7. The method of claim 1 comprising generating a report comprising details of which of the at least some components of the device exhibited at least one of the following states following the cyclical resetting of the utility:

did not reconnect, reconnected, discovered.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a self-service terminal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein self-service terminal comprises an automatic teller machine (ATM), a check-in/check-out terminal, a medical record entry terminal.

10. A device self-maintenance unit comprising a processor arranged to receive a notification that a component of a device is faulty and being further arranged to control the resetting of a respective utility associated with components of the device, cyclically to each of at least some of the components of the device.

11. The unit of claim 10, wherein the respective utility comprises power supplied to each of the at least some components of the device.

12. The unit of claim 10, wherein the respective utility comprises a communications link between each of the at least some components of the device and a core processing unit.

13. The unit of claim 12, wherein the communications link comprises a universal serial bus (USB) port.

14. The unit of claim 10, wherein, the device comprises a self-service terminal.

15. The unit of claim 14, wherein the self-service terminal comprises an automatic teller machine (ATM), a check-in/check-out terminal, a medical record entry terminal.

16. A self-service terminal comprising a device self-maintenance unit according to the claim 10.

17. Software, which when executed upon a processor, causes the processor to receive a notification that a component of a device is faulty and control the resetting of a respective utility associated with components of the device, cyclically to each of at least some of the components of the device.

18. Software according to claim 17, wherein the respective utility controlled by the processor, under the influence of the software, comprises power supplied to each of the at least some components of the device.

19. Software according to claim 17, wherein the respective utility controlled by the processor, under the influence of the software, comprises a communications link between each of the at least some components of the device and a core processing unit.

20. Software according to claim 19, wherein the communications link controlled by the processor, under the influence of the software, comprises a universal serial bus (USB) port.

21. Software according to claim 17 which, when executed on the processor, is arranged to connect to the device to the processor via a network.

22. Software according to claim 17 which, when executed on the processor, is arranged to log a disconnection event associated with the cyclical resetting of the utility of each of the at least some components of the device.

23. Software according to claim 17, which, when executed on the processor, is arranged to log a reconnection event associated with whichever of the at least some components of the device reconnect following the cyclical resetting of the utility.

24. Software according to claim 17, which, when executed on the processor, is arranged to generate a report comprising details of which of the at least some components of the device exhibited at least one of the following states following the cyclical resetting of the utility:

did not reconnect, reconnected, discovered.

25. The software according to claim 17 arranged to be installed on a self-service terminal.