Apparatus and Method for POS Processing

• US 20110040641A1
• Filed: 10/18/2010
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OL Security LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Quick Vault, Inc. (d/b/a CloudVault)
• Inventors: Bacastow, Steven V.
• Granted Patent: US 8,490,870 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 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: G07F 19/206 Software aspects at ATMs
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0018 Constructional details, e.g. of drawer, printing means, input means
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/12 electronically operated digital data processing aspects G06Q20/00

Abstract

An apparatus and method for configuring, altering, controlling, securing, and extending the processing capability and functionality of PCs and POS devices using a non-volatile memory device using software and data carried within the apparatus.

Claims

1-25. -25. (canceled)

26. An apparatus for extending the capabilities of a point-of-sale device comprising:

a portable housing;

a non-volatile memory within the housing;

an interface on the housing for communication between the non-volatile memory and the point-of-sale device during a transaction; and

a software application in the non-volatile memory to support the point-of-sale device in processing the transaction without the processing requiring a network connection between the point-of-sale device and a remote server computer during the transaction.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the portable housing is one of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, and a USB flash memory device.

28. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein, upon the availability of a network connection, the software application instructs the point-of-sale device to transmit a record of the transaction via the network connection to the remote server computer.

29. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the transaction is charged to one of a credit card account, a debit card account, and a gift card account.

30. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the software application transmits to the point-of-sale device one of coupon data and product inventory data.

31. A method for extending the capabilities of a point-of-sale device comprising:

receiving, by the point-of-sale device, an account identifier for a transaction from a portable housing comprising a non-volatile memory;

determining, by the point-of-sale device, that a network connection for obtaining an approval for the transaction is not required; and

completing, by the point-of-sale device, the transaction based on the account identifier received from the non-volatile memory.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the portable housing is one of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, and a USB flash memory device.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein, upon the availability of a network connection, transmitting, by the point-of-sale device, a record of the transaction via the network connection to a remote server computer.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the account identifier is associated with one of a credit card account, a debit card account, and a gift card account.

35. The method of claim 31, further comprising the step of:

receiving, by the point-of-sale device from the non-volatile memory, one of coupon data and product inventory data.

36. A method for extending the capabilities of a point-of-sale device comprising:

receiving, at a portable memory device from the point-of-sale device, a request for an account identifier, the request associated with a transaction;

retrieving, by the portable memory device, the account identifier for use with the transaction from a non-volatile memory;

transmitting, by the portable memory device to the point-of-sale device, the account identifier for use with the transaction; and

receiving, at the portable memory device, a confirmation that the transaction has been completed.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the portable memory device is included in one of a mobile telephone and a personal digital assistant.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the confirmation is received at the portable memory device from one of the point-of-sale device and a remote server computer.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the account identifier is associated with one of a credit card account, a debit card account, and a gift card account.

40. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of:

transmitting, by the portable memory device to the point-of-sale device, one of coupon data and product inventory data.

41. An apparatus for extending the capabilities of a point-of-sale device comprising:

a portable housing;

a non-volatile memory within the housing;

an interface on the housing for communication between the non-volatile memory and the point-of-sale device; and

a software application in the non-volatile memory operable to transfer data from the non-volatile memory to the point-of-sale device.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the portable housing is one of a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant, and a USB flash memory device.

43. The apparatus of claim 41, the transferred data is one of a credit card account identifier, a debit card account identifier, and a gift card account identifier.

44. The apparatus of claim 41, the transferred data is one of coupon data and product inventory data.