POINT OF SALE DATA COLLECTION
First Claim
1. A point of sale (POS) data collection system, comprising:
- a storage resource;
at least one input/output (I/O) module;
a network module;
a processor communicatively coupled to the storage resource, the at least one I/O module, and the network module, wherein the processor executes application code instructions that are stored in the storage resource and that cause the POS data collection system to;
receive, via the at least one I/O module and from a POS scanner, an identifier corresponding to a product scanned via the POS scanner;
transmit, via the at least one I/O module, the identifier to a POS terminal;
establish, via the network module, a connection with a computing device that is remote from a location of the POS scanner; and
transmit, via the network module, the identifier to the remote computing device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A point of sale (POS) data collection system includes a POS data collector that is implemented as a hardware device and/or in software. The collector may be installed at the point of sale in retail stores, for example, between a barcode scanner and the POS application running on a POS terminal (for example, the cash register). When a product is scanned at the point of sale, the collector may intercept the barcode as it transmitted from the barcode scanner to the POS application. After intercepting the barcode, the collector may transmit the barcode to the POS application without noticeable delay, so that the collector does not interrupt standard business processes. In addition, the collector may send the barcode to a remote server via a network connection. In this manner, the remote server may collect POS data that covers a significant number of products, retailers, and locations.
15 Citations
38 Claims
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1. A point of sale (POS) data collection system, comprising:
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a storage resource; at least one input/output (I/O) module; a network module; a processor communicatively coupled to the storage resource, the at least one I/O module, and the network module, wherein the processor executes application code instructions that are stored in the storage resource and that cause the POS data collection system to; receive, via the at least one I/O module and from a POS scanner, an identifier corresponding to a product scanned via the POS scanner; transmit, via the at least one I/O module, the identifier to a POS terminal; establish, via the network module, a connection with a computing device that is remote from a location of the POS scanner; and transmit, via the network module, the identifier to the remote computing device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A computer-implemented method for gathering point of sale (POS) data, comprising:
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receiving, by a computer, a first identifier associated with a first product, the first identifier being received from a POS scanner; transmitting, by the computer, the first identifier to a POS application; establishing, by the computer, a connection with a computing device that is remote from a location of the POS scanner; and transmitting, by the computer, data comprising the first identifier to the remote computing device. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A point of sale (POS) data collection system, comprising:
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a non-volatile memory; a storage resource; a communication module communicatively coupled between a POS scanner and a POS terminal; a network module; a clock module comprising an internal clock; and a processor communicatively coupled to the non-volatile memory, the storage resource, the communication module, the network module, and the clock module, wherein the processor executes instructions that are stored in at least one of the storage resource and the non-volatile memory and that cause the POS data collection system to; receive a product identifier from the POS scanner; transmit the product identifier to the POS terminal after receiving the product identifier and without noticeable delay compared to a direct communication from the POS scanner to the POS terminal; timestamp, based on the internal clock, the product identifier to indicate when the product identifier was scanned by the POS scanner; read, from the non-volatile memory, a merchant identifier, a store identifier, a device identifier, and a security key; obtain a current time from the clock module; provide a data record comprising at least the current time, the time-stamped product identifier, the merchant identifier, the store identifier, the device identifier, and the security key; establish, via the network module, a connection with a computing device that is remote from a location of the POS scanner; and transmit the data record to the remote computing device via the established connection. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A computer-implemented method for gathering point of sale (POS) data, comprising:
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receiving, by a computer that is remote from a location of a POS system, product data comprising a product identifier associated with a product, wherein the POS system comprises a POS scanner, a POS data collection device, and a POS terminal, wherein the product identifier has been obtained by the POS scanner during a scanning operation of the POS system, the scanning operation of the POS system comprising the POS scanner obtaining the product identifier and transmitting the product identifier to the POS data collection device and the POS data collection device reading the product identifier and transmitting the product identifier to the POS terminal, wherein the remote computer receives the product data from the POS data collection device. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A computer program product, comprising:
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a computer-readable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein for collecting point of sale (POS) data, the computer-readable medium comprising; computer-readable program code for receiving a first identifier associated with a first product, the first identifier being received from a POS scanner; computer-readable program code for transmitting the first identifier to a POS application; computer-readable program code for establishing a connection with a computing device that is remote from a location of the POS scanner; and computer-readable program code for transmitting data comprising the first identifier to the remote computing device.
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38. A computer-implemented method for configuring a point of sale (POS) data collection system, comprising:
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obtaining, from a POS scanner, an identifier comprising a unique initialization code; switching the POS data collection system to an initialization mode in response to recognizing the unique initialization code; establishing a connection with a computing device that is remote from a location of the POS scanner; transmitting data comprising at least a portion of the identifier to the remote computing device; receiving response data from the remote computing device, the response data comprising a merchant identifier associated with the POS scanner, a store identifier associated with the POS data, and a security key; storing the response data in a storage resource of the POS data collection system; and switching the POS data collection system to a normal mode of operation.
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Specification